Things Students Say...6

Made my relationship status Facebook "official" today and had the following conversation with a student.

Student: TEACHER!!
Me: Yes?
Student: Is your relationship status true?
Me: Yes?
Student: WHY?!  Don't lie.
Me: I am not lying?
Student: I am your boyfriend!
Me: Ha.  Ok.
Student: Marry me, teacher!
Me: Ok.  Sure.  Ha.


Playing a game related to geography.

Me:  What continent is this?

Student:  Africa!

Me:  Name the tourist destination, country and continent.

Me:  *hint* the first word is similar to hurry.
Student:  Mount Fastheads, USA, North America

Rice Pudge

I joined a gym!  Last night was my first night.  I registered for 3 months.  We will see if I stay at this gym or not.  The owner lives in my building.  He said he knows me and Trixie because he sees use sometimes walking together outside or in the elevators.

The gym itself is kind of nice.  Small but close to school (on my way home!).  I am the only foreigner who goes there because all of the other foreigners go to a gym behind the bus terminal.  (which I didn't like as much as this one)  Because it is so close to my school, I saw some teachers and students working out there.  Not strange but still.  The gym has a lot of treadmills, a few bikes, and ONE elliptical.  Jackpot!  Most Koreans use treadmills, with a select few using bikes.  So finding an elliptical was awesome in my small town.  There are free weights and some other weight machines, which aren't that important for me.  I only use free weights and one specific machine, so as long as a gym has that it is fine.  The elliptical is what I wanted.  

The reason I joined the gym was because I have a little rice belly.  I haven't gained any weight.  In fact I have lost weight but I still have a belly from all the rice I eat.  (Sometimes 3 times a day but at least 2 times a day)  I wanted to work on it.  My school has a gym, that teachers are supposed to have access to, without students, until 6pm.  However, the students don't listen to that and they come in right after school.  Additionally, if I want to work out during the day (say when I get here in the morning), I can only shower in the student shower in the main building.  It is a one room shower, so nobody else can use it with me but it is still awkward to think about.  Better to get a membership and shell out some cash to feel a little more comfortable.

For now I am only going to go three days a week but I hope to get up to five days a week.  I will do cardio and weights for those three days and hopefully work up to cardio everyday with weights every other day.  I haven't been working out regularly since I got here.  And no I do not count the badminton and yoga clubs I am apart of as workouts.  It is more fun than workouts are.  I need to get back into the rhythm of working out but I bet I will be back to normal in no time.

Wish me luck!

North Korea?

What the hell is going on?!  So, as some of you might have heard there was a guy who went to North Korea and allegedly ripped up his passport.  He was just sentenced to 6 years at a "labor" camp in the North.  Just found out that another crazy person was trying to get to North Korea.  This guy tried to swim to North Korea from South Korea.  Seriously, what the hell?  Has everyone gone crazy?  Is there something in the water?  WHY would anyone want to go to North Korea?  Especially an American?

Here are some links so you can read about it in more detail:
Labor Camp:
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/09/15/north-korea-sentences-24-year-old-bakersfield-man-to-6-years-of-hard-labor-for-espionage/
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/09/14/world/asia/north-korea-matthew-miller-case/
Swimming:
http://news.yahoo.com/south-korea-detains-american-trying-swim-north-013141120.html
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/09/17/american-swims-nkorea/15760937/

Meeting the Parents?

As most of you know or have suspected, I have a boyfriend.  We have been going out for a little while.  He is super sweet and caring.  A good match for me in many ways; one of them being he loves to cook and do the dishes(no idea why though, I think he might be mental!).  Things are looking good but there is one scary thing that is going to happen...his mother wants to meet me.

Now, the only reason his mother knows about us is because I am the first foreigner he has dated and I made him tell his parents.  I have dated guys in the past whose parents were not too keen on their sons dating a foreigner and ended up getting burned.  I was not about to let that happen again; kind of selfish but whatever.

So, my boyfriend told his parents about us.  His dad was more than happy and said the equivalent to "that's my boy!".  Who knows?!  His mother was a different story.  She was fine at first but then her sister told her something and BAM "no foreigner," "never," and "anyone but a foreigner" all came out of her mouth.  My boyfriend reassured me that it would be fine and she is just a worrier.  Needless to say, his mother came around and is now fine (again) with us dating.  But the idea she can change on a dime is scary.

Anyways, the point is, his mother wants to meet me...which is terrifying.  One, we have not been dating that long (a few months, not meet the parent long).  Two, what?! we are not talking about marriage (which is when you traditionally meet the parents).  And three, she scares me.

She wants us to come to her art show opening in Seoul next week.  Her art show!  That is terrifying because she will be surrounded by her peers, family, and friends.  All of who are equally scary.  I do not want to go but my boyfriend thinks it is a great idea because his mother will "love me."  I just do not know if I feel comfortable being in that situation.  Maybe if it was a nice dinner or something, I would be okay but this is scary stuff.

Who knows what is going to happen but I will keep you all posted.

One Year in Korea

Well, I have been in Korea a little over one year.  (My anniversary was last week!)  It seems surreal that I have been in a foreign country for that long but at the same time it feels like I just got here.  Obviously when I first got here I was a fish out of water.  There are customs and traditions and a way of life, that I had to adjust to.  And for the most part, I think I have.  A lot has changed in the past year but a lot has stayed the same.

I have adjusted to the way of life in Korea (for the most part).  I bow and say hello to my elders and those with more seniority than I in the morning (basically everyone because I am the youngest teacher at school).  I can use chopsticks to de-bone a fish and chicken (though the chicken still gets me sometimes).  I give and receive things with two hands (except with my students, they have to take with two hands but I only give with one: it is a power thing).  Even that, the exception for students.  Asserting my power is new.  I speak in Konglish* and switch between English, Korean, and Konglish when talking to people.  I think my English ability has gone down tremendously since I got here.  I don't think I actually speak proper English anymore.  I feel weird if I do not have rice with a meal or kimchi.

It is strange how many things have changed but I do not notice them because they were gradual changes and things that happen here everyday.  These changes are not bizarre or out of place here, so I do not notice that I am doing anything differently.  I am sure though that if I went home, people would look at me strange because I no longer fit into America.

I also do not really fit into Korea.  Yes, people tell me that I am "more Korean, than...them/another Korean" but I still have American tendencies.  I am still American but a little Korean.  Or maybe a lot Korean.  I have no idea.  This move has changed me and made me think about home and where I belong.  Which I have no idea where that might be.  Is it America?  Is it Korea?  Is it the nomad life?  Who knows.  I sure as heck do not but hopefully time will tell.  I am loving Korea and my life here, and really, that is all that matters.  Being happy and content in life!  Which I am.

*Konglish is a Koreanized English.  Things like Air Con instead of Air Conditioning.  I will write a post about it!  :D

Homework Hell?

This week has been a bad week for me.  (*Well most days.  Wednesday wasn't so bad.)  Anyways, it has been a bad week because of my students.  Do not get me wrong, I love my students and I love teaching but I was so angry at them this week.  So, here is the story:

Last week, I gave the students outside work (homework) to do before the next class, which was an entire week away.  All it required them to do was some research on a location of their choice to find 2-3 famous things from that place, 3-4 types of cuisine, and some culture information (read art, music, dance, etc.).  Maybe 30 minutes total.  I needed them to do the research outside of class because we only have one computer in the language lab and there was no way that 32 (which is my largest class) students could use the same computer at once to do their research.  I have never given homework to them before but I expect them to do it.  Needless to say, my second years were my biggest problems.  The first class I had this week only 4 out of 28 students did their research, and those 4 were in a group together.  The next day was a little better with 2 out of 5 groups being prepared.  Monday made me so angry though.  I talked with the students, made them write me apology letters (in English). and they had to sit the rest of class silently without sleeping (which was the hardest part).  My co-teacher was just as upset with the students as I was.  She talked with them at the end of class and basically said the same things I had at the beginning of class.  I hope this helped.

Mainly my second years were the ones who didn't do their homework.  I kind of figured it would be that way.  I love the second years and their energetic ways but they are kind of turds sometimes.  The one that really got me was the first years.  Up until Thursday, the first years had been prepared, some coming overly prepared.  It was great.  The issue was yesterday, one of my classes had 3 people prepared.  Again in a group.  It was horrible.  I made them write me English apology letters but I did not make them sit quietly.  The main issue is, I needed them to do their work because they were doing a presentation on it and it needed done before the next class.  So, I let them work on their homework in class.  It turned out well though.  I made it so they had to go through me to get information and they had to do things from the top of their head and such.

I guess I can not be too mad but I am at the same time.  Most of the students did what I told them to but it is the idea that entire classes "forgot" their work that gets to me.  They knew what they were to do, and they should have done it.  All of my co-teachers agree and I am lucky because of that.  I have heard horror stories of co-teachers not agreeing with the NET and undermining their authority by tell the kids to sleep or talking with the kids or undoing the punishment.  My co-teachers are awesome and I never expected them to be a horror story but it was still nice to have them on my side.

Hopefully this five day weekend is better.  Here is hoping!

Things Students Say...5

Today in class I was discussing slang and one of the words was half baked.  I had the students write sentences for the words and the following happened when I told one to share their sentence.

Student:  Kara teacher is half baked.
Me:  WHAT?!  Why?
Student:  Because you don't speak Korean.
Me:  You don't speak English either.
Student:  I speak English!
Me:  I speak Korean than because you aren't fluent and neither am I.
Student:  Fine!  Kara teacher is half baked and I am half baked.  Same-same!

My students were supposed to make a Bucket List and the following were some of the more interesting sentences.

"I want to buy a girlfriend."

"I want to kill (another students name)."
then
"I want to commit suicide."  (Obviously talked to this student...)

"I want to have many girlfriends."

"I want to make rich friends, so I can live off of them."