I can tell you, if you saw me when I just arrived to Korea a couple of years ago, you would of seen me offending people left and right. True, I have a 'foreigner advantage' whereas most people just disregard when I do something 'wrong', but sometimes, they still get offended. Even if I act as a perfect person would in America, I would still be offending lots of people in this Asian country.
When I write to people on Postcrossing, I always say that I love Korea and I feel like I learn something new everyday. It really is a completely different culture and the customs here are quite different (and often opposite) than the way we do things back home.
I can definitely say I've adjusted quite well to the differences here, but there are still a few things that don't come quite so easily to me. There is one in particular that I can't quite grab ahold of. Let's imagine a situation...two people see each other walking on the street...Person 1 says, "Oh, hello Person 2, how are you today?" Person 2 responds, "Hi, Person 1, I'm wonderful! Nice to see you!" ... And so on...
Well, in American culture, we would say the other person's name (if we remember, of course!). When people see me, I would expect them so call me things like Sara, Miss Allbritton, or Miss Sara ...something along those lines. I feel like when you say someone's name, it makes things more personal.
In Korea, it's not that way. If you address someone that is older than you by their name, it is considered rude. You should instead call them by their title, i.e. Teacher, Owner (as in restaurant, academy, etc.), Principal, etc. So instead of saying to my co-teachers, "Hello, Minie!", it's proper to actually say, "Hello, Teacher!"
For me, this is really hard. In a land of names that aren't easy for me to learn, when I actually do learn a name, I feel like I should use it as often as possible. Well, not so much! Pretty much, I shouldn't learn anyone's name that is older than me because I should just call them my their title. Another thing is that it feels really impersonal to me. If my students only called me 'Teacher', I think I would feel like they didn't distinguish me from any other teachers in their life. (American teachers, think about how much it irks you with your students only call you 'Miss' or 'Mister'!) I'm really big on giving people personal attention and not just having a 'form letter' for the things I say to people.
The reason this is so heavily on my mind today is because one of my students told me that their teacher was 'angry' because I called her by her given name, and not 'Teacher'. First of all, I always say her full name when I talk to her, and second of all, why would she tell my students?? Isn't that a little strange??! Anyways, my co-teachers imagine that teacher was just 'joking', but either way, I don't understand the situation!
All of this being said...It's just another cultural difference to write home about. I know that by living in a foreign country, I have to deal with these differences and adapt to them as I go. So here's to not offending people in this way anymore and to not learning anymore people's names (that are older than me)! I can save my brain space for something more useful!!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Open Class in Korean Elementary School - EPIK
A couple of weeks ago, I had what is called an 'Open Class'. For me, it meant that a team of teachers and administrators from my school, along with two Korean English teachers from other schools in Tongyeong, and a supervisor from the local Office of Education would come watch my class with Minie, one of my co-teachers.
I had heard about open classes previously, but now that I've experienced the joy [insert sarcasm] of open class, I thought I should share with you.
Here's the deal. In the States, if the principal or higher-ups want to know how your class is going, they'll just pop in randomly for an evaluation. That is not the case in Korea. In Korea, in contrast to every other event here, weeks and months of notice are given prior to the open class. What this means is...the teacher has lots of time to prepare the lesson, practice with other classes, and prep the students in the actual class for the 'show'. From what I can tell, no open class is a TRUE representation of a normal class. It's more like a normal class beefed up on steroids times 10.
Here's how we prepare for a normal class...
Two days before the class, we check the lesson coming up and see if there's anything special we need to do.
One day before the class, we discuss our final plans for the class and assign parts of the lesson. We find some activities if we don't like what the book has suggested and we get the materials ready that we need.
The morning of the class, we confirm our roles and head to class!
(Please note, in elementary schools, the books are laid out and each lesson is prepared. You can...as we often do...expand on the basic lesson, but it's not a requirement. Also, Minie and I have been teaching together for 8 months now, so we've got a pretty good flow going!)
Here's what went down with my open class...
About three months ago, Minie and I were notified that we'd be having open class and the specific date. It was up to Minie to coordinate with another elementary school in our town so the Office of Education supervisor could knock out two schools in one day. This is also when we chose the exact lesson and section we'd be doing. (Our lessons have 6 parts, and we wanted to do an interesting part....not a boring.)
About two weeks prior to the open class, Minie and I started brainstorming ideas for activities.
One week before the actual open class, we decided on our activities and the procedure of the class. We then started making the corresponding materials. (The book has activities, but we sometimes/usually come up with our own because the book ones are too simple/boring.)
Five days before the open class, Minie made a one-page Korean lesson plan and I produced a two-page lesson plan for the Native teachers that would attend (there were none!). We also made a video that we'd use as our motivation to get the class started.
Four days before the open class, we completed all of the materials and I 'practiced' a section of the lesson on another class that I share with a different co-teacher.
Three days before the open class, Minie and I practiced our full lesson on a class that we don't normally teach. (I teach half of 6th grade with Minie and the other half with Karen.)
Two days before the open class, we rehearsed the open class as it would happen and worked out our 'natural' flow between each other.
One day before the open class, I had to go to my country school so no planning or discussing open class that day.
The day of open class, (the actual class was during second period) Minie and I spent the first period with the class to prep them and get things down to a science!
And all of those things led up to a 40-minute class, which from what I could tell, was well received by the teachers and administration in attendance. The principal, who doesn't speak much English to me, told me I did an excellent job as he was leaving the class...so that was a plus! After the class was done, Minie and I had a meeting with the supervisor, two teachers from other schools, and the teacher that is actually in charge of me at my school. The meeting was all in Korean, so I just tried to understand what I could and watch for gestures and body language. I asked Minie what everyone thought, and she said they had lots of good things to say.
After that, we headed to another elementary school to see their open class. It was nice to see how other people do things and how their classes go.
So all of this is to say....if you hear the words open class in your school, be prepared and clear your calendar!!
I had heard about open classes previously, but now that I've experienced the joy [insert sarcasm] of open class, I thought I should share with you.
Here's the deal. In the States, if the principal or higher-ups want to know how your class is going, they'll just pop in randomly for an evaluation. That is not the case in Korea. In Korea, in contrast to every other event here, weeks and months of notice are given prior to the open class. What this means is...the teacher has lots of time to prepare the lesson, practice with other classes, and prep the students in the actual class for the 'show'. From what I can tell, no open class is a TRUE representation of a normal class. It's more like a normal class beefed up on steroids times 10.
Here's how we prepare for a normal class...
Two days before the class, we check the lesson coming up and see if there's anything special we need to do.
One day before the class, we discuss our final plans for the class and assign parts of the lesson. We find some activities if we don't like what the book has suggested and we get the materials ready that we need.
The morning of the class, we confirm our roles and head to class!
(Please note, in elementary schools, the books are laid out and each lesson is prepared. You can...as we often do...expand on the basic lesson, but it's not a requirement. Also, Minie and I have been teaching together for 8 months now, so we've got a pretty good flow going!)
Here's what went down with my open class...
About three months ago, Minie and I were notified that we'd be having open class and the specific date. It was up to Minie to coordinate with another elementary school in our town so the Office of Education supervisor could knock out two schools in one day. This is also when we chose the exact lesson and section we'd be doing. (Our lessons have 6 parts, and we wanted to do an interesting part....not a boring.)
About two weeks prior to the open class, Minie and I started brainstorming ideas for activities.
One week before the actual open class, we decided on our activities and the procedure of the class. We then started making the corresponding materials. (The book has activities, but we sometimes/usually come up with our own because the book ones are too simple/boring.)
Five days before the open class, Minie made a one-page Korean lesson plan and I produced a two-page lesson plan for the Native teachers that would attend (there were none!). We also made a video that we'd use as our motivation to get the class started.
Four days before the open class, we completed all of the materials and I 'practiced' a section of the lesson on another class that I share with a different co-teacher.
Three days before the open class, Minie and I practiced our full lesson on a class that we don't normally teach. (I teach half of 6th grade with Minie and the other half with Karen.)
Two days before the open class, we rehearsed the open class as it would happen and worked out our 'natural' flow between each other.
One day before the open class, I had to go to my country school so no planning or discussing open class that day.
The day of open class, (the actual class was during second period) Minie and I spent the first period with the class to prep them and get things down to a science!
And all of those things led up to a 40-minute class, which from what I could tell, was well received by the teachers and administration in attendance. The principal, who doesn't speak much English to me, told me I did an excellent job as he was leaving the class...so that was a plus! After the class was done, Minie and I had a meeting with the supervisor, two teachers from other schools, and the teacher that is actually in charge of me at my school. The meeting was all in Korean, so I just tried to understand what I could and watch for gestures and body language. I asked Minie what everyone thought, and she said they had lots of good things to say.
After that, we headed to another elementary school to see their open class. It was nice to see how other people do things and how their classes go.
So all of this is to say....if you hear the words open class in your school, be prepared and clear your calendar!!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Random Saturday Around Tongyeong!
Sometimes, my Saturdays are pretty random. A couple of weekends ago, I had another random Saturday. I was supposed to be attending a day-long meeting with some other foreigner teachers, but the rainy season had just started and the weather was forecasted to be rainy....but, it wasn't! So, I had the whole day to do lots of random things! Here's my day in pictures:
The first stop of the day was a volleyball game that some of the 6th grade teachers were playing in. This is 이영미...she's the teacher that takes me to school every day and she is quite a volleyball player!
The team after the game. This league is 9-player volleyball...so the court is a bit bigger than normal and there are 9 people on each side. It's really interesting!
The next stop was a soccer game with Liz. Some of my 6th grade students play in a league and I enjoy watching them play.
This is 진민욱...he's one of my students and the captain of the team!
The team huddle as they returned to play in the second half.
After all of that, Danielle and I went on a little stroll with a new friend, Raju. There is a big Buddha statue that I see all of the time on my way to school, so we took a little walk to see it and the temple. This picture shows the current state of the rice fields...full of water!
The path leading us through the fields and to the big golden Buddha.
The temple...we finally made it!
Danielle and I with the golden Buddha! I can see this statue all the way from my apartment roof at night!
Garlic drying and getting ready for my belly!
It's always good to have nice, relaxing, random days! I'm sure there will many more to come!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Eat Your Kimchi
For anyone that is in Korea or has any interest in Korea at all, I highly recommend that you check out this website, EatYourKimchi. I seriously love it! I am constantly checking for new videos and can't wait to see what funny things they'll say next. I usually watch them while I'm at work and my co-teachers are always wondering why I'm laughing all of a sudden. This couple really cracks me up, and also keeps me really informed and up-to-date on Korea.
About eight months ago, I stumbled across their Youtube channel, and since then, their website and videos have been booming! And it's with good reason!! They (Simon and Martina) are excellent at showing Korean culture and giving a Western point-of-view about it. They have regular segments (K-Pop Mondays, Wonderful Treasure Finds Wednesdays, and TL;DR Thursdays) along with other random videos that they do about life in Korea.
Check it out! You'll be pleasantly surprised! :)
About eight months ago, I stumbled across their Youtube channel, and since then, their website and videos have been booming! And it's with good reason!! They (Simon and Martina) are excellent at showing Korean culture and giving a Western point-of-view about it. They have regular segments (K-Pop Mondays, Wonderful Treasure Finds Wednesdays, and TL;DR Thursdays) along with other random videos that they do about life in Korea.
Check it out! You'll be pleasantly surprised! :)
She's Gone!!
Friday was a bittersweet day for me as I sent the little doggy I was fostering to her new family. I was really enjoying having her around, but I knew in my heart that the long term of the situation wasn't good for me. I have too many unknowns to be a good mommy for the dog. Anyways, she has gone to live with one of the sixth grade teachers from my school. The teacher's parents have a farm with two other dogs so it will be lots more fun for the pup! I'm glad I got to help her in her transition from street life to family life!
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Jinju to Tongyeong Bus Times (After 10:30am)
Here are a list of the 'slow' bus times from Jinju (진주) to Tongyeong (통영). This picture was taken on June 18, 2011. This isn't fully complete because I missed a little row on my picture, but at least you can see most of the bus times.
Starting with the 10:30 time, buses then run at 10:43, 11:03, 11:27, 11:51, 12:15, 13:03, 13:28, 13:51, 14:15, 14:29, 14:39, 14:51, 15:27, 16:00, 16:15, 18:27, 18:42, 19:10, 19:50, 20:15, and 20:55. So the last bus time from Jinju to Tongyeong is at 8:55.
There is also an express (fast) bus, but I didn't get those times. The last express bus leaves Jinju at 7:00pm so if you want to stay later, you need to take the 'slow' bus anyways! The slow bus will stop in Goseong on the way to Tongyeong.
Enjoy!
Hapcheon to Jinju Bus Times
I couldn't find this information online, so I thought I'd share it! (Picture taken on June 18, 2011)
Bus times from Hapcheon (합천) to Jinju (진주): 6:50, 8:10, 9:10, 10:20, 11:50, 13:10, 14:20, 15:00, 15:50, 17:00, 18:10, 19:10, and 20:00. That means the last bus back to Jinju is 8:00pm.
The total journey takes about an hour with two small stops between Hapcheon and Jinju. Of course, that is also dependent on traffic and weather!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
An Afternoon w/Sara & Ruby
Last Monday was Korea's Memorial Day, so I got the chance to spend an afternoon with my former boss, Sara, and her daughter, Ruby. First on our agenda was visiting a fancy pension in Tongyeong. One of Sara's student's parents own this pension, and it rents for about $350 a night, so I'm pretty sure I won't ever be staying there! Still, it was nice to visit and see the interesting collection of things they have from around the world. Up next on the agenda was dinner, which was quite yummy thanks to Mr. Pizza....a popular pizza chain in Korea. Here is our day in pictures:
This cat was definitely the most interesting cat I've ever seen. It looked really angry, but it was really sweet!
Some colorful hanging quilted birds
The wall on the side of one of the buildings...I thought it looked pretty neat
One of the murals that adorned the walls at the pension
It was a really beautiful day and the clouds looked really nice
As always, I loved hanging with Ruby...she is such a funny girl
Some of the many, many seashells by the water
And for dinner, we opted for the 4-in-1 pizza so we could try a variety of flavors. It was quite yummy!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Gujora Beach - Geoje Island
Last Saturday, I headed to a nearby beach for a day of fun in the sun! From a Facebook invite, I found out that there would be lots of foreigners gathering for the long three-day weekend and camping on the beach. I'm not much of a camper myself, but I still went for the day (that counts, right?!). Danielle and I headed there in the early afternoon on Saturday, along with the doggy that I've been fostering. Traveling with dogs in Korea seems to be quite easy...and I didn't have much trouble on the buses (until the last bus driver of the day wanted me to have the dog in a carrier!).
If you ever want to go to Gujora (구조라) Beach by public transit, here's what Danielle and I did...Intercity bus from Tongyeong to Jangsuengpo, then the Geoje intracity bus to Gujora (buses 22, 23, 61). You can opt for the taxi from Jangseungpo to Gujora, but that'll cost you about 15 bucks! The bus drops you off in the middle of the peninsula, but just walk about five minutes, and you'll see the huge beach!
As for our day, it was good fun and it was good to get out of Tongyeong for the day. Tongyeong doesn't really have any 'proper' beaches, so Geoje or Bijindo are our closest options. While at the beach, I saw some friends of mine that I made at the EPIK training a few months ago...so that was really nice!
Here are a few pictures from the day:
Danielle and I with the doggy! We are the happy travelers!
Gujora Beach looking from the far end back to 'civilization'!
The doggy stuck pretty close to me...she needs to become a little more social!
A look at the beach from the other end...towards the rocks and such.
It was a beautiful day and I'm glad I got to enjoy the beach before the hotHOT summer gets here!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Fostering a Miniature Poodle
For the last week, I've been fostering a sweet little poodle that my friend rescued from the streets. She is super smart and I've really enjoyed having her while she finds a permanent home. I'm hoping that she can find a home full of love and fun! The groomer estimates that she is about 5 years old, so she is definitely out of her puppy stage. Here are a few pictures of the little cutie! She's shaved because she was found with a horribly matted coat. (p.s. I haven't given her a name so that I won't get too attached!)
Postcrossing - Seeing the World...One Postcard at a Time
A couple of months ago, I stumbled across a website called Postcrossing. The concept is simple...send a postcard, receive a postcard. The process is easy...get a random address from the site and pass on a piece of your world to someone else. The result is fun...random postcards from around the world and getting to share your home with someone else. 
Postcrossing is really fascinating to me for a variety of reasons....I love seeing other places in the world...and I LOVE getting mail!! I really look forward to each postcard that shows up and greets me! I totally recommend anyone to do this. You only pay for the postage and postcards, but the actual service is free. You should check it out...you never know where the next postcard will be from!!
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