Charpie's Travels

Tuesday

2012-02-14T23:55:00.001+09:00

Today was Valentine's Day. That's a good day in kindergarten. We watched A Charlie Brown Valentine, made butterfly valentines for each other, and ate way too much chocolate. Emma brought back rice cakes from Japan, and Joanne MADE chocolates for every one. Sunny handed me my own family-sized back of almond Nuggets.

I had a full class today. Yes, that is incredible. It hasn't happened since sometime around Christmas. It won't happen again until March. These kids visit more countries than I've seen.

Convenience stores in Korea generally have a microwave, hot water machine, and a counter where you can eat the ramen and other highly nutritious foods they sell. We fulfilled Amy's dream today, and ate cheese ramen inside Ministop. Of course, you're staring out the window as you eat. I've never seen a foreigner eating in a convenience store. Judging by the looks on everyone else's faces, they'd never seen it either.

After our ramen appetizer, we found some good galbi and nengmyun. We also had a buy one/get one coupon for Starbucks. I've never heard of a coupon, though, that requires you to buy two of the same drink. No matter. It was still tasty!

This was my last time seeing Amy until I go back to the states. Saying goodbye on a jam-packed Line 2 subway is a good way to keep yourself from tearing up. I came home to a lovely card from my parents and also got to chat with Cara a bit. Life is good. Even when there's a bit of sad mixed in, life is good.

Wanted: Nice girl. Must relocate.

2012-02-09T21:52:00.001+09:00

We almost made it to the subway entrance before he stopped us.

"Excuse me," he began, "did you just come from that church?"

Amy and I looked at each other, hesitated, and then answered, "yes."

Apparently, that was the correct answer. Next question. "Where you from?"

"USA."

"Ah! I work for Korean company in USA. You know (some city) in Alabama?"

"...no..."

"Anyway, I work there."

We tried to leave, but he was nice enough to accompany us down to the station.

"You work in America?" I asked. "Why are you in Korea, then?"

"Just a break...how long you will live in Korea?" he asked.

"I'm here just for one month," Amy replied. "She's here forever."

"Oh really?" he seemed a little surprised by this response, but he plowed on ahead. "Actually, I am looking for a nice girl who can come with me to Alabama."

Amy quickly answered, "I have a boyfriend!" Thanks, Amy. I laughed nervously and reminded him that I was going to live in Korea forever. He was not persuaded.

"Can I have your phone number?"

Sometimes I don't understand why people ask this question. "I would rather not..." By now we were nearing the pay area in the station.

"You want to live in America, right? I plan to always live in Asia. I don't think it would work out."

"Oh..." I think he got it. We swiped our subway cards and he stayed on the other side. Amy was kind enough to explain that we were in a hurry to meet a friend. We said our goodbyes and then said nothing at all until we were around the corner, on the escalator, and well out of earshot.

Eddy

2012-01-31T00:47:00.003+09:00

My elementary class is finally to the point where, when I return from break, they're sitting down, quiet, with their books out and open. Today felt like a two-month digression. One student was in the hall already trying to tell me a story, and a few other faces were poking through the doorway. As I walked into the room, I was greeted by an explosion of eager voices who'd been waiting for this moment to tattle on Eddy.

Tattling is possibly my greatest classroom pet peeve. Even on good days, it sucks all the patience out of me. And today really wasn't my best day. In as few words as possible, I reminded my kids where they should be, what I thought of tattling, and that I could see with my own eyes that Eddy was not in his chair. Or in the room. If anyone is going to be MIA, it's going to be Eddy. There's no surprise there.

Things settled down, and we started to on our lesson. Leo raised his hand.

"Teacher... Eddy..."

"Eddy what?"

"Eddy... bathroom go..."

"Is he still in the bathroom?"

"Yes."

"Okay. And when he comes back, I can take care of him, okay?"

"Yes."

And class continued for a couple minutes. Then another student resurrected the Eddy conversation. So I caved.

"Okay. ONE person tell me about Eddy. Raise your hand." So they raised their hands and all started speaking at once.

"Vicky! Only Vicky can talk. PLEASE." I was still deep into I-Loathe-Tattling mode.

"Teacher, Eddy... bathroom go... toilet... inside and shut the door. But... not open."

"So..." I responded, sarcastically. "Eddy is stuck in the bathroom?"

"Yes." Every student instantly confirmed this. Liiiight bulb. This is the point where the teacher instantly feels like the dumbest one in the room.

"...Seriously??"

"Yes!"

I snorted. I couldn't help it. Suddenly I understood how my mom felt when I got my toddler-self stuck in the toilet. That's just funny.

By the time I made it to the bathroom hall, the maintenance man was headed to the men's room with a stash of tools. Another teacher was in there, reassuring Eddy and trying to contain her laughter.

I failed miserably at masking my laughter back in my classroom. But we did manage to keep it mostly together when someone finally escorted Eddy back to class. He was clearly shaken. He was completely silent the rest of class. I didn't scold him this time for putting his head down. As funny as it was to my mom when I fell in the toilet, I was scared out of my mind. And angry that she found it funny. Hopefully, someday Eddy can be on this end of such an event so that he can enjoy it too.

Chinese Christmas

2012-01-03T21:13:00.001+09:00

I visited Charissa in China for Christmas. We were in Beijing a couple days, but we spent most of our time down south in Yunnan.

Christmas in China

Freckles

2011-12-22T23:35:00.000+09:00

Chris spends more time out of his chair than he spends in it. Lately, when I redirect him to his seat, he falls into me. I used to make him stand up (or just cart him back), but the other day I slowly moved away. I warned him he was about to fall, but he didn't do anything about it. Maybe he trusted me too much. So I kept backing away. Sure enough, he slowly slid to the floor. My method clearly failed, because he was completely laying there on the floor.

He's tried this a few more times. Today I was holding onto his hands as he slowly fell. Once he landed I asked, "Chris, what are you doing?"

"Me..." he began. "You eat me."

Closer

2011-09-16T00:48:00.000+09:00

For a moment, I thought I'd lost my mind. Seriously.

I went down to the lake tonight, and I sat for a while before walking. I never do that. I also never turn off my iPod. I did tonight. But then I heard a song... it was muffled, but it sure sounded like Shawn McDonald.

I checked my phone. Nothing playing there. I took out my headphones, and I could still hear it. But who in Korea would be playing that song?? I know they like English music, but I don't think I've ever heard a Christian artist played in public. If I have, it was at Christmas.

Curiosity got the better of me, and I set off to find the music source. It didn't take long. Typically, the public speakers grace the lake with love songs and other such things that set the mood for all the dating couples. And after "Closer" finished, the usual tracks continued.

Call me names, but I like to think that one played just for me. Thanks, God.

Lake Art

2011-08-28T00:47:00.000+09:00

Last night, I decided to take a walk around the nearby lake. I made a mental note to put in my contacts before walking out the door. After leaving home, I realized I was still wearing glasses...kind of annoying but not worth backtracking.

This lake is quickly becoming my favorite place. Last year it was the river. Apparently, I like water. Midway around the lake, I found an empty bench to claim. I took off my annoying glasses for a moment, and that was when I saw the most amazing sight.

Walkers and joggers vanished, and trees faded into the black. Lamps along the path transformed to cotton balls of orange and yellow. Towering skyscrapers were nothing but blurs of green and gold and blue. Some almost disappeared in the patchy, clouded sky. The reflection of all this resembled thick brushstrokes on the surface of the lake. Here was an enormous, abstract painting...just for me.

As I attempted to memorize the scene, I had a thought. I've always considered my eyesight in negative terms: need glasses, nearly blind, restricted drivers license. But then, if I had 20/20 vision, I wouldn't be able to see the lake as I was seeing it now. I would never know there was any other view. I don't think God gave me bad eyesight. He just gave me abstract vision.

The Other Side of the World

2011-08-13T23:13:00.000+09:00

I started this post while preparing to move back to Korea, but I forgot to post it. These are some of the people and things in the US that I appreciate and miss.

My family
(Of course there are more of us, but we don't generally stick around for photos.)

Minneapolis skyline

More Minneapolis

My Hmong buddies...

...all 50 of them

Beautiful clouds

Benjamin

cottage cheese

Dunn Bros coffee ice crema

Cops and Ajusshis

2011-08-13T22:23:00.000+09:00

As I emerge from the subway stairs, I see my bus coming through the intersection. I sprint, hoping to reach the bus stop first. My effort proves unnecessary because of two cars blocking the way for the bus. The driver waits and honks. And honks some more. When a police car pulls up with lights and siren on, the cars decide to pull away.

Upon boarding the bus, I realize the police weren't really interested in the cars. One officer gets on right behind me. After a few words with the driver, he proceeds to the small huddle by the rear door.

Watching this scene, I regret knowing so little Korean. All I understand is that, whatever happened between these men, it's all been captured on the surveillance camera (CCTV). When the driver points this out, one man slowly turns and lets himself off the bus.

An older Korean man sits down next to me.

"What?" the ajusshi asks me, gesturing toward the huddle. Then he announces the obvious.

"You don't know," he laughs. I shrug and chuckle in agreement.

After a few more minutes, two of the men return to their seats, and the officers pull the last one off the bus. Ajusshi looks at me and chuckles again. Then we're off.

My seat buddy gets off at the same stop as me. Instead of the usual pushing to be first, he motions for me to go ahead of him.

"안녕하세요!" he calls, as he crosses the street. Goodbye. I yell the same thing back and smile the rest of the walk home. He doesn't know it, but he managed to brighten my whole day.

ET

2011-07-19T22:16:00.001+09:00

Just like last year, every morning I write my kids' names on the board. That's where we keep track of their stars and sad faces. I threatened to take Jake's stars if he acted up. He did. Tattle Thomas reminded me that I need to take his stars, so I added my name to the list.

My kids couldn't decide if I should write "Elizabeth" or "Teacher." I was too lazy to choose one or write "Elizabeth Teacher" so I wrote ET. I was kind of amused by myself, though Korean 5-year-olds have no clue who ET is. Still, the name stuck. When I leave for break, lately they are kind enough to add ET to the attendance list.

Shotgun

2011-07-16T01:09:00.001+09:00

The bus headed to the subway station was nearly empty. That's amazing on a Friday night. The bus I took back to my house was not empty.

Maybe this sort of thing is normal elsewhere in Asia, but it was my first bus ride sitting on the front dash. There happens to be a small space between the door, the cash dispenser and the windshield. I was wedged in there. Even if he'd wanted to, the driver couldn't open the front door on account of the woman leaning against it.

Several stops later, we finally got to move back. About two feet. Far enough to swipe my card, then re-swipe it and squeeze back off the bus.

Speechless

2011-07-12T18:56:00.005+09:00

"Take two of these three times every day. And this ... three times a day take one."

I lost my voice. Again. I don't remember every losing it in the states, but this is the third time within 14 months in Korea. What's new is that I actually got drugs this time. The first is normal enough ... the box says something about "dry cough" and "sore throat."

The other one comes in a little packet and looks like this.

I guess you just ... eat it? It doesn't dissolve in water. It does not taste delicious. Kinda makes me feel like a farm animal eating a field.

I can't complain, though. I bought a two-day supply of sore throat pills and field granules along with a box of throat "candy" and my total bill was ₩6500. That's $6.09 in the US.

Monsoon Fog

2011-07-03T21:55:00.001+09:00

I love the Han River. I love rain. I LOVE fog. The saddest part about today is that I left my camera at home. The sky was beautifully overcast this morning. Fog crept all along the edges of the river and swallowed the bridge supports.

After church, we walked up the hill to a Chinese restaurant. One of the better-prepared people in the group photographed our 15-member umbrella train. At the restaurant, I tried duck and rat ear mushrooms for the first time. The duck was much better. No contest.

By the time we finished lunch, the rain was so heavy our umbrellas couldn't keep it out. And I don't mean that the wind was blowing rain on us. I mean it was seeping through any seams and weak spots it could find. I was glad to be wearing flip flops as ankle-deep water rushed over my feet.

People don't believe me when I say monsoon season makes me happy. I can't wrap my brain around the idea of being depressed by rainy weather.

Genius

2011-06-29T19:24:00.000+09:00

My neighbor hasn't collected their bills the entire month I've lived in this building. I know this because our boxes are all in the stairwell. Unlike US post boxes that have keys and locks, ours have large slats in the doors. Everyone's mail sticks out for the whole building to see. Koreans clearly are more trusting (and honest).

Since my bills are still from the previous tenant's era, I dropped them off at school and enjoyed not having to pay them this time. But this afternoon, my boss called me into her office. Your apartment is 305...? she asks. I shrug. Probably. I think so? And then she shows me the bills I'd brought in yesterday. These are for 306. Tonight you check the number on your door, okay?

My neighbor hasn't paid their bills this month. That's because I just put them back in their mailbox tonight. And since theirs appeared right when all 6 vanished from the 305 box, they'll probably have a good idea who stole them. If you live in Korea, you don't need to worry about mail left. Unless perhaps you live next to a blonde foreigner.

The Visitor

2011-06-24T22:43:00.000+09:00

A bug came to kindergarten in first hour. I don't mean a little bug, like an ant or a fly. I mean a black and orange, flying monstrosity with twiggy legs that span further than my palm.

Wendy spotted it first; I was writing on the board when she screamed. I turned to see her flailing in the direction of Chris' head, and I swatted it off his hair without him knowing what was going on. When I opened the window, Twiggy flew the opposite direction.

By now, two-thirds of the class was hysterical. Thomas was trembling, fists tucked tightly under his chin. I couldn't see Twiggy anywhere. Given that Thomas is a quieter, shy five year old, I feared tears would come soon. Not so.

Thomas pulled his fists in front of him, but he still held them mashed together. And then he squeezed them so hard his whole body shook. When he slowly pulled them apart, I spotted Twiggy. Pieces of him. A wing fragment on Thomas' thumb, half a leg on his index finger.

Thomas looked torn between being proud and breaking down. I made a big deal of how brave he was when I could stop laughing enough to speak. The screams turned jubilant as we wiped Twiggy into the trash and sent Thomas to wash his hands. So much for a calm class this day!

The Other Side

2011-05-26T10:09:00.000+09:00

While in the states, I got to work with some fantastic kindergarteners.

Last Day

Snow

2011-03-28T14:20:00.000+09:00

I took these in December shortly after returning to the US and forgot to do anything with them.

Snow

Cabins

2011-03-26T12:27:00.001+09:00

Cabin

Planes

2011-03-24T03:05:00.000+09:00

Minnesota, Texas, and Florida from the air...

Planes

Lucy

2011-03-21T12:11:00.000+09:00

Lucy

Rudolph

2011-03-01T07:13:00.000+09:00

This is a few months old, but I found it today and wanted to share. It was written by one of my third grade students in Korea.

Once upon a time, Rudolph in the Santa Land wanted to give a present to his owner, Santa Claus. Rudolph called his best friends: Lolly Polly, Popsty, Rekadolph, and mostly...Rudolphina. Rudolph and his friends tried to make cookies. Rudolphina was talented for cooking and baking. The shape of the cookies were horns and hooves because Rudolphina cannot print fancy things with her hooves. After they finished making cookies, they put them in Santa's cloth. They gave mittens, too. They really liked Santa. At last, Santa found Rudolphina's cookies. He wrote letters to them. Also, he sent a special thing. It was a red shiny nose. Therefore, Rudolph got its red, shiny nose.

Destin

2011-02-27T08:32:00.000+09:00

My cousin Jennifer and I took a walk along this beach.

Destin Beach

Phonics

2011-02-18T13:39:00.001+09:00

I haven't taught a Phonics class in a couple months, but I dreamed about one. We were learning where to split syllables in long words. I was totally stumped by the word "undrella" - which was the same as what (in real life) we call an umbrella. Was it und-rella ... or un-drella ... you wouldn't believe how traumatic this was. I mean... just imagine what my kids would think if they discovered I didn't even know the syllables in undrella!

First Grade Two

2010-12-28T16:28:00.002+09:00

"What are you doing, Leao?"

"Running. Duh."

"Leao's still and half of you look comatose. Perfect."

Apparently, it's dance time.

And Ryan didn't really need all that hair.

Ryan#2 doesn't need his head either.

We don't really need the girls, either.

Jandy

2010-12-06T23:36:00.000+09:00

Justin and Andy stole my markers. I suppose a real teacher would have confronted the thieves instead of photographing them. Then again, they learned this morning that this is my last week with them... they could've gotten away with almost anything today.

Flash

2010-12-05T00:38:00.000+09:00

Assignment: Write a sentence using the word "flash".

Henry's first sentence: I flash the toilet.
Henry's second try: I flash to Peter.

Fool

2010-12-03T20:45:00.001+09:00

After a few failed attempts at explaining "fool", I caved.

Teacher: Does anyone know the Korean word for "fool"?

Jaden: 바보 (ba-bo)

Class: *giggles*

Andy: (in awe) Teacher... how can you know Korean?

Teacher: How do you know English?

Andy: I studied.

Teacher: I study, too.

Andy: But... where?

Justin: Africa.

...that must explain why I know so little Korean.

Pandas

2010-11-11T22:20:00.003+09:00

I took my camera to school today, specifically to be sure I have a photo of each of my ridiculous kindergarteners. I can't say they're normal, but I did get photos.

Justin

Peter

JunSeo

Jaden

Ann

Annabelle

Jini

Maro

Ellizabeth

Henry

Kelly

Andy

The Ring

2010-11-10T23:25:00.000+09:00

"Show to Elizabeth teacher!" Ann was whispering, but I still heard her as I entered the other end of the room.

"Oh! Where..." Peter dug through his backpack. Unfortunately, he found what he was looking for.

As we started our morning routine, Peter waited patiently, uncharacteristically calm and quiet. Once we reached a point where I was accepting questions, his hand shot into the air. I stalled, calling on a few others first. Eventually, I had to pick him.

"Yes, Peter?" His face cracked into a ridiculous grin and his hand opened to show his prized possession.

"RING!!" he shouted. And with that he was out of his chair, charging straight at me. He grabbed my hand and tried to pry apart my fingers.

"Just one time!" he insisted. Maybe I should have played along, but I didn't. Letting this infatuated 6-year old slip a ring on my finger could've haunted me for a long time.

It seems his mom let Peter borrow her school ring "just one day," and I bet money she knew why he wanted it. He's been talking for weeks about getting me a wedding ring. He and Ann even made a paper ring for me earlier.

Peter tried throughout the day to get that ring on one of my fingers. Sadly for him, he did not succeed. I'm hopeful that he won't be able to bring any jewelry tomorrow. I'm not silly enough, however, to think this will be the end of it.

Counted

2010-11-07T16:42:00.000+09:00

The census lady came to my house today. I'm pretty sure she came two other times... but I didn't answer the door. I don't like answering even when I speak the language of the person on the other side. I am far less inclined to respond when I'm in a foreign country. And it's evening. And my door has no peephole. And I'm wearing my pjs.

I felt bad for Mrs. Census Lady. She had more questions than the SAT, and I only understood pieces of a few of them. I suppose she had to keep asking anyway. I also felt slightly bad about the hamster. It'd been rolling around in its ball and was quite attracted to this woman. Sadly, the feeling was not mutual. I put the hamster away.

Fortunately, Susan answered her phone and took care of a lot of the woman's questions. And fortunately, the bathroom floor was only wet and not flooded when Mrs. Census Lady wanted to use the facility (every time I use my washer, my bathroom gets about 3 mini-floods). I do hope Susan told her that I'm from Brazil. Or Madagascar. But even if I just get listed under America Person, I'll take it.

Community

2010-11-04T00:26:00.000+09:00

Third Grade Writing

Assignment:
Think about a person whose job helps people in your community. Write about what this person does to help your community.

Answer:
Sorry to write this answer in my writing, but I have no community at all. How could the children have their own community? I want to have my community, but I can't. If you see my writing, understand me that I don't have any community at all.
Sorry.

Korea 'Ween

2010-11-02T22:46:00.000+09:00

My school had an all-day Halloween party.

Halloween

Mountain Hike

2010-10-28T23:50:00.000+09:00

I went mountain hiking with some coworkers. I'm a little sad I didn't do this sooner.

북한산

Unhyeongung

2010-10-21T23:43:00.000+09:00

운현궁

Jeju Falls

2010-10-17T19:45:00.000+09:00

Once upon a time, my parents came to Korea and we visited Jeju. Now that three months have passed, I thought I'd post some photos.

Jeju Falls

Math

2010-10-14T00:10:00.000+09:00

"Teacher, I have a queez!" Peter announced.

"You have a quiz or a question?" I asked.

"A queeez. What is one plus one plus one...hundred plus two hundred plus three hundred. Plus fifty-four."

So I wrote it all out on the board. It looked more impressive and masked the fact that my brain couldn't handle it otherwise. I wrote the answer, and my kids oohed and aahed.

"Everyone clap!" Peter directed between giggles. The class erupted in applause, and I bowed. Then, Peter "remembered" something.

"Oh... where is the rose?"

"Or where is a tomato?" one of my loving students suggested.

"You need a ring, Peter!" I think this brilliant idea came from Ann. She loves that Peter likes me. Those two spent too much time during the remainder of the day discussing how they'd get a ring for Peter to give me tomorrow.

Alarm Clock

2010-10-12T23:37:00.000+09:00

"Teacher, you wanna hear a news?" Justin asks.

"What's your news?" I reply.

He doesn't say another word, though. Instead, he springs from his chair, stands straight and stiff, and holds his pencil sideways in front of his chest. Then, he remains motionless except to move the hand that holds the pencil. It slowly "ticks" backward from 3:00 to 12:00.

"BZZZZ!!!"

Justin makes an impressively annoying alarm sound. Peter leaps from his chair and bops Justin on the head. The the noise stops, and Peter sits back down. Justin stands statue-like and pleased, waiting for me to react or tell him to sit down.

Beads

2010-09-30T00:26:00.000+09:00

Peter brought a wooden bead bracelet today. Sometimes he wore it on his wrist, sometimes he wore it like an anklet. It even briefly hung over his entire ear. But most often, he just played with it. At some point when he should have been in his chair, Peter appeared in front of my face.

"Teacher, go like this," he instructed and held out his index finger. I hesitated and then complied. When I did, he slipped his bracelet onto my finger.

"Dum dum duh-dum..."

After singing the beginning of The Wedding March, he announced to the class, "Teacher is my bride!"

Trivia

2010-09-27T23:48:00.000+09:00

I woke up to the sound of a street vendor broadcasting his sales over a loudspeaker. I've heard many a foreigner discuss this sort of wakeup call, but it was a new experience for me.

A couple hours after the wakeup call, someone outside was blaring Pomp and Circumstance. That's not a September song.

The trees between my home and the subway station are tall and skinny. You wouldn't guess they could hold much more than the leaves attached to their branches. Perhaps that explains the baby birds that dropped to the road a couple feet in front of me. They were bright green and beautiful. I'll spare you the details of their demise.

The man working at the SK store wore a shirt with a picture of a hot dog and the words "Spicy Dairy Queen."

I love clouds more than I love coffee. I've been in Korea nearly ten months, and the sky's been gray and characterless the majority of those days. Ever since the Chuseok flooding, however, it's been stellar. So much blue and so many photo-worthy clouds. I love what rainy season does to the sky.

Subway Rain

2010-09-22T23:20:00.000+09:00

Chuseok Flood

Shake

2010-09-19T00:03:00.000+09:00

On my way from the subway station to my apartment, I picked up a cookies 'n cream ice cream bar. I'd never done that before. Now that I know they cost 500₩ ($0.43 USD), it won't be so easy to bypass them.

I was greeted by an elderly stranger when I exited the convenience store.

"Oh good! Hi!" he waved.

"Hello," I smiled and waved back. And then he turned an addressed the preschool-aged boy beside him.

"악수. 악수!" he instructed, pushing him toward me. The little boy looked up at me, jaw open, and stuck out his hand for me to shake. I don't imagine he was overly impressed with me, but his grandfather was pretty proud of him, and I walked home with a big, cheesy grin.

Also, the cookies 'n cream bar was pretty fabulous.

Eleven Twelfths

2010-09-17T00:02:00.000+09:00

I tried taking some photos of my kids. I think they planned it so that they each looked decent (or scary) in different shots. So you get the whole sequence.

Multiple Personalities

2010-09-15T00:44:00.000+09:00

My kindergarten students have inside shoes and outside shoes. Every Monday, they bring their inside shoes in a plastic bag. This week, Justin held onto his bag and made good use of it throughout the day.

I walked into first class, and Justin rocketed out of his chair.

"Teacher, this is-a my cow!" he announced as he opened his bag and held it to Andy's chest. He then proceeded to make glup glup glup sounds as if he were milking Andy.

When I returned for science class, Justin's bag was on his head.

"I'm a bakery!" When I asked what he makes in his bakery, he replied, "I make a meeeean bread!"

I thought the bakery hat was safely packed away, but I few minutes later, I looked up to see Justin holding it out an inch or two in front of his face. The entire class could hear his exaggerated breathing sounds. I started to freak out on him, but he just looked at me calmly.

"I'm an astronaut."

Once more, the bag made an appearance. He wore it like a hat again, but this time the sides were pushed in so that he had a baggie mohawk.

"Look at my hair," he said. "I'm a porcupine."

Brothers

2010-09-11T10:52:00.000+09:00

Me: What people are in your family?

Robin: Older brother, older brother...

Me: How many brothers do you have?

Robin: Two. No... four.

Me: What are their names?

Robin: (pause) No names.

Me: No names or no English names?

Robin: No English.

Me: Ok, what are their Korean names? Older brothers first.

He tells me a name, and I put up one finger. Then he says some more Korean, so I put up a second finger. He pushes it back to my palm.

Me: Who else?

Robin rattles off some more syllables, and I put up a second finger again.

Me: And who else?

More Korean. But again, when I try to put up a third finger, he pushes it down.

Me: So...hmm. Two older brothers?

Robin: Yes.

Me: And you have younger brothers. Who are they?

Robin: Younger brother, baby brother...

Me: How many younger brothers?

Robin: Two.

Me: So, two older brothers and two younger brothers? How many brothers all together?

Robin: Many.

Me: How many?

Robin: I have seven brothers.

Me: ...seven ...?

Robin: (laughs) Yes. Very many.

The Pig

2010-08-31T18:00:00.000+09:00

There was a pig but he has a tail as straight as a nail.
He was sad.
He eat noodles a oodles and prizle.
Now he get a tail with curly like the real pig.

-by Lewis

Lady Liberty

2010-08-26T00:42:00.000+09:00

Kindergarten Phonics

Question 1: Where is the Statue of Liberty?
Answer:
Peter - United Skates!

Question 2: Why does Lady Liberty hold the torch of freedom above her heard?
Answers:
JunSeo - because it wants to be handsome
Henry - to make the thief (pronounced "teef") afraid
Annabelle - because she is gift from France
Kelly - so at night the people can see
Andy - because he wanna eat the ice cream
Jaden - she want to be the beautiful monster
Peter (hand raised like Lady Liberty) - it is free!!

RGM

2010-08-23T23:49:00.000+09:00

They call me RGM. They are my smallest and, somehow, my loudest class.

Jun gave up on participating in class conversation long ago. We move too slowly, and he hates having homework. I can't say I blame him. Then again, something would be wrong if these boys actually got excited about English grammar class.

Ethan is incapable of remaining completely silent for longer than 6.5 seconds. Most often, he's speaking to anyone who will listen -- or to the air, if necessary. He speaks more Korean in class than my other 81 students combined. He spends most minutes trying to make the other boys laugh. At the moment, he's singing the Korean soccer song to himself. I prefer the singing, partly because his soft voice puts a funny twist on his tough-jerk persona.

Henry spaces out more than me. I invited him back to Earth once, and the other boys won't let it die. Today, his classmates have failed to inform him about the chunk of tape in his hair. I don't mention it either. When Henry isn't lost in his brain, he's a close second to Ethan in the noise department. I'd let him stay lost if it weren't for that small detail that we have 15 pages of grammar still to cover.

Bryan can be just as loud and funny, but he seems to have boundaries. Whether or not he's actually funnier, I can't say. But since he's not constantly babbling, the things he does say are more amusing to me.

At some point in this lost-cause class, I ask if they understand the words coming out of my mouth or if they've all shut off their brains. Jun keeps writing, and Ethan continues to serenade himself. Henry doesn't come close to leaving his stupor. Amazingly, Brian cracks a smile.

"Off," he laughs.

People Watching

2010-08-08T23:59:00.000+09:00

Not young enough - or old enough -
for crawling on all fours
Pausing to puff his cigarette
which keep falling to the floor

Far too hot for sleeves
yet he wore a sweater
Tattered pants, dirty shoes,
hands and feet no better

Never seen a slower crawl
finally staggered to our spot
Pathetic looks and pleas to no avail
others shunned and shooed him on

One fellow had a change of heart
pursued the forsaken man
Called Emergency as he collapsed
clasping ragged shoes in hand

A feeble attempt to depart
with Samaritan still standing guard
a heartless drunk took a rod
struck his head, knocked him forward

Maybe he lost all strength
maybe he tried to crawl
Plunged head first down the steps
and vanished before us all

Police showed first, then ambulance
violent citizen got off free
Resolution I will never know
memories will never leave me

Though I never hurt the beggar
like the beast who cracked his head
I fear that doing nothing
made me also guilty in the end

"Should I have" and "What if"
chase each other 'round my brain
Maybe nothing would have changed.
Maybe nothing would be the same.

Invisible

2010-08-06T00:31:00.000+09:00

This was the best writing class of the Kindergarten year. We didn't make it past the first page. I didn't even finish reading the directions before Justin blurted, "What is inbisible??"

So I explained, and then we spent half of the period thinking up and acting out the pranks we'd pull if we were invisible. Writing class can be the bane of Thursdays, but today would have been a good day for a video camera.

Assignment:

Would you like to be invisible? Write about what you would do if no one could see you.

Responses:

I want to be invisible because...

Kelly ...the person is moving but other people just see the clothes moving.

Jaden ...I want to play.

Peter ...I want to go to the gril bathroom.

Ellizabeth ...I don’t want to listen to my mom.

Andy ...I want to steal money.

Justin ...I want to throw dynomite to build a campfire.

Ann ...I could surprise people. When my mother yells I will do work and pencil will float.

Henry ...I will poke head.

JunSeo ...I can eat yummy cookie when Emily talks to Elizabeth teacher.

And there's Maro. She is hyper, creative, and hilarious, so I anticipated something clever and funny. Her reply surprised me, but I thought it still high-five worthy.

Maro ...I do not want to be invisible because I want to not bother any people.

Visitors and Stylists

2010-07-24T23:29:00.000+09:00

My parents are here!! I feel like a tourist now... 7 months late. It's kinda cool though; it's a different perspective of the city than usual. And it's quite nice to have family around to be touristy with you.

I took the subway home tonight and decided to get off at a different station. I NEVER get of there. But I figured, by the time I caught the transfer and walked home, I'd arrive about the same time. Plus, getting off at a different stop meant a change of scenery.

As I was passing a line-up of street food vendors, a lady tapped my shoulder. She pointed somewhere across the street and asked, "Hae-aw een lau-buh?" I quickly put on my puzzled face as I removed my headphones and replied, "What?"

"Hae-aw een lau-buh," she repeated.

Ahh. I nodded, thrilled and relieved that I understood. My last haircut was at the salon across the street. It's got a stellar Konglish name. (Look back at what the lady said to me and read it quickly. Out loud. I'm serious. I hope someone hears you.)

The salon name? Hair in Love.

"You cut your hair?" the lady asked me.

"Yes! I did!" And then she gestured to one of her friends, who just so happened to be the guy who cut my hair.

"Hello," he said as we had an awkward half bow, half handshake moment. This is what happens when a Korean goes for the Western greeting and the Westerner tries the Korean greeting. I hope it looks as entertaining as it feels.

His English is limited, and my Korean is nearly non-existent, so our conversation was brief. We at least established that they would see me again. (Sorry, Aveda. I can't remember where you are, and this place is so close to home.) And then our group of four said our goodbyes and parted in three directions.

I know I don't look Korean, but I forget sometimes how much I stand out. It makes me wonder how often I pass other people who recognize me. I have a feeling my stylist would have been to shy to say something if his friend hadn't done it. It's a good reminder that I should always be the same person (and to not have nasty hair when walking near that salon). You never know who is watching.

P.S. Did I mention my parents are in Seoul?!

Umbrella Samaritan

2010-07-19T21:43:00.000+09:00

Rainy season is here.

I took the subway to see Amy. She lives on the edge of civilization, so the number of occupants dwindled with each stop. As we approached Nowon, the man sitting across from me took his position in front of the door. I started to tell him he'd forgotten his umbrella, but realized I had no way to say such a thing. Fortunately, the elderly man to my left took up the cause.

It did no good. Despite the yelling, the younger man obliviously exited the train. The noise did, however, wake the woman on my right. She dashed out the door only to realize her umbrella was still hooked on the rail. While she ran back in for it, the old man threw the abandoned umbrella out on the platform, still yelling at its owner.

I can't say if the younger man finally heard the commotion or just switched his brain back on. But he jumped and made a mad dash for the nearest subway door. Fortunately, the sleepy woman got his attention before he could board again. She retrieved his umbrella and the two left, surprisingly intact. The old man who rescued the umbrella returned to his seat, clearly satisfied with his work. The remaining passengers slowly resumed their reading and sleeping, each with an amused smile spread across their face.

Ode to Hot Dog

2010-07-17T00:00:00.000+09:00

Assignment: Write a poem about a hot dog. Be as creative as possible.

Katie's poem:

Hot Dog

Hot dog that not dog.
It's yummy and bummy.
Squeeze ketchup or netchup.
Put inside sausage mausage.
Make bread mread.
I like hot dogs.
I love hot dogs.
But its not bood good for you!

Hotness

2010-07-14T22:01:00.000+09:00

Most days the AC is on at work, though you don't always feel the cool air. This was the case in my first Grade 4 class tonight. Not surprisingly, my cheeks were red.

"Teacher," Hanna felt the need to announce the obvious. "Your face is red."

"Yeah. Because I'm hot."

"Ohhhh yeah!" Kevin instantly hollered. And then he did a double-take. Hiding behind his grammar book didn't stop the mocking from the rest of the class.

Fairy Tale

2010-07-10T04:11:00.000+09:00

Grade 1 Assignment

Write a story to finish this line: "One day, Simone was walking alone in the forest when..."

Marisol's story
The Marisol princess was crying. So the Jase prince safe her. Jase prince win. Marisol princess was very happy. Jase prince and Marisol princess marry. So they lived happily ever after.

Marisol's been kissing one of the boys lately. I'll give you one guess which one it is....

World Cup Park

2010-07-06T23:03:00.000+09:00

Mini Olympics

World Cup

Henrethan

2010-06-29T20:29:00.001+09:00

My day ends with fourth grade. Today's class was all boys who all like to eat all the time. Each of them had their own regular-sized tube of Pringles this afternoon. Generally, I make them put the food away, but when one of them placed a generous stack of chips on my desk, I took the bribe. Furthermore, I taught them how to make a duck bill. This was all well and entertaining until Ethan decided to try drinking water through his duck bill. I don't think a single drop made it into his mouth. Instead, he gained a rather embarrassing wet spot on his shorts. So we laughed at Ethan and then sadly put our food away.

Perms and Pencils

2010-06-28T23:43:00.000+09:00

Ann wore her cardigan as a head covering today -- until I'd compliment her for it. Then she'd quickly remove it for 20 minutes or so.

Henry got a perm this weekend. It's nothing out of the ordinary for Korean mothers to get perms for their sons. It's also completely normal for those boys, including Henry, to absolutely hate their freshly permed hair.

Jaden had one answer for nearly everything I said to him today. It went something like "be-quiet-and-eat-your-food-and-do-your-work-and-don't-talk-and..." at some point he'd run out of commands and then do whatever it was I'd asked him to do.

JunSeo is nearly an angel as students go. But occasionally he pulls some weird stuff. I glanced back at his row and found him sitting casually and contentedly with a pencil in his right nostril.

Andy informed us today that he likes the color Peter.

I have a pencil case that looks like a shoe. Clever little Jason decided to try it on, and he didn't even bother removing the pencils or erasers first. It fit.

The Day of the Moustache

2010-06-23T22:49:00.000+09:00

"What is moustache?" JunSeo inquired during reading class.

I started toward the computer to do a Google search, but I saw the dry-erase markers first. Only four kids were brave enough to let me near them with a marker; the others just crowded around a shrieked a whole lot.

Moustache

More Mountain

2010-06-22T22:48:00.002+09:00

Another Seoraksan album...

Sorak

Monday

2010-06-21T22:48:00.000+09:00

For the entire kindergarten day, Henry wore one white and blue inside shoe and one orange "outside" croc. He wasn't missing a shoe or anything. He just felt like wearing unmatching shoes.

Upon returning from break, I discovered an addition to the list of student names on the white board. Maro added Big Toe (and autographed her work).

I asked Jaden to do something, and in response he stated, "You are monkey belly button."

Our vocabulary words included "husband" and "marry" (though somehow there was no "wife"...). One practice book question read something like "Cathy wears a pretty white dress when she marries John." We barely finished the reading it before one of the boys blurted "Uh! DIR-ty!"

The vocabulary list inspired Peter and JunSeo, who held an impromptu wedding ceremony for their pencils.

Mountain Top

2010-06-10T23:17:00.000+09:00

Seoraksan

Henny Penny

2010-06-09T22:36:00.005+09:00

Question:

Imagine the sky really was falling. What would you do?

Answers...
Justin: I will say “aaaaaahh!!” and I will climb the mountain.
Kelly: I will tell to my mom.
Peter: I will get an airplane and go to the space and I will live on another earth.
Ellizabeth: I don’t know.

Maro: I wanna go in my home. So I sleep and I cuddle with my Acorn (her beloved dog).

Jaden: I do the poopoo.

Ann: I will call everyone and say push the cloud up to the sky.

Henry: I will go to the America and the Canada and I will go to the everywhere and the somewhere. Then I will go to the Mars.

Annabelle: I would go home and eat the dinner with the sausage.
JunSeo: Tell another friends and push the sky to the up.

Andy: I run away and climb the tree and I go to the home and I am safe and I see the movie called Alvin and Chipmunks.

Graphite Chopsticks

2010-06-04T22:46:00.000+09:00

We ate lunch outside in front of the coffee shop that gets a decent chunk of my income. I had tuna bibimbap. Like most rice dishes, this one is supposed to be eaten with a spoon. I was too lazy, however, to pull out chopsticks AND a spoon. A few minutes into my lunch, one of the baristas came outside, stuck a small plastic spoon in my bowl, and returned to her work.

When I arrived in my first grade class, quiet Shiyoo proudly held out her shiny, gray fingertips for me to see. She used her break wisely to color them with her pencil. Jason did the same but clearly forgot about it. He didn't make it ten minutes before his cheeks and nose were varying shades of pencil gray.

Noksapyeong

2010-06-01T21:44:00.000+09:00

I never imagined I'd have a favorite subway station, but I do. I'm certainly not the only one who likes it. People even get married in there.

Noksapyeong

School Food

2010-06-01T20:51:00.001+09:00

Because of the no-food-in-class rule, I made Henry put away the remainder of his kimbap. In turn, he walked to the open window, pushed his face as close to the outside as possible, and yelled "My teacher is a green-eyed monster!"

We encountered the word "myriad" during vocab class, so I asked if anyone knew what the word meant. One student confidently replied, "it's punctuation."

Harry got distracted while taking out a pencil. While everyone else started on the worksheet, Harry held his pencils like chopsticks and used them to rearrange the contents of his pencil case.

Friendly

2010-05-28T00:22:00.000+09:00

We were cutting out and gluing some labels in Science. Instead of throwing away his leftover paper, one of my boys cut it into tiny pieces which he dumped in my pocket.

"Here's dynamite, Teacher!" he proudly announced before scurrying to the other end of the room.

Sokcho Beach

2010-05-27T00:16:00.002+09:00

Thanks to Buddha, we had a long weekend. A couple coworkers and I took a 3 1/2 hour bus trip to the East Sea. Should you ever decide to do the same thing, take note that the travel time can double on holidays. We spent nearly 7 hours on the bus.

Sokcho Beach

A River Runs Through It

2010-05-25T22:51:00.000+09:00

The Han River runs through Seoul and is one of the greatest things about this city.

Han River

Jelly

2010-05-21T01:58:00.000+09:00

Each morning, I write all my kids' names on the board. This is where we keep track of happy faces and other little things. On this particular day, writing 12 names took nearly 20 minutes.

Before I reached her row, Ann informed me that she was no longer Ann.

"My name is Annie." So I added 'Annie' to the list. Not surprisingly, more kids suddenly needed different names.

"Teachaaar!" Henry shouted. "I'm Hengry!!" He couldn't decide whether it meant he was hungry or angry, but he cracked himself up either way. Andy (the original name-shifter) chose to be Candy. Most recently, he'd been Qandy. Annabelle became Anne, and Ellizabeth decided to be Annabelle. Jini turned into Aini, and Justin became Iron Man.

Peter insisted on being Hakinman. Either it's something Korean or he didn't know how to spell Heineken Man. Maro decided on Karo, and Kelly chose Jelly. JunSeo and Jaden kept their real names and just enjoyed the show.

Next day: As I started to write names on the board, a chorus of loud six-year olds reminded me of the new names I was to write. I didn't get very far, though, before a wistful Kelly raised her hand.

"Teacher, I don't want to be Jelly anymore," she somberly stated. So I wrote 'Kelly' on the board and welcomed her to class. "It's nice to have you back!"

You can guess what happened after that; all but two students eagerly returned to their real names. Only Candy and Hakinman are still among us.

A4 Acid Rain

2010-05-18T22:04:00.000+09:00

Koreans are quick to pull out their umbrellas at the slightest hint of rain. I thought carrying an umbrella was more work than it was worth for this morning's semi-drizzle. When I arrived at work (wetter than expected), a coworker explained it to me. Seoul rain is acid rain. Particularly on a day like today, when the rain is just beginning, the drops are loaded with nasties that no smart Korean wants on their skin, hair, or clothes.

When I first moved here, one of my students asked me for an A4 paper. I had no idea what he was talking about. When I realized he just wanted a sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 paper, I felt a little stupid. It occurred to me the other day that "8 1/2 x 11" now sounds like a really long and dumb name for a thin, little piece of paper. It's the little things....

My apartment building charges an elevator fee, and so I feel obligated to use it as often as possible. I'm not paying a stair fee.

Why I Feel Like a Poser

2010-05-15T12:28:00.001+09:00

I walked out of work tonight with my bundle of gifts accumulated over the last two days. Today is Teachers' Day in Korea. A few presents trickled in during the week, but the bulk of them came in Friday.

My first Teachers' Day gift was Chanel lip gloss from Henry. If you know me, I hope you see the irony in that. A couple classes later, Jason presented me with a tin of cookies. Other gifts included flowers made of soap, a Hilfiger shirt, lotions, more Chanel and Mary Kay, spiffy pens, Tazo tea, more cookies, and a $100 gift certificate.

Some parents, instead of buying for one or two teachers, get something for everyone. One mother went to the coffee shop in our building and ordered iced coffees for all the Korean and foreign staff. That's a LOT of iced coffee. More bottled beverages, donuts, and rice cakes appeared on our desks, and our boss brought in pizza.

I only recently learned that the US has a Teachers' Day. I do believe those teachers get the short end of the stick. I don't remember there being nearly as much respect or appreciation (in general) for teachers. Step it up, USA!

Tattle-tale

2010-05-12T00:45:00.002+09:00

Tattling is increasingly annoying to me. In some of my classes, there are punishments for tattling. For most, I have to repeatedly define the word. The conversation goes something like this...

Student: Teacher! Jason say my name!
Me: Amy, did someone get hurt?
Student: Teacher but-
Me: Is someone going to get hurt?
Student: No...
Me: Is anything broken?
Student: *sigh*
Me: Then I don't want to hear about it.

I don't remember which girl tried to tattle this morning. I don't even remember why she was annoyed. What I remember is the boy in the front row. Before I could respond, he whipped his head around and let her have it.

"Is it broken?" he demanded. "Are you hurt??" And then he turned back to his work without even waiting for her reply.

Mixed Signals

2010-05-09T20:36:00.002+09:00

When I look out my apartment window, I see two taller buildings and a traffic light. I'm not entirely sure why the light is there. There's no intersection. There is a hill....

No one seems to heed the light anyway. I don't blame them. It used to flash, and it always flashed the same color. The last few days have been different and far cooler. The green, yellow, and red are all lit. All the time.

Sabado

2010-05-09T00:32:00.002+09:00

We rented bikes today and rode along the river. I am a big fan of the Han River. And rent-a-bikes.

When we stopped for coffee, I set my bag on the table. Well, apparently I only set part of the bag on the table. As I began to walk away, I heard it fall and turned back just in time to see my camera roll out and land by the window. I do believe Hillary and Susan were felt worse about it than I did.

With the freshly busted lens, I get some sweet shots like this (after a little tweaking).

As much as I love this one, I do believe a repair shop is in my near future. Regardless, it was a pretty fabulous day! Seoul gets even better as the weather warms up.

Subway Smiles

2010-05-06T00:42:00.000+09:00

In case you weren't aware, Seoul is a big city. It's a big city with all sorts of wonderful things. There are sweet buildings and public transportation options that, amazingly, manage to keep me from missing my truck. There are coffee shops galore and endless entertainment options. There's a beautiful river running through the city. There are stores and restaurants representing nations from all over the world. There are ridiculously smelly trees, countless and fabulous variations on rice, and great songs about odd things like "fantastic elastic."

And there are people. Swarms of people crowding into elevators with me and pushing past me to get on the subway. People sporting headphones who are transfixed by their fancy phones and portable TVs. People walking into me. People seeming to not notice me but also watching me when they think I don't see. People conversing all around me who might as well be speaking jibberish. Some days I'm acutely aware that I can be surrounded by people and yet be very, very alone.

I realize I am in a country with different "norms" and guidelines than what I knew on the other side of the world. Different things are respectful. Different people are to be shown respect. Different behaviors qualify as rude or disgusting. I know all of that, and most days I'm fine with all that. But occasionally the differences get to me. Occasionally, I wish I weren't the one who sticks out in a crowd. I wish someone would smile at me instead of stare at me.

Today, someone did smile. I was leaving the subway station and noticed her watching me. When she caught my eye, she grinned and waved and called out "hello!" in Korean. I wish she knew what a big deal that was. In about three seconds, she erased a couple days worth of pent-up frustration. And then that made it easier to remember that I'm not in America and shouldn't expect people to act like Americans. Seoul is a much better place when I remember that I'm the one who is different, not the millions of people who've always lived here.

Art

2010-04-27T23:17:00.003+09:00

While at the park, we pulled out the sketchbooks and did some drawing. Justin made a pretty sweet monster and brought it over for me to see.

"Nice! Does it have a name?" I asked.

"Yes."

He didn't say anything else, just returned to his seat and and grabbed a crayon.

"Teacher, look!" It wasn't long before Justin returned, proudly displaying his newly labeled masterpiece.

Speech

2010-04-25T22:53:00.002+09:00

Friday was field trip day.

At the park, Andy found a tree stump and stepped up and began his speech.

"Hello, my name is Andy. I am zero years old. Thank you the lunch..."

There was no lunch. He's just full of it.

Henry and Jaden were inspired and quickly removed Andy so they could deliver speeches.

Acorn

2010-04-21T20:42:00.000+09:00

My kids watched a little video this morning. When it ended, Maro noticed me Korea-style kneeling in the aisle by the back row. She walked over and, for a moment, held my face in her hands. Then she proceeded to pet my hair and repeat "Oh, good job! Good job, teacher!" I imagine this is precisely the way she sounds when she talks to Acorn, her dog.

Clothing Not Needed

2010-04-19T21:38:00.000+09:00

Every day, we spend the last few minutes of third block getting ready for lunch. We pulled out the lunch trays and chopsticks, lined up to wash our hands, and set out to the sinks. Except for Jini. She took her sweet time setting up her tray and cup. When she finally meandered toward the door, something seemed amiss. She nearly made it into the hall before I figured it out.

Half of this girl's clothing never left the back of the room. She kept her white shirt and white tights on, but her pink dress sat in a heap under her desk. If it weren't for the "I'm a sneaky genius" expression on her face, she probably would have gotten out of the room before I noticed. I do love the look of pride these kids have when they think up these things.

JaeYoung

2010-04-19T00:09:00.000+09:00

Holly and I set out to find Aveda today. It took a while, since the one for which we had directions didn't seem to exist anymore. But Holly knows everything and, a few subway stops later, we were at a different Aveda.

I know I'm in Korea. I know that. But my brain still has this notion that, at a place like Aveda, people will speak English. Not so, my friend. However, these non-English speakers were fabulous. They brought us tea, loaded us up with fashion books and hair color samples, and whisked away Holly's purse to be locked in a safe place. I think they thought I was just accompanying Holly. So while while they started with her, I got a free foot massage. Korea is full of wonderful free stuff.

Aveda has an online aide for Korean/English conversations. However, this didn't prove useful enough for Jae Young, the poor guy who was trying to figure out what in the world I wanted done with my hair. After an extended period of confusing questions and confusing answers and nervous laughter, he put back the laptop and disappeared into a back room. He returned armed with a big hairstyler's Korean/English phrase book. Judging by the reactions from the rest of the staff, most didn't know such a book existed. So he found the page he wanted a pointed to a line which read, "May I suggest a style for you?" I nodded enthusiastically, he let out a sigh of relief, half a dozen Koreans giggled, and soon we were off for a haircut.

Haircut conversation highlight:

Jae Young: "Where you from?"

Me: "America"

Jae Young: "USA?"

Me: "Yes" (and then I kick myself for not using one of the few Korean words I know)

Jae Young: "I'm from Korea." He made me laugh and he cracked himself up. Fortunately, no scissors were near my head.

By the time we finished, I almost felt like a celebrity. I think three people worked on my head. While not washing or drying my hair, one of them browsed the Korean/English book and tried out phrases. I never did figure out the part where she asked if I saw "Twilight" and "Avatar." She told me something about vampires and then said confidently, "I am the same." So ... maybe I met a vampire tonight.

While we paid (only $16 for me!), a bunch of the staff gathered by the door. As we turned to leave, they all bowed and said "gamsahamnida!" I think I even heard "thank you" in English. I didn't see them do that for any Korean customers. Have I mentioned I love Korea? I especially love the people who go way out of their way to communicate with this foreigner who can't speak their language. We're going to learn an amazing amount of Korean before we go back in 5 or 6 weeks.

Little Things

2010-04-16T00:15:00.000+09:00

We learned about shadows this morning. It wasn't on the agenda, but it's my favorite thing we've done in science. I was trying to explain tree shade. Calling it the tree's shadow means zilch if your kids don't know what a shadow is. So I walked down the aisle and pointed out my moving shadow. They were in awe. Pretty soon I had kids nearly falling out of chairs and crawling under desks looking for more shadows.

"Look! Ann has shadow!"

"Kelly's foot has a shadow!"

Maro was clever enough to try pulling out the emergency flashlight...though I'm not sure if she planned to search for or make shadows. Either way, I loved watching the light bulbs go on all over the room. I never envisioned myself in a teaching position, but moments like this make me understand why others do this for a lifetime.

Annabelle

2010-04-10T00:04:00.000+09:00

Early on this morning, Justin earned a frown face in place of a happy face. Not long after, Annabelle insisted that I give her one happy face to Justin. Like...seriously insisted on it. So I did. You should have seen her smile. In return, she received a sticker (worth three smileys!). Before the class could fully flip out, I made a big deal about what a thoughtful, nice thing Annabelle had done. I felt a need to make a disclaimer that I would NOT be handing out stickers to everyone who offered to give away a happy face. (I once gave a happy face to a student who helped another kid, and daily students inform me that I need to give them happy faces for helping people.)

What's In a Name

2010-04-08T23:54:00.000+09:00

English names are fluid here. Today Annabelle informed me that she wants me to spell her name now without the last 'e'. Andy regularly alters his name... Jandy, Pandy, Mandy (until I told him I know a girl with that name). And, just for today, Justin decided to be Bustin. It's the best when said with a Korean accent.

It's not only the kindergarten kids. Jenny is also Jinny, and Alice is the same person as Sarah. My friend Dawna said that, a day after she started teaching, a girl at that school changed her name to Dawna. I think I'm going to start dropping letters out of my name, too. Or swapping them. Tomorrow you may call me Zabeth.

Yellow

2010-04-07T23:20:00.000+09:00

I teach a lot of cute kids. A lot. JunSeo is a quiet cutie. He's the perfect kid who stays in his chair and raises his hand and only speaks when you call on him. Except for the times I turn around to see him perched on top of a desk peering over my podium at my monitor. Or the times I can't see him because he's disappeared under his desk. Or the times he's lost in his own world playing with toys he pulled out of someone else's cubby. But he's so stinking quiet and well-behaved most of the time. I have a hard time imagining ever being mad at JunSeo.

JunSeo has super cute, narrow eyes. Every time he talks, he squints and his eyes disappear. And then I get distracted wondering how in the world he can see anything at all. He also doesn't walk. I wish I could do a demo, but it's more like a combination of walking, skipping, and leaping. Even if he starts out with a walk, he always ends with an funky jump. I don't think he's ever landed simultaneously on both feet. I've concluded it's because he's just that happy. Maybe he doesn't vocalize it, but it still finds a way out.

Jandy

2010-04-06T23:50:00.000+09:00

Andy looks fairly serious...and possibly a little sad. Do not be fooled. I'm learning to recognize the look that means he's plotting a ridiculous answer to one of my questions. I get these far more than I get real answers. Today, while discussing families, Andy thought he'd be funny and name his beetle among his family members. I thought he said Big Toe. I think he liked that even better than beetle.

I learned from my co-teacher that Andy has a hard time understanding me. I talk too fast. All you people who think I'm slow, take note. There IS something I do too quickly. So I'm trying to remember to slow down, though that's a hard thing to remember in my old age.

We started talking about verbs, and everyone was supposed to make a list of things they like to do. Andy wouldn't write anything, and the only "activities" he'd tell me he likes were things like "eat the JunSeo's pencil." Five minutes later, he finally wrote something. He wrote that he likes to "play with Elizabeth Teacher."

My Little Helper

2010-04-06T22:14:00.000+09:00

While making the rounds to grade worksheets, I left my blank copy of the worksheet at the front of the room. When I came back, it was no longer blank. Henry wrote my name at the top, circled all the right answers, and wrote a lovely sentence at the bottom. The boy has skills. I don't even remember seeing him up and about...let alone standing at the front completing the teacher's worksheet.

Girls

2010-04-05T21:41:00.000+09:00

Annabelle has one of the best laughs in the world. If she laughs in your presence and it doesn't make you smile, something is wrong with you. She was in quite the mood this morning. When I asked her about today's weather, she told me it was "cloudy windy sunny, cold cold cold!"

Making Kelly laugh always brightens my day. Generally, she is pretty quiet (but good luck stopping her in a bicker match). She's also rather perceptive. I make my share of little mistakes, and I try to hurry past them before anyone catches me. Sometimes, even when no one else notices, I know Kelly did. I know it because I hear her giggle. She doesn't say anything though. She just laughs at me, I smile the you-caught-me smile, and then life moves on.

Tomato

2010-03-31T23:41:00.000+09:00

Kindergarten Phonics dealt with phonographs today. I want to know how many adults even know what a phonograph is. For one question, we were supposed to find words containing "ell". Elizabeth, my quietest girl, raised her hand rather quickly. Her word? Hell. Judging by the smile on her face afterward, I'd say she was pretty pleased with herself for that answer.

My fourth graders wanted to open a window because they were all hot. I protested because I was cold. Hanna and Kevin pulled out their coats, draped them over my shoulders, pulled the hoods over my head, and even buttoned them around my neck so as to keep them from falling off. No one ever got around to opening a window. At least then we all roasted together.

One of the mothers bought smoothies for all the teachers today. Just for the record, that's a lot of smoothie. I happened to get a tomato smoothie. It was more bizarre than last week's "fruit salad" (tangerines, sunflower seeds, grape tomatoes, and corn flakes covered in white gooey-ness). There are a lot of foods on my hate list that I'd rather eat before touching another tomato smoothie.

If He Hollers...

2010-03-30T20:27:00.000+09:00

Jaden couldn't decide where on his sticker board to put his sticker, so he played eeny-meeny-miny-mo. It seems the winning spot was not, in fact, a good spot. So he tried again. This time he eeny-meenied all out of order - and only to select spots. And he definitely paused and planned his move before pointing his finger the final time. I'm not sure he grasps the concept of the game yet. I'm just happy he made a decision in under 90 seconds.

The Good, the Bad, the Stellar

2010-03-28T23:49:00.005+09:00

The Good
- Sleeping later than 8am
- Church
- Lunch in Buddha's Belly
- Three variations of rice in one day
- Post-lunch vanilla frappe
- Pre-dinner caramel macchiato

The Bad
- No unni visit today
- Complainer Quota exceeded
- Watching drunk man collapse after being kicked out of restaurant

The Stellar
- Coconut beef curry
- Coat-free temperatures
- Clear blue sky
- Exploring downtown with Bethel
- Dinner with Amy
- Mouse (rat?) scurrying through floor-seating restaurant
- Being given a rose
- Hearing two people say "shimmy" in one day

Sun

2010-03-28T00:04:00.000+09:00

Some kids seem to think their intelligence exempts them from homework. Ryan informed me, when he started first grade, that he didn't have to do the homework because it was "too easy."

Sunwoo is a fourth-grader with a steady supply of words and jokes and random trivia. While he didn't tell me he was too smart for homework, I pegged him as having that mentality. He did, however, complete the three journals that I assigned for writing class. And he didn't just write them, either. He wrapped the three pages individually in green X-Files paper, and he wouldn't let anyone near them except me.

"These are for the queen!" he announced as he proudly presented them. "Do not let anyone else see!"

Princess

2010-03-26T20:12:00.000+09:00

Today in first grade science, we drew pictures of ourselves. Then we labeled body parts and discussed how they help us. In the middle of this discussion, Robin pointed at me and announced, "you are a princess." Not certain how that pertained to body parts, I asked how he figured. Hyun-Joon looked at Robin with this odd smile on his face and explained, "you are pretty girl." And since, apparently, I left my crown at home today, Yeji rolled up her paper to make one for me.

I still don't know what any of that had to do with body parts. But if you ever want to feel better about yourself, feel free to come visit me in second-hour first grade!

When I Grow Up

2010-03-25T20:15:00.000+09:00

My kindergarteners drew pictures today and wrote about what they want to be when they grow up.

Annabelle, Henry and Kelly want to be doctors. Annabelle is going to help "pepple" and Henry is going to make people "batter."
Ellizabeth plans to be a ballerina. (No, I didn't typo. She really spells it that way.)
Justin is going to be a thunder fighter. If anyone could pull that off, he'd be the one.
Jini wants to be a princess.
Andy wants to be a shooter. I was a little nervous about that one at first, but he's a hardcore good guy. He just really wants to fight the bad guys.
Maro is going to be a singer, and Ann wants to be Snow White.
Peter will be a gamer.
JunSeo wants to be a baseball player.

My favorite is Jaden. When he grows up, he wants to be a dad.

Happy Face

2010-03-22T23:20:00.000+09:00

Every morning, I write my kinder kids' names on the board. They earn smiley faces for good behavior, following directions, or whatever I feel like giving smiley faces for. For every three smileys, they earn a sticker. The threat of losing a smiley face holds incredible sway over these kids.

We discussed feelings in speaking class. This is a dangerous topic to address with a dozen exhausted kindergarteners. Nevertheless, we talked about things that make them happy or sad or excited. When we got to angry, I received an education in how these kids treat each other when teachers aren't watching. I also learned that Peter accidentally broke Justin's toy gun hours earlier, and Justin still was not over it.

A few minutes after this conversation, Peter raised his hand.

"Teacher, take my happy face please and give to Justin." Peter is my tallest kinder kid, and he's high on the list of energetic and loud students. I forget sometimes that he's also my most sensitive child.

"Do you want me to give your happy face to Justin because you broke his toy?" I asked him. He nodded slowly, staring broken-heartedly at his desk.

"Take all my happy faces," he continued. I felt ridiculous trying not to tear up in front of my class. Instead we talked about phrases like "I'm sorry" and "I forgive you," though I don't think either boy was convinced that any words were an adequate resolution to this grave problem. I couldn't bring myself to give away Peter's happy faces. He should have gotten extras.

Time

2010-03-20T20:37:00.000+09:00

There are days in Korea when I wake up with one person heavily on my mind. The particular individual varies, but it's always someone from the states. I do whatever it is I need to do throughout the morning, but my mind is far from Korea. Today was Jelani's day.

It's been 11 months and a couple days. He never got to meet his baby boy. His little girl changed so much even before I moved to Seoul. It's been nearly a year, and somehow still no one seems to know what happened.

It's weird to think or say any of this, because in a way, that feels like a different lifetime. Even so, it's a lifetime that occupies much of my thoughts.

Seal

2010-03-18T21:51:00.000+09:00

I went down to the kimbap shop for lunch. For a little while, I had the place to myself. I picked a spot along the wall and tried to interpret more of the massive wall menu while I waited for my food.

For a few minutes today, I didn't feel half a world away from Minnesota. Sure, I was eating ramen and kimchi with chopsticks, but public radio was playing. After that was "Kiss From a Rose." When you're sitting with your back to the world, listening to Seal and National Public Radio, it's harder to remember that you're sitting in Asia.

And then I stood up to leave and discovered the restaurant was now full of blue-jacketed Korean men. I waited for the shop worker to finish rolling a kimbap, paid my 4,000 won, and mumbled "gam-sa-ham-ni-da" on my way out the door. Yep. I'm still in Korea.

(And I love it.)

Eggs

2010-03-17T22:03:00.000+09:00

Mid-lecture, one of my fourth graders asked me, "Teacher, can you do eggs?"
My expression effectively conveyed my lostness, and so she demonstrated.

Step One: Smile as big as you possibly can.
Step Two: With your forefingers and thumbs, "pinch" as much of your cheeks as possible.
Step Three: Compare among your friends. The winner is the one with the biggest cheek "eggs."

Finished

2010-03-15T00:14:00.000+09:00

At the bottom of his science homework, Robin wrote The End and drew a box around it. And just in case I might still be unsure, he followed that up with the words "means it is over."

Spider Pig

2010-03-14T20:23:00.000+09:00

We've been discussing animals in kindergarten science. We're into really difficult things ... which animals walk or crawl or swim and what body parts they use for those movements. Like I said, very complex stuff.

I was flipping through photos of various animals and insects, and the kids were answering questions about them. When we got to the tarantula (or the "tarantura" as my kids say), I got a few anticipated screams from the girls. Peter looked at me completely straight-faced and began singing "Spider pig, spider pig does whatever a spider pig does...."

I haven't seen the Simpsons in years, so Spider Pig was new to me. Even if I had known, Peter's rendition still would have been stellar. What's not to love about a 7-year old's monotone, Korean-accented, and rather serious take on "Spider Pig"? He made it through the entire song without cracking a smile. I was dying.

Maro

2010-03-09T22:06:00.000+09:00

There was a rash of kinder students walking around on the sides of their feet today. My student started it. She hobbled over to me yesterday and said in her raspy voice, "Teacher, I am broken leg." And how did I know that her left leg was her "broken" leg? Well, she wore a normal shoe on her right foot and her inside slipper on her left foot. She also worked up a decent limp by walking on the side of her left foot.

Yesterday, Maro had one broken leg. Today, she grabbed my arm with both hands, quit standing so I was suddenly holding her weight, and informed me, "Teacher I am TWO broken legs!" She stuck with one normal shoe and one inside shoe, but now she walked on the outsides of both feet.

On the way to bathroom break, I noticed Annabelle trying out the new walking technique. I spotted a couple others and, by lunchtime, some teachers were puzzling over why kindergarteners were walking on the sides of their feet. Way to inspire, Maro.