Hope that title isn't too graphic for you, but it aptly describes my current state of being. I've contracted a vicious cold, but I think I'm on the road to recovery. Several cute scenarios have presented themselves as a result of my sickness, though, so in the name of cute English interactions with Koreans, this cold has been solid gold.
This morning, the head teacher of the Research and Development Department asked how my cold was doing. I told her I was feeling better, but wasn't 100% yet. The Vice Principal asked her what we were talking about and then said, "Noelle Teacher. How your cold coming?" We've had several interactions lately. He's so cute! After lunch, and after blowing my nose almost continuously for my entire free period prior to lunch, he said, "Noelle Teacher. Cold better?" So concerned. Love it. MiYoung Teacher also just came to my desk to check on me. She's so sweet.
Chan Yang asked me how I was doing during Morning English and I answered that I was sick. On the way to lunch, four students said, "I'm sorry to hear you are sick Noelle Teacher. Have a nice lunchEE!" One had a very concerned look on her face and gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. After lunch, I was talking to some girls and they said, "Teacher. You have cold." I said, "Yes, but I'm getting better." One girl then shouted the Korean go-to encouragement for every situation: "FIGHTING!" with a fist pump.
On a separate and completely unrelated note, yesterday I was shocked. I was wearing a pretty conservative sweetheart neckline dress that didn't (in my American opinion) show much (if any) chest. It was certainly more modest than other things I have worn to school... All day I got compliments on the dress. Even the Vice Principal told me he liked it (Oh Noelle TeachA. Dress. Good.) As I was leaving school, a group of second graders came up to me. One girl put her hand ON my chest and, shaking her head, said, "Oh Teacher. Too much." Yikes. I'm usually pretty conscious of wearing modest clothes, but I guess not conscious enough... Today I wore a crew neck shirt and a scarf, just to be sure...
5.31.2011
5.29.2011
Sports Day
Oh Sports Day. What a glorious, delightful day, in so many ways.
First, everybody wears some sort of sporty attire. The students all dress up in crazy class costumes be they matching t-shirts, crazy hats of some sort, long skirts, etc. Each homeroom goes online and orders some sort of team uniform - there seemed to be lots of Hawaiian this year - Hawaiian shirts, boards shorts., etc. There are also, inevitably, Super Soaker water guns involved in every team's uniform. Awesome.
The teachers also dressed in their casual sports attire, which usually involved a matching pants and jacket getup. Everyone though, wore their typical school attire (the girls wore their uniforms and most of the teachers wore their suits, etc.) to school and changed into their sports gear after they got to school. This is something I didn't understand... I, too, donned my sports attire for the day - blue mesh shorts, a t-shirt and some sneakers. When I walked into the teachers' office Friday morning, Vice Principal Choi gave me a surprised up and down look and said, "Noelle Teacher. Good!"
The morning consisted of four events - six legged race, dodgeball, jumping rope and tug o' war. In the afternoon, there was a 4x4 relay and awards. So, the day was spent watching these events, cheering and taking pictures with what seemed like every single student in our school. Too bad my camera batteries died early on, but I did manage to get some good stuff before that unfortunate situation occurred...
Dionne and I decided that Sports Day is a good thing - for everyone. Everyone at our school (and in all of Korea, really) works so so hard ALL THE TIME, so this day of nothing but fun and foolishness was much needed by everyone. Even though our students' and teachers' vibrant personalities show through in the classroom or office, respectively, it is extra fun to see them be able to let completely loose and have a good, stress-free time. I. LOVED. IT.
Here's a short video with some Sports Day highlights...
First, everybody wears some sort of sporty attire. The students all dress up in crazy class costumes be they matching t-shirts, crazy hats of some sort, long skirts, etc. Each homeroom goes online and orders some sort of team uniform - there seemed to be lots of Hawaiian this year - Hawaiian shirts, boards shorts., etc. There are also, inevitably, Super Soaker water guns involved in every team's uniform. Awesome.
 |
| A ninja shot of some middle school students - best team outfits of the day, I think. |
 |
| Dionne, MiYoung and me. MiYoung is one of our coteachers and possibly one of the most adorable 45 year old women I know. The back of her shirt read MiYoung Princess |
 |
| SoYoung insisted I come down to her level for this picture - she is delightful. |
 |
| Some Six-Legged-Race Action... |
Here's a short video with some Sports Day highlights...
5.26.2011
Update Update Update
Last night, Desiree (the new teacher at the middle school) and I ate at a new dok boki restaurant that just opened on our street. In short, It. Was. Awesome. We had extra extra taste-the-extra-hot-pepper dok boki, hot hot hot kimbap with melted cheese in the middle (how could THAT be good?) and tempura dumplings and fishcake. On top of the tasty food, the people who run the restaurant were so so sweet. Desiree and I decided it was our new hangout place... To top off the delightful dinner we had, every 10 or so minutes, a student of mine, walking home from school, would see us sitting in the restaurant, stop and stare in the window and once I noticed them, double hand wave like a crazy person. I love my students.
As I was leaving school yesterday, I noticed about 10 or 15 students jumping rope elementary school style (one HUGE rope, several girls jumping at the same time - I wish I remembered the songs we used to sing during rainy day recess in the gym...) in the vast limestone sports field across from our school. One girl ran across the street to tell me goodbye and I decided to join their jump rope party. Boy, did that score some brownie points! We jumped and jumped and jumped and pretty soon Dionne joined us as well as Chan Yang for a few minutes. Yesterday afternoon was probably one of my favorite non-classroom interaction times so far. They were all amazed that we could jump rope like them... To be honest, I was a little amazed I could still do it too! :)
Today is the Dongsung Educational Foundation's 36th Founding Year Anniversary Celebration Student Choral Competition (what a name!). For the entire morning, each homeroom from the first and second grades will sing one Korean song and one English song with their homeroom teacher. Hyunjoo is the main judge and Dionne and I are the congeniality judges. (Hyunjoo told us that some of the classes are not as musically talented as others but they worked so so hard, so we are supposed to pick the class with the best energy and unity... so cute!) The classes have been practicing for weeks and they even cancelled several of our classes this week for dress rehearsals!
Tomorrow is Sports Day. All of the (literally) 1000s of students from our three schools and all of the teachers will descend on the limestone field to participate in yard games like jumping rope, three legged races, tug o' war, etc. all day tomorrow. I've been told team costumes are involved. I am SO EXCITED for this! Hopefully I'll be able to properly document the day - I've kind of fallen off the wagon as far as pictures go... That changes... tomorrow :)
As I was leaving school yesterday, I noticed about 10 or 15 students jumping rope elementary school style (one HUGE rope, several girls jumping at the same time - I wish I remembered the songs we used to sing during rainy day recess in the gym...) in the vast limestone sports field across from our school. One girl ran across the street to tell me goodbye and I decided to join their jump rope party. Boy, did that score some brownie points! We jumped and jumped and jumped and pretty soon Dionne joined us as well as Chan Yang for a few minutes. Yesterday afternoon was probably one of my favorite non-classroom interaction times so far. They were all amazed that we could jump rope like them... To be honest, I was a little amazed I could still do it too! :)
Today is the Dongsung Educational Foundation's 36th Founding Year Anniversary Celebration Student Choral Competition (what a name!). For the entire morning, each homeroom from the first and second grades will sing one Korean song and one English song with their homeroom teacher. Hyunjoo is the main judge and Dionne and I are the congeniality judges. (Hyunjoo told us that some of the classes are not as musically talented as others but they worked so so hard, so we are supposed to pick the class with the best energy and unity... so cute!) The classes have been practicing for weeks and they even cancelled several of our classes this week for dress rehearsals!
Tomorrow is Sports Day. All of the (literally) 1000s of students from our three schools and all of the teachers will descend on the limestone field to participate in yard games like jumping rope, three legged races, tug o' war, etc. all day tomorrow. I've been told team costumes are involved. I am SO EXCITED for this! Hopefully I'll be able to properly document the day - I've kind of fallen off the wagon as far as pictures go... That changes... tomorrow :)
5.24.2011
Open Windows
The weather has been absolutely beautiful these last couple of weeks. So, at night, while I watch t.v. (The Wire = amazing television, I'm still disappointed that My So-Called Life aired only one season and I just can't quite make myself enjoy Breaking Bad...but I'm still working on it), I've had my bedroom window open. This sounds pretty dingy (just like the other day when brushing our teeth after lunch, I exclaimed to Dionne, "Gawd. Brushing my teeth is just so... refreshing!" - pretty profound stuff I'm thinking over here :) ), but having my window open is giving me a whole new impression of my neighborhood. From the usual neighborhood raucous of dogs barking, horns honking and little kids chattering to the more... shall I say, unique sounds that come from my building (more on that later), I'm almost rediscovering, after nine months, what it's really like to live here.
If you'll recall from one of my first posts, I live directly above a martial arts studio, which is also above a music academy. Both business are also avid believers in fresh air, it turns out, because I can hear, quite plainly, what is going on below me. Some persistent young pianist keep pounding away; sometimes I hear Chopsticks, but mostly the little tyke is perfecting the finale arrangement of Ode to Joy from Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. I can't say I mind these musical stylings... in fact, I rather enjoy them :)
A few weeks ago, there was some sort of big concert going on in the park on the other side of the river from my neighborhood. At the show's finale, they shot off fireworks. I stood with my head contorted so as to see the fireworks from my open window. I wasn't the only one of my neighbors to have this idea. As the fireworks were being shot off, several other spectators in close proximity to me verbally expressed their awe of the colorful bursts in the sky. There's nothing quite like listening to a Korean be impressed with something. I don't know how to describe it other than to say I love it.
I've also started opening the windows in my classroom. Yesterday, I was trying to review for their final exam with a group of particularly restless second graders. One girl kept craning her neck to look out the window, while raucously waving to someone - probably a boy at the nearby Gwangju Boy's High School. After telling the girl that she could wave to her boyfriend after school (this didn't faze her...), I was forced to cast a dark shadow over the front right corner of the classroom when I closed the shade. Sad day. Not to worry, though. Homegirl stopped waving to her pseudo-whatever-he-was, and instead, embarked on an epic dry-erase marker fight with her table. Once I shut that down, she complained to me about the long black streak on her face. Poor girl - can't wave to her boyfriend and she leaves class with a (literal) black mark. Never a dull day here folks. I have to admit that no matter how crazy my students act, I still find them charming and delightful, even if I leave some classes utterly exhausted. Korea (and more specifically Kyunghwa EB) is making me really appreciate sunlight, open windows and my students' raw energy. Bring on the raucous. I. Love. It.
In other news, two (short!) months from yesterday, and I will be home. Home sweet home. For almost four whole weeks. I'm so jazzed :)
If you'll recall from one of my first posts, I live directly above a martial arts studio, which is also above a music academy. Both business are also avid believers in fresh air, it turns out, because I can hear, quite plainly, what is going on below me. Some persistent young pianist keep pounding away; sometimes I hear Chopsticks, but mostly the little tyke is perfecting the finale arrangement of Ode to Joy from Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. I can't say I mind these musical stylings... in fact, I rather enjoy them :)
A few weeks ago, there was some sort of big concert going on in the park on the other side of the river from my neighborhood. At the show's finale, they shot off fireworks. I stood with my head contorted so as to see the fireworks from my open window. I wasn't the only one of my neighbors to have this idea. As the fireworks were being shot off, several other spectators in close proximity to me verbally expressed their awe of the colorful bursts in the sky. There's nothing quite like listening to a Korean be impressed with something. I don't know how to describe it other than to say I love it.
I've also started opening the windows in my classroom. Yesterday, I was trying to review for their final exam with a group of particularly restless second graders. One girl kept craning her neck to look out the window, while raucously waving to someone - probably a boy at the nearby Gwangju Boy's High School. After telling the girl that she could wave to her boyfriend after school (this didn't faze her...), I was forced to cast a dark shadow over the front right corner of the classroom when I closed the shade. Sad day. Not to worry, though. Homegirl stopped waving to her pseudo-whatever-he-was, and instead, embarked on an epic dry-erase marker fight with her table. Once I shut that down, she complained to me about the long black streak on her face. Poor girl - can't wave to her boyfriend and she leaves class with a (literal) black mark. Never a dull day here folks. I have to admit that no matter how crazy my students act, I still find them charming and delightful, even if I leave some classes utterly exhausted. Korea (and more specifically Kyunghwa EB) is making me really appreciate sunlight, open windows and my students' raw energy. Bring on the raucous. I. Love. It.
In other news, two (short!) months from yesterday, and I will be home. Home sweet home. For almost four whole weeks. I'm so jazzed :)
5.19.2011
Koreans Say the Darnedest Things...
If you haven't figured it out, I teach some of the world's most adorable students. Here are the latest funnies:
From my after school class:
I asked them what they want in a boyfriend:
SoYoung: tall, kind, and body uhhhh" (giggle)
Noelle: a nice body?
SY: No. Body (and makes motion of cutting her chest open and giving things away)
N: Organ donor?
SY: Yes, yes. Organ donor.
That's one I've never heard before....
Later we were working on tongue twisters to help with their pronunciation. The tongue twister was "If Stu chews shoes, should Stu choose the shoes he chews?" I asked what they thought and YouJong said, "Stu's crazy."
Another tongue twister was "Kris Kringle carefully crunched on a candy cane." The girls kept saying crunchED (like the man's name). I made them practice crunchT over and over. Then, I made them practice cht, cht, cht, over and over. Then, ncht, ncht, ncht. (If you are reading this right now, you should make the sound ncht, ncht, ncht.) SoYoung said, "Teacher. You. Beatbox." I laughed and started beat boxing New Kids on the Block style with my hands on my mouth and making beat box noises like poo poo cht poo poo cht. SoYoung said, "Teacher, you sound like" and made the motion of farting. Then she laughed and said, "I like noises."
Yesterday, we were playing Jenga and their rules are a little more hardcore than the American ones. So, I said, "In America, we blah blah blah," explaining the rules we use. Another student, JiHye fired back, "Teacher, this is KOREA." Then, she winked at me.
Today in class, Dionne and I were feeling feisty so we demonstrated the Chicken Dance to a couple of our classes. After we did a nice long round of it, I asked the students what they thought the name of the dance was. They didn't know. So, I asked them what I was while slowing doing the dance's actions.
Student: Chicken.
Noelle: So, what is it?
Student: Delicious.
I almost died from laughing so hard.
Now I'm off to class to see what adorable things they say today...
From my after school class:
I asked them what they want in a boyfriend:
SoYoung: tall, kind, and body uhhhh" (giggle)
Noelle: a nice body?
SY: No. Body (and makes motion of cutting her chest open and giving things away)
N: Organ donor?
SY: Yes, yes. Organ donor.
That's one I've never heard before....
Later we were working on tongue twisters to help with their pronunciation. The tongue twister was "If Stu chews shoes, should Stu choose the shoes he chews?" I asked what they thought and YouJong said, "Stu's crazy."
Another tongue twister was "Kris Kringle carefully crunched on a candy cane." The girls kept saying crunchED (like the man's name). I made them practice crunchT over and over. Then, I made them practice cht, cht, cht, over and over. Then, ncht, ncht, ncht. (If you are reading this right now, you should make the sound ncht, ncht, ncht.) SoYoung said, "Teacher. You. Beatbox." I laughed and started beat boxing New Kids on the Block style with my hands on my mouth and making beat box noises like poo poo cht poo poo cht. SoYoung said, "Teacher, you sound like" and made the motion of farting. Then she laughed and said, "I like noises."
Yesterday, we were playing Jenga and their rules are a little more hardcore than the American ones. So, I said, "In America, we blah blah blah," explaining the rules we use. Another student, JiHye fired back, "Teacher, this is KOREA." Then, she winked at me.
Today in class, Dionne and I were feeling feisty so we demonstrated the Chicken Dance to a couple of our classes. After we did a nice long round of it, I asked the students what they thought the name of the dance was. They didn't know. So, I asked them what I was while slowing doing the dance's actions.
Student: Chicken.
Noelle: So, what is it?
Student: Delicious.
I almost died from laughing so hard.
Now I'm off to class to see what adorable things they say today...
5.16.2011
Photoshop Skillz
At the end of my trek up the hill to school on Friday, I noticed a bunch of girls huddled around some display boards in front of the school. I was in a hurry to get to my office, so I didn't stop to see what the fuss was about. Later, as Dionne and I made our way to the auditorium, we came across these beauties done by some of our students in honor of Teachers' Day. Dionne and I couldn't stop laughing...
Those girls are hella creative. I still can't believe how good their Photoshop skills are! And, all of the teachers were such good sports about being parodied by the girls. I think we had just as much fun with it as the students did. Just another reason for me to love, love, love this school!
 |
| Vice Principal Choi and Principal Suh! |
 |
| The English Department :) |
5.12.2011
Lately...
I haven't posted for a week... Sorry. I'm been keeping busy (and at times, delightfully un-busy too) doing nothing particularly exciting.
Last week was super easy. Since it was midterms until Wednesday, I didn't do too much other than relaxing, enjoying the fresh air through open windows in my apartment and doing some experimental cooking. Even though I live in this treasure trove of a country, sometimes it's nice to spend some time with myself, doing nothing. So, nothing exciting to report there...
Saturday, Diane and I did some shopping and went to Water for Elephants. I had just finished reading the book a little over a week before, so it was perfect timing to see the movie. Both the book and movie were decent, though not life changing by any means in my eyes... The best part of the experience was the onion flavored popcorn we ate. I'd been dreaming of that popcorn ever since I sat next to the adorable little boy at Harry Potter and could smell the salty scent of onion powder wafting from his popcorn bucket. YUM!
This week is also proving to be pretty chill. Tuesday was Buddha's birthday so we had the day off from school as it is a national holiday. Diane and I took this opportunity to visit the Korean National Museum. It shows Korean history from prehistoric times up to the Joseon Dynasty in the 19th century. It was pretty hard to get into the information because there were really lengthy Korean descriptions of the artifacts and the English would say something like "old rock" or "metal tool" But, it was a treasure trove for people watching (as is most of Korea) and we did end up seeing some pretty cool stuff... We spent the rest of the day looking for a book I'm supposed to be reading for a little book club I'm a part of (Shout out to the 300+ Club :) ) and walking around several shopping centers. I am continually blown away by the vast amounts of shopping opportunities in this country. Yikes. And, most of the stores are the same no matter where you go, or at least very, very similar... Interesting.
Yesterday we only had the first four periods of class because there was a special church service for all of the schools. It was supposed to have been held in the Kyunghwa Bowl (the outdoor stadium) but it had rained all day, so it was held in the auditorium instead. We had no idea was the occasion was, so Dionne and I were baffled to find that the school had brought in a Christian boy band for a concert! The girls were so so funny to watch. They were falling over themselves as if Elvis or the Beatles were in the building... Adorable.
A new term of after school conversation class started yesterday. This is how I found out: At 4:15, Mr. Shin came to my desk.
Mr. Shin: Uh, excuse me, Noelle Teacher. Are you busy?
Noelle: Nope. What's up? (so professional, right?!)
M.S.: Did you know after school class starts today?
N: Haha... Nope!
M.S.: I didn't know either. Is it okay?
N: Sounds good to me... I'll figure something out...
M.S. Sounds good to you? Sounds good to me too! (Mr. Shin has the most delightful infectious laugh. He demonstrated it here.)
I have six students this time, four from the last class and two new ones. All delightful, adorable, bright eyed and smiley... just the way I like them :) I'm going to love the next five weeks for sure!
Today is Fitness Test Day so there are no classes. I'm relegated to my desk while the other teachers help measure how much each student has grown, what they weigh, their body fat percentage, etc. As everyone was gearing up for Fitness Day, Chan Yang gave me a new task to complete before the end of the year... There is a list of 1000 vocabulary words that we teach over the course of the year in Morning English. The Vice Principal asked him to make the example sentences more conversational - like true to how we would use them in an everyday sense. So, I have to write sentences for each possible meaning of each of the 1000 words like we would use them in everyday conversation... I'm kind of looking forward to it... (I'm such a word nerd! Did you know there is an application on dictionary.com that tells you what weird things are called - like the gook in the corners of your eyes when you wake up in the morning that I grew up calling sleep or eye boogers is actually called rheum? There's a reason I asked for a dictionary for my 18th birthday :) ) But, some of the words are hard because I never use them - like intent or memorization or exhibition. Yikes. This could get fun... Chan Yang told me there's no hurry, but I wonder what that means... After working fairly steadily all morning, I'm on number 61. This is going to take longer than I thought...
Last week was super easy. Since it was midterms until Wednesday, I didn't do too much other than relaxing, enjoying the fresh air through open windows in my apartment and doing some experimental cooking. Even though I live in this treasure trove of a country, sometimes it's nice to spend some time with myself, doing nothing. So, nothing exciting to report there...
Saturday, Diane and I did some shopping and went to Water for Elephants. I had just finished reading the book a little over a week before, so it was perfect timing to see the movie. Both the book and movie were decent, though not life changing by any means in my eyes... The best part of the experience was the onion flavored popcorn we ate. I'd been dreaming of that popcorn ever since I sat next to the adorable little boy at Harry Potter and could smell the salty scent of onion powder wafting from his popcorn bucket. YUM!
This week is also proving to be pretty chill. Tuesday was Buddha's birthday so we had the day off from school as it is a national holiday. Diane and I took this opportunity to visit the Korean National Museum. It shows Korean history from prehistoric times up to the Joseon Dynasty in the 19th century. It was pretty hard to get into the information because there were really lengthy Korean descriptions of the artifacts and the English would say something like "old rock" or "metal tool" But, it was a treasure trove for people watching (as is most of Korea) and we did end up seeing some pretty cool stuff... We spent the rest of the day looking for a book I'm supposed to be reading for a little book club I'm a part of (Shout out to the 300+ Club :) ) and walking around several shopping centers. I am continually blown away by the vast amounts of shopping opportunities in this country. Yikes. And, most of the stores are the same no matter where you go, or at least very, very similar... Interesting.
Yesterday we only had the first four periods of class because there was a special church service for all of the schools. It was supposed to have been held in the Kyunghwa Bowl (the outdoor stadium) but it had rained all day, so it was held in the auditorium instead. We had no idea was the occasion was, so Dionne and I were baffled to find that the school had brought in a Christian boy band for a concert! The girls were so so funny to watch. They were falling over themselves as if Elvis or the Beatles were in the building... Adorable.
A new term of after school conversation class started yesterday. This is how I found out: At 4:15, Mr. Shin came to my desk.
Mr. Shin: Uh, excuse me, Noelle Teacher. Are you busy?
Noelle: Nope. What's up? (so professional, right?!)
M.S.: Did you know after school class starts today?
N: Haha... Nope!
M.S.: I didn't know either. Is it okay?
N: Sounds good to me... I'll figure something out...
M.S. Sounds good to you? Sounds good to me too! (Mr. Shin has the most delightful infectious laugh. He demonstrated it here.)
I have six students this time, four from the last class and two new ones. All delightful, adorable, bright eyed and smiley... just the way I like them :) I'm going to love the next five weeks for sure!
Today is Fitness Test Day so there are no classes. I'm relegated to my desk while the other teachers help measure how much each student has grown, what they weigh, their body fat percentage, etc. As everyone was gearing up for Fitness Day, Chan Yang gave me a new task to complete before the end of the year... There is a list of 1000 vocabulary words that we teach over the course of the year in Morning English. The Vice Principal asked him to make the example sentences more conversational - like true to how we would use them in an everyday sense. So, I have to write sentences for each possible meaning of each of the 1000 words like we would use them in everyday conversation... I'm kind of looking forward to it... (I'm such a word nerd! Did you know there is an application on dictionary.com that tells you what weird things are called - like the gook in the corners of your eyes when you wake up in the morning that I grew up calling sleep or eye boogers is actually called rheum? There's a reason I asked for a dictionary for my 18th birthday :) ) But, some of the words are hard because I never use them - like intent or memorization or exhibition. Yikes. This could get fun... Chan Yang told me there's no hurry, but I wonder what that means... After working fairly steadily all morning, I'm on number 61. This is going to take longer than I thought...
5.04.2011
The Teacher Outing
This week is midterms and Thursday is a national holiday (Children's Day - basically a designated day for families to spend together) so I went to school for half a day on Tuesday, had Monday, Wednesday and Thursday off, and will "teach" (read: play games to fill out the week) on Friday. Sweet life!
Yesterday, after our half day at school was over, all of the teachers met in Bundang, an upscale satellite city of Seoul about 15 or 20 minutes away, at an international buffet restaurant. Since the last few weeks have been super busy and stressful for the Korean teachers, it was extra fun to watch everyone fully enjoy themselves and let loose. Everyone was laughing, eating, talking and genuinely enjoying each others' company. My kind of gathering :)
The food was, of course, AWESOME, which made the integrity of the event even better. By the end of the dinner, I was stuffed to the gills with every kind of sushi imaginable. I forgot how much I love love love sushi! While kimbap is the same idea as sushi, and is a very, very close second, there will always be something special to me about sushi that I can't quite describe... Hellooooo Philadelphia roll. YUM.
After the eating portion of the outing was over, the teachers who organized the shindig pulled out some trivia questions for the teachers to answer. The first person to give the correct answer for each question got to pick a prize. Even though all of the questions were in Korean, it was just as enjoyable to watch the other teachers play. Seeing that moment when the metaphorical light bulb switches on in peoples' eyes is one of my favorite people watching observations, which might make me sound real creepy, but I'm just being honest :) Some of the most coveted prizes were five pound bags of rice and coupons for free coffee at the school's coffee machine.
After the lunch was over, some of the teachers went home while about 15 of us headed to a nearby movie theater to watch a Korean comedy about when the two families of an engaged couple meet. The entire movie was in Korean so of course I had no idea what was going on, but never fear. I sat between my dear pals Ji Hye and Principal Suh, who took turns leaning over and explaining important plot points. They were so cute and I loved that they took time out of their movie viewing to help me understand what was going on.
To make an already great day even better, on the way home from Bundang, Ji Hye and I busted out the Coyote Ugly soundtrack. What a blast from the past! Ji Hye is a fellow movie buff, so we had such a good time discussing our favorite movies. She's so sweet! And, listening to her sing along to LeAnn Rimes was delightful.
Awesome. Day.
Yesterday, after our half day at school was over, all of the teachers met in Bundang, an upscale satellite city of Seoul about 15 or 20 minutes away, at an international buffet restaurant. Since the last few weeks have been super busy and stressful for the Korean teachers, it was extra fun to watch everyone fully enjoy themselves and let loose. Everyone was laughing, eating, talking and genuinely enjoying each others' company. My kind of gathering :)
The food was, of course, AWESOME, which made the integrity of the event even better. By the end of the dinner, I was stuffed to the gills with every kind of sushi imaginable. I forgot how much I love love love sushi! While kimbap is the same idea as sushi, and is a very, very close second, there will always be something special to me about sushi that I can't quite describe... Hellooooo Philadelphia roll. YUM.
After the eating portion of the outing was over, the teachers who organized the shindig pulled out some trivia questions for the teachers to answer. The first person to give the correct answer for each question got to pick a prize. Even though all of the questions were in Korean, it was just as enjoyable to watch the other teachers play. Seeing that moment when the metaphorical light bulb switches on in peoples' eyes is one of my favorite people watching observations, which might make me sound real creepy, but I'm just being honest :) Some of the most coveted prizes were five pound bags of rice and coupons for free coffee at the school's coffee machine.
After the lunch was over, some of the teachers went home while about 15 of us headed to a nearby movie theater to watch a Korean comedy about when the two families of an engaged couple meet. The entire movie was in Korean so of course I had no idea what was going on, but never fear. I sat between my dear pals Ji Hye and Principal Suh, who took turns leaning over and explaining important plot points. They were so cute and I loved that they took time out of their movie viewing to help me understand what was going on.
To make an already great day even better, on the way home from Bundang, Ji Hye and I busted out the Coyote Ugly soundtrack. What a blast from the past! Ji Hye is a fellow movie buff, so we had such a good time discussing our favorite movies. She's so sweet! And, listening to her sing along to LeAnn Rimes was delightful.
Awesome. Day.
5.03.2011
I Just Can't Stop Thinking About This...
FYI: This is not a post about Korea... Instead, Noelley comments on current events... Hooray! Consider yourself advised :)
Like many of my generation, I heard news of Osama bin Laden's death via Facebook. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little relieved at this announcement. This is a man who wreaked unspeakable havoc on the world, using his family's construction and oil/gas fortune to preach extremism, breed violence and foster hate. It goes without saying (and yet, here I am, essentially saying it) that he was a dangerous, horrible man whose influence and mere presence in the world certainly did nothing to better it.
The small sense of relief I felt was quickly squashed though, as I read through my Facebook feed and CNN.com, hearing stories of celebrations on my college campus, in New York, Washington D.C., and no doubt, across America. I was taken aback at the portrait these celebrations paint. Something pulled at my conscience and heart as I contemplated what these celebrations meant. Something about this scene just didn't sit well with me. Since when do we celebrate death?
I understand that some people were celebrating a sense of justice or closure while others were merely people watching or creating a memory of a night they are sure to remember forever. But, what further concerns me about these assemblies is the message it sends the rest of the world. Thinking back to the hours and days following 9/11 when we were all glued to our t.v.s, watching Peter Jennings at a literal loss for words over the horrific events, I remember being upset and confused by coverage of citizens in faraway lands cheering and celebrating the day's events. Why would these people celebrate so fervently the deaths of thousands of innocent people? I felt the same sense of confusion, discomfort and general bafflement upon reading commentary on similar displays across college campuses. Couches burning in Maryland and West Virginia, cracking a celebratory Bud Light at the site of Ground Zero or chanting "Na Na Na Na, Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey, Goodbye" in reference to bin Laden: how do these displays portray us? What must the rest of the world glean from these public displays of glee over bin Laden's death? And, as an I read in this article from NPR, "is it ever a good idea — from a spiritual or philosophical standpoint — to celebrate with beer and good cheer over the death of anyone, even a widely acknowledged monster?" My short answer is N-O.
I would instead, along with a large number of Facebook pals and no doubt, many others, argue that the better way to cope can be achieved through a more peaceful philosophy. Enter some real nice words that have blown up on Facebook statuses. They were attributed to Martin Luther King but were actually written by a Theta (read the story here) who used to go to Iowa State but transferred to Penn State the year before I joined:
Like many of my generation, I heard news of Osama bin Laden's death via Facebook. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little relieved at this announcement. This is a man who wreaked unspeakable havoc on the world, using his family's construction and oil/gas fortune to preach extremism, breed violence and foster hate. It goes without saying (and yet, here I am, essentially saying it) that he was a dangerous, horrible man whose influence and mere presence in the world certainly did nothing to better it.
The small sense of relief I felt was quickly squashed though, as I read through my Facebook feed and CNN.com, hearing stories of celebrations on my college campus, in New York, Washington D.C., and no doubt, across America. I was taken aback at the portrait these celebrations paint. Something pulled at my conscience and heart as I contemplated what these celebrations meant. Something about this scene just didn't sit well with me. Since when do we celebrate death?
I understand that some people were celebrating a sense of justice or closure while others were merely people watching or creating a memory of a night they are sure to remember forever. But, what further concerns me about these assemblies is the message it sends the rest of the world. Thinking back to the hours and days following 9/11 when we were all glued to our t.v.s, watching Peter Jennings at a literal loss for words over the horrific events, I remember being upset and confused by coverage of citizens in faraway lands cheering and celebrating the day's events. Why would these people celebrate so fervently the deaths of thousands of innocent people? I felt the same sense of confusion, discomfort and general bafflement upon reading commentary on similar displays across college campuses. Couches burning in Maryland and West Virginia, cracking a celebratory Bud Light at the site of Ground Zero or chanting "Na Na Na Na, Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey, Goodbye" in reference to bin Laden: how do these displays portray us? What must the rest of the world glean from these public displays of glee over bin Laden's death? And, as an I read in this article from NPR, "is it ever a good idea — from a spiritual or philosophical standpoint — to celebrate with beer and good cheer over the death of anyone, even a widely acknowledged monster?" My short answer is N-O.
I would instead, along with a large number of Facebook pals and no doubt, many others, argue that the better way to cope can be achieved through a more peaceful philosophy. Enter some real nice words that have blown up on Facebook statuses. They were attributed to Martin Luther King but were actually written by a Theta (read the story here) who used to go to Iowa State but transferred to Penn State the year before I joined:
That bit of wisdom leads me to another interesting tidbit I read in this article:
Before the news last night, it was clear that Osama bin Laden was already losing. The "Arab Spring" of young Arabs and Muslims through nonviolent democratic movements has been a repudiation of bin Laden and his radical terrorist agenda. The death of Osama bin Laden could be a turning point in our ability to both resist evil and seek good, to turn away from the logic of both terrorism and war, and, as the Bible says, to find the things "that make for peace."I've long been a "Support the Troops, Not the War" kind of gal because as idealistic and rainbows and butterflies as it sounds, peaceful social movements work. They're not as quick as extremist thinking, violence and hate, but, all in due time, they get the job done. Bob always told me you'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)