Pimped out in the name of English

Okay so I cannot believe I have been forgetting to write to you guys about this. A week ago yesterday (Thursday), a kids TV program called Reading Adventure came to our school. Our school is known in the city for having a pretty good English program as well as a decent amount of resources and dedicated teachers. Well, the other two native teachers and I had been told about a week before this all went down that the show would be taping here and that they would come in to one of each of our classes during the day to shoot a bit of us teaching and the students. And I was also asked if I would go down and work with the drama kids again so they could shoot that as well (I had helped them get ready for a drama competition the week earlier.) No big deal maybe 20 minutes or so. BIG OLD LIE!!!! So let me take you back to last Thursday. So I come into the office that morning and the lead Korean teacher Mrs. Kim (I call her MK since there are so many Mrs. or Ms. Kims around here) asks me to look over the script for the shoot. Script? Okay. See Kristy, the native teacher who has bee here for a year, and a student, who had been chosen because she had lived in the US for a time, would be acting as hosts/guides at the school. Yeah for me and Sarah we were going to get out of it all – Wrong. So yea Script. Can I just say Cratz Creatures except Asian style and about English. The show had emailed MK a script and asked her to translate it into English. Mind you not much in Korean translates well into English. Completely different tone and sentence structure. Oh yea Script again. So MK asks me to look over this script and make any corrections or changes to the structure or word changes to make it sound like natural English. No problem. All is going well – they introduce the school – say what a great English program we have – and suggest that “hey let’s show you around” “well, what should we show them first” “ Oh I don’t know what about the Beauty Trio” - Now this is were I say “beauty trio??” What’s a “beauty trio?” Is it a set of trees somewhere or a classroom I do not know about. Oh yea – I hope you are all much faster on this one than I was – because right about there in the script I get to the line – “Oh look there THEY are now! There’s two of the Beauty Trio” What?!?! Are you kidding me? They are referring to three grown woman – well educated – as the Beauty Trio. Oh yes = yes they did. I about peed my pants. I did not stop laughing for 20 minutes. Now mind you I live in a country advertised by cartoons and where there is a mirror around every corner. I am not joking there is a mirror in every classroom, at every female teacher’s desk, and even big full length mirror in the walkways of the subway stations and not they are not simply for decoration.

So what we thought would be a quick stop in our classes while we are teaching – you know doing our jobs – became a circus event in which we did not teach at all that afternoon so that we could be taped talking with kids in the hall and working with administrative – hand pick kids with very high English abilities – and then there was the over an hour of the drama club (20 minutes my butt). However, my favorite of the day was when MK (she was acting as translator between us and the crew) said “They would like to see you do some special trick.” What?! Like what? “If there is some funny talent that you have. Or make a face.” WHAT – make a face and I say “What does this have to do with teaching?” So after a good 5 minutes of the Beauty Trio saying you must be crazy – MK say something about a song or special thing like that. Song huh? You want us to sing. Fine. I will do it. A song? Oh I cannot believe this. Well I am on the other side of the world and I doubt anyone will see this. So I sang. Really loud. I was actually rather nervous because was not prepared to do that – but the other teachers and student cheered afterwards and the crew says “oh can we shoot that again” WHAT!!!! ARG!!!

So long story short – on October 15th here on some channel – there will be a Korean kids program that may have me singing on it. But the moral to this story is (and I had seen signs of this weeks ago) that as English teachers here - it is very little about how well you teach and more about you making the school look good. Most public schools only have one native teacher – at the moment our school has three – this is a status thing. And all three fit the look that is sought after when it comes to an Asian idea of western standard. Oh joy. In other words, we got pimped out in the name of English.

Day of loveliness

September 27, 2007

So I have been off from work since Friday. Korea is currently at the end of Chusak. This holiday in terms of family gathering, food, and traffic would probably be similar to Thanksgiving. I am going back to work tomorrow morning and then have Saturday and Sunday off of course – then have this Wednesday off for another holiday - then on Thursday and Friday then students have midterms so we native teachers will not have class. So I really will not have done any work for two weeks. Oh yes poor me. I did take this past weekend to get away a bit. Myself and seven other English teachers went to a part of Incheon Island. We are not real sure where we were but we had a good time.

We had some great seafood. It should taste good when you have personally picked it out of a tank and it has only been dead for less than 30 minutes when it hits your table. I must also admit that I had some of the best shrimp ever – even if I had to take the heads off myself before eating it. Let me tell you friends this was not cool. The problem is in the eyes – their big black eyes just staring at you.
However, today is the day I was really geeked about – and oh I was being such a geek. First I went over to Dongdaemun Multiplex Shopping Mall. This is not quite the mall you might think of – it is rows and rows of little vendors - however instead of clothes this place is five floors of thread, buttons, findings, yarn, fabric, everything. I just about wet my pants when I walked in. I really did consider laying down in a pile of thread and rolling around in it. Now unfortunately Grandma the fabric in this place is mainly for commercial fashion use – so it would not be good for a quilt with an Asian flare – but I promise I am still looking. From there I went to Namdaemun Market, which was very cool but not nearly as cool as the five floors and row after row of fabric related goodness. However, the cream on my geek day came at the Gyeongbokgung Palace. I am sorry to say that it was rather cloudy and wet so there are not many pics of the buildings (I will go back again) but the real sticky center was inside the Korean Folk Museum.

CLOTHES!!!!! Tons of traditional Korean CLOTHES!!!!!!!! And HEADDRESSES!!!

Please refer to new pics to see all the CLOTHES. They are so amazing. No not the pics – The CLOTHES!!!!!!

The colors are fabulous and no that would not have been all their own hair. They used extensions and false hair pieces just as we did in certain periods of fashion. And yes they would have been very heavy.

Weekend Trip to the Country

So I had a great little trip last weekend. I went on a bus tour to a part of Korea called Gyeongsangbukdo. It is about four hours southeast of Seoul not real far from Busan. I have posted some pictures of the trip. Well, some may be an understatement – I think I added about 95 pics from this trip. It was great getting out of the city and seeing the countryside. I must say Seoul is not very attractive as far as large cities go – especially after living in Chicago. It is also rather modern – so it was great to see more traditional towns and housing. Please refer to the most recent pics on the “Life in Korea” link.

The trip satisfied both my costuming interests and my history interests. The first stop on the tour was a Korean mask museum. (refer to pics on link) What I loved about this place was that not only did they have Korean masks, but they also had masks from China, Thailand, India, Africa, and Italy. You can definitely see a difference in the wealth and craftsmanship between these countries.

After this we went to the Andong village of Hahoe. This village is one of the oldest in continuous residence – 600 hundred years old. Oh my, the homes are amazing and the river and mountains surrounding the village are beautiful. After wandering around town, we saw a Korean masked play. Oh can I even tell you how geeked I was – once again please refer to pics. Every character had a certain rhythm to their walk that was in a ten count and symbolized their position and occupation is the village and story. What was even cooler was to see not only a man playing a woman’s part (as it was traditionally done) but to see a woman playing a man’s part. Something that would never had been seen traditionally. I had no idea it was a woman until she took her mask off. Wonderful!!!

After this we visited one of the only three paper factories in Korean. Now when I say factories – I am talking hand-made. The process is amazing and grueling work. While we were there, we made our own small piece of paper and made a traditional Korean paper mask. Mine is now hanging on my wall.

The following day we visited two Buddist Temples. Man the craftsmanship involved in these places is breathtaking. The talents we are given from God are fantastic. I wish these were meant for his glory. The colors and gold work are stunning.

After this we went to the Gyeongju World Culture Expo. Now because of the rain we had been having all weekend, there was not as much to do as one might have wished. But there is this immense 82 Meter tower at the front of the grounds that will knock you off your feet. And if you are a video game person, this is definitely a place you could have some fun. They were premiering all sorts of new technology and animation.

All in all it was a very relaxing weekend. This weekend I think I am off to one of the island off the coast around here. Next week is Chusak here. Which means all the Koreans will be headed back to their hometowns – and the foreigners have to find somewhere to play since the majority of shops, restaurant, venues, and general fun will be closed Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I may even do some hiking in the general area if the weather holds up.

Check out the pics and ‘til next time.

Hips, Thighs, Hair, and Eyes

Now I have to warn you all. You all will have a huge job ahead of you when I return. Let me give you an idea of what my day is like.

- I walk up the hill to the school passed all the students and I can hear, “Gasp, Giggle, Giggle Oh Hieeah Teechah.” – I answer with a good morning – and in return I get “Giggle, giggle Bieeeh”
- I walk down the hall to the stairs to the office and I hear, “Oh Hieeah Teechah – Uah so beautafal.”
- I walk up the stairs and I hear “Hieeah Jeneeper” or “Jeneeper – uah beautafal”
- My favorite is the girl who – from what I was told by one of the Korean teacher – checked the meaning and the pronunciation of “Yah gorgeous. I lohv uah”. This she says as she put her hand together, backs touching, with her finger pointing down on her head (yes making a heart).

I really do not know if I will ever adjust when I return. This does not simply happen in the morning. This happens as I walk to classes. This happens in class. This happens as I am sitting at my desk and girls put their heads in the doorway and shout it as they pass. I even got hugged in the bathroom today. Mind you these are not 6 or 7 year olds. These girls are 13, 14, and 15 years old.

On my first or second day, I was walking around the room listening to small groups practice a dialogue. And as I was working at one desk, the girl in front of the desk turns around and stares at me. She is about seven inches from my face. I turn and say hello. She says, “iees” – I say “yes my eyes” – she says “green – uah iees green” – I say “Oh yes my eyes are green” at this she turns around and giggles. There is much giggling – sounds bad but it is like living in an anime.

Another time four girls are looking at my hair as I am coming around to the desks. One girl gets real close (yea there is no personal space here) so I tell her she can touch my hair. Well my hair being my hair, a strand almost a foot long gets caught on her hand. Oh my- you would have thought is was Christmas – she of course giggles – shows it to another girl – they giggle – and she then holds on to it for the rest of class. For all I know my strand of hair is now on a shrine in her bedroom somewhere.

My favorite so far was last Friday, the girl who SCREAMS out as I walk into the room to start class, “Oh Teechah Uah Seksy”. Yea that was just lovely – please I was wearing jeans and a button up shirt.

The stories are all very funny, but the story behind it all does bug me. These girls are so beautiful. Their hair is so thick and such a lovely color. Some of them have the most amazing eyes. But they have had western beauty shoved at them from day one. I know ideas of beauty are a problem back home – but here are girl that will never look western and have found no appreciation for themselves. I was telling the eye story to our head Korean teacher. She explained that one of the reasons the girl was probably so much in awe was that the dolls that Korean girls have when they are young are not Korean doll but western dolls with green and blue eyes with light hair. Many of the dolls are the ones in which the eyes open and close. So it may have been the first time this girl has ever seem real green moving eyes. Which may have explained the freaked out face another girl made when I looked up and found her staring at me - so I crossed my eyes at her. Her eyes got so big, and she covered her mouth. heheheheh Every time one of them complements one of my features – I tell them how much I like theirs.

I am very grateful that I have had the privilege to have lived and worked with so many people of different ethnic backgrounds. What is strange for me is not that I am around people who are Korean (or just look Asian) but that there is really no one else. It is a little different in a section of town called Itaewon where the military base is, but other than that - it is black hair and dark eyes as far as you can see. Where is the color? Where is the artist’s pallet? I bet it would get rather boring looking at mirror all day.

That is all for now. I think I will go play with a box of crayons.

First Impressions

I am rather annoyed that my first blog went all goofy on me. I had some great stuff in there. I hope I can remember it all.

Well, let’s get the funny stuff out first.

Things that I have seen sold on the streets:
All around the city there are open markets and little grocery stores. The items for sale flow out on the street in crates, buckets, and carts. I do wish I could take pictures of some of the more shocking (well at least funny) things I have seen sold for human consumption, but I do not want to be that idiot foreigner who take pictures of the strange things she sees in another land to send home. Instead I will simply be that idiot foreigner who writes about them.

1) Hairy pig snout and lips (oh yea – nice and fresh – looked like I could have used it as a puppet)
2) These little four inch eel things swimming around in a bucket in the grocery
3) Canned dried pupa (oh you heard me right – a can of little baby bugs right on the shelf by the canned tuna in the convenience store
4) Over twelve inch long squid and octopus as big as my head – mind you - I have seen these both dead in tray and alive swimming around in tanks – and not in a larger grocery, but in the small street places in my neighborhood
5) Tofu – now I know this does not sound all that bad and in fact a good thing about the tofu in the big grocery is that it is only 90 cents a package – however the tofu I am talking about is the tofu sold on the street in a plastic tray with no ice, no covering, right next to the fish with heads, and flies around
6) I had thought all the big fish with heads were unnerving until I saw the live fish in a bucket flopping around and wiggling their fins

Although it smells funny, it all makes me giggle. I am here, actually seeing it – pig snout and all – I am here and that makes me giggle. Then there are the things that do not make me giggle. The most culture shocking of these were events of last week. Although banned, corporal punishment is still practiced by some of the older teachers. I have seen students smacked on the shins and palms, have to do squats in the corner in front of the class, and smacked in the back during a class for talking. I keep telling myself – I am in their country.

Bathrooms:
Now if you refer to the Life in Korea photo link, you will see a picture of my bathroom. What you will not see in that picture is a shower. Well, at least a shower as we know it. Look at the sink. You see that silver hose with the spray nozzle at the end? Yep that is the shower. You simply close the door – turn the water on and turn the faucet over to shower. There is a drain in the floor and all is good. It makes it very easy to clean the bathroom. The other feature to take note of is the little box on the side of the toilet seat. This box controls the Japanese cheek cleaner - in case you do not go in for the manual wipe. Call me old fashioned, but I will stick with TP. And last, but not least on the bathroom list is the restrooms at the school. Oh ladies and gentleman – let us take a moment for to recognize the squatter. Oh yea – there is not a western toilet to be found in the building – we got squatters!

And with that I will leave you for now. Tune in next time – when the little Asian teenage girl screams, “Oh Teechah Uha Seksy!!”

Welcome

Ladies and Gentlemen -

I am sorry for the address change, but welcome to my new site. Please look around - enjoy the pictures that are linked under Life in Korea. I will repost everything I had written so far on the other site as soon as possible.

Thank you for you patience,
Jennifer