You know where you are??

You're in Korea baby, time to teach. I remember reading all about Korea's affinity for singing before I came here. I was looking forward to joining such a harmonious culture and joining in the hymns. However, I didn't anticipate the perk of being able to teach the children songs. I've yet to bring my guitar in for a sing-along, but, rockin' aside, we've still had a lot of singing time in my class. With the kindergarten children, I'm summoning a gift I got from my mother, and she from her mother. The gift to constantly make up and sing silly diddys. It doesn't matter what, I can make a song about it. "Alisa loves pink, she wears pink, and she sees pink all day, all day, all day." Odd tunes like that. Then there are the name songs; the children go nuts over these. There are many Susie's in Swaton and I've been singing them Credence's "Susie Q." "Oh Susie Q, oh Susie Q, oh Susie Q baby I love you, Suzie Q." What amazes me is how quick they pick up on a song they've never actually heard. I'll walk into the class and they'll be rockin' "Susie Q" making the guitar sounds at intervals, exactly as I do. They hear it once, and the song is in their catalog. Some of the girls in Illinois class got jealous that Susie had her own song and they began demanding songs for their names. I thought about it, Allison...NO, Stacey....NO, Henry...NO, Jinnie....NO, Michelle.......YES. I know, most of you would teach them the Beatle's Michelle song, but not me. I taught them the chorus to Guns N' Roses' "My Michelle." "Well, well, well, you never can tell, well, well, well, my Michelle." Innocent enough, as long as we don't start singing the verses. They attached themselves to it immediately and began singing "My Michelle" with passion that would make Axl Rose proud; wherever he is, Korea maybe? I left that class very amused and satisfied that I had imparted a little of my adolescance onto the children. Then, after teaching that class, Ryan said, "man, I walked into the class and these 7 yr olds are singing Guns N Roses- creepy." Hahhaah. I'm going to burn "Susie Q" and bring it in for the children but I could never let them hear the origin of their cute "Michelle" chorus. They're young, let them sing with innocence, they have all the time in the world to enter the chaotic, heaven-and-hell world of GNR.

Most guys like pictures of their new cars, I prefer guitar shots. 

Acoustic/Electric too. At first I was intending to buy something for my time here and sell it upon my return, but this one is a keeper. 

My new friend. 

This is the path in my park. I plan to sit atop this hill and play some songs for all of Korea to hear.  

Discounts

Koreans are huge on discounts. This is still a somewhat barter-based consumer society. In corporate stores the prices are usually fixed, but in the markets or ma-and-pa type stores, prices are negotiable. I learned about this when I went to the market in Seoul last weekend. The phrase "ka ja jusayo" (give me a discount) is a useful one to learn and memorize. I found a backpack that was priced at 15,000W but the salesman gave it to me for 10,000W because, Rachel interpreted this to me, he said I was handsome. That was my first Korean discount. I've been asking around about where to find a cheap guitar. Susie, a Korean teacher at Swaton, told me she has a friend who owns a guitar store and she might be able to get me a discount. We went there this Saturday. A man and his wife were running the little shop. I told the older Korean man that I was looking for an acoustic guitar and he sat me down and proceeded to bring guitar after guitar until I found the one I liked. As I tested out the guitars, I noticed the couple was listening very intently to what I was playing. And, since guitar isn't nearly as popular here as it is back home, they probably don't hear many good guitarists. So, like basketball, I began to show off a little. The man plugged me into an amp and I was putting on a mini-recital for them and anyone passing by the shop. He told me that the guitar cost 320,oooW- a very modest price for the quality of it. I was pondering whether to buy it and then he said, and this is interpreted through Susie, that, since I was very good at playing, he would give me a discount. Nice! He went and found a case for it, a chord, and some guitar strings. Then he told me he would give the guitar and the accessories to me for 210,000W! Man, I love Korea. This was a rare moment when being a foriegner helped me. The store owner also appeared to be honored that a foriegner was shopping in his establishment. This isn't usually the case. I bought the guitar, thanked him numerous times; this was a time when I really wished I could communicate to him the extent of my gratitude, but all I could do was say "comapsahamnida" (thank you) over and over again. So I now have a guitar, my Bulls are in the Playoffs, and the weather couldn't be any better. I'm regaining a little bit of my identity here in Korea. Now I have to learn some children's songs (thanks Allison) and I will be a favorite amongst the kindergarteners. They really do love to sing. I'm also thinking it might be fun to record the children singing along to my guitar playing. Maybe for distribution, maybe just for my own amusement. We'll see....

This is me, Victoria and our shared UCLA kindergarten class. Man I love field trips. 

I had to get a photo of Jason running away. Look closely and you'll see his Hongulmullet. It's amazing how a mullet can actually look cute, given the age of the owner. 

Chris (my roomate) watches Hanna cruise through the hoop during a relay game. 

that's my boss, Smith. 

Ahh, my Olivia is as cute as they come. 

My Jennygirl is storming the bridge. 

Pinnochio and Micky are international heros. 

The kindergarteners gather in this room to do their morning chants. 

This looked like a real nice place to take an aimless stroll. 

The 3rd biggest city in the world- home to 10,000,000 people. 

Another view of gallery row. 

Art central- finally a place to buy authentic gifts and somewhere to spend my millions. 

The inside of the train station. Ryan and I refer to it as the Bat Cave. 

Myself, Ryan and Rachel at the entrance to Korea's largest market 

The view from outside the train station. 

This is Seoul 

Wooden block pillow

I've stayed at hostils, I've slept on floors, on the grass, in a car in the middle of winter (Stolly, Frio), but this is about as uncomfortable as it gets. After my Saturday night sleep in Seoul, I think I could pass out in between two warring armies. Ryan and I went to Seoul to see the largest bookstore in Korea, the largest market, Itaewon (the foreigner district of Korea), art galleries and to eat some international cuisine. Seoul has it all and 10 million people to share it with. We spent a large portion of the weekend on the subway. Stairs leading to the subway can be found on every corner so you're never really lost and you'll never wait more than 5 minutes for the ride. I marvel at how well Korea's public transportation was planned and I dread having to wait in another Chicago traffic jam. We arrived in Itaewon around 11pm on Saturday night. Both Ryan and I were exhausted from a day of sight seeing and were satisfied going to a couple bars, drinking a few beers, and finding a place to sleep. I'd been told that Itaewon was the place to go if you missed speaking English. And after leaving amongst nothing but Koreans, seeing so many "white people" was a major shock. Itaewon was swarming with American GIs off duty and drinking their military butts off. This is what Itaewon is- the American soldiers playground. This is easily the most seedy, dangerous area in Korea and the only place you'll ever consider running into some trouble. I believe Itaewon can only be enjoyed, like Vegas, if you're in a party all night type of mood. Otherwise, you sit and watch the overgrown Americans trash Korea and it's more embarrassing than anything. A little after midnight, we began inquiring about places to sleep. A Korean man told us about a Jim Jay Bong near that would house us for only 10,000W. A Jim Jay Bong (that's a pathetic attempt at English translation) is a spa house where you go for rest and relaxation. These are real popular in Korea and serve as tourist attractions. They are a spectacle and, any white person that dares go, becomes an even bigger spectacle for the masses. Upon paying the entrance fee, we were handed a white shirt and white shorts and told to change before entering the sauna area. The building was enormous, double sided (one side of men, the other for women). The first floor was the spa and a community TV-watching room. The next floor was a cafeteria/library. The third floor was a large workout room. Finally we make it up to the fourth floor and there is a gigantic movie room showing "Meet the Parents" and Koreans of all ages enjoying the show. I'm kind of sick and real tired at this point, so I'm just in search of the beds. hahaha, beds. We open a door to a dim lit hallway and I'm relieved to hear people snoring. The hall is sectioned off into sections large enough to fit a lying down person and nothing more. I climb into my tomb and feel the hard marble floor under me. Ok, this is comparable to sleeping on a kitchen floor, I can do this. Then I notice we are each giving a wood block pillow. 10,000W is beginning to appear too expensive for this. And the room is heated to an unbearable degree. I lay for about an hour, sweating and preparing to just pass the night walking from bar to bar. I would have left but all around me Korean men were sleeping soundly, enjoying a weekend retreat at the spa. What is like sleeping in hell to me is a vacation to them. It was with these cultural considerations than I eventually dozed off. I woke up in hour intervals but managed to immediately re-enter dream land. After around 6 intense sweat-soaked hours of sleep I got up and wandered around. It felt great to notice myself and Ryan were the only foreigners. I can't help but be conscious of the bad image Westerners often portray (the previous night in Iteawon was enough to give up and consider our stained reputation a lost cause). Whenever I am participating in some authentic aspect of Korean culture, I feel proud. Anyways, I mentioned how much of a spectacle we are here. The stares get much more un-nerving when your naked with 20 other naked men analyzing your body. They are amazed enough by the color of my eyes, my large nose, but, a chance to see a white man naked, is a bonus to these weekend vacationers. I'd been warned about this earlier and it hardly bothered me. It would be easy of you at least could drape a towel around you, walked up to the sauna, drop the towel on the edge and get in. No, the towels they do provide and more like rags- not nearly big enough to wear around the waist. I stripped, walk past all the TV watchers, through some rooms of shaving men and into the open sauna room. I was actually quite amused by the whole thing and didn't rush, but efficiently showered and left. By now I'm used to being in front of the cameras, the flash just a little brighter in the Jim Jay Bong.

I need a Bubba.

Faithful Danomaniacs,
Hahahha, how's that for an ego trip?? Things were going well, I would teach all day, come home to downloads of the Bulls games, email those who wrote me, and post blogs whenever I had something to say. Then, I got a virus. Oh, that reminds me of some funny Konglish. Konglish, by the way, is the term for when Koreans use English in signs and advertisements but it's grammatically off. Example- there was an advertisement for a happy virus. I guess it makes sense, but not really. Anyway, my internet isn't working and I'm not sure when I'll be able to get some cpu techs over to my place to fix it. Bubba!!!! Does Best Buy do Korean housecalls?? I'll pay, I'm a rich teacher now. Hopefully I'll be up and blogging by the end of the week but, until then, sit tight and re-read last months stories. hahahha.

Breakthrough Performance

From my little experience in the field, I've derived a tested hypothesis on teaching: methodology is a sham, teaching is perfected through a case-by-case basis. Attitude, demeanor, an elevated confidence- these are characteristics all teachers would own, but they will only get you through the door, or, into the country. Connecting with the students is achieved through individual techniques. With the little children, I follow a simple philosophy: Come to class looking to learn and have fun. At such an impressionable age, these children associate through imitation mostly. I am eager to hear all they can say and am never too set in my curriculum to pause for fun. To many educators, I believe the word "fun" causes alarm and contempt. They think enjoyment detours the learning process. I've found this to be true in certain cases (the middle school children) but only when they begin to expect entertainment. It's contagious; I laugh, they laugh, I stop and they go right ahead laughing. This is particularly dangerous in my situation where the students can carry on jokes far above my head and clear of my wrath. I very rarely know what they're talking about. I've become attuned to certain bad words. The most often used is "pabu" which translates to stupid or, more accurately, a fool. My kindergarten class called me "pabu teacher" quite frequently early on but I didn't' let it anger or discourage me. I have a theory on that. With every new class, there is always a turning point, the moment of truth when they realize you cannot speak, nor understand their native tongue. For the youngest students, this shocks them. Not only am I weird looking (bigger nose, non-black hair, wide-eyed) but they've probably never seen or met a person who didn't speak Korean. Believe me, in this place, it is unthinkable that someone can't speak Korean. The children laugh and call you a fool but it's alright; they'll learn eventually. For now, they're young and I'll let them play in the sun. I think it's most important to instill some sort of rewarding joy in learning English. It is their second language, afterall.
With the elementary children, their outlook on learning English (young guk) is already established; some enjoy it, some loathe it and others are indifferent- viewing it as another chore demanded by their parents, much like brushing their teeth before bed. The elementary kids range from ages 9-14 and also differ in skill levels. Some are exceptional students placed in the advanced classes because they always do their homework but can barely speak. Other times, I'll teach a beginner class and have a student that fails the vocab, never does his/her homework but is so outgoing that, through necessity to speak to the teacher, has developed an advanced ability to speak English. I try not to be biased in these opposite cases (we're supposed to stress a diligent work ethic), but I can't help but enjoy my conversations with the children most. You must remember that, outside of the school, it's nearly impossible to converse with a Korean.
Today I had a breakthrough with one of my better students. She's a nice girl (I think), cute, always prepares and hardly misses a vocab question but , in the month and a half I've been teaching her, she's only spoken a handful of times. And, when she does, she speaks so quietly that I have to run up to her, put my ear right in front of her face to make the words out. I'm always surprised and quick to get her to repeat it so I don't waste this monumental effort. Before the vocab quizzes, I normally make some outrageous threat like, if you get one wrong, I'll "bite your ear off, or throw you out the window, etc." Just something to get them laughing. Today I told Julie, the smart shy little girl, that I was going to take her yellow rain coat if she didn't get a 10 out of 10. She missed one and, with little resistance, I stole the coat. I tried to put it on, but could only fit my forearms in. I then paraded around the class doing Chris Farley's "Fat man in a little coat" song. Eureka!! She loved it. The girl was beside herself, yelling, having a laughing fit. I couldn't believe it. I'd cracked the case. Truthfully, the parallels between standup comedy and teaching are striking. In fact, I would recommend that anyone thinking of teaching a foreign language to children should watch Mr. Bean's every show. The silent comedy works best when dealing with a lack of communication. There I was, parading around the room with an ill-fitting, pint-sized jacket and discovering a teaching breakthrough at the same time. She was vocal the rest of the class, joining the other children in chiding me at all costs. I enjoyed every humiliating moment of it.

My sports fix

Illinois miracle year ended in disappointment and, for once, I felt fortunate for my inability to watch basketball. And, even more gratifying, is the chance to walk outside, climb the hill behind my apartment and sit with people who couldn't care less about basketball and watch a whole society stop and go unhindered by the NCAA championship game. In America, I would have planned my week around that game and the following week would have been foiled by the outcome. Still, I can't deny the slap-in-the-face irony of the Bulls and Illinois having breakthrough seasons when I cannot be along for the ride. At least not like I would like to. I've found a site to download the Bulls' games and I've been catching up on the last month. Stolly sent me a NERF hoop and I've been watching Bulls' games and re-enacting the highlights in my room- a la my childhood. Thanks Andrew. I read every game summary, try and picture the victorious smiles of my Baby Bulls as they continue to surprise the most knowing of experts. I recently purchased a package on MLB.com where I can watch every single baseball game this year because I refuse to let the White Sox further this irony. But, because I can watch, my Sox will probably have another sub-par year. Chicago sports Gods (Butkis, Jordan, Hull, Dawson- ha), what have I done to deserve this? Have I not always faithfully served your every beck and call? Oh well, I'm blacked out from the Bulls' return not only to prominence, perhaps glory but I'd rather read about them winning than watch them lose. The scary part is the thought of missing the Bulls' first Playoff series in eight years. It will be difficult to focus on teaching these kids English when my favorite young students, the Bullies, are finally taking the ultimate test, the big show- The Playoffs. I've dreamt about this for years. I take solace in knowing that many of you have been forced to listen to my endless rants about these Bulls and know you're watching, believing. If you're not on the bandwagon yet, hop on the sides and cling on because this ride isn't stopping in the first round. This is what I was talking about- enjoy it all you lucky Americans. And Chado, although VHS's don't work here, I'm still expecting you to have every minute of the Bulls' playoff run recorded for me upon my return. Thanks buddy.

I was on a mission to find a basketball hoop. I was jumping down a level and I scraped my arm against the cement. It didn't hurt much but it sure looks gruesome. Freddy Krueger teacher. 

You may have seen this shot before, but never in a warm 70+ degree day. 

South Korean Buds. 

The Battle of Tokto

Tokto Islands is small, insignificant; a weekend vacation and nothing more. That's all it is, until someone claims ownership. Japan recently made public statements and celebrated it's sovereignty over Tokto Islands and here in Korea, where people have endured a lifetime of bullying- that cannot stand. Koreans are bitter, and rightfully so. Hearing the stories of Japan's occupation here that lasted until the mid 20th century is kinda like watching "Requiem for a Dream." It's all so real, too real, and I'd rather tune out- knowing these atrocities did happen, but not fully comprehending the actual horror of this time. It's different for Koreans. Their prosperity has been short-lived, and they have every reason to suspect an ally will eventually thwart them when things are looking good. Today, from everything I see, Korea appears to be enjoying a long deserved peace and respect amongst the world, but history has taught Koreans not to expect permanent comfort. I first heard of the Tokto Islands conspiracy through my students. One 11 year old boy mentioned, "we don't like Japan." I prodded into him and, with much effort on both sides and the aid of a map, he explained to me that Japan was calling Tokto Islands theirs and this was not true. I will admit I'm probably biased on this issue because the only English newspaper available to me is the Korean Times but they just finished a 3-part expose' proving Korea's legal ownership of the Islands. This reeks of disrespect to me, but it runs so much deeper in a Korean's mind. It brings back the unforgettable memories these people try to lock away in some safe cavern of the brain. The Japanese occupation is filled with crimes to humanity. Japan's imperialism nearly wiped out Korea's illustrious culture. Their women were made into sex slaves, the men were forced to do slave labor and the school's had to stop teaching the Korean language. All of Korea spoke Japanese, their art was destroyed (museums today have drawings of the pre-Japanese buildings- showcasing all that was lost), their books, their history; erased. I'm so thankful that I've never experienced this and I keep it mind when I find myself judging a Korean. They must cling to every inch of this soil they still own. And it's easy to see why such a tiny, seemingly insignificant piece of land caused a national uproar. Another interesting phenomenon is the relations between North and South Korea when another country defies them. At times like this, the warring sides of Korea unite, showing the rest of the world that their internal squabble is nothing compared to hundreds of years of shared misery.


To read more about this conflict and, if you're a huge fan of my experience, other news at the Korean Times online, click the link.
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200504/kt2005040417142011990.htm