Good Question

I recently finished teaching my fifth and sixth graders about verb tenses. We used a very simplified method that focused on past tense, present tense, and future tense. On my last day teaching this lesson, one of my 6th grade students raised her hand and asked, "Teacher, what is the past participle?"

I will give anyone in the US 1000 Won if you can answer that question without looking it up.

Wandering through Seoul

I ventured into Seoul alone on Saturday and managed to see quite a bit. I walked everywhere I went and managed to find more than I was looking for without getting lost. Rather than detailing my wanderings, I'm just going to throw up a few of the pictures I took.

I stumbled across this scene on accident. According to a nearby sign, these men were part of a bell ringing ceremony. I watched for about ten minutes as traditional Korean music blared from speakers in the building and these guards stood more or less still. I didn't wait around long enough to see what happened when they moved.

The fish tank outside a restaurant in the Insadong district of Seoul.

This large, anonymous statue is perpetually hammering at nothing. It was designed with a large motor that keeps the hammer arm moving methodically up and down.

As it grew dark, I found a palace that was open at night and had most of the buildings lit up. I took this picture in a pretty remote corner of the palace grounds. There are some other pictures that I will put up on a later date.

All in all, I am enjoying seeing Seoul and learning more and more about the city.

Teaching Parents

Today was my first day teaching my Parents Course. At the behest of the higher-ups at Dong Mak Elementary School, I have begun to offer a weekly course for the parents of our school's students. This week, I had seven moms show up, and no dads. I began the class with some brief introductions and was quickly asked the obligatory personal questions: "Where are you from?" "How old are you?" and "Are you married?" The motive for asking these questions is not simply curiosity, but is very much a part of Korean culture. Knowing my age and marital status helps a Korean place me within their social hierarchy. Age is particularly important since Korean culture says that older individuals deserve more respect than young people. As a few examples: language is more formal when speaking with people older than yourself; when clinking glasses while drinking, the younger person always holds his glass lower than the older person (I made this mistake while drinking Soju with the vice principal and was promptly called on it by someone else at the table); and it is considered rude to have your hands in your pockets while speaking with someone older than you (again, I have made this mistake).

Anyways, my first parents class went well. Considering the trouble I had the first time I tried to teach teachers, I was relieved to have the class go smoothly. In fact, I heard through the grapevine (the mom's talked to the vice principal's secretary, who passed the word on to my co-teacher, who filled me in) that they were very happy with the class. I'm not usually one to put much stock in gossip, but I'll take good feedback when I can get it.

My Neighborhood

This is a picture of my "neighborhood" that I took from the top of a nearby hill. My building is on the far side of the image (middle of the picture, as far back as you can go, just to the right of the large white buildings). I would have tried to make it more prominent, but the view isn't as good from the other side.
Besides a few shops, restaurants, and one small grocery store, every building in this area is filled with apartments. There is only one road leading to this part of Yongin, giving me about a mile walk to go almost anywhere. All in all, it is a predominantly quiet place to live.

Teaching Notes

Teaching is going well but remains challenging. In less than a month of teaching, I have learned a few interesting things:

• Teaching children is fun, but requires a certain temperament and a lot of preparation. On temperament, it is necessary to find a balance between patience and discipline and to know when to use each. On preparation, activities must be educational, interesting, and such that all the 35 students in a class feel involved. It is not easy, but exciting when it works.
  
• It is also a great feeling to believe that your students are excited to see you. I never get tired of hearing students yell hello to me as I walk into school in the morning or down the hallways during the day. As I left school this afternoon, a few of my students were in the playground playing stickball with a wooden bat and tennis ball. They shouted for me to come over and play. Even though I had a ride waiting in the parking lot, I couldn't resist taking a few swings.
  
• I just found out that I will be teaching a weekly "Parents Course" in addition to my other classes. If teaching teachers is any indication of what I should expect from the parents, it will be difficult but fun. I find that engaging adults with lesson plans that appeal to their goals, and solicit active participation from them, is no easy task. When I successfully do it, however, it is a blast.
  
• Trying to learn Korean has made me a better English teacher. The small amount of Korean that I have learned helps me better understand my students and how they perceive things like English pronunciation.
• At the same time, teaching English has provided me with an opportunity to think about the English language in ways that I never have before. I find myself realizing expressions and difficult words in the language I use. I am also becoming aware of the difficulty of the English language lying in the fact that English speakers often don't follow "the rules" that English students are taught. Today, I had to explain to the teachers why "I am going to a movie" is a more common response than the correct future tense "I will go to a movie" when one is asked "What are you doing tonight?" I still don't have a very succinct answer.
  

A Night in Seoul

Saturday night I finally experienced the night life of Seoul. I went into the Hongdae district - which is one of the popular spots in Seoul - with a group of other American/Canadian teachers who are also living in Yongin. After a bus ride, a few transfers on the subway, and stopping to enjoy some Korean street food (mostly different types of meat on a stick) we were finally in Hongdae a little after 11PM. It was the most crowded, active place I have seen in Seoul so far. The entire area looked like a parade had just gone by with debris and flyers littering the sidewalks and street.

We eventually found ourselves at the "Tinpan Music Bar" where beer and tequila are cheap, and dancing on the tables is encouraged (there are hand rails mounted on the ceiling above the two long tables that run half the length of the bar).

All of a sudden it was past 4 in the morning and we decided it was time to go. Outside, the streets were still crowded with people coming and going from bars. We found a pair of cabs, piled in, and headed off. Getting back into Yongin a little after 5, I was the lucky one who got dropped off by the cab first.

All in all, I look forward to spending more time in Seoul.

Dong Mak Elementary School

I don't have time for a long post but wanted to put up this picture of my school that I took last Saturday:

Namhan Samsong Fortress

As my lagging frequency of posts would suggest, I have been pretty busy lately. Yesterday afternoon I visited the Namhan Sansong Fortress with my school's principal and all of the 6th grade teachers (I am technically a member of the 6th grade faculty). The Fortress, which was built during the 1620's, was used to defend the monarchy against invading Manchu forces. Located on a large hill north of Seoul, it was used as a place of refuge for the king. It is about a 20 minute hike to get to the top of the hill.

Here are a couple pictures I took during the afternoon:

This wall wraps around the top of the hill. It is between twenty and thirty feet high at most places.


This is the main building and was used as a base for military options and as a palace if the king ever had to take up residence at the fortress.

After the hike we went out for a meal of raw seafood. Sitting on the floor around a low table in the private room of a seafood restaurant we were joined by the vice principal and a couple other teachers. We were served several courses of different types of raw fish. I tried everything and liked most of it. We also enjoyed several bottles of Soju with our meal.

Apartment Tour

Most "Foreign English Teachers" like myself have small, one-room apartments. I am the lucky one with two rooms. The price I pay? A fifteen minute walk to a fifteen minute bus ride to work.

This is the view when you walk in my door. The laundry room is in the back and the bedroom is off to the right.

Here is the kitchen view from the other side of the room. The bathroom is down the short hall to the left of the sink.This is my bathroom. See the shower? It's the thing that's attached to my sink. This arrangement isn't too bad, except for the time when I went to brush my teeth and accidentally turned on the shower, soaking my shirt and tie just as I was about to leave for work.

And this is my bedroom. Maybe I should have made my bed...

All in all its a good place to live. It was new construction so all of my furniture and amenities were brand new - a definite plus.