Cultural Bitterness

Yesterday in my afternoon 2nd and 4th grade classes, we were assigned to read a kids version of Time Magazine. The article that we read was called, "Let's Help Japan." I was excited to have the class read this article, hoping it would spark interesting conversation about how we can help others. Little did I know, a big conversation was to come. We read the short article and then began the worksheet to go along with it. We answered questions about the earthquake and tsunami. Then came the question, "Would you want to help Japan? Why or why not?" At first I thought this was a dumb question, of course we want to help... Wrong. When I asked the kids, all but one girl said they would not want to help. At first this made me angry. I launched into this speech about how if someone hurting, we need to help. They just gave me blank stares. Ok, new approach. I began asking why they did not want to help. The answer was the same for all. "Japan is bad." When I asked why they thought this, they said that in the past Japan had taken over Korea. The kids didn't have the vocabulary, so it was interesting to watch them try to explain through drawing pictures. I know the vague history, but not as much as I should. Yes, Japan captured Korea multiple times and did some horrible things to the Koreans. My initial thought was, "Yes, but that was so long ago! Why can't you just forgive?" It bothered me that it is ingrained in these children to hate Japan. Then I had a thought. If a huge natural disaster hit Iraq, would Americans want to help? We know it is wrong to hate, but I guess I now have a better understanding why. How will this cycle of hatred ever break? Now in many Korean churches, the pastors are preaching that this disaster in Japan is God's punishment for the evil that Japan has done in the past. I don't believe that either, but all this is definitely making me think.

My snack is better than your snack!

Everyday I usually eat lunch in about 15 minutes and then I still have 45 minutes to just relax before my hour is up. Lately, the weather has been pretty nice so I go to the park/ playground beside our school. This park is really the playground for the public school across the street. It's interesting to sit on the bench and watch the kids play at their Korean school. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be an English teacher at a public school. Anyway, as I was just sitting there spacing out, enjoying the sun, a girl came running up to me yelling, "Teacher Teacher!" I was confused because these are public school kids...I thought she just wanted to say hi to the 'foreign" teacher. It turns out that she goes to my school after Korean school and she knew where I worked. She introduced me to all of her friends (and her mom too!) She grabbed my hand and took me over to where her friends were digging in some dirt. As I peered into the tiny whole, I saw a big cement chunck, which she proudly exclaimed was a dinosaur bone! Haha. I guess kids have to get creative in the city!

In one of my afternoon classes, the kids always bring a snack because the class is from 4:00-6:00. Some of the students bring some pretty extravagant snacks! It's funny to watch them trade and barter for the other snacks. I can see the wheels turning in their heads, trying to decide if it's a good trade or not.

I am writing this as my students are in music class now. Right before I took them to music, my littlest girl came up to me doing the potty dance and said, "I want to poop." I couldn't help but laugh as I told her a more polite way to say, "May I use the bathroom" :)

A better week

Well, I haven't blogged in about a week...I guess I just haven't had much to write about. Quite a few people have asked if I was affected at all by the Japan Disaster. I haven't been affected at all. It's strange that California feels the effects but South Korea, which is relatively so close, doesn't. I'm not sure why it works that way. I've been keeping updated through American news and Japan is going through so much! It's hard to believe what a huge impact a natural disaster can have!

This week at school was a lot better. Last week was pretty bad, but it's slowly getting better. My students are starting to learn more of what I expect from them, which makes it's so much easier. We are still working on raising your hand AND being quiet. When I ask them to be quiet, their justification is, "But I'm raising my hand!" Patience is a hard lesson to teach...shoot, I'm still learning it myself!

I didn't do much this weekend. I have a cold and and have lost my voice, so I am just trying to get over it. A few of my co-workers had a "house" warming party for Clara and I last night. That was really nice of them :)

The time a policeman blew his whistle at me

Yesterday I met two of my new co-workers at a subway station to go hiking. They were meeting me near my Korean class so that I could come after. So, I was in a hurry, looking around and obviously not paying attention. I came to a little driveway. Most driveway type roads you can just look both ways and cross. I didn't notice the red stoplight telling me not to walk. There were two policemen guarding whatever this driveway was. Well, it turns out it was the American military base! I just bounded right on walking, looking for the place to meet my friends. As I got half way across this driveway, the two gaurds blew their whistle at me! AHAHA. I must have had a look of shock and embarrassment, because they just laughed and laughed, thinking it was the funniest thing I just completely ignored the stoplight. Maybe this happens a lot and that's why they put the guards there! :) I guess that's the first time a policeman has ever blown a whistle at me!

We climed Yongsan, which is a small mountian that has the Seoul Tower on the top. It's like a Sears tower, or Seattle Space Needle type tower that you can look out over the whole city. There was some sort of traditional Korean show going on at the top. It was cool to hear the music and see the actors in traditional clothes. We paid to go to the top of the tower.

Well, I sat on my sunglasses. Yesterday I looked, and looked, and looked for more sunglasses but couldn't find any anywhere! I was getting frustrated. I'd even asked the worker at every store and they said they didn't have any. Koreans don't wear sunglasses. I can't remember if I blogged about this before, but it's a little rude to wear sunglasses here. Oh well, I hate squinting, so I will keep searching. There has to be some somewhere!

By the end of the week, school was going a little bit better. Half way through the week I was really discouraged...but I think little by little it's getting better- or maybe I'm just getting used to it :) Either way, by Friday I felt better. I am just so mentally tired... All this change is really doing a number on me (Beth that phrase is for you!)

Beth bought her plane ticket! Now there will be two S(e)oul Sisters!

The old and the new

This is my new neighborhood! Check out this lady on the exercise machine. Yes, she is on the cellphone and is wearing heels!

Moving Day! All of my things in one pile, minus the furniture...

I miss my old students!

My old class' graduation.

P.S. One of my 4th graders threw up in the middle of class today... This would be incident number 3! Ugh... So, all of us had to move to a different room. The Koreans had to keep telling the kids not to flip out. I was trying hard not to gag, or she probably would have told me to stop too!

My new Life

My new apartment is awesome! I was worried, to say the least, but it is so great. It is quite a bit smaller, but there is more than enough room for everything. The kitchen is separated from the bedroom by these cool sliding glass doors, and then the bathroom is it's own room. I have a balcony! How cool! It is enclosed with sliding glass windows. Right now it's a bit cold out there, but in the summer I think I'll put a table and eat out there. I have so many windows in the new apartment. In my last apartment I could see the sun rise over the mountains out my kitchen window. Now I am only on the second floor, so I can only see my neighbor in the next apartment rise out of bed...not quite as cool, I know! :) I live in a neighborhood now and the apartments are super close together, but it is in a great location. I love my new area.

The apartment is really new and they said they just put down the new wood floor and wallpaper before I came. Everything was pretty clean, but I spent most of the day cleaning because Korea's idea of clean isn't always my idea of clean... As I was scrubbing the floor, my room phone rang. I answered (not realizing it was connected to my doorbell) and a man with a deep voice said, "I am the master of this house." Uh, What!? I seriously thought it was someone playing a joke on me, so I hung up! Whoops, it was the building owner wanting to change my lock. Hah!

Moving this morning was pretty funny. The school hired all of the school bus drivers to move us. There was a crew of probably 8 men moving all of mine and Clara's stuff. Let's just say we had a lot. They put it all on this flatbed truck and then loaded us up with things piled on our laps in this sketchy van. I think I made a wise choice to carry my computer with me in my bag considering a lady helping just started chucking my packed things out of the elevator! Ahhh! Amazingly, nothing was broken!

Unfortunately, the new school is not turning out as well as my apartment. The first day of having the kids was awful! Truly. My kids have supposedly all been in school for 1 year, but I am starting to doubt that. As I'm trying to teach, I have one girl talking constantly, one little boy practically laying on the table, one girl playing under the table and one screaming "TEACHER!" Whew. It's a little wild. So, the first two days were spent trying to go over the rules and learning to sit with your bottom in the chair. When one girl came in screaming the first day, I was told that this was a "devil child..." and that everyone knew about her. Great...haha. Ironically, her name is Grace. :) Sure enough, she screamed almost all day long, she kicked me and tried biting me as I was physically holding her so she would not hurt anyone else. Another boy would not listen AT ALL, so I had him sit in the corner by himself. This resulted in him screaming, crying, and his attemps to throw his chair.

Thankfully day 2 was much better than the first. I'm sure it can only get better. I have to remember that it's only been 2 days, so I can't get discouraged yet! After a month or so, I'm sure they'll start to get the hang of things. After the first day though, I was thinking, "I cannot do this!" It's so hard learning everything all over again. Everything is different at this school. My supervisors aren't explaining anything because they think I should know it all already and then they scold me when I don't do things the "right" way. I am trying my best to please them, but I'm just not sure what they want. Hopefully I will learn fast, because I hate feeling like I'm a pain... I miss my old school, my old kids and my old co-workers.

The good news is that I think my sister Beth is coming in May! How exciting!

White Mocha #27

Haha just kidding! Well here I am in a coffee shop again... I found out I won't get internet until next Monday, which shouldn't be a big deal, but 2 1/2 weeks without internet is harder than it should be.

Today on the way to school Clara and I were joking about the move. She said, "Yeah they'll probably spring something on us like, 'Oh by the way you'll have to stay in a hotel for a week,' or 'Actually you're moving on a different day...'" When we went to ask the director specifics about the move today, we were fully expecting something to be wrong. Sure enough, the director said that all of our furniture would be moved on Friday, but not our personal belongings until Saturday at 7AM. Clara and I got a good laugh out of that because that meant we'd be left sleeping on the wood floor with no bed. The director went back and forth, trying to decide what to do. The Korean staff at the new school doesn't have very good English, so the language and cultural barrier with all of the move and new school is driving us nuts. Clara and I try to keep laughing at things to keep from crying (just kidding! Kinda ;)) Everything is super unorganized and so up in the air. No one seems to know what we should be doing or when. I'm finding that most of Korea is like that. Everything is so wishy-washy and I can never get a simple yes or no. Somehow it works for them...they get annoyed at us foreigners asking too many questions! Funny.

This afternoon I went to the big grocery store to get supplies to make brownies for my small group tomorrow. It wasn't till after I walked out of the store that I figured out why the cashier was looking at me funny. I had a chocolate brownie mix, a package of snikers, nutella chocoalte spread, and coco powder. She must have thought I REALLY liked chocolate. I had the same guilty feeling that I get when I eat at a McDonalds here. The people stare at me in McDonalds, thinking "typical American" but I feel like saying, "Hey, you're eating here too!" :)

I keep sneaking boxes from the grocery store. I think they're really to box up your groceries to put in a car, but each time I walk out I take a couple for the move. They haven't come running after me yet...