Victoria, Gloria!

FIFA: Maybe you have been hiding under a rock or simply too sophisticated to be concerned with soccer/football. Yet everyone here in South Korea stops their hectic lives to cheer on their soccer team; yes, I repeat the whole country Ajummas, Grandpas, moms, dads, students and business men all stop for a few hours to watch the national Korean team play. The cheering nation is known as the "Shouting Reds." This phenominon, of course, is not overlooked by greedy street vendors hawking their RedDevil light-up horns, inflatable cheering battons and t-shirts. Even their superstars, the K-POP singers have made a song to boost team spirits. (See: www.youtube.com/watch?v-jCdYAYPjZ4M&feature=channel to watch SuperJunior cheer on their team with "Victoria, Gloria")

The Game: Last week, I watched the second South Korean game against Argentina near the Seoul Sports Complex. It was wild. Never have I ever seen so many people packed into one square in my life. A sea of red shirts and spray of bright lights set the exciting stage for the game. Once it began shouts of "Dae Ha Min Guk" could be heard in perfect unison. (Excited to be in the moment, I chanted "Hey Amigo" right along with them, well that is until Katie corrected me.) The heat of the lights and hundreds of bodies alongside of me added to the humidity of the evening. Luckily, Katie and I snagged a spot right next to the Baskin&Robbins tent. FREE ICE-CREAM! God bless this wealthy country. :)

Back to the Bands: Not that I don't enjoy K-Pop but I have found that I rather enjoy Shakira's song WakaWaka better. It is the official FIFA song for the 2010 South Africa World Cup. The following is a short film of photos (not all mine) from: the game, watching the game in the cramped quarters of downtown Seoul and video from my class. (The crazy kids were my 3rd graders and yes, they made my week grand :)

A Quiet Weekend in Seoul

Now normally I would not ascribe the word quiet to any South Korean setting. However, this past weekend was quite tranquil, relaxing, albeit even quiet. My first full week of teaching was over and I was ready for a nice break. So, I opted out of camping with the AT gang. (Good choice too cause it rained most of the weekend. Not that I don't love camping in the rain, when you are from Washington a light dusting of rain would stop no respectable man/woman. However this weekend comfort was more desireable.)

I met up with two other foreign teachers: Bonnie, a native Korean yet raised in Australia, and Carol, a cute blonde from Michigan. Here are some photos of our fun in the rain:

After playing in the rain for a bit we stopped at a cute little cafe for a bite to eat.

The decor was all vintage tv's, bed rails, desk chairs, etc... it was perfect!

On the street where I live...

On the street where I live...

There are recycling bins, for everything.

There is a 7-11 "corner-store" and a Family Mart "on the other corner".

There is a church right across from my building and at least three more within walking distance.

There is a park at the end of my street.

I also found out that my vice principle lives next to the church. Eek!

And anyone is free to visit me at anytime, or send love and home goodness! ;)

My class(es) and students, yes all 800+ of them.

I teach at a public elementary school. It is your average public Korean school. Two janitors, three Korean English teachers, at least twenty Korean teachers and... me. "The foreign teacher," "teacher Nikki." My three English co-teachers are so kind. One is quite fluent in English and has been my greatest help at school. The other too are quite wonderful too, but the communication is so circular sometimes. We can talk for 10 minutes and I will still have no idea what the answer was to my question. It can be quite frusterating, but you have to learn to go with the flow.

The school itself is about ten years old. Squattie potties are standard, along with brushing your teeth at lunch and wearing socks with your school sandals. (Yes, there are special shoes for the school building.) The other classrooms are nice, but the English room is fabulous! They re-modeled it about two years ago. Now it is called the "English Village". New books, tables, chairs, mock airplane seats, grocery store/guest concierge stations, and a "theater" that is really the interactive computer screen which doubles as the white board.

To be honest, I have no idea what goes on most of the time. Remember that ole line, "just smile and nod?" Yup, thats me! There is far more Korean spoken then English, as most of the kids are still learning simple sentences and ideas. Only three other teachers speak English well. It makes lunchtime very, very quiet. Sometimes there is jibber jabber between the Koreans. It is then I make up stories as to what they could be saying. "Oh did you hear that Hyo Jin went out with that older man? He wants to marry her. He has lots of money but she does not love him. She wants to marry that K-pop singer." Although, most of the time I am sure it is more along the lines of, "look the foreign teacher cannot pick up the noodles with her chopsticks." (It is then I am so thankful I don't know Korean.

Back to my job... I teach six class periods a day for grades 3rd - 6th. Each day consists of about 180 students. However, Wednesday there are only five classes, which means my afternoon is spent lesson planning.

The job itself is quite easy material wise. Powerpoints, videos, handouts, songs, and games are all part of the curriculum. Yet most of the songs and videos are quite pathetic, what I mean to say is for the 5-6th graders the videos are no longer "cool". I don't blame them when their little eyes roll everytime the 90's characters with neon clothing and haircuts come on the screen. So it is my job to entertain. This is mostly done by including K-pop and other modern applications in the lession. Patience, creativity, and google.com have been the most helpful tools.

The following is are photos and short video of my class, office and classroom.

The kids doing a SnowWhite "Happy Birthday" role play, the shortest ones are my favorites of this 3rd grade class:

Classroom:

Office:

My apt...

Ok, this post is for the family, this is my apt. Its more like a glorified dorm room, but i shouldn't complain. It's finally clean now too!

View from my window:

Closet, Bedroom, Living room:

Kitchenette:

And the water closet:

When in Korea...

When in Korea:
-Show attentive respect for elders. Seats at the front of the subway orbus and subway are for them, specifically the ones labeled with green or yellow seat backs. (For instance, if you sit down and look around you to find only elderly people, jump up and sit elsewhere. Furthermore, if you are embarassed and want to stick to truly asian shyness or have natural shy tendancies, this would be the moment when you politely exit the train or bus and wait for the next.)
-If your student has a mullet that extends to his mid-back region, just embrace the gentle reminder of old redneck friends back home. Keep laughter to yourself.
-When the ajumma (or elder married woman) whom is standing, sitting, or walking next to you begins to violently hack up phlegm, do not worry. She is NOT dying, despite what it sounds like. She is merely coughing up the entire contents of her lungs.
-Remember, from my warning, that bus route 20-1 and 21 are not the same. If you take the 21, when you should have taken the other, you will end up speed walking for ten minutes only to be late to work.
-At times your Korean English students may wear suggestive or highly offensive t-shirts; yet you should chalk it up to an innocent mistake. (Though her t-shirt may boast she is @*&% Pure Canadian and though Born in Canada, Made in Italy. She certainly is neither, nor has she left the boundaries of the Republic of Korea.)
-If outside of Seoul and you see another white person, do not fret! He or she is not a ghost. I know the saying, "I see white people" may be just as intimidating as "I see dead people". They are real, and most likely a fellow teacher or member of the ARMY.
-Please learn a bit of Korean if you are going to be a teacher, or make a best friend who is Korean. All signs for transportation, lodging, and food is in Korean. So learn or become really good at guessing by looking at photos. (Although there are still some I don't understand, ex... Why the children are running up the stairs into a burning building- found in an elevator picture warning. Or why the man is peeing on a woman-found at a bathroom entrance.)
-Most importantly! If you know someone has had kimchi within the last 1-3 hours, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT SIT DIRECTLY BEHIND THEM.
-Hope these help fellow travelers!