I heart my students

High School kids crack me up. The more I get to know my students here, the more I think that kids are the same everywhere. Sometimes they remind me so much of my students back home with their funny/sassy comments in class.

Today in one of the boys’ classes, I explained the activity for the day then asked the students, “Does everyone understand what I want you to do?” (A lot of times the students will nod their heads like they understand, then they ask me what’s going on 5 minutes later) One kid goes, “Roger that!” I couldn’t help but laugh. Some of these kids can barely form sentences in English, yet I get comments like that. I asked the rest of the class if they knew what "Roger that" meant, and explained the whole pilot/radio thing. After I finished, another kid goes, “Fire in the hole!” They surprise me everyday with the random English phrases/colloquial expressions they know. (One of their favorites is “Oh Shit!)

I’m starting to really like my Korean students. After almost three months here, I have a much better idea of what activities are going to work in each class and how to adapt assignments for the different ability levels.

I’m also showered with compliments and affection on a daily basis. My celebrity status hasn’t exactly worn off. I don’t get a unanimous “wow!” when I walk into the classroom anymore, but nearly every student yells “Hi Taryn Teacher!” when they see me in the hallways. Although some of the boys are more traditional and bow when they see me, which I think is awesome. In Korea it is custom to bow as a greeting to someone who is older than you or in a superior position. I think I’m going to try to implement that when I go back to the U.S. to teach. (Just kidding, it would never work)

And then there are the compliments. Last Friday I straightened my hair, and when I walked into the beginner boys’ class, there were claps and cheers like I was meeting my fan club. Several students shouted, “Hair! Good!” and another yelled, “Teacher!...Face...Angelina Jolie...Same!” Gotta love being compared to Angelina Jolie. Then on the way out of school Monday of this week; I was all bundled up in my new coat, boots, scarf and hat because it’s freezing in Seoul right now, and I got called a “Fashionista” by three different students. These are just a few examples of the compliments I am showered with on a regular basis. Some of them have also given me snacks and candy, and I got one Halloween card from a student that said, “Thank you for remembering my name.” With 400+ students that I see once a week, it’s hard to remember names, but there are a handful of students whose names I’ve learned. Most of the Korean teachers don't bother learning students' names.

Unfortunately, the school year ends on December 23rd, and I’ll get a whole new crop of “1st graders” (sophomores) when the new school years starts in March, just when I’m getting to know them better. Hopefully the new kiddos will be just as adorable.

Don’t get me wrong, there are certain classes that misbehave and drive me a little nuts, but overall, teaching here is a very pleasant experience. I don’t assign homework or grades, I don’t give tests; they get to have fun with me. It’s a pretty awesome set up.

The Big Test

I'm not at school today because it's the day that 3rd graders (seniors) all across Seoul take the test that will make or break them: the university entrance exam. This is the test they've spent the entire school year preparing for and that their parents have been worrying about for their child's entire life. I kind of wanted to see the madness at the front entrance, but I'm happy to have the day off to get some sleep and try to beat this nasty cold I've had all week.

Here is a youtube video that shows all the hype. There will be a similar scene at Chungdam this morning. Members of the student government are required to be there to cheer and show their support, and other students voluntarily show up to cheer. It would have been something to see, but again, I'll take my day off.



P.S. It turns out I was overreacting to the exercise comment in the posting below. Koreans are just obsessed with health and exercise and he meant no harm by the comment. I just took it the wrong way. The honeymoon period is over and little things like that are starting to get to me. It's hard being a wagukin (foreigner) sometimes.

Hey fattie

Today at lunch I sat with three male teachers, and as usual, one of my co-teachers, David, brought up the subject of my eating habits.

David: "Tahleen, what are you eating these days? What did you eat for breakfast?"
Me: I told you, I eat cereal for breakfast. (I was a little annoyed because he asks this everyday)
David: Just cereal?!?
Me: Sometimes yogurt also, sometimes toast, it depends.

David seems to think that because I eat cereal for breakfast and pizza for dinner sometimes that I'm malnourished. After I assured him I was eating a balanced diet, he moved onto exercise. I told him I've been going to dance classes once a week, and it was very good exercise. The geography teacher chimed in that working out once a week wasn't enough, I needed to do it three times a week.

I said that I do a lot of walking here and climbing subway stairs. I told them that I had spent Sunday afternoon and evening walking around Seoul; a friend who lives in Daejon was in town and we were seeing the sights. Last weekend I was in Seoraksan hiking up mountains. I told them I thought that was enough exercise. The geography teacher said, not if I want to lose weight.

They talk about weight loss/calories all the time here, but I was still taken aback. I said, "Do you think I need to lose weight?" David must have realized I was somewhat offended, because he immediately started talking about how thin I was, and asked what my "secret" was.

I don't mind if my coworkers talk about health and weight loss in general, but telling me I need to work out more to lose weight is not really necessary. Especially since it's on most women's minds anyway.

I've heard from other (foreign) teachers that their coworkers make similar comments, and I've also experienced this when I lived abroad before. When my friends and I visited Tunisia in 2003, our tour guide told my two friends they looked like they were pregnant, and didn't understand why we found that so offensive.

I think our eagerness to be polite and not hurt people's feelings is something unique to the U.S. In Korea, it's perfectly okay to tell someone that they are chubby, or that they have a pig face. (One of my students got the nickname "Piglet" from her friends)

My Korean coworkers are always quick to comment on appearance in general. It's nice to be acknowledged on days when you put a little extra effort into your appearance, but on the flip side, they also tell you when you look awful. "You look so tired. You look sick," etc. I understand that this is a cultural thing, and I can handle being told I look tired, but I wasn't a fan of being told I need to exercise more. Maybe I'm overreacting, and it was just his segway into inviting me to play badminton with the teachers after school (as several teachers have done) but it rubbed me the wrong way, and I will be avoiding him in the lunchroom in the future. It's a shame too; he's one of the few teachers that can carry on a conversation with me at lunch. But I'd rather enjoy my squid surprise and chunks of tofu soup than feel like I have to jog it off later.

Total Immersion

These past few weeks, through song, dance, and attending my first professional soccer game, I think I've been officially been initiated into Korean culture.

Song- If you want to make friends with Koreans, go to noraebang with them. I think I mentioned noraebang in a previous post but never explained what it is. Noraebang literally means "singing room," and it's Korea's version of karaoke. It is HUGE here; Koreans love to sing, so you can find a noraebang on nearly every corner. You pay about 15,000 won (which today is sadly $10.38; the exchange rate is awful right now) an hour for a private room with a karaoke screen, usually a few tambourines, two microphones, and mini strobe lights and/or disco balls. I had gone several times with fellow foreigners, but a few weeks ago, I went for the first time with Koreans. A group of teachers from my school went out to dinner & noraebang after the midterms and invited me along. Noraebang with Koreans is something else. After a few glasses of Cass (the water-flavored beer they drink here) they really cut loose. They all sang Korean songs (very enthusiastically, see the pictures), and I did a few Abba tunes because they know Abba here. I was a smash hit; not that they didn't like me before, but teachers who had never spoken to me before made a point of saying hello the next morning. It seems to be the ultimate ice breaker; you're not friends until you noraebang.

Noraebang with my coworkers, 10/8/08


Me with the Chief of Academic Affairs, the principal, and In Young (biology teacher)


Dance- Before coming to Korea, I had been taking jazz/hip hop classes at my sister's dance studio in White Bear Lake, and it was the highlight of my week. I decided that I wanted to continue to take classes here in Korea, so I've been going to drop-in classes at POZ dance studio near my school. Not only do I pick up a few new words in Korean every time I go, but one week I learned the dance to the latest "Wonder Girls" hit. The Wonder Girls are one of the hottest pop groups in Korea, and I make references to them all the time when I'm modeling sentences or teaching new vocabulary to my students.

Knowing the "Nobody" dance has proven to be another cross-cultural bonding method. I've busted it out a few times in class and my students go nuts. I also hung out with another foreign teacher recently and her coteacher, who made me teach her the dance. Now my coteacher, Minjung, wants me to teach her the dance because she and her husband tried with little success to learn from the music video. I'll post a link at the bottom to the "Nobody" video on youtube, because it's pretty awesome.

Soccer- I have never cared about or paid any attention to soccer, and had never actually sat through an entire match before coming here. But when my friend Jamie had an extra ticket to the Asian World Cup Qualifiers, I thought it would be a good "cultural experience." I dressed up in red and bought devil horns for the occasion since Korea's mascot is the red devils, and I had a blast. I never knew soccer was so much fun! Everyone was decked out in the team's colors and waving flags and chanting; it was much more entertaining than sitting through a baseball or football game. Whenever Korea scored a goal, there was confetti and toilet paper sailing through the air; even a red hand-held flare at one point. By the end of the match, I was waving the South Korean flag and singing along to all the chants. One of our friend's Korean co-teachers was there, and he commented on how "Korean" I was.

South Korea vs. U.A.E., 10/15/08


In the two months I've been here, I think I've adjusted pretty well to life in Korea. There are a few things that I will never get used to, like how people, mostly men, will hock loogies all over the streets and sidewalks. I cringe every time I hear someone gargling the mucous in their throat; it's so gross.

I also HATE fish and seafood, which they serve nearly every day at my school. I get really excited when it's a "no fish day," and there's something I can eat besides rice and kimchi.

These are very minor complaints though. Overall I still love living here; I was lucky to be placed in a nice area and in a good school, I get a along with my students and coworkers, and there are always people in the S.M.O.E. family to hang out with in the evenings and on the weekends.

I do miss home a lot and sometimes wish I could fly home for just a week to visit and maybe eat some Chipotle and buy shoes that fit, but I have to remind myself that when I do go back home, I will miss the friends I've made here, noraebang, bibimbap, galbi and other Korean foods I love. I'll miss living in this massive city where I'm constantly discovering new little neighborhoods and restaurants and shopping areas, etc. So I'm trying to live in the moment and just enjoy myself, and not worry about whether or not I'm going to stay another year or what I'm going to do when I go back home, etc.

That being said, I'm going to go meet up with some friends now instead of worry about how to wrap up this post :)

*As promised, the link to "Nobody" by the Wonder Girls

The small face/peace sign phenomenon

(Written 10-24-08)

Recently I heard from a friend of mine back home who said he'd been looking at my picutres from Korea and didn't understand the peace sign phenomenon in Asia (while taking pictures). Perhaps I can shed some light:

Loyal readers may remember that when I first arrived here, everyone kept telling me I had a small face. I thought it was strange that they kept commenting on that; like I was some freak of nature. I would respond by showing them pictures of my dad and saying, "see, I get it from him, it's his fault."

I have since learned that Korean women all want a small face (or narrow face) because it is considered more beautiful. Usually when I take my camera out, the females will make a peace sign covering their cheeks or strike some other strategic pose to make their face appear smaller.

I didn't realize this until Wednesday, when we took a field trip to Olympic Park and a group of my students decided that they can't pose for pictures with me anymore because my face is "too small," making theirs look bigger. It's not just the students who make these comments either; the teachers all say the same thing when they pose for pictures with me.

I could be wrong. Maybe they're just all about peace and love here, but I think that the small face phenomenon and peace sign phenomeneon are closely related.

World Peace Gate, Olympic Park


Me with my "1st graders" (10th graders) who told me my face is too small


*You can see the rest of my pictures on my flickr page