Poetic declarations from youth

Today a 16-year-old boy informed me that I "have eyes like sapphires." I smiled and said, "Thanks."

2-3, the principal, and me

So, I've got this one awful class, right. 2-3, the science track kids who don't think English is important to them in the least. They may be right, but they don't treat me very well. All of my classes are wonderful except this one, which is awful. I dread going to this class because, honestly, it intimidates me. The boys grumble in Korean, the girls sleep, they skip class, lie, and never do their homework.

Last Wednesday was eventful. This was the worst class so far, 12 weeks into the semester!

1. 5 boys came in 10 minutes late and didn't apologize (including the class captain)
2. 5/30 students completed their homework that I specifically said would be on their final exam
3. those who didn't do their homework thought it was funny
4. when I tried to start the lesson, students continued talking and doing other homework
5. when I repeatedly tried to silence the class, they were rude and ignored me and sassed in Korean

I had it! I made everyone stand up and hold their chairs for the entire hour. At first, this was funny to them. I was silent, trying not to overreact or cry. As they chatted with their friends and read newspapers, I kept thinking This isn't punishment to them. They hate my class. They're glad to not speak English or listen to my voice. And having been silent trying to collect myself before, I said in a deadly tone, "Quiet." -silence- They stood like that for 20 minutes in silence.

At the end of the hour, I told them to sit down. They did and I said, "I'm really disappointed in you. You were so disrespectful today. I know some of you hate my class. That's fine. You have a right to feel that way. But there are some students who WANT to learn English, and this class is making it hard for them to do that. Believe it or not, I really like you guys, even though you don't treat me with respect. I expect you to complete your homework for the next class period, and I'm going to talk to your homeroom teacher about your behavior today." Then I packed up my stuff and walked out the door. I spose I should've done this differently.

I then typed up a page-long letter to my co-teacher. I couldn't find him, but felt I must tell him about the problem. Once before this semester I told him of my 2-3 troubles, and he spoke to the students. I wanted to inform him that they had not improved their behavior. I also wanted to use him as a mediator between me and the homeroom teacher. Perhaps the homeroom teacher's influence will straighten out the students for the remaining 6 classes of the year.

I caught up with my co-teacher just as I was going to leave. I asked if I could talk to him, and he was shocked, but said, "Of course." "2-3 was awful today." "Oh really..." he lowered his voice. "Here's a list of what they did wrong today. The most upsetting was that they were really disrespectful to me. They don't treat me like a teacher. They treat me like an inconvenience." Mr. Lee's brow furrowed with displeasure. He scanned my letter. I knew he couldn't read that much in that little of time, so I added, "I'd like your help. I think talking to the homeroom teacher would be good." He said, "Yeah, yeah." Then looking down at the paper again, he grunted. Looking me straight in the eye, he said, "I assure you this will not happen again." "What should I do?" "Just go home, enjoy your weekend, and I will fix this problem." (It was a 4 day weekend for Buddha's birthday.) "Are you sure?" "Yes, yes, enjoy your weekend." "Ok, thank you so much for helping me. I'm sorry to bring you such bad news." He nodded, and I left.

Here's where it gets tricksy.

I believed Mr. Lee would talk to the homeroom teacher, who would then pass along the message to his class, or perhaps punish them. This is not what happened.

Mr. Lee pulled me aside on Monday to tell me what happened. I was shocked!

Mr. Lee told the principal, who was furious. Now, in the Korean school system, the principal rarely intervenes in student matters. To bring the principal into it was NOT my intention, nor did I wish for it to happen at any time. I thought at the most, the vice-principal would get involved.

Mr. Lee said, "First of all, I'd like to apologize for the students behavior. They are my students too, and it is my fault they were bad." "No! Don't YOU apologize. If anyone should apologize it should be me. I'm their teacher and it's my class and I shouldn't have any problems. It's my failures as a teacher that led to this." "If I were in America, I would feel the same way too. The principal was very angry. He said you are a diplomat and the students should treat you as such. He talked to the students and they will be better in the future." I didn't know what to say at that moment. "Th-thank you," I sputtered. "What should I do now?" "Just act naturally." Act naturally? "It's so nice to know that you support me." He inclined his head, I bowed and muttered, "Kamsahamnida," and went back to my desk.

Well, I thought the principal had lectured the students and felt ashamed to have brought that upon them. I don't know if they deserved it or not. Getting yelled at directly by the principal is a terrible thing in Korea.

This is not what happened.

What REALLY happened was this: Mr. Lee told the principal, who turned around and yelled at the homeroom teacher! He blamed the homeroom teacher for not controlling his students! [This is an utterly humiliating thing to happen in the Korean school system. I had absolutely no intention for this to happen.] Then the homeroom teacher yelled at his students during lunchtime yesterday. The punishment is 3 hours of clean-up service on Saturday for BOTH the students and the homeroom teacher.

I was stunned. I haven't seen that homeroom teacher since Monday, even though there are 30 teachers in our school total. I'm SO embarrassed. I want to apologize to him.

It gets worse.

2-3 students are furious and feel betrayed. They think I deliberately skipped all steps in the hierarchy and went directly to the principal. They think that I wanted to get their homeroom teacher in trouble. They think I overstepped the bounds of reasonable response to the situation. The view Mr. Lee as a hero because they think he mediated from me to the principal and lessened the blow.

Who did I learn this from? A student. My wonderful Pu-reum, who has intelligence only surpassed by her heart. Yesterday, we took a walk during lunch because she heard about my class troubles. I told her exactly what happened and told her what Mr. Lee said. She said, "But that's not what happened. The principal didn't yell at the students. He yelled at the homeroom teacher. The homeroom teacher is now yelling at the students." I gaped and looked at the 2-3 classroom windows. "What did he say?" I asked. "I don't know because he's yelling at them now. But I'll tell you tomorrow when I hear."

Today, she came to my desk and told me what happened. She said, "You have a problem with the students because they think you went directly to the principal. They say you speak too fast and they didn't understand. They are frustrated with you. I tried to tell them what happened, but they are angry." Oh no. Maybe they'll be worse now. I don't WANT them mad at me. I want them to respect me. I love Pu-reum. Had she not told me this, had I not told her what happened yesterday...it could've proven even more disastrous as it is now.

I wanted the class to wise-up and do their homework. I wanted them to quiet down when I ask and to come to class on-time. I did not want them to feel even more antagonistic or that I'm their enemy. Shit.

Today, in 1.5 hours, I'll enter the 2-3 classroom. I've got a lot of explaining to do.

Infuriating and Sweet

The worst part of teaching in Korea: the students.

The best part of teaching in Korea: the students.

Yeongdeok & Crab

This weekend we had a girls' trip out. My host mom and sisters and I traveled to the east coast of Korea. We went to Yeongdeok, which is a town famous for crab. It was delicious.

This town sure knew what it was selling. There were giant crab statues, crab bridges, crab arches, crab yard art. It was awesome. Unless you're a crab.

The sidestreets were lined with crab aquariums and restaurants. There were hundreds of crabs crammed into the small pools. I felt pity for the poor things--crawling all over each other, living only to be steamed to death. In general, I don't have a problem eating meat. I hate watching my food die, though. Cant' help it.

We did indeed eat crab for dinner. At first, I said, "Oh, they're so cute. Oh, it's so sad." But then revised my statement to, "Oh, but they're so delicious," and finished off with, "It was a good death." SO tasty. To end dinner, they gave us some mixed rice and guess what they put it in. The top of the crab's head, flipped over. So, there I was, literally staring down into the eyes of the suculant creature I just ate while finishing the meal. Again, it was delicious.

Here are some photos of the beach where we stopped to skip rocks. My head is so big compared to my host family's. Look at that noggin! Luckily they measure up to my height, though I think this just points out the disproportion of my face to body. But I digress.

Yeongdeok trip = fun

Buddha's Birthday

Happy Birthday Buddha.

My host family took me to Bongjeongsa to celebrate. The lanterns were beautiful. Unfortunately, it rained, so only a small number of the usual plethora were hung on display. It was beautiful.

Inside the temple, a monk chanted from what my host father called "Buddha's Bible." The monk used a hollow instrument to drum and complement his chanting. This meditative singing combined with the steady patter of rain created a peaceful, contemplative atmosphere. The smell of old wood and wet soil, the bright light reflecting off the golden Buddhas onto the archaic paintings lining the walls. It was gorgeous.

At that moment, I understood why Buddhism is so appealing to some. It certainly does inspire spiritual peace.

However, I can't imagine becoming a monk and spending the rest of my days in that temple, repeating the same schedule every day. While it may be the answer for these monks, I much prefer engaging the world on a macroscopic level. Walking down the wet stone steps, rainbows of lanterns on both sides, I came to a conclusion. I realized that I will only be happy with a life full of flexibility--perhaps a little nomadic. I sighed a little while taking in all the beauty of this little temple on a little mountain in little Korea. Leaving, I asked myself, "Where to next?"

Extension

I just received news that my grant has been extended for the 2007-2008 school year.

Woot! Nice to know I'll continue being gainfully employed and molding impressionable minds in the near future.

Soju all around! *shudder* Actually, better make it those nice little mini-yogurt drinks that taste like candy.

Sports Day

So, Korean schools have this "Sports Day" where for one day in the semester, the students actually have fun.

It was strange to see them all in normal clothes. Everyone was smiling, no one was sleeping. It was brilliant.

At the end of the day, one team was awarded first place. The principal handed over a trophy...but then went into a speech where he told the students to forget that day's fun because it was back to studying. "The Korean SAT is in 6 months," he said. Everyone in the crowd groaned and lowered their heads. Way to ruin the mood Mr. Funkiller Principal!

Honestly, I thought that was the meanest thing he could've done at that point. It hadn't even been 15 minutes from the end of the activities. Ugh. I mean, come on. They worked so hard to put that day together. He should be telling them to REMEMBER the day. They should REMEMBER and hold onto the feeling of accomplishment at having setting up and competing and working as a team. Sometimes I loathe the Korean educational system and its stupid goals and hierarchy. I wanted to take all my students to North America right then, so I could see them actually be allowed to enjoy it. But, alas, I couldn't. This problem's bigger than me.

Writers Take Out Their Knives

Writers Take Out Their Knives

The NYTimes put out an article which asked writers which books they would cut down if they could. I believe Stephen King's response was the best:

Certainly the Bible could use cutting; think of all those begats, not to mention minor-league prophets such as Habbakuk (there isn’t even a car dealership named after him).

What about “Ulysses”? All that tiresome stream of consciousness could go.

And there is “Gone With the Wind,” which I would shorten to this:

“Civil War?” said Scarlett.

“Fiddle-de-dee!”

But Atlanta burned! Rhett left!

“I will think about it tomorrow,” said Scarlett, “for tomorrow is another day.”

That’s so good you could probably fit “Dombey and Son” in the same edition. Or shorten “Tess of the D’Urbervilles” to a National Enquirer headline:

UNFORTUNATE GIRL SLEEPS THROUGH RAPE, IS LATER HUNG.

The Ultimate Bookclub of Awesomeness

I've started a bookclub.

After receiving countless "Oprah Bookclub" suggestions from the friendly staff at Amazon.com, I finally made the leap. The idea was conceived long ago while watching and listening to my mom with her own bookclub. She's since quit - Why are there so many politics involved in discussing Charlotte Bronte over tea and crumpets? I wouldn't want to be restricted to G-rated books either.

I was lucky enough to have awesome roommates/friends during college. We would sit in the dining hall (sometimes for hours on end) discussing our majors, politics, movies, music, and books. I found this more intellectually stimulating than some university courses. But then a sad thing happened. We graduated. No more late-night quoting from our respective bedtime novels. No more debating time-travels implications over edamame wraps and red jello. No more borrowing from each other's collections. Sadness.

But the sadness continues.

My brain has lost its .... its .... thinking .... ability. It's been a year since I've written a paper, done research, and eaten at South Dining Hall. What's worse is that now I've lost my fluency in English as well. Teaching intermediate English and living in a foreign language country reduces one's vocabulary exponentially. Where once I would use the word superior, now I use the word good. Intriguing has become interesting. Atrocious has become bad. Revolting has become not delicious. I can't even remember the word for the metal part of glasses that holds the lenses in place. Rims? Yes, my brain is melting, and I need to re-solidify its wrinkles.

Enter: The Ultimate Bookclub of Awesomeness

I've met many brilliant Fulbright ETAs here in Korea. I love talking to them about intellectually-stimulating ... uh ... stuff. I also love talking with my friends back home and from college. Their opinions and insights are wonderful to listen to. Thus, I decided to create a forum where we could all talk about the same thing at once. A bookclub. Not just any bookclub, mind you. The Ultimate Bookclub of Awesomeness. I thought the name might draw more interest.

The lowdown:
1. each month a different member chooses a book
2. each month members read that book (or don't if they don't have time or simply don't want to)
3. a blog was created to discuss the book (http://ultimatebookclub.blog.com)

The rules:
1. No Dickens
2. No talking smack about people's book choices
3. No taking offense of people's comments (book clubs shouldn't be angry)
4. No mean comments such as, "Anyone who liked this book is obviously a fan of Sanjaya Malakar on this year's American Idol," unless, of course, you follow it with an appropriate emoticon (^^, :), etc.)
5. Overuse of punctuation and emoticons will be strictly prohibited. [e.g. "This was SO good!!!!! :) I love Mr. Bob!!!! 8-) He's hot! ;)"]

I, of course, picked the first book.

May's book: (chooser: Noelle)
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Up, up, and away! Happy reading.

***If you, the reader, would like to join said bookclub, just ping me an email and visit the blog to start posting.

Korean student's life

I just talked to one of P*ngsan High's seniors. She said she studies for 10 hours a day, every day.

Being a Korean high school student sucks big time.

Did you study that hard even in college?