Chocorat milk and other delights

I finally got my health card today! It has been exactly 40 days since my cough started, but I now have an official diagnosis: acute bronchitis. After school today my co-teacher took me to an ENT doctor. I only waited about 5 minutes before I was able to see a doctor who looked something like this:

Why is it a cartoon? Because that is the only Google image I could find with a guy wearing that head thing. What is that head thing called anyway? The only thing missing is the trademark swine flu mask. Okay, obviously real doctors use them, but I will forever associate them with swine flu after my time in Korea. 

Before Cartoon Doc looked at my throat, he pushed my head back, grabbed a hose and nozzle, and shoved it up my nose. My eyes started watering profusely from the burning sensation as it drained down the back of my throat. After that  ordeal was over, he flipped his head thing down over his eye. I tried not to laugh as he looked down my throat but couldn't help it. Like always, laughing turned into coughing. 

I went to go pay after, not knowing what to expect. I had heard it was cheap to visit a doctor, but cheap is relative. When the  woman told me 3,500 Won, I hesitated. Surely it couldn't be that cheap. Less than 3 dollars?? I happily paid and we took off for the pharmacy. Again, sooo cheap. 1,600 Won for this concoction of pills.

To be taken 3 times a day 30 minutes after a meal. Already forgot tonight and waited 2 hours. Oops.

Now, some long awaited photos from the past few weeks.

Busan Tower

View from the top. It was incredible to have a 360 degree view and be able to piece together the city.

The crew at the Busan I'Park soccer game

At the Lotte Giants baseball game. During the 7th inning you receive these bags to tie to your head. Everyone does it, and it's funny to look out at a sea of orange bag heads.

All of the Yong San staff out for dinner.

My beach!!

Who needs custodians at a school when you can make the kids clean?

I love chocorat milk too!

"You get credit for time served in the womb"

This is how one person described to me how Koreans measure age. They also count you as one year older as of January 1st, NOT your actual birthday. So if you are 20 in America, you could 21 or even 22 in Korea, because of the "time served in the womb" clause. Really, I can't tell you much more than that, as I am a lazy blogger and did no follow up research to confirm or deny these "facts".

Another interesting phenomenon here in Korea is the myth (or not?) of "fan death". I laugh out loud when I tell people about this, but Koreans really believe it! Fan death is the idea that you will die if you leave a fan or air conditioning on overnight in a room with the windows and doors shut. I don't know many people who haven't slept with one of these on at least once in their life, and they are all alive and well. Read more about it here: http://www.fandeath.net/

This week has flown by. Here are some highlights:

On Thursday a 2nd grade teacher from my school took me to her brother's coffee shop in my neighborhood. What is ironic is that I had walked by this place last Friday night and had made a mental note that I wanted to come back and check this place out. It is an old brick house that they converted into a coffee house/ actual house. The coffee is on the main floor and they live upstairs. They built a beautiful wooden deck in front and the inside is filled with fun mismatched furniture, art from around the world, books, board games, and even a wall map of Yellowstone National Park! I feel really lucky that Seung a felt comfortable taking me here and meeting her family. It was such an incredible experience and it is only a 15 minute walk from my apartment! We are considering walking there for brunch in the morning. . .

Put in some more quality time at the beach this past weekend. We checked out a new beach - SeongJeong. It is about 30 minutes away, which isn't bad...except I can walk to mine!! I love my beach and am resistant to go to any of the others that require Dynamic Busan card to get there. This will continue to be on the weekend agenda until the weather fades out.

We went to a Busan I'Park soccer game on Saturday night as well. Apparently they are not very good and not well liked by many Koreans. Both of these notions appeared to be true, as there were only about 500 fans in a 20,000 person stadium. It was kind of sad, but we sat with the rowdiest Korean fans we could find and made the most of their inevitable loss.

I was able to design and lead a reading class for a small group of 5th and 6th graders this week. It felt so good to have the freedom to pick what book I wanted to read, design an activity around it, and work with the kids one on one. Unfortunately I only get to do this every other Wednesday, but at least it's something!

Amy, Natalie, Christine and I planned our first trip to Seoul the first weekend in October. It is Chuseok, similar to Thanksgiving. Looking forward to seeing the big city, as if Busan isn't big enough!

May you rest in peace, little bird

I can't believe I forgot to mention this in my last post! At the beginning of class on Tuesday, a bird swooped in through the large open window. For a second, it was kind of entertaining. Then as quickly as it glided in, it tried to sail on out. FAIL. It slammed into the window and crumpled to the floor. Panic and chaos immediately ensued. The kids crowded around it and started screaming in Korean. I looked at my co-teacher in desperation, and just got a blank stare back. Before I knew it one of students was poking it, so I started yelling over and over again, "Don't touch it! Don't touch it!" Finally, the librarian came in with toilet paper. Okay, this isn't a dead spider! It isn't even a swallow! It's a large brown bird not much smaller than a crow! Oh, and it's not dead yet!! All of these thoughts are racing through my head as I watch him march over to the bird. He picks it up and wraps the bird around the torso as it pecks at him with all the energy it has left. I don't know what happened to the bird after that. Nor do I really want to. It was probably the mystery meat I had for lunch today.

I finished my first full week of teaching in Korea! It feels good to have that done - only 50 more to go. :)

More pictures coming soon!

What is your man style?

Yes, this question was posed to me by a 6th grade Korean girl. I looked to my co-teacher with embarrassment, and she rephrased. "Um well, she wants to know what's your type? Like what type of men you like?" While I found this wildly inappropriate, I entertained the question anyway. "Well, I like men that are kind..." Before I could even finish a thought, they pounced. "And handsome?! And funny?!" I nodded in agreement, happy that they found something they actually liked talking about in English. After I introduced myself I gave them the chance to ask any questions they might have about me. Here is a not-so-brief sampling:
-How old are you? (Almost always the first question. They want to measure how much respect they have to give you based on your age. Universal in Korean culture)
-How tall are you? (175 centimeters. No feet here, of course)
-Do you have a boyfriend?
-What is your favorite fruit?
-Do you have any pets?
-Are you rich/ Do you have much money?
-Why is your skin that color?
-Have you ever seen an alligator? (Pem and Mem - the pic of us at the farm is coming their way)
-What is the saddest thing in your life?
-Do you have swine flu? (My incessant cough scares them)
-What's your favorite sport? (I need to learn more about Korean icons around the world. They were upset I didn't know who Ji-sung Park was. FYI- he plays for Manchester United)
-What is your favorite Korean food? (They were also upset my favorite food wasn't kimchi. Seriously?!)
-Is that hair real?

I am going to take a survey soon to find out how many of the students actually WANT to learn English.  I would bet it is only a handful in each class. Most of them couldn't act more uninterested if they tried. They learn just enough to pass their exit exam and that is it. I have to find a way to make it more interesting for them, and ME! Teaching the same material over and over is already growing old, and it's only my second week. I must say though, working with the co-teacher I have this week compared to last is like night and day. With Mrs. Kim, I feel confident. I feel like I can teach the way I want and implement my own ideas easily. She also doesn't translate everything I say! In time I will have to find a way to express to my other co-teacher that that just won't work for me. They will never learn to think in English if she continues to translate after every few sentences I speak.

This weekend was beautiful. We chose to forgo all cultural experiences while the weather is nice and just hit the beach. It is still hard for me to believe I can walk from my doorstep to waves crashing at my feet in just 5 minutes. Tonight we are going to a Lotte Giants baseball game. Should be fun!

I feel like I am settling in well to not only Busan but my school. I know my bus route well, I know where to find the coffee in the staff room, I know where to take off my shoes and put on my slippers, and most importantly I can find the bathroom without getting lost now! :)

"Please, I want you to remember me..."

 This phrase has been echoing in my head all day. In my 3rd period class I had a particularly rowdy group of 6th graders. In the back corner was a soft spoken little girl who sat politely through class, but as soon as class was over bolted towards the front. She grabbed my arm and pulled me down to her eye level. The first thing she wanted to do was look at my eyes. She had never seen anyone with green eyes before. "Amy teacher, your eyes are so...wonderful." (We had gone over adjectives to describe vacations today; I think she wanted to try one out.) Before I could say anything she pulled me to my desk and held my hand. "Please I want you to remember me Amy teacher." I said I would, and had her write her name down in English so I wouldn't forget. I think she realizes that I have hundreds of students and there is no possible way I will remember all of their names. She is also the first student who has really tried to reach out to me. It was definitely the highlight of my day. I don't think there is any way I will forget her! Lee joung su. Lee joung su...

Soggy Waffle Fish

Natalie coined this the "soggy waffle fish" ice cream sandwich. You never know what you are going to get with Korean ice cream!

Busan is way better than I ever could have expected. Everything says "Dynamic Busan" on it, but it's true! There is so much to do, I am not sure where to even start. My neighborhood, I suppose. :) I have already spent a good amount of time just walking around trying to just take in the sights/smells/sounds. Everytime I get off on a new subway stop I am continually mesmorized by where I am.

Though I don't start teaching until Thursday, I spent the whole day at school. What did I do? I got in at about 8:30 and headed to the "Intelligence Room" for a teacher's meeting. Every room is labeled in Korean and English, and some translations are rougher than others! What are we the CIA?? In the meeting I had to introduce myself in English and then say a few words in Korean. Everyone laughed at my Korean but said after I  was finished said, "Ohhh you Korean so good!" Haha I think they just appreciated the effort! I was then ushered into the "Broadcasting Room" where I had to wait for my turn to be filmed for the whole school to watch. I  then introduced myself to the students with a similar speech and was presented with a bouquet of flowers by the principal! It was beautiful! After that I had some time to look through the teacher's guides and wait for my co-teacher Mrs. Park to come give me directions. She finally came in to tell me I needed to make a powerpoint about myself to present to all my classes, and come up with a fun warm-up game. That only took me about 45 minutes, and then I had free time until lunch.  I think lunch is going to be painful most days. I just have to sit there in silence and while everyone chatters in Korean and ignores me. After lunch I went back to my desk to again wait for instructions. Mrs. Park came in in a rush to tell me she had to go and that we wouldn't have class tomorrow, we would just plan for Thursday. Uhhhhh?!?  I have to stay until 4:40 everyday, so I spent the afternoon wasting away on the internet. I have to start bringing a book or something because all of my afternoons are free.
Here's what my schedule looks like: Class 1 - 9-9:40, Class 2 - 9:50-10:30, Class 3 - 10:40-11:20, Class 4 - 11:30-12:10. That's it!!!! I sure am getting paid a lot to do a whole lot of nothing.

Oh ya! I almost forgot to mention how I have to wear horribly ugly slipper/ sandals when I teach. Good thing I brought all those dress shoes! When I found out yesterday I had to go buy some, I wasn't sure where to look. Then as I was walking through the subway I saw a lady selling piles of them! I bought a "large" pair but they still don't fit. I look like Bill Murray in Lost in Translation. They will have to do until I can find something bigger!

And now, some pictures:

Ok, I hope you can see what this is. It is a box attached to my wall, showing my how to rappel out of my window! So this is what I do if there is a fire?? I feel much safer having this...?

My school Yong San Elementary! It is so big, you can't even see the other wings of it.

My classroom! :) That is Mrs. Kim, one of my co-teachers.

When I'm not teaching, you will probably find me at that desk in the back corner!

These girls were so curious about what I was doing at my computer. "Amy teacher! What you doing??" 

Not the best photo, but this is the view from my roof. Much prettier at night...

I can't wait to update everyone once I actually start teaching! Can't wait!