Words for the week: Alligator, koala bear, turtle.
The lunches lately have been ok. One particular day we had this chicken-like thing that tasted pretty good. I asked what it was, and they told me "oh, dang". So I looked it up, and this is what I was eating:
It is fish batter somehow put together, and with a bunch of sesame on it it tasted great. I usually eat a ton of lunch, and this particular day was no exception. But this really wasn't fish...it was really good. It was mixed in with quail eggs, which are also good. Never thought I would eat any of those before, but I guess now I can add that to my list.
Some people in Korea wear glasses without any lenses. Its their sense of fashion. I don't understand these people.
Last Monday I woke up at 5:45 to a mosquito buzzing around my face. I usually sleep with a fan on to ward off any mosquitos, because it has been a problem in the past, but this one was determined to eat me. I couldn't sleep after that, and when I finally got the the mirror I had 7 large bites on my right cheek/neck. Try explaining that to a bunch of Korean kids. What a nightmare. Some of them thought I had zits, while others just said "Tighe teacher mosquito face". It was really cool NOT. My coat is black NOT. Anyway the swelling went down about 2 hours later and I got some spray to prevent such episodes in the future.
Korean table manners are something else. I have my opinions, but a quick Google search will tell you what you need to know about them Lets just say that they aren't the same as Western standards. At all.
There are two types of schools where teachers like myself work: hagwon(s) which are private English institutes, or public schools. When I was applying for jobs over here I was going through two separate recruiting agencies, one private and one which sent teachers to public schools. The ONLY reason I eventually went with the agency who was affiliated with a public school was simply because they offered me a job first. The private agency said I was in and that I had passed the interview but they were looking for placement, more or less. And its a great thing I went public. Many of the foreign teachers whom I've met work at hagwons, and they do a LOT more work per day and work longer hours than public school teachers, and work weekends. Not to say that I don't enjoy the work (which I do), or that I would prefer to do less than an acceptable amount of work. It just that public schools allow for much more flexibility and, at least in my eyes, a more enjoyable teaching experience. If I want to solely lead a class I can, but if I want to share responsibilities with my co teacher then that is fine too. But thats just my opinion. And hagwons are often run as late as 10 or 11 PM. Yeah no thanks.
This past week I showed a powerpoint about how to say "he/she is ____", with various Korean celebrities as pictures. The students would look at the picture, raise their hands and then say "he is Tighe teacher/she is Kim Yuh-Na", for example. Then I showed a picture of Barack Obama. I called on this little girl to answer the question. She stood up, hesitated for a second, then immediatly started bawling in front of the whole class. I'm talking immediate tears and lots of power behind it. I mean I voted for McCain too little girl; but that's no reason to cry when you see his picture! What a great GOP ad that would have been...classic.
The lunches lately have been ok. One particular day we had this chicken-like thing that tasted pretty good. I asked what it was, and they told me "oh, dang". So I looked it up, and this is what I was eating:
It is fish batter somehow put together, and with a bunch of sesame on it it tasted great. I usually eat a ton of lunch, and this particular day was no exception. But this really wasn't fish...it was really good. It was mixed in with quail eggs, which are also good. Never thought I would eat any of those before, but I guess now I can add that to my list.
Some people in Korea wear glasses without any lenses. Its their sense of fashion. I don't understand these people.
Last Monday I woke up at 5:45 to a mosquito buzzing around my face. I usually sleep with a fan on to ward off any mosquitos, because it has been a problem in the past, but this one was determined to eat me. I couldn't sleep after that, and when I finally got the the mirror I had 7 large bites on my right cheek/neck. Try explaining that to a bunch of Korean kids. What a nightmare. Some of them thought I had zits, while others just said "Tighe teacher mosquito face". It was really cool NOT. My coat is black NOT. Anyway the swelling went down about 2 hours later and I got some spray to prevent such episodes in the future.
Korean table manners are something else. I have my opinions, but a quick Google search will tell you what you need to know about them Lets just say that they aren't the same as Western standards. At all.
There are two types of schools where teachers like myself work: hagwon(s) which are private English institutes, or public schools. When I was applying for jobs over here I was going through two separate recruiting agencies, one private and one which sent teachers to public schools. The ONLY reason I eventually went with the agency who was affiliated with a public school was simply because they offered me a job first. The private agency said I was in and that I had passed the interview but they were looking for placement, more or less. And its a great thing I went public. Many of the foreign teachers whom I've met work at hagwons, and they do a LOT more work per day and work longer hours than public school teachers, and work weekends. Not to say that I don't enjoy the work (which I do), or that I would prefer to do less than an acceptable amount of work. It just that public schools allow for much more flexibility and, at least in my eyes, a more enjoyable teaching experience. If I want to solely lead a class I can, but if I want to share responsibilities with my co teacher then that is fine too. But thats just my opinion. And hagwons are often run as late as 10 or 11 PM. Yeah no thanks.
This past week I showed a powerpoint about how to say "he/she is ____", with various Korean celebrities as pictures. The students would look at the picture, raise their hands and then say "he is Tighe teacher/she is Kim Yuh-Na", for example. Then I showed a picture of Barack Obama. I called on this little girl to answer the question. She stood up, hesitated for a second, then immediatly started bawling in front of the whole class. I'm talking immediate tears and lots of power behind it. I mean I voted for McCain too little girl; but that's no reason to cry when you see his picture! What a great GOP ad that would have been...classic.
Later that day I finally got paid for the first time. What a great day- the best since I have been here by far. I was feeling particularly American, what with Kane scoring the winning goal and all, and so immediately after school I bought some Budweiser and drank it on the way to McDonalds. The McDonalds in Korea are really good. Maybe its because I haven't had it in a while, but regardless it was awesome.
So that night I strolled around and found a place in the Yeoung-tong Dong (I know...thats honestly what its called) area of Suwon and found a "hennessey bar". Now I had only once in my life had hennessey but thought I would check the place out. That was my first mistake. I walked in and was one of two people in the bar. Still feeling American I ordered what I thought was a glass of Jack Daniels. Instead the waitress brought me an entire bottle of Jack. I mean...great lady but I am not looking to party that hard tonight. So she pours me a shot and then a chaser of tea (seriously) and then I want to pay but they don't understand. They do not understand the concept that I wanted to pay. So what does the waitress do? Pours me another shot. I mean at this point I kinda have to rip another one. So I tell the bartender that she should do one too, and she obliges. When I want to leave, I find out that they had run my card for THE ENTIRE BOTTLE OF JACK DANIELS for a price so high that I'm not comfortable sharing it over the internet. I tried explaining I didn't want the whole bottle, but I may as well have been talking to a wall. Now, never in my life would I have been bothered by owning something like that, but I think they were thinking that I would drink it all there. Crap. So I sit down again and the waitress and I do another shot. It was like this for about an hour before I finally convinced them to let me take my already opened bottle and leave that dungeon. But the entire time I sat at the bar, which was maybe an hour total. And for that same duration the bartender sat directly across from me at the bar staring at me. Talk about uncomfortable. I still don't know why she thought it was cool that she stared at me while we had nothing to talk about. Thats the last time I go to any hennessey bar.
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