Should auld acquaintance be forgot...

Happy 2008, everyone! I had a great New Year's celebration with a somewhat random assortment of friends, acquaintances, and strangers. This week has been a blast thus far, since my classes officially finished on the 28th. Somehow, Dean and I ended up in Hongdae Friday, Saturday, and last night/this morning! We'd been paid, were happy to have friends close by, and just wanted to enjoy ourselves. Kirsten came back from her week at home two nights ago, so she was keen on getting together for dinner and then some festivities. So Dean, Kirsten, and I went to our favorite Korean grilling restaurant nearby our apartment, got 3 sets of beef, a bottle of soju, and had a great dinner.

Afterwards, Dean and went to Sinchon (close to Hongdae) to meet up with our friend Jongman and his Korean friends. Kirsten and I went to Hongdae together and ended up at Gab Bar. It was the first time Kirsten and I had been out together with no one else in a really, really long time--since like...college. So we enjoyed our cheap cocktails (a spectacular 3,500 won per drink!), the old school hip hop, and just talked. An hour or so later, we were joined by my friend Richard (from England, also working with SMOE) and his ladyfriend, then a while later, Dean showed up with a whole gaggle of Korean guys. We counted down the New Year in our small bar, then decided to hop to another place for some food. There, we also met up with Aerim! It was around 1:30 AM by that point, so we went to another grilling house and ordered a lot of pork. We were there for another two hours before we realized that the people probably wanted to close. As soon as we stepped outside, the owners turned all the lights off. Oops. Still wanting to stay out, we ended up at ANOTHER bar close by, which was comfy and warm.

By then, it was 4 AM, and many of us were faced with the same question: do we leave soon and try to find a taxi home? Taxis have been really difficult to get in Hongdae recently--even though hundreds of them flood the streets, many illegally ask for 3 times the normal rate (since they know it's cold and we have no other options), and many just shoo willing customers away as soon as they try to approach. OR...do we wait until 5 when the subway opens and take the train home? We all decided to stick it out, although one of our party fell dead asleep on the table. So at 5 AM, we walked to the subway, waited another 30 minutes before the first train actually left, and were back in our apartments around 6:15 AM.

It was a surreal experience, but it was a memorable night/morning in Korea. This city has such an electric energy and nothing really stops. If you go out in Seoul, you're pretty much guaranteed a good time--something spontaneous or random will happen and it will spark something even weirder or more amusing. Our circle of friends is a melting pot of native English speakers from England, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, while we have also been making some great Korean friends. It was a great way to end the old year and begin the new.

On Saturday, Dean's co-teacher, Mrs. Eom, invited us over for lunch at her apartment! It was our first time in a family's home and it was a great time--her whole family was sweet as can be. This is her with her youngest, but she has two older daughters, both of whom speak spectacular English.


"I remember back in the day." This is spray painted on a wall in the Hongdae underground.


Saturday night was spent in Hongdae with a lot of our TLBU mates who are back in Korea for the winter camp!! Here is me, Kevin (our boss), Tara (from Ireland--she was my teaching partner!), and Junior.


Jongman and Aerim at the pork place.


There was almost a really bad fight between two men in our group and it was pretty heated for about 30 minutes. Kirsten, Amber, and I were quite worried but Aerim shrugged it off saying, "This is just what Korean men do when they drink too much--don't worry about it."

My Christmas Eve

It was the strangest Christmas Eve ever--for me, anyway. Dean and I had planned on going to the English midnight mass at the Myeongdong Cathedral. We finished work around 5, came back to our rooms, had some dinner (really yummy chicken), and watched The Two Towers on tv. We left around 9 PM, thinking that 3 hours is plenty of time to at least standing room at the cathedral. We were wrong.

Upon arriving in Myeongdong, we were shocked. Myeongdong is a famous shopping area in Seoul--streets with no cars and only shoppers, stands set up in the roads selling everything from scarves to fried eel, boutiques everywhere, big name brands with four story shops, multiple Starbucks and Coffee Beans, etc. I had heard that Korea doesn't really shut down for Christmas the way America does, but I was absolutely blown away last night. I had never seen Myeongdong so crowded--thousands of people clogged the narrow streets until we were literally at standstills. One car attempted to drive through the masses, much to the anger and annoyance of us pedestrians. I have never been in such a claustrophobic experience.

We finally made it up the hill to the cathedral, where we were met with another surprise. A huge line (about 7 people wide) was wrapped around the large cathedral--countless numbers of people were already waiting, and it was only 9:40. There was plenty of security, plus metal barriers and church staff. I was so surprised that so many people were there for the ENGLISH service at midnight! But we got at the back of a very depressing line and tried to wait it out.

Meanwhile, we were still receiving text messages from our friends, Aerim and Jongman. They're not Christians and Aerim is a self-proclaimed hater of Christmas. The entire subway ride to Myeongdong, we had been getting texts from both of them with messages like, "Come on, let's play!", "You DO realize that you're trying to get to the most famous church in Korea, right?", "It's like singles X-mas eve here with us--so depressing," and, "WE NEED YOU." They had told us that they were going to Hongdae, the infamous club/party area in Seoul. They us to come, but we said, "No, really, we need to go to church tonight." Well, we had been waiting in line for maybe 15 minutes when who should appear but Aerim and Jongman!! They had come all the way to the Myeongdong cathedral to find us. By that time, Dean and I realized that there was no way we'd be getting into that church--not even with standing room (people were jumping the line like nobody's business). So we relented and left with our two mischievous Koreans.

We ended up at a swanky bar not too far from the cathedral. After paying for our drinks (about $10 USD each, yeesh), we had a relaxing time just talking. We exchanged some incredibly amusing stories until abut 2 AM. Dean and I took a taxi back to Sillim--worst taxi ride ever. The driver was terrible. Dean and I opened our presents around noon today, then ate our cake that I had bought from Paris Baguette.

Here are our favorite evil elves, Jongman and Aerim


Dean's face is blurred out! Muahahaha


A scene from one of the streets in Myeongdong--sadly, this is even a side street, not even one of the main ones. Those were SO BAD.


Korean food always comes with "banchan", or side orders. These always include kimchi and usually some other kind of vegetable or fish. They come free and will get filled for free, too, but a lot of people waste it and at the end of the night, it all gets trashed.


Our lovely Christmas tree


Dean lit the candles on our cake


Blue loved the ribbon


Blue hopes for some Christmas kindness from Dean, but to no avail.


I took this today.


And here is a 2 minute video with scenes from the insanity in Myeongdong, plus the lines at the cathedral.

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Thank you everyone for your cards and gifts! Even though last night was a bit strange, it did feel like Christmas this morning. I love you all and hope your Christmas day is beautiful.

so this is christmas

well, my punctuation is going to look a bit funny for the next post or so because the cat spilled water on my keyboard, thus ruining my shift, caps lock, and number nine keys. i can't do any exclamation points, question marks, or capitalize anything, which is killing the grammar nut inside of me.

my 7th graders went into testing last week, so i only taught a grand total of three classes for the whole week. the 9th graders have been going on numerous field trips, so i haven't had much to do with them lately. this week, i already have four of my classes canceled, plus wednesday is the presidential election--all public schools get the day off. aaaaand next thursday, all the grades are going to the movie theater, so i get to go with them. i'm actually fairly excited.

it really doesn't feel as if christmas is only a week away. even though there are christmas lights everywhere, this city actually doesn't have christmas spririt at all. it's not a major holiday, despite all the stunning light displays and so called 'christmas sales'--they really don't qualify as sales. most of my students said that they'll just hang out with their friends or go to the movies. when i asked if they had any special traditions for the holiday, they stared blankly back. also, i tried to explain hanukkah to them, but they were pretty lost on it. none of my co-teachers had ever heard of hanukkah, either, and were really intrigued. i taught them a dozen christmas holiday words, and added in 'menorah' and 'dreidel', even though i'm still not really sure they understand judaism.

aerim, junior, dean and i went to hongdae on friday night. it was snowing--so exciting.



last night, the cua crew met up at city hall to view the christmas lights and to exchange our secret santa gifts. the lights were gorgeous.




my students playing scrabble in my extra class.


the lights at city hall video--tons of cute kids.


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Here comes the bride

Korea has a love for pictures--they're inescapable. This is a country that is always snapping photos--of people, places, food, flowers, etc. It never really stops. So in a lot of ways, it suits me perfectly. Such is the case with what I'm going to talk about next.

A few days ago, I heard of something called "dress" cafes, the most popular being a chain of its kind called "Princess Diary Cafe." At these cafes, you have to pay for a drink (usually a coffee that is about $6) and a wedding dress rental ($5-$20). There are really girlie couches, divans, tables, and seats, plus professional lighting and props (veils, flowers, stuffed animals, hats, fans, crowns, etc). You get an hour in the dresses and you just take pictures of each other. This seemed so ridiculous and amusing that Dean, Andrea, and I checked it out last night. And...WOW. It was so much fun! We got our coffee and watched some other ladies posing and taking pictures with the giant teddy bears and pink bouquets. Then, we were taken behind the curtain and shown the dresses. There was a fairly large selection. The ladies then help you change and then fasten the dress really tightly to your body with pins in the back, since they get larger dresses to ensure that everyone will be able to wear them. We were given enormous platform shoes to wear, and I was also give a big hoop skirt for under my dress. The final touches were little tiaras, and then we were camera ready.

Needless to say, Dean found the whole thing extremely amusing and we saw him shaking his head with a small smile multiple times. But we had such a good time that we're planning on bringing the rest of the CUA girls plus our friend, Aerim, back soon.

My first photo while Andrea was still getting dressed. Click on the photos to see a larger version.


Sad princess


Mullen and me show off our threads


Catching the bouquet


Some great hats, eh?


Fun accessories


The bear!!!!


Dean took 100 photos and you can see them all here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/caligalux/sets/72157603395992248/

Aaaaand a video from the Princess Diary Cafe!

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Get me through December

I've been really tired this week, and I'm not sure that I have a valid reason for it. My classes have been easy--too easy, maybe. The 7th graders are preparing for their final exams next week, so I have just been doing Lesson 12 from the book and then a short game of Taboo afterwards. Since the 9th graders are finished with EVERYTHING until Dec 29, they have a lot of movie days. I show up for class not knowing if any of *them* will come crashing through the door, and it's a 50/50 chance. I was supposed to teach 5 classes today, but only taught 2 and 1/2. Very simple.

In my extra class, we decorated the English classroom. It took yesterday and today, and only one side of the classroom has decorations. But the room is just too big! So while one side is festooned in red and green, the other remains stoically beige and boring. At least it's something. During the winter break, I plan on making some decorations for my classroom that I can use all year.

Kirsten, Liz, Andrea, Dean, Erica, and I met up in Gangnam last night to draw names for our Secret Santa. It's always a nice pick-me-up to see them on the weekdays. Oh! And I bought a new winter jacket. It's long, casual, down-filled, and soooo very Korean-style.

And here is a video of the blind artist game.

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Ho Yeon, Ju Yeon, and Na Rae watching the artist at work. Can you tell what kind of jacket is popular in Korea right now?


Half of the extra class in front of the decorations.

Welcome, Blue!

I got a cat! He's 8 months old and I named him Blue. A woman in Itaewon runs a cat shelter, and I adopted him from there. Dean and I picked him up last night. He's playful and very affectionate. I felt so bad going to work today and leaving him alone in the tiny apartment.

So I started my new session of my extra class began today...and it's the same students, plus two boys! I was really, really happy when a teacher gave me the new list. Honestly, I expected only two or three of the girls to definitely re-sign, so I couldn't stop smiling as I ran down the list of almost all familiar names. The school is trying to cram the 10 classes in before December 29, so next week, we have FOUR extra classes. It's going to be intense. I didn't notice until my girls showed me the schedule and were like, "Oh, teacher...so much! Oh! So tiring!" So I told them that we would be decorating the English classroom for Christmas and that we could watch a Christmas film, as long as they were willing to do worksheets on it. They happily obliged, so that will make next week go by a lot faster.

Dean and I ordered our plane tickets today! We'll be flying to Dulles in D.C. on Jan 19 (Dean finishes work on Jan 18, I finish work Dec 29), and then we'll be flying back to Korea on Feb 3. It'll be a nice, nice break, and I'm really looking forward to it. I feel like it will be hard to come back...even though I love Korea, I'm going to feel nervous. The Korean school year starts in Feb/March, so I'm going to have 820 new students. It's a lot of pressure, so the idea of flying back to all new students is not exactly something I relish. Even though some of my students are quite the handful right now, I'm going to miss them when they graduate.

Two of my students during lunch. The camera did something crazy just as they were walking away, but I like this picture. The boy on the right is quite the enthusiastic participant, despite his tough demeanor outside of class. He enjoys rap, soccer, and--apparently--learning English.


Some of my 7th grade girls. Whenever I turn the camera on them, they just flee!! This caught them right before they flat out ran away from me. :(


This is Blue! I'm not sure on his middle name. Blue Rochester Murphy? Blue Diablo Murphy? Noooot sure yet.



Another picture of my special Blue.

Our first Thanksgiving abroad

Yesterday, we celebrated our first Thanksgiving abroad. The day felt like any other. I tried to tell my last period class that it was Thanksgiving in America, but after three half-hearted tries, I gave up (it was the end of the day and they were restless).

Dean and I met up with the rest of the CUA gang at Gecko's in Itaewon, where we celebrated Thanksgiving with other Americans. Gecko's set up a really nice buffet with turkey, beef, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, etc. It was pretty awesome! We had a chill time just talking and eating until 11 pm.

Overall, this week was really chill. My 9th graders were still taking their final exams during the early part of the week, so I had some days where I was only teaching one or two classes. The classes I *did* have were stellar! Dean and I made a Powerpoint presentation and a quiz game about middle/high school life in America. I did that for half of my classes, then did a tongue twister game with the others. I divided them into four teams, taught them a tongue twister, gave them three minutes to practice, then they had to stand up and recite the tongue twister as fast as they could. The team who could recite it the fastest (without anyone skipping a word) won.

In other news...I think I'm going to adopt 2 cats/kittens! There is a Korean woman in Itaewon who runs a shelter with two other people. She speaks English and Korean fluently (she lived in NYC for 7 years)--I found her number on the internet and called her about adopting a cat. Dean and I are going to go look at them tomorrow afternoon!! I'm excited but slightly nervous.

Me with my Thanksgiving plate. This was the first taste of homestyle cooking I've had since July, so it tasted *amazing*.


It was the last day of my extra class for this session! To celebrate, I bought a cream cake from Paris Baguette, plus some other snacks. We had an English Only Party--so fun.


One of my favorite students. She's quite the little artist who also loves playing soccer (a HUGE rarity in Korea) and wants to be the lead singer of a rock band. I think she and her crazy (but lovable) friend are signing up for my extra class next session.


Our group picture! We all gave each other nicknames, so from left to right they are....The Queen, Magical Princess Seiri, The Princess, Kim Yoo Jin, Rice Boy, Sleeping Pig Bear, Raccoon, Hwang Jini, Moth, and they nicknamed me simply "The King", since I rule all. MUAHAHAHA.


The video of my students practicing "Larry sent the latter a letter later."
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Liz's birthday

Yesterday was Liz's 23rd birthday, so we had a big evening planned. First, we went to Seoul Tower, then we went to nearby Myeongdong for dinner and a birthday cake from Paris Baguette. We ended the evening in Hongdae, of course, meeting up with Junior and Kevin. It was a great night and everyone seemed to have a really, really fun time. By the time we went home, the subways and buses were running again, and shops were beginning to open. It was a bit crazy, but that's the way Seoulites roll--they work hard and play hard.

Speaking of work, I actually didn't have much this week. My 9th graders had their final exams on Wednesday and Friday, and we had school canceled on Thursday due to college entrance exam day. On this day, the high school students take a really, really important test relating to the types of colleges they can apply to, and since my middle school is quite close to Doksan High, they needed teachers to come proctor the exam. They took fifteen of the teachers, so the principal shut the school down for the day. On Friday, I only taught one class (my first period), but had to stick around all day to participate in "Teachers' Sports Day", which was a 45 minute game of kickball. It was quite amusing, actually, and the utter girlishness of my female colleagues somehow made me appear really athletic in comparison. Our team lost 5-4, but our consolation prize was a box of toothpaste. So...yay for toothpaste?

It's been getting colder and colder in Seoul--last night was absolutely freezing. And yet the young Korean ladies are still strutting around in tiny, tiny shorts and miniskirts! I don't understand how they do it! A winter jacket is on my list of things to buy once I get my next paycheck, since the heat hasn't been turned on in my school yet, and the classrooms are frigid. The teacher's office is heated, but my classroom is just...wow. My kids enter the room and go, "Ahhhhh!! Chu ah! Chu ah!", which is cold/very cold. The big talk at the school was that I dyed my hair this week. The students (and the teachers) were really shocked and kept coming up to me all week to give compliments. Although two students did express that "old hair better tee-chuh. Old hair better."

Yongseo, my tutor, and I have been quite neglectful of each other! Today was the first lesson we'd had in almost a month! I'd been studying on my own at work on my down time, so I've been trying to stay on my toes. But it's good to have the pressure of someone so you KNOW you have to constantly review. I've learned some basic verbs so I can put together some simple sentences, and I learned 3 of the main verb tenses. According to Yongseo, my pronunciation has improved a lot, as well! Being completely immersed in Korean in my workplace is a great advantage.

The teachers warming up for the "big game"--the main teachers' office vs. the 4th floor teachers' office.


Yunhee got this of me kicking the ball! Oh, so exciting.


Dean, Erica, me, Andrea, Liz, Kirsten, and Amber at the top of Seoul Tower.
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Myeongdong at night. It's a really sprawling area packed with food, bars, a some clubs, and amazing shopping.


Lighting the candles for Liz's 23rd birthday cake.


Then, we went to OI for some drinks.



We went to Hooper's and then...of course...Tinpan.


Junior, Dean, and I ended our evening/morning at the huge fish restaurant that is always packed. At 5:30 AM, the place was still packed. We got a big thing of spicy chicken and rice cakes.


Check out my flickr site for the rest of the photos! There are a lot.

Finally feeling like fall in Seoul

It's been a beautiful week in Seoul. Dean and I were discussing how the weeks have been flying by lately. My job isn't a chore like it was in my first two weeks--I thought I was going to be miserable with this job. But now that I don't have to teach the book for 90% of the my classes (it depends on the co-teacher), I can plan my own lessons. Most of the teachers prefer me to play ESL games with the kids, and I have a great time with it. On a Sunday night, I am extremely nervous--what if the kids hate it? Will they understand it? Is it going to engage all the students or only the ones participating? How can I get them all interested? What is the goal of the lesson? Is it too easy for them? Too advanced? I honestly have nightmares about my classroom games going wrong. With 40 kids per class, when things go wrong, they go very, very wrong.

But I've been lucky in choosing games that can be adapted well for my classes. This week, I played a sort of ESL Pictionary. I split them into 3 teams and one person from each team had to come to the chalkboard. I would give a sentence (the sillier = the better) like, "There is a monster under my bed", "I am cooking dinner but there are problems", or "My friend does not like my cat." They had to draw a picture (5 points), write the sentence correctly (10 points), and the team with the most creative drawing received an extra 5 points. The kids made some really, really amusing drawings and I had a great time with them (for the most part).

Yesterday, my co-teacher with the best English, Yunhee, and I had a class canceled so we sat outside on the benches and talked. She said she was really pleased to see how well I have adjusted and how I'm really comfortable in the classroom now. She also said that the kids love the games, which made me feel *so relieved*. Middle school kids can be brutal.

This is one of my favorite classes--they make my Thursdays awesome. The boy in the front told me I looked like Tinkerbell yesterday. It was strange.


Playing Pictionary...didner? Dindner? Ding...DINNER! Fourth time's the charm.


The three teams competing.


Munsung in the fall. This was taken from where I sit after I finish my lunch. There are some nice benches in front of the school. It's amusing to watch the kids play soccer, although NO females join in...at all. It's ONLY boys. According to my co-teachers, the girls in Korea are not encouraged to play sports as an extracurricular activity at all. I spied the three girls on the left with a soccer ball and was really happy for a moment, then I realized they were just throwing it up into the nearby tree to see how many leaves they could get to fall.


Gyeonghye, one of my best students in my extra class. We were playing 20 questions with Post-Its--she was Ban Ki Moon (the current Secretary General of the UN).


One of my best students--one of the few that actually is really interested in having conversations when I'm not teaching. It's nice to talk to students who don't look like they are constantly in pain listening to you speak! I think he's going to a high school next year that specializes in the study of foreign languages. In Korea, the students apply to high schools the way Americans apply for college. Most of the kids from my area are going to the high school very close to Munsung, but some are going to high schools to study traditional arts, technical science, and foreign language. The third year middle schoolers have their SATs 14th-19th and they are pretty strung out.


This video is of my extra class playing 20 Questions.
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Check out the rest of my Korean videos at http://www.veoh.com/userVideos.html?username=caligalux I also updated my flickr page, so you can check out the rest of my Munsung pictures there.

Halloween in Korea

Last weekend, all the foreigners flooded Hongdae and Itaewon as usual, but this time, we were all in our Halloween costumes. Many of the natives stopped and stared--I even got my picture taken by some. If we were a bit more self-conscious, we would have felt strange on the subway in our bright wigs as everyone openly stared. But luckily, we just thought it was all pretty amusing. On Saturday afternoon, Kirsten, Liz, Dean, Andrea, Erica, and I took a bus out into the mountains (north of Seoul) to go to a pig roast. Some of Kirsten's co-workers had suggested it so we all went in a big group. We were there from 3 pm-8 pm, eating tons of delicious pork, having some beers, enjoying the bonfire, and just talking. We took the bus back to the subway station at 8 and ended up in Itaewon, then Hongdae. (Itaewon is the notorious foreigners district where almost everything is in English. On the weekends, it has some ignorant drunks and a lot of guys from the US army. Hongdae is Seoul's art university, and a really intense mix of bars, restaurants, dance clubs, and artsy boutiques draws an enormous crowd every weekend.) We had a great night, meeting up with Aerim, Chungsoo (part of TLBU's ISI staff, met him at the summer camp), Kevin (my boss from TLBU), Junior (friend from TLBU), and a lot of my SMOE friends.

Yesterday, I had to go do a dinner at this formal Korean fusion restaurant. I'd been there before about a month ago before Grace, one of my co-teachers, went to Canada for a training session, and just assumed it would be the same teachers. BUT it was big---there were maybe fifteen teachers there, including the principal and the vice principal, who sat across from me. The seats were on the floor and women in traditional Hanboks served us in our private room. It was beautiful but I couldn't help feeling out of the loop. Yunhee sat on one side of me and translated a lot for me. The principal is an elderly man who has been really great--he keeps asking (through Yunhee) if there is anything else I need for my apartment, my classroom, and how I'm adjusting. My vice principal is a very formal woman--the kind that wears a big emerald cocktail ring and pearls everyday. She's forever in tweed dress suits and heels, as well. But she speaks English fairly well (and so elegantly! This breed of woman--slightly cold, intelligent, old-fashioned, and conservative--is such a dying breed. She's probably in her 60s) and has also come to me to make sure that I have everything I need. Since so many foreign English teachers have complained of their schools being unsupportive or rude, I feel so grateful for the people at Munsung Middle School.

Since today is Halloween, some of us (that are relatively the same size as we were when we were high/middle school students) decided to borrow uniforms and dress up as our students. My co-teachers were so excited about the idea that they took me to the extra students' wardrobe and helped me pick a uniform a few days ago. So I walked to school this morning feeling INCREDIBLY awkward. Students were flat out staring as were adults. It was probably because students in Korea are not allowed to have dyed hair (many still do, but not as light as mine) or wear makeup to class. When I came to school, the teachers thought it was hysterical and the students FLIPPED out. They crowded around my desk continually, laughing and going, "Cutie cutie! So cute! Teacher is student!" Kids were doing double takes in the hallway all day, especially those that I don't have class with.

Me with my JA, taken after our extra class. (you can click on the pictures to see a bigger size.


Dean pulling the cork


Aerim, me (in a wig), and Chungsoo


Jason, Dean, and Colin at our pig roast.


For my pictures, as always, check out my flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/caligalux/collections/72157600864748555/

Here is a 26 second video of my kids with the blindfold. Oh, Jisu--you're the best.


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