What I'm learning

Today at the market I specifically looked for my favorite:  "ho-duk" - a hot freshly-made pancake with seeds and some sort of sweetener inside. I was pleased to find them, and even more excited that one of the customers also standing there eating hers showed me something I wouldn't otherwise have known about. After she ate her hot ho-duk from the paper cup it was served in, she spooned some hot brothy soup into the cup and drank it right there. So I followed suit. It was delicious soup! I'm glad I took the time to stand with her and her friend, to observe how they were eating, and to copy them.

I'm learning my numbers fairly well what with always asking, "How much does this cost?" in Korean, and getting used to what the answers sound like. Also, this past week in Korean class I learned how to say the following words:  How was your day? Good; pencil, pencil case, desk, door, chair, foreigner...

Parent-Teacher Conferences

For parent-teacher conferences, my Korean teacher counterpart introduced me, I gave a short intro of myself in English, and then she talked the rest of the meeting in Korean going through a handout (in Korean) with the parents. (About 20-25 parents showed up, almost all women.)

After the meeting, I walked up to a few parents who were hanging around and said, "Hello," politely in Korean, with a slight bow, and showed them my class list of students. I asked, "Who is your son or daughter?" She'd say her son's or daughter's English name, and we'd find it on my list. Then I'd nodd, smile, and say in Korean, "Nice to meet you." If she didn't speak English, the conversation ended there. If she spoke a little (or a lot of) English, the conversation continued, usuallly with her asking me how her child was in class.

Garbage bags and phone car-cards

Green garbage bags- Everyone here must buy these specific green bags in which to put their trash. You have to be sure to tell what district you live in when you buys these because each district has a different bag. It may sound like a hassle but it's not and I'm sure it makes picking up trash a lot easier!

Parking - 
This was also on the shelf at the indoor grocery store in the
line for check out. Many people here have tags viewable from the
windshield or window, in their cars on the dash, to display their phone
numbers so that if their car is in your way (because of the narrow
side streets), you can call them and ask them to move their car.
Ingenious! Some people even leave their keys in the ignition in their
cars all day so that you yourself can move *their* car if need be! It's THAT
safe here!

When in Rome, do as the Romans do...

Yup. I just did it. I changed pants and socks, and even brushed my hair, just to walk downstairs to put my trash out on the curb for pickup in the morning. I changed *just* for that! Hey, I'm told the Koreans change just to walk to the next-door store to get something. 

Besides, I have an image to uphold- that of a teacher, and here teachers are highly respected! 

Anyway, I didn't feel comfortable being seen in my pj bottoms and disheveled hair. 

It's laundry day so the only pants that are dry are my pj bottoms and the work pants I'll wear tomorrow. (Things dry slowly here! No wonder people do laundry early and put their clothes out on the line to air dry first thing in the morning!)

Thank you LP Phrasebook!

The purse-sized Lonely Plant Korean Phrasebook I have (that B&A Buck lent me) has come in quite handy! I applied it today to tell the taxi driver, "Continue on this road. Stop here please." I also used it for, "I'm from the USA. I'm sorry I don't speak Korean." With it I have practiced how to say the proper "Goodbye" that one is to use when leaving a shop, office, or restaurant. So far responses to this proper "Goodbye" have been all smiles, looks of surprise, and positive nods of the head.  :)

Some recent photos

Yes, they have McDonald's here. I haven't tried it yet. They also have Starbucks (which looks exactly the same), Baskin Robbins, Pizza Hut, 7eleven, and COSTCO to name a few...

Here I am changing from outdoor street shoes to "indoor" classroom/school work shoes. Funny how most of the Korean teachers and staff wear very nice formal business clothes to teach and work in, but then wear these cheap "indoor" shoes. Only a few wear nice "indoor" shoes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday, March 16, 2012 (Our first payday!)

Beware:  This jumps around a lot!

I just read an interesting article from a great blog called, "Ask a Korean!" I'm now listening to the beautiful voice of Lee Seon-Hee at http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2012/03/50-most-influential-k-pop-artists-21.html.

Whew! I made it through the second week of classes. I can't believe it was the second week- it feels like it was the first, maybe because there's still so much to learn, figure out, and because one of the classes I'm supposed to teach (ESL- grade 5) hasn't started yet (but will next week).

One thing is for sure. I need to carry *with* me a Korean-English dictionary. Yes, I can survive without it but two or three times this week an English-speaking Korean was not around to help me understand what the Korean-speaking person was trying to communicate to me. Thank goodness I can *see* and *move* my body! I was able to guess at what she wanted based on her body language, and communicate myself somewhat through my body language. Still, I felt somewhat ashamed for not knowing Korean. I am trying to learn one word a day, but still...

How many Americans have you heard complain about a Mexican, or other Spanish-speaking person, living in the U.S. but not being able to speak English? How am *I* any different? I came here for a better-paying job, and for better health care, and I came not knowing more than ten words of the national language. This sounds very similar to thousands of people who move to the U.S., for a better-paying job and other things, while not knowing more than ten words of the United States' national language.

Today's teaching excitements included a student seeing the word "imagine" in the word "imaginative," and "religion" in "religious." <<I love languages!>>

I will post more pictures this weekend! Tomorrow I'll go to the Daejeon Intercultural Community Center, and who knows where else... Hopefully my bank card will work, as we were supposed to have been paid today by direct deposit. Then I can buy some garlic, ginger, and Korean pancakes at the market!