The Arrival of the Unexpected

Two months ago, while sifting through job postings on the TESL Ontario website, I came across a posting to teach at a one month summer camp in Haenam, Korea – all expenses paid plus a stipend for spending money. I thought, “Great! Something to do with my summer…” Now, looking back over my time teaching in Korea, I really had no clue what I was getting into.

I expected…

1. … to teach ESL, Art and P. E. to one class of 15 students for 4 hours a day.
2. … to visit with friends: Anna-Lisa (former pastor and family friend) and In Young (lived with my family for 2 years while in High School).
3. … to do some sightseeing: Kyung Ju and Jeju Island.
4. … to learn a little bit of Korean.
5. … to eat a lot of seaweed, kimchi and rice.
6. … to maybe make a couple of Korean friends.
7. … to come home in the fall with no intentions of returning to Korea. 

I did not expect… (in the same order)

1. ... to LOVE teaching ESL. It’s amazing what fun you can incorporate into prepositions and vocabulary! It’s also amazing what kind of relationships you can build with kids, even though English is their second language. One girl cried when she said goodbye to me Friday. I was a bit sad that I didn’t get my own class of 15, instead I rotated through 10 classes of 15, but I was still able to connect with the students in a meaningful way. I’ve already received 3 e-mails and many goodbye letters from the students. I will miss them.
2. ... to laugh so much with old friends. Anna-Lisa was so fun to connect and laugh with – she’s lived here for two years and has incredible insight into the language and culture. She’s also someone who understands my ‘travel bug disease’ as well as my heart for social justice and for Jesus. Encouraged barely describes how I feel when I’m with her. In Young has also been great fun. In Young and I were like sisters in Canada when she was studying in high school. I’ve loved catching up with her, reminiscing about her time in Canada, and creating new fun memories here. A great friend indeed. I also look forward to visiting with Calvin and Katie – two great friends from University who are also working here.
3. ... so much sightseeing! SOME sightseeing is an understatement. The Korean supervisors took us ALL over Jeju Island, Kyung Ju, and more… I didn’t even go on all the trips. Without them I went to Boesang, Jeonju, Seoul and this week I’ll go to the DMZ (North Korean Border) and Daegu/Busan.
4. ... to be so motivated! I’ve worked like a racehorse to learn Korean. I have this strange motivation pushing me to learn the language. I co-led the thank you speech to the Korean education delegates last Friday night, and I gave the last sentence in Korean. The satisfaction that comes when a child lights up because you can say a few sentences in his or her language is incredibly worth it. I hope there will be some Koreans in my LINC class this year!
5. ... to like the food so much. I’ve eaten more rice and seaweed than you can imagine. I really like it. I’m becoming quite good using the chopsticks. Kimchi is still hard, but I’m getting better at eating it with certain foods. I’ve eaten a large variety of food here – and In Young is not wasting any time making sure that I don’t miss any food before I go home. It’s all very good!
6. ... to make such long lasting friendships. Other than the students, there are a couple of Koreans that I will not forget. Nan Ji is one of them. She was my first Korean co-teacher. We got along so well that she’s invited me to her house tomorrow here in Seoul. She’s very excited to host me and show me around her city. My homestay family is another one – I’ve already written about them. My homestay mother showed up on the last day of school with a final gift for me – some really expensive chrysanthemum tea. She assured me that she would be praying for me in the time to come.
7. ... to want to cry. "Don't make me go!" I told Anna-Lisa when she dropped me off at the bus station a week ago. I can’t NOT come back. I’ve worked so hard to learn Korean and fit into the culture. I’ve LOVED getting to know the kids and even some parents. Korea is a good fit for me. I don’t know any details, but I do know that had I not signed a contract to work in Sudbury this year, I’d probably ‘accidentally’ miss my flight home. J Finding work here will be very easy – especially since I have my teacher’s certification.

Korea was supposed to be an avenue I took just to pass the time… a way to pass the summer without digging myself deeper into debt. What it became however, was one of the funnest, most encouraging and thought provoking summers I’ve ever had. Though I look forward to seeing my family, I will be truly sad to leave next week. 

"Chicken Party"

Kim Boon A and I when I got my hair cut.
It took her quite a while to explain to me never
to towel dry my hair again... Little does she know
I'll only follow her advice maybe half the time! 

 A week ago I went to get my haircut… which is always an adventure in a country where you don’t really know salon vocabulary (layers, colour, trim, 2 inches etc.). I told Kim Boon A – the hairdresser – that I wanted two inches off and a few layers. At that point, I even had a Korean Canadian teacher friend translate for me. Once my Korean friend left, Kim Boon A informed me with many gestures that I would NOT be beautiful with short hair – long hair is much better. I argued with her, but once again, as the linguistic minority, you tend to lose in arguments. She proceeded to wash, cut, dry, style and put fragrance in my hair during the time period of an hour. My Korean phrase book and dictionary came in quite handy during this time. After cutting Monica’s (another Canadian teacher) and my hair, she became quite dramatic with many gestures and even used other Koreans in line to communicate… well… something about chicken and a party. Janet, Monica and I finally understood that she wanted to order chicken and beer for us that very night! Once again, I mustered up the Korean words I knew, plus some extravagant charades, and told her it was too late (9 pm ish) and that we had to go back… the next morning we were to leave for Jeju Island. We did however, set a date to return for the chicken party on August 17^th – which was tonight.

"Chicken Party" at the "Hello Kitty" table.
It's very common to eat sitting on the floor.

Needless to say, the chicken party was a success! The chicken itself was great and combined with the Pepsi and the beer, it was just like being at home… only we were sitting on the floor around a little “Hello Kitty” table in the back room of the salon. Kim Boon A only sat with us for a little bit because she had to work, instead her friend who could speak pretty good English came and sat with us. The evening was full of laughter, food and energy. It was the best, and the only, chicken party I’ve ever been to!

Do most Canadians even know the word hospitality, much less practice it!? Seriously, when was the last time you invited a client/customer into your space for a “Chicken Party?” When was the last time you served a foreigner and thought… “gee, I wonder if they want to learn more English?” or “I wonder if they’ve made any friends yet?” (Not rhetorical). It’s amazing how wrapped up we can get in our own business/tv shows/kids/soccer games/school/work/church that we forget that there are people walking past us every day who are longing for a “Chicken Party.” And really, what would it take? Some food, some beverages, some time, and… oh yah… the effort to step out of the little box called “comfort.” Spiritually speaking, God is not a god of comfort; he is a god of risk and of obedience with a hospitable character. In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus teaches about the importance of hospitality by way of using the parable about the sheep and the goats, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in…” (v. 35) “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (v. 40). Christian or not, every person has been uniquely created by God; as a result, all hospitality and hostility is vicariously received by Jesus himself and will therefore have eternal consequences. Hmm, that’s something uncomfortable to think about. What are ways in which westerners can start to practice some Korean hospitality? Hmm, perhaps one could start with Three Cups of Tea, (author: Greg Mortenson) or perhaps one could even start within the immediate family. I've often heard it said of foreigners to Canada that "Canadians are really nice people... but it takes at least two years to make real friends." There is a big world out there, both in and out of your city, longing to be invited to your “Chicken Party.”

Amidst the Whirlwind of Tourist Activities…

The view from my hotel room.

The past six days have been quite the whirlwind. Wednesday through Friday, the Korean supervisors took the Canadian teachers out of the school and brought us to Jeju Island. Jeju Island is very famous in the Pacific area especially for the beautiful beaches, hiking, and the volcanoes. It could probably be compared to Hawaiian Islands… though I’ve never been. We had to take a four-hour ferry from mainland to get to the island. Upon arrival, we met the tour guide and began a marathon of museums, beaches, gardens, volcanoes, hiking, Buddhist temples and an immense amount of time eating. We stayed in a hotel that was lavish beyond anything I’ve ever dreamed, oceanfront view, a down duvet, western and Korean style breakfast and more. I certainly felt like a fish out of water. The views were fantastic and the people were very kind. It still floors me that the Korean government brought me here and is paying my every expense. Amidst all the sightseeing and delicious food, my Kodak moment occurred on the ferry on the way back to mainland.

Beautiful beaches...
so much to explore!

Volcanic lava solidified and left over from the last explosion thousands of years ago.

I was sitting by myself at a picnic table on the stern of the boat and was studying Korean when all of a sudden a family of five shows up – one mother and four children under the age of 11. There were no picnic tables left and, as I’m learning ever so quickly in Korea, communal sharing is much more common than in Canada therefore making my table an obvious choice for a family of five. While the mother ran around getting food, the two middle girls looked over my shoulder and my Korean book helping me to pronounce the new home vocabulary words I was learning. I would say sentences like, “This is a chair!” and they would laugh and correct my pronunciation. When the mother came back she opened her bag and gave me a peach. I mustered up all the Korean words I knew to have a choppy, yet meaningful, conversation with her and her children. She kept feeding me from her bag as I kept willing myself to communicate in this unrecognizable oriental language that is becoming more and more familiar to me as days go on. The oldest daughter could speak some English and it seemed that she was overjoyed to practice with me. Between her English, her mother’s English, and my 40 words in Korean, we were able to talk about professions, hobbies, homeland, school, children and more. In the end however, smiles, body language, food, laughter and obvious effort goes further in relationship communication than words will ever go.

Though the bus tour was a generous and an efficient way to see lots in a small amount of time, native Korean families take precedence for me - hands down. 

I am not a natural born tourist; in fact though eating Korean barbeque with a group of thirty other Canadian teachers is fun, it compares in no way to sitting down with a family of five to eat “subak” (watermelon) to hear about their lives. Wading through the stunning beaches will never compare with searching for crayfish with a 6-year-old Korean boy. And certainly following a tour bus with a predetermined itinerary compares in no way to standing at the ticket booth in a bus station hoping that you didn’t mispronounce the city name thus resulting in a longer bus ride than anticipated! There are moments in your life when you feel ‘in the zone.’ Moments when you recognize that you are no longer just surviving but rather thriving through this thing called life. I love this feeling. I love knowing that I love what I do. I love the fulfillment that comes from the process of self-emptying wholly for the benefit of another person. Isn’t this what Jesus intended? That we thrive and not just survive? Where do you feel ‘in the zone,’ and what can you do in your life so that you’re thriving through the zone and not just surviving to get to the zone?

The Jindo National 'Cougar Show'

It’s amazing what can happen when you’re with a family and there’s no (or very little) mutual language… especially when you happen to be the minority. Such was the case for me over the past 24 hours. Yesterday afternoon I was placed with a homestay family. Families of the students in my school volunteered to host a teacher for one day. I was a little bit nervous, as I knew that English would be limited, but regardless, ventured to practice the 20 words I know in Korean.

I was assigned to Yu Jin (11), Kyong Min (6) and their parents. In Korea, you don’t say “Mr. or Mrs. Kim…” To show respect you call them “Yu Jin’s mother” or “Kyong Min’s father.” Thus, I still don’t know their names. Within the first 10 minutes, I knew I was in for an adventure… though English was limited, body language goes a long way.

Yu Jin’s mother informed me that after dinner we would go to the Jindo National Cougar Centre. Hmm, I thought, I didn’t realize Cougars were really that popular here, but when all the Korean you know is hello, goodbye, thank you, you’re welcome, again, be quiet, 1, 2, 3, 4… you don’t really ask about geographical displacement of animals. Upon arrival at their home, I was showed to my room: a vanity desk, a chair, a bathroom… but no bed. No problem, I kind of expected that, it’s quite typical of Koreans to sleep on the floor. Yu Jin’s mother, by way of charades, told me to take a shower then we would eat. I didn’t really think I needed a shower, but what else was I going to do while she cooked… watch her and smile? I took a shower. After dinner and picking up Yu Jin’s dad, we drove the one-hour to the small island of Jindo off the southern tip of Korea. I passed the time by competing with Kyoung Min as to who could blow a bigger bubble with the trident watermelon gum I brought. When we got there I realized I had interpreted wrongly, it was not a cougar show as I thought, but instead a Gugak Suchawa (I heard Cugah Sushow). The show was amazing! It was an arts performance of traditional Korean dance, songs, stories and instruments that lasted an hour and a half. We had front row seats. I'm so sorry I didn't take pictures, I tried but I was quickly reprimanded with very obvious body language from the usher. It was much better than a cougar show and I was not disappointed in the least! I was disappointed however that there was no one around to laugh with about the fact that I was so convinced we were going to a cougar show.

The Jindo National Gugak Centre with my home stay family:
Yu Jin (Girl), Kyong Min (Boy) and their parents 

Yu Jin's parents trying out the Maple Syrup.
That's a thumbs up sign from Yu Jin's dad! 

The rest of the evening, night and following day were filled with many smiles, some English, some Korean, and a lot of KonGlish. It turns out Yu Jin is quite the master at Kongi, a traditional Korean game and that Kyong Min is a good equal competitor for me as I am still learning. They were very excited for the maple syrup that my parents sent for them. “Delicious,” was the word they used to describe it. I look forward to going to church with them tomorrow morning.

Have you ever been in a situation where you felt you had no voice? I don’t even just mean physically, but even socially or culturally, do you remember a time when you just gave up trying to communicate because you knew that the others wouldn’t hear or they weren’t patient enough to understand? This weekend made me think of those in my community at home who are trying to communicate but I may not have the time or the patience to really understand them. These people are usually a minority in our society and tend to peer pressure because it’s way too much effort to communicate a different opinion. This person could even be you… though you may be a in family where you speak the same language, you feel like a little puppy dog, following everyone else around because it’s way too much energy to stop the situation, expect patience on all sides, and explain the details of what you really want and need. Contrarily, maybe you’re not the following puppy, but instead the farmer who has become so accustomed to the regular barking of the dogs to notice that there are different barking tones that could mean different things. It’s unrealistic to pinpoint who minority groups could be, because it changes based the social context. Possible minority groups could children, the elderly, foreigners, the locals, Christians, non-Christians, women, men, the educated, the uneducated… Who does not have a voice in your community and what can you do to change that? In which situations do you find yourself without a voice and what could you do to change that?

Reintroducing the Work Horse Metaphor

Teaching is not necessarily just the transferring of information; it is also participating in the dramatic arts, therefore transferring useful information in the most entertaining and effective way possible. I therefore wouldn’t necessarily call myself a teacher, by more an actress with a life-long purpose. I always knew this, but I was reminded of it again last weekend as I spent time with Anna-Lisa, a good friend from home who is also teaching here, who is more entertaining and dramatic than I think I could ever hope to become! I do however, try. Yesterday and the day before, I taught a preposition song to the kids. After singing the song normally, we sang it faster, slower, happier, sadder, angrier etc.  The kids were laughing in fits by the end. The best part was when we sang it ‘sadder,’ I looked up and one of the kids actually had tears running down his face! Now THAT’S dramatic!

Generally, kids here grow up very differently than in Canada.  Similarly to us, kids go to school during the school year. However, activities after school do not include the play time/video games time/TV time/day care time that we tend to know as necessary. Kids here, once finished their time in day school, go to an evening school, one of which is known as the Hagwan. Here, students study extra English, Math or other disciplines. Based on stories from my teacher friends in Korea during the school year, it is common to wake a kid up who fell asleep during class. Another common activity after school is attending a piano or violin academy. These two instruments are very common in this part of Asia. Sports are well practiced here as well, but I am unsure if there are as many camps and teams as there are in Canada. Korean kids don’t go on “summer holidays” for two months like in Canada. If a family goes away for an extended vacation, according to one source I heard, it would only last about seven days. Korean kids fill their 'summer vacation' with more English camps and extra school (which is why I have a job). I asked one student in my class, “Will you go home and play tonight?” “No,” she replied. “I study!” “When do you play?” I asked. “Mmmm… maybe the weekend?” She shrugged.

Is Korea depriving its children of an “idyllic” childhood? What is an “idyllic” childhood? In the generation before ours (mine), our parents had many more chores and household duties than we ever did. I somehow doubt that my parents came home from school, plunked themselves in front of the TV and watched “The Roadrunner” all afternoon and evening. They most likely came home to a domestic household with more than two kids and helped to keep the bread and milk on the table. When I was growing up, I always had Saturday morning chores to do, a paper route, an after school job at Subway, babysitting, homework and more. Today, most (not all) kids come home from school, watch TV, run to soccer practice, participate in school activities sit in front of the computer. In the summer time we’re scrambling to find inventive things for our kids to do so that they’re not bored and getting into trouble (which is often found anyways). We could probably equate the amount of time Koreans spend in ‘extra’ school with the amount of time our kids spend in front of the technology that the former Korean kids invented… Hmm… It’s an interesting topic to think about. Are ‘idle hands the devil’s workshop’? Should ‘after school’ school be introduced in Canada? Would student work ethic and creativity increase, or decrease? How do we define an ‘idyllic’ childhood? How hard or how easy can we, or should we, push our kids?   

Good Mowning Teachah! (followed by a bow)

Today was my second day of teaching grade 6 at Haenam-Dong elementary school. I rotate through ten classes of 15 students, teaching 3 classes a day. The kids get one block of ESL, one block of Gym, and one block of Art per day. At this point, I only teach ESL. The classes are evenly split between boys and girls. I have been teaching a review unit consisting of days of the week, months of the year, introducing yourself, introducing others and just now I’m starting the Olympics unit. I teach using music, colouring, games, chanting (in a non-cultish wayJ) and drama. I have a Korean co-teacher – Nan ji. Nan ji is very helpful. I am the lead teacher and she aids my by translating when needed or by reprimanding the kids. She is also a great person to debrief my lessons with. We are about the same age and get along really well. I’m realizing that this is not always the case when you get a co-teacher. She is with me in the mornings and then I’m alone in the afternoons. As you can imagine, classroom management is very different without Nan ji. Even though the kids bow when they see me, or stand when I ask them to speak out loud, they are still kids and would love to take over the class if I’m not careful – especially when they can band together in Korean and I have no idea what’s going on!

I have found that I am so animated when I teach. I really feel like I find a zone when I’m in front of the class. I love to make the kids laugh! Today we were discussing what sound a bumblebee makes. I (sort of successfully) drew a bee on the board. They say that a bee makes the sound “wwaaaayyyy” and I say a bee makes the sound “zzzzzz.” So who’s right? Cultural relativity within onomatopoeia at it’s finest.

I also love to say their names – which makes them laugh even harder! Seriously – the name “Kim Chang Ok” looks pretty simple, right!? Wrong! “Kim” is the boy’s last name. “Chang Ok” is his first name. The “a” in “Chang” is pronounced like the “a” in “want” and then “Ok” is pronounced “Oh.” Though they laugh incessantly, I insist on using their names. I want them to know that I know who they are (even though I never remember outside of class). The students try very hard and I find they are stronger than I thought they would be. They know how to introduce themselves, others, produce full sentences, talk about their hobbies, and use some simple colloquialisms. A group of girls approached me at my desk today at lunch. “Teachah, you eyes… lenses? Bewy Beautibul!” “No,” I replied “I am wearing contact lenses, but they aren’t coloured.” “Wow teachah… bewy blue and beautibul!”

Common, I know you love them already, and you’re not even here!

This banner is posted next to the entrance of the school. I wonder if the kids were
disappointed when they found out that we, the Canadians, were not the camp itself! 

 

Deaf, Mute and Blind

It’s amazing to think that during my thirteen-hour flight, I flew over the Northwest Territories, the Yukon, Alaska, the Pacific Ocean (Including sharks, whales and secret government submarine vessels), Japan and North Korea before arriving in South Korea. Korea air was amazing! There were at least 40-50 movies or shows to choose from and the screen was much larger than the TV screens in Air Canada. After we took off, the flight attendants brought around little packages with headphones, travel toothbrushes, little tubes of toothpaste and slippers for the flight. Though my legs got pretty crampy, having had a middle seat, the flight was fine. It was however, a very long day. From the time I arrived at the airport, to the time we arrived at the hotel, it was about 21 hours – with barely any sleep.

It’s amazing how ignorant you become when you enter a new culture, especially one that has a language that isn’t remotely close to your own, how to use the toilet, for example. I was at the Hanaem office of education today, and I needed to use the bathroom. Do I use the stall with the hole in the ground? Or do I use the ‘handicap’ washroom that has a real toilet? I went for the handicap one. How do I flush it? What do all the buttons mean? Why isn’t there soap to wash my hands? Another example is in my hotel room. How do I turn the lights on? How do I change the computer to a different language? Where are the sheets for the bed? Why is there no shower curtain? Finally, and most importantly, shopping. Where can I go for a break/coffee/tea? How do I know which places are sketchy and which are reputable? Where do I do my laundry? How does the laundry machine work? How do I communicate please, thank you, hello and goodbye? I barely know how to recognize a grocery store! I know I’m smart, but here, in regards to basic survival and communication, I am deaf, mute and blind.

Immigrants and refugees in Canada must face a terrible dilemma upon arrival, especially if they don’t have a family to take them in and show them the ropes. At least I have a group to follow around and leaders to tell me what to eat and where. I can’t imagine just showing up, changing my money and be expected to find a home, a job and make friends. I’m excited for my job at LINC in the fall. I’m excited to be part of the process where families become literate in Canadian culture as well as the English language. I’m excited to help those who are already very smart communicate their knowledge. I’m excited to help Canadians-to-be learn to own a piece of Canada for themselves. Empathy is everything. The ability to have compassion for someone else’s circumstances emphasizes the saying “they don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” This trip is not just about a ‘working vacation,’ it’s also about the opportunity to ethnographically consider what it might be like to enter a pair of shoes other than my own. 

Octopus for sale at the fish market. I don't know how much it is, where it came from, how to eat it, or what this lady's name was. But I do know that this lady smiles a lot, was more than happy to let Nicole take the picture, and was probably pretty entertained by our incessant amazement at such a normal sea creature.