Adventures in Dangjin

Chuseok is the Korean word for Thanksgiving. It is usually in September and this one happened to fall on a Monday. The weekend for most usually consists of visiting relatives and eating delicious food. For me it was no different but I took a side trip in Dangjin. I arrived at Sangwon's house and both his parents greeted me. Before I got there, he told me they don't speak English so I was prepared to practice my Korean. I think my introductions went over well and Sangwon's sister, Juyeon came out and introduced herself in English. That was nice. We talked a little and his mother asked if I was hungry which I always usually am. In Korea, I seem to have a two stomachs. I never refuse food so his mother gave me some pizza, and then apples. After eating, Sangwon and I sat in front of the TV and watched some show. We were both very tired so we crashed about 30 minutes later.

The next morning I wokeup to the smell of "achim shiksa" or breakfast. There was a great assortment of dishes including rice, some kind of meat, eggs, soup, which is delicious and fruit. I think that is what I was missing in America, lol. Anyways, after breakfast we got dressed and Sangwon, Juyeon and I all headed out to Hwanghae Bay. We first we looked out at the bay.

I noticed there were several people fishing. Juyeon told me a story that a friend had been fishing one day and they caught a fish but a bird bit the line so they caught the bird instead. It was a funny story. Could you imagine catching a pelican instead of a fish.


Anyways, after looking out into the bay we walked around a bit and stopped at a nearby amusement park and played some games. First we played Home Run Derby, and then Shooting. After some sharp shooting by all three of us we went out on the bay's pier. It was nice and windy, very different from Daegu. There was a Korean Battleship that is a museum now for tourists. We ate then ate lunch at a seafood restaurant right on the bay. Sangwon said it was really good and his father knew the owner so I could trust that the food was high quality. Sure enough the food was delicious. We had a special bibimbap which is rice with vegetables and seafood all mixed together. We also had shrimp which was great.

After eating we went to a traditional Korean castle, Haemi-eup Seong. A huge fortress with a beautiful park inside with people flying kites, wrestling in traditional style and much more. We walked through the park and it was such a nice day. We decided to check out the wrestling which was interesting. It seemed like sumo wrestling but not quite the same. It was the same rules but it looked different.

We also stopped in a shrine full of traditional Korean armor for king and queen, commander of army. Afterward we tried Archery which was cool. It turns out Juyeon had good aim better than me or Sangwon, lol. We also found a place where we could try on traditional Korean clothing, like warrior clothing. It was interesting. We even add swords to complete the outfit. Juyeon was a queen and we were commanding officers in the army.

After seeing the castle we went to a temple that was secluded from the public. It took about 45 minutes to reach on foot. It seemed further and further as we climbed up rocks and paths to get there. It was neat though when we reached the top. It was different because of the sounds of nature were peaceful and everything was calm. It was a nice change of pace from the busy Korea I'm used to. One unique thing about the temple was that some of the shrines were built from actual trees.

After seeing the temple we headed back and ate some dinner and then had a nice sleep for the night. We were all tired from the day. We did a lot of walking. It was fun though. And so ends day 2 of my vacation. The next day would be a new adventure in Incheon.

This is mine!!

After missing the train, I had to wait another 30 minutes before the next one came. This time I had no trouble as I boarded and sat down. Finally I was comfortable and was seated. Now I could relax and wait an hour and a half until I would arrive and meet up with Sangwon. Suddenly a man walked up to me and engaged me in conversation. He said something in Korean which meant this is mine I think and showed me his ticket. I was confused since I had got on the right train this time. He went to an attendant to sort the problem out and it turned out the guy got on the wrong train. lol It was ironic how I missed the first train and now this happened. At least it worked out in end.

Here I thought it was me that did something wrong but actually it was the other way around. Well I had gotten on the right train and after that episode I was ready for my vacation. I met Sangwon and we took his car and started driving down the road.

I'm not First Class

It was Chuseok weekend, my first holiday in Korea. I had been invited to spend the weekend with my friend Sangwon in Incheon. However, we would visit his parents in Dangjin first, spend a day in the area and then all drive to Incheon and meet all of his relatives. I set off for Dongdaegu station so I could catch the KTX train toward Daejeon. I would make a stop in Cheon Ansam where Sangwon would be waiting at the station for me. The time as about 8:40 that I was supposed to leave from Dongdaegu station. By the way, Dong means east so it's the East station in Daegu. I was ready for my weekend and next I had to figure out my gate number. I looked for the number and finally found it after asking someone.

The boarding time approached and the train came but I realized that the doors in front of me had first class on them. At first I was confused and I said, "Wait a minute, I'm not first class" "Is this right? "It's the right train but." the train stopped for a brief moment maybe 30 seconds. As soon as I realized that I was supposed to be in a different car, it was too late. The train had already started moving. I had missed my train. Uhh. I couldn't believe I did such a thing considering I knew it was my train. I then realized I should have just got in the first class car and walked to my car. Well I thought about the trip and I panicked at first but surprisingly I calmed myself down. I went upstairs and bought another ticket and called my friend and explained to him my situation. It was embarrassing but I can laugh now. I may not have been first class but I was a passenger. I guess I just forgot, lol.

Cutest 2nd Graders

I think the class that enjoys me the most is my 2nd grade classes. They are still cute but they can understand a little more than they could in 1st grade. They all always greet me and sometimes hug me before class starts. In our first lessons I taught them the phase, Is it a ball? 1st and 2nd grades are full of activities because the attention span is very small, lol. I remember those days. We would watch videos too. It's funny to listen to them sing along to these songs. Like ABC's with hamsters and the counting song. We always start class with a song like, How are you? Then we listen to a short dialogue and I always lead the pronunciation practice and repeat the phrases several times. Activities range from whispers with flashcards, bingo, mystery bag with blindfold, which students love.

Now after my first class with the students, some students came up to me and thanked me and said, "good bye teacher" One girl came up to me and gave me a cup and she filled it with her drink she brought. She said here, and I took it. It was a fruit drink. She thanked me and said good bye teacher. The next class she did the same thing she gave me a cup but her drink was all gone so she left and came back with more, lol. I gladly took it and thanked her. The next class she made me a colored a rock like a lady bug and handed it to me. It was so cute. I have the second graders once every friday. There are two classes.

The biggest hit for an activity in this class has to be the Pororo game I created. Pororo a little penguin and is a very popular cartoon for young kids here in Korea. I found this template for a game where you answer questions and points are awarded and there are ways to lose points as well. In my game, students answer questions on the target expressions and if they are right they will be awarded cupcakes. However, unexpected things can happen like a bomb showing up which a team doesn't get any points. The best one is the change points cupcake because it can change the course of the game very quickly. One team has a lot of points and the other doesn't but gets that cupcake, the teams switch points and students go crazy. They want to win so badly because I give out a prize to the winning team. I give out tattoos which look like stingrays. They really seem to enjoy that game because they request it a lot, lol.

Troublesome Students

Now most of my classes are enjoyable and are fairly well behaved. Sometimes, students will do something wrong but it's not too bad. However, in my first grade classes. There are a couple of students that like to create problems. They yell, push other students, write on the wall and desk. They take pencil cases from fellow students and disrespect the teacher. One student is a American who has a Korean mother so he acts up to get attention. Maybe his peers don't accept him and he doesn't have many friends. He is actualy very smart. He might be higher level than his grade. He also blurts out the correct answers but usually disrupts the class. But there is not much you can do about that. The other students that usually create trouble are friends and they like to take things from other students. They argue with the teacher and my co-teacher and I usually have him sit at the back of the room. But it doesn't seem to work very well. One student curses at the teacher as this student doesn't realize that it is wrong to do such things. It's kind of sad actually.

In my fifth grade class, there are several troubemakers. In fact, they usually sit next to each other which doesn't help the other students. We try to separate them from their peers so they don't create trouble but it doesn't prevent them for doing wrong. The discipline in this class is very similar to 1st and 2nd graders as it is the same teacher. I want to change the disciplinary actions but the problem is I only have the class once a week. And I wasn't in the first class when the rules were stated so I don't have the same authority. Now when I teach, I do discipline kids but to the co-teachers standards because she has them more than I do. I just think she should change some of her disciplinary punishments.

I'm sorry to say this but Korean kids need to be hit for discipline. It's tradition, it's what worked well to keep kids respectful to the rules. Now with the law, forbidding the action, it allows students to push the teachers' nerves. Korean kids nowadays are becoming arrogant, more like American and disrespectful. My alternative would be to instead punish people around the troublesome kid whenever he does something wrong. That way everyone will try to be good so that no one gets in trouble. I mean if a student acts out and his classmates get in trouble, those classmates will be very angry with him and set him straight. Another way could be to make them write sentences during lunch. I will not take so and so's pencil case. I will not write on the wall and so on. Otherwise the kids enjoy getting in trouble and will continue to do it more and more. I love kids but sometimes you want to strangle them, lol.

The Competition

Now competition is a word that describes Korean education as it is very competitive. However, what I'm going to tell you has nothing to do with education. While the kids in the classes are very competitive, I'm referring to an event for teachers and school staff. During the second week of classes, all the school staff gathered together in the gym to play a friendly game of volleyball. I figured yea this will be a good way to meet all the new teachers.

Some of the younger teachers greeted me and all of us were placed on teams. What I didn't know was that I would be on a team that couldn't lose. What I mean is I was on the team with the principal, which was very competitive. I mean I was one of the best players but he said to me, "you will need training" lol. I wasn't sure if he was joking or being serious.
It was funny watching the principal play though. He would always criticize the guys that missed a point or screwed up. But he would only criticize the men not the women, lol. He got on me a couple of times even which is never good. I couldn't let my team down so I made sure that we would win.

Our team ended up winning the match 3 games to 1. It was really funny to see some of the women teachers play. Some were really good while others didn't have any athletic talent. My co-teacher, Ji-young didn't really like sports but it was funny watching her try to hit the ball. I scored like 10 points for our team so I guess the principal was just wanting to win really bad. One of the guys on our team kept messing up and the principal would yell at him in Korean which I translated as to "What are you doing?" it wasn't but I could tell that's the message he was sending, lol.

After playing the game, there were snacks but to me it was like a feast, lol. There were rice cakes, chicken, vegetables from gimbap, grapes and much more. There was soda, beer, soju, and something called gamju, it had like rice in the drink. All the food was so delicious. And it was the first time I drank alcohol at school, lol. Sports and beer are ok in my book. Apparently it's a club at the school and we do activities like this every month. I'm considering joining the club.

Celebrity Status

Now I'm not a celebrity but I feel like one when I go to school everyday. Most students will come up to me and say, "hello teacher." Others students wave or giggle as I pass through the halls. But some students ask me questions like how are you doing? What are you doing? Girls tend to ask more specific questions. How old are you? Do you have a girlfriend?

Now it's one thing to be recognized by your students at school but I see my students all the time in town. One of my students saw me eating at a restuarant and said, "oh it's teacher. Do you like?" Another student saw me walking on the street, and said jamkkan which means wait a sec and she got her mom and said, my mom, teacher. That was cute. Other students see me in town and usually ask questions like what are you doing? Where are you going? Kids are so curious about their teacher, lol.

When I first arrived here, I was alone and I didn't know anyone in my neighborhood but now if I go into town, my students usually run into me. So I don't feel like such an outsider as much anymore. One of my students came up to me while I was walking home and offered me some snack food and said, "here teacher, bye. Another student saw me walk into my apartment building and they were shocked that I could open the electronic door. It was probably one of the funniest moments. Maybe it's because I live near them. Other students saw me in the market buying food and they were curious what I like to eat. Then they followed me to the end of the street and said, "bye teacher."








Another time I ran into one of my students was when I was just walking down the street and since it was dark I didn't notice them. Suddenly, one sixth grade girl said to me, "Daniel!" which was weird cause normally I hear teacher. She was walking next to me the whole time but it was dark. lol that was another funny episode.

At school, students are very respectful to me always acknoledging me and sometimes involve in their little games before class, which is hillarious. Like with my sixth grade class, I sometimes play rock, paper, scissors. Some of my fifth graders are very curious about my life so they watch me at my computer. Sometimes if I'm on facebook they are curious who I'm friends with and such, lol. There hasn't been one day I've been here that a student hasn't talked with me, which is nice. In one of my sixth grade classes, the students always say, "hello teacher." But this particular class, one of the students said, "hello Daniel." She was so embarrassed and the class laughed. I told her it's ok after class. It's been a good start to the school year so far.