Nom is food

Today's lunch was amazinggggg. In order of appearance:

1. Yes yogurt drink

2. Let's do this hard boiled eggs

3. Get excited 만두 mandu (dumplings)

4. Kill me sweet potatoes rolled in 김 kim (seaweed), deep fried 

5. Talk to me 떡볶이 ddeokbokki that included little sausages and 오뎅 odeng (Korean "fish hot dogs")

6. The lovely 오뎅 odeng soup (오뎅국?) 

7. Starch me 밥 bap (rice) of course

The regular Korean teachers had a lunch meeting so I happily ate with the kids and the daycare teachers. I sat next to 진세훈, easily one of my favorite students -- I love hanging out with him. The atmosphere felt loose, the students taking more time than usual to eat. Watching little hands crack and peel hard boiled eggs is possibly the cutest egg-scenario out there.  

We teachers sipped on some after-lunch Japanese coffee, brewed in a big metal soup bowl and ladled out into the small paper coffee cups. They joked, we laughed, and I left the lunchroom with a plastic bag full off leftover hard boiled eggs, mandu, and fried kim rolls. Hello breakfast and dinner for the next few days :D 

Last Day of School FOOD & NANTA

I admit, I anticipated food. Last day, I figured. No way there wouldn't be food. I planned accordingly (a dangerous habit in Korea) by eating a lighter breakfast. And by golly, I'm getting good at living in Korea, because I was greeted in the hallway by one of my favorite fifth graders handing out homemade chocolates. After the graduation ceremony, I was given the usual bag of rice cakes plus a prettily wrapped, fancy rice cake topped with soybeans and other tasty savories.

Bag-of-rice-cakes (뜩 ddeok) is the norm here. I've received countless and still struggle to finish the contents. I like ddeok fine, but they're like the elvish waybread in the "Lord of the Rings" to me -- and I'm sadly not a hobbit in this scenario. They are incredibly dense and filling; Koreans pop them down like saltine crackers.

For lunch, we teachers headed to a restaurant that serves the Korean ground mudfish soup (추아탕 chuatang). The fourth grade teacher raved about the soup on the ride to the restaurant, but he was aware that American taste buds might not appreciate the flavor. No need to worry, it was a fantastic lunch -- I didn't think it tasted all that fishy; it just tasted good.

My relationship with soup has grown into a full-blown love affair. Thank you, Korea. Served boiling hot in an earthenware bowl, I added garlic, green onions, and permilla seeds to my taste. Noodles and/or rice were also added and the slurping and sniffling noses soon followed. Utter perfection with two different varieties of kimchi, raw onions soaked in sauce, and pork cutlet available in between spoonfuls of soup, I was told I am very pretty at eating. Why thanks!

Teacher outing number three, next we headed in our coach bus to Seoul for the "Cookin Nanta" show in Myeongdong. The coach buses are well decorated and the drivers always very professional. Olympic speed skating and a small cat nap later, we arrived at Myeongdong, shopping dreamland. We had some time to kill before the show, so I hit the shopping streets with a group of teachers. I'm not at all shopping compatible with Koreans. They shop like they eat school lunch: quickly. I like to take my time and to feel the different fabrics and materials. No, no. But I did manage to buy two shirts, which all the teachers were excited to know.

I went to Nanta with Steph and Alex when they visited and it was fun. But going with the Doam teachers was an absolute hoot. We had great seats - second row from the stage, which meant that a lot of the teachers were pulled up onto stage during the performance - SO FUNNY. And they just ate up the humor, making Nanta round two really awesome. I think part of it was the English. Nanta is a nonverbal comedy percussion act, but when they do use "real" words, it's English. At one point in the show, the nephew carries in a take box of chicken - "take-out" written in big letters on the box. The teacher sitting next to me, who doesn't ever speak to me, sounded the words out, out loud. The language aspect of the show was something I didn't factor in the first time; it's like me being thrilled I can say, "만두 주세요." I'm planning on writing a full-review of the Nanta show coming soon.

Another bag of rice cakes and little oranges on the bus ride home: FOOD.

Happy White Chocolate Robot

Day of Food

Winter Break is officially over (nooooooo!) and as difficult as it was to come back from the long holiday weekend in Busan (more on this later <3), it was comforting to hear the students' shouts and noise as I walked into the school. Plus, we got eased into the last two weeks of the school year with no classes and lots of food. A day of food.

The President-Principal treated all of the teachers to lunch at this kal guk su 칼국수* restaurant down the highway from the school. 칼국수 is one of my favorite Korean meals; loosely translated into hand-cut noodle soup, I feel unstoppable whenever I eat it. The noodles are homemade, thick, and juicy all at the same time. The broth has a subtle chicken-noodle-soup-esque flavor from the mussels, clams, and vegetable. This version also included seaweed. I'm always amazed at the dinosaur-sized pot of soup set before us, but then I start eating and think, " I could do this all day. Sit here and eat 칼국수."

My first co-teacher Moonee is back from maternity leave for at least the rest of the year. She's hoping she can get a job closer to her home in Seoul for next year, and I hope she can, too! Her daughter Seung Ah 승아 is possibly the cutest baby I have ever seen, and she turns 100 days old today. In Korea, the family makes and gives out white rice cakes to celebrate. The white rice cake means that the baby is healthy and that she will live a long life. I felt so honored to receive one!

The Doam teachers love to travel. Combined we traveled to Japan, Turkey, Spain, and Europe this Winter Break. A key chain from Spain, sweets from Europe, and a Badger 5th Quarter tee from home, I was feeling the love today -- thank you all, lots of love from Icheon, South Korea ::

*Fun Fact: 칼국수 was one of the first Korean words I learned

The things I love about Korea

You may have heard that I wear winter extremely well. Scarves, hats, mittens, and yes, folks, I bought my first pair of leg warmers. I know, I know; you'll just have to get over how adorable this '80's baby looks. I love that Korea has put me in a situation at work that I can really wear my winter gear to its fullest. I love winter and now I am able to enjoy its chill inside and out. The cold allows me to enjoy the warm moments -- the warm copies from the copier machine, the warmth of having thirty-some bodies in a classroom, hot soup at lunch, and boiling water from the water cooler for my afternoon cup of joe. The sun, too. It's all very primal. I love it. 

Slippers, school lunch forever, and snacks. I adore the slippers my students wear. I can't help but feel how awesome a school full of kids, running around in slippers, is. It's a comforting culture, trading outdoor for inside shoes. One my fourth grade students has this pair -- monkey faces. They crack me up; I can't help but like him the best because of those slippers. So darn cute. And the slippers extend to teachers as well. It thrills me, wearing slippers at work. This absolutely trumps the joy I felt when I would slip on my crocs for work at the bagel shop (BIG deal). 

I'm still in a love affair with school lunch, because, sometimes, it's what gets me through a rough morning of teaching excitable monsters. It's about more than eating food; it's about nourishment. Factor in the school being so cold, it is about survival, feeding the body and soul. Soul food. Spontaneous pizza. Yesterday I was called down to the teachers' room for Domino's pizza. Snacks are the best at school because I get to try new foods (rice cakes, fruit I've never heard of) but also because of spontaneous pizza, oranges, and tea. 

Food in general is a good time for me in Korea. I like Korean cuisine. I went to market day, which happens twice a month in Icheon, with my co-teacher a couple weeks back, and my oh my, such a vibrant atmosphere. My co moved at lighting speed through the stalls, speaking about the different foods and making suggestions on what to buy. I love shopping and having conversations with her -- she's one of the smartest and funniest people I know.

The bars of soap in public bathrooms are laughable to an American foreigner because they are incredibly clever. First off, it's lucky to find soap in a public bathroom, and when it's bar soap, it just about makes my day. Extended on a metal bar, it floats in the air waiting for you to furbish those dirty hands. I smile mischievously every time I use one -- something about it being such a good idea (think about the life span of a bar of soap and how much less messy it is than liquid soap) and the Koreans, even though they fund the bar soap on a metal bar, not even knowing how brilliant it is. Best kept secret in Korea if you ask me. 

I love seeing an elderly Korean woman outside shoveling snow. I love seeing that old Korean man sprint across the street, not worried about falling and breaking a hip. And as much as I hate how crass and rude ahhgummas can be, I admit I love that they treat the world so brutally. I love hiking up mountains, out of breath, only to be passed by Koreans who are obviously a hundred years old, jammin out to music on their walkmans. I love seeing that life and vitality in people I can't help but think saw the last of the dinosaurs. Crinkled and wise, it motivates me and makes me excited for the wrinkles.  

Overall, I like my life in Korea. I like the song my laundry machine plays when the load is clean. I like floor heating and how fast my electric tea pot boils water. I like the walk to school with the mountains and farmland. I like slowly learning a new language, which lets me read snippets of the signs and posters around me. Hangul really is a beautiful writing system, the characters and strokes. I am happy and that's the thing I love most about Korea: that living here gives me so much perspective on the small things as well as the big, macro, philosophical things. It's great for me because I'm consantly thinking about impact, points of. 

Happy Chuseok, or Thanksgiving, Weekend!

I already have my first day of school under my belt and am enjoying a five-day weekend. The three-day holiday Chuseok, or Harvest Moon Festival, is comparable to American Thanksgiving. The Koreans honor their ancestors and I read, eat crescent-shaped rice cakes. My co-teacher Moonee wished me a happy Thanksgiving weekend as she headed off to Seoul. I hope to get a chance to ask her more about her Chuseok holiday next week, but we have a very busy next few days at school.

I felt good about my first day of school. Moonee picked me up from my apartment and orientated me a bit, showing me the bus stop I will normally take to school and where I can buy my basic groceries. My school Doam Elementary is a rural school with about 220 students. The building itself is really beautiful -- lots of surrounding trees, open air, and color. There was a group of kids playing soccer on the big, dirt playground (the favorite sport Moonee tells me), which leads to the main entrance of the school. Right at the entrance are the shoe lockers where we changed into our "indoor shoes." Koreans traditionally (and modernly) do a lot of activites on the floor, including sleeping and eating. It is a respectful and logical way.

My classroom is right across the hall from the music room, which I think is just fantastic. I enjoyed some enthusiastic and loud singing throughout my first day. Moonee and I each have our own desks and our classroom is equipped with the biggest touch screen TV I have ever seen (I'm bringing my measuring tape next week) and a really neat "virtual studio." I didn't have time to ask Moonee about the virtual studio, but I assume it's some sort of green room the kids can perform in.

I sort of co-taught but more observed one fourth grade class and two sixth grade classes. The energy and welcoming was really amazing -- I'm excited and also a little intimidated to teach. Moonee assured me I just need to be active and loud to succeed. The President of the school is all about English; she really believes in the kids learning English and feels having a a native English-speaking teacher is key to the kids' success in learning it.

My meeting with the President, Vice President, and Head Teacher of the school was so nice. The President doesn't speak much English but she prepared a short welcoming speech that her son wrote for her. She told me how glad she was to have me here and that her sister works in North Carolina. Moonee told me that her son also works in the States as an English teacher. It was really sweet and succeeded on the welcoming front. I think teaching at Doam Elementary will be an extremely positive experience.

Lunch happens around noon. The teachers and students eat in the same cafeteria, which is in a seperate building from the classrooms. My metal lunch tray was heavily piled with rice with specks of beans, kimchi, a cold noodle-vegetable combo, hot soup, and some sort of brown-sauced protein dish. Eat your kinchi, eat your kimchi. That's what was engrained in my head in my weeks of preparation for Korea. This is one front I know I failed. I tried and wanted to, but my stomach has been upset since before I left for Korea. I thought it was nerves, but I dunno -- it's a little bug I think because even the food I brought with me doesn't swallow well. I made the decision not to throw up and just be judged for not eating my kimchi. I felt like that would be the least disrespectful of the two options. My plan is to force eat these next five days and get my stomach back in order. 

After scooping my uneaten food into my soup bowl and emptying it into the trash can, Monee and I returned to our clasroom where we went over some things for next week.Next week, on Tuesday, my third day of school, we will be having open class. For open class, the President of our school and teachers from ten different schools will come and observe our classes. Bam! Let's do this teaching thing. I'm not too nervous, because it is the perfect opportunity to do and show off what I came here to do: teach. And my time at Creative Learning Preschool has given me the confidence to know it's going to be okay. We teach from a book and I observed first-hand how Moonee teaches and what the students are used to doing.

Moonee and I were about to leave for the market when she said that there was a snack in the teacher's room, or teacher's lounge. First of all, cool. I got to (and get to) go into the teacher's room, a fantasy since my grade school days where I only got a peek into Joy Elementary's teacher lounge. I belong in the teacher's room. There were grapes that reminded me of the grapes growing on the vines in my backyard back in Wisconsin and plates full of mostly Korean rice cakes. There was also a rice-water drink. Sweet and refreshing. I then gave a little impromptu speech about my first day for all the staff. I said how happy I was to be here and that the kids were very energetic and asked how old I was and if I had a husband or boyfriend. To their (and my?) dismay, nope. No boyfriend. No husband either. I did tell them I have a dog named Bodger.

Overall, this is doable. My biggest culture shock so far has got to be the feelings of homesickness. The near-disastrous bus ride home felt normal (I've made a huge mistake) and the language barrier just covers my normal social awkwardness. In fact, I feel that I can communicate better here in Korea in the sense that they know I'm a foreigner. I don't worry so much about what I need to say -- I just take it all in. But I miss home in a way that surprised me. It's not that I wish I were home but that I had to say goodbye. Which is probably why I need to embrace my band roots of, "We never say goodbye, but see you real soon." Once I can get my internet working and I can finally skype with them, I think I can stop feeling so sad about saying goodbye. Like the Dinos, I'll be able to see that they are doing great, living life, and that I need to do the same.

So, Happy Chuseok, all!! I am thankful for all the support and well wishes from home. I am thankful for Moonee and all the teachers at Doam Elementary. I am thankful for this opportunity to speak loudly and be an English teacher. I am thankful that I was raised to work hard and that I learned that it's okay to play hard, too. "Fake it til you make it." "Shooting live." I am thankful for all my work experience that taught me small philosophies to live by to make it work.

Much love from Icheon, South Korea <3