Anyeong Haseyo (안녕하세요)!
Spring has come, bringing with it such beautiful flowers; Magnolias, cherry blossoms…and those are the only ones I can name…but so many wonderful colors and flowers!
V-School Stories
1) Starcraft mania
We have one student who loves to watch Starcraft on TV. For those of you who don’t know, Starcraft is a very popular Role Playing Game here in Korea, and it’s actually becoming quite a problem here; Many young kids, under age 10, are addicted and will sneak off to PC Bangs (like an internet cafe) to play the game. Anyway, the game also has its own spot on TV, where viewers can watch the game with commentary over top. As I was saying, one of our students loves to watch this channel, which is a concern, but also loves to watch it 1 foot away from the screen. We do our best to distract him from that.
2) A different style of teaching
We struggle with another student who excels at their homework (perfect spelling and grammar), but really struggles in class. We wondered about this contradiction, until we found out that it is very normal in Korea for parents to essentially do their children’s homework for them. We were told that’s how children learn here. We have our doubts about this, but have to trust that this student will in fact learn something by the end of the term.
3) Positive things
One of my After School classes finished level one, so we celebrated with a teddy bear cake, after I made them write a nice long test. One of my After School students gave me a cute little plant, and with it was a note that she wrote, saying: To 어나 teacher, Hi! teacher. Congratulation. Your Baby. Thank you for teaching me.” Another student in that class is the most eager student I have yet seen in Korea; She has come to expect and feel gratification from the check marks I put on my students’ homework, so much that she actually drew a box in her homework for me to put my usual check mark in.
The plant my student gave me:
4) Special kind of homework
We were invited to one of our Day School students’ cooking classes, where we would partake of the food they prepared. This student lives in a beautiful home in the mountains, one of the few houses we have visited in our time here. There was such beautiful scenery and places to play that I was shocked knowing that this particular student never goes outside, or so they say. I announced at their home that from now on, part of their homework will be to go outside for one hour a day. They laughed, thinking I was joking, and I was pretty sure they wouldn’t do it. However, I was pleased to read in one of their journals that they indeed went outside to play with their dog. I asked the student if they just wrote that to make me happy, but they seemed genuine when they insisted that they really did go outside. I’m happy with that.
5) New Class
I was able to express my displeasure with the singing class, and to my relief, the class was canceled and replaced by a guitar class, which some of the students seem genuinely interested in. It is so rare to get a sense of real interest in these kids, that when I see it, I feel excited.
Pregnancy Update
So, the realities of having a child in a foreign country are sinking in. We hadn’t had too many problems, except when they asked us not to bring a translator anymore, for reasons we are unsure of. At our most recent appointment, however, only when we had already arrived were we told that our doctor wasn’t there, as he was at emergency surgery. The first nurse who tried to tell us didn’t know a word of English (and this is where having a translator would have been handy), so she got another nurse to try, who suggested another doctor in the clinic. He knew much less English, so our ability to ask questions at this appointment was more limited than usual. This would be more of a problem if my pregnancy wasn’t a normal healthy one, so I am very thankful for that.
On the bright side, I will never cease to be amazed at technology these days. We have been seeing our baby on the screen right from the beginning, and at this last appointment saw the intricate little bones of it’s fingers and toes, it’s spine, etc. I even saw it gulping the amniotic fluid with it’s little mouth. Wow.
Another positive to being pregnant is I seem to get free meals this way. We were invited for supper last week, by one of our cell group members, and she said it was because I am pregnant. Oh, wow!
Knitting/Cooking Club
As I feared, my knitting/cooking club is kind of petering off, as one by one members drop out because of busyness. I knew this would happen eventually, and was told it would, but didn’t think it would happen so soon. I was down to 3 faithful members, and now one more has announced extreme busyness, and may return when the busyness subsides. Sigh. However, last week we had a great class, where I taught them to make banana bread, and we worked on our various knitting projects while the bread baked, then of course we ate some. I have finished 2 baby sweaters, and am working on some pants now.
The sweater:
Visit from Brother and Girlfriend
At last, we were able to meet up with my brother and his girlfriend, who are also living in Korea now. We were excited to introduce them to the Chuncheon speciality, Dakgalbi, for the first time, take them to Samaksan, where they saw a mountain stream for the first time in Korea, and paddled around in swan boats, providing some fresh lake air that they don’t get in Seoul. It was wonderful to have deep discussions again, without language limitations, and to make use of the wonderful guest room we have at our new apartment.
From L to R: The lake where we brought them
So, it seems that Mother Nature can’t make up her mind on the weather front, as we had summer weather yesterday, and today it’s considerably colder and rainy. We are a little concerned just how hot summer will get, because when I went out yesterday in capris and a t-shirt (quite appropriate for the 20 degree weather), a woman looked at me in the elevator with shock and asked, “Aren’t you cold??” She, on the other hand, was wearing a jacket and pants, as well as her son. Hmm, I thought, maybe I’m under dressed. But no, when I stepped outside, it was quite warm. Will has had similar encounters will warmly clad people when he ventures out in a t-shirt. If Koreans consider 20 degree weather cool, just how hot exactly does the summer get??
Trip to the Vet
So, the vet called cause he wanted us to come and see what I should be feeding Herb, even though I thought I had that in hand. When we got there, he was too busy for us, tending to an excited cocker spaniel with a bad hair cut, followed by a weird looking little white dog attached to an IV, just out of surgery, it seemed. We could have waited a little longer, but we felt close to nauseous having to look at photographs on the wall of the latest doggy fashions; dyed pink ear tips, purple-dyed paws, blue-dyed tails, braided doggy ears, dogs in costume, dogs with bows, dogs with unnatural and atrocious hair cuts. which is very popular among Korean dog owners, we have noticed. We instead wandered down an alleyway that took us back in time a bit, giving us a taste of what old Korea would have looked like before the war that devastated so much. Some houses in these rare areas still looked half bombed. Then just as suddenly as we had gone back in time, we were back at the big modern E-Mart.
Pics of the cool alleyway:
New “Favorite” place
One morning I got a call from all my knitting members that no one could make it, so Will and I went on a long-awaited afternoon excursion. We had been hearing about Samaksan, the biggest mountain in Chuncheon, but had been hesitant to go there; It is quite a difficult climb, where you have to scale rocks at certain points. We figured that would be a wiser climb post-pregnancy. However, no one had told us there is another entrance and another way up! We drove by this enticing place, a neat traditional market at the base of the mountains, nestled in the rocks and trees and built over these little streams that run down, full of fish. There’s a temple on a rock perch above the market, with a beautiful white statue of the Buddha overhead.There are also quite a few quaint outdoor restaurants, equipped with thick wooden tables and wood stoves. The market eventually leads you to an extravagant rock ravine, formed naturally, inviting you to walk the rocky path, admire the neat colors of the rocks, to a small but beautiful waterfall. The path then leads you to a set of steep stairs and to a bridge, bringing you to the beginning of the less strenuous path up the mountain. We went a little ways, past a restaurant along the path, then my conscience got in the way; “The doctor said not to climb mountains!”, so we turned back. Honestly, this place was like something out of a movie. We plan to go back there as much as possible.
From L to R: Will standing in the market; One of the market displays; The beginning of the rock walk; The view looking the other way; Ana sitting on the steps; The entrance to the path; The first waterfall; The second waterfall; Will and Ana in front of waterfall; Ana on the bridge; The outhouse (not a very convenient location, if you ask me); Will by a set of stairs; The third waterfall; The Buddha statue; The view from the overhanging temple
Pregnancy Update
It`s finally happening! I had to put away 3 pairs of pants last week cause they don`t fit, and I have noticed the signs of a pregnancy belly. This may not be surprising to hear, given that these are logical next steps in the pregnancy process. However, it was so hard to mentally grasp that there is something growing inside me, where there was no visual proof! Also, I’m mostly out of the “extreme food picky-ness” stage, which made things harder for me, especially since most of the food I crave(d) is not in this country.
Cell Group Worship
Whenever there is a fifth Sunday, the cell groups each do their own thing that Sunday. Our cell group just joined another cell group at the church for worship. Our cell group did the special song, “Obey My Voice”, which I lead, and Will did the sermon. He made a joke at the beginning that his sermon was short, his translator could always lengthen it by adding more to the translation. This is funny because whenever someone translates for us, the translation seems a LOT longer than what we actually said.
Election Dancers
So, there is an election going on, but I’m embarrassed to admit we don’t know what about. What we do know is that whenever there is an election, there are dancers on street corners, dancing to REALLY loud music, wearing matching uniforms with the candidates’ number on them. If the candidate is number 2, for example, then they’ll hold up two fingers most of the time, etc. We find them quite entertaining to watch sometimes.
Various angles of the dancers:
V-School Stories
We had a sort of “field trip” day, except we just went to see a movie and then out for lunch. On the way to lunch, we had two of our students in the car with us, and they were supposed to tell us how to get to the restaurant, but Korean kids are so shy, that even when they knew us, they didn’t tell us how to get there. Will was is the wrong lane, and had to make a last minute decision whether to stay on the highway or get off to the right, and the boys were silent. Will then said, “Do I get off here?” and they quietly said, “Yes’, so Will quickly had to switch lanes and get over. We still don’t quite understand the shyness, especially since we have been teaching these kids for 7 months!
We started a singing portion in the weekly teaching schedule, where I’m to try to get our teens to sing songs in parts! I’m realizing this might be impossible, as four of them don’t even sing at all! When they do “sing” they are mostly just chanting, sort of, and only one actually sings. I’m at a place where I have to wonder, “Will things improve if I keep trying, or should we just end the singing class altogether?”
With all the challenges that come with teaching, all it takes is one student who does something sweet and the rest doesn’t matter anymore. After one class, one of my students wrote, “I love Ana” on the white board, in English AND Korean. The parents are always keen to tell us how much their children like us, and whether that’s actually true or not, it makes us happy.
Random Things
-In the English Bible, we have the verse, “I am the bread of life”. In the Korean Bible, the verse translates to, “I am the dakh of life”, dakh being a rice cake. It’s interesting how what Jesus describes himself to be can change depending on the culture.
-This morning we heard many sirens moving past our apartment, so many that Will said, “I’d better get dressed in case we have to evacuate the building”. We then saw the the emergency vehicles were parked at the next building over; 7 fire trucks, 1 ambulance, 3 red vans with sirens (don’t know what they’re for) and many police cars. I watched from our balcony as dozens of people flocked over to the scene out of curiousity. The strange thing is there was no visible fire to merit 7 firetrucks! The other strange thing is just as quickly as those vehicles appeared, they were gone again, and it was as if nothing happened.
