Hey Teacher Leave Those Kids Alone!

Corporal punishment is alive and well in Korea!

I was walking to the staff room today for some brown rice tea when I heard a loud harsh voice shouting in Hangu, I turned around just in time to watch a grown man slap a little seven-year-old boy in the face. The little boy then started to cry and the teacher slapped him again. I could literally hear the little boy's nose break.

I felt pretty useless.

There are a million reasons why I couldn't interfere. I don't speak Hangu so I could not begin to understand the situation, nor could I effectively conduct an intervention. I also thought that it might be culturally insensitive to interfere. I didn't want to come off as a "holier than thou Westerner" who forces their seemingly liberal beliefs onto other cultures. As a foreign female teacher I am also pretty low on the totem pole that is the school's hierarchy; intervening would have been professional suicide. This incident made the day seem especially long and I was second guessing my course of action (i.e ignoring the bloody seven -year- old nose) for hours. My co-teacher told me that I did the right thing and that slapping and kicking children is quite commonplace-especially from the young male teachers.

So at the end of the work day, to cheer myself up, I decided that instead of going home to clean and plan lessons I was going to go hiking in Incheon Grand Park.

I spent an hour on the bus trying to figure out if I was in the right place. I brought my English to Hangu dictionairy with me, but it didn't really help. I'm kind of like a functioning illiterate person in Korea. I can guess and kind of understand but I'm really relying on the kindness of strangers.
After another Westerner told me when to get off the bus I found myself in an amazing and stunning green area(the first I've seen in a week)! Right now the trees in the park are erupting with cherry blossoms, ducks are everywhere, and there is a week long kite-flying contest. I sat beneath a tree and watched the kites swoop around for awhile, then I found a hiking trail and began my climb. Thirty minutes later I was at the top of a foot-hill that overlooks the city. Except for one old man practicing Tai Chi I was completely alone for an hour. It was lovely to get away from the craziness of the city.

The park has tons of hiking trails, a big pond, bike rentals, and a Zoo(with what's rumored to be an exceptional monkey watching arena)!

I think I'll become a regular park attendee.

God I miss Coffee!

That's all.

Feminist Film Festival!

Sharon, my roommate during training week, studied Women's Studies at X three years ago. She and I hung out a bit last week but we didn't really get to know each other to well. I wasn't so sure if we had much in common. Last night I was bored so I took the subway to the downtown area and met Sharon for beer at a jazz bar eighteen floors up(the view was amazing), and I was thrilled to discover that we're both shocked and awed by the same things in Korea(namely the beauty culture). Sharon wants to do her Masters in Women's Studies in Halifax but before that she plans on studying comedy writing at Second City in Chicigo.

Obviously Sharon rules.

I'm pretty excited to meet someone with somewhat similar interests and before we left she convinced me to borrow on of her favorite books-The Female Eunuch, by Germaine Greer. This weekend I'm venturing in to Seoul to check out this weird Eastern spa where little fish eat your dad skin cells and then I'm going to meet fellow Islander Dave Mahloney for dinner. On Saturday Sharon and I are going to meet up and go to a Women's Studies Film Festival that's taking place in Seoul. I'm not sure what to expect from a Korean Women's Studies Film Festival but I think it will be pretty interesting!

Teaching vs. Learning

I like teaching. I would rather be a student. That pretty much sums up my experience teaching thus far... while I'm attempting to shove English into young Korean minds I can't help but think, "God I wish I was being taught Hangu right now". My theory is that learning is more fun than teaching because teaching requires selflessness and hard work, while learning is usually self-involved and effortless(unless it's something lame and super hard like calculus) .

Don't get me wrong, the kids are adorable, they say cute things, and they are really really fascinated by me which makes teaching easier. I like watching their little faces light up when they stumble on a realization or they have had an "Ah Ha" moment. My point is that it's just not as fun as learning. So in order to enjoy teaching more I've decided to try and learn as much from my students as they will hopefully learn from me. This is very selfish, but if it helps the students than why not?!

Here's a list of what I have learned so far


1) Looks are highly valued in Korea, there are ten-year-old girls in a few of my classes who have had open eye-lid surgery to try and appear white, and many of my co-teachers have had various plastic surgeries. The most common is the open eye lid, but nose jobs are a close second.
What is beautiful is thought to be good-and so English teachers who have the usual outward signs of attractiveness(wide eyes, high cheekbones, slender body) have an easier time.

It's hard to get used to.

2) Time takes on a different meaning in Korea. Before coming to Korea I never realized how immediate, quick, and organized things are in Canada. If you want something done, it gets done. However, there is a downside to this! We come to expect things to be easy, simple, and immediate. We become jerks when things are slow and are unable to go with the flow!
Here the simplest actions(like buying a cell phone) take forever. This slowness breeds new attitudes. I'm already becoming a more zen less stressed out person. Which is good because a stressed out person would never last here.


3) English is so important. Korean parents push their kids to learn English because they believe that having English is the key to having a good job. Some children in my class have had the bottom of their tongues removed because their parents think this will help them pronounce English words better! My Korean co-teacher tells me that this is "crazy".

I have to agree.

I'll add to my *Things I have learned list as the year continues!*

Outdoor Markets!

Outdoor markets are the best. Right now I'm eating rice cakes and fresh strawberries from an outdoor market two subway stops over. I spent three hours there today wondering through stands that sold squid, fresh tofu, berries, fruit, green tea leaves, and various kinds of meat I wouldn't dream of putting into my mouth. Here are some pictures!

Photos of My Apartment and Neighborhood!

Fun People! Check!

I’ve been in Korea since Tuesday(it’s now Sunday) and I’ve been staying at a five star hotel participating in an orientation for new teachers. It was nine to five every day, and while some if it was deathly dull most of the lectures we took helped us to understand the ideas behind co-teaching. The hotel itself was only two subway stops away from the downtown core of Inocheon, and a few of us ventured in each night for Soju and food. I think meeting the other ESL teachers has been the best and most worthwhile part of the orientation. I now know people living in the city and a few of them are just a couple of minutes away. It’s such a lifeline. I’m going to describe them briefly so anyone reading from home can get an idea of who I‘m spending time with here in Korea.

There’s Chloe and Graham, a hilarious couple from Manchester England. These two are great, everything they know about Canada is something they’ve learned from South Park. They’ve worked in Korea before and are so funny they could have their own TV show.

Andy and Eryn are a twenty-three year old married couple. They’re from Canada and have been teaching here for two months. Both have travelled all over the world and have led incredibly interesting lives. They are both very relaxed, funny, and helpful. Andy and Eryn live on a tiny Island outside of the city and sometimes feel pretty isolated. They come in on a weekends to explore, and so we’ll hopefully see them often.

Ricardo is from Ontario and has family here. He’s a warm and very happy guy. He’s also keeping a blog about Korea. I’ll post a link to his web-site later.

Karen is Canadian but she has spent the last four years exploring around the world. She worked for three years in the Cayman Islands as a bartender and is very independent and down-to-earth.

There are tons of others but it would take a long time to describe everybody. Next blog post will be about the city!