This week, the camp went to Mexico! It was a unique experience teaching about a culture that is so close to my own regionally, yet is so different culturally. I suppose the same assumptions that my colleagues made that I would be very knowledgeable about Mexico because of its close proximity to my own country is the same belief that I held a few years ago in regards to countries in East Asia.
Mikey made our lesson plans this week and boy were they detailed! He had so many resources for our class and wrote a great curriculum for the week. I was very happy to have a lot of information to begin with and the flexibility to adjust it for my class. Some of our lessons included traditional Mexican food with a segment on cooking nachos, Pinatas and the creation/destruction of a class pinata, Mexican music and dance, and a lesson in Spanish (which was quite interesting since I know about as much Spanish as the average American).
I had class B this week for classes. It was an adjustment yet again to see the dynamics of this class: the kids who can speak English well, the kids who can't speak at all, and of course the kids who just want nothing more than to enjoy their summer free of classes.
One of my favorite classes was cooking the nachos. Most of the kids had never heard of Mexican food and certainly never tried it. It was fun for me to introduce one of my favorite styles of food to the kids in a way that they could experience it. Each child had the instructions for making the nachos, so together as a group they worked together to assemble their pan of nachos. I was happy to see that all the kids loved the nachos, with several of them being salsa monsters! One boy insisted that salsa tasted incredible just on its own, but the rest of them enjoyed dipping their chips in the spicy Mexican sauce.
For the Bible School portion of the week, we taught the story of Jesus healing Jairus' daughter and the woman. The teachers first told the story in a skit, and later we had the kids act it out. We had a pretty good group of actors I must say! The Bible verse portion went well, we played Sparkle once again so it was a familiar game for the kids which I think helped them learn it better.
The ladies at CELA have been so welcoming and hospitable to me and Cana. Every night this week we spent time with a different teacher from the department, eating dinner and visiting an area of Chiayi. It has been great to form a close bond to each of these teachers and learn more about their lives in this part of the world.
On Friday was our field trip. This week we went to an amusement park that has models of famous buildings from around the world. The English name for the park went something like "Tiny World." Each teacher had a group of about six to spend time in the park. My group was determined to ride all the thrilling rides in the park which included a raft ride, rollercoaster, and their favorite the tidal wave raft ride. We rode this tidal wave four times, kids screaming and squealing with delight each time. The kids were insistent on wearing rain ponchos while riding this water monster. I was the lone wolf in riding it without gear, I wanted to get wet, it was really hot outside. It was so great to see the kids laughing in surprise as I walked off the ride soaking wet. I really enjoyed this opportunity to be an ride buddy for the kids and spend time with them in a more informal setting. I learned more about them in this one day than in three weeks of teaching. Fun times with the kids!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Old and New Friends
Today, I woke up to the sound of a suitemate! After settling in last night to a very quiet C602 (Yes, this semester I am on the top floor, lovely views, killer stairs) dorm, I began my day meeting Pachia. She is from California and is of Hmong descent. She is very sweet and excited to finally be in Korea, the land of her pop idols!
I also met Xee, Pachia's friend from school who lives in the suite across from us. They arrived in the dark last night, so they were eager to see the campus, find an ATM, and have some Korean food in Korea. I took them to the international ATM off campus, followed by a lovely lunch at a Korean restaurant. They both love Korean food and were ecstatic about lunch. I think it was a good first meal in Korea for them! We also got to visit the school store and tour the school a bit before orientation tomorrow. It is very hot and humid here in Korea, so we were drenched in sweat when we finally made it back up the hill to our dorm.
This afternoon, I met about eight of the other new international girls here at school. In total there are about fifty new internationals along with about ten returnees. I took this group of girls first to the Onyang street market on a hunt for shorts for Melanie, who thought that it would be cool in Korea this time of year, thus packed only long pants. We then went to the renowned Emart, which is the Korean Walmart. Everyone was able to get anything they needed to make their dorm home.
I have decided that I will not eat out for every meal this semester, but try my best to have a bit of normalcy by cooking a few meals a week. It will save me a bit of money and I really miss the chance to make my own food. Of course, when I say cook my food it means microwavable rice mixed with tuna and seaweed. Oh well, it will suffice for the time. I bought a bunch of food at Emart and now have a shelf in my dorm designated as my "pantry." It's nice with each passing semester, my room feels more homey and comfortable.
Anyway, so after our Emart mission, we took a taxi back to school. One of the new students, Kayla, speaks really good Korean. She has studied for two years and is a TESOL major with a focus on Korea. She took one taxi group back to school while I took the other half.
When we got back, there was a huge group of people outside the dorm meeting and chatting. Among the people in this group were several of the returnee students. It was a great reunion filled with hugs and laughter as we spent time catching up and talking about our summer breaks. I think this is one of the most beautiful things about this place: Being a community of internationals living in the middle of Korea, we tend to treat one another as family. We look out for each other because we are all learning and adjusting to this new culture. Even though we may drive each other crazy at times, we still take care of each other. I wish that this feeling of community could be transferred to every college campus, hopefully it can be one of the things I can share with my home university that will make a difference.
Tomorrow is the first day of orientation. It will mostly be new students filling out paperwork while us returnees help make the process as quick and painless as possible. It will be nice to meet everyone together since I have only had the chance to meet about half the new students.
I also met Xee, Pachia's friend from school who lives in the suite across from us. They arrived in the dark last night, so they were eager to see the campus, find an ATM, and have some Korean food in Korea. I took them to the international ATM off campus, followed by a lovely lunch at a Korean restaurant. They both love Korean food and were ecstatic about lunch. I think it was a good first meal in Korea for them! We also got to visit the school store and tour the school a bit before orientation tomorrow. It is very hot and humid here in Korea, so we were drenched in sweat when we finally made it back up the hill to our dorm.
This afternoon, I met about eight of the other new international girls here at school. In total there are about fifty new internationals along with about ten returnees. I took this group of girls first to the Onyang street market on a hunt for shorts for Melanie, who thought that it would be cool in Korea this time of year, thus packed only long pants. We then went to the renowned Emart, which is the Korean Walmart. Everyone was able to get anything they needed to make their dorm home.
I have decided that I will not eat out for every meal this semester, but try my best to have a bit of normalcy by cooking a few meals a week. It will save me a bit of money and I really miss the chance to make my own food. Of course, when I say cook my food it means microwavable rice mixed with tuna and seaweed. Oh well, it will suffice for the time. I bought a bunch of food at Emart and now have a shelf in my dorm designated as my "pantry." It's nice with each passing semester, my room feels more homey and comfortable.
Anyway, so after our Emart mission, we took a taxi back to school. One of the new students, Kayla, speaks really good Korean. She has studied for two years and is a TESOL major with a focus on Korea. She took one taxi group back to school while I took the other half.
When we got back, there was a huge group of people outside the dorm meeting and chatting. Among the people in this group were several of the returnee students. It was a great reunion filled with hugs and laughter as we spent time catching up and talking about our summer breaks. I think this is one of the most beautiful things about this place: Being a community of internationals living in the middle of Korea, we tend to treat one another as family. We look out for each other because we are all learning and adjusting to this new culture. Even though we may drive each other crazy at times, we still take care of each other. I wish that this feeling of community could be transferred to every college campus, hopefully it can be one of the things I can share with my home university that will make a difference.
Tomorrow is the first day of orientation. It will mostly be new students filling out paperwork while us returnees help make the process as quick and painless as possible. It will be nice to meet everyone together since I have only had the chance to meet about half the new students.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
The Encore Semester
I'm back at SCH preparing for my third and final semester in Korea. Moving in yesterday was very smooth. It is nice to return to a familiar place, my home for the next four months. Sometimes I feel like such a gypsy: having to pick and move every few months out of dorms, up to Seoul, and back again. It is weird to think that I have been enrolled at SCH longer than at my home university SEMO, returning back to the States will be more of a transition to a "foreign" school than moving in here at SCH for a third semester.
Returning to a familiar place, sometimes I feel like I have never left and remain the same as the last time I was here, but at the same time, I am not the same as when I finished last semester in June. I have worked in a Korean company for a few weeks, I lived with a new Korean family, I taught in Taiwan, and I visited Hong Kong. These experiences have changed me from who I was a few months ago to this point.
One of the most important lessons I have learned while here in Asia, far from home, is that everything at home will not remain the same as I left it. It is one of the weird aspects of being gone for so long, knowing that everything at home has changed as much as I have in this past year.
Coming back to school a little early have given me the opportunity to look back to where I was six months and a year ago in this same situation. In a way I feel like I haven't changed too much, but I suppose it's all about perspective. The things I have learned about the world has molded me into a person with a new perception of the beauty of this place we call earth. Korea has taught me the meaning of unconditional love in the way that I have been welcomed so warmly to their country and also the way in which they continue to support their northern neighbor despite the hate that is given in return. I have also learned to view every culture with a critical mind. Sure Korea is a wonderful culture, but it has flaws just like the USA. While Korea is loving towards the North, it still displays the anger towards the Japanese that was prevalent after the occupation. Distinguishing the two with an open mind has been one of the greatest lessons for me in Korea.
I hope this coming semester is filled with more "Aha" moments as I learn and grow...
Returning to a familiar place, sometimes I feel like I have never left and remain the same as the last time I was here, but at the same time, I am not the same as when I finished last semester in June. I have worked in a Korean company for a few weeks, I lived with a new Korean family, I taught in Taiwan, and I visited Hong Kong. These experiences have changed me from who I was a few months ago to this point.
One of the most important lessons I have learned while here in Asia, far from home, is that everything at home will not remain the same as I left it. It is one of the weird aspects of being gone for so long, knowing that everything at home has changed as much as I have in this past year.
Coming back to school a little early have given me the opportunity to look back to where I was six months and a year ago in this same situation. In a way I feel like I haven't changed too much, but I suppose it's all about perspective. The things I have learned about the world has molded me into a person with a new perception of the beauty of this place we call earth. Korea has taught me the meaning of unconditional love in the way that I have been welcomed so warmly to their country and also the way in which they continue to support their northern neighbor despite the hate that is given in return. I have also learned to view every culture with a critical mind. Sure Korea is a wonderful culture, but it has flaws just like the USA. While Korea is loving towards the North, it still displays the anger towards the Japanese that was prevalent after the occupation. Distinguishing the two with an open mind has been one of the greatest lessons for me in Korea.
I hope this coming semester is filled with more "Aha" moments as I learn and grow...
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