Peace in the City

Ogeum Park [Google Maps link] is an escape. It is large enough to almost leave the city behind. I find it remarkable how different I feel surrounded by trees. It could be just in my head, but the air seems fresh, almost scrubbed. The park is about two stories above street level. The entrance closest to Ogeum station has a pond that looks out over the city, and is recessed enough to kind of escape the sound of cars.

Recently, I have been going to this park after work. It is a nice place to unwind and let my mind untwist after a day of teaching (see also: yelling, pleading, weeping). The first thing I always do is meander to the reflexology footpath.

This is a happy discovery. The path starts with small rocks, moves to wood laid at the diagonal, large rocks (the size of your foot), rounded stumps and then reverses the process to the end. It does feel great to walk on and it is something that puts my mind immediately on the present. Whatever has happened in the day up to this point is not more important than my walk.



The end of the path leads right into what I will call an adult jungle gym. These are in every park I have seen, and old people love them. There are a number of fitness machines that look like they should be endorsed by Tony Little. There is the Gazelle, a couple twisty discs, and parallel bars. Old people are all over these things! So I am to. If it is good enough for an ajuma, it is good enough for me.


This specific gym has a couple pull up bars, a sit up platform and a bench press. It is a nice, free workout in the woods. I am the only non-Korean there, and a lot of people stare at me, but I am getting used to it.

It is a nice little park and is becoming part of my daily routine.

I will translate for you!

I know a lot of you don't speak Korean. I have been here for two weeks now, so I think I have picked up the intricacies of the language. Occasionally I will post signs from around Seoul and translate them for you, so if you ever come here, you won't have any embarrassing moments!

Translation -

If the doors are closing on you, engage your buzz saw forearms.

Partay!!!

We celebrated June birthdays this past Wednesday. Birthdays turn out to be quite the event at our school and all the classes were invited down to the "gym" for the festivities. Jaewoo turned eight and Wendy turned seven.

But before we go on to the fun, you must understand East Asian ages. Koreans (and many other East Asian countries) count their age from conception, not from birth. So a baby is one year old when its born. Also, Koreans add the extra year to their age after the New Year, not on their birthday. In some cases Koreans are two years older than their physical age. A baby born on December 29th will turn two years old on January 1st (one year for being born and another year for the New Year) and really only be three days old. It can get confusing and a little frustrating, especially when a student is mentally and physically four years old, but they are in class for six-year-olds. But I guess the rest of the class is really five-year-olds... but they seem really young.

Wendy had a special birthday dress, and she was very proud of it. She made me wear the shall, which was fun for everyone. All of the students in Wendy's class brought her presents. They got in line and handed the presents off one at a time and practiced their English:

"Happy birthday Wendy!"
"Thank you, Ryan!"

Then turn and pose for a picture. This one is Wendy and Annie.

There was a big table up front for Wendy and Jaewoo to sit at with candy and cake and watermelon. All the other students sat on the floor around them.




This is Wendy and Jennet. Jennet could be the cutest little girl I know. Notice the V for Victory Jennet is using. The quirky Asian photo poses start at a young age.

Its also known as "V for Victory" over here. Not a peace sign. This was a new phrase for me.










This is Orange Class with my partner teacher, Michelle. Pretty smart six-year-olds. I look forward to teaching them a lot more than my other classes.

V for Victory.
When in Asia...

After the party the kids divided up into red and blue teams and had races. This was all in preparation for the big Sports Day we had on Friday. No class, just fun games and lots of cheering. More on that later.

Overload

I just wanted to update you on where you can get information. On the right side of this page you will find a map of Korea and a slide show of photos. Both should link to their respective information: the map will connect you to a Google Map of interesting sights, restaurants, events, etc... and the photos will link to my Picasa account. Right now you can see where I live and work in the city and also some pictures of some students. Check them out if you get some time. Both will be updated periodically... whenever I go to new places or take more pictures.

My first days in Seoul and a boy named Honey

How many days in a row can I wake up before 4:30 A.M.? I really don't care to set a personal record. I would much prefer sleeping another three hours, but the decision is not really mine to make. I have made some good pre-dawn friends: the man who collects the recycling (who insists on throwing every glass bottle into his truck individually, in 15 second intervals), NPR's Most Emailed Stories of the Day podcast and the sound of rain on my fiberglass awning outside my bedroom. All have become welcome in the time before the rest of the city wakes up.

My apartment is a 14 minute walk from the school where I work, Lingua Teen Kids. The school employs three foreign teachers, Sara, Nate and myself. Sara is British and fresh to Seoul, Nate is Floridian and has lived here for two years. We teach kindergarten kids from 9:45 until 3:00 and elementary school kids from 3:00 until 6:00.

First, let us dispel with the idea that Asia is producing a race of super-geniuses who embarrass America's education system... at least at my school. And that reflects nothing on myself or my fellow teachers. These kids are just as hyperactive and attention deficit as any American, but are even more distracted by the complete immersion of distracting technology. On subways, one quarter of the people around me are watching TV on their cellphones or playing video games or some other awesome thing that I can't comprehend because it all takes place in Korean and this translates directly to the children.

The kids are just fine. Most of them I enjoy and only a handful I would consider locking in a closet for any period of time. The day consists of reviewing letters of the alphabet, reading books, singing songs and coloring pictures. Soon I will start teaching math and science so it will get even better. The older kids, who arrive at 3:00, have already had an entire day of Korean school, and are rarely in the mood to spend more time learning English. Some of these kids I loathe. They yell at me in Korean. They yell at each other in Korean. They play with their strange new superhero/pog/card games and don't listen to a damn word I say. I need to find a better way to teach them and it will come with time. Right now they don't respect me and I just want to drink Soju through their entire class.

The kindergarten kids are (mostly) adorable. They call me Evanteacher and hang on my arms like leaches. Many of them have started calling all the foreign teachers at the same time, using their hands to indicate the increasing height we have... Sarateacher (hands at their ankles) Nateteacher (hands at their waist) and Evanteacher (hands as high as they can reach).

All the kids have English names. Ryan, Alex, Sophia, etc... I don't know where they get these names, whether the school chooses them or the parents do, but they have an English name their entire life. I believe they can change it if they want in the future. Some of them are strange. One girl is named Beronica... a literal translation of the Korean tendency to implode the "v" sound. Another boy is named Honey. Yes, Honey. He reminds me of Flower from Bambi. He also has the strange tendency to surprise me with kisses wherever I am. I will be writing on the dry erase board and I will turn around and he will grab my arm and start giving me kisses on my wrist. Or I will be standing in the hallway and he will come up and start kissing my leg. They are the most kind and tender kisses I have ever had, but they are strange nonetheless.

Every day has gotten better, so I still look forward to work every morning. We will see how long that lasts.