I don't like it, but I don't have any choice. Deskwarming basically means coming in to school during the winter vacation to "plan" for the school year. In other words, watch videos on youtube for hours on end. I don't know how many I've watched today.
There are a few benefits to coming in during vacation.
1. I learn about the upcoming changes for the new school year. Because Seongdeok MS is new, we had one 1st graders last fall. Now, we'll have 1st and 2nd grade. Instead of 7 homeroom classse, there will be 10 for 2nd grade, and 11 for 1st grade. I sure hope the class sizes are smaller than 43 students! We are also hiring 18 new teachers, but I haven't met any of them yet.
2. For two days during vacation the kids come back (today and tomorrow). Can you imagine having to come back to school for two days in the middle of your summer vacation? I asked Hyunju what they do. She said that they will finish the textbook. I thought that was strange that they didn't finish it at the end of the year in December. Anyway, while I was on Facebook chat listening to German music videos this morning, 43 students came into the classroom, and I had a minor heart attack thinking that I was going to have to teach. Lucky for me, they were having techinical difficulties in their room and needed to use my computer to... get this... watch Transformers 2!! Boy, 43 15 year olds can get pretty loud during a movie like that! It was like the circus.
3. Sometimes you get to go home early. Like today, there are no afternoon classes, so Mr. Kim said, "I think you can go home to relax if you want. You can stay here to relax if you want though, too." I told him I might as well go home. I'd much rather relax there!
Showing posts with label Seongdeok MS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seongdeok MS. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Last Week of School
Christmas Lessons:
It's finally the last week of the school year! I can't believe I've been here for 4 full months, and have been doing exactly what I love doing. The little first graders are still just as immature as they were at the beginning of the semester, it seems hard to believe they will be in second grade come March, and that new first graders will be arriving!
The students have finished their final exams and I've been taking it easy with them the past few weeks. They are ready for a break, and I've just been doing fun things with them, like scategories and Christmas songs. Some of the songs we've sung this week are Jingle Bells, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Santa's coming to town. Kids have requested Feliz Navidad, they seem to know most of the words, which I found suprising. I had Mariah Carey's All I want for Christmas is you playing before class started on Tuesday at Seongdeok, and about 20 of the boys in class 4 were crowded around my podium and TV. Even though the video was blurry, they were so excited to see her dancing. They kept saying things like "Teacher, my girlfriend!" and "Teacher, my mother!" It got them really excited for class I think!
The Good Classes:
Class 2 at Seongdeok is my favorite class there. Huynju is also a homeroom teacher, and she has been very busy with them all year. I've gotten to know a lot of the students on a more personal level because many were in my after school class earlier in the year, and every day about 10 boys come to clean the EOZ classroom for me. They enjoy talking to me and watching YouTube videos, specifically Happy Tree Friends, and Kpop music videos. Some of the boys have even helped me study Korean. Overall, they are sweethearts, though they can still be rambunctious.
At school on Tuesday, the teachers were having a pretty intesnse conversation. When this happens, I just sit there silently, eating my rice, and making up conversations about what they could be talking about. The weather, Iris (a popular drama show), weekend plans etc. Huynju turned to me out of the blue and asked, "Do you find Jindo attractive?" Jindo is in class two, and is 14 years old. I was so suprised! I was like, "Well, I think he'll be pretty good looking when he gets to high school, yes, why?" Apparently, the teachers there all think Jindo is very cute (his nickname that the teachers call him by is "handsome Jindo" when translated to English). He was in my afterschool classes, and is one of the few students whose name I actually know. They said he's the cutest boy in school, and all the little girls have crushes on him, but he is kind of a player and is still single. He's sterotypically good looking, in the Korean way- tall, skinny, and a small head. He's also sporting the standard Korean shag haircut. I just found that whole conversation to be a little bizarre.
Another student in class two, Jindo's sidekick, and who was in my afterschool class was recently elected school president. He's a smart kid and must be pretty deserving of the nomination. Class two had a pizza party to celebrate, and I was lucky enough to take part in that. Because there is no need for me to really ever leave the EOZ, when I ventured down to class two, the kids thought it was like seeing a fish out of water and was swarmed to me instantly.
And the not so good classes:
Not all of my classes can be as good as class two. Class 5 is by far the worst class in the school, and I can't imagine being that poor homeroom teacher. He is so burned out, you can tell just by looking at him. All the subject teachers have struggled with class 5 year long. There are about 6 boys who really get the class riled up, and I always see those six boys standing ouside their classroom with their hands raised high in the air or in the teachers lounge receiving a beating with the standard bamboo stick. Anyway, last week in class 5, I'd had enough of it. I made the 9 loudest boys come up to the front of class and do pushups. 31 to be exact, that was the number between 1-50 the class had decided on. The rest of the class counted outloud together as their classmates did the girliest pushups I'd ever seen. I walked around between them and pushed on their backs to get them to do down farther. Because they couldn't do more than 8 in a row, it took a while to get to 31.
This week, all 9 boys came into the EOZ between class with a written appology. This looked like a pretty official report to me- name, date, location, who, teacher, offense, and goals for the future. In the bottom, there was a place for me to sign. 7 were written in Korean, and 2 were in English. I quickly read over the ones in English, my favorite part said, "I was being loud and I made the teacher go crazy!" I explained to all of them very sternly that when I saw them next, we would be singing Christmas carols, and I expected them to be on their best behavior.
Fastforward to this week's lessons. I always prepare for the worst before class 5. I literally have to mentally prepare myself. However, they did what I was not expecting in class. The boys sat in the front row, right in front of me. When it came time to quiet down, they were the first to stop talking. It was the quietest class I'd ever taught. That would be ideal if we were going over a new topic, but not the best situation for singing upbeat, jazzy Christmas songs. Getting them to sing was like pulling teeth. I think I scared them a little too much last week, and they were terrified to doing anything to make me mad! Since singing didn't go over as planned, I had them each write all the lyrics to Santa Claus is Coming to Town, as well as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I handed these into the homeroom teacher after class, and I think he was pretty impressed that they were all able to focus. Not exactly the fun, end of the school year lesson I'd hoped for, but at least I didn't lose my voice yelling and nobody did pushups.
Whatever happend to a relaxing end of the school year?
Today at Suwan, and schools nationwide, we have testing. There are 5 tests today, including subjects like Korean, Math, Science, Social Studies, and English. The kids were worried about it last week, and it's been pretty quiet around here today. Mihey is in charge of the tests, so I'm alone in my office (and freezing!). I remember when I was young, I was always excited for the end of the school year and I can't imagine having to take a high-pressure test two days before school gets out!
Out with 2009, in with 2010
It's been a whirlwind of activity since arriving 4 months ago, and if 2010 brings half as much fun as 2009 did, it's going to be an excellent year. Merry Christmas, and I'll see you again in 2010!
It's finally the last week of the school year! I can't believe I've been here for 4 full months, and have been doing exactly what I love doing. The little first graders are still just as immature as they were at the beginning of the semester, it seems hard to believe they will be in second grade come March, and that new first graders will be arriving!
The students have finished their final exams and I've been taking it easy with them the past few weeks. They are ready for a break, and I've just been doing fun things with them, like scategories and Christmas songs. Some of the songs we've sung this week are Jingle Bells, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Santa's coming to town. Kids have requested Feliz Navidad, they seem to know most of the words, which I found suprising. I had Mariah Carey's All I want for Christmas is you playing before class started on Tuesday at Seongdeok, and about 20 of the boys in class 4 were crowded around my podium and TV. Even though the video was blurry, they were so excited to see her dancing. They kept saying things like "Teacher, my girlfriend!" and "Teacher, my mother!" It got them really excited for class I think!
The Good Classes:
Class 2 at Seongdeok is my favorite class there. Huynju is also a homeroom teacher, and she has been very busy with them all year. I've gotten to know a lot of the students on a more personal level because many were in my after school class earlier in the year, and every day about 10 boys come to clean the EOZ classroom for me. They enjoy talking to me and watching YouTube videos, specifically Happy Tree Friends, and Kpop music videos. Some of the boys have even helped me study Korean. Overall, they are sweethearts, though they can still be rambunctious.
At school on Tuesday, the teachers were having a pretty intesnse conversation. When this happens, I just sit there silently, eating my rice, and making up conversations about what they could be talking about. The weather, Iris (a popular drama show), weekend plans etc. Huynju turned to me out of the blue and asked, "Do you find Jindo attractive?" Jindo is in class two, and is 14 years old. I was so suprised! I was like, "Well, I think he'll be pretty good looking when he gets to high school, yes, why?" Apparently, the teachers there all think Jindo is very cute (his nickname that the teachers call him by is "handsome Jindo" when translated to English). He was in my afterschool classes, and is one of the few students whose name I actually know. They said he's the cutest boy in school, and all the little girls have crushes on him, but he is kind of a player and is still single. He's sterotypically good looking, in the Korean way- tall, skinny, and a small head. He's also sporting the standard Korean shag haircut. I just found that whole conversation to be a little bizarre.
Another student in class two, Jindo's sidekick, and who was in my afterschool class was recently elected school president. He's a smart kid and must be pretty deserving of the nomination. Class two had a pizza party to celebrate, and I was lucky enough to take part in that. Because there is no need for me to really ever leave the EOZ, when I ventured down to class two, the kids thought it was like seeing a fish out of water and was swarmed to me instantly.
And the not so good classes:
Not all of my classes can be as good as class two. Class 5 is by far the worst class in the school, and I can't imagine being that poor homeroom teacher. He is so burned out, you can tell just by looking at him. All the subject teachers have struggled with class 5 year long. There are about 6 boys who really get the class riled up, and I always see those six boys standing ouside their classroom with their hands raised high in the air or in the teachers lounge receiving a beating with the standard bamboo stick. Anyway, last week in class 5, I'd had enough of it. I made the 9 loudest boys come up to the front of class and do pushups. 31 to be exact, that was the number between 1-50 the class had decided on. The rest of the class counted outloud together as their classmates did the girliest pushups I'd ever seen. I walked around between them and pushed on their backs to get them to do down farther. Because they couldn't do more than 8 in a row, it took a while to get to 31.
This week, all 9 boys came into the EOZ between class with a written appology. This looked like a pretty official report to me- name, date, location, who, teacher, offense, and goals for the future. In the bottom, there was a place for me to sign. 7 were written in Korean, and 2 were in English. I quickly read over the ones in English, my favorite part said, "I was being loud and I made the teacher go crazy!" I explained to all of them very sternly that when I saw them next, we would be singing Christmas carols, and I expected them to be on their best behavior.
Fastforward to this week's lessons. I always prepare for the worst before class 5. I literally have to mentally prepare myself. However, they did what I was not expecting in class. The boys sat in the front row, right in front of me. When it came time to quiet down, they were the first to stop talking. It was the quietest class I'd ever taught. That would be ideal if we were going over a new topic, but not the best situation for singing upbeat, jazzy Christmas songs. Getting them to sing was like pulling teeth. I think I scared them a little too much last week, and they were terrified to doing anything to make me mad! Since singing didn't go over as planned, I had them each write all the lyrics to Santa Claus is Coming to Town, as well as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I handed these into the homeroom teacher after class, and I think he was pretty impressed that they were all able to focus. Not exactly the fun, end of the school year lesson I'd hoped for, but at least I didn't lose my voice yelling and nobody did pushups.
Whatever happend to a relaxing end of the school year?
Today at Suwan, and schools nationwide, we have testing. There are 5 tests today, including subjects like Korean, Math, Science, Social Studies, and English. The kids were worried about it last week, and it's been pretty quiet around here today. Mihey is in charge of the tests, so I'm alone in my office (and freezing!). I remember when I was young, I was always excited for the end of the school year and I can't imagine having to take a high-pressure test two days before school gets out!
Out with 2009, in with 2010
It's been a whirlwind of activity since arriving 4 months ago, and if 2010 brings half as much fun as 2009 did, it's going to be an excellent year. Merry Christmas, and I'll see you again in 2010!
Monday, November 30, 2009
Parent Teacher Conferences Korean Style
This morning, my coteacher Hyunju told me that we were going to talk about "that picture from last week, remember?" At first, I didn't. Last weeks project was writing your own Thanksgiving poem and drawing a turkey by tracing your hand. I did this project with about 600 students, and my memory failed me to recal the specific one.
After thinking about it for 10 minutes, I remember that specific one. Instead of writing a poem, this student wrote two words: "F**k you," and had drawn a picture of a hand flicking someone off. At the end of the project, I collected each paper and each student had written their name on it to hang in the class. Identifying which student had created this poem was easy. At this point, I wasn't offended because I assume when students swear in class, it is something they've picked up in a movie and don't know the full implications or meaning behind the word.
I had given the poem to Hyunju at the end of the day, and had forgotten about it. Today, she told me that the homeroom teacher had called the mother of the student, who laid into the student over this weekend. After a series of phone calls, the mother decided to come in Monday morning, today, and apoligize in person.
The mother explained she felt very sorry about the situation, and had talked to her son about it for a long time. I'm sure he was grounded, or whatever the Korean version of that is. I also found out that this student is one of the most well behaved students in his class, he also happens to be vice principal of his class. She also asked if I remembered her son... I see so many kids in a day, and this one did not stand out. I'm pretty good at recgonizing the trouble makers and the really good kids, but the ones inbetween slip through the cracks of my memory. So I didn't know what to say, I decided to say, "yes, I remember," even though that may have been the first time I'd actually looked at him. In the end, I did not feel bad about letting the homeroom teacher know about the situtation, I just felt overwhelmed I guess you could say about the mother coming in specifically to see me and apoligize.
With her apology, she brought treats for all the teachers. I was so touched that she had done so. I teared up when Hyunju and I were talking because the mother cares so much for her son and wants him to succeed that she felt it necessary to bring TONS of food for ALL the teachers. She brought in about 40 coffees, probably around $1 each. Then, she brought in pieces of cheesecake and chocolate cake for each of us from Paris Baguette, a popular bakery here. Those are at least $3 each because I've seen them before. On top of that, she brought pear juice in individual packets. There was a box full of them, the box was the same size that printer paper comes in. I was given 10 by the homeroom teacher. This mother easily spent $200 on trying to fix her sons mistake.
Back home, I feel like this would never happen. I know that teachers talk to parents when necessary on the phone, but I'm not sure if many parents go the extra mile to bring in a huge amount of food to say I'm sorry. That was definitely a case of culture shock.
After thinking about it for 10 minutes, I remember that specific one. Instead of writing a poem, this student wrote two words: "F**k you," and had drawn a picture of a hand flicking someone off. At the end of the project, I collected each paper and each student had written their name on it to hang in the class. Identifying which student had created this poem was easy. At this point, I wasn't offended because I assume when students swear in class, it is something they've picked up in a movie and don't know the full implications or meaning behind the word.
I had given the poem to Hyunju at the end of the day, and had forgotten about it. Today, she told me that the homeroom teacher had called the mother of the student, who laid into the student over this weekend. After a series of phone calls, the mother decided to come in Monday morning, today, and apoligize in person.
The mother explained she felt very sorry about the situation, and had talked to her son about it for a long time. I'm sure he was grounded, or whatever the Korean version of that is. I also found out that this student is one of the most well behaved students in his class, he also happens to be vice principal of his class. She also asked if I remembered her son... I see so many kids in a day, and this one did not stand out. I'm pretty good at recgonizing the trouble makers and the really good kids, but the ones inbetween slip through the cracks of my memory. So I didn't know what to say, I decided to say, "yes, I remember," even though that may have been the first time I'd actually looked at him. In the end, I did not feel bad about letting the homeroom teacher know about the situtation, I just felt overwhelmed I guess you could say about the mother coming in specifically to see me and apoligize.
With her apology, she brought treats for all the teachers. I was so touched that she had done so. I teared up when Hyunju and I were talking because the mother cares so much for her son and wants him to succeed that she felt it necessary to bring TONS of food for ALL the teachers. She brought in about 40 coffees, probably around $1 each. Then, she brought in pieces of cheesecake and chocolate cake for each of us from Paris Baguette, a popular bakery here. Those are at least $3 each because I've seen them before. On top of that, she brought pear juice in individual packets. There was a box full of them, the box was the same size that printer paper comes in. I was given 10 by the homeroom teacher. This mother easily spent $200 on trying to fix her sons mistake.
Back home, I feel like this would never happen. I know that teachers talk to parents when necessary on the phone, but I'm not sure if many parents go the extra mile to bring in a huge amount of food to say I'm sorry. That was definitely a case of culture shock.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
What's for lunch?
Last week I was playing with my camera and taking lots of pictures at school, when I decided to take a picture of my school lunches everyday for a week. The meals and dishes ranged from poor to excellent. Below are the pictures and descriptions.
Monday
Top row- Pork, rice cake, and sweet potato mix. Cabbage Kimchi. Vegetable and something chewy kimchi. Spicy bean paste. Green Lettuce leaves.
Bottom row- Rice. Soup- cabbage, sprouts, tofu, meat.
Tuesday
Top row- octopus and shrimp with fresh veggies and cocktail sauce. Onion Kimchi. Cabbage kimchi. Acorn jelly and mixed vegetables. Noodles with lots of onion and spices.
Bottom row- Rice. Soup- Tofu, cabbage, sprouts, no meat.
Wednesday
Top row- Drinking yogurt. Rice. Raddish kimchi. Cucumber and veggie kimchi. Fried potato and vegetables.
Bottom row- Korean curry and spaghetti. Soup- potato and veggies.
Thursday
Top row- green lettuce and sesame leaf lettuce. Duck with sauce. Bean paste. Kimchi. Fish. Rice Cake.
Bottom row- Rice. Soup- clear broth with veggies.
Friday
Top row- corn and crab salad. Seaweed. Kimchi. Pork cutlet with gravy.
Bottom row- Rice. Soup- cabbage and vegetables.
Monday
Top row- Pork, rice cake, and sweet potato mix. Cabbage Kimchi. Vegetable and something chewy kimchi. Spicy bean paste. Green Lettuce leaves.
Bottom row- Rice. Soup- cabbage, sprouts, tofu, meat.
Tuesday
Top row- octopus and shrimp with fresh veggies and cocktail sauce. Onion Kimchi. Cabbage kimchi. Acorn jelly and mixed vegetables. Noodles with lots of onion and spices.
Bottom row- Rice. Soup- Tofu, cabbage, sprouts, no meat.
Wednesday
Top row- Drinking yogurt. Rice. Raddish kimchi. Cucumber and veggie kimchi. Fried potato and vegetables.
Bottom row- Korean curry and spaghetti. Soup- potato and veggies.
Thursday
Top row- green lettuce and sesame leaf lettuce. Duck with sauce. Bean paste. Kimchi. Fish. Rice Cake.
Bottom row- Rice. Soup- clear broth with veggies.
Friday
Top row- corn and crab salad. Seaweed. Kimchi. Pork cutlet with gravy.
Bottom row- Rice. Soup- cabbage and vegetables.
Friday, November 20, 2009
KPop 2009 Mashup, Part II
On Mondays and Tuesdays, I teach at Seongdeok Middle School. The kids come in after class to clean the room, and I let them use You Tube to play Kpop songs. They really enjoy it. The other day, some kids pulled up a video before first period. There were about 7 boys in the class who were totally absorbed in it. Then the group grew to about 15 kids, the about half the class (maybe 23 students) were watching the video. It is pretty cool, but if only they paid this much attention to me! :) Here's the pictures I snapped in order, followed by the video they were watching.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Seongdeok MS Field Trip
Since this week is midterms for my 7th graders, my visiting school invited me to go on a teacher's field trip with them. I originally thought we were going to see a temple, but did a lot of other things instead.
We got on the bus after lunch and I thought we would be on the road for maybe an hour. Well, it was further north than Jeonju, where we had our orientation. It took about 2 hours to get there! The city was a small city called Gongju, and I wasn't really sure why we were there. I asked my co-teacher, Hyunju, what we were going to do. She said, "I told you before we are visiting a school." Well, okay, I'd forgotten that. She said that this school is more American than others because the kids move classes, not the teachers. Most schools in Korea have the teachers move, and my school is considering changing their ways.
We got to the school, and our coach bus was so tall that we caught a welcome banner strung across the road to the school. Rather than back up and have the teachers (about 30 of us) walk down the road, some of the male teachers took out a pocket knife and cut the banner down! I thought that was funny, since it would have been about a 2 minute walk!
The school was much older than mine, built in 1971. There were three grades (7-9) with a total of 93 students. We had a quick meeting in the library about the pro's and con's of having the students move classes. After, we were free to walk around the school and see the facilities. I have to say, I really lucked out with my school being brand new! However, one thing that was cool was that their English room was called the "English Palace."
We got back on the bus after taking a group picture, and continued with our field trip. I didn't want to ask my co-teacher again why we were at the school, so I tried a different way of asking the same question. She's a smart lady, and told me that we went because the students move classes. It seemed strange to travel 2 hours to listen to a 15 minute presentation. I'm still not really clear why we had to go all the way there, but whatever.
We rode the bus for over an hour, I wasn't sure in which direction. When I opened my eyes, we were at the coast, and it looked familiar. It turns out it was the same beach were my friends and I had our fresh seafood lunch a few weeks back. This time, we drove out onto the spit and I was able to get some beautiful sunset pictures, and one with my co.
For dinner, I knew we'd be having raw seafood, so I was trying to keep an open mind. I definitely tried lots of new things! We had a variety of seafood platters with fish, crab, shrimp, octopus, and other strange looking things. There was one fish that look especially odd. I asked Hyunju what it was called and she said, "I can't tell you at the dinner table!" I wasn't sure if I wanted to try it after that, but she insisted that it was good but chewy and to tell me later on what it was. It was dark pink/purple and about the size and shape of my pinky. To put it nicely, it looked suspiciously like a part of the male anatomy and raw! I only had one of those because I was afraid of what it was!
I had also been wanting to try the octopus that is still moving on the plate when they bring it out, even though it is dead. It was just my day. I wasn't really set on trying it, but when it was placed in front of me, how could I not. My camera battery was dying, so unfortunately I only got an 11 second video, but it's better than nothing. Man, was that weird! It was the same sort of octopus that I've been eating for the last 2 months, but since this was JUST killed, it was still squirming on the plate, just like worms do. There was some sort of sesame sauce on top. I was a little freaked, but Hyunju told me that this dish is her three year old daughters favorite dish. There was no way I was not going to try it! It was difficult to use the chopsticks to pick it up because it was sucking on the plate and once I did manage to pick it up, it was so strange to see it moving. Hyunju wanted me to try a small piece first, but I thought, "If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it!" I put a relatively large piece in my mouth and it was chewy! It didn't stick too much to the sides of my mouth, but did a little. I thought that I was going to feel it crawling down the back of my throat, but it didn't. Once I chewed it for a few bites it stopped moving.
I ended up having about 5 different pieces of it, and it was quite tasty. I'm familiar with the taste because it is quite common, and in many dishes. The stuff that I had been eating had been killed quite a while before I've ever seen it, so that's why it didn't move. Apparently, it moves for up to about 20 minutes after it has been killed.
Another dinner highlight included me showing a male teacher just what a soju bomb was. He's a drinker, and took it like a champ. On the bus home, he was definitely feeling the buzz and was pretty entertaining. When we were almost home, I forgot to ask my teacher what that strange thing we had eaten was. She laughed and laughed, and told me that it is called "Dog Penis!" I responded by saying, "I thought we were having FISH!!" She explained that it is a fish, but the proper name really is Dog Penis, because of the shape of the fish. I seriously thought I had just eaten a bit of dog penis! Luckily, it was just a fish. Here is a picture of what it looks like, but what I had looked a bit different. I'll post a picture of it soon:
To say the least, it was an exciting day full of suprises. We got back around 9 pm, and I was pooped! The teacher's field trip was a success and I'd love to do the octopus thing again, but this time I'll pass on the "Dog Penis."
We got on the bus after lunch and I thought we would be on the road for maybe an hour. Well, it was further north than Jeonju, where we had our orientation. It took about 2 hours to get there! The city was a small city called Gongju, and I wasn't really sure why we were there. I asked my co-teacher, Hyunju, what we were going to do. She said, "I told you before we are visiting a school." Well, okay, I'd forgotten that. She said that this school is more American than others because the kids move classes, not the teachers. Most schools in Korea have the teachers move, and my school is considering changing their ways.
We got to the school, and our coach bus was so tall that we caught a welcome banner strung across the road to the school. Rather than back up and have the teachers (about 30 of us) walk down the road, some of the male teachers took out a pocket knife and cut the banner down! I thought that was funny, since it would have been about a 2 minute walk!
The school was much older than mine, built in 1971. There were three grades (7-9) with a total of 93 students. We had a quick meeting in the library about the pro's and con's of having the students move classes. After, we were free to walk around the school and see the facilities. I have to say, I really lucked out with my school being brand new! However, one thing that was cool was that their English room was called the "English Palace."
We got back on the bus after taking a group picture, and continued with our field trip. I didn't want to ask my co-teacher again why we were at the school, so I tried a different way of asking the same question. She's a smart lady, and told me that we went because the students move classes. It seemed strange to travel 2 hours to listen to a 15 minute presentation. I'm still not really clear why we had to go all the way there, but whatever.
We rode the bus for over an hour, I wasn't sure in which direction. When I opened my eyes, we were at the coast, and it looked familiar. It turns out it was the same beach were my friends and I had our fresh seafood lunch a few weeks back. This time, we drove out onto the spit and I was able to get some beautiful sunset pictures, and one with my co.
For dinner, I knew we'd be having raw seafood, so I was trying to keep an open mind. I definitely tried lots of new things! We had a variety of seafood platters with fish, crab, shrimp, octopus, and other strange looking things. There was one fish that look especially odd. I asked Hyunju what it was called and she said, "I can't tell you at the dinner table!" I wasn't sure if I wanted to try it after that, but she insisted that it was good but chewy and to tell me later on what it was. It was dark pink/purple and about the size and shape of my pinky. To put it nicely, it looked suspiciously like a part of the male anatomy and raw! I only had one of those because I was afraid of what it was!
I had also been wanting to try the octopus that is still moving on the plate when they bring it out, even though it is dead. It was just my day. I wasn't really set on trying it, but when it was placed in front of me, how could I not. My camera battery was dying, so unfortunately I only got an 11 second video, but it's better than nothing. Man, was that weird! It was the same sort of octopus that I've been eating for the last 2 months, but since this was JUST killed, it was still squirming on the plate, just like worms do. There was some sort of sesame sauce on top. I was a little freaked, but Hyunju told me that this dish is her three year old daughters favorite dish. There was no way I was not going to try it! It was difficult to use the chopsticks to pick it up because it was sucking on the plate and once I did manage to pick it up, it was so strange to see it moving. Hyunju wanted me to try a small piece first, but I thought, "If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it!" I put a relatively large piece in my mouth and it was chewy! It didn't stick too much to the sides of my mouth, but did a little. I thought that I was going to feel it crawling down the back of my throat, but it didn't. Once I chewed it for a few bites it stopped moving.
I ended up having about 5 different pieces of it, and it was quite tasty. I'm familiar with the taste because it is quite common, and in many dishes. The stuff that I had been eating had been killed quite a while before I've ever seen it, so that's why it didn't move. Apparently, it moves for up to about 20 minutes after it has been killed.
Another dinner highlight included me showing a male teacher just what a soju bomb was. He's a drinker, and took it like a champ. On the bus home, he was definitely feeling the buzz and was pretty entertaining. When we were almost home, I forgot to ask my teacher what that strange thing we had eaten was. She laughed and laughed, and told me that it is called "Dog Penis!" I responded by saying, "I thought we were having FISH!!" She explained that it is a fish, but the proper name really is Dog Penis, because of the shape of the fish. I seriously thought I had just eaten a bit of dog penis! Luckily, it was just a fish. Here is a picture of what it looks like, but what I had looked a bit different. I'll post a picture of it soon:
To say the least, it was an exciting day full of suprises. We got back around 9 pm, and I was pooped! The teacher's field trip was a success and I'd love to do the octopus thing again, but this time I'll pass on the "Dog Penis."
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