Guys Be Quiet!

Hello Hello, another week down here! Countdown til I'm back in DE for Christmas break is currently at 40 days. Catching you up on this past week- it was a bit of a crazy one here. We had a lot of grades and progress reports to get finished. I usually got home from work in a bit of a zombie stage and didn't want to get up early in the morning to get the gym out of the way. A bit of a bad cycle, but hopefully with those tasks done I can focus more on more important things, like studying Korean and sleeping. Friday was a cooking class for our kinders. We made sweet potato cakes, aka mutilated sweet potato lumps with sweet cake mix crumbs and a squirt of whipped cream. Sounds appetizing, does it not?

ingredients

peeling

smashing to bits

still mashing

add some whipped cream to the mush

sprinkle cake mix

squirt of cream

fit for a queen....

Not the most appealing nor delicious recipe the kids made for cooking class. I think they are running out of ideas. Maybe I should give them some that make more sense than smashing a potato in a paper cup.

Also this Friday, and more importantly than sweet potato cakes (I know...close call)-- It was Kaitie's birthday!!

Naturally, she got the cake, birthday hat, and song that comes along with teacher's birthdays at Little America. The kids loved reminding her that in fact today was her birthday many times throughout the day. You know, just in case she forgot. She had her sister Robin skyping in as she came to school. The little ones were so excited to see her! If you come and visit, I promise you will go home with 30 new #1 fans.

For Kaitie's birthday this year I had a sneaky plot going with all of our friends here. I planned a dinner out in Hongdae on Facebook, but in reality I invited everyone to my apartment for a surprise dinner for her. The entire week I had been so excited planning and hoping I didn't accidentally send her the message about the party instead of someone else. We scheduled an appointment to decorate another cake at Darling's Cake in Hongdae, which we did previously for a picnic over the summer if you remember! Super Korean, super awesome. We arrive at Darlings and choose our icing tip, as well as any decorations for the cake. Kaitie, Tarah, and I practiced our designs, nervous about messing up this gorgeous, dent free chocolate cake in front of us. The owner of the shop (I wish I could remember her name, she's incredible) came and helped us out whenever we looked like lost puppies.

lovely birthday girl

Our materials and sustenance

Us practicing....be mature....

Tarah holding the hair back- thanks!

Kaitie killin' it

OOh the concentration

Final Product

This is such a fun thing to do here in Korea if you have a birthday, or wedding, or dentist appointment to celebrate. Just come in, choose a cake, and get going. The owner of the shop has a whole album of example cakes to use for ideas and inspiration when you begin planning your cake. Last time, our cake was a bit of a crazy mess, and it didn't make it into this album. This time, however, I think our design was clean and simple (Korean) therefore she took a picture of it for the example book! We were way too excited about this. A bit competitive aren't we. Anywhoo- after a little shopping and browsing in Hongdae, including a Macaroon-pit-stop, we headed back with the cake to get ready for the evening.

Getting back to Bucheon it was time for me to go into crazy cleaning and decorating mode. Kaitie still had no idea at this point, and I needed to make my apartment presentable for people arriving in a few hours. Putting up balloons and a Happy Birthday banner, I got it all set up as friends drifted in to surprise the birthday gal. Tom had the excellent idea of everyone hiding up in the loft and surprising Kaitie from above. I agreed and once I convinced Kaitie and Katrina that I was going to need "some more time to get ready, and they should just come to my place" I shooed everyone upstairs to await her arrival. Unfortunately, as she waited at the door for me to let her in, I told the hundreds of chatting people upstairs to be quiet and she heard me outside, thus ruining the surprise. She said she was surprised outside the door though...so slight win, I suppose. I was disappointed that it wasn't a huge shock for her as she came into the apartment, but overall the party was a success and we had SOOO much food! I want to say a huge thank you to everyone for 1. keeping quiet about the party and 2. making it such a fun evening before heading out on the town later that night! I'm so lucky to have such a great group of friends here, and now I have lunch for the week with the food that was left over...

hiding

Kind-of-surprised Kaitie

Happy Birthday, Kaitie! Hope it was a great one, I know we all had fun. Next time I'll get the surprise right. As for this week, nothing too exciting going on. We have graduation pictures on Thursday, meaning the 7-year-olds who are leaving kindergarten in March get dressed up in horrendous outfits that look like they were from some Jane Austin book and have been used since about that time period too. Always a fun day of trying to keep a straight face. xoxo Until next time.

Korean of the post:
그 착빙은 똥처럼 보이는
(keu chakbingeun ddongcheoreom boineun)
That icing looks like poop.

Sex Education Sesame Street

Anyeong, how is everyone? Winter is coming. I can feel it. Mainly because my apartment is getting colder. As much as I've looked into stopping the seasons from changing, I've found no solid results thus far. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted. Until then I will snuggle under blankets with my heat fan when necessary. As winter comes, people are trying to fit in the last few outdoor activities until it is just way to cold to enjoy anything outside. For those of you who enjoy cold weather....props....

This past week we had one of the last of the field trips until the weather turns a bit nicer. The students, let me remind you that these students are 6 to 7 years old, would be learning about sex education. Last year the field trip was canceled last minute, so a Korean teacher here took over and taught the students. Fortunately, this year we got to experience the real deal. Located on the outskirts of the Bucheon city soccer stadium, the students would get to learn about how a baby goes from a little swimmer to who they are now. As per usual, the field trip was completely in Korean. My vocabulary, unfortunately, does not cover medical terms and all of the body parts, but I heard from my co-teachers later that the students actually were very knowledgeable about the workings of the human body with regards to baby-making. Naturally, this topic was taught through puppets and videos. When the sperm and egg puppets came out I had honestly no idea what they were. I thought it was some strange representation of reproductive organs, but after further demonstrations by the teacher there, I realized the true purpose for these cute fuzzy creatures. The sperm had a perm too...pretty accurate.

After showing this process using stuffed representations, we moved into the womb room. Yes. The womb room. Crawling through a red squishy doorway, we sit in a small circular space filled with fuzzy pillows and complete with a soundtrack of a beating heart. The students closed their eyes and imagined that they were back in their mother's womb, hearing her heartbeat. Makes you wonder whether there are any subconscious memories of that time. It was then, the teacher played this video of the process from the sperm finding the egg to the baby developing. The landscape and music made you think you were watching some dramatic opera about an Earthly apocalypse. The egg itself looked like a ball of fire and the the womb like a firey landscape of death. With scary-baroque-choir music serenading you throughout this journey, as a women you felt as if you should get some sort of medal for the bravery of completing this process.

Fireball of death (aka an egg)

After the rather scarring video where the students thought they were related to seahorses, we had them put on the pregnancy vests where they can feel what mothers get to experience for 9 months. The other teachers watched holding in laughter as our students struggled to hold up the giant belly and other womanly bodily parts.

Mother Jean

mother Jenna

Then they were taught how to correctly hold a baby, supporting the head. We had several students be super careful with this baby doll while others picked it up by its limbs to see what would happen. Hopefully by the time they have children, they remember the right way to do it...

creepy mother doll...with a husky...

 

We had the usual post-field trip photo shoot and made our way back to Little America. When the Korean teachers told me about a sex-education field trip, I thought it was going to focus more on the differences between boys and girls, and go into some things that just aren't appropriate for 6- and 7-year-olds. I'm a supporter for kids learning about these things in school. I think they definitely should know what will happen to them (sounds daunting), though kindergarten is wa-hay-hayyy to early for that. Let's let them keep some innocence for now.

Fast forward through a busy, tiring, week. I feel like I'm getting worn down. A vacation is definitely becoming necessary. I'm so looking forward to a week off away from spelling tests, homework, and explaining why it is "some" cheese and not "a" cheese. 47 days.

This weekend we had the EDM (Electronic Dance Music) 5k in Ilsan. Tarah, Kaitie, Kelsey and I got all ready to run in the rain donning some glow sticks and neon facepaint all the while dancing to some beat-heavy music and not thinking about the distance of the race (which turned out to be not 5k, but it's fine...). We arrived at the Kintex mall in Ilsan to get our numbers and get painted up for the run. As we painted each others' faces we had Koreans lining up thinking we were some sort of station created by the race. I painted a few neon stripes and cat whiskers on some Koreans, most of them being kind and thanking me while others asked their friends "does it look okay? she's not doing it right" in Korean. It took some willpower to not answer in Korean that I could just take it all off...Heading off we ran 2.4 miles (okay I'll stop complaining) around a loop and along the way had some DJ booth stations to dance while running. After reaching the finish line we joined the after party where all of the EDM Runners jumped up and down to songs that all sounded the same waving glowstick-clad wrists in the air. I don't mind a little electronic music but after a while I feel like I'm sitting in the washing machine while I leave my iTunes on shuffle. We headed off in to the cold again to get ready to go out to Hongdae and meet some friends to celebrate a couple birthdays. Seems like everyone's birthday is in November here (Aka their parents had fun around Valentines Day). There are a lot of races set up through Seoul and nearby cities. I will probably wait til next spring or summer to do another one as my fingers will not appreciate it being much colder anymore. This one was mainly Korean, which I found interesting. Seems like an opportunity to paint your face and run with glow sticks would totally get foreigners to come out. Maybe they got their running in with the Color Run about a month ago. Either way, a fun way to spend a Saturday night with some lovely ladies!

As we head into the next week we have those dreaded TOSEL tests for our elementary students as well as progress reports, grades, and plans to hand in on Friday. Friday is ALSO Kaitie's birthday! Excited for adventures happening next weekend to celebrate that one. Stay warm! xoxo

Korean of the post:
아니. 얼굴에 화가 아니에요.
(ani. eolgoolae hwaga aniayo)
No. I'm not a face painter.

Kimchi Escargot

Let the week of field trips begin! Okay, well it was only two, but still...That means some long days for us Kindergarten teachers. Constant hand-holding (a dangerous sport these days with the cold weather) and picture taking. Our first field trip was a fan favorite from last year- Kimchi making! The kids were herded onto the buses to head 10 minutes away to the kimchi village right nearby my apartment. Taken into that familiar room with the long table down the middle, we were greeted by a cute little woman who would be teaching the students how to make this national dish. The 7-year-olds had already done this last year, so they were seasoned veterans. The 6-year-olds listened carefully and patiently (HAh) until it was time to get messy making their own kimchi. Provided with aprons, sleeves, AND plastic gloves, the kids wouldn't be getting ANY kimchi on their clothes right? wrong. My little one, Jean, a well known messy eater in the classroom, managed to paint the entire forearm of her sweater with the bright red, chili-pepper-based sauce. How, I inquired Jean, did you manage to do that? A smile and a shrug were my answer. Hopefully her mom has some investments in Tide stock.

The careful one

AAND the not so careful

As I was taking pictures and commenting on the excellent kimchi-chef-skills I suddenly realized that our group looked like some underground, child-labor, kimchi-making rig.

Just trying to meet today's quota

After they were freed...I mean...finished...the students skipped off with a bag full of the fruits of their labor. We then got to play around in the small museum area that resembled a traditional hanok village with the small houses and wooden pagodas. Students could participate in traditional Korean games, however, as I am not well-versed in traditional Korean frivolities, the students and I made up rules to the games as we went along.

Traditional Korean hacky sack

 

Traditional Korean hopscotch

 

 The girls didn't know the difference. All that mattered was that they could get a turn jumping around and kicking the shiny silver magic ball thing. We also saw this-

Old Korean Woman: "Dear, you haven't played this in years. It's time to throw it 

out"

Old Korean Man: "I was planning on picking it up tomorrow. I just needed to tune it up...give it a little shine...take out the small mouse family.."

Result--Compromise.

Finishing work on Friday it was an early night for us Little America teachers as it would be field trip number two the next day. Yes. Saturday. I love my job I love my job I love my job. Just kidding, I really do. This was the graduation trip for our 7-year-old students who will be going up to first grade in March! Due to March being absolutely freezing cold (yay) we have the field trip now. Logical...

Stepping onto the giant bus, a change from the usual Little America vans, the students were automatically excited to be able to sit wherever they want! All the boys went back to the "cool kid" section, which is obviously the back of the bus, then we had the teachers' pets located in the front with us, and those floaters in the middle. About 10 minutes into the trip the "Are-we-there-yets" began. The farm we were on our way to was about an hour and a half away (longer with traffic, and let's be real, when does Seoul not have traffic). Therefore, these inquiries in to the ultimate arrival time to said location were a tad premature. We attempted to distract them from this fact by having them sing songs, and play games together.

The weather wasn't exactly the nicest, but luckily the majority of the trip was inside. Unluckily, the bathroom was not located in this building, therefore hundreds of umbrella-clad trips occurred. Usually once one trip returned another student suddenly really-really had to go. Too much information? Sorry. Just that a majority of my time spent on this trip was walking to and from the bathroom. Which, might I add, was covered in palm-sized spiders. Those were cute.

We started off the session by making 화전 (hwajeon) which is a rice cake, decorated with edible flowers, and then pan fried in oil. Yum! They actually aren't too bad, but a bit too oily for my taste. The girls enjoyed making theirs look beautiful and then insisting that they would get to eat their own creations. In the spirit of sharing I proposed a compromise (similar to the tuba one earlier). They could eat their own cake first but then would eat any one. They agreed. Crisis averted.

Me pretending to be a 화전 expert- look at the face of awe over there

Final product

 a burnt smiley face

After we ate the oily flower cakes it was time to do some tie-dye! I think I got a bit over-excited at this point. I haven't been able to do tie-dye for over a year and I've gone a bit crazy. This was not really like the kind of thing Tairen and I would do as we took over the lawn outside our apartment and soaked 20-plus items in brightly colored dyes, ending up tie-dyed ourselves. We were given a small handkerchief and a bowl of natural dye made from a yellow radish. After seeing my swirled design my girls tried to copy it. I told them no matter what design they did it would turn out to be beautiful. Whether or not they believed me, I'm not sure.

Teacher, how?

All ready to go

Getting yellow fingers together

kimchi squat at its finest

simple and classic- words to describe my Jenna <3

 After tie-dying it was time for lunch. The farm puts up a lunch buffet for anyone visiting that day. The spread is all made on site with freshly grown ingredients. Complete with delicious veggies and of course some kimchi, it was a great meal! We were all full and happy and ready for the next item on the list. It was time to learn about snails and silk-worms...Yayyy...The students listened to a presentation (always the age appropriate field trip activities here), then got to spin a sewing wheel to collect the silk. They could also see a pupae inside an egg. We had a couple students brave enough to touch it! Next, they each were the lucky recipient of their very own....one of a kind...snail! The kids were pumped, asking questions about how to take care of it, why it was sleeping, and what color poop it will have...

The last part of the trip was pear picking. At this point, the students and more so the teachers were cold and tired. Ready to get back to the warmth of my own apartment, my fingers were numb and begging me to stop picking pears from rain-covered trees in 50 degree weather. Each student was shipped off from the farm with a bag of goodies including a snail, 2 pears, a handkerchief, and a bag of yummy snacks provided by Little America. After a traffic-heavy, 2-hour trip home, broken up by several pee stops on the side of the highway as well as singing the same song over and over, we finally made it back to Little America. The students were reunited with their parents and we were free to go have a birthday dinner for Seol! Overall the day was a long one. Could really use another to get work done and relax for this upcoming week, but its back to work tomorrow!

54 days until I'm in DE <3

Korean of the post:
"아니요, 너는 달팽이를 먹을 수 없어요"
(anyeo neoneun dalpeangireul meokeul su eopseoyo)
No, you cannot eat the snail.