Blog Posts I Didn’t Write
On Kimchi: Brushing My Teeth After Every Meal HanCOOL: In Celebration of Recognizing the ‘Bathroom’ Sign The Designated Tambourine Shaker: Noraebang Nights Making My Parents Proud: So-Mek Magic Tricks Writing my Will: Coming to Terms with the Daily Bus Commute Roses Are Red, Your Poodle Is Blue Naked and Afraid: The Jimjilbang Diaries Anne Hathaway + Elsa + Emma Watson = Teacher: My Students’ Love-Child Fantasies Joking or Fighting? The Host Family Mystery My Students Are Throwing Things Out of the Windows But My Co-Teacher is Chill With It So I Guess I’m Chill With It Too Drenched: My Umbrella Betrays Me Where Should I Put This Cup? And Other Trash Adventures Shush Yourself Before You Buckle Yourself: Nunchi Maintenance on Public Transportation An Ode to Naver: The Real Lifesaver I Found A Unicorn: Female Taxi Drivers in Korea I Wore My School Slippers Home Again, or, Monday Cultural Ambassadorship: Static Cling and Blushing Boys Crying in the Bathroom: My School Blocked Wi-Fi Access A Crushing Critique: “You Take Bad Selfies, Teacher” Apologies to my Mom, Aunt Shirley, and that Boy Who Liked Me in 8th Grade: Sorry for the Failed Attempt at Blogging; I Was Having Too Much Fun Allana Wooley is a 2015-2016 ETA at Masan Girls’ High School in Masan, Gyeongsangnam-do.
Korea and Taiwan: Classroom Moments
Memorable Classroom Moments from Korea and Taiwan In both Korea and Taiwan, the Fulbright ETA grant year has come to a close. Some ETAs have said their goodbyes, while others are staying on with Fulbright for a second or even third year. Regardless, the end of a grant year always invites reflection. Here, Korea and Taiwan ETAs share their most memorable moments from the classroom and stories they know they’ll still be telling in five years. — All of my students chose their own English names the first week of class. Among the names were Kentucky, Fried, Chicken (yes, they all sat next to each other), Blue and Orange (they were dating), Pikachu, Larva, Adele, Sam Smith, and Beyonce. One of my 2nd grade high school students chose the name Obama. Flash forward to the next semester. I no longer taught Obama because he was a 3rd grade high school student. I saw him one day and asked him to remind me of his Korean name because I felt weird yelling Obama across school all the time. He said, “Kim.” I repeated, “Kim.” “Ba.” I repeated, “Ba.” “Ma.” – Monica Mehta, ETA 2015-2016 Naju, Jeollanam-do, South Korea My second-graders came to class one day and said, “Good afternoon” to me in Vietnamese. I am Vietnamese-American; I came to Taiwan to teach English and American culture, and ended up learning from my students the true meaning of intercultural understanding. – Chloe, ETA 2015-2016 Taitung City, Taitung County, Taiwan [I’ll always remember] seeing the excitement in the students’ faces when we learned about the fifty states and seeing them try to find the states on a US map. After that lesson, every time they came into my classroom, they would run up to the US map and try to find another state before we started our lesson of the day. It was great to see them genuinely interested in learning about how each state is different and unique. – Kristin Krzic, ETA 2015-2016 Iksan, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea Given the flexibility of my school, the administration often let me create my own activities. While on Jinmen, I collaborated with a number of musicians and eventually started a band with three other friends. Our music was, shall we say, against the Jinmenese traditional grain. We played punk music. On Mother’s Day, we held a performance for students and their families at Shumei (my school). I was deathly afraid that the music would be too abrasive for the young learners, but once we started playing a song we wrote about Mother’s Day, the crowd began clapping on time and some of the students were nodding their heads. At the end we gave out our band’s stickers. Even today, I see our stickers on my students’ water bottles, bags, and other items. Cultural exchange through music, passion, and unspoken tones had a profound impact on our process of understanding each other. The beauty of the Fulbright program is that it allows ostensibly irreconcilable differences to be mitigated through creative engagement and artistic dialogue. – Oliver Thomas, ETA 2015-2016 Shamei, Jinmen County, Taiwan It is not a specific story, but what I will still be saying about teaching in five years is that your students, no matter age or where in the world, will always make your experience. They will challenge and frustrate you beyond belief, but they will also make you smile when they finally understand the material and laugh on the days you need most. – Alessa Strelecki, ETA 2015-2016 Sejong City, South Korea One ordinary Monday morning, I was preparing to teach a second grade dance-themed English class. Right before doing the morning greeting, I realized that each of my 30 giggling second graders had a balloon stuffed under the shirt of their school uniforms. When I questioned one little boy, he responded “I’m having a baby,” and proudly rubbed his little balloon belly. I didn’t ask any more questions. Once it was time to dance, I turned on the music and encouraged the students to stand up and move around. Suddenly 30 little blue balloons were flying in the air. In complete chaos, the students desperately tried to find their precious babies and stuff them back under their shirts. In that moment, I stopped taking myself so seriously and started to just go with the flow. – Sheridan Baker, ETA 2015-2016 Taichung, Taiwan The first time I heard the song “Cheer Up” by TWICE, I thought during the chorus they were singing “Shut up, baby” instead of “Cheer up, baby.” During a pronunciation lesson I used this as a little example of “why 발음 (bareum, meaning “pronunciation”) really matters” …And the students thought it was hilarious. Now I hear them shout-singing in the halls all the time, “SHUT UP BABYYYYYY.” – Mo Kinsinger, ETA 2015-2017 Mokpo, Jeollanam-do, South Korea During one of my first classes, a male student loudly declared that he “touches man parts!” and eagerly waited for my reaction. In a stroke of calm genius, I turned and wrote three letters on the board: TMI. “Do you know what this means?” I won that round. – Monica Heilman, ETA 2014-2016 Busan, South Korea I was talking with one of my fourth grade girls, and all of a sudden she said “Wait” and she slapped me on the forehead. I was taken aback, and even more shocked when she drew her hand back to show me that it was covered in blood. “蚊子” (mosquito) she said, and then we both started laughing. – Matthew Noah Baker, ETA 2015-2016 Taichung, Taiwan The one story I’ll be sharing five years from now is just being there to listen to students. One day, one of my 6th grade boys who speaks great English and is well-mannered stayed behind class and told me he needed to talk to me about something. He said “I cannot show this to my mom or sister. But this is
Cafe Sunbike (Jeju-si)
Review by Rachel Brooks, ETA 2014-2016 City: Jeju-si Restaurant Name: Cafe Sunbike (카페 썬바이크) Foods Served: coffee, smoothies, sandwiches, burritos, and more Restaurant Address: 제주특별자치도 제주시 연북로 527 1층 Cafe Sunbike Directions: A short walk from Jungang Girls’ High School, the cafe is catty-corner from the CGV movie theater. Cost: around 5,000 – 12,000 won for a beverage and food item After hearing positive things about Cafe Sunbike from word-of-mouth, I had been itching to visit and finally went with a friend last semester. A cafe that doubles as a bike shop, Cafe Sunbike quickly became one of my favorite coffee shops. The menu boasts an impressive selection of beverages and food items, and you can check out bicycle parts while you wait for your order. With a sporty, youthful vibe, Cafe Sunbike’s beverages are surprisingly affordable considering you get to keep the water bottle that contains certain beverages, including the smoothies, frappes, and smoothies. For a mere 500 won extra, you can upgrade other beverages, like the coffee selection, to include the water bottle keepsake. The establishment has your typical coffee and tea choices as well as ades, pongdang lattes, smoothies, and frappes. Quench your thirst with a blue lemonade, apple mango, green grape, or grapefruit ade for 5,000 won, and strawberry, mango, and blueberry smoothies are available for 5,500 won each. For 6,000 won, choose from strawberry, blueberry, or mango pongdang lattes, which combine fruit, ice, and milk. My friend’s strawberry smoothie was milk-based, so the taste was delightfully creamy and reminiscent of strawberry milk in slushie form. Frappes cost between 5,500 to 5,800 won, and the flavor options are chocolate, green tea, cookies and cream, and vanilla. I was pleasantly surprised by rich, tiny chocolate chunks in my chocolate frappe. Both my friend and I were impressed with the high quality tastes and textures. If your sweet tooth is especially large, the massive strawberry or chocolate banana “triple tower” beverages feature a mix of yogurt smoothie, fruit, and lots of chocolate. Food options range from sweet to savory. Depending on your mood, you can top your honey bread with caramel, blueberry, strawberry, or garlic flavors. After much deliberation, my friend and I ordered the blueberry honey bread to share and were ecstatic when it arrived with generous helpings of whipped cream and blueberry topping. Other food includes bulgogi, ham and egg, or maple ciabatta as well as sausage, chicken, or bulgogi burritos for between 4,000 and 5,000 won. A short walk from a Megabox theater, the cafe is spacious and clean. It employs a friendly staff, and an English translation of everything on the menu is readily available. While my friend and I visit in the evenings after school, Cafe Sunbike opens at 8am, so it’s the perfect place to stop by for anything from a boost of caffeine in the morning to a sweet treat after work.