Thursday 28 February 2008
10 Things I've Learned in the Last Week
1. No matter where you are the pizza delivery man can always find you.
2. It doesn't matter if you don't do your dishes for 3 days so long as nobody knows.
3. I am incapable of losing CATAN no matter how hard I try.
4. Snow is like a Christmas puppy, people get all excited for the first day but soon realise the responsibilities and the stinky yukkiness on your shoes associated with it after a few days.
5. A watched blog never gets any comments.
6. Koreans find it strange that we DON'T eat pickles with pizza.
7. Eskimos don't exist and they don't live in igloos. (very disappointing, not quite sure what to do with this one.)
8. If you don't understand just smile and nod. Something will end up happening and whatever it is, it will be an experience.
9. Web cams perform a lot more efficiently before you throw them to the ground.
10. No matter what, there will be some A**hole in the meeting who responds to the, "Right that's all then, does anyone have anything to add...?" It''s a rhetorical question, we all want to go home, and your question is pointless. JUST LIKE YOU.
2. It doesn't matter if you don't do your dishes for 3 days so long as nobody knows.
3. I am incapable of losing CATAN no matter how hard I try.
4. Snow is like a Christmas puppy, people get all excited for the first day but soon realise the responsibilities and the stinky yukkiness on your shoes associated with it after a few days.
5. A watched blog never gets any comments.
6. Koreans find it strange that we DON'T eat pickles with pizza.
7. Eskimos don't exist and they don't live in igloos. (very disappointing, not quite sure what to do with this one.)
8. If you don't understand just smile and nod. Something will end up happening and whatever it is, it will be an experience.
9. Web cams perform a lot more efficiently before you throw them to the ground.
10. No matter what, there will be some A**hole in the meeting who responds to the, "Right that's all then, does anyone have anything to add...?" It''s a rhetorical question, we all want to go home, and your question is pointless. JUST LIKE YOU.
Tuesday 26 February 2008
How to Motivate
I don't know why this just sprung to mind but I'm reading now about effective teaching methods and acquisition so maybe that's it, anyway, last summer I taught a six week long winter camp for university students. The students came every day from 9-1 and studied with three different teachers. It was a long and very intensive course but the students were extremely motivated. I was teaching them by getting them to create group projects, for example a news broadcast. It was high energy and a lot of work but they threw themselves into it and seemed to be learning a fair amount into the bargain. Well by the 5th week they were beginning to show signs of exhaustion. I decided to take a day out to do something a little different and light hearted: Swear words!
Their level was quite high, some were nearly fluent and everyone needs to at least know how to effectively use and understand such a salient part of our linguistic repertoire. What I'm saying is that there were genuine pedagogical motives behind the lesson, believe me or not.
I have never seen such a genuinely interested group of students. I have never before nor since seen so many students in one class take notes and ask so many questions. One thing that made them laugh was the fact that my face would turn a bright shade of crimson every time I said a swear word or had to explain the literal meaning to them, which totally led them to ask me more questions.
The best part of the lesson was teaching the flexibility of the "F" word. I handed out a list more than a page long of different situations in which the fascinating word can be used. We talked about the different emotions it conjures up. I showed a video which you no doubt have seen, or if you haven't here it is:
The class was only one hour in duration but I have never seen a group of students acquire a new grammatical or lexical item quite so fast. As the time was drawing to a close one of the students raised his hand:
Me: Yes?
Jin: Can we fucking go now?
Me ...
Jun: Yeah, I'm bloody hungry
Cain: Absofuckinglutely
Me: Don't you dare bloody swear in your other teachers' classes.
Jun: No fucking way.
I've never been so proud.
EDIT: as an aside, the two students on the left are not aware that their hand gesture is considered extremely insulting to many native English speakers, well they are now but they keep forgetting.
Monday 25 February 2008
SNOW!!!!
I get very excited when it snows during the night and I wake up and look out the window and see the world is covered with shiny white virgin snow. I have to put on my boots and go outside and run around in it before anyone else does. Today was one of those days, except as I was happily froliking on the snow a big gust of wind blew the snow off the trees and covered me with white powder. Damn snow. I live on campus at the university where I teach and it is really pretty with trees and a little park so here are a couple of photos of the snow outside my apartment...
It's a Hard Life
The cat likes to play fetch. She has some cat toys with fluff that she likes me to throw across the room so she can fly after them and bring them back for me to throw again and again and again. She prefers scrunched up pieces of paper to her actual cat toys, except ones with fluff, and she loves the Korean apartment floor because she can slide across it. Is that normal? I've never heard of a cat playing fetch.
5.50 from Sindorim
I heard the announcement as I was transferring, we all did, even if I didn't understand Korean I would have known what it meant as everyone on their way to platform 4 sped up, some even started running up the stairs. The old and the weak were brushed aside. Survival of the fittest is what it's about on the 5.50 train from Sindorim to Dong Incheon. I followed, eager to catch the fast train too... only 6 an hour... must get up these stairs. "The fast train for Dong Incheon is now arriving." Nearly there... just.. a...few... more... quick! there's still space on the train, I'll fit. I do. Breathe. WHOAH! before I could catch myself I was being thrown further into the train, leaped upon by a giant wrestler. I turn my head and see, nothing. I look down and come face to face with my aggressor. about 60 with a defiant look on her face, before I get a chance to catch my feet she barges through more, relentlessly squashing all in her wake. It's over. The doors are closing, but NO!!!! hands grab onto the doors and push them open squeezing yet more bodies onto the carriage. more come. I am now wedged in the middle , body bent in an unnatural position, gasping for breath and glad I'm not short like the little man behind me. The woman looks pleased with herself. I wonder how I will ever get out.
Saturday 23 February 2008
Cat
The only food my cat ever begs for is fried chicken, actually thinking about it it's all chicken but I most frequently eat chicken in the fried form. She likes the one that has the slightly spicy breadcrumbs covering it. She will beg for the other kind, realise that it doesn't have the slightly spicy breadcrumbs and when you give it to her she will move it around a bit and leave it. Right now she is eating some chicken, actually her second piece of leftover slightly spicy chicken tender. Before that she ate a piece and in a moment she will miaow for one more. After that she will get an MSG rush, run around the room and try to climb the curtains for about 30 minutes. Then she will come down and hide under her chair.
Thursday 21 February 2008
Caution: Graphic Content
Well I have just arrived home from hospital after spending the night there as I had to have a minor op. Nothing serious so don't worry and I won't bore you with the gory details, I will, however share with you my experiences of the last 24 hours.
In the beginning I knew there was going to trouble as I'd lost all of my admittance papers and had to figure out a way to explain this to the nurses and hospital administration in my very limited Korean and a fair amount of mime. Starting off at information, Summer, who had thank goodness come with me to share in the experience, and I tried to explain to the poor girl behind the desk. Realising that we were getting nowhere we proceeded to the ward where I was supposed to be admitted. It took about one hour, 2 rides in elevators, and a team of 4 nurses, a social worker, a surgeon, an administrator and a nun to get me settled in. I had signed about 4 things, none of which I had the foggiest about and Summer had signed away something herself. Maybe to say that she is fine with giving me one of her kidneys should need be in the course of events. We were shuffled into a little exam room and I was given a lovely hospital outfit consisting of a button up top and a long skirt to wear. Sitting next to each other on the bench considering what was going to happen next Summer decidedly stated, "It's so not like Greys Anatomy."
hospitals in Korea are quite similar to British hospitals in the sense that you share a ward with about 8 people. I understand American hospitals are quite dissimilar and Americans tend to be quite shocked with this state of affairs. Well I was quite the celebrity. As soon as I was escorted to my bed the room fell silent, but for the whine of the young lady of the Korean Drama on the TV. Which, by the way, stayed on until about 1am. I was hooked up to an IV and Summer and I settled into a game or two of Rummikub.
My roommates were a mixed bag. There was a very very old lady who just slept for the whole time, a woman next to me who had more visitors than I could shake a stick at. Her husband stayed all night in a little bed next to her, he was the happiest man in all of the world and fascinated by our game. A young girl across from me who had clearly been there for a while and was getting quite sick and tired of it all. Her father also stayed all night with her. In Korean hospitals the family is expected to look after you, the patient. There are nurses but their jobs seem to be solely changing drips and administering drugs. Baths, getting food, drinks and general care is the job of the family and people are traiping in and out all day and night kids massaging mothers, husbands taking care of wives, it really did make you feel good to see so much care and love. There are also pull out beds under each bed for a friend or family to sleep on through the night. The Koreans were most concerned that my family was absent and one nurse exclaimed incredulously, "But who is going to look after you tomorrow?!" I assured her that my wonderful friend Gwen would be there and she would look after me. Unsure, the nurse accepted this with a questioning look. The woman next to me shouted at anyone who dared to get in between her and the TV, she was also the most interested in me, the strange white girl with no family.
All things considered I slept reasonably, awoke at 6am and was given a lovely new outfit to wear at 7am. I was wheeled to the operating room at 8.30 still rubbing sleep from my eyes. I was told that they would prepare "me" and then administer the anaesthetic which would make me fall asleep. OK all good. I'm not nervous. I'm going to be asleep. Well first of all "prepare me" meant they spreadeagled me on the table and tied my hands and legs down with cloths. I must admit I felt a little strange. then they pulled open my gown and saw my tattoos.Three very audible gasps followed by a Ohhh!! Ippuda!!! (meaning beautiful in Korean" Now, I am laying spreadeagled on an operating table with my limbs tied, half naked and being oohed! and ahhed! at by three nurses. I had to laugh. well after a while the doctor came in and the anaesthetic was administered. What followed was in the top ten of my most embarrassing moments. Right above accidentally stripping to my birthday suit when getting changed for PE in grade 2 because I was talking too much and not paying attention to what I was doing. I wasn't completely sleeping. I was very out of it but i was aware and i could feel a bit so I started to worry and kept saying, "I can feel I don't want to be awake, I need more drugs..." The nurse at my side was stoking my leg saying "It's OK, don't worry, It's OK" Except I didn't hear her voice or see her, I saw and heard one of my best friends and declared, "I love you!" it slowly dawned on me what I had done and tried then in my delirious state to explain. mortified. The nurse completely didn't understand my drugged ramblings and I settled for trying to convince myself that she must have seen and heard a few crazy rantings in her time in the ER.
Well Gwen was waiting for me when I came out so I could share my embarrassment. The rest of the day has been spent lost in translation until eventually Gwen's husband Mike arrived. Mike can speak Korean. You should have seen the look of relief on the administrator's face.
It was so not like Greys; it was totally MASH.
In the beginning I knew there was going to trouble as I'd lost all of my admittance papers and had to figure out a way to explain this to the nurses and hospital administration in my very limited Korean and a fair amount of mime. Starting off at information, Summer, who had thank goodness come with me to share in the experience, and I tried to explain to the poor girl behind the desk. Realising that we were getting nowhere we proceeded to the ward where I was supposed to be admitted. It took about one hour, 2 rides in elevators, and a team of 4 nurses, a social worker, a surgeon, an administrator and a nun to get me settled in. I had signed about 4 things, none of which I had the foggiest about and Summer had signed away something herself. Maybe to say that she is fine with giving me one of her kidneys should need be in the course of events. We were shuffled into a little exam room and I was given a lovely hospital outfit consisting of a button up top and a long skirt to wear. Sitting next to each other on the bench considering what was going to happen next Summer decidedly stated, "It's so not like Greys Anatomy."
hospitals in Korea are quite similar to British hospitals in the sense that you share a ward with about 8 people. I understand American hospitals are quite dissimilar and Americans tend to be quite shocked with this state of affairs. Well I was quite the celebrity. As soon as I was escorted to my bed the room fell silent, but for the whine of the young lady of the Korean Drama on the TV. Which, by the way, stayed on until about 1am. I was hooked up to an IV and Summer and I settled into a game or two of Rummikub.
My roommates were a mixed bag. There was a very very old lady who just slept for the whole time, a woman next to me who had more visitors than I could shake a stick at. Her husband stayed all night in a little bed next to her, he was the happiest man in all of the world and fascinated by our game. A young girl across from me who had clearly been there for a while and was getting quite sick and tired of it all. Her father also stayed all night with her. In Korean hospitals the family is expected to look after you, the patient. There are nurses but their jobs seem to be solely changing drips and administering drugs. Baths, getting food, drinks and general care is the job of the family and people are traiping in and out all day and night kids massaging mothers, husbands taking care of wives, it really did make you feel good to see so much care and love. There are also pull out beds under each bed for a friend or family to sleep on through the night. The Koreans were most concerned that my family was absent and one nurse exclaimed incredulously, "But who is going to look after you tomorrow?!" I assured her that my wonderful friend Gwen would be there and she would look after me. Unsure, the nurse accepted this with a questioning look. The woman next to me shouted at anyone who dared to get in between her and the TV, she was also the most interested in me, the strange white girl with no family.
All things considered I slept reasonably, awoke at 6am and was given a lovely new outfit to wear at 7am. I was wheeled to the operating room at 8.30 still rubbing sleep from my eyes. I was told that they would prepare "me" and then administer the anaesthetic which would make me fall asleep. OK all good. I'm not nervous. I'm going to be asleep. Well first of all "prepare me" meant they spreadeagled me on the table and tied my hands and legs down with cloths. I must admit I felt a little strange. then they pulled open my gown and saw my tattoos.Three very audible gasps followed by a Ohhh!! Ippuda!!! (meaning beautiful in Korean" Now, I am laying spreadeagled on an operating table with my limbs tied, half naked and being oohed! and ahhed! at by three nurses. I had to laugh. well after a while the doctor came in and the anaesthetic was administered. What followed was in the top ten of my most embarrassing moments. Right above accidentally stripping to my birthday suit when getting changed for PE in grade 2 because I was talking too much and not paying attention to what I was doing. I wasn't completely sleeping. I was very out of it but i was aware and i could feel a bit so I started to worry and kept saying, "I can feel I don't want to be awake, I need more drugs..." The nurse at my side was stoking my leg saying "It's OK, don't worry, It's OK" Except I didn't hear her voice or see her, I saw and heard one of my best friends and declared, "I love you!" it slowly dawned on me what I had done and tried then in my delirious state to explain. mortified. The nurse completely didn't understand my drugged ramblings and I settled for trying to convince myself that she must have seen and heard a few crazy rantings in her time in the ER.
Well Gwen was waiting for me when I came out so I could share my embarrassment. The rest of the day has been spent lost in translation until eventually Gwen's husband Mike arrived. Mike can speak Korean. You should have seen the look of relief on the administrator's face.
It was so not like Greys; it was totally MASH.
Tuesday 19 February 2008
Monday 18 February 2008
Lack of Inner Monologue
My friend Mike is Stanley Tucci. You know? The guy in The Terminal: Tom Hanks, gets stuck in an airport terminal because the US won't let him in and he can't go back to his home country blah blah... The terminal boss guy Stanley Tucci. He's also a cop in Lucky Number Slevin. A much better movie so if you were going to choose go for that one. I digress. My friend Mike is Stanly Tucci. Well he is identical, and not in the way that a handful of people in my life have told me that I look like Natalie Portman kind of way, he REALLY looks like Stanley.
When I first met Mike I was working in a school and he walked into the teachers' room. The first thing I said to him was, "Oh my god you look just like that guy! You know the guy? The guy from that movie!" Turning to other teachers, "What's the name of that guy? Oh my God you look just like him!!!" To which Mike's response was, "..." and everyone else just seemed to go quiet as the uncomfortable silence just hung over my head like a bad smell.
The thing is Mike thinks it was our other friend Ivan who did this. Well all I remember is when I was talking there was a little voice, clear as a bell, in my head saying, "that's it, you've done it again. Lack of inner monologue. And now you have to work with this guy." Well I want to thank Mike for being my friend and even going so far as to not remember that it was my foot in my mouth.
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