My School

My school just opened a year ago and I am the first native English teacher to teach at the school.  Most other Korean public schools have an English Zone where the native English teachers teach.  However, because my school is still new, they are currently building my English Zone.  Work should be completed by the end of this week.  Let me tell you, I might as well be on a TV show titled "Pimp My Classroom" because that is exactly what is happening.  I will have a sweet computer with a touch screen that projects onto a huge screen that is a touch screen.  There are a bunch of computers on one side of the room, the students will sit at nice tables, there are large wooden signs that swivel, the room is divided into two rooms, the walls are brightly painted, and I don't even know what else because it's not finished yet.  But it is going to be sweet.  AND I get to move my office so that I am no longer in the same office as the vice principal.  I love her dearly, but it will be nice to not have to pretend like I am always working on days when I have absolutely nothing to do (like today for example).  

Today Peter told me to think of a good name for the English Zone.  Usually most schools just call the English room "English Zone" but he thinks it's too overused.  He suggested the name "English Dream Room" but the vice principal didn't like it.  So I have to come up with a name that will be painted on the outside of the "English Zone" wing of the building (yeah, the English room has its own wing).  He told me to email other people and ask around and think of a good name.  Then later in the day he told me that he thought of the name "Albatross Talk Room".  At first I didn't think I heard him correctly because I was not sure how "albatross" fit in with an English room, but then I remembered that the albatross is the school's bird (like a mascot, maybe?).  I tried to tell him politely that if I were a random person walking into the school and I saw that sign, I would have no idea what it meant.  So if you happen to have any good ideas for renaming the English Zone, please feel free to let me know.  Right now I'm thesaurusing "Zone" and not coming up with too many winners so I would love some help.  

So I made this video of my school in December I think, but never got around to uploading it.  Once my new classroom is finished I will probably take more video because this one will be out of date.  In the video you can see the outside of my school, my current office, and some of my students.  I hope I don't cause anyone to have a seizure as they watch this because the camerawork is a bit shaky.  I do apologize.

My co-teacher Peter

I have an odd relationship with my co-teacher, Peter.  I've written a bit about him before.  He's an interesting character.  Quite often I know we don't see eye to eye.  He could not be any more opposite from me if we tried.  He is fifty years old, a devout Christian, politically conservative, has very different teaching ideas from me, and to top it all off, is an older Korean male which affects how he sees the world.  A couple months ago we did not have the best relationship and I'm not exactly sure why.  In Korea there are never conflicts between people, and if there are, they are dealt with in a passive agressive manner so that no one actually ever argues.  It's very different from what I'm used to.  I think if two people have a problem, it should be resolved in an open and honest manner so there is no resentment between both parties. So I don't really know what I ever did for him to basically ignore me most of the time and order me around.  But that's what he did for most of November and December.  It was incredibly frustrating because I don't like being told what to do and feeling like I'm a burden to anyone at school.  When I told my friends here about it, they all said it sounded like Peter was a total jerk (actually they didn't use the term "jerk" but I'm censoring for those who do not prefer profanity).  As one of my friends so eloquently put it, "Having a co-teacher is like having a parent who you can't talk back to."  But I still felt bad calling him a "jerk" because overall he had done so much for me.  As far as getting things done and worrying about my safety, Peter was the perfect co-teacher.  But lately everything has been smooth-sailing between Peter and me.  He came out of his funk sometime in January and I try to be on my best behavior around him, because he really is a nice guy when you get down to it.  I laugh at all of his jokes.  He giggles at his own jokes, kind of like a little schoolgirl.  It's actually really cute.  One of the other English teachers at my school is moving to Wyoming in March for some English training.  I was telling Peter how Wyoming is not the most populous state in the country.  Today he said that he thinks she'll have to find some deer and bears to talk to because there won't be enough people for her to talk to in Wyoming.  Wow, did he get a kick out of that joke.  He giggled about that for twenty minutes and then had to tell the whole office about his joke in Korean.  Then he kept saying, "Anna, don't you think so?" because that is what he always says to me and since I laughed at the joke the first time, I was suddenly in on the joke even though it was now told in Korean.   So anyway, I wish I could carry a tape recorder around with me to record some of our conversations.  He likes to use me as his own personal English dictionary and etymology expert.  Now I can provide the meaning of a word, but as far as its origin, I'm usually at a loss. A few weeks ago, when Michael Phelps was caught smoking pot, Peter and I had a discussion about it.  It went something like this: Peter:  I heard Michael Phelps was caught smoking bong. Anna:  Yes, he was caught smoking marijuana. P:  What is the difference between bong, marijuana, and pot?  Why are there so many terms for marijuana? A:  Well, a bong is what you smoke marijuana in.  So it's not actually the drug.  Pot is a slang term for marijuana.  There are many different terms for marijuana. P:  Why are there so many different names for bong?  (This is where he likes me to be the etymology expert.) A:  Actually, it's not called bong.  We call it marijuana and a bong is what people use to smoke marijuana (I often have to repeat myself a couple times).  I don't know.  Maybe because it's an illegal substance and people have made up different names to keep the drug secret... P:  What are some other terms? ...And the conversation went on from there where I suddenly became the marijuana expert.   I have another great Peter conversation that I laugh about to myself all the time.  Now to preface it, I must tell you that social drinking and drinking to get drunk is incredibly common and acceptable here.  I have seen more Korean men puking in the streets and stumbling down sidewalks since I've been here than I saw throughout my college career.  So it is perfectly acceptable to talk about drinking, to get drunk with co-workers, and to have a hangover.  A few times when I've not felt well at school and so opted out of lunch (completely unrelated to drinking, usually related to the flu) I'm always asked if I'm too hungover to eat.  The other day I had a conversation about drinking with Peter after we had gone out to lunch with the principal and a few other older male teachers.  Peter:  We all got drunk last night. Anna:  Oh, did you have fun? P:  Yes, but I am very hungover today.  The soup we just ate is good for hangovers.  What do you call food that is good for hangovers? A:  Well, I usually just call it "hangover food" but I don't know if that's the technical term.  P:  Hangover food?  Would people understand me if I used that term? A:  I think so, but again that's just a name that I call food that is good for hangovers.  (...or so I'm told from my friends.  My friends say fried food is the best.  I wouldn't know because I don't drink...).   P:  Ah, hangover food.  Hangover food.  Hangover food.  (He likes to repeat things over and over when I teach him a new word or phrase.) It's so odd to be talking about a co-worker's, especially an older co-worker's/superior's, hangover.  In America it seems like we try to keep those types of things concealed. A few weeks ago we had a conversation about literature and somehow To Kill a Mockingbird came up.  I was trying to explain the book to him and why so many American students read the book.  I'm quite familiar with the book because I taught it for three years in the States and it's one of my favorites.  I tried to explain the main themes and the characters, particularly Atticus Finch.  This week Peter started reading it and has asked me to explain four different parts of the book already.  And he can't even be past page 25 yet.  It is going to be a long couple of months if this continues.  With the colloquial speech in that book and all of the historical and cultural references, I am going to be quite busy explaining and translating.

Thailand versus South Korea

Yeah that's right.  Two posts in a row.  I know how to party.  And I'm still riding the caffeine buzz wave.   So I've been wrestling with this question (and been asked by some) since returning from Thailand: which do I like better, Thailand or South Korea?  The jury is still out, but let me share my thoughts.  I loved Thailand.  I loved how laid back it seemed, I loved the foreigners from all over, I loved the food, the weather, I loved how inexpensive everything was, I loved the unsafe transportation (tuk-tuks and scooters), I loved the street food and vendors, the cheap massages, and I loved that almost everything is in English.  But is this really Thailand?  I stayed mostly in the touristy parts of Bangkok and Koh Chang was a tourist mecca mostly visited by Europeans.  Most of the things I enjoyed about Thailand existed because of tourists.

In contrast, Korea experiences very little tourism.  Most foreigners are part of the U.S. Army or English teachers, all of who stay for an extended period of time so are not really tourists.  Outside of Seoul, it is difficult to find people who speak English, the weather is much colder, stores are not geared towards tourists, food is decidedly Korean (i.e. fermented, pickled, or covered in red pepper paste), I rarely see non-Korean people unless I'm hanging out with my foreign friends, there is a much more closeted sex market, and Korean people are hard workers not known for their relaxed attitude (from what I've experienced anyway).  

In some ways it's refreshing to live in a country like Korea where there is very little tourism because I know I'm experiencing the real Korea.  I live it everyday by teaching my students, interacting with my co-workers, and eating the cafeteria food.  

Another downfall of tourism is the total dependence on it for many people's survival.  While in  Bangkok, we were approached so often by people selling items on the streets while we were eating at restaurants.  There were many people begging for money on the streets, people trying to get us to go for tuk tuk rides, or on other tours.   During dinner on our second night in Bangkok, we were approached by a ten year old girl (I think she was about ten) who wanted to challenge the guys at our table to thumb wars.  If they lost, they had to buy roses from her for all the ladies at the table.  Now this girl, Bebe, was hilarious.  She was such a great con artist.  She worked her magic by calling the guys ladyboys and losers until they agreed to go against her.  Then she quickly beat them in the thumb war and they had to pay up.  We saw her many times while we were in Bangkok.  She had to be pulling in quite a bit of money because everyone seemed to love to challenge her or just loved her and gave her money regardless.  But at what cost?  We asked her if she attended school, and she said that she did.  But each night she was out and out quite late at that.  There were quite a few girls who did this.  They were great at the trash talk and the thumb wars, but it definitely felt as though their innocence was somehow lost.  

Bebe challenging Fil to a thumb war.

Bebe calling Ryan a loser.

Thai-m of my life

Alright, to avoid my mom disowning me for lack of blog posts I will update my blog.  To get all cliche on you, I can't help but feel like there's so much I want to blog about, but at the same time I can't quite put my Thailand trip into words.  Luckily I just had a late coffee date with my ladies, so what better way to use my caffeine buzz than to blog.  So here goes.

Thailand may have been the best vacation I will ever experience.  First off, we had a great group of people on our trip.  There were seven of us total (Chrissy, Jen, Julie, Joe, Ryan, Amanda, and me) and we all got along surprisingly well.  We also ran into three other groups of travelers that we knew from Korea and hung out with them quite a bit.  We spent two nights in Bangkok, took a mini-bus to an island off of the Thai coast (Koh Chang) for five nights, and then went back to Bangkok for two days.  

I was not expecting to like Bangkok as much as I did.  It was filled with tourists, a bit of a change from Korea, and had a very laid back vibe about it.  There was great shopping and cheap food.  Thailand is a vegetarian's paradise.  I think they are trying to cater to all the hippies who travel to Thailand by offering so many veg-friendly options, but whatever the reason, the food was amazing.  I ate so much pad thai and so many spring rolls, I probably don't need to see another spring roll for a year.  Also, I even went to a vegetarian restaurant where I had a veggie burger and some great hummus.  I don't mean to get all foodie on you, but I've been missing veggie burgers since the moment I stepped off the plane in Korea, so although they were not the same veggie burgers as in the U.S. I still welcomed them with open arms.  

In Koh Chang we went snorkeling, rode elephants in the jungle, rented scooters and drove around the island, laid on the beach, went to bars on the beach, and overall just had an amazingly relaxed time.  Word of advice, if you're ever planning on traveling to Thailand and you don't want to spend a lot of money or stay at incredibly extravagant places, do not book anything in advance.  We had heard this advice and heeded it for the most part, but we did make the mistake of booking bungalows in Bangkok for Koh Chang when we really didn't need to.  We ended up not being in the middle of the action for the first three nights and had to take taxis to get to the main beach areas.  Then the last two nights we ended up getting bungalows on the beach for half the price and twice the convenience.  Also, these bungalows were owned by a ladyboy which is a Thai phenomenon.  Basically men take female hormones from puberty on to become women.  There were many Thai women I had to look twice at to figure out whether they were really women or ladyboys.  Yes, the sex trade is alive and well in Thailand.  

The snorkeling was fantastic.  We took a boat out to three different islands and swam around them.  The last island was very secluded with a gorgeous beach and would be a great place to really get away.  I saw some great schools of fish, much better than the snorkeling I've done before.  Here's a picture from one of the islands we stopped at:

Riding elephants was also an experience.  I think I have a new obsession with elephants.  The only thing that I didn't like is I'm not entirely sure how humanely they treat the elephants.  We rode in groups of two with a guide.  The guides all had these poking stick things.  At once point my guide hit the elephant with the stick.  I cringed a bit and he gestured that it's nothing more than a scratch to the elephants.  But I don't know, a few of them had red marks on their heads.  We rode into the jungle with the elephants and stopped at a small quarry to swim with the elephants.  A few of us jumped in with them, not realizing that the elephants like to use the water as their own public restroom.  Not long after we started swimming with them, we noticed green blobs of poo coming from the elephants.  The lake was not large so we were basically swimming in a large elephant toilet.  Luckily the guides did fish out a lot of the poo and put it in a big poo pile on the side of the pool, but I was a little skeeved out after seeing this.  Here's a picture of us swimming with the elephants:

Because I feel the need for speed (not really, I'm just lame), I think one of my favorite parts of Koh Chang was renting scooters and driving around the island.  Instead of having a final beach day like the rest of the group, Joe and I rented scooters and drove around the island.  This outing almost didn't happen for a couple reasons.  First off, can we just appreciate the fact that I rented a scooter for 24 hours for $8?  Amazing, yes.  Joe didn't have his license on him, but that doesn't seem to matter in Thailand.  So we rented our scooters with my driver's license, Joe's passport number, and no training about how to use scooters.  Neither of us had ever ridden before.  Our instructions included, here's how to turn it on, here's the throttle, pull down on the throttle to get started.  Joe started his scooter first and attempted to merge onto the road.  Instead, he and the scooter went shooting out into the middle of the road, side swiped a taxi and managed to stop on the other side of the road.  It was simultaneously frightening and hilarious.  There were many panicked looks around us.  Then he gave it another try and again shot out into the road and almost fell over.  At this point I was thinking maybe this scootering thing was not such a good idea.  Luckily I managed to receive a little more instruction from the scooters' owners and I eased down on the throttle.  That proved effective and Joe got the hang of it and we were on our way.  We drove up and down the main area of the island.  At one point we found an interesting road that led into the jungle.  Then we thought we found another interesting road.  Instead, it led us up a steep hill, past some chickens in the road (I almost hit two) to a garbage dump.  We also drove up and down some very steep hills (I prefer to call them mountains) which were incredibly scary and we probably shouldn't have been driving on them because we were complete scooter neophytes, but we also saw some spectacular views of the island and ocean.  The following day we took Julie and Chrissy scooting with us.  Joe had some trouble with one of his tires, so Julie, Chrissy and I ended up riding back to town all on my scooter.  That was quite fun and unfortunately I didn't get a good picture of the three of us piled on my scooter.  Here's a view from one of the hills (mountains) we rode on:

Back in Bangkok we saw some temples, the famous reclining Buddha, and we went on a boat cruise around the canals of Bangkok. Here's a picture of the reclining Buddha:
There was a lot more that happened on our trip, but these are just a few highlights.  Maybe if you're lucky, I will do another post about Thailand.  But you can check out my pictures of Thailand here to see some more adventures.  I took some of these pictures, and others I stole from my vacation mates.  Enjoy.