Highs and Lows

Students who plagiarize after I tell them not to do it (and apparently don't think I've ever heard of Wikipedia). "Teacher, so sorry for being late...I was sleeping" for an 11 o'clock class. Blank looks and sleepy faces. Grading. Making quizzes. More grading. "They're not here because their mom is in the hospital." The lack of effort sometimes.
These are the low points...

But thankfully that's not all there is to it. The look of comprehension. Excellent answers (at whatever level). Students seeming genuinely happy to see me...every time. Hearing little bits of slang or parts of lessons in their speech. Seeing (and hearing) students improving. Questions being asked from the desire to learn. People eagerly talking to me outside of class.

This is what keeps me going on rough days like today.

Jinju

On Tuesday, I went to Jinju with some friends. Jinju is a city about 1 1/2 hours to the west of Busan. It's famous for the fortress which was the site of a famous victory against the Japanese in 1592 (although the next year, the Japanese came back with even more troops and wiped out the whole place). There's also a well known lantern festival in early October, so we got to see preparations for that as well.

Waiting for the bus. There were so many people leaving to go visit family for Chuseok. This line was nothing compared to the one inside for some of the other buses.

Ajushi at the bus stop.

Watchtower at the fortress.

View of the river with the floats for the festival.

Legend has it that a Korean girl seduced a Japanese general and then jumped into the river with him, killing them both. This is the rock that it happened...I'm assuming neither of them could swim. The float showing this event is directly behind.

Grass!! Also, a statue of General Kim.

This guy was making popped rice on this old machine. 맛있어요!!

16th century Korean artillery (for Dad).

Waiting out the rain while eating the popped rice.

Rainbow!

Kosin Festiver

Here are some pictures from the festival the other day.

Setting up. Hot air balloon and giant slide!

Free hugs from "Jesus" (love the sharpie beard and choir robe)

We're not sure what we're endorsing here...

English majors selling food

Lots of students and tents (we were hounded to buy things from everyone)

Adam airborne and bouncing down the slide

Superman and spiderman?

Two of my students singing a ballad at the talent show. They were awesome

Strange Food

Since coming to Korea, I've enthusiastically embraced trying pretty much any food I encounter. I've surprised myself (and my family) in what I'm not only willing to eat, but actually truly enjoy. My brothers thought I was crazy this summer when I ate 김(seaweed) plain for a snack. I regularly eat food that I would have never considered touching in the U.S. But there are still some foods here that I haven't tried. Recently, I've made that list a little bit shorter.

In the last 24 hours I've consumed two dishes that most people I know would likely cringe at just the thought of eating. The first one was last night and was, put simply, pig skin. You cook it up on the grill just like any other meat. I didn't find this too bad actually, although if it's not cooked long enough it's quite chewy. For those wondering, we also got some other meat as well. Apparently it's good for the skin.

The second Korean treat was "bundigie" which translates as silk worm larva. You can find this at many street food stands, and apparently it's very popular with children. We had some today at Kosin Festival...thankfully one of my students decided that one cup was probably good enough for all of us. It wasn't bad, but nothing to go running back to anytime soon.

Punishment

Koreans typically play games a bit differently than we would in America. Normally the point back home is to win, usually by answering correctly or being the last one standing. If you lose, then you're often, "out." That's not the case here!

These students are from my English Club. If you notice their hair, it's a bit unusual (you might need to click for a closer view). You see, Koreans use punishment to judge games. I think this comes from the Asian mentality of togetherness, where everyone must be part of the group. So instead of getting "out" or something like that, you are punished if you lose. After being punished, you resume the game all together still. I've seen people have to sing songs or dance. Your humble narrator has had to write my name with my hips and apply an ice pack to my face, stomach and back. I can't say I'm a big fan of this, but it is quite an experience to play a Korean game.

Extra
They also were playing a game in Ashley's English Club, the loser had to either sing or chug some kind of nasty drink. Here's one of my students who chose to drink:
Smelling it first...

Reaching for the snacks with a grimace

Students say things and I laugh...a lot

Just a small sampling of some things students have said over the last week (the ones I remember). It's really a joy to teach them and see them using new expressions and vocabulary (even if they're not always applicable). Sometimes their explanations are hilarious.

Me: "What is graffiti?"
Student: "Hip hop paint."

"I dress to kill."-My assistant explaining why he was wearing a vest when it was hot outside.

"I'm looking for a fox."-explaining why he wanted to go dancing

"We want violence sometimes. Just a little."-student explaining why violent movies shouldn't be banned.

"Your voice is gorgeous."

Yeongdo Skies

Twilight

Morning Clouds

Rainstorm sunrise