Fonettick Speling

There are three kindergarten classes at my school.  Universe class consists of the highest level students, who are extremely gifted and know English as well as they know Korean.  Jupiter class consists of the middle level students, who are learning English but are more comfortable with Korean.  Earth class has the lowest level students, whose favorite thing to do is sputter off a long sentence in Korean quickly and then say "in English?" while I stare at them blankly.

I give Universe and Jupiter at least one spelling test each week.  There is a student in Jupiter who is amazing at spelling.... phonetically.  This student was absent when I assigned this week's spelling words, so he didn't know what to study.  I feel obligated to share the student's test:

My Apartment

From what I have gathered by looking at other Korean ESL teachers’ blogs, talking about your apartment and showing pictures is the thing to do.  My apartment, however, is identical to Chris and Lauren’s.  So, if you want to see what my apartment looks like just check out their blog:

http://hawsseoul.blogspot.com/2009/03/our-new-home.html

http://hawsseoul.blogspot.com/2009/03/continuation-of-apartment-photos.html

http://hawsseoul.blogspot.com/2009/03/more-apartment-photos.html

http://hawsseoul.blogspot.com/2009/03/doorbell.html

There are a couple of differences between our apartments to note, however. 

Their apartment looks over a bustling backstreet whereas mine looks about 8 feet to a towering office building, which makes natural light virtually an impossibility in my tiny living quarters.  Instead, I rely on two fluorescent lights that make my apartment feel like a sterile hospital. 

The other difference is my wallpaper:

Yes, that is right.  You do see poop-brown roses.   

T Express

We recently visited Everland, which is the largest theme park in South Korea.  Everland has been compared to Disneyland because of its size, architecture and atmosphere.  There aren’t many thrilling rides, but I did get to ride my new all-time favorite wooden roller coaster: T Express.

The leading mobile telecommunications company in South Korea, SK Telecom, sponsors T Express, which was built in 2008.  With a first drop of 77 degrees, this enormous roller coaster is the world’s steepest wooden coaster.  It also ranks as one of the fastest and longest wooden roller coasters in the world. 

You can see some clips of the gargantuan ride in this (hilarious / ridiculous) video from the K-pop (Korean pop) male group, Xing:

"This is the best uller coaster!"

No, I don’t have an Asian Flush

I’m just sunburned.  I got a little too much sun in Guam.

When Asians drink alcohol they get a flush or reddening of their skin in their faces, necks and shoulders.   It is a result of being unable to metabolize alcohol.

We had a staff dinner with a bunch of other schools.  My sunburn was quite the conversation starter. After one Korean had a little beer he started to get the Asian Flush.  When someone pointed it out he said smiling, “Oh, I went to Guam.”

The children at school went hysterical when they saw “Mr. Redman”.  They grabbed their handphones to take pictures of my ruby face.  They were curious about my sudden change of color.

“Teacher, did you eat the maekju?”   Maekju (맥주) is beer.

“Yesterday, yesterday, yesterday I go to Guam”

Translation from Korean first grader: “I went to Guam 3 days ago.” Since the end of June I have just been “visiting my sister” in Seoul, I decided I should “start” working because, of course, I wouldn’t think about working unless I had a visa. To get your first visa you have to be on U.S. soil. At about 4 hours away, Guam is by far the closest U.S. soil to South Korea. My trip was very brief, but I tried to make the most of it that I could.

Guam: In a Nutshell

Guam is the largest of the Mariana Islands. It is hot and humid throughout the year, and it is no stranger to typhoons. The local people are called Chamorro (pronounced like ‘tomorrow’). Magellan discovered Guam, and it became a Spanish colony until it was transferred to the United States after the Spanish-American War. Guam acted as a rest stop for American ships traveling to and from the Philippines. Shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese took Guam and were very brutal to the Chamorro people. The U.S. reclaimed Guam towards the end of the war, and it soon became an organized territory of the United States.

My Visa Run to Guam

This was technically a business trip. The purpose was to get in, get a visa from the Korean Consulate, and get out. I arrived at 2am on Thursday (ugh). When I woke up, I got online to research how to get to the Korean Consulate. I started in the direction I thought I was supposed to be going. After an hour of aimless wondering I decided I was probably off track, so I turned around to try my luck in the other direction. After much more time in the sun than I had expected, I stopped at a bookstore and asked for directions. Barb and Ahyen at the bookstore were very kind and a huge help to me. Barb even had her husband Larry pick me up and take me to the Korean Consulate.

It takes one business day to obtain a visa, so I had to return the next day at 3pm. I spent the rest of the night watching American TV, walking around all the resorts and hotels on “Hotel Road”, and meeting new people at the live show in the restaurant at my hotel.

Matt, a Japanese business man living in Singapore, and Suha, a graphic designer living in Dubai

I couldn’t wander too far away the next day since I had to return to the Consulate. In retrospect, I wish I had rented a car (it only takes about 4hrs to get around the entire island). Instead, I spent time on the beach, in the pool, and going to all the shopping destinations on the bus route. I got my visa with no problems.

That evening I went to Chamorro Village expecting to find some local culture, but it turned out to be really touristy. I ran into another teacher from Korea on a visa run, who I met on the plane and saw at the Consulate, Sam. I ate a local dish consisting of red rice and some deep-sea fish, and I enjoyed a Guam Beer, which, ironically, is actually made in Korea.

My flight was leaving at 3am, so I made my way back to the hotel and watched some live music at the restaurant in my hotel again up until 1am when it was time to head back to Korea.

I just got a taste of Guam, and I would really like to go back sometime to experience the beauty of the rest of the island.

A Pitfall of Laundry in the Orient

Thank you, Korea, for not adopting the use of dryers yet. I did laundry last night and thought my two towels would have enough time dry overnight. They didn't. I had to use an old undershirt to dry myself after my shower this morning.