After the wild events of last week, this weekend I indulged in sleep, American television and drawing. Unfortunately it doesn't give me much to write about here, but I think it will help me endure the upcoming week.
While I feel on top of the class preparation, lesson planning and (mostly) teaching my body hasn't quite caught up with my mind. I'm always exhausted by the end of the day, whether it went smoothly or no. Today fortunately was a smooth day in the classroom but a hectic one without. My co-teacher and I spent a good hour and a half trying to turn a 6th grader's Korean essay into English for an English speech contest. Honestly, I'm not sure what purpose the contest serves since apparently all the speeches are re-drafted and altered by the teachers and the students only serve as little robots who regurgitate memorized phrases they couldn't possibly understand. It's a little sad microcosm of the larger problems in an education system which emphasizes rote learning over teaching independent analytical thought. Unfortunately for these children the entire system of lower education terminates in an SAT-like test which determines whether the student can go to college and if so, where. This has created an educational system built on the Kaplan plan: teach the test, not the subject.
Anyway, my apologies for that little aside. Besides sleeping and watching television I did make time this weekend to attend two dinners. Saturday was a welcoming dinner for our newest EPIK teacher and Sunday another EPIK cohort hosted a little get-together in her apartment with some home-cooked western-style delectables. It was all deeply appreciated by myself. I also consumed the first palatable wine I've had in Korea, which in this case had come to Korea via Australia. I don't think you'll be seeing Korean sections opening up in your local wine shops back home anytime soon.
Next time I'll try to provide you with more hilarious anecdotes but for now just enjoy the catchy tones of Lee Seung Hwan's "Superhero", my current favorite K-Pop Hit:
At the very least skip to the end for a fun 80's Exercise Video inspired dance routine. I think this video could also make for an excellent drinking game. The only rule: Take a shot every time a major copyright is violated. Enjoy!
Showing posts with label epik. Show all posts
Showing posts with label epik. Show all posts
Monday, September 21, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Holy Shitsticks, I'm in Korea.
I'm about halfway through day 2 at the EPIK orientation. Fortunately (or "un-", depending on your level of patience) I just got my internet to work which means, joy of joys, blog posts!
I'm not going to bore you, dear readers, with a blow-by-blow account of orientation activities (including highlights like Filling Out Korean Bank Account Forms! And Cell Phone Plan Selection!) but the highlight so far was the traditional Korean drumming demonstration at last nights welcome ceremonies. It was pretty similar to this, only infinitely more awesome in person:
There was also some traditional narrative singing and a "fan dance". All of the above featured pretty girls in fancy costumes so despite many cultural differences it's nice to know that some things never change.
For the next seven days I'll be residing in a very nice dorm room. This dorm room, let me tell you, was designed by some storage space genius. One entire wall is composed of cleverly sectioned closets and shelving with further drawers to be found below the nightstand and beds. This is a country, I think, long accustomed to making due with small living spaces. New York University dorm management, please take note.
Since I've spent most of my time interacting with fellow EPIK teachers and not the natives my "culture shock" has been pretty limited. There's a little shoe well at the entrance to my room where one is expected to doff one's shoes (I remember to do this at least two out of three times) and showers are not sectioned off from the rest of the bathroom but rather the whole floor slopes subtly down to a drain. I guess this is convenient if you plan on having eight people shower at once although I wouldn't recommend it. The thoughtfully provided shampoo claims to contain "effective microorganisms" which I find more unsettling then reassuring.
I'm a little hungry right now since my "class" (teachers heading to Gangwon-do) is not allowed to eat lunch for medical testing purposes. I'm not sure exactly what these will involve but reports assure there will be some needles. Despite this I remain strong in my resolve.
PS: Photos now on view
I'm not going to bore you, dear readers, with a blow-by-blow account of orientation activities (including highlights like Filling Out Korean Bank Account Forms! And Cell Phone Plan Selection!) but the highlight so far was the traditional Korean drumming demonstration at last nights welcome ceremonies. It was pretty similar to this, only infinitely more awesome in person:
There was also some traditional narrative singing and a "fan dance". All of the above featured pretty girls in fancy costumes so despite many cultural differences it's nice to know that some things never change.
For the next seven days I'll be residing in a very nice dorm room. This dorm room, let me tell you, was designed by some storage space genius. One entire wall is composed of cleverly sectioned closets and shelving with further drawers to be found below the nightstand and beds. This is a country, I think, long accustomed to making due with small living spaces. New York University dorm management, please take note.
Since I've spent most of my time interacting with fellow EPIK teachers and not the natives my "culture shock" has been pretty limited. There's a little shoe well at the entrance to my room where one is expected to doff one's shoes (I remember to do this at least two out of three times) and showers are not sectioned off from the rest of the bathroom but rather the whole floor slopes subtly down to a drain. I guess this is convenient if you plan on having eight people shower at once although I wouldn't recommend it. The thoughtfully provided shampoo claims to contain "effective microorganisms" which I find more unsettling then reassuring.
I'm a little hungry right now since my "class" (teachers heading to Gangwon-do) is not allowed to eat lunch for medical testing purposes. I'm not sure exactly what these will involve but reports assure there will be some needles. Despite this I remain strong in my resolve.
PS: Photos now on view
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