Monday, December 24, 2012

First of Goodbyes/Teaching Reflection

It's Monday, December 24th. Christmas Eve. Tonight I will spend a magical night with my friends and tomorrow I will wake up to skype with my family while they all gather at my mom's house for NY's Christmas Eve. Later on, I will spend Christmas Day with my friends, eat more food, drink more wine, and come home to skype yet again with my family on their Christmas morning... many good things to look forward to in the next two days.

A few updates:

Last Friday, I said goodbye to one of my favorite students, Paul. From day one, I noticed his English abilities. He is by far the highest-level student I had this year. He challenges me as a teacher by asking abstract questions far beyond his years; he understands my sarcasm, and that says a lot as an ESL Teacher. He is everyone's friend because he is genuinely a good kid. Paul told me earlier in the week that he was moving to Seoul this weekend so Friday would be his last day. We had an early dismissal because of snow so I never got to see his class. When my CT made the announcement, I ran up to his homeroom class, where I told him what a pleasure it was teaching him and how I wish him all the luck in Seoul. As a foreign teacher here, you don't always get to connect with your students in these ways. It was nice that I was able to congratulate him on a job well-done this year.

I have about 200 students total, 1/3 of whom cannot carry a conversation more than, "Hi. How are you? I'm fine, thank you. And you?" It's the reality of English Education here, especially with such mixed-level classes in an Elementary School. I'll see my fourth graders again next year, but my sixth graders will be on into Middle School, so saying goodbye to some of them will be hard. Despite the students who I have yet to see advance, there are some who have shown tremendous improvement, and a lot of these students happen to be the mis-behaved ones in the beginning of the year. They figured out I meant business and that I was not here to play, but actually cared about their learning. As a teacher, seeing your students succeed is the reason we do what we do. Even the students who still have the same English vocabulary as 10 months ago, now have more confidence speaking the language. They are now comfortable standing up and speaking this global language in front of their peers. And that's enough for me. I didn't let one student slip through my fingers without speaking in my class. Every single one of my students spoke multiple times a week, whether they liked it or not. I've got to say the highlight of my year here, was when I got one of my special needs student to repeat an entire dialogue after me, and the whole class "oohed" and "ahhhed." These special needs kids don't get the chance to show what they can do, which is a shame, and something I've talked about on this blog multiple times. I gave him that chance, and everyone in the room, including my co-teacher was shocked. A quiet "see!" came out of my mouth, just loud enough for me to hear. Setting and instilling high, reasonable expectations- I can't say that enough. 


As a Native Guest English Teacher, I, along with many other foreigners, came to Korea thinking we would make this HUGE impact on these kids' lives. Well the reality is, is that this job is tough as hell and such a piece of cake all at the same time. Only my fellow foreign teachers can really understand this. The fact is, and my fellow certified-teachers have agreed with me on this one...I miss the daily challenge of being a teacher back home; the constant need to push yourself. Here, you see some of these students just once a week; lesson-plans were thrown out the door from the beginning because of the strict use of the textbook and classes randomly being cancelled last-minute. Discipline is so inconsistent with these kids, and English is sometimes seen as a joke, therefore, the English classroom is seen as the kids' playground. There is the challenge. I make interactive power points, make up games, find videos, make a fool out of myself in front of the room- anything to get them interested. And because of this effort, I often DO have really great days. Days where everyone is on their game, the students are excited to be there, the content clicks, co-teaching is on par, and overall- everyone is happy and learning. The piece of cake part- I am at my desk half of our day, because there's just nothing to do. I can't give out homework; I don't handle assessments or evaluations; I don't have parent-teacher conferences; I don't have staff development meetings, etc. I don't have any of those things. I'm most likely annoying my friends back home with my constant status updates. But I look at  my fellow foreign teachers here.. what are they doing?.. oh yeah they're on facebook too haha. Of course I'm not speaking for everyone. A lot of high school teachers have much more work than the elementary level do here. Hagwon teachers work their asses off. You would think I have it "best" and maybe I'm just a nerd, but I can't wait to get back to the States so that I can feel like my career is worth the years of education and money I spent to get to where I am. 


As I write this, I feel a sense of guilt, because as a teacher, it is your job to make these students interested EVERYDAY they step into that classroom. I can honestly say I try my damn hardest to do that here. If you are reading this as a teacher back home, you may not understand this next part, but you won't..until you move your life to a foreign country and teach this global language in a culture that is so very different from your own. It is then when you will realize that on some days, just getting by is the best thing you can ask for. I came here and had to throw out half of my teaching methods and techniques, stop comparing American Education to Korean Education, let go of the fact that I can't discipline these students to my fullest because.. well.. the emotion and words simply do NOT get across. The best I could do was learn what this culture was about, learn what their Education System was like, and figure out how I could take my teaching experience back home, and adapt it to this culture. It has been, by far, one of the biggest obstacles in my short life. I am an educator. I always have been. One thing hasn't changed.. I still hold high, reasonable expectations for these kids. I want to see everyone of them succeed, and I am elated when they do. Here in Korea, I do the best I can with what I have. Sure, I've had to let go of some things, but I like to believe that maybe that's made me a better teacher. When I go home I will have to remember and study-up on some things I have left behind after these two years. I'll have to get back in the groove of American Education and its expectations. It's taken a year... but I've accepted the teacher I've become here.


In other news, I'm off on a plane to Taiwan in 5 days. I will be traveling by myself. I'm nervous, excited, anxious, thrilled, and scared all at the same time. I will be starting in Taipei, spending New Years there. I will be traveling down the east coast, hitting Huaelin (where I will see the infamous Taroko Gorge), Taitung, (where I will hopefully feed and play with some wild monkeys), down to Kenting (a beach town at the southern tip of the country, which I probably won't want to leave), back up the west coast to Tainan, (the former capital city, which remains the most cultural city in the country), then back up to Taipei where I decided I'm treating myself to a nice hotel after 7 days of hostels. *Jacuzzi/hot-tub required.  


I'll leave you with some pictures for my non-fb readers of some Christmas cheer here in Korea..

Downtown Andong's Christmas Tree
Me and Simon
12 Pubs of Christmas.. thanks to the Irish and Simon's birthday
Caroling Day
Me, Ariel, and Charles
Early Dismissal = Snowball fights
Tried to make my office feel Christmasy
Lisa brought us back goods from California.. My gift- Flax Snax! haha
Me and Suzanne
My 4th graders came to visit me =)
Caroling


My daily walk home from school
Cutie!!
2nd Early Dismissal
Open Mic
Fun in the Snow!



My other school had a good-bye party for me: I won't be teaching there again until March, and it was the last time I would see my sixth graders. The kids had me wait in a different class for twenty minutes while they set up. It was the funniest thing. Complete with candles lit on the floor lighting my way through the classroom. Balloon crown, food, drink, cards. It was lovely =)
5th graders
Me and Tom, and my beauty of a balloon crown
1st and 2nd graders
My lovely white board turned card
"Girls only picture"
There are the candles. Bahaha can't make this shit up.

Friday, December 7, 2012

MK's Kitchen: No-Bake Energy Flax Balls


When your kitchen contains no oven, no microwave, no blender and no toaster, and when you're too cheap to go out and buy them... there's no choice but to get creative. A few months ago I started making these energy balls for post runs. I stopped making them after I ran out of my Trader Joe's organic peanut butter, because I couldn't bare to use regular Skippy with them. When my mom sent me basically the entire TJ's stock, along with flax seed meal, I got back on the grind and decided to post the recipe. I originally found it on Pinterest, but there are similar, if not identical recipes all over the Internet.

I usually eat one or two post-workout when my body is craving protein. If I'm running late in the morning, I'll bring two as part of my breakfast. It helps to awaken my body and start boosting my metabolism right from the start of the day.


First of all, I am grateful to my mom for being the health conscious woman she is, and raising us in a healthy house, full of delicious nutritious foods. It allowed me to grow up and discover new foods to incorporate into my life, and be aware of the options that are out there.

Benefits of Flax:

-prevention of acne (Flax can come in liquid or capsule form)
-muscle building
- lowering of cholesterol
-great for people with high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes
-high in fiber, omega-3's and lignans
-weight control
-some studies have shown it fights breast cancer, but nothing has been proven 
-You can include flax in sooo much and it's
becoming more and more popular on the shelves!
--> Muffin mix, cereal, oatmeal, bread, chips, etc.

Warnings:

-Do not consume whole flax seeds, for they are not easily digestible. You should eat them in powdered form (flax seed meal.)
-Limit your intake. Use common sense- just don't go overboard with the stuff, for it can have serious laxative effects. (I think you get the picture)
-Make sure you're drinking enough water with them, for lack of good old H2O can have the same laxative effect.

*Some men joke that they won't eat flax because it contains lignans, which is a chemical very similar to estrogen. Suck it up, a little won't hurt you boys =)


I make a bulk at a time, so the pictures below show double what this recipe calls for. Yes, I still have a hard time cooking for myself- that's what 4 brothers will do to you. I almost always have leftovers haha. I just can't seem to get it straight.
**But for these, it's good to have in bulk so you can grab and go and not worry about running out so often.

Ingredients:
1 cup dry oats (I crush up Bran Flakes, since instant oats are hard to find/really expensive in Korea)

1 cup toasted coconut flakes
1/2 cup peanut butter (almond butter)
1/2 cup ground flax seed meal
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla

(Makes about 1.5 dozen/18-20 balls)


Optionals:

1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup nuts (almond slices, cashews, walnuts, etc.) I usually add almond splices but was out when making this particular recipe.
This recipe is quick and easy. If you are out of one of the dry ingredients, just substitute it with more of another one.


Of course I forgot to show the flax in here, but it's the most important ingredient. Don't forget it!
Start with pouring the oats in a large mixing bowl.
Protein time! Pour in peanut butter (or almond butter if you prefer).
Pour in your flax meal.
Pour in the coconut flakes. Yummm
Pour in the honey. This is what helps the PB stick everything together.
Next is your vanilla. (This is TJ's brand from home. I have yet to find liquid vanilla extract in Korea. . but Home Plus sells vanilla in a powdered form that works just as well.)
I almost always add chocolate chips. (Dark or semi-sweet are a more health-conscious choice than milk.) This is when you should add your nuts if desired.
At this point all of your ingredients should be mixed evenly together.
And it looks something like this. If the mixture is too sticky, add more dry mixture. Store in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to cool and harden.
After 30 minutes, take the mixture out and roll into bite-size balls. I usually make mine a tad bit bigger. But it's all up to you =) Store in the refrigerator and enjoy! =)








Monday, December 3, 2012

Holiday Season: SoKo Edition

Thanksgiving has come and gone.. and it couldn't have been more perfect. About 50 of us had gathered at the Andong Church thanks to great Korean friends who helped approve the venue. Two huge turkeys were ordered in from Daegu, and everyone brought some kind of dish to contribute. I made my favorite Thanksgiving dish... mashed sweet potatoes.




 Some facts on sweet potatoes (고구마 pronounced "go goo ma") in Korea: 
1. They are absolutely delicious.
2. Sadly, they are not orange like in the States.
3. You can buy 호박 고구마 "hobak go goo ma." (Hobak is pumpkin. So basically- pumpkin sweet potatoes.) These have more of an orange tint to them.. but to me, taste exactly the same as regular ones.
4. Koreans LOVE their sweet potato lattes.
5. Don't forget the sweet potato pastries in every bakery.
6. Oh, and pizza is not complete without it.. and if you're really lucky.. you can order sweet potato stuffed-crust.. No comment.
My mashed sweet potatoes
Thanksgiving was a hit. Americans were elated. Koreans needed to eat way more than they did. And we all enjoyed each other's company. People made dishes from their own countries. For example, we had a traditional South African salad, a Mongolian dish, along with all the traditional American Thanksgiving sides. It's not every year you have a Thanksgiving spread with pizza, fried chicken, and egg sandwiches.
Lisa taking action!
Suzanne really enjoyed her first American Thanksgiving
My friend Scott was on leave from the Army =) 
Costco Pumpkin Pie!! I wish my mom was with me at that moment I spotted it. I was elated.


I also made turkey hands with my fourth graders and had them write four things they're thankful for. I made Tom the Turkey from felt scraps. I'm pretty proud of it.. 

With the Holidays in full swing, I have mixed feelings..

Thanksgiving turned out to be less of a depressing time than I imagined. But Christmas, I know, will be a whole other ball game. I lived through fb stalking all my friends and their Thanksgiving Eves. I watched a video on the new floats for the Macy's Parade. I was able to call my mom that morning and talk to my brothers who were home from college before they were put to work on peeling potatoes. And my cousin captured a live stream of pictures during dinner so I could treasure them between classes the next morning. My aunt and uncle hosted a bunch of my extended family from Rockaway.

<The Rockaways were hit extremely hard during Hurricane Sandy, throwing them all out of their homes, leaving them with barely anything. They lost their cars, their belongings, and a place they used to call home. From what I have been hearing and seeing, my family has been working with diligence and optimism since day 1. My family on the island has taken some of them in- offering beds, clothes, food, warmth, and a feeling of comfort and security, while the rest of them stay in Rockaway trying to build back what was lost. Their spirits are high, and that's what will get them through it. I am anxious to get home and to help out however I can. By now, most of the basements have been gutted, first floors have been cleared out, and now it's time to rebuild or figure out what to do/where to go next. Schools re-opened about two weeks ago,this week, so the students, (including my cousins) are back on track and in school-mode, focusing their energy somewhere other than the devastation of their homes. We're never ready for these things. Life has its own game of knocking us off course, but keeping your head high and not letting fear or sadness take over is what moves us forward. I am so incredibly thankful for my family. Now more than ever. I think we are all feeling how strong we are when we come together, and I am so grateful for that.>

As I mentioned in my last post, the weather is getting colder, and so I've been coming home from school and wanting nothing more than to change into sweatpants, a hoodie and thick socks, then crawl into my blankets and read a book/watch Modern Family. (This has become my life for the past two weeks because I've been disgustingly sick. The gym was clearly out of the question. But today we started back on our grind =) Thank god. This whole sitting around thing was fun in the beginning, but got old REALLY quick.


Next holiday up: Christmas.

Even though a good percentage of Koreans are Christian, Christmas is not as big as it is in America, and other parts of the world. Schools and mos businesses are off Christmas Day, but that's it. Unfortunately there's not a lot of talk of Christmas, nor are there many decorations floating around town. Some coffee shops decorated, and that puts a smile on all of our faces. You'll see "Christmasy" things here and there but it's nothing like at home, so you kind of have to deal with that. I've been making it a point to take pictures of almost every Christmas-related thing I see, just to keep my sanity.



Fun Polar Bear
Mammoth Bakery in Andong
This is a Korean winter cabbage arrangement found on many streets.

To celebrate here, we are doing a Secret Santa with my friends in Andong, and having a Christmas Eve dinner and a huge Christmas lunch. If you know me or my family, Christmas Eve has always been more of a big deal to me than Christmas. Christmas Day is spent in Rockaway, with my enormous extended family. I compare it to our big NY weddings, because when the end of the night comes, you realize that you wanted to talk with so many more people than you actually did. It is lovely seeing everyone under one roof when we barely get to see each other all year long,  but it's a lot of people, and it's like you have to time your conversations to make the rounds. Haha I love them all nonetheless.
My mom has hosted Christmas Eve as long as I can remember, and it consists of my immediate family, and my maternal aunts, uncles, cousins, and our closest family friends. Even then, it comes to about total of 35-40 people. It's a more personal, more cozy, and more intimate night.

This past Saturday we took a 5:45am bus to Seoul to attend the Christmas Market. We started the day with Butterfingers, a very popular breakfast joint in Gangnam. I recommend it to anyone who is missing their American breakfasts. We then made our way to Insadong for some  Christmas shopping, then over to the European Christmas Market near Hansung University. It was very small, but still had plenty of Christmas cheer going around. There was a tree, lights, kids writing letters to Santa, and a Mexican band playing Christmas music. The European countries who were represented were serving traditional foods. We ended our day in Myeongdong to continue our shopping. There, I found a great new sweater for an equivalent of $2.00. Awesome find.

Oh yes, it's 5:45am 
Me and Angel at the Christmas Market
Those are my gingerbread pecan pancakes and blueberries I'm enjoying =) Heavenly.
Having fun at 9am.
Mexican Band
Not quite Macy's but I'll take it =) 
Not quite Rockefeller, but I'll take it =) 
Lovely tree in Insadong
Wasn't the biggest fan of Gluehweine (hot spiced wine)
Tom, Leandi, Suzanne, and Myself
I've never spent a Christmas away from my family before, so this year and next will test how I cope. Nevertheless, I am excited to spend the holidays with my six close friends here. The seven of us have grown into a family away from home. We have bonded incredibly well, and though we all come from different parts of the world, (South Africa, UK, and the States) even though we speak different dialects, even though we come from different family dynamics, we all bond over something so huge, that it brought us all the way to Korea. Curiosity. We live for new knowledge of cultures, exploring different countries, ways of doing things, why things are the way they are, how we are different, how we are the same..Our desire is with gaining knowledge of the world.  This is something I don't really share with many friends back home. This urge to travel and seek out new experiences bring our conversations and actions to life here. Of course teaching in Korea and the struggles that come with it is something that has also so greatly bonded us together. These people here are my family, and I truly believe you make the best out of what you have. So if this amazing opportunity is taking me away from my mom, brothers and the people I love most in this world during Christmas, I might as well spend it with my other family here. The people who make me laugh and smile on a daily basis. Pair it with some wine.. and we've got ourselves a nice looking Christmas.
My Andong family =) Leozanda, Leandi, Lisa, Suzanne, Tom, and Angel