Rice Cakes with the 4H Club

After a long hiatus due to the corona-virus, school clubs are in full swing at the middle school. On select Friday afternoons each month, students gather with their friends and participate in various activities. There is a basketball club, soccer club, movie club, music club, and many others. English conversation club was axed this year due to low interest, I'm told.

I was initially disappointed that I wouldn't have the opportunity to lead the English club at school because it would've been a fun way to connect with students in a more informal way.  But things worked out for the best as I am free to attend another club as a guest member without worrying about any of the organization. I still get to have fun with the kids without any of the work.

A friendly math teacher invited me to attend the 4H club since they were preparing rice cakes that day. Just say "rice cakes" and I'm there. Some of the students were surprised to see me in the club, but it was a fun atmosphere. They chatted with me in English and helped me make some rice cakes.

There were three guests from the city office who ran the session and taught the students how to make the rice cakes. The math teacher walked me into the room to introduce me to the guest teachers, they had their heads down since they were preparing the ingredients and supplies for the class. When they looked up at me, one of them got startled and dropped everything on the floor. She seemed a bit annoyed at me after that, but soon everything was happy again and the 4H Club came to order.

The guest teachers introduced themselves to the students and then, what seemed like an incredible test of concentration for the students, the teachers covered the history and cultural significance of rice cakes in Korean society over the next 30 minutes. I would've dozed off it it wasn't for the math teacher diligently translating the rice cake facts into English.

With the lecture out of the way, it was time for the demonstration.

I didn't understand much of what was being said, but I was familiar with rice cakes from living in Japan. The outer part of the rice cake is rice that has been thoroughly smushed into a sticky past. Natural colouring is added for the yellow and green cakes. The inner part of the rice cake is a delicious red bean paste, which is my favourite from Japan. I thought I heard the teacher use the Japanese word for red bean paste "anko". But one of the students explained to me that "anko" is Japanese. In Korean, it's called "anggeum". Same stuff. Just as tasty.

I don't have the skill to make beautiful rice cakes, but I did well enough to fill a plastic container to take home. We were snacking on them as we made the rice cakes, so that cut into our supply.

We cleaned up, thanked our guest teachers, and took some pictures. But an activity like this wouldn't be complete without paperwork. Each member of the 4H Club filled out a survey of their impressions of the experience. A 2nd Grader translated for me and helped me complete the form. I knew he was a strong student in my class but the ease at which he translated the survey for me was amazing. All of the students were really impressed too. I asked him to give top marks on the survey on my behalf. I really enjoyed making rice cakes with the 4H Club and spending time with the students. This is truly why I came to Korea.