A Random Week in October

After my experience eating insects with the 4H club, we gathered again for another event. This time, with the help of a head chef, we baked cookies together. The catch - the cookies were green onion-flavoured.

Apparently, green onion is a local specialty here in Busan and several unexpected foods are infused with the flavour. The cookies definitely had a distinctive taste. Normally I expect cookies to be sweet, but these had a savoury onion taste.

We made cookies of various shapes and sizes and cooked them in the mini home-economics ovens at the school. A boy even fashioned a cookie to look like my face.

We posed for our club photo and took home a goodie-bag. I had my fill of green onion cookies, and bread made from rice, which tasted like angel food cake. They were much better than the bugs and insects from the week before.

Sunday, I walked to Dadaepo beach to relax in a cafe that I visit from time to time. It's quite large, covers three floors, and it has a nice view of the harbour. I happened to look up from my coffee mug and I noticed an older man with really slick sneakers and a flashy belt buckle. Then I looked at his wristwatch and I almost fell out of my chair. It had the distinctive shape and colour of a Richard Mille. It could have been a knockoff, but based on how he was dressed and the style of his companions, I thought it might be real. Further investigation led me to the parking lot. If I saw a supercar, then I would know it was his and would be confident that the watch was authentic. No Lamborghini or Bugatti in the car lot, but there was a really fancy Mercedes amongst all the KIAs and Hyundais, which I'm sure belonged to the man in question. I felt confident that he was wearing a real Richard Mille watch, which retails at about $160,000 USD. I'd never seen a watch of that calibre in the wild, and may never again. A true unicorn sighting.

After having finally been given long-range plans through January from both of my schools that outline which grades will study in-class and which grades will study online, the government made announced that they were allowing all students to attend classes in-person, at the individual school's discretion. 

Having only 2/3 of the students at school at a given time is ideal. Online classes are easy for me to manage and I still have contact with some students at school. However, the full in-class schedule is a little intense and tiring. In addition, classes have been expanded from 40 minutes to the standard 45 minutes in middle school, so I'm looking at some very busy days for the remainder of the semester. One can't complain because all of these changes are a result of lower COVID-19 numbers in the country.

I'm studying an online program on IELTS teacher training in my free time. IELTS (International English Language Test System) is currently the most popular English test for global migration and higher education admissions. For example, international students would have to score a certain level on this test to gain admission to a university in Canada. This online course is offered free from IELTS Australia. I am learning about the test and its various levels and standards. I don't train people to take the IELTS test in my current job, but it could be a valuable piece of professional development should I continue on as an ESL teacher in the future. Currently, I'm learning about the speaking portion of the test. Later, I will study the written component.

I've started doing my Halloween lessons. So far, my Grade 1 middle school boys had the lesson and I think it went over fairly well. Everyone is familiar with Halloween and some of the boys had dressed in costume or craved a pumpkin before, but none of my boys had gone trick or treating as it is not practiced here in Korea. Any student who studies at an English after-school academy probably had a Halloween day at their school at some point.

The lesson started with a simple brainstorm on Halloween. I asked the students to write as many Halloween words as they could think of in 2 minutes. Most of the students wrote things like ghost, witch, pumpkin, candy, and the stronger students wrote Trick or Treat, Jack o' lantern, and October 31st.

I then did a short PowerPoint presentation on different Halloween activities such as decorating your home, making jack o' lanterns, trick or treating, Halloween parties, and wearing costumes. I showed a picture of me in a superman costume and in a circus ringmaster costume and the students had a good laugh and they clapped.

I showed the students a short 2-minute video of a Halloween costume walking parade from an American high school. The students were amazed at the costumes and how tall the students were, especially some of the girls. I wish our students had the chance to participate in these fun activities in their schools instead of studying all the time, but with COVID, it is definitely not possible.

The main piece of my Halloween lesson was to show a 10-minute video from The Berenstain  Bears Halloween Trick or Treat show. I paused the video periodically to ask comprehension questions and the students did pretty well in following the story. It seems most students enjoyed the story and the happy ending, although one student said it was boring. I wonder how it will work with my older students?

Even though I am settled into a routine, each week is unique and provides its own excitement so that I never know exactly what to expect. 

You've read many of the highlights from my week. One lowlight was that I broke up a fight between two boys. Not really a fight, but they were grappling and trying to throw each other to the ground. I had just walked into the room, no other teachers were around, and the other students looked to me to do something. They said, "They're fighting!" They had knocked posters and papers off the bulletin board and I was sure someone was going down soon because neither boy was letting up. I saw my moment and bearhugged both boys and said, "Stop. Stop. Stop." Thankfully they understood and desisted. To lighten the situation, I said, "No dancing allowed!" And everyone laughed. Conflict resolution 101. Bearhug the combatants until the conflict is over.

What will next week bring?

Insect Appreciation with the 4H Club

Friday was a national holiday in Korea. It is a celebration of the Korean language, called Hangul Day. As such, it was another long weekend free of work responsibilities but I was invited to join the 4H club at the school for an activity. I'm not usually one to give up my day-off, but this sounded interesting even though the details weren't explained to me clearly. All I knew was that I needed to be at the school at 10am and that they had invited a local farmer; a farmer of insects.

Upon entering the room, I saw that on each desk was a series of creepy crawlers in baggies and other equipment. I was intrigued, but a little grossed out.

The insect farmer has some renown in the area. He gave an interesting presentation on his bugs (in Korean) and showed a news report where he was interviewed demonstrating his farming practice.

I got the gist of it from the video and pictures, and some of the teachers translated for me. But what the video and presentation did not prepare me for was that these bugs were not simply educational, they were on the menu.

When in Rome... eat what the Romans eat. Many of the students, especially the boys really tucked in and munched on the bugs, even the live ones. I decided to try some of the dried out and salted mealworms. Not that I really wanted to but I felt the peer pressure rising. 

At first, the mealworm didn't have much of a taste. It was crunchy and dry. Then the taste hits you. It tasted like a foot and a piece of mealworm got caught in my teeth. 

After our light snack, it was time to start on our project. The farmer had brought some exotic bug specimens, which at first I thought were plastic models, but were real dead insects. I received a beetle from Indonesia. We were meant to manipulate the bug's legs and appendages so it could be splayed out in a display case.

Of course, the insects suffered from rigor mortis so we placed their stiff bodies into warm water for several minutes. This loosened up the limbs so we could get to work. A worry in the back of my mind was that these bugs would come back to life and scurry across the room.

We pulled and stretched out the limbs and antennae, holding them in place with pins. Eventually, the insects were fully spread out and secured. We were instructed to leave the bugs in this position for one week while they dried. Once dried, the insect could be moved to the plastic case and displayed in our home.

I wasn't exactly crazy about bringing this bug home, even though it was surely dead. I have enough bugs living in my apartment as it is. At least it will serve as a warning to other bugs not to mess with me.

But that wasn't the only parting gift we received from the session. I took home my very own baggie of mealworms to snack on and some bug juice. I was told that it's mixed with ginseng and cinnamon. I have a feeling that the juice will be sitting in my fridge for a long time.

As always, the highlight of the activity was spending time with my wonderful students away from class.

Calligraphy

There have been very few extra-curricular activities at the school this year. Club activities for students were cancelled in the spring and then slowly re-introduced in the summer and fall. Students are now able to participate in their clubs (basketball, 4H, movie club) about once per month.

Extra-curriculars for the teachers have also been very limited. I was told that the staff would typically have dinner and a party every term. This would've been my formal welcome to the school and a great way to connect with the teachers early on. Unfortunately, with concerns surrounding COVID-19, staff events have been cancelled. Staff are even reluctant to schedule casual dinners at a restaurant after school.

Likewise, opportunities to engage with Korean culture in my free time have been very limited. The local community centre stopped offering Korean language classes. Taekwondo dojos were also closed for a while in the spring. 

I was very happy when calligraphy classes were offered to the faculty once per month. I don't have a particular interest in calligraphy, but it is an interesting art form and provided an opportunity to practice with the Korean alphabet and spend some casual time with teachers whom I don't normally get to interact with.

Naturally, the classes were offered in Korean, so teachers helped translate the instructions for me when required. But mostly, I sat quietly and practiced my letters. It was very relaxing and even meditative.

The calligraphy instructor was hired from outside of the school. She couldn't speak English so she constantly recruited other teachers to translate. Humorously, she would go off in Korea for a minute or two, then the other teacher would say to me, "She said you need to practice more."

At first, we used a paintbrush to practice the writing techniques of Korean calligraphy. After a while, we switched to the much easier to handle "brush-pen."

Each we week had a new project to work on. We needed to select a meaningful phrase and carefully draw the calligraphy on the paper or object. First, I made a little card that says "My home is Canada."

Then I made a hanging placard that says, "Cheer up!" Of course, I hadn't learned these Korean phrases in advance, but our teacher gave us some samples at the beginning of the course, so I just copied my work from that and the teachers translated for me.

My last project was a tissue box cover. For that, I chose the expression "You are my sunshine."

I can't say that my calligraphy is any good since I'm an absolute beginner. The other teachers learned some calligraphy when they were students. But I think I did not too bad considering I had never done it before, didn't practice, and have no artistic ability. One teacher examined my work and said my calligraphy was at the middle school level. Good enough for me.

At the end of our last class, I received a beautiful calligraphy set with nice pens as a gift for participating in the course. "Please practice," I was told. We'll see.

Chuseok: Korean Thanksgiving

I am currently enjoying a five-day weekend thanks to the Chuseok holidays in South Korea. Chuseok is essentially a harvest festival often described as Korean Thanksgiving. This is the time of year when Koreans return to their hometowns to visit family and pay tribute to their ancestors in ceremony and celebration. They tidy tombs and offer various foods and gifts.

Traditional food for Chuseok is Songpyeon (stuffed rice cakes steamed over pine needles) and the school cafeteria served up a Chuseok meal on the last day before the holiday. While the students and teachers will enjoy many traditional foods at their home, this was my chance for a taste of Chuseok.

Also, my department head gifted me a nice towel for Chuseok. Everyone was in a festive mood by the end of the day, and many teachers had left for an early start to the holiday.

Of course, Chuseok is being celebrated differently this year because of the corona-virus. In fact, the government of South Korea has asked that people limit travel and refrain from visiting their hometowns. Special level 2 social distancing rules have been put in place over Cheusok. Seoul has been placed under stricter measures.

Foreign teachers in Busan, such as myself, received additional information and warnings from the Board of Education to be very careful during this time. We need to do all that we can to avoid catching and spreading the virus. The Canadian embassy in Seoul also reached out to Canadians with specific information for the holiday season. In particular, the embassy advised avoiding areas where protests might take place. Even during the pandemic, and in some cases because of the pandemic, protests have occurred in South Korea, mainly in Seoul.

When I was first hired as an English teacher, I reviewed the calendar and circled Chuseok in October as an ideal time to go abroad. Five days of vacation would be perfect for a little trip, and I had pencilled in a visit to Taiwan. Even as recent as August I thought it might still be possible to go. Korea was doing well containing the corona-virus. Taiwan was also doing well. But alas, travel is still not practical with the mandatory two-week quarantine requirements upon returning to Korea, so I spent Chuseok here in Busan.

Naturally, as with any weekend, I spent some at the cafe. This time I visited a nice spot with a view of the sea at Dadaepo Beach. As the beaches are closed to swimmers, I enjoyed my view and walk without excessive crowds or noise. A peaceful start to the holiday.

The weather is still comfortable, warm, and sunny with blue skies in Busan. I decided to spend a morning hiking on Jangsan Mountain on the Eastern edge of the city. I started my hike around 8:30 in the morning, so few people were on the mountain, but most of the hikers that I did see wore their facemasks even though they were outdoors. I had hiked up Jangsan mountain in the Spring so this time I took some gentler side trails and found a scenic view of this "block stream". 

While Chuseok was subdued throughout the country this year and my plans to travel abroad were once again dashed by the pandemic, I really enjoyed my time off from work and was happy to see a few sights in Busan. Downtime is nearly over and teaching resumes on Monday. Happy Chuseok everyone!