I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike!

And here we go again.

First up, a warning - I was sick - again! I really can't seem to get a break, healthwise. I wasn't very productive for part of the week and also, it was goodbye time as a few friends were leaving. Anyway, here is my rundown:

Friday, August 29th

Becky and I had dinner together around 7.30. Before that when I got home I did some cleaning. Tried to call my family on Skype with no success and watched Dr. Who. After dinner though, I headed out to one of the local bars around 8 or 9 for drinks with friends and rolled home a little after one. Tipple of choice? Kahlua and milk. Friday = Success and Failure

Monday, September 1st

Ok, I am ashamed of this day. I was off but I didn't do anything except meet Katetastic for lunch and hang out as it was her last day. I did some dishes and cleaned a little but I mostly watched Dr Who and coughed. Yep, still sick. So, yes, basically had Katetastic not been around I would have been a complete loser. Monday = Failure

Tuesday, September 2nd 

A good day! I was meeting my friend, Liz, at 6.30 so when I got in there wasn't much more time then to run out and eat. After dinner we had delicious tea at Plan B and when I got home I did the dishes and cleaned. I think I watched 10 to 20 minutes of Bones, finished some games for lessons the next day and went to bed. Tuesday = Success. 

Wednesday, September 3rd

Oh, so proud of this day! When I got home I had about an hour and a half until I would meet my friend, Swaglu to go to dinner. I went for a 2 mile walk, and shaved off around a minute of my time!! I then, got home, changed clothes and walked downtown to eat with an old co-teacher. We then went to Rosetta and chatted until 9.30. When I got home the only English program on that I was interested in watching was Dr. Who (Bates Motel, ugh!) so I had that on in the background while I got some serious cleaning and laundry done. Yes, I was actually productive! I went to bed nearer 11 than I wanted so I was too tired on Thursday to get up and go on a cycle. Fingers crossed for Friday or Saturday. Wednesday = Success

Thursday, September 4th

Another day to be proud of! When I got home I went on a 2 mile walk, started making an ice-cream cake (recipe here) and then met my friend, Lindsey for Shabu-Shabu. It was in a different restaurant than we usually go to but it was still good. I continued making the ice-cream cake until way past my bedtime and it still wasn't done! In between I did some lesson planning and watching Dr Who. Thursday = Success

Well, I may not have gotten up to do a bike ride but I was fairly productive this week! So you might think I'm mad, considering I'm not a morning person, but I am going to persevere and try and get up early next week at least one day for a bike ride! I'm off to Japan for Chuseok so this will probably be published late but it will be published!

PS - the post is inspired by my new bike and the fact that I've yet to take it out, and Queen's "Bicycle Race". 

Learning how to dance the rain.

A little late, but firstly: Happy 4th July to everyone! My Mam's American so we have sporadically celebrated over the years. I don't remember celebrating as much when we were younger but in recent years we'd at least have some cake! Since coming to Korea, my first 4th of July was negligible - I don't remember doing anything special. Last year my friend, Swaglu, hosted a lovely party with hot dogs, soju drinking games and plenty of chat! This year a few of us shared pizzas, fried chicken and pasta salad on the rooftop of Swaglu's building. It was low key but we did sing the national anthem and some crazy people said the Pledge of Allegiance to a flag cake.

So how did I do this week on having no TV during the first hour home? Well, I got lucky the first two days and the others, well judge for yourself:

Friday, July 4th: Came home, cleaned and then roasted tomatoes and sausages for a 4th July inspired dish, When I wasn't cleaning I just sat and breathed! It was a very busy but also relaxing hour. I then proceeded to eat eat pizza and crispy chicken with some friends until the late evening. Friday = Success.

Red, white and blue warm salad. My contribution for the Fourth of July. The recipe will be on my blog eventually!

Monday, July 7th: When I got home, I heated up some Sunday dinner leftovers (pot roast!) and started reading Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent, which was a Christmas gift from my sister for Kriskindle. It's really interesting but after about 10 pages, exhaustion had set in and Ifell asleep for around an hour and a half. Told you I lucked out! Monday = Lucky Success.

It's more than it looks like! That's part of what I feed my co-teachers! I just had the tiniest amount of that for dinner the next day!

The wee glimpse!

Tuesday, July 8th: When I got back to Jochiwon I went in search of some cardamom to make spiced tea. Sadly, Asia Mart didn't have any. So, instead I drowned (ate?) my sorrows with Katetastic at Misoya eating delicious food. When I got home I spent 30 or so minutes working on a drawing on the rooftop. It then started to rain so I went downstairs to finish it off. At the moment the drawing is a secret gift for someone special so I can't show you all of if, but here is a wee glimpse to the right: 

I then was overcome by exhaustion (see below as to why) that I went straight to sleep. I didn't even put on pj's, I just opened the windows and turned on the fan. (Note, in the morning I woke up shivering and discovered I was so cold because I forgot to turn off the a/c! Agghhh dreading that electricity bill!). Tuesday = Success.

Wednesday, July 9th: I was actually really good and got off near the Sejong Office of Education and walked home. It was really muggy and by the time I got to the lovely Liz's place to borrow some cardamom in exchange for some tea (it's that good, peeps, check out the recipe here), I was hot, sweaty and gross. When I got home, I stopped in to buy water and got an ice-cream. Man, was it delicious. I sat outside cooling off in front of my apartment and when I was ready, I went upstairs. I then made the tea and sorted some laundry to wash. I have run out of summer clothes so it was in dire need of being done! Have I mentioned before how much I HATE laundry? If not, well, now you know! While the laundry was washing, I ate chia pudding and a couple of bananas for dinner, worked on a new post for The Sejong Dish and did photo editing for this post and my post on my cooking blog. Wooo! Productive! And after that followed it up with Book Club (my choice - Waris Dirie) and a very important chat with my sister and niece (ok her chats were all giggles and coos, but still really important!). In the end only 20 minutes of TV watching - thankfully I'd already seen the episode of Criminal Minds and the hotness of Jonathan Rhys Meyers aside The Tudors isn't up my alley. Wednesday = Success.

Thursday, July 10th: 

Baduk - a traditional game

Another busy day! As Katetastic and I are are making stuffed mushrooms anddrinking wine tomorrow, I'd to go to Homeplus on the way home for the ingredients. After dropping my things off, I went to Plan B to play Baduk with another friend who is teaching me the game. That was followed up by a Fried Chicken dinner for our Chicken Strutposts on the Sejong Dish. When I got home I baked some brownies for my students and tidied my house, so there was no TV at all. Oh, the brownies? Yeah. Forgot I didn't need to preheat the oven as it's just a toaster one - they were burned and tasted more like a (dried-out) cookie. We'll still eat it! Thursday = Success.

So you might think I'm mad to have let naps become part of my hour but as the weather gets more humid I'm having a much harder time sleeping. This, coupled with nightmares and already terrible sleeping habits, has kept me fairly sleepless over the last couple of weeks. Nightmares? Yes, here I am a mature 31 year old having nightmares! What about? Being late for school, realising that I am then in the wrong school with the wrong lessons planned and having brought the wrong books. It's awful. It's been happening every night for the last week. It also panics me into waking early and then not being able to fall back asleep. Gah!

I have to say, sleep aside, I am really enjoying this exercise in self-control and the eclectic tasks are keeping me entertained! I may not be "learning how to dance the rain" but I am definitely learning how to live life a little more fully. I guess in a way these hours are starting to become the my "mini-dates" which is good because I am no way near to making 12 dates with my self this year! I've only had two more since that first one!

This post is inspired by Take That's "The Flood" (featuring Robbie Williams) and my efforts to have less TV in my life.

So come on, see the light on your face

My curb - the arrow indicates "my spot" - Image taken from Google Maps

When I lived in Nebraska, one of my favourite activities was to sit outside on my aunt's porch in the morning, having breakfast, reading and soaking in the rays. I've spent entire days on that porch chatting, drinking and eating. It's wonderful and relaxing. When I moved home, I decided (weather permitting) to use the curb in the cul-de-sac beside my parents' house as my  "porch," for the occasional breakfast under the sun. The apartment I lived in, out in Swords, had a balcony and the house on Dorset Street a concrete garden, which were slightly more adequate substitutes for that porch. Living in Korea, however, has meant letting that slide. My apartment doesn't have a balcony and the curb is far too dangerous. Luckily, I live around the corner from a wee park with a playground and some benches. On one quiet Thursday it provided me with an opportunity to have a mini date with myself.

Originally, I'd wanted to do something to challenge myself each date. While I still want to do this, sometimes time and opportunity don't come knocking at the same time. I'd wanted to have my "date" on Tuesday May 6th as I was off for the long weekend and I figured it would be a nice way to round out  what promised to be an action packed weekend (more on that later). However, I found out on April 30th that I'd be off on May 1st. So, impromptu date it was! 

The night before was Wine and Crafts  night at BexC's where Katetastic and I stayed a really long time chatting with our hostess well after the time-frame for the event. It was a wonderful evening filled with laughter, wine and BRD chicken. Tipsiness definitely kicked in at some point as I devoured the chicken as if I'd never had it before. However, due to the night's activities, the morning didn't get off on as promising a start as I'd have liked as it was nearer 10.30 before I could drag myself from bed. 

After a long shower, I made myself a nice strong cup of tea, grabbed my book (I'm doing some self study at the moment) and a banana and headed across the street. In the 30 seconds it takes to get there the amount of looks I got was a little hilarious. One man, who was propped up on his motorbike, dropped his feet to the ground on seeing me trying to not spill my tea everywhere. Even after 10 minutes of sitting and reading he was still staring! The day was gorgeous with the sun spilling down and a gentle breeze balancing out the heat of the sun. 

I love tea...I especially love tea in my new mug!

After finishing my book I headed back inside for a while. As I mentioned above, this was a mini date, so I split the rest of my day between cleaning (boring) and working on my blogs (date time!). Photo editing takes time, a lot more than I realised and even after a good two hours at it, I still hadn't made as much headway as I wanted (I have an upcoming photo post that I am working on). Eventually, I gave up the ghost that was my date (and my blog post) and decided to prepare for my Baduk lesson (it's a board game). Unfortunately it wasn't to be as my co-teacher needed me to sign the form stating my intent to stay another year. She wasn't able to come until nearer 5.30 and we chatted for more than an hour. 

So you might think I'm mad to have tried to cram a date in on such short notice and to have sacrificed my goal to challenge myself for some time to edit photos. I'll be honest I had no idea what my challenge would be for this month.... I was going to wing it. And while I wish I had had a stronger plan, the day I had was really nice and relaxing - which really is what a date should be about, right?  You might think I'm mad to share such a boring date......... no challenges, no funny stories, no deeply insightful thoughts - except that the English language is hilarious! Seriously look at the photo below  - I was in stitches! 

My Grammar and I (or should that be me?)  - Caroline Taggart

So on to the next date and something a little more challenging now that eating by myself in a restaurant and going to the movies by myself is out of the way. Maybe a performance or to go to the jimjibang (not likely)? Any suggestions?

PS This title was inspired by a beautiful sunshiny day and Take That's Shine.

We [are] sharin' all we've got!

In my second school, my 2nd graders' home room teacher is an older man, nearing retirement. He doesn't have much of a "get up and go" attitude and so when the students come to my class they tend to be a wee bit hyperactive and silly. Thankfully, despite the silliness they are really well behaved and really like to have a chat and participate in class. Granted, much of the chat is held in Korean with a dash of English, and I have to guess what they are trying to say...but we get there!

Like last year, we are concentrating on phonics. At the moment we are reviewing the alphabet but will start reading CVC words soon. Some of their favourite games to play are when they make a line, and I say a sound or word and they have to identify the correct starting letter. They can so dramatic when they guess incorrectly! They try to have two or three turns to guess the right letter! My favourite time is when I give them a word or sound like a BPVF sound (all are very similar in Korean) and it's not a word they know, like fish. Instead I will say something like "Facsimile". It usually takes a few students to figure out the right letter! (So in case you are wondering, they don't need to know what any of the words mean the key is recognising the right sounds.). 

The class is split between 5 boys and 3 girls. And, let me tell you, the competition is fierce! One of the girls and two of the boys really know their stuff. They try to out-do each other all the time. Despite the competitiveness, the kids are really sweet. They help each other out and race to be finished with their worksheets.

Whenever they can they try to use their minimal English to tell me about themselves or whatever is going on in the class. For example, recently, I wore earrings to school for the first time (in case you are wondering, my ears have been pierced since 2001). The second grade girls were completely enamoured and kept saying "beautiful" so I taught them the word "earring". (Actually side story - since I've started wearing earrings to school, I've been called beautiful a lot more often by my students. It makes me wonder what I look like without them on!). The following week, I met them before our class and the three girls started to point out their earrings: Stickers of flowers, diamonds and hearts adorned their ears. As I admired their beautiful earrings, one of the girls gave me my very own sticker for my ear. I was so chuffed that I wore it for the rest of the day. Some of my older students laughed at me but I thought it was really sweet! I woke up the next day and found it still on my ear. Since then I haven't worn any earrings to school and I've had several questions from both the boys and girls as to where they were! 

My beautiful sticker earring.

In my main school, I teach an Afterschool phonics class to 4 students - 2 boys from first grade and a boy and girl from second grade. We are working our way through a book (GHI is currently underway) and supplementing that with games, Starfall.com, and other worksheets. One of the boy's Taesan is this teddy-bear of a kid. He is really cute but really mischievous too. I usually have to remind him at least 3 times each class to sit down, listen and be quiet! Nevertheless, this little charmer evidently likes me and my class as he brought a few of his friends around to meet me last week. These kiddos lined up to talk to me (in Korean) whilst Taesan chattered on in English: Hello Teacher. My name is Taesan. What's your name? How are you! Ah, buh, cuh! Apple, cat!...". Whilst I was trying to control the giggles half the kids lett and 3 of the boys, along with Taesan proceeded to the door to my back to peek out at that classmates. I managed to capture a snap of them. You can just tell they are cheeky, right? Since then I've run across these boys on a few occasions and they now shout out to me "ANNYEONG HASEYO!"  Now....If I could just get them to say hello in English!

So you might think I'm mad but I think that "[I'll] be having twice the fun" as long as these kids stick around! 

PS The title of this post was inspired by the lyrics of "Let's get together" from The Parent Trap starring Hayley Mills. Also, this song always reminds me of my cousin Al, whose mom, coincidentally, was the one who got my ears pierced!

There was an old lady who swallowed her fly

Do you ever get in your head that you want a particular book for yourself or as a gift? Has it ever happened that because of that, despite the fact the bookshop has millions of books you feel as if there is nothing there? Welcome to my world!

I'll be honest, this usually doesn't happen to me. Mostly, if I don't find a particular book that I am looking for, I spend hours wandering around looking for a substitute.  Sometimes, I will even change the genre completely. I've gone from searching for a Wilkie Collins to buying a Tintin. So, this winter, when I was in my favourite Irish bookshop (Chapters, for those in the know), I was alarmed to find myself becoming increasingly irritable in a bookshop. I mean, how is that even possible? I've spent entire Saturday afternoons in bookshops, never bought anything and still went home happy! I went to my next favourite bookshop (Easons) and again was getting more and more annoyed. I couldn't find a book that I was looking for or a substitute that I liked.

What was this infamous book? A first edition of a lost masterpiece? No. The newest Lee Child (Jack Reacher novels)? No.  50 Shades of Grey?  Not in a million years.  No, it was something much more elusive -  a book version of There was an old lady who swallowed a fly. We had a great copy when I was a kid and I wanted to share something with my nephew that was fun and catchy. My plan was that we would each have a copy of the book, so that when we have our Skype story time we both have a book to look at. I spent over an hour just looking by myself for the book in both the new and second hand sections. When this failed, I asked for help, and sadly that book hadn't been in stock for years. I didn't have time to order it as I was flying out that same week. So I began to comb the shelves to find a substitute. However, all the books that I looked at evaded my interest - the pictures were unattractive to me, the content either too wordy or barely any words and several stories uninspiring. In Easons, it was the same story and I was so frustrated with it that I decided to give up matching story books. I wanted these books because I don't own any children's books in Korea.When I have read to him in the past, I've had to bring books home from school and sometimes I didn't know I was going to get to talk to him that day so I didn't have a book. He wasn't impressed either with the stories I made up!

Eventually, thanks to one of my other sisters I got Chicken Licken and The Enormous Turnip. My nephew has his copy that he can follow along with at home, and I have my copy here in Korea. We tested it out a couple of weeks ago, and besides one or the other of us turning the pages too fast this went really well. This love of being read to doesn't stop at Skype. When I was home, he was read to by everyone! He loves kids stories, comics like Asterix and even factual books about trains and animals. His train one is a firm favourite. I think, in one day, I read it 3 times and his Mam easily double that! Whilst I was home, he got to go on the Luas (a modern tram) and a train to and from Athlone. I think he thoroughly enjoyed both trips as he was full of questions and chat about both modes of transportation. On the train, pulling into each station the announcer would say "Mind the gap" and by the end of the day, he was mimicking the phrase. He'll probably die of happiness whenever he is on the London Tube and hears the exact same expression. You might think I'm mad to believe that a negative experience in a bookshop is something that I am now glad has happened. You see, I realised that I had to "swallow my fly" to be able to find what I was looking for. Until I had put aside the absolute NEED for that particular book, I wasn't able to see the potential in all the other books. However, once I could the possibilities were endless.

Reading to my nephew has a few distinct advantages over reading to my students. While he may not know all the words, I rarely need to explain anything to him. Another distinct advantage is he asks questions for what he doesn't understand. I hope that someday, my students will have fostered their independence in English enough to have the courage to question everything.  I know sometimes my students have questions but they don't have the vocabulary to make the question. And as annoying as "But, why?" can be, I wish for nothing more than to hear those two words frequently from my nephew and eventually from my students. But, why? Well, it shows their inquisitiveness and investment in the story they are being read. It challenges me to find the answers to give them. To expand their thinking, to encourage their love of the story and their desire to know everything. For my students, it will help them to build their confidence in English and in their abilities.

Digging a hole with a stick

As you can probably tell, except for the one frustrating day in bookshops (still shocked that could happen!), I had a wonderful trip home. Some highlights for me included seeing some friends, having Afternoon Tea at the Gresham Hotel, my niece's christening and getting to see most of my relatives, and just hanging out with my sweet, sweet niece, wonderful nephew and amazing siblings, brother-in-law and parents.You might think I'm mad to be quite happy to just sit at home and giggle at a baby's smiles. You might think I'm mad to be happy with a short and busy two weeks in rainy, cold Ireland instead of a warm beach in Bali. Well, I thought I was mad at first to go home again so soon after my last visit in August. However, even the lure of a beach couldn't drag me from meeting my new niece. So, considering how much I enjoyed both these trips home you might really think I'm mad to have decided that, should I stay in Korea a third year, I will not visit home again until the end of that contract. It was a tough decision to make but I decided to follow my initial goal for living in Korea, outside of teaching: to travel and see the world.

At the museum

Baba!

PS. This post was inspired by my trip home, a negative experience and a favourite childhood book: There was an old lady who swallowed a fly.

PPS. I've bought us each a copy of that elusive book! It's his birthday present!

Family

Tell me why, I don't like [desk-warming]?

The textbook and teacher guide for 5th grade
and my trusty Essential TEFL

It's that time of the year, the dreaded desk-warming time of the year. School is out, camps are over but your job is not done. What seems like a pointless exercise is indeed upon us. You sit at your desk for around 1-2 weeks and try to find a way took busy. One of my friends, Chasing Glitter, posted a good amount of suggestions about what to do with this time for Reach to Teach. It got me thinking about why we have this time, what are supposed to do with it and how it is usually spent.

Firstly, this is not a blog post criticising anyone on how they spend their desk-warming. Goodness knows I haven't utilised my time very well in the past. This post is only to give you an insight into how I best believe I can make a difference in my time during desk-warming. You can choose to follow my new example or you can do whatever you want including what I used to do which was to spend a lot of time on Facebook, Imgur and Pottermore and watching  How I Met Your Mother. Whilst this latter suggestions sounds like an excellent idea right now, I don't believe it suffices for me. Firstly, I've seen all the episodes, sometimes several times, and I am completely caught up on nearly every single show I like. I suppose I could start a new one, but do you know just how addicted I am to TV as it is? I can't find room for a new series! In fact, the only reason I started watching Agents of Shield with any regularity is because HIMYM and Psych are coming to an end.

My first period of desk-warming was way back in August 2012. That was so long ago I can barely remember what I did. However, I also only had about 2-3 days and I spent the time I had working on blog posts, preparing what I could for my first week of classes the following semester and playing around on Facebook and catching up on the aforementioned TV show. A lot. I think that is also around the time I heard of Lamebook and I spent way more time on that site than I ever should have. My first winter was a long one and both before and after I went to Vietnam, I had way too much time to kill. That's also when I was introduced to Imgur and Pottermore. If you are a Harry Potter fan this last site is amazing, time consuming and way too preoccupying. I did spend some time preparing things but I wasn't really sure what my role was going to be and, in fact, two of the teachers changed their minds on how they wanted me to participate once I was actually in their classes. The little preparation I did didn't benefit me much! I also spent some time working on my blog. Which brings me to August 2013. I spent quite a bit of time on my blog, very little time on Pottermore and little to no time on any other sites that weren't school or blog related. I was a lot more prepared for my classes and it made a difference for me.

To that end, I am starting my desk-warming on Monday. What will desk-warming 2014 bring me? What changes to my lifestyle do I want to make and what can I do to improve my time? To begin, I spent quite a bit of time in between camp and classes (I am on double duty this week) reflecting on why we have this time. Yes, in many ways it is pointless - if I were able to be at home I could go to the bank, clean my house, catch up on laundry and maybe go on a visit to some interesting place in Korea. However, most schools require their teachers (English and homeroom teaches alike) to spend time in school. During this week, most homeroom teachers know where they will be assigned when school starts back up in March, so they will spend that time clearing out their old room and/or setting up their new room. Time will be spent on lesson planning, and if it the summer, evaluating the materials and lessons you have left for the remainder of the year. For us NETS, the time goes very slowly. A week spent at your desk and not teaching is interminable.

This time is, ostensibly, to prepare for your camps/future classes and if you are not renewing your contract preparing things for the incoming NET. However, there is only so much time you can spend on these things. They are times when you need a break. This is where I have had trouble in the past. Either the break from lesson/camp planning becomes the main focus or I just don't ever get really started on what I need to do. I've thought long and hard about how I want 2014 to pan out. I want to be in the TEFL game for a lot longer than I have been thus far. This means that not only do I need to "up my game", I also need to be on top of my game. I think upping your game is really important. Whether you are here for another month, six months or several years, why not up your game? It benefits everyone, especially you.

Whether you like teaching or not. you are here to do a job and I know, from personal experience, giving 100% is so satisfactory. Therefore, for 2014 here are the 5 things I want to accomplish during this years desk-warming:

1. Plan my afterschool lessons. For my phonics lessons prepare worksheets, games and ppts that can be used for any number of students. (1 hour per day)
2. Talk to the home-room teachers once I know what classes I will teach and plan my textbook lessons using original materials and adapting materials from Waygook.org (1 hour per day)
3. Book and start my final 20 hours of my i-to-i TEFL online course to boost me from 120 hours to 140 hours. (1 hour per day)
4. Start studying TEFL books for CELTA and/or TEFL Masters programs (1 hour per day)
5. Reorganise my class room. Plan boards for each season and boards with target language from text books or the TEE book (1 hour)

You might think I'm mad not "wanna shoo-oo-woo-woo-woo-oot the whole [desk-warming time] down". However, by just doing these things I will have used up 5 hours of my 8 hour day. For the rest of the time, I want to work on my blogs (this and my new cooking one), work on things for The Sejong Dish, read and do something fun. I don't know yet what the fun thing will be - maybe planning my trip to Taiwan? Either way, I refuse to let the grass grow under my feet this year! And, I'll still get some relaxation time.

PS Links to the above distracting websites were not included because if I had visited any of these sites this post would NOT be ready to be published before the end of March! However, please feel free to visit them yourself.
PPS This post was inspired by my own experiences, the article linked above (click on Reach to Teach) and the Boomtown Rats "I don't like Mondays".

It's time to trust my instincts, close my eyes and leap!

Imagine standing at the top of a hill. Excitement fills the air. A cacophony of sounds fill your ears. Fear fills your tummy: "What on earth have I done?" There you are standing at the top of a hill that suddenly seems a lot steeper than it initially looked (ok, Irish readers, it was twice the size of the hill in Griffith park. It's scarier than it sounds!) and sledding seems like a very bad idea.

This January, at the end of our week long English Camp (the theme was Around the World), we went to a nearby English Village. The highlight of this trip was sledding and I was super excited for it when my teacher told me about it. Although, I thought she said we were going "sleighing" and had an image of all of us in a sleigh with Santa going around the English Village much like how you see people go around Central Park in the movies (by the way, can any New Yorkers tell me if that does really happen?). I was a little shocked when I realised that it was actual sledding. However, I've been wanting to do a winter sport for ages and it just hasn't happened. So, after a cup of tea, and handing over my purse to my co-teacher, I headed up to join our students. I, luckily, bumped into one of them straight away and she took me under her wing. We got our sleds - they looked like inflatable rings that you use in the swimming pool but with a bottom that you sat on (when I sledded as a kid it was on a tray or plastic bag in the local park!) - and headed up a hill to join the other sledders. My students who spotted me were delighted that I was that brave to go up with them and the strangers who were there stared, pointed and chatted about me. Meanwhile, panic was starting to bubble up and I really wanted to turn around and run away: I was having images of breaking a leg or tumbling out of the sled and not being able to get on my plane home that evening. 

Then, a small hand tugged on mine and I looked down to see my student smiling and saying "Margaret Teacher - together." I was instantly grateful and I squashed down the fast building panic, rearranged myself so that I was holding on to her sled with one hand and she could do the same for me. A few seconds later the whistle blew and we were off.  I thought my heart would fall out of my mouth on a few occasions but it was so much fun. I did squeal but it wasn't from fear as much as exhilaration! I got up and, this time, I went with two of my students. 

One of the other teachers joined us on the next run but decided that hill was too tame for her. She wanted the higher one and encouraged me to join her. It wasn't until I was on top of that hill that I realised why the other one worked for me: Joining your students in going down a hill at lightning speeds is definitely easier - you can't show them your fear! However, on that second, higher hill, you could only go down alone. I still enjoyed it but I thought my heart would stop.

So, you might think I'm mad but that despite having a ton of fun, I've no desire to go back to that English Village, and in fact would strongly discourage others from going. The reason for this is (obviously) not the sledding but that I don't think that the program they run actually encourages students to learn English. The games they played (domino towers and musical chairs) don't practice any conversational English. Further, the market roleplay didn't teach target sentences that are appropriate to a class of mixed level learners (approx 30 kids from 1st to 4th grade). A higher level of English was required than I think should have been and all of our 1st and most of our 2nd graders were left floundering. They didn't make sure that all (or most) of the students knew the sentences before they started the roleplay and the general negativity energy coming from the facilitators was discouraging for me, my colleagues and our students.

Bad angle but these are the sledding hills!

However, leaving aside the dismal encouragement of English, this sledding, apart from my trip home, may have been the highlight of my winter. It was liberating, fun, and it showed me I could face my fears - even the little ones - I could make that "leap". So here is to 2014 and facing one's fears. No matter what they are, and how deep they are, let's try "defying gravity"! Except for snakes. That one is NEVER going to be faced. Uggggh.

PS This post was inspired by Wicked's  "Defying Gravity" and a wonderful few, bruising, hours of sledding!

Love and laughter and joy ever after

Yesterday morning, I had English class with my 3-1 class. When I walked in the classroom, the home room teacher told me that my students had a song to perform for me as a gift. I was delighted as they pulled out their Korean recorders/tinwhistles (I don't know the name but will post a photo later as I have a gift of one at home). They played one of the songs from Fantasia and they were excellent.
I had already decided that today I was going to bring some choco pies to give them as Christmas presents as I won't see these students until St Stephen's day. The students were so excited when the saw them and at the end of class I started to hand them out. The teacher stopped me and had me gather them back up. Meanwhile, the students formed a circle where I stood in the middle.. Then the teacher told me that they had heard my birthday was coming up and as I stood there red with embarrassment my 3rd graders sang "Happy Birthday" in English, congratulated and some even gave me little gifts of candy. One student gave me a gift of a toy camel which I'm going to include in my crib. I had to pull back on the tears but the corners of my eyes were wet!

I'm really proud of them regardless but I today am really chuffed that they wanted to do this and were encouraged to do so by their teacher. I feel really, really loved today and it just goes to show if you have teachers who care about English, you will see your students shine as they learn the language.

So, thank you to my "children [for] singing [birthday] rhymes" and to my teacher for reminding me Christmas is a "time for believing" especially in the small things.

PS This post is inspired by the generosity of my students and their home-room teacher. I used Cliff Richard's Mistletoe and Wine to illustrate their loveliness!

Baby, it's cold outside.

Winter is upon us. It feels like overnight, the temperature dropped and what was a lovely autumn became a bitterly cold winter. I like winter as I love snow and lots of snow related activities (although I have yet to do any skiing ever or ice-skating in ages). However, sometimes it is a struggle just to poke your nose out of bed. That Siberian wind doesn't help either!

Keeping warm: Layers, accessories and hot water bottles
Photo credit - Rucy - http://lucyfoster.blogspot.kr/

I have a pretty thick skin and it takes a good bit for me to be really cold. I blame my mother, she's from the American Mid-West, and she can pretty much withstand any weather. She and my dad have the most epic battles over heat. My dad wakes up and comes down complaining about the cold and turns on the heat. 10 minutes later my mother walks in, realises the heat is on and turns it off. The minute my mother leaves the room, my dad turns the heat back on. It's a never-ending amusing cycle!

When we were little, and would complain about being cold, my mam would tell us to put on some more socks and a jumper (sweater). Her pet peeve was that in the evenings and weekends us children would drag down our blankets and duvets to the sitting room.We'd then sit curled up watching TV, playing games or reading books. The amount of Christmas photo's that we have where we are wrapped up in blankets is hilarious. The peeve probably wasn't related to the duvets coming down but that they stayed downstairs! So, as you can tell, I got used to layering up and curling in blankets to keep warm! (This makes it sound like my mother never had the heat on - she did, and we never were so cold that it was ever an issue when she didn't!).

When I went came to Korea, I was in for a shock. I really thought that college in Nebraska and life with my mother had prepared me for the Korean winter. I packed two coats, plenty of leggings and tights.I even brought some scarves and boots. And then, winter 2012 came. I thought I would die. It was so cold. That wind could cut you. It was so sharp, it felt like knife points. It was much colder, too, than I was used to experiencing in Ireland and the ice gave me nightmares for days! In Ireland, mostly, when it rains the slush disappears. In Korea when it rains, it freezes (sometimes) and instead you have a sheet of ice to skate to work on. Which....takes hours!

I was so sick last year, I even went deaf for a couple of weeks. I could still hear but everything was muted. So, this year, I started preparing ahead of time. I put a second blanket on my bed from the middle of October and by the end of the month I had proceeded to a hot water bottle as well. For the last week, I've topped my bed with a third blanket and I now wear socks. I need to get some more long pj's this week. Stocking up on thermal underwear, hot-packets and woolly socks is a necessity.

So without further ado, please see some things that I recommend for surviving Korean winters (please note, you can still get sick and still feel cold even with these measures but they CAN help):

• Layer up.That way no matter the temperature in the office you will always feel just right!

• Bring a cardigan or extra jacket and leave it in school along with some cosy slippers and (maybe) a little blanket. Works like charm!

• Have a winter emergency supply in school. I prepared my one last week for both my schools: tissues, wet wipes, chapstick, Vitamin C drink (replaced everyday), hand-sanitiser (no matter how much you want to disbelieve it, schools are germ-infested!), and hand lotion to prevent your hands from chafing.

• Waiting for the bus? No problem! If you are lucky enough to be waiting beside a convenience shop, get one of their honey drinks or a coffee. If you prefer something less sweet, invest in a travel mug and bring your own! (Also, warm drinks like honey tea or ginger tea are a really good idea if you have  sore throat!)

• Buy a hot water bottle. You can get them in HomePlus (I have two from Ireland) and use it at night. I put my one in my bed about 30 minutes before I want to sleep. Korea also has these little hot-packs which I have seen teachers put on the sole of their feet and students stick in their gloves. Invest! (Another choice is to bake/steam a potato and then carrying it in your pocket - my granny used to do this in the old days and I just got fed this potato today).

• Hats, coats and gloves are all a necessity. Also, a lot of earmuffs even have vents so you can still hear what's going on around you. I couldn't find a hat I liked last year and that fit over all my hair, but luckily my sister made me one. Scarves are a godsend, use them!
• Thermal underwear, slippers (for home and school), and a nighttime ritual are all essential. My own nighttime ritual has become a cup of tea, a hot-water bottle, thermals and slippers.

• Eat soup and rice porridge on a frequent basis. Not only are they hot, but they are also healthy, nutritious and delicious.

• If you want to try and avoid a huge gas bill, get an electric heater or an electric blanket. My brother gave me this one and it's brilliant. No idea what the costs are to buy but...you can always sell it on when you leave! 

• Lastly, it's winter, not hell on earth! Get out and enjoy it. Whether it is to take a small walk or have a snowball fight with your students, you won't die!.

So, you might think I'm mad to have so many emergency items at school. You might think I'm mad to wear (and recommend wearing) so many layers. But "if you caught pneumonia and died," I bet you'd wish you'd stayed inside, layering up as per my advice! 

PS This post is inspired by the Tom Jones version of "Baby, it's cold outside".

PPS This post was meant for last week but I got a cold on Saturday so I didn't finish the photos until today. Sorry!

[It's] creepy and [it's] kooky, mysterious and spooky, [it's] all together ooky, Hallowe'en!

Although I am a Christmas fanatic, Autumn is my favourite season. The colours, the clothes, the chill in the air and the swirling, dancing, beautiful leaves are some of my favourite things. I love Hallowe'en, too: the pumpkins, candles, games and decorations. Strangely, I intensely dislike scary movies. Hocus Pocus and it's ilk I can do, but Scream, The hills have eyes or Saw make me ill and give me nightmares for weeks

When we were kids, our mam would dress us all alike for the holiday - 7 pirates or headless horsemen would walk fearlessly down the street visiting all the neighbours. Our costumes ranged from shepherds, when there were only three of us, to a Chinese Dragon with the littlest one being pushed in the buggy. We'd great fun and all the older neighbours loved us coming by and would ply us with crisps, chocolate, peanuts and fruit. Although I am a chocolate nut (pun intended), my favourite things were the pears, apples and mandarin oranges. These would last us the week and, because of the season, were so sweet and delicious. We used to give up chocolate for the month of November, so Hallowe'en night culminated in a mouthwatering feast.

Photo courtesty of my mother.

We'd eat and eat and eat chocolate and crisps, play musical chairs, bob for apples or pennies and trying to bite the swinging apple. One year we added the game where you have to pass a ball or orange around using no hands. We'd seen this in Charade, starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, and we were dying to try it. For some reason for a few years I hated Hallowe'en - I think it was because I was at that age and also because I was the oldest kid I knew who still dressed up for Hallowe'en. I think I felt awkward and out of place.

I think when I really started to look at Hallowe'en as something to enjoy again was the year my brother-in-law turned 25. His birthday is in October, so the weekend of his birthday he had a fancy dress party at his house. Everyone milled around in costumes ranging from the Phantom to Bosco (a beloved Irish TV puppet). I went as Dr Quin, Medicine Woman.It was a great night and a lot of fun. Although it wasn't Hallowe'en it made me realise that I liked dressing up!
Also, a friend of mine hosted Hallowe'en parties for her friends two years running. The first year, she and I had been in Edinburgh at the start of October and she was able to pick up some Hallowe'en items. I'd also been wandering around some of the charity shops (think Thrift stores, American readers) and came across some old silver candlesticks for her. Her Hallowe'en get-together was fantastic. She made a really fancy, delicious meal and everyone was dressed up as witches, burlesque girls, or gypsy fortune tellers. The following year, instead of a sit-down meal we had nibbles and wine, a much larger gathering and lots of laughs. That year I was the goddess Gaia and we had a lot of vampires, devils, queens and sailors. Thanks to my friend's great love of all that's spooky, my appreciation for Hallowe'en increased.

When I came to Korea, I was delighted to find out that on the Saturday around Hallowe'en people do usually dress up and go out drinking. There is even a zombie walk for those who want to participate. I saw some people with incredible, terrifying and realistic costumes from this event. Seriously, I was so creeped out! I think Zombies creep me out more than any other Hallowe'en character. (Yuck! Even writing about them gives me the heebie jeebies.) On the night in question, myself and some friends went to Hongdae. One of my friends dressed all in black except for a mouth mask that was purple. She looked really mysterious and like a burglar! I met up with several friends who ranged from doing the Korean  "Matchy" cute couple to an Egyptian Princess and Mummy. We even had a Katniss from Hunger Games! The highlight of my night was meeting a guy who was the spitting image of Neil Patrick Harris (Barney Stinson from How I met your mother)! I even got to kiss him (on the cheek)!

For this Hallowe'en, I decided to participate in a 5K walk/run called "Freak or Treat". It took place at Seoul Zoo and was in aid of Childfund. You could dress up or you could just use their t-shirt. I decided to just use the T-shirt as I'd much prefer to be WARM than dress up for this event! My brother and two friends went on the walk. I think we must have missed a turn somewhere because we were finished in maximum 30 minutes and that includes lots of photo stops! Afterwards, my brother and I checked in at our hostel and then proceeded to Hongdae for the annual get-together. There were a lot of superheroes, some people dressed as Daft Punk and even an adjumma zombie.

I think, Daft Punk, Iron Man and Captain America must have spent a small fortune on their costumes they were that elaborate! I went as a sailor...except I forgot to make a hat so I think I just looked dressed up! My brother didn't have a mask yet and one friend went as a dancing Scream Ghost and another as a Korean Pop-Star. My friends who went as the "matchy" couple last year were Wally and Wanda (from Where's Waldo?/Where's Wally?).

Actual Hallowe'en was spent lying in as my school let me take a holiday-day as my brother is visiting. I then got up at 8.30 and started cooking and cleaning for the pot-luck dinner. A bunch of friends, new and old, came over for dinner and some even got into the spirit of Hallowe'en and dressed up. All in all it was great night and although I was exhausted by the end of the evening, I was really glad that I hosted this event. My brother was amazing and helped me re-arrange my apartment in a much more spacious manner. The food was amazing, the company even better and a lot of people left tons of candy which I shared out amongst my students at my 2nd school for our Hallowe'en party there. 

All photos this year except top left.

Last year, I had 10 different Hallowe'en parties between my two schools! This year, I only had 6 and they were all in one school. Last year we made masks and I taught the students to use the "Trick or Treat" chant. This year, two weeks before the event I told my students about it and charged my students with making costumes and decorations for the classroom. I had told my mam about doing a class on Hallowe'en so she sent me lots of decorations and I still had some leftover from last year. I had also requested some photos from my family and my students had fun trying to guess which one was me! My brother brought over lots of Irish sweets and between that and the leftover candy from my party the previous night, the students were "sweet-ed out". I split our class between our regular lesson and a Hallowe'en theme. The students seemed to really enjoy the day and were really impressed with all the Irish sweets!

So you might think I'm mad to love Hallowe'en as much as I do, especially considering scary movies are not my thing. You might think I'm mad to continue dressing up even though I am now over 30 and you might think I'm mad to celebrate Hallowe'en 6 times in the space of 1 day! For this last one, I completely understand anyone's viewpoint on this - but as an English teacher the greatest lessons I can teach my students are the ones that reflect my culture. Hallowe'en is a traditional Celtic Holiday and has had a  major impact on Irish cultural history and traditions, some of which persist to today. Whilst I don't intend to celebrate Hallowe'en every year with my students, it is important that they are exposed to this holiday, if only to let them find new ways of exploring English.

PS This post is inspired by my love of Halloween and The Addams Family  theme song.

To dream the impossible dream.

I love food: I dream about food, I am constantly looking up recipes in my free time, perfecting ones that I find and inventing my own. Seriously! I spend so much time thinking about food that at certain points in my life, my mother (and family) have asked me to not talk about it with them. Unfortunately for them, they can't prevent me from THINKING about it!

I do a bible study with some friends around once a month. It's a non-denominational Bible study as we are several different sects of Christianity. A recent passage from the Bible was about the early Christian community and how they behaved and what made them different from other people during that time. Two lines in this passage are about food:

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.  

~Acts 2:42,46

It got me thinking, to the chagrin of my family, no doubt (!). Food is such a central part of our lives and that if we could all come together and enjoy food we'd be a lot more peaceful. Think about it. A big huge table, people from all over the world, food from every country and everyone just sitting there talking, learning and sharing. The temples, palaces, churches, sights are a glimpse of the history of a country. The traditional dress, more often than not, shares the same place. Food, however, traverses time itself. Dishes, recipes and methods of cooking are passed down through the aeons and God forbid someone dislike your favourite national dish!

Kimchi and Scrambled egg and kimchi

Korea is no different when it comes to its national food. Kimchi is beloved everywhere by Koreans. However, I have managed to find two students who never eat the stuff. For most foreigners in Korea, you end up on one side or the other on the scale of love and hate. I, on the other hand, lean more towards a mix that combines like and ambivalence. I do like kimchi but I am really picky about what kinds I like. I love the cucumber one and a lettuce kimchi that I had in the spring. It was fresh and had to be eaten right away. I like some white kimchi and some normal kimchi but it really depends on the amount of red pepper paste. Sometimes, one bite and I am done.  I hate, really, really (can not stress enough) hate radish kimchi of any kind. This is a favourite with a lot of teachers in my schools and the lunch ladies are always devastated when I shake my head and say "아니오". My favourite way of having kimchi though is fried on the grill or as Kimchi Fries (the first time I had them my brother made them for me and I since have tried them at two Mexican restaurants in Seoul and they are fantastic).

Kimchi fries from Julio's. So good, I didn't have time
to take a picture before they were almost gone

So, in terms of my dream, I know that there would be food that lots of people dislike and food that everyone raves over (seriously, unless you are lactose intolerant, how could anyone dislike ice cream?). I know some cultures will feel slighted and others delighted. However, at the end of the day, food is much more than just something you eat. When you share food with others, you share yourself. As a culture, when you share your food, you share a part of your soul, a glimpse into the way your culture functions. If it is a traditional food, it tells a story. Food gives us a chance to see the world through other people's eyes: Ask anyone who experienced kimchi for the first time! What was your reaction? What did your co-teachers ask you about it? Was it too spicy? Too peppery? Sweet? Tangy? Disgusting? Whatever it was at that time, it's a talking point. As you are exposed to more regional varieties of a dish, different options open up to you and you discover even more about another culture and country. Food gives you the chance to learn, to experience, to discover. Savour it. I recently posted a question on Facebook to see what my friends think of kimchi. When the results came in, it really was a mixed bag - a few hates, a few loves, people who had particular favourites but disliked other kinds. What was really interesting was seeing who commented. I expected it to be my friends in Korea but quite a number of people were also old friends from Ireland or America. So, not only is kimchi a talking point in Korea but its influence can be felt across the miles! Imagine this times millions of other foods at a World table?

For my Hallowe'en celebrations, I am asking my friends to bring some food with them. Whether it is something savoury or sweet, Western or Korean, it will be something we can savour, share and appreciate together. A project that I am working on is to arrange an actual World potluck here in Jochiwon. Do I think this is an easy project? Heck, no! Especially in Korea it can be hard to find ingredients for certain dishes. Is it one that I consider worthwhile and full of possibility? Most definitely. If I believe that food can open us up to wonderful experiences then I need to practice what I preach. I can't wait to organise this dinner and rest assured, there will be some Kimchi there!

You might think I'm mad to even consider that food is a passage to peace as more than likely we would still end up waging wars over who has the best cuisine and how much such a country's food sucks! There is truth to this, but I think we are much more likely to be too full to do anything of the sort! Nevertheless, I prefer to believe in this impossible dream and hope that by following "my quest, to follow that star, no matter how hopeless, no matter how far" in welcoming everyone to my table to break bread, I do my part "for [that] heavenly cause" of hoping for peace on earth and goodwill to men. 

PS this post is obviously inspired by Kimchi and Bible Study but also by Roger Whittaker's "The Impossible dream".