Fighting and Cooking

Above video is two of my kids letting off some steam in some traditional Korean fighting..... It was SOOO funny. After this they did some wrestling. The whole school, about 30 kindergarten kids, formed a circle and were chanting the kids names EXTREMELY loud . Crazy fun..
Photo below - Today we had a cooking class. We made traditional Korean rice cakes. They're called Songpyeon - they're are half-moon-shaped rice cakes filled with sesame seeds or chestnut paste steamed over a layer of pine needles, which gives them the fragrant smell of fresh pine trees.

We didn't do all the steaming but we did the molding and eating. Was great fun!!

Momentum

This week has been a good one. Numerous things have happened that have made me feel positive in many ways.
On the teaching front the confidence, from certain lacklustre kids, is shining through now, which rubs off on me. They enjoy lessons - I enjoy lessons - simple.
I finally got my alien registration card through which is not only a light relief but it now means I can get proper Internet and cable at home, which has positive repercussions that include the use of Skype so I can call all friends and family soon.... and I don't have to watch the AFN (American Forces Network) channel anymore.
Also, I can now get a mobile phone, fingers crossed going to happen tomorrow morning, this means I can ring people!!!! and organise nights/days out etc.... Pay phones here are few and far between and lets face it - NOT at all practical in the modern world.
I can open a bank account, which means I cant settle some money situations and start budgeting properly. Oh and start saving....

I guess it's just that the momentum is finally picking up as all the small things are being ironed out.....
Still bloody hard work though!!!!

The picture is proof that I'm now a millionaire. OK a Korean one, but still........

One Month

Today is my one month anniversary. It has flown by.

I have signed a 12 month contract, so just 11 more to go. If they are all as quick as the first then the year will be over before I know it. If that's the case then I will be very tempted to do another year.

I think I have learnt so much already. In fact I know I have. I wasn't the biggest fan of kids before I came, well not so much anti-kids but had no idea how to handle them. This has been a ferocious learning curve in that respect. I'm far more comfortable about the inevitability of being a father now - before I wasn't sure of my ability but now I know I would be a good father. But not just yet........................

So this week we have a field trip on Wednesday and a birthday party on Thursday, so should be a quick week.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week is a national holiday in Korea. It's called Cheusok, which I believe is a thanks giving. So 3 days off, so with Saturday and Sunday it turns into a 5 day holiday. David and I are going to head to a National Park on the East coast. It's supposed to be pretty spectacular with mountains, forest, temples, a coastal stretch and a city.... plus more I would imagine.

After that I believe it's a 10 week stint of 5 day weeks - good huh?!

The picture is of my apartment block. Mine is in the middle facing inwards, on the second floor. So no traffic or street noise, but not much of a view.

Word of the Week

I've decided to do a word of the week. A word that sums up my week. Doesn't have to be related to teaching, could be a social mood that dominates my week, or an off the field event.... Whatever!!

I plan to do this every Friday. But i'm going to kick off proceedings on a Wednesday this week as I'm feeling inspired.

One last thing, I'm not going to justify my choice, I will leave that up to the imagination of the reader.

This week the word is..............

"Confirmation"

Home Cooking

A few of you have been asking me what the food is like. It's lovely. I have been eating at home quite a lot. No particular reason, just i'm here for a while so I thought that I would firstly concentrate on the teaching, once that is a formality I can venture out every night and eat, drink till the cows come home. So below is an example of what I have been eating at home.

This is what I had tonight.

• Baksul Man-du - they are the large white pasta looking things. Full with a mixture of veg and the odd spice here and there..... I don't actually know as the packet has no English on it. Tastes good. Basically they're dumplings, Korean style.


• Hot Red Pepper Tuna. Ok out of a can, but what am I?


• All tangled together with a large portion of lightly boiled beansprouts.


• And finally a few sheets of dried and pressed seaweed - lush.
• And of course all eaten with some platinum chop-sticks.
  

Happy Birthday to Grover..........

Today I had 'Student Book' class. The student book is a very simple book with songs, chants, and drawings. I do the book with two seperate classes. Red and Pink. Today I was feeling a little tired of singing and chanting (although on Monday i'm teaching them COME ON YOU SPURS and clap, clap, clap, clap, clap YIDS!!).
So I decided upon a practical lesson. The theme of the book at the moment is Birthday's. So wrapping a present was on the menu as a main course and unwrapping was the desert.... oh and singing HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, was a side dish.
Hopefully most of you can see the video below. Apologies for my singing!! - oh and Grover is from sesame street, which is the foundation of the Student Book.

Bananas

As some of you know I LOVE BANANAS..... so you will empathise with my absolute joy when I came across this herd, one should refer to a number of Bananas as a bunch, but that doesn't suffice with this mammoth herd, of ripe Bananas. They cost around £1.00 and taste lush. There's a slight catch though.

You have to buy them all!! You can't just buy one, or two or even a few. So once you buy this lot you have around 3 days to eat them all.....

I have bought a smoothy maker, as you know, so I knock off about 3/4 in one go.