An American Thanksgiving in Korea

This was my first Thanksgiving away from home and away from my family, so I was a little concerned that I would be really sad and slip into a mild depression and then eat a lot of chocolate to make myself feel better. However, there was a lovely "American Thanksgiving" feast planned in a neighboring town, Wontong.

Digging in to the delicious food

There was a lot of fun, a lot of food, and a lot of togetherness that was shared. It was wonderful. The only think that was missing was the turkey.

Gathering around the feast

There was mashed potatoes, a vegetable stew, some chicken, pork, a South African desert, bread, and many other things that everybody brought.

Sam (the wonderful host), Ashley, Fathima, and Josh

The boys being "cute"

My first Thanksgiving abroad was a success; the turkey wasn't missed as much as I thought it would be, I was surrounded by good company, and I later slipped into an amazing food coma, but I did miss my momma's mashed potatoes. 

It's Official!

Ladies and gentlemen, I have finally received my Alien Registration Card. I am now an official resident of South Korea, at least for the next 12 months.

Wahoo!

Now that I have my ARC card, I can leave the country, which means I can plan my winter vacation, which means I was too antsy and bought my ticket immediately, which means I'm going to Laos for 2 weeks by myself! I am so pumped. I'll be meeting up with my friend Tony about halfway through my trip, so that should be fun. I'm really looking forward to the beautiful scenery Laos has to offer and the warm weather! Yummm.

Other updates on my life? I started taking yoga classes, weird I know. And the other day I unknowingly ate raw octopus, and yesterday I ate more raw fish, freshly picked and cut from the tanks outside the restaurant. Raw fish is interesting. And really chewy. And that's all I have to say about the matter.

2 teachers + 250 students = no class!

Desk Warming. Quite possibly one of the most underrated things ever.

In the Korean public schools, there's a term called "desk warming". It's when the teachers still have to come in during Winter or Summer break even though there are no students. This is a norm for public schools, but luckily my hagwon gets a full week of desk warming due to our lack of staff.

Since Johnlyn just left, and her replacement doesn't come until the end of the week, and it is just me and my co-teacher Fathima, our director decided to simply cancel all classes for the week. It is amazing! Two hours in, and I have already finished all my work for the day, what to do, what to do.

Any suggestions on what do to with all my free time at school?

If you're ever desk warming, here's a post with some ideas to help you pass the time: The Joys of Desk Warming in Korea

Below Zero Camping in Inje

Camping in November in Minnesota? Crazy. Camping in Inje in November? Crazy. And almost as cold.

Setting up the massive circus tent

Kevin organized this camping trip, with the help and equipment of his boss. His boss had a massive tent that could easily fit 10 people and sleeping bags and sleeping mats for all eight of us. He even provided chairs, tables, lanterns, a grill, firewood, all the basics needed for camping.

The ginormous tent almost all up

The boss has this huge tent that we all slept in. It was one of the biggest camping tents I have ever seen. When it was all set up tt looked like a circus tent, with a pole in the middle and everything. Ideally, I think this tent could have fit up to 13 people.

Trying to stay warm by the fire

Deep conversation whilst camping

It was your typical camping extravaganza, but better because I was in Korea. Ashley and Adrian prepared grilled cheese sandwiches and a stew. We sat around, drank some beer and played some games. It was a very relaxing camping trip. The only thing that was missing were s'mores. Two of my students, Helen and Rose, were even there for most of the night (their mom is one of Kevin's nurses).

Cooking Day: Chicken Tortillas

At the Inje English Village, everyday Friday is cooking day or market day. I have yet to experience a market day, but I want to share the interesting Korean twists that exist with some foods that we make.

Today we made Chicken Tortillas. The basics were there: chicken and tortillas, but then it got a little interesting. We started with the tortilla and spread a spicy Korean chilli sauce on the surface. Next we added lettuce, cucumbers, apples, and chicken. The final touch? Korean mustard sauce. It wasn't bad, just interesting.

Class 3 enjoying cooking class

Koreans like to add unique things in non-traditional Korean food. In the past we made Cheese Canapes. When making the cheese canape, we started with a saltine, spread whipping cream, added a slice of ham and a slice of cheese. Oh that's not all. We also added an apple slice, spread strawberry jam on top of that, and topped it with a chocolate chip. It was an explosion of different flavors and there are no words to describe it's unique taste. Koreans also add corn to almost all pizza, but I actually enjoy this quirk.

A Korean chicken tortilla, sans mustard sauce

My Life As A Waygook, Episode 1

This is an accurate portrayal of a situation I am sure every English teacher in Korea has found themselves in. Those who have not taught in Korea, you may not find it as funny as the rest of us do. This is also pretty offensive, so to any Koreans who watch this, I apologize.

Those who enjoyed this video, should watch related videos in the same cartoon format to get a better understanding of life as an English teach in Korea.

Also, my boss just told me I have old man shoes. But she said that "it's okay". I'm glad I have her permission to wear my old man shoes.

English Names

Since our school is an English Village, our director wants the students to have English names too. Sometimes we let them name themselves, or the other kids name them. I've tried to name them after my friends or people I know, but they don't seem to like and of my friends' names.

Some common names are Lily, Ben, James, Abby, Daisy. I've noticed the girls liked names with two syllables that end in an "ee" sound. Some less common names are Pink, Spike, and Liam. Yesterday I named a new student "Jerry", the other students chose and voted for that one. I don't think he had a clue to what was going on.

My absolute favorite names are Dinoking and Lurker. I think it's safe to assume a teacher did not name those two. There's also a kid whose name is Ben, but he insists on being called 'Ben UFO' and will always add the 'UFO' to his name tag even if I ignore him.