So as the CLEA month-long Korean class comes to an end I will come back to my home stay with a shiny new diploma displaying the 87% I earned in the course as well as a new found passion for the Korean language. During our closing remarks, Mrs. Shim said something surprising. When telling us about the Jeju conference that will happen in precisely one month she advised that we do not get too excited and instead start realizing that this will be our last workshop and soon after our year here will come to a close. It is kind of like looking at the year as half over rather than half a year more to go.
A similar chord was struck as I gchatted with my brother and he bade me goodnight with the words "Live long and prosper" made famous by Mr.Spock and re-iterated by my father on his work answering machine. Daily. Yes, my dad is that cool. It should be clear by my numerous star trek related posts that the series played a vital part in my upbringing. My dad continues to update his work phone each day with the date and the words "live long and prosper" so if you were to call him tomorrow you would hear "Today is March 1st, 2011, I am away from my desk please leave your name and number and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you. Live long and prosper" stated clearly with a peppering of Ukrainian accent for flavor. What I didn't realize until my brother mockingly added that sentence to his parting words this evening is that I haven't heard my dad's voice say that message in over 6 months. That's half a year of a daily routine that I have had no part in. This made me think...what else have I been missing over the last 6 month, what daily routines have gone for granted in my absence?
1. My dad's work answering machine- thought I know it is coming the infamous Spock line makes me smile every time
2. My dad yelling "Hey lady, come on!" at any car that is going too slow
3. Limes squeezed into orange juice in the morning
4. Being able to call my mom when I am in the department store and ask her opinion on clothes
5. Reading the ingredients list on any food item I am contemplating purchasing
6. Starting a car and driving a stickshift
7. Being able to go into a store and know that at least 90% of the clothes will either fit or be too big for me instead of shopping around for the 10% of items that are not too small for me
8. Being 24 not 26 (my korean age)
9. Dairy being a food group and not a imported luxury good
That is all I can think of for now. I am not homesick. But I do wish I could have a recording of my dad saying "Live long and prosper" at my disposal if that day every does come. :)
Monday, February 28, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Monopoly-Game Theory.
I had a Korean test today. As a testament to what I have learned over the past week and a half in comparison to what I had compressed into my brain whenever tests were given out during Orientation I think today went much MUCH better. Though my grade is probably floating around a 70% I am happy I was able to at least understand what all of the questions were asking me to do.
After we took the test we played Monopoly. I actually hated this game as a child. It takes too long, the rules are abundant and complicated and in the end whoever is losing ends up being a sourpuss. No one likes to lose so the fact that human beings willing subject themselves to these types of games in the first place allows for only three rational explanations:
1. we are bored to tears. (there is a reason that monopoly rose to popularity during the depression- no one else had anything better to do)
2. we are masochistic
3. we just finished a midterm in Korean class and have 3 hours before we can leave
I said earlier that no one likes to lose, though there are those who do not even like to play. Competition, in the most Darwin sense, is the key to survival. So those who claim to have no sportsmanlike spirit would have probably vanished before passing on "I don't care" genes to their equally uninspired offspring. So, this day in age, where does this lackadaisical attitude for games come from? When did people stop caring about winning?
I understand the importance of parents teaching their children how to play nicely with others. But playing IS part of the equation. Saying "it's just a game" is supposed to relieve the pressure and make losing less of a heartbreak rather than completely eradicate the point of competition.
For me how you play a game is quite parallel of how you approach life. If given a task to perform you must try your best to complete it with 100% accuracy. No cheating, but also, no slacking. Rules are guidelines that allow us all equal footing. Manipulating them to an advantage is stepping outside the boundaries of healthy competition. The same sentiment is shared when people refuse to compete or try their best. I for one would not be good at picking and choosing the instances when I was going to put my full effort forth and when I would just do things half-assed. It is easier, more efficient and just makes sense to always maintain a steady standard of full effort.
I have been taught that there is no prize in winning an unfair fight. I realized today that sportsmanship also goes hand in hand with putting forth a competitive spirit and is not satisfied with a high five at the end of a game.
I am thankful that I can enjoy a game with a balanced drive for winning as well as a realization that it is indeed...just a game.
After we took the test we played Monopoly. I actually hated this game as a child. It takes too long, the rules are abundant and complicated and in the end whoever is losing ends up being a sourpuss. No one likes to lose so the fact that human beings willing subject themselves to these types of games in the first place allows for only three rational explanations:
1. we are bored to tears. (there is a reason that monopoly rose to popularity during the depression- no one else had anything better to do)
2. we are masochistic
3. we just finished a midterm in Korean class and have 3 hours before we can leave
I said earlier that no one likes to lose, though there are those who do not even like to play. Competition, in the most Darwin sense, is the key to survival. So those who claim to have no sportsmanlike spirit would have probably vanished before passing on "I don't care" genes to their equally uninspired offspring. So, this day in age, where does this lackadaisical attitude for games come from? When did people stop caring about winning?
I understand the importance of parents teaching their children how to play nicely with others. But playing IS part of the equation. Saying "it's just a game" is supposed to relieve the pressure and make losing less of a heartbreak rather than completely eradicate the point of competition.
For me how you play a game is quite parallel of how you approach life. If given a task to perform you must try your best to complete it with 100% accuracy. No cheating, but also, no slacking. Rules are guidelines that allow us all equal footing. Manipulating them to an advantage is stepping outside the boundaries of healthy competition. The same sentiment is shared when people refuse to compete or try their best. I for one would not be good at picking and choosing the instances when I was going to put my full effort forth and when I would just do things half-assed. It is easier, more efficient and just makes sense to always maintain a steady standard of full effort.
I have been taught that there is no prize in winning an unfair fight. I realized today that sportsmanship also goes hand in hand with putting forth a competitive spirit and is not satisfied with a high five at the end of a game.
I am thankful that I can enjoy a game with a balanced drive for winning as well as a realization that it is indeed...just a game.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Happy New Year! here's to you rabbit.
I'm packing. Again. The constant packing, unpacking, repacking of my bags seems like a lifestyle now. I have been teaching high school English camps in 정읍 for the past two weekends and with a trip to Seoul thrown in the mix I have hardly been home longer than I needed to restock my bags with fresh clothes and play a game of UNO with my host family.
A reflection on the camps: Cooperative and project based learning is a skill that is innate and Korean school children would benefit from more creative ways to engage themselves in the study of English language. Engaging themselves, a possible synonym for "self-study" is an art form that they are still trying to master and if (err...I mean "once") they do Korea will be a big time player in the world. They need to hone their treacherous work ethic and expand it outside the confines of route memorization to create and manipulate ideas. If only there was a hagwan for imagination. Maybe in my naïve and nervous state as a first time teacher I picked 4th graders as my favorite but through experience I now believe that “the older the better.” I also no longer experience the butterflies and worry that consumed me as a first year teacher. Looking back on those rough weeks and months of my first semester as a teacher at Bici I remember how my insides churned at the thought of the problem students walking into class, how I despised lesson planning and seeking useful data for my students and how eagerly we all rushed out of the building on Friday afternoons to purge our memories of the past week with alcohol.
The story is so different on this side of the globe. I am eager to teach my lessons, I adore students and nothing that happens in the classroom has the potential to jeopardize my bowl movements. In simpler terms- teaching is a joy. In other words- I miss that feeling of panic. For some reason it has been instilled in my head that if my day to day tasks do not put on pressure, kick me out of my comfort zone and make me scramble a bit, I am not doing my best. This idea is simply illustrated in the case of the high school student in the English camp I taught two weekends ago who was sitting around while his partner was doing most of the work. After a round of gentle coaxing did not convince him that he should do his fare share I more strongly ENCOURAGED him to complete an entire portion by himself. Sure enough an hour later he had done a beautiful job on a poster but still held a grudge against me for another hour because I had pushed him off his butt to put forth effort and do some work. Maybe what I need is a bitchy Ms.Lenets to stroll up to me, tell me my life is too easy and put in front of me an ultimatum- I better get some serious work done or ELSE. The question now is, what on earth am I to do?
My first intention is to apply for a job in the Fulbright office. When I first heard of the possible job openings in the office I gasped “wow- I could NEVER be Mrs. Shim’s assistant” within a split second I answered myself “WAIT, why not?” I would never allow for myself to be written off this way by anyone else so I certainly wasn’t going to stand for my own brain thinking less of my abilities. I knew why I was thinking it too, the job would be more difficult, the hours longer and the vacation cut to a fraction what I enjoy now. Also, entering Fulbright with an arsenal of teaching experience gave me a lot of confidence which is actually the most important aspect of teaching—so entering a new arena with a new set of skills would be difficult. But that’s exactly what I crave.
My next few weeks will not be challenge free either. I am going to Jungwon again- returning to the marble palace to attain more Korean knowledge and interact with friends from the university. And practice for a marathon! Oh life, you just keep getting better.
A reflection on the camps: Cooperative and project based learning is a skill that is innate and Korean school children would benefit from more creative ways to engage themselves in the study of English language. Engaging themselves, a possible synonym for "self-study" is an art form that they are still trying to master and if (err...I mean "once") they do Korea will be a big time player in the world. They need to hone their treacherous work ethic and expand it outside the confines of route memorization to create and manipulate ideas. If only there was a hagwan for imagination. Maybe in my naïve and nervous state as a first time teacher I picked 4th graders as my favorite but through experience I now believe that “the older the better.” I also no longer experience the butterflies and worry that consumed me as a first year teacher. Looking back on those rough weeks and months of my first semester as a teacher at Bici I remember how my insides churned at the thought of the problem students walking into class, how I despised lesson planning and seeking useful data for my students and how eagerly we all rushed out of the building on Friday afternoons to purge our memories of the past week with alcohol.
The story is so different on this side of the globe. I am eager to teach my lessons, I adore students and nothing that happens in the classroom has the potential to jeopardize my bowl movements. In simpler terms- teaching is a joy. In other words- I miss that feeling of panic. For some reason it has been instilled in my head that if my day to day tasks do not put on pressure, kick me out of my comfort zone and make me scramble a bit, I am not doing my best. This idea is simply illustrated in the case of the high school student in the English camp I taught two weekends ago who was sitting around while his partner was doing most of the work. After a round of gentle coaxing did not convince him that he should do his fare share I more strongly ENCOURAGED him to complete an entire portion by himself. Sure enough an hour later he had done a beautiful job on a poster but still held a grudge against me for another hour because I had pushed him off his butt to put forth effort and do some work. Maybe what I need is a bitchy Ms.Lenets to stroll up to me, tell me my life is too easy and put in front of me an ultimatum- I better get some serious work done or ELSE. The question now is, what on earth am I to do?
My first intention is to apply for a job in the Fulbright office. When I first heard of the possible job openings in the office I gasped “wow- I could NEVER be Mrs. Shim’s assistant” within a split second I answered myself “WAIT, why not?” I would never allow for myself to be written off this way by anyone else so I certainly wasn’t going to stand for my own brain thinking less of my abilities. I knew why I was thinking it too, the job would be more difficult, the hours longer and the vacation cut to a fraction what I enjoy now. Also, entering Fulbright with an arsenal of teaching experience gave me a lot of confidence which is actually the most important aspect of teaching—so entering a new arena with a new set of skills would be difficult. But that’s exactly what I crave.
My next few weeks will not be challenge free either. I am going to Jungwon again- returning to the marble palace to attain more Korean knowledge and interact with friends from the university. And practice for a marathon! Oh life, you just keep getting better.
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