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Next year's job
So I'm still thinking about what to do when my current teaching contract ends. Yesterday, I spoke with a friend who has worked at a local university. She has an English literature Ph.D. and had a tenure-track job, which she just quit so she could return to the U.S. She told me that unless I have experience in teaching adults or training in how to ( Read more... ) -
What I'm reading now
Yesterday, I finished reading Neal Stephenson's _Snow Crash_. Its synthesis of Babylonian mythology, Jewish mysticism and information science made me want to go read up on Inanna, Enki, Asherah and the tower of Babel, but, strangely did not inspire any desire to learn how to code software or ride a skateboard. Stephenson seemed to be treading ( Read more... ) -
Reptilian dreams
Last night's dream: I buy a purple box of lavender soap at a small shop in Korea. At home, I hear a buzzing sound coming from the box. I open the box and find, instead of soap, three small lizards, one bright green and two brown (of unknown species, somewhat resembling baby bearded dragons), a praying mantis and another bug. The bugs escape. I put ( Read more... ) -
No, I'm not working for free.
Today, toward the end of the day, my CT innocently asked if I were busy on the 26th and 27th of the month. The days of that English camp that fall right in the middle of my contract-guaranteed and education office-specified vacation. Was I busy on either or both of those days? Oh, she and the other Korean English teacher could run the camp no ( Read more... ) -
Your grandmother is five cows
Apparently, "how many" sounds almost exactly like "할머니," (halmoni) the Korean word for "grandmother. This week's third grade lesson is about counting. The title of the chapter? "How many cows ( Read more... ) -
Learning a language is all about dignity.... not.
I'm trying to increase my Korean vocabulary and pick up more grammar, so I went to an educational bookstore in Yongdeungdong to look for some very easy Korean children's books (easy books, not easy children). Turns out the manager was the mother of one of my former middle school students. The student and a friend sat at a table together, homework ( Read more... ) -
Knock out the Teeth and Make a Monster
So I tried a new game (adapted from two games I saw on daveseslcafe.com) with the fifth graders today. We were reviewing expressions like "what time is it?" and "it's ___ o'clock." I drew two grinning faces on the board, one for the boys' team and one for the girls. Each face had eight teeth. I asked three types of questions ( Read more... ) -
temporary insanity
Tomorrow and Friday, the 6th graders I was scheduled to teach are going on a class trip. I asked if I would be teaching another class instead. My coteacher (CT) called the other English teacher and offered my services. Partly, I wanted to avoid boredom, but also I wanted to show willingness to work. Also, I was still feeling a bit guilty after the ( Read more... ) -
By my hand and seal...
Two years ago, I opened a bank account at Hana Bank in Daegu. To do this, I needed: passport, alien registration card, phone number and address (no proof of address required). Today, upon request of my new school, I tried to open an account at Nong Hyup in Iksan. I even brought my Korean textbook, which has a handy chapter on Korean-for-banking. ( Read more... ) -
(Untitled)
Sunday, I came back to Korea from a stateside visit (New York and Alabama), schlepping a year's worth of deodorant, jeans, button-down shirts and books. Despite all those round-eyed foreigners walking around speaking English, I didn't experience any noticable reverse culture shock ( Read more... )