New Classes and Rice Krispie Treat Success

It's only Wednesday, and already, there is so much news to share this week. First, I started two new preschool classes on Monday. Each class has one of my old students and four new students. My old students help me out a lot by leading the class and showing the others how things are done. Here we are on the first day of English school! (These photos remind me a little of a police line-up.)
Along with two new classes, I got my own classroom on Monday. I'm so excited! The room I've been using is mostly for adults and middle school students. My friend Joy and I would have to push the big tables and chairs aside and set up the little tables and chairs before class. It's not a nice room for little kids. It's actually pretty stark--nothing to inspire the imaginations of my little students. I did a happy dance when Joy and I put the alphabet posters up on the wall of my new classroom. It's still desperately in need of decoration. I guess that will keep me busy for awhile! Now that I have my own classroom, I can also move my things from the tiny corner I've been occupying in the cramped "Teachers' Room." Another thing I love about my room is that besides the teachers' room, it's the only interior room in our school. That means in winter, it's nice and toasty, while all the other rooms can be quite cold, especially first thing in the morning. Ordinarily, I'd prefer a window and natural light, but for now I'm really happy with the warmth.

---

In this photo, my friend Catherine and some of the 3rd and 4th graders prove that the rice krispie treats were a success, despite the questionable marshmallows and cereal.

---

I went back to the endodontist yesterday. The tooth is still sensitive but not painful anymore.

18 appointments: $78.31

Marshmallow (Mis)adventures

It's been an insanely busy week. Tuesday and Thursday were both twelve hours days at school. It's the end of the month, so progress reports are due for each student. This involves writing an entire page explaining everything that we've covered in class in the past month, comments on each student's performance, behavior, attendance, etc., and personalized goals for the month ahead. It's a huge task, but it is very helpful to spend time thinking about each student individually.

Most of my students are truly outstanding, and those reports fly by. Others are a little more challenging and take more time, but I figure those are the students I need to spend some extra time thinking about anyway. I ratted a couple of kids out for never doing their homework, asking to go to the bathroom every class period, and most of all TALKING, TALKING, TALKING.

I ratted one of my kindergartners out for giving answers to the other kids. I love this little boy's enthusiasm. It seems to radiate from him. However, he never lets anyone else (teacher included) get a word in edgewise. Whatever the activity, he just jumps out of his chair (literally) to participate. He's very bright and ahead of the other students in the class. We begin each class with a few minutes of conversation. He has an uncanny knack for answering questions before they've been asked. A typical morning goes something like this. (Picture 5-year-old Jimmy literally jumping out of his seat and shouting enthusiastically every time he says something.)

EMH: Good . . .
Jimmy: GOOD MORNING, TEACHER!
EMH: How are y. . .
Jimmy: I'M HAPPY!
EMH: Jimmy, you need to raise your h. . .
Jimmy: SOLLY!
EMH: Just wai . . .
Jimmy: YES, TEACHER! SOLLY!
EMH: What day . . .
Jimmy: TUESDAY!
EMH: What's the wea . . .
Jimmy: IT'S SUNNY!
EMH: Jimmy, be qui . . .
Jimmy: SOLLY!
EMH: What mon . . .
Jimmy: JANUARY!
EMH: JIMMY,IFYOUDON'TRAISEYOURHAND,YOUCANSITINTHEHALL! (Translation: Jimmy, if you don't raise your hand, you can sit in the hall!)
Jimmy: SOLLY!

He also loves to shout out answers when I call on other kids in the class. If it takes them a second or two to think about something, Jimmy will shout out the answer. I've tried all sorts of different things to get him to stop, all with varying degrees of failure, so the message has been dispatched to his parents. We'll see if that makes a difference.

I can't believe how quickly the days go by. The good news is that beginning this week, I am teaching full time! I'm thrilled. For the past few months, I've only been teaching part time, but my classes were spread out through the day. I'd end up spending all day at school for just a few classes. If I'm going to be at the school, I'm just as happy to be in the classroom. I love my students and have a lot of fun with them. I'm excited to meet my two new classes on Monday.

By now you might be wondering what any of this has to do with marshmallows. Since it's the end of the term, we're having a "good behavior" party on Monday. I saw some marshmallow-like things in the grocery store this week, so I decided to make rice krispie treats. The jury is still out on whether this endeavor was successful or not.

The first problem was that the marshmallows are slightly fruit flavored (yuck!). The second problem was that I couldn't find Rice Krispies. Instead, I found rice flakes, but it wasn't until I poured them into the melted marshmallows that I noticed they have sunflower seeds in them. Hmmm . . . fruity rice flake treats with sunflower seeds . . . I'm having a hard time getting my mind around this one.

There is a foreign grocery store in Seoul that carries regular marshmallows, but they're a bit pricey. I might go there on Monday and buy some anyway since I'll need to make something for my Tuesday classes, too. I'll see how well they go over on Monday. If the Monday kids like them, I'll make the same kind for my Tuesday classes. If they don't like them, I'll get real marshmallows. (On the other hand, kids here don't know what rice krispie treats are supposed to taste like, so maybe I can just pass these off as a strange American food. We'll see.)

Here are the funny-looking and slightly fruit-flavored marshmallows on my tiny stove:

Snails and Pizza Trucks, Things That Make Me Laugh

One of the things I love about living here is that something makes me laugh everyday. It's either a cute kid saying or an awkward translation or just the humor of not having any idea what's going on a lot of the time.

On Thursday, I had a fun conversation with one of my bilingual 2nd grade classes. One of the girls had just returned from a tour of Europe with her family, so I had her tell about her trip for the first few minutes of class. Then I had the other kids ask her questions. Finally, it was my turn to ask a question. Korean tour companies are known to take groups only to Korean restaurants, so I asked "What did you eat on your trip?"

She blushed a little and with horrified expression on her face whispered, "In France, we ate . . . SNAILS!"

All the kids in the class grimaced and said "EEEEEWWWWWW!"

"Was this at a French restaurant?" I asked.

"Yes, they eat snails in France!"

All the kids started chattering to each other, "Snails. Eeeewwww."

Then it dawned on me, Koreans eat snails, too! "Hey, everyone, what are you eeeewwwing about? I've seen people eat snails here in Korea. I've eaten snails here in Korea. They sell them in the grocery store!"

One of the boys retorted, "But she ate FRENCH SNAILS."

Once again, there was a group "EEEEEWWWWW."

Then one of the girls said, "I don't like to eat snails. I like to pet them!"

And another girl from across the table chimed in, "Yes, I like to pet them, too."

While I was contemplating the image of two little girls petting snails, one of the boys added, "Snails make good pets." The rest of the class nodded in agreement. I'm not really sure how they came to that conclusion. I had a pet snail named James. He was marginally interesting but not something I'd describe as a good pet, but I let the subject drop.

"Did you eat any Korean food on your trip?" I asked.

"Yes. We went to a Korean restaurant and ate kimchi!" she replied.

All the other kids got big grins on their faces, and no exaggeration, they started cheering and clapping, "YAY KIMCHI!!!!!!" Now don't get me wrong. I like kimchi, but I don't have the love for the stuff that most Koreans do, and it made me laugh to hear the kids cheering for spicy pickled cabbage that most American kids wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole.

That's just one of the funny little moments that happens everyday. And here's another, the side of a delivery truck, as seen outside my apartment building yesterday morning:
Enough said.

Earthquake!

I was sitting here at my computer in my 11th floor apartment about an hour ago when everything shook for a couple seconds. The news says it was a magnitude 4.8 earthquake in the northeastern part of the country. (Those of you in California might not be so impressed, but this was pretty big for me.) I called my friends, and they felt it, too. People are chatting about it on the internet. The emergency alert system has had announcements on TV saying that it's nothing to worry about, not that I understand these announcements. I only know this because my friends told me. For all I know, they could be saying that North Korea is attacking and we should all find a nuclear fallout shelter immediately.

Here's what's on the Korean websites:

It made me realize that I have absolutely no idea what you're supposed to do in the event of a serious earthquake. I remember fire drills, tornado drills, and bomb drills in school, but I don't remember earthquake drills. Maybe I just have the drills confused. Was that what we were doing when we sat under our desks and covered our heads? What should someone who lives on the 11th floor do if there is a serious earthquake? Stay put? Run down the stairs? Sit under my table and cover my head? Stop, drop, and roll? Maybe those of you in California (or anywhere!) can help me out here.

Toothpaste for People Who Don't Like Math

Finally somebody understands how I feel about the subject.

Hope for Sore Teeth

I think I fired my dentist today. I sat in the teacher's room during my break this afternoon and popped some more Advil. This has been going on for far too long. I got on the internet, did a quick search for English-speaking endodontists in Korea, and had my friend Catherine make an appointment for me for this evening.

The office is in a very upscale area of Seoul, about an hour by subway from where I live. I'm totally impressed. The dentist studied in London and speaks excellent English. He had the most high tech dental equipment I've ever seen. He took two xrays, one of all my teeth and a close up of my problem tooth. The he examined my teeth and took a couple close-up photographs of them. He found two significant problems that the other dentist missed. He took over an hour to explain everything to me, answer all my questions, and lay out a course of treatment. The good news is that he says it can be treated. The bad news is that I need two crowns, not just one.

I don't think I'm going back to my other dentist. I feel reassured that this new dentist thinks he can actually do something to relieve the pain rather than just waiting while I spend everyday in agony (no exaggeration). I was the last patient of the evening at the new dentist's office. After my appointment, he even walked me down the street to the pharmacy to make sure I'd find it since I was in an unfamiliar part of the city. My friend Catherine went along with me this evening. Even though the dentist's English is excellent, it was helpful to have her along. Afterwards, I treated her to dinner.

Total cost of my hour-long appointment with the endodontist (includes 2 xrays): $6.81
Total cost of prescription antibiotics and painkillers to get me through the next week: $3.80
Total cost of all 15 appointments in Korea: $64.81

More Super Cute Kids and Seoul at Night

My princess class on Friday afternoon. I love these little girls. Don't let the angelic faces fool you. They can be a real handful!

---

After my dental appointment on Friday, I headed into Seoul to look at the Christmas lights. Unfortunately, they're starting to take them down, so most of the places I went weren't lit up. It was cold, but I walked for about 2 hours and then stopped at a restaurant before heading home. It was a pleasant evening. See below for some snapshots.

My weekend has been nice. On Saturday I went to the National Museum of Korea with my friend Ute. Today I had coffee with another teacher from my school, went grocery shopping, and did some serious housecleaning. I think I have the cleanest floors and bathroom in Kyonggi Province! I also washed my bedding by hand since I don't have a washing machine. I now have the fan blowing on it in hopes that it'll be dry enough to use tonight. Then this evening I met up with Ute for tea.

I've taken January off from my responsibilities at the church because I was hoping to take some weekend trips this month. Instead, I've been sticking close to home because of my tooth. Especially at the end of the day, I just want to be in my own apartment and close to my large supply of Tylenol and Advil. I have another dental appointment on Monday, but I might also go see a doctor this week since it's still extremely painful with no improvement. Friday was my 13th appointment. So far I've paid a total of $53.50 for my dental care in Korea. I can't even imagine how much I would have paid for 13 appointments without dental insurance in the U.S.

Enough rambling. Here are some snapshots of Seoul from Friday evening.

First, Seoul City Hall. The sign says "Saehae bok manhee badeushipshio" which means "Happy New Year!" I was very proud of myself for being able to read and understand it!

---

The Christmas tree in front of Seoul City Hall. All the public Christmas trees here have neon red crosses on them. So do all the church steeples. It's a little surreal at night to see all the neon red crosses glowing across the city. (In Korea, red crosses are churches, green crosses are hospitals. Just so you know.)

---

They've erected an ice rink in front of the city hall. I thought about renting skates since I love to go ice skating, but it was really crowded and didn't look like it had been "Zambonied" in a while . . . maybe ever . . . so I just watched. You can see what's left of the Christmas decorations in the background. They've started to take them down, but around Christmas time, that whole structure was lit up and quite a sight!

---

I really like this giant seashell sculpture in downtown Seoul.

---

This is a department store all decked out in Christmas lights!

Very Cute Kids and the Continuing Dental Drama

Is this an extremely cute group of kids or what? This is my youngest class, all about 4 years old. I can't look at them without smiling. A couple of them haven't figured out that I don't speak Korean and tell me whole stories sometimes. They're picking up English unbelievably quickly. They're such a joy. I love this class.

I now go to the dentist everyday until it stops hurting. I'm starting to feel like I live there. Both my friends Catherine and Joy went with me on Wednesday. Catherine came along in case I needed an interpreter and Joy in case I needed a mom. (Joy is not old enough to be my mom, but she does have a daughter and tends to mother all of us at the school, a quality that I tease her about but also appreciate.) We went out for soup afterwards. I have really good friends. I'm often humbled by the way they go out of their way to make sure I'm okay. I hope I can return their generosity and hospitality or pass it on.

In the meantime, I'm really glad that I brought Costco-sized bottles of Tylenol and Advil to Korea with me.

11 appointments: $50.

Open Your Mouse

So it was back to the dentist for me today. The dentist speaks a fair amount of English, but he does a lot of smiling and nodding when I talk to him, which makes me wonder if he really does understand what I say. I'm very familiar with the smile and nod routine. Sometimes it's just less of a headache than asking someone to explain. However, when the topic of conversation is my tooth and the no-kidding-horrendous pain it's causing, smile and nod just won't do. So I asked my friend Catherine to come along with me.

First, Catherine explained to the dentist that I can't eat, can't sleep, can't brush my teeth, and am starting to have a hard time talking because my entire jaw hurts because of this tooth. Then I said the same thing to the dentist, while he smiled and nodded. I think he understood what I said without the interpretation, but it gave me a little peace of mind to know that he heard the whole story twice, once in a language I know he understands.

He tilted me back in the chair and told me to open my "mouse." (Koreans have a very hard time pronouncing the "th" sound.) Fortunately he numbed my tooth this time, because I don't think he could have touched it without me jumping out of the chair and shrieking. I tried my hardest to block the rest out of my memory. After and hour of poking, prodding, squirting, filing, and goodness knows what else to my tooth, he told me to keep taking Tylenol and sent me on my way. I go back on Wednesday.

So I've been sitting here in my apartment for the past two hours waiting for the numbness to wear off so that my mouth functions properly so I can eat. Now, just as I'm regaining sensation, I'm realizing that I'm not going to be a happy camper when I can feel my face again, so it might be better to eat NOW, despite the drooling and lack of coordination on the right side of my face, in an effort to be sound asleep before the numbness wears off. That's my new goal, so I'm signing off and hoping it'll happen.

9 appointments: $45.

A Snowy Morning

It kept snowing on an off until about 2 PM yesterday. I went to the grocery store and then over to the school to get some work done while it was quiet. My friend Joy was there, too, so we ordered lunch and got a lot done. I still haven't done my lesson plans, but I made great progress getting the massive pile of stuff on my desk organized. Today I'm getting together with a friend for tea, finishing my lesson plans, lamenting my very sore tooth, going back to the grocery store for things I forgot yesterday, and maybe going for a walk.

Here are a couple photos from yesterday, as seen from my apartment window. Almost all the snow is gone now.

10:17 AM

10:55 AM

Snow Falling on Concrete

It's been snowing on and off all morning. The mountain is probably pretty today, but the view from my apartment is just very gray--gray buildings, gray roads, gray sky. Not so inspiring.

I made one of my favorite students cry yesterday. It just about broke my heart. The kids were supposed to write the letter "A" on lined paper. As she wrote her A's, they kept getting smaller and smaller and smaller, to the point that you couldn't read it anymore. When I pointed it out, she put her head down on the desk and cried. My friend Joy said she thinks the other kids probably teased her in Korean about it since there have been other incidents of kids picking on her. It's frustrating because when the kids say something in Korean in the classroom, I almost never understand them, so I don't know when they're saying something mean. Joy is going to sit in on the class on Monday. Hopefully that will help.

My tooth hurts like crazy, but at least the temporary filling is still in its place. I go back on Monday.

I have no plans for today or tomorrow, other than getting together with a friend for tea sometime. I'm hoping to get some lesson plans done. I also haven't been grocery shopping since I got back to Korea, so I need to do that at some point, too. My cupboards are down to noodles, one can of soup, a really big bag of rice, some dried seaweed, 5 different kinds of tea, cookies, and peanut butter. The refrigerator has water, ketchup, and lime juice. Yep, I better go shopping. That means braving the snow flurries long enough to go next door to the grocery store.

Back to the Dentist

The dentist replaced my missing temporary filling yesterday. The tooth still hurts like heck and is still disgusting and oozing, but at least it doesn't have a gaping hole in it.

8 appointments: $41 (no charge for yesterday's appointment to replace the filling)

Classes went well yesterday. I feel well-rested after two weeks of being back home. I'm having a lot more fun with my students this week than I was in the weeks before Christmas, and that seems to be good for all of us. I'm on a Bingo kick with my preschool and kindergarten classes--picture Bingo for the very little preschoolers, alphabet Bingo for the pre-kindergartners, and easy reading Bingo for my kindergartners. So far, they love it and don't realize that they're learning and not just playing. Shhhhh . . . don't let the secret out.

Making Myself Understood

Here I am, back in the land of difficult communication. I had to go back to the dentist yesterday. It seems that my root canal is reinfected. That big, ol', ugly, oozing abscess is back. Yay. Since the receptionist doesn't speak much English, I wrote a note to the dentist and left it at the office for him. He was able to work me in after my classes yesterday. He removed the filling from the previous root canal, cleaned it, and put a temporary filling in. After dinner last night, I noticed that I have a gaping hole in my tooth. I must have eaten my temporary filling with dinner. Today I have to be at school before the dentist office opens, so I'm trying to decide if I'll slip a note under the door or have one of my friends at school call and explain what the problem is. Of course, sliding a note under the door is slightly unorthodox, but if I have a friend call, first I have to explain the problem to her and hope that she understands and relays it correctly. My friends here do speak English, but even with them, communication can be a challenge sometimes.

Running total of my Korean dental care (7 appointments): $41
Cost of one of my two dental appointments when I was in the U.S.: $49

Back in Korea

I arrived safely back in my apartment in Korea at 9 PM Monday night after 24 hours of thankfully uneventful travel. My flight from Chicago was delayed, but I still got into San Francisco with enough time to make my connection to Seoul. The turbulence wasn't too bad, unlike my flight from Seoul to Tokyo a few weeks ago. On that flight, people were literally screaming and coffee pots were rolling on the floor.

I taught from 10 AM until 8 PM yesterday, with a few breaks in between. I started to feel the jetlag in the late afternoon, which made that evening class a challenge. It was fun to see my students again. It's funny how those little ones grow on you after a while!

So it's just life as usual around here. I'm happy to be back but miss my family, of course. More later.