Children in Traditional Hanboks at Hanok Village

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Today was a most exciting day for all of us at the Hogwan. This morning we went to the Korean cultural center and Hanok Village. Most all of the children wore their traditional Korean Hanboks. When we (the foreign teachers) arrived at the school, we went on a quest for our Hanboks because we were supposed to wear them as well, however they were nowhere to be found. Later, Mrs. Ahn said that they were in storage and old and moldy, but we think they probably forgot. It was okay though, because it was pretty hot to begin with without all of the extra layers. I had asked one of the Korean teachers if she was going to wear hers today, and she said, “Oh no, I don’t have one. Too expensive!” That made it sink in even more of what a special experience this was for all involved. Pauline then gave me a giant pear from her big box because she said she and Brian couldn’t eat them all by themselves. I’ve never really been a fan of pears, but since I’m trying all sorts of things, I suppose I could try a fresh Korean pear.

The kids came and they looked adorable! The Hanboks ranged from simple to very ornate and I’m sure that that reflected their price. Some kids didn’t have them, and I’m sure it was because of their high price. I’m not quite sure what the price range for them is, but I hope to pop into a Hanbok store one day just to take a look. I know there is one on the way to church, so maybe one day I will stop. We got on the bus and again, piled as many children as possible into the seats. It was a private school charter, small, but comfortable and it had stickers all over the ceiling and curtains around the top of the walls. It was about a 20 minute ride and the kids were again loud and excited. We passed a cleaners called “Home Run Hite Cleaners” and I looked at it and thought, “What is Hite?!” and then it dawned on me that they meant “Hit!” So there’s an example of Korean Engrish for you, and luckily I took a picture!

We arrive at Hanok Village and it is like a compound and we went inside and stayed on the outside where the guests would stay. Apparently, the orangey buildings you will see in the pictures are where the royalty used to stay. There are also places for the horses and sleeping quarters for the people. I hope to go back someday just to walk around by myself (or with a friend) and take it in. Joni said that all of the buildings have rice paper walls. They would have froze to death in the winter because the walls are so literally paper thin, but their ingenious heating system kept them well insulated. They would cook and then take the coals and place them under certain areas of the raised floors and it would provide more than adequate heat! Very interesting! I also took a video of what I saw standing there, so check that out!

The children meanwhile were running around like crazy and having a lot of fun. We made our way into another area and had many pictures taken. Since Joni wore her hanbok, she was getting pictures with every student in the school and quite frankly, her mouth was getting tired of smiling! Mrs. Ahn bought her a hanbok last year as a gift, so it was pretty special. The children were having a great time and then the Korean co-teachers started giving the students this white substance that reminded me of a soft, white Play-Dough. I asked In-Suk what it was and she said it was Rice. How that was rice, I have no idea, but I’ll take her word for it. I had to reprimand a student who threw his rice ball at the co-teacher who was taking pictures. Apparently, rice in this form makes for great projectiles. After taking a ton of pictures, we were all hot and thirsty, so we slowly made our way back to the busses. The students boarded and we crammed even more in this time because we had an extra person in tow. Joni joined us because I believe her bus had already left. It was no problem because we just made the kids sit closer together. In Korea, do as the Koreans do!

So after piling in the bus and leaving, we were all sweating, so we asked for AirCon (what Koreans use for AC or Air Conditioning). The bus driver tried to act like he didn’t know what we were talking about. Joni and I were getting really angry because he then turned on the heat and said it was the AirCon and then claimed it was broken. I looked back at the children, and they looked like they just got of the shower. Their hair was soaked and stuck to their faces and they were in their hot Hanbok layers. I just felt terrible for them. We ended up yelling at him because it was so dangerous for those children. They could have had heat stroke! Luckily no one was hurt and the bus driver finally turned on the air about 3 minutes away from the school. He thought it was so funny and we were very angry to say the least.

It was 11:50 by the time we got off the busses, so the foreign teachers were done and allowed to go to lunch. I had to run upstairs to get my belongings and Joni asked me to get her purse and bring it to the 3rd floor so she could change. I also indulged in some water while I was upstairs! I brought Joni her bag and left because I had limited time before I had to go back to school. I got home and had a quick lunch and then was back at school for what I thought was Story Time with Mickey and Minnie. However, since today was their cultural day, they were making rice cakes. They assumed I knew how to make them and then when I told them I didn’t even know what a rice cake was, they said I would be assisting the Korean co-teacher, which was fine by me!

I went to the 5th floor where I met with the Mickey class to learn along with them on how to make rice cakes. First, I helped the co-teacher tear off small wads of rice - just like the Play-Dough type stuff the kids were eating today at Hanok Village. Then the teacher showed us how to roll it into a ball and then make it into a bowl or cone shape with your thumb. Then we poured a small amount of a sugar-sesame seed mixture into it and sealed the edges like a ravioli or tortellini. Then she took them to boil them. Later the students would eat them. I have seen them in two different colors so far. They come in white - like the ones we made today, and a greenish-brown. I’m not sure what the colors mean or how they get the different colors, but I can ask next time I see one of the co-teachers. After the rice making, I headed downstairs and covered Joni’s class at 2pm. She wasn’t done packing and she was leaving for vacation later that evening. She was going to go to China and Bali for this next week! How exciting! I would love to do some traveling like that someday. When Mom comes, I hope we make it to China for the Chinese New Year, which is the last week in January during my birthday!

After Joni’s class, I had my own classes from 3-7 and I wasn’t sure who was going to show up because it’s Friday and every Friday is different, and it was right before the holiday. I ended up going easy on the kids and if they got their work done, they could play hangman or another game. One class of adolescents whom I have to bribe to get to speak decided to play the ABC memory game and the only rule I made was that every food they chose had to be in English. So they learned the words Danish and Quiche and their homework was to find a “U” food. They loved the game and it got all of them talking and more comfortable, so I believe it served its purpose.

After my classes were done, I was to cover Joni’s 7 and 8 o’clock classes. Between my classes and hers, Pauline and I had ordered a pizza and had a quick dinner in the 10 minutes before the next class started. I also managed to bite my tongue - twice. Joni’s 7 o’clock was very talkative and got their work done, so we talked about our cultures. I had seen many kids with this orange stuff on the tips of their nails. They told me it was a flower that you could buy in the store or pick off of a tree by the road. They said it was better than nail polish because it is natural and most middle and elementary school children have it on all nails, while adults usually do just the pointer and middle fingers. This is not only for girls, but boys also. I had then told them about manicures and French tips in America and they said that only people who don’t work or girls who don’t study in college get those done. So I doubt I will be getting French tips here since it is kind of looked down upon, as in the people are lazy and don’t work. That class gave me some interesting cultural insights and they loved my cheap PaperMate mechanical pencil because it was different than what they have here!

After I let the 7 o’clock class out, I sat in the lounge waiting with Pauline and one of my other co-teachers, who also runs the front desk at times mentioned that I would maybe only have one student and she couldn’t get a hold of her. So we just waited and talked and then finally at 8:20, we decided she wasn’t coming and we left for home. On the way home, Pauline had mentioned that she was going to a barbeque with Brian tomorrow and asked if I wanted to come along. I said sure since it would be a great way to meet people and see other places. So tomorrow, I’m meeting her at 12:20 outside her apartment and then going to the Bone Hospital (Bone-byong-won) to meet our ride at 12:30. I’m excited to see what tomorrow will bring!

An-nyeong-hi-kye-se-yo!

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Comments

[Aunt Marshy]

Field trip
What fun!!!! Megs, I am so proud of you!!! HUGS!!!