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Published: April 13th 2010
The weekend came way too fast last week. This whole teaching thing really is pretty easy, or so I thought through two weeks...
Friday night was the start of our fun-filled weekend as we ventured out to our favorite hangout. MJ's is where we spent our first weekend and just happens to be the most densely populated area of Americans in all of Korea (from my guestamation). Bethany and I, while walking in decided to start with the Wii (which, if you remember, is one of three fun things you can do at MJ's besides pool and darts). We ventured over and Bethany made a quick look through the Wii library of games and then made a decision (little did she know that decision would keep her from playing the Wii for the next 3 hours and lead to the entire theme of the weekend and is the reason Nick has a W630,000 hole in his wallet and to this day cannot sleep). Later when the dust settled she told everyone the only reason she picked Super Mario Brothers is because, "it was the only game I recognized." I think she played one game before Nick realized we were playing a game that he liked (understatement of S. Korea, thus far). He quickly ended up with her controller and Nick and I played Super Mario Brothers on the Wii for the next three hours. This Super Mario Brother is a multiplayer game and was AWESOME. As Nick played and drank he made a few comments about wanting to this game, albeit he does not own a TV nor a Wii in S. Korea. These comments continued after we were done playing (we finished only because someone asked if they could play- three hours into our game) and they became more frequent and more passionate. Of course I thought Nick was drunk and he would simply forget about it and wake up the next morning barely remembering that we even played. Quite the contrary. Sometime around 11am the following morning I awoke to a knock at the door. It was nick. "I did good." is all he said. Apparently Nick woke up only after 4 hours of sleep around 8am in the morning. He had one thing on his mind that wouldn't let him sleep: Super Mario Brothers. He got up and headed to HomePlus. First he would buy a television. He went there knowing he could only afford the 'off-brand' and not a S. Korea superbrand like LG or Samsung. Once visually picking out the perfect TV, Nick got help. Boy did he. The Korean HomePlus employee quickly made the X symbol with his forearms and said, "Anyo! Anyo!" (No! No!). Nick replied by showing his wallet and trying to relay to him that he did not have enough money for anything else. The employee wouldn't be denied and took Nick to the Samsung area of the Electronics HomePlus section. Nick again showed his wallet and lack of Won. The employees immediately lowered the price and Nick had himself a brand new Samsung LCD television set. The Wii was less of an argument and he carried both the TV and Wii back home with him. He then stared at the two boxes until his clock hit a time that he figured would be appropriate for waking up someone who went to bed at 4 in the morning. He held off until 11 and there he was at my door. The only issue: HomePlus didn't have Super Mario Brothers. Neither did Lotte Mart. Neither did EMart. Neither did S. Korea.
Sunday was a much-needed sports day and a wonderful illustration of Korean culture. We started with Volleyball at the Presbyterian church that Bethany spent Easter at. It was a lot of fun for the first hour of our scheduled two hour time slot. After the first hour, we were suddenly surrounded by about 12 men in suits. Again through a translator, we found out that they need to set up chairs for a concert.... on Friday. Apparently this was the only time all week that they would be able to set up for the concert so we had no choice, even though we were on the calendar and gym schedule for another hour. None of that mattered and our volleyball game ended, abruptly. Fortunately we were playing volleyball with some people who had been here for about 3 years and they had cars. We piled into two cars and ended up at a dirt soccer field.
**Side note**
Beside the field some middle school aged kids were enjoying a pickup game of basketball. After seeing my first basketball being played since I landed in Korea I could not help myself. But the headband in my pocket told me that I wasn't exactly shocked to see someone playing basketball. On went the headband and out went my reluctance. After stealing the ball and driving to the basket for an easy layup the kids broke out with a collective, "wow." And yes I did hear one kid say, "it's like Michael Jordan." And there might be the reason I travel to begin with. It has been since South Africa that I have been compared to 'His Airness.' The basketball-poor countries don't know that I was a role player for three years during High School. And I'm not going to be the one who tells them.
**Back to dirt field**
We decided that we would show Korea what ultimate frisbee was all about. They decided to show us what baseball was all about. Before we could begin the field was being overtaken by a baseball team. After some poor translating we agreed to split the field. Ultimate frisbee was on... and then we look down to the other end of our new allotted space to find a soccer goal that had been moved right onto our field as we were playing, for the moment, at the other end. I had had enough and Jenn and I immediately began moving the goal. They understood and moved, but not far enough. We continued and we got a few games in before THUD. Everyone heard it but I didn't see it, all I saw was bethany with her hand over her right ear. The right side of her face/head was bright red and she looked dazed to say the least. An errant shot at goal had hit another target of sorts. It hit her with such force that she simply didn't know what had hit her. At first she thought, baseball. Then, another human head. We had to convince her that it was actually a soccer ball (one that was full of too much air and surrounded by a very hard exterior material, not a normal soccer ball). First pain and then shock and then confusion set in one after the other. The end result was the first tears of South Korea. The guilty party immediately ran to her side as to make sure she was ok. Our new found friend who had lived in S. Korea for the last 3 years told us that he was standing there because he knew that he had to pay the hospital bill if one ensued. We all decided to get something to eat.
Sunday was a night for Wii and Monday brought a meeting with our superiors. The meeting was great until at the very end I was told that I was 'too strict', 'needed to smile more' and that my kids were 'scared of me.' I don't want to blow off constructive criticism but I know the exact class that said those things and it was one of two classes I put in a seating chart. The aid that told me continuously that it was no big deal, but the damage had been done. The thought that my kids were 'scared of me' was nothing less than heart breaking. I have made my intentions clear within the first two weeks: strict first, to control the classroom and welcome more fun later. I have been told by every trainer and every teacher to be strict and not let them walk all over you at first. Again I don't want to downplay anything but the smiling faces that met me after the meeting before class began at 4 quickly put me at ease. I do not want to leave you with anything less than the most accurate portrayal of what I am as a teacher. So, my biased view wont do that but neither would an aide that has taken the words of a few trouble makers. I think I have balanced along a pretty darn good line during my first 2 weeks as a teacher but I will keep you posted on the recent criticism.
It was my first speed bump work-wise but I am determined to let the criticism do nothing but help me. My classes continue to be great and I love what I do. Now if we could just find Super Mario Brothers on Wii...
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bethany grace
bethany grace
Pretty darn good
I agree. And I can hear you through the walls everyday so I'm a valid source. You sound like a great teacher and any kids with a little respect love you. Who cares about the other ones?! ha ha, oops. did i say that? Keep up the good work