Exploring Chinatown in Busan with Ray, Another First Year Fulbright ETA

There are a number of Fulbright ETAs assigned in Busan this year, but Ray and I are the only first-year English Teachers. I can still remember the feeling of absolute delight as we slowly but finally realized that we would be spending a whole year living and teaching in Busan. We agreed to explore the city together once we arrived. 

This is a photo story of the day we explored Chinatown, not far from Busan Station. 

This is Chinatown, literally across the street from Busan Station

We were originally going to take the Busan City Bus Tour but, due to the weather, decided to save that for another day, and just explore the area

To get to Busan Station, I had to take the 508 Bus. The commute was about 40 minutes. My host family was worried I would get lost around the city since this was my first time traveling on my own. I shared the same worry with them, thus the many photos of signs and directions (just in case I get lost). Fortunately, I didn't get lost, and found the bus ride pretty straightforward!

It was drizzling outside, so we decided to duck inside the station and look around. Here, we have photographs of Busan's beauty on display.

The station to the left. This is the back-side of the station, which faces the water

More of the city from Busan Station

This is what Yeong Island looks like from where we were at. There was light rain and strong winds pummeling us outside.

Ray and me posing in front of the station, and right before we headed over to Chinatown for what would turn out to be the rest of the afternoon

Welcome to Chinatown. This area was quite small, and only a few people were milling around as we circled once, twice, thrice - countless times while talking

The color red was everywhere

More red, not surprising in Chinatown

After hours of walking, we stopped and rested here - still discussing the many places we would explore, and the places we've been to before and the people we've met.

I noticed this sign and got very excited. It would take us another three to four hours to notice that we're deep inside the Red Light District.

Ray's high school is near Chinatown, so it was only a matter of time before we ended up running into some of his students (he teaches at an all-boys high school).

We made sure to visit one of his favorite shops because the owner loves him

This wall was so educational, so fascinating!

The sky looked like it was on fire. This was probably after the fifth or so time we circled Chinatown. We grew hungry and searched for a place to eat.

In a moment of rare decisiveness, I pulled him into a Filipino restaurant. We ordered chicken adobo and tilapia cooked in coconut milk, which surprised me both in their deliciousness. This was his first time eating Filipino food, and said he really enjoyed it! 

As dusk took over the city, another side of Chinatown emerged. Since Ray's back was to the street, I was the first one to see the women walking around outside in short shorts and skirts, club dresses, and high heels. They seemed to emerge out of nowhere, materializing in front of the stores around us, sashaying about, waving people in. Once in a while, Ray would look over his shoulder, and see the foreigners - men and women, but mostly men.

The revelation that we had unknowingly walked all afternoon around the red light district of Busan was both amusing and disturbing to me. How unaware; how self-absorbed.

Most of the women I saw outside were not Koreans. They were women from other parts of Asia, including the Philippines. There was something indescribable in my heart clamoring to express itself. I had spent the whole afternoon talking yet, at the end of the day, I had no words to describe the weight I was feeling.

Receiving a Manicure from My Host Sister's Weekends-Only Nail Shop

I woke up from my nap after church and found my host sister meticulously painting her nails in her room. After she was satisfied with her nails, she sat me down and offered to paint my nails as well.

She explained that this was "Juhyeon's Nail Shop," available only on weekends because she was busy with school the rest of the week. I nodded my head to signal understanding, but couldn't help laughing at her adorableness.

A Short Tour of Holy Joy Center's Picturesque View Overlooking the Water

STRUGGLING TO STAY AWAKE DURING SERVICE
I came out here after the message to wake myself up, gulp down some fresh air, and lean out against the railings to get a better view of the water. It was a perfect sunny day, with only white puffy clouds dotting the blue skies.

This view looks away from the island and towards the rest of Busan

GETTING BEAT UP BY ABNORMALLY STRONG GUSTS OF WIND
I didn't expect the wind to be so intense. It beat me up in the few minutes I stubbornly refused to back down and take cover inside. When I was finally awake enough to join the rest for refreshments and conversation, it felt like my face had been slapped raw.

I turned my back on this view, content that I had seen a beautiful day, had struggled against a mighty invisible force, and had ruminated partially on the message, and largely about why I was there.

Let's just say I am still very much adjusting to the pastor's different preaching style here.

I don't mean to twist the knife, but I am not the only one struggling to stay awake. When I have dared to look around, some of the adults are out like a light: asleep, with their heads down, and chins tucked against their chests.

You can see Lotte Department Store across the water, as well as the bridge that connects Yeong Island to the rest of the metropolis

CONSIDERING CHECKING OUT OTHER CHURCHES
During these moments, I think: I don't have to go here! There are other churches around. Next week, I will go and see how they are. 

Even though this is only my second week of attendance, an irrational sense of loyalty has already taken a hold of me, and I cannot help but feel a twinge of guilt when I consider checking out another church in Busan. My great reluctance is not because of my attachment to the church itself (though everyone has been absolutely kind and welcoming to me), but because of the great lengths Sookhee and my host parents went to arrange this opportunity for me.

...OR NOT - I WILL GIVE IT TIME
Because of this, I will certainly give it time, give myself time. I will keep going. My aim is not to be entertained at church, but to spend my energy getting to know God instead of using most of it to merely stay awake.

Korean language class after church service and fellowship 

Yes, it's a three-to-four-hour church day, Mimi, but it's only an hour of service. For crying out loud, stay awake!

LEARNING KOREAN OUTSIDE OF JUNGWON
One of the women from church is a Korean professor, who gives free Korean language lessons after Sunday fellowship. Wonderful lady. She even brought us bound copies of the same Korean textbook I used during Orientation, making it very convenient for me to continue learning the language, should I find the time, will, and energy.

MY QUESTIONS FOR YOU
Have you ever nodded off during a public event? What do you do to stay awake, especially during a church service? Is there an experience that makes you feel alert and alive that doesn't involve leaning against the railings of a very tall building with the wind pummeling you in the face? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.

A Very Relaxing Night After a Whole Day of Wrestling with a Research Paper

Host mom lit this candle and placed it on the floor to freshen up
the air and help ward off mosquitoes in the apartment

Officially, I have graduated from college but, until today, there was still one thing - one very important research paper - that I still needed to complete and submit to my University in order to be technically done with my undergraduate years.

Today I finally finished the last of my edits and submitted the paper, immediately falling back on my bed from mental exhaustion.

I gulped down the awful knowledge that there really is no such thing as a completed paper. Only drafts upon drafts upon [hopefully] improved drafts.

Mimi, allow yourself to be done. Let it go. Close your eyes. Sleep. 

Hours later, Seoyeon knocked on my door, and eventually lured me out of my bedroom by inviting me to a dinner of grilled chicken. I stayed up late, enjoying the chatter of my family and being warmed by their close company.

Establishing Classroom Rules and Getting a Virtual Tour of Dynamic Busan

Every Friday, I teach two English classes, and serve as a co-teacher at an English club class. 

This week, I am covering classroom rules, of which I have four: 1) Speak in English (loudly and confidently!) 2) Show Respect (no cat-fights) 3) Listen While Others Speak (part of showing respect) 4) Stay Awake (don't sleep!) 

ONE METHOD VS. MULTIPLE METHODS OF TEACHING

The redundancy of the parenthetical statements is a natural byproduct of my effort to word and explain things in as many different ways as possible. This effort goes against the advice of other ETAs who say stick to one way of wording greetings and instructions in class. Don't confuse students. Establish a routine.

So far, things are going well. Students seem to understand what I am saying in front of the class. If I perceive that this approach is not working, then I will pause and re-consider taking the advice. I definitely see the merit in the advice, but I am going against it because, once again, I am extrapolating from personal experience - one that has taught me that I learn best when ideas are explained to me using different wordings/phrasings/imagery, and shown me using different teaching techniques. 

EXTRAPOLATIONS, ASSUMPTIONS, & EXPECTATIONS

My assumption is clearly that my students operate the same way. My hope is that they will latch on to at least one explanation if they fail to access another. 

Though I have never been a thespian, I take pains to act out each classroom rule I am asking my students to abide by. When this doesn't work, I enlist the translation services of my co-teachers, who are often just sitting/standing ready to provide me with assistance in the back of the room. 

The following is a photo story of the rest of my day. 

TESTING MY STUDENTS' MEMORY

Students randomly chosen to write out the four Classroom Rules. Each one represents a row in the class, from which they can receive assistance.

INTRODUCING A UNIT ON U.S. GEOGRAPHY THROUGH SONG

Today, I began teaching my students the names of the 50 U.S. states, introducing them to the "50 Nifty United States" song, and assigning each one a state (for individual rewards), as well as a region (for group work/competition/rewards).

FUELED BY STUDENTS' EXCITEMENT
I am so excited to start this! My vision is for this to be a semester-long unit, tacked on at the end of each class to help diversify my lessons' content, provide them with fun U.S. trivia, and have an excuse to end class with my students singing on their way out the door and down the hall. They were very excited to adopt a U.S. state, and were quick to ask each other and my co-teacher how to pronounce their state names.

COVERING 5 OUT OF THE 50 STATES
Today, we covered the first five of the 50 states. Like in the classroom rules activity, I picked students to go up to the board and write out the first five states in alphabetical order: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California!

Their teams/U.S. regions could help them out only by singing the song. Of course they didn't follow this direction. Apparently, some had smartly written down the five states and were dispensing cheat sheets to their student rep. Other reps were quite open about peeking at their competitors' answers on the board.

STUDENTS CHEATING IN FRONT OF ME
Me: No cheating! No, that's cheating. Yes, it is! Uh-uh. Okay, give it to me. Just try your best! You can do it! 

SNACKING BETWEEN TEACHING

Today, Sookhee gave me these Binch chocolate crackers - my favorite!

I'm pretty sure I've become a part of my co-teacher's dieting plan. She will be eating some delicious snack one moment, and then the next she will be sliding half the portion over to me. So sweet! Some days, she even gives me an accompanying drink (coffee, juice, shake, tea, etc.). 

I'm spoiled at home, and I'm spoiled at work. 

CO-TEACHING AN ENGLISH CLUB CLASS

The project she assigned our class today asked students to give me suggestions on where to go to experience the beauty of Busan. It is a mix of first- and second-graders, who are interested in combining English and art in class projects. I was impressed by the quality of their work, given they only have two hours dedicated to this class every other week. 

I don't have my own club class at my high school. I was looking forward to designing and facilitating my own, and was a bit bummed when I heard I would only be co-teaching with another teacher. However, after today's class, I allowed myself to just enjoy the arrangement. I'm actually liking not being the one in charge - for once.

Plus, it doesn't hurt that my co-teacher is an extremely sweet lady!

STUDENT JOURNALISTS MEASURING THE LENGTH OF MY HAIR 

 This is a student with said ruler.

A group of students interrupted me during club class to interview me for the Blue Wave, or the school's English newspaper. The interviewers asked about my weight (which I couldn't give in kilograms), my height (nor this in centimeters), my shoe size (Uhhh?), and my hair length (...not even gonna ask).

The students gasped at the sight of the length of my hair, and quickly called on others to produce a ruler.

After this group of student journalists left, another group came in asking me to dress up the next day for a photo shoot. Apparently, they will also be producing something on teachers' fashion styles.

Well, teacher dress up it is! This should be very interesting. Let's see how the Blue Wave represents me in the coming days.

College Prep: The Only Class I Teach With Third Graders in High School

How adorable are my students?! Very - the answer is very.

THE PROPOSITION
Yesterday, another teacher approached me to ask if I would be willing to teach a type of college entrance exam prep class. In the coming month, high school seniors will be applying to colleges all over Korea, and there were about a dozen students at our school who would be applying to Busan National University, where the application process involves some level of English mastery. They were very interested in working with an English teacher who could provide them extra support in the areas of writing (for their personal statements) and speaking (for their university interviews). Korean students - whether first, second, or third graders - struggle in these two areas the most, and I can personally relate.

Being the only "native English speaker" in the school, the teacher thought I was the most qualified candidate for the job.

THE RESERVATIONS
I agreed, but not without many unvoiced, internal reservations. I was fully aware of how unqualified I was to shepherd a dozen Korean high school seniors to their dream universities. However, I also happened to be quite familiar with this sense of being eternally unqualified and inadequate (even in areas that those around me would say I am most definitely capable of executing), so I stamped out the reservations and, in resolving to accept her proposition, kicked feelings of inadequacy in the face.

Actually, to be honest, I don't think I had a choice in the matter, but the teacher was awfully nice about it (making me feel like I had a choice and all :D))

THE HOOK
After my first class with these girls, I am absolutely at peace with my decision! They are sponges, and are extremely eager to learn, not to mention appreciative of my teaching techniques.

We had a meeting before this first class, and I was able to gauge then that, while very eager to learn, their confidence in their ability to communicate in English is kind of...non-existent.

THE LESSON 
This is why I decided our first class would revolve around two things: 1) Speaking Loudly, and 2) Speaking Confidently.

That's it.

THE BACK STORY OF THE NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKER, WHO WAS ONCE NOT ONE
Although I am now considered a native English-speaker, I was not always one.

At the age of 11, right after immigrating to the U.S., I sat in a U.S. classroom resolutely quiet, and seriously shy - so much so that some of my schoolmates thought I was mute for the better part of the year. I could smile at my teachers and muster up a "yes" and "no" when I understood what they asked of me, but basically nothing else.

Because I didn't dare speak (and dreaded making mistakes, and being corrected, and possibly being ridiculed - you know, minor things to a young adolescent), I was unused to hearing my own voice [in English].

THEN: SPEAKING VISAYA FLUENTLY, AND ENGLISH STUMBLINGLY 
I know I was quick, loud, and commanding when using my native tongue, so there was nothing physically preventing me from speaking in English, except a serious lack of confidence. When I did finally muster up the courage to speak up it was to mask how badly my voice was cracking and how visibly my hands were shaking. I was surprised, then enlivened and encouraged by my new-found volume, so I spoke louder, and felt more and more confident. Over the years, of course.

NOW: RELATING TO MY STUDENTS' WOES LEARNING THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
So, yes, I remember what it's like to be a student, and especially a student of the English language. I believe this same confidence issue has most of my Korean students in a choke-hold, and, at a critical moment like this (when their futures are about to be decided by one English-dominated test), it is critical that I do everything I know to do to help free them from that crippling hold.

I hear them scream over EXO music videos, and exclaim over photos of Super Junior, and yell at the top of their lungs at each other while running down the hall. Some of them wail and screech for no apparent reason in class. I know they have the voice box to produce sound, words, language!

If my students could only exercise the same boldness when it comes to my class.
If they could strategically suspend their own reservations and come to terms with the fact that their tongues are, in fact, traversing through an unfamiliar linguistic terrain, and know that it's perfectly okay to be lost.

WORKING TO BOOST MY STUDENTS' CONFIDENCE LEVEL IN ENGLISH CLASS
Speak Loudly. Speak Confidently. Really, it's a beautiful cycle. And I experienced its effectivenes not for the first time today, when I gave them an impromptu speech assignment for one minute each.

Encountering Biblical Stories in the Korean High School English Textbook

FUTURE LESSON IDEAS, COME AT ME
I was flipping through the English textbook this morning - soaking up and sifting through the content for ideas on how to integrate the material with my style of teaching -  when I came across this reading section. Go on, read it.

A snapshot of the page. I would include publication information here, but it's all in Korean. 

TRIPPING OVER A BIBLICAL STORY
From the very first sentence, I recognized it as the story of King Solomon in the Bible and of how he demonstrated his great God-given wisdom in the case of two women fighting over one baby (Click here for the fascinating story in I Kings 3:16-28).

ALL SORTS OF RESPONSES
At first, I was shocked to see a biblical story (notwithstanding its very watered-down quality) included in a school curriculum. I re-read it again, and scrutinized the page it was on to see if there was anything identifying it to the Bible or to Christianity. (I know some people who would be immediately outraged to discover the same, so my first reaction was defense: NOBODY IS DOING NOTHING TO NO ONE, and I can prove it (and, yes, I'm aware of the multiple negation here - *ahem* it's just for effect ;)).

ALL SORTS OF QUESTIONS

A closer but still low-quality shot of the image on the textbook

Is this particular unit on "World Religions," for instance? Hmm, no, not really. Well, then, is the theme about generally-awesome rulers throughout time? No? What about women's rights? Social justice?

There was nothing about the passage that identified it to its original source - (the picture depicting, well, "two women...[and] a wise king" does not count).

I experienced a moment of confused curiosity - wondering about all sorts of things, including but not limited to: Is the publisher Christian? Or was this passage snuck in or fought for by a contributor? Is the textbook industry just generally apathetic? How many Korean students recognize this reading exercise as originating from a holy text? What do Korean parents think about it? Has any parent or other "concerned individuals" sued any company or school district for this (like some adults very likely might in the U.S. public schools)? Can the Bible be approached as literature? What does paraphrasing a Biblical account like the one of Solomon's "court ruling" do to both the source and the receiver? Why is this so important to me?!...Also, can I teach on this?

WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE, THIS IS THE QUESTION THAT STANDS 
Or, perhaps a better question might be: How can I incorporate my spiritual ambassadorship with my cultural ambassadorship while teaching English in a public high school in Korea? The two don't have to be mutually exclusive.

The aforementioned discovery took me off guard, thus the shock and the confused curiosities, but then - with all of those initial feelings going still unresolved - this discovery slowly gave way to excitement. Ideas for future lessons and, perhaps even units, exploded all over the mental landscape of my brain.

CHALLENGING MYSELF AS A TEACHER
I glanced at the passage again. I could do that. I could (re)tell a story, and create a lesson based on it. And I could do it in a way that is fun, engaging, and educational!

THE BIBLE & ITS VERY REAL LITERARY IMPACT
As an English major, I have studied the Bible as Literature, and, now as an English teacher, I can see myself teaching English to non-native speakers using the Bible as Literature. After all, apart from those who believe it to be the "inspired Word of God," the Bible is, undeniably, a masterpiece of storytelling that has affected billions of life throughout history.

I have absolutely no idea how to go about this, or how this will pan out, but I am an educator - have long known I am - and will do my best not to shortchange my students' education in the name of political correctness.

DON'T MISREAD MY INTENTIONS
...nor my considerations. I am not confusing my role as a teacher with that of a pastor. I am not going to use my authority as a teacher to convert anyone at school, etc., etc.

THE BIBLE & ITS VERY REAL HISTORICAL IMPACT
I am merely considering the various roles I now find myself juggling, and thinking through my next steps. In light of this, I must necessarily acknowledge that no other book has influenced Western literature and history like the Bible has - and I want to consider this little detail as I think about how to teach my students most honestly and most fruitfully about the West in general and the U.S. in particular.

MY QUESTIONS FOR YOU
I just shared my own reactions to encountering a biblical story in a public school textbook. What are your thoughts, (if any)? If you had come across it, would you have recognized the story in the reading exercise as one originating from a religious text? Should it or should it not matter?

What do you think of my main question, as far as how to marry my dual ambassadorship as a Christian and as a U.S. citizen? How could I fine-tune this question to better serve my students and my assignment here in Korea while also representing my faith with confidence? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.