Blueberry Crisp!

Why did my Tuesday rock?  Because I spent it helping some hungry fourth graders learn to make Blueberry Crisp!  We took a vote between making apple crisp or blueberry crisp, and blueberry won.  They were so excited to cook - especially given that only one out of the four of them has an oven at home.  The dad informed me that they use it a grand total of once a year!  Right...I'm gonna up that number.  Next week - chocolate chip cookies!  (I'm taking full advantage of their enthusiasm and my new-found access to an oven.)

They did a great job!  And it was fun because this was their first exposure to oatmeal.  I tried to explain how I eat it for breakfast, but I'm not sure they understood.  The mom was shocked at me using 1/3 cup of butter in the mixture.

I'm happy to say that it was a huge success!  About 15 people enjoyed some blueberry crisp and ice-cream by the time the night was through.  And most got seconds ;)

 

Skype

Skype is the reason I have been able
to stay in Korea for as long as I have.

Every Sunday night is 

Skype-date with Mums night.  

And every two weeks or so, it's time to 

play catch up with Nat and her babies.

This past weekend, Dad and I were even able to play guitar together!  I had been messing around on my guitar and was reminded of a song that he plays...he was just a text message (yay Kakao Talk!) and a Skype date away from teaching me.  :)  Technology sure can be great!

Cooking Class

Today was my lucky day!  One of the English classrooms was used for a Cub Scouts meeting.  And what did they do today?  The had a cooking class!  The students made a traditional Korean snack, translated in English to, "rice cake."  It's not what you think of when you hear "rice cake" back in the States.  At least, not for me.  Back home, rice cakes were cripsy, airy snacks that were usually flat, round, and sweetened.  I think Quaker was the brand I used to eat.  We'd either get apple cinnamon, or chocolate chip.  Mmmm!  Rice cakes in Korea are totally different, though.  They are small, round, doughy, sometimes different colors, and occasionally covered with powder. 

No matter what color you choose, however, they all taste the same.  Exactly the same.  And quite honestly, they're kind of tasteless.  On that note, maybe it wasn't my lucky day.  This table of girls was really excited to share their treats with me.  When one offered me a rice cake, they all followed suit and watched for my delighted reaction to each individual taste-test.  I gave a good reaction, and ended up eating way more rice cakes than I will ever feel the need to again.

Chocolate

Ok, I'm officially done being sad about ridiculous things.  Why?  Because my new school is amazing.  (Also, because it's ridiculous to be sad about silly things.)  But nonetheless, let's move on to my wonderful school. 

First of all, beach-themed chocolates were passed around the office for our culinary enjoyment.  What can beat that?! 

Also, the Japan cup can be salvaged.  I have a ridiculously creative and handy Canadian coworker who is going to lend me some superglue and save the day! 

And... my coteacher hopped right on the microwave dilemma.  At 10:30 this morning, I was walking back to my apartment to meet the microwave repair man - yay for warranties!  (And yay for sneaking out for a minute to get a change of scenery.)  When the repairman saw my microwave, he looked baffled.  Not because it's so absurd, but because it's an LG appliance, and he was a Samsung repairman.  Oops.  Guess we called the wrong company.  But that actually worked in my favor - because now I get to meet another repairman at my house at 4 this afternoon - and get out of work almost an hour early because of it.  Happy early weekend to me!

Broken Things

It's been a bit of a tumultuous week.  When I came home form work today, I found it quite fitting to discover the following:

This is...well, was... my favorite cup.  The one that I used every morning for tea or coffee.  Jaime and I got a set of two to split when we visited Osaka, Japan for Christmas.  I didn't have time to finish my tea this morning, so I put my cup in my kimchi fridge to keep it fresh while I was at work.  But lo and behold, the tea froze, expanded, and cracked my cup.  I guess it wasn't as necessary as I thought to have my school buy a mini-fridge with a freezer.  My little kimchi drawer apparently does get cold enough to do the trick.  :(

And this... this little gem of a microwave.  This was more comic relief than anything.  But I suppose it will need to be replaced.  For some mysterious reason, whenever I plug it in, it instantly turns on and starts revolving.  It's done that ever since I first tried it out.  The teachers at my school were a bit confused, given that they've used it for a few years and never had an issue.  But I just figured it got jostled around a little too much when it was being transported to my apartment.  As of this evening, however, it took its' strangeness up a notch.  When I tried to reheat my ramen (I know, not a nutritious or delicious sounding dinner, but as I said, it's been a tumultuous week, and I haven't even thought about going to a grocery store), things didn't quite work.  As soon as I plugged it in, it did it's usual revolving routine.  I turned the power off, hit the 1 minute button, and watched my ramen spin around.  After probably three minutes, it was still spinning.  The  display screen was blank, so I'm actually just guessing it had been three minutes.  Either way, when I took out my ramen, the bowl was still cold.  No matter what button I pushed, the noodles never warmed up.  Thus, I ran down to the convenient store, picked up a small carton of milk, and poured myself a bowl of cereal.  

I was originally supposed to eat dinner and spend this evening with my host family, but I had to cancel.  My landlord was scheduled to come by around 6pm to fix my shower and bathroom sink, so I had to stick around my apartment.  Given that it's now after 7, I'm assuming that he forgot.  

Jenny Goes to Kindergarten

Today was officially my first day of kindergarten... ever.

When I was younger, I skipped right from day care to first grade.  Kind of.  When we lived in Florida, I attended a half-day day care.  But at the age of four, when my family moved to Ireland, I jumped right into their equivalent of first grade.  They start children in the education process pretty young, so I attended some version of first and second grade in Ireland before returning to the States, where I was enrolled in first and second grade again (to stay with my age group). 

My original plan in coming to Korea was to work in a city called Paju as an English-immersion kindergarten teacher at a private school.  That job didn't work out, though, so I ended up teaching first through sixth graders at a public school here in Ansan.

At my current school, however, I am scheduled to teach one kindergarten class every Wednesday.  Quite the change from the original plan - 40 hours a week as the only teacher, down to 40 minutes a week with three Korean women by my side.  And man, am I glad!

I can't imagine being a full-time kindergarten teacher, even if I do speak the same language as the students!  The kids are 5-6 years old (in Korea, they say they are seven... it's complicated), and they are full of energy, emotions, wiggles, and saliva.  Yeah.  When we had circle time this afternoon, one particular little boy scooted right up next to me... adorable and enthusiastic, but I was sprayed with spit each time he spoke.

To make things just a bit more complicated, there is no working computer in the classroom, nor is there a white board.  Yikes.  So, I have to come up with songs to sing A Capella, simple games to play that I have all the materials for, and loads of patience.  The difficult thing about that is that this school apparently has no supplies for making materials.  I think a few years back there was a budget cut...which they are no longer under, but as a result, they've gotten into the habit of teaching frugally.  Thus, they don't have any supplies.  I suppose it's good for the environment to not be burning through lots of paper and various materials, but it sure would be helpful!

They do, however, have a piano in the classroom.  Kind of wishing I had stuck out lessons for more than a year when I was a kid.  Huh...

Seokho Elementary School

 

           My New Classroom!


Here is what my new classroom looks like - much more colorful and warm than at my previous school. The big screen in the middle of the white boards is actually a touch screen, which I am definitely still getting used to. I've lost track of how many times I've accidentally advanced a slide show because I let my fingers get too near the screen.  

Down below is a picture of my desk and the teachers' "office" (aka hallway).  It's a pretty tight squeeze, especially when students come to visit, but I like how social it is.  It's easy enough to get into the zone and not be bothered by those around you, but it's also super nice to have other people so close by.  At my previous school it was just my coteacher and I tucked away in an overly spacious and sterile office all day long.  It was always dead silent, tense, and awkward.  Needless to say, this set up is a nice change of pace.

Also included in our little hallway office is a mini fridge, a sink (laden with tooth brushes and toothpaste), a malnourished plant, and a drawer full of delicious instant coffee and tea!

I've heard rumors that my computer is slow, but it hasn't inconvenienced me yet... knock on wood!  

A teacher warned me today that it gets really cold in this area during the winter and showed me her heated seat cushion.  I'm not looking forward to winter too much, but then again...I never am.  I heard a rumor that it was possible to get feet warmers that plug into your USB port on the computer.  I might be willing to give that a try in a month or two!