Brooke Teacha…Where you been???

I haven’t written a post in near a year.  I kept meaning to, but then didn’t.  I’m sorry. Please forgive me.

I am no longer Brooke Teacher, and while I wouldn’t trade my days as a teacher to some of the sweetest, cutest, smartest kids in the Eastern Hemisphere. I am glad that chapter of my life is closed.  My time in Korea taught me things I never knew I needed being taught.

That you can work a full week while having a 101 temp and border line walking pneumonia and manage to get things done.  Apply and get accepted into grad school within 10 days. Start to finish.  Have your intelligence and patience tested daily for weeks on end by your superior, yet remain polite and courteous…..Melt downs in the stairwells doesn’t count.  Have your life turned upside down and plans changed because oceans aren’t going to keep you apart.

This new chapter of my life involves a new country, a new school, and more adjusting.

I’ve moved to London, y’all.

Started graduate school (yeah, I know) and getting used to misty rain and lots o’ tea. I’m liking it here. I think. The British. I’m quite fond of one said Briton.  The rest? Only time will tell.  Between young mothers pushing their strollers (prams) everywhere. I think they are the ajumma of the English. (Ajumma: Old Korean woman that will mow you over.), and everyone else walking around with an angry look on their face. I smile at them, they look at me funny, and then smile back.

At one point, I heard some people talking and thought ” wow, you sound pretentious” and then remembered where I was.  The first week I was here I thought My Briton was going to kill me if I said ” You sound like you’re from London” one more time.  But that was nothing compared to the fiasco that occurred when we visited Parliament, and I had forgot that my innocent pocket knife was still in my backpack……Yeah, there’s no telling what kinds of “lists” I’m on now.

I am loving my experiences thus far.  I don’t think I’d ever fit in anywhere where there’s not cattle grazing within a 10 mile radius, with proper cowboys tending them. But I do know that if I don’t continue to chase whatever it is in me that won’t let me stay home I’ll never be happy.

Stay tuned……My Briton and I are going to Ireland this weekend, let’s see if I get something else confiscated.

From London, With love! XX

You like Banana Milk too?

Three times a week I teach the brightest of the bright in my school. 5 students and 3 of them have an almost perfect accent when speaking English. Because of this I like to make our class time as un-class time as possible.  We get our assignments done, but I let them tell me about whatever story they can come up with, I let them read, or read to them and have them tell me about the story afterwards.

But on Friday I do something almost unheard of with the Korean teachers.  I bring the kids treats.  It is usually something that goes along with the article we read every Friday.  Last week I brought them ice cream.  The first time I brought them anything was about 2 months ago.  A street vendor was selling cookies, so I bought enough for each kid. They didn’t want to take a cookie at first.  I was shocked.  “For us??” “You brought us a present?!?!” They all but shrieked.

This week we had beat our Ice Cream newspaper article to death so I bought 5 banana milks from the GS25 (7/11 like store) and a box of cookie things.  They look like moon pies.  Which I think is hilarious.  Of course I bought them.

Korean Moon Pies.

Banana milk is just what it sounds like; and actually delicious.  I was very skeptical, I don’t like banana flavored things.  You take the little straw and stab the foil top. No spills, it’s the Korean way.

Banana Milk

These boys act more like cousins then friends.  They call each other out when need be and help each other too.  I love them.

The 3 Amigos drinking up that banana milk.

The one on the left was shocked that I too liked banana milk and drank some with them.  He also likes to give me Korean lessons.

From Korea, with love.

Some of my favorite things…

Not a lot has been going on that deserves a posting.

Just lots of working and sleeping; with some running and facebook creepin’ thrown in the mix.

I wanted to share some of my favorite things here lately.

This grape popsicle is killer!!

This is Vicky, and she thinks my hair smells awesome.  Now my favorite. yea it’s that easy.

Kimbop….It’s fast, cheap and easy.

Hope everyone has a great rest of the week!!!

From Korea, with love. 😉

Drive-by? Get slapped!

The last 24 hours in the land of kimchi has been an entertaining one.

After work yesterday, I was dog tired and just wasn’t feeling like cooking myself anything.  I went to get some of my new favorite food in the world, Bulgogi soup!  It is delicious, filling, cheap and nutritious.  4 things that are must these days.  I’m getting better at ordering food in Korean.  My skill is limited, but when they have pictures I consider it a winning situation.

I point to the picture of a black bowl full of broth and yummy goodness, and look at the waitress with a smile.  She smiles back at me and places my order, a short 6 or 7 minutes later a sizzling bowl is placed in front of me, along with a plate of kimchi and other sides(they are all free, and I can have as much as I want), and a stainless steel bowl full of rice.

I’m calmly eating and watching the people outside busily walking on the sidewalk, 7pm is a busy busy time in north Seoul.  There are a few police men (traffic cops) out there doing their best to control the cars from plowing over an ajumma, or a Korean on their cell phone.  (I’ve seen more than once an old man or a teenaged kid almost get smoked by a bus because they choose to ignore crosswalk signs.) Whatever, you want to get hit, be my guest.

….I digress……

As the group of traffic cops have a little traffic cop convention, mind you across the street from a Dunkin Donuts, hilarious I know! A McDonald’s delivery man on his moped/bike thing, is zooming down the street at a very high rate of speed.  (Yes, McDonald’s delivers here!)…Wait for it……

…..POW!!! The McDonald’s delivery man smokes the cop!! The cop cuts a flip in the air and lands sitting down!! I choke on my soup holding back a laugh.  The ladies in the kimbob restaurant are freaking out, screaming and crying.  I have no idea what they are saying, but from the sound of it, a baby was just decapitated.

The Micky D’s guy never stopped, hell I wouldn’t either!  The cops don’t carry guns (I’ve checked) but still.  The other 15 bazillion policemen helped the guy up and I looked down at my soup.

I’m shaking from wanting to laugh!!  I just saw some guy on a moped, a moped smoke a Korean cop, said cop flies through the air with the greatest of ease and moped man is never heard of again.  I can’t make this stuff up!

Truly awesome Korea!!

Wait, it gets better!

Today in my last class of day, which also happens to be one of my favorite class, I witnessed another glorious moment!

The kids are maybe 11 or 12.  Pretty cute, and always funny.  I teach them words they’d never learn in a proper English class.  Show them cool videos.  They love me.  I love them.  We get along famously.

It happened during the game I let them play when I have nothing else to teach them.  They stand in a circle and I write 4 words on the board, usually harder words.  But today I used soccer, Optimus Prime and cheeseburger.  It’s Friday, let ’em have some fun! One time they asked if I would write AK-47, and when I did they freaked out.

Anyway, in this class I have 6 girls and 2 boys.  One of the boys I call Mr. Tickle, because he likes to wear a t-shirt with the words Mr. Tickle written on it. And the name fits the kid perfectly!  He is sensitive, a little shy, smart and scrawny.

Mr. Tickle had just lost the game to the other boy, we’ll call him Sam (a bigger boy, who is always jolly).  Mr. Tickle rares back and slaps the shit outta Sam across the face. I see it happen, feel a bubble of laughter and spin around.  I hear “Broooooooooke Teachuh!!!!! Mr. Tickle slap Sam!!! He needs to chill, totally not cool!!! (I have taught them well!)  I squeak out….”I…I saw…..Mr. Tickle we don’t slap our friends! ”  “Sam are you ok”  Sam looks at me with a huge grin…..”hahaha Mr. Tickle slap me hahaha”

Sam is just fine, and Mr. Tickle is now scared he is about to be in deep shit.  I didn’t make a big deal out of it.  Just told them that it’s not cool to slap or hit people.  They all agree and go back to playing the game.

My job might make me tired, and I may need buckets of coffee to get through the day, but it’s moments like these that I’m loving life right now!

Introducing…..Honey Teacher

It’s been a month since my first day of official teaching and I have gone through a list of names…….

Let’s see…..first there was Robert teacher?(I replaced a guy named Robert), then there was uh teacher, I think they were trying to remember but just couldn’t, and then my personal favorite Honey Teacher.  I’m still not sure if it was my habit of calling all the little “darlings” honey, or if it’s the color of my hair. There is quite the shortage of light brown/blonde/auburn hair in Korea.

But for about 2 weeks the baby(age 5) classes called me Honey Teacher and then they learned my name which sometimes morphs into broccoli teacher…whatever kids, just as long as I’m not baby teacher anymore!   haha

Look at those sweet faces….