A step into the past

This evening my co teacher treated me to a night at the Gyeongju art centre. We watched a traditional korean performance about a queen.who  was celebrating her 60th birthday  during the Joseon Dynasty . Im no  historian so I cannot give you an exact dates of the JOseon dynasty  but basically an era that was a good couple of hundred years ago and the era where women were merely seen bit never heard. 
As the entire performance was in Korean   I had no clue about what was going on other than that the queen was celebrating her birthday, but that  did not matter . The heavenly melodic sounds of the traditional Korean instruments , the  beautiful Korean decor on stage and the  beautifully tailored traditional men's clothing  paired with the vivid colors of the women hanbocks  made me.feel like I had been transported back in time.
One of my favourite aspects about  Korea is the wonderful deep rooted traditions. I find them so fascinating  and beautiful. From tea ceremonies , to bowing , traditional Korean dances and much more.

 Korean culture is something that I admire greatly and believe that we can all learn something from this wonderful country.

A Warner family Christmas tradition

Tonight marks not only the first of December but also  the first day  advent. A very special and sacred time for  Christians and for my family and I. It is a time where we start preparing for Christmas and bond as a family over Christmas festivities.  Tonight  at number  8 Badegmore Avenue  Constantia  '  All I want for Christmas  and  'TIs the season to be jolly'   will be played on  full volume from our lounge . Dad will be untaggling the CHristmas lights and ensuring they are all working .   Mom as always will be   deciding on the peferct  colour theme for the Christmas tree  . My sisters will no doubt be  dancing around in santa hats and sorting out decorations and deciding on which ones  make the cut  on the Warner family tree.  My dog, Abby,  will be sporting the most stylish red and green check ribbon in her hair picked out by my fashion guru sister  , whilst my blue eyed burmese cat  will be lazing about in the lounge purring away and  enjoying the Warner Christmas tree spectacle.  

Once mom has decided on the appropriate colour theme each of us will  choose a decoration to place on the tree until the entire tree is covered  in only the best Christmas decorations. Lastly , our beautiful gold  angel will be placed on top of the tree , a  job that I have come to  take responsibility for  over the years. Tonight this beautiful Warner family tradition will take place  and for the first time in 25 years I will not be there to celebrate  it. 

I have been dreading December as I Know that this month is  going to be the most emotionally challenging  month that I have had to  face  in  KOrea thus far. Tonight whilst my family put up the tree I will be thinking of them dancing around in their  Christmas hats and having a good time.

Its funny ,  how so often it is  the moments that we took for granted in the past  that are the moments and memories that we now long for the most . 

Tomorrow ,  I shall  attempt to put up my own Christmas tree in my tiny shoe box size of an apartment and as I Place the angel on top of the tree I will think of my family and all the Christmas memories that we have shared over the years.

Welcome winter - First snowfall in Gyeongju

8pm last night  and I had a piping hot shower and was about to get  into my bed attire , my over sized black and red ladybird onesie.  I was on the verge of closing the window as the wind  had suddenly picked up quite dramatically , but then a rather cold piece of fluff landed on my hand , "snow? , it  can't possibly be  , it is far too early for Gyeongju to get snow"  I  stuck my head out of the window , looked up  and saw thousands of little  shimmering white specks floating down from the dark nights sky.

Now  for most people who live in the Northern hemisphere snow has become a part of life

and by the sounds of things it brings more unhappiness and irritation than anything else. However, being a South African who rarely gets to experience such  magical moments ,  as  snow fall in Cape Town is very rare , I could hardly control my excitement.
Not wanting to waste one more second of being inside I grabbed my boots and my giant jacket "gooi  d" it over my ladybird onesie and ran outside.

-3 degrees , icy wind  and wet hair  , I will probably be bed ridden with flu  this weekend  as a result of my foolish decision  but hey it is a consequence I am willing to accept.  I stood in the middle of the road , tongue dangling in the cold night  air  in the hope that I would catch a  crystal flake. I could feel the cold pierce through my entire body but I was not going to let that ruin my first snow fall experience in Gyeongju. I gazed up and let the icy  snow flakes fall onto my face. A few neighbours came outside, I dont think they were expecting to find a giant ladybird in the middle of the road running around catching snowflakes. Heaven only 
knows what they must have thought . " Crazy weird waygook" is probably accurate. Even though they were not  enjoying  the snowy splendor as much as I was  , I saw a few of them crack a smile , perhaps it was because of the snowfall or perhaps it was because I looked so ridiculous . but nevertheless they  smiled.

 I admit that the snow fall that I experienced last night was microscopic compared to what my friends are experiencing  in other parts of Korea , but that doesn't change how I felt last night  .As I have said many times before , it is finding  pleasure , beauty  and happiness in the  simple  moments like standing outside with the tiny snowflakes falling all around us that make this life a beautiful and meaningful one.

So here is to winter in Korea  and  the many snow ball fights , snowmen and Christmas angels  that will be made <3
I am so ready for a white winter land Christmas.

School festival fun

Golden Bell , face painting , amazing korean food  , fan dance performances , musical performances and convent girls breaking it down to k pop and rocking out on their guitars.These are just a few of the many fun  aspects that made our school festival a day full of fun. Being the child like person that I Am I took advantage of all the fun activities that were on offer .From having pink penguins painted on my face to decorating custard biscuits  with icing  and making glow in the dark bouncy balls in the science lab   I Was in my element! But , two of the events that really deserve special mention  are the Mamma Mia play and the Crayon Pop teachers performance . 

Mamma Mia
After much anticipation we finally did our play. The girls were amazing . They all looked like Broadway stars. Their enthusiasm and energy radiated  from the stage . I was so incredibly proud of them. The shouts of applause from the audience was a clear sign of just how much they loved  the show. The late nights at school really did pay off.

Teachers performance -crayon pop
5pm , the final event of the festival and possibly the most anticpated performance by the students as it involved their teachers.  Our little dancing group consisted of , two of my co teachers ,  a maths teacher , myself  annnnnnd  the star of the show ....our principle!  Our attire was beyond sexy.  Colourful hoodies , and ugly ass shorts that our  students kindly allowed us to borrow.  We were spared from having to wear those riduculous  bicycle helmets that the k pop group are forced to wear. We looked simply irresistible .....NAAAt.  Between  having  very little time to perfect the dance   and being a very uncordinated person  I had little faith in the performance and myself.  THe lights went on , the music started and the students went crazy.Cameras flashing everywhere . Jumping up and down on stage  ,  struggling to keep in time with the others and  the principle trying to mimic  my dance moves , It really was a kodak camera moment . For all we know we could be on youtube already.  Despite the fact that I Hate the song and lack in the sexy dance moves it really was a fun and unforgettable  experience . 

School festival preparation

Giant colourful posters scattered around the school advertising foods of all kinds, pink and purple balloon arches in the hallways ,and beautiful giant posters depicting an autumn tree displayed on every wall. Yip its that time of the year ... Time for the Geunhwa school festival. Tomorrow afternoon my school shall hold the opening ceremony for our two day school festival and with all the preparation and excitement that’s floating in the air I cannot wait to see the final results. As I find school life in Korea totally intriguing and vastly different to school life in South Africa I have decided to do a quick comparison between school fairs in South Africa and School festivals in South Korea. I can only speak from experience at my school in South Africa and my school in Korea so please forgive me if the information does not hold true for other schools.

My SA School fair vs South Korean school festival

My school in South Africa held a school fair every year and it was without a doubt the highlight of my year. From amazing food stalls that were run by the parents , to games stalls and fun fair rides it really was one of those memorable events . However there are many schools in South Africa that do not have such an event but, in the land of the morning calm where everyone follows the trends ( God forbid you don’t )every year , every school in South Korea will hold a school festival.

Although the my school festival in South Korea seems to be similar to that of my school fair in South Africa there are a few major differences and school budget seems to be at the top of that list. There seems to be no shortage of money when it comes to holding such an event. Giant coulourful posters and hundreds of beautiful colour pamphlets have been printed displayed and distributed all over the school ( many of these pamphlets have already ended up in the trash). Now in South Africa I vividly remember having to colour in a school poster and sticking it on our parents car. No fancy colourful posters or pamphlets were distributed. School festivals in Korea also seem to take place during the week and not over a weekend like in South Africa.

Another major difference is who gets involved in the events. Back home the school fair was run by the parents. Parents would run the food stalls and organize the majority of the events. Here , it's the students and teachers who are responsible for running the event. No sign of any parents getting involved. Many students will be running food stores selling all sorts of yummy goodies from traditional Korean food to slices of pizza ,whilst others will take part in a class dance ,musical performances and the Mamma Mia play. They have spent endless hours preparing for this event. From filling trolleys with food at Homeplus to practicing , dance routines and learning an entire english musical , they have all been working incredibly hard.

Unlike my school in South Africa where school clubs didn’t really get involved in the school fair the school clubs here have all prepared something for the festival . I have only recently come to learn just how many school clubs we actually have. ( blog post to follow ) .


Activities and events to enjoy at the festival

The festival will have a variety of activities and exhibits and im starting to stress if I will have time to see everything.
According to my hand written festival schedule that one of my students kindly wrote out for me these are the must see and do events :

Science exhibition
Dokdo Exhibition ( Yes ,Dokdo that dear island that South Korea will never give up)
Drinking milk competition ( calcium overload)
Catholic group band performance ( Catholics can be rock stars too)
Traditional Korean fan performance ( yes we have a club for this )
Watch the Great Gatsby in the Geunhwa "cinema "

The students are not the only ones who will be involved with events and activities . I have been working on a few projects myself for the festival

Mamma Mia musical
Not only will I be ensuring that the girls remember all their lines which has taken 3 months to master , ( yes in English ) but I have now also been cast in the play. I shall be dancing around on stage to none other than the well known " dancing queen". How apt. ( blog post to follow) I cannot express how excited and proud I am of these girls.

>Crayon pop dance with the principal
For those of you have not had the pleasure of being exposed to this song , let me enlighten you . Crayon pop is one of the many "cutie" k pop girl groups in Korea who have somehow ( God only knows) become an overnight sensation thanks to their most ridiculous song " bar bar bar" . In a nutshell it involves girls wearing helmets and jumping up and down in tracksuits ( the mind boggles). A group of teachers have decided that this is the song we shall be dancing to for our 800 students ( KILL ME NOW) So on Friday I shall once again be on stage jumping up and down. The best part of this little act ? Our principal and vice principal shall be joining us on stage for what will no doubt be a very entertaining " #burrymyselfinahole" " #facepalm" moment . Do yourselves a favor and watch the video . It's a laugh http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMqL1iWfku4

Golden bell
Lastly I will be helping out with the Golden Bell competition. This competition is based on books and requires students to answer questions about the books. As there is an English component I shall be responsible for asking the English based questions. I’m interested to see how the students cope with this.

So the next two days look like they will be anything but dull and despite the fact that I am probably going to look like a giant tit on stage during Mamma Mia and Crayon pop im so glad that I have been able to get involved in such events .

Make it or break it - Sooneung , The CSAT

Classroom desks being emptied , staff rooms being cleared of computers and text books, boxes of stationery piling up in my classroom and school ending at 11 am. This is all in preprartion for tomorrow. The day that will probably be the most frightening day that any third grader will ever have to face the day that they have worked towards for the past 13 years and the day that will decide the rest of their lives . "Sooneung " also known as The CSAT.


The background
CSAT which stands for The College Scholastic Ability Test is a type of standardized test that every single Grade 3 student in South Korea is expected to write if they wish to be accepted into a University. CSAT is a government run test and is managed by the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation.

The subjects that are tested in the CSAT include : Korean, Mathematics, English language, Social Science/Science/Vocational Inquiry, and Foreign language. Students can choose from all or some of the subjects. This exam lasts 8 hours . After the test, the administrators gather the test, they are then marked using machines and the printing of the results usually takes around a month

Each year certain schools are used as CSAT exam venues and students from all over Gyeongju will be placed in various schools to write the exam. This happens in every city in Korea. My school happens to be one of them and as a result we will not have school tomorrow and today will be spent clearing classrooms and ensuring no academic material is in sight .By 2 pm all students and teachers will be asked to leave and the school will be locked until tomorrow morning. This is a very nice change from the usual 11 pm closing time

Some of our teachers will be required to monitor the exams at school tomorrow and will spend the entire day patrolling the hallways and the classrooms to ensure that nothing goes wrong. ( yes they are getting paid large amounts of money to do this).


Why so serious
The test is taken so seriously that The whole of South Korea comes to a halt. Day-to-day operations are grounded and delayed will be delayed.[4] . Tomorrow the stock markets will open late and buses and subways will be increased to avoid traffic jams that may prevent students from getting to the testing sites. Some students will even have police officers escorting them to the venues... it boggles the mind . Younger students and the members of the students' families will gather outside the testing sites to cheer on the students whilst others will spend their entire day in prayer praying for the students. Reporters will gather outside the exam venues to broadcast the event on national TV. All. for. one. exam.


CSAT VS Matric exams in South Africa

In South Africa we regard our matric exam as the most important exam in a student’s high school career whilst the University entrance exam really doesn’t count for much . Although there is a final government examination that all grade 3 students are required to write in South Korea its regarded as almost irrelevant in comparison to the CSAT.
In South Africa each University has its own individual entrance exam , however South Korea did away with that system years ago as it was believed to be a failing system. I find the idea of using the high schools as exam venues as opposed to the universities pretty interesting. The amount of extra work and preparation that it requires from the school is monumental. At this very moment all the students are pouring into my classroom with their school life packed into boxes. My classroom is being used as storage for the next two days.

Unlike in South Africa where the majority of the population do not have the luxury to attend university , 80% of Korean high school students will enter Universities. Yes, 80%!!!!! that is huge and as a result the chances of getting into a good University is made that much more difficult. Many students have worked their entire lives towards this one day and tomorrow it will all be over


Controlling a culture
One 8 hour exam , yet this one exam has successfully managed to take control of an entire culture and the school education in South Korea. Parents invest millions of won in their children’s education , especially in subjects such as English , all in the hope that when they finally get to their final year of school and are faced with the 8 hour hell like exam , all the money and lack of sleep would have been worth it .

For those that make it through tomorrow it will be a day of celebration and relief, but for those that are not blessed with that luxury , tomorrow will be a day filled with a sense of sadness , loss and failure , but an even more horrific reality is that for many of the students , it will be a day that they wish to end and never have to relive again.

I hope and pray that it is the former . Here is a link to a documentary that was made about the CSAT and its impact on Korean culture. I urge you all to please watch it. http://vimeo.com/24642646

Second semester madness

So it is 9 30 pm and my school day has only just ended. We are well into second semester now and I seem to be spending more time at school than anywhere else.

From speech contests , to  trying to produce  the  first english school musical,   to  editing articles for the english newspaper club and even being asked to edit a PHd thesis in biochemical engineering ( I kid you not ) its all been a little crazy and leaving school before 9 pm has become a luxury .

A lot of my friends have asked me why I have agreed to take on these extra projects , especially since I do not get paid extra . I suppose I've never been very good at saying no to helping people but more than that the whole reason why we are here is to help our schools embrace the english language. I know that many of my friends have it incredibly easy and their biggest life problem is trying to decide what series they should watch  during desk warming time. I long for a desk warming day where I literally put my head on the desk and desk warm . Ya I get jealous of my friends  at times  but Im also incredibly grateful and happy  that Im at a  school that allows me to get involved with the many different aspects of the school. 

I come home feeling pretty drained after a day at school but I Know that all the hard work   and late nights at school will eventually  pay off.  When I look back one day at my time in korea at the convent at least i ll be able to say that I Was more than just the english convo teacher. Getting involved in the different school clubs such as drama club and newspaper club   has given me one of the greatest gifts . It has allowed me to  form relationships with many of my students that I never thought were possible as many of them are so quiet and shy. So even though the black bags under my eyes are increasing daily and  I walk around like a zombie at school I just keep reminding myself that by the 25th of November all the madness will be over .  I ll then be able to shift my focus to planning  my fantabulous birthday holiday to Vietnam and Cambodia with me bestie and mentally prepare myself for  one crazy summer holiday with family and friends back in South Africa.