Work Experience Day

Friday was the work experience day for grade 3. I was lucky enough to be able to tag along with one of my co-teachers and her home class. We would be going to a training center for a couple of hours to learn how to cook. Not exactly what I would consider work experience, but who am I to complain. I get to cook some food and then eat it. I never got to do that when I did work experience in Australia. All I remember of my work experience was the mind-numbingly boring work. I talked to some of the students I went with and was surprised to hear the most many of them have ever cooked was instant noodles in a coup (just add hot water). When I was that age I was in scouts and knew how to cook just about anything over an open fire. I wasn't expecting them to have amazing survival skills in the wild, but many had never even fried an egg or fried up some onion in a pan before. 

I had two choices. I could either make bread, or seafood spaghetti with oysters and prawns. I didn't like the sound of seafood spaghetti, so I stuck with the bread. 

We started off by putting on some fashionable orange vests and watching the baker do a demo.

Then, very precisely breaking the big lump of dough into 50 gram lumps. 

We then had to wrap the dough around the sausage and use scissors to slice up the sausage and flatten it out on the baking tray. 

The love using scissors for everything in Korea. 

We then put some kind of mayonnaise and onion on top of our delicacies. 

And some tomato sauce. I suggested to the students they should write their name instead of doing the boring squiggle that was demonstrated. I was met with a "no, we were told to do it like this". To hell with the rules. I'm writing my name^^. I'm the teacher and I can do whatever I want. Mwahahahaha.

And into the oven they go. 

Mmmmm. Baking.

Waiting around for our bread to cook.

I went for a walk and found the other students that had decided to make spaghetti. 

And then, my bread was done. I shared a plate with a student. The two at the bottom are mine. 

I had two left left over, so the baker kindly put them in a plastic bag for me. Thanks~

I wish every day was different and interesting like this. Oh well. Back to teaching English on Monday :(.

Korean Middle School Sports Day

On Thursday last week was my schools sports day. It was pretty different from the sports days I had in Australia as I was growing up.

Sporting Houses. 
In Australia at my high school, we had 4 sporting houses (similar to the 4 houses of magic in Harry Potter). They were Pegasus (white), Orion (green), Antares (red) and Phoenix (blue). The whole school was split evenly across the 4 sporting houses. Students compete individually and gain places (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and earn points for their sporting house. In Korea it's completely different, each home group class is their own sporting house and all the sports/events are team based, meaning no individual is singled out as being better than the others.

Sporting Events
In Australia at my high school we played a lot of sport. My school would hold a total of 4 sporting carnivals each year. Two major carnivals (athletics and swimming) and two minor carnivals (cross country and triathlon). In addition to the 4 sports days, every Wednesday afternoon was dedicated to playing sport which could also earn points for our sporting house. Here in Korea, it is just the one sporting day and there is no afternoon sport. Only the normal PE classes and a couple of after school sporting teams. 

Sporting Uniforms
This one was really different. In Australia our sporting house uniforms were very simple. Just a coloured shirt (white, green, red or blue depending on our house) with a small badge sewed on the front. In Korea... well... just take a look at the pictures below. There were some very weird and interesting choices of attire. 

The day began with an assembly on the field...

and a speech from the principal. 

And then a brief warm up.

As I mentioned above, in Korea students compete in their home classes. These are the home class numbers for grade 1 where the students need to sit. 

The first game of the day, dodge-ball with some interesting rules. Only boys can tag girls out, and only girls can tag boys out. It means the boys can't just hog the ball and, quite amusingly, boys will hide behind the girls on their team when a girl is throwing the ball. 

Second game for the day was a jumping wave game where students have to jump over a stick. See the video below. 

Next up, I was commandeered to be a judge for the 3 legged race. After much pointing and waving I finally worked out where i was supposed to go and what I was meant to do. 

And here is my awesome head English teacher who explained what I needed to do. 

Next up, jump rope. Teams have to race through the skipping rope. At first 1 at a time, then 2 at a time, then 3 then 4 at a time. 

Next up was the relay race.

Then a game of soccer.

Some basketball.

and some kickball. For any Australians reading this, it is kind of like baseball but instead of a bat and a baseball you, as the name suggests, kick a ball and then run around the bases.

Then, there were the dance competitions. Some of the classes had been practicing a dance routine which they then performed to unbelievably loud distorted music that was painful to listen to.  My favourite part starts around 2:38.

One of the classes chose to do a creative poomsae wearing Taekwondo uniforms. 

The flowers are out in full bloom at my school and the bumble bees are hard at work. 

While the principal was giving his closing speech I heard my name and the whole school turned to look at me and started clapping. I wasn't sure what was going on. I didn't realise it, but my principal had been watching me all day and was apparently impressed by the interest and enthusiasm I showed. At the teacher dinner that night he shared his soju shot glass with me and said if I ever need anything all I need do is ask him. 

Breaking The Basket Ceremony (함받기)

Last weekend I met some more of Jihyeon's relatives in Iksan for a strange ceremony that roughly translates as "breaking the basket" (함받기). The ceremony is mean to symbolize breaking bad luck and ensure the couple of a prosperous future together. 

Traditionally, before the wedding, the groom's family would send presents to the bride and her family in a box called a Ham. Additionally, the Hamjinabi (person who delivered the Ham) and a small group of close friends of the groom would also deliver a pot of Bongch'i Deok (red bean rice cake) from the groom's family. The brides family would have a small party for the group, offering them food and drink for their efforts. The ceremony of delivering the Ham has evolved into a major event for friends of the groom, with the bearers "selling" the contents of the Ham to the bride's parents. In recent years the groups have become very boisterous and demanded large sums of money... which is then promptly spent on alcohol.

I wasn't allowed into the apartment until I put on my hanbok and broke the basket in the doorway. My only option? Get dressed in the stair well. 

That's the "basket" on the floor in the doorway. It's not actually a basket, it is more like a bowl made out of a hollowed out gourd. Ideally you are meant to break it on the first try. 

RAWR!!!!!

I then had to bring the suitcase (known as the ham) filled with gifts for Jihyeon into the apartment. 

And take my shoes off. You can see the broken basket/gourd on the floor. 

I had to wait for Jihyeon to get changed into her hanbok.

Jihyeon's parents then sat down. That is a giant rice cake on the table. 

And then Jihyeon and I had to do a "big bow". 

Rice cake^^.

The front door was left open to welcome the other visitors (aunts and uncles) who were yet to arrive. 

An up close of a broken fragment of the broken basket/gourd. 

And then once the aunts and uncles arrived, it was dinner time. Food glorious food.

After dinner Jihyeon's father opened the suitcase that contained the gifts for Jihyeon (the wedding rings and a dress) and a letter written using Chinese characters (the alphabet Korea used thousands of years ago).

And this is the letter. This is known as the Honseo (marrage paper). It is wrapped in black silk and states the name of the sender (my father) and the purpose of sending (marriage) between myself and Jihyeon. It symbloizes the dedication of the wife to only one husband. The wife is to keep this document with her forever, having it buried with her when she dies. 

I'll try and dig up some more info on this custom, but that's all I have for now.

Wedding Photo Shoot - Gangnam Seoul Korea

A couple of weekends ago Jihyeon and traveled to Seoul for our wedding photo shoot. In Korea it is normal for couples to go to a photography studio to get a bunch of professional photos taken a couple of months before actually getting married. These photos are then used to send out e-invitations to friends and family (in addition to physical wedding invitation cards). 

Jihyeon had her heart set on a photo studio in Gangnam (Seoul) that she had researched and came recommended. The photo shoot would take all day, so we traveled to Seoul on Friday night (the night before the shoot) so Jihyeon could go to a make-up studio about 6am the next morning. Since Jihyeon works nights, we didn't arrive at the hotel until just after 12am. 

The hotel was nice and clean. 

But this was a little disturbing. In case of fire....

tie rope to bolt, throw rope out window, and scale down the side of the building.

This was nifty. The box in the middle is an intercom service for taxi's. You can request a taxi, and when it arrives it will alert you. No more waiting in crowded foyers with no seats. 

The next morning we got up early (but not so bright) and went to the make-up and hair studio. It was in a house (yes, a house! not an apartment or office building) in Gangnam. I later found out the place was worth about 10million dollars. It was a busy hive of activity inside. Make-up artists, hair dresses, their assistants and customers filled every room of the home. Outside there was a nice deck where you could sit and get away from the craziness. Since I am a man and require less work to look good, I got to spend a couple of hours outside relaxing in the peace and quiet. 

Meanwhile, Jihyeon was undergoing a major overhall. 

Then, it was my turn for a minor tune up. 

I don't know what this is, but it looks like some kind of alien mind probe brainwashing device. No doubt it is used by the wedding industry with nefarious intent and is what they secretly use to control bridezillas. 

We then had 10 minutes to relax outside before....

getting dressed and....

going to the photo studio.  

Waiting... 

and we are off and racing. Philby takes the lead.

I don't mean to be captain obvious, but here is the first of the professional photos from the studio. I like it, but I feel it has been over exposed too much. Half the picture is blinding white light. 

Jihyeon's parents then arrived and brought some vitamin drinks and sandwiches for me to snack on. Thanks~~~

Family photo time.

No photos allowed.

Don't push me~~~.

It was then time for the assistant to do important assistant things.

lol. These ladders were so old and rickety. An accident waiting to happen.

Lunch time. Maccas, apple, kimbap and grapes. 

 

Then... more photos.

STOP PUSHING ME!!!

Look at the camera dunkoff.

Having only gotten about 4 hours sleep the night before, I was starting to run out of steam. 

Finally, some comfortable clothes. My hanbok, unsurprisingly, feels a lot like my Taekwondo uniform. I felt like Goku from dragonball Z. Time for an epic power up sequence. Stand back!

Oh.... why am I getting married to you. Meanwhile, Philby prepares his Kamehameha attack.

Goku is so cool^^.

Mwahahaha.

The jeans and shirts were a gift from Jihyeon's sister. 

 Then, it was time to go home. Jihyeon's parents drove me the 3 hours back to Daejeon. The sunset lit up the sky like it was on fire. I wish we could have stopped on the side of the road so I could have taken a steady picture, but it wasn't safe.