I already stand out like a sore thumb in a school full of Koreans, but I thought I could kick it up a notch. I picked up a Santa's beard and hat for $1 at a junk shop and have been wearing it to school all week. I got a few funny looks from teachers and students, and a couple of girls screamed when they bumped into me around a corner but overall I think it was well received.
For class this week, we have been making pop-up Christmas tree cards. Instructions and templates can be found on the internet <here>. Nice quiet students. I love it. ^^
Last Friday my school held their annual festival where students have the chance to show off some of their hard work. It was interesting to see how talented and passionate students are about things that interest them. The school set up a special purpose classroom to showcase the work of both students and teachers.
I quite like the two artworks in the top left corner.
And the artwork on the right.
Here is a science project from some students. They made some speakers using a coil of wire, a bottle cap, a magnet and a plastic cup.
Some artwork from teachers. The artwork in the middle is by one of my co-teachers and is a picture of her and her son.
This poster is about different career paths.
Outside in the hallway were posters students made to tell foreigners about Korea and its culture. Just as I took this picture, one of the teachers knocked over the easel. Action shot FTW.
After lunch the whole school assembled in their home classes, and then walked to the theater where some would be performing. As you can see Autumn is in full swing and the trees are bright yellow.
The theater was pretty big. I was a VIP so got a seat in the prime seating area with all the other teachers.
I then used my teacher status to go back stage and take some photos. Here are some students dressed in traditional Korean costume all set to play the drums.
Some more students nervously waiting in their Hapkido uniforms behind the stage.
These are not ugly girls, they are boys dressed as girls. This seems to be a normal thing in Korea. I regularly see guys dressed as women on TV in the name of entertainment.
The stage crew.
Some almost unrecognizable girls with lots of makeup.
The 16th Mannyon School Festival started with the Korean national anthem.
And some words of encouragement by the principal. Apparently he also took the opportunity to announce that he would be retiring at the end of this year.
Next, they played a video they had prepared showing baby pictures of various teachers. I make an appearance at 3mins 23 seconds.
The first act were the traditional Korean drummers lead by an instrument known as Kkwaenggwari. A Kkwanggwari is a small flat gong used in Korean folk music. It sounds a lot like pots and pans getting bashed together. Personally, I don't enjoy the sound. The drums sounded good though and were coupled with students waving their heads around in unison.
Then, a piano solo.
Then a song.
Next up, recorders.
This guy just got even more popular with the girls. He is tall, intelligent AND he can sing very well.
Next up were some girls dancing.
Then, a Hapkido demonstration.
And some Haedong Kumdo (해동검도) which translated means "Korean way of the sword".
Some more dancing
Then the boys dressed in drag dancing. All the students rushed to the stage to take photos up close of this.
Then finally, it was my time to dance. For the last week we spent half an hour at lunch practicing the routine. If you look carefully you can see me. I am hiding behind the incredible hulk to the left of the center.
The music stopped half way through. While waiting for it to start again, I decided to take a photo ^^.
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.
