My high school class is by far my favorite...for the simple fact that it is a small class, the students are the most respectful, and they know the most English. (One day I printed out Green Day lyrics, and we just talked about them) Usually I'm up for a challenge, but after a entire day of kids screaming, saying Bye-Bye as soon as I enter the room, barely understanding a word I say, and probably talking in Korean to each other about me behind my back, it's very refreshing.
So in my high school class today, we talked about their upcoming harvest celebration Chuseok and compared it to American Thanksgiving. There were many similarities. Both holidays are dedicated to family, food, and giving thanks. They showed me some Korean food, so I returned the favor and told them about American Thanksgiving traditions: turkey, stuffing, football, and family arguments.
There apparently aren't any songs for Chuseok, but as I was searching for youtube videos for our Thanksgiving song We Gather Together, I came across a Thanksgiving special from the TV sitcom Roseanne. Within five minutes, Roseanne was stuffing a turkey, another character was going to the store for some cranberry sauce, John Goodman was practicing football moves in the house wearing a football jersey, and all the characters were complaining about other family members.
After sharing the Roseanne episode with my students, I realized how much of my American culture I simply take for granted. It's so easy to dismiss our holidays as come corporate scheme to keep us shopping compulsively. But even something as simple as a white sweatshirt with a turkey on it (which Roseanne was wearing in the episode) is a cultural artifact. This year, I am not going to be able to celebrate Christmas or Thanksgiving with my extended or even immediate family, It saddens me a little but the fact that I know I will miss it is a quiet reminder of how American I really am.
I also introduced my students to wikipedia, which apparently has not hit Korea yet since they had not heard of it. I amused them when I demonstrated that anyone can edit an entry by changing the word Canada to Korea in a section about Canadian Christmas (before changing it back). It was a great lesson in American internet culture and also the reliability of websites in the English.
For what it's worth, right now--wikipedia says Virginia (at Berkeley Plantation) was the first place where Thanksgiving was celebrated. Who knows what it will say tomorrow!
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That was a good one on the classroom experiences. You seem to understand some of what a teacher goes through. I felt often in England and in Germany that foreigners were unloved. Attending church and church vacation spots in Wales and Cornwall made me feel less like a disliked foreigner. Language is certainly a barrier as it was for us in Germany.
Your students and ones like them throughout Korea will probably function better in an English speaking environment than Americans from low socioeconomic backgrounds in America. It's a shame. Good parents and good teachers are needed.
Dad.
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