Thanksgiving the American way
Trip Start
Aug 07, 2007
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13
112
Trip End
Ongoing
Uijeongbu,
Korea Rep.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Today was tough if not the toughest day at the office back at my home school. Being the company substitute I was sent to another school in Seoul for the past week. It was good to meet other teachers and supervisors. I taught a class of five year olds for the past week, which, as it was at my home school in Uijeongbu, very challenging. Tonight I wonder if my expectations of the students such as play nice, share the toys, help a friend, and get those to shy to get involved to come and play would be an effective pep talk of some of the leaders of the many nations on Earth. But then again I'm just a kindergarten teacher. A cool technique that the teacher I was replacing uses is she has a chime which she rings to get the children's attention. It worked to ease my panic and bring the students to full attention and sitting quiet. I'll have to get one. Of course today back at home base I had my whistle for a day of gym class. As the day unfolded I thought that for the most part these students were better behaved than a grade 12 gym class at All Saints High School where I was an Educational Assistant. Of course the odd student would challenge my rules on safety, which as a professional, I consequenced. The thing is that those who challenge rules, authority and just what is considered fact can sometimes bring about change for the better. Things such as the questioning of repressive religion as the ultimate authority or as the shift from the paradigm that the Earth was flat to it being understood as a sphere or the shift of the Earth as the center of the universe to it being a habitable rock floating around the sun in what I believe, the infinite. Of course it's fun to think that there might be a Copernicus or Galileo in the making in one of my classes seeing a need to challenge the teacher, but when it comes to safety in my gym class it is as my mentor Elsie taught me "make sure the children are safe". So, one must have rules.
On the environment here:
Garbage is put outside in bags on the side of the buildings. It doesn't look pretty and I have wondered why there are no dumpsters. However it is always removed and I have been told by friends that there is recycling here. Apparently people sort through the garbage and remove recyclables. I have seen people late at night on the streets sorting through the garbage so it must be true I think. The building hallways all run on motion detectors so the lights are only on when there is motion to activate them. Whether it's a person or one of the wild cats that roam my concrete jungle of a neighborhood is totally about who or what is around. These thoughts come as I return from a Thanksgiving Dinner with American and a few Canadian friends from work. I ate off of a plastic plate while two of the ladies were thoughtful enough to bring their own ceramic plates from home, an inspiration. The host Etta, a First American from a Navajo reservation in Southern USA (thinking New Mexico) and Gary her soldier fiancé were excellent hosts. The food was great! Thanks Gary and Etta.
This weekend I'm going to wrap up Christmas shopping and try to see the war museum as a precursor to a visit to one of the most hostile places on the planet, the Korean DMZ. A place where two super powers became locked in a deadly conflict that even to this day has not resolved itself. As I ride there with Christina I will recall my visit to Donghwa-sa temple and the wishes of Buddhists to have the peninsula reunited.
