heart & seoul

I have a student named Jay that cracks me up. He’s always sharing random pieces of information in broken English with me, but he does it in the gravest tone possible, as if both our lives depended on what he’s imparting.

“Teacher, Batman no fly.”

“Batman can’t fly?”

“Yes…because he is person.”

“Because people can’t fly.”

“Yes…but help people.”

“He does help people! I know.”

“He have 망 토 (mangto).”

“망 토 ?”

“Yes.”

“망 토 ? You mean…CAPE?”

“YES!”

Useful words to know in Korean. 

Today we were brainstorming “sk” words in the classroom, so the word “skeleton” was brought up. Despite it’s overall friendly appearance, some of my students were visibly spooked by the example I drew on the board. To diminish their fears, I explained that EVERYONE has a skeleton INSIDE of them. “Wherever you go, there’s a skeleton right under your skin! Your skeleton is always with you! INSIDE YOU!”  While this garnered a few giggles, I think most of them were horrified. I may have inadvertently introduced them to a whole new category of nightmares. 

My students found a snail on the roof today. I let them take turns holding it. I turned my back for one moment to answer a question, and when I turned back, Benjamin was crushing the snail between his fingers. I took this photo right before it happened. I don’t think he actually meant to hurt the snail. The rest of the students let out a low gasp and someone asked me “Sara Teacher…is the snail okay?” To which I replied, “Ummm…yeah. It’s okay” and then discreetly disposed of the body. 

Whenever I introduce a new letter to my students, I have them brainstorm words that start with that letter. They’re five years old and English is not their first language, so I’m always surprised by how much they retain. 

Looks like pulled pork. Totally NOT pulled pork. It’s jackfruit, which I picked up at the Filipino market the other day. Stole this idea from Brick Road Pizza of Grand Rapids. Here’s the recipe if you’re interested. I added caramelized onions to mine, because I’m a boss.

Connie and I checked out the Filipino Market that takes place outside of Hyehwa Station (Exit 1) every Sunday. We picked up some jackfruit, which can be used to make BBQ Pulled Jackfruit sandwiches. We also picked up some cassava cake and a Filipino beer and consumed both in a nearby park. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Children’s Day is a national holiday in Korea and it falls on Saturday this year, so alas, our school did not get the day off. We did however, go on a picnic to the World Cup Stadium Park (which is GIGANTIC) today to celebrate the upcoming holiday. There was face painting, treasure hunting, and the creepiest clown ever. The sky looked like it was threatening to rain, but it cleared up by the afternoon. A great day for a picnic.

This is Shane. He’s five years old. He has more style and swagger than most people I know.  

This is Ueong Jorim (우엉조림) or seasoned burdock root and it is quite possibly my favorite Korean side dish. 

I’m going to find the recipe and master it. I’m guessing it’s fairly simple. Burdock root, peanuts, soy sauce and sesame oil.  Anyway, it’s apparent that I’ll need to live within walking distance of a Korean grocery when I return to the U.S. 

Busy weekend devoted to friends and food.

Saturday: Headed to Incheon for Chad and Johanna’s veggie potluck.

Sunday: Visited my old neighborhood for veggie burgers.