Dreaming of Disneyland 

I had a whole different idea of things to write about this week, but then Rachel and I did some walking around today, and I decided to write this instead. 

Disneyland doesn’t sell the childhood dreams or experiences; it sells the idea of childhood dreams.  Just like some casinos in Las Vegas.  One in particular has a whole section that made up to look like Venice, complete with gondola boats, and Starbucks.  What brought all this to mind was a single moment while I was waiting outside the bathroom for Rachel to emerge.  This was while we were at the COEX mall.  We had heard that this place was a veritable temple to consumerism.  We were curious and looking for something cheap for lunch.  What we found was a collection of restaurants, shops, and bizarre attractions that could only be found in Dead Rising (My sincere apologies for those of you who don’t get the reference).  While waiting for Rachel, I found a little coffee/tea shop that was the perfect facsimile of a small country cottage coffee shop.  Aged wood floors, strategically scuffed tables, and even cushions with wear and tear to complete the image of the perfect little place to sit down and read a book.  Never mind the fact that not 10ft out the door is a Korean mega mall.  The whole point to all this is that this little coffee shop didn’t just want to sell me coffee, but the idea of a small country coffee shop.

I’ve seen a lot of places like that coffee shop around the country.  Even some of the more familiar places around town just come off as facades of places from home.  Yesterday we decided to splurge a little and go to Outback steakhouse.  Something as simple as a hamburger wasn’t so simple.  I remembered from my last trip to Korea, that there were some accommodations to local taste that needed to be made, however when a burger that doesn’t say that it comes with sweet and sour sauce, and for some reason, comes covered in sweet and sour sauce, we are once again reminded that we are not in Michigan.  These places don’t have the actual experience that we had at home but the idea of them.  Now it isn’t so bad, so long as we try and remember that it isn’t the real thing but a Disney-like recreation. 

Now that my strange reflective piece is out of the way, back to talking about the rest of the week.  The school is getting stranger and stranger.  Rachel and I are convinced that we got a bad draw for schools.  It isn’t all bad, but some things that I have seen on how this school is managed are strange.  Our boss is a nice person, or at least she’s all smiles and kind words, but there is something very passive aggressive about her.  We had our first round of observations this week.  Her advice and observations belied a complete lack of understanding of how students actually learn.  I have come to understand that she is an administrator that has the step by step play book to the class and she follows it step by step.  Never mind that there are student’s whose abilities or attention will vary.  They all learn the same way and at the same speed, with no time for questions or cultivating genuine interest and enthusiasm.

I suppose I wouldn’t be as biased of her, should we be teaching a different subject, or she have mastery of the language.  Now I am not the greatest speller in the world, but when she accuses me of having poor spelling, but actually means handwriting, I tend to dismiss any criticisms she may have.  It isn’t as if there is anyone in the company, save for the other teachers or one of the secretaries, who have any proficiency with English…   The strange part is when we are handed memos and notes in Korean and we are expected to understand what they say.  One such in particular was when we were brought into the school computer lab, and given a short presentation demo, on how to update the company’s web page with the student’s homework.  If there had been dual instruction in English and Korean I wouldn’t have a problem with it.  But No, we were given a few English comments that didn’t really help. 

                Now I have a basic grasp of the language, and I know a good amount of survival language, but I can’t read the memos that our director writes on the glass walls to save myself.  Our third foreign teacher has no ability with the language, and it is almost a blessing.  He has developed an attitude of “meh” that is almost a boon.  Because the staff knows that he has no ability with the language, they know that nothing that they have to say will be understood.  The tragedy of it is that I think that this will discourage learning the language.  Why add more responsibility than you have to? 

                Ok so back to more fun stuff.  We have been foraging further and further out of the comfort zone of our small area, to more interesting places.  We have finally gotten some photos taken and will have them up soon.  As soon as we start getting paid then we can start spending more time with the local bars and social spots.  More adventures to come.