email

Subject: it's snowing!
Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2007 10:06:55
dear mom and dad,

we had our first snow here last week. it's so strange, i KNOW it's snow, but i still only see ash. i look at the piles of snow on the ground, and i see piles of cotton. my mind just will not accept that there's a world outside of san diego where it gets super cold.

this week is the end of my 3rd term with my job. one more term and my contract will be finished. time flies! we'll have a few new teachers coming to the staff, and many leaving.

my friend mayma (the sister from new zealand) is leaving the school, her contract is finished and she's moving on. the other day she and i were having lunch. we were eating chicken, and she scoffed at me for leaving so much meat on the bones. :) mom, i remember you'd get mad at me about that! felix scoffed too, when i had lunch with him weeks before. in fact, i remember on my second trip to ghana, my friend lomotey and i were eating chicken, and he scoffed too! people always say im wasting so much meat! i dont know why, i just never picked up the habit of cleaning/eating the bones. not like i dont get enough to eat, tho! ha! still using the treadmill daily. workin' it.

so i'll have all new classes/students come monday, i'm excited, but i miss a lot of my former students already. i didnt even get to see Greg (w/the pinoy accent) b/c he didn't come on the last day of class. well, hopefully i'll see him around next term. not that he needs to keep coming, his english is great. maybe just a voice coach to help with the accent... :)

sometimes i'll ask the kids to try harder to pronounce things w/out their korean accent. they are very young and if they try, the CAN pronounce words more clearly, this "konglish" (korean + english) seems more of a habit rather than not being able pronounce things.

they constantly say "A-pull" instead of A+, tho none seem to have a problem w/saying "s." Again, it's b/c it's so common for them. same with saying "Yes." instead, they say "Yes-uh." the sound "Uh" is at the end of nearly every word.

i was talking to one class about the importance of trying to not speak with the accent if they can, b/c they'll get stuck in the habit otherwise and maybe have trouble communicating, or have trouble being understood.

"But teacher," little Lina says, "I feel like 'Yes' is too short, so i have to add to it when i say it."

just like when the brothas and sistas say "conversate" instead of converse, or "axe" instead of ask, or the Joes saying "tow out" instead of thaw out (for the longest time, i thought mom was saying it right and the rest of the world was wrong). ah well, so long as the kids keep the proper pronunciation in mind, and perhaps be multilingual in korean, english AND konglish.

with the new term beginning, i'll finally be able to take the korean classes, i start next week, im really excited. every once in a while, the kids will be asking me something in class, and they slip and say a word in korean. I'll repeat it and say, "What is XXX?" and they laugh like crazy b/c it's so fun to hear teacher try and say something in korean b/c she says it soooo wrong.

on the last day of classes, many students begged,

"teacher, say something in korean!"
"NO! you guys just like to laugh and make fun of me!"and then they laugh some more hahahahaaha!
keep on laughing, kiddies. will it still be funny when i give you a C- for your attention and participation grades today? HA-HA-HA!!!

day banners

Subject: RE: Pizza Teacher
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2007 06:26
dear mom and dad,

dad, how dare you talk to me about it being 60 degrees and almost needing a jacket in san diego. youre mean and cruel!

well, i dont have anything really to talk about, its just that i finally got around to taking and loading some pictures. here is where i live.

i dont know what all the banners were for that day, there was some sort of celebration. on my way to work the next day, there was a stage set up outside and a band, (nothing traditional korean, tho), but alas i couldnt stick around to check it out b/c i was on the way to work.

im working on the x-mas letter, maybe i'll even have it emailed to you later today. things are good, im cold, love you all, sha.

email

Subject: hi, finally
Date: Thu, 8 Nov 2007
dear mom and dad,
hi! oh the cold weather is here already, already!!!! *sigh* i dont leave the house without my coat, scarf, and gloves. im ridiculous.

so we're at the tail end of the term with only a couple of weeks left. i will really miss a lot of my kids: joanne who i have to keep punishing for using her cell phone in class, alex who recently changed his english name to "Tony Hawk," and little Greg who speaks english with a philipino accent :)

one of my middle school classes begged me for a pizza party on the last day, which of course im not allowed to do. i lovingly told them that their test/quiz scores were too low to deserve any kind of party. that day they got me to agree that if everyone scored 7 out of 7 on that days quiz, i would buy them pizza.

As we started to correct the quizzes, holy cow i got nervous! they'd get question 1 right, and the class yells "YEAHHH!!" question 2 right, "YEAHHH!!!" question 3 "YEAHHHA!!" i started sweating by question 5! but alas, tho many of my little geniuses scored perfect 7s, most got a score of 6. *phew!* it was a great motivator, i wish i could buy them pizza. i think im allowed to give gift certificates. maybe we'll have a "note-taking" contest on the last day, and reward whoever finds the most major and minor details in the day's lecture.

so for the rest of that day, every question i asked of the class was answered with "Pizza." they held up signs "Pizza! pizza!" and when i got back from our 5 min break in class, i came back to my desk full of little drawings of mini pizzas. they're so creative! :)

one of the favorite snacks of kids here is ramen raw, like straight out of the package with the flavor packet sprinkled on top, did i tell you all this already? they always get the spiciest one they can find, and then beg me to taste it. i told the kids im not crazy about spicy food, and they went nuts, telling me that here is korea, spicy=delicious.

there's another thing they eat called "dokpokki" it's like super thick pasta noodles cut up into one inch strips and smothered in a hot sauce. the kids buy it during the break and then 5 min after class starts again, they beg me to let them out to get a drink of water. i tell them no, and then they say im so mean b/c i cant help but laugh to see them all at their desks with their mouths open, panting like puppies. hahahahahahaha!!! ~sha

giving thanks

Sent: Thursday, October 18, 2007 2:17 AM

Subject: sha, short for shannon

hi everyone. if youre getting this email, it's b/c i used to work for or with you. i got to thinking about all kinds of former jobs i've had and began to wonder where some of these really cool coworkers i used to know are now. this is sha, i hope you remember me. i live in south korea right now, teaching english and i love it. i owe thanks (and probably apologies) to all of you, b/c something happened when we knew each other and i ended up (happily) here. scroll down, look for your name, read, and then delete. ~sha.

ollie: thanks for putting up with all of my prepubescent nonsense whilst i was in my 20's, i love my own mom, but you sure do come a close second.

tal: you introduced me to bit o' honey, which is still my favorite non chocolate candy to this day.

catherine: you were my favorite red enveloper. sorry i was such a jerk when you knew me.

Cassie: i strive to be more like you. seriously, you're always so nice and would say supportive things to me.

Cheryl: im so sorry for all those times i made fun of you taking that book making class. i now know how hard making books are. i took sign language b/c of you, and it was one of my favorite classes in college.

chris: thank you for believing in me, i think im a pretty ok teacher w/much thanks to you.

Courtney: we should've had more dinners together, we didnt have enough time.

david- youre the tallest person ive ever met.

donisha: i had so much fun when we worked, albeit briefly, together. i wish we couldve been closer friends. i remember you wore pink pumps to work once, you were all glittery and so cute!

debra wolf: you let me use your sewing machine. i, as a amateur seamstress, am honored that you trusted me so.

esra: ah, my turkish princess.

geoff: i remember once at work you were playing with a ruler, and out of nowhere you turned and said to me, "this is 12 inches, can you believe some guys say thier dick is this long? i mean, look at that!"

gwen: you should come to korea and teach for a bit, you'd be awesome here.

Grisel: you too.

jennifer cooper: you made out with my favorite dj. youre my hero for life.

john-turek: what an odd pair we were. youre one of my favorite people to talk to, nothing is too obscene to not still be funny.

karla: makeda is crazy. but im glad i got to be a part of the wbc albeit for a little little while. thanks for thinking of me for the job, i was so flattered.

kenya: i remember when we went to the foreign legion and i drank way too much, and you took me home and didnt make fun of me. you're the homie for life.

marc-orso: oh moe... you know.

Maria- i often think of you dancing, stepping side to side and clapping your hands...

marnie: my favorite fellow tutor. i remember once giving you a hard time and you laugh and look me dead in the eye, saying, "Im not afraid of you, sha!" it was awesome.

missy: together we did one of my favorite paintings. ive never met a woman who curses as much as you, i always thought that was so cool.

debra f: you helped me grow up a little, gave me good advice and criticism for the workplace, and made me dress like an adult for work. endless thanks for that, b/c jeez i was sloppy.

patty: we both loved napoleon dynamite more than anyone.

Paula: you and quinn are gone. i miss you guys. david moon quit, btw, did you know?

randi- *sigh* thanks for everything...

ryan- i remember the time me and adrian put m&m's and tacks all over your desk one day as an office prank, oh god, our stomachs hurt b/c we were laughing so hard. thanks for being a good sport. i'll always love you.

loretta: i think about how i called you while in one of like the 3 times ive ever been so piss drunk in my life, and you talked to me while i rambled on and finally i got sleepy, and you told me to be sure to sleep on my stomach... and laughed b/c you were afraid i may vomit in my sleep and choke to death.

sandra: i never wouldve seen ANY new movie if not for you. you cant believe how often i've watched on tv HERE things that i watched with you... all the harry potters, all the lord of the rings, sisterhood of the traveling pants, the 11th kingdom, wimbledon, the rundown... it's bizarre.

Thamer: ive always thought you were super hot.

trish: i remember one time you came to class with a black eye. i felt so awful for you. youre so nice, and i couldnt believe some jerk would could find any reason to lay violent hands on you. oh, also, sorry i was such a jerk when i knew you too. *blush*

terri: im still going to grad school eventually, i swear.

viviane: do you still love popcorn chicken? :)

email

Subject: RE:
Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2007 05:09:41 +0000
dear mom and dad,

hi! things are good, as usual. i got the magazines and newspapers earlier this week, thanks so much for sending them, i really appreciate it. i saw jill scott is on the cover of jet! im very happy, she's one of my favorite singers. by the way, kanisha is supposed to send me the new jill scott cd, lay a guilt trip on her for me next time you see her. just kidding. not really.

a couple of weeks ago, the teachers at my school went out for dinner to celebrate some birthdays. whilst handling some bulgogi with his chopsticks, John dropped his meat into his half full glass of beer. Because it was his birthday, nikki (korean wife of one of my coworkers) takes his glass and insists we pass it around in order to partake in the korean tradition of everyone at the table adding a little bit of "love" to his drink. so in addition to the beer and meat, other ingredients came to include kimchee, mushrooms, soju, fried chicken, tomatoes, a mouthful of someone else's beer (ewww...) and then the birthday boy was supposed to drink it.

everyone at the table cheered and told him to do it for Canada (he, and many of my coworkers are canadian). I, however, said, "fuck that, john, thats nasty. dont drink that shit." the grossness of the situation was too gross for me. john was annoyed that he didnt get a chance to fish out his meat at the beginning so he could eat it.

ive never heard of this korean tradition of adding Love to someones drink before, but maybe it's one of those korean traditions people come up with whilst drinking. someone asked when my birthday was, i told them that it's in march, which is when i will be having cake. period.

email

Subject: RE:

Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2007 12:13:24 +0000
dear mom and dad,

here is a picture of me with my haircut, and the other link is a picture of a goodbye drawings the kids made me last term.

email

click here to read an email i responded to asking about isoaltion/lonlieness in korea.