It occurred to me the other day as I was riding the subway that most teachers lead sort of a double life. I guess maybe other professionals do too, but I believe that teachers especially have to juggle two different personas. One is the teacher. This role involves more than showing up to work on time, teaching children, and grading papers. Teachers are expected to be people with high moral standards. They are supposed to be role models and set examples for their students. They are supposed to be ever-friendly and caring. They are supposed to be trustworthy and approachable. They are supposed to be what I like to think of as 'Susie Sunshines'. Of course there are the 'Debbie Downers' out there too, but I like to think that they were once 'Susie Sunshines' before time and fruitless efforts got the best of them. When I chose teaching as my profession, I knew that it would require me to behave in a certain manor and represent myself in a certain way. I believe that most teachers behave this way already to some extent or another and so consequently the 'teacher' persona is not hard to fill. If they don't, well then, I'd imagine it would be tough to present yourself in this way. (Maybe this is the case with some Debbie Downers.) The other persona I like to call 'just human'. Teachers are not perfect. No one is perfect. The 'just human' persona is one that teachers can present to people that they love and trust; friends and family. Teachers can behave and live their lives the way they like outside of school (to a certain extent- I personally don't believe any respectable teacher should be dancing on poles or peddling drugs on the side) so long as they remember that they hold a public position, a lot of times a government job. So why did I start thinking of all this on the subway the other day? Well, I thought about the persona that I show to my students at school. I am kind, sincere, sometimes complacent, and I come across as very conservative. Then I looked at my outfit. I was wearing a LBD (little black dress)- not too short or revealing but a little, make-up, hair down and curled, and lots of jewelry. I was going out to meet some friends for dinner and drinks. I would not dream in a million years of dressing this way to school. I then saw one of my students and he hardly recognized me (before I forced my friend to stand in front of me to block his vision). I didn't really want him to see me dressed up to go out because I did not want him to see anything but my teacher persona. I wanted him to think of me as the English teacher with conservative clothes, little make-up, and hair always pulled back. So why did I care? I mean, this persona is part of me too. This is when I began thinking about the concept of living a sort of double life. I would never want my students to see me drinking soju or dancing in a night club and I would never want my friends to see me standing at a blackboard dictating English grammar or singing songs with my students, hence the secret life of the American teacher (Korea edition). Conservative teacher by day, liberal 20-something by night. Kinda makes my life sounds more exciting put in this perspective and I kinda like it.
On Tuesday my school had field day. It was quite a sight to see. Just like in the states, the students were on different teams, there were parents taking photographs and videos, and lots of funny and semi-athletic events the kids participated in. Some of the events included relay races, balloon popping, tug-of-war, and many other kinds of team games. The students had a great time and I actually did too. I played photographer for the day and was assigned to pictures and videos. There were lots of parents at the school and I could tell they were all checking out the foreign English teacher. It felt a little strange, but one woman came up to me and started talking. She told me her son is in 4th grade (so I teach him English) and she is also an English teacher at another elementary school. It was the first kind of parent interaction I had had in a while and was actually really nice to talk with her. Before and after the events, the students, teachers, and principals all did a stretching routine simultaneously. Apparently every single public school in Korea teaches the students this routine and consequently every single person in Korea knows this routine. It is set to music and wish I got a video of it because it was such a riot.
All of the female teachers at my school had on the same type of 'uniform' if you will: snazzy matching track suit, designer gym shoes, white gloves, and what we foreigners here in Korea like to call a giant ajuma visor. This ajuma visor is not your typical Nike golf or Abercrombie visor, it has a huge brim and looks absolutely ridiculous. The women wear them and the white gloves to protect their skin from the sun. My co-teachers were horrified that I was not wearing a hat outside (mind you, it was a cloudy day) and insisted I wear one of their extra visors. No thank you! Korean women definitely go to great lengths to keep their skin protected in the sun. I would be curious to know what their skin cancer statistics are like here. Probably significantly lower than our tanning bed, oil lathering, sun-kissed skin obsessed country.
Yesterday was Children's Day and I, along with everyone else in Korea had the day off from work. Yes, they actually have a holiday just for children here in Korea. Most families spend time together and go to the park, shopping, out to eat, etc. The children also receive presents as well. Kinda wish I was a kid in Korea for Children's Day, sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me; no school and presents?! After field day on Tuesday we got to leave school early and I went to see The Blindside at the theatre with my sixth grade co-teachers. Then I went out with some friends Tuesday night for some Mexican food and drinks in honor of Cinco de Mayo. Yesterday I spent the day in Myeong-dong doing a little shopping and then went to Samcheong-dong. Sean suggested we check it out because I had never been before. It's a little neighborhood next to Insa-dong and I must say probably one of my most favorite neighborhoods I've visited in Seoul thus far. The streets are lined with high-end stores, little vendors selling crafts and jewelry, art galleries galore, and tons of coffee and tea shops. Most of the buildings are traditional Korean style. Around every nook and cranny is a perfect photo spot. I loved Samcheong-dong and can't wait to go back again and explore even more! I ended the night with some Korean BBQ and ice cream in the park.
traditional Korean architecture in Samcheong-dong
Samcheong-dong's hidden byways reminded me of Stone Town, Zanzibar
Sean and I stopped for a photo-op
The weather here has turned from schizophrenic (warm and sunny one minute to rainy and windy the next to freezing the next) to humid in a matter of days and we are getting our first tastes of what summer is going to be like. Let me tell you, with no AC on buses, overcrowded subways, and moisture in the air so thick you could collect water in buckets, it's not going to be pretty. Oh well, I guess lots of cold showers and popsicles are in the cards!
Namaste
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