Meeting the meat.
This week I will begin teaching my morning classes with a new co-teacher. To make sure our gears were greased, we ate a fresh fish feast.
The fish market in Guri wreaks of water fowl. It's a gritty aquarium, a warehouse full of lobster tanks that aren't full of lobsters. They're full of soulless mollusks, disturbed sea-cucumbers and limp penis-fish, among other sea brethern. Commercial aquariums are friendly fish-funhouses but they hide behind veals of fakery. Walking through the fish market, I'm reminded how real these strange looking creatures are. I also worry about how real they'll feel as my fresh fish meal.
With my New Zealandic translator I waited outside while C and his friend picked our poison. I had to stay secret or fish sellers would up our pay. When we went in we had to wait for our fish monger to do some secret slicing and dicing. There were some viscious dishes swimming around the place. We mingled with our future food, discussing their qualities and health benefits while tantalizing the ugly ones with our fingers. The earlier mentioned penis-fish looked like a giant, bulging you-know with a single hole for eating and excreting. It's a manly supplement. But we had other fish to fry (well, eat at least). Today's fish dish would be red snapper with sides nak-ji and mysterious sea snails.
Nak-ji is mostly novelty. This is common octopus, raw of course. If you ever severed a worm, its parts continue to squirm. Octopus tentacles, distant cousins of worms, behave the same. And if you recall your octopi anatomy, you know that each tentacle has many little suction cups. They stick and wiggle. These suckers in action make for the most rebellious food, latching to all surfaces from table to tummy. Delish dish with some salty sesame oil.
It's an intimate event moving from live fishies to fancy cuisine. We shared our sides and soju and soup and moved on for a second round.
Korea is a weird place with a wonderfully unique culture. I'm reminded of how alien everything is when I listen to my translator's peculiar Korean-New Zealandic accent from the seat behind me as we drive to our next location. There are certain sounds and habits of speaking that stick from one's native tongue that never go away and color one's manner of speaking with personality and culture.
Language is fun to play around with too. A braai is a South African cookout with tasty marinated meat. Afterwards I learned some words in their Dutch dialect Afrikaans which my American friend and I could shout oblivously. When no meaning is attached, making these sounds is just fun and games. I believe it's the same way when drunk Korean men shout silly English at me. But when meaning is attached that is when words become language--at least personally these sounds start serving a social function. Language only works if you believe you're being believed.
After we called our African friends some dirty names in their native tongue, we all had a laugh at the novelty of meaning. Korean drinking games were next. These all include sitting in a circle and trying to pay attention to some strange sequencing while everyone participates in the pattern of saying things and pointing at each other. These games are perfect for the classroom! Everyone has to pay attention and the words must come out instinctively. Inspired by these games, I created my own classroom game, which I then brought back to rounds of drinking. It's simple word association. As we take turns in the circle, each person must say a word reasonably associated with the last person's. For example:
HEN > FARM > BARN > RED > APPLE > BANANA > BIG BIRD
Weak connections aren't acceptable and I generally rule out word categories that lead to lazy habits (such as colors or names of immediate suuroundings). In the classroom, as game master, I try to keep the pace fast and steady. One of my goals as a teacher is to get the instinct gears running. Sharing a meal or playing a game can get any group of people grooving in synch if done successfully. I'm hoping my new co-teach and I can keep the groove and sweep our students into it as well.
CO-TEACH > FISH MARKET > OCTOPUS > SOJU > COOKOUT > BRAAI > AFRIKAANS > LANGUAGE GAMES > TEACHING ENGLISH
