What's in an Age?

Age: We have measured ourselves in age literally, since the day we we born. Our parents based landmarks on it. We celebrated our coming of ages in many different ways, from Bar Mitzvahs, Sweet 16s, learning to drive, drinking legally, and so much more. This was a number that, up until this trip, I assumed was simply universal. Well, my friends, I thought wrong. Here in Korea, age is measured differently. I, for example jumped from the easy and simple age of 24 right into the ripe old age of 26 as quickly as a 12 hour flight (talk about a quarter-life crisis!).

Now you're probably thinking "Huh?! This doesn't make sense? The earth doesn't rotate around the sun any faster in Asia...Or at least I didn't think it did..." Well, don't worry, you are not crazy. I will explain how this age thing works.

 Firstly, everyone pops out of the womb at the age of 1. Why waste any time counting those measly months?!

Secondly, although individual birthdays are recognized, nobody actually changes age until the lunar New Year where everyone changes age at the same time.

 Make sense?

Well it's true and it's crazy. This means that, layered on top of the ridiculous expectations schools in Korea are putting on their young children to learn, these young kids are in fact 2 years younger than my Western brain thought. So, the 6 and 7 year olds that I have been teaching are actually 5 and 6? My brain is about to explode.

On top of this, age is a really important defining factor in Korea, and the term 'respecting one's elders' is an understatement. There are seats in every subway car designated for elders and this is taken extremely seriously. You could be in the most packed subway ever, hardly breathing, while that section remained empty, just in case an Ahjumma (Korean older woman) strolled on in.

This has an interesting affect in the workplace, where younger employees will not criticize an employer even if their work and ideas are horrible. A story floats around that there was once a Korean Air flight that was in trouble, and, although the younger co-pilot knew how to solve the issue, out of respect for his older pilot, didn't speak up, and the plane crashed. Now they only hire co-pilots who are older than their pilots.

This age thing isn't all weird and bad though. It also makes for very strong family bonds, creates respect for elders in one's life like your teachers (me!), and people who hold authority. It even helps limits the country's crime rate.

...But age is just a number...Right?

Of Greasy Hair, Bomb Shelters and Screaming Children

Noksapyeong Station: my nearest subway stop

My first couple of weeks have been quite a whirlwind as I've been trying to settle into this foreign land called South Korea. From new grocery store brands, to crazy traffic, to peculiar smells and so much more, the world I once lived in has been turned upside down.

My morning bus ride takes me from my comfortable neighbourhood of Kyugnidan, Itaewon, an area dense in foreigners like myself, meaning easy access to late night pizza, a weekly wing deal, and some pretty fantastic coffee, where I travel over the beautiful Hann River into Seocho. Although I realized the air quality over here was going to be much poorer than the beautifully fresh air I was taking advantage of in Canada, the clear evidence of it's effects are impossible to ignore, as smog wades like low clouds each morning, surrounding the city, and causing me some fast-acting hair grease...and we all know how I feel about hair washing. This though, is apparently at it's worse now, in the spring. C'mon summer!

Now you are probably all reading this just waiting for me to get to the juicy goods. Is it the spice factor of the kimchi you are wondering about? Oh no, maybe its how often I hear Gagnam Style? Ohh, you're probably wondering how I feel about the whole North Korea - South Korea situation? Yeah, that whole thang.... Well, despite the fact that each subway station doubles as bomb shelter, (Oh, by the way, Toronto, have you seen Seoul's subway system?! It is sparkly clean, HUGE and plays beautiful birds calls while you wait. TTC, you should be comparatively ashamed.)  and has vending machines filled with gas masks, nobody seems to be worried about it. They are all going about their everyday business, because apparently something along these lines happens every single year...so, although when I ask people about it, they say they are a little bit concerned, there is nothing even close to feeling alarmed.

I could really continue this post forever, but I'll end it by talking about my experience at my school. I work in a Montessori type school in Seocho. Seocho is a wealthy area that lies just south of my apartment. from 9:40am - 2:30pm I teach kindergarten students who are learning English for the first time. It is quite the challenge. In the afternoon from about 2:30pm - 4:30pm I teach afternoon classes. Each afternoon class is 1 hour long and these children's abilities range based on class. The school is called High/Scope Korea, and there are about 10 High/Scope schools across the world. The school's philosophy is based on much of Jean Piaget's research in childhood development and says children learn best in a social setting where children have the opportunity to choose materials, use their own ideas and choose who they want to interact with and how. Basically, it is one of the only schools in Korea that promotes individuality. The philosophy itself is great, the implementation of the philosophy I am still questioning. As I get more used to making creative, interactive and choice filled lesson plans, it is getting easier, and this second week has been easier then the first. But if you have any ideas you'd like to share, send them on over.

In the meantime, TGIF! Enjoy a weekend filled with green beer and leprechauns. Cheers!