Music in the Kitchen

Transforming everyday kitchen utensils into musical instruments:
that's how Korean's put on a show! 

Wow what a week so far! There are so many exciting things to do and see and four weeks is certainly not enough. I have learned so much about myself as well as those on the trip with me. I know this experience is more than touring historic sites, planning lessons, and taking a language course - it’s about growing as an individual and becoming a better agricultural educator. My experiences here will not only shape my own learning capabilities but they will tie into my teaching methods and the ideas and lessons I will present to my future classroom.

We visited so many places today and experienced a lot of Korean culture. Hands down though my favorite part of our day of being the American tourists was the NANTA show; who would have ever guessed we would have the chance to view a show in a different country and be able to understand it?

Using kitchen objects to make music? Say what? Check out this link to see a glimpse of what we got to experience. Some of us got a little more of an experience than others; I wish I could show you Dr. Barrick and Cassidy got on stage and got to race against two other audience members in a "cake" making contest.  Sadly, they couldn’t pull off the win. 

With only 5 characters onstage they really pull the crowd in. Giving us a one of a kind experience, with food flying and knives chopping a beat was found in every move. With only an hour to create a wedding banquet we even felt the pressure put on the three cooks. With the help of the manager’s nephew chaos erupted in the kitchen as they rushed against time. With some dance numbers and intense music the group managed to pull of the dinner in the end with the help of the nephew.

In the end the show had a few lessons to take away that I believe we all need to take a step back and think about.

1) We all have our time to shine.  The manager’s nephew struggled to keep up with the cooks in the beginning. He started off by following the actions of those around him. But when the time came for him to shine, boy did he shine. The nephew saved the day by making the cake for the wedding. 

2)  Sometimes we need to rely on others.  Not one of the cooks would have been able to create the meal on such a short notice however by working together as a team they were able to pull through.

Life lessons can be learned anywhere and sometimes we just need to soak in what we have just witnessed.

This experience is passing by so quickly and I hope I am able to pick up on all the lessons in front of me every day. These next few weeks are going to fly by and I cannot believe how much I have already learned in the past week.