Please don't judge my grammar!

I tried to type this last night before I went to bed but for some reason I could not form complete sentences.  I went back and read the first paragraph and I would just randomly leave words out or put them in the wrong order!  The Koreans are starting to wear off on me!!

I woke up this morning to a bright and sunny day.  This all changed very quickly when it suddenly turned black and then began to rain!  I’m glad I remembered my umbrella from home, but now I’m wishing I had some rain boots!  That’s an investment that I will be making very soon!  Thankfully though the times I had to walk outside it was down pouring!  Many other teachers did not have this same luxury! 

Today was my long day!  I had 5 classes so my only break was at lunch!  Today I got to meet my 3^rd graders.  They are a cute group!  Here’s a sample of some highlights: They can’t say the ‘th’ sound, it comes out more like a ‘sh’ or ‘s’ sound.  So, instead of ‘mouth,’ it’s ‘mouse.’  Quite funny.  I will also hold up a card and ask them what is on the picture.  Sometimes I get a little stage fright b/c they are studying my sounds and the way I look when I say it.  Sometimes I forget momentarily how to say a word!  This is sometimes difficult since my main job is pronunciation!!  Today I was holding up a picture of different school supplies.  I came to a picture of ‘crayons’.  I’ve never been able to say this word correctly.  I always pronounce it ‘crowns.’  Needless to say, we didn’t spend much time on that word.  We said it a couple of times and moved on quickly!  We will also point to parts of the body and ask, “what’s this?”  There answer is always “it’s a (insert word here).”  So I’d point to my ears and they’d say, “it’s a ears.”  The funniest one I’ve come across though is a picture of scissors.  They’ll say, “it’s a scissors.”  They’re too young to correct for that stuff, so I just laugh in my head!

We were role playing today it was straight comedy.  We watch it on the big screen first and then act it out.  They all say together, “Ready, Action!”  (Actually they yell it more then say it!)  They were going to see the dentist and the girl wouldn’t open her mouth, so this little creature (cartoon character) pinches her and she yells and opens her mouth.  So, they acted that out.  But when they got to the pinching part, they actually pinch each other hard and then twist it!  The whole class, INCLUDING the teacher just laughs!  I gave a sympathy laugh for the student getting pinched!

Cell phones are another big thing here!  My 3^rd graders all have them!  I had a girl yesterday is class pull hers out and make a phone call.  She wasn’t talking, she more like listening to a message.  But, the teacher didn’t say anything!  They are also texting and taking pictures all through class too!  It’s so crazy!  Surprisingly, it’s not a distraction for the students!  It’s just different!

We had soup (angel hair pasta in a broth with vegetables) for lunch and I ate it with chopsticks!  Who eats soup with chopsticks… Koreans!  I also ate my little chicken wings with them earlier in the week!  It’s interesting… but it’s making me get a lot better!

I had a blast this afternoon!  I told you I was invited on Tuesday by the PE teacher to play volleyball.  I didn’t realize how big of a deal this was!  All the staff comes to the gym on Wednesday afternoons at 3pm.  Even the principal and vice principal comes!  Then we split up and play a game.  They have a few different rules though, that I was not aware of!  They don’t rotate… you start in  a position and stay there the whole time.  On my team there were 3 girls and 4 guys.  On the other side there were 3 girls and like 5 or 6 guys.  Only a girl can hit it over the net and only the girls serve.  I wish I would have had a video camera!  It was so funny the first time I hit it.  It wasn’t even a good hit and I hear oohs and ahhs!  Then this guys who is about in 50s probably came up and gave me a double high five… like high 10!  (He was the setter!)  I felt bad b/c they wouldn’t set the other 2 girls!  They didn’t seem to mind though… ha!  I felt horrible for the guys b/c they were pretty much just standing there.  It didn’t look like they were having much fun!  But, we played the first game and then took a break. 

They had all of this food sat out!  Oh, the principal and vice principal played too!  (Remember earlier I told you that the Principal is all business and he doesn’t smile!  I was very intimidated when I saw him there! The principal is great though!  He was laughing and enjoying himself!)  The principal said, “Come Becky, eat!”  So, of course I had to!  I was so nervous b/c I don’t like a lot of Korean food yet.  They said here, try this and then would watch me eat and wait for my reaction!  Thankfully it was okay!!  I had one of the older guys tell me, “I’ll teach you how to eat Korean style.”  I got a piece of lettuce and added this pork to it.  Then I went to grab something to put in it and the principal starting laughing at me.  I wasn’t sure what was going on.  He said, “too spicy!”  I tried a little bit anyway.  Then the guy told me to wad it up and stick it in my mouth.  So, I stuck this huge lettuce ball in my mouth while everyone was watching me!  Then the principal said, “Try this.”  It was like a dumpling sort of thing but had some type of rice cake in it.  Not exactly sure, but it’s one of his favorites so I just ate it and smiled!  Thankfully they had watermelon so I ate a few pieces.  Then the principal said, “Eat more.”  I said I was full.  Then he said, “Eat,” and pointed to the watermelon!  So, I decided to eat another piece and just smile!  It was so cool b/c I got to talk to some of the teachers.  They actually knew some English.  They asked a few questions about volleyball.  The vice principal said, “You are very good, I’m glad!”  We then finished our game!

I thought we were done, but then one of the guys came up to me and said that now it was the males turn!  Ah, that makes sense now!  So I sat down to watch them and then they were like, no you play with us.  So, I played with the guys (a few ladies played too) and I loved it!  They were pretty good, but I held my own!  I even put a few hits down!  It was great… the vice principal was our setter and they would yell my name “Becky” and then I would get the set and hit it!  The principal was behind me!  It was so much fun!  They finally started accepting me to.  Before they would be to scared to talk to me!  I fell like it tore down a lot of walls!  Pretty sure I was the only person really sweating though (Koreans don’t really sweat that much and we all know I’m a sweater!!)  We played for 2 hours!  I walked back to my classroom with the other teacher and the principal.  He said, “Very Good Job, Becky!”  That just made my night!  It’s really good if your principal likes you!

It was time to do laundry tonight!  That is a chore!  1.48 hours for washing and 42 minutes for drying... in the same machine… makes for some long nights!  I got most of it finished!  Exciting times! 

Overall, great day!  One of the best so far I think!  It’s the best feeling when you get to do stuff you love!  It definitely reenergizes you!  Hope you get to do the stuff you love… life’s too short not to!