Rewind... But Fast Forward First

Okay… sorry about the delay!  The past few weeks have been super busy!  I’ve actually had to do lesson plans these past few weeks, so it’s been consuming my time!  I have a lot to get you caught up on, but I am going to do my best!

As I was walking to the bus stop, my I-tunes shuffled through to “Manic Monday.”  Oh, what a week this is going to be I thought!  Then, I know you probably won’t believe me but I promise this is true, Friday afternoon when I got off of the bus it shuffled through to “Manic Monday” AGAIN!  And what is crazy is I have over 750 songs!  I can say this has summed up my week completely! J  

This was the last week before Summer Vacation and I can honestly say that no matter where you are in the world all kids act the same way!  They were definitely a bit crazy this week!  As I was walking to lunch one day, I saw a big group of students gathered around the door of their classroom.  I knew they had guilty looks on their faces so I tried to figure out what was going on.  Then I looked up and noticed a boy crawling through the window (which is above the door seal) and all of his classmates laughing at him.  I just shook my head and kept on walking!  They wouldn’t be able to understand me even if I tried to say something to him!  I just laughed to myself and kept on walking!

This is also the ‘Monsoon Season’ in Korea!  Oh wow… I have never experienced rain like this before!  I had my sister bring me rain boots over so I can walk to school!  It does not faze the kids one bit though.  They play outside at lunch in the rain!  The teachers don’t care and the kids come in soaked!  Oh it’s a sight!  Then some of the younger kids just take their umbrellas out and play in the rain!  Nothing is going to stand in the way of them getting their free time in though!  That is something you would never see in the States!

They are very observant little ones too!  I have this one 3^rd Grader, who is definitely one of my favorites, and every time he sees me he just gets this smile that can melt your heart!  He is always like “Hi Becky Teacher, how are you?”  He’s also one of the few who don’t freak out and shut down when I say “I’m good thanks and how are you?”  Well, one morning I was running late and I realized once I was on the bus I forgot to put earrings in.  When he saw me that morning he said Teacher and pointed to his ears.  He was asking me where my earrings were.  Oh why can’t more guys be that observant?!?  They should take lessons from this 9 year old! 

One day, my teacher just didn’t show up for a class… that was an experience!  We have 10 minutes between each class and she left and just didn’t come back.  It was a class of my crazy 6^th Graders.  This class is an ornery one too!  The boys in that class definitely know how to push!  This was the 4^th class that day, but my English Teacher does everything!  It was one of those days that I would say a few words and then they would repeat and then I would just sit there.  So of course, I totally wasn’t really paying attention to what she was doing b/c most of it was in Korean anyway!  So, I started the class as usual and then when it was her turn, she just wasn’t there.  So I went and got my beach ball and did an activity with them.  They seemed to like it but of course my classroom management was out the window b/c they couldn’t understand half of what I was saying anyway!  There was this one boy who was just being a punk… he was ridiculous.  I made him stand in the back of the classroom and this didn’t work.  So then I had him put his hands up (b/c that’s what they do here and he couldn’t understand anything else I was trying to tell him).  This failed too, so finally I just sent him out into the hall.  That’s one way of taking care of it!  I taught the rest of the kids what I could from the lesson, but then I had 10 minutes left.  I decided to pull up YouTube and play them a music video.  The only one I could think of that they would know was “Dancing Queen.”  Success!!  They loved it.  It was hilarious b/c they started singing and dancing… especially the boys that were being so ornery!  Then with like 5 minutes left, the teacher came in and tried to take over the class… I think she has control issues! J  It was interesting class that’s for sure… one I will not soon forget!

I did a PowerPoint on American Culture.  I showed them slides about food, sports, schools, and a map.  I also showed them music videos of Hannah Montana and High School Musical.  They loved it!  I had to listen to these songs 4 times a day all week, but that’s okay… I now have every word memorized!  I decided to make my 5^th Graders PB&J sandwiches b/c most of them had never had one before.  I wanted them to be able to try something that I consider a staple for children in the US.  They loved them!  It was so worth the hour every night to do it!  They were so cute and appreciative!  One boy even brought me in a sandwich that his mom had made for him that day with a milk!  He wanted to share with me b/c I shared with him.  Some of the teachers came down and said the sandwiches were a big hit!  The students all came back to class talking about it!  Mission accomplished!!

I will say that my “honeymoon stage” is officially over though!  This week was a difficult one for me for many reasons!  The above situations were definitely my daily doses of humor from God, but the rest was very trying!  My teacher and I do not see eye to eye on things.  She has a very strong personality and likes to control things.  If she doesn’t have her hand on it she totally freaks out!  She asked me to teach the Culture lesson I taught to my 5^th Graders to the 6^th Graders.  Of course I would do this.  Then she asked me to do it with the 3^rd Graders too.  I thought it would be difficult, but I agreed.  It was and they didn’t understand most of it.  She decided to start teaching my PowerPoint to them.  I got to the point to where all I was doing was simply pushing the button.  She was telling them all about the slides, in English!  Let’s just say I had to take a deep breath and count to 10 often that day!  I was also teaching them a “Days of the Week” song.  I made a video with a couple of my friends to the tune of “Adam’s Family.”  It’s pretty sweet if I do say so myself! J  But she started teaching them this song, too!  This was a major learning experience for me!  I was beyond frustrated on these days!  I know God was teaching me a very valuable lesson though! 

I went to talk to my director b/c I was about to have a breakdown!  I was so stressed out and I didn’t want to lash out at her.  My director is Korean, but she also taught in the states for about 9 years.  She understands both cultures, so she is a great buffer!  I explained to her my frustrations and she explained to me their culture and the differences.  She never once said she agreed with what the teacher was doing, but she helped me to see things from her perspective.  I just have to keep reminding myself that I am the assistant and I will do what she asks.  I just grin and bare it!  I am choosing to not let her effect my mood for the day.  I love my kids and I am there for them, not her.  If you could help me pray through this, it would be appreciated!  I have to remind myself that she is a child of God and He loves her and I want to love her the way He does!  Oh the life lessons I’m learning!  **Don’t pray for patience if you’re not willing to do the time! J

I am also learning that I need to grow thicker skin here!  Koreans are very blunt!  They say what they think.  Well, it’s sort of confusing b/c they are super polite and nice when it comes to most things.  But then there are things that say that you are like ‘Are you kidding me?!?’  My teacher told me I should start eating more salads!  Yeah, wasn’t sure what to do with that one.  I was already having a bad day and this didn’t help!  Thick skin, Becky, thick skin! 

Even though it had been a rough week, I know without a doubt that teaching is where I am supposed to be!  I absolutely LOVE it!  I feel alive and I feel like my passion has been reignited!  I know, it took me a few years to get there, but it’s been worth the journey!  I know when I get home I want to go back and get my certificate!  I am really looking forward to this! 

The food got me again!  I experienced Korean Nachos!  I saw a picture of nachos on a menu.  I thought wow, that looks great and I haven’t had nachos in forever!  Oh Korea!  They fooled me again!  They were nachos, but they were definitely Korean!  They even had the Korean Spicy taste to them!  They were good, but too much!  Go figure!! 

Oh and one more random thing about Korea.  You know when we text people or do something similar and we want to make a smile face we will go :) or :-).  They go like this -_-  Isn’t that hilarious?!?  It’s all about the eyes!  That is your dose of humor for the day!

I have one more week to get you caught up on.  I will do that tomorrow night hopefully!  My schedule has been out of whack these past few weeks!  My break has started so I can hopefully get caught up soon!  Sorry… I didn’t realize people actually read this! J

Good Week!!

This week has started off well!  I got to actually use the lesson plans I made!  Honestly, they weren’t the best b/c I didn’t put a lot of time into them (all my experiences thus far had told me I was wasting my time!)  My teacher was satisfied though… I guess that’s all that matters!  Next week I’m teaching a lesson about America.  Thankfully one of the other teachers here has already done a similar lesson so I’m stealing her PowerPoint!  I’m planning on making PB&J sandwiches for them as well!  They don’t eat those here!

I’ve also bonded with my lunch ladies!  I’ve been telling them thank you and saying hello in Korean to them everyday and they love it!  Last week we had this really good rice and they were formed into balls.  My teacher asked if I wanted more (she knew I liked them b/c I actually ate it all!!) and of course I said yes so she went and got me some more.  She said she would try to get me a big ball but she didn’t know how much they would give her.  She came back with 2 pretty good size balls of rice!  It was fabulous!  Then on Monday we had chicken wings.  This is a lunch where I only eat the wings and the rice.  I decided to be brave and ask my other teacher if I could get some more wings.  I was thinking maybe they would give me 2 more (they only give you 2 at the beginning) and I would be okay with that.  The teacher told me she would go and get them for me.  She came back with a bowl full of about 8 more wings!  It was amazing!  The first day I ate them with my chopsticks, but on this day I decided I was going to enjoy them so I ate them with my hands!  (I saw kids doing it this way and I figured I could get away with it… I’m a foreigner, right?!?)  Then, the next day we had Spaghetti and I didn’t even have to ask for more.  My teacher knows I like noodles so she asked the lunch ladies for extra for me.  They got me a bowl and put my spaghetti in there!  They usually just put it in one of the small circles on the tray!  Pretty sure I ate it all and enjoyed every bite of it!  (Remember though, this is Korean Spaghetti, so it’s nothing like you are thinking!)  Oh I have learned that the lunch ladies are definitely people you need to get in good with and show them your appreciation!

I also tried something new for dinner this week!  One of the native speakers had a couple of us over for dinner and made us grilled peanut butter sandwiches… D-E-L-I-S-H!  We poured powder sugar over it and dipped it in syrup.  She told me that one of her friends told her about it and said she grew up on them.  I said my kids will be growing up on these as well! J 

I conned 2 of my friends into helping me make a couple of videos for my kiddos to help them learn the Months of Year and Days of the Week.  We did the Macarena for Months of the Year and the Adam’s Family theme song for the Days of the week.  It was fun!  Hopefully the kids will appreciate it!  I’m in the process of trying to figure out how to edit it now!  Hopefully I can figure that out soon!  I’m going to show it to my 5^th graders on Monday!  Oh the things we do to help students remember things!

I’ve started a new thing with my kids this week and it has been very interesting.  I’m really lacking physical touch here and it’s so weird.  It’s one of those things that you take for granted at home!  It’s a sad day… I think I’ve only gotten 2 hugs since I’ve been here and I’m used to averaging at least one per day back in the states!  That’s a huge let down!  So, I decided that I would start in a low-key manner.  So from now on, I stand at the backdoor when my kids are leaving and I give them all a high five!  Most of them love it!  The boys will wind up and make sure they give me a good one!  A few of them are uncomfortable with this though… or maybe they just don’t know what to think about it yet.  They just look at me and walk past!  Oh well… they’ll warm up soon enough! J  Some of them don’t quite get the concept of a high five and they’ll grab my hand!  It’s pretty cute! 

My 3^rd graders always give me cute stories!  I’m trying to teach them that not everyone is a ‘sir.’  They will try to be polite and say “Yes, sir” to me.  I’m trying to teach them that I am a mama, not a sir.  Hopefully they’ll get it soon!  I also have another boy who will always ask me, “Teacher, what’s this?” and then he’ll point to a random thing in the classroom or in his book.  He’ll do this in the middle of the lesson though while the other teacher is trying to teach!  He’s so cute though and he really wants to know so I can’t just ignore him!  They are such great kids!

Tuesday, I went with the director of our program to go to a local high school to recruit students.  We went to a class of Seniors at 7.30pm.  They stay at school until at least 10pm every night and they have to be there usually my 8am at the latest!  They are intense!  Some students don’t get home until after midnight!  It’s too much in my opinion and these poor kids have no life!  But anyway, we broke up in groups and had the kids ask us questions about ourselves and then they would have to put it in sentences and tell the rest of the class!  I had the group full of boys.  They were too funny!  The first question they asked, was if I had a boyfriend.  Then they asked how old I was (these are 2 staple questions for Koreans).  Thankfully, my group got 2^nd and not 1^st.  The 1^st place team got to get a hug from their English teacher, so I would have had to hug 10 high school boys!  We took 2^nd, so I got to give them on ‘knuckles.’  It was a great time to see another school and just experience the difference in culture.  I enjoyed myself.

Wednesday was Volleyball Day!  This week we went to another Elementary School to play.  It was quite comical b/c I was supposed to go to another school today and observe a class but my teacher told me yesterday that I wasn’t going to go.  I asked her why and she said it was too far and she didn’t have time to take me.  She also said the Principal did not want me to go.  Then she told me we’d be going to another school to play volleyball and I would do that instead!  Aha… that is the real reason I didn’t go… very indirect culture! J  I road over to the other school with the PE teacher, who is young, and my principal and another guy.  I heard my name a few times but I had no idea what they were talking about!  I’m used to it now!  I found out yesterday that the school we were going to was the school where one of my other English Teacher friend works.  So, we played each other!  It was a great time!  My teachers kept telling me, Oh, there’s another American, do you know her?  I told them she was my neighbor.  They thought that was the coolest thing!  I did move up and I wasn’t the low man on the totem pole this week.  I got to play an actual position and be involved in a lot of the plays!  They even let me hit a few times!  Before the game, one of the older teachers came up to me and said, “The other American plays volleyball, but you are better right?  You will play better then her today!”  It was so funny.  After we were done, he comes up to me, gives me thumbs up, a wink and says, “You kept your promise!”  I had a great day of volleyball!  It was hot and I was a sweaty mess (as usual) but it was so refreshing!  It’s such a great way to communicate!  I can really feel the guys warming up to me now since I’ve been playing with them more!  One guy always waves to me now, even if we’re at opposite ends of the hall (I’m easy to spot b/c I stick out!).  It’s so interesting how we can communicate to each other without speaking a lot of the time!

I was bummed though b/c I think they were trying to ask me to go out to eat with them after we played!  None of them really spoke English that well, so it was hard to communicate!  I told my teacher friend about it the next night and she said yeah they were probably trying to invite you!  She said she will tell them that I want to go with them so next time I can! 

I went out with my teacher friend again!  I love having a Korean friend!  We have so much fun together and I can ask her anything about the culture!  She took me to a fabulous restaurant and then we went shopping!  How great is that?!?  She also took me to the gym she has a membership at.  She showed me where her badminton club plays… they are intense!  They don’t mess around here!  She also showed me where she swims everyday.  She invited me to come… at 5am in the morning!!  I told her I’d check it out one day!  I have to get a new swimsuit though b/c mine doesn’t really fit the mold of a swimmer!  I also have to get a swim cap… everyone’s doing it!  I’m actually looking forward to it! 

This weekend was ‘Mud Fest!’  Yep, pretty much exactly what you are picturing in your mind!  It was on the beach and they bring all this mud in.  It originally started out as a festival for Koreans, b/c they believe this mud is very good for your skin (‘good for your health’ as they say)!  It eventually turned into a festival full of foreigners!  It was pretty much just like a ‘Spring Break Trip.’  You know, a big drunken fest!  Needless to say, we left early (partly b/c it started raining) to head back!  It was fun for the most part though!  They have huge inflatables and they are covered in mud!  It was a blast for the short time!  Quite an experience!  It was very weird seeing so many foreigners though and understanding what they were saying!  It was a bit overwhelming!  That feeling was very different to me… not something I expected!  I’m just so used to hearing Korean and not understanding what people are saying!  It was a bit of culture shock! J  Overall though, the day was great!

I’ve really been challenged lately about enjoying the little things in life!  I am surrounded by them daily and there are so many moments that can go unnoticed if I’m not looking for them!  I don’t want to miss my chance!

I am getting ready to start my last week of classes before summer vacation!  I know this week is going to be full of crazy kiddos… bring them on! J  I’m sure I will have some great stories for you after this week!

Yes, I'm still alive...

Korean "Chicken" Game

I know it’s been quite awhile since my last update!  I’ve been staying pretty busy.  I also know it’s about an hour process to write and I haven’t had that!  I guess I could start writing less, but what’s the fun in that?!?

So, I feel like a lot has happened.  The first few days last week I was sick… no bueno!!  The Mexican food (I think) killed me!  We had that on Saturday night and I didn’t eat again until Monday night.  All I ate were saltine crackers, a banana, and Cider (Sprite).  My teacher came in to get me for lunch on Monday and I told her I didn’t feel well so I wasn’t going to eat.  She told me I should go to the ‘Nurse Teacher’s’ room.  She also told me saltines and cider wasn’t good for me.  I told her it was and I’d be okay.  (They go to the doctor for EVERYTHING here… even a headache!)  Bonus—she let me leave school at 3pm that day… 2 hours early!  Score! 

OH MY WORD!  I thought North Korea was attacking us one night this week!  At 4am this alarm started going off and then a Korean woman came on and was saying something that obviously we could not understand!  I sat straight up in bed and all of my internal alarms starting going off!  I stuck my head out into the hall and nobody was out there!  It freaked me out b/c I thought everyone else had been taken or something.  About 30 seconds later (which is a long time when you are in a panic!) people started coming out!  I was so discombobulated I had no idea what was going on!  I realized I had to go to the bathroom so I decided to do that before I went out b/c who knows how long we’d be out there!  I managed to find some shoes and that was it.  Half way down the stairs I realized I should have grabbed my robe.  Too late, I had to go out in my boxers and t-shirt… attractive and highly appropriate! J  None of us knew what was going on.  We see this guy come to our building and go into a room and turn the alarm off.  He didn’t say anything to us so we went back in (hind sight that probably wasn’t the smartest, but we survived)!  On the way in we saw the older couple and they said they had to find their documents and get important stuff!  Passport… duh!  I didn’t even think of that!  I won’t make that mistake again!  My heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to jump out of my chest!!  I honestly thought we were in the middle of a raid or something!  Needless to say, I didn’t really go back to sleep that night! 

I’m learning flexibility more and more everyday!  My other teacher told me to review with my 5^th Graders for their test on Monday and Tuesday.  I prepared a game and went to the store and bought candy for the winners.  When I arrived my teacher told me—you have ten minutes.  I told her I had a game and she said “Oh no, no time.”  The second class she told me I had five minutes.  By the third class she told me I didn’t need to come anymore that day or at all the next day!  So, last week I did nothing!  Tuesday and Friday, I literally sat at my desk all day and went no where!  (Well, I did find a Korean Drama that I LOVE!  It’s comparable to ‘One Tree Hill’ and ‘The OC’… you know, my faves!  I watched the whole two seasons in less than a week.  Oh my, very addictive!  Love it… I actually learned some Korean phrases… I considered it educational!  The kids and the younger teachers love it too, so it’s a great way to bond with them!  Each episode was subtitled.  So, that is what I did with all my extra time this past week!)  So, school was pretty uneventful! 

Oh, but I did experience my first cuss word from one of my kids.  In between classes a lot of 6^th Grade boys come in and ‘talk’ (relative term) to me.  One of the boys (actually it’s the boy who creeps me out—I think I told you about him.  He doesn’t creep me out anymore b/c I’ve realized he just can’t speak English so he’ll just stare at me!  I’m choosing to not get creeped out anymore… he’s innocent!)  This boy does not know any English words, but he can still drop the ‘F’ bomb.  He told it to one of his classmates.  I told him ‘anyo’ and gave him the ‘X.’  Oh Korean kids!

I also got a ‘special’ note this week from one of my boys (the one that I see on the bus).  He wrote me a note in English and it was so cute!  He asked me if I liked Kimchi?  Y or N?  Then he said write back soon and drew a heart on it!  Oh I just love my kids!  I think I’m learning this emotion in a whole new way!  I absolutely love them!  If I can feel this way about kids that I can’t even hold a conversation with, how much more will I love my own class?  This experience has solidified that I want to be a teacher!  Or even more, once I start having my own kids!  I’m learning you can never love too much!  This is something that God will continue to fill you with so you can share it with others.  I’m finding that the more I’m able to love others, the more I am truly experiencing it myself!  Wow, that’s good stuff!

I’m always amazed how God will bring me what I need right when I need it.  He reminds me often what a small world this really is!  After church, I stayed after to help pick up trash in the neighborhood.  Sometimes when I’m doing service projects like this, I get caught up in the “doing” and miss the relationship part of the service.  So of course, I got in that mindset and went to work!  Then, towards the end, one of the Koreans started talking to me.  She asked my name and what school I was at.  I told her and she said she used to work at that school.  She also knew some of my teachers.  Then she said, “Oh you’re Becky, you play volleyball, right?”  Ha, I love that that is how I am associated!  This couple also used to live in Oklahoma for a couple of years while the husband studied at Oklahoma State University.  She then introduced me to another lady and her husband.  It was so refreshing to meet Koreans who spoke English well! 

Korea has a lot of things from home!  They even have a Cosco!!  I made my first trip there this past week… worth it!  It’s an experience though.  You have to take a train there and back.  (First you have to take a taxi to the train station though.  One of my guy friends was sitting in the front and the driver leaned over and pulled his leg hair and then laughed!  He did it two times… he couldn’t get over it!)  Cosco was amazing!  I got real lunch meat, actual cheese, SALSA!!! and chips, Fiber One bars, Dr. Pepper & Cherry Coke… life is good!  I even had a hotdog for dinner… I’d been craving them!  You have to take your suitcase to carry everything home.  I’m sure we looked like a sight!

I decided to take my teachers something for the 4^th of July.  It’s more difficult then I thought to find something.  Even the “American” stuff is still Korean!  I decided on donuts.  I went to Dunk-n-Donuts and then I decorated the plastic bag with a flag and other patriotic red and blue things.  They liked them and were very appreciative.  One of my teachers said she was having a very stressful day but getting that made her heart happy!  That made my day!  I’m glad I was able to share a bit with them!

Some of the American teachers decided to spend the 4^th on the Beach.  It was so relaxing!  We had a great time.  We decided to play some beach games—We played volleyball (well we peppered) and then we played “Red Rover.”  We also played this Korean “Chicken” game.  You hold one leg in front of you and bounce around and try to know each other over.  Last standing wins.  It’s pretty intense.  “Red Rover” and “Chicken” were pretty physical.  I have a couple “war wounds” to prove it! 

 

We were originally told we could light fireworks, but then when we tired, security came over and stopped us.  We later found out that we couldn’t shoot them now b/c of all the stuff going on with North Korea.  I guess it resembles bombs too much so security is tightened b/c the threat is up.  I was so disappointed I didn’t get to see real fireworks—this is on of my favorite holidays!  We did set a couple off though before we had to go.  One of my friends bought sparklers so we went up to the roof on Sunday night and lit them.  I’m usually scared of sparklers, but I mustered up the courage this year!  It was that or nothing and I couldn’t settle for nothing.  It was a great weekend, but it made me miss home and my family and friends. 

I will say mosquitoes over here are pretty intense (at least I think that’s what they are)!  I got covered in bites.  I haven’t had this many in years!  And boy do they itch!  All part of the experience!!

Okay, I promise another update about this week is coming soon!  I’ve already started it!  Hope you enjoy some of my favorite pictures from the weekend!