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 5th 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 3rd 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 2nd and not 1st. The 1st place team got to get a hug from their English teacher, so I would have had to hug 10 high school boys! We took 2nd, 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!
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