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 3rd 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 6th Graders. This class is an ornery one too! The boys in that class definitely know how to push! This was the 4th 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 5th 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 5th Graders to the 6th Graders. Of course I would do this. Then she asked me to do it with the 3rd 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
No comments:
Post a Comment