This past weekend I went on an island bike tour just off the Jellabuk-do province, it is about 2 1/2 hours south of Seoul. I went with three other teachers I work with and we went through an organization called Adventure Korea. The islands are small and one of the only ways of transportation around the island is by bike. We left early Saturday morning and made our way south. After the bus ride, we caught a ferry out to the islands. It was about an hour and a half ferry ride and the seas were not very cooperative on the way out. A few people got sea sick but thankfully I had taken some sea sick medicine and slept the whole way out.
Once we got to the island we loaded our bags in a little shuttle/bus type thing and walking to where we picked up our bikes. We got our bikes and rode to the hotel to get our rooms. Korean hotels are not like hotels back in the states. I was in a group of 3 people so we were fortunate and got a room with a bed, many of the other groups didn't get beds but just got floor cushions. I found this very interesting. After we threw our stuff in the rooms we set off to explore the islands. It was a very interesting experience. The islands are very small and all connected by bridges. Each island had many little fishing villages. I felt a bit weird being there. I felt like the people living there were on display for us and there for our amusement. Although they were all very friendly and seemed happy to see us, I felt very uncomfortable being there. It was the most out of place I have felt since I have been here, and I'm a blond American with a big nose!! Trust me, I stick out! But the scenery was very cool, and the islands were gorgeous. It was a great experience and something I would not have done on my own. And it was really great to see another part of the country and to see how others live.
After we wore ourselves out riding around the islands, it was time for dinner. We had a traditional Korean meal. It was quite good but these Koreans are going to make me lose about 10lbs. I could eat and eat this food and never feel full! I'll have to get used to that. After dinner, we didn't have many options as to how to fill the time. We found a place to buy some adult beverages and headed back to the hotel. One of the teachers I was with had some friends that also came on the trip. So along with the other 3 I knew, there were 5 other girls who knew each other. We all piled into a room and had some drinks. It was a really fun night. I learned a few new games and made a few new friends.
The next morning we got up, had breakfast and then had the option of going hiking. Me and two other teachers opted out of the hike and found a nice place to sit in the sun. We spent the morning there just talking and napping. Around 12:30 we headed back to catch the ferry and head back to the mainland. We got back on the bus around 2:45 and we were back in Seoul by 5:45.
It was a long weekend and not very relaxing but it was a great experience. It was really cool to see a completely different lifestyle than I see in Bundang. Makes me grateful for what I have.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Life's Little Lessons
Today one of my classes learned a valuable lesson in life, modesty. I am talking about Leeds, my "smart class." They are smart but the problem is, is that they know they are smart. Here's how it all went down:
We were finishing our math lesson for the day and the bell had rung. It was 12:40, which is lunch time. I had the kids go wash their hands and get ready for lunch. As my class was going out to wash their hands, the class across the hall (Preston) was also going to wash their hands. Preston is also a 7-year-old class but not quite as advanced as my class. As my kids were making their way back to class, a few of them saw the book that Preston was studying. It is called English Time 3. Well my kids are learning English Time 4 and they thought they should let Preston know this information. One kid said, "You are only learning English Time 3. We are doing English Time 4! Preston is not as smart as us." (Or something to that effect.)
I did not hear any of this take place but the teacher in Preston did. She told me the story as we were sitting down for lunch. I was so mad! A few of the other teachers started laughing but I was really disappointed in my kids. I knew that as their new teacher and as the foreign teacher they may not take discipline from me as serious as they would from my partner teacher, who is Korean. So after lunch I told Sheena about the incident. She was as upset as I was about it and she said she would talk to them.
After school I couldn't wait to hear what she said to them. The first thing she said when I asked her how it went was, "they were all in tear!" She went into class and asked who had said that to Preston and of course at first they all denied it. Then one kid fessed up and then one more. She told them to stand up, pack up their stuff and go home. She said, "I don't teach people who act like that." She said by then they were all bawling and apologizing. One kid really did start packing up his stuff and was getting ready to leave!! She told them they don't act like that and they don't tease other kids. Then she had them go across the hall and apologize to Preston.
I felt a bit like a tattle tail but I knew this was a valuable lesson they needed to learn and I knew Sheena was much better suited for that situation than I was. They are smart, but they needed to learn that their intelligence is not be used to hurt others.
We were finishing our math lesson for the day and the bell had rung. It was 12:40, which is lunch time. I had the kids go wash their hands and get ready for lunch. As my class was going out to wash their hands, the class across the hall (Preston) was also going to wash their hands. Preston is also a 7-year-old class but not quite as advanced as my class. As my kids were making their way back to class, a few of them saw the book that Preston was studying. It is called English Time 3. Well my kids are learning English Time 4 and they thought they should let Preston know this information. One kid said, "You are only learning English Time 3. We are doing English Time 4! Preston is not as smart as us." (Or something to that effect.)
I did not hear any of this take place but the teacher in Preston did. She told me the story as we were sitting down for lunch. I was so mad! A few of the other teachers started laughing but I was really disappointed in my kids. I knew that as their new teacher and as the foreign teacher they may not take discipline from me as serious as they would from my partner teacher, who is Korean. So after lunch I told Sheena about the incident. She was as upset as I was about it and she said she would talk to them.
After school I couldn't wait to hear what she said to them. The first thing she said when I asked her how it went was, "they were all in tear!" She went into class and asked who had said that to Preston and of course at first they all denied it. Then one kid fessed up and then one more. She told them to stand up, pack up their stuff and go home. She said, "I don't teach people who act like that." She said by then they were all bawling and apologizing. One kid really did start packing up his stuff and was getting ready to leave!! She told them they don't act like that and they don't tease other kids. Then she had them go across the hall and apologize to Preston.
I felt a bit like a tattle tail but I knew this was a valuable lesson they needed to learn and I knew Sheena was much better suited for that situation than I was. They are smart, but they needed to learn that their intelligence is not be used to hurt others.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Seoul Marathon
I have now completed marathons on two continents! I ran the 2010 Seoul Marathon this morning and what an experience! I didn't have huge expectations for myself going into the race. I have been able to keep to a somewhat normal running plan since I have been here but I hadn't ran anything over 13 miles since late January. My goal was anywhere between 3:15 and 3:30 and I crossed the finish line at 3:20.51!
Running a marathon in a foreign land can be a bit intimidating. I live about 40 min outside Seoul so I had to figure out where it started and the best way to get there. Thankfully I have a great friend who came with me. Hayley and her boyfriend got up early, on a Sunday nonetheless, and came to the start line with me to make sure I knew where I was going and to see me start! It was such a relief to have a friendly face there with me. After I said good-bye to them and found my place in the start corral we had about 20 min until the start. It was very interesting to look around and see the clientele running the race. First, I was probably one of maybe 10 women in my start corral!! It was very strange to see such a large population of male runners. Second, I was surprised there weren't more foreigners running. I would say 90-95% of the runners were Asian. But one kind Korean saw me taking pictures and took my picture with the mountains and the gold statute in the background.
As the race started I tried to start slow so I didn't get to mile 18 and feel like I wanted to die!! I stayed with the 3:10 pace group for a while but I decided to slow down and really enjoy the race and my surroundings. It was hard to run and not be able to talk to the other runners. Every other marathon I have ran, I have left my headphones at home but I was very glad to have them today. Since no one spoke English, I had no one to talk to!!
Hayley and Andrew found me at about the half way point. It was so great to see a familiar face in the crowd! I stopped quick to take a picture and chat with them quick. It's amazing how much it helps to know you have someone in the crowd cheering you on.
After I found them I was keeping a pretty good pace. I stopped along the way a few times to take pictures and to go to the bathroom! They didn't have a lot of biffy set up along the way. We were running right on the road, so we used gas station bathrooms! It was a bit comical, and no, we didn't have to go to the cashier to get the key.
I felt pretty good throughout the race. Around mile 22, well I think it was mile 22, they do kilometers here so I was trying to figure that out the whole time, and I couldn't remember if a marathon was 42 or 43 km so that didn't help. Anyway, around mile 22 or 36km, I my legs really started hurting. But I just kept thinking, 'the faster I run, the faster I can be done running!'
Finally the km marker hit 40 and I knew I was close regardless if it was 42 or 43. I just turned up my music and kept going. Then I saw the "1km to go" sign and I started getting tears in my eyes. I don't know why! I think it was just the fact that I actually moved to South Korea and now I had completed the Seoul Marathon! It was a great feeling! As I turned the corner I saw the huge Olympic Stadium sign and the Olympic rings on the outside of the stadium. It was so glorious and I was so excited, but at the same time it was a little bittersweet. I wish I could have experienced it with my brothers. We have run so many marathons, half marathons, and other races together. We have run in bathrobes, run in the heat, and run with each other to qualify for Boston. Having them with me would have made it perfect and I wish I could have been running next to them as I made my way into the stadium for the final 385 yards.
Even so, it was an amazing race and I know one of these days the four of us will knock out another continent together.
Running a marathon in a foreign land can be a bit intimidating. I live about 40 min outside Seoul so I had to figure out where it started and the best way to get there. Thankfully I have a great friend who came with me. Hayley and her boyfriend got up early, on a Sunday nonetheless, and came to the start line with me to make sure I knew where I was going and to see me start! It was such a relief to have a friendly face there with me. After I said good-bye to them and found my place in the start corral we had about 20 min until the start. It was very interesting to look around and see the clientele running the race. First, I was probably one of maybe 10 women in my start corral!! It was very strange to see such a large population of male runners. Second, I was surprised there weren't more foreigners running. I would say 90-95% of the runners were Asian. But one kind Korean saw me taking pictures and took my picture with the mountains and the gold statute in the background.
As the race started I tried to start slow so I didn't get to mile 18 and feel like I wanted to die!! I stayed with the 3:10 pace group for a while but I decided to slow down and really enjoy the race and my surroundings. It was hard to run and not be able to talk to the other runners. Every other marathon I have ran, I have left my headphones at home but I was very glad to have them today. Since no one spoke English, I had no one to talk to!!
Hayley and Andrew found me at about the half way point. It was so great to see a familiar face in the crowd! I stopped quick to take a picture and chat with them quick. It's amazing how much it helps to know you have someone in the crowd cheering you on.
After I found them I was keeping a pretty good pace. I stopped along the way a few times to take pictures and to go to the bathroom! They didn't have a lot of biffy set up along the way. We were running right on the road, so we used gas station bathrooms! It was a bit comical, and no, we didn't have to go to the cashier to get the key.
I felt pretty good throughout the race. Around mile 22, well I think it was mile 22, they do kilometers here so I was trying to figure that out the whole time, and I couldn't remember if a marathon was 42 or 43 km so that didn't help. Anyway, around mile 22 or 36km, I my legs really started hurting. But I just kept thinking, 'the faster I run, the faster I can be done running!'
Finally the km marker hit 40 and I knew I was close regardless if it was 42 or 43. I just turned up my music and kept going. Then I saw the "1km to go" sign and I started getting tears in my eyes. I don't know why! I think it was just the fact that I actually moved to South Korea and now I had completed the Seoul Marathon! It was a great feeling! As I turned the corner I saw the huge Olympic Stadium sign and the Olympic rings on the outside of the stadium. It was so glorious and I was so excited, but at the same time it was a little bittersweet. I wish I could have experienced it with my brothers. We have run so many marathons, half marathons, and other races together. We have run in bathrobes, run in the heat, and run with each other to qualify for Boston. Having them with me would have made it perfect and I wish I could have been running next to them as I made my way into the stadium for the final 385 yards.
Even so, it was an amazing race and I know one of these days the four of us will knock out another continent together.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Learning while teaching
I came to Korea to teach, but I knew coming here it would also be a huge learning experience. Not only learning about a different culture but about myself. And so far it has been. As of two weeks ago, I had never taught my own class. I had never had to prepare lesson plans or been the carrier of so much information. In two short weeks I have taught 6-year-old kids learn what rapidly and hastily mean and that they are synonyms (or cinnamons according to them. It's really cute to see 6-year-old Korean kids try to say synonym). And it's a wonderful feeling knowing you are helping further their education. I realize teaching is hard but I have learned in two short weeks that education is my true calling and I want to further my teaching career when I get back to the states.
With the joys I have already experienced the tribulations that also come with teaching. I have two very difficult students, one in each class. Today was one of those trying days with that student. It was like pulling teeth to get him to write one sentence and at one point started crying for no reason. After consoling him and trying to find out what was wrong, I was able to get him to at least tell me the sentences he would have wrote. although the pencil never touched his paper, I felt it was a bit of a victory. I was able to get him to stop crying and he even smiled when he gave me a good sentence.
There are a few things about Korean culture I have also learned in my few short weeks here. I now know why they are all so skinny. It's really three-fold. First, it's impossible to get fat when you eat with chopsticks. You can't fit a huge bite of anything on chopsticks so there for you eat slower and thus get full quicker and you don't over eat like many Americans. Second, you can't get fat by eating cabbage. I swear I have seen cabbage cooked, grilled, sauteed, and prepared every which way possible. And there's just no way to get fat off cabbage. Third, although cars are all around, you can get around without one, and if you do, you walk EVERYWHERE! There are subways and buses to get you to your destination, you will most likely be walking once you get there. They love their exercise in this country.
I have also learned, or am learning, how to use chopsticks. I look like a kid with special needs right now when I use them, but I'm getting better and will master it before I leave.
I've also learned that it's tough to be away from those you love. I knew it would be hard leaving everyone and everything that is familiar to me, but it's nothing you can truly prepare for. Saying last good-byes was hard but seeing my little nephew on skype and hearing him say "I wove you Katie" breaks my heart. And knowing everyone is together and doing things as a group but I'm not there is tough. But then I think of the wonderful experience coming here has been and will be and it makes it a bit easier. I think I have also learned I would rather hear my little buddy say he misses me and be able to see my parents than to just write e-mails and make phone calls. There's something about seeing their faces that keeps me connected and not as homesick. I didn't skype with my family this weekend and I felt like something was missing. I wanted to tell them about the cool things I saw in Insa-dong and about my week of teaching and felt a little incomplete without being able to see them.
I miss everyone and I miss home, but I look at all I have learned in three weeks and know it's just a sliver of what this adventure will bring.
With the joys I have already experienced the tribulations that also come with teaching. I have two very difficult students, one in each class. Today was one of those trying days with that student. It was like pulling teeth to get him to write one sentence and at one point started crying for no reason. After consoling him and trying to find out what was wrong, I was able to get him to at least tell me the sentences he would have wrote. although the pencil never touched his paper, I felt it was a bit of a victory. I was able to get him to stop crying and he even smiled when he gave me a good sentence.
There are a few things about Korean culture I have also learned in my few short weeks here. I now know why they are all so skinny. It's really three-fold. First, it's impossible to get fat when you eat with chopsticks. You can't fit a huge bite of anything on chopsticks so there for you eat slower and thus get full quicker and you don't over eat like many Americans. Second, you can't get fat by eating cabbage. I swear I have seen cabbage cooked, grilled, sauteed, and prepared every which way possible. And there's just no way to get fat off cabbage. Third, although cars are all around, you can get around without one, and if you do, you walk EVERYWHERE! There are subways and buses to get you to your destination, you will most likely be walking once you get there. They love their exercise in this country.
I have also learned, or am learning, how to use chopsticks. I look like a kid with special needs right now when I use them, but I'm getting better and will master it before I leave.
I've also learned that it's tough to be away from those you love. I knew it would be hard leaving everyone and everything that is familiar to me, but it's nothing you can truly prepare for. Saying last good-byes was hard but seeing my little nephew on skype and hearing him say "I wove you Katie" breaks my heart. And knowing everyone is together and doing things as a group but I'm not there is tough. But then I think of the wonderful experience coming here has been and will be and it makes it a bit easier. I think I have also learned I would rather hear my little buddy say he misses me and be able to see my parents than to just write e-mails and make phone calls. There's something about seeing their faces that keeps me connected and not as homesick. I didn't skype with my family this weekend and I felt like something was missing. I wanted to tell them about the cool things I saw in Insa-dong and about my week of teaching and felt a little incomplete without being able to see them.
I miss everyone and I miss home, but I look at all I have learned in three weeks and know it's just a sliver of what this adventure will bring.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Snow in Korea
It snowed!!! South Korea does get snow, but not in March so this was a shock to all! And it is interesting watching those who don't usually get much snow, deal with snow removal. As I was finishing my run this morning I saw one guy getting the snow off his car with his umbrella, that was a method I had never seen before. They don't have plows so they do whatever they can to move the snow off sidewalks and even the grass. I saw people trying to shovel as much as they could off the road and using brooms to clear walks. And they have no idea how to drive in snow! Thankfully I don't have to drive here but watching the traffic move along was quite hilarious. I don't think anyone was going over 30 mph. Thankfully it will all be gone by tomorrow when it's supposed to be 45 and sunny.
The snow was a good distraction to the crazy day that was going to unfold. Wednesdays are good and bad. They are good because I get to spend most of my day with my Leeds class (they are my smart ones). It is so much fun watching them understand new topics and concepts. They are learning new vocabulary words; gullible, devious, courteous, hastily, and it is so much fun to watch them learn the word and learn how to use it in everyday language. They are also learning the differences between their, they're, and there and it's and its. This is a much more difficult topic for them. But it is so great to see their faces when they understand. They stand up and start shouting answers out! I love it! It's funny though because one of the classroom rules is "we must use our indoor voices." So when some kids get a bit too loud, one girl will cover her ears and say "too loud!" It's so funny! It reminds me of Toby.
Speaking of Toby, today I shared with my Leeds class that my sister-in-law was born in Seoul and that my nephew looks like them. They thought it was so cool that Jen was born in Seoul. I showed them a picture of Jen and Toby and they thought it was so cool that she was Korean and had so many questions. It was really nice to be able to share part of my life with them. They are really starting to warm up to me, which is nice. I have had one girl tell me that she loves me and one of the girls gave me her Hello Kitty sticker! That is prize material.
Although the days are long and trying, it makes it worth it when I can make those connections with them.
The snow was a good distraction to the crazy day that was going to unfold. Wednesdays are good and bad. They are good because I get to spend most of my day with my Leeds class (they are my smart ones). It is so much fun watching them understand new topics and concepts. They are learning new vocabulary words; gullible, devious, courteous, hastily, and it is so much fun to watch them learn the word and learn how to use it in everyday language. They are also learning the differences between their, they're, and there and it's and its. This is a much more difficult topic for them. But it is so great to see their faces when they understand. They stand up and start shouting answers out! I love it! It's funny though because one of the classroom rules is "we must use our indoor voices." So when some kids get a bit too loud, one girl will cover her ears and say "too loud!" It's so funny! It reminds me of Toby.
Speaking of Toby, today I shared with my Leeds class that my sister-in-law was born in Seoul and that my nephew looks like them. They thought it was so cool that Jen was born in Seoul. I showed them a picture of Jen and Toby and they thought it was so cool that she was Korean and had so many questions. It was really nice to be able to share part of my life with them. They are really starting to warm up to me, which is nice. I have had one girl tell me that she loves me and one of the girls gave me her Hello Kitty sticker! That is prize material.
Although the days are long and trying, it makes it worth it when I can make those connections with them.
Friday, March 5, 2010
The last day of the first week
I have made it through the first week of teaching and all in all it went pretty well. I feel like I have a good handle on my classes, both in class management and knowing their levels and how much I can challenge them. Today just seemed off from the start though. I was running over in all my classes and my second to last class was late 5 min last to Ballet because I went over time with them. Then my last class it all fell apart! Since I was late to getting to class I didn't have enough time to cover everything we needed to cover. With about 10 min left in class one of my girls kept saying she wanted to go home. I told her to hang in there for 10 min. Then with about 5 min left that same girl said she had to go to the bathroom. By now I was just thinking she wanted a way to get out of class. So I didn't let her go to the bathroom. Then sure enough, she peed right there standing up! I felt horrible!!! I ran her to the bathroom, told her it was okay, that it was teachers fault and that it was an accident. She was crying and was so embarrassed. I felt so awful! Thankfully it's Friday and hopefully no one will remember by Monday. And hopefully by next week I will be in more of a groove of things.
The past week I have brought my work home with me and I did again this weekend to try to get as much stuff done over the weekend as possible so I can enjoy my nights after work. Our days are long and hard and I want to enjoy my evenings. We have to be at school by 9am but if we want the free transportation offered by the school we get picked up at 8:10 and we are at school by 8:20. This first week it has been nice getting there early to get some last minute things done.
Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays we teach after school classes. The kids we teach are Elementary school kids who come to Helen Doron for extra tutoring. The classes are 50 min and we each teach three classes. So after our normal school day, which ends at 2:45 we have to teach three more classes and aren't done teaching until 5:45! Makes for very long days! Tuesdays and Thursdays we don't have afternoon classes but we still have to be at school until 5:30. Needless to say I want my nights free to watch a movie, read a book or just hang out with my co-workers. I am hoping to get enough done this weekend so I don't have to take my work home every night next week.
This weekend we are planning on going into Seoul on Saturday night for dinner, drinks and Karaoke! Korea will finally have the privilege of hearing my wonderful singing voice!
The past week I have brought my work home with me and I did again this weekend to try to get as much stuff done over the weekend as possible so I can enjoy my nights after work. Our days are long and hard and I want to enjoy my evenings. We have to be at school by 9am but if we want the free transportation offered by the school we get picked up at 8:10 and we are at school by 8:20. This first week it has been nice getting there early to get some last minute things done.
Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays we teach after school classes. The kids we teach are Elementary school kids who come to Helen Doron for extra tutoring. The classes are 50 min and we each teach three classes. So after our normal school day, which ends at 2:45 we have to teach three more classes and aren't done teaching until 5:45! Makes for very long days! Tuesdays and Thursdays we don't have afternoon classes but we still have to be at school until 5:30. Needless to say I want my nights free to watch a movie, read a book or just hang out with my co-workers. I am hoping to get enough done this weekend so I don't have to take my work home every night next week.
This weekend we are planning on going into Seoul on Saturday night for dinner, drinks and Karaoke! Korea will finally have the privilege of hearing my wonderful singing voice!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
First days of teaching
I have successfully completed three days of teaching and I'm still alive. Let's start from the beginning:
The first day was crazy hectic! My school has three age levels: 5, 6, and 7 year olds. But that is their Korean age. Most of the 5 year olds are really 4, most 6 are really 5 and so on. For the 5 year-olds this is their first time away from their moms and their first time being forced to speak only English. So the first day can be a bit terrifying!! To start the day we brought all the kids to the gym together for a "welcome to our school" sort of thing. The younger age kids stayed down there for a while but I am teaching 7 year olds, who are the "upperclassmen" of the school so I got to take my kids back to class. (I teach two classes but one class is considered my "homeroom" class and I typically start my day with them. They are my Leeds class (we name our classrooms after cities in England.) My other class is Bristol and I only start my day with them on Fridays.)
I got to introduce myself to Leeds and they introduced themselves to me and we got our day underway. The kids have 7 main lessons a day and then PE, ballet, art, math, music, and library are scattered throughout the week. Each lesson is between 30-40 min. At the end of the lesson I either stay with the same class, switch classrooms with my partner teacher or take the kids to art, music, etc. All the foreign teachers also have a Korean partner teacher. They teach the class we are not in but in the end the foreign teachers are teaching more classes. It is draining. On the first day we did a lot of get to know you things, went over the rules, how to get a sticker for their sticker boards (very important at Helen Doron) and talked about the coming year. It was an okay day. I felt very unprepared and like I didn't know what I was doing! I felt like the kids knew more than I did and that they were teaching me.
We teach the same lesson to both classes, or at least that's the dream! My two classes couldn't be on two more different academic levels! I was so surprised after that first day!! My Leeds class is a group of baby geniuses! They are so smart, so well behaved and just angels! My Bristol class is another story. After day 1 I realized I will have to prepare two completely different lesson plans for the two classes.
Knowing what I now learned from day 1, day 2 was much better. I was so much more prepared for each class with different lessons planned to match their levels. My partner teacher was also a huge help! She has helped me with finding ways to tweak the lesson plans to accommodate to both classes. It was very frustrating knowing I had to change everything! See, at Helen Doron we have to post our lesson plans, homework assignments, spelling test and whatever else online for the parents and we had to do this last week. So having not been in the classroom and not having met my students or having the chance to evaluate their levels I created the best lesson plan I could. Now, there is NO way I will be able to follow what I posted! But my partner teacher is able to tell the parents this so it will be okay but it is still very frustrating!
Day three was good and bad. The teaching aspect was good, I am really getting the feeling of my classes and now I'm able to tweak things to their different levels and I really feel like I am challenging Leeds and Bristol but to their own levels.
It was bad because we had to get our medical check ups today in order to get health insurance. The check ups weren't the bad things, I couldn't care less about that but it was the fact that they told us when we got to work at 8:30 that we couldn't eat the whole day!! Now for all of you who know me well, you know I can't go 2 hours without eating!! I was so upset because he reason why we couldn't eat was never explained to us and we were told that morning that we couldn't eat! So ridiculous!! So at lunch time, I was just going to say screw it and eat because all the other foreign teachers who had already gone through the medical test ate the day of their check ups and it was fine. But I got in the lunch line and one of the crazy Korean people told me I couldn't. I was almost in tears! Seems like a small battle to fight but I was so pissed!! In the end, the med check up went fine and there was NO reason I couldn't have eaten lunch! Still a bit bitter about that! The only good thing was that we got to go home right after the med check up so we got home about a hour early than normal, but that's besides the point!
I really am enjoying teaching. It is so draining and the pay is not spectacular but it is worth it. With one week almost in the books, I am so glad I decided to come to South Korea. Although they do things much differently here, it will and has been a great experience.
The first day was crazy hectic! My school has three age levels: 5, 6, and 7 year olds. But that is their Korean age. Most of the 5 year olds are really 4, most 6 are really 5 and so on. For the 5 year-olds this is their first time away from their moms and their first time being forced to speak only English. So the first day can be a bit terrifying!! To start the day we brought all the kids to the gym together for a "welcome to our school" sort of thing. The younger age kids stayed down there for a while but I am teaching 7 year olds, who are the "upperclassmen" of the school so I got to take my kids back to class. (I teach two classes but one class is considered my "homeroom" class and I typically start my day with them. They are my Leeds class (we name our classrooms after cities in England.) My other class is Bristol and I only start my day with them on Fridays.)
I got to introduce myself to Leeds and they introduced themselves to me and we got our day underway. The kids have 7 main lessons a day and then PE, ballet, art, math, music, and library are scattered throughout the week. Each lesson is between 30-40 min. At the end of the lesson I either stay with the same class, switch classrooms with my partner teacher or take the kids to art, music, etc. All the foreign teachers also have a Korean partner teacher. They teach the class we are not in but in the end the foreign teachers are teaching more classes. It is draining. On the first day we did a lot of get to know you things, went over the rules, how to get a sticker for their sticker boards (very important at Helen Doron) and talked about the coming year. It was an okay day. I felt very unprepared and like I didn't know what I was doing! I felt like the kids knew more than I did and that they were teaching me.
We teach the same lesson to both classes, or at least that's the dream! My two classes couldn't be on two more different academic levels! I was so surprised after that first day!! My Leeds class is a group of baby geniuses! They are so smart, so well behaved and just angels! My Bristol class is another story. After day 1 I realized I will have to prepare two completely different lesson plans for the two classes.
Knowing what I now learned from day 1, day 2 was much better. I was so much more prepared for each class with different lessons planned to match their levels. My partner teacher was also a huge help! She has helped me with finding ways to tweak the lesson plans to accommodate to both classes. It was very frustrating knowing I had to change everything! See, at Helen Doron we have to post our lesson plans, homework assignments, spelling test and whatever else online for the parents and we had to do this last week. So having not been in the classroom and not having met my students or having the chance to evaluate their levels I created the best lesson plan I could. Now, there is NO way I will be able to follow what I posted! But my partner teacher is able to tell the parents this so it will be okay but it is still very frustrating!
Day three was good and bad. The teaching aspect was good, I am really getting the feeling of my classes and now I'm able to tweak things to their different levels and I really feel like I am challenging Leeds and Bristol but to their own levels.
It was bad because we had to get our medical check ups today in order to get health insurance. The check ups weren't the bad things, I couldn't care less about that but it was the fact that they told us when we got to work at 8:30 that we couldn't eat the whole day!! Now for all of you who know me well, you know I can't go 2 hours without eating!! I was so upset because he reason why we couldn't eat was never explained to us and we were told that morning that we couldn't eat! So ridiculous!! So at lunch time, I was just going to say screw it and eat because all the other foreign teachers who had already gone through the medical test ate the day of their check ups and it was fine. But I got in the lunch line and one of the crazy Korean people told me I couldn't. I was almost in tears! Seems like a small battle to fight but I was so pissed!! In the end, the med check up went fine and there was NO reason I couldn't have eaten lunch! Still a bit bitter about that! The only good thing was that we got to go home right after the med check up so we got home about a hour early than normal, but that's besides the point!
I really am enjoying teaching. It is so draining and the pay is not spectacular but it is worth it. With one week almost in the books, I am so glad I decided to come to South Korea. Although they do things much differently here, it will and has been a great experience.
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