Like many things with kids, the trouble and drama that was the twin girls, passed as quickly as it came. The next day both girls were okay and have since been fine. Now Utah class on the other had, has been exhausting, frustrating, and down right difficult.
It has been a long two weeks trying to implement strict discipline in the classroom and it's been hard. I made it known from the first day that I mean business and I haven't backed off. It is hard being a strict teacher, I don't like it. With my other class, Colorado, I don't have to be so strict and stern, I can have fun and joke around with them, but they aren't ready to kill each other at the drop of a hat.
I don't know what it is about the Utah class, they just know how to push each others buttons, and in turn, my buttons. For example, during Treasures class they will be sitting at their tables with their books open and a worksheet next to them. Now, the table aren't huge so their books and papers will touch each other and when that happens, it's as if World War Three just broke out. They freak out and yell at their friend and say, "Katie Teacher, Sally is touching my book!! And she didn't say sorry!!!" Really! Then just move your book so it's not touching hers! But then, Sally will purposely move her book closer so it touches the other person's book. And this goes on all day. They also can't seem to understand the idea of listening while others are talking. I realize they are 7 years old and they have attention spans of ants but when my other class is completely capable of sitting still and listening to directions for 4 minutes, I expect it in my other class as well. They just can't seem to listen or stay in their chairs. I have had to implement a rule that they have to ask to stand up, because if I didn't, they would be up walking around, looking out the window, and counting their stickers on their sticker boards, if there were no such rule.
I know they are kids and I know they shouldn't have to sit through 40 minute lessons without a break but they can be so out of control sometimes. I do feel like they are starting to understand how the rules go with me and I do believe they can become better at listening but it will take some time. And in that time, I might lose my mind!!!!
Friday, March 18, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Being a second year teacher, I have brought my experiences and lessons learned from year number one to be a better teacher in year number two. A very important thing I learned was to be strict and stern with the kids. Last year I became "Nice Katie Teacher" too quickly and I lost my ability to take control of the classroom. This year, things are different. I implemented behavior rules the first day with both classes and I do not back down. I learned last year that a threat is just a threat unless there is follow through. Part of me last year didn't want to punish the kids because they are so young and they have so much pressure to succeed, I didn't want to add to that stress. But this year I have learned I must follow through with threats and behavior rules.
Each child has two sticker charts in the room. One chart is for behavior and the other chart is for participation and staying on task during lessons. During the lessons, kids can get 2-4 stickers for their participation charts. These charts are big and it takes them awhile to fill the whole thing, so giving them 4 stickers isn't a big deal. The other board, the behavior board, they can only get one sticker a day. They have to be good the entire day to get a sticker on this board. Once they get 5 stickers on this board, they get a prize from the prize box. The prize box is a huge deal to the kids so they have to try hard to get the stickers. Last year, I was not strict enough with behavior and having the kids really earning the prize box. This year, I have already made it hard to get prize box and the kids get really excited if they get a "prize box" sticker at the end of the day.
I have two classes again and one class, Colorado, has great behavior; I don't have to be "mean Katie Teacher" in that class. That's not to say I'm not strict and stern but I am much more friendly in Colorado class than I am in Utah class. In the first 4 days, most of Colorado has earned "prize box stickers." This is not the case in Utah class. Utah class is a whole different story!
Utah class is exhausting. There are 10 kids in the class and some days it feels like 25! There are 3 boys and 7 girls but some days I swear there are 8 boys in there! One of the boys, Elliott, is not physically able to have an indoor voice. Now, I should be the last one to criticize people for being loud but oh my!! This child has two volumes, loud and earth shattering! I probably spend 40% of my time saying, "Elliott, indoor voice." The rest of my time is spent making sure Solomon is in his chair and not pulling on the blinds by the window. Or it's making sure Sally's and Evy's books aren't touching, at all!! Because the world might end if they are. Or I have to make sure Maureen isn't making sure everyone is on the right page or following along, while she can't even manage to know what story we are even reading!
Then there is Ivy. Ivy has a twin sister, Irene. Irene is in Colorado class. Now this doesn't sound like it would be a problem, unless you are 7-years-old. Irene and Ivy have been in class together since they came to the school as 5-year-olds. For some reason, the school decided to split them up as 7-year-olds. Now, I'm not a fan of putting siblings in the same class, but if they have been in the same class for the past two year, where is the logic of splitting them up as 7-year-olds? Today, Ivy started crying in my class and would not stop. I had no idea why she was crying and she could not tell me why she was crying, all she could say was that she wanted to see Irene. At this point, I had no idea they were sisters (they aren't identical twins) so I didn't really understand why she wanted to see Irene. Since I had to get back to class, I got Irene from Colorado class and asked my partner teacher, Crystal, to see if she could talk to them in Korean so they could express themselves easier. Crystal let Ivy stay in Colorado class with Irene because when she came back to Utah class, she would just cry and cry and cry.
I told Ellie, our assistant director, what happened and she said she would help me if Ivy kept crying. Well Ellie's way to "help", was to yell at Ivy and tell her that 7-year-olds don't act like that. Now, I do want to be strict with the kids but this just seemed heartless and cruel. Ivy is 7-years-old and has been with her sister for 2 straight years, and just like that she is pulled away from her. Ellie seems to think keeping them separate is the best thing to do, even though when Ivy is in Utah class she doesn't participate and she is quiet and sad. Then when she starts crying, she doesn't stop and I can't take care of my class and Ivy at the same time. The way I see it, they need to put Ivy back in class with Irene. This will not only help Ivy but all of Utah class. But that's just what I think and why would the administration listen to their teachers?
Hopefully Crystal and I can convince Ellie to put the two back in class with each other. Otherwise, Utah class will be even more exhausting!
Each child has two sticker charts in the room. One chart is for behavior and the other chart is for participation and staying on task during lessons. During the lessons, kids can get 2-4 stickers for their participation charts. These charts are big and it takes them awhile to fill the whole thing, so giving them 4 stickers isn't a big deal. The other board, the behavior board, they can only get one sticker a day. They have to be good the entire day to get a sticker on this board. Once they get 5 stickers on this board, they get a prize from the prize box. The prize box is a huge deal to the kids so they have to try hard to get the stickers. Last year, I was not strict enough with behavior and having the kids really earning the prize box. This year, I have already made it hard to get prize box and the kids get really excited if they get a "prize box" sticker at the end of the day.
I have two classes again and one class, Colorado, has great behavior; I don't have to be "mean Katie Teacher" in that class. That's not to say I'm not strict and stern but I am much more friendly in Colorado class than I am in Utah class. In the first 4 days, most of Colorado has earned "prize box stickers." This is not the case in Utah class. Utah class is a whole different story!
Utah class is exhausting. There are 10 kids in the class and some days it feels like 25! There are 3 boys and 7 girls but some days I swear there are 8 boys in there! One of the boys, Elliott, is not physically able to have an indoor voice. Now, I should be the last one to criticize people for being loud but oh my!! This child has two volumes, loud and earth shattering! I probably spend 40% of my time saying, "Elliott, indoor voice." The rest of my time is spent making sure Solomon is in his chair and not pulling on the blinds by the window. Or it's making sure Sally's and Evy's books aren't touching, at all!! Because the world might end if they are. Or I have to make sure Maureen isn't making sure everyone is on the right page or following along, while she can't even manage to know what story we are even reading!
Then there is Ivy. Ivy has a twin sister, Irene. Irene is in Colorado class. Now this doesn't sound like it would be a problem, unless you are 7-years-old. Irene and Ivy have been in class together since they came to the school as 5-year-olds. For some reason, the school decided to split them up as 7-year-olds. Now, I'm not a fan of putting siblings in the same class, but if they have been in the same class for the past two year, where is the logic of splitting them up as 7-year-olds? Today, Ivy started crying in my class and would not stop. I had no idea why she was crying and she could not tell me why she was crying, all she could say was that she wanted to see Irene. At this point, I had no idea they were sisters (they aren't identical twins) so I didn't really understand why she wanted to see Irene. Since I had to get back to class, I got Irene from Colorado class and asked my partner teacher, Crystal, to see if she could talk to them in Korean so they could express themselves easier. Crystal let Ivy stay in Colorado class with Irene because when she came back to Utah class, she would just cry and cry and cry.
I told Ellie, our assistant director, what happened and she said she would help me if Ivy kept crying. Well Ellie's way to "help", was to yell at Ivy and tell her that 7-year-olds don't act like that. Now, I do want to be strict with the kids but this just seemed heartless and cruel. Ivy is 7-years-old and has been with her sister for 2 straight years, and just like that she is pulled away from her. Ellie seems to think keeping them separate is the best thing to do, even though when Ivy is in Utah class she doesn't participate and she is quiet and sad. Then when she starts crying, she doesn't stop and I can't take care of my class and Ivy at the same time. The way I see it, they need to put Ivy back in class with Irene. This will not only help Ivy but all of Utah class. But that's just what I think and why would the administration listen to their teachers?
Hopefully Crystal and I can convince Ellie to put the two back in class with each other. Otherwise, Utah class will be even more exhausting!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Year Two...Day One
Year two started with a bang!!
The start of a new school year can always be trying, but today had an extra kick. We all arrived at school a little before 8:30 to a very frantic and upset administration. Apparently the owner of our school had come to school earlier that morning and flipped a lid! He was really upset with how messy the teachers room was and how "unprofessional" it looked. He then told our administration that he will no longer supply paper and if we wanted paper we needed to buy it ourselves!! I'm not sure what happened to make him so upset but no rational person really thinks a school can function without paper. After he went on his paper rampage he proceeded to go through everyone's desks and throw out and "unnecessary" papers and "clutter" on their desks. Some of our Korean teachers had whole lessons thrown away because he thought it looked messy. He also got rid of everyone's water bottles and coffee mugs because it also made it look messy!! I think this man has a serious case of OCD and may be bi-polar!
Thankfully our administration realized how crazy he was being and assured us we would not have to pay for our own paper. They also gave us a place to eat our lunches and have food that is not the cafeteria.
After the paper fiasco settled down, we had to start our day. All the kids were shuffled down to the gym when they first arrived to meet their teachers and their classmates. I am teaching 7-year-olds again and my kids are on their third year at the school so they know what's going on. After we got everyone in the gym, they played a few songs and then let us take the kids up to our rooms. It was a morning of introductions and games and not a whole lot of learning, which I was totally okay with. It was also a time to make rules and instill discipline. I am teaching two classes again this year, Colorado and Utah, and this year is starting much like last year. I really enjoy being with my Colorado class and not so much with Utah. Colorado has many sweet and respecting students, while Utah has a few issues. I was warned about this class from their previous teachers and it was a fair warning!! They are a bit nuts and have some problems following rules. It will take Utah awhile to see "Nice Katie Teacher." It will also take them a while to have the privilege of having song and dance parties to the Beatles. Yep, I am teaching all my kids Beatles songs this year! I taught Bristol and Leeds "Can't Buy Me Love" and other Beatles songs last year and it was adorable. I am hoping my new classes can learn them as well.
It was a very trying and tiring afternoon but there was a bright side.....teaching after school. This year, I have a much different view on teaching the elementary students in after school, I actually look forward to it. The reason, I get to teach all of my kids from Bristol and Leeds in our after school program! I was so happy to see their faces today! It was a breath of fresh air! I am so lucky to be able to see them even after they graduated from the kindergarten program. There is one bad side to this though, it will make it that much harder to say good-bye to them after this year. Such is life.
All in all it was a crazy, busy, frustrating, hectic, exciting, day. And it all starts again tomorrow...
The start of a new school year can always be trying, but today had an extra kick. We all arrived at school a little before 8:30 to a very frantic and upset administration. Apparently the owner of our school had come to school earlier that morning and flipped a lid! He was really upset with how messy the teachers room was and how "unprofessional" it looked. He then told our administration that he will no longer supply paper and if we wanted paper we needed to buy it ourselves!! I'm not sure what happened to make him so upset but no rational person really thinks a school can function without paper. After he went on his paper rampage he proceeded to go through everyone's desks and throw out and "unnecessary" papers and "clutter" on their desks. Some of our Korean teachers had whole lessons thrown away because he thought it looked messy. He also got rid of everyone's water bottles and coffee mugs because it also made it look messy!! I think this man has a serious case of OCD and may be bi-polar!
Thankfully our administration realized how crazy he was being and assured us we would not have to pay for our own paper. They also gave us a place to eat our lunches and have food that is not the cafeteria.
After the paper fiasco settled down, we had to start our day. All the kids were shuffled down to the gym when they first arrived to meet their teachers and their classmates. I am teaching 7-year-olds again and my kids are on their third year at the school so they know what's going on. After we got everyone in the gym, they played a few songs and then let us take the kids up to our rooms. It was a morning of introductions and games and not a whole lot of learning, which I was totally okay with. It was also a time to make rules and instill discipline. I am teaching two classes again this year, Colorado and Utah, and this year is starting much like last year. I really enjoy being with my Colorado class and not so much with Utah. Colorado has many sweet and respecting students, while Utah has a few issues. I was warned about this class from their previous teachers and it was a fair warning!! They are a bit nuts and have some problems following rules. It will take Utah awhile to see "Nice Katie Teacher." It will also take them a while to have the privilege of having song and dance parties to the Beatles. Yep, I am teaching all my kids Beatles songs this year! I taught Bristol and Leeds "Can't Buy Me Love" and other Beatles songs last year and it was adorable. I am hoping my new classes can learn them as well.
It was a very trying and tiring afternoon but there was a bright side.....teaching after school. This year, I have a much different view on teaching the elementary students in after school, I actually look forward to it. The reason, I get to teach all of my kids from Bristol and Leeds in our after school program! I was so happy to see their faces today! It was a breath of fresh air! I am so lucky to be able to see them even after they graduated from the kindergarten program. There is one bad side to this though, it will make it that much harder to say good-bye to them after this year. Such is life.
All in all it was a crazy, busy, frustrating, hectic, exciting, day. And it all starts again tomorrow...
Monday, February 21, 2011
Oh what a year!
It has been one year and one day since I landed in Korea. I many ways if feels like only a few weeks, but at the same time it feels like a few years. There is no short way of explaining my experience here. It has been wonderful, terrible, frustrating, and exhilarating. It has brought me to tears and filled me with joy. I have had the urge to get on a plane and go home and in the next breath, I feel like I never want to leave. I have truly enjoyed my time here so far and I am definitely not ready to leave. I am very happy with my decision to stay another year.
One of the hard things about living and working in this country is knowing you will have to say good-bye to good friends every year. Most people come here with the idea of staying one, maybe two years. Many people don't plan on being here for longer than that, and because of that, you are forced to leave good friends way too often. I work at a school with 7 other foreign teachers. I knew when I started my year here that I would have to say good-bye to most, or all of these girls at years end. Next week, I will have to say good-bye to four of the girls. These girls were my "Korean Family." We were there for each other when we first arrived and were scared out of our minds. We were there for each other during our first weeks of school when we all felt like terrible teachers and we were in over our heads. We traveled to tropical islands and foreign lands together. We explored the city we now call home and tried weird foods together. We have shared so many laughs and been shoulders to cry on. In such a short time we made amazing memories and life long friends. I will be so sad to see them go and I will never forget all the fun we had. It is just one of the downfalls of this country. The good-byes are never easy.
The good-byes are definitely one of the hard things about Korea, but there are so many wonderful things as well. I have written twice about one of the amazing things about this country in this blog...the travel opportunities. I have seen some of the most amazing and beautiful tropical islands since I have been here. Being able to travel with such ease is one of the great perks of living here. Knowing I can go anywhere in Southeast Asia on a dime is a wonderful feeling. Knowing I can and will see so much of the world is one thing that makes moving and living here so worth it.
One thing that took me by surprise here was the food....and it was a good surprise. I knew coming here the food was going to be quite different. I knew Korean food was spicy and they used a lot of cabbage in their food. I knew they ate a lot of sea food and meat. I wasn't sure how this would fly with me and it took me awhile to really venture out and try some real Korean food. But man, am I sure glad I did!! I now have quite a few dishes that I truly enjoy, with Duk Doritang being my absolute favorite!!! For so many months I was craving American food, now days, I crave Duk Doritang, Kimchi Jongul, and Duk Galbi. It has been a wonderful surprise and makes for great dinners.
Korea has also brought someone into my life that I never thought it would bring. I met my boyfriend Jared about 7 months ago. I didn't really expect to travel half way around the world and meet someone like him. He has been a wonderful addition to my life and I am so happy I have him in my life. He has made life away from home so much easier. He has added new challenges to my life, like going on 91 kilometer bike rides, which was our first date. And he has brought a great deal of laughter and friendly banter to my life. He makes being away from my family a little bit easier.
All in all, taking the good and the bad, I am still very happy I made the decision to move here. This experience has been nothing like I expected, it has been better.
One of the hard things about living and working in this country is knowing you will have to say good-bye to good friends every year. Most people come here with the idea of staying one, maybe two years. Many people don't plan on being here for longer than that, and because of that, you are forced to leave good friends way too often. I work at a school with 7 other foreign teachers. I knew when I started my year here that I would have to say good-bye to most, or all of these girls at years end. Next week, I will have to say good-bye to four of the girls. These girls were my "Korean Family." We were there for each other when we first arrived and were scared out of our minds. We were there for each other during our first weeks of school when we all felt like terrible teachers and we were in over our heads. We traveled to tropical islands and foreign lands together. We explored the city we now call home and tried weird foods together. We have shared so many laughs and been shoulders to cry on. In such a short time we made amazing memories and life long friends. I will be so sad to see them go and I will never forget all the fun we had. It is just one of the downfalls of this country. The good-byes are never easy.
The good-byes are definitely one of the hard things about Korea, but there are so many wonderful things as well. I have written twice about one of the amazing things about this country in this blog...the travel opportunities. I have seen some of the most amazing and beautiful tropical islands since I have been here. Being able to travel with such ease is one of the great perks of living here. Knowing I can go anywhere in Southeast Asia on a dime is a wonderful feeling. Knowing I can and will see so much of the world is one thing that makes moving and living here so worth it.
One thing that took me by surprise here was the food....and it was a good surprise. I knew coming here the food was going to be quite different. I knew Korean food was spicy and they used a lot of cabbage in their food. I knew they ate a lot of sea food and meat. I wasn't sure how this would fly with me and it took me awhile to really venture out and try some real Korean food. But man, am I sure glad I did!! I now have quite a few dishes that I truly enjoy, with Duk Doritang being my absolute favorite!!! For so many months I was craving American food, now days, I crave Duk Doritang, Kimchi Jongul, and Duk Galbi. It has been a wonderful surprise and makes for great dinners.
Korea has also brought someone into my life that I never thought it would bring. I met my boyfriend Jared about 7 months ago. I didn't really expect to travel half way around the world and meet someone like him. He has been a wonderful addition to my life and I am so happy I have him in my life. He has made life away from home so much easier. He has added new challenges to my life, like going on 91 kilometer bike rides, which was our first date. And he has brought a great deal of laughter and friendly banter to my life. He makes being away from my family a little bit easier.
All in all, taking the good and the bad, I am still very happy I made the decision to move here. This experience has been nothing like I expected, it has been better.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Holiday on the beach
These posts are a bit out of order but I found writing about Sheena was much more important than a holiday in paradise.
If you recall, I broke my wrist three days before we left for our holiday in Boracay, Philippines. I was quite bummed but I was just happy I could still go on vacation. We left for the Philippines on Christmas Eve right after work, and by we I mean, Jared and I, and 5 of my co-workers. Our travels weren't too bad, we only had one layover in Manila before getting to the island. Since Boracay is so small, we actually flew to a different island from Manila then took a ferry to Boracay. We got to our hotel on Christmas morning, it was a great way to start Christmas. This was not only my first Christmas away from home, but it was the first time I wouldn't be in snow and cold for the holidays. We checked in and thankfully our room was ready for us. After we got settled we headed to get some breakfast since it was about 9:30 in the morning. After breakfast we were so drained from the night of travel we took a nap before we headed off to explore.
The nap did us well and we woke up ready to see what Boracay had to offer. At first we headed to the beach, it was a short walk away from our hotel. The beach and "road" by the beach were amazing. The "road" was just sand only feet away from the ocean, with shops and restaurants on one side and the ocean on the other. From the beach, we wondered off the ocean and found some places off the beat'n path. It was fun to see the things Boracay had to offer. After a bit of shopping we walked back to the beach and decided to see what the cuisine had to offer. We weren't too hungry yet but we found some tasty snacks on the side of the beach, pig tongue and liver!! It sounds awful and like something I would probably never try, but it sounded exotic and fun so we decided to try it out. It was surprisingly amazing!! I think I had either tongue or liver every day we were there.
After snacks, we headed back to the room and showered and changed for dinner. And since we were on vacation, we mixed some drinks for our walk to dinner. This became our ritual for every day we were there. It was a great little routine we got in while on vacation.
Boracay had a wide range of food to chose from. Everything from Greek to Mexican to Mongolian and, of course, Korean! We decided to stay away from the Korean for the week since we had our fill of it back in Korea. There were also plenty of buffets to chose from, mainly of seafood and pork. It was fun to wonder and have my choice of cuisine to eat. The week brought an array of wonderful food, that I believe tasted even better since I had only had Korean for the past 10 months. We had a great dinner and a wonderful stroll on the beach before we headed back to the hotel.
The next morning, like all the mornings we were on vacation, we were up pretty early. We would go get breakfast, I liked to sit by the beach and read or swim while Jared wondered around the island taking pictures. This only lasted the first couple of days though. Soon I was bored of sitting by the beach and decided to join Jared as he wondered. Like I said earlier, Boracay is a small small island, it was easy to walk the whole island in one day, but we paced ourselves so we wouldn't see everything in one day. One of the days we wondered, we found an amazing view point from the top of the island that overlooked the whole island. It was an amazing view and worth the 4 hours of walking. We also found a great beach with more crystal blue water and some great views.
The wondering during the day made us hungry, which made the food even more delicious. Among the amazing things we ate that week, my two favorites were the gyros we had at the Mediterranean restaurant and the wonderful buffet we had on New Years Eve. I hadn't had gyros in years and the buffet had fresh turkey!!! I hadn't had turkey like that since I was at home, it was a great treat.
Other than the amazing food, the wonderful relaxation, the exploration of a foreign island, one of the highlights of the trip was New Years Eve. Jared and I decided money was no issue for dinner that night and we decided to splurge a little. We got a great buffet and paced ourselves through dinner. After the amazing dinner of fresh pork and turkey, wonderful squid and sauteed vegetables, along with fruit salad for dessert, we were getting ready for some amazing fireworks over the water. We met back up with my co-workers to ring in the New Year together. We found a place on the beach and waited for the countdown. It was amazing to see all the fireworks go off at the stroke of midnight, and it was even more wonderful to be standing on a beach with great friends and a wonderful boyfriend. I will admit, it was strange to be in warm places during the holidays. I didn't feel right celebrating New Years without a winter coat and boots, but I was quite alright with where I was.
The night was great but the morning brought the dreaded end to our vacation. It was such an amazing way to spend the holidays and a great way to relax after breaking my wrist. The travels home were fine, other than Jared getting a piece of sand in his eye that didn't come out for a few days. He was in quite a bit of pain the whole way home and I felt so bad for him. He was so unhappy but he was able to sleep most the way home, which was good so he didn't have to deal with it. Other than the sand, we got home with no problems.
It was hard to come back to reality after a week in paradise but paradise was wonderful nonetheless. I haven't even been in Korea for one year and I've had two tropical island vacations with plenty more vacations to look forward too. It's no wonder I'm staying another year.
If you recall, I broke my wrist three days before we left for our holiday in Boracay, Philippines. I was quite bummed but I was just happy I could still go on vacation. We left for the Philippines on Christmas Eve right after work, and by we I mean, Jared and I, and 5 of my co-workers. Our travels weren't too bad, we only had one layover in Manila before getting to the island. Since Boracay is so small, we actually flew to a different island from Manila then took a ferry to Boracay. We got to our hotel on Christmas morning, it was a great way to start Christmas. This was not only my first Christmas away from home, but it was the first time I wouldn't be in snow and cold for the holidays. We checked in and thankfully our room was ready for us. After we got settled we headed to get some breakfast since it was about 9:30 in the morning. After breakfast we were so drained from the night of travel we took a nap before we headed off to explore.
The nap did us well and we woke up ready to see what Boracay had to offer. At first we headed to the beach, it was a short walk away from our hotel. The beach and "road" by the beach were amazing. The "road" was just sand only feet away from the ocean, with shops and restaurants on one side and the ocean on the other. From the beach, we wondered off the ocean and found some places off the beat'n path. It was fun to see the things Boracay had to offer. After a bit of shopping we walked back to the beach and decided to see what the cuisine had to offer. We weren't too hungry yet but we found some tasty snacks on the side of the beach, pig tongue and liver!! It sounds awful and like something I would probably never try, but it sounded exotic and fun so we decided to try it out. It was surprisingly amazing!! I think I had either tongue or liver every day we were there.
After snacks, we headed back to the room and showered and changed for dinner. And since we were on vacation, we mixed some drinks for our walk to dinner. This became our ritual for every day we were there. It was a great little routine we got in while on vacation.
Boracay had a wide range of food to chose from. Everything from Greek to Mexican to Mongolian and, of course, Korean! We decided to stay away from the Korean for the week since we had our fill of it back in Korea. There were also plenty of buffets to chose from, mainly of seafood and pork. It was fun to wonder and have my choice of cuisine to eat. The week brought an array of wonderful food, that I believe tasted even better since I had only had Korean for the past 10 months. We had a great dinner and a wonderful stroll on the beach before we headed back to the hotel.
The next morning, like all the mornings we were on vacation, we were up pretty early. We would go get breakfast, I liked to sit by the beach and read or swim while Jared wondered around the island taking pictures. This only lasted the first couple of days though. Soon I was bored of sitting by the beach and decided to join Jared as he wondered. Like I said earlier, Boracay is a small small island, it was easy to walk the whole island in one day, but we paced ourselves so we wouldn't see everything in one day. One of the days we wondered, we found an amazing view point from the top of the island that overlooked the whole island. It was an amazing view and worth the 4 hours of walking. We also found a great beach with more crystal blue water and some great views.
The wondering during the day made us hungry, which made the food even more delicious. Among the amazing things we ate that week, my two favorites were the gyros we had at the Mediterranean restaurant and the wonderful buffet we had on New Years Eve. I hadn't had gyros in years and the buffet had fresh turkey!!! I hadn't had turkey like that since I was at home, it was a great treat.
Other than the amazing food, the wonderful relaxation, the exploration of a foreign island, one of the highlights of the trip was New Years Eve. Jared and I decided money was no issue for dinner that night and we decided to splurge a little. We got a great buffet and paced ourselves through dinner. After the amazing dinner of fresh pork and turkey, wonderful squid and sauteed vegetables, along with fruit salad for dessert, we were getting ready for some amazing fireworks over the water. We met back up with my co-workers to ring in the New Year together. We found a place on the beach and waited for the countdown. It was amazing to see all the fireworks go off at the stroke of midnight, and it was even more wonderful to be standing on a beach with great friends and a wonderful boyfriend. I will admit, it was strange to be in warm places during the holidays. I didn't feel right celebrating New Years without a winter coat and boots, but I was quite alright with where I was.
The night was great but the morning brought the dreaded end to our vacation. It was such an amazing way to spend the holidays and a great way to relax after breaking my wrist. The travels home were fine, other than Jared getting a piece of sand in his eye that didn't come out for a few days. He was in quite a bit of pain the whole way home and I felt so bad for him. He was so unhappy but he was able to sleep most the way home, which was good so he didn't have to deal with it. Other than the sand, we got home with no problems.
It was hard to come back to reality after a week in paradise but paradise was wonderful nonetheless. I haven't even been in Korea for one year and I've had two tropical island vacations with plenty more vacations to look forward too. It's no wonder I'm staying another year.
Celebrated and honored
Let me start by saying this post is long overdue. I should have posted about Sheena sooner than this but such is life. But I am thankful to report that the moms of ALL my kids decided to tell the truth to the kids. It was a long day but in the end, I was very proud of the kids and happy they knew the truth. Well at long last, here's the details...
After the two days my classes didn't have school, we all returned to school on Wednesday. I got to the classrooms early and left a message to the kids as to what would be happening that day. I told them it would be a different kind of day and to unpack their bags and go to Bristol class. As the day started, there was word that a few of the kids wouldn't be coming to school, the mothers didn't want their kids to know the truth. I was a little upset that a few of the kids wouldn't be coming but the school was calling the moms still trying to convince them to send their kids, and I was grateful for this. As all the kids arrived, I let them color or play with the blocks, surprisingly they didn't ask where Sheena teacher was, they were more concerned with why they weren't studying. I told them it was going to be a different day and kept waiting for all the kids to get there.
As the morning went on almost all the kids that were coming were there, we were waiting for one last kid and Ellie, our assistant director, told me that two of the kids that weren't going to come were on their way. I was very happy about this. As we were waiting for those kids to come, we heard from the last mom and she was also sending her kid. All the convincing and talking had worked.
Once all the kids were there, we got all the kids (15 of them) into one room. One of our Korean teachers came in and took over. She started by showing them a movie about a boy who had a pet mouse that died. After the video, she explained (all in Korean) what death was, then told them what happened to Sheena. A few of the kids broke down and were sobbing uncontrollably. It was heartbreaking. Others were crying as well, a few didn't cry but just looked shocked. They all asked questions and were given the chance to cry. After about 10-15 minutes, the kids were given the chance to go down to Sheena's office where we had put up flowers and pictures. They went down in shifts to see her and after they saw her, they were able to write letters to her.
They all handled it very well. I was happy all of them felt comfortable enough to cry in front of each other and they all wrote great letters to Sheena. It was a hard day but I was so happy all the kids came and knew the truth. It gave them a chance to talk about it and learn how to grieve and cope with death.
I put a picture of Sheena up in both my classrooms and told the kids they can write letters to Sheena or talk to her whenever they want. The next few days at school the kids wanted to go down and see Sheena or they would ask questions about her. Things have slowed down since then, the kids are resilient and will move on, but I'm glad they all know and have learned this great lesson in life.
After the two days my classes didn't have school, we all returned to school on Wednesday. I got to the classrooms early and left a message to the kids as to what would be happening that day. I told them it would be a different kind of day and to unpack their bags and go to Bristol class. As the day started, there was word that a few of the kids wouldn't be coming to school, the mothers didn't want their kids to know the truth. I was a little upset that a few of the kids wouldn't be coming but the school was calling the moms still trying to convince them to send their kids, and I was grateful for this. As all the kids arrived, I let them color or play with the blocks, surprisingly they didn't ask where Sheena teacher was, they were more concerned with why they weren't studying. I told them it was going to be a different day and kept waiting for all the kids to get there.
As the morning went on almost all the kids that were coming were there, we were waiting for one last kid and Ellie, our assistant director, told me that two of the kids that weren't going to come were on their way. I was very happy about this. As we were waiting for those kids to come, we heard from the last mom and she was also sending her kid. All the convincing and talking had worked.
Once all the kids were there, we got all the kids (15 of them) into one room. One of our Korean teachers came in and took over. She started by showing them a movie about a boy who had a pet mouse that died. After the video, she explained (all in Korean) what death was, then told them what happened to Sheena. A few of the kids broke down and were sobbing uncontrollably. It was heartbreaking. Others were crying as well, a few didn't cry but just looked shocked. They all asked questions and were given the chance to cry. After about 10-15 minutes, the kids were given the chance to go down to Sheena's office where we had put up flowers and pictures. They went down in shifts to see her and after they saw her, they were able to write letters to her.
They all handled it very well. I was happy all of them felt comfortable enough to cry in front of each other and they all wrote great letters to Sheena. It was a hard day but I was so happy all the kids came and knew the truth. It gave them a chance to talk about it and learn how to grieve and cope with death.
I put a picture of Sheena up in both my classrooms and told the kids they can write letters to Sheena or talk to her whenever they want. The next few days at school the kids wanted to go down and see Sheena or they would ask questions about her. Things have slowed down since then, the kids are resilient and will move on, but I'm glad they all know and have learned this great lesson in life.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Sometimes...life's just not fair
Some things in life have no explanation. They have no reason, and for the life of you, you can't understand why things happen. Last Friday I got some very awful, terrible, and completely unexpected news. Sheena, my partner teacher, passed away tragically and unexpectedly. She was an amazing woman and so full of life and energy. She was also 8 months pregnant, which sadly was the cause of her death.
It happened last Friday morning as the school day was about to start. Sheena is always at school around 8:15-8:30, usually the first one there but on this Friday, it was almost ten after nine and Sheena was not there yet. Not only that, no one could get a hold of her. She wasn't answering her cell phone or her house phone. This was the extreme opposite of Sheena's personality. If Sheena was going to be 20 seconds late, she would call and explain where she was. At first we thought she was having her baby, but as the morning went on, and no one could get a hold of her or her husband, everyone started to worry more and more.
As the day went on, I checked in with the administration at every break to see if they had heard from Sheena, and every time the answer was no. There was just a bad vibe in the school the whole day and it was really hard to answer my kids when they kept asking where Sheena teacher was, especially since I didn't have an answer. The kindy day was over and still no word from Sheena. I had to go teach another three hours without knowing where she was. With about 15 mins left in our last elementary class, Scott came over the speaker and told us to wrap up our class and send the kids to the shuttles to go home. This was strange because we are NEVER done early. As we were leaving the school Ellie, our assistant director, stopped me and told me that something very bad happened and that she would call me.
I went home and went for a run right away and when I got back, I had a missed call from Ellie. I called her back immediately and knew as soon as she answered that something was terribly terribly wrong. At first, she couldn't even say anything, then she finally got out the words that she had passed. Neither of us could say anything, we were both crying so hard. I didn't ask any questions right away because she was so distraught but she said she would call me when she knew more about the funeral and when we could see her.
I was in shock. I didn't know what to do. I called my co-workers and told them. We were trying to find the words but there were none. We were trying to make sense of it but this was just senseless. About an hour later, Ellie called me back with details on the funeral and I asked what had happened. Sheena had had complications with her baby, she had something called eclampsia. This is when the mother has high blood pressure and the baby is very low in weight. Apparently, she was not feeling well Friday morning. Her husband had left for work before her and while she was getting ready for work, she collapsed. If it was indeed eclampsia, her death was sudden with no pain or suffering. I would like to think this was the case and that she died peacefully.
In the Korean culture, funerals are much different. There is no wake or funeral. How they do it, is they have certain hospitals that are funeral hospitals. In the hospitals are rooms dedicated to those who have passed on and in the room is a picture of the departed and other Korean traditional memorial items. We were able to go to the hospital on Sunday to pay our respects and say good-bye. It was very hard to see her picture and believe that it was all really happening.
As we were there, Ellie and a few other members of our administration arrived. I was glad they had come because I wanted to talk to them about what to tell the kids. Earlier, they had told us that they were not going to tell the kids the truth. They were going to tell them that Sheena had moved to the US to have her baby!! That Sheena was sorry she couldn't say good-bye and that she was never coming back!! I was shocked!!! I couldn't believe they would want to do this to the kids. Thankfully we got the chance to talk to our administration and tell them that we don't agree with lying to the kids. As we voiced our concerns, they did agree that telling the truth was the right thing to do.
After we left the hospital and made it through the rest of the day, I got a call from Ellie. She told me that they are canceling my classes for two days as they decided what they will tell the kids. I still went into school for a meeting and after sitting through 20 mins of Korean discussion, and not knowing what was going on, I finally spoke up and asked if someone could translate what was being said. Apparently the issue was with the moms. The school was having a hard time convincing the parents to tell the kids the truth. The administration was asking for resources the parents can use to help tell their kids. Since I didn't have to work that day, I spent the morning printing out resources and information for the parents and Ellie told me she might need my help convincing the parents to tell the truth.
Well, that is my past three days. It has felt like 3 weeks. I don't know what the next two days will bring. I don't have to go to school tomorrow but we have another meeting after school to discuss how to help the parents and how we will celebrate her life at the school.
I can only hope this ends how it should, with the kids knowing the truth, however hard it might be. I don't know how I will react when I see their little faces but I know I have to be strong for them. I am the only teacher they have now.
It happened last Friday morning as the school day was about to start. Sheena is always at school around 8:15-8:30, usually the first one there but on this Friday, it was almost ten after nine and Sheena was not there yet. Not only that, no one could get a hold of her. She wasn't answering her cell phone or her house phone. This was the extreme opposite of Sheena's personality. If Sheena was going to be 20 seconds late, she would call and explain where she was. At first we thought she was having her baby, but as the morning went on, and no one could get a hold of her or her husband, everyone started to worry more and more.
As the day went on, I checked in with the administration at every break to see if they had heard from Sheena, and every time the answer was no. There was just a bad vibe in the school the whole day and it was really hard to answer my kids when they kept asking where Sheena teacher was, especially since I didn't have an answer. The kindy day was over and still no word from Sheena. I had to go teach another three hours without knowing where she was. With about 15 mins left in our last elementary class, Scott came over the speaker and told us to wrap up our class and send the kids to the shuttles to go home. This was strange because we are NEVER done early. As we were leaving the school Ellie, our assistant director, stopped me and told me that something very bad happened and that she would call me.
I went home and went for a run right away and when I got back, I had a missed call from Ellie. I called her back immediately and knew as soon as she answered that something was terribly terribly wrong. At first, she couldn't even say anything, then she finally got out the words that she had passed. Neither of us could say anything, we were both crying so hard. I didn't ask any questions right away because she was so distraught but she said she would call me when she knew more about the funeral and when we could see her.
I was in shock. I didn't know what to do. I called my co-workers and told them. We were trying to find the words but there were none. We were trying to make sense of it but this was just senseless. About an hour later, Ellie called me back with details on the funeral and I asked what had happened. Sheena had had complications with her baby, she had something called eclampsia. This is when the mother has high blood pressure and the baby is very low in weight. Apparently, she was not feeling well Friday morning. Her husband had left for work before her and while she was getting ready for work, she collapsed. If it was indeed eclampsia, her death was sudden with no pain or suffering. I would like to think this was the case and that she died peacefully.
In the Korean culture, funerals are much different. There is no wake or funeral. How they do it, is they have certain hospitals that are funeral hospitals. In the hospitals are rooms dedicated to those who have passed on and in the room is a picture of the departed and other Korean traditional memorial items. We were able to go to the hospital on Sunday to pay our respects and say good-bye. It was very hard to see her picture and believe that it was all really happening.
As we were there, Ellie and a few other members of our administration arrived. I was glad they had come because I wanted to talk to them about what to tell the kids. Earlier, they had told us that they were not going to tell the kids the truth. They were going to tell them that Sheena had moved to the US to have her baby!! That Sheena was sorry she couldn't say good-bye and that she was never coming back!! I was shocked!!! I couldn't believe they would want to do this to the kids. Thankfully we got the chance to talk to our administration and tell them that we don't agree with lying to the kids. As we voiced our concerns, they did agree that telling the truth was the right thing to do.
After we left the hospital and made it through the rest of the day, I got a call from Ellie. She told me that they are canceling my classes for two days as they decided what they will tell the kids. I still went into school for a meeting and after sitting through 20 mins of Korean discussion, and not knowing what was going on, I finally spoke up and asked if someone could translate what was being said. Apparently the issue was with the moms. The school was having a hard time convincing the parents to tell the kids the truth. The administration was asking for resources the parents can use to help tell their kids. Since I didn't have to work that day, I spent the morning printing out resources and information for the parents and Ellie told me she might need my help convincing the parents to tell the truth.
Well, that is my past three days. It has felt like 3 weeks. I don't know what the next two days will bring. I don't have to go to school tomorrow but we have another meeting after school to discuss how to help the parents and how we will celebrate her life at the school.
I can only hope this ends how it should, with the kids knowing the truth, however hard it might be. I don't know how I will react when I see their little faces but I know I have to be strong for them. I am the only teacher they have now.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)