A Little Rant.

I don't usually like to complain about my life in Korea because well, there's not really that much to complain about.  Even when things annoy me, I have to remind myself that my life here is pretty awesome.

But then there are times like tonight, where after being at school from 9-5 I have to return to teach another class from 7-9.  I love the kids in my night class, but wow, it's exhausting and there's no way around that.  Typically I just count myself lucky that I don't have to stay at school so late every night like the majority of the teachers, but then there are times where even that doesn't quell my annoyances.

Times like tonight, when I went to my classroom, only to find it filled with third graders.  At that point there was no one around who could speak English, so I had to use my students to figure out what was going on.  We were redirected to another class, which was great....until the break when another teacher came in and told us her class would be starting in there.  So I packed up all of my stuff and quickly changed my plans for the remainder of class to adapt to our now computer-less situation.  But that isn't where the fun ends.  Just as we settled in, we were told we were too loud (even though my 5 kids weren't at all), and we then set out to find yet another place to have the rest of class.  In the midst of our wandering we ran into the Vice Principal who then joined our wandering, and finally after deciding there was no where else to go, told us to use the principal's office.  Yes, you know it's bad when you are using the principal's room for your class.

Moments like these make me frustrated because it can totally ruin plans for class. If I'm planning on using a powerpoint or video, my plans can go out the window instantly.  At this point I seldom even plan using any of those things for my night classes because it's just so frustrating to have it all pulled out from underneath me at the last minute.

However, most of all, the frustrating thing is not being able to explain or stick up for myself.  It's so frustrating not being able to figure out or able to accurately ask anyone where I am supposed to even be having class. It makes long days that much longer.  It's a good thing I love my students, because otherwise being at school would be a nightmare--it turns out not being able to communicate with your coworkers can incredibly frustrating and isolating.

Ok, rant over.  Although my life in Korea is wonderful 98% of time, I don't want to paint a false picture for you all.  There are plenty of times my patience is pushed to the limits, and tonight was definitely one of those times.