The things I won't miss

Life in Korea isn't all rainbows and butterflies.

This time of year always sucks because it's INSANELY hot (think high 90s with crazy humidity), but also because we are still required to be in school. It's not a regular schedule though--instead we're required to do camps during this time, which are basically way more work than just teaching regular classes. We are with the same group of students all day, and have to plan dozens of "fun" activities. The kids usually don't want to be there, and it's just as bad for teachers too because right at the point where we're burnt out from the regular semester, we're required to put in a TON of work into these camps.

Today was the second day of camp at one of my schools. My CT gave me a ride to school this morning, and despite the fact that we had twenty minutes in the car together, he waited until we were walking in the building to ask"How about teaching 3rd and 4th grade today instead of 5th and 6th grade?"  Apparently 5th and 6th grade needed to practice a song for a competition this weekend. I spent yesterday with 3rd and 4th grade, and the plan was today I was supposed to have 5th and 6th grade. I was only prepared for 5th and 6th grade today. Since you can't really say no in Korea, I went to the 3rd and 4th grade room, where after ten minutes I was then told to go to back to 5th and 6th grade. Typical Korea.

I taught my lessons pretty much as planned, until about halfway through the craft project, when my CT told the students to go somewhere else. They were gone for the rest of the class before they started to come back. Then my CT came again and told them to go somewhere else. I looked out the window and saw them playing outside with water balloons. So much for the rest of the project I was doing with them.

Now, usually during camp teachers leave after camp is finished. EPIK teachers are supposed to stay the whole day unless the Vice Principal of Principal says it's ok for us to leave. The majority of the time the Principal thinks it's ridiculous for us to sit there all day when there's nothing going on and will tell us to go home. The school I was at for the past week and a half before this let me go everyday with the rest of the teachers, which I greatly appreciated. However, when my CT asked the Vice Principal at this school if I could go home, she sad no.

Since the cafeteria isn't open during school breaks and bringing your lunch isn't a thing in Korea, yesterday I had lunch with the VP and some of the office staff. This is the way it is in Korea. If lunch isn't provided by the school in the cafeteria, they order food or go to a restaurant. However, today I was waiting to be told it was time for lunch (there isn't a set meeting time, but they just call or go around and grab everyone), but as the time went by, I started to figure that I had been forgotten.

After 1:00 I went downstairs and asked about lunch, and they said "oh, we already went to lunch." Now, here is the part that shocked me. At any of my other schools they would have been embarrassed and ashamed for forgetting me, and would have at the very least apologized for not telling me.

What did this school do?

They pulled up the map of where the restaurant is an tried to give me convoluted directions of how to get there (when they without doubt drove there). Remember that it is probably close to 100 degrees and humid outside, not exactly the best weather to wander around an area you don't know. So, instead of apologizing they told me to walk there and go eat lunch by myself and come back and sit here and do nothing until 4:30. Needless to say, I wasn't impressed.

I could understand if they forgot me in other circumstances, but the fact that the VP explicitly said I need to be here ALL DAY, then didn't even make an effort to tell me about lunch...just rubs me the wrong way.

There are so many Koreans who have treated me amazingly well during my time here, but there are times like this that just fill me with so much frustration.

Thankfully, this is my last day at this school. I was only at this school for six months, but I feel like it has given me a full year's worth of aggravation in that short time.

Another thing I'm thankful for is the fact that it's my last day before vacation. I'm off to Vietnam for the next week and a half, then once I get back I have more camp and the enormous task of packing up all my stuff before heading home. But one thing at a time...everything after vacation isn't quite within the grasp of my mind yet.

Teacher's Day and Sports Day (Again)

Teacher's Day

May 15th is Teacher's Day here in Korea, and unlike "Teacher Appreciation Week" in America, Teacher's Day is actually a big deal here.  Last year we still had to go to school on Teacher's Day because the country was in mourning after the Sewol Ferry accident, but this year the teachers of Mungyeong gathered at a local college for a big volleyball tournament.

Every school had a tent set up, where there was of course lots of food and alcohol. I should mention all the students had this day off, so while there was a lot of drinking, it wasn't like there were students running around.

Every school had a girls and a boys team, and since I now have four different schools, I pretty much had at least one school playing at all times, so I just did my best to watch them all at some point.  Since this is Korea, of course the schools take this competition super seriously, and most teams had been practicing after school for quite some time.

I spent most of the day walking around and watching my different schools play, and from time to time being pulled over to a tent and given beer. The girl's team at one of  my schools made it all the way to the finals, but unfortunately didn't win. At the end of the game I was with one of my friends from town when her school called us both over to come drink with them. Since I was with her school, I think this is how I managed to get out of being pulled to any kind of teacher's dinner, which was quite alright with me, because it meant that I got to go home early and enjoy Friday afternoon. Overall, not such a bad day.

Sport's Day

Most schools had their Sports Days towards the beginning of May, so when I went to my Friday school a few weeks ago, I was shocked to see that it was Sports Day--I had assumed they had already had it. I essentially had a repeat experience of what happened to me in the fall at this school--I walked in and all of the teachers were in their sports clothes and I definitely was not.  I was actually in a dress and a new pair of shoes I thought I would wear to break in (we usually change our shoes when we get to school, but since we were outside the whole day, I had to keep them on the whole time). I certainly wasn't dressed for the occasion, but I came to school expecting to teach six classes, and instead I got to sit outside and watch the kids have fun, so I definitely wasn't complaining.

Welcome to Korea, where they sell baby hamsters at Sports Day

Overall, Sports Day was good, but pretty much the same as the fall, so I won't go into much detail about it. The good thing is this time around I knew the kids much better, so I think it was more enjoyable for me.  As I watched them throughout the day, I couldn't help but think about how much they have grown in the nine months I've been teaching them. They are suddenly looking so much bigger than the kids I remember meeting in the fall, and it does make me sad to think that soon I'll be saying goodbye to them.

Of course, the day didn't end with sports day.  On days like this there are almost always teacher dinners, but I was going to try to escape without getting dragged into it.  Not that I don't like my co-workers, but on a Friday evening I'm usually ready to get home.  However, on my way to the bus that afternoon I ran into the principal and in Korean he asked me if I was coming to dinner.  I may have acted like I didn't understand (ok, I did), but he gestured to bring me to the teacher's room, where my CT told me about dinner and asked me to join.

Since you can't really get out of these things in Korea, I agreed, and I'm actually really glad I did. I got a new CT at this school this semester, and she has been really good.  It was nice to spend time with her and the rest of the teachers, especially since I'm only at this school one day a week now.  I've also never seen any of them drink so much/been forced to drink so much with them, so that was a new experience. I've also somehow made it almost two years in Korea without going to a noraebang with my co-workers (this is totally abnormal), but that finally changed. Teachers were even singing and dancing when we were in our room at the restaurant, so naturally noraebang was our next place. I was surprised, but relieved that the night ended up being so fun--after the rough first semester I had with this school, I'm happy to have it end on a better note.

The last first day

Today was the first day of the new school year here in Korea, meaning that my new schedule is now in full effect.

My thoughts at the beginning of the day were a little something like this:

"Wow, I can't believe this is my last semester in Korea.  Only six more months?! That can't be possible"

My thoughts at the end of the day were a little something like this:

"Six more months?! I can't do it.  I'm just not going to make it. There's just no way."


I'll save all the details for later once I can make a better judgement about my new situation, because I really don't like to be negative on here.  I also realize that this is only the first day and it will take time to settle into a routine, as it always does.

With that said, someone please get me a drink, STAT.

Another Snowy Monday

For a while I was complaining about how it had been raining every single Monday.  Well, now that the weather is a bit colder, we've had two snowy Mondays in a row.  I have to say, I definitely prefer it over the gross, cold rain. Mostly, of course, because it's much prettier to look at, but also because there is something charming about the children's excitement as they play in fresh snow.

Of course, the kids are slightly less charming when they're back in class and can't sit still because they're so amped about the snow.  Case and point first grade.  I see first grade right after their lunch/recess break, which means that they were CRAZY by the time they came into class.  Kids were running around, hitting each other, stealing things from each other, and telling me long stories in Korean that I couldn't understand at all.  Eventually everyone calmed down and I was reminded again of why I love first grade so much--it's that pure enthusiasm they have about everything.  Plus, just look at how cute they are...

After surviving some much less enthusiastic and much more rude classes (I'm looking at you 4th and 6th grade!), I met some friends downtown for dinner. I was pleasantly surprised to see some Christmas lights on the walking street...although I am disappointed that the huge Christmas tree isn't there this year. 

After dinner we went to Dunkin Donuts (yes, Korea has Dunkins!) because we saw that there was a special deal going on right now where you can get hot chocolate in Kakao emoticon cups.  You may be thinking "Wait, people really care enough about emoticons that they are part of a Dunkins promotion?"  The answer is YES.  Pretty much every person in Korea knows the Kakao emoticon characters because everyone uses Kakao talk for messaging... and Koreans are crazy about emoticons.  Ok, it's not just Koreans who are obsessed with emoticons.  I'll admit I'm guilty of totally jumping on this Korean bandwagon.  

I've spent a lot of money at Dunkins in the past, but I have to say...I think this was the best purchase I've ever made there.  

I can't think of a better way to end a snowy Monday than with some hot chocolate, especially when it's as cute as this. 

A Friday Korean Surprise Part 1: Sport's Day!

Fridays have now become my longest, and therefore most exhausting days.  Fridays are always a little tough no matter what kind of schedule you have, but with my new schedule I have six classes on Fridays, which means I pretty much don't stop teaching all day long.  Last Thursday I stayed out late with some friends, so Friday morning came way too soon and I had those remorseful thoughts we've all had when our alarm abruptly wakes us up--why did I stay out so late? Why did I stay for that one last drink?

Nonetheless. I got on the bus and was on my way to school to face my Everest of a day.  As I got off the bus I quickly realized something was different.  There were tons of things set up on the school's yard.  Yes, this could only mean one thing: SPORT'S DAY!

Sure enough, I saw some of the sixth grade students and asked them what was happening and they confirmed that is was indeed sports day.  I walked into the teacher's room and all of the teachers were dressed in their matching athletic clothes at which point they said "Oh, Sarah. Did you know today was sports day?" Well, obviously not since I was dressed in black pants with a nice top and a cardigan sweater.  TIK.  Although I did find it somewhat amusing when the other teachers scolded my CT for not telling me.

Now, Korea can throw some pretty terrible surprises in your face from time to time, but it can also throw some wonderful surprises at you at well.  Thankfully, this was one of those wonderful surprises.  Instead of teaching all day I got to sit around and watch the kids participate in various activities.

Group warm up.

The kindergartners are in green and are just TOO CUTE!

Popping the balloons. 

Karaoke session at the end of the day.  So funny. 

I experienced sports day last semester at my high school, but the elementary version was pretty different in large part because sports day is a family event at the elementary schools.  The students had their parents and sometimes their grandparents there with them at school, which was actually really awesome to see.  The parents even participated in a number of events, including the karaoke session that happened at the end of the day.  This was probably the most entertaining part of the day to watch because the students (even the 6th graders!) would get on stage with their parents and sing and dance to whichever songs they chose, I love how much Koreans love singing.

Overall, it was an entertaining day even though I wasn't really involved with any of the activities.  It was fun just to watch the kids have fun! And I guess it didn't hurt that I didn't have to teach any classes either...

My new school life.

It's officially been a month since I switched to my new schools, so I guess it's about time I explain what my school life is like here in Korea now.

As most of you know, last year I worked at a high school here in Jeomchon.  Since the government cut all of the high school and the vast majority of the middle school positions last March, if I wanted to stay in Korea I had to move to an elementary position.  Although I would have loved to have stayed at the high school I worked at last year, sometimes these things just aren't in our control.

I now work at three different schools. Working at more than one school is pretty common for EPIK teachers, especially in the more rural areas.  Although last year I was only a ten minute walk away from my school, this year I have to take the bus or get a ride to my schools because they are rural schools.

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I am at what I call my main school.  This is an elementary school where I teach grades 1-6.  I see first and second grade once a week, and I see fourth and fifth grade once a week for regular class.  Finally, I see fifth and sixth grade twice a week for normal classes.

The view from the 5th grade classroom. Gorgeous. 

That pile of logs is where I wait for the bus. 

Not a bad bus stop view. 

My school is small, but has a huge gym!

Playground at my main school.

This is what's around my main school....not much. 

I also teach something called "after school classes".  The after school classes are any of the classes that are held after lunch. These are supplementary classes where I don't have to teach the textbook, although I have been choosing to continue to work on material based off the textbook, especially in reading and writing because I can see that is where the students are behind. Technically my first and second grade classes are after school because there's no national curriculum for first and second grade. I've been working on really basic things with them like letters, phonics, colors, numbers, etc.  I also see grades 3-6 once a week for after school classes.  That means in total I see grades 4-5 two times a week and grades 5-6 three times a week.

The class sizes at this school are pretty small with about ten kids in first and second grade, six kids in third grade, around ten kids in 4th and 5th, and seventeen kids in 6th grade.

Tuesdays I change gears completely because I am at a middle school.  While the native english teachers were cut in the majority of middle schools, country schools were able to keep their NETs due to the fact that they get less exposure to English than the kids in the cities do.

View in Dongro, the part of Mungyeong I travel to on Tuesdays. 

I got out of the car one Tuesday and this was the view from the school yard. So beautiful!

This school is pretty far away from Jeomchon--about a forty minute drive with my CT.  I'm lucky to get a ride though, because if I took the bus it would be about an hour commute.  In total, this school has 24 students.  Yes, 24 students in the entire school! Middle school in Korea is three grades, equivalent to 7th-9th grade in America.  My 1st and 3rd grade students actually have a pretty good level of English, but my 2nd grade class is by far the most difficult...I think their level may be on par with my fifth graders at the elementary school.  It's strange, but sometimes you just get interesting groups of students. Overall I really like being at this school though because I can communicate more with the students and I can plan more interesting lessons.

Thursdays I am at another elementary school that takes just over an hour to get to from Jeomchon.  This school is about as rural as you can get.  I teach grades 3-6 at this school and I only see a total of 15 kids in the entire day.  My 3rd grade class has TWO students in it, fourth grade has THREE, and so on.  I teach all my classes in the morning, so the principal actually lets me leave after lunch (which technically isn't supposed to happen), but the buses are so rare to that part of the countryside that otherwise I would have to wait for a really long time to get the next one.  It's definitely been a perk to working at that school, especially since there's such a great travel time.

My very small Thursday school.

REALLY in the countryside. 

Overall my transition to elementary school has been ok.  I don't hate it, but I also don't love it like I loved my high school last year.  I think this is really due to two things.  The first reason being that I have to teach the textbook.  Every school in Korea is required to use certain textbooks, and as a teacher you have to cover the book from cover to cover.  The books come with CDs which you use to go through the lesson.  Of course I supplement the textbook and try to make it more exciting, but at the end of the day there's only so much you can do. It's especially tough for 6th grade because these pre-teens have that too cool for anything attitude, and the textbooks are way too childish for them.  It's a struggle to get them to do anything, especially when they material you have to work with is childish.

The second reason I'm not head-over-heals with my new job is because I can't communicate with my students like I could at the high school.  While there were definitely communication barriers with my students last year, I could still talk to them about tons of things.  I know I say it all the time, but I really adored these kids and came to really care for them.  I loved hearing about their lives, their future plans, and their thoughts about what was going on in the world.  I got such an amazing look into Korean culture and Korean society because of them and I'm really thankful that I could learn so much from them.

This year is a different story. I love kids (and man, are they CUTE!!!), but their English level and my Korean level are about the same, meaning it's pretty much as low as can be. I have one co-worker at my Mon/Wed/Fri school who can speak English.  He is the third grade teacher, which means he is only in my class for third grade.  The homeroom teachers come to the other classes with their students and while they can help control the students, they can't really communicate with me.

When it comes to after school classes, I'm pretty much on my own.  The homeroom teachers rarely come to those classes with the students, so I'm on my own to explain activities and manage behavior with students who can't understand what I'm saying.  At my Thursday school no one really speaks English at all and the homeroom teachers don't come to any classes with the students.  The only saving grace of these situations is that the classes are small so I can do a lot of managing of student behavior by walking around the classroom.  I have to say that although I'm not crazy about elementary school, I am glad that I'm at least at these small schools because I can somewhat manage classes as well as give students A LOT of individual attention.  I don't really know how NETs deal with elementary classes of 30 or more students.

I've recently resumed my Korean studying in hopes that I will be able to improve my communication with my students and co-workers.  There are so many great things about this experience, but being the only foreigner in a school can be a really isolating experience at times.  I experienced this feeling last year at well, but I felt much more connected, in large part because of my students and co-teachers in the English department.

With that said, this year is going to give me a LOT more free time.  Since I just teach the textbook at the elementary schools, planning is a lot more straightforward (even though between my schools I have 8 different textbooks!) This gives me a lot of time to do other things--like study Korean.

I also want to emphasize that I really don't hate my new job.  I still enjoy it, especially when I get to work with the students individually and can see the improvement in their reading and speaking.  It's just not what I'm passionate about, which in some ways is a blessing I think because it can become easy to get comfortable in Korea and stay here for years and years.  This job gives me an opportunity to travel and learn about Korea, but these change of work circumstances will also ensure that I keep thinking about the future and getting back to doing what I know I love.

Too much Korea.

Some days Korea is just too much.

My new Wednesday schedule only consists of two classes.  It seems that would be a great thing, but my two classes are both after lunch which means 1) I have to sit around and wait all day before I teach. Sitting around and waiting all day is not my favorite 2) The kids are CRAZY because it's after lunch and after they've been running around and playing.

Granted, my third graders were good this afternoon.  Have I mentioned how cute they are?!  Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse with sixth grade.  In the less than a month I've been teaching at the elementary schools I've learned something very valuable: I never want to teach sixth grade.  These pre-teens are too cool for school, which high schoolers can be too...but at least my high schoolers could understand what I said to them.  Trying to get a classroom of 17 sixth graders to sit down and shut up when they don't really even understand what you're saying isn't cool.  Add in the fact that I have NO authority with them and there's no co-teacher with me and it just makes things worse. Classroom management plans are in the works, but this is certainly unlike any other situations I've had in the past.  Let's just say today's lesson plan went out the window quickly and instead ended with the class writing the key phrases 5 times each....and one more time for each time someone talked....which was a lot of times.

After what felt like an interminable 40 minutes with the sixth graders from hell, I went back to the teacher's office.  I have a little over an hour at the end of the day without classes, so I was sitting at my desk preparing materials for Friday.

About five minutes before I was supposed to leave for the bus my CT called me (even though he was just upstairs?) and told me to go see him.  Luckily, it didn't take long and I went back downstairs just in time to grab my things for the bus,

As I was outside walking to the bus my CT shouted my name out of the window and told me to come back in.  When I told him that I was going to miss the bus he said "It's ok, next bus!"

This is not what you want to hear just as you're breaking free from school.

Now, this CT has been asking me about a certain e-mail I supposedly should have received, but haven't.  Apparently he didn't believe that I didn't receive it because he made me show him my entire e-mail inbox, which pretty much meant me explaining what every single e-mail was about because he couldn't really understand just by looking at it.  Don't you think I would recognize an e-mail in my inbox that had Korean writing on it??

After I apparently proved myself, it was another fifteen minutes of him asking "why didn't you get the e-mail?"

Hmmm, I don't know! Why don't you call them and ask them to send it again? Or have them send it to you?! There must be some sort of proactive solution there somewhere.

Finally, he said he would drive me home since he made me miss the bus.  Just what I wanted.  Another quality 20 minutes of stimulating conversation focusing on how important it is for women to get married.

To cap things off, some of his parting words with me were "Sarah, don't forget! Meeting man! Get married! Very important!"

Some days you just get an overload of TIK moments. This was one of those days.

I guess I could get used to this...

Although I'm pretty stubborn and not wanting to accept the fact that I really have to get used to all the changes in my Korean life, I guess my new jobs aren't all bad.

I'm not a huge fan of having to take the bus everyday, but the country schools have their benefits with small class sizes and BEAUTIFUL surroundings.  I've been in awe each day whether I'm riding the bus or just walking around the school yard. Last year I spent all of my time in the city part of Jeomchon, so my glimpses of the gorgeous countryside were much more limited.

Take a look:

The view at the bus stop at my Mon, Wed, Fri school.

Love those green (and soon to be yellow) rice fields. 

These country schools have a special charm of their own.  Plus, have I mentioned first, second, and third grade are SO CUTE? Seriously, there's a whole lot of cuteness overload going on with these little ones.  I'm sure there will be pictures along the way to prove it, but for now just prepare yourselves for it.  

Emotional overload.

I am feeling an overwhelming mix of just about every emotion at the moment.

Today was my last day at my high school.  In the morning faculty meeting I had to say goodbye to the teachers of the school.  After the meeting was finished we all had to take a picture together, in which I was in the front sitting in between the principal and vice principal.  Koreans do love their photo opps.

After the meeting I was planning on taking the bus to my new schools because my new CT requested that I go there today.  Instead, the principal insisted on bringing me himself.  The funny thing is, it wasn't just the principal that brought me, but the vice-principal joined as well.  It was kind of hilarious bring escorted to my new school with both the principal and vice-principal because naturally they walked me into the building, and then we all had tea with the new school's principal and vice principal.  I felt like a child being dropped off on the first day of school.

I was really caught off guard by these kind actions from my principal and vice-principal.  I never thought that my principal and vice-principal disliked me, but I certainly never thought they cared that much.  On the drive to my new school my principal said that "he felt like I was part of his family and if I ever miss the bus to school, I should come to the high school and they will drive me." I'm just beginning to realize how fortunate I have been over this past year.

I have so many thoughts about leaving my school and moving to elementary school, but I can't quite process it because right now my main focus is on saying goodbye to some of my best friends I have in Korea.  I can't fathom being here without them, so I'm just beyond emotionally drained at the moment and the whole new schools situation hasn't even been my top concern.  I'm going through the motions, but in no way feel like this is my new life in Korea.

I'm sure in another week I'll be able to process everything better, but right now I'm just such a mess of emotions that it's a little hard to believe that any of this is actually real.

Locked doors, mozzarella sticks, chopsticks, and tea: A glimpse of my daily life in Korea.

I walked to school around 2PM this afternoon, as I have been doing all week because of my camp schedule.  Given Korea's summers are not only hot, but also oppressively humid, by the time I get to the top of the hill my school is located on the only thing I can think about is the blast of cool air I'll feel as soon as I open the door to the air-conditioned teacher's room.

However, today there was just one problem.  As I shuffled into school and went to open the door to the teacher's room, the door wouldn't open.  Was it stuck from the humidity?  I pulled a little harder.  No luck.  It was locked.

As many times as I've opened that door this year, it's never been locked.  Ok, I thought.  I'll just go to the door on the other side.  This meant I had to go back outside and to the other side of the building--not the most thrilling idea at the time, but I didn't have any other choice, so out I went to try door number two.

I gave the door a pull and again. It didn't open.

Huh.

With no other ideas, I just went straight to the room I'm teaching my English camp in.  I turned on the AC there and let my sweaty face dry, figuring that eventually someone would have to go to the teacher's room and since my camp room is essentially right next to the teacher's room I would hopefully be able to notice when they did.

I was right.  About 15 minutes later one of the ladies who works in the admin office came in and started saying something I couldn't understand in Korea.  I figured it meant she was telling me to come into the teacher's room, so I gathered my things and went to my desk.

So there I was.  Sitting at my desk, but there were no other teachers around.  This NEVER happens at my school because there are always classes, and the teachers are always at their desks swamped with work.

Where was everyone?! What was going on?! It was uncomfortably eerie being there by myself.

Then, about ten minutes later the same admin lady from before and the school nurse returned to the office. The next thing I knew I was being summoned over to the table in the middle of the room to eat something (this is a REALLY common occurrence in Korean teacher's rooms), but what was not so common was the food being served. Usually it's fruit, bread, or rice cakes, but not today.  I was given a pair of wooden chopsticks as per usual, but the food being served today was mozzarella sticks.

Seriously? Since when do they even have mozzarella sticks in Korea?! I have no idea, but out of the foods I've had to eat in the teacher's room, this is among the best.

At long last, some of the other teachers returned to the teacher's room, at which point they were also summoned over to eat some mozzarella sticks.

As if this day hadn't already been off to a random start, the same admin worker (who is so cute in case you can't already tell), brought my over a cup of tea.

Tea, mozzarella sticks, and chopsticks.

Only in Korea can you get that combination.

The start of my school day was so random and I had no idea what was going on.  However, the thing is, days like this are actually totally normal for me in Korea.  Even after being here for a year, I still find myself constantly thinking "what the hell is going on?"

This my friends, is what daily life in Korea is really like.

Camp: Day 1

This week I'm teaching English camp with a group of about twenty first grade students.  For lack of any better ideas, I decided to do an "Exploring the World" camp, which will focus on a different English-speaking country everyday.

One of the things I love doing most while teaching in Korea is teaching students about western culture.  In our western-centric minds, we tend to let our egos get in the way and often assume that hey, everyone must know about our culture.  However, that's obviously not the case and I love introducing the students to the world beyond Korea.  Yes, I guess my inner social studies teacher is still lurking around after all.

Anyway, today I kicked off the camp with America...basically because I knew it would be the easiest to plan and I wanted to transition into the camp madness somewhat easily.  I started the class by breaking students into groups and giving them a bunch of questions about America to see what they already knew.  I also gave them a map of America and asked them to label any of the states they knew.  This turned into a fun competition and the results were definitely intriguing.

Here, my friends, is the United States according to Korean high school students:

Boston is next to Texas...who knew?

Note: Harvard and Yale are states. Mississippi is also a northern state.  

You'll notice the only state on here is Vermont.  That probably seems incredibly random, but actually it's not.  My friend who taught this particular group of students in middle school is from Vermont.  And we think they don't learn anything from our lessons--turns out they do pay attention! 

These are just a few of the maps, but you get the idea.  It's a good reminder that America's not the center of the universe.

And to be fair, of course the majority of Americans probably can't label the whole map of America, and I certainly didn't expect all of my students to be able to.  Not to mention, I'm sure the majority of Americans can't place Korea on a map. Geography seems to be a universal skill that is lacking.

Oh, and I should mention things just kept getting more entertaining when we went over the answers to the survey I gave them.  To end this post I'll give you a little excerpt from that part of class.

Me: Does anyone know what America's national bird is?
Student: Pigeon!!!

Just another day in Korea.

Limping to the finish line

If I had to choose one emoticon to display how I've been feeling recently, this would have to be it. Teaching in Korea has made one thing abundantly clear to me over the past few weeks:

Having school during the summer is just wrong.

I remember way back in the winter one of my friends here said that every July she wants to quit her job.  I now can understand why. These past few weeks have been a bit of struggle.

To start with, Korea's summers are really hot and humid, so by the time I walk to school each day I'm pretty drenched with sweat, which pretty negates the shower I take each morning.  It's not the most glamorous way to being the day, and the school itself is only sometimes air conditioned.

Secondly, despite the fact that finals were two weeks ago, we have been continuing with classes as normal, just with students who are less motivated and more exhausted.

I spent the entirety of last week trying to finish all of my grades for the writing class I did with the first grade girls.  Grading always takes a long time, but it takes way longer when you're reading essays written by students who don't speak English as their first language. At times it's exhausting to figure out what the intention of each sentence is, and it takes the mental exhaustion that comes from grading to a new level.

Nevertheless, I'm so glad I did that writing class this semester because I saw so much improvement in my students' writing.  At the beginning of the semester they struggled to write one paragraph.  By the end, they wrote two five paragraph essays.  I feel like a proud mama when I see so much improvement in their work.  These are the things that make me love working in education.

Of course, grading is grading and I don't think I've felt so overwhelmed with work since teaching back in America (and that's saying a lot!)  We're talking non-stop working, staying up crazy late busy. Last week I told myself all I had to do was get to the weekend....but it hasn't slowed down a bit this week.

Next week I'll be teaching an English camp at my school.  Although the last week of regular classes is this week, of course my students are still in school for the rest of the summer.  Actually all EPIK teachers are responsible for doing an English camp during school breaks, which essentially is just what is sounds like. You pick a theme and teach kids for an extended amount of time each day.

Yesterday I found out my camp will be next week from 4-9.  Yes, that's right.  4-9 PM.  Gross.  And since the camp will be with the same group of students each day, that means I have four hours of lessons to prepare for each day.  That's just a lot of planning...and a long time to be spending with the same group of kids.  Given it usually takes me hours just to plan one lesson, I'm feeling slightly overwhelmed by the amount of work I have to do to prepare for next week.

Of course, it would be a bit better if I didn't have a teacher's trip this whole weekend.  Not to mention, my three-hour Wednesday planning block is non-existent this week because my CT told me today that I need to go to Gumi to renew my ARC tomorrow during that time.  Since I teach ALL day Thursdays and we leave for our trip on Friday, I can't help wonder: when exactly am I supposed to get my materials together? Did I didn't even get home from school until 9:30 tonight...

After my camp I'll be teaching a conversation class the following week...which I think they think will be easy, and maybe it would be except the class will only have about five kids.  As anyone who has taught a small class before knows, you have to plan A LOT more when classes are that small.

The past few weeks I just feel like I've been drowning in school work.  It's the feeling you get when you look at your to-do list and your free time and you know that there's no way to cross everything off besides losing a lot of sleep.  It's the feeling when you keep giving yourself goals ("just finish this project and you'll have some time to breathe")....only to finish your project and realize that actually there is just way more waiting for you and in reality the finish line is WAY further down the line.

This semester has, in general, been extremely long and exhausting.  Today I was reflecting and trying to figure out why I feel so burnt out.  Then it hit me--in America we have school vacations about every two months.  Now here in Korea we are going on five months now with only one five day weekend.  Now I know to people who don't work in education think this sounds normal...but truly school vacations exist for a reason and I can now tell why.  Students and teachers in Korea both are going through the motions but there isn't an ounce of energy left in anyone.

On top of everything it probably doesn't help that this is my last week with most of my students, and I'm bracing myself for some difficult goodbyes with friends coming up in August.  I can't quite wrap my head around what it's going to feel like here without these people, and quite honestly I'm trying to put it out of my mind for the time being, but it's still always there behind everything else. Just a bit of emotional exhaustion on top of everything else.

In the meantime, I am thinking about home constantly and my main motivation to plow through my absurd workload has been the countdown I have going on my phone (18 days and counting!)  The work is going to get done somehow or another, and I can't think of any sweeter way to end this marathon than with my friends and family, in a place where for the first time in a year, I'll be able to understand everything.  I can't quite wrap my head around that yet.

Since I started this entry with a rather depressing emoticon, I suppose I should finish it with one that is a little more uplifting. So ladies and gentlemen, here is an emoticon that depicts just how I feel about coming home:

And yes, he has a butt crack on his head.  Why? Because, Korea. 

Scattegories

So there I was.  It was a typical post-exam Friday afternoon.  It was one of those classes where quite honestly, I had no idea what to do with my first graders because...well, exams are finished, yet we still have two weeks of classes during which time every other teacher in Korea is allowed to show movies, but of course at our "rigorous and prestigious" school we're not allowed to.  This means that the kids have no motivation for class and are expecting to watch movies, yet forced to continue on with their classes as normal.  You can imagine how fun these two weeks are for all the teachers at my school.

I try to think of fun lessons to do during these weeks, because let's face it...the students need a break.  Not to mention the weather has become incredibly hot over the past few weeks, with highs around 90 accompanied with insane humidity every day.  Who wants to sit in school during that kind of weather? Certainly not I, and definitely not y students either.

Friday I was super busy finishing grading things for my writing class, so I figured why not play Scattergories with my students. I mean, who doesn't like Scattegories?

During one of the rounds one of the categories was "breakfast foods", and the letter was "M".

What did students respond with?

Mushroom soup and milkshakes.

There were two other answers and I can't currently remember what they were, but they were just as great as mushroom soup and milkshakes.

However, most notably, not one group said what most Americans would think....muffins!

Yes, for Koreans mushroom soup would be a totally normal breakfast food because in Korea breakfast food isn't really any different from food you eat at any other time of the day. Soup and rice are common breakfast foods, whereas muffins are just what you eat at a coffee shop, maybe as a post-dinner food.  Love those cultural differences.

Later in the day I gave another one of my classes the letter "S" for the same categories and answers included:

--salad
--salmon
--sushi (most groups disagreed with this answer, but they argued that in Japan this would be a breakfast food...)

Yes, who doesn't want salad for breakfast?  My students told me it's actually commonly served for breakfast in Korea.  Who knew?

Anyway, that's what I did on Friday.  And yes, I get paid for sometimes playing Scattegories at work. I guess this job isn't that bad.

Welcoming 25

Having a birthday at the end of June means that over the years I've experienced all of the benefits of having a summer birthday.  When I was younger that meant being able to run around outside or having the option of doing water activities at my birthday parties.  But most importantly, my June 26th DOB has always meant that I would never have to go to school on my birthday.  I made it all of these years without stepping foot in school on my birthday, but alas! At 25 my birthday fell victim to Korea's summer semester.  I wasn't exactly thrilled to go to school on my birthday, especially since Thursdays are my craziest days.  With six classes, I pretty much don't stop teaching all day.

However, my attitude quickly changed as I went to my first class with my second grade boys.  As soon as I walked in they began singing to me, and shortly after started giving me tons of snacks.  While they may just look like small snacks, have no doubt, these boys take their food seriously.  In fact, after morning classes there is a bread truck that comes to school.  The students all rush there to buy snacks as if it is the most important thing in the world. I suppose when your life is completely consumed by school the little things make even more of a difference.  Regardless, I could really appreciate the sentiment behind their gestures because I know snacks aren't really JUST snacks to these kids.

Some snacks from the second grade boys

The day kept getting better as I met my 1-6 class.  Many of the students came into class normally, but when the bell rang they told me to close my eyes.  The next thing I knew they turned the lights off, were singing to me, and bringing a tower of choco pies with a candle towards me. Needless to say, I was thoroughly surprised, and super touched by their gestures.  They also each wrote a birthday message to me, which I will obviously be keeping with me for forever.

The infamous choco pies

My awesome 1-6 class.  I love these girls!

So many notes.  So touched!

After lunch I went to my 2-5 class where I was surprised yet again.  As I went to the 2-5 classroom I noticed the lights were all off, which made me a bit suspicious.  As soon as I opened the door, all of the girls started singing, presented me with a beautiful cake, and gave me a huge card.  As if that weren't enough, they also decorated the chalkboard.  I was so touched I think I had to wipe away a few tears.

2-5 girls.  LOVE teaching them!!

The giant card from 2-5

Throughout the day students kept yelling "happy birthday!!!!" to me as I walked through the halls.  Aside from these organized efforts, many other students gave me small gifts and notes.

One of the 1st grade boys from my night class and his friend (who I don't teach) came and gave me these.  Yes, that's 100 won and a pen.  They told me to keep them forever and bring them back to America with me.  Oh, boys.  

One of the third grade girls (who I don't teach anymore) found me to give me this.  Too cute!

I spent the entirety of the day feeling incredibly touched, and as I was heading home my co-teacher also gave me a bracelet that she made for me.  I have to say, I never expect anything on my birthday, but I certainly never in a million years could have imagined that my students would even remember my birthday, nevermind make such a big deal out of it.

Bracelet from my co-teacher

This wasn't where my birthday ended either.  After school I went out to dinner with some friends, where they then surprised me with an ice cream cake.  After that we got a few drinks--the evening was quiet and calm, the perfect ending to a great day.

I should also mention my birthday surprises weren't limited to just my actual birthday.  Monday two of my friends (who had a cooking class on my actual birthday) took me out for dinner.  When the restaurant we wanted to go to was closed, we went to Mr. Pizza, where they brought this:

A few of my friends also surprised me with a mini birthday celebration on Wednesday at our bible study group.

Finally, my classes that I had today and didn't see yesterday also made sure to recognize my birthday. 2-4 decorated their blackboard and sang to me, and the 2-1 boys sang to me and gave me some random assortments of food.  My favorite was definitely the bag of cheese balls.  When they gave them to me they told me that I might need to put them in the microwave for 30 seconds because of the humidity.  They then told me maybe they won't taste good, and if they don't, I should throw them away.  Ummm....thanks?  This is just more evidence that teenage boys are teenage boys no matter where you go in the world.

The most memorable part of the day for me was when one my second grade boys gave me this picture he drew of me.  These kids think of everything!

Picture drawn by one of my second grad boys.

All in all, I don't think I've ever felt so overwhelmed with love on my birthday.  I've been struggling to find motivation for school lately, but all of these gestures made me appreciate once again just how AWESOME my students are and how unbelievably blessed I am to have been able to work with them this year. There are some days where going to school feels like a struggle, especially since it can feel isolating at times when I can't communicate with any of my co-workers.  But as I've said numerous times before, these kids are hands down the highlight of my time at school, and my time in Korea as well.   I can't believe my time with them is coming to an end so quickly, but I'm thankful that I'll always have these memories with them.

I think many of my friends and I have been having the realization at 25 that whoa! We're really adults now! It's a little stange, but instead of lamenting this fact, I couldn't feel more satisfied to look back on 24 as the best year of my life yet.  I am happy to welcome 25 with open arms. If it's even filled with half of the love, adventures, and learning experiences that this year was, I will consider myself one very lucky girl.