Teacher! Teacher!

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FRAZZLED. everything about that word sums up how i was feeling the night before and the morning of my first day of classes. just super stressed and worried about making a good impression on the students and not boring thier faces off. perhaps even teaching a wee bit of english? arrived at school at 8:10, so like an hour before class started, because i thought i could go into the classroom early to prepare but nay. the students own the classroom here, not the other way around. it gives you the feeling of being a new student when you have to walk into a classroom full of screaming girls and all thier pink stuffed bears and colored mirrors strewn everywhere.

i had my first class with mr. im, one of my co-teachers, and it was probably my worst class of the day. there were just totally unresponsive and started at me like i was speaking a foreign language (oh wait....) we made nametags with english names on them and then i did my prezi on myself, which includes my rules, like no talking, sleeping, or cellphones and i had a video of a teacher taking a students phone and shooting it with a raygun. that kinda scared the shit out of them haha. afterwards we played a relay game where they each had to say ANY english word which was like pulling teeth. i had tried to get them to say thier names and one thing they like but that wasn't happening. most of the class was pretty low level. then we did hangman and lo and behold, a girl guessed it WITHOUT ME EVEN PUTTING ANY LETTERS UP. the word was "girl's generation", a popular kpop band. ridiculous.

thankfully my next classes were much smoother. the girls are very hesitant to talk but after playing games a bit i was actually getting a fair amount of english out of them. they are totally smart, i think i'll just have to push them and make things engaging enough that they will want to participate. fingers crossed!

favorite moments:
-when making nametags one girl decided to call herself "dirty."
-asking if i have a boyfriend and when i say no the students ask "teacher, why??, so sad.."
-have students think my red tights were the most scandalous thing they had ever seen
-the teachers bathroom. they play classical music and you go in there and brush your teeth after lunch and just zen.

i went to dinner with margo (no T, you happy jahada?) and the other guemsan teachers this evening. we bbq'd our own meat, mushrooms, and onions and it was gooood. everyone was super nice and helpful with teaching ideas. now i'm just looking forward to the weekend to see my dear friends from orientation in seoul. it's weird, we only spent a week together but i already miss those people!

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Comments

[anonymous]

Miss Smith
Wow, it sounds like you are a great teacher and fun!! I love hearing about your class and your positive attitude, I betcha you will really enjoy getting to know the kids and all of Korea!! This is so great for you!! Love Marty