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Published: December 1st 2008
Hello Everyone!!
By request...I am writing my very own blog 😊
We have been in Korea for almost two months and I love it! I love the food, I love the people, and I love not having to drive. When we arrived in fall, it was beautiful, the leaves were red and gold, and the season lasted forever (compared to Montana). Around Yeoju there are many mountains, smaller than Montana, but still beautiful. They are covered in trees so fall was especially beautiful. In the last few weeks, all of the leaves have fallen and it has started to get pretty darn cold.
Every Morning, I wait on the corner near our apartment for the "Head Teacher" from my school to pick me up. She is very nice and speaks some English, but our conversation is extremely limited and generally just ends with a ‘thank you’ and ‘have a nice day.’ My school is about a mile away, and when it gets nice again, I think I will ride my bike. But for now, it is cold. So I will just ride with her. She picks me up at 8:30am and school begins at 9:20am. Every morning I
have four classes. Monday, 3rd grade; Tuesday, 4th grade; Wednesday, half 4th grade and the other half....5TH GRADE! Oh those 5th graders, they were almost the end of me at the beginning of this wild teaching career. Then, Thursday, 5th grade, again 😞 Friday is the 6th grade, who are still difficult but no match with the fifth grade.
There are a few problems with the scenario, beginning with Mrs. Moon. She is, hands down, no question, one of my favorite people in Korea. She is a kind, loving, giving, funny, Christian woman. She drives the world’s smallest car. She dresses in a million of the cutest layers, and to top it off, she carries around a speaker and microphone so that she can hear herself talk over the 5th graders yelling and screaming. It takes her about 15 seconds to register what I have said to her before she responds. Her favorite English line..."it's my pleasure." And she says it sweeter than I am sure any American ever could. She is lovely. So anyway, she is a substitute and she is a woman. I am new and I am a woman. This equals FREE TIME in the minds
of the 5th graders. Mrs. Moon has had to give them a good whack with a wooden stick a few times. That will shut them up for a few minutes, and then they are back to throwing paper, climbing on their desks, text messaging, basically anything but English, or school for that matter. I have learned to give my own version of the “evil eye” and confiscate anything I feel necessary. They have caused me more stress and frustration than I have known in quite awhile (and if anyone from the DD world is reading this...that's pretty bad).
Just the other day, a fight broke out before I even knew what was happening. Two boys got that “look” in their eyes and that was it. Poor Mrs. Moon attempted to intervene, and I immediately left for male reinforcements knowing she was no match for the hate in their eyes. One of the 6th grade teachers was down the hall, punishing his own class while holding a plastic bat. I looked down his way and yelled “Help me please!” He came fast, b-lined into the classroom, and the minute they saw him, it was over. He took them into the
hallway and they never returned. What I can only imagine to be some sort of beating. They came back later to apologize. Another group of boys were in the hallway in push up position getting a wooden stick whipping from their teacher. It’s unbelievable. And I am oh so thankful for it on some days. I hate to say that.
So, the constant stress of not knowing how to be a teacher, lacking resources, and having a language barrier has caused me to constantly be looking for resources (ideas always welcome), new ideas and patience via internet, friends....and mostly God. But as much as I have felt stressed, I know that God put Mrs. Moon in my life to help me navigate my Korean experience. So as much stress as our teamwork causes she is a greater blessing than anything else!
Mrs. Moon is also my ride home from school everyday. She of course insists, even though I would like to walk. Most of the time, her husband accompanies us, and he is equally as wonderful, kind, and loving. They are truly special. On Thursdays she likes us to eat at the restaurant (dorm food) on the college
campus near my home.
But all food here is made fresh and I am rarely disappointed. I have gotten pretty good with chopsticks. Picking up noodles, lettuce, squid legs, tofu, other slippery stuff, you name it and it has been on my clothes due to some mishap. I get super excited for lunch everyday. We always have rice and soup and three other random dishes. Love it, love it, love it. Love kimchi, especially kimchi stew. Spicy food, yum. My other favorite is Nang Myeon, ice noodles with a hard boiled egg on top. You put some spicy mustard in and you’re good to go! Jon and I bought a rice cooker. I’ve eaten more rice than I ever thought possible.
Since being here, we have made some really wonderful friends from all over the place. We have spent the most time with Reagan and Leandra from South Africa. They are getting married in February and have been in Korea for 4 years. They have been a huge help to us, showing us around, teaching us the places to go, how to get there, etc. They are so kind, loving, and genuine. They love God and have become
a very special part of this experience! God is good, always putting the people we need most at the right time. We also spend time with friends from Canada, England, and Wisconsin. Just tonight we went to a dinner with many of the “Native Teachers” and we are a pretty great group, matched up with some wonderful Korean teachers.
So, back to school. I teach from 9:20-12:30pm everyday to classes of 35+ students. Sometimes it feels like it takes forever. Managing that many students is near impossible and I think I get so stressed because I don’t want them to hate English. I repeat the same stuff constantly. “I can swim, let’s play soccer, sorry I can’t, that’s too bad, can you join us…” just some of the words you can hear from my mouth on a weekly basis. I actually think my vocabulary is decreasing. Everything comes at a cost. Then in the afternoons on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I teach the ‘Special Advanced English class.’ It is much better because there are 17 kids and they like me! Many of the children like me, especially to just yell hello, “Hullo Cashy!” They love when they see us
in the community, that’s their favorite.
Other than my mind constantly being on how I can be a better teacher, researching websites, methods, ideas, etc. In order to have enough tools in my bag to make it through a day…I do love it. It still feels like a fake job. We don’t give them tests, their teachers reiterate everything we teach, but I just want them to have fun. Kids wear a person out, they take a lot of energy and I am not a natural actress. So I admire anyone who is a teacher or anything of the sort if I have not already said so!!
On the weekends we like to explore, but lately it has just been too darn cold. We have been spending our time close to home and enjoying sleeping in and relaxing! The most adventurous was definitely going to the spa (as Jon described) unassuming. I just paced back and forth until I saw someone with a bathing suit and followed her without another thought. She luckily ended where Jon was, of course. But back inside, oh back inside….way more ajima (old women) nakedness than one could ever imagine. Just sitting on
stools scrubbing every part of their body like it was there job. Other women soaking in tubs, just staring at me waiting to see my next move…that is when I gave up and decided that was a task for another day…and possibly with a friend!
This experience has taught me to appreciate things more and really just live one day at a time. Many days, from hour to hour . Thank you to everyone who has been emailing, sending comments, praying for us, and just loving us! We appreciate it so much. It is so much fun to share this experience. We can generally only call the weekends, but love emails, even if we don’t respond immediately!! HI. SBDDC, MVSDC, BSW….please send pictures! I miss everyone and all of the laughter and joy!
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Dad
non-member comment
Hello Cashy
Hey Doll face, loved the blog, way to step it up. You look great in your orange coat. I want some kimchi. Love ya Dad