Ups and Downs

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So this morning I woke up feeling like shit. I don't know why, but I was really tired and in a bad mood. Maybe it's because I made a few mistakes at work yesterday (basically the things people tell me don't match with my schedule and I was late to class... They told me it was not my mistake, but things like that somehow really get to me).

Anyway, I got to the YMCA and even before I started I felt like I was doing everything wrong and was basically useless. That feeling got even stronger when I ate lunch all by myself, because Mark could eat with her class and no one else was around. I just had a really hard time because I felt like nothing I could offer was of any use.

But then it was time for physical education. That's about 25 five-year-olds in the gym with just one teacher (and me). They had to run from one end to the other, kick a soccer ball and then run back as fast as they could. There were two lines, so there were always two kids competing with each other. Because the teacher was up at the front with the soccer ball, I took care of the kids who weren't running at that time. And I have to say... they were adorable.

The girls already knew me from swimming class the day before, and as soon as I entered the gym they screamed "Olivia-seonsaengniiiiiiiiim!"
One of the girls kept sitting on my foot and holding on to my leg, and when I told her to let go she seemed really disappointed.

Then I went over to the other line and a bunch of boys started asking me a lot of questions, all in Korean of course, and all at once. And when I replied in Korean (basic, broken Korean) they were really surprised and excited. A little later, they called me and said "Annyeong!" (which is disrespectful for kids to say to a teacher) and I looked ad them and said "YAH! Annyeong??" and their eyes widened and they bowed quickly and said "Annyeonghaseyo!"... They were probably trying to test their boundaries, trying to figure out how much this strange looking foreigner knew, and I guess I knew just enough to know when kids are being disrespectful. Yay for me!

There was also another kid in the gym class (I'm going to call him "Red Panda" because that's what he reminds me of) who was in one of the classes I was in this morning (and yesterday), who they say is a "late bloomer". Basically, he doesn't really respond to things you say and is always in his own little world. I had already spent a lot of time with him in class, so he'd warmed up to me a bit. I stayed next to him for almost the entire gym class, and I think he actually paid attention to what was happening around him pretty well. And I have to say that each and every one of his rare smiles is so genuine it melts my heart.

I was amazed at the teachers ability to keep the kids quiet. At the end of class, they all had to spread out in the gym, sit on the floor with their backs straight and close their eyes. They were like that for about five minutes, all of them focused, and all of them quiet. All except Red Panda, of course. He kept looking around with those curious eyes and spinning around slowly.

After physical education, I was assisting the piano teacher again, which was really fun. I can spend a lot of time drawing with the kids, which is something I'm actually confident in, and basically it was just really nice to be there.

Now I just need to memorize all of the kids' names (both the Korean and English ones)... *sighs*

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