Friday... our St. Patrick's celebration for our Kindy's. Last night after work, I stopped by a costume shop to prepare. Yes. I am that person. It was a small place, so they did not have much. They had a green Robin Hood hat and glasses that light up green, both I got. There was an awesome jacket, but it was way too expensive. So I wear my green shirt, and my accessories. Kids love it. Teachers love it. Today was crazy and hectic... mixing school with fun is tough. My 7-1 class is probably my toughest but has the potential to be my most rewarding. Most of these kids know no English. Any problem they have, they try to tell me in Korean. Well... I do not speak Korean. The trying to communicate with a huge language barrier makes it interesting. 7 year olds (5 and 6 US age) are normally not incredibly fluent in their own language, so trying to gesture and mime what you say, well is an experience. But, if I stay with them, by the end of their first year they should be decently fluent. I have had some weeping before... but today was the first real cry with them. Luckily a Korean teacher was near by and worked on calming the situation. Otherwise, I would be lost. It seems like one girl grabbed the other girls shirt to try to get her to follow my instructions (which was go inside the classroom) and the girl whose shirt was grabbed pushed the girl doing the grabbing... they each had a 5 minute cry.
Other than that, the day went good. My older elementary classes do not go their homework. I understand this. I hated doing homework. I had to for a grade... but these kids grades mean nothing. I have to decide and be both a hardass (because they do not know their grades dont mean much) and a good teacher that understands their struggles and can see how I would react. In the US teaching system, there is a balance. As a foreign teacher there really is not. The kids already do not really respect us. We are not seen as actual teachers but more as props and helpers. The Korean co-teachers can instill a fear that we cannot. Also, the kids know the Korean teachers can call their parents... the Foreign teachers cannot. I am still trying to find my most effective way to teach.
After class today, I went out with Rachel Teacher. My co-teacher for I think 4 classes (maybe 5). She is the one that started the same time as I did, and the one we observed the classes together. Her and I have a bond... a friendship. Both of us often feel overwhelmed and experience the same emotions and frustrations. So her and I just decompressed... talked about life... talked about religion... talked about death... everything. We had some Dak galbi (seasoned chicken) for dinner. then went for coffee. She is meeting me at my subway station on Sunday and she will take me to a church that she knows has an EM (English Ministry). Before any of you get any ideas... she has a boyfriend whom she has been with for 5 years. We're friends. She is my first real Korean friend in Korea. The other teachers have all been at this for several months or years. We have been at it for 2 weeks.
I turned down an offer to go to Hongdae with my fellow foreign teachers tonight. It has been a long week, and more than going out... sleeping sounds so much more wonderful.
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