Strong Start

Sunday April 21st.
Early night on Saturday, so I woke up with a lot of energy on Sunday morning. What did I do with this energy? Well almost finished cleaning my room. I just have a few things left to sort. Sorting the small stuff is no fun... especially if it is things that I have no idea how to sort. Like the wooden chopsticks. Where do I put wooden chopsticks? I also did some studying Korean. I think I am too much in my head with studying Korean. I started over from square one. I am re-learning the alphabet. While I know the sounds of the letters, the sounds that we do not have/do not use in the English language are so confusing. Koreans can hear the difference. I cannot.
It was a beautiful day! I walked around a little and went shopping. I had to pick up my microwave at night, so I needed to find a little rolling card that I could put it on. Not because I was going far with it... but still getting a microwave and a fan from an apartment to a street with cabs is a challenge. Spending 12 bucks on a rolling cart that guarantees my life being a little easier... always a thing I will do.
Went to church. They are having a small group meeting on Tuesday, so I will be going to that. I am supposed to start reading some book... I will. At church, one of the members was talking to me about religion and faith. I think I am fairly unique when it comes to it all. My life has shaped me and molded me different than others. But I do like talking about it. I used to love talking to the Mormons at OSU, and different faiths elsewhere. I think whatever people do to live a good life is important... but as soon as that belief causes someone to start judging and stop loving... I dont like that. It is true with any faith.
I picked up my microwave and fan. Both work! The cab back to my apartment was only 6000. Amazing. Also, I was not discriminated against for being a white guy with stuff as I was hailing a cab. It is so interesting to see how hard it is being a person of a different race trying to get a cab. In NY I always heard this and knew it happened. It is just odd actually experiencing it. But today, I got the first cab I hailed. A very rare occurrence. The girl I bought the stuff from was a Korean College Student that got accepted to Grad School at the University of San Diego. So that is pretty awesome.
Got home, bought a cheap microwave burger from the GS Mart, and watched an episode of Adventure Time and then an episode of The West Wing.

Monday April 22
2 Months. I have been in Korea for 2 months. Holy crikey. It is amazing how quickly it all is flying.
I woke up this morning and made a cup of coffee. It is amazing how much of a difference having a cup of coffee in the morning makes. I bought the maker with the intention of doing it often, but I very rarely do. I need to start. I am not a morning person, but that extra kick to jump start my day makes a huge difference- especially on a Monday.
Today was Earthday, but was not a big celebration. I just hosted the game... which was sorting stuff to be recycled and timing which class did it the fastest. It was okay.
It is interesting to see how relationships with students form. I hate to say it, but I definitely have some favorite students. There are no students that I do not like, but there are some Students that have personalities and attitudes that I really just like. In each class there are some students that just always make me smile. There are also students that frustrate me. Some students I think need to be held back, and others that I think need to be moved forward. I am not starting to wonder where on the spectrum I fell with some of my teachers. Some of the smart kids I love, but some of them I could do without. Some of the trouble makers I love, but other ones bug me. There is not real set type of student I like... I think it has more to do with attitude, positiveness, and their smiles. It is just so interesting to see all of these personalities.
We are also working on report cards... aye aye aye. It is even harder than last months. Our students are supposed to show improvement.  Some of them really aren't. Some are actually getting worse. One girl of mine... The first month I thought she was a good reader... now, I know she is not. She is great at listening and repeating but not reading. Then there are other students that I just wish I could tell the parents the truth... 'your kid needs to be held back because they do not understand the basics' or your 'kid does not want to be here, does not study or do work' or 'your kid is a trouble maker.' None of these can I do... We can teach these kids English, but only if they are open to being taught.
Afterwork, I got 치맥 (Chi-Maek=Chicken and Beer) with 기봉 (Ki Bong) in 합정 (Hapjeong- a neighborhood in Seoul) and just had a wonderful evening talking, eating and trying and communicate. She is pretty good at English but still way more comfortable with Korean. I am nowhere near good or comfortable with Korean. She was helping teach me some things, and just like I thought on Sunday, some of these sounds in Korean are so different than what I am used to in English, and they sound so similar to eachother. But it definitely is fun.
Now I am at home and am getting ready for Tuesday... If I wake up with the same energy I had today, I will be very happy!!!