Today, I am a proud teacher. I should be a proud teacher every day, so I will say that I am an especially proud teacher today. My students just really made my day with the things they did today. One class almost made me tear up (good tears). So, keep on reading if you want to know what the excitement is all about!
The boys in my first class made me cheese. It was an excellent way to start my day. My co-teacher added a new activity to their daily routine. Every day before class starts, the English class leader will come up to the computer and play a short story for the class. They listen to the story. Then, they hear the story in a chant/rap version and the students are supposed to follow along. The point is to practice their speaking. The story we started with is really, really easy for my 6th graders. To spice the chant up, the boys in the class started to shout "hey" after each line. Some of them even raise their arms with each "Hey!" The first time we read the story, only a couple of the boys shouted, "Hey!" My co-teachers gave them stickers to encourage them. This time, all of the boys shouted, "Hey!" She asked the students to raise their hands if they shouted, "Hey!" Then, she asked them if they had done it in hopes of getting something....All of the boys looked at us with hopeful smiles. Man, if it was me, the owners of those cute smiles would have all gotten stickers!! But no stickers were given out today...I think I was more disappointed than the boys.
In my next class, I have a male student who I'm training.... to bring his pencil (umm..this is one of my 6th graders). The first time he brought his pencil without me forcing him to go back to his homeroom to get it, I sneaked him a sticker. He didn't bring it the next time, but these days, he's been bringing it to every class! And on top of that, he volunteered today! It made me the happiest/ proudest teacher to call on his raised arm.
We'll skip over my next class because they were just rowdy. Period
In my last 6th grade class, I got the cherry on top of my wonderful ice-cream sundae. My co-teacher played a rock, paper, scissor game with the whole class. It was her against the whole class, and the students had to sit down as they lost. Pretty soon, there were only two boys left standing. One of the boys standing has minor mental retardation. (He stays with his class for all subjects, but also takes Special Ed. classes.) All of his classmates started cheering for him: "Minchul, you have to win!" "Go, Minchul!" I almost got teary. It was a heart-melting sight. Even during the game, I had noticed that his tablemates were helping him. He was going to sit down because he didn't want to stand awkwardly, but his tablemates told him that it was okay for him to stay standing.
Heart warming goodness! I love days like today.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Friday Afternoon
Since it is the beginning of a new school year, my school made lots (and I mean lots) of changes to the English department. One of the changes is in the teachers: one male teacher left and one female teacher came in. These days in our office, we have 5 female English teachers. Simon's classes haven't started yet, so he's not in the office yet. All estrogen.
Right now, the 3 Korean teachers are huddled around the portable heater and they're talking about setting the new female teacher up with a guy. One of the Korean teachers is an ahjumma and she apparently has a high success record in matchmaking. The new co-teacher is excited; She is even asking her to look around for a girl for her older brother. The other Korean teachers are excited too. They're all racking their brains for all the single potential guys they can think of. They're having a serious discussion about her list. And wow! She's Christian! Her family doesn't go to church, but she became a Christian through her best friends' guidance. Amazing, really amazing. I feel really encouraged because it seems like a sign from God. I'm slowly finding out that there are Christian teachers at my school. I get super excited when I find out about this kind of stuff. It's like....uncovering hidden treasures that God laid out for me. Maybe I'm overreacting? They probably have no idea about the excitement I feel. I hope I'm not subconsciously staring at them whenever we're in the same room!
Anyways, I wish she could set me up. Am I still at the age where I would get the "you're so young. wait your turn." response?
Right now, the 3 Korean teachers are huddled around the portable heater and they're talking about setting the new female teacher up with a guy. One of the Korean teachers is an ahjumma and she apparently has a high success record in matchmaking. The new co-teacher is excited; She is even asking her to look around for a girl for her older brother. The other Korean teachers are excited too. They're all racking their brains for all the single potential guys they can think of. They're having a serious discussion about her list. And wow! She's Christian! Her family doesn't go to church, but she became a Christian through her best friends' guidance. Amazing, really amazing. I feel really encouraged because it seems like a sign from God. I'm slowly finding out that there are Christian teachers at my school. I get super excited when I find out about this kind of stuff. It's like....uncovering hidden treasures that God laid out for me. Maybe I'm overreacting? They probably have no idea about the excitement I feel. I hope I'm not subconsciously staring at them whenever we're in the same room!
Anyways, I wish she could set me up. Am I still at the age where I would get the "you're so young. wait your turn." response?
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
"Tears of Heaven" Musical
I spent the Lunar New Year's holiday with my grandmother in Geochang. As expected, I ate lots of good homecooked food, but was fed too much food, gained weight, didn't go outside much, bonded with my grandmother, and...watched a lot of TV. But Lunar New Year holiday isn't what inspired me to blog. On Saturday, I hurried up back home so I could unpack, get ready, and head into Seoul to watch the musical "Tears of Heaven!" To be honest, after attending the "Tears of Heaven" preview concert, I was not impressed with the acting nor the singing. I had my doubts about the quality of the musical, but I watched it anyways because as a fan, I still wanted to see Kim Junsu perform and to support him. But, on Saturday, I was thoroughly impressed. I fell in love with the musical and became a Kim Junsu fan all over again. The thrilling reviews this musical is receiving are deserved.
The musical told the story of a love triangle between a Korean soldier, a U.S. Colonel, and a Vietnamese show girl. The setting was Saigon during the Vietnam War. The events seemed almost predictable, but they' weren't! There was a continual unexpected turn of events throughout the entire story. I enjoyed it because it included a little bit of everything: family love, betrayal, true love, convenient love, deceit, action, and an epilogue (I always love it when theres an epilogue, and we get to find out what happens to the characteres). There was also a little comedy in the musical: I may have been laughing because it was Junsu saying those lines, but nonetheless, it had the whole audience laughing!
The choreography and the lights were impressively artistic. There was one dance which depicted the death that haunted anyone, anytime, anywhere so well. It's not a history to get excited about, but the choreography with the actors falling slowly one by one, in tempo with the music was genius. The lights were colorfully, well-synced with the tempo and mood of the music, so the musical was a delight to my eyes too!
Brad Little is a world-renown musical actor who plays the part of the U.S. Colonel, and his voice gave me the chills. He has a deep, resounding voice and charismatic acting that adds to the seriousness of the musical.
The music was wonderful. The songs were all newly composed (by the Frank Wildhorn). The musical pieces and lyrics help to tell this beautiful love story. My favorite song is "Can You Hear Me?" It was sung a few times throughout the musical, but I didn't tire of hearing it. Another one of my favorites is "The Tiger and the Dove." Remember to listen carefully to this one because it's an important, concluding puzzle piece to this musical.
One added bonus of this musical is that all of the dialogue and the lyrics were translated: Korean dialogue was translated to English and English dialogue was translated to Korean. It was very foreigner friendly!
I wish everybody could watch this musical. I wish everybody could watch Kim Junsu perform. His acting was remarkable. This was a very emotional drama, and he personified his character so well. The performance I watched had him acting with Yoong Gong Ju: I give her high praise as a musical actress. She and Junsu had a believable romantic chemistry, and it takes two superb actors to achieve that. I definitely don't mind watching this again...
The musical told the story of a love triangle between a Korean soldier, a U.S. Colonel, and a Vietnamese show girl. The setting was Saigon during the Vietnam War. The events seemed almost predictable, but they' weren't! There was a continual unexpected turn of events throughout the entire story. I enjoyed it because it included a little bit of everything: family love, betrayal, true love, convenient love, deceit, action, and an epilogue (I always love it when theres an epilogue, and we get to find out what happens to the characteres). There was also a little comedy in the musical: I may have been laughing because it was Junsu saying those lines, but nonetheless, it had the whole audience laughing!
The choreography and the lights were impressively artistic. There was one dance which depicted the death that haunted anyone, anytime, anywhere so well. It's not a history to get excited about, but the choreography with the actors falling slowly one by one, in tempo with the music was genius. The lights were colorfully, well-synced with the tempo and mood of the music, so the musical was a delight to my eyes too!
Brad Little is a world-renown musical actor who plays the part of the U.S. Colonel, and his voice gave me the chills. He has a deep, resounding voice and charismatic acting that adds to the seriousness of the musical.
The music was wonderful. The songs were all newly composed (by the Frank Wildhorn). The musical pieces and lyrics help to tell this beautiful love story. My favorite song is "Can You Hear Me?" It was sung a few times throughout the musical, but I didn't tire of hearing it. Another one of my favorites is "The Tiger and the Dove." Remember to listen carefully to this one because it's an important, concluding puzzle piece to this musical.
One added bonus of this musical is that all of the dialogue and the lyrics were translated: Korean dialogue was translated to English and English dialogue was translated to Korean. It was very foreigner friendly!
I wish everybody could watch this musical. I wish everybody could watch Kim Junsu perform. His acting was remarkable. This was a very emotional drama, and he personified his character so well. The performance I watched had him acting with Yoong Gong Ju: I give her high praise as a musical actress. She and Junsu had a believable romantic chemistry, and it takes two superb actors to achieve that. I definitely don't mind watching this again...
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Back from Winter Break
On Sunday night, all I could think about was, "I can't believe winter vacation's already over! I can't believe I have to be on time for work tomorrow. I can't believe I start work again tomorrow." School has been in session for three days now and honestly, it's not really "in session." (The seven days of school between winter vacation and spring vacation are mainly dedicated to sending off our 6th grade graduates.) My co-teacher was smart and had us finish the book material before we went on vacation. So, we've been having fun talks with the students about their vacations, handing out end-of-the-year gifts, and spending a majority of the class time watching a movie! The rest of the day is dedicated to doing whatever I want to do! All right! Actually, It's getting boring. The other GEPIK teachers I've talked to are bored too. I've exhausted facebook, playing games on yahoo, checking my email, catching up on the news, etc. I think I'll take a book tomorrow.
Today, one of my favorite 5th graders told me he's moving to Daegu. No more dancing boy at my school anymore; No more Minseok to brighten my day. I'm really bummed... During winter vacation, I was telling Jessica that I don't like change. I get attached to my situation (especially to the people around me). I don't even have the best relationship with Mr.Han, but I was still a little sad to hear that he's not going to be an English teacher in the new school year. I might freak out if Dong Eun isn't my co-teacher anymore...
I also learned that my school is changing the entire English system for the new school year. I'm teaching different grade levels, and 5th and 6th graders are having three periods of English each week. It's a big change, considering they used to have two periods of English. This means I'll have to teach 24 hours each week (woohoo overtime pay, but boo more work). It also means I have to fit the extra English periods into my schedule, so there will be days when I'll have to teach without breaks in-between periods. It also means Jessica and I will have different lunch times certain days of the week. On a side note, I recently realized that I always use the pronoun "we" now. I'm trying to kick the habit, but it shows how much time I spend with Jessica! It's going to be a sad separation when our contracts are over. I can't believe I'm almost halfway through.
Today, one of my favorite 5th graders told me he's moving to Daegu. No more dancing boy at my school anymore; No more Minseok to brighten my day. I'm really bummed... During winter vacation, I was telling Jessica that I don't like change. I get attached to my situation (especially to the people around me). I don't even have the best relationship with Mr.Han, but I was still a little sad to hear that he's not going to be an English teacher in the new school year. I might freak out if Dong Eun isn't my co-teacher anymore...
I also learned that my school is changing the entire English system for the new school year. I'm teaching different grade levels, and 5th and 6th graders are having three periods of English each week. It's a big change, considering they used to have two periods of English. This means I'll have to teach 24 hours each week (woohoo overtime pay, but boo more work). It also means I have to fit the extra English periods into my schedule, so there will be days when I'll have to teach without breaks in-between periods. It also means Jessica and I will have different lunch times certain days of the week. On a side note, I recently realized that I always use the pronoun "we" now. I'm trying to kick the habit, but it shows how much time I spend with Jessica! It's going to be a sad separation when our contracts are over. I can't believe I'm almost halfway through.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
thank You
I don't know if it's my sister's lengthy email, the fact that I'm alone in the office, or the kpop ballads I'm listening to, but I'm feeling very emo... My dad was recently in a car accident. I don't know the details to the accident, but I think it wasn't a small accident, considering my dad had to get a new truck. When I heard the news, I wanted to be with my family, but here I am in Korea, so many miles away. Yes, it was very frustrating. I talked to my dad and he didnt go to the hospital! He's going to do it "Korean style" and see how he feels after a couple days...I told him he must go (and hopefully he did). I've been thinking, "I hope he's not sick. I hope he's not hurt. I hope it's nothing big." But after reading my sister's email, I was overwhelmed with the realization that it could have been a lot worse. To put it bluntly, I should be thankful that he's alive... I mustn't forget to be thankful. There's always something to be thankful for.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Dad's love
"December 13th was my dad's birthday. I called to wish him a happy birthday and as usual, all he wanted to talk about was how I was doing: Isn't it cold? How are your students? Do you take Jessica to church with you? etc.
I was praying for him before I went to bed that night and I could only say thank You. Ever since I grew out of my teenage "I hate my parents" stage, I knew that I was blessed to have a dad like mine. I'm blessed because my dad helps me to taste the Father's love. My dad is so patient with me, and I know God is even more patient with me. My dad puts his family before himself, and God selflessly sacrficed his one and only Son to give me new life. My dad always wants to give me the best of everything, and I know God gives me what's best for me."
If you notice my dad's birthdate, I started this blog entry quite a while ago, but I never got around to finishing it....I'm attaching it since it relates with what I want to blog about today.
나는 이렇게 기도한다.. 하나님의 사랑을 모르는 내가 사랑하는 친구들...아버지의 사랑을 제데로 경험 못 해서 너무너무 아쉽고 마음이 아프다. 아버지의 사랑을 보여주고싶은 마음은 많은데 내가 약해서 그렇게 못 할때가 많다.. 미안하다. 그리고 그리스도의 사랑으로 사랑한다. 내가 아는 사랑중에서 그런사랑이 제일 영원한 사랑이니까. 하나님의 사랑을 알 수있게 마음을 열어달라고 기도한다. This is how I pray.. for my friends whom I love who don't know God's love. I feel sad and heartbroken to think that my friends have yet to experience the Father's love. I have big desires to show you the Father's love, but I've failed too many times because of my weaknesses.. I'm sorry. And I love you with the love of Christ because out of all the different kinds of love I know, Christ love is the most everlasting. I pray for open hearts so you may know God's love.
Amen.
I was praying for him before I went to bed that night and I could only say thank You. Ever since I grew out of my teenage "I hate my parents" stage, I knew that I was blessed to have a dad like mine. I'm blessed because my dad helps me to taste the Father's love. My dad is so patient with me, and I know God is even more patient with me. My dad puts his family before himself, and God selflessly sacrficed his one and only Son to give me new life. My dad always wants to give me the best of everything, and I know God gives me what's best for me."
If you notice my dad's birthdate, I started this blog entry quite a while ago, but I never got around to finishing it....I'm attaching it since it relates with what I want to blog about today.
나는 이렇게 기도한다.. 하나님의 사랑을 모르는 내가 사랑하는 친구들...아버지의 사랑을 제데로 경험 못 해서 너무너무 아쉽고 마음이 아프다. 아버지의 사랑을 보여주고싶은 마음은 많은데 내가 약해서 그렇게 못 할때가 많다.. 미안하다. 그리고 그리스도의 사랑으로 사랑한다. 내가 아는 사랑중에서 그런사랑이 제일 영원한 사랑이니까. 하나님의 사랑을 알 수있게 마음을 열어달라고 기도한다. This is how I pray.. for my friends whom I love who don't know God's love. I feel sad and heartbroken to think that my friends have yet to experience the Father's love. I have big desires to show you the Father's love, but I've failed too many times because of my weaknesses.. I'm sorry. And I love you with the love of Christ because out of all the different kinds of love I know, Christ love is the most everlasting. I pray for open hearts so you may know God's love.
Amen.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Girl Pamper Day
I've been browsing through a lot of people's blogs lately and I've realized that I write in a very fobby way. This is going on not only in my blog, but when I tweet or write anywhere in cyberspace. I'm okay with the ^^s, the ~s, the ㅋㅋs, etc. when I'm chatting, but I'm going to refrain from this fobby madness in my blog. Can I still accurately express myself? I hope so!
This past weekend, Jessica and I finally had the Girl Pamper Day that we had been planning for weeks. Our group of two turned to four once we found out that our friends wanted to get their hair done too. The morning started off with brunch, coffee, tea, and something special at 나무그늘 (Na Moo Geu Neul). I'm definitely going back to this cafe. The decoration is very cute and the atmosphere is homey; seems like a good hangout or study cafe. There's also a library for people who go there to read and two computers for people to surf the web. Plus, if you order a drink, you have unlimited access to their breakfast bar. It has coffee, tea, jam, butter, and a variety of bread. My friends and I totally filled up on the bread there. After we ate and chatted for a little, we were ready to do Dr. Fish! My friends and I went to that cafe specifically to try it out, and we were not disappointed! (For those of you who don't know what it is: it's a spa treatment by fish that eat dead skin cells.) The worker had us rinse our feet before we started. There were two pools: one had tiny fish and the second pool had bigger fish. Caroline and I bravely started off at the pool with the bigger fish. We stared at their excited eyes and gaping mouths eagerly waiting for our hovering feet and we chickened out. We joined Dee and Jessica at the pool with the smaller fish. It was still hard to get our feet in the pool. (Maybe we were scared of being eaten alive?) We were screaming and giggling loudly, but I think the other customers are used to it because nobody seemed disturbed by our ruckus.Once we got our feet in, we started to enjoy it and take pictures of the fish nibbling on our feet. It's the sensation of vibrating feet.. Before we left, we tried out the pool with the bigger fish. They kind of hurt. The only reason we could do it was because the fish were distributed among four feet. If they were all nibbling on my feet, that would scare me. You can feel their fat bodies, so it's a little more nerve-wrecking!
After we put our shoes and winter gear back on, we set off to Myeongdong to get our hair done! I made reservations for us at the JUNO hair that I went to back in September. We spent about two hours there because we were getting hair treatments. Ooh la la. (This was definitely a girl's pamper day.) Both times I was there, I got male stylists. I actually wanted my first stylist to help me, but I lost his business card when my purse got stolen, so I couldn't request for him. I got another one from him on Saturday though! Anyways, I feel like the male stylists are always a little flirty. I think it's because they want their female customers to come back again. It's a pretty good business idea.
After hair time, our group of four turned to seven! Our group ate dinner in Itaewon, so I finally got to see Itaewon. it is definitely "foreigner district." Foreigners are everywhere in that area: walking on the streets...eating in the restaurants! There's a Taco Bell and lots of sports bars that you can't get anywhere else in Korea. These sports bars are run by Koreans, but about 98% of the people in them are foreigners. We ate at a Thai restaurant called Buddha's Belly, and it was not good. I've never been to a restaurant where they messed up with Thai food until last Saturday. It was too bland and not greasy enough, seriously. I don't think I'll be going back there again because my friends tell me there are lots of other Thai restaurants in Korea.
One thing I love about my experience here is that I get to meet so many new people. Most of the foreigners and English-speaking Koreans are super friendly. (Even at 나무그늘, we met two girls from New York. We had a good conversation with them as we all squirmed in the Dr. Fish area.) After our group said our good-byes for the night, I went with Dee to her friend's place so she could stop by to say hello to a friend she hadn't seen in a while. We ended up hanging out for a couple of hours. Foreigners in Korea are that cool.
Sunday morning, Dee and I randomly went out for breakfast, so I have another new Find in Korea (i guess i'm starting my "Finds" list with this entry): Butterfingers, and it's too good to be true! They serve American breakfast foods: buttermilk pancakes, sausages, hash browns, eggs, omlettes, bacon, salad, orange juice, and more. The items are pricey, but the portions are big enough for two girls to share. It's at Gangnam Station (near exit 6).
On a side note, I'm getting sick. I have a runny nose and a sore throat, and I get so tired. I've been sitting in my apartment a lot, hence the frequent blogging. It's too cold. I thought I was going to die from the cold early November. I was wrong then, but now I know I am going to die from the December cold.
This past weekend, Jessica and I finally had the Girl Pamper Day that we had been planning for weeks. Our group of two turned to four once we found out that our friends wanted to get their hair done too. The morning started off with brunch, coffee, tea, and something special at 나무그늘 (Na Moo Geu Neul). I'm definitely going back to this cafe. The decoration is very cute and the atmosphere is homey; seems like a good hangout or study cafe. There's also a library for people who go there to read and two computers for people to surf the web. Plus, if you order a drink, you have unlimited access to their breakfast bar. It has coffee, tea, jam, butter, and a variety of bread. My friends and I totally filled up on the bread there. After we ate and chatted for a little, we were ready to do Dr. Fish! My friends and I went to that cafe specifically to try it out, and we were not disappointed! (For those of you who don't know what it is: it's a spa treatment by fish that eat dead skin cells.) The worker had us rinse our feet before we started. There were two pools: one had tiny fish and the second pool had bigger fish. Caroline and I bravely started off at the pool with the bigger fish. We stared at their excited eyes and gaping mouths eagerly waiting for our hovering feet and we chickened out. We joined Dee and Jessica at the pool with the smaller fish. It was still hard to get our feet in the pool. (Maybe we were scared of being eaten alive?) We were screaming and giggling loudly, but I think the other customers are used to it because nobody seemed disturbed by our ruckus.Once we got our feet in, we started to enjoy it and take pictures of the fish nibbling on our feet. It's the sensation of vibrating feet.. Before we left, we tried out the pool with the bigger fish. They kind of hurt. The only reason we could do it was because the fish were distributed among four feet. If they were all nibbling on my feet, that would scare me. You can feel their fat bodies, so it's a little more nerve-wrecking!
After we put our shoes and winter gear back on, we set off to Myeongdong to get our hair done! I made reservations for us at the JUNO hair that I went to back in September. We spent about two hours there because we were getting hair treatments. Ooh la la. (This was definitely a girl's pamper day.) Both times I was there, I got male stylists. I actually wanted my first stylist to help me, but I lost his business card when my purse got stolen, so I couldn't request for him. I got another one from him on Saturday though! Anyways, I feel like the male stylists are always a little flirty. I think it's because they want their female customers to come back again. It's a pretty good business idea.
After hair time, our group of four turned to seven! Our group ate dinner in Itaewon, so I finally got to see Itaewon. it is definitely "foreigner district." Foreigners are everywhere in that area: walking on the streets...eating in the restaurants! There's a Taco Bell and lots of sports bars that you can't get anywhere else in Korea. These sports bars are run by Koreans, but about 98% of the people in them are foreigners. We ate at a Thai restaurant called Buddha's Belly, and it was not good. I've never been to a restaurant where they messed up with Thai food until last Saturday. It was too bland and not greasy enough, seriously. I don't think I'll be going back there again because my friends tell me there are lots of other Thai restaurants in Korea.
One thing I love about my experience here is that I get to meet so many new people. Most of the foreigners and English-speaking Koreans are super friendly. (Even at 나무그늘, we met two girls from New York. We had a good conversation with them as we all squirmed in the Dr. Fish area.) After our group said our good-byes for the night, I went with Dee to her friend's place so she could stop by to say hello to a friend she hadn't seen in a while. We ended up hanging out for a couple of hours. Foreigners in Korea are that cool.
Sunday morning, Dee and I randomly went out for breakfast, so I have another new Find in Korea (i guess i'm starting my "Finds" list with this entry): Butterfingers, and it's too good to be true! They serve American breakfast foods: buttermilk pancakes, sausages, hash browns, eggs, omlettes, bacon, salad, orange juice, and more. The items are pricey, but the portions are big enough for two girls to share. It's at Gangnam Station (near exit 6).
On a side note, I'm getting sick. I have a runny nose and a sore throat, and I get so tired. I've been sitting in my apartment a lot, hence the frequent blogging. It's too cold. I thought I was going to die from the cold early November. I was wrong then, but now I know I am going to die from the December cold.
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