Been a while. The new semester is in full swing. This is my first full week of classes since December, so it's a bit of an adjustment getting into the pattern. Still a little confused and out of the loop with some things, and the days seem to go up and down with me knowing exactly what is happening. An example of this: I have afterschool classes with 20 higher level students on Tuesdays and Thursdays. What I wasn't told was that I also have one on Mondays. I found that one out by one of the students in the class who came to my desk and told me that they've been waiting to start class. My co-teacher forgot to tell me about this little bit of info. So walk into this 2-hour class with nothing. Nadda. I scramble, and manage a terrible lesson while the projector warms up. Awful. But luckily a few games are up my sleeve, so finish the last 40 mins off on a solid note. I've got the grade 1s on a great start, at least I think so. They hang onto my every word, which is way different than the other grades. I like this fresh start.
Also new are the divisions between higher level and lower level students. A great choice on the school. It's more class (nearly double), more work, way less prep time (almost zero) but I think it will pay off. So far the different goals set in the classes have been working. Plus, for the lower level students there is a new English teacher that I work with who speaks English incredibly well and she's my age so it's nice to finally have someone to talk to. I also got a replacement main co-teacher, but since she had back surgery in January she is out of commission for a few months. In her place, another young co-teacher around my age who studied in B.C. So the communication level has gone up this semester. Downside is how nervous she gets when she speaks English, so she doesn't seem to like speaking English too much. But it's still good. Found a bond over music, so now I've got a few ideas how to have fun lessons together. I'm also looking forward to the international afterschool classes I'll be having. My country school has gotten a little bigger with internationally-learned students. There's the one student who lived in Canada, one who studied in France (she is fluent in French, English and Korean, she's 15!), one from...I always mix it up, Philippines or Malaysia (I think Philippines), and I'm sure I'm missing another one. Should make for some good discussions.
My travels from the first three months have settled down. I have taken to more local outings. Suncheon and surrounding areas have been where I've stayed. Plus Seoul, but that's becoming my home away from home away from home. That being said, meeting new people is never out of the question. While waiting for a bus the other day a black car pulled over. At first I thought it was a taxi, so I said what the heck and jumped in. Turns out it isn't a taxi. So some stranger has decided to pick me up and I just went with it. As it turns out, it was a zen master from one of the Buddhist temples in Gurye. So it was incredibly nice of him to drive me home, and we had a nice conversation on the way. It's these little things that I love and will miss about Korea. You don't really get that back home, and it really never ceases to amaze me. Even the slight gesture of someone picking me up at the end of the long driveway to my apartment in spitting rain, still amazes me.
Also new, I spontaneously made a little purchase. While visiting Suncheon one weekend, I was about to leave, and found I had an hour to kill before my train arrived. So I'm in E-Mart, which is like a Zellers or WalMart, and I'm staring at the pet section. After three minutes of physical deliberation while my mind was made up, I walk out with a little hamster. I named him "DwuiDa" which means "jump/lunge" because he jumps from everything. Yep. Little apartment is a little more crowded. Not to mention all the plant life I've been given.
Well I hope everyone enjoyed their St. Pat's!
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