Well another week went by and some more hit or miss classes. Filled the time with Christmas lessons. One thing for any classroom: Pin the Nose on Rudolph. Students loved it and it's hilarious to watch them try to orient themselves after spinning them around blindfolded. So that was a success. Tried some flip cup in the classroom, but with 30 students it was a fail. Changed that up for some Secret Santa and it went a lot better. Overall, a success. Think I watched Shrek the Halls enough to memorize it. Don't think that's a good thing, but it ate up 20 minutes in the afterschool classes. And last week was the last time I could meet with the Grade 3 classes, just got here but already saying goodbye to my first group of students. And I ended up teaching my first full day of classes completely on my own and it worked out way better than I could have thought. It was a great Friday for sure. For my last day of grade 3 afterschool we talked for about an hour, then a couple of the students took me out for Chinese food. It was awesome. Got to try some Korean style Jajangmyeon and definitely dig it. It was a little awkward being out with the students, I mean it would be weird if a teacher went out with a few students for lunch back home so I was kinda sketched out, but it isn't like that here. Mostly they just want to be able to speak a little bit of English and learn about a different culture so it's nice. I'm going to have one student come and see me over winter vacation so it'll likely be a one on one over lunch. Since high school is so tough here they are constantly trying to find ways to keep up their education, even on their vacations. It's kinda crazy.
The weekend destination was Gwangju. Spent Saturday and Sunday celebrating a birthday. Heard a lot about the restaurant First Nepal in downtown Gwangju and finally got to check it out. Not only is the owner unbelievably friendly, but goes so far out of his way to make you have a good time. Great guy and great place. It was an Indian restaurant and it was absolutely delicious. Been craving it ever since. Plus got some Christmas shopping in and found a place that actually sold Christmas cards. Found a few funny ones so I picked them up. And found a hat and mitt combo that was hilarious. There's a pic on the FB of it. Didn't think anybody would actually wear it, but as soon as we walked out of the place saw someone wearing it, so that put me in my place. Spent the night belting out tunes until late into the night. Did have a dream that I flew back to Canada for the weekend though. Then when I went to leave for Korea again I forgot to take into account the time difference and actually missed a whole day of work and missed a different flight. Then I woke up. Then finished the weekend at a Western-style buffet, and go figure that the buffet actually offered all you can drink wine. Oh Korea. I was stoked for the actually half-decent pizza and pasta so I loaded up on that. And then back to Gurye.
Got into the apartment and it was naturally freezing so threw on my fan which didn't do much, so it was a cold attempt to get to sleep. Then woke up to a clunking sound and realized that my heater broke so the night only got colder. Then my shower sketched out in the morning and would not heat up so that was even more cold. Then, since it's Monday, the Grade 2s were little shits and a half. Clearly it's the end of the semester and they reallllllyyy don't care. Even punishment just brushes them by. Three strike rule so I made them do more squats in the class. Nothing worked. Ended up kicking out my first student. Terrible class, but admittedly it was a terrible plan. Wouldv'e worked for a different class, but not this ADD bunch of students. It was easily the worst Monday I've had since being here.
But everything has its upside. My main co-teacher approached me with a gift. The other week she played photographer in my classes and made a photo album of me teaching in a few of those classes. And she bought a frame for my desk. That was so nice and it definitely perked up my day completely. And as an added bonus, my male co-teacher tells me the Grade 3s have entrance testing to the high schools on Wednesday so classes are cancelled. Then my main co-teacher tells me that there will be no workshop, so no classes on Thursdays and my country school is having a festival so no classes on Friday. Ahhh, so Monday was not lost. And replaced my heater after leaving early from school, works sooooooo much better, and it's quieter than the other one. The day was definitely redeemed. And the week shaped up. Tuesday was a success, then Wednesday busted my way through a mandatory course. I don't think I paid attention during the entire thing (I just planned lessons for my Winter Camp) and found ways to get around actually doing it (like leaving the timer on while running to the bank). Luckily the tests were easy breezy so I passed with flying colours. Now to make my Film Winter Camp finalized. Have the structure and it should be fun, just need to tweek it to make it more beginner-oriented. I'm actually getting excited for that. And looks like Cambodia will be a go after that, and found out that my vacation starts the day after a holiday so I have added time on my vacation...almost a week. So once my winter camp is done, boom, vacation number 2 of the year. Cannnottt wait.
I was excited for next weeks end of semester classes and school trip too. We were planning on going to Yeosu for a day trip to take pictures and see some of the sights, but since the death of Kim Jong Il, all trips are officially cancelled. While no one is panicking or anything, the nation is under a silent watch until North Korea gets settled again. With Kim Jong Il's son taking over, no one really knows what to expect and based on their history, they're a little on edge. I don't really hear too many people talking about it (at least not that I can understand) but from what I get there is a general sense of unease right now since no one knows what to expect. Hopefully nothing comes of it and the nations maintain their state of peace, not just for my safety but for how far the two countries have come since the 50s. We've been getting updates and memos on this situation the last couple days, and while there is not a high level of concern, it's the same message, just be careful.
Well that is that. Off to Boseong to celebrate Christmas. Going to have a classic President's Choice Mac 'n Cheese dinner and watch Frosty while unwrapping stockings. Be like I never left Canada. then two days of class, then vacation. Time is flying by. But it's all bittersweet too since I will be losing my main co-teacher after next week. So we'll see how that goes.
Merry Christmas to all you back home! Hope the weekend is great and it won't be the same without you!
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