Smarty Pants Kiddies

So in class yesterday with my morning kiddies we were talking about what kinds of things we can play with and what things we can't.  After helping them a bit to get started, they had all sorts of ideas  Included were the following:

duck duck goose                                     freeze tag

london bridge                                          leap frog

toys                                                        soccer

balls                                                        ring around the rosy

balloons                                                  erasers

The list of things we are not supposed to play with was compiled solely by the students.  According to 5 year olds the things we are not supposed to play with are as follows

saws                                                        scissors                                          

fire                                                           cars

water                                                       nails

spoons                                                    hammers

rocks                                                      zebras

Interesting list kiddies.  While I agree with them that zebras are not exactly something you should PLAY with, I was surprised they thought to add them to the list. What a bunch of smarty pants.

Coffee, Crackers and Cutesy 3 Year Olds

I found out today my Kinder 6 class (the one that makes me lose my voice EVERY SINGLE Tues/Thurs is getting more kids.  The maximum each class is allowed to have is 10.  Mine now has 14.  Not ok. Did I mention that these 14 kids range in age from 3 to 7 years old?  Or that their abilities range from being able to say their abc's, numbers and colors to kids who can't even hold a pencil the correct way? Well all of the above are true.

The ONLY upside to this is that now the Korean staff feels so bad about overflowing my classes that they are giving me presents.  I came out of my next class to find coffee and my favorite crackers with a note that says, "I'm soooooo sorry about Part time 6 situation.  TnT.  Let it slide this time.  Thank you. ;)"  Not sure what TnT means but thank you Kids College.  The combination of coffee,  crackers and cutesy little 3 year olds does wonders to make tired Jenn Teacher smile at the end of a long day.

Let's go for a repeat on Thursday.  Wink Wink.

To Stay or Not to Stay

[It's Sunday again.  What began as another afternoon of wandering around downtown, turned into a fun-filled day at the beach.  Endless hours of volleyball, singing along to guitars and soaking up the rays.  Who could ask for a better afternoon.]

#130.  In cars the phone number of the drive is displayed on the interior of the windshield.  If you are blocking someone in, the person calls your number and you move your car.  Much easier than being the asshole that tows the car.  Ingenious Korea.

I am still on the fence about whether or not to stay in Korea for another year.  Deciding about whether or not to spend another year away from my family and friends.  Figuring out it if it's worth it. I keep having friends of mine getting engaged (3 in the last week), married (4 this summer)  or welcoming new additions to their families (5 this year).  I feel like I am postponing mine.  Starting my own life.  Getting on with my life.

On the one hand I could stay in Korea for another year, save money and have new experiences to last me a lifetime.  I will meet new friends and go places that most people only dream of.  I say that to not put down those people but to simply show that having this opportunity will help me be a better person, use the knowledge I find here in other areas of my life and so forth.  For some people, living in another country for an extended period of time is not an option.  For me, it's something that will impact me forever.  Change who I am.  Alter my ideals.  My ideas.  I'm still me.  The same person with the same ideas about what to do with my life and who I want to be..just taking a different path to get there.  I think of it as i'm on a slow train instead of a plane.  Not the most direct route but it will eventually get me to my destination.

On the other hand if I go home I can go back to school.  Get my teaching certificate.  Find a school to make my mark on.  Find someone to share my  life with.  Be a big girl.  Do everything i'm "supposed" to do.  I'm 24 years old.  I will be a quarter of a century soon.  Not that there is a timeline for my life but I feel like I am running out of time to do everything I want to do.  Everything I am supposed to do.

Clearly I have two hands I am thinking on.  Decisions to make.  If I do end up staying in Pohang for another year I will be coming home for a two week vacation (hopefully) sometime next Spring.  That (among others) is one stipulation I have for a new contract.  If they do not give me it I will be coming home in the Spring.  For good.  It's all up to Kids College now.  Time will tell.

On a more uplifting note, I will finally get a bicycle next week!  One of my good friends in Pohang, Miss Blythe Cooper, is leaving to begin her world traveling adventure and has decided I am the one to get her bike.  Solid.  I will finally be able to bike back and forth from the beach instead of taking a taxi everytime.  Bike downtown.  Bike anywhere my little heart desires.  I have been dragging my feet buying a bike all summer and now I will finally have one.  Hoorah.

Curly Hair and Weekends

[During my weekly Sunday walk around Pohang I saw a Korean man with a tattoo that read, "No Pians.  No Gains."  A tattoo is permanent.  Spell check before you ink.  Lesson learned.]

#128.  In Korea the English teachers are sometimes offered to do private lessons for students not in their schools.  Usually they are referred by word of mouth or just by happenstance.  Teaching outside of a teacher's school is highly frowned upon and in some severe cases (very rare) the teacher in question can be deported if found guilty.  If you do private lessons you have to be very careful of who you tell, where you do them, etc.  Generally the pay (usually ranging between $40-70 an hour) is worth the risk.

#129.  In the past I have talked about the curly hair phenomenon that has swept Korea.  Permas are a hot commodity here and all the rage for men or women.  The topic for today is how Koreans respond to foreigners with naturally curly hair.  It is extremely rare for a Korean to be born with anything other than stick straight hair so the idea that I don't share the same type of hair is completely foreign to them. As many of you know,  I have naturally wavy  hair that goes a little nuts in high humidity.  Lately Korea has been intensely humid and my hair has reacted accordingly.  Frizz central.  Students are constantly touching my hair and asking when I got a perma.  Strangers on the street do the same thing.  I know I look different than you but leave my hair alone.  It's a hot mess in the humidity.  I get that.  Thank you for your interest but there is no touching of the tresses.  I'd wear a sign but I can't yet write in Korean.

I have clearly calmed down since my last post.  My kids were much more behaved and I only had to threaten one student.  I love weekends in Korea but they just go by so fast that more often than not I am even more exhausted on Monday because of it.  Having two whole days with no children begging for your attention is more appealing than I can even say.  The foreigners pack the local beaches, bars and noraebongs and try their best to cram in enough fun to get them through the next week.

Now don't get me wrong.  I love my job.  I love my kids.  I love my school (most days).  It is just freeing to be able to leave the confines of my school and be with 40+ foreigners who just had the same kind of week as me.  People who understand the obnoxious children who put gum in each others hair.  Who teach kids that speak in Korean constantly and have no idea what they're saying.  Who have coworkers that speak minimal English which perpetuates the hand signals you all know I love to do.

The list goes on and on.

Just a few of the people that make this experience worthwhile

TEACHER-UH!

Today my kids were the most rambuncious and obnoxious kids every created.  From beginning to end my kids drove me crazy.  Constantly pushing eachother.  Constantly screaming "Jenn Teacher-uh!"  Asking to go to the bathroom every five minutes.  Teacher, i'm hot.  Teacher, i'm thirsty.  Teacher, I have aches in my head. Jenn Teacher, Wendy pushed me.  Teacher, Daniel spoke Korean.  Teacher, Ricky hit.  Teacher, me no homework.  Teacher, me speech no.  Teacher. Teacher.  Teacher.

You know what kiddies?  I have to go to the bathroom too.  It's August.  Of course it's hot.  Because it's hot I am also thirsty.  Stop pushing eachother.  You will eventually fall and break something and I just don't have time to go to the hospital when I am forced to speed teach you how to conjugate a verb.  Quit tattling on eachother for speaking Korean.  No,  I don't like it when you constantly speak Korean but the occasional slip is not a capital offense.  Stop hitting eachother.  It will just make me have to separate you and you will yet again not get another sticker.  Do your homework.  Bring your speech to school.  Kids.  Kids.  Kids.

Clearly I had a superb day today.  Let's hope tomorrow is filled with less of the above obnoxiousness and more of the polite, well-behaved kids( for the most part) I have been used to for the past 6 months.

Geez!

Rest in Peace Frank

Today I woke up after a restless sleep to find a message in my facebook inbox.  It was from a friend from a long time ago when I worked at Longhorn Steakhouse near my hometown.  She began the message with the usual "it's been a long time" but I knew there was another reason for her sudden communication.  Unfortunately my hunch was correct.  She was writing to let me know that one of our former fellow coworkers had lost his fight to Leukemia.  Oh Frank.

I worked at Longhorn for more than 2 years and even though Frank was not there for the entirety of the time, he was part of the heart of the company.  He always had a hug for the girls, handshake for the boys and a kind word for everyone.  His smile was infectious.  When Frank smiled, you smiled.  He was always able to lighten the morale of the staff and was a joy to be around.  He will most certainly be missed.

If you pray, please say a prayer for Frank and those around him who are suffering.

White Trash and Summer Camp

[Still no decision made on whether or not to remain in Korea for an additional length of time.  I am attempting to listen to my heart and trust whatever it tells me to do.  We'll see how that goes.]

#126.  In Korea never assume that the American films at the local movie theater are in English.  Don't be duped by the English name or the listing for the movie that is English.  Always double check by asking the movie-cashier-lady of sorts if it is truly in English.  I have been very lucky in here until this afternoon when a group of us went to see Toy Story 3.  Imagine our surprise when Woody begins to speak in Korean.  Now we know.  Always double-triple check.

#127. Koreans cannot have dual citizenship.  Here they can only be Korean.  They are allowed to have a permanent residence in another country but not another citizenship.  Just one of the many differences between Korea and the United States.

This weekend was definitely one for the Korean scrapbook.  Included was a goodbye themed party for one of Pohang's favorite ladies, Miss  Megan Bruce.  Imagine an entire town of foreigners dressed to the nines in the finest white trash apparel available.  Complete with intense eye shadow, trucker hats, hideous tattoos, rollers in the hair and every other white trash faux pas imaginable.

Also included in my weekend was my first summer camp with my school.  We went to our sleepover camp place that is about 40 minutes from our school and had a great time.  Games took up the first few hours, dinner in the middle and more games and a speech contest rounded out our night.  It was interesting to see the kids away from the educational confines of Kids College.  They were so excited to spend the evening with myself and my coteacher Heather that it was hilarious.  Every time one of my kids got someone out in dodgeball they would yell "Jenn Teacher!" just so I would look.  After getting a big thumbs up from me the inevitable smile would fill their face and my heart would melt all over again.

Even though we were hot and sweaty and had to give up our coveted Friday evening, sometimes it takes a night like that to remind me why I do what I do.

Oh and as always, comments are welcome, encouraged and appreciated.

White trashing it up with my best friend in Pohang

Getting the velcro rollers out of Megan's hair.  We learned
that night to never EVER put rollers in naturally curly hair.

The woman of the hour with a few of her TILT favorites, John and Andy

Jesus Drives a Ford

Some of my kiddos cheesing it up for the camera
in between dodgeball games

To of my favorite girls:  Elly and Sophia

The entire group

My group for the night.
We named ourselves The Tigers.

I taught my kids the "Down by the Banks" game.
Anyone who was in the girl scouts knows exactly the game I am referring to.