Not Alone.

Yesterday Facebook reminded me that I am not alone.   For all of the facebook inept people it is basically a social networking site for you to stay in touch with family and friends from around the world.  You have places to put your photo albums, play games, send messages to people, instant chat...the works.  It also has a place for your status.  The status is for whatever you may be feeling at that particular moment.  It helps you vent, let others know what's going on with you, etc.

My status was," cried for the first time at Kids College today.  Thanks for making me feel as useless, unimportant and irrelevant as possible."  It was a shitty day but it happened yesterday so i'm trying to leave it there.  In a matter of hours I had a string of comments from friends and family to remind me that better days are around the corner, to make me smile or just to remind me that i'm not alone.

Here are a few of the people who helped make yesterday bearable.  If you are one of them, thank you. 

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    Nadia Hugo unlike! sorry you're having a bad day, hope it will only get better from here on! :)
    

    Yesterday at 2:07pm ·  · 
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    William R. Davis Jr. Hills and Valleys. Tis the way of the teaching world. Keep your head up. Remember, your BSU buddy is always one phone call away.
    

    Yesterday at 2:15pm ·  · 
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    Virginia Gabby i've had a day that ended with tears too, it's super lame but sometimes happens. don't let the bastards get you down!! Hope the rest of your day is mucho better.
    

    Yesterday at 2:33pm ·  · 
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    Sarah King Hugs.
    

    Yesterday at 2:38pm ·  · 
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    Anna Sweet booo...crying about work stuff is the most disappointing way to cry... speaking from experience. good luck with your tomorrow!
    

    Yesterday at 2:40pm ·  · 
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    Gayle Smith im so sorry! dont let them do that to you! what happened?
    

    Yesterday at 2:56pm ·  · 
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    Frances McDonagh That does suck. I hope your day gets better! Big hugs!!
    

    Yesterday at 2:57pm ·  · 
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    Frank McGirk Shrug it off, continue to teach as well circumstances permit, and cash the damn paychecks. Not a lot you can do about stupid bastards.
    

    Yesterday at 3:31pm ·  · 
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    Kurt Meyers uh..., one point korea...?
    

    Yesterday at 4:33pm ·  ·  1 person · 
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    Jenn Comer
    

    Thanks for the support guys. It seriously makes all the difference. Today was just ridiculous. A TON of new students, asking for help from my Korean staff Korean-English translations and them saying no and walking in the opposite directio...See More

    Yesterday at 5:15pm ·  · 
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    John Christian Schneekloth Hey, tomorrow could always be worse...find the silver lining...then steal it and sell it at the pawn shop
    

    Yesterday at 6:02pm ·  · 
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    Chad M Parsons It is only one day tomorrow should be better if not there is always friday and saturday night.
    

    Yesterday at 6:24pm ·  · 
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    Stacey Snellenbarger awww, I'm sorry Jenn! It sucks when you have a horrible day at work. Love you long time!
    

    Yesterday at 8:28pm ·  · 
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    Terry Shank Always remember that you are loved by many many people here at home.
    

    Yesterday at 8:45pm ·  · 
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    Michael Naperalsky ‎::dislike:: ::dislike:: ::dislike::
    

    22 hours ago ·  · 
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    Kyle Schlegel Just do what I did:
    leave your apartment with your deposit, and leave behind a gigantic mess
    

    18 hours ago ·  · 

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.

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!

Hitting Children

[Korea is finally out of the top headlines in CNN.  Keep those fingers crossed that it stays that way]

My 100th Koreanism.  Drum roll please.  Here we go.

#100.  Koreans confuse the letter "L" and the letter "R" quite often.  Think "A Christmas Story" when they are in the chinese restaurant.  Deck the harrs with bars of rarry.  Fa ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra.  The movie actually paints a pretty acurate picture of how hard it is for them to pronounce the correct lettter.  Sad but true.

So I was insulted within an inch of my life today.  My supervisor informed me that one of my itty bitties in my late afternoon class told his mother that I hit him.  On the head.  Hard.  Me.  Hitting a child.  I think not.  The mom told the school she didn't believe him because apparently he makes up stories often but she is pulling him out of school anyways.  My school promptly accused me of hitting him.  I repeatedly told them I did not hit him.  They did not believe me.  Super.  Take the word of a tiny child over a grown ass woman who has been around children her ENTIRE life. 

They eventually said they were sorry and that they DID in fact believe me (after asking me to tell the "truth" repeatedly) but the accusation still stings.  I will never understand a culture where it is ok for the Korean teachers to smack the shit out of their kids.  Thankfully this is not the case at my school but in some it gets to the point that the kiddies require hospitalization they are hit so hard.

In Korea the kids get smacked around (sometimes roughly) by teachers but hugs are commonplace in almost every social setting.  In America kids aren't allowed to be touched at all by teachers.  Hugs aren't allowed for fear of a lawsuit.  Isn't there somewhere with a happy medium?

If you know of a magical place where a happy medium exists give me a holla.

Ending this semi-debbie downer post with a picture of Hansu.
One of the cutest itty bitties around.

Let's Make a Deal

[It is June.  I have been here for more than 3 months.  In a few weeks the majority of my close friends I have made here will go back to their respective homelands and will return to their former lives.  Or at least a semblance of what it was.  I will remain here for the next 9+ months and continue on my travels in Korea.  It's bittersweet.  Kind of like bittersweet chocolate chips.  On one hand it is a chocolate chip so it can't be all bad but it's just not the same as the deliciousness that is a true chocolate chip]

#98.  In America when you are admitted into a hospital you stay in the said hospital.  Sometimes there are portions of the hospital that have the sole purpose of allowing you to go "outside" while still remaining in the confines of the hospital. Sometimes not.  Korean hospitals either do not have these portions or the patients choose not to utilize them.  It is very common to see patients out in front of the hospital (while still in their hospital pajamas) smoking cigarettes and walking around.  Point America.

#99.  DVD Bongs.  In Korea this is a room you can rent to watch a movie.  Most have pull out couches and really big tvs.  Basically these places are for the younger crowds to go for those more intimate moments that can't happen at home.  You know what I mean.  Think Barry White's classic hit "Let's Get It On."

So this past week I played "Let's Make a Deal" with my school and came out on top.  My director revealed my new schedule for next term and hell about froze over.  I currently work 9:30-6:20 with ONE 50 minute break and 10 minute breaks in between my classes.  With no prep period.  They wanted to add yet another class to my schedule and have me stay until 7:30 with no break. Hell freaking no. 

After seeing my supremely angry face he realized he needed to pony up the big bucks or he was going to lose me.  I negotiated him down to 9:30-12:10, long lunch, 2-5:30, prep period, 6:20-7:20.  O and a hefty bonus added on to each paycheck.  Well well I can successfully negotiate a contract. 

I'm a big girl now.

Catfights in Korea

[Today I witnessed my first girl fight as an adult.  It needs documentation]

I am teaching my afternoon kinders the alphabet.  Today was teaching them the letter Jj.  Big J.  Little j.  I am just getting into how to make the dot when out of the corner of my eye I see a commotion in the hallway.  I look out just in time to see my supervisor get slapped in the face by my female director.  I'm talking the kind of opened handed, stinging slap that leaves a mark. 

Then the lunging, hair pulling and screaming begins.  In the middle of the school.  In full view of my 3 terrified Korean children.  Within hearing range of the rest of our afternoon kids.  They lock themselves in the office and continue to brawl.  They are tossing eachother against the glass walls.  Breaking pots.  Smashing glass.  The rest of the Korean helpers are banging on the door trying to get them to stop.  Yelling at the top of their lungs for it to stop. At least I hope it was telling them to stop and not egging them on.  Well they didn't listen.  The fighting continued.  For the next 20 minutes.

My poor little kinders are confused.  I have two boys and one girl.  Moses, John and Linda.  The boys are unfased.  They are coloring and putting together a puzzle.  Not my poor Linda.  She starts to cry, covers her ears and starts rocking back and forth.  She's scarred for life.  

What the hell Koreans.  What could have possibly been so important to start an all out brawl in the middle of our school.  As entertaining as it was it was ridiculous.  We do not fight in front of the itty bitties.  We do not throw tantrums.  We are supposed to be the ones teaching the bitties how to be big girls and boys.  Not how to be whiny girls who throw punches and lock themselves in  a room. 

Unfortunately I was not able to find out the root of the extreme anger that fueled my first Korean fight.  Tomorrow's early morning staff meeting should prove to be quite interesting.

Rant Rant Rant

This is going to be a bit of a rant.  I apologize in advance.

I have said before that Hagwans (private schools) treat the education of the itty bitties like more of a business instead of a school.  This could not have been more apparant than it was yesterday. 

Imagine trying to teach a class and running out of time to do the "required" pages.  I put the "required" in quotes because the number of pages is decided over a month before actually having that specific class.  It's called a lesson plan.  A plan.  Plans change.  It's been known to happen.  Today I planned to go to the gym in the morning but ended up switching it to the evening because I was too tired.  Hmm...my plan changed and the world didn't come to an end.  Tricky.

So back to the "required" pages.  It was time to line up and we had 2 pages left.  Now to me all that means is that we will have to do those pages next time.  Not in Korea.  Not at my school.  I was told by my supervisor to copy the answers to the pages down on the board for them to copy.  I guess by copying the answers and not figuring them out for themselves they will learn them better?  Not.  She then proceeds to tell me to go around to the kids and speed color in their pages so that they are done.

Me:  But doesn't that defeat the purpose of teaching?
Her:  Well yes...but it needs to get done.  Go color their pages.
Me:  I'm not coloring their pages.  We will do it next week.
Her:  It needs to be done today.  Go color his square red.

Needless to say I did not in fact color his square red.  I refused.  I put my size 8 foot down (huge in Korea) and held my ground.  Well I guess I didn't make my point because she went around and colored in all the shapes for them, made them late for the bus and cut into my prep time for my next class.

Korean education system...you frustrate me.