Week 1 Finished.
Wow, what a week. I feel as though I have been teaching for months. My first class of complete anxiety, panic, and fear is a distant memory. I am now getting into a rhythm of lesson planning and preparing for class. Here’s my typical week day:
-Wake up and eat breakfast
-Go to school and help train the track team…then go back home and shower
-Lesson Plan at home
-Go to school again
-Fine tune my lesson plans
-Teach
-Go home and lesson plan for the next day
-eat dinner
-watch some TV and then read…followed by sleep
Of course there are random surprises like teacher dinners, movies at the school library at night with the 5th grade teacher, playing pick-up basketball with the 5th grade teacher, going out with some hyungs to eat, going over to teachers’ homes, and other things…but that’s my regular schedule as a teacher.
Since I spent so much time lesson planning, my children are always on my mind. Whenever I go to the market I think of what they would like to eat, when I visit a craft store I wonder what they would like to make, and when I read my Bible I think of the love I need to show them. So many of them come from broken families, and I find that many of my shyest students (who need more attention) are the ones raised by their grandparents and other guardians. I find it so easy to like the students who are obedient and participative, but those who aren’t usually noticed are the ones I must show love towards. During a talk I had with my dad a couple of nights ago, he told me to build relationships with the trouble-makers because they are the ones who are in need of more love and attention…basically, don’t brush them aside. It’s funny because right after that I ran into one of my trouble-makers in town on Sunday (I always see my kids in the town…the town is basically one block of random stores and abandoned buildings) and talked to him a little. I found out he had just ended Sunday Service at church, so I found out the time of the service and am planning on going to the church next Sunday (even if it is in all Korean). Anyways, I love my students.
So this weekend I went to Jinbu to eat Ddak Galbi with some English teachers in the county. Slept at a friend’s apartment and then went to the buckwheat festival the next day in Bongpyeong.
Walking among the buckwheat flowers, I was extremely pleased to where I was when I was. Feasting on buckwheat noodles (looks like nangmyun but much better), munching on street food, and enjoying the shows and endless stalls of traditional crafts, I could barely believe that my home was only a quick 10 minutes bus ride away. My place is pretty rural (mountains), but my environment in Bongpyeong was the exact picture that comes to mind when I think of the countryside.
The festival was so enjoyable that I went Saturday (with co-teachers) and again on Sunday (with my fellow English teacher in the county). Today (Monday) a couple of my students ran up to me and yelled “Jason Teacher I saw at festival (that’s exactly how they said it)!” At first I was a bit confused, but now I’m used to them referring to me as Jason Teacher when describing the things I do. Well, another week has begun and it’s time to hit the ground running again.
Almost every day I am asked by my fellow teachers and scholars: Aren’t you lonely in that small little room all by yourself? My answer, not at all. As much as I love my school, the sweet quiet of my room is blissful. Of course there are times when I think about home and miss everyone, but there is nothing I can do about it except focus on the blessings I have been given while here in Korea.
This post has been pretty scattered…o well.
Cheers!
Wow, what a week. I feel as though I have been teaching for months. My first class of complete anxiety, panic, and fear is a distant memory. I am now getting into a rhythm of lesson planning and preparing for class. Here’s my typical week day:
-Wake up and eat breakfast
-Go to school and help train the track team…then go back home and shower
-Lesson Plan at home
-Go to school again
-Fine tune my lesson plans
-Teach
-Go home and lesson plan for the next day
-eat dinner
-watch some TV and then read…followed by sleep
Of course there are random surprises like teacher dinners, movies at the school library at night with the 5th grade teacher, playing pick-up basketball with the 5th grade teacher, going out with some hyungs to eat, going over to teachers’ homes, and other things…but that’s my regular schedule as a teacher.
Since I spent so much time lesson planning, my children are always on my mind. Whenever I go to the market I think of what they would like to eat, when I visit a craft store I wonder what they would like to make, and when I read my Bible I think of the love I need to show them. So many of them come from broken families, and I find that many of my shyest students (who need more attention) are the ones raised by their grandparents and other guardians. I find it so easy to like the students who are obedient and participative, but those who aren’t usually noticed are the ones I must show love towards. During a talk I had with my dad a couple of nights ago, he told me to build relationships with the trouble-makers because they are the ones who are in need of more love and attention…basically, don’t brush them aside. It’s funny because right after that I ran into one of my trouble-makers in town on Sunday (I always see my kids in the town…the town is basically one block of random stores and abandoned buildings) and talked to him a little. I found out he had just ended Sunday Service at church, so I found out the time of the service and am planning on going to the church next Sunday (even if it is in all Korean). Anyways, I love my students.
So this weekend I went to Jinbu to eat Ddak Galbi with some English teachers in the county. Slept at a friend’s apartment and then went to the buckwheat festival the next day in Bongpyeong.
Walking among the buckwheat flowers, I was extremely pleased to where I was when I was. Feasting on buckwheat noodles (looks like nangmyun but much better), munching on street food, and enjoying the shows and endless stalls of traditional crafts, I could barely believe that my home was only a quick 10 minutes bus ride away. My place is pretty rural (mountains), but my environment in Bongpyeong was the exact picture that comes to mind when I think of the countryside.
The festival was so enjoyable that I went Saturday (with co-teachers) and again on Sunday (with my fellow English teacher in the county). Today (Monday) a couple of my students ran up to me and yelled “Jason Teacher I saw at festival (that’s exactly how they said it)!” At first I was a bit confused, but now I’m used to them referring to me as Jason Teacher when describing the things I do. Well, another week has begun and it’s time to hit the ground running again.
Almost every day I am asked by my fellow teachers and scholars: Aren’t you lonely in that small little room all by yourself? My answer, not at all. As much as I love my school, the sweet quiet of my room is blissful. Of course there are times when I think about home and miss everyone, but there is nothing I can do about it except focus on the blessings I have been given while here in Korea.
This post has been pretty scattered…o well.
Cheers!
2 comments:
:] yay! ahah
i see that you are getting into the fob style. hahaha :]
man, i want to try buckwheat noodles. hahah
anyways, thanks for taking time to write posts. :] they're encouraging... it's so awesome how you're love for the kids is growing... yay! can't wait to hear from ya again. :]
man true that
trouble-maker lover - that's such a good insight though. i love reading these entries jason - keep it up. those kids are so blessed to have you. and you're so blessed to have them
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