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| I would be lost without that space heater and those slippers. |
Week one of school has so far consisted of lots of questions, observing, blank stares, bows, and shivering. My main co-teacher Hani (Hah-nee, "NOT Honey," she told me right off the bat) is 28, petite, married, and really sweet and helpful, but gets frustrated pretty quickly when trying to speak English to me. When she first took me to the school after final contract signing went down at the education office, Hani assured me that everyone at the school is very kind, and that the students are very curious about me. She didn't mention that the school is under construction for the next month, so windows are left open for ventilation (?). I am trying to not get my hopes up for ever having heat.
Passing through the hall, kids will mob me and blurt, "Hihowareyouwhat'syournamenicetomeetyou!" in one breath while shaking my hand. They also like to yell "HI TEACHER!!" Fifth graders had a little more composure and sophistication today:
"Do you have a lot of money?"
"What is your favorite color?"
"What position do you play in soccer?" (They instantly loved me when I said I play soccer.)
"Does your house in the U.S. have two floors?"
"Do you have a boyfriend?" Me: "Yes." Them: "OOOOOOOH!" (and one girl said "Congratulations!")
"How tall are you?" Me: "170 cm." Kid: Hung his head in his hands, shocked by my obvious giganticness.
I was given the very important task of helping to record an oral test for the children. That meant slowly saying things like "How much is that chair?" and "I can't, I'm sick" into a microphone. I have spent some class periods learning "Very Fun English With Miss Um," which is mostly singing songs and doing dances. I also participated in Hani's class where the kids learned about phone skills by way of a video called "Is Peter Dere?" Supplementary materials included a PowerPoint with pictures of monkeys talking on telephones and a cat with a phone taped to its paw, as well as this gem of a video (which the kids loved). Another co-teacher (who usually has pretty good pronunciation of most English words) told me early on that they often find videos for class on "Yeuh Teub." That sounds manageable- following along with a course book's exercises, then throwing in some extra animal photos and wacky videos. Looks like I'll have to get better at PowerPoint. I hate PowerPoint.
Nobody told me I would need indoor shoes to wear at school all day. Luckily the previous teacher left behind her slippers - I am not sure if they are polar bears or cats. Seems like it shoots your credibility to wear cat/bear slippers all day, but oh well. It's really cute to see the kids carry little bags with their indoor shoes, then it's a big mess at the front door while everyone changes into them before entering the school.
At lunch yesterday (the school provides a meal and a lot of the teachers, plus the vice principal and principal, eat together in the teachers' lounge) I tried to win the affections of my co-teachers (who are ladies) and the vice principal & principal (who are very distinguished-looking men) by doling out gifts from America - chocolates, lavender-scented soap and some lovely Jim Beam. Later my co-teacher Miyoung told me the principal is a "very good man, a very good Christian" and he doesn't drink. AWESOME. Oh well, I will try to keep smiling, bowing whenever I see another teacher or adult at school, and always say hello in Korean.
Slowly, I might be winning over Hani. After she had to take me to the doctor yesterday for a mandatory medical exam, she treated me to a traditional Korean meal. Maybe it was less that she wants to be my friend and more that she felt really bad that I had to fast all day before the exam. Either way, she opened up more - even singing along to Ne-Yo in the car. That tiny lady also put away more of the grilled pork belly (nicely pictured here) than I could, all while telling me more about Korean customs and culture.
And finally, here are pictures of a project that caught my eye on display in the hallway. All the other booklets had drawings of season-related things, like umbrellas or snowmen or swimming pools (like the first example below). But then there was Bagger.
What?
Passing through the hall, kids will mob me and blurt, "Hihowareyouwhat'syournamenicetomeetyou!" in one breath while shaking my hand. They also like to yell "HI TEACHER!!" Fifth graders had a little more composure and sophistication today:
"Do you have a lot of money?"
"What is your favorite color?"
"What position do you play in soccer?" (They instantly loved me when I said I play soccer.)
"Does your house in the U.S. have two floors?"
"Do you have a boyfriend?" Me: "Yes." Them: "OOOOOOOH!" (and one girl said "Congratulations!")
"How tall are you?" Me: "170 cm." Kid: Hung his head in his hands, shocked by my obvious giganticness.
I was given the very important task of helping to record an oral test for the children. That meant slowly saying things like "How much is that chair?" and "I can't, I'm sick" into a microphone. I have spent some class periods learning "Very Fun English With Miss Um," which is mostly singing songs and doing dances. I also participated in Hani's class where the kids learned about phone skills by way of a video called "Is Peter Dere?" Supplementary materials included a PowerPoint with pictures of monkeys talking on telephones and a cat with a phone taped to its paw, as well as this gem of a video (which the kids loved). Another co-teacher (who usually has pretty good pronunciation of most English words) told me early on that they often find videos for class on "Yeuh Teub." That sounds manageable- following along with a course book's exercises, then throwing in some extra animal photos and wacky videos. Looks like I'll have to get better at PowerPoint. I hate PowerPoint.
Nobody told me I would need indoor shoes to wear at school all day. Luckily the previous teacher left behind her slippers - I am not sure if they are polar bears or cats. Seems like it shoots your credibility to wear cat/bear slippers all day, but oh well. It's really cute to see the kids carry little bags with their indoor shoes, then it's a big mess at the front door while everyone changes into them before entering the school.
At lunch yesterday (the school provides a meal and a lot of the teachers, plus the vice principal and principal, eat together in the teachers' lounge) I tried to win the affections of my co-teachers (who are ladies) and the vice principal & principal (who are very distinguished-looking men) by doling out gifts from America - chocolates, lavender-scented soap and some lovely Jim Beam. Later my co-teacher Miyoung told me the principal is a "very good man, a very good Christian" and he doesn't drink. AWESOME. Oh well, I will try to keep smiling, bowing whenever I see another teacher or adult at school, and always say hello in Korean.
Slowly, I might be winning over Hani. After she had to take me to the doctor yesterday for a mandatory medical exam, she treated me to a traditional Korean meal. Maybe it was less that she wants to be my friend and more that she felt really bad that I had to fast all day before the exam. Either way, she opened up more - even singing along to Ne-Yo in the car. That tiny lady also put away more of the grilled pork belly (nicely pictured here) than I could, all while telling me more about Korean customs and culture.
And finally, here are pictures of a project that caught my eye on display in the hallway. All the other booklets had drawings of season-related things, like umbrellas or snowmen or swimming pools (like the first example below). But then there was Bagger.
What?
This diary is getting quite pretty - wonderful job. I love the slippers.
ReplyDeleteThis is so funny because Simon and I spent about an hour on youtube last night trying to teach him how to tell the story of "The Three Little Pigs" in Chinese for an upcoming family talent show. Youtube--oh, how you bring the world together.
ReplyDeleteBagger=awesome. I laughed out loud! Thanks for posting this. I use YouTube a lot in my classes too, it's a gem.
ReplyDelete