Last Friday

OK! So the craziest thing happened last friday so I thought I would share it with all of you! Ha! Let me first say that all of my other co teachers are wonderful and super helpful! But I have one of the craziest people in Korea as one of my co-teachers!! Since the beginning my thursdays are a bit more difficult than any other day of the week. Usually the Korean teacher is really good about helping me translate the really important parts of the lesson (such as the instructions to the game or important questions) so that the students understand what they are saying not just pronouncing it correctly! Well Thursdays are unique because since the beginning my co teacher never says a word during the class...she is usually sleeping or doing something else. I was told not to discipline the students that the Korean teacher would take care of it....but in this class I finally decided I would take control since i was all alone. In one class of girls I was so frustrated because they would only speak in Korean and not listen to what I was saying so I finally said "Stand up....put your hands on your head and be quiet." First person to talk is going in the hall way. Ha you should have seen their faces.....Then I went around the room and moved their seats....they were not happy with me because this teacher had let them pick their seats and they were sitting by there friends.....Well that changed.....After I was finished changing their seats I told them they needed to listen to my lesson and that they were going to write sentences at the end of class because they were acting up. The whole time I was doing this....she was still asleep in the corner.  After the class I sat down with her and explained that I needed her help sometimes with the students because they were not understanding my directions and I needed her to translate some of the important things I was saying.  She told me she couldn't do everything for me and that it was impossible for us to both teach at the same time.  I said well that doesnt make sense because all of the other teachers I work with help me with important things and it seems to work out just fine! I thought maybe she was understanding what I was asking of her so I would ask my head co teacher about it later. Then we had another issue to tackle.....The open class...In the US we call these observations, here they call it an open class.  Next thursday will be an open class for my co teacher.  Like in the Texas the teacher can pick the class that they want to have as their observation.  So this teacher decided to pick a class on thursday which is kind of strange because that is the ONLY day that I teach with her.  When she told me that we were going to have this open class I thought it was for them to observe me.  Which I am totally fine with, I have done it before and I would pick my third grade girls class on thursday because they are the brightest class in the school and we have a lot of fun in there!! I had also made this awesome powerpoint about different cultures and a fun game to play after the lesson so I thought it would be perfect.  Well come to find out the open class is not for me it is for her. I found this out because I told her I wanted to pick the 3rd grade girls class and have that be my open class, she said no because she had picked the 2nd grade boys class ( I dont know why).  I said I thought I get to pick since its my open class. She said it's not yours its mine! I said ok, well what lesson are we going to do then? She said I want you to do that lesson I watched you do in the other class on lesson 8....(Now all of my thursday classes are 2 weeks behind my friday classes) she said I want to use that powerpoint. I said ok well I will do my power point.  I then was curious as to what exatly they were going to observe her doing....sleeping? So I asked what exactly are you going to be doing for them to observe? She said lesson 8. I said I understand that but I usually do the teaching on thursday so wouldnt another day be a better model of how you teach? She said no you have to do 60 percent and I do 40 percent because they want to see you teach too. I thought that was reasonable....it would be awkward because we had never taught together before but I could do 60 percent....especially because I had done the lesson before!! So I said ok I will make up a lesson plan for us to follow....she said no I have to do that part....I said well since I am doing 60 percent I would feel more comfortable making up the lesson plan.  She said no I have too......so I thought crap....so the next week comes and she has made a lesson plan broken down to time....her and i share 35 minutes...I asked her since my 2nd grade girls were on lesson 8 already if we could practice the open class on them so we were prepared for the open class when it came.  She said "ok thats a good idea" So she gets up there and literally mumbles through her part in 5 minutes....so then I do my presentation which is 10 minutes and did the book work.  Then I cut the book work a little short because I wanted to play this fun game I had just made about K pop....My 2nd grade girls are so good I wanted to give them a treat!! So instead of finishing the lesson I planned I played the game with them! They loved it! Afterwards she said Your presentation was only 20 minutes....I said I know because you and I share 35 minutes so I thought I would take 20 and you do 15. She looked surprised and said and you can't play that game because the vice principal will hate it its too loud.  I said I know I have a different game planned but since they were so good i thought we would play the Kpop game. I also gave candy to the winning team and she told me I cant ever give candy in her class again..Ha! I was like ok....sure whatever you want......so the next day comes and I sat down with my main co teacher and explained to her how I think maybe the communication between me and my thursday co teacher may not be that good.  I asked her to speak to her about what I meant by helping me because I wanted to make sure she knew I didn't want her to do it all!! So she went to talk to her and apparently the teacher got really mad....So I went on about my day and it wasnt until I was walking out the door did she ask me to talk to her in the hall way.  I was supposed to be sharing a cab with Summer in 3 minutes so I told her she had to make it quick.  She said to me If yo uhave a problem you need to talk to me about it. I said I did yesterday. Then she went a little crazy because she started screaming at me....in my face....like "You dont understand how tough my thursdays are." I said please calm down I do understand because I am the one teaching the thursday classes.  She said well yesterday you werent in the class on time. I said I know I told you I had left my jump drive in the teachers room and I ran down to get it before class started. It took one minute and I was back.  She was causing a huge scene in the hall way and i kept backing away from her! Ha! Luckily the other teachers came out and started to tell her to calm down and finally she went storming out! It was the craziest thing ever! Ha!! Luckily I had a great weekend after that but it still was an experience!! hahaha!! I am so glad that all my other co teachers are awesome!! :-)

Desk warming

This has been the best week starting with a holiday on monday! I went to Jinju to the latern festival! Which was really neat and pictures can be seen on my facebook!! I had a blast with Siana and her friends! THe bus ride home was an adventure though....it almost took 4 hours to get back when it should have only taken 1! There was so much traffic! The old man sitting next to me on the bus decided it would be ok to sleep with his legs all over me....so I was sitting half on the seat half in the asile! Awesome! Not to mention they turned the AC off and it began to get super hot on the bus! HA! I decided I would get off at the first stop and take a taxi all the way to my house no matter the cost! It turned out to be a good idea because taxi's in Korea are very fast and can get around cars better than a bus!! So I got home in time to make a quick dinner and get some sleep!

Desk warming is what foreign teachers do when they don't have to teach classes but are required to be at school! It is what it sounds like....I am warming my desk! HA! It is so awesome! I got a ton of lessons planned and even got to squeeze in a few Skype sessions while at school! :-) It has been a pretty awesome week so far!! Last night I went for a bike ride around Changwon with a friend and had lunch at City 7! It was fun! Tonight I am going to join a gym after school so I can start to get back in shape! haha! Running 5 times a week is not cutting it for me! Luckily I have the afternoon off again so I can go get all of that taken care of! Since I got my new computer I am able to bring it to school and connect to the wifi here! It is really nice! That is how I have been able to skype with people! Today also I got some awesome new ringtones for my phone....Halloween ones!! SWEET! I am getting excited about Halloween and I am trying to think of a good Halloween costume!

I know this is short but it is time for me to go home now and I want to get home so I can change for the gym!! :-)

YES!!!

I just found out that I have a 3 day weekend and next week I do not have to teach a class!! It is Midterm week so I will be doing some lovely desk warming!! I am going to bring my computer so I can make some power points and games for the following weeks!! Today is my busy day....I only get one break and I have mostly 2nd grade boys classes!! They make me so tired! Good news I brought some chocolate covered almonds to help me through!! HA! I went for a 4 mile run this morning....well I think it was 4 miles....close enough! I found a track about 1.5 m from my house! It is all uphill until I get to the track so it is a good workout!! there is also a long set of stairs so I run those as part of my workout! The weather is so wonderful! I love it in the mornings because it is kind of cool....perfect running weather. Yesterday I went for a bike ride and run in the morning and then another bike ride in the afternoon. Last night I purchased a new computer. It was very inexpensive and I get to pay monthly for it. Which is awesome! It is not a mac but I had to sacrifice for the price I was willing to pay! I am just happy that my ipad now works and I could download all my itunes last night!! :-) I finally got to watch Leverage!! :-) I also rented 2 movies I plan on watching tonight! I am going to go for a bike ride when I get home and try to buy a new sweatshirt and then go home and have some dinner and watch a movie!! Maybe even a little wine....even though I don't usually drink during the week...it seems like a wine night! I tried to get my wireless router to work last night but it wouldn't read on my computer because it is in English and the software is in Korean....I am going to try to get it to work tonight!! If not I may have to order another one. Oh well! Well now it's teaching time!! :-)

Start of another week!

Man, I feel like I haven't written my blog in awhile but I seem to have gotten so busy!! It is a good kind of busy because most of the activities I am busy with are for pleasure! :-) This weekend I was invited to cheer on the Changwon volleyball team in their tournament in Masan.  Saturday we went to the tournament around 8 am and they had games at 10 and 1. It was a lot of fun. They had an opening ceremony...which was really cool to experience! I could not understand a word but I still thought it was awesome!! I loved cheering them on...I was one of 3 foreigners and we were all supporting the same club!! These two foreign exchange students from Russia play as well! They are very young and shy but it was fun for them too! Changwon won both matches and so they advanced on to the next days play! After the matches we went to watch the team they would be playing the following morning. The other team was very good and had a lot of young strong players on it. :-) The guys were tired from playing and it was time to eat! We drove back from Masan to Changwon and ate samgyupsal! It was very delicious!! Drank a little soju and beer and went home! I was so exhausted!!! I got to talk to mom and dad when I got home since I would be going to the volleyball in the morning I wanted to talk to them once this week!! That was very nice! After that it was time for me to go to sleep! I was so tired. I went to sleep really early!! I woke up to a COOL morning!! The weather has been absolutely beautiful! It is starting to turn to the fall! :-) Joon Han picked me up at 8 and we were off to another day of Volleyball!! Their first match was at 9 am. They did not play well the first match and were very frustrated with the setter. He kept sending the ball over the net or they were super tight. The second game they played much better but still couldn't pull out the win! After the match we went back to Changwon to eat Sashimi and drink Soju. I love eating sashimi here in Korea. It is so delicious!! I posted a picture of all of us at lunch! :-) It was a great time!! After lunch we went walking around the market and Joon Han bought me some rice cakes! They are so good!! :-) I now really look forward to my thursday nights because this group of people are so kind and welcoming to me! I really feel a part of their group! It is a lot of fun!!


As for school....I am finished with half of my classes today. :-) Thank goodness! I only have 2 more to go! I have finished my lesson planning for the rest of the week so I am basically going to be sitting for the next three days! :-) When I go to my other school I will have to do a bit more work because not all of my classes are on the same lesson like here at Bonglim middle school but that is ok. I feel like I need to work more than I do but there just isnt anything for me to do! haha! Really wonderful problem I think! My students have their midterms coming up and for that entire week I will not have classes!! :-) SWEET!! I am very excited about that!! It will maybe give me some time to catch up on my korean lessons!! :-) I made it a goal to learn korean so I can communicate with my new friends!! Oh yeah....I am going to buy a new computer today....They are very cheap here and since my computer is not working the way I want it too......I have to buy a new one! I am going shopping after lunch to look at the shop with my coteacher. I just need something that will run itunes and will run my wireless router so I can use my I pad! :-) Ok it's lunch time now....Hopefully we are eating something good!! :-)

Short week!

I love having only 2 days of classes this week!! It has been very nice!! I posted some pictures of the volleyball club I am helping with on my facebook for everyone to check out!! I didn't get a chance to take pictures at the adult club last night but i should get a chance soon! We are going to be starting twice a week practices: Wed. and Thurs. nights! I am very excited about it because last night I met some really nice girls there too! They are teachers at a different middle school but they are very nice! Our communication is not that good but it is ok!! :-) I always have a lot of fun when I go to the practices so I am glad I will get to do that twice a week. I am trying to think of what else has happened....Not sure if I worte this before...but I fell off of my stairs in the middle of the night. It was very funny...well not at 3 am but now! My stairs are very slippery and I had on socks. I was hanging from the rails and I have a GIANT welp on my thigh! Looks really good when I wear shorts to volleyball! Oh well....I guess that is really all that has happened! Gotta go teach a class!

Holiday break!

What a weekend it has been! My weekend is just coming to an end because of the wonderful holiday! Let me start by saying I learned how to get to Busan friday and I went back 3 times! :-) Friday night: I went with a few friends to Busan to hear Gold Panda at Fabric and danced until 2 am! It was pretty crazy but fun! Then went to Siana's to stay the night...she lives in Busan. The next morning we all went back to Changwon and Siana came and we went shopping in Changwon....I bought volleyball shoes and a awesome new backpack! Also, I got these awesome addidas slip ons and I was wondering why I was wearing a 7 shoe and realized that I was having to buy men's shoes here because they dont make women's sizes big enough! hahaha! Siana and I found Kraze Burger and had a great time! After that we met up with some of the other foreigners who were going to eat Samgyeopsal...it was wonderful! The next day I woke up early and decided to go to starbucks to use the free wifi....when I got there I ran into one of my friends and his old co teacher.....enjoyed starbucks for a few hours and then went exploring changwon! While we were out we discovered this machine where you can arm wrestling game...of course I had to try it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPlArw2kt8k&feature=youtube_gdata_player here is the video for your enjoyment.....Also, I wanted to take pictures in the photo booth because that is really popular around here! hahaha It was so funny! After you get the pictures taken you can decorate them! What a blast! After that we decided to get some donuts and Patbingsu from Mister Donut....which I was amazed by the animations that were on the tvs in the place! hahaha! after that we went walking around and found the sportsplex and then went back to Lotte to the movie....We saw Planet of the Apes....pretty corny but good! After the movie we went to Emart...which was a mad house because of Chuseok and the store would be closed on monday! So I bought some stuff for monday! When I got home my landlord's daughter was outside with her little girl and she asked me if I would join them for lunch the next day! Of course I said yes and had a great time the next morning....I am not exactly sure what all I ate but it was very good and it was nice to be around a family! My other neighbor named Matthew came! It was very nice! After that I went home and started learning the Korean alphabet....It didnt take as long for me to learn it as I thought it was....so one hurdle down! Yesterday I was out and about when I got an email to go to the beach with Siana....so of course I wanted to go! So we went to the beach yesterday...by the time we got there it was only about an hour or 2 left of the sun so I decided to go back today! I got up really early and got on the bus! was at the beach by 830 am and was finished with my run by 915....then I enjoyed the sun until 12.....rode the bus back! It was awesome! I have never lived so close to the beach before! :-) I am a bit sunburned today...but it is ok! I am trying to figure out what I am going to do for dinner tonight....I ate a sandwich for lunch and I am already hungry! hahaha! Maybe I will venture to one of the restaurants in my area and get some food! :-) The PC room is so crowded! hahaha! I am hopefully going to get my cell phone and my internet this next week! I am looking forward to only having a 2 day work week! Tomorrow is volleyball club night and friday all the teachers are staying to play after school....even the vice principal and principal.....I am missing not being able to call my fam and friends but that will all be different as soon as I get internet!! :-)

3rd day of teaching!

Yesterday was a bit crazy....I had to teach 6 classes...mostly boys...YIKES! haha! I didn't have a chance to sit and write a blog since I was so busy and I was completely exhausted by the time I finished my day! Today is a much easier day....3 classes....I have already taught one and I will have 2 more this afternoon after lunch! I finally got a table to eat on today and it will be delivered to my apartment after I get back from my medical exam that I couldn't get on Monday.  You will be glad to know my Korean is getting a little better....well that is the words that I do know...haha! My desk mates have me practice when I get here in the mornings. They practice their english and I practice my Korean...pretty good trade off! Today is my last day at this middle school and I will be going to the other one tomorrow.

The coolest thing happened when I went to Lotte mart after school yesterday. I was looking at the hair dryers, the one I brought with me is about as strong as me blowing on someone's hair, and a girl came up to me and said excuse me. I turned and she said I couldn't help but notice you are looking to buy a blow dryer. I actually have an extra one if you would like one for free! I was like WHAT?! really! Yes of course! So I gave her my email and she said she will email me today and we can meet up so she can give me her extra blow dryer! How awesome is that! So thank you Tina for giving me your extra blow dryer! :-)
Ok well I am going to get a head start on planning my lesson for the next couple of weeks so in the future I can use this time to write my blog! :-) Miss everyone at home!