Chaos in the Classroom

My posts are shorter than I'd like them to be due to lack of time, but I still want to make the effort to try and post something every couple of days. Today was just a giant whirlwind. I went to work and it began just like any other day. However, by the end of the day, not only was I the only English teacher left in the school, but the only English speaking person period.

The director apparently made both of my Korean co-teachers so angry and upset, they decided today they'd had enough. It was only a matter of time before things blew up because of the way they are treated, but I didn't expect to lose both of my only English speaking co-workers today. My co-teacher walked out mid-day and the other had previously put in a notice that today would be her last day.

Due to a bunch of female drama in a language I don't understand, she was in the office with the shouting angry director most of the afternoon, leaving me alone in the classroom with 2 different classes. We don't have separate classrooms, just a curtain to divide the room. Typically 2 classes go on at once in 30 minute increments. One Korean English teacher teaches one class and my Korean co-teacher and I teach the other before we switch. Without a Korean co-teacher present, it's extremely hard to control the classroom because the students' English levels are so extremely low.

I don't want to dwell on the negativity and complain about all the typical ways and poor working conditions of a bad hogwan, (even though I'm pretty sure mine could be blacklisted) because you can find plenty of that online, but I will say it was a challenge to be left in the classroom alone this afternoon with 20+ screaming children who know approximately 20 words of the English language. I just wanted to sit in a corner in a fetal position and rock back and forth when my attempts to make them sit down didn't work. Apparently, using Korean to tell them "too loud" or to "have a seat "makes it worse because they just laughed and went even more crazy, making it a game to see how loud and how awful/out of control they could be. Toy fruit and wigs from the role play stations flew across the room, little girls made it a game to see who could scream and laugh the loudest, boys pulled out their Taekwondo moves and by the time the class ended, the room was literally upside down. What a disaster!

We are told not to raise our voices and since the school is ran as a business, the students are basically allowed to do whatever they want so they don't go home and say bad things to their parents. All I could do this afternoon was stay calm, try and direct them one by one with hand gestures to their seats and pray that they would stop. Eventually and miraculously, I got most of them seated long enough to put on a cartoon on YouTube to occupy them until my Korean co-worker came back from her dramatic meeting with the director.

6 year old girls

Daycare students
These aren't students of mine so they're looking at me like
"who are you and why are you taking my picture you crazy white woman!"

On a positive note, this morning was great because I got to see all the students in their Seollal (Lunar New Year) traditional outfits, which was absolutely adorable. At the end of the day, I was given 3 gift baskets from 3 of my students (a coffee/tea one, one with seaweed paper and oil and interestingly enough, one with cans of spam and tuna). I was told at the end of the day by one of my co-teachers that the students actually brought more gifts for the teachers for the director to distribute to us, but she "picked through the good stuff, kept what she wanted and gave us what she wanted to give us". I was just happy I got gifts today and got to experience my first Korean holiday.

Gifts from my students (coffee & tea, canned tuna and ham, dried seaweed and canola oil)

Tonight, I was invited again for bulgogi at my now ex Korean co-teacher's family's restaurant. They treat me to dinner now weekly and I'm so grateful for them and their hospitality. They can't speak a single word in English, but they treat me like family. I'm in love with the kitten there, named Nabi, which means butterfly in Korean. I ate and sat at the restaurant playing with the kitten again until closing and the sister of my co-teacher's mother-in-law drove me home.

Nabi

Nabi & me

Despite the long and tiring workdays, I really do find myself content with my life here and I feel like I'm starting to find a routine/pattern. Naju can be very isolating since there isn't much to do here, but I'm so thankful for the new friends I've made so quickly, the sweet students I have who actually want to learn and treat me and the other kids with kindness, my simple way of life here, and my little shoe-box apartment.

New Friends & Gwangju

Yesterday I rode the bus to Gwangju to walk around downtown and have dinner with some of the other foreigners. I'm not yet familiar with the bus system here because the language barrier makes it difficult to purchase tickets and read the bus/bus stop names and signs. The first person I met here, Blair (a super nice guy from New Zealand who also lives in Naju), came all the way back from Gwangju (where his girlfriend lives) to get me so he could ride with me and show me how to take the bus. 

Before dinner, we walked around, had coffee at a really nice coffee shop and walked to the site of the 1980 Gwangju Massacre. I didn't know much about the massacre, but the death toll was between 200-2,000 depending on the source. I watched some videos when I got home to try and find out more about it. This is the most informative one in English I could find:

We had dinner at an American restaurant, The Alleyway. I was so excited to have familiar food that I killed over 1/2 of a large pizza. We had a table of of around 15-20 people from all walks of life and from various English speaking countries (the US, Canada, NZ, etc.). Everyone has a different story of why they're here; from a "burned out medical scientist" to the guy who "just wants to travel and party", to one who "just wants a simpler way of life" and to the one who "genuinely loves kids and teaching and wants to touch lives". We all come from different backgrounds, have different interests and reasons why we're here, but the differences don't matter, we are all here together, all accepted as we are, and it feels like one big family.

Wall Surrounding the Gwangju Massacre Site

Gwangju Massacre Site

Cute Kitten & Dinner

Tonight I had dinner again at the restaurant with the cute little orange kitten. The restaurant is owned by my Korean co-workers' mother-in-law. It's a little hole in the wall with an old-fashioned wood stove in the center used to heat the place and cook on. The owner and her sister have taken me in and have been so nice to me. They're starting to feel a little like my Korean family away from home. It's the fourth time I've eaten at their restaurant and every time I eat there, they won't let me pay. Tonight they treated me with bulgogi (beef), eggs, and all the traditional side dishes. After dinner, the owner brought me out some oranges for dessert and some to take home with me. They don't speak a single word of English, but the kindness and generosity they've shown me is far more valuable than words.

The kitten was off the leash tonight, running around, playing all over the restaurant. It was playing with a soju cap, sliding it all over the floor. It would run over to me, smack my hand and sprint off. The restaurant was empty most of the night. Towards the end of the night, two men came in to eat and were curious about me since I'm one of 5 or 6 foreigners in town. My coworker had to translate our conversations about where I'm from, why I'm here and how I like Korea. We sat at the restaurant tonight, laughing at the kitten, talking and watching Korean television for hours.

Tuckered out from playing

Photos in the Classroom

The kids stole my camera today and wanted to take pictures. One of my 5 year olds took this picture of Grace and me. The camera weighs just about as much as he does. He could barely hold it up, but he sure did capture a good shot!

Grace & me

Grace is one of my favorites, if not my favorite. She's the sweetest, most affectionate little girl you'll ever meet. Every time she sees me she's yelling "Amber teacher!!" and smiling/waving like crazy. She hugs me every morning when she comes into the classroom and kisses my hand every time she leaves.

The other day she and a couple of the other kids were pushing each other and fighting over who was going to sit next to me during play practice. It's pretty amazing to feel so loved by these sweet, innocent little souls. The 5 year old class is the most hard to manage because they have such short attention spans and don't want to stay in their seats, but they're definitely the cutest.

The 13 year old girls are fun too. They don't want to learn or study very much, but they respond to me very well. I've been extremely surprised at how much I like this age group. I always said I'd never want to teach that age and above because it's such an awkward age. I just remember how insecure and rebellious I was as a teenager and how rude and mean some of my classmates were to the teachers. It isn't like I thought it would be at all. They're actually one of my favorite classes. I did a lesson on Justin Bieber the other day and they freaked out. They don't like to focus on learning English very much, but they did that day!

They stole my camera today too. They called me "old" and then "halmeoni / 할머니" which means grandma in Korean. Hence, the grandma wig. Our curriculum consists of role play centers (a police station, a hospital, a restaurant, a house and a beauty shop which is where they grabbed the wigs from for the pics).

School Festival

Today was the school festival. Wow... What a production. The festival consisted of numerous performances including dance, martial arts, instruments, plays, etc. The show lasted right at 3 hours. The costumes, decorations, lighting and special effects reminded me more of a broadway performance instead of a preschool/kindergarten play. It's unbelievable that those kids have the attention span for that, let alone can memorize all that. I was getting antsy in my chair after an hour and I wasn't even the one having to perform!

Some of performances gave such a beautiful insight into the culture here. It made me laugh when they busted out Gangnam Style. I had to film this for all my friends back home who either love or hate the song.

Many of my students have been in school all day long and then come to the hagwon for hours after school to learn English. Most of them are great students, but a number of them are burned out and have no interest in being there.

I recently found out that the educational system here is a lot different than in the US. Kids here actually have to test to get into certain high schools (good or bad). Whereas in the US, kids just go to the school in their district. If a kid gets placed into a bad school in Korea, it can have a negative affect on their future opportunities (college, careers, etc.). 

I took a ton of videos, but they're slow to upload. I'll upload them to my YouTube Channel later. Here are some pictures instead:

This is an interesting article about hagwons (private schools) in Korea: 

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2094427,00.html

Adorable Neighbor Dog & School Lunch

I've been trying to make friends and win this little guy over. I feel bad that he's out in the snow today. It's been snowing quite a bit lately and is extremely cold out. I had some leftover chicken that I took down to him this morning and he let me get close enough to take a picture. He's very skittish. However, this evening, when I came home, he came out of the gate to greet me, jumping all around excitedly, wagging his tail! It made my heart smile. I think he may have thought I had something else for him.

Work was good, but tiring. We didn't get a lunch break today because we had to practice a play and clean the classroom. It was a little angering, but the director eventually offered us the school lunch, which I was grateful for. They used to be free for the teachers, but she decided last week that we have to pay 5,000 won ($5) for them now, which is a bit ridiculous considering I can get a full meal at a restaurant nearby for that or less.

The school lunches here are quite different from the school lunches back in the States. It made me smile to have chopsticks and a metal tray full of such small little healthy options. The director and Korean teachers think it's funny that I'm constantly taking pictures of the food here. My mother asked me the other day what the lunches at school were like, so I thought I'd post a pic for anyone else who may be curious.

School lunch: spinach kimchi, pork, miso soup, lettuce with soybean paste, and rice

Kimche Jjigae, Cute Kitten and Violent Student

Nothing too super exciting happened today. My coworkers and I went back to the same restaurant for lunch with the tied up kitten so I got to play with it for a while. It's the sweetest little kitten you've ever seen; so loving and gentle. It never pulls it's claws out and every time I pet it, it wants to lick/clean me. I had kimche jiggae and it was surprisingly delicious considering I'm not a fan of kimche. 

I didn't attempt to find food at a restaurant tonight. Instead, I came home and cooked chicken breast in a pan with olive oil. The only seasoning I have is salt and pepper and a sliced apple was my side dish. The food here is extremely healthy and cheap. It's just hard to find right now since I'm not yet familiar with where anything is in the town. The obesity rate here is under 4%. I don't think I have to worry about gaining weight, but I'm worried about losing muscle because I haven't found a gym. I've lost 12 pounds in a little over a week, but I think most of that is being up and moving around on my feet all day rather than sitting behind a desk as a Flash developer. The sidewalks are too icy right now to run on and you also have to watch out for cars here as a pedestrian. Crosswalks here are dangerous. Drivers pay pedestrians no mind and run red lights like crazy. I'm hoping I can find and map out a nice running trail soon. I'm anxious to find some good hiking as well.

I've actually been too jet lagged, hungry and exhausted from work to work out lately, but today I've felt the most energized I've felt since I got here. I think my body is getting used to the time change. 

One kid in my class has severe anger issues and actually scared me a little today. He roams the classroom and never participates. When he's approached, he lashes out and becomes violent. I was teaching my class today and he snuck over to the corner, behind one of the shelves and grabbed a pair of sharp teacher's scissors. Before I knew it, he had them pointed outward with a stabbing motion, coming towards the other kids with them. Some of the kids were really scared. I had to slowly approach him, smile with a gentleness and carefully take them from his hands and say "thank you". 

The rest of the kids are great. They are much more well behaved though when a Korean teacher is present because most of them have no clue what I'm saying. Their English levels are very low.

kitten in restaurant

Getting Adjusted

I haven't written because I haven't had much time for anything yet. My hours at the school are extremely long and by the time I get home, I'm so exhausted, I feel like I could collapse. I leave the house for work around 9:00 am and don't leave the school until 6:30 pm. By the time I walk home and grab dinner, it's close to 8:00 pm and by the time I get showered; it's time for bed. I have to work this Saturday as well because there is a school play. I was warned about private school's working conditions and this is everything I read it would be. I'm not sure how I'll find time to sketch, read or do much of anything because all my time is consumed with school. Interacting with kids all day, teaching, preparing lessons and being on your feet all day is physically and mentally exhausting. 


I'm absolutely loving all the experiences here, the good and bad. Everything here is a challenge, but I've just laughed at most things because it's fun trying to figure it all out. The 1st night in my apartment, I couldn't figure out how to turn on the hot water. Here, you have to turn it on each time you use it and turn it off afterwards. 

Everything is in Korean writing (the thermostat, toilet buttons, washing machine, etc.) I went to get groceries when I arrived and I didn't know what anything was in the grocery store other than eggs, bananas, apples, yogurt and chicken so that's all I bought.

For dinner last night, I had a boiled egg, an apple and a yogurt because I didn't know where to go for dinner. I can't read any of the signs or menus. The first night was ok because my Korean coworkers took me to dinner and ordered for me because they speak English. No one else here does. It's a small, rural town so it's very hard to communicate here. 

Trying to find dinner tonight was a challenge. I walked around for over an hour trying to find a restaurant with pictures on the window so I could point to something. It's really sketchy here trying to order without knowing what you're ordering because I'm not a fan of octopus, squid, raw fish, fermented foods, kimchi, pork belly fat, etc. 

I walked into a chicken wing place and couldn't figure out how to order wings. I pointed to a pic of chicken wings, but I couldn't tell them how many I wanted because I think they came in bulk/family size. The menu said 17,000 won ($17 USD) so I didn't want to end up ordering a family sized meal and I didn't have that much $ on me, so I walked back to where I started, to a soup restaurant by the school that I'd already eaten at the day before for lunch with my Korean coworkers. Luckily, the Korean lady in there remembered me and she knew I didn't speak Korean nor know how to order so she brought me out the same soup I ordered yesterday which was good. 

My go-to soup

One thing I really don't understand here is why it's ok to smoke and have pets inside of a restaurant, but you have to take your shoes off before entering them.

 The place I ate lunch today had the cutest kitten on a leash laying in a metal bucket of newspapers for it's bed. 

Tonight at the chicken place, there was the ugliest little dog I've ever seen right by the counter, underneath one of the dining tables. It was growling at me when I came in and it had on a stylish dog coat and was oddly groomed (shaved except for it's ears and tail and it's tail was fluffed out and dyed purple....). However, it still had balls. Spend $ to make your pet look good, but don't get it neutered...??? That makes zero sense. 

Not many people here seems to see/treat animals like we do in the States. 

Dog in chicken restaurant

Across the chicken place was the dirtiest looking pet store you've ever seen with glass cages full of puppies all jumping up begging for someone to take them home and love them. Most of them end up on the streets or in someone's back yard in 40 degree weather and below; like the Rottweiler in the backyard behind by apartment that's on a 2-3 foot leash with hardly any shelter overhead. The hardest part about this country so far other than finding food is seeing the living conditions and poor treatment of animals. Not only is that hard to see, but it's extremely angering and saddening.

And I'm Off!

Today I'm headed for Naju, Korea where I will teach English at a Kindergarten and after-school-program. I'm pretty excited to fly Asiana again.