5 Ways to Have FUN in the Classroom at CDI

This blog entry was originally published on the Aclipse Blog, which is produced by current Chungdahm Learning teachers in Korea. The blog features entries on current events around Korea, advice for incoming teachers, and the best spots sightseeing, shopping, and eating. The original entry can be viewed here. It has been edited slightly for content. For more information about Aclipse and Chungdahm Learning, click here. 

The Korean education system doesn't always lend itself to fun times. I mean, that's largely true of most schools in the world, to varying degrees, but it's on a whole different level here. My students are constantly telling me horror stories of their public school classes: class is so boring, the teachers are like robots, the teachers always yell at them, etc. So how can you, their English academy teacher, make it a little bit better? It's actually pretty simple...

Unfortunately, the hours spent in their regular schools each day means the prospect of coming to their English academy for an additional three hours of studying isn't exactly... appealing. Some students will still be wonderful -- they just have a naturally cheery outlook and will be angels in your classroom. But largely, even your best students would still rather be playing outside or on a computer than sitting in class. More homework and studying? No thank you, they say.

This is where you, as the teacher, can really ease their pain by finding ways to make the classroom more fun. Here are my five tried and true ways to bring a little more life and laughter into the classroom.

**Note: When it comes to rules and regulations at CDI, here's my disclaimer: I work for a strict branch, and yet these things are allowed. Each location is able to set its own tone, so there will be variations in what is and is not allowed. If you feel like any of the following are pushing the boundaries of what's kosher at your branch, speak to your Head Instructor or Branch Manager before implementing it in the classroom. Better safe than sorry, ya know?**

1. Supplement a lesson with photos and videos. 

So, so many of our lessons can be supplemented by an outside resource that's easily found on the Internet. The most simple of these options? Photos. A picture to accompany the topic is always great, and sometimes it's necessary to explain a vocabulary word that the students may not know. Learning about the tsingy formations in Madagascar? Frida Kahlo's paintings? Not exactly easy to explain or draw on the board. Show the kids some high-res photos -- it'll really help their understanding.

I, for one, didn't know what a tsingy was before teaching this lesson. (Photo credit.)

When you need more than just a photo, videos are super handy. A lesson about superhero physics, mentioning Sue Storm and Cyclops? The latest movies featuring these characters are over ten years old, meaning most of our students have no clue who they are -- so what better way to acquaint them than by showing some short movie clips from YouTube.

Other topics, such as ones that focus on scientific topics, can possibly be supplemented with a short documentary video. Some of our uppermost levels already have a DVD clip to supplement the listening classes, and I feel like it really does enhance their understanding of and interest in the topic.

If you're having trouble finding a good video clips on YouTube, especially on scientific or academic topics, check out TED Talks. Tons of different topics are covered in their videos, you can sort your search options by length, AND you can add subtitles -- English or Korean. 

Obviously, pre-screen the video before showing it to the class -- you always want to make sure there isn't any bad language or super violent gore! These videos are meant to help, not traumatize.

2. Add personal anecdotes -- yours OR theirs! 

Creating an engaging atmosphere is entirely on you, the teacher. Luckily, CDI's curriculum gives you some golden opportunities to be a comedian. From the stories in EC and Memory to the topical lessons in Bridge through Albatross+, you can definitely ham it up and get the kids engaged.

A recent lesson, all about pranks and hoaxes, is one of my favorites, simply because I can give the kids a dramatic retelling of the ridiculous pranks I've pulled in my life -- complete with over the top pantomime and slapstick humor. Then I turned it over to them -- after hearing my crazy stories, they were excited to share and nearly every hand was in the air. Finding ways to relate the topic to their lives definitely gets their attention and their interest. Plus it's a fun way to get to know your class! By getting them all laughing, they feel more comfortable with you. 

Various class discussions have even led to inside jokes, some of which have persisted well beyond when I actually had the students in my class. Sharing stories with each other can really help foster good relationships with your students, which in turn greatly impacts their attitude towards your class.

Also, it's worth noting that in listening to my stories and relating their own, they're greatly improving their speaking skills. A strong class discussion is so vital to giving them an opportunity to speak in an unprepared, unscripted way, which is definitely one of the hardest aspects of becoming fluent in a foreign language.

3. Modify CTP to include something creative. 

The Critical Thinking Project at the end of most classes is a great time for the kids to let loose a little. The topic of the CTP is important because it's related to their online homework, so don't stray too far from what's assigned in the book. However, many CTPs can be supplemented with a little somethin' extra.

The lesson had included a story about time travel, so I made this flyer for the CTP so the class had something to color and fill in.

When a CTP is particularly dry, I encourage students to also draw some kind of illustration or turn their final report into a skit once they've completed the bookwork. This allows them to show off some of their creativity, and also gives the rest of the class something interesting to look at or watch when the group is presenting. Sometimes, I've drawn up a template for them to fill and color in, other times, I've left them to their creativity.

She was playing the role of a "wise grandfather" for their skit, and needed a beard.

4. Encourage the use of props.

Quite a few of the CTPs already include a skit or a news report, so this is a great opportunity to encourage your students to use props. An easy, obvious way to make this happen is to provide the props yourself -- from a simple drawing of a sword that you've cut out or a cheap plastic microphone toy from the dollar store. Set a precedent by making these props available to the students and they'll become more and more comfortable with the idea of incorporating them.

One of my students keeps this prop in her bag -- she taped a photo of a microphone to a plastic tube and it gets used in almost every CTP.

If you cultivate a prop-friendly CTP environment, you'll be surprised with how creative the kids get. In some classes, you'll probably have to help them quite a bit, simply because this will be a new challenging element of the project, but once they get into the swing of it, the results are fantastic. The entire class becomes more interested when a group is presenting, the group itself is having more fun, and you feel good as the teacher for creating a great environment.

Paper, identity-protecting "mosaics," for a CTP that involved anonymous advice column letters. (These children, of course, are oblivious to any resemblance to an infamously racist organization... They were so proud of their idea that I kept my mouth shut.)

5. Create teamwork games. 

CDI's curriculum is pretty jam-packed with activities. In all levels, the students work on reading and listening comprehension, as these are important skills for English proficiency exams like the TOEFL. Often, these exercises come as a workbook page, including short-answer questions that require paraphrasing and answer justification. Sometimes, these pages serve as the daily quiz, but other times, it works well to let the students work in teams. 

To keep the classroom atmosphere at a level of contained chaos, I usually keep my teams to no more than two students. If it's a particularly well-behaved class, I'll let them work in a group of three or four, but usually, it's easiest (and best) to just do partner work. I explain the exercise, remind them of the requirements for their answers to receive full points, set a time limit, and let them get to work. When time is up, I check one book from each team, the stipulation being that all books must be filled in with the same answers. If there are seven questions, they can receive a maximum of 700 points. If one answer is wrong, they have the chance to correct it for half (50) points.

Classroom groupwork action shot, courtesy of a student who agreed to snap some photos on my phone for me. (Gotta love the two boys posing for the photo...)

I stand behind this strategy of teamwork games because it's absolutely fair. Every team gets the same chance for full points, so there won't be any cries of "You always call on the other team for an answer! This isn't fair!" What's even better is it challenges them to come up with the best possible answers, as those are the only ones considered correct -- and let me tell you, these kids love competition. They also love coming up with ridiculous team names so points can be tracked on the side of the board.

As further motivation, I'll sometimes, with their agreement, use their in-class quiz scores to add to their team's points. I'll average the score for the team -- add up what each member got and then divide it by the number of kids on the team. Knowing their quiz score will affect their team's points, the studens are often way more interested in actually trying on their quiz instead of just picking answers. 

When it comes to prizes, check and see what's allowed at your branch. Mine discourages from actually giving physical prizes, so we're encouraged to cut a page of their homework. All levels have a puzzle in their homework book, either a crossword or a word search, and it's always an excellent page to cut. Most students don't seem to like it much, anyway, so it's a win-win. 

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Teaching at CDI is a great opportunity, and with the right attitude (from both you and the students), you can make a rigorously academic environment become one that the kids genuinely enjoy. Feel free to swipe any of my tips -- I hope they'll be as useful for you as they have been for me! 

Do you have any other ideas for bringing fun into the classroom? Do you use any of the above methods already? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts and advice! 

Hey look, I'm (kind of?) a professional!

As some of you may already know because we a) know each other in real life or b) you are friends with/follow me on one of my various social media accounts: I'm actually getting paid for this bloggin' stuff now!

To clarify, it isn't this blog that's actually bringing in the cash (...yet?? ;) ), but it's this one:

When I decided to move to Korea to teach English, it was Aclipse that helped me get there. They're a recruiting company that works specifically for Chungdahm, my school. Chungdahm has locations all over Korea and Aclipse is constantly looking for new teachers to come overseas.

As of June 1st, I'm officially one of their International Marketing Assistants, meaning I write for their blog and maintain a social media presence that promotes coming to Korea to teach English.

The blog itself is updated almost every day by current teachers in Korea and it's full of really great information about living and working in the ROK.

And! My first blog post just went live on the site: Top 5 Must-See Spots in Incheon, Korea!

So go check it out, click around a bit, and enjoy!

New habits, meet my old life.

It's easy to adopt habits and mannerisms from other people. While we don't look much alike, people often ask if my best friend and I are sisters, and the only way this makes sense to me is that we have a lot of the same vocal and physical mannerisms. When you're around someone for a long time, you just sort of subconsciously take on these things.

The best part, I think, about these things is: they become the new normal. I really like the idea of a culture sneaking into your habits and instincts, leaving behind little traces here and there of your time abroad.

Now that I'm back in the States on vacation after fifteen months in Korea, I'm suddenly very aware of these subconsciously adopted habits. Often it's simply catching myself using Korean mannerisms that I've picked up from students and friends, and even more often having to pause and explain myself to the friend watching me with a puzzled expression. Other times it's having a craving for something that wasn't a staple of my American life's diet.

So here's a list, in no particular order, of the little bits of Korea that have become a part of my "normal" routine.

1. Taking my shoes off when I enter a house.
This has become a reflex to me that was actually difficult to override in my brain. (Think of how clean our carpets would be if we didn't constantly track in dirt!) While I was still trying to get myself out of this habit, I would intentionally make myself be the last one to enter the house so I didn't hold up anyone behind me. Which is something that had been happening...

Not my entryway, but mine would often resemble a shoe explosion like this one. (Photo credit.)

2. Bowing.
I'm not even always aware that I do this, actually. It isn't a full bend-at-the-waist bow, but just a small nod of the head. Always accompanied with a "thank you" in either English or Korean, this is such a simple and effective way to express gratitude that will be understood in Asia. Gestures of body language like this make a language barrier irrelevant. Once I was back in a country whose language I spoke fluently, I caught myself doing this pretty quickly and made an effort to stop, mostly because I was on the receiving end of quite a few bewildered looks.

3. Eating spam.
I am so. mad. about this one. Let me clarify: I do not buy cans of spam. I do not cook with spam on my own. I do not, ever, actively seek out spam as something to eat. But, after being in the ROK for a decent amount of time, I have become... used to eating spam. And... I recently had the shocking revelation that I actually enjoy eating spam. Not in large quantities, but a bit of spam in my roll of gimbap? Delicious. Oh, is that a bit of spam in my soup? Excellent. Now that I'm home? I'm so mad that I miss spam...

A spam giftset at a Korean grocery store, which is common and considered to be a generous gift. (Photo credit.)

4. Pushing and shoving.
Being as Korea is packed full with a whole lot of people, and subway stations can get a bit intense during those busy hours, I have gotten quite good at pushing and shoving my way through a crowd without so much as a single "excuse me." I've learned by watching the masters of this maneuver: the ajummas, who I aspire to be like someday. When I first got to Korea, I was still trying to apologize for inevitably hip-checking strangers, but now, I just plow my way through like a pro. During my time home, I've actually felt really bad quite a few times for my no-nonsense darting and weaving through a crowd. Sorry, everyone I may have cut off or bumped into at SXSW. I didn't mean to be an asshole. You were just in my way...?

You try being meek and making it through this kind of crowd.

5. Throwing up a peace sign in a photo.
Luckily, this is kind of a thing everywhere right now? So my learned instinct to automatically pose with a peace sign next to my face just had to be toned down a bit. Friends did call me out on this though... "What are we doing in this photo? Oh, are we throwing up peace signs?" "Oh, uh... sure...? *sighs* I don't even think I'm aware that I'm doing this..."

Some of the causes of my peace sign photo pose reflex.

6. Speaking in simplified English.
As is true with anyone trying to learn a foreign language, you find ways to express yourself whether or not it's grammatically correct. Sometimes, while it could technically be correct, it just isn't how people actually speak. English is a tough language, so I constantly hear little phrases from my students that sound awkward to my native English speaker ears, and yet do make sense. And, I've adopted some without meaning to. For example, I don't even know how many times I've described the number (as in quantity) of something as "very many" since being home, immediately catching myself and laughing. My students say this all time -- "Oh, teacher, there were very many people at the Big Bang concert!" It makes sense, and also doesn't.

7. Speaking in Korean/Konglish.
While I can't claim to have a strong grasp of the Korean language, like, at all, I have found myself doing a fair bit of code-switching. Ususally, this is in the form of various Korean vocab words being thrown into an English conversation. Instead of yes or no, I'll substitute the Korean equivalent. "Chincha?!" is used in place of "really?!" Sometimes it'll be more complex sentences, like an English word followed by the Korean for "give me, please." I frequently did this before going to Korea, instead with bits of Japanese, Spanish, French, or whatever foreign vocabulary happened to fit the situation. What can I say, it entertains me. I've also found myself using some Konglish that I've picked up from my kids. Strangee, not strange. Same-same, when comparing two things that are, well, the same.

8. Eating uncooked ramen.
The best part about this one is that I HATED ramen in college. I turned my nose up at it when my fellow poor college student friends would make some for dinner. This was not because I wouldn't deign to eat it, but simply because I thought it smelled terrible. Imagine their surprise when I came back from Korea and insisted we go pick up ramen from the Korean grocery store so I could eat it uncooked. While I will eat most packaged ramens uncooked (and prefer them that way), Korea has a brand that's actually meant to be eaten raw -- Ottogi's Ppushu Ppushu. And I am obsessed with it. Ob-sessed.

So. Delicious. (Though the best flavor is the BBQ.)

I'm sure there are other little ticks and quirks I've adopted, and I look forward to figuring them out. All of these "new norms" make me smile and I'm curious to see what else seeps into my habits as I spend a couple more years in Korea.

Has anyone else had an experience like this? Tell me your stories in the comments below!

long overdue...

oh, hey, rainy season. 

so despite my promises to write in this regularly, i have failed. spectacularly. it has been over two months since i've updated, and for that, i apologize.

since i last wrote, a term has ended and a new one is nearly halfway over -- we just finished week six of thirteen. i only have a little over four months left on my original contract here, meaning it's time to make some decisions about what comes next. my plan for now is to stay longer, but negotiate a term off either next spring or summer so i can come home for a bit. not sure if i'll be able to swing it, but i'm going to try. korea is still just too wonderful -- and my time here has gone by far too quickly. i'm not ready to say goodbye yet.

it's finally "hot" here, by korea standards. i haven't seen it break 90 degrees yet. the humidity here sucks, but really isn't any different from what i'm used to. the one thing about summer in korea that's really thrown me off is all the rain. summer means monsoon season. we've only had a week of it so far, but i'm already miserable. i need sunshine! especially when it's july and that's the time of year to be spent outside and in a swimsuit and sweating. the rain stopped last night and we actually have a weekend of blue skies and sun, so this morning was spend sunbathing at a park with a book. i'm thinking tomorrow may be outdoorsy... perhaps a hike and a picnic? i need vitamin d so i can survive the rainy weeks to come!

work is still great. this term i have some really spectacular students who just make my day better. the elementary kids in particular. this term i'm only teaching level two classes -- meaning these kids are really quite proficient in english. these classes are twice a week, one day dedicated to reading and the other to listening. each lesson is based around a particular topic, from honeybees to allergies, high fantasy literature (i got to talk about lord of the rings all class!) to bats (which also included a short reading passage on chupacabras?). sometimes the lessons are a little dry, but we find ways to have fun. for the most part, the kids are really receptive to my antics and i do my best to add interesting things to the lesson. for the bats lesson yesterday, i tracked down a good video of the congress bridge bat colony in austin, which they loved seeing. they were fascinated by the bats and asked me a million questions about what it looked like in person.

i'm also, after months of keeping my fingers crossed, teaching one of the masters literature classes. the theme is literary adventures and we're reading the true confessions of charlotte doyle, the hobbit, kidnapped, and peter pan. the students in this class have just moved up from lower levels, so literary analysis in english is still very new and intimidating. but guiding them along has been great -- they're starting to understand how to craft a strong thesis and express their analysis and interpretation of events in the novels. they've still got a long way to go, but they're definitely making progress. sadly, class was cancelled this week and next week because, as middle school students, they have their quarterly exams in their regular schools right now. we'd just started with the hobbit, but won't revisit it because by the time they come back, we're beginning kidnapped. with the other levels, classes being cut during middle school exam time doesn't affect the class -- each lesson is just for that class, so if you miss one, no big deal. with masters, it's cumulative, and we have a limited number of weeks to spend on each book. so, it's a bummer that we won't have a chance to finish the hobbit, but oh well.

besides work i've been trying to explore here and there. lately there's been a whole slew of birthdays, so the weekends have been spent in seoul celebrating in some fashion. my latest resolution is to go hiking more often. i've only done a little bit since getting here, and i'd really like to do more. there are a few mountains in seoul that i've got my eye on... originally, that was the plan for this weekend, but the rainy weather has made my knee so, so achy. since i'm gimpy, i'm going to take full advantage by resting and napping today, so hopefully tomorrow i can go for a walk up the small mountain near my apartment.

i also just bought my ticket to japan! my vacation is coming up in almost two months, and it is high time that i (finally!) go to japan. i'm really excited. i've been looking at all kinds of travel sites and blogs for ideas as well as listening to the suggestions from the friends i'll be visiting. i can't wait. though i do need to brush up on my japanese... it's seriously rusty after six? (or seven?) years of disuse. i've decided i'm staying in the general tokyo area, somewhat because i won't have a huge budget for this trip, but mostly because i don't want to cram too much into ten days.

that's really all i've got at the moment. life hasn't been particularly eventful, but it's been good. my birthday is coming up next week, so i'll try to post sometime soon to recap the festivities. (well, part one. part two comes on the 21st -- corey's birthday is a couple weeks after mine, so we're doing a joint party that weekend.) i think i'm going to challenge myself to update this weekly. i've come up with some ideas for entries -- like a review of the strange (and delicious) korean snacks! (there are SO MANY shrimp/squid flavored chips, and they're kind of excellent.) or maybe my observations about fashion here -- some of it is amazing, but then there are still a whooooole lot of mullets... and i've always got great stories about students to share... so, i make no promises, but i'll try to update more! really truly. i would even pinky promise this -- which is a SACRED oath here in korea. i make pinky promises with my students all the time.

but also, give me some feedback! family and friends: anything y'all want to hear about in particular? leave me a comment and let me know!

<3

Observations about South Korea, volume three.

1. Kids are fascinated by my romances, real or completely pretend. Some of you have heard these stories already... My students seem... preoccupied with imagining ridiculous and/or elaborate romances between teachers. This past term it seems that I've become a target. To begin with, these kids immediately want to know if I'm married. Then if I have a boyfriend. Then if I have children.

And then, every now and then, one of them will very seriously look at me and say something like this:
"You know, teacher, when you wear a ring it means you have a boyfriend."
"Any ring? On any finger?"
"Yes."
"(sensing where this is going) Oh, okay."
"Teacher. (serious stare) You have seven rings on."
"Yes. I have seven boyfriends."
"WHAT?! TEACHER!!"

So, to be fair, I haven't done much to dispel any rumors about me...

Since I have all these supposed boyfriends, much has been done to figure out who they are. According to my students, one of the other teachers is my "secret" boyfriend. But, our love is tragic, because I love him but he doesn't love me back. He's only toying with my emotions and I am very heartbroken.

Then there's my "scandal" boyfriend: one of the Korean counselors who happens to oversee most of my classes. Clearly, him coming into my class a couple times every day isn't because, say, he's doing his job and needs to check in with certain students, but it's because he's madly in love with me and he can't bear to be away from me. Yeah, okay, kids. And, because middle schoolers are ridiculous human beings, they think they have definitive proof of our gossip-worthy love: when we talk to each other, we make eye contact. Oh! The scandal!

And then there's my actual boyfriend, but my students don't much care about him. They probably don't think he's real or something. (Sorry, Corey.) Well, except a couple of my middle school girls. They are obsessed with my relationship and like to ask me "scandalous" questions. "Have you kissed your boyfriend?!? MORE THAN FIVE TIMES?!??!"

2. A day at the park is taken seriously. By this I mean Korean families set out for a day in the park all organized and seemingly packed like they were going camping for a long weekend.

I remember trips to the park as a kid -- usually with a picnic, a blanket, maybe some stuff to play with. This past weekend I spent a solid amount of my saturday hanging out at a park by the Han River and what did I immediately notice? Dozens. Of. Tents. Seriously. THAT is how you spend the day a the park. I'm impressed, Korea. As someone who quite enjoys a leisurely, shaded picnic in the park, you've made me kinda want to track down a tent of my own.

3. This country is too. Damn. Nocturnal. I'm a night owl. I have a bad habit of falling into a schedule where I stay up until 3am or so and then sleep late. (Or just nap a whole lot.) This bad cycle really got its hold on me in college. And I've tried to correct it, especially now that I'm working from 3-10pm, and sleeping until noon or one pm completely wastes my day. So I've tried really, really hard to be in bed by one am at the latest. Doesn't always work, but it's generally my goal.

However. Lately, it's finally warmed up. It's spring! I can leave my windows open! And it's wonderful. Except my neighborhood is full of bars. Bars that like to blast the same damn ten songs over and over. Until 3am.

I've looked like a damn zombie lately because I'm not sleeping well. Tried ear plugs -- they're annoying and kinda freak me out. So until it gets hot enough for my A/C, this is my battle. And I think it may mean just staying up late. Or, wearing myself out enough during the day that I can just pass out and sleep through the noise.

I'm just used to quiet neighborhoods. I've never lived IN the city like this before, so it's an odd adjustment to make.

4. That think-before-you-speak tact filter doesn't exist here. My students are always quick to tell me what they think of my appearance. More often than not, it's complimentary. "Teacher, you look so pretty today." "Teacher, I like your hair. It is cute today." Several girls, upon assessing my daily outfits, are convinced I'm filthy rich, and it's just not fair because I am also "smart, funny, and beautiful." It's all very sweet, but these kids are also quick to tell you what they really think.

"Teacher, your stockings. So red. Like blood."
"Oh, you don't like my tights?"
"They are not pretty. Because they look like blood."

"Teacher, you straight your hair today?"
"Yeah, my perm is starting to go flat. It's old. Time for my natural straight hair again."
"(appraising stare) I think it is much better."
"...Thanks?"

And the gem from today:
"Teacher, you have black eyes?"
"What?"
"Here, around your eyes. So dark today."
"Yes, teacher, like a panda!"
"I... have dark circles?"
"Yes! Like a panda! Are you very tired?"
"Well, yes, there's this bar near my apartment that plays loud music..."

Some of it is just kids being kids. I'm told some of it is also just Korean culture -- it isn't unkind or rude to bluntly comment on someone else's appearance. So I know they aren't doing it to be mean, they're just making observations... aloud.

5. Random elderly people LOVE talking to me. This has really been one of those random and delightful things about living in a country where I am very clearly from somewhere else. I seem to get approached nearly any time I'm out on my own, typically when I'm in a fairly captive situation, like a cab or on the subway/train. But luckily, the majority of these conversations have been charming and funny, even if we barely communicated much of anything.

One of the first memorable conversations was in a cab. It was the first time I'd been in a cab on my own here, and it was for a fairly long ride. After we got through the standard, "Where are you from" and "Are you teacher?" questions, the cabbie seemed to have run out of material. There was a long pause, and then:

"JFK!"
"I'm sorry -- what?"
"JFK! President! You know?"
"Ohhh, JFK, yeah. I know about him."
"Ronald Reagan!"
"Reagan? Yeah, him too."
"President!"
"Yeah. What about Barack Obama?"
"Accckkkkkk! (scoffing noise)"
"Haha..."
"Ahh... pop music! Michael! Jackson!"
"Yes! Music! I like his music."
"Basketball! Michael Jordan!"
"Yeah, Michael Jordan!"

This went on for like fifteen minutes. We covered pretty much every sport, various celebrities and musicians, as well as military ranks? It was funny. He was very, very nice. Tried so hard to have a conversation with me. And really made me wish I spoke more Korean so I could at least attempt to put in the same effort.

I had a very similar conversation with an old woman on the train not long after. Equally entertaining, although she spoke less than he did. But we tried really, really hard to communicate. At that point I'd picked up a few more Korean vocab words, so I was able to say a little bit more to her.

One day, heading home on a full subway car, an old man gave up from his seat after seeing that I was standing and basically herded me into it. Grabbed my shoulders, pushed me, pulled my backpack off of me, set it in my lap, and then stood and calmly chatted with me in English.

"Where are you from?"
"The United States."
"Ah! U.S.A.! Are you a student?"
"No, teacher. English teacher."
"Ahh, what age?"
"Elementary and middle school."

We chatted for a minute or so longer about very basic things: how long I'd been in korea, what city I was living in, etc. His english was really quite good for the basic conversation we were having. Then, my favorite part, was at the next subway stop when he suddenly threw his hands up and said, "Oh! I must leave! I am going to the senior center! To play ping pong!" This included him miming ping pong for me before giving me a friendly wave and literally bouncing out of the subway car.

The latest memorable conversation was with a middle-aged businessman, sitting across from me (on the floor) in the standing room only snack car on the KTX train. We'd made eye contact a couple times, mostly to share a laugh over the drunk guy who was absolutely belting it out in the private noreabang (karaoke) room on the train car. Then he scooted over to me cautiously.

"Excuse me, you speak English?"
"Yes, I do."
"Okay. I got this email... From my boss. American boss. I do not understand. (holds out cellphone)"

The email read: "Can back ups cover?"

Now, that doesn't really make much sense to me either. I asked if I could read the original email, which he agreed to. This businessman had explained in the email that he would be out of town and unable to take a certain conference call. After a few seconds of thinking, it dawned on me.

"Ohhh, are there other people working on this project? Like back up people? Who are helping you?"
"Yes."
"I think he's asking if one of them can take the conference call for you, since you'll miss it."
"AHHHHHH! Okay!"
"Does that help?"
"Yes. Very much. (pause) English is strange."
"I know, it really is."

--

So, that's all I've got to update with at the moment. In the next couple weeks I should be finding out a little bit about what I've got going on next term. Fingers crossed I'll be teaching a lit class...

I'm also planning an update with my overall reflections once I hit the six-month mark, which is just a few weeks. Crazy! I can't believe I've been here that long. The weeks are flying by, which I have very mixed feelings about. More on all that later. It's time to attempt to sleep despite the blaring music...

one term down!

so not only have i been in korea for over three months now, but i've completed my first term at my school! it feels good to have made it through without incident or too much stress. the new term will be a little bit different as far as the classes i'm teaching, but i'm feeling much more confident about the first day of the new term tomorrow than i was three months ago.

the past month has been relatively uneventful. the students take level-up exams in week ten of each term, and that was an interesting experience. extremely boring at times -- especially when they did the standardized test portion which basically meant i sat there for two and a half hours and just watched them take a test. one day of their exams consisted of speaking/listening/writing, which was actually a section i administered and graded. if you thought taking a speaking test in a foreign/second language was uncomfortable and no fun at all ever? imagine being the one giving the test. even some of my best and brightest totally froze up and just looked panicked when they couldn't think of what to say. i remember that feeling well from speaking tests in high school and college japanese classes, so i really felt for these kids as they sat at the other side of the desk.

this is how i kept myself entertained while the

students were taking the standardized exams.

while "proctoring," of course.

each term is thirteen weeks long, so the weeks following level-up exams were... less enjoyable than the ones preceding. in week twelve they actually received their level-up results, and at that point, convincing them to care about the last few lessons was, as one of my coworkers said, "like trying to shovel water." some classes were fine, just because we had a great rapport and the kids legitimately want to learn english. but those unmotivated students who kind of despised being in class anyway? it was rough.

this was taken a couple weeks ago, to illustrate

how i felt about teaching unmotivated students

post-level-up exams. so glad it's over. (for now.)

i'm really going to miss some of my classes -- i think almost all of my favorite students leveled-up into classes i won't be teaching next term. i can only hope that i'll have them again later on in the year. it will be really nice to have a fresh start with new students and classes, though. while i feel like my first term was pretty successful, i can definitely see little things here and there (particularly in areas like classroom management) that i should approach differently from the very first day. it's a learning curve. but i'm looking forward to walking into my classes tomorrow and being able to start over with a new group.

i could always adopt these rules one of my students made up.

speaking of my classes tomorrow, i'll be teaching a couple new levels this term. when i was trained, i was trained in memory english (which has three levels -- mega, giga, and tera), and then also in interactive reading/listening (which is higher than memory english and also has three levels -- bridge, par, and birdie). this past term i taught mega, giga, and par. next term i have mega, giga, bridge, and then a new level for me -- english chip. english chip actually falls below the memory english section in the hierarchy of levels at chungdahm, so i'm going to have some of the youngest/lowest english level kids our school teaches. i got a little bit of training in ec last week and i'm feeling pretty good about it -- since i've taught the level it feeds right into, memory english mega, i can see exactly why certain components of the curriculum exist. all of the levels really build on the skills learned previously, so as i'm exposed to more and more of these different levels, i'm finding it really helpful for my understanding of what's important for them to learn and why.

that's really all that's been going on lately. just working, putting a lot of energy into keeping burned out kids interested, and! decorating my apartment. people have been moving out lately so i've been scavenging a little bit -- picked up a couch, little cafe table and chair, and two frames that previously had canvas stretched across them. so i've been having a lot of cheap, crafty fun lately, and i promise an actual blog post about my apartment will be coming in the next month or so.

but despite the relatively boring day-to-day schedule i've fallen into lately, i've been able to spend the past few weekends in seoul, seeing friends, doing some shopping, and just hanging out. the weather is fiiiinally starting to warm up. it's been creeping above 40 almost every single day this past week! haha. i can't wait for it to be warm. there's so much that i want to do and see outside! definitely going to go crazy with taking photos and hiking and exploring as soon as i can. (maybe even as early as next weekend... it looks like we might be getting above 50 next week!)

i promise to be better with the updating. i fell behind because i just felt like nothing interesting was happening. but now that the term has ended, i felt like it needed a recap of sorts.

is there anything in particular i should talk more about? leave me a comment. let me know. and thank you to everyone who persistently reminded me to update my blog. you're all awesome. (though seriously, i promise it'll be much more frequent once i can come out of hibernation mode and i start to see more of this country.) until next time! :)

on teaching children, volume one.

kids are effing weird. wonderful, at times, but mostly just odd. here are a handful of my more... memorable interactions so far.

the general fascination with my hair: my entire life, my hair has been a point of interest. when i was little, it was platinum blonde. i was sometimes teased, it was frequently oohed and ahhed over by adults, and taking photos of me in direct sunlight was tricky because my head would just be engulfed in the white light of my hair. by comparison, my hair is much darker now, but still quite blonde. in korea, the fascination has moved to an entirely new level.

• you may remember my facebook status from a week or so ago. the one about the boy who actually pulled a hair OUT OF MY HEAD during class to look at and show to the other boys. for the record, this kid is also the one who thinks i'm a pirate since i have tattoos. he always peers at my hair anytime i'm anywhere near him and i think actually asks me every. single. class. if my hair is real. he's strange. but during one class, while i was checking on his group's progress on their presentation for the day, he actually just reached over and pulled a hair out. not off my shirt. but out of my scalp. like, i felt it. then he put it on the desk and all the boys leaned in and they examined it. ...yep.
• number of times i've had a student just reach out and touch my hair: i've actually lost count. this seems to be the most normal reaction. personal space is nonexistent.
• last week, one of my favorite students pulled some hair off my back. when i noticed and turned to say, "oh, thanks," i realized she wasn't just helping me keep my shirt free of hair, but she was picking off the hair so she could look at it. the girl next to her leaned in to look too, and when they saw me watching, they dissolved into a giggle fit. adorable, yes, but i also think she kept my hair..

the desire to be the teacher's best friend: this probably applies to the girls in my classes more than the boys, though there are some exceptions. but i have been so amused and touched by the things my students have done to be nice and get to know me.

• sharing their snacks! it's a pretty regular occurrence for my students to bring me a handful of whatever food they're eating during break time. one will even bring an extra clementine orange just for me when she's packed one for herself. of course, when i have a snack, they expect me to share with them too, but i always do. plus they seem to be greatly entertained when they give me something i haven't tried yet just so they can see my reaction.
• very earnestly telling me their opinion on a particular exercise in class. one section of my memory english classes involves practicing memorization skills. one student absolutely hates memorizing and waved me over to tell me this. "teacha, i really do hate this part of class. in korean, i am so good at memorizing. in english, it is not fun and i don't like. but i will try anyway. but i don't like." then, in every class since, he will look at me and shake his head and quietly say, "teacha, you know what i think about this. i told you." even though he doesn't like it, he still tries hard and has actually improved a lot. but he really enjoys giving me a knowing look and reminding me that we discussed how much he dislikes memorizing english sentences.
• giving me presents and/or drawing me pictures. right off the bat, students were giving me gum and angry birds erasers. every now and then, when they draw a picture for their presentations, they'll bring it to me at the end of class and say, "this is for you, teacha." but today, a couple of my girls actually drew pictures of me, folded them up, and quietly passed them to me during class. so sweet. and then they were so pleased when i thanked them for the pictures.

the love of death and all things morbid: i've mentioned this before -- the sheer joy the boys in my class get out of killing off any character in a story we make up. lately, even the girls have chimed in more than usual with their own... creative ideas.

• in one class last week, we read a story about a haunted house. two of the characters actually ended up being ghosts. for their thinking (creative) project during the last hour of class, they had to design and plan an entire haunted house attraction that they would then present to the class. one of my groups of sweet, adorable girls came up with a two-part attraction. first, you see this cute little house that's all pastel colored and pretty. then, you see what happens to the house after an evil witch takes over. as they were presenting, i noticed giant red blobs all over the page. when i asked them what it was, one innocently looked at me and matter-of-factly said, "oh, that's just the blood rain." oh, yes. of course it is. another group of girls even put an entire river of blood into their drawing. lovely.
• at the beginning of lessons, the students look at a couple pictures in the book and try to predict what happens next in the story. it's a fun exercise and they get to be really creative. the stories can literally go anywhere, so they really have fun trying to make them crazy. the first picture today showed a little girl talking to her mother and looking angry. the second picture was of the little girl at a camp, arguing with the camp counselor (who the students just kept calling "teacher," for the sake of the rest of this making sense...). so, during prediction, i always write their ideas on the board so we can plot out the story. they decided the little girl and teacher argue, the little girl wins the argument, and then here's the rest: yes, my students supplied "dehydrated" and "children play in river of teacher's tears." should i be concerned for my safety?

that's all i can think of at the moment for the really memorable stories. i'm sure i'll have plenty more in a couple weeks. i never really imagined myself teaching children, and while i probably won't once i move back from korea, i do have to say i'm quite enjoying it.

a saturday in seoul.

so i just spent a good five minutes thinking of possible puns on "seoul" for the title of this entry and came up with some truly godawful ones... then decided against it. yeah, you're welcome.

despite icy weather and the budgeting of funds, some friends from training and i decided to all meet up in seoul for a day of hanging out, eating good food, and cheap/kitschy christmas shopping for family and friends back home. we hadn't gotten together as a group since training week, so it was definitely time to meet up and swap stories about our first three weeks of being teachers. and celebrate our first month of living in korea! (i can't believe it's been a month! crazy.)

i wish i'd gotten a picture of the first thing that happened to us because it was really wonderful. as we were walking down the street, a man with a big dry erase board and dslr camera approached us. in his broken english, he explained it was his kid's birthday soon, so he was taking pictures of people holding the sign with different birthday messages. he showed us a few of the pictures he'd taken and asked if we would be in one. so we wrote "happy birthday from america and england" on the board and he showed me the characters for his kid's name, so i wrote that across the top too. so cute! such a sweet idea. it was a great start to the day. (and we saw him again later in the day taking a picture of a different group! he's a cool dad.)

of course, the first thing we did was grab lunch. (sidenote: dumplings, as seen here, are my new obsession.) we headed straight to the insadong area so we could do some korea-y shopping. (just you guys wait for some of the kitschy shit i picked up to send home...)

booth in insadong selling drawings... will approves.

angry birds! corey says he bought this for his nephew. but then he wore it all day and got tons of compliments, so i suspect he wants to keep it for himself.

i don't remember what these guys were making, but they were singing/chanting the whole time and it was pretty awesome/hilarious. they were laughing too -- they'd drawn quite a crowd.

insadong street. as well as tons and tons of shops selling pretty much every possible gift or souvenir, there were tons of little carts loaded up with more goodies.

LET'S MERRY. i love engrish.

i wish i could send stuff like this home for christmas! so pretty.

best restaurant sign. i want this on a tshirt.

i don't know why this was happening, but they blocked the street for a bit so they could pass.

then we headed over to the namdaemun market to do some more shopping and looking. it was overwhelming. total sensory overload. it's outdoors and indoors and consists of narrow aisles with these booths just packed full of everything you can imagine.

we found angry birds earmuffs to go over his angry birds hat! plus a nice teenage girl pose.

i found christmas. it's kept in this shop. like, all of it. the entire store looked like this.

give me all the korean street food you have.

corey and will asking this dude if they can get a picture with him. because he's awesome.

he was happy to oblige.

then he called me over and took my hand, so we assumed this meant it was me

and kara's turn for a picture. but then after we took the picture... he wouldn't

let me go. and he waved my friends off and gestured like he was going to keep

me with him... it was pretty funny. and a little odd.

will was describing this weird picture of men dressed as women...

one of my shopping missions today was to find one of these: it's a cellphone charm (that i'm going to keep on my actual keys) that works as a subway card. i keep misplacing my actual subway card since you have to swipe it when you get on and off the subway, so i wanted something easier to get to. and so of course i got the angry birds one! ha.

then we headed to myeongdong to find dinner and do a little bit more shopping.

there were groups of teenagers with these signs everywhere. we hugged these guys. and then later there was a group of a dozen and when i smiled at one of the girls, so she decided that meant "hug me," so she did, which set off a chain reaction of the other eleven or so boys and girls also attacking me with hugs.

this area is pretty nice. not super ritzy, but definitely a pretty classy area to do shopping. i can't wait to go back when i actually have money to spend.

possibly my favorite street food i've ever had ever. it's a potato! with some kind of seasoning. not sure what it was. but it's pretty much amazing.

go eat and sources would flow. yes.

more street food! also delicious.

after our appetizer of street food, we decided it was time for dinner. like most korean restaurants, the meal was cooked at our table, and this was the first bit to be cooked. there was chicken in the sauce.

then the rice was added! making this the final result. very delicious.

after dinner we were able to meet up with one more training friend: jenn.

(she had a makeup saturday class at her school so she was busy all day.)

we look so serious. or just really cold.

"everyone pretend to be a korean girl!"

next stop: some celebratory drinks. beers and apple soju.

(soju on its own tastes like watery vodka. not a fan.)

to one month in korea!

boys.

girls.

it was a successful day of shopping! i picked up some of the christmas presents i'm planning to send back to family and was able to track down a few of the things i needed for myself. such as:

new sunglasses! i managed to break mine on the flight over here. (they were in my backpack and i guess i stepped on it at some point during the flight? womp womp.)

mittens! soooo many mittens and scarves being sold in the streets. i brought gloves with me, but sometimes you just need super thick, knit mittens with a fuzzy lining to keep your hands warm. plus they are on a string! just like mittens i had when i was a little kid, so i can just leave them hanging out of my coat sleeves all the time! don't have to worry about losing one! haha.

i also wanted a big, knit scarf. i had to leave my chunkier scarves behind to save suitcase space, so i was on a mission to find a nice big scarf. success! this picture is kind of hard to see, but i found a suuuuuuuper long scarf in a pretty shade of blue.

i can pretty much wrap it around my entire head/neck/shoulders. it's wonderful. i was so much warmer yesterday after i bought this! it's going to get a lot of use this winter. for damn sure.

so that was my saturday. it was a lot of fun and we already have tentative plans to get together as a group again.

now it's sunday and i think i might be getting sick? i'm not sure. my throat and allergies have been acting up, but i assumed it was just the cold weather and dry heat from the heated floor. but it's all kinda worse today... so i think i'll be spending this sunday in my pajamas, drinking tea, and watching tv on the internet. my voice sounds a little croaky and that's the last thing i want to happen. i need to be able to talk tomorrow at school! it's sort of necessary... haha. wish me luck.