Seven Months

It's officially been seven months since I've been here. Wow. Not sure how I feel about that... I have been noticing a new appreciation for Korea in my attitude most recently. It's refreshing. Perhaps I'm entering into "Phase 3" of culture shock now...

The past week has been full as usual. Several highlights:

Our English Bible Study officially started after school on Monday. I'm looking forward to having it be a regular part of my week again.

Had dinner with Kang Bo-gil (the art teacher at my school) on Monday night. I absolutely love hanging out with her. I was blessed by our time together.

I've finally started taking Korean lessons (it's about time...). Kyunghan (one of my dear co-teachers from last semester) is my private tutor. We'll only be having one lesson each week, but it's a start. My new co-teacher, Lee Hye Eun, is also taking advantage of every opportunity to add to my vocabulary. It's good for me.

Wednesday was Parents Day at Cheongryang Middle School. Thus, my 5th period was an open class for the parents to observe. I had probably about 8 -10 parents actually come. I couldn't have asked for the class to go more smoothly. The students were behaved perfectly and I was happy with my lesson. It was kind of fun. ^^

Thursday I had lunch with Kang Meesuk. I really cherish our times together... and I think she does too. Although there's a big age gap between us, it doesn't seem to matter much at all. She's a dear friend to me. I find myself praising God for her so often.

I've had several more opportunities to get to know my students this year already. I think having my own classroom helps. So many students seem to enjoy stopping by. I'm thankful to be able to get to know them better. Yesterday, one of my students came to my desk and chatted with me for nearly a half hour. I felt a bit like a camp counselor again... in a good way, I think. I'm being reminded that I'm working with teenagers that come from difficult home situations. Sometimes I forget to consider their home life... I think my heart is starting to grow more for my students, which I'm thankful for.

Today one of the baseball players burst into the classroom and boldly proclaimed, "I LOVE YOU TEACHER!!!" I still don't know quite how to respond to these middle school boys... usually I just smile and laugh. They totally cheapen the phrase... and make me laugh a lot. I'm trying to imagine middle school students in the States acting the same way... and I just don't really see it happening.

There are so many cultural differences in school that I've just grown accustomed to now. I often forget that it's not normal (in the States) for boys to sit on each other's laps... that girls don't usually hold each other's hands... that students don't habitually beat on each other in jest (or maybe it's just been a long time since I've walked the halls of a middle school in the States)...

Classes are going well. I'm feeling more and more like a real teacher. I feel SO incredibly blessed to have my own classroom with so many resources. I'm also really thankful for my co-teachers this semester. Initially, I wasn't super-excited about having my co-teachers change. However, I'm already seeing so many blessings with this new season at Cheongryang. My main co-teacher is incredibly optimistic, eager to help, and SO encouraging.

Today we had our weekly English teacher meeting. It's at this time that I usually present my lesson for the upcoming week. My lesson plans for next week are a little risky... there's potential for things to go incredibly well... or fail miserably. Several of the co-teachers looked uneasy as I described the activities (the students will be doing a Treasure Hunt activity). But my main co-teacher (and head of the English dept.) was totally supportive and optimistic that things would go well. I'm SOOOO thankful for her! And I'm thankful that my other co-teachers are willing to take a risk and put forth the effort to make it work well. We'll see how it goes next week...

Anyway, I need to get some sleep now... I've got another busy weekend ahead! =)