It's about that time...

I haven't updated in awhile, so I'll throw you all a bone. :-)

Things have been up-and-down here lately. A couple weeks ago, my boss recruited me (along with a few other teachers) to teach an earlier class-- children who are REALLY basic. In fact, I'm teaching Basic 1, which is the lowest level our school offers. Anyway, I was really nervous about this and as it turns out, this class has proven to be quite a challenge. I only have six students, but they are complete handfuls. They have tons of energy and run around the classroom shrieking sometimes. Yikes. Plus, the material I've been given to teach is REALLY hard to make a lesson out of. I think it's easier for the students too. For example, I taught "O" and "P" today and three words that start with each letter (octopus, ostrich, orange, police, pencil, and pie). It's painful. The kids ARE adorable though, even if they do drive me crazy sometimes.

I have another class, full of fourth graders (I swear, that age group is out to get me) that are quite the handful. The girls are really sweet, and there's one boy that I really love. But the other boys, this one in particular, are really hard to control and focus. I have a couple things that I've been using as a rewards-and-punishment system that has calmed them down a bit but still isn't 100% effective. I feel like I'm slowly gaining control over them though.

My students, all of the them, are obsessed with this show called "Boys Over Flowers" (that's the English translation anyway) and I recently started watching it myself and I am totally getting addicted to it too. It's about this really prestigious high school where only the most privileged students go. Anyway, somehow this girl, Geum Jan Di, ends up going there and she hates the way that the MOST exclusive group, F4, treats other people. F4 is made up of four boys who basically run the school. Anyway, one day, Jan Di tells off the leader of the group, Gu Jun Pyo, and he falls for her because no one has ever stood up to him like that before. The rest of the show so far has been Jun Pyo trying to win Jan Di's heart. Jan Di has had a crush on the other F4 member, Ji Hoo, and so this love triangle started. Anyway, I realize it's a little weird that I watch the same TV show that my Basic 5 students watch, but I'm okay with that. My two high school girls watched it too so I think it's another Korean thing, like Big Bang, that every age group is into.

What else? Oh-- I cut my hair last weekend and the general concensus is that I look totally different and more Korean. Oh well. Anyway, here's a picture that shows not only my haircut but the claustrophobic experience that is riding the subways in Korea:

That's all for today. More later! Five month marker around the corner.