Busy Bee

I've been in Daejeon for a little over a month now and this is only my third post. So much for my plans of writing once a week :) The reason I haven't been posting is because I've been very busy. Busy working, having fun, and exploring, so I'm going to give myself a pass.

Cherry blossoms! Spring is here! 

I work very long hours and it's very difficult. It's also very fun and very rewarding. I hope that I will still be saying the same thing 11 months from now! In the mornings I have my Kindergarten class, five adorable Korean babies, with almost no English. It is amazing how much they've picked up in just a month, although we still have a long way to go. I am thankful everyday for my Korean Teacher (KT) Ms. M. She is amazing with the babies and their moms (I am also SO thankful that I don't speak Korean and therefore don't have to talk to the tiger moms!) and with me. Her English is very good and although, like me, she is new to our school, she has a lot of experience and a great classroom presence. She is the perfect mix of strict and loving and does her job with a lot of style and grace. Try to imagine Audrey Hepburn if she were Asian and about 5 inches taller (that's right, Ms. M is about 6 feet tall). Can you tell how much I love her already?

In the afternoons I teach Reading, Science, Language Arts, and Cultural Studies to second graders. This could actually change in a couple of months because the school regularly shuffles things around to ensure that everyone remains confused about who teaches what to which students. But that's a post for another day. Afternoons are nice because my kids already have a decent amount of English and most do care about learning, but they are rowdy, energetic kids with short attention spans. It's hard to say which is more difficult, my morning or afternoon classes. Both have their own set of challenges, and both are equal parts frustrating and rewarding.

After work and on the weekends I go out with the other foreign teachers at school who I have become good friends with. It's hard to go through what we do together and not become close with. We have burger night every Thursday at one of the foreigner bars, Laser Punk Rock shows (yes that's a real thing, and yes it was every bit as weird and awesome as it sounds), soccer games at Daejeon World Cup Stadium, shopping at underground malls, and nights in where we play board games and cards. I am really enjoying myself here in Daejeon and I hope that the rest of the year continues to be as fun, challenging, and exciting!

My new girlfriends and I at a soccer game