After being in Busan for four weeks and only being in my classroom four days, I was ready to start my first full week of teaching. Yes, it was great being on "vacation" but I was also ready to start teaching. I always have trouble sleeping the night before something new or exciting is about to happen. Sunday night was no exception. I didn't fall asleep until after 12:30am and had to wake up around 6:00am. For those of you who know me, I love my sleep and I hoped I wouldn't be too tired for my first day.
Monday
I got to school at 8:00am even though I didn't have to be there until 8:30am. I sat at my co-teacher's desk for 30 minutes while everyone in the office went about their own business. My co-teacher finally arrived at 8:30am and ushered me to the vice principals desk where she and the principal was standing. My co-teacher then told me that in a minute, I would have to introduce myself to the entire staff. I was half-way expecting this but thought I would be given five minutes to prepare instead of one. I was given the microphone and I looked at everyone and said hello in Korean. That gave me a round of applause. I then said hello in English and a few more sentences and was finished. Not so bad! My co-teacher then told me that I would not have classes that day but that I needed to prepare a binder of the activities that we did during summer camp. That is what I spent the majority of my day doing, alone, in my classroom on the fifth floor (I am the only room up there).
Tuesday
When I asked my co-teacher what I would be doing today, she told me that I would not be having classes because all of the classes are being restructured. I went upstairs and spent the entire day alone - again. I did try to go down to the teachers' office to be visible and ask a few questions but I was always sent back up to my room. I did bring some paper towels with me and did some major cleaning around my desk. It was very dusty. I swept the whole room and tried to tidy up the room a bit. At 3:00pm, my co-teacher took me to the bank to set up automatic payments on our bills. That was very helpful since the banks close at 4:00pm and we don't get out of school until 4:30pm.
Wednesday
I got to school a little early again. I went directly to my classroom so that I could prepare for my day. I was expecting to have a few classes to teach. At 8:20am, I went down to the teachers' office to talk to my co-teacher. She wasn't there but one of the other English teachers asked if she could help me. After I asked her what my schedule would be for the day, she told me to go back to my classroom and my co-teacher would call me down when she got there. When I didn't hear anything by 8:45am, I went downstairs. The other English teacher never told my co-teacher that I had wanted to see her. I asked if I would be teaching classes today and she gave me my schedule. My first class was at 9:00am. I taught 4 classes (I teach 4 classes everyday). This week, it's all just introductory stuff. I made a short PowerPoint about myself and about America. I also gave all the students a note card for them to write their name, birthday, and other fun information. I would like to recognize all of the students on their birthday by giving them candy. Also on this day, Korea had a Civil Air Drill. At 2:00pm, an air-raid siren sounded. I have never experienced this while being in a classroom. Last year, I would have been walking to school when the siren went off. The students were supposed to get under their desks but the teacher just made them put their heads on their desks instead. For 15 minutes, there was talking over the intercom. The best way I can describe it? It was like being in Nazi Germany when the bombings were occurring (from what I've seen in movies). Some guy, in a foreign language, speaking what seems to be very harshly and sirens sounding. These kids have spent their whole lives dealing with this so it's no big deal to them, but there is always a chance that war could break out.
Thursday
I felt more comfortable today because I had a better idea of what to expect. Again, I had 4 classes. In one of my classes, the teacher was taking attendance and about 6 kids were missing. She said that 3 of them didn't come to school for one reason or the other and 3 of them were outside in the rain picking up trash for punishment; they had stolen money from some of the other students. Several of the teachers told me that we have a bunch of thieves in our school. Any time I leave my classroom, I have to lock it. This was also the first day that I had to eat lunch on my own. For the past 3 days, I ate with my main co-teacher. I went to the lunch room by myself and was the only one in there. I sat down and a few minutes later, other teachers started coming in. Luckily, a woman decided she wanted to sit with me. However, she knew maybe 3 words of English. She pointed at the chopsticks in my hands and said, "good". I took that as meaning my chopstick skills were good!
Friday
Friday was a good day. There are 3 levels in middle school: grade 1, grade 2, and grade 3. On Fridays, I have at least one class of each grade. My last class of the day is the period right after lunch. They are grade 1 students. However, they were probably my best speaking/understand class yet. Before class, one of the students sat in my room and started talking to me. He asked me, "Are we going to have an orientation since we don't know you or are we going to start chapter 6?" Without trying to look shocked from his speaking abilities, I told him that we were going to do an orientation. Most of my middle school kids still can't spell the names of the months or colors, let alone have an intelligent conversation - in English! After school, I was going to meet Zach "downtown" (there are several "downtowns" in Busan) which meant I had to walk to a different bus stop than the one I normally go to. I don't know if you remember but a couple of weeks ago I briefly mentioned a boy who is special and the other kids throw garage at him. Well, as I was leaving school, I ran into him. He kept yelling, "Sam, Sam...." I stopped walking so that he could catch up with me and we could walk together. He understands that I'm American, but I don't think he quite understands that I don't know Korean. I can pick up on some things he says, but not everything. At one point, he grabbed my hand and interlocked our fingers. I know in the States, this would be a huge no-no! Here, I don't know if it's such a huge deal, but with me being a foreigner I could still probably get in huge trouble or even deported if they think something inappropriate is happening. I immediately found a reason to unlock hands. He tried grabbing my hand twice more after that. Here is a kid who doesn't have a friend in the world. I am being nice to him and he wants to hold my hand. I felt completely terrible! However, when I got close to my bus stop, we parted ways.
All-in-all, it was a very good week! I look forward to sharing more of my teaching/school experiences with you!
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