11 AM: First real snow! It's really sticking on the ground this time, and the kids are all making snowmen and throwing dustpans full of slush at each other. Funtimes for all. Seongwonnie hit me with a snowball, but I just bought an industrial arctic coat, so it bounced off. I attempted to strangle him, but he was too fast.
*sigh* Redhair Joonyeong said my hair looks bad today, and it is frizzy today, that's true, but his comment depressed me more than necessary. Why do I have to be so sensitive to words? I have 100 boys per day telling me I'm beautiful, so why should I care about negative words from one child? Eh, it's just silly.
On the other hand, this reminds me of why I work so hard to stay positive with the boys. One misplaced word can ruin a day; ruin a week even, if the kid is a Words person. I want everything they get from me to be good.
And Joonyeong's just in general a rude student, as evidenced by his making fun of a mentally disabled boy last week. Also, this means that Joonyoung is trying to make some kind of connection, even if it's a negative one. It means that he keeps tracks of my daily looks enough that he can make comparisons between different days. I felt like being petty and ignoring Joonyoung, but I made sure to come by and work with him and tell him that he looked nice.
Sanghwa didn't say much, but he came by at the end to turn in his worksheet for a Reeses mini-cup.
After class, all the boys from elsewhere filed in, including both Byeongyoonie and Wooseok. Gave chocolate to both of them, because they are equally beloved, the metropolitan genius and the sunshiny hooligan.
In 1-1, 1-2 B, I had fun talking with Seonghyun and Chaeho who are in my afterschool and seem proud of that fact. Other boys near them were interacting with me more, so I had to wonder if they had been telling their friends that I was a fun, accessible teacher. We had a nice time talking and laughing, and I discovered Woobin across the room, a boy also in my afterschool but who I couldn't recall teaching.
Woobin's name is nearly identical to that of one of my favorite actors, and when I pointed that out two days ago, Woobin smiled but the other kids said, "No, Kim Woobin's handsome, he not handsome, Teacher!" I made sure to say that Woobin was very cute. Everyone cares what people say about how they look.
Taught Jaehyung some of Canon in D, but it's taking a while.
Mr. B told me that this is the first real snow, and that it's supposed to make you think of your first love. I told him in America, snow makes you think more of childhood memories and family times. But here it's romantic, or so the boys tell me.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2PM: Aw yiss, next class and lunch were good. I had 2-9, 2-10 A, and instead of reading them the slides for the Powerpoint, I followed some advice I saw on a teacher's forum and got the boys to read them. This would only work in A-ban, but my boys did it great. And I knew enough names that I could just say, "Yoonseong read this one, Seonghak read that one," etc.
For a second I tripped over Cutie-Joonseok's name and said "Joon....suh..." because I couldn't remember if it was "seop" or "seong"or "seok". He looked dramatically offended and when the other boys hollered "Jooseok!" I asked, "Chuseok?" which is a holiday, also known as Korean Thanksgiving. Joonseok immediately understood that I was teasing him, and he began to cry fake tears. Adorable.
We had fun in this class. Under the "G" letter in the Thanksgiving acrostic Seonwoo wrote "Guys!!!" I wrote NO. BAD. next to it, because Seonwoo's only having fun when I'm reacting. After class, he came back for extra chocolate after everyone had left. He is so reveling in his status as a favorite.
After lunch, I stepped outside to watch the snow and the kids playing. Love-You-Sungjae gave me a snowball as a present, so I threw it at Intensity-Insung. Insung hit me back, in the leg, and man those semi-melted snowballs sting.
While I stood on the front porch, taking pictures, I looked up to the windows in the 1st-grade wing and saw Jeongminnie. A few minutes later, he came downstairs and greeted me in the hallway, asking how I was liking the snow. He couldn't sit with me today because he said his friends were fighting. I think he was going to try to solve their problem?
My 3rd-graders came to get me, as did Jinseo, Blackhair Seonghyun and a new 2nd-grader. Wooseok showed up, too. We played a billion rounds of cards and had a good time. Wooseok has been looking for my apartment and told me it didn't exist. I tried to clarify for him where it was, then realized there's no reason to bother.
Some extra 3rd-graders hung out in the room and I heard them figuring out English vocabulary to together. What the boldest one finally settled on as correct grammar was, "Teacher, do you are with boyfriend?" He lost no time in confessing his liking for me.
The Reeses cups are a smash. The boys come back requesting more, looking slightly drugged. Not used to the heady combo of chocolate and peanut butter, it would seem.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
4 PM: Afterschool classes are cancelled on account of the snow. Holla! B-Teacher high-fived me when he heard the news.
Had no Mr. B in 3-1, 3-2 B, and we couldn't get the video cable to work, but the boys weren't upset that they had no movie--they were content to sit and talk and do phone stuff, and to play cards with me. Sungyeong, the jjang, was ordering people about, bossing them into line and making them join the game.
Sungyeong played music from us from his phone, and when I asked if he had "Bittakhage," he said no. But then he bought it through a phone app and played it for me four times. Dude. Ask and you shall receive, I guess. Sungyeong got so distracted by dancing in his seat, he lost at spoons three times, simply because he wasn't looking at what the other players were doing.
I stood outside in the snow again, just kind of drinking it in because it still seems magical. Secret-Daeho hung around and we talked, but when America-Hyunkyeong came up to talk, Daeho refused to translate. Hyunkyeong gave me a Snickers chocolate as a present, then as he walked off Daeho said, "I hate him".
Me: Why?
Daeho: Nappeun nom.
Me: He's a bad person?
Daeho: Yes very bad. Kkangpae.
Me: Hyunkeoung's a gangster?
Daeho: At this school, everyone hate him.
Me: But he seems so nice!
Daeho: Nice only on surface. I want chocolate please.
Bomjoon: *waves hi at me*
Me: *waves hi back*
Bomjoon: You're beautiful!
Daeho: *points at Bomjoon* That student is very dirty.
Me: Daeho, is there anyone at this school that you think is nice?
Junho's back at school. Thank goodness, because I was worried. He seems really withdrawn and serious-faced, and he didn't even bother hollering at me in the hall the first time we ran into each other. That's almost like a boy not eating at lunch...it's a sign that something's not right. But then during cleaning time, he held out his hand like a knight offering to escort a lady through dragon-country, and I gave his hand a quick squeeze because I was glad to see him back to normal.
Sujin is now saying I'm his girlfriend--all that chocolate must have sealed things. And I met a sweet new 2nd-grade C-class named Dongyoon. He's tall and skinny and has a precious personality. He used his limited English to try to talk me into giving him 10 Reeses--we had this whole bartering thing going on before he ultimately settled for 2. Dongjun reminded me yet again that his birthday is on Friday. I said I'd get him something, and Sujin slammed him against a wall for his audacity. Fortunately, I have two small presents all ready for both of them on Friday. Ha!
-----------------------------------------------------------
5:30 PM Home!
The bloom is off the snow-rose already because I had to walk home in the driving wet wind with a million flakes fighting to get under my umbrella and into my eyes. It's hard to feel the snowy magic when it be cold as all get-out.
Was greeted by Jinhwan, Jaehwan, and Teacher's-Pet-Jeongmin on the way home. Met Wooseok close to my favorite coffee shop and asked if he wanted me to buy him hot chocolate. Nope, he had to get to the PC bang (computer arcade). Nice to know where I rank in the Wooseok Pantheon of Important Activities: ahead of playing tag with the other kids, but beneath playing online games. :-)
Saw Seongmo and Byeonhyun in the hall. They shocked me by simultaneously waving and calling out, "Sweetheart!" Daww, the cute. The unexpected and Southern-influenced cute.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
