Had a very full Sunday, with most of the day devoted to working on a big assignment for my side job. Many times I've considered not doing this extra job, but it's great experience and looks lovely on a resume, and I have to be thinking about the future. University jobs are what you want, and extra experience works wonders for getting them. Though I don't know how I'm going to leave my boys for college kids.
First class was good--they loved the iconograph game I found. They had to guess the fictional character from basic colors and outlines. The only characters that tripped them up were Pocahontas and Mary Poppins, two characters that have not made it big over here. They got Gollum, Mickey Mouse, and Ironman instantaneously.
When class was over, I asked A-level Jongyoon what my name was and he replied, "Pretty. Lovely. Leigh." I gave him two chocolates because learning how to appreciate ladies is an excellent English skill which should be encouraged.
In 3-5, 3-6 B we just watched a movie, but I saw right away that Sooncheonnie wanted to be engaged. So I called him over to play UNO, then I asked Doyong to play, too. Doyong is the only kid who consistently winks at me when I smile at him, but I feel like he really needs positive reinforcement. He's not as confident as he appears. Then Yeonghyo couldn't stand being left out, so he came over, too. He has a broken finger, from unknown causes.
Finally, I worked up the nerve to ask the kid behind me to play. He's already said no to playing in two classes, and even teachers don't enjoy micro-rejections. From the school festival, I remember this boy as having an amazing voice, and he has a big smile and a nice personality, so I decided to give it one more shot. He joined us! His name is Kyeonghyun, not to be confused with America-Hyunkyeong, whose name is a precise inversion.
Goodvoice-Kyeonghyun had fun with us and when the boys filed out of class, he called back to me. "Teacher...next week...play one more?" I told him of course we could. That was a lot of English for a B-class boy and I was immensely proud of him.
Lunch was good. Saturday-Jeongmin came by to watch Minecraft videos and to tell me that over the winter break he's going to Canada for a month.
Going to Canada. For a month.
I was so terribly excited and squealing over his awesome opportunity, then he clarified for me that he's not going on vacation with his family. And he's not staying with relatives, either--he's going for a homestay.
Ughhhh, I'm so worried. I feel like my own baby brother is being shipped off to some other country where I can't take care of him. My littlest brother is 11 and Jeongminnie is 13, but my brother is safe and sound with my parents and Jeongmin feels like my responsibility, too. I suppose you owe a certain amount of responsibility for anyone you love.
I asked Jeongmin if he has Skype, and he says he does. So I'll possibly be trying to figure out timezones and video chat with him, or let him text message me if he runs into trouble. I'm sure his homestay family has been inspected and vetted and everything else, but I still don't feel okay about that boy going to another country by himself. (It's also at this point that I realize Byeongyoonie was the same age when he went to America for a solid year.)
Jeongmin's surely going to be in contact with his parents the whole time, but as far as I know, I'm the only adult in his life who is a native English speaker. His Vancouver homestay family might need to interface with somebody in clear English, but more importantly, if he's having a problem, I want to know.
As we were talking over the video, he told me that he won't be in the Saturday class program when it starts back in February of next year. Jeongmin's rather distraught about this because it means we'll get less time together. He told me that "it's too hard to give it up" because he'll be missing out on "good things". I thought back to all the crafts and games and edibles we made--even if I thought it was all pretty lame, it was making a difference for Jeongmin.
He said, "because of Saturday class, I changed my hobby." I asked him what he meant, and he replied: "Before Saturday class, my hobby was playing video games, but now my hobby is talking to foreigners." I hadn't realized that I was his hobby. But I think I understand what he means; foreign people are people to him now. They are possible sources of delight and friendship. That's a good way to look at it.
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4 PM: Free periods while my 2nd-graders study for the next round of exams. Worked on afterschool lessons and 2nd-grade stuff for tomorrow, then I practiced taking pictures of myself.
Selfies are kind of a big deal, here. They are at home, too, among the teenage/college crowd, but here it's not surprising to see someone in a coffee shop taking self-photos for 10 minutes, aiming for just the right one. I don't want to get more self-absorbed than I already am, but I've been kind of picture-averse in the past because I couldn't stand not looking perfect.
Maybe I can document some moments in my life or some cool locations or some new outfits if I get less worried about taking pictures of myself or of having them taken.
5 PM:
On the walk home, Seongmo saluted me and said "Goodbye sweetheart!" His southern gentleman manners are taking on a military flourish.
Seonwoo surprised me in town! I was getting close to home when Seonwoo, grinning his 1,000-watt smile, jumped out from behind an inflatable balloon advertising chicken and shouted, "Give me chocolate!" Diamond-Seonghyun, also grinning, came out from behind the balloon. They had planned it from a distance. I have them Reeses and asked if they lived near here. Seonwoo said, "No, the academy is near here." Poor smart babies were off to the extra school they go to when school is done. I miss beautiful little Seonwoo.
Today, Yeongchang kept borrowing my bracelet. It was brown faux-leather with metal studs, but it also had pretty sparkly-jewel decorations. He thought it looked more tough than girly (that's up for debate), so he kept asking to wear it. i forgot to get it back once, and he wore it all through 6th period before rushing back to my office to return it.
Yeongchang and Yeongshik also spent a large portion of cleaning time braiding my hair. We had played a few games of sppons, then Yeongchang pouted, "Teacher...meori...(hair)". Enough of these cool-guy card games; it's time to style hair. Practice makes perfect because Yeongchang was getting pretty good by the time we had to go.
Seongwonnie wanted to try braiding too, and I let him, although his little hands were just...I was asking myself why I didn't lead him over to the sink for hand-washing first. But he's a much-overlooked and highly ill-treated baby. It's not my place to preserve the pure perfection of my hair when Seongwon's trying to make a connection with me.
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