10:50 AM: Yesterday, I was so tired after school, then exercise, then helping a friend learn Korean, I went right to sleep at 9 PM without giving my last post a title. But life is good. I was glad for the exercise and for the chance to explain the Korean alphabet to someone less experienced. For that one hour, I was someone's Korean tutor!
First class was boring as heck, but the kids got their speaking practice in and I was with SG, so all was well. Also, for class 2-3, 2-4 I think I know the names of every single child. That is not something I've ever accomplished before.
For the next class of 3rd-graders we did well. Everybody wrote and spoke about their favorite memory, and I even got Cardsharp Minsu to write and speak! He was not writing, and then when I tried to get him going on the prompt he didn't want to. Last semester, I would have gotten 9 kinds of irritated at him, but this time I recognized that Minsu is only just now an A-ban student. His English comprehension is not on part with the other boys.
So I sat with him and walked him through the prompt, step by step, then laughed at his wit when he insisted on saying his favorite memory was being born. Minsu got his work done and did his speaking just fine later. Score! He's in a good mood and he's learning and we're getting along a zillion times better than last year.
Seohyung won the election and is now school president! You go Seohyung. So proud of you. I high-fived him in class today.
This morning, Joonsung came into the office to sit in my chair, watch videos on my computer, plug my earbuds into his ears and look at himself in the mirror. Yeongchang said he was weird, but I told Yeongchang in Korean that Joonsung is just different.
I tried to talk to Joonsung, but spent most of the time talking with Yeongchang instead. Yeongchang is looking for reasons to hang out with me lately. He can't quite find the justification, so he just hangs around and I try to give him things to talk with me about.
We had a funny moment when B-Teacher, the other American came into the office. He greeted Yeongchang and Yeongchang all but dove behind me, using me as a human shield between him and the prospect of talking with big, strong B-Teacher. Considering that Yeongchang is shorter than me but is probably sturdy enough to carry me over a mountain, I found this very funny.
In the hall, Mr. B. dragged Junho over to me and asked if I thought he was handsome. This was obviously part of some bigger joke, so I played along and said yes he was. Maybe Junho had been saying he's my favorite again and Mr. B was making him prove it.
Then several things happened at once. 1. Mr. B asked me if Junho's friend so-and-so was also handsome and I said the kid was cute. 2. BY came up and asked why I was evaluating the relative attractiveness of students. 3. Jaehyung came up and leaned his head on my shoulder. I tried my best to explain to BY that I was acting under Mr. B's direction only, but then BY wanted my real opinion on whether Junho or his friend was handsomer. I told him I had no answer.
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1:30 PM: Before lunch, I was having ramen in place of breakfast and Junho walked in to tell me, in Korean, that one day we'd eat ramen together. He made it sound like a special event, though I don't think "couples' ramen" is even a thing. Junho: Romanticizing the Mundane Since 2013. I was really happy that he was using Korean with me, since it was listening practice for me. He uses just says the same 4 phrases in English, but now he's branching out.
Computer Jeongmin came by with candy for me. We chatted quite a bit, mostly with Geon as an interpreter. C-Jeongmin was talking about seeing me twice yesterday, in school and on the walk home, and he said he'd seen another foreigner in Seoul on the weekend. Of course, Seoul is full of foreigners so he was bound to see one.
Leader-Jaehoon came by to ask me if I knew who won the student election. I said Seohyung and the little guy went crazy with happiness.
For the Lunchtime Games, Hyo joined the UNO crew because I'd invited him. We all had fun, though I had to break up a few small fights. Kyeongwon thumped Hyo on the head pretty hard and I began to get onto him.
Then the kids teased Kyeongwon about having no mother, and I thought back to earlier today when I taught his class and the kids were saying in English that Kyeongwon doesn't have a Mom. I put my hands on his shoulders and announced to the other kids that I was Kyeongwon's mom. That embarrassed him, but he also thought it was funny. Now, I seem to recall similar teasing last year and I genuinely worry that his mother might have passed away and it's being used as a source of humor among the kids.
One rude kid, Jinsu, kept shouting in the room even though he wasn't playing the game, and he finally told me in Korean not to sing anymore when I'd been singing to myself while playing. Well, that was super-inappropriate for him to say, but I determined that he just needed some attention. This was the kid who (through Jaeseok) teased me about dating Jeongmin, and he yelled and kicked up a fuss over everything today, so I decided to formally introduce myself. We exchanged names and shook hands, and I think that was part of Jinsu's goal all along.
Two more classes of 2nd-graders, then afterschool. For a girl who mostly sleeps and lesson plans in her off time, I am one sleepy bunny.
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6 PM: Tired as a dishcloth, yo.
But! But! As tiring as the the last two classes were, they were good. The boys got through their writing exercises. I helped a few of them learn more things, and communication between me and NG-Teacher was good. He'd stand at the computer and write definitions for the kids while I walked around and helped individuals. He'd interrupt me to ask for word definitions and I'd interrupt him--it was great.
We got to talk a little about languages, too, like how in both Korean and French there's a word for, "bored and feeling like you simply cannot muster up enough desire to do anything" but in English you have to use two sentences to describe the feeling. Not boredom, not laziness, but something slightly different.
I got some new names, too: Smart Myeongbae in the middle of 2-11, big-eyed Jiwon, friend of Heekyu, in 2-7, 2-8, and Taehoon, friend of Hyunshik. Taehoon was in A-ban last year, so that's why I didn't know him. And I would have remembered him because this kid reeeally likes me. There are cartoon hearts shooting from his eyes.
Indeed, it has been the day for random declarations of teacher-love because my afterschool boys were breaking out in riots over who likes me. Leader-Jaehoon said Cool-Hyunseo loved me, which caused a few punches to be thrown. I joked and said, "It's not possible!" Hyunseo quickly clarified, "It is possible. Not real, but is possible." He's capable of loving me, he simply chooses not to, apparently.
The was in the back of the room. In the front we had Tiny-Seungsu accusing Hyungeun and Changho, but Hyungeun and Changho weren't even denying it. When I put a smiley-face on Changho's writing portfolio, Hyungeun crept up secretly and asked me to add a smiley to his. Then he whispered, "Heart. Sem draw a heart." So Hyungeun got a smiley and a heart, then Changho had a come-apart and sprinted up to request a heart, too.
Outside, when we were walking home, Sanghwa and Redhair-Joonyoung caught up with me to tell him their friend said I was sexy. The friend in question looked mortified, like he'd been most abominably betrayed. I told the boys I wasn't sexy, I was "cute". If we can stick to those kind of terms, we'll be alright.
C-Jeongmin came by to talk more and to give me chocolate. I'm glad that he come by so often, even if it's hard for him to think of things to say. He's still C-ban, so not very linguistically advanced, but he has a good heart.
Byeongjo and I caused a stir outside the school gates when he stopped his bike to play me a song on his phone. The other kids behind us couldn't understand why he'd pause to play me a song, but we're buddies like that.
In class, Heekyu kept calling me for help on his paper. I explained to him the difference between "sleepy boy" and "sleeping boy" because he's always sleepy. I told him that I was worried about him, that it worries me to see him always so tired. Heekyu melted into a happy puddle and told me thank you for being worried about him.
On the walk home from school, Seongwon and Inha caught up with me to ask me to buy them food. At that same moment, I ran into two American guy teachers who are new to the area, so I had to balance talking in English to the men and talking in Korean to the boys, but it all worked out fine and I got Inha and Seongwon their dinner. Food for all. The end.
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