3-18-15 #Thanks18

201. Emailing my tutor, who is moving away, with a million nonsensical Korean questions, knowing she'll know exactly what I mean.

202. Cute little self-made bookmark, from an aquarium brochure, cut into the shape of a seal.

203.  Cool rainy morning with just a nice inbetween amount of wind. In the words of Percy Shelly, oh wind if winter comes can spring be far behind?

204. Navy and white polka dot dress, layered under a maroon sweater, neat as can be.

205. My sweet 2ndChanhee, yelling a greeting so I would come look at his hurt foot.

206. Rows of perfectly ordered desks

207. Looking forward to the Saturday classes and what I'll do with the advanced kids.

208. 1st-grades happily staring at me through the glass of the English room door. For behold, I am exciting and rare, like an albino squirrel.

209. Laughing with 3rd graders over little things.

210. Knowing the truth of salvation, that I've been saved and that I'm always loved.

11:30 AM   First class went fine. 3rd graders were charming and funny, and they think I'M funny, because most of them have never had me in class before, though I was excited to see several of my B-levels from last year moved up to where I am.

My awesome Hyunshik kept telling me, "eoryeowo..." "It's hard..." because honestly, being A-level can be a pain. The work is harder. But I alleviated it by playing them the Chronicles of Narnia at the end, a chance for all of us to kick back and have more fun.

The 1st-graders across the hall from the English room (class10) are officially getting proactive in regards to making my acquaintance. Earlier this morning, one of them named Ruk came into the room while I was talking to Jeongminnie. he introduced himself and smiled a lot, then after my last class left, he came back by again.

Ruk mainly wanted to ask how I spelled my name and to deliver a love confession in Korean. It was very respectful and nicely-worded, so I was impressed.  We left the classroom and as I was locking up, I heard Ruk's tiny-tiny compatriots in class 10 demand a progress report from him. "You didn't even get a kiss?" asked one child, who was almost small enough to fit in my backpack. I had no idea such things were even being dreamt of. What DOES run through the brain of a 1st grader?

12:30 PM    Hyo came by after lunch, to watch a movie with me, but I had to send him off with just some candy because I'm not really set up for having students visit.

Yunho is now almost-blocking me in the hallway. He walks up and parks himself like he's not going to move, them dances out of the way right before I have to push him. I remember back when he was little baby Governor Yunho in 1st grade, so small and bossy. He was a doll in class 9, with Deokrong and Criminal Beomjoon and Woohyuk and Laryngitis Seonghoon. How much they grow. 

3:15 PM. Had another good 3rd grade class. 3-1,3-2 were wonderful, very chant and jokey. Just my style. Happy times!

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3-17-15 Ponytails and #Thanks17

191. Green grape candies from my new 1st grade student Gyeongcheol. I noticed his smartness in class and at the end, as everybody lined up to get goodbye high-fives, he placed a couple of candies in my hand and said "seonmul!" Or "present!"

192. 1st-graders not wanting to leave class when it's over, saying "do we HAVE to go?"

193. Ponytailed hair, a nice change for the middle of the week.

194. Knowingly the Korean word for "" sleigh"--seolmae.

195. Little pink note-papers taped all over my text books, notes to myself.

196. Having a moisturized face , which made it through winter without chafing, chapping or cracking.

197. White marker board entirely filled up with my writing from class.

198. Knowing the school like the back of my hand, which stairs lead where, which rooms contain whom.

199. The serene in between moments.

200. Switching out my old book for a new book.

11 AM. Nice day, good morning classes, beautiful children.

1:30  PM.  JY has a long day ahead of her--6 classes, like my Monday, because she has to do extra to make up for going to Seoul that one day last week.

Went to the special needs room and Youngminnie was there! I knew he had autism, but SG said she didn't think he was participating in any of the special-needs activities. So it was nice for me to see him.

As soon as I walked in, he did his usual salute.  it involved standing up and saying in Korean,  "attention!  And now we greet. Peace be with you..." It's technically what the kids are supposed to do when their teachers enter their class the first week, but Youngminnie does it all the time and doors or solo, without the aid of a whole class to back him up.

And this time I was ready for his super-formal lunch question, because I had studied up. He asked the Korean equivalent of, "milady, hast thou or hast thou not dined already." And I answered with, "Yes, I hath dined."

Then I hugged him before going over to sit with Dohyun, our student with cerebral palsy. We held hands and talked about his new homeroom teacher and the nice warm weather we've had today.

5PM: Worth noting that I wore my hair in a ponytail today and everybody went nuts. JY told me it looked great and she never discusses my appearance, the kids remarked on it often, and Euiseon had a come-apart in class trying with great zeal to convince me that poinytails are the way to go in the future: "Teacher...hairstyle up? Yes, this. Better. Best hairstyle, yes." On the walk home, one kid (who I don't even know) yelled, "You are SO CUTE." in formal Korean. Maybe it's a look I ought to repeat, in that case.

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3-16-15 Archdukes and #Thanks16

7 PM:  Things I'm thankful for and what I did today:

181. My half-dry hair, changing colors from dark to light.

182. Broccoli in the fridge, greens on the stove.

183. A new English teacher saying my Korean pronunciation is excellent, like native speaker level.

184. Handshakes from half a million first-graders who have decided that hand-shaking is a very exciting short of thing to do.

185. Some of my B-level boys from last year moving up to A-level in the 3rd grade, so I get to have them in class. Chanhee, Changhee, and Daejeong.

186. New 3rd grade teacher at lunch, being pleasant and kind. New acquaintances are always welcome.

187. JY translating helpful phrases for me. Learned how to say, "how do they feel about each other" and "he feels guilty", all related to the Chronicles of Narnia film.

188. Solid sweet lemon candy, just on the verge of crunching.

189. SG's student, baby Youngminnie, asking me if I've had lunch, in the most formal language imaginable.

190. Breathing room, thanks to a sudden fire drill scheduled for this afternoon, I've got a wee bit of a rest--5 classes instead of 6. It's peaceful.

1:50 PM.  Doing all right! Got through 4 classes fine and now I've got a breather before my convo class.

I just finished reading a book called "An Abundance of Katherine's" and in this book, a bunch of wacky things happen, but one of them is that a couple of teenage boys go on a road trip that culminates in their finding a town in Tennessee which is the surprising final resting place of Franz Ferdinand.

Except it's not. This novel had me soooooo  perfectly convinced that the final resting place of Archduke Franz Ferdinand--he whose fateful assassination kick-started the World War 1--was somehow magically in Tennessee, but it's not. He's interred in an Austrian castle, like any respectable archduke would be.

Goes to show just how much fiction can affect real life. It actually reminds me of my dad's advice to read the bible for myself when I was younger. Because before you know it, you can rely on hearsay as fact; you'll can accept the word of preachers and teachers as if it was the actual word of God.

I recall a few times over the years hearing a message from a minister that contained something that was flat-out not in the bible. Most cases, I believe these were mistakes or oversights with no ill intent, but they sure SOUNDED accurate, so I would have beloved them if I hasn't checked the facts for myself.

Lessons learned: People are fallible. God's word is not. And the Archduke is not buried in Tennessee.

3-15-15 Shopping Expedition and #Thanks15

2 AM:

Just now getting to sleep because I spent Saturday in Seoul, doing Spring shopping. Then when i came back to town at night, I needed to go out with a friend whose pet died. It's important to be with people when they're hurting. She and I went for late-night kimbap, then coffee, and I'm convinced that she's doing well.

Here's my thanks from Friday and today (Saturday), and some notes from Class on Friday and shopping today.

171. Busker-Busker songs in almost-spring. They're a Korean indie band known for their springtime songs and we are So. Close. To that time of year.

172. Walking to school with a new 1st-grader, Jinman, who made lovely conversation.

173. JY being back today--that neighboring desk feels more homey with her here.

174. My thumb joints. There's just something interesting about thumbs and their two hinge points, not three. 3-13-15

175. Subway for Myeongdong arriving just in time.

176. Sleepy train cars, full of peace.

177. Other women wearing cute shoes. Surprisingly, I'm happy just to see quality footwear on anybody--unique boots, shiny heels, etc.

178. A store with a lot of Jean fabric referring to it's upstairs stock of pants as "The Denim Bar".

179. Dresses on the rack, trimmed in lace and frills.

180. Western-ish fare for lunch, hamburger steak and fries. 

                              3-14-15

Friday, 9 AM

Happy morning! Saw Yunho in the hallway and he walked toward me with one hand raised in a curved pose that I recognized--half of a heart. I quickly figured out the counter-sign and touched his hand with my own half-heart as we passed, neatly as if we'd practiced it.

A minute later, I passed Soonhyuk, who looked upset and demanded in Korean, "with Yunho, did you do this, this, this?" He held up a half-heart hand and pointed to a smiling Yunho down the

hall. I said I had and Soonhyuk stomped off to say something fussy to Yunho.

On the walk to school, I had a really nice talk with one of SG's homeroom boys, Jinman, who stayed by my side for a long time and was excellent company.

Got 5 classes today-- 3 regular, then lunch, followed by 2 conversation classes, but I quite look forward to it--I'm privileged to get to do it.

Saturday, 1 PM: I was standing at the train station platform in my home town, reading "Catcher in The Rye," as I waited for the train. It's a book about a teenage boy who can't connect with anybody--he keeps trying to talk to people, and nobody listens or truly sees him, no matter how hard he tries.

I nearly jumped a foot off the ground when I heard a voice directly behind me say, "Spoilers; nobody talks to him."  It was one of my guy-friends in town, who had managed to sneak up and wittily comment on my literary selection instead of just saying "boo". It was a pretty awesome moment, I have to say.

 And my shopping expedition to Myeongdong is going well. I like wading through the aisles and racks to find MY colors, patterns, fabrics, cuts. It's soothing.

3-12-15 Phones Confuse Her, and #Thanks14

161. The pretty face of my dear friend, SG, who is a dear ally in class.

162. The kindness of my vice principal.

163. Cracking myself up, preparing to relate a new joke to friends.

164. Warm inside-shoes at school. I Gary to stay toasty and insulated for another few weeks.

165. Knowing that while we're in Lion-March now (as in, March comes in like a lion), Lamb-March is not far away.

166. Emily Dickinson poetry, written by me on the whiteboard of the English room.

167. People who make anagrams for fun.

168. Strawberries for lunch, a red surprise.

169. Minhee's loud, brash voice blaring "hellooo!" While smiling sweetly.

170. SY's thinking about me, reminding me that we've got a vacation coming up.

11 AM: First two classes went fine. Darling 2nd grades, then quiet 3rd-graders, except for Jongyoon, who couldn't be quiet if his life depended on it. He was a bit annoying, but me and SG still handled things fine.

In funny news, JY is gone today, to take care of something, and when her desk phone rang I answered it haltingly, not sure of phone etiquette. I asked our vice principal how to answer the phone, like what set Korean phrases to use, and he said I didn't need to worry about it.

He solved my problem by sending out a message to every teacher in the school, asking them not to call JY's phone because I am there by myself, and I'm perplexed about how to answer.

It's exactly the kind of thing that would have mortified me once upon a time. But now I just has the reaction of surpressing wild laughter, because it's pretty funny that I'm a single woman earning my own living half a world away from my family, but to the older men in my life, I'm someone who needs to be protected from the hardships of phone-answering. It was awfully sweet of him, and I treasure that level of kindness.

1 PM : Lunch over, and it's right lonely without JY here. In 30 minutes, I'll be teaching SG's homeroom with her, which sounds fun.

Passed Jongyoon in the hallway, ducked out of an attempted hug-ambush from him, only to have Gyuhee do the same thing, only Gyuhee refused to be turned aside. Normally, if let him have one because Gyuhee is sweet as pie, but at the time there were older Guy-Teachers coming down the hall and I didn't want to look like a pushover.

So when I couldn't physically move him, I told him to quit, and that made him move. Gyuhee is a gentleman at heart.

2:30 PM: Had class with SG's homeroom! Suuuuuuper cute. And one of the tiny ones remembered me saving him last week. I saw a tall 1st-grader teasing an unfathomably small child by keeping his phone away, holding it just out of reach.

I could tell that it was done between at least acquaintances and possibly friend--they seemed to know each other and there was no fear or anger. But I could sense that the little guy was reaching his limit. I told the tall one to stop, so he did.

The little one is Seungwoo, and he told me in Korean, "You helped me." So. Sweet.

Also in that class is Youngmin, an unfailingly polite student with mild autism. He wanted to shake my hand many times and to ask me if I know how to sing Arirang. I do!

3-11-15 Why So Pretty and #Thanks13

Thank List:

151. Wise words from my mother.

152. Having a mirror that matches JY's--we bought 2 little desk mirrors.

153. Governor Yunho, always winking and blowing kisses, being his beautifully wacky and charming self.

154. The scald of a hot coffee cup, on the front and backs of hands.

155. Jaehoon, his glowing little face lighting up the office.

156. A note from one of King Sejong's famous letters to the people, hand-scratched by Jeongminnie and delivered to me. It's the equivalent of writing out the Gettysburg address and passing it along to your Spanish teacher.

157. Learning that Korean wasn't always written left-to-right like English. It used to be up-to-down on the page, like Chinese. It changed over recently--JY's mom used to read up-and-down books in school.

158. Finding Seven Brides for Seven Brothers GIFS on the internet. It's probably my favorite musical (splitting time with Singin' in the Rain, My Fair Lady, and The Sound of Music.). Reminds me of childhood.

159. Silver shiny sequins on the bag I carry to class. Reflection, illumination.

160. Brave 2nd-graders, making conversation on the porch while watching the soccer game.

10:20 AM

Slept a little in the English room and now I feel better. I was not in the best mood this morning, and rest seems to improve everything.

I think a lot of my goal for this school year will simply be staying well-rested enough to get classes handled.

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11:26 AM

First and only class went well, had nice 3rd-graders. Jonghyuk is a smart kid I've seen around town a lot, but I've never taught him until now. He and Guitar-Sanghwi understood basically everything I said. Yunho was Yunho. Everyone was pretty well entertained by the film and the discussion.

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1 PM

After lunch, I stood outside and watched the soccer game while various 2nd-graders came by to chat. I talked with Byeong-il, Jaehoon, Dohyun, Dongchann, Joongsu, Jeongmook, Hansem and more. It was fun, despite the cold, and there were several more low-levels who got comfortable enough to come around and make a few comments.

Dohyun gave me his extra fruit juice cup, and I  really appreciated the gesture.

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2 PM

One of the 1st grade babies followed me up the stairs asking, "Why are you so pretty?" In Korean. Dawwww. We proceeded to have a conversation about his previous  elementary school's native teacher, all in Korean. What I figure happened was the little ones spread the word that I understand some Korean, and over time, kids began to understand 'some' as 'all'.

4 PM

Another small horde of 1st-graders came into the English room busy as I was leaving. They were there to clean the place, but their main order of business was to find out how old I was. I told them it's a secret, since I've stopped telling the kids my age.

I used to think complete disclosure was helpful, but it turns out the kids are plenty happy without the knowledge.

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3-10-15 Thunderous Applause and #Thanks12

7 PM:   Back home and feeling not too shabby. Today was not so tiring and the kids keep getting impossibly sweeter.

8:30 AM

Whew, I'm still feeling the sleepies. Yesterday, I took a nap at 5:30, then went to bed again at 10, and I didn't exercise and still it wasn't enough rest.

It's also super super chilly this morning. I wrapped up way more than yesterday and still feel the gale force intensity of it. But now I'm in the nice safe office.

Today's not so bad--just for classes with my much-loved 2nd graders, and tomorrow there's only one class! I ought to be well and truly recovered after tonight, I should think. And I need to regroup for the weekend, if I can--get ready to going on the Seoul shopping expedition I had put off.

"March comes in like a lion what else? Still the snow never melts. you're about to forget the whole thing. All at once, one day it's spring."

11 AM:

Had the cutest class ever with 1st grade. So far, the 1st-graders have been quite enthused to see me for the first time, but they've been less moonpie-in-the-sky crazy about me than their counterparts from last year. That might be about to change.

First grade class 5, SY's homeroom, were loud and chipper. They went fully banana sandwich when I entered the class and erupted several times throughout. Deafening applause when I wrote my name on the board in Korean. Further applause when it was discovered that I could actually speak and understand quite a bit of their language.

Near the end of the class, several of them tentatively asked me a question about future classes. I wasn't exactly sure what they wanted to know, or why five of the loudest kids in the class suddenly looked timid and careful. SG figured out that they wanted to know if I was teaching A-levels next week.

As soon as they learned that I am, they had a collective meltdown. Their cries of joy were so loud, I jumped back. It's going to be a fun ride with these little ones.

Met Yunho in the hallway. He held my arm and wouldn't let me go for a couple seconds, stopping my progress down the hall, just to show he could. Yes verily, Yunho, you are so big and so strong, how could we ever have doubted it.

Also, saw Clever-Sunwoo, my graduated student, on the walk to school this morning! So nice.

4:20  PM

Had a great last two classes. Second-graders in class 3 and class 5. And for the future I'll know that little Hansen in 5 will go Looney-Tunes crazy if he's not receiving attention at all times.

I really like Hansem, though. We were late in bonding last year because I didn't realize he WANTED to bond. Also I've got Jeonghwan in the class, wearer of braces, shouter of compliments, and general sweetie pie.

Thank List:

 141.  Sungjae, one of our special needs students, giving me a hug this morning.

142. Hair that tucks behind my ears. It's light enough now to do that.

143. Giving and receiving support with JY--Monday is my hard day and Tuesday is hers, but we both understand the other's hardships and react  accordingly.

144. Long sweater and leggings combo,  makes me feel very 60's while wearing it. And also kind of like a Charlie Brown character for some reason.

145. Warm body, cool face.

146.Practicing lyrics for a new song to sing at noraebang.

147. Still having the red cloth rose given to me by Minjoonie at graduation. Reminder of much-adored kids.

148. Nails almost long enough to get done again. Looking forward to it and considering patterns.

149.  Ddeok, fresh cakes of it waiting on the table in the big office. There are 20 varieties of ddeok, and all of them are filling. 

150. God's word, which I don't fully appreciate yet, but I want to. I warmth to know more.

Signing off! And tomorrow as always, I will make it my mission to: