Getting adjusted

My second day at the school went a lot smoother! The first two days were my days to observer the teacher I will be replacing. Her name is also Mary, and she has been at the school for over a year. I have talked to other new teachers at the school and I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful teacher to train me. The school day is so different than anything in the United States and Mary has done so much to help prepare me. She made a huge binder full of descriptions of each student, as well as a detailed plan of how her days run. There is a different schedule almost every day and there is so much paperwork you have to fill out. I have several different groups of students who all have several different textbooks and workbooks so things are bound to get confusing!

Tomorrow we don't have school because it is one of Korea's Memorial Days (supposedly they have several). Good for me though, just a litle more time to get things done and catch up on sleep! On Thursday I will teach the class with Mary's help, and on Friday I will be on my own! I'm nervous but I think I have been trained well and things will only get easier. I know it will take a lot of patience and practice, but i'll get there!

I'm still in the Love Motel, and will be here until at least Saturday when Mary, the teacher I am replacing, moves out of her apartment...that I will then live in. We went out to lunch today and I had my second experience with Korean food. She made a suggestion and it was wonderful! It was a stone bowl filled with rice and veggies that is still cooking when it comes to the table. You mix it all up and the hot rice cooks the veggies. It also burns slightly to the bottom of the stone bowl (there's a name for that but I can't remember), and it was really good! I am quite a sight trying to use chopsticks. I could never use them in the US, and here they are metal and way more slippery! Everyone says it takes practice so for now i'll just deal with dropping my food all the time or only getting one grain of rice successfully to my mouth. Maybe this will be a good diet! haha

I took pictures of my class today and will post them soon. I am in the last week of my online class from back home so things are going to be hectic for a few days. I think this day off came at just the right time.

Another interesting fact I learned today at lunch is that it is disrespectful to leave a spoon in your bowl or on your dish because that is traditionally what Koreans do at memorial services to honor loved ones. Not sure what leaving a spoon in a bowl has to do with this but I'll try to find out! Also, Mary told me that students will often be gone for a day or two and tell you they had to go to the mountains (or wherever) to pray. They really mean they had to visit the gravesite of a loved one etc.

I can't believe how hard these kids work! I teach 6-9 year olds, and they are in school until almost 6:00 every day. They have so much homework, and also almost all of them leave from school to go to piano or violin lessons. Such a strict, structured lifestyle, but their parents want them to be the best. In Korea, you are a year older than you actually are because they count the day you are born as your first birthday. So here I am 26...kinda getting old!!!
I'll write more soon! Love and miss you all!