shauna in south korea: uff-da

A lot has happened since I wrote last, so lets get right down to it..

Work

If I would have written 3 weeks ago you would have read something similar to this:

I don't like my job. I don't like 4 year old children. I don't want to be a teacher anymore. I don't think I will survive teaching 4 year old children for the next 6 months. I might be coming home early.

And that is WHY I refrained from posting a negative and irrational post a few weeks ago. That is WHY I waited until now to update you on my recent happenings. I am thankful that I waited because in such a short time my heart has changed completely and I can now say this:

I love my job. I love 4 year old children. I love being a teacher. I can't imagine saying good-bye to my students in just 6 short months. Do I really have to go home so soon?

During the first two and 1/2 weeks of the school year I cried, at least a little, every single day after Kindergarten was over. They were the most stressful and most difficult weeks I have had since stepping foot on Korean soil. The one part of my experience that has been a constant since I have gotten here is that fact that I love my job. When that was called into question, my quality of life here started spiraling downward. It may sound ridiculous to some, but I ask that no judgments be made until you have tried teaching a second language to 4 year old Korean children. :)

I will try to set the scene of what my classroom was like for the first few weeks...

My students are 5 years old in Korea which makes them between 3 and 4 in the United States. None of them had ever spent any time away from their parents prior to coming to LCI. None of them had ever even been in daycare or a play group type setting, let alone a school setting. Playing with other kids, sharing toys, and using textbooks were completely foreign concepts. Things such as sitting in a chair, making a line, changing from outdoor shoes to indoor shoes, getting on a toilet, using a urinal, buttoning/zipping pants, wearing a backpack, and listening to a teacher had never been done without a parent nearby. I am sure you are thinking- well, of course- they are only 4. But now throw the fact that they can't communicate with the only person expected to help them with all of these things into the mix. The outcome = scared, sad, out-0f-control, violent, very wild children, and one distraught teacher who wanted to curl up in a ball and die.

I had one boy scream- literally scream- for four hours of Kindergarten every single day for 2 weeks. Korean teachers came in and out of my classroom to try and comfort him, but when they were busy he just sat in the classroom and screamed. As a teacher of the "baby class," I had to follow certain rules and guidelines that other teacher's did not. I had to teach, act, and discipline according to what the parents wanted. That meant- NO discipline, not making them participate in anything they didn't want to do (which was everything), and making sure all of their needs were met at every second of the day even though I couldn't understand them.

I was expected to be in the boys bathroom and the girls bathroom at the exact same time; helping every kid get up on the toilet, wipe their bums, and put their clothes back on. I had at least one kid crying at every second of the day. I had kids asking, telling, and re-telling stories and problems in Korean all day long. When I didn't understand they would cry or lash out at me using violence. I had 2 boys put another student in the blocks box, put the cover on, and sit on top so he couldn't get out. The muffled, death-curdling scream was almost enough to put me on a plane back home. Every day, EVERY kid would spill their cup of milk all over themselves and the floor. I was getting constant phone calls from worried parents : a girls tights were crooked when she got home from school so the Mom thought I needed to be more attentive, I made a kid wash her hands twice because I couldn't understand her when she told me she already washed them, a boy wet his pants on the bus ride home, and so on. It was like a nightmare that I couldn't wake up from.

And then one day...everything just clicked. Ryan stopped crying. Rachel's Mom stopped calling and being overprotective, Diego stopped being violent toward me and the other students, the kids felt safe with me, and they learned how to say their names, feelings, colors, classroom rules, animals etc. They could understand my basic directions. I was able to discipline them and it meant something. I gained control of my classroom and they became the joy's in my life rather than my living nightmares. We just clicked.

I now see them as being the most adorable children in the world, and I get excited to see them every day. Watching them go from not being able to even say hello to hearing English words, phrases, and questions coming out of their little mouths is remarkable. Teaching is such a rewarding profession.

Ryan: the boy who used to cry every day now tells his Mom he likes school more than home:)

Daniel

Diego

Waiting to go home

Rachel and Jenny

Hannah

Working hard!

Victoria with her kid-friendly chopsticks

Jenny

Rachel, Jenny, and Daniel

Play

Even though work takes up a lot of my time here, there is always time to play...

Everland

The biggest amusement park in Seoul!

Getting ready to ride the bumper cars

Feeding the birds

St. Patrick's Day

Seoul Zoo

Britney, Christine, and I spent the day at the largest Zoo in Korea! Luckily, the many problems we encountered trying to get there paid off in the end.

Riding the chair-lift just to get to the entrance of the Zoo

My favorite! :)

Twins Game

The Seoul baseball team is called the LG Twins, seriously! Britney and I met up with my friends Brock and Lauren from Minnesota, and went to the game in their beautiful, outdoor stadium.

There were no hot dogs, nachos, or peanuts. Only dried octopus, fish, and kimbap.

Britney, Me, Brock, and Lauren!

Easter

Easter day consisted of: church, brunch, coffee, good friends, and good conversation. It was a little sad feeling like we were the only people in all of Korea celebrating Easter, but we made the best of our day. When we were walking from church to try an find a nice westernized brunch (that ended up being terrible) we encountered something that made us all feel a little happier and a little more thankful. We ran in to a group of the most adorable children, dressed in animal costumes, and handing out home-made Easter bags to every passerby. The moment was priceless.