Middle School Madness, and my new Bike!

Hullo there! It seems like it has been a while since I last updated, but here I go. First, I do want to mention that it was my birthday yesterday, and that I wanted to thank you all for the happy birthday wishes! My Korean co-workers took me out to a really nice dinner, and bought me a pretty yummy chocolate cake. It was really thoughtful of them and they are awesome. We went to Korean BBQ, which I have gone to back in Irvine, but in Korea, it is even better. Grilled our own pork, and had some good side dishes (free as well!). Anyways, I'm sure you're wondering who that is on the right there. Well, I'd like to introduce you all to: El Relampago ROJO aka RED LIGHTNING. That's right, thats my baby. 120,000 Won (120 bucks) and I bought myself a new bike. I could've saved that money for food and whatnot, but me and Jenn went to Costco the other day with some friends, and 100 bucks split between us bought us enough food till our first payday. Don't worry though! We are not going to be living paycheck to paycheck. We just don't get our first payday until March 25th, and our program warned us to be prepared so we bought more than enough cash to last us till then. My bike was so worth it. Cut my commute to Jenn to 15 min's (from 45 mins) and my commute to school to 10 (from 20 mins). 

Anyways...enough about that! I'm gonna talk about my school now! On the right there is a not so great picture of it. I would've liked to take a front pic of it, but there is a soccer field in front of the school, and it was filled with students playing. Well...what to say about Middle school. Lets just put this out there, it's going to be a lot tougher than Elementary. I've already had to deal with some surly teenagers, but so far, the good is outweighing the bad. My first week has been...eye opening? My school is huge. And I am in charge of teaching 7th,8th, and 9th grade. And there are 3 levels in each grade: Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced. I teach 7th grade Basic and Advanced English, 8th grade English (Both), and 9th Grade Basic and Advanced. Thats 6 different levels that I have to lesson plan for. And those classes are even more divided up by student classrooms. So what does it all mean? It means that without thinking about it, I can easily say that I teach English to more than 500 students. Most students only see me once a week. So it is going to be tough, but I've really enjoyed teaching the students about myself, and California. Some things that I've noticed about Korean middle schools? I've made a list!
1. It's normal to see students with their faces to the wall, or heads to the floor in the teacher's office. Apparently they are being punished, and since Korean students get 10 minutes between classes, that is kind of a bummer to miss out on that free time. But it happens A LOT.
2. I find myself looking around every corner before I go through. Korean students sprint through corners, and usually I am forewarned by the pitter patter of what seem like millions of feet, but it never hurts to check.
3. Korean people count age differently. They count age even when you're in the womb. So that means that when you are born, you are already 1 year old. What does that mean? It means that most Korean Middle school students are actually 1 year, or 2 years younger than an American Middle school student. So I have gotten used to seeing kids that look like they could be in elementary school.
4. Korean students are SHY! Some are quite good at English, but I will have to work on getting them more comfortable with speaking.
5. Korean students are NOT shy outside of the classroom. I've already been cornered by a bunch of school girls yelling Teacher! Where are you from? Hello! Teacher Handsome! (What can I say, I'm a hit).
6. Korean schools have so much money! Every teacher has their own desk and computer. And we get free school supplies. And we have this English World classroom that is packed with board games, audio cds, DVDs (Harry Potter, Disney movies), and more really great English learning resources.
7. Korean teachers are really nice. Especially the women ones. I don't think I will ever lose weight if they keep up their endless supply of snack giving. Jenn's been bringing home a snack from her co-teacher everyday, and today, I just brought back a big ziploc bag filled with cake.
8. Koreans are into instant coffee. No coffee machines! Just hot water and instant coffee packets. And apparently my co-worker from South Africa is used to it as well. I'm not...I could do with a nicely brewed cup of Folgers right now.
9. There is another English teacher at my school! Same program as me and Jenn. Her name is Elizabeth, and she is from South Africa. We get along great, and her husband is teaching at a nearby middle school. I plan on taking some kick boxing classes with her husband, while Jenn is going to take some dance classes with Elizabeth. Did I mention that they are from South Africa? And that they are awesome? It is nice to be able to learn about the Korean school system with a fellow foreigner!
10. Speaking of the Korean school system, they are a fan of last minute schedule changes, test days, random days, and who knows what. So I could come to school expecting to have 6 classes, and then realized that they're all canceled. Which is actually kinda cool. But on the flipside, you can come to school expecting to teach 2 classes, and then find out that you're teaching 8. So I figure the good and bad will all even itself out by the end of the year.


Thats it for now. Bye! Oh, and the food is wonderful! Something new everyday...so far :)