sorry i haven't updated for a few days... i usually try to write something every day, but i guess i just haven't been inspired and didn't want to bore you all - my loyal readers! thank you for coming back!
this week i have been working at the gimhae middle school winter camp. i have to commute to get to the school, something which i was not looking forward to, but which really hasn't been so bad. it has kind of made me feel normal again. i usually walk to school, which is strange for me, coming from the city, where i usually spent at least 30 minutes in transit to get to work... so taking the bus has been pretty good. i catch the 1-1 across the street from my house and it takes a little over 30 minutes for me to get off just down the street from the school the camp is being held. who'd have thought that i'd ever enjoy commuting.
it's nice because it gives me time in the morning to enjoy my enviro-mug full of coffee, and i can think and look out the window at the world coming to life... there are downsides, like anywhere - people who don't wash (read: stink like rotten cabbage and cooked onions), people who crack their gum (yes at 8 AM - my biggest pet peeve), and people who talk on their mobiles too loudly for the whole ride... but it feels so normal to take a bus in the morning.
the camp itself has been heaven. well, the kids could be a little more enthusiastic, but i'm used to their apathy by now. with classes of only around 14 students, though, the week has flown by. i usually teach classes of 40-45 students - there's the public education system for you! my friends who work at hakwons (private after school schools) teach between five and 12 students in a class (please correct me if i'm wrong... but that's what i think). you can imagine the difference in, not only, the teaching methods, but in the actual learning that the kids do. oh, to have small classes and see a difference in what they learn! but i digress... this week i have seen a difference... i know they learned something from me, however small, i know that they did... which is a nice feeling.
i've heard that i may be transferred to a new school in march (the beginning of the new school year) and i think it would be really good for me. i'm not even opposed to having to take the bus anymore (that tune could change, so don't hold me to it...i've only been doing it a week) but doing this camp has shown me that my school isn't the only one out there, and it certainly isn't anywhere near being the best. hopefully i will end up at a school where the kids appreciate having me, where the school understands that it's useless to send me to every single class and that they should create some kind of special class for smart kids.... i just think that it would be really good to have a fresh start here, without the troubles of getting settled... now that culture shock (in it's most severe form) is abating, i think i could really do something good at a new school.
wow! look at me! miss positive! i'm trying, and i think it's working!
this week i have been working at the gimhae middle school winter camp. i have to commute to get to the school, something which i was not looking forward to, but which really hasn't been so bad. it has kind of made me feel normal again. i usually walk to school, which is strange for me, coming from the city, where i usually spent at least 30 minutes in transit to get to work... so taking the bus has been pretty good. i catch the 1-1 across the street from my house and it takes a little over 30 minutes for me to get off just down the street from the school the camp is being held. who'd have thought that i'd ever enjoy commuting.
it's nice because it gives me time in the morning to enjoy my enviro-mug full of coffee, and i can think and look out the window at the world coming to life... there are downsides, like anywhere - people who don't wash (read: stink like rotten cabbage and cooked onions), people who crack their gum (yes at 8 AM - my biggest pet peeve), and people who talk on their mobiles too loudly for the whole ride... but it feels so normal to take a bus in the morning.
the camp itself has been heaven. well, the kids could be a little more enthusiastic, but i'm used to their apathy by now. with classes of only around 14 students, though, the week has flown by. i usually teach classes of 40-45 students - there's the public education system for you! my friends who work at hakwons (private after school schools) teach between five and 12 students in a class (please correct me if i'm wrong... but that's what i think). you can imagine the difference in, not only, the teaching methods, but in the actual learning that the kids do. oh, to have small classes and see a difference in what they learn! but i digress... this week i have seen a difference... i know they learned something from me, however small, i know that they did... which is a nice feeling.
i've heard that i may be transferred to a new school in march (the beginning of the new school year) and i think it would be really good for me. i'm not even opposed to having to take the bus anymore (that tune could change, so don't hold me to it...i've only been doing it a week) but doing this camp has shown me that my school isn't the only one out there, and it certainly isn't anywhere near being the best. hopefully i will end up at a school where the kids appreciate having me, where the school understands that it's useless to send me to every single class and that they should create some kind of special class for smart kids.... i just think that it would be really good to have a fresh start here, without the troubles of getting settled... now that culture shock (in it's most severe form) is abating, i think i could really do something good at a new school.
wow! look at me! miss positive! i'm trying, and i think it's working!
1 Comment:
who are you and what have you done with Liz?
kidding... kidding...
I'm digging the winter camps too - I actually know my students names, I never thought it would be possible!
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