**contrary to popular opinion, boy students do not give two shits about having a female teacher. The number of times I've been called beautiful in a day has fallen from about 20 all the way to 0. On the plus side, none of the students have called me ugly
**the "boys will be boys" way of dealing with their behaviour is more of a survival technique. Today I taught grade 1s (7). My co-teacher was not all over them about shutting up - she was just strict enough to make me at least audible to those who were listening. I realise that I'm going to have to adopt this attitude or lose my voice and go insane. So, ok boys, you can talk a little, but your leash is short, so don't test me.
** I have three female co-teachers and have taught with 2 of them. So far they = awesome!
I suppose i need to reserve my judgement until i've had a chance to settle in. I was, thankfully, far more nervous than I needed to be and I think my time here will be fine as long as I keep in mind that when girls don't care, they are quiet, but when boys don't care they talk and hit each other. That's the way it goes, and I'm cool with that.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Livin' in the shitty
hellooooooooo!
first of all, the title of my blog is not a reflection of how I feel about the city. nay! it is a less-than-subtle jab at the way Koreans pronounce the word "city". Tis true!
After a wonderful vacation in Canader (namely Grimsbaria, but also torannah, londonia and grand bend) I arrived back to a smiling gent with a bouquet of flowers. aaawwwww! he's a keeper.
The evening I arrived a storm blew in which basically kept me locked up until I had to go to camp the following monday. Yay for monsoons. With not much breathing room, I quickly packed a bag for camp and was off again with 48 hours of arrival.
The camp was...in a word...nope. it's no use. I can't possibly describe it in one word. I have been with this camp since March when I agreed to be 1 of 7 Native teachers involved in the curriculum development. Basically, the province gave over half a million dollars for the development and running of this brand new camp. After months of rather annoying work, we finally saw the fruits of our labors. Unfortunately it was within the context of 14 hour days...*yeesh*. Despite the gruelling schedule oversight the camp was fulfilling. One teacher said it right when he said that the best camps are the ones where the teachers are the most tired. The kids of course were wonderful and I was lucky to have one of the best classes there (out of 15 classes, 150 kids...yikes). I can't, however, say that I'm sorry it's over.
My first full weekend in the city was spent, naturally, with friends. Friday night I was reunited with Carol and Mel for one last hurrah before Mel went back to Canada *sigh*. We had dinner and eventually made our way to the noraebang where we belted out Bon Jovi tunes until our voices were hoarse. On Saturday I had lunch with Riann and EJ, and dinner with Hang Bin and Young Min. That was really nice because I didn't really have the chance to say much of a goodbye to her before leaving Boseong. Later I met up with a bunch of foreigners to celebrate my friend Christa's b-day. Christa is on of 4 teacher's I worked with during the camp. Once again, we found ourselves at the noraebang and this time, instead of Bon Jovi, we performed such classics as: You Oughta Know (Alanis Morrisette), Like a Virgin (Madonna), Killing in the name of (Rage against the machine) and Gold Digger (Kanye West) to name a few.
Needless to say, when Sunday rolled around and I had to give a lecture at the new orientation, I needed to use the microphone because my voice was comparable to that of a pubescent boy.
Now it's monday and I'm sitting at my new office job, fretting about school tomorrow (which I'm underprepared for) and wishing someone would give me something to do. HA! That's Korea, eh?
first of all, the title of my blog is not a reflection of how I feel about the city. nay! it is a less-than-subtle jab at the way Koreans pronounce the word "city". Tis true!
After a wonderful vacation in Canader (namely Grimsbaria, but also torannah, londonia and grand bend) I arrived back to a smiling gent with a bouquet of flowers. aaawwwww! he's a keeper.
The evening I arrived a storm blew in which basically kept me locked up until I had to go to camp the following monday. Yay for monsoons. With not much breathing room, I quickly packed a bag for camp and was off again with 48 hours of arrival.
The camp was...in a word...nope. it's no use. I can't possibly describe it in one word. I have been with this camp since March when I agreed to be 1 of 7 Native teachers involved in the curriculum development. Basically, the province gave over half a million dollars for the development and running of this brand new camp. After months of rather annoying work, we finally saw the fruits of our labors. Unfortunately it was within the context of 14 hour days...*yeesh*. Despite the gruelling schedule oversight the camp was fulfilling. One teacher said it right when he said that the best camps are the ones where the teachers are the most tired. The kids of course were wonderful and I was lucky to have one of the best classes there (out of 15 classes, 150 kids...yikes). I can't, however, say that I'm sorry it's over.
My first full weekend in the city was spent, naturally, with friends. Friday night I was reunited with Carol and Mel for one last hurrah before Mel went back to Canada *sigh*. We had dinner and eventually made our way to the noraebang where we belted out Bon Jovi tunes until our voices were hoarse. On Saturday I had lunch with Riann and EJ, and dinner with Hang Bin and Young Min. That was really nice because I didn't really have the chance to say much of a goodbye to her before leaving Boseong. Later I met up with a bunch of foreigners to celebrate my friend Christa's b-day. Christa is on of 4 teacher's I worked with during the camp. Once again, we found ourselves at the noraebang and this time, instead of Bon Jovi, we performed such classics as: You Oughta Know (Alanis Morrisette), Like a Virgin (Madonna), Killing in the name of (Rage against the machine) and Gold Digger (Kanye West) to name a few.
Needless to say, when Sunday rolled around and I had to give a lecture at the new orientation, I needed to use the microphone because my voice was comparable to that of a pubescent boy.
Now it's monday and I'm sitting at my new office job, fretting about school tomorrow (which I'm underprepared for) and wishing someone would give me something to do. HA! That's Korea, eh?
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