First day back to school

A couple of Fridays ago was the first day back to school.  We arrived home from orientation on Wednesday, celebrated a Korean national holiday on Thursday with relaxing and shopping in the market (everyone had the day off so it was packed compared to most days), and went to school on Friday.  I was just recently switched to a different school because of new districting lines for a new city.  My two schools from last semester both moved to the new city they are building named Sejeong city, named after the man who created the Korean language Hangul.  This city will eventually become the new capital of Korea- a lot closer to us than Seoul!

A stand at the market- we got a mix of different sweets.
My favorite was a crispy sweet seaweed pancake cracker. 

           

I moved from Uirang to Uidang Elementary school- and saying these with a Korean accent makes them sound the exact same so it’s tough to differentiate the two!  I will be going to this school 3 times a week and my other school, Janggi, 2 times a week. 

Uidang is a lot further out of Gongju city than my previous school.  It's so far, that city buses don’t even travel to it!  So, in the mornings, I am picked up by a church bus along with about 15 other students.  On the first day, we arrived at school about 5 minutes after we were supposed to and I was rushed into the teacher’s room to meet everyone.

Along with 3 other new teachers, I stood at the front of the room to introduce myself.  The other teachers said a little about themselves in Korean, so I tried my hand at it as well.  I practiced a couple of sentences in my head while waiting for my turn.  The only thing I could come up with was “My name is Malia.  I am an English teacher.  Nice to meet you.”  I threw that out there and they all seemed impressed that I could speak at least a little Korean.  Then I was told by the Principal to introduce myself in English- so I guess my stressing over what to say in Korean was not necessary. 

After this, some other teachers said a few words and then we were shuffled outside into the cafeteria for an opening ceremony.  Uidang is a smaller school than my other two schools but they are in the process of expanding.  So, their cafeteria is a smaller building not connected to the school.  I stood in the back of the room as all of the students- grade 1 through 6 filed in.  They sat down and fell silent when the Principal stood at the podium.  She introduced us new teachers, along with the previous ones before the children sang the school song.  We finished the ceremony and walked back into the teacher’s room.  I was given my schedule but wasn’t told when it would go into effect, so I was prepared to start that day just in case.

           

Kindergarten class with their parents, teachers, and bouquets of lollipops.

Later, one of the teachers rushed in to get me.  We quickly walked back to the cafeteria where they were having another ceremony for the younger children.  The room was now packed with the Kindergartners, 1^st graders, 6^th graders (only present to sing the school song) and all of their families.  We sang the national anthem and the students sang the school song before starting.  Then, the younger students were called up individually to receive presents.  The children’s faces all beamed while they were given lollypop bouquets and mysterious wrapped boxes.  They all swung their presents around and hit each other with them before saying good-bye to their parents to start the first day of school.

Lollipop Bouquet

I ended up not teaching any classes that day, instead just prepared for the coming week.  At the ceremony and throughout the day, I was introduced to what seemed like the entire city let alone the school.  I had a great first day, and since then, it has just gotten better and better.  My students are all adorable and sweet and my co-workers are very friendly!

Chungnam Orientation

Last week, all of the new teachers in Chungnam province attended orientation.  It was held in Cheonan, the biggest city in Chungnam.  Even though it was held in a big city, they set us up in a training facility on the outskirts of town.  I guess they didn’t want a bunch of foreigners running around town together, causing mass chaos.

There was a mix of different teachers at orientation.  Some of us have been in Korea for up to 5 months, and the others were fresh off the plane a day before orientation started.  We were split into elementary and high school/middle school for our lectures.  The days consisted of lectures from 9 in the morning until 8 in the evening, stopping for lunch, dinner, and snack breaks (those were the best times of the day).

I had heard so many horror stories about orientation that my first expectation was poor. So, the first couple of days were dreadful.  Hearing some of the lecturers drone on and on while being exhausted was not what I considered a fun way to spend my time off from school.  The only time we had off was at night between the last lecture and our 11 PM curfew.  This time was spent playing ping pong, card games, or hanging out- anything to keep our minds off the daily lectures.  After the first couple of days, it started to get better.  The lecturers had interesting ideas, I was learning new things, and I was used to the schedule.

We finished off orientation with a Korean competition, some ice cream, and a closing ceremony.  The Korean competition was called the Golden Bell- a popular game in Korea. We played it to answer questions about the Korean language.  We wrote it down on paper and if we got it wrong, we were done.  Jeremy and about 10 other people from our program made it to the end!  I, sadly, got out about half way through on a simple word- bus.  I mixed up my vowels! 

Elementary school teachers 

We received certificates and were scurried out the door. The new teachers were picked up by their co-teachers and taken to visit their schools.  Us teachers, who had been there for a while, were on our own.

A handful of us caught the city bus back to the bus station- but we weren’t able to have a calm and relaxing ride back of course.  The next couple of stops were loaded with ajummas (old Korean ladies) and the whole bus became filled.  The guys and I made a strange and unexpected acquaintance.  An older Korean man saw us all on the bus and tried to make conversation, except his way of making conversation was very different than what we are used to. 

He started off asking if we were from Russia- laughing devilishly all the while.  Then, he grabbed onto Steve’s arm and pretended to pluck hairs off of it.  Moving from his arm to his chin, the man continued to pluck- or pretend to pluck.  He moved onto Jeremy and continuously told him he had a "good nose." Then, he drew a picture of Jeremy's nose to show us all.  Before we know it, he’s gotten up to go grab Jeremy’s nose like a parent would to a child when saying “got your nose!” Thankfully, settled down for the rest of the 1/2 hour ride. 

Before getting off the bus, the old Korean man jabbed Jeremy in the neck as a last good-bye.  When he stepped off the bus, he waited while waving until the bus pulled away.  We took this whole ordeal as very odd but I think we made his week by putting up with it all.  I could only imagine how one of the teachers that just arrived to Korea would have taken this situation!

Graduation ceremony

Since Thailand, we have had an on and off work schedule.  The students came back to school for a 1 1/2 weeks to review.  I played games and did crafts with the classes I had to teach.  On the last day of classes, a graduation ceremony was held for the 6th graders.  It consisted of the 6th graders, their parents and family, and the 4th and 5th graders sitting and observing.  We all watched while students were called up to receive awards and wrapped gifts for various reasons.  The only time I understood was when one of the teachers told me "They maked good grades in class," said one of the teachers.  The good students got about 8 awards each and I think some of their uniforms were paid for and given to them for their middle schools.

After about 3 or 4 awards, they would switch award givers.  It all seemed very unorganized and time consuming (they obviously didn't prepare who would give what until that exact moment).  I was told that each of the people who gave awards also donated money for scholarships so they wanted everyone to be recognized.

My co-workers and I.  Can you spot me?  I'll give you a hint, I'm the only one smiling.

After all of the awards, two chairs were placed with their backs facing the audience.  Students and their parents walked up in pairs to the stage.  The students went to the microphones while the parents sat in the chairs facing their children.  Each child recited a speech.  Thank you for raising me, I'm sorry I didn't do well this year, I promise I will do better next year, I love you etc.  It was very cute- and something like this should be implemented in America!

Once the last student finished thanking their parent, we all quickly broke down the tables, put away the chairs, and within minutes, the gym was cleared.  The ceremony was only a couple of hours and after it, the students and parents seemed to have bolted like lightning.  I guess the 6th graders were desperate to be done with elementary school- I know I was at that age!  The teachers and I went out to lunch before retiring back to our offices to prepare for the new semester.

6th grade graduation yearbook.  They got to do two poses- one fun and one serious.

The next day was the closing ceremony.  We all crowded into the gym like the day before for graduation except this time, it was freezing!  They didn't turn the heat on and the below freezing weather crept into the gym overnight through the thin windows and doors.  We all stood in our winter coats nonchalantly moving our legs so we could continue to feel our toes.  Awards were given to a few students, the Principal, VP and head of teachers spoke, and then we quickly scooted out of the gym and back into the teacher's office.

I think my favorite is the hand on elbow and face like he's crying.

We went to lunch, and then came back for more preparing.  That afternoon, everyone came to the teacher's room for a meeting.  We all sat down and discussed the next semester- where all of the teachers were told what grade they would be teaching in March (teachers can choose what grade they want to teach, whether to stay with their students, stay with their grade, or change it up completely).

Korean schools start at the beginning of March, go until the end of  July, have summer vacation until September, and then continue school until the end of December.  From December until March, they hold winter camps for the students in between winter breaks.  So the classes before March are still considered part of the previous semester even though it is after exams which are held in December.