Britta Teacher

Teaching elementary general classes is a a lot of work! I have to give a shout out to all my friends and family who do this, because it takes so much planning and patience. My first day of solo teaching was a little rough, but as this week has continued my teaching has become better. I am not sure why but I do very well with classroom management and discipline of 6 year olds. I am even able to get the rowdy class to sit quietly and listen to my lessons. Also, the vice director at my school watched me teach a couple classes and told me that my discipline was very good. :)

Today we went on our monthly field trip that the entire school takes. We visited Gimhae traditional village, which is home to some traditional Korean homes. There we explored the homes, a museum, and made rice cakes.

Here are two students mashing the rice to make cakes.

The students had a blast walking around the village and especially helping to smash the rice for the rice cakes. I really enjoyed taking the students outside of the classroom, because then I get to see them relax and just enjoy themselves.

Wednesday night two female teachers at my school threw a ladies night get together. We had wine, cheese, bruschetta, and edamame beans. It was so nice to just hang out with some ladies and enjoy each others company. I was also able to meet 4 other ladies who teach at another private school. Slowly but surely my friend circle is expanding here and it is exciting!! I had volunteered to bring dessert for us but was stumped on what to make since we don't have ovens in our apartments. After googling a few things I came across a recipe for apple crisp in the microwave. Granted it wasn't super "crisp" but it tasted like fall and home. Yum!

This weekend I have a 5 day break from school for the Korean Thanksgiving, Chuseok. Since I have only been here 2 weeks it didn't leave me much time to plan. However, I plan to do some more decorating in my apartment, exploring Changwon, and hiking. I was told there are many great hiking trails around the city so on Sunday I am going to hike with another American teacher and hopefully get some great pictures taken.

This transition to life as a foreigner has proved to be more mentally difficult than I expected, but everyday God continues to bring new things into my life that make me happy to be here!

Here is the Lions class I teach. They are 6 year olds.

Happy Chuseok!

Britta

Getting Settled

I have officially been in Changwon for one week now, but oddly enough, it feels like I have been here for ages. I am not sure if it's because I was in Korea before or if the adjustment is so large that it's consuming my mind?

School has been great and tomorrow I start teaching... AHH!! I am both excited and nervous to take over this class, because it will be totally new for me. However, there are lots of teachers (English and Korean) to help me and answer my questions. All of the English teachers went out for dinner Friday after school and it was so nice to just relax and chat with them. We went to a Korean BBQ restaurant, which was delicious. During our conversation that night, I found out that all these teachers are very well traveled and it seems like together we conquered the world. Wow!

Saturday some of the English and Korean teachers (including myself) traveled to Incheon for teacher workshops. Our workshops were held at a large convention center with hundreds of Poly School teachers from all over the country. I attended 5 sessions during the day, and was able to learn copious amounts of information about Poly Schools. I was so thankful for this, because it made me feel much more prepared about heading into my first week of teaching. Also, this workshop was very extravagant for a one day event. However, I viewed it as a thank you to all the teachers... and maybe a little bit of flaunting the money the school has. Poly Schools have very expensive tuition and only rich families can afford to attend.

Today (Sunday), I attended church with two others teachers from my school. It was almost weird going to an English church service. I really enjoyed meeting many more expats who are here in Changwon. Finally this afternoon I was able to buy groceries, unpack, and Skype with Marta for 3 hours. Now as I am about to head to bed, I am beginning to feel settled here in Korea and realizing what a blessing this year will be. 

Both of these pictures are the views from my two apartments windows. 

What am I teaching?

Before I left many of you had been asking questions, such as: what will you be teaching? What is the school year like? Do you get vacation time? What is the school day like? Do you know the curriculum? Today I was extremely thankful to have a meeting with the vice director of the school, and she went through and explained the teaching manual to me. I was SOOO happy to see my prayers had been answered. Last night I felt lost and confused as to what I was supposed to be doing here as a teacher, but after this meeting it is much more clear.

My kindergarten schedule looks something like this:

9:00-9:40- Morning Prep

9:40-12:00 - three 40 minute periods with 10 minute breaks in between

12:00-12:40- LUNCH

12:40-2:10 - two 40 minute periods with 10 minute breaks

2:10-3:00 - Afternoon Prep

During the afternoon/evening is when the older and more advanced students come to the school. These past two afternoons I have been observing other teachers classes. My afternoon/evening schedule is yet to be decided by the director and vice director of the school, which makes me a little nervous since I take over classes on Monday... yikes!

My official title is English teacher, which includes teaching: reading, writing, speech, social studies, phonics, grammar, music, art, and vocabulary. I was so happy to hear I would be able to teach music as well :) 

The school year for my school is year-round, because it is a private school. The new school year starts in March and second semester starts in September. We get breaks for Korean holidays as well as 2 weeks of paid vacation time. Chuseok, Korean Thanksgiving, is coming up very soon on the weekend of September 30th. We get a three day weekend, which I guess I could plan something fun for that weekend. Also, today I found out our weeks of vacation are scheduled, because the whole school is closed. Christmas break will be from December 29-January 6.

Alright, last but certainly not least is the curriculum. Korea Poly School has many sister schools all over Korea and the curriculum is same among all the schools. This means that all of the material I need to cover in a month is predetermined, and all I have to do is fit that information into each month.

Again, it seems I have blabbed quite a bit about school, but I learned so much today it is hard not to share. In completely unrelated news, I have my Korean cell phone, which is this small pink thing and has a stylus.

The Longest Two Days

I have now been in Changwon for 48 hours and what a whirlwind it has been. My day of traveling went well and my coordinator was there waiting for me with a sign that read "Britta." After a 30 minute drive from Busan to Changwon, I was dropped off at a hotel, because my apartment would not be ready until Saturday. I was able to quick change out of my flying clothes and into pajamas for bedtime.

Monday morning I was able to sleep in a little due to our half school day, but that quickly turned into an entire day off, because there was a typhoon which hit all of South Korea. It was my first encounter with a typhoon and boy was it crazy. Rain poured like I had never seen before and the wind was so strong I lost my footing a few times while I was out in the city. I was blessed to have an American teacher, Allison, from my school to take me out to lunch and show me around town a little bit. We went to a typical Korean restaurant with the grills in the middle of the table. She did the ordering and I proceeded to ask her numerous questions about town, school, and her experiences in Korea. When the server came back to the table and began cooking lunch on the grill, I noticed there was lots of red pepper paste, which is VERY spicy. That was when I decided I will eat all the spicy food, even if it kills me, because I live in Korea and this is what Koreans eat. HA!

Tuesday (9/18), I got to spend my first full day at school. I spent most of the day observing Allison's kindergarten class, because I will be taking over for her class on Monday. As I was just beginning my day of observation, Victoria (school director), took me to get a health check so I can get my alien resident card. I got back to school just after lunch and was able to see some afternoon and evening classes. I know that the observation will help me in the future teaching here, but gosh was it just tiring to sit and not participate.

One plus side of being new is that the students just love to come up to you and stare a little bit before asking, "Teacher, what's your name?" These kids are some of the cutest kids I have ever seen. I am sure if it's because they are young, silly kids or beautiful Korean children.... perhaps both. The kindergarten class I have is called the lions and boy do they live up to the name. My class is very loud and energetic, which will be a good fit for my personality and teaching style. 

Here is a few fun facts about my school:

-Korea Poly School

-English immersion school beginning at age 4

-12 maximum per class

-Chain of schools all over Korea under the same name

Although it has only been two days, it feels like I have been here much longer. I am eager to get more settled by moving into my apartment and to actually take over the class I will be teaching. I am also eager to get to know more people in Changwon, because for a social person like myself, not having friends nearby is a strange and uncomfortable feeling for someone outgoing and social like myself.

Ok, I think I have written enough for now and will have lots more to say once I become more accustomed to life here. 

사랑 (pronounced: sarang, which means love)

Britta

Packing for a year.. AH

What started out as a far off dream last March is now a reality. I am going to be teaching English in Changwon, South Korea for the next year. WOW! My visa is here and plane ticket booked to leave from the Fargo airport at 6am Saturday morning. These past two weeks have been a whirlwind of events with the interview, signing a contract, applying for a visa, and... packing! I have spent the past 24 hours trying to put as many clothes and shoes into two 50lbs suitcases. It has proven to be a difficult task, but I am sure I will figure it out somehow.

My leave time is less than 48 hours away and my mind is rushing with thoughts. i.e. What will my apartment be like? Do Korean children behave well in school? How will I learn this new language? What will I do without my closest friends for a year? However, I have been taking moments to stop, breathe, and remind myself that God has a plan and will provide no matter what side of the Pacific Ocean I am on.

I suppose I can tell you a little bit more about my school and city I will be in. Changwon is a city located in the Southern part of Korea right next to the coast.

The population is a little over a million, which for Korean cities is actually small. i.e. Seoul area is 36 million. The city was a planned city established during the 1970s and is a huge manufacturing center. I will be teaching at Poly Language Institute, more commonly known as Korea Poly Schools. They have many campuses around the country and hire lots of foreign teachers to teach English. I will have 5 sections of 7 year olds, which in Korea is still part of Kindergarten. At my school the maximum number of students in a class is 12... 12! I am excited to have such small classes and build great relationships with my students.

Changwon, South Korea

I am eager to find and hopefully join a choir while I am there, and I have found a choral school in the neighboring town, Busan, whom hopefully can help me figure that out.

This year is sure to be a roller coaster ride of adventures and I cannot wait to see how God will work through me to teach those darling Korean children. Oh and one more thing... I won't exactly be alone in this endeavor, because I know 4 other Concordia grads who are teaching English in Korea this year too! Perhaps we will have to have an American Christmas in Korea.


안녕히 가세요 (Goodbye)
Britta