Working for the Man

Hey folks, betcha didn't expect me to post again so soon did you? Ahaha, yokes on you, Yohan.

I wanted to show you some pics from my school so you could get a taste of where I work. Unfortunately, they recently started a bit of a renovation project at my school so there is scaffolding all around the main part of the building. My school is about a 35 minute walk from school. Last fall when we first got here, the weather was nice enough that we could walk to school. As the weather got cooler, and as we learned how to read Korean and get on buses that actually went where we wanted them to go, we stopped walking. The weather is warming up again, and I'm afraid that soon it will be too warm to walk, hahaha, so we'll keep riding the bus. (Who wants to smell like sweat at work all day?) Ok, so I'm lazy.

Anyway, my school (like all other schools in Korea) is surrounded by high-rise apartment complexes and neighborhoods. The area used to be a bit wealthier than it is now, which meant the kids were well educated. I guess the wealth is declining now, but the kids are still pretty well educated. My office is on the third floor of the building right next to the English Classroom. Actually, my office is the end of the hallway, but they built a wall to separate us from the common area. The building is four stories and our room is on the third floor all the way at the left end (if you're looking at the picture). The classroom is nothing special, except for the painting on the walls. That looks really cool.

Here are some pics of Sports Day this past weekend. I helped out with a gunney sack race where the kids would hop to a plate full of candy and grab a piece with their mouth out of a pile of milk powder.

This year, I have the opportunity to teach 29 classes each week. 20 classes for 4th-6th grade during the school day. YuJin is my co-teacher for each of those classes. 6 classes for advanced students after school. I also get to teach 3 classes every Thursday to students who are learning Korean as their second language. Those classes are the biggest blessing as well as the biggest challenge. The students in those classes range from excellent English ability to absolutely no English ability. In total, I stand in front of nearly 450 different students each week. It can be a challenge, but it can be an encouragement, too.