So this post will be a bit more about the teaching part of this trip! I will be expressing some of the problems and frustrations that we had during this week so please excuse some of the ranting! But enjoy!! Monday the 20th was our very first day of teaching! Kara and I had worked hard over the weekend to put together a lesson plan that would hopefully keep the girls interested. Our first class was third period with the 2nd graders and it went surprisingly well. We started out with some music playing to get the girls going and have them be aware that it was going to be a fun class! Then Kara and I had incorporated a short dialogue to introduce the girls to the topic of music, favorite artists, company name and slogan as well as a promotion song that played for them. Then we described what we expected of them for that day’s lesson plan which was for them to create their own entertainment company. We made sure to describe what was needed and how to answer the questions and then the girls went to work! The first class that week did amazing and was very creative in the naming of their companies. Some consisted of Cat Tower Entertainment and Boiled Eggs Ent! They asked some questions and Kara and I made sure to walk around the class and help the girls out. Then at the end Kara made an ending dialogue for them to follow along when explaining their company and we played their promotion song for the class too as well as a piece of candy for them volunteering to present! After the first class however… we ran into some problems and we could not figure why. The girls started to either become more tired or not as interested in the creation of the entertainment company or they found the assignment too hard because they took a very long time to finish. They asked questions that we had already answered. We noticed they also were struggling to follow part of the dialogue so after the first few classes we changed our lesson plan to try to help the girls better understand the goals that we wanted them to attain. After these few changes the girls still understood the majority of the assignment but still reverted to not paying attention when it came to the last part of presenting their company with the dialogue. Even though we had given a few examples they still struggled to follow the lines and understand what was needed. They did their best though and worked hard so we were proud of them for trying! Entry 3: In the end we had made a very simplified version of what was expected of them for their company and it went a bit better in the very last class, but was still a little disappointing after how our very first class went so well, we were not able to replicate that class and how well they had performed with the assignment. The girls in the last class however, made up for some of the classes as they were the seniors and had stronger English abilities. They were also very enthusiastic especially when they saw that chocolate was involved when sharing their company. Since we were only able to teach for three days we ended on a rather unsatisfied note, but we received great feedback as well as encouragement that we did great and that the girls seemed to love it which is what we wanted at the least! During this week we were also invited to a dinner party with all the other teachers because the English Business school was awarded money from the National Teachers Association, I think that’s what they called it, so they had bought pizza, chicken wings, fried ddeok, and some other small treats for all the teachers with the money they received. It was such an honor to be able to take part in and the food was delicious! I had a hard week last week and it wasn’t as satisfying as I thought it would be however I’m still glad I had the chance to teach if only for 3 days. One of the biggest stress factors during this week while teaching were the co-teachers. We had one for almost every class time since we were teaching the lower levels of the class. The problem was that the co-teachers stepped in almost too much during our lesson to explain everything in Korean when we wanted to try to have them understand what was being done in English. Some of the girls did not pay attention due to the fact that they had that translator there for them and the students knew the teacher would explain everything in Korean for them if they couldn’t grasp what was happening. The students also asked the co-teacher questions in Korean when working on the assignment and the co-teacher answered back in Korean which was rather annoying since it is an English class and they are supposed to be talking in English. I tried to intercept a few times to try to get them to ask me the question in English but they only tried to ask me in Korean. I understand that their English might not have been the strongest but it would have been great for them to try. Friday was the best day! We had an English Club get together on that day and the girls had prepared so much for us. As we walked in we were greeted with balloons and welcoming as well as lots and lots of snacks and treats! My amazing group of girls gave me a beautiful necklace as well as thoughtful notes saying goodbye and wishing me the best. We talked, took pictures, ate our snacks and just enjoyed each others company for the last time. I will sorely miss these girls. PicturesSorry for the blurriness but I had to add it...She made the most amazing pictures. The beautiful necklace that the girls bought for me! It has the prettiest pinkish hue to it! Who says teachers can't have fun too! From lesson planning, to the cute little cafe that we frequent to the awesome phone fan! Korea how I love thee!! We went to Mr. Pizza for one of the girl's birthdays! Who would've known that sweet tasting pizza isn't that bad?
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Wow its been a long time! I've had a great few weeks and I have finally started to really work with the girls this week due to an unexpected surprise! The 6th and the 7th for me were not as busy and I won't be focusing on those two days, but the 8th and the 9th were our days back from Seoul and again still consisted of us student teachers helping the girls prepare for their upcoming finals. We were again assigned the roles of a bank client or teller with the girls and were able to test their speaking abilities with their lines that they needed to have memorized for their tests. The girls were always shy and awkward at the start, but after they realized that teachers make mistakes too they opened up and were able to focus on their lines instead. I really love being able to have time to talk and work with them instead of just sitting back and watching the teachers teach! I also was able to visit a cat cafe while in Seoul! They were so cute... The first is an example of one of the days that we worked together in an activity. I was the bank teller and I had to ask for specific information from the girls about their client problems and needs. The conversation would typically take place over the phone or in person so they had to say or spell out their name and phone number as well as the reason for their call. The other two pictures are of me and a few of my English Group club girls, Da-young, Su-ah, and Hol-see! Over the weekend of the 10th-12th we went to Sokcho which is located in the north eastern part of Korea. We were able to explore some and visit the very smelly...fish market! It was interesting to see all the different types of fish, squids, and crabs that were offered on the small coast town. The pictures that we took while visiting the light house and touring were beautiful as well! Also during our visit to Sokcho, we went on a tour to Seoraksan or Mount Seorak. The mountain was beautiful and we traveled up by a short three minute cable car ride as well as a short hike up the rest of the mountain. It was truly an amazing sight to visit one of Korea's national treasures! As well as having some ricotta flavored spaghetti shaped gelato? During the week of the 13th-18th is when we really started to buckle down in the classes with the beginning of testing in Mrs. Trinh's classes and the final preparations of Mrs. Husted's classes. We again went through their memorized lines as well as playing a jeopardy game! The jeopardy game consisted of several different categories that were on their future test. These categories were vocabulary, dialogue 1 and 2, more than 1 way, rules of etiquette and a surprise section! The girls were competitive and a few of them stood out from the others with their grasp of English and the amount of time that they had studied. Alongside helping them prepare, we student teachers were able to be a part of the panel that tested their girls. We were able to ask their questions that they had been working on for quite a few weeks that dealt with them speaking about themselves, their strengths, weaknesses, and their dreams. Then the surprise happened! On Thursday Mrs. Trinh's baby was born after having her water break on Wednesday. The baby was a month early but everything went well....However that meant that the student teachers had to step in and begin teaching on our own! We were well practiced with the practice for the finals so luckily everything went well and the students took the surprise in stride and happiness to know that the baby and Mrs. Trinh were doing well and that we were going to teach them! It was a welcomed surprise and everything went smoothly. Soooo the first picture was taken at the bus terminal and we couldn't quite figure out what was going on except that it was an advertisement in the shape of two girls slowly moving... The second was one of our recent dinners that was cooked in a huge bowl/pan/pot and we were able to mix in some of our own ingredients (including ramen). And the last was an dessert made up of cotton candy and a milkshake from Baskin Robins! I love food...especially when its an all you can eat buffet/grill/ramen for only $11 with friends, English and Korean.
Sorry for the late update, but this week has been crazy! Sunday the 29th was a relaxing day, but I was able to experience a Korean sauna with two of the girls from the KU group. It was a fun and relaxing time, definitely something we all needed at the time! Monday through the 2nd of June was filled with working with the girls in the English Business classes. These days consisted of helping them to prepare their work for their tests that are coming up soon as well as participating in classroom events. One of these included being either a bank teller or a client and using the conversation lines to communicate with the girls what we needed or wanted them to do for us. The girls did very well with their English and only struggled over a few of the words like message, would, and assistant. Us student teachers also helped to correct their homework that they had for the week which was writing their self-introductions, strengths, and weaknesses then practicing in front of the other girls and the teachers. The amount of thought and time that the girls used in their descriptions of themselves was astonishing and I loved reading every part of it and helping to correct their few spelling or grammar mistakes. On Monday we met up with the English broadcasting group! We were able to view the girls handling all of the equipment by themselves while they had 3 separate rooms that involved students filming teachers talking in English about grammar or words that were then broadcasted all over the English school. After that day we were told to walk through the different floors of the school and we were able to step into a few different rooms and watched the TV displaying the hard work that the broadcasting girls did. During this week we also met up with our English Club groups! Every student teacher, 4 of us, was given a group of 5-6 girls to meet up with during lunch or after classes. I have a group of 5 girls including the two 3rd years Sae-bom and Yu-Jeoung and then the three 1st years Su-ah, Hol-see, and Da-young. All of the girls in the English Club are there to learn and practice their English with us and so they are all very eager to meet during any free time that we have. I have meet with them a few times this week and they are an amazing and sweet group of girls. On Thursday the 2nd the EB student teachers met up with a few other girls in the business school to go out to dinner and some bingsu. It was a great closing to the end of the week with us all laughing and telling stories over some hot spicy udon type noodles and then over the famous Korean dessert. We had so much fun and I loved every second that I had while spending time with the girls. Pictures of the weekBroadcasting! Out with the girls for dinner and bingsu~ The first picture is an example of one of the pages that the girls work on during their activities. It mimics a real life bank situation and the girls have to practice their lines in front of each other to complete it! The second picture is the food we ate while out with the girls!
These next few days have been very eventful! I will do my best to include everything because it was all amazing. On Friday we left for Seoul early in the morning and went to a Korean buffet and let me tell you...Wow it was so good! Better than any American buffet I've ever been to. It was about $12 a person, but the food and service was beyond American standards. It was called 자열별곡, Jayeolbyeolgok! It was a beautiful setting and the food was even better. After lunch we checked into our hotel in Myeongdong and headed out for the day to Namsan Tower! The tower and commonly known as the Namsan Tower or Seoul Tower, is a communication and observation tower located on Namsan Mountain in central Seoul, South Korea. At 236m, it marks the highest point in Seoul. Built in 1969, and at a cost of approximately 2.5 million USD, the tower was opened to the public in 1980. Seoul Tower was completed on December 3, 1971, designed by architects at Jangjongryul. We traveled up by cable car instead of climbing the stairs, lucky us! The view on the mountain however is beyond words. The city of Seoul stretched as far as you can see on all sides with buildings and towers and the rives all visible up top. Pictures of the dayLunch settings! Heading up Namsan Mountain Up top view!
On Saturday the 4th we had a long and busy day! Our first stop was 모전교 , or Mojeongyo Bridge. Mojeongyo Bridge is one of the first bridges encountered on the west end of Cheonggyecheon Stream near Cheonggye Plaze and Gwanghamun Square. It was a beatiful manmade bridge that had a river running through it and many different types of fish. It was peaceful and very relaxing to walk through! Afterwards we walked to 덕수궁 왕궁수문장교대의식 or Deoksugung Palace with the royal exchanging of the guards. It was a spectacular event and very culturally eye-opening. It was in the early period of the Joseon Dynasty, the Changing of the Guard ceremony was conducted at Gyeongbokgung (Palace) as at that time Gyeongbokgung was the primary royal palace and the king then resided there. However, in the late period of the Joseon Dynasty when Gyeongbokgung was burned down during the Imjin Waeran (Japanese Invasions of 1592 - 1598), Deoksugung was made the primary royal palace and the Changing of the Guard ceremony was then conducted at Deoksugung. They perform the exchange three times a day every day! During the last part of the day we visited and toured around the 겅복궁 or Gyeongbokgung Palace and it was even more beautiful and astounding than all the other places that we have seen so far. We were able to see the king's and queen's quarters as well as the garden and all the other parts of the palace grounds. Then Sunday the 5th we went to a baseball game! It was Wyverns vs the Bears with the Bears side being the home team. It was really fun and exciting to watch but the best part was watching the teams rally themselves up and cheer for the individual members when they were up to bat! One of the interesting parts was that they had cheerleaders for the teams, but its because baseball is one of their more popular sports. Then at the end of the day we walked around Myeongdong a bit and stopped for a delicious dinner and I found a K-pop store! This weekend has been great and will be one of my most memorable weekends for sure. Pictures of the daysMojeoungyo Bridge~ Exchanging of the guards! King Sejong, founder of Korean, walk to the palace and the guards of the palace Just a few of the many pictures that I took during the palace tour~ And of course... a delicious meal of kalbi soup to end my day!
Friday and Saturday were very very busy for me, but I had a lot of fun. Friday was sports day for the middle, high, and English Business schools except for the seniors of the business school who were busy studying for the tests, but sports day was amazing! It started a little bit after breakfast with all the girls lining up on the dirt field with their homeroom classes. However, all the girls had their own team outfits which ranged from full on Elmo shirts and skirts to Captain America, foxes, South Korean flag capes, sunflowers, and all types of designs. The girls there were having so much fun and were able to compete in their varying grades in different types of competitions. The first ones consisted of jump rope, dodge ball, 3 legged race, tug-of-rope, and at the end of the day they had a relay race. During the time the girls were competing we felt like idols.... We all took selfies and group pictures all day with the girls. They especially wanted pictures with the guys and they were super cute and shy around all of us. The ending of the day was the best part. After the competitions were over, the girls in their different grades and costumes ran into the middle of the field and formed circles with their team to show off their team spirit. They were yelling, jumping, singing along to the K-pop songs playing and just having the greatest time ever. Eventually they pulled all of us into their groups and we jumped and sang along, as best we could, to the songs playing. I was drenched with water afterwards because the girls were dumping and throwing water from water bottles all over each other! I had so much fun and the bonding with the girls was definitely the best part of sports day for me and everyone else. Friday night we went out with two of the English teachers at Kyeounghwa, Greg and Marissa. At this restaurant you can choose a few different options, but we had kalbi, similar to ribs but boneless, and salespeople or pork belly meat. You cook it yourself along with kimchi, garlic, or onions then wrap it up in lettuce and eat it hot! It was very good and had such a unique taste compared to American meat. Afterwards we split up into a few different groups and mine went to go get the Korean dessert called bingsu! It is made up of very thin shaved ice, condensed milk and our choice of toppings including fruits, chocolate, brownies, cheesecake and much more. Saturday I went to Seoul with two girls from the KU group, Raffaella and Akira. I'm honestly very lucky I went with those two, because they knew how to travel through the subway lines. We rode the bus for a bit, but then transferred to the subway lines to get to Seoul. Once we arrived we met up with two of their Korean friends and we toured around the shopping areas, Yonsei, and food places. It was a lot of walking, but the sights and smells and everything was worth the walk. Pictures of the daySports Day! The Elmo outfits were my favorite~ The middle picture was one of the best parts, where all the girls came together and yelled along to the songs while dancing and jumping. This was our dinner on Friday! Samgyeopsal and kalbi are the first two and it shows how they are cooked on the grill that is in the middle of the table. The last one is of our bingsu! Saturday the 28thThese pictures are of Seoul and Yonsei and of course my delicious Japanese ramen that we had for lunch!
I still cannot believe I'm in Korea! These past few days have been a bit stressful, filled with running around and trying to keep everything together, but we are all very thankful for this opportunity and can't wait for more explorations! So, Wednesday was pretty similar to Tuesday with the EB, English Business, group giving a short introduction to the girls and helping with the one-2-one groups. However Thursday was a special event for the middle, high, and English business schools! Thursday was the 41st Commemorative Celebration of Kyeonghwa’s Choir Concert. The auditorium was filled with very enthusiastic girls who were excited to not only cheer for their own classes, but also for all the other groups that were participating. They were all amazing singers and even the mothers joined in for the special event at the end! All of the groups that sang were with their homeroom teachers who sang along with them and one of the male teachers dressed up the girls’ uniform! The girls went wild with excitement when they all saw it. After all the girls sang their parts, they were awarded small money prizes ranging from $60-100, but I think the best award was seeing the girls’ happiness in themselves and their peers. After the choir concert we went back to the English business School for shortened classes, but we were able to interact much more with the classes due to the fact that one of the teachers was away on a business trip with some of the girls. During this time we were able to freely talk to the girls and learn more about them, but mainly answer their questions about us and what it is like in the U.S. We were also able to help some of the girls with their homework. It consisted of fixing the formation of their sentences, grammar, spellings and word usage. It’s amazing how well the girls can do when they come of their shell. They were all so thoughtful in their writing and I love being able to communicate with them and answer any of their questions. Pictures of the dayThese included us at the choir concert and also the one time that we have had so far to sit and talk with some girls during our free time. We loved it! The first photo shows the male teacher at the top right dressed up similar to the girls! The first two were just pictures of the program, but the last one was a gift from one the classes. It was a delicious toast, egg, ham, cheese, and special sauce sandwich. Best toast sandwich I've ever had...
It is a dream come true....After the two plane rides and the long 11 hour plane flight from San Francisco I made it to Korea on Monday, May 22nd in one piece! It was the longest flight I've been on, but the wait was and definitely will be worth it. My first day in Kyeonghwa was today May 24th and we had a very busy and tiring day, but it was also very self-fulfilling and we have already learned so many new things about the girls, teaching, classrooms and culture! Today we started out at 6am with getting dressed into our classroom appropriate attire and headed down to breakfast with all the girl students! The food was soooooo good considering that it was just cafeteria food. After breakfast we headed down to one of the classrooms to meet up with our other colleges and talked about what to expect today then split up into our pre-assigned groups for the school! My group works with the Kyeounghwa business high school and the girls there were very friendly! They weren't shy at saying hello or good morning or have a nice day inside and outside of the classroom. During the day our business group took part of a few one-2-one interviews with the current English teachers and their students. The students asked the teachers questions that they had about their homework and then were corrected and helped with any questions that they needed. I especially loved the questions that the girls asked the teacher when they had the option to ask anything including... "When was your first love?". The girls continue to amazed me throughout the day especially with the one interview about a girl who was going to partake in a Business Commercial Contest. Kyeonghwa school has had many of the girls place in a National level and it is important to the girls, because it benefits them in obtaining higher level jobs. After our long day at our first day of class, we headed to dinner at 5:40 pm which again included an amazing meal...pictures to come! We then headed into town to stop by their grocery store called eMart! It was within a mall like structured building and had almost everything you would need while living in Korea. We picked up a few essentials and were able to wonder around and ogle at all the bright, neon glowing signs and all the unique foods that were being sold along the sides. Overall, this start has been great!! It has been very tiring and demanding, but I cannot wait to work more with the girls and be able to have them open up to us and feel comfortable enough to speak to us with anything. I loved being able to spectate with the one-2-one and the business interview during the day. It was a wonderful insight into the English education world of Korea and I cannot wait to experience more inside and outside the classroom. Pictures of the daySo the first picture was our first breakfast here at the school! It consisted of a spicy tofu and vegetable soup, spicy sausage links, some dried fish with peanuts, egg, rice and of course kimchi! For lunch we had egg with vegetables, some chicken noodle type of soup, rice and some rolls type of food made out of fish cake and had glass noodles inside. Then dinner we had sweet pickles, rice, some creamy soup with croutons, cheesy corn and veggies and finally we had a spaghetti like spicy pasta that was really good! The food was amazing and very nutritious. Here are just a few pictures of the school grounds. The first picture is the main walk way that we take to get to the cafeteria or classrooms. The second and third picture shows the main building that I was working in, the Kyeounghwa English Business High School. These few were on our walk to town and the outskirts that we walked along~ And Korean nightlife! Or evening since it was around 8pm for us, but it was clean, bright and very welcoming for us all!
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