My life has undergone several changes lately. To be honest, these changes have made for a rough few weeks.
My school decided to relocate across town in a more heavily populated area called I-dong. So we are now in a different campus, where everything is smaller. Smaller building, smaller classrooms, smaller teacher room, smaller computer lab, smaller library. It seems that everything about this new campus is a downgrade from our old campus.
On the topic of smaller, we also moved into new apartments in I-dong. It is exciting being in a neighborhood that has more going on (i.e. restaurants, cafes, etc.), but my new apartment is quite small. I’ve learned to make it work, but it was quite a depressing shock when I first moved in!
So with the new campus came a new school year (the Korean school year begins in March). My kinders graduated, and I now have a whole new group of kinders. I never realized how spoiled I was with my old kids until I received my new batch. I have a class of seven, which is a wonderfully low number! Unfortunately though, most of their English levels are considerably low (some can hardly read or make comprehendible sentences). I went from kinders who were spelling words like platypus and physical to students who are struggling to read words like play. Now of course I expected my new students to be at a lower level from my old students, since they are only just now beginning kindergarten, but half of my students are at a much lower English level than the curriculum is targeted for. (Our school is supposed to test students before enrollment, and if they don’t test high enough, they are not supposed to be enrolled. Lately, our school has been accepting anybody.)
On top of the academic struggle in my class, I have two students who have been stealing 90% of my attention with their bad behavior. Never have I ever had students who made my blood boil like these two! One student is one of the brightest in the class, but can not help but talk at all moments of the day (and often in Korean, which is a big no-no at Poly School). The other has the lowest English level in the class, and loves to say “Teacher I don’t know” at all moments, even when he does know, or is capable of knowing. He also loves to scream “Teacher I am ANGRY!”, even when he does not seem to be angry. And lately, he has been screaming “Teacher I am CRAZY!” In my mind, I sometimes think he may be right.
Teaching those two kids has been a real challenge and opportunity for me to practice exhibiting the utmost patience, as well as unconditional love for them, no matter how crazy they make me. When they are behaving well and doing good work, I shower them with the same praise I give my other students. And in those moments, they seem to love me. They grab my hand, they hug me, they are proud to show me their work. And I rub their back and let them know that I am so happy with them. And within minutes, the mood can go a full 180 degrees, and it’s all I can do not to scream. I have never had such a love-hate relationship with anyone in my life!
As if this wasn’t enough to deal with for now, our school has been making us work even harder than we have been. We work for ten hours a day, but we used to get breaks periodically throughout the day when we can nap, read a book, take a walk, and just recuperate. But now, they have us working throughout our breaks, doing lesson plans and grading. The overall mood at work is now that of misery. Nobody seemed thrilled about the job before the move, but now it’s as if everyone is counting the days until their contracts end.
By now you’re probably thinking that my life out here has turned into an utter mess. So here’s the part when I look on the bright side: I get the incredible honor of calling several quality individuals my friends. These are the people that help me keep my sanity, that make me laugh my troubles away, that are down for adventures and mellow afternoons playing board games.
People like Mike and Alisa, two co-workers of mine who’ve never been anything less than a great friend to me, who are the silver lining to working at Poly.
People like Mary and Courtney, who share in my passion for climbing, adventuring, and being ridiculously silly, and who are my biggest fans at open-mic night.
People like Pete, Dan, Grant, Joe and Nathan, who educate my ignorant American self on the incredible sport of soccer (football!), who are quick to welcome anyone to a night of laughs at the bars, who I’ve never felt any judgment from, only acceptance.
People like Andoni, who took me under his wing the second I stepped foot in Pohang, who went above and beyond to show me the ropes, introduce me to EVERYONE he knows, and got me familiarized with the city.
People like Sara and Sarah, who I will gladly sit with at a coffee shop any day and talk about life over a warm cup of whatever.
