Naughty Children

Naughty children are just that....naughty....but that is another story.

No matter how many times I try to attempt to ask a direct question about anything to a Korean, I will never get a direct answer. Watch their actions, not what they say. I will wait days until I see results to the request that I asked or even minutes. It really depends on what I asked for. It also matters if they actually want to do it. Talk about culture shock.

I am still an illegal alien living as a English Teacher. There are four different tasks I must get finished before I can sign up for my own Korean bank account. I wanted to start this process as soon as possible and I must get this process finished this month. First, I must visit a medical clinic to get an exam to tell the entire Korean Government that I am a healthy enough to live here. My manager has told me that she will get right on it. Nothing happened for at least a week and a half. In my head, "Is anyone listening to the annoying American!?" No. They will respond at their own time. Please wait and leave a message after the beep. I think it has something to do with the age differences (I'm younger then all of my superiors) and that there is nothing to worry about here (They supposedly have it under control). I must be in control. *clenches fist into the air* Oh well. I signed my life away by signing my contract yesterday. Today, I found out when I will be going to the clinic...hahahaha....

I FINALLY HAVE THE INTERNET!! I have been asking how to set it up for three weeks.... I am laughing about it now. My manager asked me if this guy could come tonight. I said that I had already made plans for that night so I may just not be there that night.... I finally said he could come whenever. They had sent this technology guy into my apartment without me knowing while I was teaching. He was already in my apartment when my manager asked me for my computer password. I haven't even cleaned my apartment.... I did not ask for him to go in there yet.... whatever...I HAVE THE INTERNET!!!

Riddle me this. I keep managing to lose my stuff. I have been like this since I was a little kid. This spacey way of losing my stuff will not leave my psyche. I left my makeup back in the first hotel that I had stayed at. I have to buy all new makeup. I managed to leave my sunglasses in the teachers lounge twice. I almost left my purse in the teachers lounge once. I left my hat once. To top all of that, I promptly left my purse in the teachers lounge for the second time. One of the teachers tried to indirectly tell me that I did not have my purse by asking if I had remembered my hat. Well, of course I remembered my hat. That never prompted me to remember or even think about my purse on the floor. What the heck. Can't you just tell me that I was forgetting my purse?

I had such a stressful day yesterday. I don't have any classroom management skills. Imagine trying to handle 5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12 and 13 year old's throughout the day. I managed to discipline some real rowdy five year old boys and I overheard one little girl thank me. That's funny. All of these kids had lost their ears before they came into class and they get louder by the minute. What monsters. On top of all that, I managed to keep my cool despite these on coming disasters. I could not tell how stressed out I had felt until I got home with this overwhelming feeling that I needed to fall asleep promptly into my bed at 9pm. I get out off of work at 8pm. Ugh.

BUT WAIT!! Today was wonderful. I learned to love discipline. I love discipline. How did I do it? I learned a simple trick from another native teacher. It is so simple that I wonder why I did not think of it. Children are so simple minded so why can't I be? It's summer time and everyone wants to stay cool. What's the next best thing to do? Turn off the air conditioner. It works MIRACLES!!! I had this nightmare class that I now dread to go to. There are three 10 year old boys have no sense of discipline. I actually had to fight for the remote to the air conditioner. They managed to steal it a couple times until they were all too exhausted by the heat to fight anymore. Two children tried to fake a headache from the heat that they were experiencing. It all started with one girl and then this other boy. My 19 year co-teacher suggested that she may actually be ill from an headache and that she could possibly faint. I was going to feel no sympathy. After this comment, they all promptly fanned her with their books. Oh, wow. These kids had it coming.

For another class, I started a point system intended for these seven year old's as another suggestion. I gave the girls and boys points for good behavior and I took them away for misbehaving. I had heard that these kids are so competitive that one group actually began to cry when they lost. Not in this class. Everyone stayed focused on their work. Throughout class, a couple of the kids told me that they had loved me. I left the class with many kids coming in and out of the classroom with hugs for me. Awhhh. My heart melts. :)

 Get me this. I have unintentionally tried to teach the wrong day of the week to five-seven year old's. They corrected me of course. I tried to say that today was, Tuesday. They usually have to repeat after me. They did not. Why? I repeated myself. A couple of kids say, "no!". I look at the board...opps. I keep doing this. These kids are paying more attention then I am. 

Being a newbie is no fun. It is also way too late on my side of the world. I had too much fun writing it. Off I go. It's 2 am....