Day 162

May 28 Thursday

So I'm thinking this new makeup is great. Everyone is noticing. They say my face looks brighter and they like the darker lipgloss. They keep telling me how beautiful I am. Its good to hear that. The students like the makeup also.

Today I was giving tests all day long so we didn't get much done. We actually got a lot done in my last class because they took their writing test on Tuesday. We didn't start any new material in my first 4 classes.

My first class was pretty good today. I gave them a writing test first. One girl called out the answer to one of the words. I told her not to say it aloud but she said it several times. Everyone should have gotten that one correct but I think I actually had people who got it wrong. I have 2 students who do poorly on the word test. I don't think they study at home. One of them just doesn't care. I gave him his writing test and he stuck it in his bookbag. I told him to get it out and do it. He did half of it. I told him he would get a bad grade and he just laughed and acted like he didn't care. He actually made a 10 on his test. He only answered 5 questions (out of 10) and he got 4 of them wrong. One of the students came up to me and whispered in my ear after the test. She said "harry has a tick" I noticed that. He was blinking more than normally. The students were kinda cheating on the writing test. Some of them were sharing answers with each other. whatever. One of the students showed me how to write "i love you" in korean characters. I don't remember it now.

Before my 2nd class one of my students came out and asked me how to spell my name. When I went in class she had written my name all over the board. It said "Valerie I love you". I gave them 2 tests and then I gave them the rest of class as free time. We were just going to review anyway. We still have 4 classes where all we will do is review. Boring! I let them play games. One of my students came in when there was only 10 minutes of class left. I made him take his writing test, but I told him he could wait till tuesday to take his word test.

In my 3rd class we took 2 tests. One of the boys in my class said I was very beautiful today. Its funny. One of the teachers said that he "likes" me. So yeah a 12 year old boy has a crush on his teacher. haha. The students told me he was in love with the Korean teacher.haha. We went over homework then I let them play a game for 5 minutes-hangman.

In my 4th class they were much better than last week. They actually studied for my test during study time and they weren't studying for anything else. I had their full attention. They weren't talking all during class. I gave them 2 tests today.

In my 5th class we had a word test. Then we went over the activities in their writing book. They usually have a hard time with the writing so we go over all the activities as a class. At least it will help them learn how to write better. One of the boys asked "no homework today?". I decided I'd be nice and not give any homework today so I said "no homework." He actually said "thank you".

I went and put on my workout clothes after class was over. One of the teachers said I looked thinner. I can't tell a difference yet. I think I might get on the scale this weekend at the gym.

I have went to the gym 5 days in a row. I'm actually thinking about going on Friday and Saturday for a total of 7 days in a row! I'm going to take Sunday off. I actually look forward to going to the gym. I enjoy it. I think its very relaxing and fun. Being active is also good for you. The personal trainer was right. I am being diligent. (we were impressed that he used the word in the right context..we aren't used to hearing people who can speak good English)Tonight I had a good workout. I stayed on the eliptical for 30 minutes at a moderate pace using various resistances. There are 20 levels. I used levels 1-10 tonight. I burned 140 calories. Then I did a lot of arm exercises. I worked out my triceps on 2 machines. I also did biceps and shoulders. I also worked out on 3 different chest machines. I did 2 back machines and the ab machine. My friend Lesley was impressed that I could do 60 pounds on the chest press. I have good upper body strength. She could barely do the 60lbs on the chest press. She was telling the personal trainer about how much I could do. He made me get on the machine and show him. He showed me how to use the machine correctly. He told her I was strong. He also showed me how to correctly use the bicep machine. I can't lift much weight on it! Its hard! My biceps arent strong.

Me and Lesley are the only white girls at the gym. All the guys (who work there) who can speak English talk to us. I think they like practicing their English.I talk to the guy at the front desk and 2 of the personal trainers almost everyday. The girls who speak English say hey to us, but they don't carry on a conversation like the guys.