Day 385

Wednesday January 6

I booked my trip to NYC today! The price went down since the last time I looked. I got a flight from NC to NY and 5 nights in a 3 star hotel for $275. I think thats a great price. I booked through Cheaptickets.com. I have to book the rest of the trip soon. I plan to go on a tour of NYC, a day trip to Washington DC and Philadelphia, visit Brooklyn tabernacle and other famous NYC spots. Its going to be a great trip. My first trip up north and I'm covering 3 states at one time! (Its my goal to visit EVERY state!)

current temp: 13 degrees
Exchange: 1137 krw = 1 usd (Keep falling, please!! (the exchange...not the temperature!)

It was super cold this morning. When I got to work I checked The Weather Channel website. It said that the temperature was -2 degrees (fahrenheit). OH MY! Definately the lowest temp I have ever experienced and hope to never experience again!

Today was an okay day.

My first class was good. I had 1 new student. She didn't have an English name so I gave her a list of common girl names. I let her choose the name while i was making copies for her. The girl beside her thought it was so important that I know what name she chose that instant. I'm standing at the copier and she sticks her head out the door and calls out the name "Sarah". I had 10 students present today. They are all well behaved and work hard..We covered 6 pages…We talked about strong interesting words..that was kinda hard for them…they didn’t understand how to write a sentence using strong interesting words so I just wrote one on the board…when we introduced ourselves they wanted me to say my name in korean so I introduced myself in korean…the new student clapped…haha-I can only say a few things but they are very impressed and ask me to say stuff all the time.

My 2nd class was pretty good….the Korean teacher went over and wasn’t done when it was my time to teach…I gave students 5 mins free time…We did 2 writing lessons…..friendly letter, thank you letter, homophones and possessive…they did good…a student from tues/thurs was in MWF class…..if he is going to be in that class from now on he will be learning the same things over…his class was ahead of this class…we got finished and had 10 mins left..wanted free time…I said no…We read an article and answered questions.

My 3rd class was bad again…they wouldn’t pay attention…I feel like im just talking to myself…They are constantly playing on cellphones(I think its time to start taking them away!)…I can't get the whole class to read along. I keep saying "everybody read" and there's always a few people who just wont repeat with the class. Then they are talking to each other and getting out of their seats.When it comes time to answer questions they dont even look for the answers….i just stood there and kept asking the question until someone answered…still couldn’t find answer when I pointed it out…8 lower level kids is too much!...

My last class was okay. I told the boys to write their spelling words before their test. The one boy wasn't ready for his test. I told him to study while I was giving the newest student his test. He didn't study. He got one word right so I told him I'd let him take it again on Friday. The newest student made a 90 on his test. Then we did the newspaper articles. I have to show them where to find the answers. I don't know what effective strategies are for teaching someone on such a low level. Hopefully something I taught them will stick and help them.

I just have to survive 6 more weeks....

I found a copy of The Bachelor to download...I'm sure it will be full of drama as always...there are a lot of characters and desperate women on there..

I always find it funny to watch these women who get eliminated on the first night....they think its the end of the world because they didn't get picked..they think he's the only fish in the sea and their life just cant go on....craziness.....you barely know anything about him and you think your soulmate just passed you by...