July 13 Monday
I had a decent day today.
So today in my first class we were talking about the weather and the days of the week. We had a pretty good class. At the beginning of class one of the students asked for a game at 4:30. I told her 4:40 since 4:30 would have been 20 mins after class started. We covered all the material I wanted to cover. They completed their homework in class and then we played a game. We played the game they always like to play. They did a good job.
My 2nd class gave me problems on Wednesday. Today they were much better. No one had their homework. The 10 year old just doesn't ever do his. One student lost his sheet that I gave him. The other student was completing it when I was asking for it so he doesnt get credit for having it. The students were actually better today. They have moments where they like to goof off and talk to one another during the lesson but they actually participated in the lesson. They did well in the speaking part of class. We had about 10 minutes left in class and I was at a good stopping point so I let them play a game. They don't like the 10 year old so they were trying to put him on my team while the 3 of them played on a team. They know that he isn't really good at the game. I told them to play 2 against 2 and I wasnt playing. No one wanted to be on the team with King Kong (thats his current English name). So they played individually. I don't think they had a winner or loser. They were still playing when I left the classroom.
I spent my whole break time creating essays. At least I have all of the essay topics made out for every class. I'm going to let the lowest 2 levels write about themselves like they are writing to a penpal. Just a few sentences like their name, age, where they are from. easy stuff. Levels 4-9 will be writing about their morning routine-which was actually a topic from the book for my highest level class, but its not hard. Its just questions like "what do you do first in the morning?" "What do you eat for breakfast?""how do you get to school?" My highest level class has the longest essay. I asked them to write about themselves. It was a topic from their writing book. There are questions like "what is your name?""what grade are you in?" "
what do you do for fun?"
I put a note on all of the essay papers. I'm tired of them not turning it in or turning it in late. I said if they are late or don't turn it in they will get 5 points taken away from their writing grade and a point taken away from their homework grade. Not like they actually care about their grades anyway.
I can't even motivate them to do their homework by saying I will give them a prize if they do it all month. Some of them still don't do their homework.
Our schedule times changed today. The Korean teachers didn't even notice the time change. (I dont even think the students know!)My last class of the day used to start at 8:00 but now its suppose to start at 8:10. I was still sitting at my desk at 8:05 and the Korean teacher told me that I have class. I showed her the schedule and told her the time changed. She said "it hasnt started yet". I showed her the schedule again and showed her that today was the 13th like the schedule said. She said "I didn't even notice". So yeah she just glanced over and didnt even notice that 2 classes started 10 minutes later than normal.
I went into the class at 8:10. We went over a writing unit. One of the boys never does his homework. We went over homework and finished the unit. I finished the unit right at our old ending time. I asked the students if they knew the time changed and they said no. I let them go at the regular time since I was at a good stopping point and didn't have anything else to cover in the last 10 minutes. I assigned their essay today-its due on Monday so they have a week to complete it. Thats the only homework I gave them. They were excited that it was the only homework.
One of the students in class was texting during class. I asked him to read an answer to a question in the book. In the middle of answering he just picks up his phone to check a message. I asked him "are you on your phone?". He says that his friend keeps messaging him and he acts like its perfectly fine just to answer it in the middle of class. I told him to put it away and he didn't get it out for the rest of class.
After class I packed up my things and left at nine. I went to the gym.I walked on the treadmill for 37 minutes and burned about 255 calories. I was watching a TV show that was called "I get that a lot". it was very funny. Celebs work normal jobs and people tell them that they look like a certian person and they keep saying "i get that a lot". Heidi Klum was working at a pizza place. Leann Rimes was being a waitress. Ice T was working at a shoe store. Jared (the subway guy) was working at Subway. Finally they would say "i'm _________ and youre on "I get that a lot" I enjoyed it. It was on an English channel that shows reality shows. "real entertainment channel" I think. I think I have that channel at my house but I couldnt find it today.
Then I went to the stationary bike. While I was there a Korean guy sat down next to me. He started talking to me a little while later. He told me he had lived in America before-california and Idaho. He guessed my age to be 27. I told him I was 27 in America. He asked me to guess his age. I guessed 27 and he said he was younger than that. He is 25 Korean age (23 in America). He's a university student. He studied at the hagwon that I teach at.
I have to go to the bank tomorrow. I need to transfer money home and pay 2 bills. I hate that it takes forever at the bank! You can be 3rd or 4th in line and still be in there over 30 minutes. They only have 3 tellers.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
day 206/207
July 11,12 Saturday/Sunday
Well I just had another lazy Saturday. I skipped the gym. The only place I went was to Emart to eat at Mcdonalds. It was a nice day with very light rain but I still didn't want to go anywhere. I'm prefering lazy Saturdays these days. Once the weather cools down and stops raining so much I'll be ready to get out again. During my vacation I'm going to go to a lot of places.
On Sunday I went to the gym. I walked on the treadmill for about 35 minutes at various speeds around 4.0-4.7 km/hr and using an incline all the way up to 7.0. I think I burned about 40 calories.
Then I went to eat at Burger King. While I was eating Johnny Depp (my coworker) was walking by and saw me in there and came to talk to me.
The weather wasn't as bad as the weather channel said it would be. The weather channel predicted nonstop heavy rain all day long. It didn't rain all day long. When I was out of the house between 5pm and 10pm I didn't even use my umbrella. There were a few sprinkles here and there.
I decided to go to the soccer game. I stayed for half of the game. When I left at halftime FC Seoul was winning 4 to 1. The next game is on August 15th. I'll probably go to that game.
Well I just had another lazy Saturday. I skipped the gym. The only place I went was to Emart to eat at Mcdonalds. It was a nice day with very light rain but I still didn't want to go anywhere. I'm prefering lazy Saturdays these days. Once the weather cools down and stops raining so much I'll be ready to get out again. During my vacation I'm going to go to a lot of places.
On Sunday I went to the gym. I walked on the treadmill for about 35 minutes at various speeds around 4.0-4.7 km/hr and using an incline all the way up to 7.0. I think I burned about 40 calories.
Then I went to eat at Burger King. While I was eating Johnny Depp (my coworker) was walking by and saw me in there and came to talk to me.
The weather wasn't as bad as the weather channel said it would be. The weather channel predicted nonstop heavy rain all day long. It didn't rain all day long. When I was out of the house between 5pm and 10pm I didn't even use my umbrella. There were a few sprinkles here and there.
I decided to go to the soccer game. I stayed for half of the game. When I left at halftime FC Seoul was winning 4 to 1. The next game is on August 15th. I'll probably go to that game.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Day 205
July 10 Friday
My schedule is changing next week. Still the same classes but the times are earlier. We usually start class on Tues/Thurs at 4:10. Now we are starting at 4:00 and we have a 10 min break instead of 5 minutes. Now we also have a 10 min break on MWF between classes. class ends at 8:55 now instead of 8:45.
My first class was good. I had 2 absent students. I have one student who didnt bring his book to class on Wed or today so I had to make him a copy. Almost all of the kids did their homework.The kids were pretty well behaved today. We took a test then we did one page in the book. Checking homework and giving tests takes too much time away from teaching. They enjoy reading the stories in the book. We read it twice. I give everyone different characters to read. they are all shouting out "I want to be cindy", etc. They wanted to read it 3rd time but I needed to go forward in the book. We had 10 mins left in class and they asked for a game. I let them play because there wasn't enough time to finish the new concept.
I really dont like my 2nd class. Its my lowest level. I explained the directions and played the cd 3 times and they still didn't understand. I told them to listen to the description and match the person. The cd would say something like "he's short and she's tall" and they had to match the name with the person, but they werent even trying. I kept looking at the book and no one was writing. I finally just wrote it on the board. They all seem bored. Well I was too. The material isn't exciting. We were just talking about things like happy, sad, big, small, young, old, ugly, beautiful, short, tall.
So today during our 2nd block of classes the Korean teacher goes into the class then comes back out to her desk and sits down and eats. I never come out of my class and sit down during class. Even if she is giving them a test she should be in the room.
They like to eat peppers as a snack. Green bell peppers, and yellow peppers cut into pieces with some sort of sauce. yuck.
My last class was loud. There are a few boys and a few girls who love to talk during class. I keep telling them to be quiet. At least everyone still does their work. Everyone had thier homework except 3 people. The boys in the class beside us like to bang on the wall. Then my students go and bang back. I guess the teacher was out of the room while they were doing that. I know she wouldn't let them do that while she was in the room.
I was leaving at 9pm and one of the teachers said "its only 9". I told her that I'm suppose to leave at 9pm. My contract is for 2-9. (the woman at the Nokbeon school said she would tell the person in charge at my school...but obviously she didn't. the communication between schools is terrible!!)
When I was leaving the gym I noticed that I left my check card at the school. I panicked for a while because I had no cash on me. I'd have to go all weekend without any money. It was 10:45 when I noticed. I texted one of the teachers and asked her how late was someone at the school. She didn't know. So I decided I'd just take a chance and go to the school. I got to the school at 11pm and I could tell there were lights still on. I went in and there was one person still there at 11am. I was able to get my card! I'm always forgetting something because I have to carry so much junk around!
I got my gas bill today. It was only 3,000 won (thats less than $3 for the whole month of May). I'm going to pay it on Monday and transfer some money home to my American account.
I think I'm just going to relax on Saturday. Sleep in and skip the gym. I should be out doing something, but sometimes I just need to relax.
I was looking at the weather for this weekend.The weather channel said 100% chance of rain and they are expecting a large amount of heavy rain.. I really want to go to the soccer game. I think I'll just go and sit in the rain. Maybe the rain will have stopped by 8pm. I wonder if they play in heavy rain.
My laptop arrives by UPS at my parents house today!! Then in a few days (once my software arrives) they can ship it to me! I need to research what the cheapest and/or the most effective way to get my laptop sent to me. Maybe UPS or Fedex or DHL. I'm just afraid they will show up when Im not at home. Regular mail would take too long.
My schedule is changing next week. Still the same classes but the times are earlier. We usually start class on Tues/Thurs at 4:10. Now we are starting at 4:00 and we have a 10 min break instead of 5 minutes. Now we also have a 10 min break on MWF between classes. class ends at 8:55 now instead of 8:45.
My first class was good. I had 2 absent students. I have one student who didnt bring his book to class on Wed or today so I had to make him a copy. Almost all of the kids did their homework.The kids were pretty well behaved today. We took a test then we did one page in the book. Checking homework and giving tests takes too much time away from teaching. They enjoy reading the stories in the book. We read it twice. I give everyone different characters to read. they are all shouting out "I want to be cindy", etc. They wanted to read it 3rd time but I needed to go forward in the book. We had 10 mins left in class and they asked for a game. I let them play because there wasn't enough time to finish the new concept.
I really dont like my 2nd class. Its my lowest level. I explained the directions and played the cd 3 times and they still didn't understand. I told them to listen to the description and match the person. The cd would say something like "he's short and she's tall" and they had to match the name with the person, but they werent even trying. I kept looking at the book and no one was writing. I finally just wrote it on the board. They all seem bored. Well I was too. The material isn't exciting. We were just talking about things like happy, sad, big, small, young, old, ugly, beautiful, short, tall.
So today during our 2nd block of classes the Korean teacher goes into the class then comes back out to her desk and sits down and eats. I never come out of my class and sit down during class. Even if she is giving them a test she should be in the room.
They like to eat peppers as a snack. Green bell peppers, and yellow peppers cut into pieces with some sort of sauce. yuck.
My last class was loud. There are a few boys and a few girls who love to talk during class. I keep telling them to be quiet. At least everyone still does their work. Everyone had thier homework except 3 people. The boys in the class beside us like to bang on the wall. Then my students go and bang back. I guess the teacher was out of the room while they were doing that. I know she wouldn't let them do that while she was in the room.
I was leaving at 9pm and one of the teachers said "its only 9". I told her that I'm suppose to leave at 9pm. My contract is for 2-9. (the woman at the Nokbeon school said she would tell the person in charge at my school...but obviously she didn't. the communication between schools is terrible!!)
When I was leaving the gym I noticed that I left my check card at the school. I panicked for a while because I had no cash on me. I'd have to go all weekend without any money. It was 10:45 when I noticed. I texted one of the teachers and asked her how late was someone at the school. She didn't know. So I decided I'd just take a chance and go to the school. I got to the school at 11pm and I could tell there were lights still on. I went in and there was one person still there at 11am. I was able to get my card! I'm always forgetting something because I have to carry so much junk around!
I got my gas bill today. It was only 3,000 won (thats less than $3 for the whole month of May). I'm going to pay it on Monday and transfer some money home to my American account.
I think I'm just going to relax on Saturday. Sleep in and skip the gym. I should be out doing something, but sometimes I just need to relax.
I was looking at the weather for this weekend.The weather channel said 100% chance of rain and they are expecting a large amount of heavy rain.. I really want to go to the soccer game. I think I'll just go and sit in the rain. Maybe the rain will have stopped by 8pm. I wonder if they play in heavy rain.
My laptop arrives by UPS at my parents house today!! Then in a few days (once my software arrives) they can ship it to me! I need to research what the cheapest and/or the most effective way to get my laptop sent to me. Maybe UPS or Fedex or DHL. I'm just afraid they will show up when Im not at home. Regular mail would take too long.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Day 204
July 9 Thursday
We had our first big rain 2 weeks into the monsoon season. Its really coming down. I have a big umbrella and I still got soaked. I also had to step in a lot of puddles so my feet were wet. The floor in the lobby of the subway station was really wet from everyone coming in from the rain. I don't know how long it rained but it was over by the time I left school at 9pm.
My first class was okay but we didn't get as much accomplished as I wanted to. One of the students was taking their test too slowly. He kept talking in between questions. I told him to quit talking and do his test. One of the students was absent. The other student told me she was absent because there was "many rain". Okay. Skipping class because of the rain.
In my 2nd class there is one student who has missed a ton of classes. He missed so many classes last month that I didn't even give him a grade. He was back in class today. Today in that class we went over homework and finished the unit and reviewed. The students don't like to review. They want to end class quickly so they can have free time. I make them review anyway. One of the students told me "we know this stuff". They only got 5 mins of free time. I told one of my students to study the new words in the unit and I would give her a test. I gave her the test today and she said "what's this?" I told her that I asked her last time to study the words so she could take the test.
I spent my break time today filling in grades for report cards. If I was nice I would just fill in A's for everyone for behavior, assignment, attendance and contribution, but I fill it in realistically. I grade fairly. There's no bribing me. The student that missed so many classes got a 'D' for his attendance grade from me. The guy that is always late got a 'B'. If some of the students are a little rowdy in my class I gave them a 'B' for behavior. If they didn't turn in their essay they got a 'C' for their writing grade. Its so funny how the kids try to bribe me, but it doesnt work. I'll start to write the homework on the board and they will say things like "you are so beautiful. I love you teacher", hoping that I'll not give them homework.haha.
My 3rd class was good. We went over homework, went over a few pages of work and then I let them play a game. They ask for a game at the beginning of class. I said "if we finish our lesson". Then they try to rush the lesson, but the 3 boys are well behaved and they grasp the material. They do their work, dont speak in korean and they keep the noise level down. They love to hear me speak in Korean. Even if all I say is hello. They get all excited when I say "anyeonghaseyo". I guess the twins arent in my class anymore. The korean teacher didn't have a report card for me to fill in for them for last month. The boy that is always late showed up 30 minutes late while they were playing the game. He missed the whole lesson. I'm going to tell the Korean teacher that he is always late and see what she says.
I had a new kid in my 4th class. In class today we went over homework and then we did a review unit. They all did good in my class today. They did their work and had good behavior.
My 5th class was really short. We finished up the unit which didn't take long at all. Then they had the rest of the class as free time. They like to write on the board. One of the students had me to write something in Hangul on the board. She told me not to erase it. She wouldnt tell me what it meant.
The person in charge at Nokbeon asked me if I paid my phone bill. I told her that I don't even know how much it is. I don't get a phone bill. The school always just tells me how much it is. I asked my school and they said they will ask how much I owe. The first 2 times they just took it out of my payroll. Why can't they keep doing that??
I decided that having a landline is stupid so the person at Nokbeon called and got it disconnected for me. I know it was only about $5 a month but I dont want to pay for something that I don't even use. When I told her I wanted it disconnected she thought it was a good idea to save money since I only want to use my cell phone.
I really want to go to the soccer game this weekend! I hope its not raining like it was today. If it is I won't be going. I wonder if they play soccer in the rain. If its not raining I will definatly be there.
I signed my payroll today at my school. So why have I been having to go to Nokbeon every month to sign if they could have just sent it to my school?? crazy!
We had our first big rain 2 weeks into the monsoon season. Its really coming down. I have a big umbrella and I still got soaked. I also had to step in a lot of puddles so my feet were wet. The floor in the lobby of the subway station was really wet from everyone coming in from the rain. I don't know how long it rained but it was over by the time I left school at 9pm.
My first class was okay but we didn't get as much accomplished as I wanted to. One of the students was taking their test too slowly. He kept talking in between questions. I told him to quit talking and do his test. One of the students was absent. The other student told me she was absent because there was "many rain". Okay. Skipping class because of the rain.
In my 2nd class there is one student who has missed a ton of classes. He missed so many classes last month that I didn't even give him a grade. He was back in class today. Today in that class we went over homework and finished the unit and reviewed. The students don't like to review. They want to end class quickly so they can have free time. I make them review anyway. One of the students told me "we know this stuff". They only got 5 mins of free time. I told one of my students to study the new words in the unit and I would give her a test. I gave her the test today and she said "what's this?" I told her that I asked her last time to study the words so she could take the test.
I spent my break time today filling in grades for report cards. If I was nice I would just fill in A's for everyone for behavior, assignment, attendance and contribution, but I fill it in realistically. I grade fairly. There's no bribing me. The student that missed so many classes got a 'D' for his attendance grade from me. The guy that is always late got a 'B'. If some of the students are a little rowdy in my class I gave them a 'B' for behavior. If they didn't turn in their essay they got a 'C' for their writing grade. Its so funny how the kids try to bribe me, but it doesnt work. I'll start to write the homework on the board and they will say things like "you are so beautiful. I love you teacher", hoping that I'll not give them homework.haha.
My 3rd class was good. We went over homework, went over a few pages of work and then I let them play a game. They ask for a game at the beginning of class. I said "if we finish our lesson". Then they try to rush the lesson, but the 3 boys are well behaved and they grasp the material. They do their work, dont speak in korean and they keep the noise level down. They love to hear me speak in Korean. Even if all I say is hello. They get all excited when I say "anyeonghaseyo". I guess the twins arent in my class anymore. The korean teacher didn't have a report card for me to fill in for them for last month. The boy that is always late showed up 30 minutes late while they were playing the game. He missed the whole lesson. I'm going to tell the Korean teacher that he is always late and see what she says.
I had a new kid in my 4th class. In class today we went over homework and then we did a review unit. They all did good in my class today. They did their work and had good behavior.
My 5th class was really short. We finished up the unit which didn't take long at all. Then they had the rest of the class as free time. They like to write on the board. One of the students had me to write something in Hangul on the board. She told me not to erase it. She wouldnt tell me what it meant.
The person in charge at Nokbeon asked me if I paid my phone bill. I told her that I don't even know how much it is. I don't get a phone bill. The school always just tells me how much it is. I asked my school and they said they will ask how much I owe. The first 2 times they just took it out of my payroll. Why can't they keep doing that??
I decided that having a landline is stupid so the person at Nokbeon called and got it disconnected for me. I know it was only about $5 a month but I dont want to pay for something that I don't even use. When I told her I wanted it disconnected she thought it was a good idea to save money since I only want to use my cell phone.
I really want to go to the soccer game this weekend! I hope its not raining like it was today. If it is I won't be going. I wonder if they play soccer in the rain. If its not raining I will definatly be there.
I signed my payroll today at my school. So why have I been having to go to Nokbeon every month to sign if they could have just sent it to my school?? crazy!
Day 203
July 8 Wednesday
I left work at 9pm tonight! I'm only suppose to be staying at work from 2-9pm. My school is so out of the loop-I had been staying till 9:30 bc thats what time I was told I could leave.
The person in charge at Nokbeon is still begging for my receipts.(Do I really get all of the money back from paying my bills? It just seems odd. The teacher at my school says they need my receipts because I get all the money back. When she was telling me that I was looking at her like I was confused) I gave my receipts to the person in charge at my school. I asked the person at my school if I could get them so I could take them to the person at Nokbeon. She told me she would take them there. ok. I don't think she really understands me when I talk to her. The person in charge at my school has really bad English skills.
I have to go to Nokbeon tomorrow to sign for my payroll. The only problem is that I don't know what time Im suppose to be there. I asked the person in charge what time I need to come and she said "I'll have to talk to the person in charge". I thought she WAS the person in charge. It will probably be the same old crap as usual. She will probably call me at 1pm and ask if I can be there by 1:30pm or something like that. I asked today so I could know in advance. Advance notice is a foreign term over here. seriously.
Classes were decent today, except for my level 3 class.
My first class was good. I have one new student so I have a total of 9 students in that class-3 girls and 6 boys. They are actually pretty well behaved. We were talking about things like next to, across from, and between today. Some of them were begging to participate. They keep saying "me, me". I asked them to write sentences for homework using between, next to and across from using a map in their book. I gave most of them credit if they said they did their activities on the CD ROM. I have no way of knowing if they actually did it. One boy actually told me he didn't do it. Most of the other students said they did do the activity. One of the students said the CD was funny so at least he looked at it.
My 2nd class was being very bad today. They basically ignored me all during class. They wouldn't read and they kept talking to each other. I kept telling them to read and they wouldn't pay attention. Its like I wasn't even there. I was getting fustrated with them and they didn't seem to care. Today's lesson was probably a waste of time, but I'm not doing the lesson over. I'll give them a test and if they didn't do their homework then they will have a bad grade. They were constantly asking for a game. I told them they weren't getting a game today because they were bad. I even told them that I was going to let the Korean teacher punish them but that didnt seem to matter to them. I told the Korean teacher that they were bad and all she did was make them say "Im sorry. I will be good". Great-the forced apology. They only said it because she made them.
My 3rd class was good. They both didn't do their homework. The incentive program means nothing to them. They didn't do the previous 2 homework assignments so they are automatically out of the running for a reward. We just did 2 units in our speaking book today.
My 4th class was pretty good. One of my students told me she lost her book. I just gave it to her last week! I made a copy for her. Then another student never brings his book to class. I let him use a book that was an extra for a student who has been absent 3 times and doesnt have the book yet. We went over a few pages in the book then I let them have the last 8 mins of class as free time. They played hangman. I didn't check homework in the class because I didn't assign any last time.
I left school at 9pm and headed to the gym.
I walked on the treadmill at various inclines all the way up to 6.0 and a speed of at least 4.5 km/h. I walked for 40 minutes and burned about 300 calories. Then I cycled for 20 mins and burned 100 calories. So I burned 400 calories, but it doesn't even help if I don't eat the right things. I guess I don't go to the gym to lose weight right now. I need to eat better, but its hard esp when I dont have the resources I would have in America (food that I like!) I think going to the gym just a way to destress. I actually enjoy going. I usually go 6 times a week and work out for at least 30 minutes. Most days I do an hour of exercise. I only do cardio-bike, treadmill or eliptical.
I left work at 9pm tonight! I'm only suppose to be staying at work from 2-9pm. My school is so out of the loop-I had been staying till 9:30 bc thats what time I was told I could leave.
The person in charge at Nokbeon is still begging for my receipts.(Do I really get all of the money back from paying my bills? It just seems odd. The teacher at my school says they need my receipts because I get all the money back. When she was telling me that I was looking at her like I was confused) I gave my receipts to the person in charge at my school. I asked the person at my school if I could get them so I could take them to the person at Nokbeon. She told me she would take them there. ok. I don't think she really understands me when I talk to her. The person in charge at my school has really bad English skills.
I have to go to Nokbeon tomorrow to sign for my payroll. The only problem is that I don't know what time Im suppose to be there. I asked the person in charge what time I need to come and she said "I'll have to talk to the person in charge". I thought she WAS the person in charge. It will probably be the same old crap as usual. She will probably call me at 1pm and ask if I can be there by 1:30pm or something like that. I asked today so I could know in advance. Advance notice is a foreign term over here. seriously.
Classes were decent today, except for my level 3 class.
My first class was good. I have one new student so I have a total of 9 students in that class-3 girls and 6 boys. They are actually pretty well behaved. We were talking about things like next to, across from, and between today. Some of them were begging to participate. They keep saying "me, me". I asked them to write sentences for homework using between, next to and across from using a map in their book. I gave most of them credit if they said they did their activities on the CD ROM. I have no way of knowing if they actually did it. One boy actually told me he didn't do it. Most of the other students said they did do the activity. One of the students said the CD was funny so at least he looked at it.
My 2nd class was being very bad today. They basically ignored me all during class. They wouldn't read and they kept talking to each other. I kept telling them to read and they wouldn't pay attention. Its like I wasn't even there. I was getting fustrated with them and they didn't seem to care. Today's lesson was probably a waste of time, but I'm not doing the lesson over. I'll give them a test and if they didn't do their homework then they will have a bad grade. They were constantly asking for a game. I told them they weren't getting a game today because they were bad. I even told them that I was going to let the Korean teacher punish them but that didnt seem to matter to them. I told the Korean teacher that they were bad and all she did was make them say "Im sorry. I will be good". Great-the forced apology. They only said it because she made them.
My 3rd class was good. They both didn't do their homework. The incentive program means nothing to them. They didn't do the previous 2 homework assignments so they are automatically out of the running for a reward. We just did 2 units in our speaking book today.
My 4th class was pretty good. One of my students told me she lost her book. I just gave it to her last week! I made a copy for her. Then another student never brings his book to class. I let him use a book that was an extra for a student who has been absent 3 times and doesnt have the book yet. We went over a few pages in the book then I let them have the last 8 mins of class as free time. They played hangman. I didn't check homework in the class because I didn't assign any last time.
I left school at 9pm and headed to the gym.
I walked on the treadmill at various inclines all the way up to 6.0 and a speed of at least 4.5 km/h. I walked for 40 minutes and burned about 300 calories. Then I cycled for 20 mins and burned 100 calories. So I burned 400 calories, but it doesn't even help if I don't eat the right things. I guess I don't go to the gym to lose weight right now. I need to eat better, but its hard esp when I dont have the resources I would have in America (food that I like!) I think going to the gym just a way to destress. I actually enjoy going. I usually go 6 times a week and work out for at least 30 minutes. Most days I do an hour of exercise. I only do cardio-bike, treadmill or eliptical.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Day 202
July 7 Tuesday
My school drives me crazy! I hate feeling this way! They changed the schedule today but neglected to tell me until the last minute. Actually past last minute if thats possible.
I can't wait until my contract is up. And I'm seriously going to tell them to not contact me as a reference for the school for my potential replacements.I think that teachers who want to teach at my school will just have to take a leap of faith like I did. Its going to be one hell of a ride, but they need to just jump right in without my opinion. I honestly have nothing positive to say. This school is actually worse than my first school. The communication between campuses is horrendus. My school has no clue whats going on half of the time.
Our 2nd round of classes usually starts at 6:50 pm. I went to class today at the normal time and stayed in class for the time that I was suppose to be there. After I came out the korean teacher told me. "we changed the schedule". Every class starts 10 minutes earlier because the shuttle bus schedule changed (they have a shuttle bus that takes kids home). My first class starts at 6:40 and lasts till 7:25. 2nd class goes from 7:30 till 8:15. Last class goes from 8:15 till 9:00.
Ok so why couldn't they tell me BEFORE class? and not AFTER the schedule had already changed. (and they didnt even stick to the schedule!)
Ok so I go into my next class at 7:40 and I have to rush because there is a lot I needed to accomplish but not much time. Plus the students in that class like to rush the class anyway. We actually studied the whole time instead of getting free time. I ended my class at 8:15 because this was the new time. I went out and put my books down and was going to head to my other class. The korean teacher was still in her class when it was suppose to be over. I just stood outside the door for a little while. Then my students wanted me to come back in the class till 8:25. I went back in there and just stood while they wrote on the board. I left the class at 8:23. I talked to the korean teacher at 8:25. I said "does the new schedule start today?" and she said "yes". Then I told her that I ended my class at 8:15 and the other korean teacher was still having class. All she says is "just wait" (for her to get finished). Like its no big deal. They dont start or end classes on time and to them its no big deal. This is crazy!!! Then I go in the class at 8:25 and she says "sorry, I forgot". Then the kids took their break. I had 30 minutes to give them a test, go over 2 pages of homework and start a new unit. At least the students were good today. I didn't get to cover as much as I wanted to.
In my 1st class 2 students had their homework. One of my students told me he lost his cd. oh my. How can I assign homework if they are losing their cd? The other guy in the class didn't do his homework. He obviously hasn't looked at the cd because when I described what happened on the cd he was clueless.
And a student in my 3rd class has lost his cd. I told them to listen to their cd and he says "what cd?" I told him I gave one to everyone when I gave them the books.
In my 3rd class one student is always late and its getting distracting. I didn't get anything accomplished today. I gave a test to the 3 boys who were there on time. I gave them time to study first. They took a while to do the test. Then after we are through with the test and ready to start class the boy comes in late so I have to give him the test..plus time to study since bc of his lateness he hadn't learned that material. by the time he got through class was over. I didn't cover any new material. The only good thing about that class is it went from being the worst to actually a good class.(I think one of the twin girls was one of my main problems..the twins have been absent twice) The boys are all well behaved. One of them is really polite. He always says 'thank you' if I give him a hint or play the cd an extra time so he can fill in the answers. The boys like to ask a lot of questions also. 'do you like this?' 'do you like that?'. At least they are all speaking in English. They didn't speak in Korean at all.
I ordered my new laptop today. I chose bestbuy (online) because they had a Toshiba for $348. I decided to go with something cheaper. I don't need anything fancy-just a basic laptop for email and some Office programs. Toshiba is a popular brand-5th largest computer manufacturer. I also ordered an anti virus program and a program to move things from one computer to another from 2 other websites. The laptop will be shipped to my parents house and they will ship it to me.
I watched "The Bachelorette"..Reid is my favorite...I'm glad Wes is gone! His date in Spain was awful. He wasn't being affectionate at all and he let it slip that he had a girlfriend. And the limo ride--he was bragging how he was the only person who made it that far with a girlfriend. I never liked him from the beginning. I wonder what effect the show will have on his music career. He thinks that it will give him exposure, but I think it would lead people to not like his music after seeing how he was portrayed. I thin it could hurt his dating life in the future. Girls see what kind of person he was and they won't want to be with him. The bachelorette is full of drama.The other 3 guys seem like they are all hesitant to say that they would propose. I hate how they keep showing previews of what's going to happen in the future at the FRC. Its still weeks away but they have to have a way to keep people wanting to see more. the anticipation kills me! I hate waiting for the next show to come on! I think its all scripted anyway. And their editing makes everyone look bad. I'd love to be an editor on the show. I think it would be exciting splicing up everything they said and stringing it together out of context.
I should try out for the bachelor (for laughs because I seriously dont think I would meet the caliber of guy that I need or want), but I know that I'd probably be turned away before I even said anything. I'm nothing like the girls who go on that show. They are all pretty,skinny, and ambitious. That's just not me.I'm not a public person anyway. And I'm a huge cynic! I don't even know if I believe in true love. I just don't belive it can happen to me. I think I'll stop caring in a few years. I think I'm already halfway to the point where I don't even care about being in love. I've already realized that I'm going to be single forever! Nobody wants to be with someone who can't even communicate. Thats a huge weakness for me. And I like constant change-I don't know if I could live with the same person forever.
I'm just waiting on that special someone who will take away all of my doubts and make me believe.
My school drives me crazy! I hate feeling this way! They changed the schedule today but neglected to tell me until the last minute. Actually past last minute if thats possible.
I can't wait until my contract is up. And I'm seriously going to tell them to not contact me as a reference for the school for my potential replacements.I think that teachers who want to teach at my school will just have to take a leap of faith like I did. Its going to be one hell of a ride, but they need to just jump right in without my opinion. I honestly have nothing positive to say. This school is actually worse than my first school. The communication between campuses is horrendus. My school has no clue whats going on half of the time.
Our 2nd round of classes usually starts at 6:50 pm. I went to class today at the normal time and stayed in class for the time that I was suppose to be there. After I came out the korean teacher told me. "we changed the schedule". Every class starts 10 minutes earlier because the shuttle bus schedule changed (they have a shuttle bus that takes kids home). My first class starts at 6:40 and lasts till 7:25. 2nd class goes from 7:30 till 8:15. Last class goes from 8:15 till 9:00.
Ok so why couldn't they tell me BEFORE class? and not AFTER the schedule had already changed. (and they didnt even stick to the schedule!)
Ok so I go into my next class at 7:40 and I have to rush because there is a lot I needed to accomplish but not much time. Plus the students in that class like to rush the class anyway. We actually studied the whole time instead of getting free time. I ended my class at 8:15 because this was the new time. I went out and put my books down and was going to head to my other class. The korean teacher was still in her class when it was suppose to be over. I just stood outside the door for a little while. Then my students wanted me to come back in the class till 8:25. I went back in there and just stood while they wrote on the board. I left the class at 8:23. I talked to the korean teacher at 8:25. I said "does the new schedule start today?" and she said "yes". Then I told her that I ended my class at 8:15 and the other korean teacher was still having class. All she says is "just wait" (for her to get finished). Like its no big deal. They dont start or end classes on time and to them its no big deal. This is crazy!!! Then I go in the class at 8:25 and she says "sorry, I forgot". Then the kids took their break. I had 30 minutes to give them a test, go over 2 pages of homework and start a new unit. At least the students were good today. I didn't get to cover as much as I wanted to.
In my 1st class 2 students had their homework. One of my students told me he lost his cd. oh my. How can I assign homework if they are losing their cd? The other guy in the class didn't do his homework. He obviously hasn't looked at the cd because when I described what happened on the cd he was clueless.
And a student in my 3rd class has lost his cd. I told them to listen to their cd and he says "what cd?" I told him I gave one to everyone when I gave them the books.
In my 3rd class one student is always late and its getting distracting. I didn't get anything accomplished today. I gave a test to the 3 boys who were there on time. I gave them time to study first. They took a while to do the test. Then after we are through with the test and ready to start class the boy comes in late so I have to give him the test..plus time to study since bc of his lateness he hadn't learned that material. by the time he got through class was over. I didn't cover any new material. The only good thing about that class is it went from being the worst to actually a good class.(I think one of the twin girls was one of my main problems..the twins have been absent twice) The boys are all well behaved. One of them is really polite. He always says 'thank you' if I give him a hint or play the cd an extra time so he can fill in the answers. The boys like to ask a lot of questions also. 'do you like this?' 'do you like that?'. At least they are all speaking in English. They didn't speak in Korean at all.
I ordered my new laptop today. I chose bestbuy (online) because they had a Toshiba for $348. I decided to go with something cheaper. I don't need anything fancy-just a basic laptop for email and some Office programs. Toshiba is a popular brand-5th largest computer manufacturer. I also ordered an anti virus program and a program to move things from one computer to another from 2 other websites. The laptop will be shipped to my parents house and they will ship it to me.
I watched "The Bachelorette"..Reid is my favorite...I'm glad Wes is gone! His date in Spain was awful. He wasn't being affectionate at all and he let it slip that he had a girlfriend. And the limo ride--he was bragging how he was the only person who made it that far with a girlfriend. I never liked him from the beginning. I wonder what effect the show will have on his music career. He thinks that it will give him exposure, but I think it would lead people to not like his music after seeing how he was portrayed. I thin it could hurt his dating life in the future. Girls see what kind of person he was and they won't want to be with him. The bachelorette is full of drama.The other 3 guys seem like they are all hesitant to say that they would propose. I hate how they keep showing previews of what's going to happen in the future at the FRC. Its still weeks away but they have to have a way to keep people wanting to see more. the anticipation kills me! I hate waiting for the next show to come on! I think its all scripted anyway. And their editing makes everyone look bad. I'd love to be an editor on the show. I think it would be exciting splicing up everything they said and stringing it together out of context.
I should try out for the bachelor (for laughs because I seriously dont think I would meet the caliber of guy that I need or want), but I know that I'd probably be turned away before I even said anything. I'm nothing like the girls who go on that show. They are all pretty,skinny, and ambitious. That's just not me.I'm not a public person anyway. And I'm a huge cynic! I don't even know if I believe in true love. I just don't belive it can happen to me. I think I'll stop caring in a few years. I think I'm already halfway to the point where I don't even care about being in love. I've already realized that I'm going to be single forever! Nobody wants to be with someone who can't even communicate. Thats a huge weakness for me. And I like constant change-I don't know if I could live with the same person forever.
I'm just waiting on that special someone who will take away all of my doubts and make me believe.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Day 201
July 6 Monday
Lesley told me today that all the foreign teachers only work 7 hours a day. Why do I have to be at school for 7 1/2? I sent an email to the person in charge and asked her why I have to work more. I also asked if I can leave at 9 instead of 9:30. My contract says that my working hours are from 2pm till 9pm. I have classes until 9:10 on Tues and Thurs but I want to be able to leave right after.
The boys in my classes are always telling me I'm beautiful. how sweet. One of my kids was talking to me today during my break and he said "you're beautiful" Then he left. Why is it that only 12 and 13 year old boys think I'm attractive?? Maybe they like variety. Basically all the girls in SK look alike. The Korean men can say 'i like skinny girls with black hair and brown eyes'-That sums up most of the korean women. In America there's so much more variety.
In my 1st class 2 students got stickers for having their homework. So far I have one student who is out of the running for getting a homework prize. The new student had trouble with the test today. Last class I spent a lot of time on 'that's' and 'those are'.That's my hat. Those are my boots. She was guessing and acted like she'd never seen that concept before. She got 6 out of 10 right. Next class I need to give a lot of speaking time because I didn't today. Its hard to do partner work when you have 3 kids. I'll just have to think of a way to let all 3 of them ask each other questions. They all did their homework in the last few mins of class so they all get a check on homework for Friday. I hope they actually do their listening homework that i gave them. They had to listen to 3 tracks on their cd for homework.
I don't think the rules are going to mean anything to my 2nd class. Giving a test and going over rules took up most of my class time so we didn't learn anything new. They weren't paying attention most of the time. I think they will be the ones to break the most rules. No one had their homework today. I assigned the same homework today so they'd have a chance to do it. I even gave them a few mins in class to work on it. One student finished so I marked it off on her homework check. They asked for a game but I told them no. They weren't getting a game because they wouldnt behave.
In my 3rd class we went over a writing unit. They didn't do their homework either-so we did it in class. I gave them the new rules and told them about the homework check.
I found out that on July 22 we start our summer schedule. I heard it from Lesley. I'm sure my school will tell me last minute. The students will be on summer vacation, but they still have to come to our school. I'd hate that! I wonder if we'll have more absences during summer vacation. Since they don't have regular school we will be switching to a morning schedule--9:30-4:30. We have to do that from June 22-August 14. At least I only have to do it for 3 weeks. I'll be on vacation for one week. I've already heard that I'll have to teach an extra conversation class during summer vacation. I'm just going to find conversation questios off the internet and let them ask each other questions for 45 minutes. No teaching on my part-just letting them talk to each other.
I'm going to use my american account to buy a new laptop. I'm going to buy a program from Dell so I can transfer all of my files over to my new laptop. Then I'm going to transfer half of my salary to my american account on Monday. I'm going to leave enough for bills and decide how much I want to put away for savings.
Why are tons of foreign guys emailing me on myspace wanting to meet me? Since I've been in SK I've had a Persian, Moroccan, German, Korean, and others that I've ignored (They all currently live in SK for various reasons). I've told them that I don't like meeting people from Myspace. Some of them just don't give up. THey email over and over and over. I'm not here to meet guys. I'm surely not going to fall in love and move to their country. Plus they are probably just desperate and want to hook up. I don't do hookups. You know what they say about Myspace-'Myspace is the new booty call'. Why are all these guys emailing me? Surely they could find someone better in person. They need to stop hiding behind their computer and get out into the real world and meet someone face to face. One guy actually told me "you're missing out on a good guy who is really good in bed"-see I know exactly what he wanted.
Lesley told me today that all the foreign teachers only work 7 hours a day. Why do I have to be at school for 7 1/2? I sent an email to the person in charge and asked her why I have to work more. I also asked if I can leave at 9 instead of 9:30. My contract says that my working hours are from 2pm till 9pm. I have classes until 9:10 on Tues and Thurs but I want to be able to leave right after.
The boys in my classes are always telling me I'm beautiful. how sweet. One of my kids was talking to me today during my break and he said "you're beautiful" Then he left. Why is it that only 12 and 13 year old boys think I'm attractive?? Maybe they like variety. Basically all the girls in SK look alike. The Korean men can say 'i like skinny girls with black hair and brown eyes'-That sums up most of the korean women. In America there's so much more variety.
In my 1st class 2 students got stickers for having their homework. So far I have one student who is out of the running for getting a homework prize. The new student had trouble with the test today. Last class I spent a lot of time on 'that's' and 'those are'.That's my hat. Those are my boots. She was guessing and acted like she'd never seen that concept before. She got 6 out of 10 right. Next class I need to give a lot of speaking time because I didn't today. Its hard to do partner work when you have 3 kids. I'll just have to think of a way to let all 3 of them ask each other questions. They all did their homework in the last few mins of class so they all get a check on homework for Friday. I hope they actually do their listening homework that i gave them. They had to listen to 3 tracks on their cd for homework.
I don't think the rules are going to mean anything to my 2nd class. Giving a test and going over rules took up most of my class time so we didn't learn anything new. They weren't paying attention most of the time. I think they will be the ones to break the most rules. No one had their homework today. I assigned the same homework today so they'd have a chance to do it. I even gave them a few mins in class to work on it. One student finished so I marked it off on her homework check. They asked for a game but I told them no. They weren't getting a game because they wouldnt behave.
In my 3rd class we went over a writing unit. They didn't do their homework either-so we did it in class. I gave them the new rules and told them about the homework check.
I found out that on July 22 we start our summer schedule. I heard it from Lesley. I'm sure my school will tell me last minute. The students will be on summer vacation, but they still have to come to our school. I'd hate that! I wonder if we'll have more absences during summer vacation. Since they don't have regular school we will be switching to a morning schedule--9:30-4:30. We have to do that from June 22-August 14. At least I only have to do it for 3 weeks. I'll be on vacation for one week. I've already heard that I'll have to teach an extra conversation class during summer vacation. I'm just going to find conversation questios off the internet and let them ask each other questions for 45 minutes. No teaching on my part-just letting them talk to each other.
I'm going to use my american account to buy a new laptop. I'm going to buy a program from Dell so I can transfer all of my files over to my new laptop. Then I'm going to transfer half of my salary to my american account on Monday. I'm going to leave enough for bills and decide how much I want to put away for savings.
Why are tons of foreign guys emailing me on myspace wanting to meet me? Since I've been in SK I've had a Persian, Moroccan, German, Korean, and others that I've ignored (They all currently live in SK for various reasons). I've told them that I don't like meeting people from Myspace. Some of them just don't give up. THey email over and over and over. I'm not here to meet guys. I'm surely not going to fall in love and move to their country. Plus they are probably just desperate and want to hook up. I don't do hookups. You know what they say about Myspace-'Myspace is the new booty call'. Why are all these guys emailing me? Surely they could find someone better in person. They need to stop hiding behind their computer and get out into the real world and meet someone face to face. One guy actually told me "you're missing out on a good guy who is really good in bed"-see I know exactly what he wanted.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Day 200-Changdeokgung Palace
July 5 Sunday
Day 200--in 165 more days I will have been here for a year.
Today I finally got out and did something. I went to Changdeokgung Palace.
Click on the album to view my pictures:
The only way that you can enter the palace is with a tour guide. The last English tour of the day was at 3:30. There was a large group of people on the tour. I hated having to go around with a group. You can't get good pictures because there's always someone in the way. Our tour didn't include the whole palace. Just a select number of places within the palace. If you want to see other parts you have to be on a "special" tour.
Day 200--in 165 more days I will have been here for a year.
Today I finally got out and did something. I went to Changdeokgung Palace.
Click on the album to view my pictures:
 |
| Changdeokgung |
Changdeokgung, also known as Changdeokgung Palace or Changdeok Palace, is set within a large park in Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the "Five Grand Palaces" built by the kings of the Joseon Dynasty and because of its location east of Gyeongbok Palace, Changdeokgung is also referred to as the East Palace. The literal meaning of Changdeokgung(昌德宮) is "Palace of Prospering Virtue".
Changdeokgung was the favored palace of many kings of the Joseon Dynasty and retained many Korean elements dating from the Three Kingdoms of Korea period that were not incorporated in the more formalistic Gyeongbokgung. One such element is the fact that the buildings of Changdeokgung blend with the topography of the site instead of imposing upon nature.
Changdeokgung was the favored palace of many kings of the Joseon Dynasty and retained many Korean elements dating from the Three Kingdoms of Korea period that were not incorporated in the more formalistic Gyeongbokgung. One such element is the fact that the buildings of Changdeokgung blend with the topography of the site instead of imposing upon nature.
The only way that you can enter the palace is with a tour guide. The last English tour of the day was at 3:30. There was a large group of people on the tour. I hated having to go around with a group. You can't get good pictures because there's always someone in the way. Our tour didn't include the whole palace. Just a select number of places within the palace. If you want to see other parts you have to be on a "special" tour.
How to get there: Line 3-Anguk Station-Exit 3-about a 5 minute walk from the exit
Admission: 3,000 won
English tours: 11:30, 13:30, 15:30
Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes
*Tours offered throughout the year, except on Thursdays-April-October
*Closed on Mondays
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