July 22 Wednesday
My 1st class is becoming one of my favorite classes. Its one of my larger classes with 9 students but they are well behaved. They do the speaking parts when I ask them to. They all participate. They all want me to call on them. "me next, me next". They love to read the parts in the story. Today I let them read the story 3 times. They were so enthusiastic and they would run up to me and tell me what part they wanted to read. We had a good class today.
My 2nd class is my least favorite class. They are devils-3 boys ages 10-11. The girl has been absent for the past 2 days. They are loud and they don't listen and they are late for class. There's a break in between and they have 10 mins. They decide to go to Home Plus before class and they didnt get back till a few mins after class should have started. They tell me that someone broke in front of them in the line. It was funny hearing them describe it. "we were at the desk and this lady human-then they make a motion of someone going around them (they didn't know how to put it into words! and the desk is the register). They described it many times. It was so funny how they referred to the woman as a 'lady human.'They begged for a game but I told them no. I said if you dont be good you dont get to play a game. 2 of the boys were sharing a drink. The one who bought the drink was drinking it from the bottle. Then the other boy was holding his head back and the other boy poured it in to his mouth. Then he spilt some in the chair. They ran to the bathroom to get tissue. All 3 boys went. They kept spilling it. Then they wouldnt do their work. No one did their homework. No one brought their essay. They don't listen in class.
My last class was okay. I have 10 students in the class. Half of them had their essays. A lot of them didn't do their homework. I asked one student if he had his homework and essay and he told me he was too busy to do his homework. We covered a good amount of material. The students were being loud today so I had to keep telling them to be quiet. Its funny how they seperate themselves in class. All the girls sit on the left and the guys sit on the right-6 girls and 4 guys.
After class I was packing up my things and the korean teacher told me about our get together tonight. She mentioned it to me last week but then never said anything else about it so I didn't know if we were doing it or not. She said we were. I stayed to hangout. We went to a restaurant and had galbi. There were 8 of us in all. 3 math teachers and 3 elementary teachers and 2 assistants. They put me on the spot and asked me what korean words did I know. I'm sitting there trying to think of all the korean that I've learned. haha. I had a hard time thinking of what I knew! The food was delicious. I like the salad, galbi and steamed eggs. I drank cider (which they said was like 7up) because they didnt have cola at the restaurant. After we finished eating around midnight we went to another restaurant to have drinks. They all had Soju and beer. I had coke. One of the assistants only drank water (He was the designated driver-he took 3 of us home). They were all having a good time and getting drunk. Its weird going out during the middle of the week. Going out for drinks is a big part of Korean culture. We were finally finished at 2am. So we hungout and socialized from 10pm till 2am.
Galbi or kalbi generally refers to a variety of gui or grilled dishes in Korean cuisine that is made with marinated beef (or pork) short ribs in a ganjang-based sauce (Korean soy sauce).[1] In the Korean language, galbi literally means "rib" and can often indicate uncooked ribs. In addition, the dish's full name is galbi gui, although "gui" (grilling) is commonly omitted to refer to it.
Since galbi is generally made with beef ribs, it may be called "sogalbi" (소갈비) or "soegalbi" (쇠갈비) in Korean, whose prefix, "so" or "soe" (beef) is often omitted as well. However, just like the literal meaning, galbi dish also can be made with pork ribs or chicken. In such cases, the dish is called "dwaeji galbi" (돼지갈비) or "dak galbi" (닭갈비) to emphasize the main ingredient
The Korean drinking culture is well known as Korea has the highest per capital alcohol consumption in the world.
When I came home I had a note on my door. My package arrived when I wasnt home and now its waiting at the post office!! I can go pick it up tomorrow!!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Day 216 "You have new hair. Its fantastic"
July 21 Tuesday
3 days till vacation!
So my mom shipped my laptop on Saturday the 18th. She sent it by international express since its suppose to be a fast way. Its suppose to take 3-5 business days. She got a message today saying that the delivery date was suppose to be July 27th. Why wil it take so long? She could have just sent it by regular mail for it to get here on that day. Maybe it will get here sooner. I hope so. I keep checking the tracking but there haven't been any updates since Saturday. All I know is it left the processing center on Saturday and is on its way to its destination. So far its been 2 business days. or 3 if Saturday counts..
I saw one of my kids on the subway today. He came over to say hi and asked me where I was going. Its funny how they call me "Valerie teacher". He came over and said "Valerie teacher. Are you going to Gusan?" I was headed to school in Gusan. He's in my Wed/Friday classes.
I wore my hair a different way today and everyone seemed to like it. I usually just wear it down and wear a headband. I can't really do anything with it because its too short. Today I wore it half up and half down. I wore the barette that my student from Avalon gave to me.
In my 2nd class one of the girls said "you changed your hair". In my 3rd class one of the boys said "You have new hair. Its fantastic". He was so enthusiastic about it. it was quite funny. The girls in my 4th class liked it also.
I was told that my new schedule doesn't start until I am on vacation. So maybe I dont have to get up early this week! I have to make my monthly tests for the kids to take while I'm gone.
My first class was okay. None of them did their homework. They all told me they didnt write it down so I assigned it again. 3 of the kids didnt bring their essay. One of them told me I didnt give her a paper. I think I did but I gave her a new one anyway. They were good in class but one student kept getting out of his seat and turning around to talk to the person behind him.We were talking about Halloween in that class today. They dont really celebrate Halloween here. I was telling them what we did in the USA about going trick or treating.
I have a new student in my 2nd class. She's really quiet. I couldnt get her to participate in class. I told them to talk to a partner and she wouldn't do it. When i was assigning partners the boy didnt want to be partners with the new girl. he wanted me to be his partner. The new girl needed a partner so I told him to talk to her. When she wouldnt participate I asked her if she would talk to him but she wouldnt. Today we were talking about illnesses like fever, cold, toothache, stomachache, headache. Their speaking assignment was to look at their vocab and ask "What's wrong?". The person would answer "I have a fever.""I have a cold", etc.Its frustrating to have an odd number of students and one who wont cooperate. She doesn't have an English name. I gave her a list of names if she wanted to choose one but she just gave it back to me. I hate it when they don't choose an English name and I dont know what to call them. I can't force them to choose a name. I saw her crying some during class. Maybe she won't participate bc its her first day and she's shy. Maybe it will get better once she gets to know everyone.
My 3rd class was pretty good. 2 of them had their essays but I gave them back because they didn't write in complete sentences. I can't grade an essay when all they wrote was one word. One of the questions was "What do you eat for breakfast?" and one student wrote "yummy food". That student is hilarious. He's the same one who loves unicorns. We finished the unit and then I let them play a game.
In my last class 2 of my students were absent. Of the 3 that were there only 1 of them did their essay and homework. The other 2 didnt do the essay or their homework. We covered a lot of material today. They were actually very quiet in class today and they did the activities the correct way. When you get all 5 of them together thats when they want to act up. We were talking about "must and mustn't". Who even uses 'mustn't'? I don't think I've ever used that in a conversation. "You mustn't drink cold water" the better response would be "dont drink cold water." The ESL books are crazy! Sometimes the korean teachers ask for my help on answers in their books and sometimes their books are crazy too!
I finished my class, packed up my things and I was out right after my last class. I don't want to stay any longer than I have to. Then I got all the way to the subway stairs and I realized I left my phone. I had to go back. I'm always forgetting something. So far this session i've left my pocketbook,check card, and phone. I'm surprised I haven't lost any items yet!
I keep putting off making my monthly tests! Yuck! I hate it. I'm going to have to make myself come up with half of them on Wed night and half on thursday night.
3 days till vacation!
So my mom shipped my laptop on Saturday the 18th. She sent it by international express since its suppose to be a fast way. Its suppose to take 3-5 business days. She got a message today saying that the delivery date was suppose to be July 27th. Why wil it take so long? She could have just sent it by regular mail for it to get here on that day. Maybe it will get here sooner. I hope so. I keep checking the tracking but there haven't been any updates since Saturday. All I know is it left the processing center on Saturday and is on its way to its destination. So far its been 2 business days. or 3 if Saturday counts..
I saw one of my kids on the subway today. He came over to say hi and asked me where I was going. Its funny how they call me "Valerie teacher". He came over and said "Valerie teacher. Are you going to Gusan?" I was headed to school in Gusan. He's in my Wed/Friday classes.
I wore my hair a different way today and everyone seemed to like it. I usually just wear it down and wear a headband. I can't really do anything with it because its too short. Today I wore it half up and half down. I wore the barette that my student from Avalon gave to me.
In my 2nd class one of the girls said "you changed your hair". In my 3rd class one of the boys said "You have new hair. Its fantastic". He was so enthusiastic about it. it was quite funny. The girls in my 4th class liked it also.
I was told that my new schedule doesn't start until I am on vacation. So maybe I dont have to get up early this week! I have to make my monthly tests for the kids to take while I'm gone.
My first class was okay. None of them did their homework. They all told me they didnt write it down so I assigned it again. 3 of the kids didnt bring their essay. One of them told me I didnt give her a paper. I think I did but I gave her a new one anyway. They were good in class but one student kept getting out of his seat and turning around to talk to the person behind him.We were talking about Halloween in that class today. They dont really celebrate Halloween here. I was telling them what we did in the USA about going trick or treating.
I have a new student in my 2nd class. She's really quiet. I couldnt get her to participate in class. I told them to talk to a partner and she wouldn't do it. When i was assigning partners the boy didnt want to be partners with the new girl. he wanted me to be his partner. The new girl needed a partner so I told him to talk to her. When she wouldnt participate I asked her if she would talk to him but she wouldnt. Today we were talking about illnesses like fever, cold, toothache, stomachache, headache. Their speaking assignment was to look at their vocab and ask "What's wrong?". The person would answer "I have a fever.""I have a cold", etc.Its frustrating to have an odd number of students and one who wont cooperate. She doesn't have an English name. I gave her a list of names if she wanted to choose one but she just gave it back to me. I hate it when they don't choose an English name and I dont know what to call them. I can't force them to choose a name. I saw her crying some during class. Maybe she won't participate bc its her first day and she's shy. Maybe it will get better once she gets to know everyone.
My 3rd class was pretty good. 2 of them had their essays but I gave them back because they didn't write in complete sentences. I can't grade an essay when all they wrote was one word. One of the questions was "What do you eat for breakfast?" and one student wrote "yummy food". That student is hilarious. He's the same one who loves unicorns. We finished the unit and then I let them play a game.
In my last class 2 of my students were absent. Of the 3 that were there only 1 of them did their essay and homework. The other 2 didnt do the essay or their homework. We covered a lot of material today. They were actually very quiet in class today and they did the activities the correct way. When you get all 5 of them together thats when they want to act up. We were talking about "must and mustn't". Who even uses 'mustn't'? I don't think I've ever used that in a conversation. "You mustn't drink cold water" the better response would be "dont drink cold water." The ESL books are crazy! Sometimes the korean teachers ask for my help on answers in their books and sometimes their books are crazy too!
I finished my class, packed up my things and I was out right after my last class. I don't want to stay any longer than I have to. Then I got all the way to the subway stairs and I realized I left my phone. I had to go back. I'm always forgetting something. So far this session i've left my pocketbook,check card, and phone. I'm surprised I haven't lost any items yet!
I keep putting off making my monthly tests! Yuck! I hate it. I'm going to have to make myself come up with half of them on Wed night and half on thursday night.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Day 215
July 20 Monday
Today I had to go all the way to Nokbeon to pay a bill at the bank. I got on one of the city buses and it was packed. It was about as full as it could get-seats and the people standing in the aisles. I missed my stop because I couldnt get to the door in time bc the aisles were full. 3 other people missed their stop also. I just got off at the next stop up. On the way to the subway station I actually got a seat on the bus. I missed my regular subway time so I took the next train. I still arrived in time-5 minutes late.
My first class was good. We reviewed our previous unit then we started a new unit. Today we started a unit about various foods like candy bar, soda, potato chips, cookie. I let them have a fun activity where they drew what was in their lunch box. Then they had to ask the other people in the class about the things in their lunch box.
My 2nd class is a waste of my time. Today there were 3 boys in the class. These are some of my youngest students 10 and 11 years old. They like to talk to each other during class. Today one of them had a comic book and he kept looking at it although I told him to put it away. They wouldnt read with me as a class. They didnt do their homework so I assigned the same homework again. They begged for a game but I didnt let them play a game because they were bad. I had them do the same activity we did on friday bc they didnt do it right on Friday. They had to draw a pic of their family.
My last class was good. One of my students was absent so I just had one student. We just went over a writing unit.
4 days till vacation!
Today I had to go all the way to Nokbeon to pay a bill at the bank. I got on one of the city buses and it was packed. It was about as full as it could get-seats and the people standing in the aisles. I missed my stop because I couldnt get to the door in time bc the aisles were full. 3 other people missed their stop also. I just got off at the next stop up. On the way to the subway station I actually got a seat on the bus. I missed my regular subway time so I took the next train. I still arrived in time-5 minutes late.
My first class was good. We reviewed our previous unit then we started a new unit. Today we started a unit about various foods like candy bar, soda, potato chips, cookie. I let them have a fun activity where they drew what was in their lunch box. Then they had to ask the other people in the class about the things in their lunch box.
My 2nd class is a waste of my time. Today there were 3 boys in the class. These are some of my youngest students 10 and 11 years old. They like to talk to each other during class. Today one of them had a comic book and he kept looking at it although I told him to put it away. They wouldnt read with me as a class. They didnt do their homework so I assigned the same homework again. They begged for a game but I didnt let them play a game because they were bad. I had them do the same activity we did on friday bc they didnt do it right on Friday. They had to draw a pic of their family.
My last class was good. One of my students was absent so I just had one student. We just went over a writing unit.
4 days till vacation!
Day 213/214
July 18/19 Saturday/Sunday
This weekend was the Watermelon Festival in my hometown. I usually go every year, but I couldn't go this year bc I'm here. Its a very big deal where I come from. Watermelons are our claim to fame. They are abundant and not expensive like they are in South Korea. I was looking at the watermelon selection in E-Mart and the cheapest one was about 13,000 won which is around 12usd. Thats for a normal size watermelon. You can get huge watermelons at a farmer's market in Pageland for about 10usd.
I found some peaches at E-Mart and I decided to get some even though they were expensive. They come in a container of 3. There wasn't an option just to take a few and put them in a bag like in the US. 3 peaches for 3,980 won which comes out to $3.14. Thats $1 for a peach. Their coloring is more yellow than orangish like the ones in SC. They aren't as sweet but they are very juicy.
I also got some peanut bread. I wonder what that tastes like. I got some vegetable chips and they are actually good.
I had a relaxing weekend. I went to 3 places. The gym, Burger King and E-Mart. The rest of my time was spent inside.
Saturday I was in a good mood and the weather was great so I walked home from the gym. I usually take the subway. It was a mild temperature with a breeze. It was raining at various points in the day but not when I was out.
I watch a lot of TV on the weekend. I really like a channel called OnStyle. I keep up with "Rachel Zoe" and "Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency".
I watched "Tool Academy" tonight on one channel. They were testing the guys on fidelity. The guys were getting ready for a photo shoot. They put hidden cameras in the room and then they hired makeup artists to flirt with the men to see what they would do. Some of the guys gave the girls their phone number and some even gave them their room number and told the girls they could come by(that is so wrong! all these guys have girlfriends). One guy kissed the makeup artist. There were a few guys who told the women they had girlfriends and that they weren't interested. One of the guys made a good impression-he wouldn't even take off his shirt in front of the makeup artist. They showed the videos in the therapy session. Then they found out that one of the guys had 2 girlfriends. His other girlfriend showed up. She was an ex that he decided to date while he was dating a new girl. He chose the girl that showed up and his current girlfriend left. I hope I never get into a relationship with these kinds of guys.
5 days till vacation!! I decided to stay home for vacation. I want to do things in Seoul. I'm going to go to the zoo and the aquarium. I might do a Incheon city tour and visit some of the beaches there if there is a day when its not raining. I checked the 10 day forcast and its raining at least 3 days of my vacation.
This weekend was the Watermelon Festival in my hometown. I usually go every year, but I couldn't go this year bc I'm here. Its a very big deal where I come from. Watermelons are our claim to fame. They are abundant and not expensive like they are in South Korea. I was looking at the watermelon selection in E-Mart and the cheapest one was about 13,000 won which is around 12usd. Thats for a normal size watermelon. You can get huge watermelons at a farmer's market in Pageland for about 10usd.
I found some peaches at E-Mart and I decided to get some even though they were expensive. They come in a container of 3. There wasn't an option just to take a few and put them in a bag like in the US. 3 peaches for 3,980 won which comes out to $3.14. Thats $1 for a peach. Their coloring is more yellow than orangish like the ones in SC. They aren't as sweet but they are very juicy.
I also got some peanut bread. I wonder what that tastes like. I got some vegetable chips and they are actually good.
I had a relaxing weekend. I went to 3 places. The gym, Burger King and E-Mart. The rest of my time was spent inside.
Saturday I was in a good mood and the weather was great so I walked home from the gym. I usually take the subway. It was a mild temperature with a breeze. It was raining at various points in the day but not when I was out.
I watch a lot of TV on the weekend. I really like a channel called OnStyle. I keep up with "Rachel Zoe" and "Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency".
I watched "Tool Academy" tonight on one channel. They were testing the guys on fidelity. The guys were getting ready for a photo shoot. They put hidden cameras in the room and then they hired makeup artists to flirt with the men to see what they would do. Some of the guys gave the girls their phone number and some even gave them their room number and told the girls they could come by(that is so wrong! all these guys have girlfriends). One guy kissed the makeup artist. There were a few guys who told the women they had girlfriends and that they weren't interested. One of the guys made a good impression-he wouldn't even take off his shirt in front of the makeup artist. They showed the videos in the therapy session. Then they found out that one of the guys had 2 girlfriends. His other girlfriend showed up. She was an ex that he decided to date while he was dating a new girl. He chose the girl that showed up and his current girlfriend left. I hope I never get into a relationship with these kinds of guys.
5 days till vacation!! I decided to stay home for vacation. I want to do things in Seoul. I'm going to go to the zoo and the aquarium. I might do a Incheon city tour and visit some of the beaches there if there is a day when its not raining. I checked the 10 day forcast and its raining at least 3 days of my vacation.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Day 212...take me to a place without no name
July 17 Friday
There was a 25 sec clip of an unreleased song from Michael Jackson on the internet. The song has the same melody as "horse with no name". In the song he says "take me to a place without no name". Wow thats some bad grammar-double negative. Also there was new footage released of when MJ got his head burned from a Pepsi commercial in 1984. Why would someone want to release that? Thats just wrong. The video shows his hair catching on fire when the pyrotechnics went off.
My first class was good. First I gave back some paperwork(howework/tests). Then we took a test. The students were well behaved and participated so that was good. I gave everyone a sticker since I didnt assign any homework to be due today. Last time I didnt cover what I made homework for. (homework was for unit 4 and I wasn't able to finish unit 3). So I just gave them their essay which is due on Wednesday. One of my students said he didn't know how to do the essay so I went over the questions and told him how to write the sentences. Since they were good I gave them less homework than I had planned.
My 2nd class was good. We are learning about the days of the week and weather. They all participated in class and were good. We took a test on what we covered last time. I gave them hints.haha. We finished the unit today. I gave them their essays and they wrote them in class. I wrote the questions on the board and showed them how to write the answer in a sentence. Its basically like writing the essay for them but they are the lowest level. Hopefully it will stick with them and they learn how to write complete sentences and how to answer a question.
My 3rd class was pretty good. They are always asking for free time. The boys play with their nintendo ds during break. They have 10 minutes between classes so I dont give them extra time. Today we took a test and we went over a writing unit. The class was very well behaved. No problems at all.
On friday we start a new schedule working 9-5. The day schedule for summer vacation. I'll be on a day schedule for one day then I'll go on vacation. Its weird to start a new schedule on a Friday.
One week till my vacation starts!!! I am so ready!! Its funny how they all call it a holiday. Its not a holiday-its a vacation. Holidays and vacations are 2 distinct things.
There was a 25 sec clip of an unreleased song from Michael Jackson on the internet. The song has the same melody as "horse with no name". In the song he says "take me to a place without no name". Wow thats some bad grammar-double negative. Also there was new footage released of when MJ got his head burned from a Pepsi commercial in 1984. Why would someone want to release that? Thats just wrong. The video shows his hair catching on fire when the pyrotechnics went off.
My first class was good. First I gave back some paperwork(howework/tests). Then we took a test. The students were well behaved and participated so that was good. I gave everyone a sticker since I didnt assign any homework to be due today. Last time I didnt cover what I made homework for. (homework was for unit 4 and I wasn't able to finish unit 3). So I just gave them their essay which is due on Wednesday. One of my students said he didn't know how to do the essay so I went over the questions and told him how to write the sentences. Since they were good I gave them less homework than I had planned.
My 2nd class was good. We are learning about the days of the week and weather. They all participated in class and were good. We took a test on what we covered last time. I gave them hints.haha. We finished the unit today. I gave them their essays and they wrote them in class. I wrote the questions on the board and showed them how to write the answer in a sentence. Its basically like writing the essay for them but they are the lowest level. Hopefully it will stick with them and they learn how to write complete sentences and how to answer a question.
My 3rd class was pretty good. They are always asking for free time. The boys play with their nintendo ds during break. They have 10 minutes between classes so I dont give them extra time. Today we took a test and we went over a writing unit. The class was very well behaved. No problems at all.
On friday we start a new schedule working 9-5. The day schedule for summer vacation. I'll be on a day schedule for one day then I'll go on vacation. Its weird to start a new schedule on a Friday.
One week till my vacation starts!!! I am so ready!! Its funny how they all call it a holiday. Its not a holiday-its a vacation. Holidays and vacations are 2 distinct things.
Day 211
July 16 Thursday
I spent all of my planning time making tests and homework again today.
We started our new schedule today. Classes started 10 minutes early in the 1st block of classes. Well I screwed it up on the 2nd class!
My first class was pretty good. I gave them a test then we went over a few pages of material. Today we talked about the capitals of South American countries. Then we read a story called "trick or treat". I had to keep telling this one student to quit turning around. he kept talking to the guy behind him.
My 2nd class was good. One of the Korean teachers sat in on my class. She wanted to watch my class. We took a test. I gave them hints. All the students did their homework. Then we covered a lot of material and reviewed. There was a lot of speaking time. The students were well behaved and participated. THe only bad part was that i messed up the schedule. the schedule was posted on the podium but I was looking at the wrong one. I was looking at the Mon/Wed/Fri schedule and I thought class was over at 5:50. It was suppose to be over at 5:35. I went 15 minutes over. Why did we have to start a new schedule???
I told the Korean teacher I was sorry that I took up her time. She said "no problem". I felt bad that I was the one to mess up the schedule. I always go to class on time and end on time and then they change the schedule and I mess it up on the first day.
During my break I graded tests and made homework. I looked over my activities in my writing class and the students were suppose to write in the present progressive. I actually had to look it up on google. I know all the grammar rules, but I don't know the names for them! I looked it up and made out a sheet showing how to write in present progressive and found some exercises for homework from the internet.
My 3rd class was good. We had a test. Went over 3 pages of material then I let them play a game. I can't believe that used to be my worst class. Now they are one of the best classes.
In my 4th class we went over a writing unit. 2 people had their homework. The other 3 didnt do it. One of them showed me that he did do it but he didn't do it correctly so I didnt give him credit. Some of the kids were using their cell phones in class. I told him no cellphones and they said "I was using the dictionary". I told them they didn't need the dictionary for this section. They had to read a paragraph and answer the questions in complete sentences. THey were just playing around on their phones. Some of the students won't do the activities the correct way. Its a writing class but they try to take shortcuts. Instead of writing the whole sentence they will draw arrows from the answer to the question or they wont write the words in the correct order but just number them where they should go. (example: goes/store/she/to) They wont write the sentence but just put a number to show the order.
There was only one student in my last class. one student was absent. We took a test then went over half of a writing unit. It didn't take long to cover present progressive and the 4 pages of the unit. Then she had 20 minutes of free time.
After class I packed up my things quickly and left.
I found a sitcom that I like on a channel called "Fox Life". its called 세친구 "three friends"-its a situation comedy. I watch it some days before I go to school. Its on around 12:30 and 1pm. Its also on at 1:20am. Its in Korean and I dont know what they are saying, but its funny. I just wish I had English subtitles!!
While I was walking on the treadmill at the gym I found a new show on the reality channel.(it came on VH1 Jan-March 09 in the USA) Its called "Tool Academy"-I watched some of the first episode. I only saw a few minutes of it. There were these guys who think they are so hot and they treat their girlfriends like crap and cheat on them. And their girfriends put up with it and complain. The girls say things like "he treats me like crap", "I'm taking care of him and he doesn't have a job","he never includes me in his plans") So their girlfriends brought them to "relationship boot camp".I don't even know why people put up with being treated bad. If a guy treats me bad just one time I'm out. I won't put up with it.
Tool Academy--The nine men, all of whom have been nominated by their respective girlfriends, initially think they are taking part in a competition for the title of "Mr. Awesome." However, shortly after arriving they find out the truth: they are actually being entered into a "charm school" which focuses on teaching them how to behave as boyfriends. Each week, one contestant is eliminated and his girlfriend must choose whether or not to stay with him. The last contestant remaining will win a $100,000 prize and the title of "Mr. Awesome." Relationship counselor Trina Dolenz helps the contestants with their relationship problems and decides who is expelled
I spent all of my planning time making tests and homework again today.
We started our new schedule today. Classes started 10 minutes early in the 1st block of classes. Well I screwed it up on the 2nd class!
My first class was pretty good. I gave them a test then we went over a few pages of material. Today we talked about the capitals of South American countries. Then we read a story called "trick or treat". I had to keep telling this one student to quit turning around. he kept talking to the guy behind him.
My 2nd class was good. One of the Korean teachers sat in on my class. She wanted to watch my class. We took a test. I gave them hints. All the students did their homework. Then we covered a lot of material and reviewed. There was a lot of speaking time. The students were well behaved and participated. THe only bad part was that i messed up the schedule. the schedule was posted on the podium but I was looking at the wrong one. I was looking at the Mon/Wed/Fri schedule and I thought class was over at 5:50. It was suppose to be over at 5:35. I went 15 minutes over. Why did we have to start a new schedule???
I told the Korean teacher I was sorry that I took up her time. She said "no problem". I felt bad that I was the one to mess up the schedule. I always go to class on time and end on time and then they change the schedule and I mess it up on the first day.
During my break I graded tests and made homework. I looked over my activities in my writing class and the students were suppose to write in the present progressive. I actually had to look it up on google. I know all the grammar rules, but I don't know the names for them! I looked it up and made out a sheet showing how to write in present progressive and found some exercises for homework from the internet.
My 3rd class was good. We had a test. Went over 3 pages of material then I let them play a game. I can't believe that used to be my worst class. Now they are one of the best classes.
In my 4th class we went over a writing unit. 2 people had their homework. The other 3 didnt do it. One of them showed me that he did do it but he didn't do it correctly so I didnt give him credit. Some of the kids were using their cell phones in class. I told him no cellphones and they said "I was using the dictionary". I told them they didn't need the dictionary for this section. They had to read a paragraph and answer the questions in complete sentences. THey were just playing around on their phones. Some of the students won't do the activities the correct way. Its a writing class but they try to take shortcuts. Instead of writing the whole sentence they will draw arrows from the answer to the question or they wont write the words in the correct order but just number them where they should go. (example: goes/store/she/to) They wont write the sentence but just put a number to show the order.
There was only one student in my last class. one student was absent. We took a test then went over half of a writing unit. It didn't take long to cover present progressive and the 4 pages of the unit. Then she had 20 minutes of free time.
After class I packed up my things quickly and left.
I found a sitcom that I like on a channel called "Fox Life". its called 세친구 "three friends"-its a situation comedy. I watch it some days before I go to school. Its on around 12:30 and 1pm. Its also on at 1:20am. Its in Korean and I dont know what they are saying, but its funny. I just wish I had English subtitles!!
While I was walking on the treadmill at the gym I found a new show on the reality channel.(it came on VH1 Jan-March 09 in the USA) Its called "Tool Academy"-I watched some of the first episode. I only saw a few minutes of it. There were these guys who think they are so hot and they treat their girlfriends like crap and cheat on them. And their girfriends put up with it and complain. The girls say things like "he treats me like crap", "I'm taking care of him and he doesn't have a job","he never includes me in his plans") So their girlfriends brought them to "relationship boot camp".I don't even know why people put up with being treated bad. If a guy treats me bad just one time I'm out. I won't put up with it.
Tool Academy--The nine men, all of whom have been nominated by their respective girlfriends, initially think they are taking part in a competition for the title of "Mr. Awesome." However, shortly after arriving they find out the truth: they are actually being entered into a "charm school" which focuses on teaching them how to behave as boyfriends. Each week, one contestant is eliminated and his girlfriend must choose whether or not to stay with him. The last contestant remaining will win a $100,000 prize and the title of "Mr. Awesome." Relationship counselor Trina Dolenz helps the contestants with their relationship problems and decides who is expelled
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Day 210--He said an English dirty word
July 15 Wednesday
I've been here 30 weeks. I'm almost halfway done! I'm up to the point where my days remaining are almost smaller than my days that I've been here. I've been here 210 days and I have 228 (or a little less) days left. 30 weeks of teaching left. Oh my!
Being a teacher is a lot of work! I spend all of my planning time before school from 2-4 grading papers, making tests and essays and making homework. Its a ton of work. If I had premade homework and tests that came along with the books it would be a whole lot easier, but no thats not the way it works. I have to make my own stuff.
I feel like I can't ever get anything accomplished! I went into my first class and I had to get 2 students who were absent to make up a test. So I have to wait to start class. One of the students wants to talk instead of do the test and he wants to do the test wrong. One of my students lost his book so I have to make copies for him all the time. Then 2 students told me they lost their homework paper and they wanted another copy. One of the students filled in the blanks with nonsense and expected me to give him credit for doing his homework. He lost it-I'm not giving him credit for filling in the blanks with the wrong answers. 3 of my kids changed their names. I only got one page done in class today.
My students are so funny. During class one of my students said "He said an English dirty word". Then he starts spelling the 'dirty' word. He says "Sexi". haha. He can't even spell it. Sexy is not a dirty word. Then later one of the girls hears him spelling and she blurts out "sexy". haha.
I didn't get much accomplished in my 2nd class. First i had them do a test and they took a long time on that even though it was simple and I gave them examples. They like to talk and no matter how many times I tell them to be quiet they still talk during the test. Then we started the lesson. We were talking about family. I asked them to draw a picture of their family and label it. They turned it into a complicated thing. One of them was writing something totally off topic. He started writing "my name is....I am..years old. I like TV. What? I told you to draw your family. then one guy doesnt draw he just writes. I'm just trying to get them to talk about their family and I thought letting them draw a picture would be a fun activity but they can't even do it right. No one was paying attention while I was telling them about the essay.
When I was in that class again I saw one of the essays that I gave out to level 3 laying on the desk. great. won't be getting an essay from that kid. I don't know what to do. These kids won't do their homework and they wont turn in their essays. I'm wasting my time coming up with topics and making homework. I try to reward them for doing homework but that doesn't help.
I have around 50 students. Right now about half of them have done their homework for every class. I have one level who is really good about doing their homework. Everyone in the class always has it and they look forward to getting the stickers.
My 3rd class seemed to be tired and bored all during class. I'm sorry that I don't know how to make it interesting. We were just talking about animals.
I walked into my last class and they were asking for more free time. I told them no. They had 10 minutes of free time before I came in. I said "you already had 10 minutes". I passed out their tests, checked homework, went over homework and then started class. We went over a few pages today. They were really good. I didn't have any problems. One of the main troublemakers was absent today. I saw one of the boys crying during class. I don't know what was wrong. No one was bothering him. He didn't cry for long. He was fine just a few mins later. We finished one unit and started a new unit. Some of the new words were hard so I made out a sheet defining all the words and even adding some pictures. We are studying about Ancient Egypt. When we had 10 minutes left they were all rushing me. One student said "hurry up. I want to go home". wow. Another one said "are we done yet?". I said "not yet". I was trying to pass out homework and explain the essay although I dont think anyone was listening. We usually ended class at 8:45 but for some stupid reason we started a new schedule and class is over at 8:55. I think since it was the first day of the change they are still used to getting out at 8:45.
I've been here 30 weeks. I'm almost halfway done! I'm up to the point where my days remaining are almost smaller than my days that I've been here. I've been here 210 days and I have 228 (or a little less) days left. 30 weeks of teaching left. Oh my!
Being a teacher is a lot of work! I spend all of my planning time before school from 2-4 grading papers, making tests and essays and making homework. Its a ton of work. If I had premade homework and tests that came along with the books it would be a whole lot easier, but no thats not the way it works. I have to make my own stuff.
I feel like I can't ever get anything accomplished! I went into my first class and I had to get 2 students who were absent to make up a test. So I have to wait to start class. One of the students wants to talk instead of do the test and he wants to do the test wrong. One of my students lost his book so I have to make copies for him all the time. Then 2 students told me they lost their homework paper and they wanted another copy. One of the students filled in the blanks with nonsense and expected me to give him credit for doing his homework. He lost it-I'm not giving him credit for filling in the blanks with the wrong answers. 3 of my kids changed their names. I only got one page done in class today.
My students are so funny. During class one of my students said "He said an English dirty word". Then he starts spelling the 'dirty' word. He says "Sexi". haha. He can't even spell it. Sexy is not a dirty word. Then later one of the girls hears him spelling and she blurts out "sexy". haha.
I didn't get much accomplished in my 2nd class. First i had them do a test and they took a long time on that even though it was simple and I gave them examples. They like to talk and no matter how many times I tell them to be quiet they still talk during the test. Then we started the lesson. We were talking about family. I asked them to draw a picture of their family and label it. They turned it into a complicated thing. One of them was writing something totally off topic. He started writing "my name is....I am..years old. I like TV. What? I told you to draw your family. then one guy doesnt draw he just writes. I'm just trying to get them to talk about their family and I thought letting them draw a picture would be a fun activity but they can't even do it right. No one was paying attention while I was telling them about the essay.
When I was in that class again I saw one of the essays that I gave out to level 3 laying on the desk. great. won't be getting an essay from that kid. I don't know what to do. These kids won't do their homework and they wont turn in their essays. I'm wasting my time coming up with topics and making homework. I try to reward them for doing homework but that doesn't help.
I have around 50 students. Right now about half of them have done their homework for every class. I have one level who is really good about doing their homework. Everyone in the class always has it and they look forward to getting the stickers.
My 3rd class seemed to be tired and bored all during class. I'm sorry that I don't know how to make it interesting. We were just talking about animals.
I walked into my last class and they were asking for more free time. I told them no. They had 10 minutes of free time before I came in. I said "you already had 10 minutes". I passed out their tests, checked homework, went over homework and then started class. We went over a few pages today. They were really good. I didn't have any problems. One of the main troublemakers was absent today. I saw one of the boys crying during class. I don't know what was wrong. No one was bothering him. He didn't cry for long. He was fine just a few mins later. We finished one unit and started a new unit. Some of the new words were hard so I made out a sheet defining all the words and even adding some pictures. We are studying about Ancient Egypt. When we had 10 minutes left they were all rushing me. One student said "hurry up. I want to go home". wow. Another one said "are we done yet?". I said "not yet". I was trying to pass out homework and explain the essay although I dont think anyone was listening. We usually ended class at 8:45 but for some stupid reason we started a new schedule and class is over at 8:55. I think since it was the first day of the change they are still used to getting out at 8:45.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Day 209
July 14 Tuesday
Today I went to the bank to transfer money. There was only one teller at the time and she was with a customer. After waiting for a few minutes a bank employee sent me to one counter and then she sent me to another counter with someone who could help me. I transferred 1.3 million won and it came out to sending $990. The exchange rate isnt that good. I think my exchange rate was 1297 won =$1 usd. I also paid 2 of my bills: gas and cable.
Today is another heavy rain day.
So Friday they gave us a new timetable for classes. The only problem is that they didn't even tell the students!! Why? They are crazy. So they don't bother to tell me that they haven't told the students until I go to class at the 4:00 posted time. I was sitting at my desk from 2-4 and so were they. Why not tell me then? So we will start the new timetable on Thursday which is crazy since we are moving to mornings next week. When will I get that timetable? last minute? I don't understand anything that goes on here! The people in charge don't know what the heck they are doing and I'm always out of the loop.
2 of my students were absent in my first class. One of the students called the other girl and she was at home. Last time she missed it was raining heavy also. So now she's missed 2 classes in a row. We covered a lot of material today in class. We talked about giving directions to different rooms in a house like "its upstairs next to the bathroom". Today we learned about the White house in Washington, DC also. I showed them where it was on the map. We also learned about countries in South America. We all gathered around the map and wrote the names of the countries. Next class we will go over the capitals of South American countries.
My 2nd class was good. When I went in class one of the students gave me a muffin. It was good. Later another student gave me a snack that looks like fries and it has a picture of a lobster on the front. It tastes a little funny. I guess its made from lobster? I dont know. I took up the homework which everyone had and they all picked out which sticker they wanted. Then they wanted to know where we would start and end in our book. Today I wanted to cover half of the unit-4 pages. We covered all that material in 30 minutes. We talked about chores like clean your shoes, make your bed, feed the pets, etc. I gave them a lot of speaking time. I had to have one group of 3 people since we had an odd number of people today. Then I gave them free time. During free time I graded their homework. I don't give them a grade. I just mark if its right or wrong.
My 3rd class was good. we went over a few pages in the book. They were really well behaved and wanted to participate. We finished a little early and they got to play a game.
My 4th class was pretty short. We finished one unit and started a new unit. I only went over 4 pages today. I should have covered more. I'll make up for it later. After we finished the 4 pages they had about 15 minutes of free time.
My last class was okay. They still won't read together as a class. They like to echo each other. So you have the same thing being said 4 or 5 times. We covered a lot of material today. I think we covered 4 pages of material which is more than I had planned.
Tonight at the gym I walked on the treadmill for 50 minutes. I think I burned about 300 calories (but ruined it when I ate at Burger King). I had originally set the timer for 35 minutes then I was watching "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and I wanted to see what happened. They showed highlights from their very first episode. The first guy was a mess! He was a nice looking guy, but he really needed some help! He wasn't fashionable. His house was disgusting. He admitted to washing his hair about once a month. He actually had a girlfriend. I don't know how he was able to keep a girlfriend with his bad hygiene and his nasty apartment. They transformed his house and gave him a new look.
Today I went to the bank to transfer money. There was only one teller at the time and she was with a customer. After waiting for a few minutes a bank employee sent me to one counter and then she sent me to another counter with someone who could help me. I transferred 1.3 million won and it came out to sending $990. The exchange rate isnt that good. I think my exchange rate was 1297 won =$1 usd. I also paid 2 of my bills: gas and cable.
Today is another heavy rain day.
So Friday they gave us a new timetable for classes. The only problem is that they didn't even tell the students!! Why? They are crazy. So they don't bother to tell me that they haven't told the students until I go to class at the 4:00 posted time. I was sitting at my desk from 2-4 and so were they. Why not tell me then? So we will start the new timetable on Thursday which is crazy since we are moving to mornings next week. When will I get that timetable? last minute? I don't understand anything that goes on here! The people in charge don't know what the heck they are doing and I'm always out of the loop.
2 of my students were absent in my first class. One of the students called the other girl and she was at home. Last time she missed it was raining heavy also. So now she's missed 2 classes in a row. We covered a lot of material today in class. We talked about giving directions to different rooms in a house like "its upstairs next to the bathroom". Today we learned about the White house in Washington, DC also. I showed them where it was on the map. We also learned about countries in South America. We all gathered around the map and wrote the names of the countries. Next class we will go over the capitals of South American countries.
My 2nd class was good. When I went in class one of the students gave me a muffin. It was good. Later another student gave me a snack that looks like fries and it has a picture of a lobster on the front. It tastes a little funny. I guess its made from lobster? I dont know. I took up the homework which everyone had and they all picked out which sticker they wanted. Then they wanted to know where we would start and end in our book. Today I wanted to cover half of the unit-4 pages. We covered all that material in 30 minutes. We talked about chores like clean your shoes, make your bed, feed the pets, etc. I gave them a lot of speaking time. I had to have one group of 3 people since we had an odd number of people today. Then I gave them free time. During free time I graded their homework. I don't give them a grade. I just mark if its right or wrong.
My 3rd class was good. we went over a few pages in the book. They were really well behaved and wanted to participate. We finished a little early and they got to play a game.
My 4th class was pretty short. We finished one unit and started a new unit. I only went over 4 pages today. I should have covered more. I'll make up for it later. After we finished the 4 pages they had about 15 minutes of free time.
My last class was okay. They still won't read together as a class. They like to echo each other. So you have the same thing being said 4 or 5 times. We covered a lot of material today. I think we covered 4 pages of material which is more than I had planned.
Tonight at the gym I walked on the treadmill for 50 minutes. I think I burned about 300 calories (but ruined it when I ate at Burger King). I had originally set the timer for 35 minutes then I was watching "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and I wanted to see what happened. They showed highlights from their very first episode. The first guy was a mess! He was a nice looking guy, but he really needed some help! He wasn't fashionable. His house was disgusting. He admitted to washing his hair about once a month. He actually had a girlfriend. I don't know how he was able to keep a girlfriend with his bad hygiene and his nasty apartment. They transformed his house and gave him a new look.
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