My First Few Days on the Job

Well, it's now Wednesday and I've been teaching on my own since Monday. I think I'm starting to get the hang of things! I'm discovering, along with needing a solid routine in order to get through your day, that teaching is a lot more enjoyable than I thought it would be. Honestly, in mental preparation for my first week I was remembering my past babysitting experiences- admittedly, the bad babysitting experiences. I knew the other teachers enjoyed the time spent with their kids, but I thought, while watching them teach, that they must be much more patient than I am- I definitely didn't think I would be as good a teacher!

Right now, while I'm still not so sure how good I am, I'm surprised at how I'm able to enjoy myself. The kids really are wonderful, and they're smart and they know the rules- I must say, better than I do. While I want to tear my hair out at times, I am usually enjoying myself and I like to think the kids are too!

As for the living situation, I found a veeeery suitable home for Milhouse (now known as "Fozzie") with a fellow teacher friend and her boyfriend. Kim fell for Milhouse...ahem, Fozzie... immediately, having not been around for the week he was living at my house, and immediately took him back to her and her boyfriend's apartment. I still see the guy every day and he seems so happy in his new home, so I'm very glad. Now I'm craving some feline company, but I'll just take it in stride and hope the feeling passes!

I'm feeling much more at home in my neighbourhood and city. I'm not afraid of getting into cabs or ordering food anymore, because all of the Koreans I've met so far have been nothing short of amazing and considerate concerning my lack of knowledge of the Korean language (except "thank you"- that word has been my safety net). I can't tell you the number of times I've ended up laughing hysterically with a cab driver over my terrible pronounciation. In fact, I think the cab drivers in "Happy Suwon" deserve an entire blog article. I'll write it up one of these days.

My luggage is on it's way to me, finally. It's stuck in Incheon Airport at the moment with customs, so lets hope all the stuff my mom sent actually gets to me and not to a Korean customs worker who decided they liked the look of my clothes and deodorant. I go on my Visa Run at some point this month and am looking forward to an all expenses paid trip to Japan, however short lived it will be. I miss you guys! Oh, good luck in your Canadian travels Mandy. More soon.