There is no education like adversity

After being in South Korea for two days, being sick and unable to really do much I was (let’s go with)  unprepared for my first day in the classroom. A trip like this seemed important for me in my growth as a person and the teaching was really my mechanism to getting over here. I didn’t put a lot of thought into what the job would be like. After a couple days with these kids I can tell THEY will be what gets me through the tough times. Their smiles are infectious, their reaction to meeting a new American is hilarious and my ego can never hear enough of “teacher teacher you are so handsome!”

Some of the classes are more advanced than others, which is to be expected. I enjoy getting through to the younger students but the older ones in my advanced classes are so fun because they want to talk about anything and everything. Interacting with them is rejuvenating AND exhausting. I got zero training and was just thrown into all my classes, and though six hours doesn’t seem like a lot of time to work…it is a lot to teach. I have a new found respect for teachers back in America. Toward the end of my second day when I wasn’t sure if I could go another period, a little boy named Ben (they all pick English names to go by, which they love) came up to me and said “Teacher I make you some food” and handed me a bag of Korean cookies he had made. Melted my heart in a way only a child can.  They're picking up quickly too...look what I already tought them