Changes, changes.

We've been in South Korea for six whole months now.
In some ways, it feels like forever.  In others, not very long at all.  Some days I wake up and think I'll see my friends and family later, like we've never left.  Sometimes we get homesick, but overall the past six months have been a blessing.  Moving to South Korea was absolutely the best decision for us.  We have been able to relax some, to get our feet under us, and to grow as a married couple and as individuals.

Enough sentimentality, though, because IT'S VACATION!  Happily, we have a whole week to do as we please.  All of our co-workers made plans to travel, but we decided to stay around here and to take the opportunity to rest and relax.  Some people react to our lack of plans with mild disbelief-- we don't!  We're not concerned about traveling too much these days.  We're in Korea, after all.  We've traveled this year, haha.

Tomorrow Ben and I will be going to eat lunch at a Korean co-worker's home.  We have no idea what she will be serving, but we're bringing chocolates and dressing nicely.  It's our first home visit!

A lot of exciting changes and events are coming up over the next few months.  The first is that my friends Fanni and Danny are moving back to Korea after getting married, and Danny got hired at our school!  We are so happy that they're going to be so close.  Even though Fanni can't work at the school due to some visa issues, we'll still get to see a lot of each other.  It's a terribly small world, meeting up with a Hungarian friend in Korea and working with her husband.  We're very pleased.

Another exciting event is that my mom is coming to visit!  She will be coming at the end of September for the Chilseok holidays (Korean Thanksgiving) to stay for a week.  We're anxious for her to get here. I never expected anyone to come visit us.  It's not exactly cheap to fly out here!  So we are planning to make her visit very special.

Ben and I are as happy as we've ever been.  Korea has been so good to us.  Of course we have our stressful moments, but they don't cast a shadow on our time here whatsoever.

Plus, who can be stressed or unhappy when you have children who give you such beautiful drawings of yourself?  I'm the short one.  This is supposed to be of another teacher and me, running through a perilous obstacle course during P.E. class.

Continued thanks for all of you who read our blog and keep us in your thoughts.  We love you and hope all is well back at home!

"Sailors' Adventure"

The time since we last posted has been filled with changes at school.  Our new directors have upended the curriculum and set us on a new course filled with more freedom and more work.  Instead of our oppressing schedule of GETTHESEPAGESDONEINTHISCLASSORSUFFERTHEWRATHOFKHAN, we as teachers have the invigorating freedom of addressing problems with our students as they arise and going through material in a more realistic time frame.

When Ben and I started at Welton School, we were fairly ambivalent about the school as is.  Two months ago, a friend asked us if we planned to re-sign at the end of our contract, and we said, "Probably not..."  Now, I'm thinking a different answer.  With the newfound liberty to teach, Ben and I have actually become fond of our school.  Our students are dear to us, but we are really starting to feel proud of working at this establishment.  If our school survives the remainder of our contract year, we may consider re-signing after all.

We'll see.

The drawback to the changes has been the loss of students. Last week I lost three students in my homeroom-- half my class.  My dear twin girls and "Miss Thang" were pulled out by their mothers for vague reasons, leaving me with the two boys and a precocious girl we call "Shmeeshmu".

My three lost students, "Miss Thang" and the twins. <3

I didn't realize the extent of the feeling of loss that would ensue.  Ben has referred to me as a "Mother Hen" or a "Mama Bear" with my class.  Teaching in Korea often means being surrogate parents to these kids, but the parents will yank them out of a hagwon for the slightest offense.  I've taught these students for almost six months, and now I feel bereft.

The good, however, is that I'm now getting the opportunity to focus on a smaller set of children.  I will be able to cater more to their needs now than ever, and I am excited to see how they progress.  These students are 6-years-old by American reckoning (7 by Korean), and they're already doing things we don't do in America until 2nd or 3rd grade!  Take, for example, the vocabulary used by my student Aiden in this story he wrote last week:

"Sailors' Adventure"
Sailors go to a harbor.  There is one big ship.  Sailors ride a ship.  Then a wave comes to the ship! The wave finishes, but they get lost.  A sailor gets a compass.  The sailors go north.  After one hour, they see a harbor, and they go home to sleep.


My kids are so smart.  :)

Until next time,
Bekah