So it has been a while since I've last updated this blog, and tonnes of stuff has happened. So after we left Jeju-do, we flew to Wonju airport. It was a tiny one compared to Incheon or Gimpo. We then ate bibimbap, all the Gangwondo people. The old TaLK scholars were there to welcome us. We all went on a bus to the DMZ, and lived at a compound with no beds, just traditional mats and the ground. There we stayed for like 4-5 days, doing DMZ stuff, like going to a tunnel that links N and S Korea, as well as going to some Buddhist temple thing. We ended off the orientation with me receiving my Letter of Appointment, and a big ol samgyupsal dinner.
Our mentor teachers came to pick us up, and mine was a young female. She was supremely introverted, and a little awkward too, but that's fine. She took me to my apartment, and met up with another school staff, and the three of us went to Home Plus to buy my basic living stuff, like pots and pans, etc. My apartment is a lot bigger than expected. It has a bathroom, bedroom, and a kitchen/living room area, as well as a tiny corridor for laundry. It sure beats my grandparent's pad in HK, where it was about half the size of my current Korean pad.
I had one weekend to adjust to new surroundings, and off I went to teach. My first day to Gwirae didn't require me to teach. I just went with my mentor teacher (MT) to Chuncheon to register my alien registration card. The following days of the week, I had to teach. The kids are good overall. Not too rowdy, but still were kids. It's hard to motivate them to learn. They love kpop though. Their levels of English is not as bad as I thought, considering they were from rural areas, but there were some pretty big gaps between the skill level of the students. It's hard to deal with those gaps. My classes are gr 1, gr 2, gr 3+4, gr 5+6, and abc gr 3+4, abc gr 5+6. The abc classes are for the lower level groups.
Teaching was very tough at first, and I could hardly keep my head above the water, with lesson planning and all, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. I still have a looooot of work to do though. I constantly have to evolve my plans, because the kids aren't responding to them as I like them to. I go to waygook.org to get inspiration for my lessons, and some games that other classes love to play, my kids don't like to play. It's still a period of discovery for me.
One thing I don't like about my school is that they require me to come in at 10 am and leave at 4:45 pm. On contract it says I'm only required to go in an hour early to lesson plan. The school wants me to go in like 4 hours early... Sigh. Well, silver lining = Gr. 6 teacher is willing to teach me Korean in her spare blocks. I am invited to join the Gr. 6 PE class as well on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I haven't been to one yet, but I will this coming Thursday. Just gotta remember to bring t-shirt and shorts, and running shoes. I hope we play badminton. I'll cream em. Doesn't matter if they're 12 year olds.
Let's see, it's getting late, but there is still a lot more I can say.
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