bfast- cereal, milk, banana
lunch- rice cake soup, rice, little fishes with almonds, kim chi, bean sprouts
dinner- apple, cucumber, yogurt, egg

The school made me leave early and go to the hospital today. I don't have h1n1, but I guess I am on the path to it?.. they gave me a bunch of pills.

I am really frustrated with several things right now. Yet, I know I will grow throgh persevering in these. So happy tomorrow is Friday.

So, they think I'm getting swine flu... Gonna go to bed after I finish writing this.

Bfast- cereal and bananas
lunch- kim chi fried rice, kim chi, fried chicken, mini oranges
dinner- sandwich thing one of the teachers brought me

Taught at the University today... 3 3rd grade classes. Really had to put my foot down - the kids were super noisy and the student teachers didn't take control. I am definately growing a lot and learning how to discipline kids!

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while - I've been busy and tired :) Feeling sick today, but I think I may just be exhausted? No fever, so that's good!

Bfast: cereal, milk, banana

Lunch: Seaweed, rice with black beans, sea weed soup, yogurt, kim chi, fish

dinner: eggs and tomatoes

So, it's normal for a ton of kids to ambush me after classes are done - they come to my desk, I'm convinced, just because I have candy. But today they were especially clingy. Maybe I just noticed more bc I am not feeling well. But I'm talking ALL up in my grill... going through my stuff, playing with my hair, trying to do stuff on the computer, pushing my chair all around the room (with me sitting in it!). I had at least 10 different little Korean girls shouting in my face trying to get my attention - I'm just one person ;) It makes me laugh to think about it. I did get a little irked, but when I told them to skidaddle they did (I said I love spending time with you girls but I need to do my work now. Go). Then about 15 minutes later, one of them comes running back to my desk, carrying a plastic bag. "Teacher, my mom want give to you". Inside were two little orange juices with soy milk, and a package of these little rice cake desserts that are super popular. I knew I'd want to eat the whole package of rice cakes, so I gave them to Yoon Jin and shared with some of the kids who were still there. People here love those things! They weren't bad, but I think maybe it's an acquired taste...? Anyway, all my previously felt annoyance melted away - I may need to get a little more stern, but that's not a bad thing. I love these kids :)

IT IS SO COLD! People now run everywhere to minimize outside time.

Oh, and yesterday was really great... Yoon Jin and the special ed teacher took me out to dinner at pizza hut, and then shopping at M Department Store. I know what you are thinking... but pizza hut here is super duper gormet. A nice sit down restaurant with AMAZING food. We had a coconut shrimp pizza, and it came with fizzy lychee juice. The salad bar had yogurt, pumpkin, mashed sweet potatoes, and all kinds of awesome fresh fruits and veggies.

The department store was interesting... There were many cute things (they wanted to me get a jacket, bc the one I have is NOT sufficient)... but even the largest sizes were too small! Korean women are tiny. I think I will need to go to Seoul to find clothes that will fit me!

Great day!

Bfast- noodles, milk

lunch- kim chi, rice, bean sprout soup, beef and veggies, little mystery strips of fried things?.. interesting!

dinner- a mini cucumber, eggs and seaweed, mini oranges I got for free from my shopkeeper friend!

Sordid experiences teaching with student teachers... hmmm won't go there. Haha. Best part of the day was just hanging otu with the kids after classes were done. Got some photos with Hee Jee and Yeh Gyun and Kim Yu Rim (3 of my fave girls!). So cute.

Tomorrow is Friday! I think I will get paid finally!.........

bfast- Orange juice and I can't remember!

lunch- kimchi, rice, seaweed soup, chicken fingers, apple, super yummy tofu and veggy stuff with sesame seeds, and HOT water

dinner- yogurt

Today I taught with student teachers again. They were all soooo nervous, and the second one didn't plan appropriately... so, she ended up with 10 minutes to fill and just told me to talk to the class. For 10 minutes. About...? Yeah. It went okay though.

The principle loves me. I don't really know why, but she is always doting on me, and Yoon Jin always tells me "principle love you". She was especially dote-ful (I think I made that word up?) today at lunch. What a fun lady - I think I will really miss this place when I'm gone.

I appreciate my kids so much. I know all their faces, and I am starting to get solid on more and more names... getting to know them brings me so much joy! Regardless of culture, clothing, language, skin color, etc... kids are basically the same everywhere. They are so much wiser in many ways than adults. I learn so much from teaching them.

Today I was walked home by 3 AND Nu Gyun (the girl who took me to the telephone a few weeks ago). Such a treat :) I love these kids!!!

It was even sunny here today, and since I got some thermal underclothes (shirt and tights), I didn't feel cold at all! I have hope for winter ;)

I am sitting in the library right now with no school work to do... so I thought it would be the perfect time to write, especially since if I don't do it now, I probably won't do it at all until Monday :) I am feeling quite sick and tired, so I don't know how long I will be able to stay awake once I get home to my warm, quiet apartment! :)

Breakfast- leftover curry

lunch- rice with black beans; kim chi; minty collared greens; pork; fishy seaweed soup

dinner- well I haven't eaten yet, but I am mentally taking inventory of my current food supply... I am guessing it will be some kind of veggie omelet? maybe with a sweet potato on the side? Not sure.

I taught three classes with the student teachers today. The first was a man, which was very interesting to me... I like to see how the kids responded differently to a male teacher. I think they saw him as more authoritative than the female teachers.

I can't imagine how nerve wrecking it is for these college students to teach an entire 40 minute lesson in English... most of them do not speak English!!! I've had more than one teacher tell me (in the middle of the lesson!) they think they are going to start crying because they are so nervous and upset about it. I am thankful I have a skill (English) that is of some value to them. Although it is exhausting, I really enjoy working with the student teachers and trying to help in any way I can.

I really love these kids. One girl who I thought disliked me came to my desk and talked with me for like half an hour after school. So fun... Also, a lot of the kids who were afraid to talk to me have started coming around, too. I have a big jar of candy on my desk to lure them over ;)

My baby gave me a gift this morning- his awesome interpretation of the Korean flag. It looks like it belongs in the background of some anime action movie, yet I can still tell what he was basing it on. Super cool... He's been reading books to me all afternoon. Earlier I was gmail chatting with Jason (shhhh don't tell!) and the little dude put his book on top of my keyboard. Without knowing it, he was holding the number 3 key down, and Jason kept getting messages that looked something like "3333333333333333333333333333333333333fas35fhtfkghfs4sg5233333333333333" etc. You get the picture. I didn't say anything - I was just cracking up. Little dude looked at me like I was crazy. After all, he was showing me a book about construction equiptment... not exactly comical material. When I pointed to my computer screen and he could see his "work" he started laughing too, and we were both laughing together so hard for a good 5 minutes. So, now I call him "3".

Yoon Jin took me to the school nurse today, and she gave me all kinds of medicine (one was a SUPER tasty drinkable one... I'd love to know where I can get some more of that. Took my sore throat away instantly). No fever- she just said to get a lot of rest. I hate to admit this, but I accidently left the gas line open all night (the one that connects to the stovetop in my apartment) and I think that might be why I feel so sick. Ooops!

I hope it works out to meet Steffany (another foreign teacher I have been talking with on Facebook) at Emart for lunch tomorrow! I really should get some warmer clothes too :)

bfast- sweet potato, almonds, orange juice

lunch- kim chi, purple-ish and white rice, a dessert squash, soup with some kind of bean that i thought was goat cheese until i learned otherwise, spinach salad with apple, these mini brown eggs that were super tasty

dinner- kim chi, lettuce, rice and tofu

I assisted the student teachers today in 4 classes. They are supposed to plan the entire lesson, and I am just supposed to co-teach (which usually means following a script they have prepared). This sounds really easy, but it's actually quite stressful... the student teachers (with one exception) have been nervous wrecks so far... I've had to basically take charge of the lessons and impromptu teach all the kids, with the entire administration sitting in the back of the room watching. Good challenge and learning experience for me...

Bfast: Orange juice

Lunch: rice with sprouts and carrots (SO GOOD!!!); yummy super healthy soup; a corn dog; kim chi; fruit salad -----> best lunch yet!

Dinner: almonds and some leftover noodles

Today I taught three 3rd grade classes. This was my first time teaching the 3rd grade classes. These kids were better at English than most of the older ones. They are so precious and energetic. There was one girl who just held my hand for the the whole class time. Love it!

My school computer is broken, so I just read and studied Korean in the afternoon. One of my favorite kids, Hee Jee, drew a picture of me in a wedding dress and wrote me a sweet note. Last week we were looking at pictures of wedding dresses... she thought all the ones I liked were "boring and plain". Compared to the ones she liked (huge ball gowns with bright colors), she was right haha. So she drew me a nice picture of a non-plain wedding dress :)

I taught Yoon Jin for an hour again today. Surprisingly, this was probably my favorite part of the school day. I really enjoy working with people one on one. This was probably the first time I really felt like I had something to offer as a teacher. She is basically fluent in English, but her accent is still heavy and she mispronounces many words. Vowel sounds, as well as the 'r' and the 'l' sound are extremely difficut for native Korean speakers. We had fun working on these sounds... she improved so much in that one lesson!

I got official approval from the principle to go to Hawaii for three weeks in December/January. They had scheduled the winter camp for the last week in December- but when I explained my situation, they instantly moved the camp to the end of January. Our principle rocks!

bfast- special k, orange juice

lunch- sea weed soup, rice, spicy chicken...stew?, kim chi, the super salty dried mix of shrimp/fish/random sea creatures (I have a feeling this is a super-protien... actually really tasty!)

dinner- eggs, lettuce, sprouts, a parsimmon, some veggie dumpling things

So, today I taught 4 classes. The first was 4th grade- it was taught by one of the student teachers, and I was just following along with the script she gave me (wow- someone else prepared the lesson and all the materials, and literally handed me a script of exactly what to do and say? Too easy...).

Then I taught 3 6th grade classes with Yoon Jin. The first class was fine. The second was horrible. The kids wouldn't participate or listen to us- the head teacher was observing, and RIPPED these kids apart after the class was done. Hopefully, they will be better for us next time. The final class was amazing. Each class is so clearly a reflection of it's homeroom (main) teacher - the one who sets the standards for them. I was really caught off guard by the respect the final class demonstrated. When I walked into the classroom, I was like "Today we are going to start off by asking and answering some questions. Who wants to start?" So this kid in the back stands up, and I'm like "What did you do this weekend?" and the he kind of looks confused and flustered, and doesn't answer me. So I repeat my question. All the kids are staring at me, like ummm this is awkward. I repeated myself a third time. Finally, Yoon Jin said "Umm Danielle, it's the bow". So I finally shut up, and the kids proceeded with what they were planning to start before I steam rolled them... they recited something in Korean, and all bowed to me. I had forgotten (in the week I was not teaching) that this class always shows their respect this way before we begin. It was pretty amazing.

It was so cold both in and outside the school today, I thought I might cry. I wore THREE pairs of pants, two shirts, and three pairs of socks, as well as a scarf. Yikes, I never knew cold could be this cold... and it's not even the coldest time yet. I need to find some warmer clothes asap. Hopefully, they will turn the heat on in the school SOOOOOOOOOOON!!!

Oh and last but certainly not least, I miss my family and friends like crazy!!! Starting to realize I won't be home at Thanksgiving... makes me sad!

bfast- egg, apple and cheese omlet

lunch- pretty positive it was leftovers from last week... fish roll things with so many bones, rice, kimchi, broccoli with interesting dark red sauce, and that creamy peppery soup with the wierd rice patty things in it.

dinner- sweet potato, almonds and a parsimmon

It was SNOWING today!

Yoon Jin is back. The kids were crazy today, but the time definately goes a lot faster when teaching is involved. Sadly, I think the kids might not come to hang out with me in my office anymore, now that Yoon Jin is back. A few of them have said they are afraid of her/think she hates them... so they stay away. I don't quite understand where they are getting this from, but I also don't speak Korean so I don't know what she is saying to them...

Student teachers from the Chuncheon National University of Education are here all this month. If I understood correctly, they are going to be observing our classes tomorrow and Wednesday... so I have to dress really professionally (not easy when it's so cold out!).

I think after Wednesday, the student teachers will be planning and teaching the lessons and Yoon Jin and I just follow along with their plans...? Not sure yet though, that sounds too easy!

Apparently the new school (they are building a whole new school right next to the current one) will be done after winter break?! I am so excited! The current one is 70 years old - they've kept it up nicely, but it's still an old building (cold and kinda smells wierd).