count your blessings...

on my last post, david (yep, that's a shout-out to the mccoy - did you know that part of the earth's crust is called "sima"? tell sina.) inquired as to my name on this blog - kareoke. the reason it is spelled like way (of course, to be clever :) happened as i was searching for anagram for "korea". when i thought of the karaoke habit, i couldn't pass it up. it also makes it sound more like my name, so that works. also, as to the outback, the menu is definitely american-style - no barbecued kimchi! :)

humourous moment #1 (aka when i laughed out loud in the middle of a shopping center):

really, america? you had the send the dregs of yourself to other countries? really?

this weekend was mostly restful, although i spent a considerable time working and talking about work (disregard the numerical specifications. they are mostly useless.):

unexpected moment #1: on friday, they informed me i was to join the "foreign teacher choir". so we sang a song in church on sunday.

humourous moment #2: most of the sunday service is in Korean, so the monolingual foreignors wear translators with headphones, through which an administrator translates the sermon. during the announcements, at one point the pastor looked and motioned to me, and then i realized a few others were looking as well, but not until a few seconds later did i hear through my headphones, "and we have a new teacher, Kari. Kari, please stand up". i stood up to the translator giggling in my ears.

odd incident times sixty: most everyone here simply refers to me as Kari. all the homerooms list their teachers, and most say things such as "mr. mills, mrs. jobeth" but mine just says Kari. i have no idea why. or maybe i do. as funny as it is to hear koreans say "kahreeh", you should hear them pronounce my last name.

super fun time: i sat in the office (which is really a bunch of desks all pushed together, in groups of six - they really pack the teachers in like sardines), trying to figure out the next week, when mrs. briscoe (i'm still not sure what her title is, but she works with the foreign teachers) asked if i wanted to take a break and play ping-pong or soccer. she said "sunday is a time for play!". i ended up playing soccer on a sand field with about 18 students - all male. ever since, the teachers that speak Korean say that the students have been talking about me as a "soccer player". soccer is a huge thing over here, but i especially find it funny that they find it a big deal that i can play. during the game, if the ball was in the air and i went up for it, the boys never challenged me.

humourous moment #3: these same teachers also informed me that there has been a buzz about me among the male students because they think i am "very pretty". oh, boys.

on a more less-than-fun note, teaching so far has been much more work than i thought it would be. these last two days, i have been at the school for at least twelve hours a day. when they say "8-5", it is more of a suggestion, not the actual time it will take to get everything done. since i arrived two weeks after school started, everyone else has course outlines for the semester, so in the last two days, i have made three syllabi, learned the computer grading system (as well as every other "system" - tallies for punishment, school schedule, teaching styles), graded three classes tests, taught five classes per day, read the first few chapters of three textbooks plus the added activities and ideas...i got really overwhelmed at one point yesterday, but things are evening out as i get into a rhythm and it should calm down eventually as i actually figure out how to teach effectively. right now, it is a lot of experimenting, remembering that every class is both the subject and the english language, which is the second for most students.

i'm really enjoying my students, most of the time. there is a class of ESL beginners, meaning they have an extremely low comprehension of English, so teaching them World Studies on top of English has been a huge challenge. also, when i walked into class today, some boys were physically fighting each other and yelling (cursing, probably) in korean and things got worse from there, although it quieted down once two boys were sent out. i felt bad for the students who were actually trying to learn. after class, two sweet girls, rachel and joy, said to me, "i'm sorry teacher! the boys...so bad!".

the teachers and staff here are wonderful as well. most of the weekend, i didn't have to think about where to get food or even pay for most of it. there is always someone to eat with, to show us a good restaurant and what to order (very few menus with pictures).

necessary survival skill #1: i'm learning to like spicy food.

it's been fun getting to know my fellow teachers - they are quite the fascinating bunch of people.

thank you, thank you, for your words and prayers - all of you reading this have been a blessing in my life and i couldn't imagine getting through this year without your support. i love coming back after a long day and being refreshed by you! despite the difficulties, i am learning a lot, experiencing great things, and interacting with some wonderful people. God is so good! please pray for patience, endurance, and wisdom as i continue teaching this week!