first day of teaching

Yesterday was my first day of teaching and it was quite a long and tiring day. I don't even know where to begin. My day started with meeting my co-teacher at the bus stop in Jeonju (about a 15 minute walk from my apartment). We purchased our tickets (which are incredibly expensive..5100 won for a 30 minute ride each way--i spent 10,200 won just on the bus ticket alone!!). Once we arrived in Imsil, we ran into a police officer who offered to drive us to the elementary school. I got to sit in the backseat of a Korean cop car and see a bunch of police equipment. The back door can't be opened from the inside so the cop joked around that I was arrested. He wanted to improve his English and said I could stop by his office anytime. He was impressed with the few simple Korean phrases I knew how to say.
Once we got to school, I greeted the principal, vice principal, and my mentor teachers and gave them the gifts I prepared for them. My co-teacher and I prepared the materials I used for my first class and went to the classroom to set up. My first class was 1/2 graders with 16 students. They were a handful and quite active. I was able to get through my introduction power-point, but I had to constantly stop in between to settle the kids down or stop hitting each other. There were a few kids in the class who knew English really well. When it got out of control I had to cross my arms and put on a serious face. It's amazing how quick they notice that I'm not happy and whisper to the other students to be quiet and listen. I would cross my arms in the shape of an X to show kids what I didn't like. Some kids thought it'd be funny to say yes to the things I didn't like (such as yelling or hitting one another). The girls behaved really well and there were a couple of students who kept trying to help me keep some kids seated. They are such cute and adorable kids, but their attention span is very low. I started handing out the paper for the kids to make their name tags, but we ran out of time. First and second graders are definitely a challenge. I know now that I need to spend less time getting them to pay attention and introduce engaging activities to maintain their interest and attention on me.
I taught the 5th graders for my next class and my power-point didn't play and so I had to present my introduction slideshow on my laptop. The kids could still see but it was just a small screen. I have 12 5th graders. They are quiet..too quiet. I introduced the idea of a sticker chart and told them that if they fill up their name on the chart with stickers, they will receive a prize. To earn a sticker, students need to participate, help clean up, help out their classmates in some way, and follow my classroom rules (which they follow really well, except for participation). This will hopefully motivate them to practice the English during our activities while having fun:) The 5th graders were able to start working on their name tags but ran out of time. 40 minute classes fly by so quickly.


I thought yesterday was tough, but today was even more tiring since I taught 5 classes and was up since 6 am. Yesterday, I followed my co-teacher around for transportation but today I was on my own. The bus schedule for Imsil is irregular and the bus times are limited since the drivers are on strike. I start teaching at 8:50 this morning so my only option was to take the 7:12 am bus. I got up at 6 to get ready and wanted to get to the ticket stand a little early in case I ran into any communication problems and needed to ask around for help. A man was waiting at the bus stop and I showed him the note my co-teacher had written in Korean for "I need a ticket to Imsil please". He showed me that in about 7 minutes the ticket master was going to open the stand and I can buy the ticket. Around 7 am, the owner of the ticket stand came by and the man wanted me to show the ticket master the note with Korean writing on it but I didn't know that. He kept showing me his hands because when I showed him the note the first time it was on my hand. So he took my hand and tried to look for the note..haha. Then seconds later I realized what he was talking about and I was able to get my bus ticket. After a 30 minute bus ride, I arrived at my school and greeted my principal, vice principal and the teachers that were already at school. When my mentor teacher came in, he asked me if I took the bus to school and if it was ok. Apparently, he came by to my apartment around 7:30 this morning to take me to school but my co-teacher had told me that I was suppose to take the bus to school myself today. Oops. This is why I cannot wait to get my phone asap to avoid situations like that.
I told my principal and vice principal that I took the bus to school all by myself and that the bus fare is really expensive. Every morning I'm offered a cup of coffee which is a nice way to start my morning and wake me up.
I had my 5th graders again for my first class today. We sang a "Good morning, how are you song" as a way to get in the mood for English class. Still not as much participation from them as I would like but they had a lot of fun picking out their English names.
I met my 6th graders for the first time today. The boys love to speak a lot of English phrases randomly throughout the class period. Every class had a fun time picking out English names. Some of the younger children thought that English names sound funny. One 3rd grade girl kept saying "pass" when she didn't like a name. haha. My 3rd grade class is the smallest with only 8 students and their my best class. Too bad I only teach them once a week. I will prepare a bingo game for my 3rd graders because one of the girls asked to play Bingo. There are few students with disabilities in my class and I am worried about them because they don't respond to me. They just shake their head no. One boy in the 3rd grade kept picking on another boy who cannot speak and pulled on his hair. I immediately came over and had a talk with him outside. My mentor teacher came by and had a talk with him as well. Despite the behavior issues that come up in my classroom, I bring my smile and energy to every class to show the kids how excited I am to teach them English. But if things get out of control, I mean business that I am not happy and they have a seat in the principal's office. The kids will do everything to test me and don't really listen when I tell them to stop or that it's not ok in English because I am a foreigner. They know that I don't understand Korean. Teaching English as a second language is definitely a challenge but I am determined to fulfill the responsibility I have as a role model/teacher and educate the kids on everyday conversational English.
After a tiring day at school, my day got even more interesting on the way home. My co-teacher was kind enough to drop me off at the Jeonju bus station. Once at the station, she stayed with me to buy the ticket and translated the place where I needed to be dropped off to the bus driver in Korean. I just remember my co-teacher telling me that the bus was going to drop me off in front of the home plus store and she said it was close to Nambu market. Yeah...it wasn't. Nambu market is a major landmark I look for to see whether I'm close to my apartment. I ended up in the middle of Jeonju and had to walk about 45 minutes until I reached Nambu Market. From Nambu, it's about another 10 minute walk back to my place. Once I was dropped off at home plus, I didn't see anything that looked familiar. I said "Nambu market" to a nice man walking on the street and he was explaining in Korean but I tried my best to figure out what he was saying with his hand gestures. I walked in the direction he pointed and saw the Jeonju city hall. I recognized the city hall when my friend took me shopping in Gaeksa (which is about a 15 minute car drive from my apartment). So I realized that I was super far from my home and had no idea which direction to go.
I stopped and asked another nice man on the street if he spoke English and that I need help finding Nambu market. He asked me to follow him and while we were walking I found out that he's a policeman and was off duty so he wasn't in his uniform. He asked me if I was Korean (which I get ALL the time) and what my purpose in Korea was. I explained to him that I am an English teacher at Galdam Elementary in Imsil. He walked with me until I saw a sign that had an arrow pointing straight ahead with Nambu Market written underneath. I walked the rest of the way and thanked him (too many times) for his help. By the time I got home it was 15 minutes till 5 in the evening. I should have been home around 3 but I was just happy about the fact that I got home.
Despite getting lost, I had a delicious dinner of noodle soup (kal gook) with some friends who are also living around my area. 
Tomorrow is a more relaxed day with only 2 classes. I don't teach tomorrow until 1:20 so it'll be nice to sleep in. Wednesdays are just rough days for me because my mentor teacher told me today that I will be teaching Kindergarten for 3 extra hours starting next week. Which means I'm at school pretty much from 8-4. God give me the strength. I will need it.