I absolutely love my school- and my students!

I really have to say, in reflection of the past few months and from hearing others' stories, I think I have it good.

I really have begun to LOVE my students. I have a few in each class that just make my day when I see them. And it is even better when THEY light up when they see me. There are a few students that just have the biggest smiles on their faces when they walk in my door.... or when I pass them in the hallway they stop to say hello and make a mini-conversation... Then there is the boy who, when asked if they wanted self study time the week before finals, he said he wanted to have class because he enjoys it that much... And the other boy that comes in early EVERY Tuesday morning to talk to me... and last week, when he didn't have my class because of mid-terms, he came in Thursday during lunch (with 2 friends as backup who left mid-conversation) just to chat... I feel bad because I sometimes am really busy Tuesday mornings, so I need to remember to get there early, get set up, and be free to talk to him...

My girls working

My boys

Love these guys

Girls working again

Making mind maps

Got caught taking a few pictures :)

Students doing self study during the week before mid-terms (and Miss Jane watching over the boys)

My girls enjoying Princess Diaries during their reward day after mid-terms

And then there are my lovely Newspaper students... some of my favorites are in there as well... and I recently learned that they are the smartest (not just the highest level of English) in the school. That would make sense. I'm really looking forward to taking a field trip with them in a few days... Hopefully have some casual time with them to hang out...

On a field trip

Some of these girls are my newspaper students (on a field trip)

I've decided that I would really like to see the students in a non-classroom setting more often... So I am going to try my best to leave my room as often as possible in between classes, during their lunch and such... I think it will be good for them to see me around... It will make me look more approachable... and hopefully make them feel more comfortable with me and speaking in English...

Then there is my school itself... and the teachers I teach with...

After talking to other teachers, I really feel like my school is very well organized (compared to the others in Korea, maybe not the ones in America)... AND I feel like I am at a school that has a higher level of English than most.... I also get the feeling that my students are a little more well-behaved than other schools... which I am immensely grateful for...

My co-teachers (the ones that I ACTUALLY teach with) are absolutely wonderful.... one really helps with brainstorming about how to make lessons more effective, things I can change, what works, what doesn't, time management, etc... she is great.... There is another that controls the students so well that he turned my most difficult class into my favorite (that includes one of my angel students that loves talking to me and is always smiling)... The others are great too, always helping me when needed, making sure that I know what is going on and sometimes bring me little treats....

One of my treats from a co

THEN there is Miss Jane... I absolutely love this woman... I think I can truly say that she is a FRIEND... she not only always helps me at school, but had devoted a lot of time to help me learn about Korea- its language, its food, its culture and its people. Wednesdays we study Korean for 1 hour... if we miss, then she always tries to reschedule... Then some weeks we go out for dinner and coffee after school... She has introduced me to several great places to eat, one of which is between my school and my house and is my favorite restaurant I've been to... which I've introduced to my friends and we have returned, and will continue to do so.

Some of the food Miss Jane has introduced me to:

Shabu Shabu... you cook the vegetables and meat in a broth... 

Then you dip the wrappers (the paper looking things in the orange holder) in hot water...

The hot water makes them soft, and then you wrap your food in it like a little egg roll type thing

After the meat and veggies are finished, they use the broth to cook noodles....

Then after the noodles they do a rice dish... all this for $11 per person

Then there is Bulgolgi... cooked beef with noodles... this is my favorite restaurant... it is SO GOOD

Another thing I'm extremely grateful for is Olivia (my handler) and her group of friends. I don't co-teach with any of them, but I have lunch with them 4 days out of the week (the other day I eat with Miss Jane) and sometimes after lunch we go on a short walk around our school. These ladies (whose names I'm still trying to learn... I know 4 of the 6) are so nice... they really try to talk to me in English as much as possible (only 1 or 2 have enough English to have a full on conversation with me, but the others try really hard).... They really have accepted me into their circle, and that makes me feel so welcome...

And then there are all the other teachers in my school that speak English... it is quite a high percentage too! I was so surprised! I met Miss Carie the other day in the "Lady Teacher's Lounge" and she offered to take me to lunch at one of the surrounding mountains one day during mid-terms. We had a great weekend and I look forward to spending more time with her!

Miss Carie

Lunch with Miss Carie

Buddhist temple on the mountain

Overall, I just can't believe how blessed I am... like the title of this post suggests, I really do love my school and my students and can't imagine being in a better situation!