치악중학교

My middle school.



Teachers' office - My desk is in the middle of the pic.



One of my classes...well more like half of it - I couldn't fit them all in the pic!

Pros of Middle School:

1. I'm basically a celebrity. As the only foreigner, I get a lot of attention. Students bow every time I walk down a hall (awesome) and as an added bonus, some of them will shout, "beautiful!" or "so pretty" then giggle and run away.

2. You don't have to wear shoes! Once you get into the building, you put on socks and slippers. Also, the school has ondol wooden flooring (underfloor heating). They only heat the floor in the winter time, but I'm really looking forward to warm toes.

3. I get to be a buffon in class. Students have a really low English level so when I'm speaking, I have to exaggerate and use every means possible to get them to understand. When I draw pictures on the board, use body language, put stresses on words, or change my intonation, kids think its hilarious. I'm legitimately not sure whether they understand that I'm just playing or if they assume that Westerners are ridiculous people.

Cons of my Middle School:

1. Of the 40 exhausted, overworked students in each of my classes, generally about half of them don't give a s*** about English, can't understand a word I'm saying, and would rather be doing anything other than be in my class. English in mandatory in the Korean school system from elementry school through high school. Inevitably, some students will stuggle and fall behind their peers. Unfortunately, there aren't remedial classes or classes divided by ability level so once students are lost, its very hard to catch them up or even recapture their interest. Because of the range in abilities, it's VERY difficult to engage everyone at the same time and I pretty much have to look the other way when the back rows of the class are sleeping or playing on their gameboys.

2. Lunch is generally unidentifiable but often has tentacles in it...On the bright side, I'm getting pro at eating with chopsticks and have developed a taste for kimchi.

3. Corporal Punishment. Teachers carry sticks with them and hit students in class. If the students are really bad, they get sent to the office where the teachers hit them more . It's a big awkward trying to act normal and plan a lesson when I can hear a student behind me yelping in pain.