Back Into the Swing of Things

School started two weeks ago today.  Getting back into the 8-5 schedule took a little (read: A LOT) getting used to, but now I've gotten to a point where I feel like we've been in session for months.  A few changes have occurred in my school life.  I'm still adapting, but things are still just as amazing as they ever were!

I had been teaching the class with the higher level English speakers, but this year, Dionne and I switched so that the students would be exposed to different teaching methods and styles.  So, now I teach the lower level of students.  Teaching the lower level students also means that I have a co-teacher for every class.  It is nice to have another teacher in the class to help facilitate activities, explain points (though the students seem to rely a little too much upon the impending translations) and help keep the students in check.  They also provide me with some valuable feedback.  Having another teacher in the classroom definitely takes some getting used to (and is, at times, a bit tough), but in the long run, this will make me a better teacher and it is fun to get to know a whole new set of girls at every level.  That being said, they must have revised the way they split the classes because about a quarter of each of my classes are comprised of students I had in my classes last semester...  I enjoy having a couple of students in each class who are used to the way I teach and my personality. 

My first lesson in each class was spent introducing myself since I hadn't taught many of the students.  I gave them time to ask me questions and boy did I get some doozies!  Here's a sample:

• Are your eyelashes real?
• What is your ideal type? (meaning what do you look for in a boyfriend)
• What is your skincare line?
• Why is your hair short? / Why do you hate long hair? (they think that since I have short hair, I hate long hair...)
• Do you have a boyfriend?
• How did you get so tall? / What did you eat to make you tall?

My favorite situation, though, was the following line of questioning:
Student: What is your skincare line?
Noelle: I use a special washcloth.
(Student nods, blushes, says something in Korean, covers her face and repeats the Korean inquiry to Ji Hye, that class's co-teacher)
Ji Hye (laughing): She thinks you're beautiful and wants to know if you've had plastic surgery!
Noelle = flabbergasted 

Apparently, though I have yet to see it, Diane and I were on t.v. when we were at the women divers' show in Jeju.  Grace (one of our co-teachers) and several students have told me that they were watching t.v. when, all of sudden, there was Noelle Teacher.  A couple of students were extra excited to tell me that they saw me on t.v...  One day, I unlocked the door to our classrooms to shrieks of, "Noelle Teacher (sounds like Tea-cha)!  You.  On t.v.  Jeju Jeju!!!!!!!!!"  I think they were more excited about it than I was :)

I started teaching an after school class four times a week to nine first grade students.  Today was the second day of the class and I can already tell that I am going to LOVE this class!  They are adorable.  I printed out questions on small strips of paper and made them answer the questions to get a piece of candy (today I brought in leftover candy canes and they went bonkers over them!).  My favorite answer:

Question:  Are you a morning or a night person?
Student: Night person.  In vacation, I stay up 4 a.m., sleep to 2 p.m.  2 p.m. I wake up.  Eat.  Watch t.v. Eat. Play computer game.  Eat.  Talk to cat.  Eat (by this time, the whole class joins in a chorus of EAT as she says it... Delightful).

So, I've decided that it's nice to be back into the school routine.  Having (essentially) six weeks off was nice, but I'm glad to be back to a sense of normalcy, routine and adorable interactions with students, teachers and my old pal, Principal Suh.