Hello Students!

Sinhwol Middle School

Today was my first day of teaching, after a few cordial hellos I went into my first class to give a lesson on gardening and the meaning of certain flowers. By this time, a few students had seen me in the hallway and were saying “wow” and “hello” a bit shyly. In class, my students were all pretty sleepy until I pretty much shouted my lesson in the most dramatic fashion that I have ever done ANYTHING. They LOVED it.

I emphasized the importance of speaking English loudly and using your body to help emote the words. Of course I exaggerated but all of my students stayed alert and remembered the lesson at the end of class. Second period starts…I still can’t get my power point to open but drawing seems to impress the students so I can manage with that….but wait a minute why are students hanging in the door and filling up the windows of my classroom? The room is literally overflowing with students staring and smiling at me. Just beaming! The bell rings, the tardy students leaves, I teach my class. I have a break and decide to use the time to work on my lesson. Fourth period starts and the students are paparazzi – large groups following me and shouting “So beautiful” “Tall” “HI TEACHER” and “Do you have boyfriend?!” at me. I somehow make it to class and my students are just overjoyed to see me. The girls are very shy and the boys are….inappropriate but they’re speaking English so who cares?

I head to lunch after class and many students shout my name when passing then wave frantically then cower away. By the end of lunch, it is absolute pandemonium. Students are climbing over each other to take pictures and ask me about my life in America. I have to shoo them away in order to start class but even with the door closed I hear  “girlfriend?” and “Yes teacher!!” screamed through the windows; I am overwhelmed but flattered somewhat. Class goes as usual…I have one male student who insists that my over-emoting is lewd in the form of “DIRTY DIRTY TEEEACHER!”. Strange but ok.

The end of class is pure chaos…students appear from nowhere to fully encircle me and they simultaneously assault me with questions and words. It’s loud and scary and I hear phone cameras. Ok, I think, I can play the camera game, too. I whip out my camera and, like a magic trick, all the students vanish; you’d think I pulled out live grenade the way they immediately scattered upon seeing my camera.

They were so fast that I could only get pictures of them running away…I will get better ones tomorrow. So, then I return to my desk to do some planning only to find some puzzling notes stuck to my stuff.

Something’s being lost in the translation, I’m sure.

I got over myself and met a fellow teacher for dinner. A few students stared and giggled at me on the way there and the way back. Anyway, we got a huge plate of fried chicken (we didn’t finish it), about five side dishes and two desserts – one of cold lychee berries seen below and flavored ice…FOR $7 each! Isn’t that insane?!

It's a sweet, juicy, fleshy fruit that I've had before only in fruit snack form.

Yum yum.