I’m so entertained by my co-teacher.

Two weeks ago, my co-teacher came to school an entire period late for my 3rd grade class.  So basically.. the kids were uncontrollable, running around, and screaming like monkeys.  I dealt with it… but not with out occasionally swearing under my breath and man handling one of the ADHD kids.  ~BTW, little 3rd grade boys are super heavy when they decide to become dead weight.

When she came into the classroom, i told her the kids had gone crazy, and she felt really bad.  The next time we had to teach that class she started off with this big speech about how they shouldn’t act badly when she’s not there and how she was really disappointed by their behavior.  Then she was like, “Okay kids.. i’m going to tell you an educational story now.  If you’re bad, i will stop the story, if you’re good.. i’ll keep telling it!”  So for a good 20 minutes she was telling this really entertaining story (in korean). 

I was thinking that she was probably telling a fable about how to act properly and the importance of being respectful to adults and whatnot.. so i was just sitting there being like, “yeah.. you listen.. YOU LISTEN HARD!” 

So she finished the story… i finished the lesson.. and during break i was like, “So.. what was the story about?!”  and she was like, “ooh.. it’s about a stupid stupid stupid racoon who smokes.  It’s like an anti-smoking story.”  

hahahaa.  that.. wasn’t what i expected. 

anyways… so today, the 4th graders had to watch an anti-smoking video in the morning.  So when they got to our class, she was like, “christa.. this is the perfect time for me to tell my anti-smoking story!”  so i was like, “yeah.. go ahead!”  So she told the story about the ‘stupid stupid stupid raccoon’ and at the end of the story she was like… “so is it good to smoke? NO!  When you see a person on the street smoking.. you can call them ‘stupid stupid stupid raccoon’!!”

At that moment, i saw a girl with a really sour look on her face, and i knew EXACTLY what she was thinking.  She had no problem voicing what was on her mind.

Girl: TEACHER.  My mom smokes all the time.
Teacher: Well then you can tell your mom, “you’re a stupid stupid stupid raccoon”
Girl: i don’t think she’ll like that…

(later on in a different period she told the kids to say to people who smoke “you’re a stupid stupid stupid raccoon” only in English because they won’t understand.  nice-uh)

Today, i had my first open class with my co-teacher.  I’d say the biggest difference with this open class compared to my 4 “lone-ranger” ones is that people actually came to watch it!  This particular open class was mainly so teachers and parents could evaluate their kids, i mean, my co-teacher and not really me.  she was the one who came up with the lesson plan AND she was doing most of the teaching.  I was basically there to say a couple of words, and play a song.  Fine with me!

I’d like to think it went smoothly except for the fact that the couple of questions and instructions i WAS supposed to ask/say, my co-teacher ended up asking and uh… saying. hahaha.  The thoughts in my head as it was happening were, “wait.. wasn’t i supposed to ask that?!  wait.. wasn’t i supposed to explain that?  Wait… oh screw it.”  So my 10 minute role was basically 5 minutes in a 40 minute class.  HAHA.  nice-uh.

Afterwards… all the teachers who observed the class came up to me and told me what a wonderful job i did, and i looked like i was such a super good teacher.  BUT… UHHh… i’m pretty sure the whole time i was just standing there swaying back and forth, smiling at the kids.  My co-teacher also told me that i did a really wonderful job and all the parents were really impressed.  and in my head.. i kept thinking.. “really?  i.didn’t.do.much of.anything…”  why is everyone being so extra nice to me???

Then my answer came… 30 minutes later.

My co-teacher walked over to my desk as i was reading tumblr and facebook-ing (i’m a great multi-tasker) and goes, “christa… here is a letter from SMOE.  They said congratulations on being such a wonderful teacher and having a wonderful year.  Now is the time to tell me whether or not you are going to renew for next year.  please think about it.. and i hope you make a WISE decision.  The BEST decision.  Because you are the BEST… and i want you TO STAY.  but first.. you can think about yourself.  but then… THINK ABOUT ME!”

I’m 90% sure what my answer is going to be, but i told her i’d think about it some more and give her my answer by friday.

it’s hard to make these kinds of decisions especially when my school is so nice, work life is better than most, the weather is warming up, and i’m so comfortable here.  But i think i know what’s going.  I guess the bottom line is, i’m not sure if i’m ready to go back and start my life in the USA.  Being back in the states has been such a distant thought in my head.  And now i have a deadline to commit.  

shit.

….and i feel like i’ve just won a trip to charlie’s chocolate factory!

haha.  So my parents arrived in korea this past friday.  There’s always a problem with people coming to visit me in korea, and that problem is called “work”.  Like the working woman that i am, i am at school from the 8:40-4:40 grind.  By the time i come home from work, i’m a bit pooped from dealing with very emotional and sometimes physical rugrats.  Also, the things i want to do with my visitors have to wait till the evening.

However… when it’s your PARENTS visiting, it’s a different story.

I told my co-teachers that my parents were coming on friday, and immediately they all lit up and were so excited for me.  I asked if i could leave school early on the days they were here, and they were like, “YES, OF COURSE!  you need to spend as much time with them as possible!”  So we talked to the VP and i got the ok to leave school early for 4 days!  hooray!!

Well, today i found out that i don’t have any classes tomorrow because my 4th graders are going on a field trip.  So i looked at my co-teachers with a puzzled face because if i was going to leave early after my classes anyways, why show up at all when i don’t have any?  Well their thoughts exactly… so they whispered to me, “just.don’t.come.to.school.”    I whispered back, “are.you.sure?”  and then my co-teacher said, “i’ll cover for you.  ENJOY!”

Wow.. it’s like i’m on vacation too!  now i totally forgive her for coming to school 30 minutes… sometimes a whole class period late!!   hahaha.. little does she know that my parents vacation consists of laying on the hotel bed and watching tv.

After renewing for my 2nd year in korea, i made 2 goals for myself. 
1) enroll in a korean class
2) join a gym

8 months later, i’ve finally accomplished one of those goals.

hopefully… i’ll have a kick ass body by the time summer rolls around!!  ㅋㅋ 

This morning, i walked into class and this was how i was greeted by my co-teacher. 
Me: Hi jiyoon!  how.. are you? 
JY: Oh, good morning.  I’m fine. how are… you?
me: I’M GREAT!
JY: Oh, christa.. you must have uh…

at this moment, I could tell that she was thinking hard about her words, but i didn’t know what it was going to be.  was she going to say “must have eaten breakfast?”, “must feel refreshed today?”, “must feel tired?”… I wasn’t sure!!  Then she completed her sentence.
JY: you… must have been very rushed today.
~HAHA.  i thought about it for a split second~
Me: oh.. why?  do i look crazy?
JY: yes.. a little bit crazy.  but you are young.. i envy you.  I think it’s okay to be lazy.  enjoy it.  because when you are older like me and have children, you can’t be lazy!   

LOL.  buhhhhh.  

Me:  haha. yeah. I was really rushed today.. i just kind of ran out the door (NOT TRUE… heh.heh.hahaha)
JY: yes. the life of a single person.

Immediately, i brushed it off and started getting the PPT’s ready on the computer and opening files.  But her morning words seeped into my head and made me think to myself, do i really look toe-up today?  So i glanced at her mirror.. and SHOCK/HORROR (okay.. not really)… but to answer my question from 2 seconds ago, YES. i looked pretty nasty.  HAHA.  my hair was in all different directions and frizzy for some reason.  I couldn’t help but laugh at myself.  Maybe before i go out the door from now on, i should check if my hair is sticking up.. or just slap on a headband next time.  Usually, this kind of thing wouldn’t really make me want to change, but not too long ago, the old vice principal told me, “YOU’RE HAIR IS SO MESSY. YOU LOOK LIKE A KOREAN GHOST!” 

Well followed up by that discussion about my hobo-ish look this morning, my co-teacher asked me about renewing.  I pretty much told my 2nd co-teacher that i’m leaving in august.  I guess she didn’t relay that message to THIS co-teacher because she started telling me i should stay for another year. 

Her arguments were pretty persuasive. 
1) JY: Do you not like korea?
me: No, i love it here!
JY:If you LOVE korea.. you should stay!
2)JY: This is a good opportunity for you to be here and build up your experience.
me: yes, but i need to start my life in america.  i’m getting older.
JY: You can use this time to help your career in america! 
3) JY: All the teachers really like you.  they compliment you and feel that you have improved a LOT as a teacher.  They feel comfortable enough to leave the classroom when you teach
me thinking: uhm… that was last year.. and most of those teachers left.  ::tear::
4) JY: how long have you been here?
me: it will be 2 years.  if i renew.. that’s 3 years!
JY:  i think 3 years should be the minimum for the best experience!
me thinking: you said that when you asked about me renewing after my first year!  but instead you said that 2 years should be the minimum. haha.. recycling arguments now, aye?

Lucky #5 and most persuasive argument:
JY: Besides.. America is very dangerous!  it’s unsafe compared to korea!  Everyone in America owns a gun and you will be scared to think whether or not someone will shoot you!
me thinking: my family doesn’t.. oh wait my dad does have guns..
me saying: well.. i don’t own a gun!!
JY: you’re a special case.  Special American.

LOL.

Ending words that could only be heard in S. Korea

JY: the only thing you have to worry about in Korea is if North Korea attacks.  yes, that is scary.  But you don’t worry about that. i’ll worry about north korea for you … instead you only worry about teaching english!  OKAY… you’re staying.. it’s such a good idea!

… buhhhh

Before arriving in Phnom Penh, it was described to us as a sleepy city for being semi-quiet considering it’s the most populated city in all of Cambodia.  When we arrived, it was way more busy than Siem Reap, but it did not have the same city feel as you would get in Manhatten, New York or Seoul, South Korea. 

We arrived at our accomodations, Royal Palace Hotel, around 8:30pm after a scary 5.5hr taxi ride and near death.  thankfully, the room was really clean and definitely a step up from our stay at the hostel in Siem Reap.  

The next morning, we were picked up by a tuk tuk to get transported to the Blazing Trails office to take our ATV tour.  If you look at Tripadvisor Cambodia, the number 1 recommended thing to do in Phnom Penh is this ATV tour hosted by Blazing Trails.  They got RAVE reviews and the tour we were interested in was 1/2 a day and included seeing the country side on ATV and the killing fields. 

On our way to the office, there was an Asian guy in our tuk tuk who was from New York City.  Turns out he was a dentist on vacation to cambodia to take pictures because taking traveling pictures was his hobby.  He told us that he had 2 other partners taking care of his practice at home so that is how he was able to afford the time to leave on vacation to South East Asia for 2 weeks!  *mental note: become a dentist or marry a dentist with his own practice.  it’s mad $$!!*

Anyways, when we arrived at the Blazing Trails HQ, we were greated kindly by our tour guide, James!  We paid $55 each for a half-day tour and were almost ready to be off on the ATV portion of the tour until… matty’s ATV broke down half way off the driveway.  lol!  Well, no problem because instead of wasting our time, they took us to the Killing fields which was about a 3 minute drive/10 minute walk away so they could fix the ATV. 

The killing fields: A Brief History

After the Cambodian civil war, the Khmer Rouge regime committed a mass genoicide on all the people they thought to be apart of the former government or foreign government.  They estimated that around 2.2 million people died from this genoicide and around 1.3 million deaths were caused by execution.

I think personally, it was just shocking to know how recent this genocide took place.  This took place from 1975-1979… a time when my cousins were born!!  Man, i’m so lucky my family grew up in america!

Anyways, the thing with the killing fields is that when you walk in, it’s covered in green green grass everywhere.  However, the ground is full of hills and valleys where all the the mass graves are.  they say that to this day, when there are heavy rains… teeth, bones, and clothes surface because there were so many bodies buried underneath.

Clothes still half-buried in the ground of the killing fields

One of the most depressing things i witnessed on my trip to cambodia was not what i saw of the dead, but actually what i saw of the living.  My friends and i took a detour towards the back of the killing fields where it was seperated by a fence.  On the other side of the fence was a little house and 5 children.  As we were walking by, i heard them say a word that i could not understand.  Then my friend Tanya said, “oh.. picture?  I think they’re saying picture.”  The kids responded, ” yes yes!!”  So tanya, matty, and i took out our cameras to take a picture of them posing by the fence.  After the picture was taken, in sync they said robotically, “show me, show me!”  I walk over to the fence to show them the picture while thinking “oh, these kids must think they’re so cute!” Once they saw the picture i had taken, in an instant they change the tone of their voices into a sad, “give me money.  give me money.” 

The kids posing for my picture.  See their smiles?

Tanya took this picture just as i showed them their picture on my camera.  their faces changed from smiles.. to begging.  :’(

I was so taken aback, I didn’t really know what to do.  We started walking away conflicted.  If we don’t give them money, we feel/look like jerks.  If we do give them money, it just encourages this type of behavior to make them think that begging will get them what they want.  Well, we didn’t give them money and they ended up following us on the other side of the fence for like 5 minutes until they realized we wouldn’t give them anything.  Matty summed it up for us: our emotions went from “that’s cute” to “that’s weird” to “that’s depressing”. 

We continued on with our tour of the killing fields and after finishing in 45 minutes with out an audio guide (an audio guide will take 90 minutes), we headed back to go to the ATVs.  I was in a really depressed state and a little disturbed by the children.  I read on trip advisor that during the ATV tour, we would see many country side children and wave to them on our way around town.  However, with THAT experience at the killing fields i felt like, ”I DON’T WANT TO SEE ANY CHILDREN!”

Well, we went on our way, and the ATVs turned my depressed state into a better one.  I wasn’t sure how long the actual ATV riding would be because when i went on an ATV tour in the Philipines, the actual ATV riding only lasted about 30 minutes.  However, this ATV ride ended up being a full 2hrs of riding!  We went all over different trails, roads, through rice patty fields, little communities… everywhere!

Also, the countryside kids did come out of their homes, but innocently just wanted to wave or high-five us as we passed their homes not asking for money or anything.  This reinstated my belief in the purity of children for the time being, and that ended up being one of the highlights of the ATV ride!

In the middle of ATV-ing, we stopped at this random snack stand to buy some water.  The lady who owned the snack stand had a mango tree, and our guide, James, told us to take a look if we’ve never seen a mango tree before!  matty and i were admiring it because mango is our FAVORITE fruit in the world.  the old lady came over and watched us stare at her tree.  She asked us where we were from and said i was “really really beautiful” tehehe.  then out of nowhere… she tells our ATV guide that we could each have a mango!  omg, i was so shocked… i reached in my bag to give her money for the mango, but she refused and said “it’s for you!  freee!”  wow.. soooooo nice.

a baby unripened mango!!  so cute… i want to eat it!

We finished 2hrs later and it was definitely worth the $55 dollars we paid.  i totally understand why it was rated #1 on tripadvisor because it was such a fun trip, and we really did get to see a lot of the country side.  After the ATV, we told our Tuk Tuk driver to stay with us to finish our sight seeing day in phnom penh for an extra $15.  He took us to a place for lunch, the Royal palace, and the genoicide museum AKA Prison S-21. 

The Royal palace was really extravagent, the pagodas were brightly colored… and it is known for the “silver pagoda”.  Why is it silver pagoda?  because the floor is lined with silver tiles….. wow.. beougie!  Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed.  We blew through the Royal palace because we wanted to have enough time for the S-21 prison.

The Royal palace was full of pagodas that were so vibrantly colored!!

The S-21 Prison was actually a high school that was transformed into a prison… and boy it looked sad.  The feel of the prison and the killing fields was different because at the killing fields, it was full of trees and green grass but the S-21 prison really looked and felt like a prison.  It was lined with barbed wire, surrounded by city buildings, felt cold and lifeless.  I personally felt that the prison was more depressing than the killing fields, probably because I didn’t use the audio guide at the killing fields and the prison did a good job of having detailed descriptions next to all the things you saw there.

After looking at all the rooms, and reading more about the history and stories of the people who went through the prison, I started getting a headache.  Reading about so much sadness literally made my head hurt.  I’m definitely glad i went and experienced a part of Cambodian history, but at the same time it’s definitely not somewhere i would want to go to twice.  

Prison block B of the S-21 Prison.

One of the holding cells for interrogation.

Something i thought was really interesting was that 3 of the leaders who were in charge of conducting the S-21 Prison are still alive today.  Apparently they were RECENTLY put on trial and charged for genocide in 2009.  wow!!

Yup!  So my friends and I only spent one full day in Phnom Penh.  But in that one day,  we were able to see all the things we really wanted to see in the city.  Maybe we could have spent another day and took our time with the royal palace, but once you’ve seen one pagoda, you’ve seen them all!  haha… sorta.  anyways, the day was definitely a roller coaster of emotions from fun highs to depressing lows.  It made me really self-reflect on my own life and so thankful for everything I have.  I would say this might have been my favorite or at least the most memorable day of the entire trip. 

Anyways, next up: the next and final stretch of my cambodia trip… SIHANOUKVILLE!  aka.. beach town. 

As fast as this Koney2012 Campaign has gone viral, i’ve been just as fast to support it. However, after reading different articles, I realize that there needs to be research done and more things to consider.

I’m not saying the Koney2012 campaign is bad, It’s just not wise to jump on the bandwagon without all the facts. 

Here’s a good article to read and consider.  It may not have all the facts either… but it’s something to think about

http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/

I’m taking a break from finishing my cambodia posts to interject a little first day thoughts.

Even though it’s not my first “first day of school”, it half feels like it since it’s my first day of “co-teaching”.  I had been struggling with the concept of co-teaching when the idea was brought up to me last year that it was going to change.  I got this vibe from one of my co-teachers that she didn’t really want to co-teach because for the past 3 years, she had been teaching English by herself.  However, before the day was over yesterday, she had informed me she had this whole orientation planned out for our class today.   basically, she wanted me to stand there and maybe help with spelling.  Wow.. awesome?

So today was the first day of co-teaching, and it went smoothly.  I was really impressed by her command of the class and charisma while teaching.  She was able to entertain and make the kids think.  I could really see their minds working when she was explaining each rule.  At the same time, she maintained a scary korean tone through out making sure if any kid was out of line, it’d be corrected in 5 sec.  That’s definitely important to set a tone of authority right from the beginning of the school year.  We’re not here to make any friends, just teach these little buggers.  It was cute though because  I would see the kids sneak peaks at me and wave to make sure i hadn’t turned into a scary english teacher over break.  I tried having a stoic face as well, but i would sneak in a smile or two.. or four.  haha.  

I was so impressed by her teaching style that i’m actually excited to work with her.  However, she told me she wanted me to be the main teacher when we get going so the kids can hear my pronunciation (which makes sense), but i’m hoping she’ll step in a lot so i can learn from her too.

Oh yeah, so after class when i was going back to the teacher’s lounge, one of the 4th grader boys stopped me in the hallway and was like, “CHRISTA TEACHER!  HII!  TEACHER…. SCARY!”  and i was like, “what??”  and then he said, “JUNG JI YOON (my co-teacher) is SCARY!”  hahahaha. 

i definitely know we’re on the right track.