Yeo Yeo: 여 여

I know you all want to read a blog about my new hamster, right? That's Yeo Yeo (named after a student... yeah, I know). I needed something more than a fish, and she's been pretty succesfully (and quickly!) hand-trained, when I open her cage she just walks right out into my hand. Best $3 I ever spent (and with the exchange rate it was actually LESS than $3!).

Friday is the last day of our 1-7 schedule and we go back to 4-9. Some classes were shuffled to. I got to keep my 3rd and 4th grade class, as well as keep my favorite 6th grade class! Mostly I am pleased that I don't have any 7th grade classes. My 7th graders have been my most problematic class, the disrespect and unwillingness to do work. I had hoped that I had gotten through to them, and they had convinced me to give them a pizza party Friday. This week had been going ok, and then today came and I had one student out of 12 who did their homework, so I took the party away. I don't even feel a little guilty about it, I was so mad.

I managed to accidentally shame both my 6th grade classes though, when I explained why they couldn't write essays in Korean and then run it through a translator. There are two ways to tell when they do this, it either comes out a garbled mess or you get sentences discussing the "evaluation of Van Gogh's psyche" ("Can you tell me what "psyche" means?" *silence* "how about evaluation, what does evaluation mean?" *silence* "did you actually write this?" "...no..."). So basically I announced to the whole class why they couldn't use translators like this for more than individual words. I wasn't mad, or yelling, but when I finished they all looked like kicked puppies (except for the kid who tried to fight me using the line of rationale that 'it said so on google!').

I've had a lot of fun this week. I taught a nursery rhyme to my 3rd graders (Hickory Dickory Dock, because they had just learned about time... they loved it!), I have one of my 6th grade classes doing a project on ocean creatures, and the other on famous artists. With the 7th graders we've been reading folktales and scary stories. Overall good lessons.

I've gotten quite pleased with my ability to navigate the downtown area and have found some great clothing stores. It's nice to know that yes, I can actually find clothes that fit in this country (the length of things is a huge problem, because as you all may know, I'm not exactly petite and I like my shirts to cover my stomach and my dresses to cover my butt). Now I just need to learn Korean!! We also received our alien cards, so now we can get bank accounts and cell phones!

I'm enjoying my time here, it's been almost a month since my arrival! Skype certainly makes things easier. I'm having a housewarming party this Saturday and am very much looking forward to expanding my social circle (if you're wondering how I know anyone to even have to a housewarming: I let Lori do all the inviting). Also, playing hostess will give me reason to thoroughly clean the apartment.

I hope everyone is doing well, especially those who are starting school/returning to school in the very near future!
~Hannah