Back to School

It's wednesday here in Busan, and we're starting our first day of school.

The first day went really well, neither of us really had to do anything. The couple we're replacing (Katie and Lane) was there for their last day, and so Amy and I got to sit in class with the other students and learn about the difference between to, too, and two....

It was a short and sweet visit with Katie and Lane though. They left for a vacation to Tokyo yesterday, and will travel from there to Hong Kong where they'll be teaching kindergardeners.

So, yesterday was our first solo day. Before we went, I couldn't help but think about teachers I've had in the past that talked about being nervous. I never understood then, Thoughts like: "How can you be nervous?? You're an adult, and a teacher. I'm just a kid...nervous is my job."

This eventually gave me comfort. Because the kids were going to be much more nervous of a 6'3" hairy white man, than I should be of a 3'4" Korean 2nd grader...at least I hoped.

I wasn't totally correct about the intimidation factor. But there wasn't any nervousness to speak of, which made the day go extremely well. The first few classes of our days consist of mainly 1st-4th graders and the ages gradually rise in the classes throughout the day.

This is going to take away from all that tough street-cred I've been building up over the years, but I have to say it...these kids, especially the little ones, are adorable. I haven't taken any pictures of them yet, but I'm sure they would love that, and you would too. They are so very curious and giggly. I already love em. You don't get a whole lot of time to hang with elementary school kids when you're in college. But, it is very refreshing to get to work with six year olds.

The lessons went by in a flash, and were much more interesting yet easy to teach than I expected. My most advanced students got to read about Louis Braille, who was born in 1809 and adopted a system of reading used by the military for "reading in complete darkness" to a system that allows blind people to read....I might've been a little more intrigued than my sixth grade boys.

Everything about his place and these people has been great and doesn't stop getting greater.

We love you all and I'll let you know how the rest of the week goes.

-Bryan