Hooray for Friday! This past week has been a complete whirlwind, and I can't believe it has only been a week since Bryan and I lept off of American soil and landed here in Busan. I feel like my mind has been filled with enough new sites, sounds, and smells (*remind me to tell you about those smells later..) for a whole year! Katie and Lane (the teachers we replaced) really were angels in this whole transition process, and even though we only spent about 48 hours with them, they are already dearly missed.
I think that I have gotten the hang of things in the teaching world. Bryan already told you about some of it, but I think I should expand on how adorable these kids really are. In a few of my classes, the kids' feet dont even touch the ground when they are sitting in the chairs...adorable. I have already received sweet little drawings from some of the little girls of "Teacher Amy", complete with long curly hair (I wish), and big smiles. These have been hung by my desk, and I hope the collection grows throughout the year.
In some of my most advanced classes, I am AMAZED by the intelligence levels of the kids. Most of them are around 10-12 years old, and the content they are learning in English is comparable, if not more advanced, than what I was learning in my native language at that age. For example, I have 2 advanced classes using a text book called "Issues for Today". This is a book that CNN put out, with a series of non-fiction articles followed by in depth reading comprehension questions and vocab.
We are currently on a story that discusses the latest Forensic technology such as DNA testing, fingerprint testing, and laser light technology. It goes on to talk about 3 crimes in depth that these methods were used at, including murder, rape, and theft. Um...you try explaining the definitions to ANY of those words I just used in basic english.. Come. on.
I feel bad for the kids, because I know they are trying really hard, but some things just aren't going to click. Luckily, in these classes, I have the freedom of writing the vocabulary tests which are required ("require" was one of our vocab words) for each class. I was able to make the past test challenging, but easy enough for the students not to feel completely defeated. And, I am happy to report that they all scored 100%! Ha..maybe I went a little tooo easy on them :)
So, its only 11am here in Busan, but Bryan and I have already finished our first adventure for the day: The Health Exam. In order to get our Alien Registration Cards (which you need to open a bank account, get a cell phone, live), you are required to have a health exam. I think we were both somewhat intimidated by this idea, but knew that we had to get it over with. Katie had left us with the name of a hospital that had an English speaking nurse. We were able to find the hospital with out a problem, but never met this apparent "English speaking nurse" :).
I was just searching for this clip on YouTube to show you how I felt during the process, but was unsuccessful- do you remember the scene in Wizard of Oz when Dorothy and the gang arrive at the Emerald City and the munchkins take them through an assembly line of procedures and Dorothy looks a little confused by the whole thing? Well, that was Bryan and me. Oh, and we didn't come out on the other end with shinier red slippers and styled hair. Our assembly line went a little like this:
Nurse: "askdjfbnaskdljfblaksjdf?"
Amy/Bryan: "um...Amy? Bryan? Health Check?...yes?"
Nurse: "laksjdnlakjsndfkajnvk Eye akjbvnasdkjfnasdkjfn"
Amy/Bryan: "..."
-Metal spoons were shoved over each of our eyes by the nurses and we quickly read numbers on chart
Nurse: "wevkwjebvlkbroin Blood vkjnvlakwjebnvwuen Urine avelkjnwevlakwejbv Ear awevkjawbevlkjb"
Amy/Bryan: "...?"
-raised hands when we heard beeps, stood on scales, looked at colored dots, pretended we knew what they were saying...
Then we were ushered to room 1, then room 2, then room 3, then room 4 (you get the idea)
where we had our blood taken, we had to pee in a cup, have our chest x-rayed...you name it. But, bottom line- we did it :) So, keep your fingers crossed that all of our tests come back A-OK and we can officially be Aliens!!
Tonight after work Bryan and I are going to celebrate our first Friday night by taking the subway to Gwangalli Beach for some dinner, drinks, and exploring. We also have plans to go to a baseball game tomorrow night with Ginger and Bruce :) Stay tune for stories about that!
*ha! almost forgot to tell you about the new smells in our new world. Well, let me just say, some of the smells that have entered my nose have been fuunnn-ky. They seep out of the little shops, small restaurants, side alleys, etc. It is not that they are necessarily a 'gross' smell, but the spices, oils, and food used here is so different from home, that they create much different scents than Im used to. I also think that since it is the end of summer, the heat might be enhancing the smells just a bit. I am getting use to them a little more each day, but Bryan and I hope that as the weather cools, the funky smells chill out a little bit :)
Alright world, have a wonderful night/morning/day!
love,
Amy
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