The Ramblings of Loren Christopher

It’s a beautiful thing when you have a class full of dynamic kids that all get your sense of humor and have a similar one…yet at the same time they respect each other, and most importantly you the teacher.  When it is study time, they pay attention and carry on open discussions about the topic, but when it comes time to play games you’re sure that everyone will have a hilarious time (yourself included).

One such class of sixth graders just finished their semester at JLS and will be moving on to a higher grade which I don’t teach (not because I’m incapable, haha….I’m locked into a specific age/grade group).  I will miss these kids a lot.  We had a few tough times together there at the start, but in each instance I gave them a writing test where I asked questions like “What is a perfect teacher like?”, or “How could English class be more exciting for you?”.

The responses were not really what I expected, they were well-rationalized and sensible.  This class really helped me become a better teacher and enjoy my job a lot more.  They are a bit camera-shy in this video because I didn’t give them much time to prepare before we began recording, and they were nervous about making mistakes in their English.  They can speak well though, and I’ll miss ‘em!

One of the things about living and teaching abroad is that you get so many people who contact you asking questions about your life and work, because they are considering doing the same thing.  Since I moved here, I’ve had so many questions….and a few people asked me if I would make a video talking about some of the good and bad points of living and teaching English here in Korea.

I waited a while to make the video because I wanted to have a bit of experience under my belt first.  I hope you find it interesting, and more importantly, I hope it doesn’t come across that I’m bragging.  Life here really is easy and enjoyable, and I wanted to stress here that you can have an amazing time if you really are critical of which school you choose.

Well, the first lessons with my students were always fun. I had them ask me questions, mostly they inquired about where I was from, how tall I am, my age, and whether or not I’m married. Although I did get some oddball questions like “Teacha’, why are you handsome?”, or even “Teacha’, how did you become so tall?” How am I supposed to answer that one? Haha. But when I told them my height in centimeters (190) they instantly became quiet and every single jaw dropped.

They cannot seem to comprehend the fact that I don’t understand Korean…it’s really quite puzzling to them. But fortunately they’re really good about only speaking English in class, so I don’t have to get onto them about that. Let’s see….the average class size is about 15-20, and their ages range from about 7-12. For the most part they are very well behaved, a few of my classes really surprise me actually by how well-disciplined they are. But of course, I do have a couple unruly kids in a few classes….although I’ve come up with a system of discipline and rewards that seems to be working well so far.

So yeah, I really do like my job. It allows me to be my goofy self and crack jokes….I had a few of my classes yesterday in stitches because I was teaching much vs. many when using uncountable nouns. Like they said, “the desert has many sand”. So I asked, “Really? So can you count the sand?” I walked around the room pretending to pick up little bits of sand as I counted, and acted out being frustrated by the task of tallying up all the sand in the desert….they thought it was the funniest thing in the world, haha!

Well, here’s a quick video of one of my classes I had today….kinda short cause I feel weird about recording them, although they seem to think it’s normal so I’ll post more later. Hope you’re all doing well!

So I just wanted to post a quick entry to say that I was offered a job and signed the contract. The school is called “JLS” and they’re a very reputable company that’s been around for 21 years. I am SO happy that all the immigration material has been squared away and that we finally got it all figured out. Now let’s just hope all goes as planned this first month and we don’t have any hold ups!

But really quick, about my job. I’m only scheduled 20 hours per week which is VERY good, and I don’t have any blocks in between classes, nor do I have office hours where I’m required to be at the school. I simply show up, teach back to back, and then leave. This is very rare in Korea so I feel lucky to have gotten such a great schedule.

My apartment is a lot bigger than I expected (I move in on Tuesday of next week, they’re furnishing and cleaning it this weekend), and it’s only two blocks from the school and a subway stop! Plus there is a huge E-Mart right across the street from me (like a classier version of Super Walmart, but built vertically). Indeed I am very lucky, and in speaking with the other foreign teachers there they’ve said that it’s a great school and branch to work for.

So…wish me luck on my first day today! I’m a little nervous, but just ready to get started and get the hang of it also. Tonight is my Birthday celebration and I’m bringing my camera. Sorry no pictures in this entry!

Much love!