As I said before, I don't really have that many teaching materials, so I use the internet all the time. We played a game about manners, learned about the letter N sound and words, and talked about favorites, and used simple full sentences to talk about it. Wouldn't you believe that most of the kids say "pa, na, ma," and so on for the letters P, N, & M. In fact, Korean teachers will often teach them this way. Tomorrow is more phonics with seasons, days of the week, months of the year, counting, and whatever else I can think of. I usually don't know exactly what I'm going to do until I do it, which is a little challenging when my co-teacher always asks me what I'm going to do the next day.
I LOVE teaching 20 students rather than 35-38!! Its so peaceful. I mean, of course there are disruptive students like in any classroom, but controlling them is a whole lot easier. I feel as though I am teaching students rather than fussing at them to be quite and listen all day. Although, as with any ESL class, it is difficult to determine their English level. Am I teaching something to them that will make them feel dumb? Am I teaching something above and beyond their ability? I don't always know... In fact, I could say that I never know.
In the US, teachers have one class all year round. Teachers learn their students names, as well as learning styles, abilities, and levels. They get to start from the ground up and build on the knowledge that they have previously taught their students. Every day is a new, different, and perhaps more challenging lesson than the day before. Because of this style, teachers get the opportunity to watch their students grow in the knowledge they have been taught. As an ESL teacher, I don't get that at all. During the year, summer, and after school combined, I teach a total of 17 classes and 500 students. I teach the same lesson several times and don't even know my students by name. It makes me feel as if I'm not really a teacher. I'm not challenged by the work I do. They hired me to speak English, and since that is my native language, its quite an easy task.
In a way, I like that this job is super easy. Most teachers, including me, are mainly here for the experience and travel. So why not have a job that is super easy, allowing you to focus on the reason you came to Asia? I've been asked by Koreans before as to why I don't make a career out of this, and that is why. Plus, I miss diabetes education. I have until 2014 to get 50-some more CPEU's. Honestly, I would love to stay in Asia as long as I wanted with no strings attached, but I don't know if I can do that. I would love to go home for a month after my contract and then come back to Korea to live in Busan and hang with Hyeji and any other friends I meet for another year. In fact, I have plans to travel, but they don't include all of the places in Asia I wish to go. Staying here another year or going to another continent to teach English for a year or more could cause me to loose my registration as a dietitian. I'm not ready to give that up.
So I made yogurt last week. And check it out....I didn't die from eating it! Most people here have fancy yogurt-making machines, but I'm not so lucky. My milk, and soon-to-be yogurt, was just incubating on the counter next to my window, where it could get the most sun. Not to mention I had to do this for 16hrs or more and do my best to keep my apartment between 88-100F to allow the bacteria the appropriate time and temperature to allow the bacteria to proliferate. It was super sour, so I mixed in some, ok...a lot, of strawberry jam to add some flavor and take away the bite. Then I froze it or a nice treat on hot days.... Oh wait, everyday is hot!
If you would like to know how this all went down, here ya go. Heat 1 pint of milk (or more if you have a pot that can hold it) on the stove, stirring constantly, until the milk gets frothy, which I believe is just before it starts to boil. Turn off the stove, and a container (or in my case, a frying pan) with cold water. Place the hot pot into the cold water. The milk should be cooled to about 100F, which is warm to the touch. Once that temperature is reached, poor the milk into a plastic container. Using 2 Tbsp or more of store bought yogurt with live active cultures, mix the yogurt into the warm milk. I actually used a whole container of Activa. Now you wait. Place the milk mixture into a warm place, trying to keep the temperature about 100F for 16hrs. Bacteria best grows between the temperatures of 31-145F, and grows the best in the middle of that range. And....tada!! Yogurt! Don't be scared...it won't have a bad smell, because the milk isn't spoiled. It will smell like any yogurt that you buy from the store, which doesn't really have any smell to me.
If I had it, I would have put some non-fat dry milk in to thicken it before I mixed in the store bought yogurt. Mine turned out sort of liquidy because I used fat-free milk. My reason for doing this is because you can't buy yogurt in bulk in Korea. They only come in the tiny single serving cups, making purchasing yogurt quite expensive if you ask me. Letting milk sit out in a warm environment for 16hrs isn't the best advice, eh? But I didn't die... and I suppose that is the important thing.
On a random note, I got my hair cut last week. I just smiled, asked for layers, and hoped for the best. My stylist did an amazing job. In fact, she washed, shampooed, conditioned, dried, and style my hair after it was cut! I was thinking "holy moly this gonna be over 30,000W or more! But, no...on 12,000W! My hair is sort and I love it. In fact, I thought about going shorter, but wasn't brave enough at the time. I have layers just below my shoulder. I felt so light on my feet after that cut. It is so hot here. And ya know, it is cooler than home usually is, but the fact is, there is usually no relief from the heat. My apartment is hot, outside is hot, the school is hot, and so on. I've been using my AC more, but since last month I paid 80,000W in my apartment fee (personal & building water, personal & building electricity, recycling, building maintenance, etc), I'm really worried about this next one if I used my AC.
Love to all!! Peace!
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