Sunday 10 July 2011

Quirks

This list is in no way exhaustive, but it's a start. Here are 10 things that I find strange about Korea. I am learning that it's better not to ask yourself 'why'?

1. Drunk old men sometimes hold hands and can be seen passed out on benches and on the street
2. Couples wear matching clothes
3. Guys carry their girlfriends’ purses
4. Public bathrooms usually have bars of soap, not liquid soap
5. Public bathrooms almost never have paper towels
6. People walk on the treadmills at the gym
7. People go for walks outdoors at slow speeds but swing their arms back and forth with intensity, and wear full hiking gear
8. People have their umbrellas out even when it is not sunny or rainy
9. Little kids get perms
10. Women bleach their skin

I will make a list of 10 awesome things about Korea later, because there are definitely plenty of those too!

Soju and oysters, anyone?

Thursday 7 July 2011

Pooh Class Drop Outs

There has been some recent drama at my school that caused my class size to drop from 18 to 11! It all happened fast but then sort of got dragged out over a few weeks. I won't mention what started it but all of the sudden the parents (mostly the stay at home moms) started having meetings and calling each other to complain about the things that they were unhappy with in regards to our school.

These things included: the kids not having enough time with the foreign teacher, meaning they wanted me to spend my lunch with them; too much colouring time (remember these kids are just turning 5 this year); the weekly outline that the parents receive of the work we do at all school not being detailed enough; too much play time in the morning (which we got rid of!)....and other such 'issues'.

So in total I lost 4 kids from blue team and 3 from pink team. The kids were all friends and their parents didn't want them to go to a new school and not know anyone so they stuck together. Some of the kids I was indifferent to and some I was pretty sad to see go. But to be honest, it makes it so much easier for me. And I think in the end they will get so much more out of their classes because now I can focus on them individually as they need it.

That's my school update....and next weekend is the Boryeong Mud Festival and the following weekend is our summer vacation so I am off to China for a week....so there should be plenty of pictures and hopefully more blog posts!