JR./SR. CHILI SUPPER
Thursday night, I invited my 8 homeroom students to our apartment for supper. We had chili and cornbread. Judging from the fact that there was no leftover chili, I think the students liked it. For dessert we had cherry cheesecake. These culinary delights are not common fare in South Korea. Some of my students have studied in the U.S., so they enjoyed the chance to have American food.
We also did some planning of activities for our spirit week which is only two weeks away. We managed to sketch out a class song. The students also discussed indiviual plans for various outfits for the week. My class is determined to win.
MUSIC, MICROSCOPES, AND MOGIS
I am really enjoying the new keyboard--mainly because I can practice whenever I wish using the headphones. I also think the instrument sounds better via the headphones. Larry contends it's really weird to hear the keys clicking but to hear no music! It does make my Sunday playing much more enjoyable. I was just sight-reading the past several weeks!
I have done several labs with 7th graders. We do most of them in our classroom because the actual lab does not hold 20 students very well. We did have to do the microscope lab there, but we survived. It takes so much longer to get a large class through the material. Today we did the potato strips in plain water and salt water. Fortunately, that worked easily in the class. 3/4ths of the class failed the last science test, so I am requiring them to stay after school and study with me. I did notice they listened better in class today. We'll see if we can make studious students out of them. They seem to think they can just look at the study guide and pass (without paying attention in class or reading the material). It was a rude awakening for many. Of course, this makes more work forme...but I hope it pays off in the next couple of weeks.
Abby has a stomach virus. (We have all kinds of viruses running aroundthis fall.) Two students have been out for almost a week due todifferent bugs. Another student was hit by a car. He spent 6 days inthe hospital, but mostly for bruising.
I now have a piano bench to go with the piano. I still couldn't get over the fact that I could not buy a piano bench from the people I bought the keyboard from. They also sold pianos, but I did NOT see any benches. Is this a new trend?
Sigh.It's mogi (mosquito) time again. They aren't as bad in this apartment as they were in our last one, but I killed three tonight and Abby swatted at a few more.
LOUDER THAN BLARING PANSORI
I[Elizabeth] have 21 7th graders. On Tuesday, the public elementary school was playing traditional Korean music quite loudly. They were having some kind of outdoor student activity. I was told that it was so obnoxiously loud and unpleasant that our teachers were running around, shutting windows. Mr. Goh even called the elementary school to ask them to turn the music down (which they did).
When I heard about all this activity, I asked when it happened for I never heard it. Turns out I was doing a lab with 7th graders. We had so much activity of our own, that I totally missed all the uproar.
By the way, doing labs with this 7th grade truly is trying. I go over the entire lab in class the day before. I demonstrate, have them read with me, walk around with things for them to observe, etc. Today, in another lab, I get them around their microscopes and then observe them just sitting there!!! I missed lunch, trying to set up the lab, so I had thought I could eat my sandwich while they were working on the lab I had thoroughly discussed the day before. Sigh! I did manage to turn on the light bulbs in a few minds, so that was encouraging
A MONTH OF SCHOOL HAS FLOWN BY
One unusual thing is the amount of sickness we have had. The first illness bout was some kind of stomach bug. Fortunately, that one didn't hit too many. Next, we had eye irritations. We were told that some public schools had shut down a couple of days due to the irritation. Now we have some kind of cold. One would think it was January with all the absences we've had.
Larry and I went shopping for a piano keyboard tonight. Seoul has a couple of mega-electronics marts. We went to Techno Mart for our search. I was not looking for an digital piano. We need something more portable and with all the bells and whistles. I ended up choosing the Yamaha Grand Piano keyboard. I hope it will make me happy!! The man selling it spoke quite a lot of English. Alas, I could NOT buy a stool/bench. So, I still have to hunt for one of those. I did ask if he had the manual in English. He assured me there was one in the box (which we did look for later). He seemed concerned that I might want it in another language...like French. I couldn't figure out why. Perhaps I don't sound like a native speaker?
We stopped at Pizza Etang and managed to successfully order pizza and have it delivered. It arrived at the apartment almost before we did.
On a different note, I have a few students in particular that are in need of prayer. Bibles are to be in Chapel. If you forget yours and show up without one, you stay after school and practice the sword drills with me. We also discuss why the Bible was not in chapel. Today, I had to keep a new boy. He had been reminded last week, his first chapel, to bring it. He had a very angry attitude about the whole situation. (This is quite rare. I hardly ever run into an angry attitude.) After prolonged discussion, he mellowed out some, but his attitude is still not right. I have this boy in science class as well and had never seen his anger before. Pray for wisdom for us and for spiritual break-through in dealing with him.
Another boy who joined us in the spring last year also seems resistant to chapel but in a different way. He chooses not to participate. I also run a practice session after school for those who make that decision. Usually a student just has to be reminded of the need to participate for correction to take place. However, this boy and I are going round and round. Pray for wisdom in dealing with his quiet willfulness.
We have been seeing an improvement each year spiritually and would hate to see that trend stopped. One boy in 9th grade who has been quietly resistant to spiritual things (something we were not aware of until recently) has withdrawn from the school. Our spiritual emphasis made him too uncomfortable. That, in itself, was an encouragement. I want our love and honor for the Lord to be evident. I truly do not want those who are seeking just an English education. So continue to pray for our school in that way as well.
Finally, teachers come over to teach on two-year contracts. Based on our current cycle, all of the teachers but two could leave at the end of this year. With the growth we are having, we really need a lot of teachers every year. Please start praying now for that need. Some may return, but none of us knows yet for sure what our plans for next year are.
BACK ON THE SUBWAY
We (Larry, Elaine, Linda, Joanna Straub, and I) rode the subway Tuesday evening to the Yongsan military base. We had heard about an international choir and decided to join it. We will be singing a couple of programs at Christmas. I enjoyed meeting new people and getting to sing for a couple of hours. Unfortunately, my voice still struggles between E and B. "Oooooh" seems to work, but I don't suppose the director will want me to do that while everyone else is singing words! We also were able to eat on base. A Quizno's is in the same building where we rehearse.
Right now, school seems to be settling more into a routine. More of my seventh graders are catching on to the amount of work that needs to be done and to the fact it needs to be done on time.Continue to pray for the senior class. I'm still having some good discussions with one of the girls. She's still struggling but she is more encouraged in her walk with the Lord.
We hunt for an electronic piano Friday evening. Pray I'll find something nice that's reasonable.. .and that I'll find it QUICKLY.
A RAINY SATURDAY
Larry went to a KORCOS meeting with Pastor Johnson. This is the association for foreign schools. We are mainly interested in the teacher conference which will be in October. And, yes, it will be on the military base. So much nicer for us...and closer than last year. I stayed home and continued unpacking. I managed to empty one more bin,so we have only two left. We're still trying to figure out the best way to hang things since we have cement walls.
I ventured out into the rain (which I happen to like) to go shopping. Ineeded a mouse pad as my optical mouse does NOT like the glass desktop. I also want a computer keyboard shelf so I can have lots of free space to spread out my books while I'm on the computer. This is easy to find in the States. I know it can be found here, but I just haven't figured out where. I did go to a small local computer store. The woman and her two daughters tried to be helpful. Finally, they managed to convey that I needed to go to a household furnishings store. Not being sure what that is here, I ended up at L-Mart. I didn't find the shelf, but I did find the mouse pad. Remember my juice lady? Well, on my way from one end of my neighborhood to the other, I looked across the street and saw her hurrying home from work. She also saw me and became quite excited. I haven't figured out why this is so exciting for her since we cannot talk to each other, but she lights up like a Christmas tree. She even started to cross the street but realized the light was red for her. We settle for waving at each other.I passed a store today called "Every They." So, what is that supposed to mean? Abby and Larry informed me that a big multi-story building just going up at a major intersection near Seoul National University is painted a pale yellow and is called "Egg Yellow." Koreans like using English words. The trouble with us Americans is that we try to make it make sense!
The butcher at Best Mart always makes me feel good. He will greet me from across the store. He's still amazed that I buy a kilo of ground pork at one time. Today, I'm sure I amazed him because I bought a large roast (of which he was sure I wanted only half), some meat for tonight, and chicken. Korean cooking uses meat as a garnish, and Korean women typically shop every day for supper. I work and do not relish going to the store every day to get my food. I'm sure I am a wonderment!
For those of you who pray for health and physical strength for us, we thank you. Right now, we just have too much to do and are trying to pace ourselves. All I know is that we haven't gotten sick, and we are still able to move energetcially at school. We should be sick and wornout, yet we aren't. I am personally frustrated because I am wanting to work regular exercise into my life, but all I'm able to accomplish is the walk to and from school. (It is longer now since we moved, so that's a good thing.)
