Tomorrow is the first day of May, which means it has been almost a year since I graduated from St. Ambrose University. My life has changed dramatically since the day I sat through that painfully long ceremony, but in many ways, I still feel like the outwardly collected but inwardly insecure graduating senior I was back then—uncertain of where my life was heading, and to some degree longing for the familiar structure of the education system in which I had striven hard for the past sixteen years. I’m almost ashamed to admit it, but I’ve come to realize that I enjoy studying. (Maybe it’s the arrogant streak in me that loves to know things before those around me…) When people ask me what I do in my free time after school, usually I answer, “I play volleyball on Tuesdays.” This often leads to the follow-up question, “Okay, so on Tuesdays you play volleyball. What do you do on other days?” obliging me to provide the answer I had tried to subtly avoid giving: “Um, I study…”
Living in a garlic town and using my free time to study may not sound like the most exciting existence, but I have come to truly enjoy life here in Uiseong. My students can absolutely be a pain in the ass at times, but I am going to miss them and so many of the other kind individuals whom I have met here when I leave in July. My contract expires in only two and a half months, and I know that time is going to fly by. Looking at my calendar, I barely have a free weekend between now and then, and there are multiple special school events in the coming weeks as well. After a visit to the USA, I hope to return to Korea to teach at a different placement site next year (hopefully a high school this time around, possibly in a bigger city), but nothing is for certain there. I have sent in my application for a grant renewal, and my fate is now in the hands of the venerable Shim Jai Ok and the rest of the Korean-American Educational Commission board. If for whatever reason they decide not to grant me another grant, my return to America may not be the relaxing time to reunite with family and friends for which I have hoped, and may instead be characterized by a desperate search for employment.
I do want to teach in Korea for one more year, but I cannot imagine doing so for longer than that. Although the American education system is far from perfect, it is easy to grow disenchanted with that of Korea. I only work at small, rural middle schools, but I am often appalled by just how much pressure parents put on my students to perform well. I know many of them spend hours after school bouncing between hagwons and private tutors, possibly not returning home until 10:00 or later. I can hardly blame them for trying to sleep in class sometimes. The situation is far more severe for high school students in larger cities, which I may find difficult to handle if my wish for teaching next year is granted.
As I’ve grown accustomed to working within this system, I think my teaching techniques have evolved. My goal is not so much to teach English as it is to make English interesting and encourage students to use what they have already learned. Overall it seems to be working; many students have become more active in my class. This approach sometimes makes me feel like I can’t call myself a teacher so much as an English gamesmaster. Though I think my students see me as somewhat a combination of the two, it warms my heart to hear them say, “Hello, teacher!” when I run into a group of them on the streets of Uiseong. English may not be everybody’s favorite subject, but I think I am at least generally well-liked. Recently I have begun popping in on a supplementary cooking class and a ping-pong club class, and when I have been absent, apparently some of the students have asked where I was. Excuse me as I melt into a puddle of affectionate tears…
Because it has been approximately a month since my last blog post, there is much more I could and perhaps should write, but I have grown too weary to write about my time at Spring Conference in Jeju-do or anything else that has gone on, so I shall merely post some captioned pictures of this beautiful Korean April. They say a picture speaks a thousand words, and I am far too lazy to write that much…
roving robyn 