V Day

Valentine's Day envelopes for my students, stuffed with cards from their classmates.

I have never liked Valentine's Day. This year, I really began to ask myself why. Was it the abundance of gaudy pink and red merchandise? Was it the sheer consumerism of it all? I liked to think that these were some of the reasons behind my feelings, but today I dug a little deeper and realized it's none of those things. It's just plain disappointing.

Just like the fairy tales I heard as a little girl, I feel like Valentine's Day generates a lot of hype for what's bound to be more like a soul-crushing dose of reality than a happily ever after. Whether I've been in a relationship or not on this amorous day, it never fails to disappoint. If I'm not in a relationship, sure there's the in-your-faceness of all the couples around who seem to be living the Valentine's Day dream, but even when I've been in a relationship, the cliche box of chocolates and red roses just leave something to be desired.

Where's the spontaneity, the individuality, the real heart-feltness in it? Where are the flowers just because, not because it's Valentine's Day? Where are the words of affection that are written from the heart, not from the Hallmark factory?

I would love real, honest-to-goodness, personalized romance any day, but especially when it's absent on a day when I'm told I'm supposed to get it (even in mass-market, impersonalized ways) it just really drives the point home.

Trying to spare some of my students the agony of feeling unloved or not as loved as their classmates, I stuffed some extra Valentines into their envelopes. Maybe it wasn't the most honest thing to do, but I didn't want to watch Sophia opening her two Valentines while Poly opened her twelve. As I checked the envelopes, I realized I didn't need to stuff David's because he took care of it for himself!

Preach it, David!

Whether you're in a relationship or not this Valentine's Day, please remember to love yourself!

Taught

Teaching

I wasn't a teacher back in the States. I can't really remember ever teaching anyone anything at any point in time. Nope, I just paused to reflect and I really can't remember a single time that I bestowed knowledge on another person. Being the fourth of five children gave me plenty of older siblings who taught me plenty of things, and I have lots of friends who I've learned a great deal from. Actually, maybe I've showed some people what not to do. Does that count?

Moving on. I had no idea how rewarding teaching could be. Not only is it one of the most amazing experiences when a child grasps a concept that you taught them, but it's also amazing to be an unwitting role model for promising young lives.

My kids are smarter than I could have imagined and teaching them is, for the most part, a delight. My heart swells with pride when they use a correct tense, or say a complete sentence with appropriate pronouns.

While I've truly been in awe of their capacity to learn, I've also been a bit shocked by what they've taught me. Very simple life lessons that we tend to forget in the rush and stress of being a grown-up. Here are a few simple things my students have bestowed on me lately:

• It's better to focus on the good than dwell on the bad. How often in everyday situations I've complained about something that upsets me instead of focusing on the good. In my classroom, if I only focus on the one child who's acting up, I'm ignoring the wonderful progress of all my other students. Plus, I've noticed that when I laud the children who are working hard, the troublemakers usually snap into shape. This attitude has rubbed off on my children. Instead of tattling on their classmates as much as they used to, now they'll yell "Sticker! Sticker!" for the classmate who makes a concerted effort in class. (It's a reward system that seems to be working quite well!)

• Laughter is life-giving. If my kids are having an off-day, all it takes is a little play time with them and they perk right up. Sure, it's important to have discipline and accomplish our daily tasks, but a little laughter and play time makes life worth living. Plus, it's a great way to bond with kids.

• It really is the little things in life. Recently, my older class leveled up, which is exciting for many reasons. First, they stay on a level for five or six weeks, and things get pretty tedious towards week five. Second, there are all sorts of funny new little words for them to learn and pictures to laugh at. One of our new stories has lots of fruit and vegetables with cartoon faces and I've never seen kids laugh so hard. Sometimes the smallest things are the best things.

• Hugs rule. Hugs from anyone are pretty great, aside from creepy strangers, but a hug from a little kid is... amazing. I think it's due to the fact that when they're hugging you, they're really hugging you. They're not thinking about their To-Do List or secretly thinking how bad your perfume smells. Their hugs are full-body, clingy-monkey, squeeze-til-it-hurts and never-let-go. I begrudgingly have to peel them off me when it's time for their next class.

• Life is now. Be present. My kids live their lives in the moment. Whether they're sad, happy, excited or "so-so" (a new phrase they just learned), they're present in their lives. How often I have to remind myself to be present, right where I'm at, and not think about what I'm going to do after this moment, or what happened before. Just now. Just be. It's beautiful.

Honestly, my kids have probably taught me way more than I've taught them. I love seeing them everyday and learning new things about who they are and how they see the world; and bit by bit, I begin to see the world with their same wide-eyed wonder...

A Birthday at School

Since I moved into my apartment, I can finally get my laptop set up and share some photos with you! There are more to come, but today I thought I'd share pictures from a birthday at school.

On the third Thursday of each month, we celebrate all the kids' birthdays for that month at once. This month it was Amy and Stella. All the students gathered in the multi purpose room and sang Happy Birthday in English, Korean and Chinese. The birthday girls got a gift and a "card" that each teacher wrote a note in (and by "card" I mean "book"... they each had about ten pages!) I hope I get one on my birthday; they were super cute!

It was great to see all the kids so excited and it was definitely a special day for these two little girls.

Gathering to celebrate!

The Birthday Girls!

Make a Wish!

The Feast! Not sure what everything was, but it was delicious!

Yum!

The Power of the Human Mind

Having never taught anything to anyone in my life, I wasn't really sure what to expect when I came to South Korea... to teach.

I tried to completely erase any expectations I had, because if there's one thing that life has taught me... expectations are always way off. Way better or way worse; either way... off.

I had no idea what I was in store for by any means, but I think perhaps one of the most surprising finds for me has been the sheer intelligence of children.

When I think 'kids', thoughts of problem solving and critical thinking don't easily come to mind. Usually it's problem-making. And sticky fingers.

My students have shown me otherwise.

These kids are bright. Real bright. Today, for example, I had to teach my class of six year olds about odd and even number combinations in a foreign language. A language that they are by no means fluent in. This is a brand new concept for them, too. New concept, new numbers, new language. I was skeptical.

But - by jove! - they got it! I was so proud of them! And, to be honest, I was a little proud of myself, too. I never thought I could teach a bunch of squirmy six year olds about math in a foreign language. Maybe I'm not so bad at this whole teaching thing, after all.