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!

Adjusting

I just got home from my second day at school, and it was already easier than the first. I'm not going to lie; my first day at school was rough. I only had one day to try to get over my jet lag and then I had to get right to it on Monday morning. What can I say; the Koreans are very industrious people.

I will be teaching kindergarten, which is apparently a hard position to fill. While the first day was overwhelming, today I got more into the groove and I hope that trend continues! The students are super cute, and well-behaved with the exception of a few trouble makers. They are getting used to me and call me "Miss Becky Teacher", which I find endearing.

I went into Emart last night after work, which is like a Korean Super Target, and I walked around in a daze for the better part of an hour. After the enormity of it all subsided, I was able to purchase a few snacks and a razor (mine had gotten destroyed in the flight over.) It felt like a major accomplishment, and I'm proud of myself for braving the unknown with my tiny arsenal of Korean.

Speaking of Korean, mine has already tripled in size since my arrival. Every day I learn new words and phrases, which I try to use whenever possible. The Koreans seem to be pleased when you even say the smallest thing in their language, which I've heard they take as a sign of respect to their culture. Or maybe they're just relieved I'm not speaking English to them.

I still have quite a bit of settling in to do, and it hasn't exactly been a cake walk so far, but it helps to know that my friends and family are supporting me from afar, and I have some fellow American teachers to talk to as well.