Life is constantly changing here. Just the other day, we rearranged our apartment for about the fifth time because we got a couch! Our friends here in Yongin just left Korea, and gave us their couch! They had reclaimed it from the trash, so it's not in perfect condition, BUT it is a couch!! Such an upgrade from our papasan chair, floor chair, and floor pillows! We were so excited to sit on our couch and watch a movie last night! It actually feels like a real apartment now! I told Tim that at the very second we feel perfectly settled and connected here, it will be time to leave Korea. It's really sad to think about, but I think it's true. We will have worked all year to build this life for ourselves here, only to leave it all so quickly. Because of this, we've thought a lot about staying. Actually, we've thought a lot about 50 different directions that our life could take after this year. One of them includes taking a class in Prague. One of them includes me auditioning for performing on a cruise ship. Another includes teaching in Turkey. Down the road a ways, we'd love to teach in an International School, possibly in Korea. But at the forefront of it all is Tim's job at Jimtown, which has been the plan all along after this year. But every day our dreams take us somewhere new. It's sort of fun to think and dream about the different directions, but when it comes down to decision time, it's not fun at all. So we're praying for guidance, direction, and opened and closed doors.
One thing that is constant here is the fact that we love our students! Although our classes and students are always changing around on us, with every new class, we find new students to love and adore. Tim made up a new word to describe some of our kids: "adorkable." It's really the perfect word for a lot of them because they are such cute and adorable little dorks! We love it! I got a new class in February, and my boss came in to warn me about them. She said that they were "animals" and that the other teachers who had them found them to be so uncontrollable. So needless to say, I was really worried. I made a plan about how I was going to handle them, and prepared myself for my first class with them. But they were not "animals" at all, just the cutest little adorkable eight year olds you have ever seen! Yes, they sometimes have trouble sitting still and staying in their seats. Yes, there is one boy who has a lot of trouble focusing. Yes, they love to talk. But I adore the crap out of them. They are the youngest class I have ever had, but they are so smart! Everything is so exciting and new to them. They think everything is funny, and I can entertain them without much work at all. I started doing mini-economy, so I give dollars for good things that they do, and take away dollars for bad things that they do. Every once in awhile, we'll have a Market Day, when they can buy prizes with the dollars that they've saved. They LOVE it. Also, every day, I choose a classroom helper- someone who earns $5 buy erasing the board and passing out papers for me. They love earning $5, but even more so, they love the honor that comes with getting to help out for the day. If I start erasing the board accidentally, they'll yell for me to stop so that they can do it! On one of my first days with them, I noticed that they were all sort of dragging. I told them all to stand up, and we played "Simon Says" for five minutes so that they could wake up a little bit. Now, every day they want to play. Since then, I've taught them "Teacher, May I?" and "The Hokey Pokey." I have way too much fun with my little adorkables who were slated to be such "animals!" I will never again give too much merit to someone else's warning about a class!
Being here in Korea for seven months has been an amazing journey. I look back at the pictures of me with my classes in August and think, "What was I doing?" Because I really had no idea. Not that I have it all figured out now, but I feel like I've found a nice groove with teaching, and with life in general. We've settled in nicely with our friends, our church, our apartment, and our vacation home. :) We've learned to read Korean, and to speak a little bit, which makes traveling and getting around so much easier. There was a time when we would get lost about every weekend. Now, the burden of traveling has been significantly lightened. We love our lifestyle of walking and public transportation. Every part of Korea is within our reach, which is incredible, and we want to see everything that we can. In fact, being here has made us want to see everything... in the world! We have world maps on the walls of our classrooms and apartment, and I find myself just staring at them sometimes. Dreaming about all of the places I want to see, and all of the people I want to meet, and different cultures I want to observe. We love the culture here in Korea. We have tried to leave our mark here, while also treading lightly on the culture, by respecting their ways and beliefs. I want to discover so many other cultures in the world, and let them shape me and help me see things with new eyes.
To end, I want to share a student's essay with you that has really inspired me. The student's name is Sarah, she's 12 years old, and she's been in Tim's class for two months. Even from day one, Tim knew that she was going to be a dramatic one. (No worries, I've given him lots of experience in dealing with drama!) He said that on her first day, he gave 20 vocabulary words for homework, and she went up to his desk to clarify the assignment. She said, "Teacher, I have to know the definitions for all 20 words?! This is impossible!!" Since that time, we have gotten to know and love her. And she is an extremely talented and inspirational writer, which is why I want to share some of her essay with you. For the essay topic, Tim asked his class to write a memoir. In the first part of the memoir, Sarah writes about how she and her family lived in England for five years, and how much she loved it. She recounts ballet recitals, and family BBQ's, and memorable Christmases. Her last two paragraphs are my favorite:
"Well, like other girls, when I was in England, my dream was to be a princess. I continued having this dream until I was eight. When I was eight, my dream changed to being a singer. I liked singing and dancing, and that is the reason why. When I was ten, my dream changed again to being an archer. It looked fun and fast. And right now, my dream has changed once again to being a musical actress. I like acting, singing, and dancing. The only job that can do these three things at the same time is a musical actress. That's the reason why I want to be a musical actress. At school, I am taking musical lessons to be a musical actress.
At the start of 2010, I want to find another me. I might find some bad Sarahs, or I might find some good Sarahs, or I might find a new talent of mine. In any case, I just wish to be a new person, a new girl, a new Sarah."
Brilliant. Needless to say, she and I have had lots to talk about, with her wanting to be a musical actress! I love that we have those interests in common! And like Sarah, my dreams are always changing. But her last paragraph gets me every time. It is so deep and insightful and beautiful. And although we didn't articulate it quite as well, the cry of our hearts in coming to Korea was the same as Sarah's: To find our new selves. To think and feel differently about the world. To find new things and people that we love, and to find meaning in a place that at one time was so foreign to us. I feel like we have done that, or maybe that we are in the continuous process of doing that. Every day, this place changes us, and makes us new and better and different. I want to keep finding this "new me," and try to figure out exactly what this "new me" is supposed to do with her life. With only five months left here in this amazing place, I would like to insert my name into Sarah's beautifully written conclusion:
"With my remaining time in Korea, I want to find another me. I might find some bad Karens, or I might find some good Karens, or I might find a new talent of mine. In any case, I just wish to be a new person, a new girl, a new Karen."
No comments:
Post a Comment