The boys and girls of fourth and fifth grade loved my white boots and were amazed by my increased height. My feet are in pain but it was worth it. The “handsome teacher” student gifted me two small, cute fruits: “Teacher! 선물.” Strong Girl and Weak Boy translated “gift!” They are doing so well in English and try hard in class so sometimes I give them hints via hand gesture when the main teacher asks a question (anyone could see my secret hints though so it’s fair). In 4-1 I got to play Pig 1 for the group that was missing a fourth member in a modern retelling of the…

Sixth grade was supposed to present a “hot” place to me but most forgot to do their homework. The few who did attempted comedy but couldn’t do a follow through (“ you should go to jail” “OK sure I’ll play along. What should I do in jail, what are the opening hours?” “Um uh I don’t know”) and even fewer presented anything of note. It did lead to a very interesting discussion in 6-1 about SM town (One of the most famous K-pop company headquarters that you can enter). I told the class I ate an NCT cupcake there and they got excited. My co-teacher doesn’t know NCT, only BTS,…

I left at 630AM to get to the gym at 7AM. I finally got my locker and figured out the gym set up. Embrace the culture! The women’s locker room is exactly that: people are nakedly showering and drying their hair. I took a shower in a room that lacks curtains and then blew dry my hair in near nudity while also asking an older lady where the toilets were (outside the locker rooms and down a long hallway). She insisted on showing me the location herself and also gave me a cookie. Positive reinforcement? I approve. For as much as the US encourages skimpy bathing suits it has a…

As you know I’ve had free reign over fifth grade for the last few weeks and I feel that my efforts have paid off! They’re a bit more comfortable with English now but I still throw in Korean for occasional comedic effect. 5-1 Student: where is man teacher? (Toupe sub) Me: I think he went to the bathroom. Why? 보고 싶어요? Do you miss him?Student: No! I don’t miss him! Bathroom… long time. Me: *shrugs* Class: devolves into what I can only assume is poop related conversation and now I know what 똥 means. A few minutes later… Me: oh he’s coming back! Everyone shhhh. Class: immediately pretends to pay…

This week flew by. I had an impassioned discussion about Korean Romanization (summary: it’s wack) since my sixth graders were working on a flyer for a “hot” place in Seoul but didn’t know English spelling. I wish I knew. I’ve seen:ㅜ like the oo in Boo! Romanized as “oo” “u”ㅓlike the eo in “Seoul” romanized as eo and u By this logic Seoul 서울 could be spelled in the following ways: SeoulSuulSeooolSuool And DON’T get me started in Pusan/Busan or Taegu/Daegu… I have to complete an online module for post training and several real students were filmed talking about what they desire in their foreign teacher: fun, corrects mistakes, understands…

I could go into detail about a lot of inconsequential but interesting things today like how my 3-4 class is becoming a terrible fourth grade class, or the posh little boy in Gangnam station who dramatically lay on the floor much to everyone’s amusement, or the sixth graders reaction to my straightened hair, or the insane amount of beautiful people I saw in Gangnam this evening. But I think I’ll tell just this: My school is a couple blocks away from the main road so I pass Mom&Pop stores stores like the small thrift store (she already has new inventory in), a trendy little cafe, a row of old toy…

S (my coteacher) and I went to the bank again and visited the same beautiful bank lady. It all got sorted and now I have an account and check card. I don’t yet have a Korean number which means I couldn’t sign up for mobile banking BUT I’m 95% of the way there. After our “business trip” we stopped by a cute café that I pass every day but doesn’t open until noon. We actually saw some of our students in the café with their parents since school lets out early on Wednesdays. At the cafe S told me that areas around better schools have higher housing costs and in…

The day began and ended with alley kittens. Today I had a uniquely horrible experience at the intersection of Asia Time and US tax policy. My miraculous alien registration card arrived today. This is the card that allows me to open a bank account, travel domestically without a passport, and register for a whole host of things. Today the co-teacher and I went to the bank and I attempted to open an account. All I had was the ARC, the supposed miracle card. The card that required me to go to Japan to get a visa. The card that required me to travel an hour across the city and wait…

Seungkwan Jr stuck his head in the teacher’s lounge during lunch to shout “Hello Abigail teacher!” Yes, Seungkwan Jr, continue establishing my popularity in front of the other teachers! Gold star! Guitar teacher can sense when I need support at lunch so he asks me questions. Thank you. He said drank and ate 전 with his friends this weekend (at what point can we be friends sir?? I need more Koreans in my life and 전 is my favorite Korean food, sounds like the basis for a great friendship). He said something new so I made everyone at the table stop, repeat word for word, and break down the sentence…