Teaching 1st Grade!!!

The girl with me in the picture is Crystal. She is the pastor's daughter. She reminds me of me sooo much when I was little...lol if you notice in the picture I have a real frog in my hand "tubby". She came into my classroom on a break yesterday and we chilled the whole itme playing with the frog. Ah, it was great.lol She is a fireball full of energy and is ALWAYS running around or jumping off the playground in front of the school. She asked me how long I was staying and when I told her until next August, she was very excited, gave me a huge hug and then said, "yay teacher I am glad you are staying many days and not going home. I like you". Crystal will be 10, Korean age, next Thursday. Me and Crystal again....but this time with the real tubby :)
This is Tommy: I mentioned him in an earlier blog. He is the one who's house I went too and still go too. I play games with him and his little sister. I have also had the opportunity to meet Tommy's mom also. She is really nice and it's always really nice to have coffee with her and chat, while we sit on the floor :)

So I have decided to put up my daily schedule...because I know some of you are probably wondering what my day is like...how many hours I work a day and stuff : ) so here is the schedule as well as some photos of some fabulous students !!

Schedule:

International School

8:00am-leave for school

8:15-8:55- Teacher's meeting/Teacher's Devos

9:00-9:15- Devos with my kids.

9:15-10:00- Reading/Spelling

10:05-10:50-English/Phonics/Handwriting

10:55-11:40- I teach English to Pre-school, while my students go to another class for Bible.

11:45-12:30- Math

12:30-1:10pm- Lunch : ) [my kids eat lunch with the second grade: we all eat in the classroom. Oh, and a basket of food is brought to the room..normally: rice, kim chi, soup, and something else--anchovies, dapoke, pork, black bean stuff...and other things I can't think of right now.]

1:15-1:55- Science

2:00-2:35- Elective [Tues-art, Wed-chapel, Fri- music...and on Mon and Thurs I do a missions emphasis with them..right now I am telling them about Florida Baptist Children's Homes and they have painted pictures for the kids. You will see their photos later on in this post.]

Leadership (After-school English classes)

2:45-3:30-depending on the day it ranges from all ages of elementary. I have on average 11 students per leadership class.

3:35-4:20; Break

4:20-5:10: Second Leadership class.

5:10-6pm: Break

Most of the International School students, come from Christian families. However, one of my students is from a completely Buddhist home, while the other's mother is a Christian, and father is Buddhist. I have a third student, Caleb, only for two periods a day. His family is on furlough (sp?) right now--they are missionaries to Egypt.

In leadership, it is the VERY opposite: very few children actually attend church. This is a great opportunity though, because the curriculum is Christian based. I also try to integrate God's love and the salvation message as much as I am able during teaching. I have also recently started praying with them before class. It is neat to see their different responses to something that is more foreign to them than the English language. They are great kids and I love working with all of them. It is so much fun!

The Classroom

There is normally a world map under the letters on the wall...but it fell down and I am not sure how to keep it up.AshleyChloeCalebSpelling Time!!!These are the paintings the girls made for the residents at Florida Baptist Children's HOmes.Some of my leadership Kids. In the photo below, you will see the boy on the right doing a hand gesture...that means "I'm cute, handsome, or beautiful" when you do that in Korea.

Eating Silk Worms and more Insadong!

Bible, Sue and Me Me and Sue
Night life of Dongdamoon (sp?)
David A. and Yoon....this is a photo of the walkway which I explain how it came to be in the following post.
Sue and I eating dinner. We ate some Mondu (amazingly good) and this other stuff...that is raw meat and when you put it in the boiling soup on the table it cooks in like 3 minutes. mmm really good too. Oh, there are vegetables that are cooked in the soup also. So you just dig in with your chopsticks and eat the veggies or meat out of the pot in the middle of the table! haha I love korean style!

Insadong!!!

Left to Right: David A., Sue, Yoon, David B., and Jong Bin Insadong: it was a really great place. I think it is my favorite so far! There were alot of traditional anc cultural things to buy and see...which made it really neat : ) So this is prolly where y'alls presents will be coming from : )
Starbucks!!
Behind me is a water fall thing..yes..lol but about 4 years ago this whole walk way was nothing but cement and the mayor of Seoul wanted to make a walk way...so its really beautiful here. ITs crazy to think that it was nothing but cement and they made a walk way like this!! If you look at the top of the photo you will see a railing. That railing is where the streets and buildings are.
The wall behind us on the other side of the photo above (where I am standing) but anyways....this is the "rose among the thorns" photo : )
L2R: Yoon, David A., Me, David B., and Chris.

This guy is making da...which is rice cake...my favorite food here so far is Dapoke..which is da with sauce and spices. mmmm so good! Sue met up with us at the restaurant! Oh, the restaurant's name when translated in English means "praise our country". lol Other than the music it was a great place!!
Yoon, Chris and David.......wow...i really don't htink words can describe this photo...haha
This is where we ate lunch :) L to R: Rachel (JongBin's friend from YWAM, Yoon, Sue, David B., Me, David A. (doing a korean gesture..), and Chris. Oh, Jong Bin was our guide to Insadong and he was taking the photo.
"bible" met up with us laterin the afternoon too. Her name translates to "Holy book" in English..so we call here Bible. ANyways, she is writing with mok here...if you look close to here hand you will see where I wrote my name : )

Awesomeness : )

At school the other day I was asked to give the salvation message to the children who are attending our English Summer camp. I was a bit intimidated because I was not sure how to portray it in a way that they would understand the message. I did a lot of praying for the short time I could in between teaching and the chapel service. I just wanted to let you all know that several kids raised their hands to ask Christ into their hearts. It was very exciting! Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement! God is doing some great things here and I am expecting TONS more! The second children's church service is this Sunday..so again please keep that in your prayers as well: that many children will come to know Christ through this ministry and will want to bring their friends. Oh, and another prayer request: that I will continue to stay passionate about this ministry and working with the kids. I DO NOT want to get burned out and I believe it is easy to do. So if you all could pray for those that would be awesome! Thanks again!!

-krissy

Busy Schedule!!

Hi Everyone!

So let me just say that I am already getting a busy schedule! I am meeting many new people and it is great! Just in case you all are wondering I am not homesick yet = ) Other than having people star me down...lol...I would say that I am adjusting to life her pretty well. Oh, and I am a lot better with the metal chopsticks than when I first came! I am definately not an expert but I am learning!

I guess I should tell you a little bit about my schedule....so..I leave for work @ 8 and do not finish (you would say finishey..lol if you were one of the Korean kids) until 4:20pm. Once the classroom is cleaned and the trash is divided up, I will either leave to go home or workout at the gym. I have been working out 3 times a week....Yoon told me that the sign on the treadmill says that if people run on it , then it will break...but you all probably know me...I am using my not being able to speak the language to my advantage at this point..lol so yes, I run on the treadmill anyways.

The past couple weekends we have headed out to Seoul either to hang out or go to Costco. On Sundays I attend the English church service held at ANCA at 10am, start children's church @ 11:30, the church eats together, and then we head back to our houses. Sundays are pretty much nice and relaxing. Next Sunday, the 31st, I will be preaching in the English service...so I will definately be preparing for that this week. Pray for me if you all think about it : )

On Thursday eveninings, all of the teachers go out to dinner and grocery shopping at mega mart. I have to say that it is tiring teaching and then running around with kids on my lunch break, but I don't mind it. My philosophy is that when I die I will be able to sit around and "rest" all I want...lol so I might as well be energetic as long as I am able now.

One of the difficult parts of being here is not being able to walk anywhere...I could get a bike but there are not bike paths or anything. Oh, and TRUST Me you don't want to be on the same road with the drivers here unless you are in a car...and even then, lol, it gets quite dangerous at times. lol However, there is a Theological Seminary (ACTS) right down the road from my house...probably about a 1/2 mile si I decided to walk there last night....the campus is on a mountain so my legs were killing me yesterday by the time I got to the top! Yesterday was the first time I walked to it and I not only found a basketball court but also a soccer field!!!! I was so excited!!! This means that I don't have to wait for someone to drive me to the court to play!! I can walk! It is a really busy road, but I try to be careful...lol So that was pretty much amazing when I found that yesterday!

As I was walking home last night from ACTS, a little girl saw me and was really surprised and just stared. AS usual I waved and laughed to myself. I figured she had never seen a westerner before and that is why she was so surprised...after she waved and stared she ran into her house and started yelling and pointing at me..lol THen a little boy came out with her and they both stared at me. Well, I couldn't just let them stare I had to at least TRY to communicate with them! I walked over and they asked me if I was an ANCA teacher. I said yes and the little boy told me he was a student who attends the Leadership program at ANCA (after school English Camp). HIs name is Tommy, and his little sister's name is something I can not pronounce. lol THey were so cute! I had kneeled down to talk to them and the little girl went and brought me a chair to sit in. Then, they asked me to come and play at their house. I told them I would and showed them where I lived. So tonight after work (and shopping...which is another interesting story...lol) I went over to their house and was expecting to play soccer or something outside. When Tommy saw that I had come to his house, he and his sister ran down teh steps to greet me. Their mom came out and asked me to please come in her house. The kids were so excited that I was visiting. THey brought out English books and we read a few books for a while. Then, they showed me how they play the piano. They just started a month ago and have learned so much already! Their mom, Kim, knows a little bit of English, so in between reading, playing hangman, and the piano we were able to carry on a conversation. As I was reading to the kids I noticed their mom had not been around for like 20 minutes....well, come to find out she went to pick up herhusband at the train station. When Kim came back she gave me eggs, delicious orange juice, and some breakfastbread things she bought for me while she was out. So anyways, I had a really great time tonight! Kim and I exchanged phone numbers and she told me to come to her house whenever I want to. As I was leaving, Tommy was trying to plan out another night I could come over or they could come to my house.lol Hanging out with them made me very excited! Most of the children who attend the leadership classes are not Christians and do not attend church. So this will be a great witnessing opportunity for me to show Christ's love through relational evangelism. THey are a great family and like all Koreans I have found out by now: they are VERY generous. SO here is a second prayer request for you all: Tommy's family.

One last thing before I go...I am surprised at how much Korean I am learning. I do not know how to read but I am definately fnding out that the best way to learn a language is to be immersed in it: which I am for sure! I am learning words here and there and also picking up some from playing with the kids.

Wow, once again a REALLY LONG post....well, I hope you all are enjoying the posts and photos! There will be more to come after this weekend...I am going to Insadong and seeing a stomp show called Nanta. I will definately let you all know how it goes!!

-Krissy

As of lately...

This is where I teach! All Nations Christian Academy (ANCA) The view from the school. Yangpyeong has been described to me as the country....there are a lot of rice fields and the two way roads are the size of one way roads in America. lol That definitely makes riding in a car very interesting...lol
Eugene, Evan, and James
"Sanchongsa" (spelling is off I am sure..lol) Ye-rim is my left while Lucia is on my right. The second day I was teaching, Ye-Rim pointed to us three and said Sanchongsa which translates to three musketeers in English.

The Famous Tubby and one of my students, Ted.

These are a few of my students....Dylan has Tubby on his head...Evan is the one with his arms against the board, and Henry is the last boy on the right. lol Jennifer is the one doing the peace signs : ) I think we were playing Bingo...

This is when we were lost coming back from Seoul on Saturday...hahaha now that was an experience...lol I had just bought this hula hoop for children's church.....David B. and Yoon definitely broke it...lol..oi vey..way too much male bonding going on for me these days..lol

I think Yoon is pointing to Yangpyeog on the map....where we needed to be.....but we seriously had no clue where we were..lol
Dinner at my neighbors house on Saturday night...Ella is wearing the black and Esther is in the middle. They both have children at ANCA...Esther is administration at the school and does a great job : )
This is Erin, Esther's daughter!!! Esther and I went out to coffee with Eunice (don't have a photo yet) to talk about children's church. On the way to Ella's house Erin and I wen to my house to drop things off before heading over. Well, long story short...Erin found my shoes : ) She is also one of my students. She was also very surprised that Americans wear their shoes in the house.
These were Erin's favorite shoes that I have...so we took a photo with out feet : )

Once again, there is so much to share....however, I have not done a "real" blog in awhile so I guess it is time. #1 Teaching: It is going great! I am actually enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. I finished my second week of teaching on Thursday and will begin the last and final week for the summer camp this Friday. The grades I am teaching varies because it is an English summer camp school.

The children are amazing! I love working with them and we have a lot of fun..especially with Tubby...the stuffed TY beanie baby hippo. Tubby has now kind of become the school pet. Even kids who aren't in my class love to play with Tubby...lol unfortunately I am not sure how long Tubby will last..he is getting very dirty these days and has been washed several times by the kids in the bathroom sink. As far as the difference in American schools and what I have seen at ANCA it is different. At lunch time every child has to clean his plate and we all eat the same thing. It makes life so much easier for the lunch lady I am sure! ALso, I have not heard one complaint about the food...the kids all seem to pretty much like it. I have learned that the language barrier does not matter at times. However, I desperately wish I could speak Korean. When it comes to getting to know the kids it is hard because for the most part a lot of them know basic conversational English. That just gives me more of an opportunity to love on them by playing outside or running around the school chasing them on my lunch break.

Something I had encountered here which I love so much MORE than America is the hospitality and graciousness of the Korean people. There are two families who's children attend ANCA and are our neighbors. They have invited us over for dinner the past two Saturday nights. Not only is the food amazing (pretty healthy too) but they are great people to be with and I love it. I know this is a shocker for me to say....but Korean hospitality is better than Southern hospitality....by far.

I am also adjusting to not being so busy with a ton of activities...being back in the States, as many of you know, I was always busy and always seemed to have a million and one things to do. I am actually relaxing these days and enjoying it! Its a nice break to not be working so much...literally around the clock with school, as well as work.

I have picked up something else other than teaching though...children's church. Prior to me coming the church had a Sunday School where the teachers taught a Bible verse in English to the kids. After having a meeting, the teachers decided that something else needed to be done because the kids were not understanding the verse being taught in English...which because of this situation led to children's church. Which I am very stoked about! The kids have a Bible lesson in Korean for a half hour...after that the other Sunday school teachers and English teachers have activities and games for them. This is what I will be working on besides teaching: organizing this hour of church...Today was the first Sunday and it went very well. It is great to have teachers who know how to play instruments! One of the teachers, David A., played the guitar and led the kids in praise and worship. Once that was finished, I talked to the kids about prayer a little bit and what it means to pray. Esther, who works at the school translated so the kids could understand. After prayer we went into playing games and the kids really seemed to enjoy them. So if anyone has and crazy, fun games they would like to share with me please let me know!!!! Another thing we are going to incorporate into service time will be a missions project. This project will help the kids see what is going on in other parts of the world and do something to participate in missions. The goal of this ministry is to focus on prayer, worship, and missions. I am very excited to see what God is going to do in these kids lives! It is going to be great to see how this ministry explodes with children who have passion to serve God through missions, prayer, and worship. Please pray for this ministry that God would provide unity among all those involved in leading it, as well as, resources.

Oh, I also must mention that I am the rose among the thorns (yes, David if you are reading this that is definitely what I meant! lol). I say this because I am the only female teacher....other than the two other ladies who are married. I have to say though that after hanging out with four guys most of the time I am holding my own quite well! I need to learn some more come backs...but umm Yoon has a few battle scars....lol I guess he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time..lol. But, no, it seriously has been great hanging out with the boys, however, I am excited to get some more estrogen around here when Esther comes in a week! I will also have a roomie to share my house with...which will be nice : )

Sorry, about the long post...I guess that is what happens when I don't blog for awhile...lol. Well guys I hope all is going great in y'alls part of the world! I am trying to keep up with posting pictures and blogging but you all probably know that I am not too great with that so...sorry if it takes a while. : ( I am going to bed so good night and peace out!!!