This final week of classes was quite a roller coaster. The students have been great in behaviour, more than usual, the school staff has been extra nicer, and the lessons have been entertaining. The students learned about Canada, Bucket List and even played K-Pop Slam game. Two classes won pizza party and other class earned a small snack. The first graders (106), and second graders (205) both won a pizza party because they got the highest amount of stickers with respect to their grade. The third graders (305) won a small snack party but they won’t get it until I leave which is unfortunate. Also, after work each day I have been trying to keep myself occupied with the many friends I have made in Korea.
On Monday, I only have 4 classes, so it went quickly and after a weekend of fun, it was a great chance for me to relax. After work, the English depart treated me to a Pizza Hut dinner! They were really nice and of course tried their best to communicate in English as much possible. I really liked the dessert because of mango jelly!
On Tuesday, I had 5 classes but they were all good classes and the 205 class had their pizza party. They were an enthusiastic bunch because they destroyed their competition and some of the students are the most sociable Korean kids I know. After work, I went to the National Pension Building to process my pension papers so I can get my money back near middle of August. I made sure that they can send the money directly to my Canadian bank account.
On Wednesday, I had 5 classes again, but the 305 class had some issues with their homeroom teacher about a pizza party. 305 class is first period at 9am so it was difficult to arrange for pizzas. Instead, I spoke to my co-teacher and she was willing to deal with that class next week by providing them some snacks. I told her that would be wonderful and just give me the receipt so I can give her cash because this was my treat for the students. After work, I met up with my friends Nonia (Soko), and Dharma at Nampo Dong to enjoy a western style buffet at a restaurant called, “Ashley’s”. We were three starving foreigners and we dug in right away. There was no stopping us after we began!
On Thursday, I had only 4 classes, and the students started to realize that my days at Yang Dong Middle School are coming to an end. The students started to get create with their farewell gifts for me. After work, I went to PNU area to eat at a Korean restaurant with bunch of friends but I couldn’t stay too long because I had a personal dinner with Karen, and her mom! Her mom came all the way from California to hang out with her daughter for couple of weeks. Karen being a good friend of mine invited me over because her mom was cooking Filipino food just for me! Her mom was such a lovely person and even saved some fresh mangoes and Filipino bread for me. At the end she packed some food so I can eat it for lunch the next day. I didn’t get home until 12:15am but it was well worth it!
On Friday, I had 5 classes and all of them were first graders! They were attentive, and they really showcased their English skills by writing farewell greeting cards with wonderful messages inside them. Some first graders decided to make a huge farewell gift with their chalk boards. The last class of the day earned the first grade pizza party! They also watched Finding Nemo while they were eating their delicious slices of cheese pizza and sweet potato pizza. For me, it was a great way to end the day, and the students were really sad that I will no longer be teaching them. I gave them my e-mail address and told them that they can only message me in English if they want to receive a response back.
After school, the principal took me and bunch of teachers out for an all out Korean meal. We got to the restaurant at 5pm and we had food coming until 7:30pm. There were so many dishes and I stopped taking pictures after awhile too! Every 15-30 minutes another dish appeared in front of us. The principal made a speech about how he is going to miss me and that I am like a son to him. He was really hoping that I would renew the contract but he was happy either way. He wished me good luck in the future and told me that he gave the reference letter to one of my co-teachers. I got it earlier in the day so I thanked him and told him that I would miss him too.
Overall, this week has been an eye opener because I always felt that my students weren’t either paying attention to me or didn’t care enough but they did all of these cards, writings, messages, and showing their appreciation without any of my co-teachers telling them to do it. They did it all on their own and my co-teachers were surprised as much as I was. I guess, I was not just a good teacher to them but a positive Canadian (foreigner) role model as well. My mission as a teacher in South Korea has been accomplished. I am impressed by the students conduct in each class, their ability to follow along when I speak quickly at times, and finding my corny jokes actually funny. There is no great profession and feeling when you know you made a positive difference in a young student’s life. This is exactly why I wanted to be a teacher since I was in high school. In conclusion, I am quite grateful for the opportunity that South Korea has offered me, and many other Guest English Teachers. Thank you!
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