July 29th- The Trials of Teaching

Apart from being called ugly, big nosed and essentially ridiculed during class, my day was quite honestly from the pits of hell. If my heart were a stained glass window, it would have shattered into a slew of vibrant colors. I wish this metaphor was not fictional, because I would make my students walk barefoot across the mess they've created. I disciplined a student today, a young girl whose utter cuteness almost begs of you to let her get away with murder. This is a picture of her. Quite possibly the most adorable little girl ever, but looks are definitely deceiving. This little tiger has got a paw full of claws, and a bucketful of insolence. I made her stand in the hallway outside of the classroom and stare at the wall for an hour and a half. I wish I could feel pity for her, but I do not at this moment at all. My self-esteem was smacked hard on today, and it made me reconsider my career choice. But now that I have had some time to blow of steam and decompress, I have decided that there are flukes in just about everything, and jerks in even more, but it's my job to stay consistent amidst it all. This is the drawing they doodled on the board for me when I initially entered into the classroom. Ironically enough, the thoughtful sketch was done by who else than the little devil herself. This of course didn't assuage any of the pain she had caused prior to the art. I taught the rest of the afternoon reluctantly and found myself beginning to fade considerably early. I sit in my dorm room in JeonJu searching desperately for a dictum stating that committing two years here is worth it. The utter disrespect on my students part was just plain rude, however, I will move forward, and I hope to teach them more and more fluidly as the days progress.
Grudges don't pave roads, they burn bridges instead. I just hope that my students will begin to respect me as time rolls on, and before the team departs to Seoul in two weeks, I hope to have impacted at least one of their lives for the better.

Later in the evening we had a team get to together with the Korean Assistants and our team. We all shared pizza! I love pizza, and the fact that all I have been eating is rice, just adds to how much more I love pizza. It was an interesting experience sharing with the Koreans our lives and culture, and not to mention their outlook as well. It's amazing how similar we all are.