My New Job

I have been working at my new job as a kindergarten/private English academy teacher for a few weeks now. At first, it was quite overwhelming, because I teach up to 11 different classes everyday. It sounds like a lot, and it is, but I love the kids and the day goes fast. I teach 40 minute classes, starting at 9:40 am and going until 7:25 pm (or 6:40 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays). We have a 50 minute break in the afternoon and a 40 minute lunch break, but I usually come to the office at 8 or 8:30 am for planning. The lesson plans are pretty much created for us, so lesson planning is just checking what we're doing that day and trying to keep all the different classes straight.

I teach kindergarten (4 and 5 year olds) in the morning and early afternoon, and after the afternoon break the elementary kids arrive. They come after attending regular school so they can have supplemental English education. Our students are privileged because attending a nice English kindergarten or after-school academy like ours is not cheap. So far I have found the students respectful, occasionally tired (they are so busy with all this studying), and playful.

Among the other teachers I have really connected with Rachel. We live in the same building (we each have studio apartments), so we often eat meals together. This is such a blessing for me, because I think the worst part of living alone is eating alone. Rachel grew up as a missionary kid in Brazil. She moved to Korea just a few months ago, and I love her fresh perspective! We encourage each other a lot and have lots of fun together.

I continue to really love church. On a typical day, I go to the North Korea mission group meeting at 11:30 am, eat a quick lunch with them at the church cafeteria, go to the Young Adult Service at 1:30 pm, and then go to cell group after that. Then I might have dinner with friends. It's a long day, but I love it. It's also the day I get the most chance to use Korean, something that's important to me now as an English teacher working long hours.

I had an issue with my visa that got resolved after a trip to Fukuoka. Over there, I stayed with a wonderful Christian couple and was able to rest my voice, which I had almost completely lost after my first week of teaching. It was a blessing in disguise- the visa issues, as well as losing my voice while having to teach such long hours, had been quite stressful.

My wonderful cousin Audrey came to Korea for 2 weeks. It was such a joy to have her here and reconnect after many years away. She had a great attitude about experiencing a new culture unfamiliar to her, and I enjoyed telling her about it. She traveled by herself while I was at work, and on the weekends we went out together.

I appreciate prayers for discernment about my future, opportunities to use and learn Korean, and building relationships in my new neighborhood.