If I Watched Mad Men...

... and I ever went to a Mad Men themed party, I might wear this dress. Definitely the pearls, because pearls just scream dinner party apparently (ala Pretty in Pink...). And if I smoked cigarettes, I would be right now. Er, well, in the photo. Although, I guess if I smoked I quite possibly could be doing it now too. Anyway, sorry I look so unhappy in these pictures... I feel like I look cheesy when I try to smile, haha.

 -Anna-

dress, shoes, necklace: thrifted

tights: Forever 21

earrings: Icing

watch: gift

Today was a good school day. Not to say I have bad days, but today was especially pleasant. We had to give a months/dates test to our 6th graders who hadn't passed the first one. I have a morning class Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, where 13 or so students come in for extra help. There are about 7 who are especially behind. Today I drilled those 7 students, who were all going to retake the test later that day or tomorrow, on the months and their spelling, hoping I made an impact.

We had two 6th grade classes, who included one of my most remedial students, Ingi. He is the cutest, sweetest kid, who happens to love English and me. But bless his heart, he has trouble writing English. On his first date test, he scored a 2/20. But today he scored a 14/20!! Oh, I was so excited! There were a number of my other slower students who scored perfect (yaaay!!) or high scores too (and then a few who still don't get it. We'll get 'em next time).

Not only am I proud of them for sticking through it even when it wasn't making sense or when it seemed too hard, but, I'm going to go ahead a gloat for a second, I'm proud of myself too :) While I am out here teaching English, I've never thought I was the most qualified person for the job. But seeing students of mine succeed with some extra direction from me makes me feel as though I'm actually making somewhat of an impact.

Ingi ^^

-Anna-

Jean Jackets Are Cool

Today was a busy day at work, but that's okay. I like being busy, it makes the day go by more quickly. I had three 80 minute 4th grade classes and a 40 minute daycare class. Also, my computer was removed from my classroom yesterday afternoon, so I was without a computer. I guess they're taking it away so they can convert it to English (because all the programs are in Korean...), so I can use my computer more efficiently, instead of mainly using it to check up on facebook or youtube or tumblr... I mean.. what? Who does that....

The day was so full of classes, though, that it hardly mattered that I didn't have a computer. Plus, I was able to delve deeper in the futuristic world of Panem. That's right! I'm reading The Hunger Games. I like it so far. I'm about 150 pages in to the first book, and I'm hoping to finish it by April 5th, when it will be released here in Korea.

Today is the first day I went to school without a winter coat! Hooray, spring has arrived! Later than Chicago, it seems... And what better way to celebrate Spring but with a floral dress and a denim jacket! Cole hates it, but what does he know about lookin' fly? Very little. I'll reiterate my point: jean jackets are cool.

I took these outfit pictures after work today. I forgot to put on a slip under my skirt when I left, so it kept bunching when I walked! But I couldn't go home to change once I got to school. When I got out, though, I returned home, adorned a slip (talked to Cole via skype for a bit...) and then went back outside to take advantage of the daylight (even if it was a little overcast). I decided to explore close to home, and found a small park by my school. I was visited by some students of mine who were playing at the nearby playground. First the boys came over, then a few girls. Of course they were curious what their "Teacher Anna" was doing, with her self timer camera. I explained that I had a blog, and they seemed to understand. Maybe they'll come check it out! (So let's keep it clean, Marybeth ;) ).

reverting back to my ballet poses, hahahaha.

-Anna-

dress, denim jacket, shoes: thrifted

belt: Toona (Korea)

earrings: icing

tights: Forever21

lol, another ballet pose....?

i regrettably forgot all my belts at home! i'm going to ask my mom/sister to pack them up and send them here though! but this was a good replacement. cute little bow, right?

a few 6th grade boys. aren't they cool? too cool for school...

this is something korean girls do to cover their face. sometimes they'll just do it to cover their jawline because they think their faces are too wide (which is crazy, because they're not). korean's have a very specific idea of beauty. these girls are just being shy.

On an unrelated note: I went walking to the market the other day (which, by the way, is right down the street from my apartment building. yay!) and I found this little shop, Vintage Story. Well, I had to go in, right? I've been wondering if there are any stores around here that cater to my thrifty/vintage sensibility, and I seemed to find one nearby! Now, I only stopped in for a moment, because I was meeting someone, but I went back with the few friends later in the week. It's a very small store, and there were 5 of us, not counting the 2 women who were working there, so there wasn't much room to move around. Regardless, I intend to go back and do some more rummaging. I did manage to buy some shirts at the market for pretty cheap (they have a lot of random things there...). I'll post pictures of those soon!

also... moss covered teapots?

And we'll end on this Alice in Wonderland meets Secret Garden display I walked past on my way to the market. You can't climb inside, I already checked...

BYE!

Anna

edit: i had to remove a photo with some graffiti in the background because it said something inappropriate in korean. as a teacher, i suppose i shouldn't condone that... oops. my bad!

Songnae Elementary School

School pictures!! I teach at Songnae Elementary School in Bucheon City. It's a smaller elementary, I have about 20 kids in each of my classes. I teach 4th, 5th, and 6th with my co-teacher, Elly. I teach two 3rd grade classes on my own. I also have a daycare after school on Thursdays, in which I teach 1st and 2nd graders,  but with no set curriculum, just songs and games.

I wasn't sure what level of English my students would already know, but after meeting them, I realize it's very low. And that's totally fine; it means we have plenty of room to grow. At the same time though, there are different levels in every class. So while the majority of students have very little knowledge of English, there are some students who go to private English institutions, so they are more advanced. We need to figure out how to address and appropriately challenge the different levels, which is tough.

And from the student's and teacher's feedback, the kids seem to like our class! When we first asked the students, "Who likes English?", a few kids raised their hands. And when we asked "Who doesn't really like English?"... all the rest of the kids raised their hands. Haha! Oh no! We just need to convince them that English is fun and useful! I'm confident they'll come around. I can't wait to see how much they'll learn after a year!

I kept forgetting to take pictures of students, so I had Elly help remind me today with our fourth grade class. we canceled their class last week because of a scheduling issue, so this was their first class. We played games and made name tags. I got to name little Korean kids! It went over better with the 4th graders than it did with the 5th graders, who didn't seem to like any of the names I offered, haha.

the daycare kids. they're so energetic!!

we have two english classrooms. this is where my desk is. we teach in the room next door, where elly's desk is.

our stamp boards: rewards for good behavior.

a rock display showing different types of rocks. its a science thing. i thought it was a graveyard when i first saw it. lol.

the great mother. apparently she had some awesome son, so she's something to live up to.

a few murals painted around the surrounding wall. how cuuute.

I'm very happy with the school I'm at. All the teachers are very friendly and the students seem enthusiastic. Plus, my school is RIGHT next to my apartment building, so the walk in the morning takes 5 minutes! Can't argue with that...

Anna

Pan, Tilt, Zooooom!

Bette had me take pictures for her earlier today, so that made me want to post too. I see she hasn't had a chance to upload them yet, so I will beat her to it by uploading my own. I had my mom take pictures today, because Marybeth is at work until late. I think she did an all right job. My mom, that is. We'll give her plenty more time to practice, though, right Bette?

I subbed at a high school today, teaching a Broadcasting class. I was actually very impressed! I learned the stuff ther're learning as a senior at Winona State (but to be fair, I was only a minor and got into video production later than most..). I was also kind of jealous; I wish I had had cool equipment like that at my high school! And while I thought I'd be a real help to these kids, with all my fancy college educated broadcasting knowledge, they really didn't need my help at all. Ha!

Now the clothes. I just got this dress at T.J.Maxx for $7! I wore it to the winery this weekend (which Marybeth may go into. I've rambled enough myself), but I wanted to wear it teaching too. It was really pleasant out today, so I opted for no tights. Freedom! And ashy knees...

dress: T.J.Maxx, denim jacket, shoes: thrifted, socks: Target, sweater, earrings: American Eagle, belt: off of a skirt from Forever21

My favorite shoes, which were replaced by Marybeth after her adorable, yet naughty, dog chewed up my other pair.

More to come,
Anna