It’s been a busy 5 months! I traveled a lot, both in Korea and to Thailand (there will be a post and plenty of pictures later!!), went to dozens of new cafes, learned a lot more Korean, am still in a flourishing relationship with my boyfriend, and became a quasi-influencer on TikTok!

However, let’s start with something more recent. The new school year.

School started up again last week after two months off for winter vacation. This year, things are very different at my two schools. In the past, I have taught with a designated English co-teacher, a Korean teacher who was assigned to only teach English (and usually another subject like Science or Ethics). However, this year, due to restructuring and budget cuts, I am the sole English teacher at both of my schools. But this doesn’t mean I’m totally alone. I’m teaching classes with each class’ homeroom teacher. They are there to help with classroom management, to translate and help confused students, and to teach English on days when I am at the other school.

It’s a little different from how I taught before, but it’s a situation that many of my friends and other English teachers are in, so it’s not totally out of the blue! And actually, I am quite liking it.

I think if this had been my situation two years ago when I started, I would have been frantic and would have had no idea how or what to teach. But this being my third year teaching the same students and the same material, I’m confident. I know that I can teach on my own and whether the homeroom teacher is confident in English or not doesn’t really affect my teaching. It’s actually a breath of fresh air compared to last year when I struggled with being given no responsibility or freedom to teach my way. Plus, I get the big main teacher’s desk in my classroom now! Yay! No more mini desk!

My classes have been going well and despite how much I dread working again after such a long vacation, I’ve been enjoying being around my students again.

My new third graders at my main school are a handful. Every day at recess, they track me down and spend about 30 minutes walking around with me hand-in-hand and fighting over who gets to hold my hand. They also ask me the most hilarious questions! If you ever wondered what eight-year-old Korean kids are curious about foreigners, here are some examples:

What scary thing am I most afraid of? (Spiders)
What is my favorite Korean food? (Korean BBQ or Dalkgalbi)
Is Korean food spicy? (Yes, sometimes)
Have I ever been bungee jumping? (No)
Have I ever been to China, Japan, or Vietnam? (No)
Do I like Korean food or American food? (Korean)
What is my dream? (To be their teacher)
What was my dream when I was little? (To ride horses)
What did my house look like in the US? (A big city house)
In Korea where do I live and is it also a house? (Near the subway station and no, it’s a villa)
Since I’ve been in Korea for so long, how often do I have to study English (to remember)? (I couldn’t stop myself from laughing a little bit – had to explain that I’m a native speaker)
Have I always been this short? (Yes)
How come I’m so pretty? (Thanks Mom and Dad!)
Am I married? (No)
Do I have a boyfriend? (Secret – until they saw his picture on my phone background)
All in all, I’m enjoying the year! I’m staying pretty busy on weekends, I usually spend the weekend with my boyfriend in Pyeongtaek or we go up to Seoul to film a video for a beauty clinic, a new cafe, things to do around Korea, etc.

It’s getting warmer here and in only a couple weeks the cherry blossoms will start to bloom, officially marking spring! I can’t wait!