Talking to 5-Year-Olds

I haven't written in months and I don't have a picture for this post.  These past several months have been some of the best months of my stay in Korea, yet I haven't felt driven to record most of them.  I will, eventually, when I have a moment and need to reminisce, but right now I can't.

Right now all I can think about is my students.  I told my preschoolers (age 5) today that in one week I am flying to America.  This is how the conversation went in our circle time this afternoon:

Me:  Cedar Class, I have something very important to tell you.  

Cedar Class: (silent)

Me: I have to go back to America.

Jacob: You will go on vacation?

Me: Kind of.  

Kevin: This weekend or Monday? (today is Friday)

Me: Well, I will see you on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday next week, but next Saturday I have to get on a plane and fly to America.

David: Why?

Me: That's a very good question.  I have to go to America because my family is there, and my husband is there...

Ellie: What is a husband?

Kevin: You have a husband?

Tony: I know it in Korean.  Can I say?

Me: Yes

Tony: 남편 

Kevin: You have one of those?!?

Me: (laughing) Yes, I do.  And I have many students in America who need me very soon, so I have to go to America and teach them.

Maria: That is why I gave you a goodbye present yesterday.

Me: Yes, that is why.  

Jacob: When will you come back?

Me: (crying) Well, Jacob, I can't come back.

Jacob: Why?

Me: Because my students will need me for a very long time.  But I am very sad to leave you.

Tony: You will stay in America forever?

Jacob: And you sleep there many times?

Me: Yes, I will. (still crying)

Catharina: I will miss you, Amie Teacher!

(The bell rings to go home)

Me: I will miss you all, too.

Alvin: You cannot see me in America, but you can see my dad when he goes to America.

Me: Oh, really?  Well, I hope I do.

David: You can see ME in America when I go on the vacation!  I will sleep three nights on the vacation!

Sophia: When I am 20 years old I will go to America and see you.

Me: I hope you do. It would be wonderful to see you.

Catharina: Amie Teacher, when you go to America I will miss you very much.

Me: I will miss you more.

Tony: Amie Teacher, what is your phone number?

Me: Maybe I can tell you on Monday.

Tony: That would be a good idea.  Then I can call you when you are in America.

Me: I would like that.  And perhaps next Friday we can have a party during our class time.

Tony: That would be a good idea, too.  I like parties.  But I think that we should bring a kind of snack to the party.

Me: Yes, of course.  I will definitely bring some snacks.

Tony:  Okay.  Then it will be a party.

Cedar Class: (as they walk out the door in a line) Good-bye, Amie Teacher!

That was one of the saddest conversations I have ever had.

A New Semester, A New Season

My students are adorable.  Each time I think the next thing in my life might not be a good fit for me, I find myself in a new situation that in many ways is full of blessings.  Teaching preschool has been this way for me.  Although I have been a "preschool teacher" since last summer, I am actually teaching 5-year-olds to speak, read, listen and interact in their second language to at least the Kindergarten-1st grade level within months.  This is not preschool where you let kids run free with blocks and annoying musical toys; no, this is school where students sit and walk in rows, where their sentences are complete, and where their schedules are planned to the minute.  These little minds are so young, so small, so impressionable, and each day they blow me away with their abilities.  

Plus, they are so cute!

They are full of energy!

They always work so hard.  Look at that coloring!

They pretend they are sleeping so I will come tickle them.

They make funny faces when they are tired of sitting in their chairs.

They are sometimes camera shy.

They are always happy and cheery!

They listen well.

They relax - a little.

They take pride in their work.

They love my camera

They make me laugh daily

In fact, this little one above blew me away with his English on the first day.  He even requested his favorite song, which is of course "Pumpkin, Pumpkin."  Here he is, for you, singing his song very quickly. :)

And at the end of the day they go home with little backpacks, reminding me of bubble bees.

I am so blessed to have such a lovely group of students.

At the end of preschool...

 The end of February in South Korea means the end of the school year.  Now in the month of March, it feels funny to refer to my students as "my students from last year," and yet that is the reality.  

Though I taught two preschool classes each morning, my homeroom class was my favorite, primarily because they felt like "my" students.  Our classroom name was Spruce, so these students were my Spruce Class students.  There were eleven adorable kiddos in this class that made my day each time I walked into the classroom.  

Throughout our final week of school before graduation, I brought my camera into class and attempted to capture them in pictures and videos and much as possible.  I feel as a teacher you are always looking towards the next step, or goal, and you are often too busy to look back for long.  But when students shuffle through to the next grade and leave you behind, you can't help but miss them and think back.

Emily and Emma, posing for me while on a hallway scavenger hunt

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Four of my kids making faces while we waited for all the preschool classes to join us for a performance.

They had to wait a long time, so they turned into zombies.

 

 

My students, all hard at work and happy about it.

  One of my dearest students was in love with our theme of world geography.  For one month we learned about all the continents and many countries around the world.  We made crafts, danced to world music, colored flags, and learned to identify places on a map.  This is one student showing off his mad geography skills.

 

We were in the midst of a classroom survey, and one student wrote this all by herself.  Pretty impressive for a 6-year-old.

 And when they are not running around making funny faces or taking classroom surveys, they are practicing their monthly recital.  Here it is for your enjoyment:

 

 And that is my Spruce Class.  I miss them already, but thankfully I still get to see their smiling, excited faces in the hallways when they come down from their Kindergarten classes.  I think they still love me - I sure love them!

 

Thailand & Cambodia: Part 3

Our trip to Cambodia was amazing, albeit brief, and thus we found ourselves at the Thai/Cambodia border soon after our Angkor Wat adventures.  Another four hours of standing in a miserable line through immigration were ours to enjoy before making the bus and taxi ride back to Bangkok.  Luckily we appreciate traveling and we like each other.

We slept off our long day of travel quickly and woke on Saturday morning before the sun to catch a tour bus to the famous floating markets just outside the city.  Tour groups are not our thing, but we couldn't pass up the markets and a chance to ride the elephants.

Thailand

 

 

Mango sticky rice alongside the floating market: Thai heaven.

Alex was in love with these snakes.

Me, not so much.

We found ourselves in a huge bookshop with such a random collection; I had to snap a photo of the beloved book that my mother has had on her shelf since my birth.  My mom is with me, even in Thailand, thanks to the Prescription for Nutritional Healing.

 

 After a day of elephant rides, Thai iced tea and coffee, a run to the tailor to pick up Alex's new suit, and a bit to eat, we packed our bags and headed for 'home.'  We arrived back to the frozen Seoul streets and shivered our way back to our little apartment, exhausted by happy. Thailand & Cambodia were good to us.

Thailand & Cambodia: Part 2

After a few days of New Years celebrations in Bangkok, Alex and I took a five hour bus ride to the Thai/Cambodian border, waited through three lines for more than four hours to get through the border, and then took a two hour taxi ride with some friendly Spaniards to Siem Reap.  

We stayed at a lovely place called the Mango Inn, where everyone said hello simultaneously when we walked in, and we were given fresh juice, warmed towels, and a tour of the Inn.  They had a great outdoor restaurant on site where Gin & Tonics were $2.50 and the meals were delicious and cheap.  

The highlights of our trip to Cambodia include a buffet dinner with traditional Cambodian dancing, an unforgettable day wandering the ruins of Angkor Wat, and shopping for great souvenirs at the Night Market. 

Cambodia

Welcome to the Kingdom of Cambodia

Mango Inn

Siem Reap

Cambodian dancers

Angkor Wat

Coconut milk, from the source, outside Angkor Wat

Alex!

Found on the walls

Why not do yoga along with the engraved goddesses?

Another temple, dominated by the trees and greenery.

We took so many pictures and I simply couldn't share them all, so hopefully those above have given you an idea of our days in Siem Reap.