I got this e-mail from one of my male Korean co-teachers regarding my parents upcoming visit...


Sheila~
I want to meet your parents. BUT I can't speak English very well.
If I meet your parents, I will black out.  ^_____^

I must have caught a stomach bug somewhere along the way from my flight from America back to Korea because I was the sickest I've been since coming to Korea my entire first week back teaching. The kids were all excited I was back so I didn't want to stay home from school so I kept on going and was literally exhausted at the end of the days. Being sick in a foreign country with only a few English speaking doctors really  is not the easiest. Luckily I have good friends nearby to help and such a nice and caring school. 

Second semester has officially kicked off. It's bitter sweet cause it's great to be back teaching again after winter break, but this also means it's my last 5 months here and I know they are going to fly by even faster than the first 7 months.
I hadn't taught since Dec. 31, so I was a little nervous going back into the classroom, but was greeted by cheering and clapping students as I entered each classroom which in my opinion is no better way to start a class.
If I had any doubts that I wanted to continue teaching back in the states after I finished up my year here before, now after my first week back I know I absolutely love it and definitely have found my passion in teaching and working with middle school kids. 

My 3rd graders have graduated and moved onto high school (sigh), and as much as I miss them, I just got all new 1st graders who somehow got even cuter and smaller and funnier this semester and are going to make it quite the adventure in the classroom with them. Some of them are literally so small they could fit in my pocket. Most of them haven't grown into their features and are all going through the awkward middle school stages which makes them even cuter. 
There is one student whose glasses literally take over his tiny face and I just want to take him back home to America with me. So precious. He stands up to answer any question and always has to hike up his pants before doing so cause I think they would fall down they are so big on him. 
I already know my 2nd and 3rd graders from last semester and they all have grown so much it's ridiculous. I didn't think that was possible in just 3 months. You can tell some of the boys have gotten a bit more confident now that they're a bit older in school and walk with a little extra hop in their step. And the girls care so much more about their appearance this year because they are in the same classroom as the boys and not seperated like last year. It's pretty entertaining to watch, but also makes them a bit more timid to answer questions in English out loud. 

I got some of the same hilarious questions from the 1st graders as I did when I first arrived in Korea. Of course the first few are always: "do you have boyfriend?" "what is your cell phone number?" "what is your favorite Korean food?" and then they ask me if I know all of their favorite Korean pop stars...sometimes I just have to lie.

Some comments worth noting: 

When a picture of a pig came on the powerpoint in class one student screamed out: DELICIOUS!
When showing pictures of my winter travels in Malaysia, Singapore and Bali, I showed many pictures of the monkeys we saw and there was one particular photo of baby monkeys and a mother monkey laying on the ground next to them and one student stands up and says "Baby monkey hit Mother, and baby win!"

The random comments they come up and the way they say it in English truly make me die laughing. I think I am just on the same maturity level as them at times...

I desperately need to catch up on here. Been at least a month since I last blogged and so much has happened. Just got back in Korea after coming back from Malaysia, Singapore and Bali, Indonesia and then wrapped up my final weeks of my winter vacation in good ol' Uhhmerrrrrica. Amazing time in each place and so different. Once I figure out which timezone I'm in I'll post pics and fill ya in on it all....