Michael had a very good week at school and likes nearly all his classes a lot. Already on Tuesday he rode the city bus by himself to school. I still picked him up, but I kind of like to make the trip and just be there when school dismisses. He had a little math homework and finished it way ahead of the due date. He has music and art once a week, Korean twice a week (they got a letter sheet, but we are not sure how much is language vs. culture, etc.), math and English everyday, and IPC everyday. PE is scheduled 2 hours on Friday afternoon. The schedule changes a bit everyday.
I worked on my syllabus and first chapter materials earlier in the week. I signed up for a Korean conversational class that starts Monday - it meets 6 hours a week. At the office where I signed up, the young lady had me sit down at a table and they offered me a drink, so I said "yes" and received an iced coffee and someone also brought me some cookies. She said the placement test was the next morning, and I said, "I know 10 words and can count to 5." She said I didn't have to take the test and that she would put me in level 1. I am looking forward to meeting some of the people.
My office is in a building next to the business building. The accounting department office is on the 3rd floor; my office is on the 5th floor (I go in on second floor)... and neither building has an elevator. The buildings have air con in offices and classrooms but not common areas, hallways etc. The people in the office have been very friendly. The secretary is a young woman and recent graduate of the university. Her name is Su Mi ("sue me"). She brought me a set of office supplies with pencils, paper, tape, and ... a steel cutter. Hmm - not so sure about that. But then it turns out Michael used one this week - but he could't explain it to me very well. It sounds like you could cut out part of a piece of paper without stabbing with scissors to get started. There are also some little plastic pieces in a small ziploc - not sure there either! I got a computer keyboard that switches between English and Korean letters, and they also provided me Office in English. My name appeared on the door right away - it's in English. I was sort of hoping for Korean with Ki Kim fitting their alphabet so well. I have had to explain "key" like for a door; otherwise people have been pronouncing Kay.
I have only seen one office mate so far, Chung Mi. She teaches only on Thursdays. It was sort of hot this week, so the walking around to enroll for the Korean class, running some errands, going to get lunch, walking to bus all had me fairly sweaty and worn out. If I get on a bus by 2:30, I get to Michael's school at 3:30. It's sort of a nice time to unwind. I got my IPOD working. It's sort of surreal to close my eyes and hear Chris ... but it's a great use of time to hear a good sermon.
My first class was Friday ... and 20 minutes before class I got up to leave my office to get there early and check out room equipment, etc. and I was locked IN my office. Yes, in. The entry is electronic with a small card, and the electronic connection was not letting go. I called our department secretary hoping she would understand, and she did. But it takes some time for someone to get there. I made it to class with 2 minutes to spare. The young man she sent over is so kind, Jin Kwan, and I speak to him in English, but he cannot speak well. So I feel bad for making him uncomfortable, but it's just so natural for me to talk!
I was expecting 8 students, but there were more than 20. I only had 12 or so copies of the syllabus! I do not have anything electronic on line because the system is in Korean. I have certainly had the experience in class of wondering how many students understand me, but typically it's on a hard tax topic .... not the first day going over the syllabus. I am not sure how much they will tell me or respond. We will see. The other mishap is that the other professor teaching the class said he is starting with the last chapter of the 1st volume because that is where he left off in the spring. So I have a set of notes and a pile of homework on Bonds. But a lot of the students did not take his spring class so do not have Volume 1. Of course, I don't want them to buy a book for one chapter. But I also don't want to just say "Forget bonds," because I have not taught this course before and I spent about 10 hours getting ready!! So, I am having the chapter copied. After the first day I decided I cannot just launch into Bonds when I don't know their command in English (or Korean for that matter) of some fundamentals and common terms. So I am going to spend next week reviewing and defining some terms and analysis tools we will use. It's going to be interesting. A fellow at church today told me it will be very hard to get them to speak up. I am trying to sort out in my mind what teaching this class is really going to be all about.... and I am pretty sure it's not just about accounting. Please pray for me to reach the students and to be open to how I can serve them.
The first day of passing out the syllabus only takes about 20 minutes. Wed. class is 2 hours!! I did walk over to the restaurant where I had been with Professor Kim and had a delicious daily special lunch for 4,500 won. The food arrives in about 2 minutes! The price at Korean restaurants is so low. I was on my own and the ladies workig were so kind - bringing my change to the table when they saw me with a 10,000 won even though usually one goes to the register; making sure I had my umbrella. (The conversion to dollars is very easy because 1,000 won = about $1, so we just move the decimal over 3 places to get $4.50 US).
Love to all!
No comments:
Post a Comment