The end of an era

Yes, the time has come. My kindergarten students graduated. This is quite the big deal, because they are basically my pride and joy at my school. For those of you that don't know, my day is broken up in two parts: Kindergarten teacher, and after school "tutor." Every morning, from 9:30-2:05 I have worked with the same handful of students teaching them everything from the basic ABC's to math, science, and even manners. I have had help of course, my first was a Korean teacher who chose to primarily speak to them in Korean or a terrible English accent, then Oliver, Emily, and now Fliss. But I can't help but feel that I have been the biggest influence on them and as a result I feel even prouder.

In preparation for the big graduation day we had spent the last three weeks working on our ceremony. The students memorized speeches which they wrote themselves. Initially I was a bit disappointed in the content of their speeches. They seemed to only focused on their favorite colors and their longing desire to own their very own cheetahs, but then I realized that they are 7 and we can't all be as well spoken as I am. In all actuality the content was hilarious and really long and they did an amazing job memorizing them. Fliss also helped them to memorize their very own Role Play skits, "At the store" and "At school". Lastly was song and dance. I choreographed my very first song, I'm not going to lie, I should definitely stick with my day job. I also taught them the infamous "Down by the Bay" which probably wasn't the best idea because the students had to memorize a handful of tongue twisters like, "Have you ever seen an octopus dancing with a platypus?" I also strummed a few chords on the guitar while they sang this, unfortunately I managed to fuck it up mid-song so I think I should definitely stay away from a future in music in every way.

Moments before the big ceremony I decided I wanted to memorize a little speech of my own. So with the help of one of my older students I repeated about 5 sentences in Korea, words I'd never heard before, and it was a disaster. For all I know they couldn't even understand me over my stutter and terrible accent, but they clapped, and I felt kind of proud.

Andy

Lisa

Jake

Tommy

Amy

All together the graduation was a success. What hasn't been a success is the new kindergarten students I've acquired. I went from having 6, almost fluent, well behaved 7 year olds that loved me to two little shits. Well, one really. The other one is too small to be too much of a shit. I'd say he's about 3 years old. The other one is probably 4 or 5 and she is the devil. Her name is Maya, she has a cell phone, and an attention span of approximately one hour. After that she's done. I have to spend 4 hours with her. During this time she screams if I come close, cries, throws fits, and is generally really fucking annoying. She is the bane of my existence and has whole heartedly solidified the fact that I will never, ever, ever reproduce.

Since graduation a few weeks ago I've been unlucky enough to be ill twice and hurt once. I came across some kinda flu/food poisoning for a handful of days. Then I got a mean case of tonsillitis, most likely caused from a 4 hour noraebang session that included at least one or more packs of cigarettes. Finally, during my jaunt to work I rolled my ankle. It hurt like hell, was okay for a day, and after going to the gym later that night felt as if I was going to have to personally cut my foot off to alleviate the pain. However, I can finally say that I am currently in good condition.

I have loads more to write about the last few weeks, but I'll post this one, maybe add pictures, and try to remember the rest for another post!