2 for 1

Ian and I went to Goam today for our first day of work on the same campus.  They have us teaching classes back to back.  Here's what Friday's schedule looks like:

2:45- Beginner 2 (Casey)

3:30- Beginner 1 (Casey)/ Beginner 2 (Ian)

4:15- Basic 1 (Casey)/ Beginner 1 (Ian)

5:00- Essential 2 (Casey)/ Basic 1 (Ian)

5:45- Essential 1 (Casey)/ Essential 2 (Ian)

6:30- Essential 3 (Casey)/ Essential 1 (Ian)

7:15- Leaders (Casey)/ Essential 3 (Ian)

Basically, I taught a class and then Ian taught the same class.  During the rest of the week, we use the same materials (one class period = one book unit), so today's method required a little stretching and creativity.  I taught half of a unit and then Ian reinforced my lesson and closed the unit (essentially, because we're using exactly the same materials) Ian and I share the job of one person on Fridays. They had us rotating classrooms, so the day was more tiring than usual.  I also taught seven classes in a row today, which is something I've never done before.  

I had told Julia that I didn't have material for the Fluent class at about 2:30, but she didn't bother to give me anything for them until 7:13, literally two minutes before class started.  I hope they decide on something concrete for that class because they're good kids (and their English is very good) and they deserve a good shot at practicing it.

Even though Ian and I hardly saw each other, it was nice being together.  Each time we saw each other in passing, it was a short mental break from the busy day.  The students were very happy to have their playmate back.

At the end of the day, Sue handed Ian a piece of paper with Korean on it and told him there was a foreigners' meeting at City Hall on Monday.  Ian asked if it is just Yoon's, and she said that it is for the whole of Jecheon.  When Ian told me about this, I remembered something that I had seen on the Facebook page of another foreign teacher here.  She had been disappointed because she found out that her summons to City Hall was for a sex education workshop.  I showed Ian the post and then later asked Sue to confirm.  Yes, all (or nearly) of the foreigners must attend a sex education lesson at City Hall at 10:30 on Monday morning.  No, we do not teach sex ed.  This lesson is intended for us.  Considering sex ed starts in elementary school in the states, I think I'm right in assuming that most of the "students" will be better and more accurately educated in this particular area than the "teachers."  It should make for a very good blog post.

We've got to get up bright and early tomorrow morning, as Chun wha will be here at 8 to take us to Andong.  By the way, Andong is the folk culture capital of Korea.  If you click here, it will take you to the Wikipedia page.

 

Good night!

(Probably) Not Fired

Ian and I have been on a probation of sorts this last month.  Julia told us that our employment after this month would depend on enrollment.  That made us pretty nervous, since we only have a very small amount of control over whether or not kids (or, more realistically, their parents) decide to come to Yoon's next term.

We didn't have a meeting this week.  Of course, that made Ian even more nervous.  He's a chronic worrier.  We have a meeting on Monday, and, since next week begins the new term, we expect Julia to fill us in on her thoughts regarding our performance (and what she thinks it meant for enrollment) this last month.

But, Rahee (the Korean teacher here who lived abroad in Spain and Dublin for awhile and is returning to Europe in August) gave me my schedule for the next term today.  Since it's an official Yoon's document apropos the future with Ian and my names on it, I'm assuming we're not fired.  The head honchos have decided to keep us for our whole contracts.  That's probably smart, since I doubt they can afford to fly someone in right now.  I heard the company is officially having financial trouble.  I just need them to hold on through August.  Then this ship can sink.

My schedule looks pretty close to what it was this term, with one major difference.  Ian will be joining me at Goam on Fridays.  Has Yoon's finally decided to use it's resources wisely?  Of course not.  On Fridays, I will teach a class and then, directly after, Ian will teach the same class.  As to how our materials will relate to each other (exactly the same, building on the same topic, different topics entirely, etc.), I have no idea.  It will be nice to teach at the same campus, even if it is a little ridiculous.

So, that puts Ian at Haso on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, Sinback on Tuesdays and Goam on Fridays.  Sinback is in walking distance, so the switch won't save us any cab fare.  Darn.

New Schedule Disaster

Gene gave me Ian's new schedule today.  The Goam changes take place in a week, so I'm glad we have a little warning.  The schedule is still preliminary, but it's not looking good.  To refresh your memory regarding what's happening over at the Goam campus, check out my previous post on it.

Here's a rundown of Ian's new schedule.

On Monday his first class starts at 2pm and his last class begins at 8pm (with no classes filling the 5 and 6 o'clock hours).  Classes are now 40 minutes long with only 5 minutes in between.  Tuesday and Wednesday classes begin at 2:45pm with the last class on Tuesday beginning at 5:45pm and the last one on Wednesday at 8pm with no classes in the 5:45 or 6:30 timeslots (so he is to teach for 2hr and 40min, sit for an hour and a half, then teach for an hour and a half and go home).  Thursdays begin at 3:30 and the last class is at 8pm.

Fridays are a whole different animal.  Ian's coworker, Rahee (Korean who lived in Spain) thought Ian and I might not have classes on Fridays, so we had our fingers cautiously crossed.  But, indeed, we do.  We will be seeing the students who are only taught by English teacher's in their homes on Fridays.  So, we'll have to have a whole different set of lesson plans for them.  Friday classes begin at 2:45 with the last class at 8pm.

Sound chaotic and confusing?  We think so, too.  Not to mention that Ian and I will have different schedules, just to add a little difficulty to our work lives which have been thus far filled with a level of joy and normalcy that is obviously too much for Julia's standards.  

We're going to talk to Gene and try to have our sanity considered in the schedule.  I don't know how much control we have, though.  Weigh in, if you want, and tell us what you think we should do.

On the bright side, I mentioned to Gene that Ian and I will want/need a couple of days off in April when Mom comes and he didn't seem negative about it.  It just might happen.

Good night! 

Tuesday, Bloody Tuesday

Okay, so that reference is massively overblown.  But still, neither Ian nor I have much fun on Tuesdays.  Most of Ian's students on this day are brats, and I have many bratty students (not as many as Ian) and Julia to deal with.  I sent the camera with Ian today, hoping he could find something constructive within his hatred of this day, but he couldn't find anything that he found blog worthy.

We did see another praying mantis today during our run, but we didn't have the camera.  It's tough to jog with it.  This time, the mantis had its "hands" in the air in the "you want a piece of this?" fashion.  It was pretty awesome.

David gave us our schedules for the year (telling us our time off and such.  Ian asked him vacation time and asking for a few days.  David apparently seemed confused and told us to talk to Julia.  I'm pretty nervous about it.

Here are the days we get off (aside from every Saturday and Sunday):

Friday, October 2nd (for Chuseok, which is the 3rd)

Friday, December 25th through Sunday January 3rd (Christmas vacation)

Monday, February 15th (Lunar New Year)

Monday, March 1st (Independence Movement Day)

Wednesday, May 5th (Children's Day)

Friday, May 21st (Buddha's Birthday)

Saturday, July 24th through Saturday, August 1st (Summer vacation)

Our contract ends on Monday, August 30th, 2010.

I tutored Julia's daughter during my "break" again today.  I'm thinking of asking Asia (our ESL recruiter) if this is an acceptable practice.  It just doesn't feel right.  I will ask Asia to reply to me before saying anything to Julia or David, though.  I don't want to get deported because I overstepped or something.

We got our bills in the mail today.  It looks like Yoon's pays about $80 U.S./month for us to live here.  We also got some sort of recap about last month's bills.  I'm not sure the previous tenant paid everything, but I'll just show Julia the paper and see what she says.

On a positive note, there was a notice on our door when I got home from work today.  After looking at it for a moment, I realized that it was notification of a package.  There was a picture of a mailman on a Vespa and "U.S" was handwritten on it.  We took it to our super, since he has all the packages.  It turns out that we need to go down to the Post Office to sign for it.  We're going to try to get there tomorrow.  It should be an adventure.  I'm not sure if it's one package or two, because most of the notice was in Korean.  But, we're really stoked!  That was very fast.

Well, that's all for now.  Hopefully, there will be something worth photographing tomorrow.