Goodbye Korea Series | Sandra, my favorite student

Often people ask me what I will the most about Korea and without a doubt it's going to be my students. They were the best part about my whole experience here. I will never forget their smiling and happy faces. Korean kids really are unlike any kids I've ever met. I try not to play favorites, but it was kind of inevitable that I would have one. It's hard to choose a favorite, but one student really stands out in my mind. Her name is Sandra and she is one of the coolest kids I know. She's really amazing and I'm going to miss her a lot.

The balloon says, "I'll remember you always Noel. Mark too!"

Sandra's beautiful mom!

Sandra has been coming to the library for about two years, the same as me. She's my favorite because she is the most talkative of my students. She speaks English really well and her comprehension level is ridiculous. She's only in fifth grade, but I've never had to use Korean with her. I thought she must've lived in a western country because she almost has no accent, but she hasn't. She's just incredible!

The reason why Sandra is my favorite is because she is kind, helpful and funny. There is so much to love about her. In class, she often translates for me because the other kids don't speak English as well as her. She's always helping other students whether it's pronunciation when they read out loud or with worksheets that they don't understand. She's never cocky about her English ability and tries to help those around her. To me, that's simply amazing. Another thing that I love about her, is that she really knows me and the things I like! We met the other day and she painted her nails to look like pandas. She knew I was going to freak out, so she was prepared. She even brought her nail polish so she could paint my nails like pandas!

We spent our last afternoon together with her mom at a cafe near the library. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to see her, but they made it! She painted my nails, we talked about school, and ate patbingsu. It was a great afternoon and I was really sad to say goodbye. I will always remember this sweet and beautiful girl!

Goodbye Korea Series | Beomil Elementary School

Markus's Beauty and the Beast illustration for class

After teaching and working Korea for two years, I realized that I didn't know what Korean school life was really like. I've always been really curious what life is like in the schools and I begged Markus to let me visit his school. Thankfully, he and his teachers were willing to let me visit. Back in early July, I had the opportunity to spend the day at Beomil Elementary School.

Just hanging out.

School life is drastically different than what I'm used to. Markus takes more of a backseat and assists his Korean co-teacher. I think it's really amazing and I wish that I had a co-teacher in my classes. Most of the time, I have to gesture and speak in broken Korean so the students can sort of understand me. The class size is also much larger than what I'm used to. His classes are around 35 students, but mine never reach more than 15 students. It's such a stark contrast to what I'm used to! Also, there was a old guy climbing into one of the windows during class and no one blinked an eye. Apparently he was trimming the trees and needed to hang on the window. Oh Korea...

Markus and his fan club

I'm also a fan!

While I was at Beomil, there was one thing that was obviously clear, Markus's students love him. Markus always tells me funny and amusing stories about them. He really loves them and they definitely love him back. He often talks about how funny and sweet his kids are and I desperately wanted to meet them. I mean, he has a freaking fan club. What English teacher has a fan club? I really had a great time taking a backseat and seeing Markus at work and in his element. I was actually really touched that these kids would love him so much. I know why I love him, but seeing these kids looking at him with so much awe and respect was incredible.
 

Markus not only has good relationships with his students, but he also has a great relationship with his co-teachers and a few other teachers as well. Everyday after lunch, they meet for coffee and even have a little club. I don't know what it is, but Markus has so many clubs all of a sudden. When the school day was over, we went out to dinner with the coffee club. They were really sweet and for some reason they knew a lot about me! It was really cool to be able to hear what they had to say about Markus, which was all nice things of course!

I have to say that I was really impressed with Beomil. It really was everything Markus boasted about. I can definitely understand why he constantly talks about his kids. They really are ridiculously cute and really funny. As much as I love working at the library, experiencing a Korean elementary school made me a little envious. It's okay though, I'm just glad I was able to see what life is like at a Korean school. Thank you Beomil Elementary School and Markus for letting me spend the day with you!

Goodbye Korea Series | My Favorite Preschool Class

Last week was the end of regular classes, which meant the end of my preschool classes. When I first arrived two years ago, I was worried the most about preschool. I used to think I wasn't good with kids. They always sort of freaked me out and then add the language barrier to that, I was terrified. I can still remember the first time I walked into a preschool class. As soon as I saw those cute and adorable faces, all my worries started to fade. Preschool is still a tough class to teach, but they became my favorite.

One class in particular became my favorite. The kids in my Thursday class were the funniest, brightest and sweetest. If I was having a bad day, the minute I saw their faces, my day would instantly get better. They would always run up to me and give me hugs and kisses. Sometimes in class I would sing little songs to myself and they would mimic me. Actually, they copied everything I did. I'll miss their silly dances and funny faces. It's going to be hard to spend Thursdays without them.

Cute Pose #1

Cute Pose #2

Cute Pose #3

So adorable!

I can't... so cute!!

My favorite preschool kids!

Cambodian Countryside | Angkor Wat, Cambodia

On our second day in Siem Reap, we traveled out to Banteay Srei. The temple is on the outskirts of the Angkor Wat complex, so the journey there is a nice diversion. By tuk-tuk, it's about an hour and a half trip and passes through the Cambodian countryside. Even though we were sitting in a loud tuk-tuk, it was really peaceful. I remember I had my feet up and gazed out at the scenery. During that time, I thought to myself, "I can't believe that this is my life." If you asked me two years ago if I would ever travel to Cambodia, I would've said no. I started to think about the crazy adventure that Markus and I lived every day and felt very humbled and thankful that this was our life.

When we passed a rice field, MJ stopped so that we could get a closer look. I've always seen pictures of this sort of thing or in movies, but it was pretty cool seeing it in real life. There were only a few people out by the street and most of the other workers were farther out in the field. I do think that it was coincidental that there were people next to the road. I think that they do this sort of thing so that people will stop and the children can attack.
 

As soon we walked out of the tuk-tuk, there was a horde of Cambodian children asking us to buy crafts. They were really adorable, but they were also really persistent. This is one thing that you will endlessly encounter in some third world countries. It truly is heartbreaking seeing these young kids follow around tourists asking for money. Even though these kids did the same thing, they were a bit different. I think being in the countryside makes them a bit happier. After we spent a few minutes with the kids, we climbed back into the tuk-tuk. I again, propped my feet up and went back to enjoying the beautiful Cambodian countryside.

May Volunteering | 2 of 2

Me and Eunbi

While volunteering at the shelter, there were two little girls that I really doted on, Eunbi and Soyoung. Running around with these girls felt so natural. It even felt like I was playing with my own nieces. It was that comfortable. I will admit that the time I spent with these girls really tugged on my heartstrings. I started thinking that I could have fun like that every day with my own daughter. Until that time, I'll just have to settle for afternoons with these girls, which is definitely the next best thing.

Eunbi's little sister, Dambi

Soyoung

When we were still at the shelter waiting for everyone to gather, I spotted Soyoung. Her hair was done up in a little bow and pigtails. When I saw her and the red-haired boy, I told everyone around me, "We're definitely gonna be best friends." At the park, Soyoung and I started playing a bit. Even though she didn't speak much English, we were still able to communicate. I started chasing her around and I would catch her. Then I would pretend to be scared of her and run away. While she was chasing me, a bunch of the other kids saw and then they all started to corner me. I ran around for a good 15 minutes and then I was completely exhausted. It was worth it though, because I was able to gain that relationship with Soyoung. On the way back to the shelter, we walked hand in hand the whole way. Even though our hands were clammy with sweat, she didn't let go once.

Eunbi will always be special to me because she was the first girl that I talked to. When we were walking to the park and things were still awkward, I grabbed her hand. She looked at me surprised, but I could tell that she was happy. She was wearing this adorable panda jacket and she showed Markus and I how it worked. When she started to feel warm she took off her jacket and I gave it to Markus to hold. She loved that and started calling him "servant" in Korean. I was the "queen" and she was a "princess". Later, Jeff joined us and he became "poop pig", a bit mean but kinda funny. I loved that we were the royalty and all the guys were some kind of horrible thing.

I seriously, loved these girls. They were so sweet and so much fun. I feel that even though most of these children go through something traumatic, they are still able to be kids. It makes me really contemplate a lot of the things I complain about. Even though they've had to deal with something difficult in their life, they don't let it affect them. It's really something admirable and amazing. It's really tempting to stay in Korea longer, just so that I could see them more. It's moments and experiences like this that make me want to stay in Korea and never leave.