Yeah, that’s right. I think I’ve actually seriously injured myself and I feel like a complete idiot for doing so in taekwondo, of all things! We were doing these rolls on the mat and I’m just not very coordinated or limber…next thing I knew, I was lying on the floor with a wrenching pain in my shoulder. I thought it would go away and I was just being a baby, but I could hardly sleep last night because I could only lay on my back without hurting myself. It even hurts to try to eat. Guess I’ll probably have to go see a doctor, but given my feelings about the medical profession in Korea, I’m not looking forward to that prospect. Also, I seriously doubt there is one in the general vicinity. What a pain! (literally and figuratively ;-))
Other than that, things are pretty stellar here. I was considering going away for the weekend because fall is rapidly leaving us and I wanted to visit some national parks before it’s completely gone, but I’ve been away for the last three weekends and I’m getting a little tired. I’ll be gone the next three weekends, too, so I thought it would be a good idea to put in some face time with the family. I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t have any plans, since now I’ll have to see about this shoulder dilemma, anyway!
Yesterday I played in this teachers’ volleyball tournament. It was much bigger than I thought it would be…eight teams competed in all. I did mess up two serves, but I got the last two over and had at least two good hits, so I consider that to be a pretty successful performance. They even put me in the second row, thus mollifying my fears that they would shove me in the corner as the token female player. I suppose I could have been more aggressive and gone for more balls, but hey…at least I didn’t mess up! I had to leave early to teach my 5/6 English Chat class, so I missed the end of the third game, and what do you know—they lost! This random principal of Eunsan Middle School took me home. He told me all about his teaching career while driving approximately 5 kilometers per hour back to Hongsan. He evidently really wants me to visit, but considering I don’t know where it is and really don’t have any free time during the week, that will probably not happen. It’s nice to be wanted, though.
Teaching yesterday was surprisingly good. I tried to concentrate on more games rather than formal teaching and that was much more effective. The kids had fun and I think they even learned more. I am finding I have this weird Puritan tendency toward formal, rigid teaching as opposed to pure fun, but the serious approach really does not work. My lessons are not completely boring by any means, but probably involve too much me in front of the class instead of group work. I want to make sure they will be successful working together (ie, they must know the vocabulary) because there have been several instances where they did not, but I often forget that they often learn effectively in groups when they are forced to contribute in a small setting. This is especially true for my sixth grade class, where half of it does not pay attention to me at all and the other third is too hesitant and shy to participate. They really showed enthusiasm for the game on Friday. I think I’ll have to produce more small group activities for them in our remaining time together.
I was also pleasantly surprised by the performance of my 5/6 English Chat class. We’d never formally met all together and I was expecting a huge showing, as had happened for my 3/4 class, but there were only 13 of them. I was so relieved…I didn’t realize how much easier it is to teach only a few students! I was a little disorganized because I got back from volleyball with maybe one minute to spare, but the class didn’t spiral out of control as it has in other larger classes I have been less than prepared for. I had time to improvise and laugh and joke with the class and that was a really great end to a hectic week. They are really great English students for the most part and I was pleasantly surprised by what they knew. Almost all of them knew how to spell their name in English, so making nametags was much easier. They were soooo creative—I was really impressed! The two fifth grade boys, who I expected to goof off and do a half-assed job, really got into it when I pulled out the feathers, cotton puffs, and magazines. They made the funniest name tags, with wild rabid bunny heads attached to sexy girls, Jack Black in his superhero costume, etc. The sixth grade girls were no less creative, cutting out entire bodies and attaching them to their nametags, effectively making a friggin poster. They kept joking that these Caucasian women were them, which I found very amusing. They also spelled my name for me in Korean, after marveling at how long it is. Compared to the three-syllable Korean naming system, Jennifer Danielle Reinsel is quite a mouthful with nine Korean syllables.
This weekend, I’m gonna get in some R & R—reading, knitting, and probably some Full House, Korean-style. Too bad I am dreading figuring out this whole shoulder business! I kinda want to avoid it to see if it goes away of its own accord, but I have a sneaking suspicion it might not. Then again, Korean medicine didn’t help me last time…what if they just prescribe acupuncture? Oh, sometimes I detest being a foreigner!