For the Critics

Wednesday, February 7th,

This is for the critics who think that things could and will go wrong in Korea for me. I have had a couple bumps in the road with my health and pay this month.

So far, my health hasn't been the greatest in Korea. Hopefully, it is only stressed related with change in environment and work. My back pain has become more noticeable and I hope that I can rest it more now. Since the weekend, I have not been feeling well. I don't have serious symptoms, but my digestive system is giving me problems. I can't eat too much and have some heartburn. I am not sure what is causing it, but I am not in a hurry to find out how good Korean medicine is.

Well, I am a week into my second month of teaching. I have a little different schedule, so I teach for six hours straight without a break. It is good and bad. I don't have to wait for classes, but my voice gets tired by the end, if I have to do a lot of explaining. My classes are very small this month. I only have one, three, and three students in my three classes. This means that I don't have classes with enough students, so I won't be paid by the hour. I will be paid the student's tuition fee. I found out after my meeting with the branch manager that my pay will be less this month by a large amount. Next month, I will move to the Gangnam (main branch) location to teach. At that location, I should have more students and possibly teach another class, so my pay should be better.

I am finally getting used to teaching my classes and socializing with some of the teachers in Sinchon. At Gangnam, I will probably teach a different course level with a new book, so I will have another challenging two months with learning a new book and meeting new teachers. It should be better for my commuting time. I should have about 40 minutes instead of 55 minutes on the subway each way.

Even though my classes are small, I really enjoy my students this month. Their atttendance is good, so far. They participate better when there are fewer students, so I don't have to pull teeth to get them to talk. Sometimes, it can be challenging because I can have group activities or games, but overall, I think this month is off to a good start.