Monthly Archives: January 2012

“I want to experience the speed again.”

Posted on by

I find the best writing my students produce is usually on their own time. Every weekend they come back to class with a journal full of their thoughts, and one of my favorite activities is to read about what they have to say. You might be thinking, “Really Melody, you teach eight-year-olds, is what they have to say really that interesting?” Well, the answer is YES!

Recently one of my student’s went skiing, and she wrote a journal entry about it. There was one line that really stood out to me:

“I want to experience the speed again.”

Come on now! Can’t you just picture her at the top of the hill, coming down, cold wind whipping her hair all around… a smile on her frozen face? All of that with one simple line: “I want to experience the speed again.”

Me too girl, me too.

Writing can change people… you know? So, write stuff down!

a change in attitude

Posted on by

Walking back into my classroom after an emotional roller coaster that marked my Christmas break was like a breath of fresh air. As I caught the 6:43 bus to work (knowing I had to get to my room and fix the mess that construction workers made during the break- oh and maybe plan some lessons - before my students arrived) I made a huge decision… I needed to change my attitude. As Erin Samo would say, it was high time to, “shift in the Spirit”.

I may not be the biggest fan of the administration at my school right now, I may not even be the biggest fan of Korea, but man oh man do I love my job. I was made to be a teacher. I just KNOW IT. Being back with my kids, hanging out with them all day… instead of zapping all my energy (which I admit, it does at times) I felt totally rejuvenated. It is so nice to be back in a routine, going to bed at a decent time and waking up early. I love teaching. I love my co-workers (especially you Elaine, best second-grade teaching partner EVER). I love my students.

It is all about your attitude. I can’t believe tomorrow is already Wednesday!

This is a picture of one of my students. She agreed to be the t.p. mummy during spirit week last fall and when we told her she could move she started to dance! A student after my own heart (I love to dance and often have solo dance parties in my living room).

my first cup of coffee

Posted on by

ever.

I lived 26 years (and eight months) without ever drinking a cup. I had a total of maybe six sips in my life (I am guessing, I have no idea how many sips), and every time, my reaction was, “yuck!”

I got through college, my first years as a teacher, and now most of grad school… without being heavily caffeinated (okay, my early years of drinking coca-cola may have come into play here, let me add to this sentence…) by coffee. But, to be honest, I always wanted to be a coffee drinker. Anyone feel me on this one? I was ecstatic when I discovered my love of caramel steamed milk, so I could get a drink that looked like it was coffee, just to be “cool”.

Now, starting the year of 2012 off with a hot cup of coffee, I felt…

the same.

I do feel slightly accomplished, it is something I was never able to achieve before, downing a whole cup of joe. As for the rest of 2012, I don’t see very many cups of coffee in my future.

cheers to the new year!

This is a public place so I have the right to speak!

Posted on by

I have recently learned a phrase that will help me communicate to my fellow Koreans (shoot, I am not Korean…) while riding the subway. Last week… around 1 p.m. I was on the subway with about four other friends (and when I say about, I mean exactly four), and we were all chatting away enjoying the afternoon, as were most of the other subway participants (as in almost everyone else was talking). An older man leans over, looks directly at me and says (in very respectable English), “Excuse me, this is a public place so you need to be quiet.”

Now, for most Westerners this statement may seem a little odd. But, to be fair… in Korea they are always advertising that the polite way to travel is to keep your mouth shut during subway rides, even if it is two o’clock in the afternoon. If people actually followed this protocol, I wouldn’t mind being shh’ed in the slightest. Okay, you know what, I might mind it a little. The thing is, every single time I have been told to shut up, I am not the only one talking, sometimes I am not even talking at all, and I am definitely not usually talking in my normal voice (which is, admittedly loud, I know).

A couple of days after the old man told me to be quiet, I was “ssh’ed” again. This time I had my Korean phrase memorized and ready, “This is a public place so I have the right to speak!” (yes, I can now say that in Korean- thanks Elaine!). Only… I didn’t have the guts to say it. This time it was pretty late at night (about 11 p.m.) and the “shh-er” was sitting right next to me. I listened to her and stopped talking. I couldn’t help but look around the crowded subway and see everyone else talking, and I couldn’t help thinking about how my Korean-American friend had just been speaking in English for the past fifteen minutes (and continued to speak after she ‘ssh’ed’ me) and she said nothing to him. And then, as she got off the subway one or two stops later, I couldn’t help thinking, “why did she insist on me being quiet when she isn’t even staying on the subway???” I wasn’t yelling, I wasn’t talking fast or excitedly… and for me… I had been speaking pretty softly.

Today something beautiful happened though. As I sit in a coffee shop working on grad school stuff (as you can see, I am being very productive) an older woman came over and asked (in English!) if she could borrow one of my table’s chairs. She was so nice, and seemed to love speaking in English to me, and made sure to tell me that if I needed it back to just let her know. And the thing is, there were other people with extra chairs, Koreans, that she could have asked… but she asked me! It may seem silly, but I really think it was God’s way of reminding me not to make blanket judgments on a race. No matter how many times I get “shh-ed” just because I am speaking English, it’s not all Koreans. Or how many times people stare at my face, it’s not all Koreans (or just Koreans)… I love living in a culture that is so different from the one I grew up in.

Korea. I like you.