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This is the train that I took to Cheongdo We had a lunch of soup, rice, kim chi, and rice filled fried pork intestines. He gave me a tour of the school too. It reminded me of a Catholic school where I once taught a K-8 computer class. This school was much bigger though and housed hundreds and hundreds of kids.
My view of the class. The first class clapped and almost screamed as I entered. But once I started talking and tried to get them to talk to me, most of the students were very shy and I think found it difficult to speak to me. Only a few asked questions. I actually spoke very little about the subject of English and mainly talked about how I came to be in Korea. I also tried to inspire them all to figure out what their dreams were and to chase them no matter what. Hopefully a few heard me and will do just that. I sincerely believe that's the secret to life and happiness.
This is the "number one" student who gave me a tour. After talking to the second class, Mr. Kim asked a student to give me a tour of their study hall. At 5:00pm the students finish their classes, but then are supposed to go study the rest of the night before bed. It's what I would call a pit full of people with very small desk sections with personal belongings and sheets or cloth separating each other. It's supposed to be very very quite, but as I entered, a lot of students started to get rowdy and say "hello" etc. I had to get out of there quickly or they would've probably gotten in trouble. The "number one" student and a few others then took me to their dorm rooms which they called prison. It was an old stone building with no heat. They repeatedly said how cold they were at night and I have no idea how they can bear it. I'd want to stay up all night studying too if the choice was to go back to a cold room and sleep. It was a great day and I hope to do it again. I always think if just one person is emotionally affected after watching a performance or film I'm involved in or a class I might teach, then my life is complete. I hope this was one of those days. What I learned today about Korea: 1) I really enjoy doing my best to emotionally affect people...whether it's through the art of film or teaching.
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