We're not just English teachers, we are cultural ambassadors.

Michael and I were reminded today of how we weren't just hired for our abilities to speak and write English. We were also hired for being young attractive Americans. The school we work for was founded on the basis of learning Americanized English. Kids learn phrases relevant to our culture, such as "speak of the devil" and "he is chicken" so that one day, they can go to the U.S. and use these outdated phrases in real life.

Today, Michael had a period off and he spent it teaching the director about Billy Ray Cyrus and "Achy Breaky Heart." The director is contemplating having the kids learn line dancing. Horrified, Michael suggested they choreograph a dance to "Ghostbusters" instead. The director thought that wasn't a bad idea either.

We use American textbooks for our classes. It's nice and familiar for us, but there are a lot of cultural references that we have to explain to the students. Especially in "social studies" class. Our third and fourth graders, who range in age from 8 to 12, get to read about the country they live in - oops, I mean the United States. The book constantly has questions like, "What state do you live in?" "Who are our neighbors to the north?"

Here is an example of what I teach the preschoolers. My classroom ranges from 4-7 years old. They are mostly adorable. My favorite is Nancy. She's four and always gives me answers with a smile. She is so little, I sometimes have to lift her up to reach things on the white board. These kids are really just learning vocabulary from me. It's kind of like day-care. I ask them what things are on the page, what color it is, what letter the word starts with, and how to spell it, if the word is short. A couple of the kids just started learning English and they get the letters mixed up a lot. I usually write the word on the board for them to copy on their worksheets, but today I had a couple of short words - grass and sky. I spelled them out loud, very slowly. The more advanced students got them, but one kid got stuck on sky. He wrote "s" just fine, but the "k" started as an "j" and then an "l". And he totally forgot what a "y" looked like. He wrote an "r", then an "x". Nancy and James, the smartest of the bunch, drew "y"s in the air to show him. I finally had to write it on the board.

Regardless of how they do in class, I usually give everyone a sticker as they leave. It kind of helps them, because I let them choose which one they want. So they have to say the color or what animal it is, something like that. Today, James insisted that he get two stickers, which was fine, I have a ton. But then, he wanted more, "I want an elephant!" The more he wants, the more Nancy feels that she deserves, so really I need to learn my limits. I shouldn't have to bribe my kids for affection, but Michael's kindergarteners are always holding his hand and pulling on him, so I feel like I need to win their love somehow ;-)

My student Sharon - who comes to our school four hours a day on Tuesdays and Thursdays - is always doodling in class. She is an overworked 8 year old in the most advanced class at our school. She has told me in the past that she likes to please her mother by studying all day. The proudest moment of her life, she told me today, was when her mother told her she did a good job studying. She likes to give me notes, and I gladly accept them, because I like gifts. I drew her a note today and she threw it away.

Gizmo's saying hi because she hasn't been shown in a while. She's been enjoying the fresh spring air this week.

This weekend we're planning on doing some hiking/sightseeing so we should have a lot of pictures to show. We're running out of money again, since we have only been paid for half a month since we got here. But once the 10th hits, we plan on making a trip to Seoul and probably to Nami Island as well. Stay tuned.