Follow up on last week's not-so-fun post...

Thanks to those of you who checked in with me and sent me encouraging messages after my last post. It really meant a lot. This past week has been a little better-- teaching was just as draining and I spent most of the weekend sleeping off the week, but I didn't feel quite as upset about it as I did last week.

I have started up a journal in which I write down the little positive things that happen at school and the moments while teaching that make me feel energized rather than drained, and I've tried to focus on those things in order to keep my energy level and enthusiasm high. I think that this exercise has helped me a bit and plan to continue.

I also recently read an old blog post from Sharon Hodde Miller, one of my bible study leaders from back home, in which she talks about the importance of taking a "sabbath of the mind," and I have realized that I haven't really been doing a good job of that. In her post she writes that it is not enough to have down time in which you physically rest, but that you have to allow your mind to rest as well. This is something that I have always been terrible at, and since starting this new job it has been no different. On weekdays, if I am not at work, I am thinking about work, researching activity ideas, or working on lesson plans. On weekends, even while hanging out with friends, I am still working in spirit because I am talking about issues at work or wracking my brain about how to deal with some student or situation from the week before. And this is utterly exhausing.

I really didn't anticipate this being such a struggle. Because it was all something that I had simply decided to do on a whim, I had no idea that I would care this much about being an English teacher. But it turns out that I do, and that means I am really going to have to protect my down time... because I have experienced burnout before, and I really don't want to spend my year here that way. I have so many other fun things that I want to do while I'm here-- like travel, study Korean, volunteer, write, get to know my family...-- and I honestly think that by setting aside time and giving myself fully to do those things, I will end up having a more effective year with my students. After having not prioritized those kinds of activities for the past couple weeks I can already feel the effects, so that is one adjustment that I am going to have to make very soon.

I did attend a Korean class nearby last week, but it turned out to be too advanced for me, so I am looking into different options. There is one other school I'm interested in-- it is further away from my house, but I actually like their approach better, so I hope to get the chance to check that out either this week or next weekend.

Also, the weather here is finally starting to cool off a bit, and I have really been enjoying going for runs in the park near my house. The park is quiet and pretty-- a nice respite from the industrial town that I live in-- with plenty of wide running trails and a small lake. It's fun to see all of the kids and families that go there in the evenings-- and even fun getting nearly run over by little girls on tricycles almost every time I'm there :) It makes me a little sad sometimes, though, because I've been missing getting to hang out with little ones since being here. That may sound a little weird (or kind of creepy??), but at home I worked in the nursery and pre-school at church, plus I did a ton of babysitting for young kids, and I just really miss it. As fun as middle schoolers can be, I wish I got to spend more time with younger kids too.

At church I've met a Korean family with some elementary aged kids who have kind of taken me in, and I've really enjoyed the couple of times that I have gotten to hang out with them all. It's nice to know a family here in Ansan, rather than only people my own age. I'm also really enjoying getting to know the other English teachers at my my school better. There are two other new English teachers this semester (both are non-native English speakers), so last week the rest of the teachers all took us out for a welcoming dinner, and it was really fun. I am learning a lot of fun things about Korean culture and about Korean versus American ways of thinking from them. For instance, in the course of conversations, I have learned that what we call the "after-life" Koreans refer to as the "after-death" and what we call "social dance" they call "private dance"-- just a couple examples of little ways in which different cultures can approach the same subject or idea from opposite perspectives. That's one of the things that I love most about being here-- learning and gaining just a little more insight into Korean culture and into myself just about every day.

For now, I'm off to do a little lesson planning and maybe go for a walk in the park. More posts to come soon-- I am getting a camera for my birthday (a couple weeks away) and I have some fun ideas for posts that I am saving for when I can add pictures, so that you will be able to get the full effect... :)