The Kiss Monster

Kyle and I have met all the new teachers over the course of a few hotel breakfasts.  We discovered we were each told a different time to meet in the lobby for day one of orientation... I read somewhere that in Korean culture, you can be up to 30 minutes late without being rude.  Too bad that doesn't apply to jobs :)

We decided to go by the instruction Kyle and I received, since it was scrawled on a piece of paper rather than simply hearsay.  Diane, our supervisor and phone interviewer, met us in the lobby and ushered us out to the school bus. 

SLP school bus

It was yellow, like a school bus, but looked more like a 70's Volkswagon van... complete with window and ceiling decorations!

The ride was bumpy through lots of construction, and soon we stopped in front of a building.  I knew in the back of my mind we were in a big city, but I guess it didn't register that we'd be working on one floor of a city building... We filed into the lobby and rode up to the 7th floor.

The blue "SLP" sign is our school!

Here's our school building

We've mostly been observing classes the first couple days, which has helped immensely. The students are all adorable and hilarious. They have the cutest little voices with Korean accents.  The class dynamic is simliar to any other: there's the trouble-maker, the class clown, the teacher's pet, and in one class, there was a Kiss Monster.

The Kiss Monster is a 5-year old, and he loves Jaclyn Teacher (that's how the students refer to their teachers...so sweet!).  In the middle of a class I was observing, the shortest student with a huge head of fluffy hair asked in a soft voice, "Can I please come give Jaclyn Teacher a kiss?"
Jaclyn Teacher informed us that JiWoo (Kiss Monster) is very affectionate and loves to give kisses!  He then raised his hand saying "Oh! Oh! Jaclyn Teacher! Can I give the new teachers a kiss?" So, JiWoo skipped to the back of the room and proceeded to kiss the new teacher's cheek, neck, and all the way down her arm.  Then he moved to me and kissed my cheek and all the way down my chin!  He also told us he loves girls.  Why do you love girls, JiWoo? Because they wear pretty hairpins.

Tomorrow I will post about Korean food and the interesting medical exam we experienced on Tuesday...

Thanks for reading and until next time :)