Where I spend most my days...

Well, the many reason I am here in Korea is to work so.... I think it's time for me to share about my job and what a typical day involves. So I am living in an apartment that is about a 5-10 minute cab ride OR a 30-35 minute subway/walk away from school. I arrive at school by 9 AM and usually grab some sort of breakfast on the way to the building - Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, etc. From 9 til 9:35, I have prep time. Then from 9:35 to 2:00 (with a 1/2 hour lunch break) I am teaching kindergartners! They are SO SO SO cute. I will have to take some pictures to show you all. Besides being cute, they are THE smartest little beings really I have ever seen. They know how to spell words you wouldn't believe, disagreement, philosophy, photojournalism, synopsis... just to name a few! I teach them many different subjects - all in English of course! We have gym, writing, arts and crafts, computers, phonics, and reading. It is a lot of work. a lot. always planning, planning, planning. My afternoon is filled with teaching 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th grade depending on the day of the week. They operate on a MWF and T TH schedule. So some kids I only see twice a week. I teach either vocabulary/grammar/writing class (M = vocab, W = grammar, etc) OR a reading class. I have 1 first grade, 3 second grade classes, 2 third grade classes, and 2 fifth grade classes! SO many faces and names. its about 80some. AND we are doing monthly report cards this week. Sadly, I don't know all the kids personally yet. Only the ones I see everyday (my kindergarten, my partner kindergarten, and my 1st grade class and 1 of my 2nd grades). Forgot an important detail, I work until 7:45 on MWF and 7:00 on T TH. LONGEST DAY EVERRRRR (9:00 - 7:45) that is just about 11 hours. and I speak with children for about 8 of those... yes, I have lost my voice already.
The schedule/curriculum here is very confusing when you first start here but I think I am finally finding a routine and understanding of what is going on here! Well... I could go on forever, however I have writing exams to grade! haha... Can anyone really believe that I am a "real" teacher? :-)

--- Summer vacation starts on Friday... the one thing teachers dream of.... only mine is a week long. darn. Slowly making plans for a trip straight east of Seoul to a national park right on the coast of Korea... will add pics when i get back.