Monday Monday

8:00  Alarm goes off.  Snooze button is temporarily my best friend.
8:15  I am awake enough to safely turn off my alarm without sinking into late-for-work sleep.  The sunlight is soft through my north-facing window.
8:16  Tea water.
8:19  Eggs are sizzling.  Or boiling.  Or, if I'm feeling particularly lazy or pressed for time, cereal is making no noise because it's not Rice Krispies.
8:20  Tea.
8:23  Various locations on the internet inform me what you/the world has been up to while I dreamed about my house, but it wasn't my house, and so-and-so was there, but it wasn't really them, etc.
8:35  I should start getting dressed.
8:40  No, seriously, it's time to start getting dressed.
8:41  NYT article I don't need to read tells me about things I don't need to know.  I pretend I'm learning.
8:45  Okay, CLOTHES. And clean teeth.
9:05  Shoes on, scarf on, coat on, out the door.  (This often happens later than 9:05, but that's the ideal)
9:10  Turn around and retrieve tea mug.  Back out the door.

9:25  Arrive at ILS.  Say hi to Emily in embarrassed Korean. Good thing she's nice! 

9:35  Pick up my Kindergarten lesson plan for the week and head down to room 14. Immediately blast Earth Wind and Fire because my students WILL love funk by February.  Six six-years olds wander in, "Hello Caroline Teacher!"
9:45  Circle Time!
10:05  Kindergarten lessons.  These involve reading adorable stories about personified animals, and trick my kids into writing journal entries on their weekend activities.  I have six students in my homeroom, and they all speak and read English very well.  They are ILS's 7A class, which means they are 7 in Korean years and in their first year (or equivalent) of learning English. For information about Korean age, see the most reliable source ever.  But the Korean school year will end in February, so these kids are really pros.  I mostly talk to them like I would any small child, but I sometimes have to explain more things.
12:20  LUNCH is provided by the school, and it's usually delicious Korean food. Aways rice, soup and kimchi, with something to put on top of the rice for protein/veggie requirement.
13:05  Back to class.  During the 40 minute blocks before and after lunch I teach a 'special' called Songs, in which I try to keep the kids from screaming nursery rhymes and age-appropriate pop music at the top of their lungs.  I also try to persuade them to do as many corny dance moves as possible.
14:15  Kinders are sent off to their buses.

14:35  First group of after schoolers show up.  I have three main classes: a group of five 8 and 9 year olds (international age) who are my not-so-secret favorites, a slightly larger group of 9 and 10 year olds who aren't sure if school is cool anymore, and a group of beginners that did not attend our kindergarten and are convinced of my craziness because I explain most things by jumping.  Main teachers cover the major book of stories and content, and collaborate with their Korean co-teacher to track progress and behavior, communicate with parents, etc.  In between these classes I am a workbook/science/once-a-week teacher for some of the other teachers' main classes, and they are the same for me.

16:20  Second group of after schoolers begins.  Both blocks are divided into three 40-15-40 minute periods.  Most classes meet 3 or 4 times a week.  All the students are under 13 years (I'm pretty sure).  They attend other after schools in addition to our English intensive program; everything from soccer and ballet to math and piano.  Often these curricula are rigorous like ours, and it's quite normal for these children to get home late, around 8 or 9 or even 10, and still have homework to do. Oh, and they go to regular elementary school all day.

17:00  On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, the teachers get snack during our five minute break between first and second period of block II.  So far we've had fried pork and dumplings, pizza (with corn), some other delicious stuff I don't know the name of, and Mcdonald's fries.  Perfect thing to hold you over/make dinner less expensive later. On Tuesday we have a foreign teachers' staff meeting, and we get out at 5:15, and on Thursday we are done by 5:45.
18:00  The last bell rings for our second group to head home— they scramble to jam backpacks over puffy winter coats and rush to the elevators. We teachers retreat to our teachers den, and lesson plan and correct and procrastinate and make dinner plans and make fun of each other until
18:45  when, we too rush to the elevators, which in turn zoom toward the darkening streets.