End of an Era-. . . Or I'm losing my Korean mother
The semester is over here in Korea-land. Unlike in the states, the school year starts in the early part of the year (Mid-late February or Early March). This means the 3rd years have graduated and I get winter break (sort of).
This also means that I lose my main Co-teacher Mrs. Jeong.
Due to the rules here, teachers sign 4 year contacts with a school and they must transfer to a different school once their contract is up. Mrs. Jeong has been at the school for four years and that means it’s time for her to go. This means that the woman who has been responsible for me during my time in Daegu will no longer be around.
In the program I work in, every guest teacher is assigned a Korean co-teacher who helps them get situated when they arrive. Mrs. Jeong has helped me adjust to life here in Korea and was responsible for getting me situated. Every bit of paper work, all the little extra details were handled by her. She was the one who took me to my apartment, she helped me get my Korean bank account set up and she even took me to get my first haircut here so I could explain to the hairdresser how I wanted it cut ( something she found quite amusing and compared to watching her own son get his first haircut.).
Mrs. Jeong has been very patient and understanding. I try my hardest not to be a burdern because she works VERY hard (Korean teachers have insane workloads.). She has been like a mother to me, always worrying about my health and asking if I have found food that I liked. She’s taken me to the market so I can stock up on goods and the first weekend I was in town and I locked myself out of my house, she made sure there was a key waiting for me. Recently when I was sick with a stomach virus, she fussed over me and took me to the doctor. As per the doctor’s orders, she made sure I ate the right foods and made sure I took my medicine. She also sent a student over to my apartment with lunch while I stayed home for a day. Later that same evening, she called me to ask I needed anything from the store.
But THE best moment had to be when I caught a cold and she bought me a huge jug of orange juice and three boxes of hot chocolate!
She laughs sometimes because I call her my Korean mother but she’s done a more than adequate job in looking after me. While I am fine with the other teachers at my school, she is by far the one I talk to the most. For one thing, my desk is right next to hers AND she’s also the one who knows me the best. There aren’t many English speaking teachers at my school so the language barrier keeps me from interacting much with them. By far Mrs. Jeong knows me the best and understands how to work with me. I get the most help from her during my classes and she has offered me the most advice about what to do better with teaching.
I suppose she’s had quite a bit of practice at this taking care of the foreigner thing. She’s had two other teachers before me; one left before the contract was up and the other had some medical issues. I’ve done little things to try to show her that I appreciate her help. She puts it off as just doing her job, but I will be very sad to see her go. She jokes with me that there is a good chance the school will hire a younger teacher who I can bond with but I told her they won’t be able to do the job she did. Which it made it all the more special when I surprised her with the children’s book she had been looking for to give her niece as a present for her newborn baby. She had wanted a some children's books on CD in order to help the child learn English. . . . I hunted down a copy of “The Giving Tree” for her. I could tell by her reaction that she was surprised and touched. It was the least I could do for all the help she’s given me. I wish her the best of luck at her next school and I plan on staying in contact. (She get’s to go to Spain for vacation . . lucky!) Still, I can’t help but feel a little robbed that I don’t get her for a full year.
This also means that I lose my main Co-teacher Mrs. Jeong.
Due to the rules here, teachers sign 4 year contacts with a school and they must transfer to a different school once their contract is up. Mrs. Jeong has been at the school for four years and that means it’s time for her to go. This means that the woman who has been responsible for me during my time in Daegu will no longer be around.
In the program I work in, every guest teacher is assigned a Korean co-teacher who helps them get situated when they arrive. Mrs. Jeong has helped me adjust to life here in Korea and was responsible for getting me situated. Every bit of paper work, all the little extra details were handled by her. She was the one who took me to my apartment, she helped me get my Korean bank account set up and she even took me to get my first haircut here so I could explain to the hairdresser how I wanted it cut ( something she found quite amusing and compared to watching her own son get his first haircut.).
Mrs. Jeong has been very patient and understanding. I try my hardest not to be a burdern because she works VERY hard (Korean teachers have insane workloads.). She has been like a mother to me, always worrying about my health and asking if I have found food that I liked. She’s taken me to the market so I can stock up on goods and the first weekend I was in town and I locked myself out of my house, she made sure there was a key waiting for me. Recently when I was sick with a stomach virus, she fussed over me and took me to the doctor. As per the doctor’s orders, she made sure I ate the right foods and made sure I took my medicine. She also sent a student over to my apartment with lunch while I stayed home for a day. Later that same evening, she called me to ask I needed anything from the store.
But THE best moment had to be when I caught a cold and she bought me a huge jug of orange juice and three boxes of hot chocolate!
She laughs sometimes because I call her my Korean mother but she’s done a more than adequate job in looking after me. While I am fine with the other teachers at my school, she is by far the one I talk to the most. For one thing, my desk is right next to hers AND she’s also the one who knows me the best. There aren’t many English speaking teachers at my school so the language barrier keeps me from interacting much with them. By far Mrs. Jeong knows me the best and understands how to work with me. I get the most help from her during my classes and she has offered me the most advice about what to do better with teaching.
I suppose she’s had quite a bit of practice at this taking care of the foreigner thing. She’s had two other teachers before me; one left before the contract was up and the other had some medical issues. I’ve done little things to try to show her that I appreciate her help. She puts it off as just doing her job, but I will be very sad to see her go. She jokes with me that there is a good chance the school will hire a younger teacher who I can bond with but I told her they won’t be able to do the job she did. Which it made it all the more special when I surprised her with the children’s book she had been looking for to give her niece as a present for her newborn baby. She had wanted a some children's books on CD in order to help the child learn English. . . . I hunted down a copy of “The Giving Tree” for her. I could tell by her reaction that she was surprised and touched. It was the least I could do for all the help she’s given me. I wish her the best of luck at her next school and I plan on staying in contact. (She get’s to go to Spain for vacation . . lucky!) Still, I can’t help but feel a little robbed that I don’t get her for a full year.