So the Fall 2007 Semester has officially ended, and my first full teaching year is done...yes. Yes! About diddily time! For serious, it was really a long semester, with some challenges in learning how to be a better teacher while fighting/working with the Korean education system.
Its been an interesting ride of growth, learning to work inter-culturally with my Korean co-workers, while mentally and spiritually challenging myself to be more stronger. This past Fall was also a season of beauty in Korea, and I remember some of the best of moments of my tenure in Korea were my two trips to Busan and a trip to the Yangjae Citizen Forest, which boasted some of the best in Korean natural beauty.
To be more concrete, 2007 has brought some great victories. I am blessed by God to see where I'm at now, and I still marvel at God's Power and how He works.
Some things that I have accomplished that I give credit to the One that is due:
1. My Korean skills have vastly improved - I was so shocked by this one myself to this day. In 10 months, my Korean speaking and listening skills have grown very surprisingly. I credit this to pain. Yes, no one likes pain, but that's how I gained. And I'm talking about how to really learn a language: to mess up, to learn from it, to slow down, and keep practicing. Ironically, I am here to teach kids how to speak the English language, but I have progressed on how to speak Korean in a variety of situations in 10 months than most of my kids have learned how to speak English in 6 years. That's a shame, because my kids know all the grammar and vocabulary, but they never use it. So I would like to take this moment to brag because I stumbled, got frustrated with Korean, but God used it to humble me while I slowly grow in the language sphere. And I got still lots more to learn...more pain anyone?
2. I got to know my relatives better - That was one reason I came...to meet my relatives against and get to know their lives. Its been a real blessing to spend time with my mom's side of the family and gain insight on how their lives have been working out. I hope to continue to grow in Korean language so I can share my life with them, and learn about theirs.
3. I am slowly getting a grip on how to teach - but I am nowhere near good still! I just came to realize a simple formula for teaching ESL - warm-up, game, concept, visual, and cool down. "Keep it simple," Bobby said, "and they should be okay." Bobby was an experienced teacher from Ohio who knows his stuff, and he taught me to simply keep my lessons focused and don't focus on details. Learning a foreign language is tough as it is, but Korean kids, they can only handle so much info. Also, I learned to be creative and find topics that they want to learn about it, and not just conventional book stuff.
4. Travelling Skills - I am proud of the fact that I figured out how to use the subway and bus systems in due time, and more recently, how to use the KTX and other long-distance trains. It will be useful in my upcoming year to travel around my mother's homeland and see more of natural Korea.
5. Fellowship of the King - a play-on words about the famous film, I have to give props to my friends Trey and Becky for giving me a strong Fellowship of the King, or Jesus Christ. There are many Christians who say they are Christians, but they don't really take it seriously and just use it as a crutch. These two missionaries have been helpful in my spiritual walk and keeping me accountable as a growing young man. I hope to keep the Fellowship alive for 2008.
6. Understanding the Korean Soul - I just got back from an End of the Year Teachers' Retreat yesterday, where we went to a ski resort in Pochon, north of Seoul. This whole year has been a learning experience on "who is a Korean." I've gained many insights to Korean character, their dreams, their challenges in Korean society, and ultimately, what motivates them. I'm still not done though. During the trip, I got to see these Koreans at their most vulnerable and more real side to them: caring, fun-loving, passionate, and hearty people.
7. Becoming a Man - means I had to face issues on my own without the help of my parents, brother, or my friends from home. Even though I had the Fellowship of the King, I had to face these problems on my own. It was cool to see how I had face them and become a little more humble in the process.
So what is my goal for 2008? I'll let you know soon.
Life keeps going, despite the crazy issues in the world such as former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination, the war in Iraq, the 2008 Election in the US, global warming, breakdown of morals and truth in society, and the list goes on.
2007 closes, a new chapter begins, this time in a foreign land.
We shall see what new adventures Mr. Soni will land in next.
No comments:
Post a Comment