the big thaw
well, it's taken 5 days, but the snow has mostly gone. according to reports, it was a huge dump of the white plague for this region of Korea. all that's left now is icey roads and footpaths and white ice piled in gardens and gutters that has thus far circumvented winter sunlight.
in class, i have been caught in power struggles in two classes: my 8 year olds class is like the UN security council, where power shifts daily as supporters change sides depending on the politics of the day (ie. who has the best food etc). it's becoming increasingly irritating, as the kids are all sweethearts to me, but to each other, well . . . i'm not going to leave any sharp instruments within their four walls.
my kindergarten class has two girls engaged in a struggle of their own. i have no idea what it's about, but for some reason, every day i go into class, one out of the 5 girls in the class is being bullied. lately, it's been mainly one girl, R, bullying another, K. i don't know why. so, amidst the lessons i'm helping them through, they're all chipping away in Korean and, one day, R said something that made K clam up and cry. she didn't cry loud, nor did she whine. she pretended to read while tears rolled down her cheeks. she looked like the loneliest soul in the world. R, on the other hand, smiled away to herself, showing pride in her work.
before i go on, i don't like R, and i do like K. the main reason for hating R could be that she seems to disregard people, and that includes me (i hate that). now, as i sat watching tears drip from K's chin, i had to fight off the urge to dropkick R out the f***ing window as i was trying to concentrate on getting K to un-clam herself. i don't know if i perpetuated any great intervention, but she had a smile on her face after a while.
it broke my heart seeing K like that. i don't know why. i've walked past fights in NZ and not battered an eyelid, i've had friends and family bawling their eyes out to me, but it didn't hit me as hard as that. two reason's i assume are: one, i got bullied as a kid and i empathise with K quite easily; two, i've been spending time with these kids every day for a few months so my life is wrapped up in theirs. there may be more to it.
in another class, an 11 year old dropped a packet of chips on the floor (i let kids eat in class, if they do their work). she instantly asked me to pick it up, to which i said no, and she responded with a short, sharp Korean verbal. i asked what she said and two others both translated for me:
'You're fat, your face is ugly and you wear ugly pants.'
so, how do i reply to that? my first inclination was to say something biting back to her, but why would i do it?
i like the pants, she doesn't, let's move on. i don't think i'm butt ugly and don't care what her particular opinion is, so let's move on (beauty's subjective). she thinks i'm fat, and so do i.
i was pissed off about the fat call. but i'm not really pissed at her, i'm pissed at myself for being fat. i've been struggling to keep the weight off for a few years, and winter in Shiwa is maybe my biggest challenge so far. still, it's a boring subject and really, i have no excuse for eating like a pig. so, let's move on.
i didn't say anything to her, choosing instead to check students work and pretend to cry :)
in class, i have been caught in power struggles in two classes: my 8 year olds class is like the UN security council, where power shifts daily as supporters change sides depending on the politics of the day (ie. who has the best food etc). it's becoming increasingly irritating, as the kids are all sweethearts to me, but to each other, well . . . i'm not going to leave any sharp instruments within their four walls.
my kindergarten class has two girls engaged in a struggle of their own. i have no idea what it's about, but for some reason, every day i go into class, one out of the 5 girls in the class is being bullied. lately, it's been mainly one girl, R, bullying another, K. i don't know why. so, amidst the lessons i'm helping them through, they're all chipping away in Korean and, one day, R said something that made K clam up and cry. she didn't cry loud, nor did she whine. she pretended to read while tears rolled down her cheeks. she looked like the loneliest soul in the world. R, on the other hand, smiled away to herself, showing pride in her work.
before i go on, i don't like R, and i do like K. the main reason for hating R could be that she seems to disregard people, and that includes me (i hate that). now, as i sat watching tears drip from K's chin, i had to fight off the urge to dropkick R out the f***ing window as i was trying to concentrate on getting K to un-clam herself. i don't know if i perpetuated any great intervention, but she had a smile on her face after a while.
it broke my heart seeing K like that. i don't know why. i've walked past fights in NZ and not battered an eyelid, i've had friends and family bawling their eyes out to me, but it didn't hit me as hard as that. two reason's i assume are: one, i got bullied as a kid and i empathise with K quite easily; two, i've been spending time with these kids every day for a few months so my life is wrapped up in theirs. there may be more to it.
in another class, an 11 year old dropped a packet of chips on the floor (i let kids eat in class, if they do their work). she instantly asked me to pick it up, to which i said no, and she responded with a short, sharp Korean verbal. i asked what she said and two others both translated for me:
'You're fat, your face is ugly and you wear ugly pants.'
so, how do i reply to that? my first inclination was to say something biting back to her, but why would i do it?
i like the pants, she doesn't, let's move on. i don't think i'm butt ugly and don't care what her particular opinion is, so let's move on (beauty's subjective). she thinks i'm fat, and so do i.
i was pissed off about the fat call. but i'm not really pissed at her, i'm pissed at myself for being fat. i've been struggling to keep the weight off for a few years, and winter in Shiwa is maybe my biggest challenge so far. still, it's a boring subject and really, i have no excuse for eating like a pig. so, let's move on.
i didn't say anything to her, choosing instead to check students work and pretend to cry :)
posted by the Emperor Fabulous at 10:22 AM
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