One Month Already?

It's hard to believe I've been here a month already.  The first couple weeks were hell, but now that I'm settling into a routine (and we have all of the books,) things aren't too bad.  This week actually went by really quickly, surprisingly.  We're working on some April Fools pranks for the kids tomorrow, like switching teachers and giving them word searches with none of the words.  It should be a lot of fun!

Every Friday we're supposed to have a test for the kids, and it's our responsibility to come up with the tests (since every class could be at a different point and have covered different vocabulary.)  I've mostly done spelling tests with my first graders, though I'm experimenting a lot with my other classes right now.  I've done vocabulary definitions, story writing (use 5/10 of the 10/20 words to make a story,) story sequencing (put the events in order,) and reading comprehension questions.  Finding the right balance between too easy and too hard is tricky, of course, and so far I think I've been leaning towards too hard.  I like the story-writing tests, but some words (especially nouns and adjectives) are really easy to use without really showing that they know what they mean.  I've been writing questions like "Why did you thrash a rock?" and having them rewrite their stories with my corrections and answers to my questions.  They also take a long time to grade because I'm correcting their grammar, spelling and sentence structure (sometimes extensively,) and interpreting what they're saying and their understanding of the words can take a lot of thought.

One small problem that I'm noticing is that the classrooms get really dirty REALLY quickly.  Each room has one small trash can, but while we're not responsible for cleaning the rooms, the cleaner only comes in once a week.  Things are nice on Monday, but by Friday the rooms are pretty filthy.  The students aren't always tidy eaters, of course, so certain snacks (especially noodles, rice and anything with sauce) can get everywhere.

Speaking of dirty, my washing machine is driving me up the wall.  Even after cleaning out the lint filters as best I can, my clothes still come out dirty.  I'm going to have to re-wash a pair of pants because the outside is covered in soap that didn't get washed off.  I've not sure how much of it is the machine and how much is my not knowing how to use it correctly, but it's really aggravating.  Baron still needs to come over sometime and help me get rid of the old TV and such, so hopefully he can help me figure out what the problem is, whenever that happens.  I'd hate to have to go to the trouble of getting a new washing machine, but it's hard to live like this when I don't know how to get my clothes properly clean.

I should be getting my alien registration card soon, which means I'll be able to set up a bank account and get a new phone.  The phone will be a little pricy, but so far my expenses have been relatively low.  I've only needed to withdraw 400,000 won (~$400), and combined with the 200,000 they gave me to get started and the $200 I took out at the airport, I've spent about $700 this month.  My first paycheck is coming on 4/8, and that'll give me roughly $2000 more to work with.  In another two months, they'll repay me for the plane ticket and I'll stop having to add to my apartment's security deposit, so my monthly salary will go up to ~$2200.  Despite what I said about about food prices before, I can eat out for $7-9, sometimes less.  For a quick meal, I can get two things of triangle kimbap (rice and fish wrapped in seaweed) for 1400 won at a convenience store.  Taking the train into Seoul only costs about $3.50, and the subway is only $1 for the closer stops.