I had a kindergarten student last school year who I hadn't seen since March.  She's small, quiet, and super cute.  But despite her timid nature she has a way of making an entrance  when she comes in the classroom.  She's often late, so everyone notices her come in.  Always, when she opens the door, she leans forward with her weight on the door handle, exhales deeply and then trudges into the room looking a little confused and uncomfortable with all the attention.  I had forgotten about this until she returned to our class this week.  So it's Monday and we're in the middle of learning the vocabulary words for our new story when, unannounced, the door opens, everyone looks over, and in staggers little Calla like she had just ran a marathon and isn't quite sure if she's in the right place.  It made my week.

 In other school news, I have 2 new students in my kindergarten class.  But these students are different.  I've talked about Pohang's soccer team before - the Steelers.  The Korean league that they are a part of only allows for each team to have three of four foreign players on their squad.  On the Steelers, one of these players is a guy from Ghana who just joined the team at the beginning of the year and has been a big part of the Steeler's success this season.
 Well, one afternoon late last week I was surprised to see a 'Pohang Steelers' team van parked outside of the school and more surprised to see Derek Asamoah, this Ghanaian soccer player, and his wife in the office.  I wasn't sure but I thought that the only reason he'd be in our office would be to sign his kids up for Poly School.  Sure enough, on Monday morning Chavie, my co-teacher, let me know that we have 2 new students in our class.  Now, sitting right in the middle of my familiar, straight-haired, light-skinned Korean students I have two unfamiliar, curly-haired, black boys.  But if that's not enough, these boys grew up in London, England so they speak in these very proper English sentences with an accent that I have a hard time understanding, let alone my Korean students or co-teachers.
 While I think it is cool to have the children of a professional soccer player in my class, and very cool for my students to be able to experience other children who are completely different from what they're used to, I'm finding it hard to meet these differences as a teacher.  The older boy is too old for our class - he's at least a year older than the rest and, of course, has much better English skills than any of them.  He's also a bit of a talker and has no trouble answering many of the questions.  So now, instead of paying attention to what we're learning, the rest of the class mostly pays attention to him because he's smart and he talks so quickly and strangly.  The younger boy fits in a little better.  In reading, writing, and phonics, he's around the same level as some of the other students.  He's also quieter than his brother, so he doesn't keep everyone's attention in the same way.  Having them in the class certainly spices things up.  They're staying for three months and then heading back to England.  It'll be an interesting summer.

Outside of school, this summer promises to bring some exciting adventures.  This weekend, I'll probably be joining a group going on a scooter/camping trip.  Then, later in June, I'll be heading to Fukuoka, Japan for a weekend trip with a good group of people.  In July, the annual 'Mudfest' party will be happening, to which a big group from Pohang are going (all I know is it involves mud).  At the end of July, I'm going home for two weeks!  And in August, Alisa, Jane and I are going to Jeju Island.

Tonight I cooked a potatoe, apple, and pumpkin mixture to go along with a chicken.  It turned out really well.

Thanks for reading,
Michael