My school

Well, I tried to get a picture of my school to show you, but I couldn't upload it from the website. I'm waiting for a paycheck before I buy a digital camera. Then I should be able to show you more pictures! In the meantime, I'll have to write thousands of words to make up for my lack of pictures.
So my school is Cheongdeok (정덕) elementary. There are approximately 1200 students and 47 teachers. There are 4 floors in the school and although it has been around since the 1960's it was redone a couple years ago, so everything is bright and new. Everyone wears inside shoes (aka slippers) and so I had to buy some suitable slippers for school. Because teachers are on their feet so much, it is important to have comfortable shoes, so although most women in Korea wear high heeled shoes, they switch once at school.
I have an office/room on the 2nd floor, which consists of a desk with computer and printer, some shelves and a cupboard. The other half of my room is where I eat lunch with my co-teachers, the science teacher and the social studies teacher.
Speaking of lunch, due to the large size of the school, students eat in the cafeteria on a rotating basis and so have lunch brought to their classrooms. (Students don't bring their own lunch. I had the option to, but chose to eat the cafeteria food which I'm really enjoying!) Anyhow, although there is a section for teachers in the cafeteria, they decided that it was quicker and easier to have teachers eat in particular rooms as well. So, hence my office is also my lunch room!
I teach grade 5 and 6 2 times a week, so that's 24 classes! My classes are all in the morning and directly after lunch, so I usually have from 2:00-4:30 to plan lessons etc. The students are all very happy to have me in the school and enjoy saying hello to me whenever they see me! Some classes are a little more rowdy than others, but aside from standing up when they ask a question and constant hitting/slapping each other, the students are similar to any grade 5 and 6 class.
My commute to school takes approximately 45 minutes door to door--10 minutes on the subway and 20 minutes standing on a crowded bus usually full of University students, as Cheongdeok Elementary is beside Kookmin University.
And so, there you have an update on a large part of my life here in Seoul. I hope to make some friends with some of the teachers. Next week is a welcoming party for me and a goodbye party for Myung, Jin Young--the social studies teacher as she is leaving on maternity leave in 2 weeks.
I'll let you know what that's like.