I realized the other day that it's been almost two months since I've updated my blog! Wow. Things have been going pretty smoothly since February when I last wrote. In Korea, the school year runs from March to February, like a typical year-round school. So, last month, our old Kindergarten students graduated and moved on to elementary school, and we got a new round of little ones, the youngest being 4-5 years old, international age.
I have two classes, Duke and Yale, who are 7 years old. There are 8 students in every class. My Korean co-teacher is Charlotte, and she's absolutely wonderful! She and I trade off teaching Duke and Yale every other period. I teach reading, phonics, and theme activities, and Charlotte teaches grammar, language, and writing. Most of my students are nearly fluent and are very easy to communicate with. I have a student in each class who is well behind the others and has trouble keeping up. That sometimes limits the lesson and what we can do. Hopefully they will catch up soon!
I've had a lot of friends and family members ask me about the situation over here pertaining to North Korea. I've been keeping updated as much as I can by reading online articles and watching news clips from back home. My family has also been keeping me updated with new developments. It definitely makes me feel uneasy to be living in a country with such an unstable dictator leading the neighboring country. However, I don't feel like my safety is in jeopardy. I go about my days, doing nothing out of the ordinary. In different parts of Korea, there is a more noticeable US military presence, which makes me feel a bit better. I have only 14 weeks left before I head back home permanently to reunite with my friends and family! I'm REALLY looking forward to that! I want to honor my year-long contract that I've signed with my school here. I plan to finish that contract and go home at the end of July. However, the moment that I feel like I'm not living in a safe place, I'll be on a plane home.
The weather is FINALLY getting warmer here...it's about time!! So, I'm hoping to take advantage of that in these coming months. We had our last snow about a week ago. There were flurries in different areas of Korea. In April. Sigh...I just want some Florida sunshine!! Lisa and I have planned a trip to Jeju Island in May. The weather is supposed to be tremendous, and we have a long weekend. We've booked our flight and accommodation, so now we just have the fun part to plan. What do we want to do on the island? Luckily, we have the same things in mind. See some major attractions, take incredible pictures, see the sunrise, and mostly relax and put some color on our skin. :)
Besides school, I'm still involved with my church here and participating in a small group. Unfortunately, the small groups only last for three months, so we just have one week left. I'm hoping to join another one before I head home. I just love meeting new people at my church and being in community with fellow believers. It's really encouraging and necessary, I think.
I'll try my best to update my blog more often. Sometimes I just let other things get in the way and I forget about it. It doesn't take long, but it's a really good way to keep everyone updated on my life. :)
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Friday, February 15, 2013
Happy Valentine's Day!
Brighid, Lisa, and I decided to celebrate Valentine's Day together after work. I took the subway after work, and the girls hopped in the same car as me. We rode to Apgujeong (the same place I lost my bag last week...), and went to a bowling place, Pierrot Strike. It was AWESOME! We made a bowling reservation, got some food and drinks, and just relaxed until our bowling time came up. We bowled two games. I WON THE FIRST GAME!! That's never happened to me before. And I lost the second game. We just don't need to talk about that...
After we finished bowling, we found the air hockey table and played a few rounds. I haven't played air hockey in ages. So fun! After that, we went to Bunker, a pub nearby. We played Connect 4, another game I haven't played in ages! Brighid told us that she's never lost a game before. We challenged her to multiple games in a row before we believed her. It was incredible! After that, the girls wanted to stay out a bit longer, but I was ready to call it a night. We had to teach today, and I knew I would be kicking myself if I stayed out much later. I hailed a taxi and went home. It was a really great Valentine's Day, if I do say so myself! :)
After we finished bowling, we found the air hockey table and played a few rounds. I haven't played air hockey in ages. So fun! After that, we went to Bunker, a pub nearby. We played Connect 4, another game I haven't played in ages! Brighid told us that she's never lost a game before. We challenged her to multiple games in a row before we believed her. It was incredible! After that, the girls wanted to stay out a bit longer, but I was ready to call it a night. We had to teach today, and I knew I would be kicking myself if I stayed out much later. I hailed a taxi and went home. It was a really great Valentine's Day, if I do say so myself! :)
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
I lost my purse.
This past weekend was Lunar New Year, so I had a four-day weekend! I had plans to relax, see a few friends, and just enjoy my time off. My Saturday and Sunday were good, up until Sunday night. Brighid, Sonya, Lisa, and I decided to go out on Sunday night. We hadn't been out in awhile, and we wanted a girls' night. We met up and took the subway to Apgujeong, a really neat area nearby. We found a pub that we'd never been to and decided to try it out.
After a few hours of eating, dancing, and having a good time, we decided to walk down the street about five minutes to another place. It's still freezing cold here (ugh!), so the roads are really icy. I don't really like to carry bags with me, so I had consolidated all of my things into a small clutch. As we were walking, I somehow dropped my bag at some point along the way. I realized it after only five minutes. Sonya and Lisa went ahead, and Brighid backtracked with me to help me look for my clutch. There was snow and ice everywhere, but we looked as well as we could. We even went back into the pub to see if I had actually dropped it on my way out. No such luck...
I gave the waiter Brighid's number in case they found my clutch, and then the four of us headed home. I've never lost a purse before, and I don't tend to lose things in general. I was really upset with myself, and kept beating myself up about it. In my purse was my cell phone, my Korean bank card, $100 in cash, and my Korean Alien Registration Card. :(
On Monday, everything was closed because it was the official holiday. Therefore, I couldn't go to the bank and cancel my card, I couldn't notify the phone company, and the Immigration Office was closed. I basically sat in a panic all day, feeling quite helpless. Luckily, Brighid came over to my apartment to keep me company for a few hours. We snacked on pizza and chatted. Then, we made our way over to Lisa's apartment and ate dinner and watched a movie together. Having something to do helped the time pass quickly.
Tuesday (yesterday), I woke up early and went straight to the bank. Fortunately, my card had not been used that whole weekend! I'm so thankful for that! They canceled my card and immediately gave me a new card with my name on it and everything! Then, I met up with Brighid, and she accompanied me to the Immigration Office, which was an hour away by subway. We were there for a few hours, so it was kind of a pain. I had to report my Alien Registration Card lost and apply for a new one. I'll have my new card in about three weeks. I also canceled my phone and ordered a new one. I should have one in about a week or so.
This whole situation could've been so much worse, and I'm really thankful that everything has been resolved quite smoothly! Korea is a very honest country, so I'm not worried about anything being stolen. I'm mostly upset about the inconvenience of it all. Fortunately, I have some really great friends who were willing to help me out this weekend! :)
After a few hours of eating, dancing, and having a good time, we decided to walk down the street about five minutes to another place. It's still freezing cold here (ugh!), so the roads are really icy. I don't really like to carry bags with me, so I had consolidated all of my things into a small clutch. As we were walking, I somehow dropped my bag at some point along the way. I realized it after only five minutes. Sonya and Lisa went ahead, and Brighid backtracked with me to help me look for my clutch. There was snow and ice everywhere, but we looked as well as we could. We even went back into the pub to see if I had actually dropped it on my way out. No such luck...
I gave the waiter Brighid's number in case they found my clutch, and then the four of us headed home. I've never lost a purse before, and I don't tend to lose things in general. I was really upset with myself, and kept beating myself up about it. In my purse was my cell phone, my Korean bank card, $100 in cash, and my Korean Alien Registration Card. :(
On Monday, everything was closed because it was the official holiday. Therefore, I couldn't go to the bank and cancel my card, I couldn't notify the phone company, and the Immigration Office was closed. I basically sat in a panic all day, feeling quite helpless. Luckily, Brighid came over to my apartment to keep me company for a few hours. We snacked on pizza and chatted. Then, we made our way over to Lisa's apartment and ate dinner and watched a movie together. Having something to do helped the time pass quickly.
Tuesday (yesterday), I woke up early and went straight to the bank. Fortunately, my card had not been used that whole weekend! I'm so thankful for that! They canceled my card and immediately gave me a new card with my name on it and everything! Then, I met up with Brighid, and she accompanied me to the Immigration Office, which was an hour away by subway. We were there for a few hours, so it was kind of a pain. I had to report my Alien Registration Card lost and apply for a new one. I'll have my new card in about three weeks. I also canceled my phone and ordered a new one. I should have one in about a week or so.
This whole situation could've been so much worse, and I'm really thankful that everything has been resolved quite smoothly! Korea is a very honest country, so I'm not worried about anything being stolen. I'm mostly upset about the inconvenience of it all. Fortunately, I have some really great friends who were willing to help me out this weekend! :)
Friday, February 1, 2013
When it rains, it pours.
This morning when I woke up, it was raining. Normally this wouldn't be too big of a deal for me, except for one thing: I teach Kindergarteners. And when it rains, for some reason, all of them go CRAZY!! It hasn't been scientifically-proven or anything, but based on my own observations over the past six months, my students get really weird when it rains. So, I walked into school this morning preparing for this craziness. Little did I know, it would be the worst "rainy day" yet.
From the first class I taught, all my students were unable to stay in their seats, even the quietest, most reserved students became chatterboxes, and none of them could pay attention long enough for me to explain the directions. It took every ounce of my patience to make it to lunchtime.
Brighid Teacher and I had a lunch break together today, so we decided to run to the kimbap place on the corner for a quick, cheap meal. Of course, it took us AGES to get our food (which has actually never happened at this place before!), and had to basically inhale our food so we wouldn't be late for class. I had an umbrella, but because we were running so behind, Brighid and I ended up running back to school in the rain, all the way to the elevator. We walked in just seconds after the bell rang for the start of class.
My afternoon continued the same as the morning. Crazy students, random outbursts, everyone having to use the bathroom at five-minute intervals. It was nuts. My biggest class of the day has 12 students. For some reason, 6 of them, out of 12, as in half, 50%, didn't have any of their books!! So, I spent the first fifteen minutes of class time in the Teacher Room making copies of the book, the workbook, the reading book, and the study guide. Because of this wasted time, I was unable to finish the lesson for the day, so I will have more work to finish in Monday's class.
I think it's just one of those days. When it rains, it pours. Everything goes wrong, one thing after another. My patience ran out hours ago, so I had to paste a smile on before every class, say a quick prayer, and just hope for the best. I only have two classes left, and I'll be outta here! I couldn't be ANY happier that it's Friday.
From the first class I taught, all my students were unable to stay in their seats, even the quietest, most reserved students became chatterboxes, and none of them could pay attention long enough for me to explain the directions. It took every ounce of my patience to make it to lunchtime.
Brighid Teacher and I had a lunch break together today, so we decided to run to the kimbap place on the corner for a quick, cheap meal. Of course, it took us AGES to get our food (which has actually never happened at this place before!), and had to basically inhale our food so we wouldn't be late for class. I had an umbrella, but because we were running so behind, Brighid and I ended up running back to school in the rain, all the way to the elevator. We walked in just seconds after the bell rang for the start of class.
My afternoon continued the same as the morning. Crazy students, random outbursts, everyone having to use the bathroom at five-minute intervals. It was nuts. My biggest class of the day has 12 students. For some reason, 6 of them, out of 12, as in half, 50%, didn't have any of their books!! So, I spent the first fifteen minutes of class time in the Teacher Room making copies of the book, the workbook, the reading book, and the study guide. Because of this wasted time, I was unable to finish the lesson for the day, so I will have more work to finish in Monday's class.
I think it's just one of those days. When it rains, it pours. Everything goes wrong, one thing after another. My patience ran out hours ago, so I had to paste a smile on before every class, say a quick prayer, and just hope for the best. I only have two classes left, and I'll be outta here! I couldn't be ANY happier that it's Friday.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Paperwork.
Last Sunday was a busy day for me. No one was able to meet up for lunch, so I grabbed lunch on my own before church. I met Elaine and Soo at church at noon, and enjoyed an awesome church service. The college pastor, Pastor Andrew, did the message. It was his best sermon yet! Elaine and I hung out a bit after church and chatted, and then we parted ways. She went to the bookstore, and I went to the bus stop.
I took the 3003 bus into Suwon, and met Darren at SungKyunKwan University Station. We walked to Caffe Bene, one of my favorite coffee shops in Korea. I needed Darren to sign some recommendation letters for me for a few school districts back home. We finished the paperwork pretty quickly, and then sat and chatted for an hour or so. It was really good to catch up with Darren. We stayed in contact after I left his school, but we rarely get together. Since I moved to Seoul, it's not really convenient. Anyway, we caught up on life, talked about school, traveling, scary movies. Then, he had to leave to meet his friend, and I told him I was going to head home. It turns out, we were both going into Gangnam, so he offered to DRIVE ME!! Wow!! I was so excited! From Suwon to where I live in Seoul is at least 2 hours by bus and subway. So, I was thrilled when he offered to give me a lift! That would take an hour off of my traveling.
I gratefully accepted his offer, and we chatted some more on the car ride there. I love catching up with friends I haven't seen in awhile. It's such a great feeling. I'm leaving Korea in 6 months, so I'll have to make an effort to see Darren at least one more time before I head home. But, Darren has plans to visit America in 2014, so hopefully we'll be able to cross paths then! :)
I took the 3003 bus into Suwon, and met Darren at SungKyunKwan University Station. We walked to Caffe Bene, one of my favorite coffee shops in Korea. I needed Darren to sign some recommendation letters for me for a few school districts back home. We finished the paperwork pretty quickly, and then sat and chatted for an hour or so. It was really good to catch up with Darren. We stayed in contact after I left his school, but we rarely get together. Since I moved to Seoul, it's not really convenient. Anyway, we caught up on life, talked about school, traveling, scary movies. Then, he had to leave to meet his friend, and I told him I was going to head home. It turns out, we were both going into Gangnam, so he offered to DRIVE ME!! Wow!! I was so excited! From Suwon to where I live in Seoul is at least 2 hours by bus and subway. So, I was thrilled when he offered to give me a lift! That would take an hour off of my traveling.
I gratefully accepted his offer, and we chatted some more on the car ride there. I love catching up with friends I haven't seen in awhile. It's such a great feeling. I'm leaving Korea in 6 months, so I'll have to make an effort to see Darren at least one more time before I head home. But, Darren has plans to visit America in 2014, so hopefully we'll be able to cross paths then! :)
Saturday, January 19, 2013
JiHyun and Rebecca.
Today was a busy, but productive day for me. My body clock woke me up at 8:15am, and I was up and about by 8:30am. The early mornings I have during the week don't allow me to sleep in much on the weekends. Oh well...it gives me a good excuse to get some things done. That's good, right? :)
Right away, I jumped online and kept working on my teaching applications. I have decided to start applying for teaching jobs back home for Fall 2013. This has proven to be quite an involved process, with transcripts, recommendations, references, previous job history, fingerprinting, official test scores, certificates...it's exhausting! But, all this work will pay off for sure! And I'm lucky that my parents have been so willing to help me out, making copies and getting everything sent to the right places. (Shout out to them!!) :)
After working on that for a few hours, I quickly got ready and headed to the subway station. I met a girl, JiHyun, and her mom, Rebecca, at a coffee shop near work. (I ran into JiHyun on one of my breaks during the week. She was looking for someone to help her practice her English. Anyway, we got to talking, and I agreed to meet with her every week.) She's a nearly-fluent English speaker and wants to improve her writing skills. She wants to write papers and have me grade them and go over them with her. I'm really happy to do it! I was quite surprised today though, because I only intended on meeting her. However, her mom showed up and asked if she could get some help from me as well. Her mom, Rebecca, works in a company that writes English grammar books. Her writing is flawless, but she can't speak well. When she found out that JiHyun and I were meeting, she totally came along to see if she could meet with me as well. After the initial shock wore off, I agreed to meet with both of them. From now on, every Saturday, I'll meet with JiHyun at 1pm, and then with Rebecca at 2:30pm. That will work out quite nicely, I think!
After that, I went home and worked on my applications a bit more. I also did some research on how I could help my new "students." I came up with some really cool ideas, so I'm really excited! After that, I met up with Lisa and Brighid at a bar nearby. I hadn't eaten anything all day because I was so busy, so I was really grateful for the break! We ordered chicken, fries, and beer, which was a perfect combination. I finally had a chance to relax and breathe after a busy Saturday. Brighid left after awhile, and Lisa and I were able to catch up on each other's lives. Even though we work together, it's sometimes difficult to catch up and chat with each other. It was nice to have that chance tonight. I'm really tired now, but I got a lot of things done today. I'm really excited for the weeks ahead, and can't wait for a good night's sleep and church in the morning! It will be just what I need. :)
Right away, I jumped online and kept working on my teaching applications. I have decided to start applying for teaching jobs back home for Fall 2013. This has proven to be quite an involved process, with transcripts, recommendations, references, previous job history, fingerprinting, official test scores, certificates...it's exhausting! But, all this work will pay off for sure! And I'm lucky that my parents have been so willing to help me out, making copies and getting everything sent to the right places. (Shout out to them!!) :)
After working on that for a few hours, I quickly got ready and headed to the subway station. I met a girl, JiHyun, and her mom, Rebecca, at a coffee shop near work. (I ran into JiHyun on one of my breaks during the week. She was looking for someone to help her practice her English. Anyway, we got to talking, and I agreed to meet with her every week.) She's a nearly-fluent English speaker and wants to improve her writing skills. She wants to write papers and have me grade them and go over them with her. I'm really happy to do it! I was quite surprised today though, because I only intended on meeting her. However, her mom showed up and asked if she could get some help from me as well. Her mom, Rebecca, works in a company that writes English grammar books. Her writing is flawless, but she can't speak well. When she found out that JiHyun and I were meeting, she totally came along to see if she could meet with me as well. After the initial shock wore off, I agreed to meet with both of them. From now on, every Saturday, I'll meet with JiHyun at 1pm, and then with Rebecca at 2:30pm. That will work out quite nicely, I think!
After that, I went home and worked on my applications a bit more. I also did some research on how I could help my new "students." I came up with some really cool ideas, so I'm really excited! After that, I met up with Lisa and Brighid at a bar nearby. I hadn't eaten anything all day because I was so busy, so I was really grateful for the break! We ordered chicken, fries, and beer, which was a perfect combination. I finally had a chance to relax and breathe after a busy Saturday. Brighid left after awhile, and Lisa and I were able to catch up on each other's lives. Even though we work together, it's sometimes difficult to catch up and chat with each other. It was nice to have that chance tonight. I'm really tired now, but I got a lot of things done today. I'm really excited for the weeks ahead, and can't wait for a good night's sleep and church in the morning! It will be just what I need. :)
Friday, January 4, 2013
Merry Christmas!! :)
Christmas has always been a really big deal in my family. There is a day devoted to hanging up decorations and pulling the tree from the attic to adorn with lights and ornaments. Lights are hung outside, and stockings are hung on the mantle. Thanksgiving is gone, and the Christmas season is here!
However, living in Korea, especially during Christmastime, is a completely different experience! It is not recognized as anything of value, and we work the day before AND the day after. Lame. My coworkers and I wanted to make the best of it so we made some awesome plans! After school on Monday (Christmas Eve), we took the subway into Hongdae. There was a huge group of us: Lisa, Rosie, Matthew, Brighid, Ian, Sonya, Mike, and me. We were going to NANTA, the stage show that's really famous here. I went last year and had such a good time that I convinced everyone we should go. We got to the theater, after getting a bit lost, and took our seats in the VIP section. We had great seats with an incredible view!
After the show, we headed out for drinks and dancing. We went to a few different places, kind of hopping from here to there. At one point it started snowing, so we OBVIOUSLY had to go play and take pictures in it! :)
We ended up in a small bar with only a few people in it. We bought a few drinks, and the bartender told us we could request songs to play. We were so pumped! I wrote down a few songs, and in no time, we were linedancing our way around the bar! We had a few onlookers and even a few Korean people who wanted to learn and join in the fun! Finally, at 6am on Christmas morning, the bar closed so we decided to call it a night. In separate groups, we took the subway home. We finally made it back to our apartments at 8am. We were exhausted, but we had a great night! All of us were feeling homesick being away from our families on Christmas, but we made plans and made the best of it!
After sleeping for a few hours, everyone came over to my house for a Christmas Day get together. Sonya and Mike are from Ireland, so they brought over ingredients to make everyone Irish coffees. It was my first time trying Irish coffee, and it was DELICIOUS! (Lisa, Rosie, and Matthew left soon after to go see the Nutcracker. I saw it last year so I knew they would have a good time!) After a few hours, Sonya, Ian, Mike, Brighid, and I took the subway into Cheonho, only a few stops away. We wanted a proper dinner (and an escape from Korean food!), so we went to Outback Steakhouse. We had to wait for about 45 minutes for a seat which wasn't too bad, considering it was Christmas Day. The food was great, as was the company. Overall, I'd say it was a pretty successful Christmas!
My family just arrived back from their ski trip to Utah for the holidays. I'm really wishing I could be with them, but I know they had a blast! I'm so blessed to have an incredible family, amazing friends, and a church community with whom I can celebrate Jesus' birth and be so thankful! Merry Christmas, everyone, and Happy New Year!! :)
However, living in Korea, especially during Christmastime, is a completely different experience! It is not recognized as anything of value, and we work the day before AND the day after. Lame. My coworkers and I wanted to make the best of it so we made some awesome plans! After school on Monday (Christmas Eve), we took the subway into Hongdae. There was a huge group of us: Lisa, Rosie, Matthew, Brighid, Ian, Sonya, Mike, and me. We were going to NANTA, the stage show that's really famous here. I went last year and had such a good time that I convinced everyone we should go. We got to the theater, after getting a bit lost, and took our seats in the VIP section. We had great seats with an incredible view!
After the show, we headed out for drinks and dancing. We went to a few different places, kind of hopping from here to there. At one point it started snowing, so we OBVIOUSLY had to go play and take pictures in it! :)
We ended up in a small bar with only a few people in it. We bought a few drinks, and the bartender told us we could request songs to play. We were so pumped! I wrote down a few songs, and in no time, we were linedancing our way around the bar! We had a few onlookers and even a few Korean people who wanted to learn and join in the fun! Finally, at 6am on Christmas morning, the bar closed so we decided to call it a night. In separate groups, we took the subway home. We finally made it back to our apartments at 8am. We were exhausted, but we had a great night! All of us were feeling homesick being away from our families on Christmas, but we made plans and made the best of it!
After sleeping for a few hours, everyone came over to my house for a Christmas Day get together. Sonya and Mike are from Ireland, so they brought over ingredients to make everyone Irish coffees. It was my first time trying Irish coffee, and it was DELICIOUS! (Lisa, Rosie, and Matthew left soon after to go see the Nutcracker. I saw it last year so I knew they would have a good time!) After a few hours, Sonya, Ian, Mike, Brighid, and I took the subway into Cheonho, only a few stops away. We wanted a proper dinner (and an escape from Korean food!), so we went to Outback Steakhouse. We had to wait for about 45 minutes for a seat which wasn't too bad, considering it was Christmas Day. The food was great, as was the company. Overall, I'd say it was a pretty successful Christmas!
My family just arrived back from their ski trip to Utah for the holidays. I'm really wishing I could be with them, but I know they had a blast! I'm so blessed to have an incredible family, amazing friends, and a church community with whom I can celebrate Jesus' birth and be so thankful! Merry Christmas, everyone, and Happy New Year!! :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)