September 27th, 2010
Well today was definitely a little difficult because we just came back from a one week vacation...all of the teachers and students were noticeably tired...we all had "a case of the Mondays," (thanks Office Space). However, I was very proud of myself because I thought like a teacher and offered a great idea for the classroom lesson. The Monday before our holiday break (September 20th) my co-teacher and I were planning for today's lesson which is called "It's cold." There is a portion of the lesson designated for a game but the game provided in the book is very bland and quite frankly...well, boring. So she asked that I think of another activity/game that the kids can partake in with a little more excitement. There is a website that a lot of foreign teachers use for ideas called waygook.org; this website is great for sharing ideas with other foreign teachers that are teaching the same lessons. I visited this site to get some ideas but didn't really like any of the games. At the last minute I thought it would be great to use a variation of the "pin the tail on the donkey" game that most of us are familiar with. My co-teacher had never heard of this game so I explained the basics and showed her a demonstration. Instead of a donkey we would utilize the picture of the girl in the text book, enlarge the picture and have articles of clothing that needed to be 'pinned' on the girl. There was a sweater, pants, gloves, and shoes. The class would be divided into two teams and one person from each team would have to be blindfolded, turn around three times, and try their best to pin the selected article of clothing on the girl. One person at a time will attempt and whoever is the closest to the correct spot wins/get's one point. So, today we tested my idea and it worked so well! The kids really got into it and really enjoyed it. We divided each class by boys and girls. Although it got pretty loud at times...it was a major success and I have to say, I was very proud of myself. I'm starting to think like a teacher :)
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
I've got Seoul but I'm not a Seouldier
September 24, 2010
Well we made it to Seoul on Wednesday and that night we went to experience some of the downtown life. It was fun and there are a lot of different types of bars. We did see plenty of army men which seriously felt like I was right back in Columbus, Ga. The next day we went to this park called Ttukseom Resort? It was pretty neat and there was this little maze for kids. It was also a PERFECT day to visit anything outdoors; it was sunny but a nice breeze and cool. We ended up going to a little family mart shop, bought some $1 ramen noodles, sat on the grass in front of a river and started people watching. It was the most beautiful day I've seen since I've been in Korea. It was amazingly relaxing and it would've been more perfect if I would've just brought a book... but the conversation and company with Max, Chelsea, and Gems was nice. I ended up just laying down on the grass and closing my eyes... took a little nappy poo. Just an awesome, stress free day.
In the nighttime we wanted to head to the tower that allows you to see an awesome view of Seoul and apparently it's really beautiful at night. So we walk around a bit trying to figure out how to get up there... we ended up taking a taxi. Well, the taxi took us to the wrong entrance so we walked up this hill for good bit and we arrived at some stairs... these stairs stretched for one mile... up hill. We debated walking up the stairs and came to a mutual decision... "screw the tower." There was no way we were going to make it up these stairs... there will be plenty of other chances to make it to the top of this tower and to make it to the correct entrance to take the elevator. Instead, we ate at some chicken place, went home, and watched TV.
Today we just went out to do some shopping and we found that the marketplaces we went to were way too touristy. Next time we will have to do a little more research to find the good stuff. We met up with one of our EPIK group leaders and ate dinner with her; we got some cocktails afterwards. The bar that we got some cocktails was totally a "sex and the city" bar. It was very upscale and modern looking. It just so happened that Chigan loved Sex and the City... lol, awesome. Tomorrow our train leaves around 2:30PM so we're thinking about visiting city hall before our train leaves and just chill there for a couple of hours.
The Seoul trip was not exactly what I expected only because we didn't get to make it to the tower (which was a mishap on the taxi's behalf lol) and because we didn't get to visit the market that I remembered from several years ago when I visited Korea with my family. However, the company and my friends made the trip satisfactory and would go anywhere with them. It's not even like I would've been able to buy many things because we just got paid today... but not in full so I'm technically broke. We'll see how this goes but another trip to Seoul is definitely coming again soon. ;)
Well we made it to Seoul on Wednesday and that night we went to experience some of the downtown life. It was fun and there are a lot of different types of bars. We did see plenty of army men which seriously felt like I was right back in Columbus, Ga. The next day we went to this park called Ttukseom Resort? It was pretty neat and there was this little maze for kids. It was also a PERFECT day to visit anything outdoors; it was sunny but a nice breeze and cool. We ended up going to a little family mart shop, bought some $1 ramen noodles, sat on the grass in front of a river and started people watching. It was the most beautiful day I've seen since I've been in Korea. It was amazingly relaxing and it would've been more perfect if I would've just brought a book... but the conversation and company with Max, Chelsea, and Gems was nice. I ended up just laying down on the grass and closing my eyes... took a little nappy poo. Just an awesome, stress free day.
In the nighttime we wanted to head to the tower that allows you to see an awesome view of Seoul and apparently it's really beautiful at night. So we walk around a bit trying to figure out how to get up there... we ended up taking a taxi. Well, the taxi took us to the wrong entrance so we walked up this hill for good bit and we arrived at some stairs... these stairs stretched for one mile... up hill. We debated walking up the stairs and came to a mutual decision... "screw the tower." There was no way we were going to make it up these stairs... there will be plenty of other chances to make it to the top of this tower and to make it to the correct entrance to take the elevator. Instead, we ate at some chicken place, went home, and watched TV.
Today we just went out to do some shopping and we found that the marketplaces we went to were way too touristy. Next time we will have to do a little more research to find the good stuff. We met up with one of our EPIK group leaders and ate dinner with her; we got some cocktails afterwards. The bar that we got some cocktails was totally a "sex and the city" bar. It was very upscale and modern looking. It just so happened that Chigan loved Sex and the City... lol, awesome. Tomorrow our train leaves around 2:30PM so we're thinking about visiting city hall before our train leaves and just chill there for a couple of hours.
The Seoul trip was not exactly what I expected only because we didn't get to make it to the tower (which was a mishap on the taxi's behalf lol) and because we didn't get to visit the market that I remembered from several years ago when I visited Korea with my family. However, the company and my friends made the trip satisfactory and would go anywhere with them. It's not even like I would've been able to buy many things because we just got paid today... but not in full so I'm technically broke. We'll see how this goes but another trip to Seoul is definitely coming again soon. ;)
Sunday, September 19, 2010
My heart and Seoul
September 20, 2010
So, today I’m desk warming…the students are here and have classes but the English teachers don’t teach today so we’re all just sitting in the office doing our own thing. My co-teacher is watching TV on her computer…we have to be here until 4:40PM…we all got here at 8:40AM. Awesome. Starting tomorrow we are all on vacation for Chuseok (the Korean Thanksgiving). Michael and I decided to bring presents to the school for our co-teachers and the principle/vice principals. Our principals cracked a smile when we brought in our presents and seemed pretty impressed that we got them gifts. Our co-teachers were pleasantly surprised and expressed that we are the first co-teachers to buy/give them any type of presents! So that definitely made us feel pretty darn awesome and we were so happy that they liked them. We ended up getting our women co-teachers this lotion set; each co-teacher got a different scent. The male co-teacher got alcoholic beverages in a gift set…we figured out early on that he likes to drink! J They were very thankful and they felt so bad that they didn’t get us anything but we told ‘no worries!’ we did not expect or even want you to give us anything! I told them that it was not only a gift for Chuseok but also as a “thank you” for everything they have done for us since we arrived. I mean from helping us get a phone and internet all the way to taking me to the doctor several times to cure me of that horrible illness…they deserved some sort of gift!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Should I be getting paid for this??
September 14, 2010
So, because my co-teacher is not here today they decided that it would be best for me not to teach by myself since I don't know Korean at all. If I taught fifth and sixth grade I don't think it would be that big of an issue because the older students know more English and can understand more. In third and fourth grade, the teachers use more Korean in the classroom so that kids can follow along and not be completely lost. So, with that being said, I now basically sit here until 4:45PM with absolutely nothing to do. I got to school at 8:30AM...and have to stay until 4:45PM...goodness gracious. I feel completely useless and like I should be doing something productive...but I've got nothing. Thank goodness for facebook chat...
So, because my co-teacher is not here today they decided that it would be best for me not to teach by myself since I don't know Korean at all. If I taught fifth and sixth grade I don't think it would be that big of an issue because the older students know more English and can understand more. In third and fourth grade, the teachers use more Korean in the classroom so that kids can follow along and not be completely lost. So, with that being said, I now basically sit here until 4:45PM with absolutely nothing to do. I got to school at 8:30AM...and have to stay until 4:45PM...goodness gracious. I feel completely useless and like I should be doing something productive...but I've got nothing. Thank goodness for facebook chat...
Sunday, September 12, 2010
To teach or not to teach...that is the question...
September 13, 2010
Oh goodness. Well today went by a little slow and I’m extremely tired. I still feel a little worn out from this past Saturday. We went out to downtown Daegu. We were supposed to go to this theme park Woobang Tower Land…look…it looks pretty freakin’ cool http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Travel2/175 . When we met up in downtown, it was raining and had been raining all morning so we all decided not to go and just hang out instead. We at lunch/dinner at this diner place that served pretty darn good burgers…and that’s also when the drinking began (which happened to be around 3:00 or 4:00pm). Then we headed to this nice bar with high-top tables and in the middle of each table there was an array of chilled beers set lower into the tables. There was like a dry ice effect going on too with white smoke spilling over. It looked awesome! Our table didn’t have cold beers, though, so we just ordered whatever we wanted.
The next bar was an upscale bar with chilled cup holders built into the table and a dial on the side of each table to control the temperature of your cup holders. They also served beers in these large glasses (they pretty much looked like bongs) but they had different sizes like queen, king, ace, etc. The ace was ridiculously huge and unfortunately, they didn’t have any of those for the night that we went (what a pity).
Next we went to this bar that offered a deal that required a one time payment of 15,000 won (like $15) and then all you can drink! There were certain drinks on that ‘all you can drink’ menu but anyone could’ve found something they liked. Then the dance club that was packed full…actually I’m pretty sure they were over the maximum people they were allowed to have because we could barely move. But apparently that didn’t stop me from dancing…one of my friends said I danced like my life depended on it…wow. All in all, fun night with friends and a little…ok a lot of alcohol.
So I just found out that my third grade co-teacher’s uncle has passed away and she will not be at school tomorrow. Which means that I have two options: teach 4 third grade classes by myself or postpone the classes until a later date (we’d have to stay on a Saturday and teach the missed lesson). I THINK I could teach by myself, the only problem is that the third grade students are on a lower level so I need assistance when I’m asking questions and when the students have questions. I honestly wouldn’t mind coming in on a Saturday but I wouldn’t want my co-teacher to feel obligated to come in on the weekend. I told her I think I can do it by myself I just may need some help from each one of the homeroom teachers. Typically, the homeroom teachers leave and go on a break when we come to teach the students. So it may take the efforts of several teachers to help make this a smooth day tomorrow…I guess we’ll see how it goes…wish me luck!
Oh goodness. Well today went by a little slow and I’m extremely tired. I still feel a little worn out from this past Saturday. We went out to downtown Daegu. We were supposed to go to this theme park Woobang Tower Land…look…it looks pretty freakin’ cool http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Travel2/175 . When we met up in downtown, it was raining and had been raining all morning so we all decided not to go and just hang out instead. We at lunch/dinner at this diner place that served pretty darn good burgers…and that’s also when the drinking began (which happened to be around 3:00 or 4:00pm). Then we headed to this nice bar with high-top tables and in the middle of each table there was an array of chilled beers set lower into the tables. There was like a dry ice effect going on too with white smoke spilling over. It looked awesome! Our table didn’t have cold beers, though, so we just ordered whatever we wanted.
The next bar was an upscale bar with chilled cup holders built into the table and a dial on the side of each table to control the temperature of your cup holders. They also served beers in these large glasses (they pretty much looked like bongs) but they had different sizes like queen, king, ace, etc. The ace was ridiculously huge and unfortunately, they didn’t have any of those for the night that we went (what a pity).
Next we went to this bar that offered a deal that required a one time payment of 15,000 won (like $15) and then all you can drink! There were certain drinks on that ‘all you can drink’ menu but anyone could’ve found something they liked. Then the dance club that was packed full…actually I’m pretty sure they were over the maximum people they were allowed to have because we could barely move. But apparently that didn’t stop me from dancing…one of my friends said I danced like my life depended on it…wow. All in all, fun night with friends and a little…ok a lot of alcohol.
So I just found out that my third grade co-teacher’s uncle has passed away and she will not be at school tomorrow. Which means that I have two options: teach 4 third grade classes by myself or postpone the classes until a later date (we’d have to stay on a Saturday and teach the missed lesson). I THINK I could teach by myself, the only problem is that the third grade students are on a lower level so I need assistance when I’m asking questions and when the students have questions. I honestly wouldn’t mind coming in on a Saturday but I wouldn’t want my co-teacher to feel obligated to come in on the weekend. I told her I think I can do it by myself I just may need some help from each one of the homeroom teachers. Typically, the homeroom teachers leave and go on a break when we come to teach the students. So it may take the efforts of several teachers to help make this a smooth day tomorrow…I guess we’ll see how it goes…wish me luck!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Dinner Date
September 10, 2010
I went to dinner with Sujin tonight and it was great! I was completely embarrassed thought because I freakin had NO money on me! Earlier today I gave my co-teacher 25,000 won (like $25) to order some pears that another teacher had grown on her parents farm...I'm trying to get on everyone's good side ;) So that was like all the money that I had on me, literally. So then Sujin asks me to dinner and I was like "Sure!" forgetting that I didn't have any money until after school when it was time to go to dinner with her. So I told her all I needed to do was to go to an ATM and get some money out of my account back home...much easier said than done. Since I have a foreign card (SunTrust Visa debit card) only a handful of ATMs will let me take money out for a fee and they'll do the conversions. Well, the ATM that we went to happened to not accept my card. COMPLETELY embarrassed. She said she would pay and that next time we go out I can pay. Well, at this point I was just feeling terrible so I told her I was really sorry and that I would pay her back on Monday at school. Just ridiculous, really, I HATE to have people pay for me, I feel like a bum :( She was super sweet about it, though. So we walk towards the city part of where we live and she took me to this pretty nice restaurant that served some sort of chicken that is boiled. It was really good. We bought the meal that included rice and several different side dishes, soup, and egg. MMMM, MMMM, GOOD! The meat was delicious!
The greatest part of the night was the conversation. She speaks English but it's kind of broken English and she had to refer to her translator on her cell phone some of the time for certain words. I learned that she has one younger brother that is one year older than me and he just got a job working for Samsung as an engineer but hasn't moved to the new location yet. He lives here near their mother who has Parkinson's disease. I was like "wow." Apparently her mother has been living with Parkinson's disease for about 16 years and has now gotten to the point where she is rapidly losing the ability to speak because she her mouth muscles can't move. She can write sometimes but even Sujin can't read the writing since she has limited mobility in her wrists and fingers. I think she said her mother now lives in a community with other Parkinson's patients so that's good. The doctors say that her mother is one of the more fortunate patients since the others have way less abilities than she does.
I also learned that she is leaving to Japan at the beginning of next month to get her masters in Japanese studies. She knows Korean, English, Japanese, and she taught herself how to speak Spanish. She loves languages and feels like learning different languages allows her to connect with that culture; fascinating! I couldn't believe it! She said that she is not really fluent in the languages but I got the sense that she definitely knew enough to get around if she were in a specific country that speaks those languages. She already spent one year in Japan and learned most of the language (like 90%) in 3 months. She also likes to read books about philosophy, Buddhism, medical explanations about meditation, and books about the brain and how it works. So, at this point I feel dumb. Really dumb. I told her that too, I said "wow, I feel dumb!" She laughed and laughed. I told her I like to read books about love and mysteries lol. She was so modest. I kept praising her and telling her that I admire her enthusiasm to learn new things and to follow her interests and she kept shying away and saying "no, no, no." She also told me that she took this class on Korean foods; there are two tests that she has to pass. One test is a written test about the course and what she's learned, which she's already passed. Then she has to take a cooking test! She said that she wants to do the same in Japan when she goes so that maybe after her Master's degree she can come back to Korea and teach people how to cook Japanese foods. I mean, who is this woman?! She does EVERYTHING! The envy was all on my side of the table. I was just fascinated by everything she was saying and talking about.
We went to get some coffee afterwards at this really nice cafe on the second floor of a building in the middle of town. I had a mocha latte...it was awesome. She was telling me that she had a Japanese boyfriend that currently is living in Japan. They've known each other for four years and have been dating for the last two years. She said that when they first met she barely knew any Japanese but they still kinda started seeing each other...that's when she learned Japanese within three months. After a while they broke it off and started seeing other people when she came back to Korea. She said she didn't like Korean men because they call and text ALL the time (so basically, Korean men are clingy). Her boyfriend then came to visit her in Korea and that's when they started dating again. She said she likes the distance because sometimes that's needed in a relationship but that she does get lonely and wants to see him sometimes when it's impossible. I told her I knew exactly how she felt because my boyfriend is back home and we used to see each other ALL the time; so going from all the time to communicating over skype was a difficult change to face.
We started talking about movies and she told me that her FAVORITE movie was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! "I've watched 5 times!" she said. She likes Pirates of the Caribbean and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. She told me that she doesn't like to watch Korean dramas because there's too much going on and too many conflicts between the characters...she likes the nicer, less complicated stories and dramas. Ok...so we decided to go and we were walking down the marble steps and she loses her stepping...slips down the stairs and slides down at least two of the steps! I was so shocked and afraid for her! I dropped my bags and dropped to the steps, "Oh my gosh are you ok?! Oh goodness, are you hurt?!" I could see that most of the damage was to her pride. I took her elbow, looked it over, looked at her ankles, looked at her arms; there was some redness on her arms from the impact but she said that nothing felt sprained. I just kept asking "Are you feeling ok? Are you ok?" She was about to get up and she said "just 5 minutes" and stayed seated with her hands over her face. I felt so horrible! She was really shaken and I think she was mostly embarrassed. I told her that I trip all the time and I told her the story about my falling in high school in front of almost ALL of my friends at the beginning of the school year. I told her several more stories of me falling in front of people as we sat on the steps for a while as she regained her composure. I'm sure her bum was hurting because it was a pretty hard fall. I helped her up and asked if it hurt to walk. She seemed fine and she didn't limp at all. I told her it's OK because I'm really "clumsy." She didn't know what it meant so I explained that it's when you have a lot of accidents, break things and fall all the time. Sujin said that's her story lol. What a sweetheart.
I had a great night with Sujin and I'm actually really sad that she's going to be leaving so soon after we've met. She's such a generous, kind, and interesting person! I hope I get the chance to hang out with her again before she leaves to Japan.
I went to dinner with Sujin tonight and it was great! I was completely embarrassed thought because I freakin had NO money on me! Earlier today I gave my co-teacher 25,000 won (like $25) to order some pears that another teacher had grown on her parents farm...I'm trying to get on everyone's good side ;) So that was like all the money that I had on me, literally. So then Sujin asks me to dinner and I was like "Sure!" forgetting that I didn't have any money until after school when it was time to go to dinner with her. So I told her all I needed to do was to go to an ATM and get some money out of my account back home...much easier said than done. Since I have a foreign card (SunTrust Visa debit card) only a handful of ATMs will let me take money out for a fee and they'll do the conversions. Well, the ATM that we went to happened to not accept my card. COMPLETELY embarrassed. She said she would pay and that next time we go out I can pay. Well, at this point I was just feeling terrible so I told her I was really sorry and that I would pay her back on Monday at school. Just ridiculous, really, I HATE to have people pay for me, I feel like a bum :( She was super sweet about it, though. So we walk towards the city part of where we live and she took me to this pretty nice restaurant that served some sort of chicken that is boiled. It was really good. We bought the meal that included rice and several different side dishes, soup, and egg. MMMM, MMMM, GOOD! The meat was delicious!
The greatest part of the night was the conversation. She speaks English but it's kind of broken English and she had to refer to her translator on her cell phone some of the time for certain words. I learned that she has one younger brother that is one year older than me and he just got a job working for Samsung as an engineer but hasn't moved to the new location yet. He lives here near their mother who has Parkinson's disease. I was like "wow." Apparently her mother has been living with Parkinson's disease for about 16 years and has now gotten to the point where she is rapidly losing the ability to speak because she her mouth muscles can't move. She can write sometimes but even Sujin can't read the writing since she has limited mobility in her wrists and fingers. I think she said her mother now lives in a community with other Parkinson's patients so that's good. The doctors say that her mother is one of the more fortunate patients since the others have way less abilities than she does.
I also learned that she is leaving to Japan at the beginning of next month to get her masters in Japanese studies. She knows Korean, English, Japanese, and she taught herself how to speak Spanish. She loves languages and feels like learning different languages allows her to connect with that culture; fascinating! I couldn't believe it! She said that she is not really fluent in the languages but I got the sense that she definitely knew enough to get around if she were in a specific country that speaks those languages. She already spent one year in Japan and learned most of the language (like 90%) in 3 months. She also likes to read books about philosophy, Buddhism, medical explanations about meditation, and books about the brain and how it works. So, at this point I feel dumb. Really dumb. I told her that too, I said "wow, I feel dumb!" She laughed and laughed. I told her I like to read books about love and mysteries lol. She was so modest. I kept praising her and telling her that I admire her enthusiasm to learn new things and to follow her interests and she kept shying away and saying "no, no, no." She also told me that she took this class on Korean foods; there are two tests that she has to pass. One test is a written test about the course and what she's learned, which she's already passed. Then she has to take a cooking test! She said that she wants to do the same in Japan when she goes so that maybe after her Master's degree she can come back to Korea and teach people how to cook Japanese foods. I mean, who is this woman?! She does EVERYTHING! The envy was all on my side of the table. I was just fascinated by everything she was saying and talking about.
We went to get some coffee afterwards at this really nice cafe on the second floor of a building in the middle of town. I had a mocha latte...it was awesome. She was telling me that she had a Japanese boyfriend that currently is living in Japan. They've known each other for four years and have been dating for the last two years. She said that when they first met she barely knew any Japanese but they still kinda started seeing each other...that's when she learned Japanese within three months. After a while they broke it off and started seeing other people when she came back to Korea. She said she didn't like Korean men because they call and text ALL the time (so basically, Korean men are clingy). Her boyfriend then came to visit her in Korea and that's when they started dating again. She said she likes the distance because sometimes that's needed in a relationship but that she does get lonely and wants to see him sometimes when it's impossible. I told her I knew exactly how she felt because my boyfriend is back home and we used to see each other ALL the time; so going from all the time to communicating over skype was a difficult change to face.
We started talking about movies and she told me that her FAVORITE movie was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! "I've watched 5 times!" she said. She likes Pirates of the Caribbean and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. She told me that she doesn't like to watch Korean dramas because there's too much going on and too many conflicts between the characters...she likes the nicer, less complicated stories and dramas. Ok...so we decided to go and we were walking down the marble steps and she loses her stepping...slips down the stairs and slides down at least two of the steps! I was so shocked and afraid for her! I dropped my bags and dropped to the steps, "Oh my gosh are you ok?! Oh goodness, are you hurt?!" I could see that most of the damage was to her pride. I took her elbow, looked it over, looked at her ankles, looked at her arms; there was some redness on her arms from the impact but she said that nothing felt sprained. I just kept asking "Are you feeling ok? Are you ok?" She was about to get up and she said "just 5 minutes" and stayed seated with her hands over her face. I felt so horrible! She was really shaken and I think she was mostly embarrassed. I told her that I trip all the time and I told her the story about my falling in high school in front of almost ALL of my friends at the beginning of the school year. I told her several more stories of me falling in front of people as we sat on the steps for a while as she regained her composure. I'm sure her bum was hurting because it was a pretty hard fall. I helped her up and asked if it hurt to walk. She seemed fine and she didn't limp at all. I told her it's OK because I'm really "clumsy." She didn't know what it meant so I explained that it's when you have a lot of accidents, break things and fall all the time. Sujin said that's her story lol. What a sweetheart.
I had a great night with Sujin and I'm actually really sad that she's going to be leaving so soon after we've met. She's such a generous, kind, and interesting person! I hope I get the chance to hang out with her again before she leaves to Japan.
I can have yo digits??
September 3, 2010
Well, nothing too exciting today. I’m STILL sick, can you believe it?! I had to walk out of the classroom several times today so that I could cough up nasty stuff. Gross! I need a new body…do you know where I can get one that will not fail me? One of my kids (he’s one of the class clowns) asked me for my phone number today! Haha, he first asked me in Korean and I asked my co-teacher to translate because I thought he had a serious question. Yuri just gave him a look like “you better stop that.” Then he asked me in English and said “phone number?” while holding up a pen and a paper pad. I was like oh goodness gracious and said “no, sir” shaking my head. I wanted to tell him I was too old for him but I don’t think he would’ve understood what I was saying.
Today at lunch we had chop chae (clear noodles with veggies), some kind of warm soup, rice, and lotus root? Yeah, I was like huh? Lotus root? Well, I tried it and it was actually not that bad. It was kind of crunchy but soft at the same time…hard to explain and was shaped like a thick round slice of Swiss cheese except dark brown. I’m proud of myself for trying it! I mean…I wouldn’t choose to eat it on my own but it wasn’t really that bad.
After lunch I had to plan for next weeks lessons so that pretty much took up the whole time from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. During that time one of the 3rd grade homeroom teachers (Sujin, the one who gave me the Korean language books) texted me and asked if I would like to go to dinner or get some tea. I am EXTREMELY tired and really want a nap but I told her that would be great! Anytime I have a chance to get to know another teacher I’m going to take it willingly and will cancel any plans I have. Plus, she’s like the sweetest person ever! I’m not sure where we are going yet, but I told her somewhere around here would be fine. I really don’t want to go to downtown Daegu to eat…it’s a bit more expensive and I’d have to pay for a taxi. Everything here is within walking distance. More Korean food! Wahooo! Who needs Jenny Craig?! My bum is wasting away! My pants don’t really fit me anymore. I’m actually not too excited about losing my bum…I really don’t want to lose weight but it’s just happening on its own.
Well, nothing too exciting today. I’m STILL sick, can you believe it?! I had to walk out of the classroom several times today so that I could cough up nasty stuff. Gross! I need a new body…do you know where I can get one that will not fail me? One of my kids (he’s one of the class clowns) asked me for my phone number today! Haha, he first asked me in Korean and I asked my co-teacher to translate because I thought he had a serious question. Yuri just gave him a look like “you better stop that.” Then he asked me in English and said “phone number?” while holding up a pen and a paper pad. I was like oh goodness gracious and said “no, sir” shaking my head. I wanted to tell him I was too old for him but I don’t think he would’ve understood what I was saying.
Today at lunch we had chop chae (clear noodles with veggies), some kind of warm soup, rice, and lotus root? Yeah, I was like huh? Lotus root? Well, I tried it and it was actually not that bad. It was kind of crunchy but soft at the same time…hard to explain and was shaped like a thick round slice of Swiss cheese except dark brown. I’m proud of myself for trying it! I mean…I wouldn’t choose to eat it on my own but it wasn’t really that bad.
After lunch I had to plan for next weeks lessons so that pretty much took up the whole time from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. During that time one of the 3rd grade homeroom teachers (Sujin, the one who gave me the Korean language books) texted me and asked if I would like to go to dinner or get some tea. I am EXTREMELY tired and really want a nap but I told her that would be great! Anytime I have a chance to get to know another teacher I’m going to take it willingly and will cancel any plans I have. Plus, she’s like the sweetest person ever! I’m not sure where we are going yet, but I told her somewhere around here would be fine. I really don’t want to go to downtown Daegu to eat…it’s a bit more expensive and I’d have to pay for a taxi. Everything here is within walking distance. More Korean food! Wahooo! Who needs Jenny Craig?! My bum is wasting away! My pants don’t really fit me anymore. I’m actually not too excited about losing my bum…I really don’t want to lose weight but it’s just happening on its own.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Southern Hospitality
September 8, 2010
Oh goodness. Alrighty, well after school around 4:45PM one of the third grade teachers called the English teachers’ office and asked for me. Her name is Sujin and she is one of the younger third grade homeroom teachers. I’ve only talked to her a couple of times but she has a kind face and she knows enough English to converse with me with a little difficulty. The couple of times we talked we spoke about her studying Japanese language and culture. She told me that her friend is Japanese and when he came to Korea he had to learn the Korean language and that he found some really good books that helped him learn pretty quick. I told Sujin that I really wanted to learn Korean so she said she would ask her friend which books he used. Come to find out, she bought two sets of books, one set for me and the other for Michael. She called the English office today and asked if I could meet her on the first floor. She gave me the books and I was like “wait, tell me how much they were and I will pay you for these.” She kept saying “no, no, no, it’s a gift from me.” I was so surprised! I don’t even know her and she bought me these Korean work books so that I could learn the language. She said that she understands how it is to be in my situation in a completely different culture. She went to Japan for 1 year and she said that she understands how difficult and overwhelming it can be to be in a foreign place. Such a sweetheart! I kept pleading with her to let me give her some money but she wouldn’t have it. AND she told me that she was leaving our school to go back to Japan! So I don’t even have time to really get to know her. I told her that we need to go out before she leaves at the end of this month, at least ONE time before she leaves. I just couldn’t believe it; that was so incredibly sweet of her and I was very thankful to her. I will be my own Korean language teacher! Bring it on!
Michael and I were supposed to go out with some friends that live in the same district but plans were changed. Our co-teacher, Simon, said that his wife called and asked that we come over for dinner tonight. We gladly accepted his invitation (when we were at EPIK they told us that anytime your teacher invites you ANYWHERE, you go…no questions asked and if you have other plans you better cancel them) so we headed to his apartment after school. His two little boys (ages 6 and 8) immediately greeted us as we were getting out of the car. They were adorable little boys and very energetic. His wife greeted us at the door and invited us in. Their apartment was very cozy and it was evident that two little boys occupied the living area because there were marker stains on the floor and the walls J. His wife had the table set up with lettuce, kimchi (two different types), Korean miso soup, different sauces, egg, sausage, and raw meat that was to be cooked on a hot plate thing. She had beef and duck! Man, it was delicious. I kept telling her that she was an amazing cook and that the sauces were amazing. I mean, finger-licking good. Between me, Michael, Simon, his wife, and Yuri, all of the food was eaten…it was amazing. Then afterwards we had some coffee and fruit. The conversation flowed very well. Simon’s wife did not speak very much English at all but Simon and Yuri helped to include her in the conversation. It was a great night with our co-teachers and I felt honored to be invited into his home. I look forward to more invitations! J
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
"Is this" your blog?
September 8, 2010
Last night Michael and I took a taxi to downtown Daegu to meet up with some friends from EPIK and have some dinner. We were all supposed to meet up at the 9th gate of the subway station but the taxi driver dropped us off at the 24th gate. We didn’t even know that until we got out of the taxi and walked around above the subway for a little but and saw the gate number above us. We gave the taxi driver the correct place but for some reason he wanted to drop us off there…that happens a lot around here (on several occasions the taxi that was driving us to our destination had to stop and ask some random stranger on the side walk how to get the that specific place…). So, we just had to walk to the 9th gate and we’d be there right? Nope. We looked at the subway map and we knew which way we needed to go. We get to a sign that says Gate 9 and the arrow was pointing straight so we followed. Well after like 10 minutes of walking we end up at Gate 3. What just happened?! Apparently there are two different subway signs and are color coded. Uh…we didn’t leave this specific subway so how could there be different signs for the same freakin subway line? So we back tracked and we finally met up with one of Mike’s friends after 20 minutes of walking the entire freakin subway.
We went to this pretty nice pizza place that was on the second floor of a building. There pizzas looked good but I’m in Korea right? I’ve got to have something Korean. So I had some rice and bulgogi plate with really good sauce. It was like a $15 meal…haven’t spend that much on food for myself in a long time. It was really good to see some of our EPIK friends but it really blows that me and Michael are a 20-30 minute cab ride away from all of them. We need to figure out how to ride the bus to downtown because it’s way cheaper. The taxi was about $12 one way so split between me and Michael was only about $6. However, if Mike weren’t with me that would be $24 there and back. Pretty expensive and it will add up quick. On the buses it’s like half that cost but it takes a little longer to get there. We haven’t really figured out the bus system yet but I’m sure we’ll experiment one day when we have the entire day to waste. I think it’s going to take a while to figure it out because all of the signs are in Korean and there are two different bus lines that we can take. My co-teachers were saying to take the #2 on the red bus line so we’ll see.
Today I taught 2 third grade classes and 2 fourth grade classes. The classes were good for the most part but the fourth grade had some comprehension issues. They are now learning ‘may I…’ and ‘is this/that your____?’ It is difficult to ask questions about the video clips they watch when they don’t understand key words like “he, she, hear etc.” I always have to be conscious of the wording of my questions and constantly have to think on my toes in terms of rewording whatever it is I’m saying. I use a lot of hand motions and I have to speak very slow so they can pick up on main words and understand my questions. It’s really helpful that the co-teacher is there to help me if I get stuck with the students and they have blank looks on their faces and the whole room is in complete silence after a question. But, for the most part, they understood at the end of the lesson and with some practice using the words in phrases. My fourth grade co-teacher said that the students really listen to me and that she’s jealous because they don’t listen to her. I guess that’s a good thing that I can grab the attention of the classroom even when we’re not doing anything particularly interesting. But, honestly, I think it’s only because I’m a new face and because I’m a foreigner. It probably won’t last. After a couple of months they will probably be just as uninterested as my co-teacher claims they are now with her.
I realized that I needed some materials for this lesson because I wasted a lot of class time writing sentences on the bored and I will have to write them several more times. I printed off some sentences and laminated them so I can place them on the bored to save time. I also printed out pictures of the characters and pasted them on sticks to make it easier to ask questions about certain characters. We will see how well that works. I think any materials are good for the class…especially visuals no matter how simple they are. Hopefully the students will better understand what I’m asking of them. Cross your fingers! Tash, I have a true understanding of why you bring your work home with you. There are so many things involved with teaching and I only teach English! You do it all! So much to do in so little time. Goodness gracious I don't know how you have the energy to do what you do. I commend you!
By the way…my camera has no batteries because mine died and I haven’t gotten any new ones…sooo, I will get some ASAP!
Last night Michael and I took a taxi to downtown Daegu to meet up with some friends from EPIK and have some dinner. We were all supposed to meet up at the 9th gate of the subway station but the taxi driver dropped us off at the 24th gate. We didn’t even know that until we got out of the taxi and walked around above the subway for a little but and saw the gate number above us. We gave the taxi driver the correct place but for some reason he wanted to drop us off there…that happens a lot around here (on several occasions the taxi that was driving us to our destination had to stop and ask some random stranger on the side walk how to get the that specific place…). So, we just had to walk to the 9th gate and we’d be there right? Nope. We looked at the subway map and we knew which way we needed to go. We get to a sign that says Gate 9 and the arrow was pointing straight so we followed. Well after like 10 minutes of walking we end up at Gate 3. What just happened?! Apparently there are two different subway signs and are color coded. Uh…we didn’t leave this specific subway so how could there be different signs for the same freakin subway line? So we back tracked and we finally met up with one of Mike’s friends after 20 minutes of walking the entire freakin subway.
We went to this pretty nice pizza place that was on the second floor of a building. There pizzas looked good but I’m in Korea right? I’ve got to have something Korean. So I had some rice and bulgogi plate with really good sauce. It was like a $15 meal…haven’t spend that much on food for myself in a long time. It was really good to see some of our EPIK friends but it really blows that me and Michael are a 20-30 minute cab ride away from all of them. We need to figure out how to ride the bus to downtown because it’s way cheaper. The taxi was about $12 one way so split between me and Michael was only about $6. However, if Mike weren’t with me that would be $24 there and back. Pretty expensive and it will add up quick. On the buses it’s like half that cost but it takes a little longer to get there. We haven’t really figured out the bus system yet but I’m sure we’ll experiment one day when we have the entire day to waste. I think it’s going to take a while to figure it out because all of the signs are in Korean and there are two different bus lines that we can take. My co-teachers were saying to take the #2 on the red bus line so we’ll see.
Today I taught 2 third grade classes and 2 fourth grade classes. The classes were good for the most part but the fourth grade had some comprehension issues. They are now learning ‘may I…’ and ‘is this/that your____?’ It is difficult to ask questions about the video clips they watch when they don’t understand key words like “he, she, hear etc.” I always have to be conscious of the wording of my questions and constantly have to think on my toes in terms of rewording whatever it is I’m saying. I use a lot of hand motions and I have to speak very slow so they can pick up on main words and understand my questions. It’s really helpful that the co-teacher is there to help me if I get stuck with the students and they have blank looks on their faces and the whole room is in complete silence after a question. But, for the most part, they understood at the end of the lesson and with some practice using the words in phrases. My fourth grade co-teacher said that the students really listen to me and that she’s jealous because they don’t listen to her. I guess that’s a good thing that I can grab the attention of the classroom even when we’re not doing anything particularly interesting. But, honestly, I think it’s only because I’m a new face and because I’m a foreigner. It probably won’t last. After a couple of months they will probably be just as uninterested as my co-teacher claims they are now with her.
I realized that I needed some materials for this lesson because I wasted a lot of class time writing sentences on the bored and I will have to write them several more times. I printed off some sentences and laminated them so I can place them on the bored to save time. I also printed out pictures of the characters and pasted them on sticks to make it easier to ask questions about certain characters. We will see how well that works. I think any materials are good for the class…especially visuals no matter how simple they are. Hopefully the students will better understand what I’m asking of them. Cross your fingers! Tash, I have a true understanding of why you bring your work home with you. There are so many things involved with teaching and I only teach English! You do it all! So much to do in so little time. Goodness gracious I don't know how you have the energy to do what you do. I commend you!
By the way…my camera has no batteries because mine died and I haven’t gotten any new ones…sooo, I will get some ASAP!
Blood Addiction
September 6th
Today was kind of a long day. I stayed up to watch True Blood until 2:00AM. Yes, I know. True Blood? I've never even watched this show until a couple of days ago. One channel plays like 4 or 5 episodes in a row starting at 10:00PM and I stay up to watch ALL of the episodes they play. It truly is addicting. My mother was right there with me getting roped into this show. I don’t understand why I liked it because the episodes weren’t even part the first season. The shows were in the middle of the second season so I missed several details and I’m sure I missed out on a lot of character development. Still…I was sucked in. Now I’m going to wait until the next 4 or 5 episodes come on and stay up late again…didn’t think I would get hooked on any shows while I was in Korea.
Today was kind of a long day. I stayed up to watch True Blood until 2:00AM. Yes, I know. True Blood? I've never even watched this show until a couple of days ago. One channel plays like 4 or 5 episodes in a row starting at 10:00PM and I stay up to watch ALL of the episodes they play. It truly is addicting. My mother was right there with me getting roped into this show. I don’t understand why I liked it because the episodes weren’t even part the first season. The shows were in the middle of the second season so I missed several details and I’m sure I missed out on a lot of character development. Still…I was sucked in. Now I’m going to wait until the next 4 or 5 episodes come on and stay up late again…didn’t think I would get hooked on any shows while I was in Korea.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Bad News
Oh goodness. Ok, so I just found out that the reason why my co-teacher (Simon, the one that hooked up our internet in HIS name and did like EVERYTHING he could to help us get settled in) has not been in school. I was messaging him on skype and he said his father is sick and has Alzheimer's. I felt so terrible! I wasn't prepared for that. He said his father is a couple of hours away in an emergency hospital. I'm not entirely sure how long he will be out of school but goodness gracious, I didn't know what to say! I just told him not to worry about me or Michael and that he should just focus on his family. He kept saying that he wishes he could make me and Michael happy and to take care of us but that his family is having problems now. I was just like no, no, no! Please don't worry about us, you've been wonderful and helped us with everything we needed! He's incredibly caring and very, very nice. I just feel horrible that his family is going through this. I'm thinking maybe I can buy a card and have the English teachers (maybe even the principle and vice principles) sign it then send it to his house. Just saying that we're thinking about him and that we miss him. Man, oh man, just sad times for him...and his family.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Useless
September 2, 2010
Well, last night after school, 2 of our co-teachers were kind enough to take me to the doctor. Yuri (my 4th grade co-teacher) heard me coughing yesterday in class (extremely embarrassing) and after classes and said that I should definitely go to the doctor. I didn’t know of any doctors near where I live so the 5th grade co-teacher that teaches with Michael said she could drive me and Yuri to the doctor. When we got there, Yuri was talking to the women at the front desk and told them that we were English teachers at Haknam Elementary and that I needed some help for my throat. Well apparently the doctor was there too and we made a good impression so he said he would help me for a discount! Wahoo! He took me in his office to figure out what was going on with my throat and he listened to me breathe deep breaths with his stethoscope. He said that the upper respiratory infection sounded as if it was spreading to my lungs because he heard some wheezing as I breathed. Just perfect. The first week I start teaching I get the kind of sickness that prevents me from actually being able to teach. How ridiculous is that? So they gave me a shot in my bum (this is the third shot in my bum that I’ve had…my ass is going to fall off) and they gave me 5 pills to take 3 times a day.
I was so tired when I got home that I took a shower and then went to sleep. I woke up at 10:00pm so that I could eat something and take my first round of pills then went right back to sleep. Since they gave me the shot my throat was a little more relaxed so that I was able to get a pretty good nights sleep. Finally!
Yuri said that I should save my voice and try to get better so I shouldn’t come to class today or tomorrow. So…I’m sitting in the office doing absolutely nothing. Michael is with me to keep me company because the 6th grade teacher is out with a family emergency and the new 5th grade teacher spends the most of the class going over her rules and such. I feel completely useless and I feel really terrible that I can’t actually be in the class. I kept telling Yuri that I was so sorry but she was so sweet and said that I just need to worry about getting better. Hopefully by next week I will be up and ready to teach and this sickness will be gone! Dear sickness, thank you for the visit but I think you have overstayed your welcome. Please leave in a timely fashion. Thank you.
Well, last night after school, 2 of our co-teachers were kind enough to take me to the doctor. Yuri (my 4th grade co-teacher) heard me coughing yesterday in class (extremely embarrassing) and after classes and said that I should definitely go to the doctor. I didn’t know of any doctors near where I live so the 5th grade co-teacher that teaches with Michael said she could drive me and Yuri to the doctor. When we got there, Yuri was talking to the women at the front desk and told them that we were English teachers at Haknam Elementary and that I needed some help for my throat. Well apparently the doctor was there too and we made a good impression so he said he would help me for a discount! Wahoo! He took me in his office to figure out what was going on with my throat and he listened to me breathe deep breaths with his stethoscope. He said that the upper respiratory infection sounded as if it was spreading to my lungs because he heard some wheezing as I breathed. Just perfect. The first week I start teaching I get the kind of sickness that prevents me from actually being able to teach. How ridiculous is that? So they gave me a shot in my bum (this is the third shot in my bum that I’ve had…my ass is going to fall off) and they gave me 5 pills to take 3 times a day.
I was so tired when I got home that I took a shower and then went to sleep. I woke up at 10:00pm so that I could eat something and take my first round of pills then went right back to sleep. Since they gave me the shot my throat was a little more relaxed so that I was able to get a pretty good nights sleep. Finally!
Yuri said that I should save my voice and try to get better so I shouldn’t come to class today or tomorrow. So…I’m sitting in the office doing absolutely nothing. Michael is with me to keep me company because the 6th grade teacher is out with a family emergency and the new 5th grade teacher spends the most of the class going over her rules and such. I feel completely useless and I feel really terrible that I can’t actually be in the class. I kept telling Yuri that I was so sorry but she was so sweet and said that I just need to worry about getting better. Hopefully by next week I will be up and ready to teach and this sickness will be gone! Dear sickness, thank you for the visit but I think you have overstayed your welcome. Please leave in a timely fashion. Thank you.
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