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.
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