Pay Day makes for a great week!!!

This week has been a winner for sure. Tuesday I got my first pay check. I’d been counting down to that day since I got to Korea. It felt so nice to know to know that I earned that money. My classes went well this week. I feel more comfortable as the days go on. I look forward to having my favorite students, which I do not know their names, but they are a delight. I dread the trouble makers, but then again it’s fun to get to speak really fast fussing at them, it stops them in their tracks.

Wednesday I forgot my jump drive at home so my co-teacher had to download some powerpoints for me to teach. Luckily it worked out and the 3rd graders still loved me. 4th grade Thursdays are my favorite. Thursday was even better after school because I got my flight allowance back. So my bank account is looking really nice now. I plan to save a lot while I am here.

This evening I am heading to Gumi for the night. I’m sure we will hit up Waegook Cook and get a good meal before calling it an early night. We have a 7:17 train booked for Seoul. We will be meeting some others there that are taking a different train or bus.

We will spend 4 nights in Seoul. I’m really looking forward to this. I went to Seoul twice last summer, but did not get to explore on our own.

One thing I will miss this weekend is college football. Georgia plays Tennessee at home. I have plans to be up at 4:30 Sunday morning to watch it on game tracker.

Hope all of you have a wonderful weekend, I’m so happy I have a 5 day weekend!!!

Monday Morning Reflection

Most of my blog entries have been in the agenda form, telling all of you about my latest adventures. My first two classes, of 6th graders thankfully, were cancelled for the morning. So I have a little free time on my hands. I could be doing lesson plans, but let’s face it, that’s not a fun exciting way to spend a Monday morning. Instead I am sitting here reflecting on the last 5 weeks of my life. It is still hard to believe that I am actually living in Korea. I am a legal resident (I have an Alien Registration Card), I have a Korean cell phone plan, internet, and apartment, a bank about and soon to have my first pay day ever (other than Phelps & Campbell in high school). I am on my own for the first time. I am an adult. I can’t wrap my brain around it, possibly because it has been a great adventure so far.

When I left Korea last summer I promised myself that I would be back one day. Like I told in many of my presentations to Lander University I left a piece of my heart in Korea. I feel at home here. No, it is not home, it is not Elberton or Greenwood (yes, I consider that home too. It is a place that will forever be part of my heart) and South Korea is not even the Deep South. But it is as close as you can get in the Eastern Hemisphere.

The people in this country are genuinely friendly. My little town is small but I feel like a local, especially in my normal restaurant. The ladies that work in there always greet me like I am one of their family members. I frequent there more than I ever did Migs in Greenwood, and we all know how often I went there. The students are wonderful inside and outside of school. It makes my day when I am walking around town and hear my name. Students are happy to see teachers outside of the school. It is such a delight.

Something that has made this whole new journey much easier is having friends here. Going to orientation for a week before we were sent to our towns was wonderful. The classes were great but making friends is what the most important thing we all believe was.

If it were not for that one week we would all be in our small towns on the weekends probably crying because we would not have anyone to hangout with. I have made so many new friends in the past 5 weeks, some at orientation and others on weekends while visiting friends. It is crazy how in a big town we still run into people we know. It is so comforting to know people.

The point of my long entry is to assure all of you back home that I am happy here. I love my job, I never thought I would like teaching but it isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Yes it has its challenges, but doesn’t every job. Teaching ESL is different that being a regular teacher though I believe.

I know that I was sent here for a reason. I prayed so much about what I would do after college. Everything eventually, after lots of tears, fell into place and I got confirmation that I would be here in Korea. I know God sent me here for a reason, to make a difference. I just hope I can make a difference in my student’s because I know they will make an even bigger difference in mine.

I could never thank Dr. Ball, Dr. Park, BoYoung and Jeff enough for all of their hard work they put into establishing the Office of International Programs at Lander. If it were not for them I do not know what I would be doing at this time. I owe this journey to them. Thank you all so much, I will never be able to tell you enough how big of a difference you have made in my life.

I look forward to the next 11 months of my life and what it holds. If it is anything like the last 5 it will be beyond wonderful!

Gumi and Daegu Weekend

After the week got off to a crazy start with the typhoon it was smooth sailing afterwards. It went by very quickly. My classes went well. I feel like I am finally getting the hang of it. Hope I’m not speaking to soon when I say that, but it was a great week.

Thursday evening my group of friends and I started making plans for the weekend, not sure what we really wanted to do, just knowing we wanted to hangout. So Friday after school, like clockwork, I got into Gumi around 7. Friends met me at the station as always. We later met others at Waegook cook for dinner and drinks. A good cheese burger, beer, great friends and Eric Church songs playing was the perfect Friday night. I feel like we have become regulars at Waegook. It is so nice to have them know our names like we are locals. Makes you feel like you are at home when you walk in. At Waegook they were having a cocktail making competition. My friends and I got rooked into competing because there were only 3 teams at that point. So we did, somehow we pulled it off and won!! I would like to think it was because of the umbrella and fruit that I placed in it.

The party then moved to a western bar where we had fun until early in the morning. Saturday still not having a game plan we all decided to see what Daegu had to offer. Jumping on the train not really knowing what we were in for. Daegu is much larger than Gumi. We spent most of the day walking around and checking things out so next time we will have our bearings straight on where things are located. Saturday night we met up with a few other EPIK teachers and caught the latest train back to Gumi.

The weekend was one that was not planned out but turned out to be great, relaxing and a lot of fun. This week will be great too. Tuesday is my first pay day!!! Wooo, so excited. All of us have been counting down to this day!! After that the week will hopefully move very fast. Saturday my friends and I are heading to Seoul for four days. It is the Chuseok holiday (Korean Thanksgiving) so we will have three days off of school next week. Yay!!!

Here’s hoping for a great week!! 

Long Awaited Random Pictures

Teachers get to play on the weekends.... Typhoon Sanba doesn’t play!!

The weekend could not have come at a better time. Friday was longer than it ever has been. As soon as 4:30 rolled around I went running down the steps of the school. I headed to my apartment to pack and freshen up before heading out on a 5:30 bus to Waeghan. I had a little time to kill in Waeghan before my train left, so I treated myself to Dunkin’ Donuts. It was much needed. That was the first American chain food restaurant I’ve had since I left home.

As always the train ride to Gumi was short and easy (12 minutes). Like I told my friends I could not wait to get off of the train in Gumi because I knew I would be with my friends and get to hugs!! I didn’t realize how needy I was of physical contact I was until I moved here. Not getting hugs from family and friends on a daily basis is tough. My heart was happy as soon as I saw my friends at the train station.

For dinner Daniel, Beth Ann, both Laura’s and I went back to Waegook Cook. They were welcoming all of the new foreigners that night so we met a lot of other people that were from the Gumi area. Gigi and Shirley eventually got there after around 3 hours of traveling down. After a delicious dinner and a few song requests, Wagon Wheel included, some of us headed to a foreigners bar, ironically named Coronas.

Unfortunately we were not thinking about living for Pohang at 7:50. We didn’t get home until a little after 3am. So our nap was very short, up at 6am to leave. The bus ride to Pohang was a little over 2 hours. We slept most of the way. Once we got to Pohang it was raining and it never stopped… and I mean NEVER!!

We got a cab to a really big outdoor market. Like most markets it has tons of fresh produce and seafood. After exploring that are we happened upon a cute little part of town that had a lot of American brand restaurants and was very clean. We decided on KFC. I never eat KFC at home, but none of us could turn down friend chicken and biscuits.

While having lunch Courtney, Vee, Sarah, Micah and Keelie found us.  Courtney and Keelie live in Pohang and were hosting us for the weekend. We hung out in the shopping area and had Starbucks before splitting off to head to the different apartments to take a power nap before the evening.

I crashed as soon as we got to Courtney’s. For dinner my group decided to go to a good local restaurant where they cook in front of you on the table. After dinner we then headed out for the night. We went to two different bars that mainly draw the foreigners (really teachers or Marines). Having time to relax and act our age is a must after a week of teaching!

As many people back in the States have probably heard in the media the past few days “Gangnam Style” is now a world wide sensation. Psy is Korean and has been around for over a decade. His new hit “Gangnam Style” is all the rage now. Psy was actually on The Today Show Friday morning. When we song was played in the bars this weekend all of us went crazy. We might as well, we are in Korea.

Sunday morning came and it was once again to say good bye to friends and a great weekend. We barely made the bus back to Gumi, but it was great timing. 2 hours later we were in Gumi. Twenty minute later I boarded my short train ride to Waeghan. It was still raining and there wasn’t going to be a bus for another 2 hours. So I decided to just get a cab for the 12 minute ride to Seongju. If it had been nice outside I would have waited. But after all of the rain in Pohang I was sick of it. Little did I know that was only the beginning.

Sunday night Facebook was full of postings of school being cancelled for kids, so I text my teacher. I had to go in on Monday students did not. It was raining pretty heavy on the way to school, or so I thought. After lunch I was told I could go home. By the time I got home (5-8 minute walk) my jeans looked like they had been taken out of the washing machine, they were soaking wet. This was at 12:30 the water on my way home was ankle to mid calf deep but manageable.

By 2:30 when I looked out the water was waist deep in my area. People were walking in it trying to get home or to other places. The stores that I could see were flooded. The entrance to my apartment was taking on water. On the other side of the pass door there are 5 steps and a landing area then another 5 steps up to the first floor of apartments (technically 2^nd flood). Water was just a few inches away from covering the landing area. I would say they water was 3 and a half feet deep in my neighborhood.

Other parts of town barely had any flooding. One of my fellow EPIK teachers in the area lives a few blocks away and it was worse around his building. There obviously wasn’t anything I could do so I made rice and settled in. for I thought it would be a few days before things were back to normal. As I was watching TV I heard my doorbell ring. When I went to the door there was a plate of grapes and a sweet note from my neighbor. The note was in Korean but I knew it was sweet. It made my night to know that someone cared about the little American teacher living in the building. Surprisingly before I went to sleep I could once again see the road. Covered in mud, but yes it was drivable again.

I woke up Tuesday morning just knowing it would be another teacher work day, to much surprise I eventually saw kids walking to school. Today has not been crazy like I would expect after the disaster in the town yesterday. But that may be a good thing.

Other areas of Korea that my friends live in did not have the flooding that my area did. I am so thankful that I have an apartment not on ground level. Witnessing the events yesterday was something that I never knew was possible. It was like what we always see on TV I am just thankful that I was safe in my apartment.

Last but not least I am loving everything Korea has to offer. I have people in my town that I like to hang out with during the week that make the weeks not seems as long. I could not have asked for a better group of friends to bond with so quickly and be able to see so often on the weekends!!

Thanks for all of the prayers. Love you all! 

It's Finally Friday!!!!!

This week has been very busy full of teaching and lesson planning. Nothing special has happened. My lesson with my grade 4 went well on Thursday. After the text book part of the lesson I taught them how to “Wobble.” For those of you that know me very well I love to have fun and dance. The 4^th graders are precious and most of the time they are sweet. So I like to have fun with them and reward them. They are still at the age where studying English is fun. So they always actively participate in class.

Wednesday evening was spent on the roof of a fellow EPIK teacher’s apartment. He has a great view of the small town. There were 8 EPIK teachers there along with a few other friends. We grilled pork, chicken and fish. It was so good to spend time with other teachers in the area that know about Seongju.

All week my friends and I have been planning the weekend. It was nice to have something to look forward to, although it is making today (Friday) drag slower than it ever has. After school I will be getting a bus to Waeghan and then a train to Gumi. I will meet up with a few teachers for dinner there. Saturday morning we are planning to leave early to head to Pohang. Pohang is on the East coast. We have other teacher friends that live there.

I’ve always loved the weekends but it was not until Korea that I learned how precious they were.

We learned at orientation the number one thing to always remember in Korea was to “Be Flexible.” Today I learned why. I was informed that starting next Friday I will teach grade 5. My co-teacher will be in the classroom but it is all on me for the 40 minute class. I already teach grades 1, 2 and 4 solo. It is a bit stressful thinking about it. But she said make it fun, don’t use the text book. So I will get to play English games and maybe even dance a little.

Next week will be rather stressful for me, but I know it will only make me stronger and become a better teacher. No one said this was an easy job. I love every minute of it. Everyday there is something new and different. Coming out of this in a years time I know I will have learned more about myself than I could have ever imagined possible. I have already learned a lot and it hasn’t even been a month. Being thrown into the unknown is part of the trill. Expecting the unexpected is an everyday activity. The only thing that is certain is that I get paid on the 25^th. This will be my first “real” pay check. I worked in high school. But this is different. A 40 hour a week job that was real, with a contract. I can not wait to go and check my bank balance on that day and know that the number in there is because of something I did. I earned every Won (Korean currency) on it.

sunset

I have been slack on posting pictures of Korea. Today there was a beautiful sunset. I promise to post more pictures soon.

Relaxing Weekend

This past Friday marked the end of my first full week of teaching. It felt so nice. All of my fellow EPIK teachers and I all felt so accomplished and exhausted. I decided to take it easy this weekend and stay in Seongju. I needed time to relax, gather my thoughts, finish unpacking and think about making lesson plans.

Friday after school I went to Daegu with my co-teacher. She took me to Home Plus, basically a big target. I didn’t really know of anything I needed but it’s good to know what they have so I can go back soon. We then went to a delicious, hole in the wall restaurant. It’s her 6-year-old sons favorite. We had spicy pork and then a helping of noodles. The pork was delicious. We ordered a second order of it because I found it so tasty. After dinner she drove me back to Seongju. Her apartment is Daegu is on the west side so it is only 20 minutes away.

Friday night I went to bed fairly early, I was worn out from the long grueling week of teaching. Saturday morning I woke up early to start the day. After enjoying a cup of coffee at a coffee shop in town I set out on a journey. Not sure really what I was doing I just walked around and explored. I knew I could see a temple from my school. I went and found it, but it looked abandoned. I then set out to explore the other side of town. I then found another temple. Not as large as many that I have scene but still nice for the small town. During my hike around town I was hoping to find a nice peaceful place to sit and think. But that did not really happen Saturday. Instead next thing I knew I had been walking around for two and a half hours. So I headed back to my apartment.

Saturday night I stayed up later than I had in a while so I could watch Game Day on ESPN when it came on. I am so thankful that I have found a website to watch most US channels.

Sunday morning I woke up in time to catch all of the Georgia-Mizzou game. What a great way to start the week off with a Georgia win!! After the game I went on another mission to find the park. It was about a 15 minute walk from my apartment. In this park there are 53 trees that were planted to keep the bad spirits away during the Chosung Dynasty. The trees are a type of willow and really cool looking as they have weathered over the years.

A lot of my friends and I were planning on going to Incheon/Seoul this weekend to go to a K-pop Korean Wave Concert. We were sadly informed that it had been cancelled.  So that put a bit of a damper on Sunday night.

Monday morning came, and I was hoping that it would be better than last Monday. In deed it was. The 6^th graders were much better today and the 6 long classes went by a lot quicker than I had anticipated. Tuesday I will be teaching a 1^st grade class and 3 2^nd grade classes alone. I have prepared a lesson on the letter A, B, C, D and E. I hope they like it and find it educational.

Since our weekend plans were canceled we are all figuring out a new plan. The long weeks of teaching are great but we need to treat ourselves on the weekend. Traveling on the bus system and train system is so cheap here it makes it easy to travel.

This country has so much to offer someone. You just have to set out to get it. Being in this far away land I learned a lot about myself and still have a lot to learn. The friends I have already made will always be special to me.

During my day and walks around town I think of so much that I want to say in my blog. But then I sit down to write and it is not possible to even put into words the things I feel here. To put it the best ay I can it is simply amazing. 

Positive Thoughts

Monday was tough, but I did not know what to expect with 6th graders all day. So that only meant the week would get better.

Tuesday was a good day. I taught one class of 1st graders and 3 classes of 2nd graders by myself. It was a challenge due to the fact the previous EPIK teacher did not use a book. There is actually not a national curriculum until grade 3. So it is up to the teacher to teaching the students. For that day I planned to just see what kind of level the students were on and see their personalities. So we learned the Ice Cream Calendar Song, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes and In, Over Under.

This too was a challenge because I was going in totally blind folded because I had never observed these lower grades. I am excited about the rest of the year with them though. Hopefully I can teach them a lot so they will be prepared for grade 3 English.

Wednesday was spent co-teaching grade 3. In co teaching situations I am mainly there for listening and speaking exercises. I basically get to talk and students repeat what I say, it’s pretty cool.

Today, Thursday, I taught grade 4 alone. My heart was pounding out of my chest before I stepped into the first class room. The lesson the students were on was titled, “That’s a Good Idea.” I have CDs that go along with the textbook, but they are mainly in Korea for the instructions of how the program runs. So it was hard to work when I played with them at school. So I decided to get on Waygook.org, a website for foreign teachers in Korea. It is our lifeline. Everyone post powerpoints and other lesson plans specific for each textbook.

I found a few powerpoints and then added my own twist. The last exercise was asking the students what they thought a good idea was. I used examples like hanging out with friends, listening to music, dancing.... I then asked if “Gangnam Style” was a good idea. Each time the class went wild, a good wild. I played the song and we all danced. It was a hit.

I felt accomplished in each of the classes because the students were actively participating in the lesson. I left each classroom with a big smile on my face. For now on I will probably be known as the teacher who let the kids dance on the first day. I’m hoping to include a fun dance at the end of each lesson. More American music like the electric slide, cha cha slide, cupid shuffle. Anything that the students can catch on to and also look forward to.

My nights this week have consisted at eating at the same restaurant, something different each night. I am learning to read Korean by reading their menu. It actually works. My walks to and from school are high points in my day. I walk with my students. I engage them in short conversation. Hoping that I am helping them out, I know it helps me. It brightens my day when  hear from behind me, “Teacher Corbin!!”

Labor Day in Korea... True Labor

Monday Thoughts:

1. I thought a double shot expresso drink from the corner store would get me through the day.
2. “Maybe” is used more than any other world when telling EPIK teachers anything.
3. The music classroom is below my office, not always joyous on Monday mornings.
4. I love walking to school with my students.
5. 6th grade boys give me a headache. 6th grade boys do what ever they can to torture humane beings in my opinion.
6. The school nurse saved me by giving me Tylenol (or something of that nature)
7. School lunch is something I now look forward to.
8. I got my things from the Arrival Store. Yay for real sheets, new pillow, comforter,  towels and other things.
9. Kimbap is good and cheap and will be my “go-to” restaurant for the year.
10. Tuesday with grade 2 will be a treat, or so I hope.

Gumi weekend

My first weekend on my own in Korea was spent with some great friends. We all finally got our act together and made plans to meet in Gumi. So I left Seongju around 12:55 Saturday afternoon and got a bus to Waeghan. When I got to Waeghan I went ahead and got my train ticket to Gumi. After walking around for an hour it was time to board the train at 2:38. I was in Gumi at 2:51. Yes that quick. Korean transportation is efficient if you can time it right. In order to get to Gumi I only travel for 45 or so minutes, it’s the waiting around for buses that is the drag.

When I got to Gumi I was welcomed by Beth Ann, Laura and Daniel. We knew that Gigi was headed that way but did not have a phone. Luckily while walking around we got a FB message from her saying she was at the restaurant using their wifi. After she made her way to us and we met up with Laura from New Zealand we explored Gumi and what it had to offer. It is so much larger than my little farm town and the snail towns that Beth Ann and Gigi live in.

For dinner we went to Waegook Cook. It is a western restaurant bar. They had a BBQ special going so we all enjoyed a ribye and beer. It was a beautiful night so we sat outside on the patio and caught up like it had been years since we had been able to have a normal English conversation.

I crashed at NZ Laura’s for the night. Sunday morning we woke up and made our way to lunch meeting up with everyone else before we headed back home. The walk from Laura’s apartment was terribly long, we walked for an hour not sure of where we were, just following the signs to the train station. But finally made it to lunch. We all enjoyed a great Korean barbeque lunch.

My train ride from Gumi was nice and short, hoping I could hop right onto the bus for Seongju I didn’t waste anytime getting to the bus terminal. Sadly, I had to wait an hour and a half for my bus. Not sure if the mad told me correctly I didn’t walk around. He was correct the bus was at 4:45. I was back in Seongju at 5:10.

It was so nice to get to spend time with some great friends after a crazy week of new adventures. We are already making plans to get together the September 14^th weekend. First meeting in Gumi and going to Waegook for dinner on Friday and then all heading to Incheon on Saturday for a big Korean Wave. All K-Pop artist!! Most of us do not know anything about K-Pop so I’m sure it will be fun. I’m super excited for it!!