FRIDAY FRIDAY FRIDAY

Such a beautiful day, I could feel fall in the air as I walked to school. Which was nice but then reminded me that I’m missing football season. When I got to my desk I got on Facebook, since it had been 12 hours… 12 long hours! One of my sorority sisters (from C of C, Eta Lambda) is here teaching in Seoul, she had on her status a link to watch USC-Vandy. Bam!! I got it to work, so I spent most of my early morning watching football. Pretty nice if you ask me. I then went and co-taught 4 classes the rest of the day. It was kind of ironic the lesson was “Would you like to come.” That was the lesson my group did at orientation. So it was easy as pie haha.

After classes I headed home to meet the internet man!! After much confusion because of the lack of English and Korean I finally go internet. Even though it isn’t wifi it’s still the internet and I am connected to the world again.

So after catching up on Facebook I headed out to find dinner. It was pouring down rain, so I went in to a restaurant with pictures. I pointed to a picture of chicken wings. 20 minutes later I am walking home with at least 5 pounds of chicken wings. They were hot as everything, I needed ranch dressing as I sat at my table eating the wings with chopsticks and drinking milk out of a mug.

It is finally starting to feel like home here in my tiny apartment. Saturday Gigi, Beth Ann and Daniel and I are all hanging out in Gumi probably and try not to think about missing football.

Next post should be interesting with my adventures to a big city…

GO DAWGS!!!

Getting the final pieces in place...

Wednesday I went to school at 8:30 to start observing. I observed a few classes (I believe 3^rd graders). We got to sing “Siddamarink a dink a dink.” I forgot how much fun kids songs really were. After lunch HyunJin and I went to Daegu to sign up for my ARC card (Alien Registration Card). We took a bus to part of Daegu then got on the subway. It took around an hour and a half to get there. By doing this I now feel comfortable navigating it myself without having a Korean to lead me. Public transportation is so easy here, just knowing to how to work it in the beginning is tough. But you are set afterwards. I for see many trips to Daegu and other places in my future!!

Once we got to the immigration place it was an easy process of handing over a form, picture and passport. They gave me a form saying I applied for my card. It should arrive in 3 weeks or so. Afterwards we headed back to Seongju to attempt to get me a phone. After being in a store for an hour they told us we couldn’t do it. I was upset but didn’t let it show. Not having a phone or internet at my apartment is a little annoying just because I can’t keep in touch easily, or even attempt to lesson plan.

Since the phone deal was a fail I decided to order one from the Arrival Store along with some other items that are much needed like a pillow, real sheets, a comforter, towels, cleaning supplies… the basic items westerners are used to. The ones I have here are Asian style, not what I am accustomed to. But will work for now. After spending time at the PC Bang and making conversation with the guy that works there about the weather I headed home. Every time I walk anywhere (I walk every where by the way. No town buses, small town) I run into students. I know this because I always here “Hi Teachaaa!!” It’ so nice knowing I have people that know me. I’m the local celebrity because I’m foreign haha. But for real, the parents all bow if they are with their kids. Kind of weird but nice.

Thursday morning I woke up to torrential rains, I’m talking worse that the typhoon on Tuesday. But we did have school. I was soaking wet knees down by the time I got to school. Crazy thing I’m here for a few days and have gone through two typhoons already. Part of the morning I spent just “desk warming.” This is a term we learned at orientation for when you really aren’t told what is going on so you just sit at your desk and surf the Internet until told to what to do. After the first period I decided to make my way to the English classroom. After observing one lesson I basically taught the other 2 classes. Go me!! After lunch HyunJin and I went to the bank to set up my account so we could try another phone store. Luckily on of my students mom has a phone store so we worked our magic and got me a phone!! So when my temporary phone from the Arrival Store comes in I will ship it back for a refund.

I finally feel semi connected to the world, or at least my friends here. Still working on getting internet at my apartment, hoping it will be Wi-Fi and not where I have to plug it in. but hey, I can’t be too picky. As always later in the evening I went to my PC Bang (notice I said ‘my’) I talked with the guy at the desk. He helped me change my phone to English. So nice!! He laughs every time I come in or Nicola (another English teacher I met at orientation) comes in because we always need to get online. Nicola and I decided to grab a pizza afterwards. It is a really cute pizza place across the street.

Once again walking home I walked most of the way with various students and a few parents. My friends and I are still trying to work out plans for the weekend. Not sure what we will do, or where we will meet but we all miss each other dearly!

Getting the final pieces in place...

Wednesday I went to school at 8:30 to start observing. I observed a few classes (I believe 3^rd graders). We got to sing “Siddamarink a dink a dink.” I forgot how much fun kids songs really were. After lunch HyunJin and I went to Daegu to sign up for my ARC card (Alien Registration Card). We took a bus to part of Daegu then got on the subway. It took around an hour and a half to get there. By doing this I now feel comfortable navigating it myself without having a Korean to lead me. Public transportation is so easy here, just knowing to how to work it in the beginning is tough. But you are set afterwards. I for see many trips to Daegu and other places in my future!!

Once we got to the immigration place it was an easy process of handing over a form, picture and passport. They gave me a form saying I applied for my card. It should arrive in 3 weeks or so. Afterwards we headed back to Seongju to attempt to get me a phone. After being in a store for an hour they told us we couldn’t do it. I was upset but didn’t let it show. Not having a phone or internet at my apartment is a little annoying just because I can’t keep in touch easily, or even attempt to lesson plan.

Since the phone deal was a fail I decided to order one from the Arrival Store along with some other items that are much needed like a pillow, real sheets, a comforter, towels, cleaning supplies… the basic items westerners are used to. The ones I have here are Asian style, not what I am accustomed to. But will work for now. After spending time at the PC Bang and making conversation with the guy that works there about the weather I headed home. Every time I walk anywhere (I walk every where by the way. No town buses, small town) I run into students. I know this because I always here “Hi Teachaaa!!” It’ so nice knowing I have people that know me. I’m the local celebrity because I’m foreign haha. But for real, the parents all bow if they are with their kids. Kind of weird but nice.

Thursday morning I woke up to torrential rains, I’m talking worse that the typhoon on Tuesday. But we did have school. I was soaking wet knees down by the time I got to school. Crazy thing I’m here for a few days and have gone through two typhoons already. Part of the morning I spent just “desk warming.” This is a term we learned at orientation for when you really aren’t told what is going on so you just sit at your desk and surf the Internet until told to what to do. After the first period I decided to make my way to the English classroom. After observing one lesson I basically taught the other 2 classes. Go me!! After lunch HyunJin and I went to the bank to set up my account so we could try another phone store. Luckily on of my students mom has a phone store so we worked our magic and got me a phone!! So when my temporary phone from the Arrival Store comes in I will ship it back for a refund.

I finally feel semi connected to the world, or at least my friends here. Still working on getting internet at my apartment, hoping it will be Wi-Fi and not where I have to plug it in. but hey, I can’t be too picky. As always later in the evening I went to my PC Bang (notice I said ‘my’) I talked with the guy at the desk. He helped me change my phone to English. So nice!! He laughs every time I come in or Nicola (another English teacher I met at orientation) comes in because we always need to get online. Nicola and I decided to grab a pizza afterwards. It is a really cute pizza place across the street.

Once again walking home I walked most of the way with various students and a few parents. My friends and I are still trying to work out plans for the weekend. Not sure what we will do, or where we will meet but we all miss each other dearly!

a long time of catching up....

I am posting this from a PC Bang... I wrote this 24 hours ago.. I will right another one tonight about my first day..

Ok so it has been a few days since my last update. So much has happened so I will try to remember all of it.

Friday was fool of four different lectures (Cooperative Learning, Lesson Planning, Cooperative Learning, Secondary School and Korean). See quite a long, long day. I believe that night around 12 of us went to a karaoke place again. It was so much fun with the group of us that went.

Saturday we had 3 lectures and then time to plan our final lessons. My group was assigned the lesson “Invitation” so we demonstrated and taught how to ask someone to come over to your party. It was not a fun lesson compared to the lessons that others had. Saturday night after everyone finished planning with their groups a few of us hangout in one of the dorm rooms and hen a group went back to karaoke. I called it an early night though not long after we got there I was exhausted and knew Sunday would be a long day.

So Sunday, the day we had all been dreading and looking forward to all week I called it “D-Day” because we were presenting our lessons and finding out our assigned schools and towns. Our lesson went surprisingly well and so did the others. There are so many lucky Korean students in the Gyeongbuk province now all having us as teachers, or so I would like to think. As the list was put up before signing the final contract it was worse than waiting for any sports team list or Bid Day list to be put up. The verdict was in and I was assigned to an elementary school in Seonggu (SeongJu-Gun when you Google it). Most of my friends got elementary. We are all relatively close to each other; it just looks like miles and miles away on a map. After signing contracts we all rushed to get ready for our final dinner and awards ceremony. The venue that it was held in was massive. Of course it had to be to hold 321 EPIK teachers. The buffet was massive, with way too many choices. After dinner each group had the chance to perform a talent. All week the lecturers told the leaders that Group 6 was the most lively and fun group… but instead of doing something totally crazy, like singing and dancing, we chose to sing a song about prepositions. I mean we are here to be teachers, right? I think the crowd thought we were crazy, for all week we were loud and obnoxious singing and being extremely loud in the cafeteria and on the field trip. Oh well. So after the awards we all took pictures together with our new best friends, of a week.

We had to all pack our luggage and get it moved down to the lobby before midnight to avoid congestion Monday morning. It took me around 30 minutes to get it down to the lobby from the 12^th floor because of the speed of a turtle elevator in the dorm. Once everyone got their belongings down to the lobby my group of friends met in the cafeteria and played catch phrase, which I discovered is not my game. It was great to spend one last night with each other before we split off into unknown towns and villages.

Monday morning came way too early. We had to be ready to load the bus at 8:30. So we all met for breakfast before. It took 3 huge buses and a big moving truck to get the entire Gyeongbuk province moved, there was around 110 of us that I know of. After a delicious bibimbap meal together we were dropped off in a parking lot to meet our co-teachers. This was the moment it hit me that I would no longer be with my new friends. I’ll admit a shed a few tears as I hugged my new friends good-bye. It is so crazy how we made such special bonds in such a short amount of time. I’ll never forget our times together…. But as we are already all making plans I know we will see each other pretty much every weekend. Thank the Lord Korean is really easy to get around for the most part.

I have two co-teacher; Anne and HyunJin. Anne speaks the best English of the two. They picked me up in Gumi, which I around 45 minutes from Seongju, with Anne’s crazy driving. Once we arrived in Seongju they took me to my one room apartment. I will post pictures as soon as I have internet at my apartment. When you walk in the entrance there is the area to store your shoes right after you step into the little kitchenette. Past the kitchen is the bathroom, Korean style, shower connected to the sink, all in one room with a drain in the floor. Through the sliding doors in the kithen is my bedroom/living room/ dining area all in one. It was a bed, tv table, kitchen table, another cabinet with a rice cooker and microwave in it and then an amour closet. Very spcious, lots of room to have things all over the floor, so I will feel right at home eventually haha. The sliding doors in that room leads to the washing machine room that has windows that open so the wind can dry your clothes when hanging up.

After getting my suitcases in and up to the 2^nd floor, really third floor because the parking area, we headed to the school. It is around a 10 minute walk. Only one turn really. Part of my school is two stories the other section is 4 stories. Pretty large, and in the front there is a soccer field with track going around it. I’m pumped for that so I can go run my frustration off.

After touring the school we went to E-Mart to get a few groceries and then to a market to buy bedding for me. It was then time for dinner, I was hungry because it was around 5:3 and that’s what time we had been fed dinner at orientation. We all joked that we were like babies on a feeding schedule there because like clock work we would always be hungry right when the time to eat rolled around. The co-teachers took me to a pork restaurant and we cooked it on the table ourselves. Anne brought her 8 year old son along, he was precious, and had great English skills.

As some of you may have seen on the news a typhoon hit all of Korea. Knowing this was about to happen Anne let me borrow her sons phone so she could call me about school if it was going to be cancelled. Not having a cell phone or internet at my apartment is a huge negative, I don’t believe I can get it until I get my Alien Registration Card, so that may be two weeks… Sad Face!!!! When I got back to m apartment I decided to walk to the PC Bang near my apartment, on the way I stopped to get a drink from GS25, a convenience store. When I cam out I met Nicola, who was at orientation with me. We decided to roam around together. We found another PC Bang and went in to get online. It was so nice to finally be connected with the world again. The group on Facebook for Group 6 was blowing up with stories of everyone’s adventure thus far in their towns. After getting caught up on Facebook I left to go back home. It was nice out, just a light breeze. When I woke up Tuesday morning it was raining, I decided since I didn’t know how to turn on the hot water I would just pull my hair back in a ponytail for class. So I laid back down, at 7 my teacher text me to till me we would start school at 10:30… score, I could have a couple of more hours of sleep. As I was about to walk out the door at 10 she called saying school was cancelled because of the weather. With this news my day was made, I put my pajamas back on and crawled into bed. It was just windy at this point because students walk to school they cancelled not knowing how the weather would be later in the day. I found Law & Order SVU on TV in English!!! After watching it I set out to find a coffee shop. I found a really cute one near my school, but it didn’t have wifi, but I still enjoyed a drink. I then went back to the PC Bang that I was at with Nicola the night before. While in there I contacted Bonnie (she went to Lander last year and lives in Seongju). She came and picked me up. It is crazy how of all the towns in SK I get placed in her hometown. It felt so nice to have someone that I knew right away. She decided to take me to Waeghan, about 10 minutes by car. We went to “Mr. Pizza” to eat. It was very good, I have left overs!!!! After that we went to a face care product store and she bought me some facemask since I treated her to dinner. We then grabbed ice cream before showing me the train and bus terminals. When we got back into Seongju we went to the bus terminal there so I could find out how to get to Daegu and Gumi to meet up with friends this weekend. Bonnie and I may actually go to Daegu tomorrow after school.

Knowing I knew nothing basically Boonie took me back to E-Mart to help me get rice and eggs. When we got to my apartment she showed me how to use my rice cooker and turned on the hot water for me. Ahhh so thankful!!

It was then time for me to go back to my PC Bang, I’m probably their most valued customer a this point. It’s less than $1 an hour. When I got back to my apartment I had a lovely hot shower, so amazing after my cold one Monday night.

Love ya’ll, miss ya’ll!!

Quick Update

I have meade it to my new home.. Seongju.

I do not have internet at my apartment yet only at school and PC Bangs (Internet Cafe).

I will right an extremely long blog tonight about the last few days or orientation and my new life.

Love you all!!

Keumsan Temple, Hanok Village and Culture Center

Let me start off by saying there are a little over 300 EPIK teachers at this orientation ranging in age from 22 to around 40 probably.Now, let's just say we were all ecstatic about taking a field trip. Groups 4-6 went to he Keumsan Temple first. Like all of the other temples I have visited in my Asian travels, this one still looked the same as others. But I put my game face on because we were getting to have free time. The temple was located int he mountains. It was gorgeous walking towards it. Very calming and relaxing. There was a little stream ares that we all played in when we were headed back to the bus. My Chocos were the key to jumping from rock to rock in the river!! Getting to have free time with my new friends was so much fun. I am really bonding with a lot of people and making great memories. I've met so many people from all over.

After the temple we went to have lunch. This region of Korea is known for their bibimbop. Which literally means mixed rice. It is a big bowl with an array of different veggies and usually a little ground beef and a friend egg. You then put a bowl of rice in it and mix it up. It was delicious!!!! Hardly any of us could finish or portions of it. We got to explore the little village area we were in after lunch before heading to our next activity. But in the mean time we had to complete our homework from the Korean class. We had to go up to 5 strangers and say our key phrases.
1. Say hello
2. Introduce ourselves
3. Tell them where we were from
4. Tell them it was nice to meet them
5. Say thank you
Once we completed those task they signed the slip of paper. I was nervous at first but soon got over that and walked up to random people without any trouble.

The next stop on our field trip was to the culture center were we learned native dances and made a paper pencil box. The best part of the culture center was learning to play the drums. It was the same type drums as we saw in the opening ceremony. I was shocked at how quickly everyone caught on, minus one guy who couldn't keep the beat to save his life. We were all laughing like crazy at him.

When we got back from the field trip it was time for dinner. After a great meal a lot of the guys decided to play soccer Brits v. Americans. Some of us girls decided this would be something worth watching. Surprisingly, to all of us, Americans showed the Brits and beat them 8-4. MERICA!!!

After the soccer game a group gathered int eh lobby to play some crazy card game, that I have yet to understand. But still it was fun to watch.

Today we have class, class, class, class oh and then Korean.... needless to say we will all be exhausted once again tonight. I can't believe this whirlwind of a week is almost over with. I'm sad to leave my new friends, but excited to start real life. Luckily, the friend I have made are in my province, let's just hope we are in near by cities!!

TaeKwonDo... and 4 other classes

Oh such a long day. Wednesday started off crazy and seemed to never end. My first lecture was "Edutaining" so we got to play games basically. It was very helpful, and fun for us at the same time to help wake us up. After that lesson we headed down to the gym for our TaeKwonDo class. We were taught by the coach for the national team, as in the Olympic coach for Korea. So yeah, he is a pretty big deal. We started off with intense stretching, which had all of us sweating before we started the technique part of class. The entire hour and a half was spent running and kicking and screaming. I have deep respect for those who are black belt and beyond. Our instructor was a black belt level 6. I assume that is extra power to fight off ninjas and what not.

After an exhausting class it was time to get lunch. I have not expressed how great the food is here. The dining hall really does it up for us. Every meal gets better and better, which you would think is impossible after one meal. Of course I have had kimchi 3 times a day (yes, that means breakfast too) everyday that I have been here.

The lecture after lunch was beyond boring. Not sure If it was because we were all exhausted from TaeKwonDo or being full from lunch or just flat out boring. The lesson was on Co-Teaching. It was a little helpful, but not as much as all of the other lessons. The last big lecture of the day was on English Comprehension. The Korean guy that taught it looked to be around 27, we were all shocked when he admitted he was 39. Obviously Koreans do not age. His lecture was so entertaining and made you really think about how foreigners here English.

It was finally time for dinner and a small break. Afterwards we had Korean class. I am so thankful that I had my intense course at Dong-A last year because everything so far has been very simple. But now I have more confidence in my Korean reading skills. I hope it continues.

Tomorrow (Thursday) we will all be going on a field trip. YAYYY!!!! This is a much needed break, as we all are brain dead at this point. I am looking forward to bonding with my friends in my group even more since we are all going to be in the same province for the next year. I know I have already made life long friends here in these few short days. I have to keep reminding myself that I just met all of these people because it feels like I have known them for ages.

Tomorrow should be a great day for pictures :)