It's raining. Again. Two days ago, it was snowing. Now, it's raining. We're not talking a slight mist. We're not even talking about a drizzle. We're talking all out POURING. We're talking rain coursing down the rooftop of the building next to mine. We're talking about mud puddles, and rain boots and umbrellas and rain hats and rain jackets.
It's also cold. Not just a little cold. Hot apple cider drinking, fireplace sitting, blankets and books cold. Steaming bowls of hot soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, and marshmallows in hot chocolate cold. Upturned collars, layers of clothes, fluffy scarves, and big mittens cold.
I really don't understand this weather. But that's okay - I can deal with that. Oh, look - it stopped raining.
Tonight, I'm baking peanut butter cookies. Call it a trial run for next week. Next week, I plan on baking for my kids while I show them a movie. I'm thinking "Elf". Christmas movies and cookies - what do you think?
Why is the Decepticon SOOO much bigger than Optimus Prime??? And HOW could Optimus Prime take him down? Oh, yeah, I'm also watching the second Transformers movie. In the opening sequence, that Decepticon is SO much bigger than Optimus ... and yet, the Prime managed to take him down. Hmmm.
Well, that didn't last for long. Optimus Prime is dead. Josh Duhamel is exceptionally attractive. Randy and I grabbed dinner at a pretty freaking good grill restaurant in 마송/통진 (whatever you want to call it) ... but then went on a search for 호떡 which was unsuccessful. Unfortunately. GIVE US 호떡!!! GIVE US 호떡!!! Oh, well. 인사동에 가요! 호떡 주세요!
PS - if you receive emails from my YAHOO account, ignore them. I think my account's been hacked - I can't even get into it (even though I've reset my password) ... laaame.
Anywho. I'm off. Have a good night all. Next post? 31 days of pictures. FUN!
Yeah, right.
Friday, December 10
Sunday, December 5
"So, how did that turn out?" - "... Not good." - "Oh."
I have an addictive personality. I can admit that. And that is why I should never try drugs of any kind. I'm not saying that I WOULD become addicted. I'm just saying that I would be predisposed to it.
Once again, let me declare my devotion to "Glee". I'm currently catching up on episodes. I'm on Episode 14 - Finn found out that he's not the father. New Directions won sectionals. Will found out about Terri's deception, and now he wants to date Emma. Sue is still out to get Will and Glee Club, and has now enlisted Brittany and Santana to get under Finn's skin. Rachel just met a guy from Vocal Adrenaline in the library (he seems like a prick). Has a nice voice, though. Oh, and Will is singing a Neil Diamond song. God, how I love this show.
Yes, I'm a "Gleek". Oh, and I love that Asian kid (Mike) and his dance moves. The boy's got mad skillz. And yes, I wrote that with a "z".
The weekend has come to an end yet again. After a mini-freakout in the office on Friday, I decided to hop onto a bus to Anyang. Snap decision, actually. Just needed to get away. So, I did. Hung out with the Anyang crew on Friday night, and then met up with Hyun in Seoul on Saturday (after a SUBWAY lunch with Evan) in Apgujeong. We got our hair did ... awesome salon in Apgujeong ... and then headed over to Sinsa and Garosu-gil. Garosu-gil is an amazing place. It's easy to forget how awesome Seoul is. There's so many great little nooks and crannies to discover and explore - Garosu-gil being one of these. Hip little shops, cozy cafes, trendy little restaurants ... Garosu-gil has ALL of these and more. I can't wait to go back. :)
Today at church, the sermon was from Judges Chapter 6, when God tells Gideon that it's his job to drive the Midianites out. The pastor went on to Chapter 7, where Gideon defeats the Midianites with only 300 men. The story in this passage seemed a little familiar, so I turned to Eun-Soo ...
"Did you ever see the movie '300'?"
"Hmmm, no, why?"
"This kinda reminds me of that."
"Oh really? How did it turn out?"
"Not good."
"... oh."
So, I've started utilizing my dictionary more in church. There's always words that I see or hear over and over again. So, sometimes I'll surreptitiously sneak out my cell phone dictionary and type in words I want to know. (Or to use it when Eun-Soo doesn't remember a word ... which happens EXTREMELY rarely. I think it's happened three times since September.)
Examples?
영원 - eternity (ps, I have a student named Young-Won), 땅 - the earth, 마음 - the mind, spirit, 아직도 - still, yet, 현재 - present (time), 영관 - an honor, glory, 평화 - peace, harmony, 세상 - the world, 고정관념 - a fixed idea (a negative thing), 의심 - a doubt
Trust - 신용, Obedient - 순종하는, Future - 미래
선포하다 - to proclaim, 송축하다 - to bless, to praise, 기뻐하다 - to be glad of, to rejoice, 경배하다 - to bow respectfully, 항복하다 - to surrender (oneself), 순종하다 - to follow obediently, 거룩하다 - to be sacred, to be holy, 종귀하다 - to be high, noble
Yay, vocabulary!!!
Okay. That's all I've got. Now, t'is the season for the tests. Gimpo HS students take their finals this coming week. Some of my friends have tests this coming week, too - one of them is related to several business/CPA-esque concepts that I don't quite understand ... and the other is kinda big (even if he doesn't want to tell anyone about it ... punk. I mean "punk" in the nicest possible way). (^_^) So, I wish everyone all the best - good luck and don't stress. Remember, the holidays are just around the corner. :)
And that's it. Love you much.
Once again, let me declare my devotion to "Glee". I'm currently catching up on episodes. I'm on Episode 14 - Finn found out that he's not the father. New Directions won sectionals. Will found out about Terri's deception, and now he wants to date Emma. Sue is still out to get Will and Glee Club, and has now enlisted Brittany and Santana to get under Finn's skin. Rachel just met a guy from Vocal Adrenaline in the library (he seems like a prick). Has a nice voice, though. Oh, and Will is singing a Neil Diamond song. God, how I love this show.
Yes, I'm a "Gleek". Oh, and I love that Asian kid (Mike) and his dance moves. The boy's got mad skillz. And yes, I wrote that with a "z".
The weekend has come to an end yet again. After a mini-freakout in the office on Friday, I decided to hop onto a bus to Anyang. Snap decision, actually. Just needed to get away. So, I did. Hung out with the Anyang crew on Friday night, and then met up with Hyun in Seoul on Saturday (after a SUBWAY lunch with Evan) in Apgujeong. We got our hair did ... awesome salon in Apgujeong ... and then headed over to Sinsa and Garosu-gil. Garosu-gil is an amazing place. It's easy to forget how awesome Seoul is. There's so many great little nooks and crannies to discover and explore - Garosu-gil being one of these. Hip little shops, cozy cafes, trendy little restaurants ... Garosu-gil has ALL of these and more. I can't wait to go back. :)
Today at church, the sermon was from Judges Chapter 6, when God tells Gideon that it's his job to drive the Midianites out. The pastor went on to Chapter 7, where Gideon defeats the Midianites with only 300 men. The story in this passage seemed a little familiar, so I turned to Eun-Soo ...
"Did you ever see the movie '300'?"
"Hmmm, no, why?"
"This kinda reminds me of that."
"Oh really? How did it turn out?"
"Not good."
"... oh."
So, I've started utilizing my dictionary more in church. There's always words that I see or hear over and over again. So, sometimes I'll surreptitiously sneak out my cell phone dictionary and type in words I want to know. (Or to use it when Eun-Soo doesn't remember a word ... which happens EXTREMELY rarely. I think it's happened three times since September.)
Examples?
영원 - eternity (ps, I have a student named Young-Won), 땅 - the earth, 마음 - the mind, spirit, 아직도 - still, yet, 현재 - present (time), 영관 - an honor, glory, 평화 - peace, harmony, 세상 - the world, 고정관념 - a fixed idea (a negative thing), 의심 - a doubt
Trust - 신용, Obedient - 순종하는, Future - 미래
선포하다 - to proclaim, 송축하다 - to bless, to praise, 기뻐하다 - to be glad of, to rejoice, 경배하다 - to bow respectfully, 항복하다 - to surrender (oneself), 순종하다 - to follow obediently, 거룩하다 - to be sacred, to be holy, 종귀하다 - to be high, noble
Yay, vocabulary!!!
Okay. That's all I've got. Now, t'is the season for the tests. Gimpo HS students take their finals this coming week. Some of my friends have tests this coming week, too - one of them is related to several business/CPA-esque concepts that I don't quite understand ... and the other is kinda big (even if he doesn't want to tell anyone about it ... punk. I mean "punk" in the nicest possible way). (^_^) So, I wish everyone all the best - good luck and don't stress. Remember, the holidays are just around the corner. :)
And that's it. Love you much.
Thursday, December 2
I'd Like to Talk to the Weather-man ...
It's raining.
Seriously? It's the beginning of December. It FEELS like it's freezing outside. And yet ... it's 9:51 PM and there's a THUNDERSTORM outside. A legit thunderstorm. Like ... I can see the water coursing down the rooftop of the building outside of my window. This weather is getting a little ridiculous.
Okay. Enough with the lame weather reports. It's confession time. I have a new obsession. Okay. I think I mentioned it before. I'm addicted ... to ... Glee.
Yes, I'm late jumping on the bandwagon. Now I'm catching up. Thank you, Randy, for supplying me with all of season 1 and thus enabling my addiction. It's the singing. The singing is amazing. For example, right now, Finn is singing "I'll Stand By You" ... ... ... ... ... amazing.
Okay. Really. I'm done now. Next week is finals - my students are CRAAAZY stressed. Well, some of them appear to be. Others grab me in the hallways just to chat. I've supervised study periods where the entire class diligently studies for an hour (although during the last five minutes I make them close their books and just relax ... it's okay, they already know I'm crazy), and I've also had study halls where I've ended up playing charades with some of the students in the back of the room. Anything to help them relax, haha.
I finished calculating my grades an hour ago - aigooo. Headache = major. I actually had finished doing them six hours ago ... or, at least I that I had. Then, I ran into Young-Joon. Young-Joon who, bless his heart, had sent me an email yesterday WITHOUT HIS ASSIGNMENT ATTACHED. Honest mistake. So ... I waited. And now I'm done. Hey, guess what - I've been working here for three months now. Wow, has it really been that long already? I'm going to miss teaching my second year students. They're great. I don't know what they'll think about me after they see their grades, haha ... hopefully they'll still like me. We shall see ... ... ...
I've decided that I really like working with high school students. It's really a lot of fun. Maybe a little bit rough in the beginning, but ... really? It's been pretty neat. I feel really lucky to have this opportunity. They're so daaang smart, and we're able to talk about pretty complex things. I've learned so much from them, even in just these few months. Yeah ... I'm pretty lucky.
Gonna meet up with Hyun this Saturday in Seoul ... perhaps a hair appointment should be pencilled in?? Well, actually, it already has been. :) We'll see what happens.
And that's my life. It's taken me two hours to write this while in that time I completed my grades and watched three episodes of "Glee". Now ... it's bedtime.
Seriously? It's the beginning of December. It FEELS like it's freezing outside. And yet ... it's 9:51 PM and there's a THUNDERSTORM outside. A legit thunderstorm. Like ... I can see the water coursing down the rooftop of the building outside of my window. This weather is getting a little ridiculous.
Okay. Enough with the lame weather reports. It's confession time. I have a new obsession. Okay. I think I mentioned it before. I'm addicted ... to ... Glee.
Yes, I'm late jumping on the bandwagon. Now I'm catching up. Thank you, Randy, for supplying me with all of season 1 and thus enabling my addiction. It's the singing. The singing is amazing. For example, right now, Finn is singing "I'll Stand By You" ... ... ... ... ... amazing.
Okay. Really. I'm done now. Next week is finals - my students are CRAAAZY stressed. Well, some of them appear to be. Others grab me in the hallways just to chat. I've supervised study periods where the entire class diligently studies for an hour (although during the last five minutes I make them close their books and just relax ... it's okay, they already know I'm crazy), and I've also had study halls where I've ended up playing charades with some of the students in the back of the room. Anything to help them relax, haha.
I finished calculating my grades an hour ago - aigooo. Headache = major. I actually had finished doing them six hours ago ... or, at least I that I had. Then, I ran into Young-Joon. Young-Joon who, bless his heart, had sent me an email yesterday WITHOUT HIS ASSIGNMENT ATTACHED. Honest mistake. So ... I waited. And now I'm done. Hey, guess what - I've been working here for three months now. Wow, has it really been that long already? I'm going to miss teaching my second year students. They're great. I don't know what they'll think about me after they see their grades, haha ... hopefully they'll still like me. We shall see ... ... ...
I've decided that I really like working with high school students. It's really a lot of fun. Maybe a little bit rough in the beginning, but ... really? It's been pretty neat. I feel really lucky to have this opportunity. They're so daaang smart, and we're able to talk about pretty complex things. I've learned so much from them, even in just these few months. Yeah ... I'm pretty lucky.
Gonna meet up with Hyun this Saturday in Seoul ... perhaps a hair appointment should be pencilled in?? Well, actually, it already has been. :) We'll see what happens.
And that's my life. It's taken me two hours to write this while in that time I completed my grades and watched three episodes of "Glee". Now ... it's bedtime.
Tuesday, November 30
"Wanna be a club advisor?"
"In order to be the advisor for the Spanish Club, do I have to be able to speak Spanish? No? Okay, then ... sign me up."
That's pretty much the conversation I had with one of my students today - Min. Min is super motivated when it comes to learning languages - he speaks English very well, is majoring in Chinese, studies French on his own, knows a little Japanese, and now wants to learn Spanish. If he's able to garner enough interest in his club, maybe I'll (re)learn along with them. Which is why I may or may not be currently listening to Spanish language podcasts on iTunes. I think this one is being taught by a Scottish guy (at least, he doesn't sound Spanish). I can't quite place his accent. And I have absolutely no idea about the woman's accent.
Hola? Que tal? Bien, gracias, y tu? Bien, gracias.
Hola? Que tal? Fetal, y tu? Yo muy bien, gracias.
Hola? Que tal? Es stupendo! Y tu? Phenomenal!!!
(Don't judge my spelling)
In other news - tonight, I went to a motivational speech in the gymnasium given by 김형석 (KIM Hyeong-Suk) who is a famous producer in Korea. He has worked with artists like BOA and 동방신기 (Dong Bang Shin Ki). I didn't understand most of what he was saying, because by the time my mind processed the words that I understood, I had lost track of the speech. But, I think the general gist of it was that he was encouraging them to keep working hard. It was cool.
Buenos dias!
Buenas tardes! (I can't roll my "r's")
Buenas noches!
Excellente!
Adios! Hasta luego!
Hasta pronto! Hasta manana!
Me llamo ______.
Encantada!
Spanish comes so much easier than Korean. Speaking of which ... I should do my homework.
저는 Marcie이에요. 저는 영어선생님이에요. 저는 미국사람이에요.
방에 책상이 있어요. 의자도 있어요. 냉장고하고 옷장도 있어요. 우리 집은 학교 옆에 있어요.
이 사과 얼마예요? 한 개에 1000원이에요. 사과 두 개 주세요. 모두 2000원이에요.
몇 명 이에요? 5명이에요.
Okay. Now I want to start watching "Glee". I love how Finn (or whatever his name is) looks TERRIFIED of that girl. I can't remember her name. Will's wife is insane. This show is incredible. I think I'm in love. Sue is HILARIOUS. Emma's strange.
"You're very talented."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I would know because I'm very talented."
I'm out for now.
---
PS - this is my 100th post on my blog. Monumental? Meh. Have a great day! (^_^)
That's pretty much the conversation I had with one of my students today - Min. Min is super motivated when it comes to learning languages - he speaks English very well, is majoring in Chinese, studies French on his own, knows a little Japanese, and now wants to learn Spanish. If he's able to garner enough interest in his club, maybe I'll (re)learn along with them. Which is why I may or may not be currently listening to Spanish language podcasts on iTunes. I think this one is being taught by a Scottish guy (at least, he doesn't sound Spanish). I can't quite place his accent. And I have absolutely no idea about the woman's accent.
Hola? Que tal? Bien, gracias, y tu? Bien, gracias.
Hola? Que tal? Fetal, y tu? Yo muy bien, gracias.
Hola? Que tal? Es stupendo! Y tu? Phenomenal!!!
(Don't judge my spelling)
In other news - tonight, I went to a motivational speech in the gymnasium given by 김형석 (KIM Hyeong-Suk) who is a famous producer in Korea. He has worked with artists like BOA and 동방신기 (Dong Bang Shin Ki). I didn't understand most of what he was saying, because by the time my mind processed the words that I understood, I had lost track of the speech. But, I think the general gist of it was that he was encouraging them to keep working hard. It was cool.
Buenos dias!
Buenas tardes! (I can't roll my "r's")
Buenas noches!
Excellente!
Adios! Hasta luego!
Hasta pronto! Hasta manana!
Me llamo ______.
Encantada!
Spanish comes so much easier than Korean. Speaking of which ... I should do my homework.
저는 Marcie이에요. 저는 영어선생님이에요. 저는 미국사람이에요.
방에 책상이 있어요. 의자도 있어요. 냉장고하고 옷장도 있어요. 우리 집은 학교 옆에 있어요.
이 사과 얼마예요? 한 개에 1000원이에요. 사과 두 개 주세요. 모두 2000원이에요.
몇 명 이에요? 5명이에요.
Okay. Now I want to start watching "Glee". I love how Finn (or whatever his name is) looks TERRIFIED of that girl. I can't remember her name. Will's wife is insane. This show is incredible. I think I'm in love. Sue is HILARIOUS. Emma's strange.
"You're very talented."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I would know because I'm very talented."
I'm out for now.
---
PS - this is my 100th post on my blog. Monumental? Meh. Have a great day! (^_^)
Sunday, November 28
I'm Thank For ... (in no particular order)
Friends who let me sleep at their places, the girl on the bus who held my purse on her lap while I was standing because the bus was full, Thanksgiving dinners, friends who can cook (and who enjoy doing it), 사명의교회 (my church and all of the people there), letters in the mail, late night or early morning phone calls (depending on which country you're in), chocolate chip cookies, the ajeosshi who let me have the empty seat on the bus, text messages, snow falling in the city, hugs, people who are willing to teach me Korean, everyone who has ever had to or been willing to translate for me, best friends, mentors, my students, God's grace, digital cameras, e-mail, boxed sets of MacGyver DVDs, Indian food restaurants (and people who are ALWAYS willing to go with me to them), the right and the ability to make my own choices (and the lessons I learn from them), my family (the one I was given and the one(s) I have created for myself), kisses on the cheek from my friend's little brother, ondol (floor) heating, people who can always make me laugh, the guy on the bus who smelled nice (since we had to stand side-by-side for over 30 minutes) ... basically, people. And life. In general.
Sunday, November 21
Some people get all the luck ...
In one week, I spend at least 3 hours on a bus of some kind.
See, it takes almost exactly one hour to get from Gimpo Foreign Language High School to Hapjeong subway station on the 3000 bus (which makes limited stops). Since I absolutely hate riding buses, that's the best option for me. Then, I can hop on the subway (Hapjeong Station is where Line 2 [the green line] and Line 6 [the brown line] meet) and be in Beomgye or Suwon within an hour (strange how it takes about the same amount of time to get to both places, huh?)
Why am I telling you this? To complain. What am I complaining about? EVERY TIME I GET ON THAT FREAKING 3000 BUS, I ALWAYS END UP SITTING NEXT TO OLD MEN AND WOMEN. Once ... JUST ONCE ... I want to get to sit next to a cute soldier.
Yes, I know that's petty. But c'mon! On Thursday when I rode the bus, I ended up sitting next to a space-hogging ahjeossi (albeit, he had a kind smile) while Daphne (my coworker) got to sit next to a cute soldier. NOT FAIR! :P
Some people get all the luck.
(^_^)
Oh, and BTW ... if anyone has a recipe for pie crust, please let me know. Any and all advice would be welcome, too, as I attempt to make a pumpkin pie. I don't even like pumpkin pie, haha.
Happy (almost) Thanksgiving!!!
See, it takes almost exactly one hour to get from Gimpo Foreign Language High School to Hapjeong subway station on the 3000 bus (which makes limited stops). Since I absolutely hate riding buses, that's the best option for me. Then, I can hop on the subway (Hapjeong Station is where Line 2 [the green line] and Line 6 [the brown line] meet) and be in Beomgye or Suwon within an hour (strange how it takes about the same amount of time to get to both places, huh?)
Why am I telling you this? To complain. What am I complaining about? EVERY TIME I GET ON THAT FREAKING 3000 BUS, I ALWAYS END UP SITTING NEXT TO OLD MEN AND WOMEN. Once ... JUST ONCE ... I want to get to sit next to a cute soldier.
Yes, I know that's petty. But c'mon! On Thursday when I rode the bus, I ended up sitting next to a space-hogging ahjeossi (albeit, he had a kind smile) while Daphne (my coworker) got to sit next to a cute soldier. NOT FAIR! :P
Some people get all the luck.
(^_^)
Oh, and BTW ... if anyone has a recipe for pie crust, please let me know. Any and all advice would be welcome, too, as I attempt to make a pumpkin pie. I don't even like pumpkin pie, haha.
Happy (almost) Thanksgiving!!!
Saturday, November 20
Don't laugh ...
Confession::: I may or may not be watching "Eclipse" (the 3rd Twilight movie) again.
Now, before you start making fun of me ... Well, okay, you can make fun of me. I'm making fun of myself. But, c'mon ... I can overlook the cheese-factor and the ridiculousness of it because ... there's shirtless "werewolves". And that makes it ALL worth it.
It's Saturday night. I just spent three hours killing countless numbers of trees (sorry, Mother Nature) in order to copy materials for my students to plan their arguments for their final test. I have eight different topics ... unfortunately, I can't remember all of them right now. I'm sure you're SUPER interested (psssht, haha) ... but you'll just have to deal with it.
Last week was a short week - all of the third year students in Korea took their college entrance exams on Thursday. It's a crazy, crazy day in Korea - it only happens once a year, though. And now that that's over with, all of the third year students in my school are gone. It's SO quiet in my building ... I can't believe it. On Friday, some of my students came to talk to me and were just in awe - "Teacher, we're almost third year students now."
Yesterday, I went to Seoul with Daphne to Apgujeong. We grabbed lunch at a restaurant called "Everest" in Dongdaemun - and it was pretty stinkin' fantastic. Mmmmm, Indian food. :) Then we went to a cafe (in Apgujeong) to have a short lesson on how to make the perfect cup of hand-drip coffee. That was pretty cool. I learned alot about coffee during that short 30 minute lesson.
After that, I met up with Kyu (my old roommate) at the Kyobo Bookstore in Gwanghwamun - REALLY freakin' awesome! I haven't seen her in FOREVER, so it was a lot of fun! She's so funny. I was also able to get hold of In-Chae, and I met him at his university (Dongguk University) near Namsan Tower. His university was pretty cool! Really pretty, and fun to see. He showed me around the campus (including the little manicured park areas on top of the buildings), and then we had dinner. Yay for yummy Italian food. :) :) :) Oh, and great company, of course. (^_^)
Ended up heading down to Beomgye for even MORE good food. Weekends = fat. Oh, and fun times at Trevor and Seul-ki's. :) Woke up this morning, and met Mindy in Gangnam for ... drum roll please ... BUTTERFINGERS PANCAKES! HECK YESSS ... french toast ... bacon ... eggs ... mmmmmmm.
And that was my weekend. Tomorrow? Church. :) For now? More cheesy movies. :)
Now, before you start making fun of me ... Well, okay, you can make fun of me. I'm making fun of myself. But, c'mon ... I can overlook the cheese-factor and the ridiculousness of it because ... there's shirtless "werewolves". And that makes it ALL worth it.
It's Saturday night. I just spent three hours killing countless numbers of trees (sorry, Mother Nature) in order to copy materials for my students to plan their arguments for their final test. I have eight different topics ... unfortunately, I can't remember all of them right now. I'm sure you're SUPER interested (psssht, haha) ... but you'll just have to deal with it.
Last week was a short week - all of the third year students in Korea took their college entrance exams on Thursday. It's a crazy, crazy day in Korea - it only happens once a year, though. And now that that's over with, all of the third year students in my school are gone. It's SO quiet in my building ... I can't believe it. On Friday, some of my students came to talk to me and were just in awe - "Teacher, we're almost third year students now."
Yesterday, I went to Seoul with Daphne to Apgujeong. We grabbed lunch at a restaurant called "Everest" in Dongdaemun - and it was pretty stinkin' fantastic. Mmmmm, Indian food. :) Then we went to a cafe (in Apgujeong) to have a short lesson on how to make the perfect cup of hand-drip coffee. That was pretty cool. I learned alot about coffee during that short 30 minute lesson.
After that, I met up with Kyu (my old roommate) at the Kyobo Bookstore in Gwanghwamun - REALLY freakin' awesome! I haven't seen her in FOREVER, so it was a lot of fun! She's so funny. I was also able to get hold of In-Chae, and I met him at his university (Dongguk University) near Namsan Tower. His university was pretty cool! Really pretty, and fun to see. He showed me around the campus (including the little manicured park areas on top of the buildings), and then we had dinner. Yay for yummy Italian food. :) :) :) Oh, and great company, of course. (^_^)
Ended up heading down to Beomgye for even MORE good food. Weekends = fat. Oh, and fun times at Trevor and Seul-ki's. :) Woke up this morning, and met Mindy in Gangnam for ... drum roll please ... BUTTERFINGERS PANCAKES! HECK YESSS ... french toast ... bacon ... eggs ... mmmmmmm.
And that was my weekend. Tomorrow? Church. :) For now? More cheesy movies. :)
Tuesday, November 16
Another wonderful Tuesday ...
은솔 (Belle): "I've started using English outside of conversation class."
Me: "Oh, really?"
< Interjection: 은솔 (Belle), lived overseas for a total of 10 years - New Zealand and California - and speaks near fluently. >
은솔 (Belle): "Yeah. It's kind of fun."
Me: "Who with? Mary?" (Mary is her friend who is in her class and lived overseas as well.)
은솔 (Belle): "No, with that boy who sits next to me in my homeroom class. You talked to him this morning."
Me: (thinking) "Oh, you mean 재현 (Jae-Hyun)? That's great! Who started that?"
은솔 (Belle): "He did - earlier this week he asked me if we could speak in English with each other so he could practice."
I love that. That short dialogue pretty much made my day. Belle and Jae-Hyun are two of my favorite students. Jae-Hyun was one of the boys who helped me on the bus in my previous post. Well, in all honesty, 2-4 in general is pretty much composed of most of my favorite students. I love the fact that they're taking it into their own hands, and trying to improve their abilities outside of class.
Continuing that thought ... towards the end of class, another one of my favorite students managed to grab my full and undivided attention when he began talking to me about how he wishes his English ability was as high as other students in the class, but because it is not he is only able to use simple words and string together uncomplicated thoughts. I spent a good five or ten minutes talking with 영원 (Young-Won) about his English ability and how it can be improved. He's a solid kid. He came to the conclusion that in order to improve his ability, he should study in the US or Canada or Austrailia or another country. I told him that if that wasn't possible, he could always just come and find me and we could talk.
After the bell rang and I finished talking with Young-Won, another student came up to me - he wants me to call him Visual. We had basically the same conversation as the one between myself and Young-Won, though Visual used Young-Won as an example of better English while Young-Won used Belle.
They're all solid kids. I'm really lucky to have them. 2-4 and 2-2 make my Tuesdays so ... easy. =)
I'm already halfway done with my week. Teaching, that is. Yesterday, I had my two sections of 2-1, and today I had two sections of 2-4 and 2-2. Tomorrow morning, I will have my two sections of 2-3 and 2-2 again ... and then I'm done with classes for the week. I still have to be at work tomorrow afternoon and Thursday, but because of the university entrance exam on Thursday, we're not holding classes.
Good luck to all of the third year students in Korea (and those who are retaking the exam for other reasons)!!!
Oh, and congratulations Da-Eun on being accepted to Anyang Foreign Language High School - I knew you would do it!
Me: "Oh, really?"
< Interjection: 은솔 (Belle), lived overseas for a total of 10 years - New Zealand and California - and speaks near fluently. >
은솔 (Belle): "Yeah. It's kind of fun."
Me: "Who with? Mary?" (Mary is her friend who is in her class and lived overseas as well.)
은솔 (Belle): "No, with that boy who sits next to me in my homeroom class. You talked to him this morning."
Me: (thinking) "Oh, you mean 재현 (Jae-Hyun)? That's great! Who started that?"
은솔 (Belle): "He did - earlier this week he asked me if we could speak in English with each other so he could practice."
I love that. That short dialogue pretty much made my day. Belle and Jae-Hyun are two of my favorite students. Jae-Hyun was one of the boys who helped me on the bus in my previous post. Well, in all honesty, 2-4 in general is pretty much composed of most of my favorite students. I love the fact that they're taking it into their own hands, and trying to improve their abilities outside of class.
Continuing that thought ... towards the end of class, another one of my favorite students managed to grab my full and undivided attention when he began talking to me about how he wishes his English ability was as high as other students in the class, but because it is not he is only able to use simple words and string together uncomplicated thoughts. I spent a good five or ten minutes talking with 영원 (Young-Won) about his English ability and how it can be improved. He's a solid kid. He came to the conclusion that in order to improve his ability, he should study in the US or Canada or Austrailia or another country. I told him that if that wasn't possible, he could always just come and find me and we could talk.
After the bell rang and I finished talking with Young-Won, another student came up to me - he wants me to call him Visual. We had basically the same conversation as the one between myself and Young-Won, though Visual used Young-Won as an example of better English while Young-Won used Belle.
They're all solid kids. I'm really lucky to have them. 2-4 and 2-2 make my Tuesdays so ... easy. =)
I'm already halfway done with my week. Teaching, that is. Yesterday, I had my two sections of 2-1, and today I had two sections of 2-4 and 2-2. Tomorrow morning, I will have my two sections of 2-3 and 2-2 again ... and then I'm done with classes for the week. I still have to be at work tomorrow afternoon and Thursday, but because of the university entrance exam on Thursday, we're not holding classes.
Good luck to all of the third year students in Korea (and those who are retaking the exam for other reasons)!!!
Oh, and congratulations Da-Eun on being accepted to Anyang Foreign Language High School - I knew you would do it!
Sunday, November 14
"It's okay, she's with us."
Well, that's what I IMAGINE them saying.
By "them", I'm referring to two of my favorite students, 재현 (Jae-Hyun) and David. It's 9:29 PM on Sunday night, and I just made it back to Gimpo from Suwon in two hours EXACTLY. Wanna know how? I rode the school bus.
That's right. Last month, thanks to 수현 (Soo-Hyun, another favorite), I learned that there is a chartered bus that brings students back from YEONGTONG! Okay, let me explain ... the students are allowed to go home once (or twice ... I can't remember) a month only. Well, our students are from ALL over Gyeonggido (and some even further away ... I have a student or two from DAEGU of all places ... they're on their own on the getting home thing). Their parents are obviously unable or unwilling (haha) to drive ALL the way to Gimpo Foreign Language High School (go to Google Maps and copy-paste "김포외국어고등학교" if you don't believe me when I say that we're HELLA FAR AWAY from most of civilization ... and then copy-paste "범계역 to 김포외국어고등학교" if you want to see how far I am from where I used to live) ... the solution to the problem? Charter a bunch of buses to take the students to some centrally placed drop off points and then of course on Sunday they have to pick the kids up again.
Anyways, back to how I figured this out. Last month, I had dinner with my friends Nick and 은수 (Eun-Soo, he's my translator from church) in Yeongtong. As Nick and I were walking to HomePlus, I heard someone shout, "Marcie!" I was confused, mostly, when a teenage boy (who I recognized as being one of my students) ran up to me. He then explained (later that week) about the buses.
The bus departs from Yeongtong HomePlus at exactly 7:10 PM ... and I was going to be on it. I knew the area it would be in (near HomePlus and Hana Bank) ... and while I was looking I managed to down a grande Chai latte (from the Coffee Bean) and a hot chocolate (from a different cafe). Then I saw a girl wearing the school uniform getting on this bus. So, I ran up and asked her mom, "김포외고 버스???" ("Gimpo Foreign High bus?") Of course she was confused, but she answered in the affirmative. Then I realized that I faced the problem of explaining to the bus driver that I was a teacher at the high school and wanted to catch a ride back. The girl didn't recognize me (unfortunately) ... but LUCKILY FOR ME seated two rows from the front I saw two familiar faces - Jae-Hyun and David. They're both in my 2-4 class, and I pretty much love them. They jumped up when they heard my voice (I think they were HELLA surprised) and I was like, "Okay, can you help me explain to the bus driver and this mom that I'm a teacher at the school and I need a ride back?" (But I was totally running on a sugar high, so I'm pretty sure that that entire sentence made it out of my mouth in like, 3 seconds - lucky for me that they are both insanely smart and understood what I was saying). So David took point and explained to the bus driver (in my head I imagine that he said something to the effect of, "it's okay, she's with us," but based on the Korean that I know, I know that he just translated what I said to the confused bus driver) and I got on.
We had to make three or four stops elsewhere to pick up other students, but the majority got on in Yeongtong (like me). We stopped in Suwon once or twice, and then ... in Bundang. Now, those of you who know me well know that I get disoriented (and lost) easily. So, I have no idea how we got back. I can tell you bits and pieces of the two hour bus ride - like when we were driving along the Han River and I'm pretty sure we were near Banpo Bridge because of the lights and the fountain. I can tell you that we drove past Ilsan (but there was like, a river between us and Ilsan) because I could see a sign that said "KINTEX" shining on the other side of the river. I can even describe to you the barbed wire and the military guard posts that were stationed along the bank of a river that I think must be the same one I saw when I went hiking with the principal (which is where Ganghwa Island is and also is between North and South Korea - hence the barbed wire). But in between Banpo Bridge and Tongjin, I had no idea where we were. And I have no idea how we even ended up near Banpo Bridge - if that was Banpo Bridge. Oh, and I'm still motion sick, and I got back thirty minutes ago. That's probably not a good sign.
Oh well. I got home. :) And it only took TWO hours. AND I didn't have to pay anything. So, WIN!
This weekend was pretty good. Yesterday, I met Hyun in Myeongdong and we ate Indian food and shopped. I got a new jacket, which I'm pretty stoked about. Oh, and new Converse. :) It was great seeing Hyun again - I had a lot of fun hanging out with her! Hopefully we can do it again sometime soon. :) :) :)
Today, I woke up early and made the trek down to Suwon. PS, on a Sunday morning, it takes almost exactly 2.5 hours to get from my school to Yeongtong HomePlus (when you factor in waiting for buses and subways and transfers and all of that). So, I left at 9:30 and I made it to the Coffee Bean at exactly noon, just when Nick and I had made plans to meet for lunch. Lunch was Bo-Young Mandoo (DOUBLE WIN). After church, my small group went to Tous les Jours and Seung-Beom (our leader) bought us all coffee (TRIPLE WIN!) AND after that we went back to church and they fed us dinner (we're up to 4 wins now). I got to talk with Chan-Joo (찬주), Eun-Soo (은수), and Isaac (이삭) a lot, which was fun. Whenever Isaac and I talk, he speaks to me in Korean (and I can understand most of it, if he remembers to speak slowly) and I speak to him in English (and he understands most of it [more than I understand of his Korean] if I speak at a moderate pace). Today's sermon was about Joshua 14:1-15. The pastor started off by talking about how our future is dependent upon the decisions we make, and how we live, in the present. I learned two new words today: 현재 ("hyun-jae" which means "present" - I was REALLY proud of myself for that one because I kept hearing the pastor say it, so when Eun-Soo wasn't looking, I looked it up in my dictionary) and 미래 ("mi-rae" which means "future" - Eun-Soo told me). Well, actually, I learned THREE, but I forgot the third one. Oops.
Anyways. Church was good.
Now it's time for a little more babble and a little less sense. I think now is the time to illustrate my feelings by using some song lyrics. Follow along, if you can. :)
Since you've been away
Things ain't been the same
I miss you most and more each day
{...}
No matter what I do
I can't stop thinking of you
You're always on my mind
- Dream
I miss you so much
Your light, your smile, your way
- Rascal Flatts
Okay, I had more, but it's starting to sound pathetic even to ME ... so I can't imagine (or don't want to imagine) what you guys are all thinking. Long story short ...
1.) I'm irritated with you for just disappearing.
2.) I miss talking to you and hanging out with you.
3.) I'm irritated with myself for letting it effect me so much.
There you have it. Oh, and I know full well that this is passive-aggressive at its finest, since *you* won't read this. However ... I totally had planned to tell you all of this today (well, okay, maybe not numbers 1 and 3 ... but I was definitely going to tell you #2), but then you didn't talk to me. So, I'm venting.
I miss my friend. (BTW, Dean, thanks for listening to me for 45 minutes)
Okay, enough of that garbage. :) Now, it's funny time. My buddy, Nick, posted this link a few days ago on his Tumblr - take a look-sie at it. It might make you laugh (I did). Especially look at it if you're a guy dating a Korean girl - http://www.datingish.com/678604010/ten-tips-on-dating-a-korean-girl/
Oh, and just to even things out - http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2007/09/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know.html (not as funny, though).
Okay. This coming week is the big university entrance exam. You know, the test that only occurs ONCE A YEAR that Korean high school students work their butts off preparing for - the test that causes them to stress out like NO OTHER. Okay, here's my two cents: You don't want students to stress out so much? OFFER THE TEST MORE THAN JUST once A YEAR! =) Stress-be-gone!!! :)
Anyways, that means we don't have classes on Thursday. :) So that means I only have to teach 2-1 ONCE this week (same with 2-3 ... luckily, I get 2-2 and 2-4 TWICE). LOVE it. Oh, on the subject of my students - I have their running totals for the semester so far. Out of a possible 40 points (two tests at 20 points each), my highest student has a total of 38.5 and my lowest has 25.5 (excluding the new students who missed one or both of the tests). We'll see how this works out. :)
(And yes, I realize that I've typed a lot about very little ... but for some reason today, all I've wanted to do is talk the entire day).
Oh, and I just heard a bunch of banging sounds in the hallway, so I stuck my head out to look ... and found a bunch of 3rd year girls riding on a cart up and down the hallway while brushing their teeth. Hey, you gotta blow off steam somehow, right??? :)
Okay. I'm out for the night. Thanks for reading/listening. :) More to come later. Love!
By "them", I'm referring to two of my favorite students, 재현 (Jae-Hyun) and David. It's 9:29 PM on Sunday night, and I just made it back to Gimpo from Suwon in two hours EXACTLY. Wanna know how? I rode the school bus.
That's right. Last month, thanks to 수현 (Soo-Hyun, another favorite), I learned that there is a chartered bus that brings students back from YEONGTONG! Okay, let me explain ... the students are allowed to go home once (or twice ... I can't remember) a month only. Well, our students are from ALL over Gyeonggido (and some even further away ... I have a student or two from DAEGU of all places ... they're on their own on the getting home thing). Their parents are obviously unable or unwilling (haha) to drive ALL the way to Gimpo Foreign Language High School (go to Google Maps and copy-paste "김포외국어고등학교" if you don't believe me when I say that we're HELLA FAR AWAY from most of civilization ... and then copy-paste "범계역 to 김포외국어고등학교" if you want to see how far I am from where I used to live) ... the solution to the problem? Charter a bunch of buses to take the students to some centrally placed drop off points and then of course on Sunday they have to pick the kids up again.
Anyways, back to how I figured this out. Last month, I had dinner with my friends Nick and 은수 (Eun-Soo, he's my translator from church) in Yeongtong. As Nick and I were walking to HomePlus, I heard someone shout, "Marcie!" I was confused, mostly, when a teenage boy (who I recognized as being one of my students) ran up to me. He then explained (later that week) about the buses.
The bus departs from Yeongtong HomePlus at exactly 7:10 PM ... and I was going to be on it. I knew the area it would be in (near HomePlus and Hana Bank) ... and while I was looking I managed to down a grande Chai latte (from the Coffee Bean) and a hot chocolate (from a different cafe). Then I saw a girl wearing the school uniform getting on this bus. So, I ran up and asked her mom, "김포외고 버스???" ("Gimpo Foreign High bus?") Of course she was confused, but she answered in the affirmative. Then I realized that I faced the problem of explaining to the bus driver that I was a teacher at the high school and wanted to catch a ride back. The girl didn't recognize me (unfortunately) ... but LUCKILY FOR ME seated two rows from the front I saw two familiar faces - Jae-Hyun and David. They're both in my 2-4 class, and I pretty much love them. They jumped up when they heard my voice (I think they were HELLA surprised) and I was like, "Okay, can you help me explain to the bus driver and this mom that I'm a teacher at the school and I need a ride back?" (But I was totally running on a sugar high, so I'm pretty sure that that entire sentence made it out of my mouth in like, 3 seconds - lucky for me that they are both insanely smart and understood what I was saying). So David took point and explained to the bus driver (in my head I imagine that he said something to the effect of, "it's okay, she's with us," but based on the Korean that I know, I know that he just translated what I said to the confused bus driver) and I got on.
We had to make three or four stops elsewhere to pick up other students, but the majority got on in Yeongtong (like me). We stopped in Suwon once or twice, and then ... in Bundang. Now, those of you who know me well know that I get disoriented (and lost) easily. So, I have no idea how we got back. I can tell you bits and pieces of the two hour bus ride - like when we were driving along the Han River and I'm pretty sure we were near Banpo Bridge because of the lights and the fountain. I can tell you that we drove past Ilsan (but there was like, a river between us and Ilsan) because I could see a sign that said "KINTEX" shining on the other side of the river. I can even describe to you the barbed wire and the military guard posts that were stationed along the bank of a river that I think must be the same one I saw when I went hiking with the principal (which is where Ganghwa Island is and also is between North and South Korea - hence the barbed wire). But in between Banpo Bridge and Tongjin, I had no idea where we were. And I have no idea how we even ended up near Banpo Bridge - if that was Banpo Bridge. Oh, and I'm still motion sick, and I got back thirty minutes ago. That's probably not a good sign.
Oh well. I got home. :) And it only took TWO hours. AND I didn't have to pay anything. So, WIN!
This weekend was pretty good. Yesterday, I met Hyun in Myeongdong and we ate Indian food and shopped. I got a new jacket, which I'm pretty stoked about. Oh, and new Converse. :) It was great seeing Hyun again - I had a lot of fun hanging out with her! Hopefully we can do it again sometime soon. :) :) :)
Today, I woke up early and made the trek down to Suwon. PS, on a Sunday morning, it takes almost exactly 2.5 hours to get from my school to Yeongtong HomePlus (when you factor in waiting for buses and subways and transfers and all of that). So, I left at 9:30 and I made it to the Coffee Bean at exactly noon, just when Nick and I had made plans to meet for lunch. Lunch was Bo-Young Mandoo (DOUBLE WIN). After church, my small group went to Tous les Jours and Seung-Beom (our leader) bought us all coffee (TRIPLE WIN!) AND after that we went back to church and they fed us dinner (we're up to 4 wins now). I got to talk with Chan-Joo (찬주), Eun-Soo (은수), and Isaac (이삭) a lot, which was fun. Whenever Isaac and I talk, he speaks to me in Korean (and I can understand most of it, if he remembers to speak slowly) and I speak to him in English (and he understands most of it [more than I understand of his Korean] if I speak at a moderate pace). Today's sermon was about Joshua 14:1-15. The pastor started off by talking about how our future is dependent upon the decisions we make, and how we live, in the present. I learned two new words today: 현재 ("hyun-jae" which means "present" - I was REALLY proud of myself for that one because I kept hearing the pastor say it, so when Eun-Soo wasn't looking, I looked it up in my dictionary) and 미래 ("mi-rae" which means "future" - Eun-Soo told me). Well, actually, I learned THREE, but I forgot the third one. Oops.
Anyways. Church was good.
Now it's time for a little more babble and a little less sense. I think now is the time to illustrate my feelings by using some song lyrics. Follow along, if you can. :)
Since you've been away
Things ain't been the same
I miss you most and more each day
{...}
No matter what I do
I can't stop thinking of you
You're always on my mind
- Dream
I miss you so much
Your light, your smile, your way
- Rascal Flatts
Okay, I had more, but it's starting to sound pathetic even to ME ... so I can't imagine (or don't want to imagine) what you guys are all thinking. Long story short ...
1.) I'm irritated with you for just disappearing.
2.) I miss talking to you and hanging out with you.
3.) I'm irritated with myself for letting it effect me so much.
There you have it. Oh, and I know full well that this is passive-aggressive at its finest, since *you* won't read this. However ... I totally had planned to tell you all of this today (well, okay, maybe not numbers 1 and 3 ... but I was definitely going to tell you #2), but then you didn't talk to me. So, I'm venting.
I miss my friend. (BTW, Dean, thanks for listening to me for 45 minutes)
Okay, enough of that garbage. :) Now, it's funny time. My buddy, Nick, posted this link a few days ago on his Tumblr - take a look-sie at it. It might make you laugh (I did). Especially look at it if you're a guy dating a Korean girl - http://www.datingish.com/678604010/ten-tips-on-dating-a-korean-girl/
Oh, and just to even things out - http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2007/09/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know.html (not as funny, though).
Okay. This coming week is the big university entrance exam. You know, the test that only occurs ONCE A YEAR that Korean high school students work their butts off preparing for - the test that causes them to stress out like NO OTHER. Okay, here's my two cents: You don't want students to stress out so much? OFFER THE TEST MORE THAN JUST once A YEAR! =) Stress-be-gone!!! :)
Anyways, that means we don't have classes on Thursday. :) So that means I only have to teach 2-1 ONCE this week (same with 2-3 ... luckily, I get 2-2 and 2-4 TWICE). LOVE it. Oh, on the subject of my students - I have their running totals for the semester so far. Out of a possible 40 points (two tests at 20 points each), my highest student has a total of 38.5 and my lowest has 25.5 (excluding the new students who missed one or both of the tests). We'll see how this works out. :)
(And yes, I realize that I've typed a lot about very little ... but for some reason today, all I've wanted to do is talk the entire day).
Oh, and I just heard a bunch of banging sounds in the hallway, so I stuck my head out to look ... and found a bunch of 3rd year girls riding on a cart up and down the hallway while brushing their teeth. Hey, you gotta blow off steam somehow, right??? :)
Okay. I'm out for the night. Thanks for reading/listening. :) More to come later. Love!
Tuesday, November 9
"Twilight" Fear
It's 7:49 PM. Ten minutes ago, I was on a treadmill in the exercise room in the other dormitory. Because I'm feeling a little sick, I decided just to do a brisk walk at an incline ... nothing too big. So, to pass the time, I had my iPod and a book to read. Earlier in the evening, I heard a sound like the door opening and closing, which was strange in and of itself since no one was in the dorms at the time (it's study hall time). So, I was a little on edge. I was reading my adolescent sparkly vampire drivel (a.k.a. "Twilight"), and had gotten to an almost suspenseful part (you know, where the idiot girl realizes he's a vampire) and ... the lights in the room went out. Talk about timing! I almost fell off the damn treadmill!
So, I ventured (carefully) out into the hallway (fine, call me a chicken - whatever. I've always been jumpy ... and being alone [or almost all alone] in a five story dormitory wasn't any picnic) and started walking towards the lobby area where the stairs are ... Got to the stairs, and almost flipped out because THE DOOR TO THE ROOM BEHIND ME SLOWLY OPENED. I'm not joking. Like, slowly ... should-be-creaking-opened. Turns out it was one of the dormitory supervisors or something ... well, I'm not sure, but I know that he's nice, so I managed to explain what happened and by "managed to explain" I mean I uttered a few words in my poor Korean and then I simply led him down the hall to show him. Which he then fixed with a smile. Thank you, nice man who scared the crap out of me. I appreciate that greatly.
Yesterday, 2-1 drove me up the freakin' wall. Frustrated the crap out of me. So, I decided to do something productive about it. I went to Tongjin, picked up eggs and butter, came back to my room, and baked several dozen cookies which I then dispersed amongst the various teacher offices. They turned out alright. Next will be banana bread - I bought a huge bunch of bananas and they're already kinda going gross (I don't like bananas anyways unless they're slightly green, so to me anything other than firm and green is bad). Anyway, I didn't know what to do with the bananas since I have a baby-sized fridge ... so I put them in a plastic bag and hung them in my bathroom. Don't judge. Now my bathroom smells like wet dog (see the previous post) and bananas. Gross.
Now I'm watching MacGyver (surprise surprise - and it's one of my favorite episodes, too) and trying to figure out a way to teach my lesson tomorrow WITHOUT bombing it again. Today was a neat day - aside from the crashing and burning in my lesson (well, my perceived crashing and burning). Normally at lunch time, I would wait until 11:40 or so (lunch starts at 11:20) to go down because there's a lot of people there. But I've started going to that lunch time praise music that I mentioned earlier, and in order to do that, I've been going to lunch right on time. Anyways, today I got in line downstairs, and there was a really nice teacher who was like, "sit with me, let's talk" so I ended up sitting at a table of some other teachers. The one who asked me to sit with them was really nice and tried really hard to engage me in conversation. Anyways, I went down to dinner later tonight, and after he finished he saw me and came up to me and was like, "tomorrow night, come down to dinner earlier and eat with us."
So, I'm working on that whole "opening up" thing. And the teacher leading the praise session surprised me yesterday - he handed me the sheet of music with Korean AND English lyrics!!! Today, too. And tomorrow. I'm really lucky - he's so kind! And another teacher wants me to teach her how to bake cookies. So, yeah. Today was cool. Except for my bombed lessons.
But, maybe I'm allowed a bombed lesson or two. And maybe it wasn't THAT bad. Well, okay. I think it was pretty bad. Tomorrow'll be better.
That's all, though. Mainly I just wanted to share my story about the sophomoric vampire tale and the treadmill. :)
So, I ventured (carefully) out into the hallway (fine, call me a chicken - whatever. I've always been jumpy ... and being alone [or almost all alone] in a five story dormitory wasn't any picnic) and started walking towards the lobby area where the stairs are ... Got to the stairs, and almost flipped out because THE DOOR TO THE ROOM BEHIND ME SLOWLY OPENED. I'm not joking. Like, slowly ... should-be-creaking-opened. Turns out it was one of the dormitory supervisors or something ... well, I'm not sure, but I know that he's nice, so I managed to explain what happened and by "managed to explain" I mean I uttered a few words in my poor Korean and then I simply led him down the hall to show him. Which he then fixed with a smile. Thank you, nice man who scared the crap out of me. I appreciate that greatly.
Yesterday, 2-1 drove me up the freakin' wall. Frustrated the crap out of me. So, I decided to do something productive about it. I went to Tongjin, picked up eggs and butter, came back to my room, and baked several dozen cookies which I then dispersed amongst the various teacher offices. They turned out alright. Next will be banana bread - I bought a huge bunch of bananas and they're already kinda going gross (I don't like bananas anyways unless they're slightly green, so to me anything other than firm and green is bad). Anyway, I didn't know what to do with the bananas since I have a baby-sized fridge ... so I put them in a plastic bag and hung them in my bathroom. Don't judge. Now my bathroom smells like wet dog (see the previous post) and bananas. Gross.
Now I'm watching MacGyver (surprise surprise - and it's one of my favorite episodes, too) and trying to figure out a way to teach my lesson tomorrow WITHOUT bombing it again. Today was a neat day - aside from the crashing and burning in my lesson (well, my perceived crashing and burning). Normally at lunch time, I would wait until 11:40 or so (lunch starts at 11:20) to go down because there's a lot of people there. But I've started going to that lunch time praise music that I mentioned earlier, and in order to do that, I've been going to lunch right on time. Anyways, today I got in line downstairs, and there was a really nice teacher who was like, "sit with me, let's talk" so I ended up sitting at a table of some other teachers. The one who asked me to sit with them was really nice and tried really hard to engage me in conversation. Anyways, I went down to dinner later tonight, and after he finished he saw me and came up to me and was like, "tomorrow night, come down to dinner earlier and eat with us."
So, I'm working on that whole "opening up" thing. And the teacher leading the praise session surprised me yesterday - he handed me the sheet of music with Korean AND English lyrics!!! Today, too. And tomorrow. I'm really lucky - he's so kind! And another teacher wants me to teach her how to bake cookies. So, yeah. Today was cool. Except for my bombed lessons.
But, maybe I'm allowed a bombed lesson or two. And maybe it wasn't THAT bad. Well, okay. I think it was pretty bad. Tomorrow'll be better.
That's all, though. Mainly I just wanted to share my story about the sophomoric vampire tale and the treadmill. :)
Sunday, November 7
FAIL
It's Sunday night, and I literally just walked in the door. Yesterday, before I left, I bleached my bathroom. I was SOOO proud of myself for doing that - don't judge. I'm hopeless when it comes to cleaning. So, I bleached my bathroom (just like Amanda taught me) and then left. Now, my bathroom smells like wet dog. I'm not sure what happened. I'm pretty sure there's never even been a dog near my bathroom. FAIL.
Friday, November 5
"Chris Brown!"
So, I've come to the realization that students here like me (well, some of them do, anyways) not because I'm a good teacher (the jury's still deliberating my teaching ability) but because we like the same things.
I realized this after having spent the past two weeks hearing a group of 3-4 boys (who I don't even teach) start singing Chris Brown songs everytime they saw me in the hallways. Finally, one of them explained to me that they heard that I like Chris Brown. How they heard it, I don't know ... but whatever. So, anyways, I saw this group of boys tonight ... I was on my way to exercise, so I had my iPod on and everything, and the "leader" (a.k.a. the tallest and the loudest) asked me what I was listening to. When I responded, he began to enthusiastically ask me about the album and the song and other songs by that artist and so on and so forth ...
Continuing with the music theme - last week, I had my laptop in class so that students could research for their speeches, and a bunch of the boys decided to browse through my iTunes. I think I definitely earned cool points - at least with one of my classes. "Teacher, you like hip-hop? Teacher, you like Ludacris? I like Ludacris! Teacher, you like Twista? I like Twista! Teacher, you have ..." And then there's 2-4 who skipped all the hip-hop and went straight for the rock.
Couple that with the fact that I have a handful of girls who like to run up and hug me in the hallway ... yeap.
I'm doing alright here. :)
Today was Friday, which meant I didn't work. After lunch, I was walking through the hallways, and I heard guitar music and singing coming from an empty classroom. It sounded ... Bucket-esque. The only problem? I was too short to look in the window to see what was really going on, and too scared to open the door. Luckily for me, another teacher was passing by in the hallway at that moment and explained to me that it was a church group. She then proceeded to tell me that I should go in, led me in, and introduced me to the group. It was being led by one of my favorite teachers - I think he's a biology teacher, 유주현. He was playing guitar and singing, and asked me to come again next week. I guess they meet every weekday during lunch time. I'm pretty stoked about that.
I went on an adventure into Tongjin today to go to the post office. Then I bought some AMAZING apples ... AND managed to get a library card at the public library! I gave up before finding English books, but I was told that they DO have a selection. So I will go back at some point to try to find them.
And that's all I've got. Back to watching MacGyver. :) I've recently decided that MacGyver is the perfect man. He's pretty much amazing.
I realized this after having spent the past two weeks hearing a group of 3-4 boys (who I don't even teach) start singing Chris Brown songs everytime they saw me in the hallways. Finally, one of them explained to me that they heard that I like Chris Brown. How they heard it, I don't know ... but whatever. So, anyways, I saw this group of boys tonight ... I was on my way to exercise, so I had my iPod on and everything, and the "leader" (a.k.a. the tallest and the loudest) asked me what I was listening to. When I responded, he began to enthusiastically ask me about the album and the song and other songs by that artist and so on and so forth ...
Continuing with the music theme - last week, I had my laptop in class so that students could research for their speeches, and a bunch of the boys decided to browse through my iTunes. I think I definitely earned cool points - at least with one of my classes. "Teacher, you like hip-hop? Teacher, you like Ludacris? I like Ludacris! Teacher, you like Twista? I like Twista! Teacher, you have ..." And then there's 2-4 who skipped all the hip-hop and went straight for the rock.
Couple that with the fact that I have a handful of girls who like to run up and hug me in the hallway ... yeap.
I'm doing alright here. :)
Today was Friday, which meant I didn't work. After lunch, I was walking through the hallways, and I heard guitar music and singing coming from an empty classroom. It sounded ... Bucket-esque. The only problem? I was too short to look in the window to see what was really going on, and too scared to open the door. Luckily for me, another teacher was passing by in the hallway at that moment and explained to me that it was a church group. She then proceeded to tell me that I should go in, led me in, and introduced me to the group. It was being led by one of my favorite teachers - I think he's a biology teacher, 유주현. He was playing guitar and singing, and asked me to come again next week. I guess they meet every weekday during lunch time. I'm pretty stoked about that.
I went on an adventure into Tongjin today to go to the post office. Then I bought some AMAZING apples ... AND managed to get a library card at the public library! I gave up before finding English books, but I was told that they DO have a selection. So I will go back at some point to try to find them.
And that's all I've got. Back to watching MacGyver. :) I've recently decided that MacGyver is the perfect man. He's pretty much amazing.
Thursday, October 28
"Top Gun" Take II? HECK YES
So, apparently, they're going to make a sequel to "Top Gun" (http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/oct/25/tony-scott-top-gun-sequel), and I, for one, am a nice combination of stoked and skeptical.
I'm SUPER excited because "Top Gun" is one of my very favorite movies EVERRR. I could watch it EVERY-SINGLE-DAY and still be happy. To date, it's my favorite Tom Cruise movie ... with the exception of "A Few Good Men." It's a FANASTIC movie (and if you don't like it ... I don't care ^^).
On the other hand ... the first one was SO great that ... I feel that a second one couldn't possibly live up to my expectations. I mean, I'll see it, of course ... but ... the first one was just SOOOOO good. I kinda fear it'll be like when I saw the second "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie (because I thought the first one was AMAZING) and I was totally let down. But, you know, I'm still pretty-freaking-excited. :)
Today I didn't have to teach - I guess it was their monthly tests or something like that, so I just had to sit in my office all day and plan lessons. Well, okay, I actually spent a good portion of the day working on my TEFL homework. So, I finished and submitted me homework for the 4th lesson, and began the 5th one - and I also completed the Grammar component (and passed a huge, 100 question test, thankyouVERYmuch). So now I have like ... 8 more units and two more components. Yeah, yeah, I'll get on that.
This weekend is Halloween - I have no idea what I'm going to wear. Besides clothes. I figured that out. :) It's kinda sad that I work with HS kids now, because I don't get to see super sweet and stinkin' adorable 5 year olds running around in their costumes. :( Oh well.
This Saturday is the 30th - my dad's 57th birthday. I've had sort of a difficult time coping with that - I don't know why. I guess it's just realizing that there's no more birthdays or any other milestones of that kind. The past couple of weeks, I've been thinking alot about it, wondering what to do for it. I received a message from my Aunt Sally a few days ago - she let me know that the headstone arrived and on Friday (the 29th), she's going to go to Bellingham and they'll inter his ashes and set up his headstone. I know that, before, I said I wasn't prepared for his memorial because it made it seem so FINAL. Now, I feel like this, a headstone, is a new level of finality. I'm sure there will be more levels to come. That doesn't make it any better, but ...
Anyways, we do what we can, right?
I had a lot more to say about this earlier in the week, but I guess I lost it. Maybe it'll come back to me. Maybe not. We'll see. It's really cold out now. It feels like we just completely skipped Autumn, and went straight from Summer to Winter. Hopefully it warms up a teeny bit ... at least, for a little while. The leaves are changing colors, and it's really quite beautiful out. I love when the leaves change colors.
Alright. If you ever find yourself with a few spare minutes, go to YouTube and find Crystal Shawanda's "You Can Let Go" and Keith Urban's "Song for Dad." Right now, I have them on repeat.
Love you much.
I'm SUPER excited because "Top Gun" is one of my very favorite movies EVERRR. I could watch it EVERY-SINGLE-DAY and still be happy. To date, it's my favorite Tom Cruise movie ... with the exception of "A Few Good Men." It's a FANASTIC movie (and if you don't like it ... I don't care ^^).
On the other hand ... the first one was SO great that ... I feel that a second one couldn't possibly live up to my expectations. I mean, I'll see it, of course ... but ... the first one was just SOOOOO good. I kinda fear it'll be like when I saw the second "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie (because I thought the first one was AMAZING) and I was totally let down. But, you know, I'm still pretty-freaking-excited. :)
Today I didn't have to teach - I guess it was their monthly tests or something like that, so I just had to sit in my office all day and plan lessons. Well, okay, I actually spent a good portion of the day working on my TEFL homework. So, I finished and submitted me homework for the 4th lesson, and began the 5th one - and I also completed the Grammar component (and passed a huge, 100 question test, thankyouVERYmuch). So now I have like ... 8 more units and two more components. Yeah, yeah, I'll get on that.
This weekend is Halloween - I have no idea what I'm going to wear. Besides clothes. I figured that out. :) It's kinda sad that I work with HS kids now, because I don't get to see super sweet and stinkin' adorable 5 year olds running around in their costumes. :( Oh well.
This Saturday is the 30th - my dad's 57th birthday. I've had sort of a difficult time coping with that - I don't know why. I guess it's just realizing that there's no more birthdays or any other milestones of that kind. The past couple of weeks, I've been thinking alot about it, wondering what to do for it. I received a message from my Aunt Sally a few days ago - she let me know that the headstone arrived and on Friday (the 29th), she's going to go to Bellingham and they'll inter his ashes and set up his headstone. I know that, before, I said I wasn't prepared for his memorial because it made it seem so FINAL. Now, I feel like this, a headstone, is a new level of finality. I'm sure there will be more levels to come. That doesn't make it any better, but ...
Anyways, we do what we can, right?
I had a lot more to say about this earlier in the week, but I guess I lost it. Maybe it'll come back to me. Maybe not. We'll see. It's really cold out now. It feels like we just completely skipped Autumn, and went straight from Summer to Winter. Hopefully it warms up a teeny bit ... at least, for a little while. The leaves are changing colors, and it's really quite beautiful out. I love when the leaves change colors.
Alright. If you ever find yourself with a few spare minutes, go to YouTube and find Crystal Shawanda's "You Can Let Go" and Keith Urban's "Song for Dad." Right now, I have them on repeat.
Love you much.
Wednesday, October 20
Peanut Butter and Paper Hats
So, here's how you know you have a problem with procrastination:
1.) You are sitting in front of your computer with your work files open.
2.) The documents in question are minimized, and you are typing a new blog.
3.) You are eating peanut butter out of the jar with a plastic spoon.
4.) Steps 1, 2, and 3 are overshadowed by the fact that "Red vs. Blue" is playing on the screen.
5.) You're teaching yourself how to fold a paper hat from a piece of newspaper for your "How To" Speech lessons next week.
"I probably could have saved a lot of time by telling you these things worked by magic."
Yup. My name is Marcie, and I have a problem.
Earlier today, I went to Tongjin with Randy - he's the English teacher from Canada. Tongjin is the very small town near where we live (about five minutes away) and reminicsent of Hogyedong. We went to the post office, got coffee, walked around, ate gamjatang, and then picked up some groceries at the Lotte Supermarket ... hence, where I got the peanut butter (mmm, creamy Skippy).
I've got a rough plan of my Winter Camp classes ... but, really? I feel like this is going to be subject to change. Oh well. Next week, I'm going to start doing speeches with the kids. I think it'll be "How-to" speeches ... you know, demonstrations. I spent a prep period typing up a ton of topics ... I'm going to mix 'em up in a box or something and let each kid pick one. They'll have to do a little research, and create a visual aid, and then present to the class. We'll see how that works. I think it'll be great with my 2-2 and 2-4 classes. I think half of 2-3 will dig it. But most of 2-1 and half of 2-3 ... aigooo. Oh well. Five out of eight isn't bad, I guess.
What else have I done? Well, yesterday, I did some of my TEFL homework. Oh, and I watched "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" and "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" (and yes, I could FEEL my brain cells dying while watching that). Today, I watched "Pride and Prejudice" - the Keira Knightley one. I looove Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy.
Oh, so Winter Camp - I want my Winter Camp to be presentation-based. I'm trying to create a lot of two-day lessons (Winter Camp is 2 weeks long, so it's 10 classes), where we introduce the topic on the first day, give the rest of the class period for working, and then present on the second day. That's my intention, at least. So far, I have topics like advertising where we talk about what makes a good advertisement, why people use it, etc ... and then I give them a random object (like a set or chopsticks or a plastic plate) and they have to come up with an original use for it and try to sell the product to the rest of the class ... advertising will kind of segue into movies and promotions like that where they have to create an ad to market a movie (either a real movie or a made up one) ... maybe talk about music, and then they will have to analyze and then perform a song ... what about poetry? They ARE middle school students, after all, but I think they could become interested in poetry, and then write and recite something ... or maybe, act it out. Basically, I want to get them SPEAKING in front of their classmates. That's my goal. Oh, and of course the first day will be getting to know each other, going over classroom expectations, blah blah blah. I'm thinking of having them make their own rules. Oh, and a game day. I dunno. Let me know if you have any suggestions. Maybe I could make them do speeches, too.
I would rather just teach TOEFL for two weeks straight.
Oh well. Again. Any suggestions are more than welcome. :)
Okay. Time for me to go to bed. I promise I'll stop eating the peanut butter from the jar. :) Loves ...
Oh, and PS - my student, Min-Jung, who I mentioned earlier was preparing for an interview? Yeah ... she got it. :)
1.) You are sitting in front of your computer with your work files open.
2.) The documents in question are minimized, and you are typing a new blog.
3.) You are eating peanut butter out of the jar with a plastic spoon.
4.) Steps 1, 2, and 3 are overshadowed by the fact that "Red vs. Blue" is playing on the screen.
"I probably could have saved a lot of time by telling you these things worked by magic."
Yup. My name is Marcie, and I have a problem.
Earlier today, I went to Tongjin with Randy - he's the English teacher from Canada. Tongjin is the very small town near where we live (about five minutes away) and reminicsent of Hogyedong. We went to the post office, got coffee, walked around, ate gamjatang, and then picked up some groceries at the Lotte Supermarket ... hence, where I got the peanut butter (mmm, creamy Skippy).
I've got a rough plan of my Winter Camp classes ... but, really? I feel like this is going to be subject to change. Oh well. Next week, I'm going to start doing speeches with the kids. I think it'll be "How-to" speeches ... you know, demonstrations. I spent a prep period typing up a ton of topics ... I'm going to mix 'em up in a box or something and let each kid pick one. They'll have to do a little research, and create a visual aid, and then present to the class. We'll see how that works. I think it'll be great with my 2-2 and 2-4 classes. I think half of 2-3 will dig it. But most of 2-1 and half of 2-3 ... aigooo. Oh well. Five out of eight isn't bad, I guess.
What else have I done? Well, yesterday, I did some of my TEFL homework. Oh, and I watched "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" and "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" (and yes, I could FEEL my brain cells dying while watching that). Today, I watched "Pride and Prejudice" - the Keira Knightley one. I looove Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy.
Oh, so Winter Camp - I want my Winter Camp to be presentation-based. I'm trying to create a lot of two-day lessons (Winter Camp is 2 weeks long, so it's 10 classes), where we introduce the topic on the first day, give the rest of the class period for working, and then present on the second day. That's my intention, at least. So far, I have topics like advertising where we talk about what makes a good advertisement, why people use it, etc ... and then I give them a random object (like a set or chopsticks or a plastic plate) and they have to come up with an original use for it and try to sell the product to the rest of the class ... advertising will kind of segue into movies and promotions like that where they have to create an ad to market a movie (either a real movie or a made up one) ... maybe talk about music, and then they will have to analyze and then perform a song ... what about poetry? They ARE middle school students, after all, but I think they could become interested in poetry, and then write and recite something ... or maybe, act it out. Basically, I want to get them SPEAKING in front of their classmates. That's my goal. Oh, and of course the first day will be getting to know each other, going over classroom expectations, blah blah blah. I'm thinking of having them make their own rules. Oh, and a game day. I dunno. Let me know if you have any suggestions. Maybe I could make them do speeches, too.
I would rather just teach TOEFL for two weeks straight.
Oh well. Again. Any suggestions are more than welcome. :)
Okay. Time for me to go to bed. I promise I'll stop eating the peanut butter from the jar. :) Loves ...
Oh, and PS - my student, Min-Jung, who I mentioned earlier was preparing for an interview? Yeah ... she got it. :)
Friday, October 15
No work? Hmm ...
I only taught one day this week.
Now, before you start cursing me for that, the one day I DID have to teach was Thursday. Thursday means I have to teach my least motivated class (two sections of 2-1) and my class with the biggest attitude (2-3). That makes it one of the hardest days ... tied with Monday (the day that I ONLY teach the unmotivated ones). So, that was not-so-fun.
Today was Friday - I spent two hours earlier tonight, helping a student prepare for an interview she has on Sunday. She's applying for a leadership position within the upcoming Model UN Conference. She's one of the top 16 - and from those 16, they will choose 10 leaders. I think she's got a really good shot at it - I can't wait to hear how it goes. She's only spent 4 months living abroad, and yet, she's one of the more articulate students in her class, even compared to students who have spent a longer time in English speaking countries. Anyways, I hope she does well.
We might start offering a TOEFL class again - if you have any suggestions of course material or things to focus on, let me know. Nothing's set in stone yet, but it may happen.
That's pretty much all that's new with work. Next week, there's no classes because of the students' field trip (Japan, China, Malaysia/Singapore), but I do have to prepare my lessons for the Winter Camp in January (January 17 - January 28, if you know of any middle school students looking for an English camp to attend). Any and all ideas for that will be welcome, as well. :)
Other news ... hmm ... last weekend, a group of us went to Oido on Saturday to eat copious amounts of fresh seafood. So fresh that ... it may or may not have still been alive. :) There was a good group of us - maybe 16 or so? - and it had been organized by 진규, who is 성돈's basketball buddy. It was a lot of fun! The sunset off the coast was AMAZING. Afterwards, most of us came back to Beomgye and went to Bar 10, and the night ended in Central Park. It was a pretty nice night - the weather was pleasant, the the food was good, and the company was fantastic. All-in-all, it was a good weekend.
OH! Last Tuesday, a group of us went to the soccer game - Korea versus Japan. Both teams didn't perform that well, but it was only a friendly match and nothing was at stake (except, perhaps, a little pride). PARK Ji-Sung didn't play at all - my students later informed me that he has an injury. CHA Du-Ri wasn't put in 'til the end, so I was a little sad about that. HOWEVER, Japan's captain, Makoto Hasebe, played the entire match ... 1 out of 3 isn't that bad. Also, I got to watch Japan's Keisuke Honda, who is pretty fantastic. AND I got to spend time with Judy, Seong-Don, Steve, Rob, Veena, Mi-Hee, and Hannah ... and that made it all worthwhile. :) The stadium was PACKED, though, which was really stinkin' cool.
THIS weekend ... hmmm. I'm heading down to Beomgye tomorrow morning, and everything's kinda up in the air at that point. :) Definitely need to invest in some skin products and new running shoes while I'm there, though. Sunday, after church, I'm planning on meeting Nick for dinner in Yeongtong ... and then I think on Monday we are planning on meeting (sorta halfway) in Itaewon. :) It'll be fun! Plus, it gives me an excuse to go to What the Book AGAIN ... :)
Anyways, that's my update. Your turn?? :)
PS - new songs ...
"God Made Woman" - Keith Urban
"Dance" - Caedmon's Call
Now, before you start cursing me for that, the one day I DID have to teach was Thursday. Thursday means I have to teach my least motivated class (two sections of 2-1) and my class with the biggest attitude (2-3). That makes it one of the hardest days ... tied with Monday (the day that I ONLY teach the unmotivated ones). So, that was not-so-fun.
Today was Friday - I spent two hours earlier tonight, helping a student prepare for an interview she has on Sunday. She's applying for a leadership position within the upcoming Model UN Conference. She's one of the top 16 - and from those 16, they will choose 10 leaders. I think she's got a really good shot at it - I can't wait to hear how it goes. She's only spent 4 months living abroad, and yet, she's one of the more articulate students in her class, even compared to students who have spent a longer time in English speaking countries. Anyways, I hope she does well.
We might start offering a TOEFL class again - if you have any suggestions of course material or things to focus on, let me know. Nothing's set in stone yet, but it may happen.
That's pretty much all that's new with work. Next week, there's no classes because of the students' field trip (Japan, China, Malaysia/Singapore), but I do have to prepare my lessons for the Winter Camp in January (January 17 - January 28, if you know of any middle school students looking for an English camp to attend). Any and all ideas for that will be welcome, as well. :)
Other news ... hmm ... last weekend, a group of us went to Oido on Saturday to eat copious amounts of fresh seafood. So fresh that ... it may or may not have still been alive. :) There was a good group of us - maybe 16 or so? - and it had been organized by 진규, who is 성돈's basketball buddy. It was a lot of fun! The sunset off the coast was AMAZING. Afterwards, most of us came back to Beomgye and went to Bar 10, and the night ended in Central Park. It was a pretty nice night - the weather was pleasant, the the food was good, and the company was fantastic. All-in-all, it was a good weekend.
OH! Last Tuesday, a group of us went to the soccer game - Korea versus Japan. Both teams didn't perform that well, but it was only a friendly match and nothing was at stake (except, perhaps, a little pride). PARK Ji-Sung didn't play at all - my students later informed me that he has an injury. CHA Du-Ri wasn't put in 'til the end, so I was a little sad about that. HOWEVER, Japan's captain, Makoto Hasebe, played the entire match ... 1 out of 3 isn't that bad. Also, I got to watch Japan's Keisuke Honda, who is pretty fantastic. AND I got to spend time with Judy, Seong-Don, Steve, Rob, Veena, Mi-Hee, and Hannah ... and that made it all worthwhile. :) The stadium was PACKED, though, which was really stinkin' cool.
THIS weekend ... hmmm. I'm heading down to Beomgye tomorrow morning, and everything's kinda up in the air at that point. :) Definitely need to invest in some skin products and new running shoes while I'm there, though. Sunday, after church, I'm planning on meeting Nick for dinner in Yeongtong ... and then I think on Monday we are planning on meeting (sorta halfway) in Itaewon. :) It'll be fun! Plus, it gives me an excuse to go to What the Book AGAIN ... :)
Anyways, that's my update. Your turn?? :)
PS - new songs ...
"God Made Woman" - Keith Urban
"Dance" - Caedmon's Call
Wednesday, September 29
Turn that frown up-side down! :( => :)
I've recently come to the conclusion that I complain a lot. Especially recently.
So, if you're one of the people who has gotten a complaint-ridden text message, e-mail, or phone call, then I'm sorry.
Instead, in this post, I want to focus on the positive aspects of my new job, amongst other things. Because, you know, the positive things TOTALLY outweigh the negative aspects. Promise. :) Sometimes I just like to complain.
So, I'm going to take some of the things that I complain about (whether it's to other people, or just in my head) and turn them into positive things. :)
In no particular order :::
Negative Thinking: I live in in a dormitory instead of an apartment.
Positive Thinking: I don't have to worry about drunk people banging on my door in the middle of the night.
Explanation: Occassionally, people back in Hogyedong would complain about being woken up in the middle of the night by a drunk man (or woman) thinking they lived there. There's security in my dormitory. I don't have to worry about a thing. :)
Negative Thinking: I don't have my own washing machine.
Positive Thinking: There are combination washer-dryers on my floor.
Explanation: Do I even have to remind you all how wonderful it is to have your towels or sheets freshly out of the dryer? Didn't think so. And the whole sharing thing? It's totally okay because the students aren't allowed in the dormitory during the day - so they're pretty much open.
Negative Thinking: I don't have a kitchen (or anything resembling a kitchen).
Positive Thinking: I have a microwave and a fridge (and soon I'll bring my oven up), AND there's a cafeteria.
Explanation: I didn't really cook much anyways. So, really, I didn't lose anything. :) Once I bring my oven up, it'll be EVEN better.
Negative Thinking: Most of the other teachers don't really talk to me.
Positive Thinking: It'll help me become more outgoing again.
Explanation: If I have to go out of my way to talk to other people, it'll force me to become a more social person, right? Or, at least, maybe I'll be more inspired to learn Korean. Or spend my new-found free time learning SOMEthing.
Negative Thinking: I'm not provided with a curriculum.
Positive Thinking: I'm become more of a teacher.
Explanation: I have no formal training in this. None. I've never taken an ED class in my life. So it's kind of gratifying to find that I'm not COMPLETELY drowning here. I'm learning when works on my own, and luckily, my students are, for the most part, very understanding of that.
Negative Thinking: I have to teach 2-1.
Positive Thinking: I get to teach 2-2, 2-3, and 2-4.
Explanation: 2-1 is a black hole of unmotivation. In general, they just don't care. There are a few exceptions. But after talking with other teachers (Korean and foreign), I've learned that it's NOT me - it's just the way they are. That makes me feel both better, and worse. Better because I realize it doesn't have much to do with my teaching style. Worse because it makes me lose hope about getting them to care. BUT I get to teach my other classes, and they are AMAZING. I won't bore you right now with exactly WHY they're amazing ... instead, just let me say that Tuesdays and Wednesdays (and Thursday afternoons) are my favorites because I get to be in a classroom with those classes. Oh, and if I could, I would adopt like ... 15 of them.
So, actually, I have it really good here. Besides the exceptionally motivated students in 2-2, 2-3, and 2-4 ... I have my own classroom ... my own room is much larger than my apartment in Hogyedong ... I have a lot of freedom to do what I want with my students ... I only teach 16 classes a week ... and I get to work with high school students, sometimes in a sort-of pseudo-advising capacity which was my original intent when I went to University. I used to want to be a high school guidance counselor, and recently I've had a few students come to me who want to talk about preparing for university in the States. I've even had students confide to me things about their personal lives, which is pretty cool that they are so open and they trust me.
So ... I think I'll stay here for a while. :)
So, if you're one of the people who has gotten a complaint-ridden text message, e-mail, or phone call, then I'm sorry.
Instead, in this post, I want to focus on the positive aspects of my new job, amongst other things. Because, you know, the positive things TOTALLY outweigh the negative aspects. Promise. :) Sometimes I just like to complain.
So, I'm going to take some of the things that I complain about (whether it's to other people, or just in my head) and turn them into positive things. :)
In no particular order :::
Negative Thinking: I live in in a dormitory instead of an apartment.
Positive Thinking: I don't have to worry about drunk people banging on my door in the middle of the night.
Explanation: Occassionally, people back in Hogyedong would complain about being woken up in the middle of the night by a drunk man (or woman) thinking they lived there. There's security in my dormitory. I don't have to worry about a thing. :)
Negative Thinking: I don't have my own washing machine.
Positive Thinking: There are combination washer-dryers on my floor.
Explanation: Do I even have to remind you all how wonderful it is to have your towels or sheets freshly out of the dryer? Didn't think so. And the whole sharing thing? It's totally okay because the students aren't allowed in the dormitory during the day - so they're pretty much open.
Negative Thinking: I don't have a kitchen (or anything resembling a kitchen).
Positive Thinking: I have a microwave and a fridge (and soon I'll bring my oven up), AND there's a cafeteria.
Explanation: I didn't really cook much anyways. So, really, I didn't lose anything. :) Once I bring my oven up, it'll be EVEN better.
Negative Thinking: Most of the other teachers don't really talk to me.
Positive Thinking: It'll help me become more outgoing again.
Explanation: If I have to go out of my way to talk to other people, it'll force me to become a more social person, right? Or, at least, maybe I'll be more inspired to learn Korean. Or spend my new-found free time learning SOMEthing.
Negative Thinking: I'm not provided with a curriculum.
Positive Thinking: I'm become more of a teacher.
Explanation: I have no formal training in this. None. I've never taken an ED class in my life. So it's kind of gratifying to find that I'm not COMPLETELY drowning here. I'm learning when works on my own, and luckily, my students are, for the most part, very understanding of that.
Negative Thinking: I have to teach 2-1.
Positive Thinking: I get to teach 2-2, 2-3, and 2-4.
Explanation: 2-1 is a black hole of unmotivation. In general, they just don't care. There are a few exceptions. But after talking with other teachers (Korean and foreign), I've learned that it's NOT me - it's just the way they are. That makes me feel both better, and worse. Better because I realize it doesn't have much to do with my teaching style. Worse because it makes me lose hope about getting them to care. BUT I get to teach my other classes, and they are AMAZING. I won't bore you right now with exactly WHY they're amazing ... instead, just let me say that Tuesdays and Wednesdays (and Thursday afternoons) are my favorites because I get to be in a classroom with those classes. Oh, and if I could, I would adopt like ... 15 of them.
So, actually, I have it really good here. Besides the exceptionally motivated students in 2-2, 2-3, and 2-4 ... I have my own classroom ... my own room is much larger than my apartment in Hogyedong ... I have a lot of freedom to do what I want with my students ... I only teach 16 classes a week ... and I get to work with high school students, sometimes in a sort-of pseudo-advising capacity which was my original intent when I went to University. I used to want to be a high school guidance counselor, and recently I've had a few students come to me who want to talk about preparing for university in the States. I've even had students confide to me things about their personal lives, which is pretty cool that they are so open and they trust me.
So ... I think I'll stay here for a while. :)
Sunday, September 26
A Good Read
Just finished reading my newest acquisition, "The Year of Living Biblically" by A.J. Jacobs.
Really, it was funny. There were times when I literally laughed out loud. I also learned things ... a lot things. The premise of the book is this guy, A.J. Jacobs, spends an entire year following as many of the laws of the Bible as he can. Of course, that's pretty much impossible in today's day and age ... so he has to sort of pick and choose. He also amasses quite a large panel of "spiritual advisors" to teach him. They ranged from all walks of life and all different religious backgrounds, so it wasn't like he just focused on one tradition.
It was a good read. I was skeptical at first - I had scanned a few pages before and decided against purchasing the book. But it caught my eye again this past week, and I went for it. I recommend it, if you get the chance and if you're looking for something to occupy your time.
Now, it's off to bed. It's back to early mornings and teaching. :) :) :)
We'll talk more about church and Chuseok later.
Really, it was funny. There were times when I literally laughed out loud. I also learned things ... a lot things. The premise of the book is this guy, A.J. Jacobs, spends an entire year following as many of the laws of the Bible as he can. Of course, that's pretty much impossible in today's day and age ... so he has to sort of pick and choose. He also amasses quite a large panel of "spiritual advisors" to teach him. They ranged from all walks of life and all different religious backgrounds, so it wasn't like he just focused on one tradition.
It was a good read. I was skeptical at first - I had scanned a few pages before and decided against purchasing the book. But it caught my eye again this past week, and I went for it. I recommend it, if you get the chance and if you're looking for something to occupy your time.
Now, it's off to bed. It's back to early mornings and teaching. :) :) :)
We'll talk more about church and Chuseok later.
Thursday, September 23
Wasting Time ... your's and mine :)
Now I remember what it feels like to be in school.
About a month ago (yikes, has it been THAT long?), I enrolled in an online TEFL certification course. My particular course is composed of like, 12 or 13 different modules (units), plus endorsements in Grammar, Business English, and Young Learners. So far? I've completed one unit. It's not that it's difficult - quite the opposite in fact. It's pretty much common sense stuff. For each unit, I have to read a bunch of material (not a lot, though), then there's a quiz worth 30 points, and then 2 short essays worth 70 points. Why haven't I finished this yet? One word - procrastination.
Which is why I am now sitting at "Coffine Gurunaru", taking advantage of their wireless internet ... well, okay, I'll be honest - I ended up here because Starbucks was CRAZY busy. (However, that didn't stop me from getting a chai latte for the road - hey, I walked all that way ... I needed SOME kind of reward). Why am I currently blogging? Hey, hey, I finished one of the "papers" ... and I needed a break. So sue me.
Plus, I like people watching. Since I've been here, maybe half of the patrons in here have left, and new ones have taken their place. Directly across from me is a girl who has been studying quite hard since before I sat down - on one of her books is the word "PHARMACY" written carefully in blue Sharpie. Definitely don't envy her - pharmaceutical-related subjects are HARD. There's a family sitting diagonally and to the right - mother, father, and two sons. The younger of the two is watching TV on his cell phone. Earlier, there was a guy sitting to my left, plugged into his laptop and iPod and whatever other gadgets he had with him (much like myself - laptop+iPod+cell phone). Directly in front of me is the counter, where the same three employees have been working for at least the past two hours. Wonder if they'll have a shift change, or if they're stuck here 'til closing. That would be hard - I think they close at 2 AM? Oh, three employees (2 guys and a girl) plus the owner. He's really nice.
What else has been going on? Well, it's Chuseok this week. Chuseok is the Korean thanksgiving holiday. It's celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar every year - that means that it changes yearly. This year, Chuseok Day was a Wednesday. That meant that Tuesday and Thursday were also "red days" (no work) on the calendar, since Chuseok is a 3-day holiday. Many academies ALSO gave their employees Friday off, which made for a six day weekend. I only had to work Monday morning - I was done by 1.
What do people do for Chuseok? Well, it's a huge family holiday. So, you go and brave the overly congested roads, and spend time with your family. What do foreigners in Korea do for Chuseok? Well, for the most part, we travel. Unless you're me ... and then you merely go and stay in other people's apartments while they're traveling. :) Promise I'll go somewhere during the winter holiday.
Last week was good - really good. I spent a few hours picking topics and typing short background blurbs for each one. Then I broke my classes into groups, and they each picked a piece of paper. Each group then had to talk about the topic, answer some questions, and then present at the end of class. They did really well - I was quite impressed. I think I was more impressed by the questions students asked each other AFTERWARDS, specifically my 2-2 class. Really great stuff ... I can't wait to do it again with them. Next week, I am putting them through my first round of testing - but it's nothing to break a sweat over. I'm simply going to have them talk to me. Easy, right?
There's really nothing else going on. Yes, I just wrote all of this to tell you all that there's really nothing happening. Sorry. Oh, there's been some torrential downpours in Korea lately ... wicked crazy thunderstorm on Tuesday. ALL day on Tuesday. I couldn't believe it. The sky was ORANGE. ORANGE! It was a little unsettling, to be honest with you. Then, it just turned black. It was kinda crazy.
And that's my breaktime. Guess I'll go write that other paper now. :) Enjoy the rest of your week!
Oh, and new song of the moment. I think it's kinda dumb ... but it's Se7en's newest dingle - "Digital Bounce"
About a month ago (yikes, has it been THAT long?), I enrolled in an online TEFL certification course. My particular course is composed of like, 12 or 13 different modules (units), plus endorsements in Grammar, Business English, and Young Learners. So far? I've completed one unit. It's not that it's difficult - quite the opposite in fact. It's pretty much common sense stuff. For each unit, I have to read a bunch of material (not a lot, though), then there's a quiz worth 30 points, and then 2 short essays worth 70 points. Why haven't I finished this yet? One word - procrastination.
Which is why I am now sitting at "Coffine Gurunaru", taking advantage of their wireless internet ... well, okay, I'll be honest - I ended up here because Starbucks was CRAZY busy. (However, that didn't stop me from getting a chai latte for the road - hey, I walked all that way ... I needed SOME kind of reward). Why am I currently blogging? Hey, hey, I finished one of the "papers" ... and I needed a break. So sue me.
Plus, I like people watching. Since I've been here, maybe half of the patrons in here have left, and new ones have taken their place. Directly across from me is a girl who has been studying quite hard since before I sat down - on one of her books is the word "PHARMACY" written carefully in blue Sharpie. Definitely don't envy her - pharmaceutical-related subjects are HARD. There's a family sitting diagonally and to the right - mother, father, and two sons. The younger of the two is watching TV on his cell phone. Earlier, there was a guy sitting to my left, plugged into his laptop and iPod and whatever other gadgets he had with him (much like myself - laptop+iPod+cell phone). Directly in front of me is the counter, where the same three employees have been working for at least the past two hours. Wonder if they'll have a shift change, or if they're stuck here 'til closing. That would be hard - I think they close at 2 AM? Oh, three employees (2 guys and a girl) plus the owner. He's really nice.
What else has been going on? Well, it's Chuseok this week. Chuseok is the Korean thanksgiving holiday. It's celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar every year - that means that it changes yearly. This year, Chuseok Day was a Wednesday. That meant that Tuesday and Thursday were also "red days" (no work) on the calendar, since Chuseok is a 3-day holiday. Many academies ALSO gave their employees Friday off, which made for a six day weekend. I only had to work Monday morning - I was done by 1.
What do people do for Chuseok? Well, it's a huge family holiday. So, you go and brave the overly congested roads, and spend time with your family. What do foreigners in Korea do for Chuseok? Well, for the most part, we travel. Unless you're me ... and then you merely go and stay in other people's apartments while they're traveling. :) Promise I'll go somewhere during the winter holiday.
Last week was good - really good. I spent a few hours picking topics and typing short background blurbs for each one. Then I broke my classes into groups, and they each picked a piece of paper. Each group then had to talk about the topic, answer some questions, and then present at the end of class. They did really well - I was quite impressed. I think I was more impressed by the questions students asked each other AFTERWARDS, specifically my 2-2 class. Really great stuff ... I can't wait to do it again with them. Next week, I am putting them through my first round of testing - but it's nothing to break a sweat over. I'm simply going to have them talk to me. Easy, right?
There's really nothing else going on. Yes, I just wrote all of this to tell you all that there's really nothing happening. Sorry. Oh, there's been some torrential downpours in Korea lately ... wicked crazy thunderstorm on Tuesday. ALL day on Tuesday. I couldn't believe it. The sky was ORANGE. ORANGE! It was a little unsettling, to be honest with you. Then, it just turned black. It was kinda crazy.
And that's my breaktime. Guess I'll go write that other paper now. :) Enjoy the rest of your week!
Oh, and new song of the moment. I think it's kinda dumb ... but it's Se7en's newest dingle - "Digital Bounce"
Tuesday, September 14
Tuesdays
I have decided that Tuesday is my favorite day.
On Tuesdays, I teach 2 different groups of students - 2-2 and 2-4. My first class is at 9:30, and it's my first batch of 2-4 students. 2-4 majors in Chinese, and they are some super, super bright kids. They are super funny, motivated, and all-in-all, just a great group. Both groups from 2-4 simply amaze me every class - even the ones I get after 50 minutes of Chinese class. They bounce right back after the ten minute break time.
I get to teach 2-2 after lunch, and they are equally impressive. They are majoring in Japanese. They are so well-mannered and they try hard, too. I really, really enjoy these two classes.
I already have favorite students in each class. But I also just like these two classes in general. They've got some spunk, but they haven't been rude and they come to class ready to have a good time. The students are exceptionally well spoken and articulate ... I really have a lot of fun with them.
Yes, Tuesdays are my favorite.
Today we talked about the 10 most important things in life. I broke them into groups, and made them come up with a group list. So they had to talk with each other to decide what they thought would be the ten most important things, and then share their lists and their reasons with the rest of the class.
Here are some of the responses they gave me -
* Spirituality - it brings peace to our minds (2-2)
* Beauty - it can be a great weapon to use (2-2)
* Love - it makes our lives meaningful (2-4)
* Wisdom - to make the right decisions throughout our lives (2-4)
These are high school kids who have to be at school from 7:30 in the morning until 11:30 at night. I pretty much adore them.
Plus, one of them wants to be called "Muse". How could you NOT love classes like that?
On Tuesdays, I teach 2 different groups of students - 2-2 and 2-4. My first class is at 9:30, and it's my first batch of 2-4 students. 2-4 majors in Chinese, and they are some super, super bright kids. They are super funny, motivated, and all-in-all, just a great group. Both groups from 2-4 simply amaze me every class - even the ones I get after 50 minutes of Chinese class. They bounce right back after the ten minute break time.
I get to teach 2-2 after lunch, and they are equally impressive. They are majoring in Japanese. They are so well-mannered and they try hard, too. I really, really enjoy these two classes.
I already have favorite students in each class. But I also just like these two classes in general. They've got some spunk, but they haven't been rude and they come to class ready to have a good time. The students are exceptionally well spoken and articulate ... I really have a lot of fun with them.
Yes, Tuesdays are my favorite.
Today we talked about the 10 most important things in life. I broke them into groups, and made them come up with a group list. So they had to talk with each other to decide what they thought would be the ten most important things, and then share their lists and their reasons with the rest of the class.
Here are some of the responses they gave me -
* Spirituality - it brings peace to our minds (2-2)
* Beauty - it can be a great weapon to use (2-2)
* Love - it makes our lives meaningful (2-4)
* Wisdom - to make the right decisions throughout our lives (2-4)
These are high school kids who have to be at school from 7:30 in the morning until 11:30 at night. I pretty much adore them.
Plus, one of them wants to be called "Muse". How could you NOT love classes like that?
Sunday, September 12
It's a Brand New Week ...
... and I'm going to make a concerted effort to post something on this thing at least once a week.
We'll see how that goes.
It's Sunday night, and I'm back in Gimpo. I headed down to Anyang on Friday morning, and got there in time to have lunch with everyone - well, after I made a detour to Gimpo City Hall to change my residence information. Met up again with everyone for dinner - Costco pizza in honor of Trev's birthday ... holy crap, Costco pizza is good. :) I crashed at Judy's place this weekend - many, many, MANY thanks to her. After dinner at Trev's, I may or may not have met up with a bunch of people at Atlanta ...
The main event on Saturday was Jenny teacher's wedding - it was really nice! 성돈 (Seong-Don), Judy's friend, offered to drive some of us - so Dan, Lee, Stuart, Judy, and I all packed into his car. We're THAT amazing. After the wedding, it was naptime at Judy's for like, an hour ... before we met up with 성돈 again to watch him and his buddies play basketball. I guess they play EVERY-SINGLE-SATURDAY, and they're pretty good! Although there was this one guy on a different team that they just couldn't shut down ... the boy had mad skills ... but anyways, it was a lot of fun to watch.
Went down to Suwon for church today - last week, 찬주 (Chan-Joo [혜중's sister]) was my translator ... this week, it was 은수 (Eun-Soo). He's super, SUPER smart - goes to Seoul National University (studying architecture), lived in the States for a long time, plays the drums, and on top of that he's just a nice guy. Anyways, they're BOTH really great translators, so I'm pretty lucky. Oh, and he said it was an honor for him to be my translator. F'reals? Did I mention that I'm pretty lucky?
New groups at church, too ... 승범 (Seung-Beom) is my new leader ... there's eight of us - I can't remember the two girls' names ... and then there's 승범 (Seung-Beom), 완수 (Wan-Soo), 희중 (Hee-Joong), 철호 (Cheol-Ho), and ... I can't remember his name ... but he studied in India, and he's pretty nice. It's a good group. I feel bad though, because Seung-Beom told everyone to study English for my sake. We'll see how it works out. I think it'll be okay.
Afterwards, I wanted to leave right away, since I knew it would take a while to get home. Actually, though, 지선 (Ji-Sun) looked up some bus information for me. However, it was really confusing and I was getting overwhelmed, so 상권 (Sang-Kwon) packed me up into his car, took me to 수원버스터미널 (Suwon Bus Terminal - behind the E-Mart), helped me figure out the bus situation, and then waited with me for the bus! SOOO NICE! There's express buses to Gimpo at 5:00 PM and 9:00 PM. By the way, the express bus drops me off at Gimpo City Hall. I was lucky enough to catch the 3000 bus right away. All in all, from Suwon Bus Terminal to the high school, it took 1 hour and 45 minutes!!! A HUGE IMPROVEMENT over last week. So, maybe I'll stick around in Suwon to take the 9:00 PM bus some nights.
And that's all. I have my first lesson of this week planned out - haven't decided about the second one yet. Speaking of which, I guess the Korean teachers were really worried about me in the second floor office since I went in on Thursday and was venting to one of the other English teachers about the student I had to yell at in class. So, I supposed from now on, no more venting in the office ... lest I want the other teachers to freak out and take it out on their students ... aigoo.
Anyways. I'm out for the night. :)
We'll see how that goes.
It's Sunday night, and I'm back in Gimpo. I headed down to Anyang on Friday morning, and got there in time to have lunch with everyone - well, after I made a detour to Gimpo City Hall to change my residence information. Met up again with everyone for dinner - Costco pizza in honor of Trev's birthday ... holy crap, Costco pizza is good. :) I crashed at Judy's place this weekend - many, many, MANY thanks to her. After dinner at Trev's, I may or may not have met up with a bunch of people at Atlanta ...
The main event on Saturday was Jenny teacher's wedding - it was really nice! 성돈 (Seong-Don), Judy's friend, offered to drive some of us - so Dan, Lee, Stuart, Judy, and I all packed into his car. We're THAT amazing. After the wedding, it was naptime at Judy's for like, an hour ... before we met up with 성돈 again to watch him and his buddies play basketball. I guess they play EVERY-SINGLE-SATURDAY, and they're pretty good! Although there was this one guy on a different team that they just couldn't shut down ... the boy had mad skills ... but anyways, it was a lot of fun to watch.
Went down to Suwon for church today - last week, 찬주 (Chan-Joo [혜중's sister]) was my translator ... this week, it was 은수 (Eun-Soo). He's super, SUPER smart - goes to Seoul National University (studying architecture), lived in the States for a long time, plays the drums, and on top of that he's just a nice guy. Anyways, they're BOTH really great translators, so I'm pretty lucky. Oh, and he said it was an honor for him to be my translator. F'reals? Did I mention that I'm pretty lucky?
New groups at church, too ... 승범 (Seung-Beom) is my new leader ... there's eight of us - I can't remember the two girls' names ... and then there's 승범 (Seung-Beom), 완수 (Wan-Soo), 희중 (Hee-Joong), 철호 (Cheol-Ho), and ... I can't remember his name ... but he studied in India, and he's pretty nice. It's a good group. I feel bad though, because Seung-Beom told everyone to study English for my sake. We'll see how it works out. I think it'll be okay.
Afterwards, I wanted to leave right away, since I knew it would take a while to get home. Actually, though, 지선 (Ji-Sun) looked up some bus information for me. However, it was really confusing and I was getting overwhelmed, so 상권 (Sang-Kwon) packed me up into his car, took me to 수원버스터미널 (Suwon Bus Terminal - behind the E-Mart), helped me figure out the bus situation, and then waited with me for the bus! SOOO NICE! There's express buses to Gimpo at 5:00 PM and 9:00 PM. By the way, the express bus drops me off at Gimpo City Hall. I was lucky enough to catch the 3000 bus right away. All in all, from Suwon Bus Terminal to the high school, it took 1 hour and 45 minutes!!! A HUGE IMPROVEMENT over last week. So, maybe I'll stick around in Suwon to take the 9:00 PM bus some nights.
And that's all. I have my first lesson of this week planned out - haven't decided about the second one yet. Speaking of which, I guess the Korean teachers were really worried about me in the second floor office since I went in on Thursday and was venting to one of the other English teachers about the student I had to yell at in class. So, I supposed from now on, no more venting in the office ... lest I want the other teachers to freak out and take it out on their students ... aigoo.
Anyways. I'm out for the night. :)
Thursday, September 9
Ch-ch-ch-changes ...
It's 7:30 PM on Thursday, and my weekend officially began 3 hours ago. Can you say "four day work week"?
Jealous? :)
My first week is now finished, and I must say, it's not a bad gig. I mean, sure, I have to get up super early (compared to what I'm used to), and I'm pretty far off the beaten path. However, the work is hardly taxing (just wait 'til I have to put them through their first round of tests, though) and the students are pretty sharp. It's not bad at all.
Well, let me fill you in. Remember how last week I was unemployed and freaking out? Didn't last for long. Well, the unemployment didn't. The freaking out ... well, that still hasn't completely run it's course. Anyways. To make a long story short, last Monday I received an offer for an interview with a high school in Gimpo. I automatically said no. I had a change of heart on Wednesday, and we set up an interview for the next day. I trekked all the way out to Gimpo (with really no intent of taking the job ... I just wanted to have the experience of the interview), did my interview, was offered the job, thought about it for a few hours, and accepted. Bada-bing, bada-boom, you are now looking at the newest addition to the staff at Gimpo Foreign Language High School.
Funny how these things work out, right?
I moved the majority of my belongings up on Saturday. PS, in a taxi, it takes over an hour and a half to get from Hogyedong to this school. Last Thursday, it took just over two hours via a combination of the subway and the bus. Oh, and for future reference, it takes 3 hours and 40 minutes from Yeongtong using a combination of the 900 bus and the 380 bus - but I'm sure there's a better way to do that.
My first day was Monday - I teach only second year high school students (they're juniors). There are six junior classes of around 36 students each, and I teach four of them. These students are pretty incredible - since it's a foreign language high school, they are here to study (major in) other languages. Now, as I teach English, you would think that my students would be English majors, right? WRONG. Two of my classes are majoring in Japanese, and two of them are majoring in Chinese. They are simply required to take English, no matter what.
Also, schools such as these have pretty rigorous entrance examinations. These students are, for the most part, serious about their studies. They are woken up at 6 AM every morning. For the seniors, their homeroom class is at 7 AM. The other students begin at 7:30. They have classes throughout the day, including study hall sessions ... and they are finally allowed back into their rooms at like, 11:00 PM. Oh, and they can only go home like, one weekend a month. 'Tis a hard life these kids lead.
Anyways. I teach 2-1 and 2-2, and they major in Japanese. 2-3 and 2-4 are majoring in Chinese - they're also mine. Another English teacher teaches 2-5 and 2-6 - guess what they major in? BOTH Japanese AND Chinese. Each class is split in half for their language lessons, to make it more manageable - so think of it as being like, 2-1A and 2-1B and so on and so forth ... and I see each group of students twice a week. So I teach 16 classes a week, at 50 minutes a piece. Oh, and I only teach Conversation. :)
There's a few other foreign teachers - two teachers who teach English and some Chinese and Japanese teachers. The other English teachers are quite a bit older than I am - and neither are from the States. One, a man, is from Canada, and the other, a woman, is from New Zealand (though she's spent the past 20-some years in Fiji). I don't know how old Randall is, but Daphne is 65. So yes, I am the youngest. Surprise, surprise. :)
The first few days, students have been unable to figure out if I'm a teacher or a student in the hallways. Often, they get stuck in a sort of half-bow ... which is quite comical. The other day I was doing laundry (we have combination washer and dryers) and I was waiting for my clothes when a student came in - I was wearing sweats and a t-shirt, so I guess I looked like a student ... and when I said "hello" to her, she just about jumped a mile. There's been a few times like that. :)
The hardest part ... I guess it's the feeling of being isolated. Especially at like, meal-times, because I don't have anyone to eat with. I'm too shy, and I can't speak Korean. But, it'll pass. And if it doesn't, I have 3-day weekends and hella awesome vacation time.
My first week of classes went well - well, as well as could be expected. I already can tell who's going to work hard and who doesn't really give. I've already had to discipline one student for being disrespectful in class, and I'm already planning out what tests I will give them. But, for the most part, they are super kids. There's one student in my 2-2 class who lived in England for quite some time and has a British accent. There's several students who have studied in foreign countries. There are some insanely motivated students who I am lucky enough to have in my classes. My 2-4 kids are INCREDIBLY intelligent. They're all super bright.
So, I'm doing well. Right now, I'm waiting "Tristan and Isolde," packing up a backpack for the weekend, and listening to the AMAZING rainstorm that's going on outside, complete with lightning and thunder.
Soon, I'll be off to bed ... and then in the morning, I have to run by city hall to change my residence information ... and then, to Anyang!!! This weekend, Jenny teacher is getting married - I'm SUPER excited for her. And then, church. Hopefully I can find a better bus route. :)
___
PS - I don't notice the moon anymore.
Jealous? :)
My first week is now finished, and I must say, it's not a bad gig. I mean, sure, I have to get up super early (compared to what I'm used to), and I'm pretty far off the beaten path. However, the work is hardly taxing (just wait 'til I have to put them through their first round of tests, though) and the students are pretty sharp. It's not bad at all.
Well, let me fill you in. Remember how last week I was unemployed and freaking out? Didn't last for long. Well, the unemployment didn't. The freaking out ... well, that still hasn't completely run it's course. Anyways. To make a long story short, last Monday I received an offer for an interview with a high school in Gimpo. I automatically said no. I had a change of heart on Wednesday, and we set up an interview for the next day. I trekked all the way out to Gimpo (with really no intent of taking the job ... I just wanted to have the experience of the interview), did my interview, was offered the job, thought about it for a few hours, and accepted. Bada-bing, bada-boom, you are now looking at the newest addition to the staff at Gimpo Foreign Language High School.
Funny how these things work out, right?
I moved the majority of my belongings up on Saturday. PS, in a taxi, it takes over an hour and a half to get from Hogyedong to this school. Last Thursday, it took just over two hours via a combination of the subway and the bus. Oh, and for future reference, it takes 3 hours and 40 minutes from Yeongtong using a combination of the 900 bus and the 380 bus - but I'm sure there's a better way to do that.
My first day was Monday - I teach only second year high school students (they're juniors). There are six junior classes of around 36 students each, and I teach four of them. These students are pretty incredible - since it's a foreign language high school, they are here to study (major in) other languages. Now, as I teach English, you would think that my students would be English majors, right? WRONG. Two of my classes are majoring in Japanese, and two of them are majoring in Chinese. They are simply required to take English, no matter what.
Also, schools such as these have pretty rigorous entrance examinations. These students are, for the most part, serious about their studies. They are woken up at 6 AM every morning. For the seniors, their homeroom class is at 7 AM. The other students begin at 7:30. They have classes throughout the day, including study hall sessions ... and they are finally allowed back into their rooms at like, 11:00 PM. Oh, and they can only go home like, one weekend a month. 'Tis a hard life these kids lead.
Anyways. I teach 2-1 and 2-2, and they major in Japanese. 2-3 and 2-4 are majoring in Chinese - they're also mine. Another English teacher teaches 2-5 and 2-6 - guess what they major in? BOTH Japanese AND Chinese. Each class is split in half for their language lessons, to make it more manageable - so think of it as being like, 2-1A and 2-1B and so on and so forth ... and I see each group of students twice a week. So I teach 16 classes a week, at 50 minutes a piece. Oh, and I only teach Conversation. :)
There's a few other foreign teachers - two teachers who teach English and some Chinese and Japanese teachers. The other English teachers are quite a bit older than I am - and neither are from the States. One, a man, is from Canada, and the other, a woman, is from New Zealand (though she's spent the past 20-some years in Fiji). I don't know how old Randall is, but Daphne is 65. So yes, I am the youngest. Surprise, surprise. :)
The first few days, students have been unable to figure out if I'm a teacher or a student in the hallways. Often, they get stuck in a sort of half-bow ... which is quite comical. The other day I was doing laundry (we have combination washer and dryers) and I was waiting for my clothes when a student came in - I was wearing sweats and a t-shirt, so I guess I looked like a student ... and when I said "hello" to her, she just about jumped a mile. There's been a few times like that. :)
The hardest part ... I guess it's the feeling of being isolated. Especially at like, meal-times, because I don't have anyone to eat with. I'm too shy, and I can't speak Korean. But, it'll pass. And if it doesn't, I have 3-day weekends and hella awesome vacation time.
My first week of classes went well - well, as well as could be expected. I already can tell who's going to work hard and who doesn't really give. I've already had to discipline one student for being disrespectful in class, and I'm already planning out what tests I will give them. But, for the most part, they are super kids. There's one student in my 2-2 class who lived in England for quite some time and has a British accent. There's several students who have studied in foreign countries. There are some insanely motivated students who I am lucky enough to have in my classes. My 2-4 kids are INCREDIBLY intelligent. They're all super bright.
So, I'm doing well. Right now, I'm waiting "Tristan and Isolde," packing up a backpack for the weekend, and listening to the AMAZING rainstorm that's going on outside, complete with lightning and thunder.
Soon, I'll be off to bed ... and then in the morning, I have to run by city hall to change my residence information ... and then, to Anyang!!! This weekend, Jenny teacher is getting married - I'm SUPER excited for her. And then, church. Hopefully I can find a better bus route. :)
___
PS - I don't notice the moon anymore.
Monday, August 16
Revelation
No, not the one in the Bible.
I've recently had a revelation - writing things down makes it easier for me to sleep at night. And since I'm MUCH too lazy to write things down on paper ... I'll write them down here. For the most part.
Right now, it's 11:05 PM. I'm currently MSN-chatting with Nick (who is eating 보영만두 ... and I kind of hate him for it) and watching "Ironman" while reading "The Verdant Passage" - which is something Dean brought back form the States. Now, I'm not really a HUGE fan of the Science-Fiction/Fantasy genres. I mean, I like a little David Eddings now and then, and by a little, I mean I only like the ones with Sparhawk in them (so that means I like only two trilogies - "The Elenium" and "The Tamuli"). I like those books, probably because they're simple, easy to follow, and they're not over the top fantasy (as in, the characters still ride horses or stuff like that). So far, I'm 76 pages in and I'm totally lost. It's frustrating. And even more frustrating is the fact that I'm probably going to want to finish the series too, regardless of whether or not I understand it or remember it all. And that's a bother.
Oh well.
"Ironman" is one of my favorite "recent" movies. It's just so entertaining. Plus, I love Tony Stark. He's so arrogant ... for some reason, I like that about him. Speaking of movies ... I saw "The Experiment" on Friday with Evan and Kyoung. It's being released directly to DVD in the States in like, September ... but it's in theatres here. PS, I am now in love with Adrien Brody. I was stoked to see it because it was loosely based off of Phillip Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment, which was fascinating ... regardless of the ethical lines it crossed. You can't deny that the obedience experiments were interesting ...
Anyways. It was short - just like, 90 minutes. Pretty well done, too. I am also a huge "Inception" fan. I'd be down for seeing it again.
I'm going on a church retreat this weekend. The majority of the people are leaving on Thursday, but there's like, ten of us who will be joining them Friday night. It'll be fun, but I'm kind of nervous ... I'm not sure why. I'm excited, though ... ever since I made the decision to go. It'll be good.
What else? Oh, I have a new student - her name is Kate and she's a first grader. She seems like a good addition to the class. Now, there's 8 kids there, 5 boys and 3 girls. I like that it's evening up a little.
And that's all I've really got. Maybe next time I'll have something witty to say instead of just a review of my day, haha. :) We can only hope.
I've recently had a revelation - writing things down makes it easier for me to sleep at night. And since I'm MUCH too lazy to write things down on paper ... I'll write them down here. For the most part.
Right now, it's 11:05 PM. I'm currently MSN-chatting with Nick (who is eating 보영만두 ... and I kind of hate him for it) and watching "Ironman" while reading "The Verdant Passage" - which is something Dean brought back form the States. Now, I'm not really a HUGE fan of the Science-Fiction/Fantasy genres. I mean, I like a little David Eddings now and then, and by a little, I mean I only like the ones with Sparhawk in them (so that means I like only two trilogies - "The Elenium" and "The Tamuli"). I like those books, probably because they're simple, easy to follow, and they're not over the top fantasy (as in, the characters still ride horses or stuff like that). So far, I'm 76 pages in and I'm totally lost. It's frustrating. And even more frustrating is the fact that I'm probably going to want to finish the series too, regardless of whether or not I understand it or remember it all. And that's a bother.
Oh well.
"Ironman" is one of my favorite "recent" movies. It's just so entertaining. Plus, I love Tony Stark. He's so arrogant ... for some reason, I like that about him. Speaking of movies ... I saw "The Experiment" on Friday with Evan and Kyoung. It's being released directly to DVD in the States in like, September ... but it's in theatres here. PS, I am now in love with Adrien Brody. I was stoked to see it because it was loosely based off of Phillip Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment, which was fascinating ... regardless of the ethical lines it crossed. You can't deny that the obedience experiments were interesting ...
Anyways. It was short - just like, 90 minutes. Pretty well done, too. I am also a huge "Inception" fan. I'd be down for seeing it again.
I'm going on a church retreat this weekend. The majority of the people are leaving on Thursday, but there's like, ten of us who will be joining them Friday night. It'll be fun, but I'm kind of nervous ... I'm not sure why. I'm excited, though ... ever since I made the decision to go. It'll be good.
What else? Oh, I have a new student - her name is Kate and she's a first grader. She seems like a good addition to the class. Now, there's 8 kids there, 5 boys and 3 girls. I like that it's evening up a little.
And that's all I've really got. Maybe next time I'll have something witty to say instead of just a review of my day, haha. :) We can only hope.
More to come ...
It's 12:02 AM, so I'ma keep this shooooooort. Read and think about ... some dicussion to follow later.
1.) Had my 23rd birthday party on Saturday, August 14th ... thanks to EVERYONE (especially TREVOR) for making it great! (Yeah, I know my birthday isn't until Wednesday ... but ... I'm going on a retreat the weekend after. So, really, this was the best time to do it). Check Facebook for some pics.
2.) I have two new musical obsessions.
"サヨナラから始めよう" by GReeeeN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cORCEmBLKJ8
and
"너의 마음속엔 강이 흐른다" (River Flows In You) composed by Yiruma, sung by Ruvin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8-jf_3qTPc
3.) Two weeks until my contract is done!
4.) Got into a mini-debate today about infallibility versus inspiration in regards to the Bible. You know, infallibity meaning that the entire Book is God's Word and that it's completely true and correct whereas inspiration is the idea that God (erh, the Holy Spirit) inspired men to write the ideas, but that they were able to put their own twist on things thus leaving room for error (while getting the overall message right). Read up about it. Think about it. Discuss.
5.) Went to Kim's Club to pick up groceries for the first time in FOREVER ... I don't spend a lot of time at home. Anyways, I bought this certain kind of milk today because it is called "Vitamin Milk" and it says that it's "An Excellent Source of Vitamin." Not vitaminS, but just vitamin. I wonder which vitamin? :)
1.) Had my 23rd birthday party on Saturday, August 14th ... thanks to EVERYONE (especially TREVOR) for making it great! (Yeah, I know my birthday isn't until Wednesday ... but ... I'm going on a retreat the weekend after. So, really, this was the best time to do it). Check Facebook for some pics.
2.) I have two new musical obsessions.
"サヨナラから始めよう" by GReeeeN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cORCEmBLKJ8
and
"너의 마음속엔 강이 흐른다" (River Flows In You) composed by Yiruma, sung by Ruvin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8-jf_3qTPc
3.) Two weeks until my contract is done!
4.) Got into a mini-debate today about infallibility versus inspiration in regards to the Bible. You know, infallibity meaning that the entire Book is God's Word and that it's completely true and correct whereas inspiration is the idea that God (erh, the Holy Spirit) inspired men to write the ideas, but that they were able to put their own twist on things thus leaving room for error (while getting the overall message right). Read up about it. Think about it. Discuss.
5.) Went to Kim's Club to pick up groceries for the first time in FOREVER ... I don't spend a lot of time at home. Anyways, I bought this certain kind of milk today because it is called "Vitamin Milk" and it says that it's "An Excellent Source of Vitamin." Not vitaminS, but just vitamin. I wonder which vitamin? :)
Saturday, July 31
Writer's Block
I have writer's block.
Now, seeing as how I haven't been a student for over two years, many of you might not find this to be a problem. After all, I'm a teacher now - why would I find a need to write anything of substance? I mean, obviously, aside from scribbling comments in practice books or on report cards, I have had very few reasons to write anything since my commencement. Why is this causing me so much anxiety now?
Two weeks ago, I enrolled in an online TEFL certification course. Now, I am well aware of the fact that I probably could have just paid my money, taken the test, and been done with it all. However, since I am not a trained teacher, I decided that this would be the opportune time actually sit down and learn some of the basics, the fundamentals, the theories ... you know. Well ...
... said TEFL course requires me to write essays after finishing each module. There's like ... fourteen modules. Maybe more. Maybe less. And I'm required to write two essays after each module. Each essay must be around 700 words. The last thing I wrote for a class was my senior research paper, in April of 2008. The closest I've come to academic writing since then has been my blog posts, which lately have been few and far between. Not to mention that I find the first paper always the most difficult one, based on the fact that you have no idea what the instructor is looking for. Granted, this is simply an online certification course, but a course is a course, and hence ... the writer's block.
Couple that with the fact that I've never been exceptionally confident of my writing abilities, and I'm sure you can see my dilemma. Which is why I am currently seated in the corner of Indigo Blue, sipping a mango soda and chatting with Hyun, while resolutely ignoring the Word document that is open with my half finished essay typed up - most of which will probably be deleted and rewritten within the next two days. Oh, and I'm going to see a movie later on tonight with Steve, Mi-Hee, and Amanda ... and that means I will continue ignoring said Word doc.
It's a good thing I have six months to finish this course at my own pace, or else I'd be screwed. And I kind of feel that this "at your own pace" is going to be my downfall anyways, as I have always been a procrastinator. Time to set myself some deadlines.
***
Okay, well moving on from the TEFL course - what else can I update you wonderful people on? You know, it just dawned on me that the only people who really read what I write here are reading it via Facebook ... and if you're on Facebook and reading this, then chances are you are someone who I keep in semi-regular contact with, which means you probably already know everything that is going on in my life in the first place.
Oh well. Read and be bored then. :)
I have less than a month before my contract is finished, and I will be moving. I would already have a job lined up if I wasn't so damn picky, but hey - c'est la vie. I'm not worried. There's some promising offers out there, and I know that the perfect one is going to turn up - knowing how the system works here, probably not until the week before my contract is up, but hey it's all good because at least I'm already in the country, right? :)
This past week has been my vacation, and it's been lovely. Well, okay, I've been a little bored, but that's my own fault because I've never really understood how to enjoy an entirely free day before. Let's see - I can't remember what I did on Monday. That's probably not a good sign. On Tuesday, I went to Suwon and met Eun-Young and her conversation students and we had class together. That was a lot of fun - she teaches older students so I met with two women in their mid-30's. Then I had dinner with the infamous Nicholas Kucharik at Suwon Station. On Wednesday, a group of us made the trek down on the 900 bus and explored Hwaseong Fortress for a few hours ... oh, that was AFTER lunch at Bo-Young Man-doo. :) On Thursday, Wan-Soo came up and helped me buy a new cell phone - yay for new toys! Oh, and I met with Matt (who I hadn't seen in over a year), before going to study group with Evan and In-Chae. Yesterday, Friday, I went to dinner with Evan and Kyoung-Hwa.
That's pretty much been my vacation. Oh, you know, I've cleaned a little, packed some boxes, and gone to the gym ... it's a lot nicer going in the middle of the day than it is going hella early in the morning or late at night. I've also drank copious amounts of coffee and completely skewed my sleeping schedule. Tomorrow morning will be interesting, to say the least.
Now, I am finishing up at Indigo, and getting ready to head home to post this. Yes, I will be posting it. Yes, I will be writing more soon. No, it probably won't be THAT soon. :)
Much love to you all ... especially those of you who are getting married, have recently gotten married, are engaged, or have recently gotten engaged (and by this, of course, I'm taking about Andy and Jess) ...
<3
Now, seeing as how I haven't been a student for over two years, many of you might not find this to be a problem. After all, I'm a teacher now - why would I find a need to write anything of substance? I mean, obviously, aside from scribbling comments in practice books or on report cards, I have had very few reasons to write anything since my commencement. Why is this causing me so much anxiety now?
Two weeks ago, I enrolled in an online TEFL certification course. Now, I am well aware of the fact that I probably could have just paid my money, taken the test, and been done with it all. However, since I am not a trained teacher, I decided that this would be the opportune time actually sit down and learn some of the basics, the fundamentals, the theories ... you know. Well ...
... said TEFL course requires me to write essays after finishing each module. There's like ... fourteen modules. Maybe more. Maybe less. And I'm required to write two essays after each module. Each essay must be around 700 words. The last thing I wrote for a class was my senior research paper, in April of 2008. The closest I've come to academic writing since then has been my blog posts, which lately have been few and far between. Not to mention that I find the first paper always the most difficult one, based on the fact that you have no idea what the instructor is looking for. Granted, this is simply an online certification course, but a course is a course, and hence ... the writer's block.
Couple that with the fact that I've never been exceptionally confident of my writing abilities, and I'm sure you can see my dilemma. Which is why I am currently seated in the corner of Indigo Blue, sipping a mango soda and chatting with Hyun, while resolutely ignoring the Word document that is open with my half finished essay typed up - most of which will probably be deleted and rewritten within the next two days. Oh, and I'm going to see a movie later on tonight with Steve, Mi-Hee, and Amanda ... and that means I will continue ignoring said Word doc.
It's a good thing I have six months to finish this course at my own pace, or else I'd be screwed. And I kind of feel that this "at your own pace" is going to be my downfall anyways, as I have always been a procrastinator. Time to set myself some deadlines.
***
Okay, well moving on from the TEFL course - what else can I update you wonderful people on? You know, it just dawned on me that the only people who really read what I write here are reading it via Facebook ... and if you're on Facebook and reading this, then chances are you are someone who I keep in semi-regular contact with, which means you probably already know everything that is going on in my life in the first place.
Oh well. Read and be bored then. :)
I have less than a month before my contract is finished, and I will be moving. I would already have a job lined up if I wasn't so damn picky, but hey - c'est la vie. I'm not worried. There's some promising offers out there, and I know that the perfect one is going to turn up - knowing how the system works here, probably not until the week before my contract is up, but hey it's all good because at least I'm already in the country, right? :)
This past week has been my vacation, and it's been lovely. Well, okay, I've been a little bored, but that's my own fault because I've never really understood how to enjoy an entirely free day before. Let's see - I can't remember what I did on Monday. That's probably not a good sign. On Tuesday, I went to Suwon and met Eun-Young and her conversation students and we had class together. That was a lot of fun - she teaches older students so I met with two women in their mid-30's. Then I had dinner with the infamous Nicholas Kucharik at Suwon Station. On Wednesday, a group of us made the trek down on the 900 bus and explored Hwaseong Fortress for a few hours ... oh, that was AFTER lunch at Bo-Young Man-doo. :) On Thursday, Wan-Soo came up and helped me buy a new cell phone - yay for new toys! Oh, and I met with Matt (who I hadn't seen in over a year), before going to study group with Evan and In-Chae. Yesterday, Friday, I went to dinner with Evan and Kyoung-Hwa.
That's pretty much been my vacation. Oh, you know, I've cleaned a little, packed some boxes, and gone to the gym ... it's a lot nicer going in the middle of the day than it is going hella early in the morning or late at night. I've also drank copious amounts of coffee and completely skewed my sleeping schedule. Tomorrow morning will be interesting, to say the least.
Now, I am finishing up at Indigo, and getting ready to head home to post this. Yes, I will be posting it. Yes, I will be writing more soon. No, it probably won't be THAT soon. :)
Much love to you all ... especially those of you who are getting married, have recently gotten married, are engaged, or have recently gotten engaged (and by this, of course, I'm taking about Andy and Jess) ...
<3
Wednesday, July 7
:)
Why am I smiling?
Well, it could be because I just spent the evening with my friend studying Korean and English. Or, maybe it's because the week is over halfway over. Or perhaps it's because in the past three days, I've eaten Bo-Young Man-doo TWICE. Or maybe it's ALL of those reasons ... AND the fact that ...
NICHOLAS DONG-JIN KUCHARIK HAS ARRIVED IN KOREA!!!
Yeah, maybe that's it. :) :) :)
It's late. I'll write later. Instead, click-y on this link-y and enjoy TOP's music video for "Turn It Up." I like TOP.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdPnMoxKOWY&feature=player_embedded
Well, it could be because I just spent the evening with my friend studying Korean and English. Or, maybe it's because the week is over halfway over. Or perhaps it's because in the past three days, I've eaten Bo-Young Man-doo TWICE. Or maybe it's ALL of those reasons ... AND the fact that ...
NICHOLAS DONG-JIN KUCHARIK HAS ARRIVED IN KOREA!!!
Yeah, maybe that's it. :) :) :)
It's late. I'll write later. Instead, click-y on this link-y and enjoy TOP's music video for "Turn It Up." I like TOP.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdPnMoxKOWY&feature=player_embedded
Sunday, June 13
대한 민국!!!
DAEHAN MINGOOK!!!
대한 민국!!!
Just wanted to make sure that everyone knew that Korea recorded the first WIN (not draw) in the 2010 World Cup with a stunning 2-0 victory over Greece ... it was a great game, y'all. I enjoyed watching the game from outside a hof in Acro Tower with Steve, Stuart, Joe, Rob, Mi-Hee, Hannah, Judy, and Grace. It was quite an enjoyable night. Best part not related to soccer? Taking a picture of Steve with this elementary school kid who had the most amazing mullet EVERRR ... promise to post that later.
Did I mention that the game was amazing? Also, PARK Ji-Sung was voted "Man of the Match" after he scored the second goal (the first having been scored by LEE Jung-Soo). Korea's next game is on Thursday (I believe) at 8:30 PM (Korean time) versus Argentina. Argentina just beat Nigeria, 1-0. Next on the schedule for tonight? England versus America ...
Let's see ... what else is new? I started studying Korean twice a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays). I have a new book (from Sogang University), and a fresh mind. Let the learning begin!
Other than that ... nothing else is really new. So, on that note, Ima head to bed. A longer update to come? Perhaps? Meh ...
대한 민국!!!
Just wanted to make sure that everyone knew that Korea recorded the first WIN (not draw) in the 2010 World Cup with a stunning 2-0 victory over Greece ... it was a great game, y'all. I enjoyed watching the game from outside a hof in Acro Tower with Steve, Stuart, Joe, Rob, Mi-Hee, Hannah, Judy, and Grace. It was quite an enjoyable night. Best part not related to soccer? Taking a picture of Steve with this elementary school kid who had the most amazing mullet EVERRR ... promise to post that later.
Did I mention that the game was amazing? Also, PARK Ji-Sung was voted "Man of the Match" after he scored the second goal (the first having been scored by LEE Jung-Soo). Korea's next game is on Thursday (I believe) at 8:30 PM (Korean time) versus Argentina. Argentina just beat Nigeria, 1-0. Next on the schedule for tonight? England versus America ...
Let's see ... what else is new? I started studying Korean twice a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays). I have a new book (from Sogang University), and a fresh mind. Let the learning begin!
Other than that ... nothing else is really new. So, on that note, Ima head to bed. A longer update to come? Perhaps? Meh ...
Sunday, April 18
Okay, random ...
... but I just figured out that I can search for videos on Nate. I just got home from church (well, okay, I got home a few hours ago, but I had dinner and stuff, haha) and I decided I really wanted to find the Korean lyrics to "Blessed Be Your Name" ... which led me to a video on Nate AND lyrics ... so I decided to press my luck and search for other songs that I like that we sing in Korean at church (but I know the English versions of) and now I am going to try to learn them in Korean ...
Anyways, in the midst of my searching, I found "God of this City" (by Chris Tomlin) being performed in JAPANESE! It sounds really neat! I don't know how well the lyrics match up, so someone is going to have to let me know ... anyways, check it out if you feel like it ... and if you don't, then you don't have to. :)
http://video.nate.com/211375267
Anyways, in the midst of my searching, I found "God of this City" (by Chris Tomlin) being performed in JAPANESE! It sounds really neat! I don't know how well the lyrics match up, so someone is going to have to let me know ... anyways, check it out if you feel like it ... and if you don't, then you don't have to. :)
http://video.nate.com/211375267
Saturday, April 10
A lot of this probably doesn't make sense ...
Well ... again, I fail. Sorry about that.
I fail because I haven't been updating this regularly. Again, sorry. But no one really reads this anyways, haha ... so, it's all good, right? So, here's my update.
Right now, I'm watching "Red vs. Blue" on YouTube. Yeah, yeah, I know. But I'm so addicted to it. It's okay ... it comes and goes in phases, really. It's 1:01 AM on Saturday morning - thank heavens. That means it's the weekend!!! Wahoo!!! This week felt really long ... well, when it's Sunday night, every week seems like it'll be long. Then, really ... it flies by. Monday and Tuesday craaaaaaawl ... but then all of the sudden it's Wednesday night! Then, whaddya know - Thursday rolls around! Finally, it's Friday, which is "wear normal clothes to work" day. So ... when I say this week felt really long, what I really mean to say is that it was completely normal in every aspect of the word.
Last week, I adopted a Korean child for approximately thirty minutes. Well, not really - I was walking to H-Mart (for those of you who don't know my neighborhood, it's just on the next corner) when I heard a child wailing. I walked around the corner, and walking up the sidewalk was a little girl all alone and just bawling her eyes out. I stopped and stared at her, and she stopped and stared at me while crying ... and no one was helping her ... so in my poor Korean I managed to ask her if she was okay and what was wrong ... we finally managed to translate to each other that:
A.) I didn't understand much Korean (sorry)
B.) She was lost.
C.) I had a cell phone
D.) She knew her mom's phone number, but couldn't tell her where she was.
So after we realized point D, I called my friend Hannah who talked to the little girl and got her mom's phone number ... and called her mom to come get her. While we waited, I bought her an ice cream from GS. The end.
Random tangent - my Skype isn't working. I can't figure out why. So I just deleted it, and downloaded it again. Still won't work. Anyone help? It's kind of annoying ...
This week, we've celebrated Mindy and Stuart's birthdays ... and we're going to celebrate again tonight (Saturday night) at the Ice Bar in Gangnam ... gah. I'm old. We'll see how long I make it, haha. I may be the youngest, but sometimes I feel like the oldest fogey.
Speaking of old fogies ... :) ... Steve gets back sometime this weekend! I'm super excited ... I can't wait. (^_^)
Last week was Easter - Amanda, Seth, and I went to church in Gangnam, and then headed back down to Beomgye for brunch at Trevor's. It was uh-MAY-zing ... and a lot of fun. Afterwards, Amanda and I headed up to Myeongdong and went shopping. I think the last time I was in Myeongdong was with Heidi ... so it was neat to go back. I remember back when I first got here, and Myeongdong was like my comfort area ... where I would always go. Now, Gangnam wins, haha.
Anyways. It's late, and I'm tired. I'm going to try to write more often ... haha ... riiiiight. (^_^) Anyways. Loooves.
PS - My newest obsession. Can't see the vid? Head to YouTube and type in "YoonHa85" ... check 'im out.
< "Bedrock" by Lil Wayne >
< the original - "Bedrock" by Lil Wayne >
< "Heartbreaker" by G-Dragon >
< the orginal - "Heartbreaker" by G-Dragon >
I fail because I haven't been updating this regularly. Again, sorry. But no one really reads this anyways, haha ... so, it's all good, right? So, here's my update.
Right now, I'm watching "Red vs. Blue" on YouTube. Yeah, yeah, I know. But I'm so addicted to it. It's okay ... it comes and goes in phases, really. It's 1:01 AM on Saturday morning - thank heavens. That means it's the weekend!!! Wahoo!!! This week felt really long ... well, when it's Sunday night, every week seems like it'll be long. Then, really ... it flies by. Monday and Tuesday craaaaaaawl ... but then all of the sudden it's Wednesday night! Then, whaddya know - Thursday rolls around! Finally, it's Friday, which is "wear normal clothes to work" day. So ... when I say this week felt really long, what I really mean to say is that it was completely normal in every aspect of the word.
Last week, I adopted a Korean child for approximately thirty minutes. Well, not really - I was walking to H-Mart (for those of you who don't know my neighborhood, it's just on the next corner) when I heard a child wailing. I walked around the corner, and walking up the sidewalk was a little girl all alone and just bawling her eyes out. I stopped and stared at her, and she stopped and stared at me while crying ... and no one was helping her ... so in my poor Korean I managed to ask her if she was okay and what was wrong ... we finally managed to translate to each other that:
A.) I didn't understand much Korean (sorry)
B.) She was lost.
C.) I had a cell phone
D.) She knew her mom's phone number, but couldn't tell her where she was.
So after we realized point D, I called my friend Hannah who talked to the little girl and got her mom's phone number ... and called her mom to come get her. While we waited, I bought her an ice cream from GS. The end.
Random tangent - my Skype isn't working. I can't figure out why. So I just deleted it, and downloaded it again. Still won't work. Anyone help? It's kind of annoying ...
This week, we've celebrated Mindy and Stuart's birthdays ... and we're going to celebrate again tonight (Saturday night) at the Ice Bar in Gangnam ... gah. I'm old. We'll see how long I make it, haha. I may be the youngest, but sometimes I feel like the oldest fogey.
Speaking of old fogies ... :) ... Steve gets back sometime this weekend! I'm super excited ... I can't wait. (^_^)
Last week was Easter - Amanda, Seth, and I went to church in Gangnam, and then headed back down to Beomgye for brunch at Trevor's. It was uh-MAY-zing ... and a lot of fun. Afterwards, Amanda and I headed up to Myeongdong and went shopping. I think the last time I was in Myeongdong was with Heidi ... so it was neat to go back. I remember back when I first got here, and Myeongdong was like my comfort area ... where I would always go. Now, Gangnam wins, haha.
Anyways. It's late, and I'm tired. I'm going to try to write more often ... haha ... riiiiight. (^_^) Anyways. Loooves.
PS - My newest obsession. Can't see the vid? Head to YouTube and type in "YoonHa85" ... check 'im out.
< "Bedrock" by Lil Wayne >
< the original - "Bedrock" by Lil Wayne >
< "Heartbreaker" by G-Dragon >
< the orginal - "Heartbreaker" by G-Dragon >
Sunday, March 28
Another day ...
I didn't know how to title this, so I just put whatever, haha.
Dude, so, I just wanna preface this with a "I'm-so-freaking-excited" moment ... as in I'm so freaking excited for Rain's new music video!!! I'm so excited, in fact, here's the teaser.
Don't judge. You know you love me.
On to other things. I just finished watching "The Classic" for the fifteen-millionth time. I love that movie so much. I haven't watched it in a long time ... so you also get to see Youtube clips from that, too.
Next.
My last bit of Korean entertainment-related news ... I guess Daniel Henney is going to be starring in a reality TV show being shown on the Olive channel where he goes to Australia. Really? Whatever, man ... anything with Daniel Henney in it has already got me sold. I'll watch it. C'mon guys ... It's Daniel Henney! (^_^)
Life has been okay since my return. I say "okay" just because ... I'm tired. But really, it's going well. Today, I headed up to Seoul and met Ms. Amanda for lunch (mmmmm, gamjatang). Then, she took me to the wonderful Hannam Market, which I am in LOVE with and will be going back to next Saturday. After our stop in at Hannam, she left for Gangnam, and I met up with a friend in Itaewon where we proceeded to grab dinner and Starbucks. It was a lot of fun ... we'll have to do it again sometime ... soon. :)
Other than that ... last week was our first field trip of the school year. We took the kiddos to an art gallery (there was a kid's section) near Seoul Grand Park. Actually, I wouldn't mind going back there sometime soon to see the rest of the museum. That'll happen soon. It's on the agenda.
I'll write more later. Promise. Right now, it's getting late, and I have to be up relatively early in the morning.
~~~***~~~
Oh, and I believe a BIG FAT CONGRATULATIONS are in order ... to Chrey and Craig Nelson on their beautiful 9lb-4oz BABY GIRL born on March 25, 2010!!! Congratulations, guys ... I can't wait to see pictures of her!
Dude, so, I just wanna preface this with a "I'm-so-freaking-excited" moment ... as in I'm so freaking excited for Rain's new music video!!! I'm so excited, in fact, here's the teaser.
Don't judge. You know you love me.
On to other things. I just finished watching "The Classic" for the fifteen-millionth time. I love that movie so much. I haven't watched it in a long time ... so you also get to see Youtube clips from that, too.
Next.
My last bit of Korean entertainment-related news ... I guess Daniel Henney is going to be starring in a reality TV show being shown on the Olive channel where he goes to Australia. Really? Whatever, man ... anything with Daniel Henney in it has already got me sold. I'll watch it. C'mon guys ... It's Daniel Henney! (^_^)
Life has been okay since my return. I say "okay" just because ... I'm tired. But really, it's going well. Today, I headed up to Seoul and met Ms. Amanda for lunch (mmmmm, gamjatang). Then, she took me to the wonderful Hannam Market, which I am in LOVE with and will be going back to next Saturday. After our stop in at Hannam, she left for Gangnam, and I met up with a friend in Itaewon where we proceeded to grab dinner and Starbucks. It was a lot of fun ... we'll have to do it again sometime ... soon. :)
Other than that ... last week was our first field trip of the school year. We took the kiddos to an art gallery (there was a kid's section) near Seoul Grand Park. Actually, I wouldn't mind going back there sometime soon to see the rest of the museum. That'll happen soon. It's on the agenda.
I'll write more later. Promise. Right now, it's getting late, and I have to be up relatively early in the morning.
~~~***~~~
Oh, and I believe a BIG FAT CONGRATULATIONS are in order ... to Chrey and Craig Nelson on their beautiful 9lb-4oz BABY GIRL born on March 25, 2010!!! Congratulations, guys ... I can't wait to see pictures of her!
Saturday, March 6
Saturday, February 27
I'm baaack ...
Yes, yes it's true. I have returned to the motherland. :)
Well, duh.
After a two week jaunt (is that the word I want?) Stateside, I have returned to the land of kimchi, adorable children, drying racks, and baking in a toaster oven. It's pretty much ... heaven. Well, it would be ... if I wasn't jet-lagged. But that shall pass soon.
My trip home, though unexpected, was just what the doctor ordered. Even though it was merely 13 days long, it helped to open my eyes to what is important to me. Weird, right? But it's true, at least, a little. I returned to Korea with a renewed sense of ... well ... whatever. But I know what I hold dearest to my heart, and I also know what I've lost. My only desire is that I can find it again.
Enough talking in riddles and codes. So far, I've spent the majority of my time back sleeping. Well, I guess it makes sense - I had only just adjusted myself to the time difference ... and then I picked up and left again. I plan on going to bed as soon as I finish baking the last of my goods ... hopefully they turn out alright.
Today was a productive baking day for me ... well, okay, I didn't accomplish EVERYTHING ... I set out with the goal of making bread, cinnamon rolls, and a cake. Well, two out of three ain't bad. And there's still tomorrow for that cake idea. :) I also went to Lotte Mart (and let me tell you, there is not a single idea in the entire world worse than going to Lotte Mart on a Saturday afternoon). Oh, and I figured out why my bread didn't turn out as I wanted it to - wrong kind of yeast. My bad. At least I rectified it pre-cinnamon rolls, right?
Tuesday starts a new semester. Tuesday is the first day because Monday is a holiday, hah. Anyways. My preschool class will be the Tigers, and they are Blue Ribbon. That means they are one of the highest preschool classes (there will be two Blue Ribbon [BR] classes and three Adventure classes). Previously, I had an Adventure class (a higher level adventure, but adventure, nonetheless). I'm a little nervous because I've observed that the mothers of the BR kids tend to be slightly ... psychotic. I'm not looking forward to that. My co-teacher will be Nicole - she's amazing, so I'm happy about that.
Tomorrow, I will be heading down to Suwon for church. Oh, and then there's the going away party that Trevor is hosting - saying goodbye to Katie and Amy and Matt L. :( Sad times. They will be missed greatly.
Let's see. What else can I write about? My trip back? Well, it was pretty great. I'm already written about my arrival in San Fran ... and the first part of my trip (in Oly). Then, I headed up to Bellingham to attend my father's memorial service. It was a really nice service. Nick, Father B, and Leah all came up too (well, Leah came up because she had to drive me, haha). I spent a few fun-filled days in the 'Ham - catching up with some old friends ... then on Tuesday morning, Chrey and Craig put me on the Amtrak back down to Oly. Nick picked me up at the station ... we had Koibito (mmm, good) and then Bucket!!! I stayed in Oly until I had to be at Sea-Tac on the 23rd, catching up with friends, eating lots of cheese (and just eating lots in general), getting some shopping taken care of, taking stuff to storage, sending WAY too much stuff back to Korea (books and stuff like that) ... you know, the "house-keeping" things.
Now I'm back in Korea ... I'm pretty happy about that. I even got to see my preschool kids before they finished! (^_^) Now, we're just gearing up for another year.
Anyways. It's almost time for me to go to bed. :) I'm going to try to get back itno the habit of using this thing regularly ... hahhhhh. But, I'm going to try. :)
Loves.
Well, duh.
After a two week jaunt (is that the word I want?) Stateside, I have returned to the land of kimchi, adorable children, drying racks, and baking in a toaster oven. It's pretty much ... heaven. Well, it would be ... if I wasn't jet-lagged. But that shall pass soon.
My trip home, though unexpected, was just what the doctor ordered. Even though it was merely 13 days long, it helped to open my eyes to what is important to me. Weird, right? But it's true, at least, a little. I returned to Korea with a renewed sense of ... well ... whatever. But I know what I hold dearest to my heart, and I also know what I've lost. My only desire is that I can find it again.
Enough talking in riddles and codes. So far, I've spent the majority of my time back sleeping. Well, I guess it makes sense - I had only just adjusted myself to the time difference ... and then I picked up and left again. I plan on going to bed as soon as I finish baking the last of my goods ... hopefully they turn out alright.
Today was a productive baking day for me ... well, okay, I didn't accomplish EVERYTHING ... I set out with the goal of making bread, cinnamon rolls, and a cake. Well, two out of three ain't bad. And there's still tomorrow for that cake idea. :) I also went to Lotte Mart (and let me tell you, there is not a single idea in the entire world worse than going to Lotte Mart on a Saturday afternoon). Oh, and I figured out why my bread didn't turn out as I wanted it to - wrong kind of yeast. My bad. At least I rectified it pre-cinnamon rolls, right?
Tuesday starts a new semester. Tuesday is the first day because Monday is a holiday, hah. Anyways. My preschool class will be the Tigers, and they are Blue Ribbon. That means they are one of the highest preschool classes (there will be two Blue Ribbon [BR] classes and three Adventure classes). Previously, I had an Adventure class (a higher level adventure, but adventure, nonetheless). I'm a little nervous because I've observed that the mothers of the BR kids tend to be slightly ... psychotic. I'm not looking forward to that. My co-teacher will be Nicole - she's amazing, so I'm happy about that.
Tomorrow, I will be heading down to Suwon for church. Oh, and then there's the going away party that Trevor is hosting - saying goodbye to Katie and Amy and Matt L. :( Sad times. They will be missed greatly.
Let's see. What else can I write about? My trip back? Well, it was pretty great. I'm already written about my arrival in San Fran ... and the first part of my trip (in Oly). Then, I headed up to Bellingham to attend my father's memorial service. It was a really nice service. Nick, Father B, and Leah all came up too (well, Leah came up because she had to drive me, haha). I spent a few fun-filled days in the 'Ham - catching up with some old friends ... then on Tuesday morning, Chrey and Craig put me on the Amtrak back down to Oly. Nick picked me up at the station ... we had Koibito (mmm, good) and then Bucket!!! I stayed in Oly until I had to be at Sea-Tac on the 23rd, catching up with friends, eating lots of cheese (and just eating lots in general), getting some shopping taken care of, taking stuff to storage, sending WAY too much stuff back to Korea (books and stuff like that) ... you know, the "house-keeping" things.
Now I'm back in Korea ... I'm pretty happy about that. I even got to see my preschool kids before they finished! (^_^) Now, we're just gearing up for another year.
Anyways. It's almost time for me to go to bed. :) I'm going to try to get back itno the habit of using this thing regularly ... hahhhhh. But, I'm going to try. :)
Loves.
Tuesday, February 23
Almost Home
It is 1:33 AM, Tuesday morning - Pacific time, that is. For those of us lacking in the math department, that means it is 6:33 PM, Tuesday evening in Korea. Which means that, barring any unforeseen complications (knock on wood), I will be arriving back in Korea in around 24 hours.
It's been a trip guys, it really has. I've been reminded of the things I miss most about America, and the things I love the most about Korea ... and I've been able to take a step back and assess the pros and cons of each places. I've spent quality time with my amazing friends, eaten tons of food that is not readily available in my immediate vicinity in Korea (even when I wasn't hungry, I still managed to find room), shipped even MORE crap back to Korea that I don't really need, but that I want ... you know, that sorta stuff.
It's now 1:36 AM, and I am leaving for the airport in roughly an hour and a half. I don't plan on sleeping until I am in the capable hands of Singapore Airlines ... HAH! That's sucha lie. You know me - I'll be out before my plane taxis the runway at Sea-Tac (on my way to San Fran ... BOTHER!) ... :)
Well, while I'm babbling (it's now 1:38) ... yesterday (and this morning), I began two lists. The first list is titled "Things I Will Miss About America" and the second is "Things I Have Missed From Korea." Right now, they're about the same length ... I don't know what that says or shows or whatever ... except that I had too much time on my hands.
My suitcases are packed. I even weighed them. They're close, folks ... REALLY close. But I think I'll be okay *fingers crossed* ... because I would hate to have to spend more money ... in addition to the boxes I already sent back. Gah. Don't even ask about those boxes ... but when they arrive, I will be flooded with books, photos, momentos, cheez-its (Judy!!!), taco shells (Trevor!!!), Easter candy, peanut butter cups, and herbal essences shampoo and conditioner. Heavenly ... don't worry. I'll share the candy. :)
And I promise I will blog about my trip stateside. But I am not going to do that until I'm back in Korea ... so I can get my thoughts straight. Which, you know me ... it'll take a while. Oh well. Patience is a virtue an' all that.
It's 1:44. This is getting more ... spacey ... as the minutes pass by. Before we get on the freeway, we're going to 7-11 for slurpees. :) And by "we", I mean Nick and I ... since he is kind enough to drive me to the airport ... and was kind enough to pick me up ... and chauffer me around ... and entertain/babysit me. You know. He's a pretty cool guy and a great friend. Don't tell him I said that, though. Wouldn't want him getting a big head. :)
I have two songs that have pretty much set the tone for my two weeks back in the States - the first was played at my father's memorial. It's Carrie Underwood's "Temporary Home." Watch the video ... wait, don't watch the video ... okay, you can watch the video, just don't tell me about it. (They played the music video at the memorial.) The second is a "Nick Song" ... which means I first heard it due to Nick (you know, for those of us who REALLY need things spelled out). It's Matt Nathanson's "Come On Get Higher." In fact, both songs made such an impression on me, I bought both CDs. I can't wait to get home and load them onto my computer ... and listen to them over and over again ... kind of like I am now (poor Nick) ... because, you know how sometimes certain sounds or songs will TOTALLY trigger memories or thoughts about a certain time? I'm pretty sure these songs will be my trigger. Wow. Those weren't exactly coherent sentences. Oh well. You get the idea.
1:47 AM. Today I had Dutch Brothers. Mmmmm, Dutch Brothers. And yesterday, Starbucks ... with raspberry syrup. Remember raspberry syrup? Yeah, that made it onto my list of things I'll miss about America. :)
'Kay. It's 1:51. I'm going to go find other ways to entertain myself until we leave for the airport ... and I say goodbye to Seattle for who knows how long. Love you bunches, and can't wait to see you again. <3
It's been a trip guys, it really has. I've been reminded of the things I miss most about America, and the things I love the most about Korea ... and I've been able to take a step back and assess the pros and cons of each places. I've spent quality time with my amazing friends, eaten tons of food that is not readily available in my immediate vicinity in Korea (even when I wasn't hungry, I still managed to find room), shipped even MORE crap back to Korea that I don't really need, but that I want ... you know, that sorta stuff.
It's now 1:36 AM, and I am leaving for the airport in roughly an hour and a half. I don't plan on sleeping until I am in the capable hands of Singapore Airlines ... HAH! That's sucha lie. You know me - I'll be out before my plane taxis the runway at Sea-Tac (on my way to San Fran ... BOTHER!) ... :)
Well, while I'm babbling (it's now 1:38) ... yesterday (and this morning), I began two lists. The first list is titled "Things I Will Miss About America" and the second is "Things I Have Missed From Korea." Right now, they're about the same length ... I don't know what that says or shows or whatever ... except that I had too much time on my hands.
My suitcases are packed. I even weighed them. They're close, folks ... REALLY close. But I think I'll be okay *fingers crossed* ... because I would hate to have to spend more money ... in addition to the boxes I already sent back. Gah. Don't even ask about those boxes ... but when they arrive, I will be flooded with books, photos, momentos, cheez-its (Judy!!!), taco shells (Trevor!!!), Easter candy, peanut butter cups, and herbal essences shampoo and conditioner. Heavenly ... don't worry. I'll share the candy. :)
And I promise I will blog about my trip stateside. But I am not going to do that until I'm back in Korea ... so I can get my thoughts straight. Which, you know me ... it'll take a while. Oh well. Patience is a virtue an' all that.
It's 1:44. This is getting more ... spacey ... as the minutes pass by. Before we get on the freeway, we're going to 7-11 for slurpees. :) And by "we", I mean Nick and I ... since he is kind enough to drive me to the airport ... and was kind enough to pick me up ... and chauffer me around ... and entertain/babysit me. You know. He's a pretty cool guy and a great friend. Don't tell him I said that, though. Wouldn't want him getting a big head. :)
I have two songs that have pretty much set the tone for my two weeks back in the States - the first was played at my father's memorial. It's Carrie Underwood's "Temporary Home." Watch the video ... wait, don't watch the video ... okay, you can watch the video, just don't tell me about it. (They played the music video at the memorial.) The second is a "Nick Song" ... which means I first heard it due to Nick (you know, for those of us who REALLY need things spelled out). It's Matt Nathanson's "Come On Get Higher." In fact, both songs made such an impression on me, I bought both CDs. I can't wait to get home and load them onto my computer ... and listen to them over and over again ... kind of like I am now (poor Nick) ... because, you know how sometimes certain sounds or songs will TOTALLY trigger memories or thoughts about a certain time? I'm pretty sure these songs will be my trigger. Wow. Those weren't exactly coherent sentences. Oh well. You get the idea.
1:47 AM. Today I had Dutch Brothers. Mmmmm, Dutch Brothers. And yesterday, Starbucks ... with raspberry syrup. Remember raspberry syrup? Yeah, that made it onto my list of things I'll miss about America. :)
'Kay. It's 1:51. I'm going to go find other ways to entertain myself until we leave for the airport ... and I say goodbye to Seattle for who knows how long. Love you bunches, and can't wait to see you again. <3
Friday, February 12
Passive Aggressiveness
To the man who was sitting behind me on Singapore Airlines;
Congratulations. You managed to keep me awake for nearly the ENTIRE flight across the Pacific Ocean! Now, that's a real accomplishment, seeing as how I normally fall asleep on planes prior to taking off. I'm sure you're very proud of yourself, wherever you are. Highlights of the trip?
1.) I really enjoyed your snoring for the first portion (4 hours or so) of the flight. I realize that the snoring really couldn't be helped, so I don't hold that against you. Don't worry. But since I'm cranky, I thought I'd mention it.
2.) My favorite part? When I reclined my seat a little to sleep ... and you began kicking my chair. Real classy. Thanks for that.
3.) I also liked the part where you began talking on the phone or to yourself or whatever ... halfway across the Pacific Ocean ... leaning forward in your chair so that you were RIGHT IN MY EAR. That was great. I'm sure the other people on the plane did, too, since you so very kindly were talking loud enough to include us all in your conversation. I enjoyed listening to your conversation ... it was like a lullaby ... from hell ... in that I didn't sleep for more than ten or fifteen minutes at a time.
4.) Oh, and then how even after I moved my chair forward again ... and you still continued kicking it. OH! And how whenever you got up, you would pull yourself up by using my chair ... thus creating a sort of sling-shot effect that would rocket my body forward a few inches after letting go. Yeah, that was great too.
Thanks.
The irritated, sleep-deprived girl sitting in front of you.
~~~
Okay. All complaining aside ... my flight over the Pacific was actually quite nice ... minus the man sitting behind me. Singapore Airlines was really nice - it wasn't full, so the seat next to me was empty ... the food was good (I had THREE choices for dinner ... THREE!) ... the flight attendants were very kind (except about letting you go to the bathroom when the fasten seatbelt sign was on ... which it was ... for like, 80% of the flight) ... the entertainment selection was great (I watched part of "Good Morning President" [Korean], "Wall-E", and another movie ... part of an episode of "Bones" ... created a music playlist with nearly 100 songs [complete with some Korean music [like Brown Eyed Girls and Dong Bang Shin Ki] ... and played Bookworm Adventure) ...
My experience at the San Fran airport? Not as stellar. My flight was delayed getting into San Fran - not because we were behind, but because there was a back-up on the tarmac or something. So, we flew in a gigantic circle, above the airport (and clouds), for nearly an hour. Awesome.
Then, I booked it off the plane in order to go through immigration, retrieve my luggage, go through customs, recheck my bags, and find where I needed to be to catch my connection. In under two hours. Or so I thought.
Immigration was a breeze. Getting the bags? Easy. Customs? I called it. I so called it. I got yanked from the line, taken to the special x-ray, AND they opened both of my suitcases ... took out all of my stuff ... opened the presents I had spent 5 hours on Monday wrapping (PS, that's what I did after finding out about my father because I couldn't think of anything else to do) ... grilled me on the contents of my things ... and then smiled and said "have a pleasant trip". Thanks, America. First time I've been back in 20 months. And you wonder why I don't come back more often. Thank you, racial profiling.
Oh, but I made it to my flight on time. Wanna know why? Because it was delayed nearly an hour, too. Have I mentioned how much I hate the San Fran airport? I realize that none of this is particularly their fault ... but it's 5:15 in the morning ... I woke up an hour ago and couldn't fall back asleep ... and so I'm just grouchy.
~
Being back has been nice though ... everything has changed so much (and yet, so much is the same, too). I've really enjoyed surprising people - the best reaction is a tie between So (who stopped dead in his tracks and just stared at me), and Yoshiko (who jumped nearly a mile and had to hold on to the table while her face turned bright red). For my first night in, Nick and Father B took me to Casa Mia, which was great (there was cheese, everyone ... lots and lots of cheese) ... I've gone to prayer and mass ... had Dutch Brothers ... sat and talked with Hiroko and Kaoru for like, two hours ... overall, it's been good.
Now, I'm just preparing. Later today, Nick and I are heading up to Southcenter. Hopefully we'll see Hannah, and then we're going to meet up with Leah, and it's like when your parents are divorced and you are visiting one ... you know, the swap at a designated location? :) Leah's going to drive me up to Bellingham ... and we're going to stay there ... because tomorrow is the memorial. I don't think I'm ready for it ... I'm definitely not ready for it. Minus the thought of the traffic we're going to encounter ... because the Olympics start like, tonight ... I'm just not ready. Because it's so ... final.
Well, I'm going to try to go back to sleep. Thanks Jen, for letting me stay at your place ... and using your computer ... and your amazing bathroom ... there's a bathTUB, people!
Loves.
PS - everyone looks TALLER.
Congratulations. You managed to keep me awake for nearly the ENTIRE flight across the Pacific Ocean! Now, that's a real accomplishment, seeing as how I normally fall asleep on planes prior to taking off. I'm sure you're very proud of yourself, wherever you are. Highlights of the trip?
1.) I really enjoyed your snoring for the first portion (4 hours or so) of the flight. I realize that the snoring really couldn't be helped, so I don't hold that against you. Don't worry. But since I'm cranky, I thought I'd mention it.
2.) My favorite part? When I reclined my seat a little to sleep ... and you began kicking my chair. Real classy. Thanks for that.
3.) I also liked the part where you began talking on the phone or to yourself or whatever ... halfway across the Pacific Ocean ... leaning forward in your chair so that you were RIGHT IN MY EAR. That was great. I'm sure the other people on the plane did, too, since you so very kindly were talking loud enough to include us all in your conversation. I enjoyed listening to your conversation ... it was like a lullaby ... from hell ... in that I didn't sleep for more than ten or fifteen minutes at a time.
4.) Oh, and then how even after I moved my chair forward again ... and you still continued kicking it. OH! And how whenever you got up, you would pull yourself up by using my chair ... thus creating a sort of sling-shot effect that would rocket my body forward a few inches after letting go. Yeah, that was great too.
Thanks.
The irritated, sleep-deprived girl sitting in front of you.
~~~
Okay. All complaining aside ... my flight over the Pacific was actually quite nice ... minus the man sitting behind me. Singapore Airlines was really nice - it wasn't full, so the seat next to me was empty ... the food was good (I had THREE choices for dinner ... THREE!) ... the flight attendants were very kind (except about letting you go to the bathroom when the fasten seatbelt sign was on ... which it was ... for like, 80% of the flight) ... the entertainment selection was great (I watched part of "Good Morning President" [Korean], "Wall-E", and another movie ... part of an episode of "Bones" ... created a music playlist with nearly 100 songs [complete with some Korean music [like Brown Eyed Girls and Dong Bang Shin Ki] ... and played Bookworm Adventure) ...
My experience at the San Fran airport? Not as stellar. My flight was delayed getting into San Fran - not because we were behind, but because there was a back-up on the tarmac or something. So, we flew in a gigantic circle, above the airport (and clouds), for nearly an hour. Awesome.
Then, I booked it off the plane in order to go through immigration, retrieve my luggage, go through customs, recheck my bags, and find where I needed to be to catch my connection. In under two hours. Or so I thought.
Immigration was a breeze. Getting the bags? Easy. Customs? I called it. I so called it. I got yanked from the line, taken to the special x-ray, AND they opened both of my suitcases ... took out all of my stuff ... opened the presents I had spent 5 hours on Monday wrapping (PS, that's what I did after finding out about my father because I couldn't think of anything else to do) ... grilled me on the contents of my things ... and then smiled and said "have a pleasant trip". Thanks, America. First time I've been back in 20 months. And you wonder why I don't come back more often. Thank you, racial profiling.
Oh, but I made it to my flight on time. Wanna know why? Because it was delayed nearly an hour, too. Have I mentioned how much I hate the San Fran airport? I realize that none of this is particularly their fault ... but it's 5:15 in the morning ... I woke up an hour ago and couldn't fall back asleep ... and so I'm just grouchy.
~
Being back has been nice though ... everything has changed so much (and yet, so much is the same, too). I've really enjoyed surprising people - the best reaction is a tie between So (who stopped dead in his tracks and just stared at me), and Yoshiko (who jumped nearly a mile and had to hold on to the table while her face turned bright red). For my first night in, Nick and Father B took me to Casa Mia, which was great (there was cheese, everyone ... lots and lots of cheese) ... I've gone to prayer and mass ... had Dutch Brothers ... sat and talked with Hiroko and Kaoru for like, two hours ... overall, it's been good.
Now, I'm just preparing. Later today, Nick and I are heading up to Southcenter. Hopefully we'll see Hannah, and then we're going to meet up with Leah, and it's like when your parents are divorced and you are visiting one ... you know, the swap at a designated location? :) Leah's going to drive me up to Bellingham ... and we're going to stay there ... because tomorrow is the memorial. I don't think I'm ready for it ... I'm definitely not ready for it. Minus the thought of the traffic we're going to encounter ... because the Olympics start like, tonight ... I'm just not ready. Because it's so ... final.
Well, I'm going to try to go back to sleep. Thanks Jen, for letting me stay at your place ... and using your computer ... and your amazing bathroom ... there's a bathTUB, people!
Loves.
PS - everyone looks TALLER.
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