"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! (^_^)
Tuesday, November 30
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.
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