mmm...just got done eating some korean barbeque at a local restaurant. it was the first place I went after I arrived here in Korea...you order however many orders of beef or pork that you want, and it comes with unlimited sides of kimchi, soup, different sauces and a few salads. Delicious!! And it is 5500 won per order, can't beat that!
Sorry for the delay in posts. I've been keeping pretty busy here...the weather was absolutely goregous this weekend!! Today was a high in the 50's. After work I went on a walk around the lake nearby...more like a pond but its still pretty. Then I went to my korean language lessons. I'm starting to like them more...they are helpful so I will continue taking them for at least another month or so.
Last week my kids were absolutely awful!! I think it had something to do with us having a three day weekend, so no one wanted to be back at school. This week they've been doing better though...We have another three day weekend this week too! Well, actually for the kindergarteners it is a four day weekend...the kids that have been studying there this last year will be graduating on Thursday, so no one will come to school on Friday. No kinders at least...we still have to come to teach the elementary kids. Bummer...
I can not believe how fast my students are learning! It is still quite frusturating...but I swear some of these kids come in each day speaking more and more. March is the official beginning of the school year here in Korea, so I will be getting a few new students. That will bring my class totals up to ten for each class...the new students will know a bit of English already, which is why they are starting in March and not in January like the rest of the kids. I hope I am able to keep my sanity with such full classes!
I'm continuing to have a great time. I'm quite busy...working five days a week, going into a different city about an hour away two times a week for Korean lessons, church almost every Sunday, and then of course hanging out with friends and exploring Korea! And can you guys believe that I met some Brazilians here in South Korea! Haha yes,you read that right! South Korea of all places. My ears are automatically tuned to Spanish or Portuguese, so the second I heard these two guys talking in a bar I immediately starting talking to them. They work at a Brazilian steakhouse here, which I'm hoping to get to one of these days. It's just as pricey here as it is back home, so I'll have to really be hungry that day! But I'm excited I get to use my portuguese...makes me realize that no matter how long I go without speaking it, it will always come back!
I'm excited that the weather is starting to improve...I'll be able to get out more and see more of the country. There are apparently some beautiful hiking trails (I know my parents are shocked that I will WILLINGLY go hiking!) nearby...plus different cities that I will be taking weekend trips to. It's no Europe, can't jet off to Paris or Italy every other weekend...but there is still quite a bit to see here. My goals for the year are to make it to Beijing, Thailand (hoping that my sister will come visit me during my summer break and we can do this one together!) and maybe some more at the end of my contract depending on how much I save. I'd love to get to Australia while I'm here...if I make it there it will be my final continent on my bucket list!! 6 outta 7!! I have no desire to go to Antarctica...but who knows, if the opportunity presents itself....haha.
I'm hoping everyone back home is doing well also! Super exciting news on the Roloff homefront...Joe and Gail are expecting a baby!! Congrats to them!! Can't wait to come home to meet my little neice or nephew. Man, when did I get so old?? Haha becoming an aunt seems like something only grown ups do!
Keep in touch! Love you all.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Lucky...or blessed?
Have you ever felt...man, I am really really lucky. I got asked in an interview one time, "Are you lucky?" and I immmediately replied with, "Yes!" Afterwards though, I thought, wait, is all of this luck, or is it coming from somewhere else?
I AM BLESSED. I am blessed, first of all, with the most amazing family in the world. When my brother got married, one of our close friends said "wow, Gail is so lucky to be marrying into such a great family!" and it is so true. My parents are the most open and welcoming people ever. The night before my brothers wedding my dad said "tomorrow will be the happiest day of my life". And I felt the same way. My brother, someone that I had loved and admired for all my life, was about to marry someone just as worthy of my love and admiration. A close friend of mine says on a regular basis "I wish my parents were as supporting as your's are". And it is true. When I said I wanted to be an exchange student at the age of 16 they didn't try to convince me otherwise. My dad still reminds me of how the Rotary club said I was a very strong candidate, and would be hard to beat when it came to the other applicants. I will never forget when Solene, the French exchange student that lived in our house said "Betsy, your dad has a french CD in his car, so that he can try to talk to my father while he is here! Not many people would to that." I felt so proud. My father, an American, was trying to learn French so he could communicate with our exchange student's father. This french family has since visited us three times, and my family has gone to stay at their house in France as well. Just tonight I was talking to my dad, and he said how he was at a Rotary meeting, and couldn't stop talking about me and my travels (so much of this I owe to the Rotary club!)
I AM BLESSED. I am blessed with the most amazing friends. So many of my really close friends are those who I have met while living abroad. They may be from Mexico, the US, Brasil or Europe and now people that I have met in South Korea, but I have met so many awesome people through my travels. I continue to talk to and see many of these people on a regular basis. A few of my closest friends are from my hometown as well, but the people that I have met through my travels will always hold special places in my heart.
I AM BLESSED. I am sooo blessed to have grown up in a family where God was always a huge factor. I have always believed in God, and always will, and I know that He has a special plan for my life. Although I do not know at this moment what that plan is, and where I will be two or three years from now, I know that He knows, and I put all of my faith in Him.
I AM BLESSED. I am just blessed. God has blessed me with such amazing friends and family, and I will be forever grateful.
What about you? Are you just lucky, or have you been blessed like I have?
I AM BLESSED. I am blessed, first of all, with the most amazing family in the world. When my brother got married, one of our close friends said "wow, Gail is so lucky to be marrying into such a great family!" and it is so true. My parents are the most open and welcoming people ever. The night before my brothers wedding my dad said "tomorrow will be the happiest day of my life". And I felt the same way. My brother, someone that I had loved and admired for all my life, was about to marry someone just as worthy of my love and admiration. A close friend of mine says on a regular basis "I wish my parents were as supporting as your's are". And it is true. When I said I wanted to be an exchange student at the age of 16 they didn't try to convince me otherwise. My dad still reminds me of how the Rotary club said I was a very strong candidate, and would be hard to beat when it came to the other applicants. I will never forget when Solene, the French exchange student that lived in our house said "Betsy, your dad has a french CD in his car, so that he can try to talk to my father while he is here! Not many people would to that." I felt so proud. My father, an American, was trying to learn French so he could communicate with our exchange student's father. This french family has since visited us three times, and my family has gone to stay at their house in France as well. Just tonight I was talking to my dad, and he said how he was at a Rotary meeting, and couldn't stop talking about me and my travels (so much of this I owe to the Rotary club!)
I AM BLESSED. I am blessed with the most amazing friends. So many of my really close friends are those who I have met while living abroad. They may be from Mexico, the US, Brasil or Europe and now people that I have met in South Korea, but I have met so many awesome people through my travels. I continue to talk to and see many of these people on a regular basis. A few of my closest friends are from my hometown as well, but the people that I have met through my travels will always hold special places in my heart.
I AM BLESSED. I am sooo blessed to have grown up in a family where God was always a huge factor. I have always believed in God, and always will, and I know that He has a special plan for my life. Although I do not know at this moment what that plan is, and where I will be two or three years from now, I know that He knows, and I put all of my faith in Him.
I AM BLESSED. I am just blessed. God has blessed me with such amazing friends and family, and I will be forever grateful.
What about you? Are you just lucky, or have you been blessed like I have?
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Hello, Goodbye
What a long week! Having to work on a Saturday really cuts down on weekend time, and then the week just seems to never end! Whew....never been more glad to have alone time!
This week passed by super slow....but so much happened! We got two new teachers this week, one girl from California, and a guy from Atlanta. Both are very cool...Ryan (the girl) studied abroad in Barcelona the same time I was in Sevilla, so we have a lot to talk about. Matthew teacher is my new neighbor...since two of the teachers left this week there was some apartment rearranging. The girl that was living next to me( Miranda) moved to a bigger apartment, where a girl Brittany was living until she left yesterday....due to some last minute emergencies I am now catsitting for Brittanys cat until she returns from traveling on the 10th...its so fun to have a cat again! and my allergies arent bothering me at all.
The two teachers that I was in touch with before I came are both going back to the US after they go to Vietnam and Cambodia. They are the first people to leave since I've been here, and how sad it is! Even though it happes so much throughout the year, someone leaves, and a new person comes....I can't even imagine how hard it will be to leave my little students...and I've only had them for a month!
A month! I can't believe the first month of teaching has come and gone. It went pretty decent...besides a few minor setbacks with troublesome kids! I've been here for nearly 7 weeks now...and the time has passed so quickly! I've been so busy and don't doubt that the next 11 months will go by fast....gotta be sure to take advantage of all that time.
Yesterday we took our kindergarteners sledding...really fun but we didn't have a lot of time, so most went down only one or two times! I went down only once with Yulia...it was pretty fun. They line the kids up at the top of the "hill" and blow a whistle and everyone goes down all at once.
Today I went with a few others to see another Ballet...it was Cinderella, but not your everyday Disney story! haha it was kinda funny to try to follow the story, that included the father (who is dead in the disney version ) the fairy godmother (who is cinderellas dead mother!) and people who were referred to as the "pleasure superintendants". Still not sure where those people come in...but it was fun to watch anyways! After some dinner a couple girls and I did some subway shopping. In mny of the larger subway stations here there are like mini underground malls with super cheap clothes, shoes and jewelry. I bought five or six shirts for under 30$! Definitely one of the perks of Korea.
The weather has been great lately, still cold but pretty sunny. Tomorrow I'm planning on taking a walk around the "lake" here, not sure how much of a lake it is cause I haven't seen it yet....
Hope everyone is having/will have a great weekend! I'm drinking some Korean Raspberry wine that was left for me...perfect end to a busy week. Have a great one!
This week passed by super slow....but so much happened! We got two new teachers this week, one girl from California, and a guy from Atlanta. Both are very cool...Ryan (the girl) studied abroad in Barcelona the same time I was in Sevilla, so we have a lot to talk about. Matthew teacher is my new neighbor...since two of the teachers left this week there was some apartment rearranging. The girl that was living next to me( Miranda) moved to a bigger apartment, where a girl Brittany was living until she left yesterday....due to some last minute emergencies I am now catsitting for Brittanys cat until she returns from traveling on the 10th...its so fun to have a cat again! and my allergies arent bothering me at all.
The two teachers that I was in touch with before I came are both going back to the US after they go to Vietnam and Cambodia. They are the first people to leave since I've been here, and how sad it is! Even though it happes so much throughout the year, someone leaves, and a new person comes....I can't even imagine how hard it will be to leave my little students...and I've only had them for a month!
A month! I can't believe the first month of teaching has come and gone. It went pretty decent...besides a few minor setbacks with troublesome kids! I've been here for nearly 7 weeks now...and the time has passed so quickly! I've been so busy and don't doubt that the next 11 months will go by fast....gotta be sure to take advantage of all that time.
Yesterday we took our kindergarteners sledding...really fun but we didn't have a lot of time, so most went down only one or two times! I went down only once with Yulia...it was pretty fun. They line the kids up at the top of the "hill" and blow a whistle and everyone goes down all at once.
Today I went with a few others to see another Ballet...it was Cinderella, but not your everyday Disney story! haha it was kinda funny to try to follow the story, that included the father (who is dead in the disney version ) the fairy godmother (who is cinderellas dead mother!) and people who were referred to as the "pleasure superintendants". Still not sure where those people come in...but it was fun to watch anyways! After some dinner a couple girls and I did some subway shopping. In mny of the larger subway stations here there are like mini underground malls with super cheap clothes, shoes and jewelry. I bought five or six shirts for under 30$! Definitely one of the perks of Korea.
The weather has been great lately, still cold but pretty sunny. Tomorrow I'm planning on taking a walk around the "lake" here, not sure how much of a lake it is cause I haven't seen it yet....
Hope everyone is having/will have a great weekend! I'm drinking some Korean Raspberry wine that was left for me...perfect end to a busy week. Have a great one!
Friday, January 22, 2010
...and what day is tomorrow class? "Sunny and cold!"
Well at least they know how to talk about the weather!
This week has been the best so far. I have a feeling they will just keep getting better and better! My students are already improving so much! Most can ask "May I go to the bathroom" without having to be told to say it in English, as well as ask for "eraser please!" and are speaking in full sentences when I ask "What is it?" They say "It is a ball!" instead of just "ball!" Can't wait to see their improvement over the next year!
The two boys in apple class who are my biggest trouble makers are calming down a bit. I still have to tell Kenny to put on his shoes or sit down at least five times a class, but that is sooo much of an improvement from last week!
Last Friday we had a birthday party for one student, and today we had "cooking". Basically, we made a snack! A canape it is called, a cracker with ham, cheese, tomato and an apple. Delicious! They all looked super cute with their aprons and little hankercheifs over their hair!
I signed up for my korean lesson on Tuesday, and yesterday was my first lesson. It went well considering that I missed the first five lessons with the beginner class! However considering my background with languages, I don't think I will have much of a problem catching up. I know how to say my name, I'm a teacher, I'm from the US (or basically, just I'm American, which I don't like to say, because those of us from the US are NOT the only Americans in the world!). This part came in helpful last night around 1am, when I got a wrong number call from a Korean. He called three times before I was able to croak out "I'm American"! in broken Korean...he must have gotten the idea because he just hung up the phone!
Today a new teacher arrives! We are going to meet her in about half an hour. I am glad to no longer be the newbie in town! We also will have a boy teacher starting on Monday. Tomorrow (Sat) we have to go into school to make up for the snow day two weeks ago. Bummer...especially considering that the kindergarteners aren't coming, only elementary students, and since I won't start with them until February I will have no classes to teach! But my boss asked if I could go in and just prepare for next week, she felt it would be unfair if I was the only one that didn't have to go in. I understand, so I will be there for a couple hours in the morning.
Last Monday I met up with Yunjin, the Korean girl I met online for a language exchange. She is a really sweet girl, and seems really excited to practice Korean with me! Her English is decent, but there is a lot of room for improvement, so these days will really help both of us. We plan to meet on Mondays for awhile.
The other day Charlie (pretty much the cutest little kid ever) was coloring, and I was saying that I wanted "very beautiful pictures". I was crouched down next to him, encouraging him to color (for some reason he doesn't like to color!). He looked at me and said, teacher, beautiful. Now really, if that isn't the most heartwarming little comment ever! Haha it sure beat the question I got asked on the first day (or rather a student asked another teacher) "Why is betsy teacher ugly on her face?" as he pointed out some huge zit I had. "Why is it red"? Oh little, boy, I thought, don't you worry, another 6 years and you'll be blessed with zits too!! Little kids here have no problem pointing out our flaws....the biggest advice I've gotten is just to not let them see your weaknesses, or they will never let you live it down! Some kids (especially one little girl in my banana class) like to boob grab, and another popular game for kids is to put their fingers together like a gun, and poke you right in the butt! I got that the other day for the first time...most teachers don't get it so early on I guess! I turned around and the kid was hysterically laughing. It was quite a shock...but is common occurance here I guess.
Arite, I'm on my way out now....hope everyone enjoys their weekend!
This week has been the best so far. I have a feeling they will just keep getting better and better! My students are already improving so much! Most can ask "May I go to the bathroom" without having to be told to say it in English, as well as ask for "eraser please!" and are speaking in full sentences when I ask "What is it?" They say "It is a ball!" instead of just "ball!" Can't wait to see their improvement over the next year!
The two boys in apple class who are my biggest trouble makers are calming down a bit. I still have to tell Kenny to put on his shoes or sit down at least five times a class, but that is sooo much of an improvement from last week!
Last Friday we had a birthday party for one student, and today we had "cooking". Basically, we made a snack! A canape it is called, a cracker with ham, cheese, tomato and an apple. Delicious! They all looked super cute with their aprons and little hankercheifs over their hair!
I signed up for my korean lesson on Tuesday, and yesterday was my first lesson. It went well considering that I missed the first five lessons with the beginner class! However considering my background with languages, I don't think I will have much of a problem catching up. I know how to say my name, I'm a teacher, I'm from the US (or basically, just I'm American, which I don't like to say, because those of us from the US are NOT the only Americans in the world!). This part came in helpful last night around 1am, when I got a wrong number call from a Korean. He called three times before I was able to croak out "I'm American"! in broken Korean...he must have gotten the idea because he just hung up the phone!
Today a new teacher arrives! We are going to meet her in about half an hour. I am glad to no longer be the newbie in town! We also will have a boy teacher starting on Monday. Tomorrow (Sat) we have to go into school to make up for the snow day two weeks ago. Bummer...especially considering that the kindergarteners aren't coming, only elementary students, and since I won't start with them until February I will have no classes to teach! But my boss asked if I could go in and just prepare for next week, she felt it would be unfair if I was the only one that didn't have to go in. I understand, so I will be there for a couple hours in the morning.
Last Monday I met up with Yunjin, the Korean girl I met online for a language exchange. She is a really sweet girl, and seems really excited to practice Korean with me! Her English is decent, but there is a lot of room for improvement, so these days will really help both of us. We plan to meet on Mondays for awhile.
The other day Charlie (pretty much the cutest little kid ever) was coloring, and I was saying that I wanted "very beautiful pictures". I was crouched down next to him, encouraging him to color (for some reason he doesn't like to color!). He looked at me and said, teacher, beautiful. Now really, if that isn't the most heartwarming little comment ever! Haha it sure beat the question I got asked on the first day (or rather a student asked another teacher) "Why is betsy teacher ugly on her face?" as he pointed out some huge zit I had. "Why is it red"? Oh little, boy, I thought, don't you worry, another 6 years and you'll be blessed with zits too!! Little kids here have no problem pointing out our flaws....the biggest advice I've gotten is just to not let them see your weaknesses, or they will never let you live it down! Some kids (especially one little girl in my banana class) like to boob grab, and another popular game for kids is to put their fingers together like a gun, and poke you right in the butt! I got that the other day for the first time...most teachers don't get it so early on I guess! I turned around and the kid was hysterically laughing. It was quite a shock...but is common occurance here I guess.
Arite, I'm on my way out now....hope everyone enjoys their weekend!
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Now really, of ALL the busses to get on!!!
Remember the guy I said I met on the way home from church two weeks ago? The one that asked my name (I said Sarah) asked if I was married (of course! husband back in the US) and asked for my phone number?(I made one up). Well, I was a little concerned I would run into him again, and he would have realized that I gave him a fake number. But, after church today, I went out to lunch, did a little shopping, so I was SURE, that there was no possible way he could be on the same bus going back again. I mean, what are the odds? And he wasn't on the bus, not at least, until the very last second right as the doors were closing! I spotted him all the way from the back...I quickly put in my headphones (even though my IPod was dead!) and tried to cover my face with my hair. His wife sat down right behind me....Neither of them said anything though, so I don't think they saw/ or recognized me. Whew! But really, WHAT ARE THE CHANCES!!???
Church was great today. It's a beautiful day out, which automatically puts anyone in a great mood. Even though it is an hour commute to church (I get on a bus then transfer to the subway, then have a 7 or so minute walk), it is worth it once I get there. The services are great, lots of singing and today we had a guest speaker from Kenya. I mean really, how cool is it that I am in South Korea, attending a Methodist church, where it is mostly Chinese, Phillipino and other ethnicities (very few North Americans), listening to a sermon led by a Kenyan, where the one language we all speak is English? I think it is very cool!!
After church a group of us went with Pastor Christina (who lived in Rockford for many years, and visited NIU several times!) for lunch. I talked quite a bit with a Chinese girl named Vivian, she is here studying Korean. Really sweet girl! She invited me to go skiing with her and some friends in the next few weeks.
After lunch I started the commute back home, (where the old man enters the picture). I am currently texting a Korean girl that I met online, we will hopefully meet up tomorrow for a language exchange! This is something that sooo many Koreans like to do, get together with foreigners to improve their English, and to help the foreigners learn Korean too! I am excited, and hope to meet more people this way!
Happy Sunday to you all!
Church was great today. It's a beautiful day out, which automatically puts anyone in a great mood. Even though it is an hour commute to church (I get on a bus then transfer to the subway, then have a 7 or so minute walk), it is worth it once I get there. The services are great, lots of singing and today we had a guest speaker from Kenya. I mean really, how cool is it that I am in South Korea, attending a Methodist church, where it is mostly Chinese, Phillipino and other ethnicities (very few North Americans), listening to a sermon led by a Kenyan, where the one language we all speak is English? I think it is very cool!!
After church a group of us went with Pastor Christina (who lived in Rockford for many years, and visited NIU several times!) for lunch. I talked quite a bit with a Chinese girl named Vivian, she is here studying Korean. Really sweet girl! She invited me to go skiing with her and some friends in the next few weeks.
After lunch I started the commute back home, (where the old man enters the picture). I am currently texting a Korean girl that I met online, we will hopefully meet up tomorrow for a language exchange! This is something that sooo many Koreans like to do, get together with foreigners to improve their English, and to help the foreigners learn Korean too! I am excited, and hope to meet more people this way!
Happy Sunday to you all!
Friday, January 15, 2010
Thank goodness for weekends! Until now, I have never had a Monday to Friday, nine to five job. It makes you really really appreciate those two days off! This was the first week that I have taught my kids every day since I've been here. And now I know why it was that the first week I was here every single teacher was saying "TGIF!"
Classes are continuing to go well. After last week, I was ready for the weekend. Friday night was a friends birthday celebration, we went to a noreabong to sing some kareoke, and then to a bar afterwards. Saturday I took a trip into Seoul, the same area where I spent Christmas day. A co-worker from school named Sarah took me in. We went to a foreign book store, where I bought several used English books for super cheap, and also a foreign food store where I was able to buy some things to cook with! They have most things here in Dongbaek, but it is a matter of being able to actually read what I am buying. They have a quite a bit of foreign food at this store, and it was nice to know I have a place to go buy some REAL pickles if the need arises!
Sunday I had planned to go to church, but I was sooo tired from the week that I had to allow myself to sleep in. That afternoon though I met up with a girl who was an exchange student with me in Brasil. She has been here for almost a year, and it was so cool meeting up with her. This week I also randomly looked at another friends profile (who was an exchange student in brasil also) and saw that he is living here as well! Super close too, about half hour away. It is so funny that I met these people in Brasil, and will see them in Korea, but never have we met up in our own countries!
The school week started off well. I have been so concerned, however, with trying to get through all the bookwork, because that is what I though I was supposed to do. So the poor kids were beginning to hate me I'm sure, because I was pushing them so hard to get the work done, and we didn't have any time to have fun! My supervisor told me however, that I should focus not so much on finishing the books, but also making sure they have fun. Thank goodness! The last couple days of classes went much better. I think the kids are liking it a lot more! Friday we had a birthday celebration for Kevin. Once a month on Friday we will celebrate the kids who have bdays that month. There was a cake, lots of fruit, and all of the kids brought a present for Kevin! Quite the celebration. It was a lot of fun, and a nice break from regular classes!
Last night Molly and I went out for dinner, and today I am got invited to a church members house for a dinner party thing, even though I missed church last week! I am excited though, because going to church is such a good way to meet people and do fun things. I've always liked going to church, but all throughout college I worked at Parkway Sunday mornings, and that money was hard to give up! So it is nice now that I have the time and the desire to go to church on Sundays. Tomorrow is the actual church service too.
I am pretty sure that I will be registering for a Korean class next week. It will begin the first week in February, and will meet twice a week in the evenings. I absolutely HATE not knowing what people are saying, or not being able to communicate what I need or want! The other times I lived abroad I was able to speak the languages so easily, and so it is very frustruating not knowing anything here! However, I have met several people who have a good handle on the langauage, so I'm sure that if I work hard at it I will to eventally! My dad had asked if the kids teach me any Korean. In class, we have a "no korean" rule, but of course hardly any of the kids speak enough English to NOT talk in Korean. I think most still do not get that I don't understand Korean! So we have the English only rule "or Engrish only" as Charlie calls it, but pretty much all of the kids speak to each other in Korea, and when we play games they speak Korean. I have had several that count in English when we play games, and I make sure to praise them a lot for it! A few of the words I know in class are water (mul) eraser (chiugae) and bathroom (dont know how to write it out!). They taught me the word for foreigner too, well more like they said it to me, and when I asked what it was they giggled and said "English speaker" (oegokin?).
Thursday was the first time I felt really overwhelmed here. There was a huge lack of communication, and I was not informed that the helper teachers would not be with us at all that day. The helper teachers follow us when we go to the bathroom, helping kids wash their hands and zip up clothes, they also serve us our snack and lunches, then they clean out the kids lunch boxes. Also, at the end of the day, when the kids are ready to go home, they make sure each kid is in their assigned room, then take them down to the busses. So Thursday I was the one helping with bathroom and lunch, which was perfectly okay, but then at the end of the day I couldnt take the kids to their "bus rooms" cause there was no adult there to watch or take them downstairs, and no one really knew what to do with the kids. So I got upset afterwards and was able to vent it out to some co-workers, who have all gone through what I am! I know that it was a situation that will probably not happen again though, and at least if it does I will be more prepared!
Other than that incident though, everything else has been going very well! I'm looking forward to taking Korean lessons, and will keep you all updated on how its going.
Have a great day!
Classes are continuing to go well. After last week, I was ready for the weekend. Friday night was a friends birthday celebration, we went to a noreabong to sing some kareoke, and then to a bar afterwards. Saturday I took a trip into Seoul, the same area where I spent Christmas day. A co-worker from school named Sarah took me in. We went to a foreign book store, where I bought several used English books for super cheap, and also a foreign food store where I was able to buy some things to cook with! They have most things here in Dongbaek, but it is a matter of being able to actually read what I am buying. They have a quite a bit of foreign food at this store, and it was nice to know I have a place to go buy some REAL pickles if the need arises!
Sunday I had planned to go to church, but I was sooo tired from the week that I had to allow myself to sleep in. That afternoon though I met up with a girl who was an exchange student with me in Brasil. She has been here for almost a year, and it was so cool meeting up with her. This week I also randomly looked at another friends profile (who was an exchange student in brasil also) and saw that he is living here as well! Super close too, about half hour away. It is so funny that I met these people in Brasil, and will see them in Korea, but never have we met up in our own countries!
The school week started off well. I have been so concerned, however, with trying to get through all the bookwork, because that is what I though I was supposed to do. So the poor kids were beginning to hate me I'm sure, because I was pushing them so hard to get the work done, and we didn't have any time to have fun! My supervisor told me however, that I should focus not so much on finishing the books, but also making sure they have fun. Thank goodness! The last couple days of classes went much better. I think the kids are liking it a lot more! Friday we had a birthday celebration for Kevin. Once a month on Friday we will celebrate the kids who have bdays that month. There was a cake, lots of fruit, and all of the kids brought a present for Kevin! Quite the celebration. It was a lot of fun, and a nice break from regular classes!
Last night Molly and I went out for dinner, and today I am got invited to a church members house for a dinner party thing, even though I missed church last week! I am excited though, because going to church is such a good way to meet people and do fun things. I've always liked going to church, but all throughout college I worked at Parkway Sunday mornings, and that money was hard to give up! So it is nice now that I have the time and the desire to go to church on Sundays. Tomorrow is the actual church service too.
I am pretty sure that I will be registering for a Korean class next week. It will begin the first week in February, and will meet twice a week in the evenings. I absolutely HATE not knowing what people are saying, or not being able to communicate what I need or want! The other times I lived abroad I was able to speak the languages so easily, and so it is very frustruating not knowing anything here! However, I have met several people who have a good handle on the langauage, so I'm sure that if I work hard at it I will to eventally! My dad had asked if the kids teach me any Korean. In class, we have a "no korean" rule, but of course hardly any of the kids speak enough English to NOT talk in Korean. I think most still do not get that I don't understand Korean! So we have the English only rule "or Engrish only" as Charlie calls it, but pretty much all of the kids speak to each other in Korea, and when we play games they speak Korean. I have had several that count in English when we play games, and I make sure to praise them a lot for it! A few of the words I know in class are water (mul) eraser (chiugae) and bathroom (dont know how to write it out!). They taught me the word for foreigner too, well more like they said it to me, and when I asked what it was they giggled and said "English speaker" (oegokin?).
Thursday was the first time I felt really overwhelmed here. There was a huge lack of communication, and I was not informed that the helper teachers would not be with us at all that day. The helper teachers follow us when we go to the bathroom, helping kids wash their hands and zip up clothes, they also serve us our snack and lunches, then they clean out the kids lunch boxes. Also, at the end of the day, when the kids are ready to go home, they make sure each kid is in their assigned room, then take them down to the busses. So Thursday I was the one helping with bathroom and lunch, which was perfectly okay, but then at the end of the day I couldnt take the kids to their "bus rooms" cause there was no adult there to watch or take them downstairs, and no one really knew what to do with the kids. So I got upset afterwards and was able to vent it out to some co-workers, who have all gone through what I am! I know that it was a situation that will probably not happen again though, and at least if it does I will be more prepared!
Other than that incident though, everything else has been going very well! I'm looking forward to taking Korean lessons, and will keep you all updated on how its going.
Have a great day!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Apparently I CAN be a teacher!
Yulia (while trying to zip up her jacket)" Teacher, how to do?"
Me: Yulia, you say, "teacher, how do I do this?"
Five minutes later (while trying to put on her face mask) "Teacher, how to do? No no, teacher, how do I do this?"
My little kiddies are already learning!!!!!!
Me: Yulia, you say, "teacher, how do I do this?"
Five minutes later (while trying to put on her face mask) "Teacher, how to do? No no, teacher, how do I do this?"
My little kiddies are already learning!!!!!!
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