Time is just a'flyin'! I cannot believe it's almost winter break. Where has the time gone? Oh yeah, teaching three classes, two special reading classes, planning, performance practice, etc. etc.etc. lol I knew that this wouldn't be a cakewalk, but wow! Constantly doing things, never a dull moment.
The kids did awesome at their performance, even though the sound guy completely dropped the ball. Boo at him. :( At least the parents were pleased, and since my ability as a teacher is judged almost solely on how the kids performed...I'm super proud of them though. One of the songs was prematurely cut off and they kept going. I even got "thank you" flowers from the parents. :D
Last week a ton of things were due all on the same day; report cards (for all classes), class summaries, and open class lesson plans. Doesn't sound like much, which it really wasn't but very time consuming. Some stress and frustration resulted from that, some complaining/negativity from other teachers, and not a lot of sleep. It made it a not fun week, but I came to the conclusion I need to walk away from the negativity. I cannot let other people's inability to put their big girl panties on and deal with their problems get to me. I did talk to my VP and supervisor and it definitely cleared up a ton of confusion. My frustration/stress level went done incredibly.
This week is parent-teacher conferences. I had my first one this evening and it went fairly well. My afternoon supervisor interpreted for me, so I basically sat and smiled and nodded. lol It was a bit amusing to me, but I hope that the parents got what I was trying to convey. Not sure how much was lost in translation. Then it was one-on-one with the parents that actually showed up, only parents for 2 kids. I wish more had come, but for time's sake I'm glad they didn't. I think the meetings went well, one parent was even pleased saying this was the best report card her son has received. I do love my BC boys, they are awesome.
Tomorrow is a meeting with only one of my BC girl's parents. Again, I wish the other parents would come just so I can meet them. I understand though why most aren't coming. Apparently the owner of the school repeats the same thing and most parents want to avoid hearing it...again. lol Plus I figure if there was an issue I'd hear about it. Most of these parents aren't shy about complaining to the Korean teachers. lol
Super, super excited about Friday. Not only is it the Christmas party for the whole school, but my honey is coming!!! I get to take a long trip (about 1 1/2 hours) by subway and train to pick him up. Crossing my fingers that I don't get lost and we find each other quickly at the airport. :)
So much to do before Friday! Still need to Christmas shop and then mail it all. I know it won't get to my family by Christmas...sorry!! Just been so busy, again where has the time gone?? Early day tomorrow so early to bed for me. Which means about midnight. lol
Monday, December 17, 2012
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Been too long!
I cannot believe I've been here for almost 2 months! The time has totally flown by. Mostly working all day and enjoying a few evenings out. The weekends so far have been busy going out and seeing a few places in Seoul or meeting new friends.
Completely love my classes! My kindergarten class is the 7 year olds(6 really) that have been coming to CIS for 3 years, and my two BC grade 3 classes are definitely hard work, but the kids are great. I only have 4 kids in my kindergarten class, yes envy me, and they are wicked smart. They pick things up so quickly that sometimes I forget I'm working with 7 year olds. M-W-F I work with 6 boys in 3rd grade. They are a hoot most of the time, they do get off track VERY easily. However I absolutely adore them. T-Th I work with 2 girls also in 3rd grade which are a bit more of a challenge. I like them just fine, but they really don't like working. Which I can understand, these kids are in school all day then they go to more school, music lessons, math tutoring, etc. I don't know how they don't break down on a daily basis. I suppose it's because this type of schooling is all they've known.
The ladies I work with, both foreign and Korean, are just plain awesome. I've gotten fairly close to a few and nights out are usually spent with them. The night life on the weekend is crazy, but fun. Koreans work hard, but they party harder.
Food here is different, but I've enjoyed the majority. Still cannot get behind the seaweed soup, and kimchi on a daily basis has taken some getting used to. I really like the cucumber kimchi and radish kimchi. Korean barbeque is delicious too!
Sad news on the photo front. Flickr has decided to be a jerk and not let me on my account. So I had to create a new one. Perhaps tomorrow I'll find the energy to repost and add more pictures. lol
I cannot wait to decorate for Christmas! I'm sad I won't be able to bake, but maybe I can keep the tradition of making chocolate covered pretzels. Crossing fingers on that one. :)
Completely love my classes! My kindergarten class is the 7 year olds(6 really) that have been coming to CIS for 3 years, and my two BC grade 3 classes are definitely hard work, but the kids are great. I only have 4 kids in my kindergarten class, yes envy me, and they are wicked smart. They pick things up so quickly that sometimes I forget I'm working with 7 year olds. M-W-F I work with 6 boys in 3rd grade. They are a hoot most of the time, they do get off track VERY easily. However I absolutely adore them. T-Th I work with 2 girls also in 3rd grade which are a bit more of a challenge. I like them just fine, but they really don't like working. Which I can understand, these kids are in school all day then they go to more school, music lessons, math tutoring, etc. I don't know how they don't break down on a daily basis. I suppose it's because this type of schooling is all they've known.
The ladies I work with, both foreign and Korean, are just plain awesome. I've gotten fairly close to a few and nights out are usually spent with them. The night life on the weekend is crazy, but fun. Koreans work hard, but they party harder.
Food here is different, but I've enjoyed the majority. Still cannot get behind the seaweed soup, and kimchi on a daily basis has taken some getting used to. I really like the cucumber kimchi and radish kimchi. Korean barbeque is delicious too!
Sad news on the photo front. Flickr has decided to be a jerk and not let me on my account. So I had to create a new one. Perhaps tomorrow I'll find the energy to repost and add more pictures. lol
I cannot wait to decorate for Christmas! I'm sad I won't be able to bake, but maybe I can keep the tradition of making chocolate covered pretzels. Crossing fingers on that one. :)
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Pictures...finally!!
I finally got around to uploading pictures. Not much so far, but mostly taking everything in. I'll be playing tourist when I get a moment to breathe. lol Which might be December. :D I will upload pictures, possibly a video tour, of my place sometime soon.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/89132178@N04/sets/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/89132178@N04/sets/
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Unpacked...well mostly.
A nice lazy morning spent skyping with my honey started my day off very well. I managed a few more lazy hours before I walked across the street to Lotte Mart, it's sort of like a mini-grocery store. The food I picked up will hold me over for the next a few days.
Unpacking and organizing my little space has definitely made me feel more settled. I still need to hang up some clothes, but that will wait until after I get more hangers. For now, they rest on a little pull-out table thingy. Also, I need to ask a girl from work how to operate the washer/dryer that I have. I'm was very pleased to find out that it was a washer/dryer combo. I haven't hung clothes up to dry since I was very little. (Yes Mom, I still remember helping you hang clothes in the backyard.)
Tomorrow I will organize my desk/book shelf area. It's going to take some adjusting to having the main door less than 20 feet from where I sleep. Not that I'm worried about anyone breaking in. Between the sturdiness of the door and the awesome lock I feel safe. Also, I might consider getting some material to make curtains. Seeing as how my window faces the top of the building next door. Don't get me wrong I don't mind seeing/hearing the nice family next door, but I'm not 100% comfy with them being able to see into my home.
I think I need to learn the phrase, "Sorry, I don't know Korean yet." The last few times I've purchased/paid for something they rattle off in Korean and I stand there smiling like a "special" person. They are always unfailingly kind and try to communicate with hand signals or gestures. I will work on learning the alphabet, I'm told that REALLY helps.
I cannot wait for payday, so many things I need to get such as a converter, cellphone/someway to communicate, and I'd like to pick up a nightstand and lap (or two). For now I'm limited to email, FB, and skype. Oh, and running downstairs to ask a girl from work questions. lol And eventually I want to start actually going around and visiting/exploring Seoul and then other parts of Korea. It might have to wait until winter break.
Unpacking and organizing my little space has definitely made me feel more settled. I still need to hang up some clothes, but that will wait until after I get more hangers. For now, they rest on a little pull-out table thingy. Also, I need to ask a girl from work how to operate the washer/dryer that I have. I'm was very pleased to find out that it was a washer/dryer combo. I haven't hung clothes up to dry since I was very little. (Yes Mom, I still remember helping you hang clothes in the backyard.)
Tomorrow I will organize my desk/book shelf area. It's going to take some adjusting to having the main door less than 20 feet from where I sleep. Not that I'm worried about anyone breaking in. Between the sturdiness of the door and the awesome lock I feel safe. Also, I might consider getting some material to make curtains. Seeing as how my window faces the top of the building next door. Don't get me wrong I don't mind seeing/hearing the nice family next door, but I'm not 100% comfy with them being able to see into my home.
I think I need to learn the phrase, "Sorry, I don't know Korean yet." The last few times I've purchased/paid for something they rattle off in Korean and I stand there smiling like a "special" person. They are always unfailingly kind and try to communicate with hand signals or gestures. I will work on learning the alphabet, I'm told that REALLY helps.
I cannot wait for payday, so many things I need to get such as a converter, cellphone/someway to communicate, and I'd like to pick up a nightstand and lap (or two). For now I'm limited to email, FB, and skype. Oh, and running downstairs to ask a girl from work questions. lol And eventually I want to start actually going around and visiting/exploring Seoul and then other parts of Korea. It might have to wait until winter break.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Settling In
After a whirlwind race back from work to the hotel to the apartment last Wednesday I can now officially say I'm in my apartment. No photo's for now since it's a disaster. Suitcases littering the floor, seriously. Maybe I'll make a short video and post it after I've unpacked. So maybe next week sometime.
I can at least tell you it's not the apartment style I hoped for, but it's a good sized one bedroom/bath. There are a couple closets that I hope are able to hold all my stuff including my suitcases. And eventually the fridge will hold more than some yogurt, grapes, and juice. lol
So far I'm loving it here. Food is literally around every corner, every other store, being sold next to the street, from the back of trucks...it is freaking everywhere! Just found out that there is a Baskin Robins (with the most freakin' cutest cakes ever!) barely 2 blocks from my building.
Rode the subway for the first time ever! No, I don't mean just here...I mean ever. It was a weird experience. I had indian for dinner with some ladies from work. How is it that indian food here tastes a million times better than the one back home, which is owned and run by indians??
Oh, and the mystery smell coming from this lady's pot was not boiled walnuts/pecans as I thought. Nope, roasted silk larva. I can get behind fermented cabbage/veggies...I just can't get behind eating silk larva. I mean who looks at it and goes, hmmm that looks like something to eat! It boggles my mind. lol
Tomorrow(saturday) I was planning on going hiking, but with this head cold/nasal thing I'm trying to get rid of I don't think I will. Sleeping in and unpacking later sounds like a much better plan. I might go on Sunday. It is nice to walk to work and see mountains in the distance and fall colors in the trees that line the streets.
I do have to say though that despite all the newness and cool factors of my small experience so far, there are too many people. I like people watching, but city living is not my ideal setting. I do love the experience so far and 6 years at the small, private (mostly run by the complaints of parents) school I taught at has really prepared me for this place. I don't feel like I've walked into a strange new world. It's pretty much been, "Oh, so I go with the flow like always? Cool." and "Yep, a big performance to prepare for? Sure, I can do that in 2 months." lol, you would have to have taught where I taught to trully appreciate the ability to change lesson plans last minute because of some random schedule change. It's more like I'm working with new people at pretty much the same school. lol
Now to crash. :)
I can at least tell you it's not the apartment style I hoped for, but it's a good sized one bedroom/bath. There are a couple closets that I hope are able to hold all my stuff including my suitcases. And eventually the fridge will hold more than some yogurt, grapes, and juice. lol
So far I'm loving it here. Food is literally around every corner, every other store, being sold next to the street, from the back of trucks...it is freaking everywhere! Just found out that there is a Baskin Robins (with the most freakin' cutest cakes ever!) barely 2 blocks from my building.
Rode the subway for the first time ever! No, I don't mean just here...I mean ever. It was a weird experience. I had indian for dinner with some ladies from work. How is it that indian food here tastes a million times better than the one back home, which is owned and run by indians??
Oh, and the mystery smell coming from this lady's pot was not boiled walnuts/pecans as I thought. Nope, roasted silk larva. I can get behind fermented cabbage/veggies...I just can't get behind eating silk larva. I mean who looks at it and goes, hmmm that looks like something to eat! It boggles my mind. lol
Tomorrow(saturday) I was planning on going hiking, but with this head cold/nasal thing I'm trying to get rid of I don't think I will. Sleeping in and unpacking later sounds like a much better plan. I might go on Sunday. It is nice to walk to work and see mountains in the distance and fall colors in the trees that line the streets.
I do have to say though that despite all the newness and cool factors of my small experience so far, there are too many people. I like people watching, but city living is not my ideal setting. I do love the experience so far and 6 years at the small, private (mostly run by the complaints of parents) school I taught at has really prepared me for this place. I don't feel like I've walked into a strange new world. It's pretty much been, "Oh, so I go with the flow like always? Cool." and "Yep, a big performance to prepare for? Sure, I can do that in 2 months." lol, you would have to have taught where I taught to trully appreciate the ability to change lesson plans last minute because of some random schedule change. It's more like I'm working with new people at pretty much the same school. lol
Now to crash. :)
Monday, October 15, 2012
Two in One
Since the hotel's internet doesn't like to let me post, I'm using the computer at school. So you get 2 posts in one you lucky, lucky people. Some of you already got these in the form of emails so you can skip. :)
Arrived safe and sound yesterday (well today for you guys). I met a nice older Korean man, Byun Chang, before my flight from Chicago to Incheon. He is a history teacher/pastor/missionary and apparently decided to adopt me temporarily. I got to sit in the business lounge! I know, spiffy! I showed him Grandma's book and he is super excited about Ch. 11 (Guiding Principles of a Successful Relationship). He says he is writing a paper about how important it is that the people left behind when missionaries leave should be self-reliant. He asked that I copy a few pages, he is even going to try to get the church librarian to order Grandma's book for their library! I do want to get him an autographed copy once I get a mailing address. He also invited me to go to his Presbyterian church (about 50,000 people attend) which also has an English service. The church is not too far, by train anyways, from the school which hopefully means it won't be far from my apartment.
Mr. Chang even stayed with me after we got off the plane. He insisted on staying with me until my driver arrived, even though I have a feeling he needed to go. He even insisted on calling the school for me, twice, to find where/when the driver would arrive. My poor driver spoke maybe 5 words in English and claimed his name was Mr. Bob. (My former students would get a kick out of that.) The ride from the airport was about an hour, traffic was busy going into Seoul. People drive crazy here! I thought it was bad in Ft. Myers, but those yanks and Floridians got NOTHING on Korean drivers.
I was dropped off at a hotel, where I will be staying till Wednesday (from my understanding). I was met by three ladies, two of which I will be working with. Mary-Beth, is from Georgia, seems very nice and understanding of the whole new-ness of everything. The other lady, Bella, is one of the Korean teachers and will be my supervisor. Mary-Beth asked if I was freaking out, which honestly a small part is because of how different everything is, I responded a bit, but I'm looking forward to it all. To which she commented I seem like a free spirit. *laugh*
My hotel room is smallish, most of it taken up by the bathroom which is enclosed by decorative frosted glass. They didn't stay long since they had plans to go out. Which was okay with me since sleep was desperately wanted. I crashed around 7:30pm, only woke up a couple times and fell back asleep. I set my alarm for 5am so I could call people, but my phone and phone card are not being cooperative. I will try to find a place where I can get internet free and/or get a phone card. Once I am all settled I'll be looking into getting a phone for here.
The floor is heated/cooled...awesome! The bed is just my size, so anybody over 5'10 might find it a bit short. I'll post pictures online/email some as soon as I am able. Right now the blog is not working since 1)the hotel still uses internet explorer and 2) the computer is in Korean and I can't find where to turn it to English. Oh! There are shows/movies in English on TV so I've already watched a bit. Right now I'm watching a show in Korean that I've watched before with subtitles. So I'm pretending I know what they're saying. :p
Anyways, I'm going to get moving and in a bit venture out for some breakfast.
Arrival....
Arrived safe and sound yesterday (well today for you guys). I met a nice older Korean man, Byun Chang, before my flight from Chicago to Incheon. He is a history teacher/pastor/missionary and apparently decided to adopt me temporarily. I got to sit in the business lounge! I know, spiffy! I showed him Grandma's book and he is super excited about Ch. 11 (Guiding Principles of a Successful Relationship). He says he is writing a paper about how important it is that the people left behind when missionaries leave should be self-reliant. He asked that I copy a few pages, he is even going to try to get the church librarian to order Grandma's book for their library! I do want to get him an autographed copy once I get a mailing address. He also invited me to go to his Presbyterian church (about 50,000 people attend) which also has an English service. The church is not too far, by train anyways, from the school which hopefully means it won't be far from my apartment.
Mr. Chang even stayed with me after we got off the plane. He insisted on staying with me until my driver arrived, even though I have a feeling he needed to go. He even insisted on calling the school for me, twice, to find where/when the driver would arrive. My poor driver spoke maybe 5 words in English and claimed his name was Mr. Bob. (My former students would get a kick out of that.) The ride from the airport was about an hour, traffic was busy going into Seoul. People drive crazy here! I thought it was bad in Ft. Myers, but those yanks and Floridians got NOTHING on Korean drivers.
I was dropped off at a hotel, where I will be staying till Wednesday (from my understanding). I was met by three ladies, two of which I will be working with. Mary-Beth, is from Georgia, seems very nice and understanding of the whole new-ness of everything. The other lady, Bella, is one of the Korean teachers and will be my supervisor. Mary-Beth asked if I was freaking out, which honestly a small part is because of how different everything is, I responded a bit, but I'm looking forward to it all. To which she commented I seem like a free spirit. *laugh*
My hotel room is smallish, most of it taken up by the bathroom which is enclosed by decorative frosted glass. They didn't stay long since they had plans to go out. Which was okay with me since sleep was desperately wanted. I crashed around 7:30pm, only woke up a couple times and fell back asleep. I set my alarm for 5am so I could call people, but my phone and phone card are not being cooperative. I will try to find a place where I can get internet free and/or get a phone card. Once I am all settled I'll be looking into getting a phone for here.
The floor is heated/cooled...awesome! The bed is just my size, so anybody over 5'10 might find it a bit short. I'll post pictures online/email some as soon as I am able. Right now the blog is not working since 1)the hotel still uses internet explorer and 2) the computer is in Korean and I can't find where to turn it to English. Oh! There are shows/movies in English on TV so I've already watched a bit. Right now I'm watching a show in Korean that I've watched before with subtitles. So I'm pretending I know what they're saying. :p
Anyways, I'm going to get moving and in a bit venture out for some breakfast.
First day...
Since I cannot seem to access my blog I'll be "posting" from here. My first day went very well, a bit long, but it was a good day. I have 4 students in my kindergarten class, which is the smallest and brightest class. So I am the envy of all at the school, lol. Not really, but sort of... The girl I've been shadowing is as organized as I am when it comes to running her classroom. What makes it even nicer is my lesson plans are basically set up by the school. All I have to do is fill in how I'm doing the lessons, which each week are emailed to the parents.
In the afternoon I have a 3rd grade class, mostly boys. They are a rambunctious group, but I speak boy so I think I've made a connection. My morning supervisor, Bella (her English name), is super nice and told me that she asked the kids if they liked me and so far they all said yes. So, yay me! I will be working with a special reading group, which again is very small but the boys are a handful. It will be interesting to see how things develop with them.
As of Wednesday I'm on my own, so slight EEP moment. I will also be moving out of the hotel and into the apartment of the teacher I'm replacing. Luckily it also houses the other English teachers so I'll have people to walk to and from work with. There are a lot of similarities between the school here and my previous one. Both a good and bad thing, lol.
Tomorrow morning I go for my physical and hopefully will make it back to the school before lunch. Unfortunately the field trip to a palace is rescheduled for next week so I'll be doing some creative moving around of lessons. Well, off to crash for the night.
In the afternoon I have a 3rd grade class, mostly boys. They are a rambunctious group, but I speak boy so I think I've made a connection. My morning supervisor, Bella (her English name), is super nice and told me that she asked the kids if they liked me and so far they all said yes. So, yay me! I will be working with a special reading group, which again is very small but the boys are a handful. It will be interesting to see how things develop with them.
As of Wednesday I'm on my own, so slight EEP moment. I will also be moving out of the hotel and into the apartment of the teacher I'm replacing. Luckily it also houses the other English teachers so I'll have people to walk to and from work with. There are a lot of similarities between the school here and my previous one. Both a good and bad thing, lol.
Tomorrow morning I go for my physical and hopefully will make it back to the school before lunch. Unfortunately the field trip to a palace is rescheduled for next week so I'll be doing some creative moving around of lessons. Well, off to crash for the night.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Countdown is now hours!!
Heading out in about an hour, picking up coffee (I hope), and then arriving at the airport 3am-ish. I'll be flying out 6:25ish, arriving in Chicago 8:30ish, looooooong layover, then on the way around noon. I get to travel into the future!! :p Okay not really...I'm arriving 4pm on Saturday while most of the people I know will still be asleep!
Trying to maintain my calm. :D
Trying to maintain my calm. :D
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