November!

Wow! I can't believe it's already November! Sorry, it's been a while since I've posted anything. So much to tell you guys. Well every week that passes, I feel more comfortable here. I'm learning more and more about the culture, and all the little mannerisms. At first, some of the differences in clothes and their approach to things... I would think oh this is different. I guess I need to get use to them. Now, I'm starting to like them and even doing some of them myself! haha! I'm loving the food, movies, tv shows, music, and LOVE the clothes. Don't worry friends... I will return to the U.S.

Let's see... what to tell you guys...hmmm?????

I went to a festival in Suwon and the Suwon Fortress. It was fun. There was a parade, lots of delicious foods, music and more. There was a taekwondo show. I'll share a link and some pics!

Look! I can fit inside a rice box! We actually fit two of us, but I don't have that picture. Let me just tell you it was a tight squeeze with two.

Traditional Korean Dance... (only a short portion of it)

So many palaces, fortresses and such. Most of them are actually re-built from after the Japanese bombed Korea, but you can get an idea from the replicas. They are built to look very similar to the original. The Suwon fortress did have one building that was original. It's fu

n visiting the touristy things, because I learn a little bit about Korean history.

A few weeks ago, I went to a free Korean pop concert at Kyunghee Dae (univeristy) in Suwon. My friend knows a student that attends the university, so we were able to get close up seats. Yeah!! It was so much fun!!!! I love K-Pop! When I first got to Korea, I thought this reminds me of 1998! I mean I loved it when I was 13, but I don't know. It's very N'Sync, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, and Jessica Simpson, but updated with a Korean spin on it. It's played everywhere, in stores, tv, and on everyone's cell phone (Korean's say hand phone). It just grows on you, and now I'm constantly finding myself humming the K-Pop tunes. I'm starting to love it! I found videos on youtube that has English subtitles, Korean Hangul, and spelled phonetically in English. Yeah! Now I am able to sing a few lines in Korean! Did I tell you I LOVE IT!

This is T-ara & Supernova...singing T.T.L. I wish I would have gotten this on video, because it is one of my favorite pop songs right now. Here is a link t

o the song I highly recommend taking the time to watch it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U267ouy0Wck

Here all ages like K-Pop. Of course elementary school girls, but also adults, even grandmas. I'm not for sure if it's just girls or if guys like it too. I'll have to check into that. I'm also getting into other genres of Korean music, such as rap and rock.

(I forgot the name of this band, but I really liked them. The lead guy was a really good preformer.)

I'm trying my best to learn Korean. I can read, so that's a start. It does take me a long time to read one word. So, I decided to enroll in a Korean class. A friend of mine sent me information on a 5-week class at Kyunghee Dae. It's two days a week from 6:30-8:30. I'm excited to start! I'll let you know how that goes.

Oh! I met someone in my town last week! Yeah! I live in a very small town, so meeting another foreigner is amazing. During the week, I still tend to get bored a bit. Mondays I have badminton, and I've been meeting up with friends once during the week, but it will just be nice to know someone within a walking distance of where I live.

(This is a picture of a night out in Seoul. We were celebrating Nathan and Jessica's b-days! We were waiting for the Subway.)

Other than that, I've just been touring the city, shopping (love korean style and clothes), meeting new people, and going out. Well, that's all for now!

There are so many pictures and videos I'd love to share, but it takes forever to upload. Maybe I'll create a flickr site or one of those photoshare sites, and then post a link.

Here are some photos!

It's been a while...

Well shortly after my last post I got everything (internet & cable). I actually don't really watch t.v. that much, so I'm going to cancel it. Anything I want to watch I can get it online. Yea! I was so happy to get the internet! Even though I had it at work, I felt like something was missing. I guess it wasn't really a big deal. Oh well, I was very happy to get it installed.

Lets see... a couple weeks ago I went to Everland (the biggest amusement park in SK) with my co-teachers and the SPED teacher, Hyen Ju and the school nurse, Bo ki. I had a lot of fun. There is a zoo and an amusement park in one. I haven't been to an amusement park in years. There were also fireworks. It was quite a nice display. I also love fireworks. I think I could watch a display every weekend and be happy each time. Never too much!

Classes are going really well. I think I am kind of getting the hang of things. I also went to orientation last week and got some great ideas! Also, the students are great. Like I have said many times, I am very happy with my school, students and teachers. I really am very lucky.

Last week was orientation. I had a great time! It was from Wed-Fri. I would have to say that a lot of it was very helpful. I got some great ideas that I will definitely be using in class. I also learned some very useful things about the culture and such that is very helpful. For instance, when you ask some one to come here you do it palm down. In the U.S. we do it palm up. I didn't know that, and have already noticed the difference when speaking to people. I also met tons of people!!!! Yea!!! New friends! I was quite happy. It was nice because we were grouped by location. So, I had my small group sessions with people from Yongin and the nearby areas. Also, my roommate was really cool. We were in different small groups, but that was nice because I was able to meet her friends as well. The more the merrier right? Anyways, on the bus ride home I had a nice geography lesson over S. Africa. It fun to learn.

Last weekend, I went with my co-teacher and her kids to Gyeongbokgung Palace. I loved it. My co-teacher, Ju-ri, set me on an English tour guide. I forgot her name, but she was good. I love history, historical places, and museums, so obviously I had a great time. We saw a traditional ceremony with dances. Right now, I am at work, but when I get home I will post pictures.

Then on Saturday night I went Osan to a friends birthay. I met a group of people that lived in Osan from the soccer game, and they invited me out for Shawn's b-day. It was a lot of fun. We ended up going to a Nori Bang. It is so much fun! It's a karaoke, but it's not just normal karaoke. It is a small room with a long table with booth style seating. It has a karaoke machine, with a huge playlist. You can order food and drinks and stay there all night and we did! What a blast! Well I will update pictures soon!

Badminton!!!!

So, every Monday after school a group of 20 or so teachers meet at the nearby middle school gym to play badminton. It's so much fun! At first, I was horrible. I mean I'm not a pro or anything, but I am definitely improving. I hope to be able to say that I am a decent player by the end of the year. I really enjoy it, and after playing we always have dinner. It is also nice because I am able to get to know the teachers outside of school. I really like the teachers at my school...I can't say it enough.

Well hope you like the pics!

Starting Classes

Hello,



Last week was my first week of classes. Tuesday was the first day of school, and I began teaching on Wednesday. My first day of teaching, I had three 4th grade classes. They went surprisingly well. I did a very simple lesson reviewing vocabulary for the new unit. We played a version of bingo with their vocab. My first lesson was a bit rough but the other 2 went really well. My co-teacher( Ju-ri, 3/4 grade co-teacher) was very helpful and I think we are going to make a good team. The rest of the week I just observed the 5th and 6th grade classes that I will be teaching, and helped out a bit. I will take over next week as the lead teacher with my co-teacher's help translating when needed. (Yun Seon, 5/6th grade co-teacher)

I know it was just the first week, but the students are very nice to me. When I walk into the room they were all smiles. The seem to be eager to learn. Everytime I pass students in the hall they are smile and say "hello." I live in the town that I teach, so I frequently run into my students. Many of them come up to me and greet me. Some student even come running over to greet me. It is nice to be well recieved. Well, so far anyways. Who knows how long this honeymoon period will last with the students. I was a bit nervous on how the students would respond to me. I didn't know if the fact that I looked Korean, but didn't speak the language would go over well. I was acutally quite nervous about that, but I think they understand it is not a big deal to them. Even if it was, I wouldn't be able to understand them if they were making fun of me. I guess that is a good thing?



I am currently still without cable, internet and a cell phone. It is a bit difficult, but I have figured out ways to live without. There is a PC (internet cafe) within 2 min of my apt that I go to when I need to check my e-mail, blog, facebook, chat, or watch tv shows online. I also have the internet at my school. So, I'm really not living w/o the internet. What I really miss is not having a phone. I use the pay phone when I need to make calls, or ask random people on the street to use their phone when I am in a bind. I hopefully will get my alien card this Thursday, and will then be able to get all of those things.

During the week, I do get a bit bored. After school I don't have much to do. I'm in a small town and the nearest bigger town is about a 15 minute bus ride. I think I will be fine once I get the internet bc I can just watch t.v. online in my apt and also of course chat with people back home. So instead of sitting around my apt and watching my friends dvd's that I brought (which I watch everyday), I usually take a random bus into Seoul and walk around. This is fun for me. It gives me something to do and I always find something new. Sometimes I find interesting things and other times not so much. I also go to random stops on the subway and look around. The best thing is finding new food! I think I need to buy a travel book. I think that will help me by giving me some good ideas of what to see. I did find a nice bookstore with all english books! It's called "What a Book." Maybe I'll go there next week and buy one.

I have met some really cool people here (Korean and foreigners). While I am very happy to have a few Korean friends, it is also nice to have other foreign friends who know what I am going through. This weekend I went to the SK vs. Austrailia soccer game. It was a lot of fun! We had a group of about 20 people that went to the game together. I met so many new people. SK won! Yea! We had dinner before and then went out afterwards. It was nice because most of the people have been here a while and I am learning new things through them. It is nice because they know what I am going through as a newbie here. It is interesting to here everyones take on Korean society.

Also, in the group of people I met 3 other foreign Koreans. One was Korean Canadian and two of them were adopted Korean Americans. It was interesting to hear their perception of Korea. There does seem to be a handful of adopted Koreans here in Seoul, which is nice.

Some of the people I met at the soccer game live semi-close to me. I think I might meet up with them sometime soon. It is nice to meet people closer to me. I think they are only about 30 min from me. Seoul is a big city, and many of the people I have met live 1hr 1/2 away from me.

Well, that is all for now! Hopefully next time I will be typing my blog from my own computer! I will also post picture once I get the internet.

First Post!

Hello Everyone!

I'm finally getting around to writing my first blog! I've been here for a week and am settling in nicely. I am still without a cell phone and internet at my apt. Of course, I have internet access at my work, and there is a PC station within a 1 minute walk of my apt, so I am not completely disconnected to the rest of the world. Well here is a bit of what I've been up to the past week...

I arrived in Korea last Friday night. Three guys from Global Campus, met me at the airport and drove me to meet up with my co-teacher (Yun Seong) and her friend (Una). We dropped off my bags at Una's place and then got some food. Yun Seong and Una did not want me to have to spend my first night in Korea alone, so I spent the night at Una's. I thought that I was very nice of them. I did not really think of that, but I guess if I had to be alone in a strange place I would have probably had an emotional breakdown.

Saturday we did a lot of shopping for my apt. I forgot all the different things that you need to live. It reminded me of going to Target with my mom in college, except we went to E-mart (a five story Target-like store). It was sooooooooo crowded. I guess I need to get use to tons of the people everywhere we go in Seoul. After shopping and settling in the apartment, I went back to Una's place. We picked up one of her friends from the subway station, and went to a Korean restaurant. It was delicious! The restaurants give you soooo much food. In America, I am use to eating a lot of food compared to many of my friends, but here they look at me like...is that all you are going to eat! When you run low on a certain food they just keep re-filling your plates. I'll post pictures soon, well when I get the internet hooked up in my apt.

Sunday Una took us clamming, which is digging for clams.

Clamming:
1) Dig up the top layer of sand until you see a small clam hole
2) Poor a small amount of salt on the hole
2) Then the clam pops out of the hole and you quickly grab it!

It was a lot of fun!

Monday was my first day at school. I met my other co-teacher Ju-ri. When they say her name it sounds like Judy. She is so nice! She told me we are a work family, and she truely treats me like family. She is so generous and sweet. Ju-ri took me to the hospital to get a medical check, which I need to get an alien card. (I passed it with flying colors. Just in case anyone was worried.) Ju-ri invite me to dinner at her house. It was delicious! She also gave me so much food from her house. It was as if I had just left the grocery store! She gave me homemade jam and juice, bread, lettuce, rice, kimchi, potatoes, onions and there is probaby something I am missing.

Last week (Mon-Fri) school was not in session. It was still summer and summer camp was in session. So, just looked over and planned some lesson plans. I also got on the internet a lot because I did not have it at my apt.

Also, this whole weekend my co-teachers and Una did not let me pay for any of the many meals we had. They said that I should save my cash in case I need it. They paid for so much. I fully intend to repay them! They won't let me pay until I get my first paycheck. I thought that was very nice of them.

Well that's all for now!