These last 10 days have been rather interesting.....


For starters, I FINALLY got my "Alien Registration Card" and the Internet will be installed in my apartment today! I can't wait!!


I was feeling very tired all of last week so I went to be almost immediately after I got home. I think I am still jet lagged, though this might completely be in my head! It's funny because I am tired Monday -Thursday but come Friday-Sunday I have plenty of energy. Though this past Sunday the 26th, I woke up and felt like I got hit by a bus! There is a nasty cold going around and I sadly caught it!


But anyways, I have made several rules in the "English Zone". If I have to tell the same student more than 3 times to be quiet they have to step outside of the class room for the remainder of the period. In order to get participation from as many students as possible, I call on random students. Since I am still learning names, I yell out their student ID # (e.g. 3617 or 1625) I have found that this tactic actually works. Since the students don't know if they will be called on, I think they pay more attention than they did before!


I have been learning a lot more Korean. Ironically I have learned more Korean from other foreign teachers in Anseong than actual Koreans! I think its pretty odd. When my class is not listening to me I ask them to do so in Korean. This one class was so impressed with me that they started clapping.


For the next 2 weeks, I will NOT be teaching and I am 100% thrilled about this! The kids have midterms beginning next Monday and the week after that there are school trips. Since for what ever reason I can't go on the trips I just have to come to school and do what ever it is that I want. I plan on knocking out three books in the next two weeks.

As a city Anseong is growing on me! There are a lot of quaint places to eat! My favorite restaurnat is Melite. It is this Italian place and it's a one man show! Somehow all the food comes out at the same time! And it is so delicious! Then there is Soda Sta, I love it there! It's a cute little coffee shop with the BEST hot chocolate I have ever had!


Last but not least, I have to get used to this patriarchal society really quikcly. Sometimes my Korean co-teachers act as if I am an idiot! I mean if I really am an idiot, then why did you hire me? It's just so odd. For example I went to open up my bank account and my co-teacher insited that I practice using the ATM machine even watching me as I entered in my pin..I mean is all that really necessary???

My my spirit will be in Atlanta this weekend as my sister graduates from college. So proud of her :-)

SoKo is Fun

Last week I assigned my third grade class 301, homework. During introduction week, I told them that in the U.S. you leave school at the latest by 4pm unless you are involved in a club etc. They were all so shocked by this. So when my 301 class was misbehaving (i.e. hitting each other and not listening to me) I told them to write 7 sentences about the Korean school system and what they would change about it. Yes, most of the sentences were copied from other students but there was one paper that truly impressed me. I have typed it below..

“Most students in Korea have to be in academies until midnight. Also they don’t have enough time to play with friends. If they spend time without studying, they are sure to receive low scores. This means that they are imprisoned in their studies, just like slaves. Where is the freedom? Where is the student’s ability to think? Moreover, in this society students are only judged by exam scores. So parents and teachers say, ‘You must receive higher scores than other students.’ It’s driving us crazy. Each person has their own personality and abilities. But we can’t find a way to bring our abilities to into play. ‘Where’s the real education?’ We don’t have any power to change the system. But we have to remember one thing. Each of us has an individual dream, so education should give us the right way for us to make our dreams come true”
~Student 3131~

Wow, when I read this I could not believe it. In class way too many times I catch my students sleeping. If I were in school from 8am -12am, and woke up at 6am everyday out of fear of being late for class, I would probably sleep too.

For another class, as homework I had them write 5 sentences about anything. I got at least 5 papers saying “I love you teacher”…too funny!!!

On a lighter note, I asked my students today what sports they watch on TV, soccer and baseball were the most common answers. I then asked if they watched basketball, and would you believe that basket ball is not broad casted in South Korea. I was so shocked. I told my students that I was going to call the President of South Korea to have him change this immediately. LOL.

Well apart from work, the last few days have been AWESOME! I hung out some friends here on Friday night. Then on Saturday we went to a South African show thingie. It was pretty cool. Seeing the South African dancing, hearing poetry, and songs. While I was there I met some Haitians. Never thought I would meet a Haitian out here. It was pretty cool being able to speak creole.

All in all things are going really well! I think coming out here was the best decision I ever made! Thanks to all those who supported me!

~Ciao~

What a day....

Well if there is one thing that will change will I am in Korea for a year. It is that I will leave with a lot more patience than I came with.

I have 5 Korean English co-teachers. The job of a co-teacher is to help you come up with lesson plans and edit them as necessary, translate and control the class. Four out of the Five are awesome. As soon as I finish giving the instructions they are quick to translate! Except for one, as a person she is as sweet as pie, but as a teacher, she is pretty bad and lazy. She actually walks out of the class and the students have no idea what I want them to do. So when this happens, I just talk to the students about what they do in their free time etc.

I met with the 3 co-teachers who teach the 3rd graders English. (3rd graders are seniors in high school) I showed them my plans until the end of the semester. Two of them were so impressed saying that the activities will definitely help their students learn English and learn about America. Ms. XYZ123 (I’m not going to use her name) however, was so confused about each of the plans that I had to run through the entire 10 weeks of lesson plans again. Since the students are applying to college I thought it would be a good idea for them to write a personal statement, like many people have to do when applying to college in the States. Unfortunately, she thought I wanted the students to fill out an application for college. She asked if I would have application sprinted for them etc etc. After 10 LONG PAINFUL minutes of explaining that I wanted them to write an essay she finally got it!!!!

She also feels that I should use simpler English when talking to the class. I use simple English, talk slowly, and use lots of hand gestures! I feel that SHE should translate to the class and stay the duration of the period!

Afterwards she asked me if it was important to use punctuation when writing in English. I was so taken back by this question I almost did not remember what she asked. I diplomatically told her that YES punctuation is VITAL in the English language. It is essential that the students know how to properly use punctuation! So I had to give her a lesson on punctuation! WOW…..*shakes head*

I don’t know how I did not raise my voice during these encounters. I am a “hot head” some would even say a “boiling head”. So for me to maintain my composure is pretty impressive. So to calm down, I went to youtube and started watching music videos. I actually watch music videos pretty often. All the teachers eat lunch together in the cafeteria and to get have some “down time”, I just stay in the office and listen to music! They find it odd that I don’t eat Lunch. Everyday about 4 teachers ask me if I will be eating Lunch. Haha!

Oh, I forgot to mention, I teach at an all BOYS High School. I have a total of 585 students. And now I have 200 plus papers staring me in the face to correct J

The first 2 weeks

Thanks to the laptop that my school provides for me I will be able to post while I am at work.

The trip out here was something else. I would have missed my flight if it wasn’t for this Delta ticket agent allowing me to cut in front of the entire line. Flying to San Fran was so turbulent but I was able to take some interesting shots of the Rockies while we were flying over them! I flew Singapore Airline to South Korea and all I can say is WOW. The service is impeccable. They give you warm towels etc etc.

It takes 2 .5 hours from the airport to get to Anseong, the city that I teach in. Two Korean English Teachers met me at the school and showed me to my apartment. It is a very cozy studio perfect for one person. There is no oven or gas stove top. I have a two burner plug in electrical stove. Luckily I have a microwave! My Mom and I had to clean the entire apartment pretty much from top to bottom because it was pretty dirty, but thanks to elbow grease its spic and span! My apartment is a 5 minute walk from my job!

This language barrier is unlike anything I have seen in my life. Buying a phone card took about 10 minutes. So I was excited about being able to call my Dad but the card didn’t work. Luckily it was 10,00 Won, which is about $7 so it didn’t break the bank!

Electricity was a problem that thankfully is resolved now. I bought converters in the US that didn’t work. So I foolishly brought one here. Plugged in my alarm clock, set the time, and 5 minutes later I heard a *pop*, the converter blew my alarm clock out and it started smoking. I am just glad that it was my alarm clock rather than my laptop. I have a good converter now, its about 5 pounds but does the job very well!!!!

I started working on April 6th, the entire week was dedicated to introductions. Since most of the students are shy about speaking out loud I had them write 3 questions as group on a piece of paper for me. They all ask “Do you have a boyfriend?”, lol. Then you get random questions like “Why did you come to Korea?” “How tall are you?” etc. They say I look like “Beyonce” and “TYra Banks” .Then I asked the students to tell me about Korean School life and I tell them about what it is like in America, and they are shocked. These kids study ALL DAY. So once I learned that I decided to make my class as fun for them as possible. I only give them homework if I have to tell them to “Be Quiet” more than twice in a class period. It’s pretty easy though 7 sentences in English about what ever topic I choose. Haha!

I was so tired the first week, that jet lag is pretty serious. The second Sunday was spent sleeping for the most part and I feel like my normal self again. And because I am not tired I have been able to think of lesson plans. I actually have lesson plans made up until the last week of June! So I have to create a few cross word puzzles, word searches, work sheets etc for the students. I LOVE my job! They give me all the creative license in the world J As long as I am prepared they are happy. I try to tell the students about America as much as I can.



Well, here is a list of the most interesting things so far, I have got to go teach now!



Interesting things so far:

1) The students get beat pretty badly by their Korean teachers.
2) So far about 2 students have had to kneel down with their hands in the air in the teacher’s office.
3) They go to school from 8am-10pm and if their parents have enough money they got to a private academy until 1 am
4) The students and teachers wear slippers to school.
5) All students in the public school wear a uniform!
6) The students clean the school for 20 minutes each day. The ENTIRE school at that from mopping to sweeping to cleaning window, they do it all.
7) Most kids learn English through movies. I hear the words guns and police all too often.
8) The only time the kids listen to me 100% is when I talk about America


I am going to meet some expatriates tonight so I am looking forward to it!!! No language barrier. Yes!!!!!!!