Open Class

Oh the Open Class....I have so many mixed feelings about it but at the end of the day it was my last day and that's all that really matters. I think it's unrealistic what they are trying to do but whateves yo! So here is what they said:

• America lesson was good but too much info in one class
• I have good pronunciation (She speaks so well, she's so articulate--Thank you Chris Rock)
• Co-Teaching is good
• Mixed feelings about the fact that I never teach out of the book

I'm going to leave those at that....except the book thing. The English books here teach the kids how to answer specific questions with specific answers. Think computer programming. I am not a fan. They do not teach the students how to compose or conjugate. My teaching focus has always been on pronunciation and basic grammar. I was told that my lessons are too hard but I'm okay with that. The smart ones were challenged and the not so smart ones ate paper. Just like in life I have high standards in the classroom.

On a lighter note when Abbey showed up for the open class she and I were dressed just a like! It was so cute. We both had the ruffle shirt and black pencil skirts! Do I hear FB profile pic?

Ughhh look at my tan! My friends know I am not a fan of tanning and this just takes the cake. I know it comes from my mountain runs so if I have to sacrifice a tan for no gut I will take it. Side Note* I am a fan of all shades but on me it just looks awkward.

There were more pics taken and I am going to try to have my coteach email them to me so I can make an official FB album out of them.

So this is the agenda for the rest of the month:

• Go to Daegu tomorrow (Monday) to give the voucher for my plane ticket and pick up some Aveda for my hair
• Hit up Seoul to hang out with Ebony and the crew before she ships out and get some new pants and my AKA Jacket!
  
• Teach teachers with Laura at the Institute

I'll keep you updated...

No More Teachers, No More Books...

Well school is finally over and here is the rundown:

At Chin Pyeoung there was a special concert held by the third graders so I had only two classes. Daisy decided to take me to Outback and this was my first encounter with a car elevator.

The car drives on this disk on the ground then it turns the car so it is in proper position to enter the elevator. From there the driver leaves, the car is given a number then is lifted to it's own little cubby in the tower.

After the Outback, Eunice put in Finding Nemo for the kids and I said my goodbyes to my last class. They weren't too pressed. lol. I'm okay with that. But here are some pics of me in my office and of Daisy and I.

My outfit was cute yall. I was feeling that! Clearly I will be repeating it in Seoul this upcoming weekend.

I took a pic of my hair cause it was acting right.

Me and Daisy. I will miss her. She was def my bestie here and she stood at the bus stop with me for like 40 min talking and waiting on my bus. We avoided looking at each other so we wouldn't cry.

I sat and had a talk with the Principal to say thank you for welcoming me to your school. I was the first Native Speaker they have ever had and I hope that I left a good impression. I will be honest I wont miss it, teaching, students, bus rides - none of it. But I am glad that I did it. My fave student Lisa at that school bought me the most outrageously great gift, it's the Korean masks of the Mask Festival framed with a book in English explaining each mask and the meaning of the dances! I love it but now I gotta get it to the post office to ship it home. I gave her my email address so she can keep sending me her essays so we can continue to work on her English. The girl is smart and I want to encourage that.

Neglected...

I really have to apologize for neglecting this blog. I started a new blog No Fear, Just DIVA to chart my journey towards a serious career in fashion and I have to admit that it has really taken off. But honestly not much has been happening. Finals are next week so I have been showing movies in class to give the students a break, I teach an English Camp on Tues and Thurs to 5 wonderful girls who are showing great improvement. I am really just sailing along until July 18th which is the day of the Open Class, and also the last day of school.

I have been running around my dong to keep fit and I love love love it! But I am really ready to go. The date has been set at August 22nd! I will be back in the States with my family and the food I love most.

I will be back next week with more details about what all has been going on and a possible pic of my EC girls. I also have some pics from my phone that I have been meaning to post so I will do it all during that time. Pray for me yall I'm busy!

Wax and Stitches

This is a post without pictures. I am trying to catch up with all the happenings here so this post is actually really short.

Wax

Angelica and I had been searching all over the place for a salon or spa that waxes. We finally got the information we needed, not from a Korean but from an American teacher. She was a great help to us and found a place that does waxes, mani pedi, and tattoos.

In Waegwon across from Camp Carol Gate #4 the salon is called Magic Nail. We got legs, underarms, and a pedi for 55,000 Won each.

Legs are 20-25,000 won

Stitches

Okay this story is a bit sad and funny and irritating if you have to live it. My student Jasmine got me a pair of earrings for Teacher's Day and I bought a belt that just happened to go great with them. Well the belt fits my hips but not my waist soooo... I decided to poke a hole in it to make it fit better. In poking a hole in the belt I cut off the skin on the front of my right index finger and had to be taken to the hospital for stitches.

I am so glad that I have health insurance . The stitches plus the antibiotics costs 56,000 won in total. I went back for additional medicine an d that was 14,000 won. Then just last week on Friday the 13th I got my stitches taken out for a whopping 1,870 won! Can you believe it? ! I'm sad that I did that to my finger but I am so glad I have health insurance.

Earthquake and Fire Safety

As many of you know there was an earthquake to hit China the week after we made it back. So I guess due to the magnitude of the earthquake and the number of people hurt all of Korea had a national Earthquake and Fire Safety Day. This day also canceled 5th and 6th period for me and I am okay with that.

As some of you know I have my own office at my second school, which is really the computer room. So I am chilling at the computer when I see this:


So after they leave I decide to look for myself and see what was worth sitting on the window sill for. This is what I found:



Fire Safety! They made a big deal out of the extinguisher but hey they make a big deal out of everything....

Jesus Take the Wheel

Okay so Friday the 13th was last week so please tell me why all the crazy stuff decided to happen at 2:30am this morning?

So this is what happened......

I was sleep in my bed when I heard this "SKEEEERRRT" and then a boom. Then I heard the engine rev and then a boom again, with about three more crashes then a big shatter. I heard a scream and saw all the people in the other apt buildings looking out the window and then men running to the scene of the accident. It totally shook me up. All I kept thinking of is "They say the best time to get in an accident is when you're drunk, cause you have a better chance of survival"

But I still decided to check out the scene when I came home from school. They were cleaning it all up this morning, totally disregarding my need for sleep. Still these are the pictures that I took of all that I could see.








Then this morning while waiting on the science teacher to ride to my second school I saw one of my main school students get hit by a car while riding his bike to school! Can you believe it? I was jacked up all day. The kid was not killed and there was no blood but he was hurt and the guy that hit him put his bike in the back and put the kid in his car and drove off. What did I do? Had my phone out to take a pic of his plate JIC he drove off. But I was witness to the whole thing if the kid actually needs one.

I also used this as an excuse to teach music and show videos all day. Man what a day what a day.

Catching Up

I have good and well neglecting my poor blog and there is no real excuse besides being lazy. I have also slacked on my exercise game and I do believe that it has been 2 weeks. That is no longer okay. So this is what has been going on since the last time I wrote:

• Earthquake and Fire Safety
• "Summon Day"
• Stitches
  
• Waxes
• Christmas in June

None well one of these actually has pictures so keep a look out for these posts but for now see this as the preview to the show. Speaking of which Sex and the City the movie hits Korea Friday.
Angelica and I have been pretty busy these past two weeks it's been all trains and taxis. And this coming weekend will be no different. On Friday we will be touring the DMZ, Saturday Everland, and Sunday who knows, home, hair? Sky's the limit. There will be pictures of that and I also need to upload the pictures of the amusement park too.

Last month my school went to an amusement park in Daegu and I dont think I wrote about it. I will double check. Also I have been thinking of starting a new blog about my experience moving from Ohio to California and going to FIDM. What do you think? What should it be called? I am open to all suggestions. Alright off to class now but keep your eyes peeled for more. Later!

Teacher's Day

Thursday May 15, 2008 was not only my Dad and friend Phi-Phi's birthday but also Teacher's Day in South Korea. I did not have school and CGV movie theater had free movies all day for teachers. Laura, Kisha, Angelica, and I went to see the new Chronicles of Narnia movie and loved it! I am ready for the next three.

Outside of free movies there were also gifts! This is from my favorite favorite Jasmine that I have featured on my Spring Time post. I was chilling on my computer and my coteacher lets me know there was someone at the door for me and it was her. She waved me over and gave me the gift. I gave her a hug, which they are so not used to and put it in my bag to open later.


She got me earrings! She really pays attention because ever since I have been wearing my hair natural I have been wearing pretty big earrings. I will wear them on Friday when we have class together. I am really trying to find an outfit for it cause I got nothing right now, but nevertheless I am in Korea and matching is not required!

Yesterday when I went to school I found this on my desk:


This is chocolate from my student Kimberly that lived in the States for some years and I now meet with Friday after school for advanced teaching. I really want to thank those girls for thinking of me and getting me a gift for Teacher's Day. Now it's just a matter of how to repay them.....

Scatterbrained

Okay so today I am so scatterbrained and I really need to put some of my thoughts in organized order and where is any better place to do them than my blog!!! So this is everything on my mind...

FIDM:

• I need a job
  
• I need to apply for alternative loans to cover the rest of the balance of tuition
• I need to make a decision about housing, student or no

There is a group on Facebook for FIDM and there are many people looking for a roommate for the LA campus in the fall, the down fall? They are just graduating from high school. One year is a long time to live with others who are that much younger than me and still trying to figure life out. But if I do student housing there is a chance that they will pair me with someone similar, right out of high school. But the prices are out of the question to live alone. Either way girl need a job. (PS I am not looking for advice...I am venting)

Teaching:

• English Camps
• Open Class
• Regular Lessons

Okay so my students know nothing. I think I have said that before but it's like really what have you been learning the past 6 years? So I have been on a grammar kick ever since I saw that they don't know basic sentence structure and they are all like don't the Korean teachers teach that? NO they teach ish cause those kids don't know it! So I started with the Alphabet and am working my way down. Well now I borrowed a lesson from Angelica on the pronunciation differences between P, B, V, and F. F and V sounds do not exist in the Korean language so that can be a bit difficult. Still they need to know the diff and pronounce it correctly. So for two weeks (since we have had incomplete weeks due to the vacation) I have been doing pronunciation. Next week we go back to grammar first we did Nouns then Pronouns now W5H (who, what, where, etc.) that will end in a game of Jeopardy where they have to answer the questions with those starting in the category.

But....I also have to do an English Camp which is after school starting in June for 5 weeks for third graders and I will invite 3 of my second graders to join. I really need to set up a lesson plan for that, it will be 2 days a week 2 hours a day for 5 weeks. Last year it was so unorganized and I was running around looking crazy wondering why the kids would not speak or participate so now I am thinking of what exactly to do. I want to touch on all parts of learning a new language: Writing, Speaking, Listening, Comprehension. I want to touch on American slang and some idioms of course, watch some shows and have them tell me what it was about. IDK I am all over the place with that.

Lastly there is this open class that I have to do with BFF (inside joke) and well....I just don't wanna. There will be other teachers from the city and officials coming to watch the class and BFF decided that she is going to teach the class and she wants me to run the computer. Defeating the purpose. She has come up with some lesson plan that she wants to put on the computer and have me put into ppt form. I told her let's see what she's got cause she kept talking to me in the middle of class. Like I didn't have three free periods today. But honestly I wouldn't want to talk to her then either, so I have to just listen to what she says. IDK how good or bad of a teacher she is but she must be alright since I have all my advanced classes with her. She usually just sits there quietly while I teach. So I guess now she wants to get her shine on. I just hope there are no hidden agendas in all this. Either way it's up to God to handle that. She and I have not had the best relationship since the Temple Stay, (check September posts).

So that's all that's on my mind. I have yet to put this in some order and do something about any of it. Not to mention these Gifted Essays that need to be graded. Luckily I get the next few days off. I am off until Tues next week so I can get some order poppin. Until then I will be listening to Cherish's new album The Truth on BET's Listen Up and reading articles from the SisterLicious group on Facebook iming Angelica. Keep a lookout for a post on the trip to the Amusement park in Daegu soon. I just have to actually edit the pics so I can tell you guys all about it. Later!

Ahhhh!

Okay so while working on a PPT for my students I was looking up images for the word "Confused" and I got this link: Korean Emoticons

Unamused A

Unamused B

Confused

Embarrassed or Blushing (can also look like *^^* )

Happy
Crying

We get these all the time and they are in our phones and yet we did not know what they meant or what to do with them. There are many others and if I can find illustrations for them I will post them as I find them. Hope this helps someone cause it sure helped me!

I'm Famous

So on May 1st Angelica and I decided to go to Daegu to buy shoes for China. It's a bigger city with more selections, and Crocs. Well it was really hot that day 31 degrees Celsiuses to be exact. We decided to get some ice cream and walk through downtown.

While we were there, there was some sort of rally going on with many Koreans sitting on the ground and listening to some man on the stage. So there were also a lot of photographers around and......

We Ended Up in the Paper!!!!

Starbucks in Gumi!!!

You read that right! Starbucks is now it Gumi! Laura sent me a text and I had to call her just to make sure this was not a false alarm. This was a total surprise. There has been a sign for weeks about Dunkin Donuts, but not about Starbucks! Here are some pictures of the inside:

Hidden Video

I have been cleaning out my SD card getting ready for my vacation and I found this video of a little girl my friends and I met on the train like our third day in Korea. We were coming back to the university from Seoul and this little girl was talking to us in English and she broke out her recorder and started to play for us. It was so cute. Enjoy....

Temple Stay

Over the weekend against my better judgement because of my health ( I caught the worst cold), I went on a TempleStay with one of my co-teachers. Now don't get me wrong it is a beautiful scenery with wonderfully painted historic buildings I mean just look at the pictures!

I just didn't know what a TempleStay entailed before I agreed to experience it. Apparently we have to follow the nun's schedule for the whole weekend. Now I am sure that this can possibly be a very spiritual, very calming, and very enlightening experience. However, not if you don't speak Korean, know nothing about the Buddhist culture/religion, and have a head cold.

The weather was absolutely beautiful and since it had been raining for almost 10 days straight the temple hired a photographer on Saturday. I am still waiting for the photographer to email me the pictures if I get them I will post them, but for now I just have these from my co-teacher. Anyway we had to do things like two or three times so he could get the right shot, it was the worst. Pretending to drink tea but not actually sipping. Now I know how the girls on ANTM feel when they go on location for shoots. They now have a new level of respect from me.

So the activities of the day:

• Tea with the nuns; the tea made was called "Bird beak" because of the shape of the leaves.

• Next was a tour of the grounds and a trek in the woods (Side Note: we wore the worst little rubber shoes that are not fit to climb rocks) and then took pictures on rocks near the water. I told them I was afraid and that I cannot swim, so they put me on the edge of rock, nice.
• After the rocks it was time to explain prayer and bowing rituals. Not only do I not speak Korean but I must have been doing horribly because one of the nuns came over put my hands in praying position and said "Just think about Jesus" (My co-teacher alerted them that I am Christian. )
• More touring the grounds and then we eat. In a temple you are to eat all your food, so I didn't want anyone but me to make my plate because Korean serve little dishes but many of them, so there are about 6-8 side dishes that all go with your rice, and not all of it is tasty to me.
• Around 7pm ( our day started at 3pm) we go in for prayer and apparently 108 bows to Buddha. So wasn't going to happen for me. So I had to go to bed, and rest and try to make it to morning prayer. Turns out "morning prayer" was at 3am so that didn't happen either

Sunday:

• Alright so I missed morning prayer, but I made it to breakfast at 6:30 am and after that we tasted the spices in the large clay pots. The make things like chili paste and soybean paste, and soybean oil. They use these to season their food so everything is pretty much home grown.
• Then there is more free time and tea with the nuns.
• After tea we are able to write a letter to anyone we want (my mother of course) and fill out a questionnaire. So...mine was translated into English and my answers read out loud. No anonymity here. There were three questions and the last was what would we suggest to improve. I wrote having someone there who speaks English for the guest who do not speak Korean so we can have a better idea of what is going on. Turns out they do all you have to do it call ahead. So guess who got to look like a jerk? And the question you are asking in your head is the question I still don't know the answer to. I mean it's just too much like right.
  

Top Chef Gumi

My blog is starting to gain popularity. I am loving my school Hyeong-Nam. Everyone is nice and makes sure my basic needs are taken care of in the school; however I think that it is a common misconception that the food in Korea is not in the US. I have been asked multiple times if I eat apples in my country - yes Americans eat apples.

But Speaking of the Korean dining experience, I went to a really nice restaurant with other teachers from the school after being a judge in an English speaking contest (more about that later). The place was located in an opening in the mountains, that I would have totally taken a picture of it if it weren't for the fact that my battery is so dead. It must have been started by a white couple because there were pictures of a white family all over and there were no chopsticks. I remember sitting with my friends watching cooking shows and wondering what it is like to be a judge on those shows when the cooks put together the strangest things. I found out yesterday. In my nostalgia for cheese I ordered the "Sweet Potato Cheese Cutlet" What came to me was a fried pork patti with Korean sweet potato and cheese whipped together and placed together like Chicken Cordon Bleu, and a plain (not sweet) potato on the side with whipped cream and raisins on top. Right. So with this meal we get a free desert, the popular choice....Tomato Juice! WHAT IS THIS! I mean a chocolate chip cookie or something. The whole dessert menu was drinks. I got a Caramel Macchiato with whipped cream and caramel. I ate that thing like the Lost Boys in "Hook" if you have never seen the movie with Robin Williams you must. That will make my actions so much funnier!

Now to the contest. There is a contest in the county for the best English speakers, so yesterday we sat and listed to about 40 students read a script, they came in teams of two and had to act out the parts. My scores were a bit diffrent from the other teachers. They even said that they think I got some of the students mixed up which is very possible seeing as the list was in characters and I only read Korean so quickly. But some pronounce the harder words better than others and that is was I judged them on. Words like Resposible, Relationship, and Likely are harder to say with an Asian accent.

After being here in the school for two days it is very interesting to see the students reaction to an outsider. The girls duck and giggle and the boys yell random things in English and giggle. My co-teacher says she thinks I will be strict, I tell her maybe I will have to be. Sometimes it is hard to remember to speak slowly when I am speaking to adults but with the children I am better about it. As I sit at my desk in the teachers lounge I see them poke their head in the window to look at me. I don't know whether or not to feel like Beyonce or the Elephant Man.

The longer I stay in Korea I start to understand the things that seemed so different in the US.

• The Sandles - There are two pairs of shoes Indoor and Outdoor. The random sandles they often where everywhere in the US are the indoor sandles here and their outside shoes are actually very nice. Mostly Addidas are worn by the students inside and Converse outside.
• L vs R- There is no letter to distinguish between the two. Even if it is written with one or the other, it all comes out like R unless it is a double LL character. That's why they say "Engorish"

That's all I got for now. One of my co-teachers just asked me if I wanted to go to the movies today and I look forward to doing so. Making friends is going to be very crutial. And once I get paid I have got to get a cell phone. Getting lost in Gumi is not cute!

And Then There was One

Well it's official. I am in Gumi. First off I am not teaching at an all boys school and I am teaching at two schools. But nothing is definite. How is that even possible? My studio Apt is nice, but I still don't seem to have my address. Apt 205 is as good as it gets. So I will have to bug my Co-Teacher, who is so cute (female), and get her to tell my landlord I need the address. There are 3 Very interesting facts about my studio apt:

1. The bathroom is my shower. Literally. The floor has a drain and the shower head is connected to the sink.
2. My kitchen is on the patio with my washing machine. It consists of two gas burners, a fridge, and a rice cooker. Oh and a microwave.
3. My windows have been painted black to block out the light.

But I have a/c which is an actual luxury that many of my friends know I will never use.

So let's do a run through of my day today:

7Am I find out my toilet doesn't flush and have to demonstrate peeing to my landlord to get her to understand

8Am Watch Home Alone 3 because that is the only thing in English on the TV

8:30 Am Go to my school to meet the Principal where I am fed 3 different times (which isn't a bad thing) and the teachers played mini Show-N-Tell with me to the other teachers and classes. Yes S. Koreans have school every other Sat. No I don't have to work.

• BTW did I mention the 15 min walk took me 1hr because I took a wrong turn and ended up in the mountains. Bad childhood memories of a similar incident in Lynch Kentucky arose.

12Pm I arrive home change my clothes and head out to the streets. I really just wanted to go to the mall and buy a few items for school and my students, and some black pants. I really dropped the ball on the whole packing business casual clothes.

2pm After walking halfway there I caught the 15 to what I think is downtown and checked out all the shops. Some of them are really expensive, but there are others not so bad. Not like in Seoul though. They seem to have an unnatural obsession with Jessica Alba. Weird. Anyway I am now here in a PC Bang listening to Avril L. and getting ready to eat at Lotteria (the Korean McD's) because when going to the grocery store it is best to be able to know how to read the food let alone cook it before you buy it. So there will be a dining out budget. Fruit is all I recognize and they have a french bakery here so I will there. In the next blog I hope to have my address and finish uploading my pictures. Plus have fun class stories. Anyoung! Mei

The Korean Folk Village

This is the Korean Folk Village

These are the clay pots that are used to transport water and on the top are chili peppers drying in the sun.



The man is holding up a piece of hardend honey that he will twist and pull (like taffy) into thin strips that look like spider webs. The following pctures are of the whole process.

This is the Wishing Rock and you write your wish on paper and tie it onto the ropes. You can't tell anyone!














This is like a traditional workshop



The following pictures are of Traditional Korean Housing

This is just a really pretty view of the Korean Country side

The following pictures are of a Traditional School

Do they do everything standing up? This is me on a swing. More sideways pictures to come.

This is the inside of a wealthy home. This picture enlarged is worth seeing.

The National Flower

The following are Sacred Temples and statues out of Lava

The following are of me getting a Korean Manicure. Back in the day they would take a red flower and crush it and mix it with oils and a liquid (possibly water) and put it on their nail for extended periods of time. The nails will naturally turn red and will stay for a few weeks. I didn't keep mine on long enough so I have an orange pinky.

This is the video of the See Saw girls, they are AMAZING!!!