I don't even know where to begin!
August is quickly coming to an end which is bringing about some changes. Two of my coworkers have their last day on Thursday. Which means on Friday we have a goodbye dinner, then on Saturday we are going out dancing as a last hurrah. I'm a bit jealous of their new adventures although I know it's going to be an emotional Thursday for them when they leave. They are headed to South East Asia to travel and then one of them will be going to Africa in the new year to do volunteering - very cool! I got a few things from them too - some clothes, a tennis racket, and hula hoop.
This also means that new teachers are arriving! Charles teacher arrived yesterday and had his first day at LCI today. I decided I should be social so I went out for both lunch and dinner today with him and other coworkers. For lunch we had Bibimbap and Mandu (dumplings - so delicious!) and for dinner we had Shabu-shabu (which is a spicy broth that you put veggies, noodles and beef in, then afterwards you get fried rice). It was so yummy! Then I later at night I went over to Jessica's to enjoy some honey dew and cantaloupe (which is green here when ripe) and we chatted about our Japan plans. Back to Charles Teacher - he goes by Chuck but Chuck in Korean means something similar to 'fake' or 'pretend' so they want him to go by Charles at school. A weird adjustment for him I'm sure! He is also from Minnesota and is friends with Nathan Teacher who has been here for maybe six months now?
The other new teacher, Hayley Teacher will not arrive until this weekend. I have been chatting with her on Facebook so it will be great to finally meet her in person! One of my classes will be changing in September since there are new teachers, things shuffle. I'm sad to say goodbye to my grade six class, but I will start teaching a grade four class instead.
I had a pretty low key weekend this past weekend. Friday night I stayed in and watched Mean Girls while painting my toe nails - which are already chipped. Then Saturday I spent the day trying to find an external disc drive without success. Sunday I went to my Korean class and tried pole dancing for the first time! I was a little bit discouraged with my Korean class because the textbook we use, also uses a CD and my laptop doesn't have a disc drive!! So I can't do a lot of the exercises until I find an external disc drive. So far I have taken two private classes with a guy named Jason. He has been here for 3 years already and has good knowledge of speaking Korean, but can't read or write very well. The classes have gone a bit faster for that reason than I'd like but it's nice to get started in the language. Unfortunately from this point on, we have to join a class and there are not enough people to start a beginner class so I have to wait to take more classes unless I pay for private classes which is more expensive. I will likely wait until October to start again (hopefully there will be enough people to start a class, Chuck seemed interested). I will be away for two weekends in September anyways so it's probably best to wait until October anyways. Plus I have the textbook so can study on my own in the mean time. I am learning the alphabet and am always practicing reading signs!
The pole dancing class was a lot of fun too! And wow, what a work out! The girl who organized the Mt. Gwanak hike, Jin, teaches the classes so I decided to go. I always thought it would be fun to try! Here is a picture: I was surprised at my strength! The days at the gym have paid off!
I met a girl named Emmalee there and we ended up going out for dinner afterwards together for Korean BBQ. It was so much fun and talked about getting together to play tennis and basketball sometime.
I have also made plans to go to Korea Burn! If you don't know what that is please look at this webpage http://kbfront.wordpress.com/ there is a YouTube clip on the front page that sums it up well. It's a regional event based on Burning Man that happens every year in Neveda. It's completely based on participation, those who come create the event and make it whatever it becomes. It is also based on ten principles: radical inclusion, gifting, decommodification, radical self-reliance, radical self-expression, communal effort, civic responsibility, participation, immediacy, and leaving no trace. I think it's going to be an incredible experience. I am going to be going with a girl named Molly who I met when I did the day trip to Daebudo. And Emmalee has decided she is going to join us as well! Because one of the principles is gifting (there is no purchasing or sales the entire weekend, you have to bring your own food etc.), we have decided to make friendship bracelets to give out to people while we are there. People usually come up with costumes as well, so we are thinking bright hippies or something along those lines. I'm excited. It's from September 13-15th (the weekend before my Japan trip).
This past week, I also broke my camera :(. I dropped it at school and the screen was ruined. It would still take pictures but you could not see anything but white lines on the screen. I was absolutely devastated. Then I remembered that there is a Samsung store down the street from me so I went there (after Googling "fix" in Korean). They told me there is a repair shop above them that would be open the next day. So I went on my lunch and although they didn't speak English, a Korean customer helped explain to them what I wanted. They said they would have to keep my camera for two weeks. But I was willing to do anything to get it fixed. I got a call later that day to say it would cost 37,000 won (around $30) and that I could pick it up the next day! How amazing. It would have cost way more to get it fixed in Canada and taken way longer. Yet I paid $30 and they did it overnight. Just an amazing experience all around.
Here are some more pictures of my other students I haven't posted yet: This is one of my ILP (drama) classes.
My supervisor told met that she called all of my kindergartener's parents and have received nothing but good feedback about me. Because I have the oldest kindergarteners, they will be leaving to go to Korean school as they will start grade 1 in February (there school year starts in February here). But they will still come to LCI for the afternoon classes. Some of the parents have already requested that I be their kids grade 1 teacher come February. It's great to hear this.
I feel like I'm forgetting things, but I'm in need of sleep! Love and miss you all. Check out Facebook for additional pictures from my time in Daebudo! And lastly, I leave you with this cutie (Tyler) in her awesome hat that has wings:
<3
Monday, August 26, 2013
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Four Weeks!
I have officially been in Korea for a whole month! It's flown by! I've been streaming The Beat online (they play great oldies while all of you are sleeping!) and I totally forgot about the PNE! That makes me miss being in Vancouver. It's crazy to think that summer is almost over!
I have been able to take a few more pictures of some more of my students for you all to see. I do still have more students than this - all in time :P Below is my kindergarten class that I spend the most time with (Monday-Friday 10-230). From left to right: Anie, Sungwon, Grace, Olivia, Diana, Tyler Michael and Sally.
Grace Teacher and Rachel Teacher both leave next Thursday (totally jealous of their planned travels!) but that means that the two new teachers will be arriving this Sunday! We already know that one of the teachers is Nathan Teacher's friend from Minnesota and the other teacher is a girl name Hayley from London, who has been teaching in Daegu (South Korea) for a year. I actually stumbled upon Hayley on a Facebook group, so we have been chatting a little bit already. New teachers means that there could be some changes in classes/schedules so we will see what happens in the next little bit.
Tonight I bought a crock pot from a guy in the area that is leaving. I'm so excited about it! It will be super nice to be able to not fry everything that I eat and it will be super useful come Winter to make soups and stews (although I'm not sure how considering I haven't seen any chicken/beef stock/broth). He also gave me a few packs of seasonings that he won't be using up before leaving. Here is my crockpot:
I have been able to take a few more pictures of some more of my students for you all to see. I do still have more students than this - all in time :P Below is my kindergarten class that I spend the most time with (Monday-Friday 10-230). From left to right: Anie, Sungwon, Grace, Olivia, Diana, Tyler Michael and Sally.
And a close up of Tyler and I - What a cutie!
Here is one of my ILP classes (the drama class). This class is doing the play Ali Baba Jr. and the Four Thieves. I mentioned before that they memorize the play and preform (without an audience) but I don't think that I mentioned 'phone calls'. Every Thursday after work I have to call each of my ILP students (I believe there are 10 total) to practice their lines and practice talking on the phone. Each phone call has to be three minutes long, no more - not sure how effective this really is, but the parents love seeing their kids talk on the phone in English. Below left to right is Kate and Sohee.
Sally was absent this class, and Anthony left for soccer before we took pictures, but you can see him in the video! In the video they are practicing one of their songs for the play - Anthony usually does this hilarious dance, but he wouldn't do it that day. Regardless, he is equally hilarious in this video.
Grace Teacher and Rachel Teacher both leave next Thursday (totally jealous of their planned travels!) but that means that the two new teachers will be arriving this Sunday! We already know that one of the teachers is Nathan Teacher's friend from Minnesota and the other teacher is a girl name Hayley from London, who has been teaching in Daegu (South Korea) for a year. I actually stumbled upon Hayley on a Facebook group, so we have been chatting a little bit already. New teachers means that there could be some changes in classes/schedules so we will see what happens in the next little bit.
Tonight I bought a crock pot from a guy in the area that is leaving. I'm so excited about it! It will be super nice to be able to not fry everything that I eat and it will be super useful come Winter to make soups and stews (although I'm not sure how considering I haven't seen any chicken/beef stock/broth). He also gave me a few packs of seasonings that he won't be using up before leaving. Here is my crockpot:
It will also make cooking dinners easier for me (I hope) because most nights (especially my longer days, Tuesdays and Thursday) I am so tired when I get home, making dinner is something I don't ever want to do. So if I can have something cooking in the crockpot ready for when I'm home, that would be awesome. Feel free to pass along any recipes with simple ingredients! Tonight I was really craving cheesy rice (what we call it - no idea what the Korean name is) but a lot of the teachers stayed late at school to finish progress reports (like report cards). I don't have to do them since I haven't been here long but will likely have to do them in a month or so. Regardless, I didn't go out for cheesy rice, rather made my own version at home - but I need to find the red pepper paste! Also if you have tips for making hard boiled eggs, please let me know! The last one I made the egg shell was really hard to peel (so many small pieces) and when I hit the egg to crack the shell to start peeling it, the whole egg broke in half which I thought was odd. The membrane also stuck to the egg which was gross.
Finally, here is a quote I'll leave you with that I read today and liked:
Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending." -- Maria Robinson
<3
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Thursday Party & Korean Classes
Going out last night with my co-workers was a success! I really enjoyed myself. Most of the group headed into Itaewon around 4:30 which was just way too early for me. So I tagged along with Chris and we left Suji around 8:30 which gave me time to blog and watch two movies before leaving! (Thanks again to Carmen for sending me a huge movie list!) We met up with Ben in Hongdae (or near Hongdae... maybe?) and walked through many streets that looked like this:
We then met up with the rest of our co-workers in a park nearby that was packed with people. As it always is here, super hot and muggy, so we headed to a place called Thursday Party. So weird to see so many white people all in one place! (I know how horrible that sounds.) It was a fun place and just being able to dance the night away was so fun. We were supposed to go to an event called Shindig next but we lost the Birthday boy, Nate, and opted to go to a traditional Korean bar. A little less dancing there and the decorations were so all over the place (including palm trees) but it was fun. Eventually we headed back to Suji and I was back in my apartment just before 4am. So fun!
Today I also took my first Korean class. The beginner class had already started but there was another guy that wanted to start classes so the director offered to do some private classes with us until we are caught up with the current class. We learned the alphabet and a few words and phrases. I really enjoyed it and am excited to keep taking classes and being able to speak and read more. Here is my first sentence "I am Ashley":
Other exciting news: Jess and I book our flights to go to Japan!! We are going over Chuseok, the Korean thanksgiving that's in September. We also bought our tickets for Disneyland and Disney Sea which I am even more excited about! We will be staying in Tokyo the whole time so if you have any suggestions of things to go see, please let me know! It's too bad that we won't have more time to explore other areas in Japan, but I am just overly ecstatic to go to Disneyland there.
<3
I had not eaten dinner (typical), so they decided to take me to a home-style pizza place which was delicious. Then we decided to get bag drinks from a place a few doors down. It's a small tiny drink place but is mainly for people to pick up and buy drinks from the "window" and they are made and served in a Ziploc type bag with a straw. The drink menu was also basically paper with hand drawn pictures of all the drinks you could order. I had the Blue Hawaii.
We then met up with the rest of our co-workers in a park nearby that was packed with people. As it always is here, super hot and muggy, so we headed to a place called Thursday Party. So weird to see so many white people all in one place! (I know how horrible that sounds.) It was a fun place and just being able to dance the night away was so fun. We were supposed to go to an event called Shindig next but we lost the Birthday boy, Nate, and opted to go to a traditional Korean bar. A little less dancing there and the decorations were so all over the place (including palm trees) but it was fun. Eventually we headed back to Suji and I was back in my apartment just before 4am. So fun!
Today I also took my first Korean class. The beginner class had already started but there was another guy that wanted to start classes so the director offered to do some private classes with us until we are caught up with the current class. We learned the alphabet and a few words and phrases. I really enjoyed it and am excited to keep taking classes and being able to speak and read more. Here is my first sentence "I am Ashley":
Other exciting news: Jess and I book our flights to go to Japan!! We are going over Chuseok, the Korean thanksgiving that's in September. We also bought our tickets for Disneyland and Disney Sea which I am even more excited about! We will be staying in Tokyo the whole time so if you have any suggestions of things to go see, please let me know! It's too bad that we won't have more time to explore other areas in Japan, but I am just overly ecstatic to go to Disneyland there.
<3
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Events of the Week
What a busy week! I was planning on checking out Costco Monday after work but it was a coworkers birthday so we went out for dinner. Same people didn't come out, but I wanted to be social and figured Costco could wait a day. So we headed out for spicy chicken at a restaurant nearby. The lady there was so sweet - normally the food gets cooked right in front of you and it can get quite hot being at any restaurant but since it was not too busy yet in the restaurant she cooked at an empty table and then brought it over to us. How thoughtful!
Tuesday was Costco day. I left right after work and was on the bus by 7:10 and didn't get back until 11:30! But it was worth it.
I was a little bit disappointed when I first walked in because I didn't realize it was two floors and couldn't find any of the food at first!! I did end up finding the bottom floor though and got chicken, lunch meat, cheese, peanut butter, whole wheat bread, pasta, pasta sauce, vegetables etc. It wasn't so fun carrying everything back but worth it. I stayed and had a Costco hot dog as well. I was so happy that my Costco card worked over here!
Thursday was Liberation Day here in Korea so we got the day off from work. I had signed up and planned the previous week to go to Daebudo Island. It was a really fun day, I would have loved to have gone swimming but there wasn't any good spots and the tide was out. It was beautiful though. Again, I took a lot of pictures so check out Facebook for all of them!
The tour bus dropped us off at a subway station so we could all go our separate ways home and we got to witness a public proposal! It was so sweet. There was a crowd so we stopped to see what was happening. There was a small screen set up, with light ropes and balloons surrounding a girl. Then a guy was speaking on through a microphone (in Korean) and I was told at one point he asked "Will you marry me?" Afterwards he sang her a song then finally got down on one knee. PDA is not big in Korea, so they only hugged afterwards. Even when their friends chanted "kiss the girl" they only mustered a small peck on the lips. So cute.
A small group of us decided to get together Friday night, so that's what I did last night. We met at one of their apartments and ate pasta and had wine. I was convinced to try mussels, and did but don't like them. Weird texture for sure.
Tonight we are going out for Nate's birthday (co-worker), it will be interesting to see what a night out here is like, although I could stay in and watch movies all night.
I also managed to snap a few pictures of my classroom and one group of my students. This is my grade 1 class - Asteria, Aiden, Grace and Patrick. They are such quiet students, it can be a bit draining but I try to make it fun for them and get them speaking. I forgot to take pictures of my other students even though I had my camera with me - maybe next week!
I'm a few days shy of being here for 4 weeks already. The time has gone fast and I'm enjoying work but do miss home and everyone there quite a bit - love you all!
<3
Tuesday was Costco day. I left right after work and was on the bus by 7:10 and didn't get back until 11:30! But it was worth it.
I was a little bit disappointed when I first walked in because I didn't realize it was two floors and couldn't find any of the food at first!! I did end up finding the bottom floor though and got chicken, lunch meat, cheese, peanut butter, whole wheat bread, pasta, pasta sauce, vegetables etc. It wasn't so fun carrying everything back but worth it. I stayed and had a Costco hot dog as well. I was so happy that my Costco card worked over here!
Thursday was Liberation Day here in Korea so we got the day off from work. I had signed up and planned the previous week to go to Daebudo Island. It was a really fun day, I would have loved to have gone swimming but there wasn't any good spots and the tide was out. It was beautiful though. Again, I took a lot of pictures so check out Facebook for all of them!
We stopped at three different places on the island and this one spot below reminded me a bit of the seawall in Vancouver.
The tour bus dropped us off at a subway station so we could all go our separate ways home and we got to witness a public proposal! It was so sweet. There was a crowd so we stopped to see what was happening. There was a small screen set up, with light ropes and balloons surrounding a girl. Then a guy was speaking on through a microphone (in Korean) and I was told at one point he asked "Will you marry me?" Afterwards he sang her a song then finally got down on one knee. PDA is not big in Korea, so they only hugged afterwards. Even when their friends chanted "kiss the girl" they only mustered a small peck on the lips. So cute.
A small group of us decided to get together Friday night, so that's what I did last night. We met at one of their apartments and ate pasta and had wine. I was convinced to try mussels, and did but don't like them. Weird texture for sure.
Tonight we are going out for Nate's birthday (co-worker), it will be interesting to see what a night out here is like, although I could stay in and watch movies all night.
I also managed to snap a few pictures of my classroom and one group of my students. This is my grade 1 class - Asteria, Aiden, Grace and Patrick. They are such quiet students, it can be a bit draining but I try to make it fun for them and get them speaking. I forgot to take pictures of my other students even though I had my camera with me - maybe next week!
I'm a few days shy of being here for 4 weeks already. The time has gone fast and I'm enjoying work but do miss home and everyone there quite a bit - love you all!
<3
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Three Weeks
I am one day shy of being here three weeks already - the time does go by fast, but I still miss so many people dearly and am still adjusting. But I can say that I have finally started to make myself dinner - pathetic dinners, but dinners none the less! I am still experimenting with the ingredients I can find all while discovering new ones.
This past weekend was full of potential but sometimes the full potential of things are not reached! I am happy with the way it turned out. Friday night I went out for dinner with some coworkers and tried lamb for the very first time - I figure now is the time to be adventurous! Upon reaching the restaurant I did not feel good about eating there at all as these were the images all over the building:
Just looking at this picture again makes my heart break a little bit! But I did enjoy it for the most part. We were given skewers and each one had a prominent fat chunk on it that I could have done without. To me, it tasted similar to beef. I don't think its something I would go out of my way to eat again but I would eat it again if it were served (maybe, if my heart can take it).
I like that you generally always cook your own food at your table in Korean restaurants. We were also given an array of side dishes (kimchi, peanuts, onions, sauces) along with a cucumber & mushroom salad with vinegar dressing - I tried the mushrooms and still don't like them, although these ones had long stems with small mushroom heads (honestly, I only tried them because I thought they were noodles at first!)
I had many ideas for Saturday but nothing solid, as I wanted to wait until I woke up Saturday morning to decide what I wanted to do. I really like to just play off my current mood. But Friday night it was possible that I was going fabric and clothes shopping with Chris, or to Muui Island for the night with Jin (the organizer of the last hike I did and others through MeetUp) or to Insadong with Jess. Saturday morning quickly came and I woke up to this -
It lasted all morning through early afternoon - you can't see the rain very well in the video (aside from it flooding down the street) but it was crazy and the thunder was so close! Regardless, this made me want to have an inside day and I figured I would spend the day relaxing, watching movies. But as all things do, the weather changed and it became nice and sunny so I took a long 5 hour walk getting to know my neighbourhood a little bit better. In the picture below, you can see my normal path across the river. It's covered because it rained so much earlier that day!!
That night I spent eating my dinner, drinking wine and watching a movie. They seem to have a lot of Chardonnay but no Pinot Gris (or at least that I saw), so I opted for a White Zinfandel. Also a lot of bottles of white wine that just said "California" or "Sweet Wine", so I wasn't sure what to make of that. Either way, I enjoyed myself and my wine.
Sunday I had big hopes of finding Costco! The night before a girl on Facebook posted some things she was selling and I noticed she had a lot of Kirkland stuff so I messaged her about where the Costco was and it's not too far! I am and was beyond excited. I ended up buying this off of her so that I can cart my groceries from Costco (it's a little trek) although I do feel a bit dorky for having it.
I wanted to go today, but Korea has this thing called DIDA (The Distribution Industry Development Act) where all big box type stores must close a certain amount of days/times a month in order to give a fair chance to Mom and Pop stores. It's a good concept but a bit annoying when you try to go buy groceries. There has been a lot of resistance against this act but some have complied to differing degrees. It seems the big box stores in my area close every second Sunday. I realized today was a DIDA day (as I call them) and that Costco would be closed - so sad! But that will be my adventure after work tomorrow and I'm so so excited! When I first search for Costco when I got here I only found locations quite a bit south from me, so I gave up only to be pleasantly surprised. I hope that it's all that it should be :P
I also had plans today to check out a Korean academy today which I did do. I was supposed to be there before 3pm to talk with them, then do a trial lesson but it took me longer than expected to get there and then I couldn't find it. I knew it was close to the exit of the subway station and went into the building that I thought it was but all of the doors on the 6th floor looked like apartment building doors so I figured I as in the wrong spot. I went across the street to another building and walked around a bit. After feeling a bit lost, I asked the guy in the Mini Stop convenience store for help. He assured me (in the English he had) I was in the right building and that I needed to go to the 6th floor. So I did. Again, apartment looking doors, but they each had signs on them so I figured "Hey maybe these are companies". So I knocked on door 619 and sure enough it was an old Asian man's home. I felt pretty bad but I can only try!! After going back downstairs, I called the school and the director helped me find the school - it was in the first building I went into - apparently I should have had the courage to knock on that door instead of the other one! Even though I was super late, they still let me sit in on the class for a trial lesson. It seems alright and I think I'm going to give it a go for the next month. It will be Sundays from 3-550. Even if I go to a different school later on, I'm happy to be on my way to learning Korean as it is one of the goals I have while being here.
Lastly, in other exciting news, I bought a guitar! I figured I needed something to fill my time with and it's something I enjoy so I'm doing it. I found someone in my area that was selling his so I went and bought it off of him tonight and am in love with it. It's a gorgeous guitar and feels great. I can't wait to start playing more and learning again. It also came with some guitar accessories and homemade picks made from visa cards!
I love learning - anything. Now the only other thing I need to find is a dance school - something else that I love and haven't done in years, but that might not happen for a bit as I should probably take on one thing at a time!
Thinking of all of you in Osoyoos this weekend - miss and love you all.
<3
This past weekend was full of potential but sometimes the full potential of things are not reached! I am happy with the way it turned out. Friday night I went out for dinner with some coworkers and tried lamb for the very first time - I figure now is the time to be adventurous! Upon reaching the restaurant I did not feel good about eating there at all as these were the images all over the building:
Just looking at this picture again makes my heart break a little bit! But I did enjoy it for the most part. We were given skewers and each one had a prominent fat chunk on it that I could have done without. To me, it tasted similar to beef. I don't think its something I would go out of my way to eat again but I would eat it again if it were served (maybe, if my heart can take it).
I like that you generally always cook your own food at your table in Korean restaurants. We were also given an array of side dishes (kimchi, peanuts, onions, sauces) along with a cucumber & mushroom salad with vinegar dressing - I tried the mushrooms and still don't like them, although these ones had long stems with small mushroom heads (honestly, I only tried them because I thought they were noodles at first!)
I had many ideas for Saturday but nothing solid, as I wanted to wait until I woke up Saturday morning to decide what I wanted to do. I really like to just play off my current mood. But Friday night it was possible that I was going fabric and clothes shopping with Chris, or to Muui Island for the night with Jin (the organizer of the last hike I did and others through MeetUp) or to Insadong with Jess. Saturday morning quickly came and I woke up to this -
It lasted all morning through early afternoon - you can't see the rain very well in the video (aside from it flooding down the street) but it was crazy and the thunder was so close! Regardless, this made me want to have an inside day and I figured I would spend the day relaxing, watching movies. But as all things do, the weather changed and it became nice and sunny so I took a long 5 hour walk getting to know my neighbourhood a little bit better. In the picture below, you can see my normal path across the river. It's covered because it rained so much earlier that day!!
That night I spent eating my dinner, drinking wine and watching a movie. They seem to have a lot of Chardonnay but no Pinot Gris (or at least that I saw), so I opted for a White Zinfandel. Also a lot of bottles of white wine that just said "California" or "Sweet Wine", so I wasn't sure what to make of that. Either way, I enjoyed myself and my wine.
Sunday I had big hopes of finding Costco! The night before a girl on Facebook posted some things she was selling and I noticed she had a lot of Kirkland stuff so I messaged her about where the Costco was and it's not too far! I am and was beyond excited. I ended up buying this off of her so that I can cart my groceries from Costco (it's a little trek) although I do feel a bit dorky for having it.
I wanted to go today, but Korea has this thing called DIDA (The Distribution Industry Development Act) where all big box type stores must close a certain amount of days/times a month in order to give a fair chance to Mom and Pop stores. It's a good concept but a bit annoying when you try to go buy groceries. There has been a lot of resistance against this act but some have complied to differing degrees. It seems the big box stores in my area close every second Sunday. I realized today was a DIDA day (as I call them) and that Costco would be closed - so sad! But that will be my adventure after work tomorrow and I'm so so excited! When I first search for Costco when I got here I only found locations quite a bit south from me, so I gave up only to be pleasantly surprised. I hope that it's all that it should be :P
I also had plans today to check out a Korean academy today which I did do. I was supposed to be there before 3pm to talk with them, then do a trial lesson but it took me longer than expected to get there and then I couldn't find it. I knew it was close to the exit of the subway station and went into the building that I thought it was but all of the doors on the 6th floor looked like apartment building doors so I figured I as in the wrong spot. I went across the street to another building and walked around a bit. After feeling a bit lost, I asked the guy in the Mini Stop convenience store for help. He assured me (in the English he had) I was in the right building and that I needed to go to the 6th floor. So I did. Again, apartment looking doors, but they each had signs on them so I figured "Hey maybe these are companies". So I knocked on door 619 and sure enough it was an old Asian man's home. I felt pretty bad but I can only try!! After going back downstairs, I called the school and the director helped me find the school - it was in the first building I went into - apparently I should have had the courage to knock on that door instead of the other one! Even though I was super late, they still let me sit in on the class for a trial lesson. It seems alright and I think I'm going to give it a go for the next month. It will be Sundays from 3-550. Even if I go to a different school later on, I'm happy to be on my way to learning Korean as it is one of the goals I have while being here.
Lastly, in other exciting news, I bought a guitar! I figured I needed something to fill my time with and it's something I enjoy so I'm doing it. I found someone in my area that was selling his so I went and bought it off of him tonight and am in love with it. It's a gorgeous guitar and feels great. I can't wait to start playing more and learning again. It also came with some guitar accessories and homemade picks made from visa cards!
I love learning - anything. Now the only other thing I need to find is a dance school - something else that I love and haven't done in years, but that might not happen for a bit as I should probably take on one thing at a time!
Thinking of all of you in Osoyoos this weekend - miss and love you all.
<3
Thursday, August 8, 2013
GWTF
One more day and I've made it through my first week of teaching in Korea! Honestly, it's everything that I expected it to be (in regards to the teaching aspect of being here). But what I am finding surprising is how much I miss teaching adults! The kids are cute and all but it is a different dynamic. That's not to say I'm not enjoying it, but I do find myself thinking and missing iTTTi - but that could change too. I will hopefully have pictures of my students soon - the classes are so full of work that there is little thought and time for much else. Plus we aren't allowed to bring our phones into the classroom and I have yet to figure out the digital camera - all in good time.
Today was a bit of a milestone for me - I cooked my own dinner! It wasn't much but better than skipping dinner which I do more often than not. Also, today for lunch I tried Kimbap, which is Korea's version of sushi. Except I had Kimbap with veggies, egg and ham in the centre. Best of of all, it was only $1.50!
The students are also very obsessed with coffee. I'm sure this is in part for two reasons: one, they are too young to be allowed to have it, and two, drinking coffee shows high status here. Yesterday, a lot of my students kept saying to me "Teacher coffee" - I guess they could tell I was super tired! Today one of my afternoon kindergarten students brought me a latte from Starbucks :)
More and more I have been enjoying my nightly walks along the river. As sketchy as it may sound to walk along a river in the dark of night alone, it's not. I could not feel safer and it seems the later I walk there more people are out! As well, I always walk through the forested park across from my apartment to get there - which also sounds sketchy but there are always so many people around of all ages. It's really quite nice, and I always feel so at peace there. I always so badly want to just sit on one of the rocks and stay there for hours just listening to the water. I have always loved being near water, it's so good for my soul :)
I know in a year from now I will have changed and grown (probably quite a bit) into a more wonderful person (not to toot my own horn, but I know I am a good person and I think that's okay to know and say). I say that only because even in the last few weeks I have noticed changes already. Going into this trip I tried to have the mindset of "go with the flow" and that's always been a bit of a struggle for me as I am always in need of a solid plan and follow all of the rules (yes, I do hate to even jaywalk). But over the last two and a half weeks I've been here I have already noticed myself "going with the flow" without second thought. Who knows, maybe it's because you just have to when you are in a new culture and country. Either way, I have absolutely no plan for a year from now (which does still totally freak me out) but everyday I feel more okay, little by little, with just seeing where life takes me (although there are some really hard days too). And I am happy to be continually changing and developing into a better me. I think we can all become better people than we are and I always want to strive to be better than I am today.
<3
Today was a bit of a milestone for me - I cooked my own dinner! It wasn't much but better than skipping dinner which I do more often than not. Also, today for lunch I tried Kimbap, which is Korea's version of sushi. Except I had Kimbap with veggies, egg and ham in the centre. Best of of all, it was only $1.50!
The students are also very obsessed with coffee. I'm sure this is in part for two reasons: one, they are too young to be allowed to have it, and two, drinking coffee shows high status here. Yesterday, a lot of my students kept saying to me "Teacher coffee" - I guess they could tell I was super tired! Today one of my afternoon kindergarten students brought me a latte from Starbucks :)
More and more I have been enjoying my nightly walks along the river. As sketchy as it may sound to walk along a river in the dark of night alone, it's not. I could not feel safer and it seems the later I walk there more people are out! As well, I always walk through the forested park across from my apartment to get there - which also sounds sketchy but there are always so many people around of all ages. It's really quite nice, and I always feel so at peace there. I always so badly want to just sit on one of the rocks and stay there for hours just listening to the water. I have always loved being near water, it's so good for my soul :)
I know in a year from now I will have changed and grown (probably quite a bit) into a more wonderful person (not to toot my own horn, but I know I am a good person and I think that's okay to know and say). I say that only because even in the last few weeks I have noticed changes already. Going into this trip I tried to have the mindset of "go with the flow" and that's always been a bit of a struggle for me as I am always in need of a solid plan and follow all of the rules (yes, I do hate to even jaywalk). But over the last two and a half weeks I've been here I have already noticed myself "going with the flow" without second thought. Who knows, maybe it's because you just have to when you are in a new culture and country. Either way, I have absolutely no plan for a year from now (which does still totally freak me out) but everyday I feel more okay, little by little, with just seeing where life takes me (although there are some really hard days too). And I am happy to be continually changing and developing into a better me. I think we can all become better people than we are and I always want to strive to be better than I am today.
<3
Monday, August 5, 2013
Ashley Teacher
My first day of officially being Ashley Teacher is over. I didn't have any problems and everyone still continues to comment on how calm I am. I really think that has to do with my experience though as I do remember when doing my practicum two years ago my sponsor teacher did say that it was a bit obvious that I was nervous. Apparently I have overcome that. Really it's just a new set of students and a new set of textbooks - what is there to be nervous about? I even had my Korean supervisor observe me all day and that did not bother me a bit.
Here is my version of my schedule. I drew one up for myself as the one I was given was so chaotic and disorganized, it really was not helpful at all. I hope you can see it okay and make some sort of sense of it.
Tomorrow I take on a new set of afternoon classes that I will have every Tuesday and Thursday - my longer days. I will have RC 101 from 240-4pm which seems to be just basic grammar and reading. Then AK (afternoon kindergarten) from 405-525, but this kindergarten class is the lowest level (my morning kindergarten is the highest level). So I'll be teaching basic instructions and writing and learning letters/numbers etc. Then I will have about a half hour prep time, followed by EIC/NIE from 555-645pm. This is the News in Education class where we do a few pages out of a history textbook and then read and discuss newspaper articles. These students will be my oldest (13-15 years old I believe). I will learn more about these classes tomorrow - it will be a learning day as I don't really know what's going on.
So, I'm at the school from 9:50 - 6:30/45 each day, and that's if I leave right away. It makes for a long day, but we do get an hour lunch and honestly I didn't feel exhausted when I left today - but that could change! One of the other teachers also mentioned to me that my schedule might be added to at the end of next month when two of the current teachers return home. Right now I am completely happy with the amount I have, but maybe by then I will be happy to take on more.
Yesterday I used my washing machine for the first time and all seemed to go well. Here is a picture of the buttons I get to decode.
<3
Here is my version of my schedule. I drew one up for myself as the one I was given was so chaotic and disorganized, it really was not helpful at all. I hope you can see it okay and make some sort of sense of it.
Basically Monday to Friday from 10am-2:30 I teach my kindergarten class (MK). They are a cute bunch, 8 in total and all have big personalities for the most part. A few are also quite sensitive which will be interesting - one of them started to cry today because the front cover of her book folded and bent, and this only happened because she threw it on the floor. The clock on the wall, made of glass, fell off the wall today and shattered - that was eventful. And we played duck, duck, goose for our 15 minute gym time. The kindergarten classes need the most focus and work (as they mostly work and don't do much play), and from what it seems they are the big focus of the school. I'm hoping to master the flow and schedule of this class in the next week - there is so much to remember and do!
For the rest of Monday, I have ILP from 240-4pm which is basically a drama class for some of the kindergarteners. There are only 4 students in this class. They just finished doing "The Wizard of Oz" and we are now starting "Ali Baba Jr. and the Four Thieves". They have four weeks to read, learn & memorize they play all while doing short activities about the play. Then on the final day they preform (in front of no one, so sad) the play. I have this class on Mondays and Wednesdays but it's a different set of students and a different play on Wednesdays - I will be doing Hansel & Gretel.
Next on Monday is PK 206 from 405-525, which from what I understand is a grade 2 class, and I believe PK stands for post kindergarten. (Kindergarten here is 3 years!!). This was the only class I had today that I really had no clue what I was doing in! For the first half, one of the students basically led the class while I learned and the second half I felt like I had a better understand of it all and felt more on top of things and in control. They basically just do grammar, reading and spelling/definition tests in this class from what I've seen so far. I have this class on Wednesday and Friday as well.
After this class on Monday and Wednesdays I have prep time for an hour until 630. I find it interesting that the prep time is unpaid yet we still have to stay at the school. I would probably stay anyways but still. Today my prep time was basically spent organizing my desk and all of the papers and textbooks I've accumulated. As well, I sat down with Lucy, my Korean supervisor and she gave feedback on my teaching. Nothing too significant there, but she did say that she thinks I'm going to be a very good teacher at LCI (my school).
Tomorrow I take on a new set of afternoon classes that I will have every Tuesday and Thursday - my longer days. I will have RC 101 from 240-4pm which seems to be just basic grammar and reading. Then AK (afternoon kindergarten) from 405-525, but this kindergarten class is the lowest level (my morning kindergarten is the highest level). So I'll be teaching basic instructions and writing and learning letters/numbers etc. Then I will have about a half hour prep time, followed by EIC/NIE from 555-645pm. This is the News in Education class where we do a few pages out of a history textbook and then read and discuss newspaper articles. These students will be my oldest (13-15 years old I believe). I will learn more about these classes tomorrow - it will be a learning day as I don't really know what's going on.
So, I'm at the school from 9:50 - 6:30/45 each day, and that's if I leave right away. It makes for a long day, but we do get an hour lunch and honestly I didn't feel exhausted when I left today - but that could change! One of the other teachers also mentioned to me that my schedule might be added to at the end of next month when two of the current teachers return home. Right now I am completely happy with the amount I have, but maybe by then I will be happy to take on more.
Yesterday I used my washing machine for the first time and all seemed to go well. Here is a picture of the buttons I get to decode.
I am a little bit worried about hang drying my clothes as the air is so moist and muggy I'm afraid they won't actually dry fast enough before smelling bad cause they've stayed wet. Another teacher said she uses a fan to help dry them faster.
The last two nights I have also been going on walks along the river by my apartment - I love hearing and seeing the water. Here is a picture of some paintings underneath one of the bridges.
And lastly, I leave you with a picture from the packaging of a pot holder. I find it so amusing all of the sayings that you find on random items here. But so much truth.
<3
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Mt. Gwanak
About a week ago, I signed up to do a hike through the website 'Meetup'. After waking up this morning and not feeling well, I wasn't going to go but with just enough time to get ready and pack a bag I changed my mind and headed out for another adventure and I'm glad I did!
To give you some background - I had been messaging the organizer throughout the week to get more information about the hike. There wasn't too much information on the page and what was there seemed a bit odd. For instance "bring thick socks, or two pairs of socks, gloves and a scarf" - I can't think of a single hike I've been on where I've needed a scarf, maybe that's just me though. I asked if this was a beginner hike as I didn't want to get in over my head and she told me that it was. All I can say now, is to never trust when someone says its a 'beginner hike' or 'its a walk' when you're in Korea. Their take on 'beginner' and 'walk' is so far from it's reality - perhaps that's because Koreans love to hike and their perspective is skewed by that?
I set off on the subway and headed to Sadang, our meeting spot. I didn't see anyone at the 'spot' when I arrived but slowly began noticing other people wearing clothing that you'd wear on a hike, so I approached some of them and asked if they were there for the hike and shortly after we had formed a small group of people. I will also add that as we waited it down poured and I was really hoping that that would stop so we wouldn't get drenched - at least not right away. (There was also a thunder storm last night!!)
Jin, the organizer, a Korean local, guided us towards Mt. Gwanak and just before reaching the start of the hike we stopped at a store as some wanted to pick up fruit. In the end we all pitched in for fruit as it is expensive here and you can't really just buy one piece at a time. Even pitching in it was expensive but worth it - $2 for one apple and one orange.
The hike was intense - but looking back at the few pictures I took, it looks super easy, but please keep in mind that I only took pictures during the easy parts as all other times my whole body was occupied trying to get up this mountain! Think of the Grouse Grind, Lynn Valley, and all 3 peaks of the Chief combined but ten times worse/more difficult with more peaks! But just as beautiful.
Here is a picture of the very, very beginning. There was eight of us total, again both genders, but probably all in our 20's and had people from the US, Nepal, India, and Korea.
Below is when we got to the first peak - great views! Most of us thought that this was the end of the hike and that we'd head down after resting and eating. The most wrong assumption ever. While we were eating here, we also got down poured on. It was brief but welcomed since we were so hot and sweaty by this point, the rain cooled us off temporarily but quickly.
Off we went to the next peak while Jin pointed out the funny rocks along the way. On the left, they actually call this the poop rock, and on the right ... well, you can use your imagination!
And at the next peak - more gorgeous views.
For a lot of the hike, we had to use rope to help get us up and through the pathways.
This was the next big feat to face - literally scaling the side of the mountain finding footholds and holding for dear life onto rope.
This was the beginning of the way down, I liked that they placed lanterns along the way.
To give you some background - I had been messaging the organizer throughout the week to get more information about the hike. There wasn't too much information on the page and what was there seemed a bit odd. For instance "bring thick socks, or two pairs of socks, gloves and a scarf" - I can't think of a single hike I've been on where I've needed a scarf, maybe that's just me though. I asked if this was a beginner hike as I didn't want to get in over my head and she told me that it was. All I can say now, is to never trust when someone says its a 'beginner hike' or 'its a walk' when you're in Korea. Their take on 'beginner' and 'walk' is so far from it's reality - perhaps that's because Koreans love to hike and their perspective is skewed by that?
I set off on the subway and headed to Sadang, our meeting spot. I didn't see anyone at the 'spot' when I arrived but slowly began noticing other people wearing clothing that you'd wear on a hike, so I approached some of them and asked if they were there for the hike and shortly after we had formed a small group of people. I will also add that as we waited it down poured and I was really hoping that that would stop so we wouldn't get drenched - at least not right away. (There was also a thunder storm last night!!)
Jin, the organizer, a Korean local, guided us towards Mt. Gwanak and just before reaching the start of the hike we stopped at a store as some wanted to pick up fruit. In the end we all pitched in for fruit as it is expensive here and you can't really just buy one piece at a time. Even pitching in it was expensive but worth it - $2 for one apple and one orange.
The hike was intense - but looking back at the few pictures I took, it looks super easy, but please keep in mind that I only took pictures during the easy parts as all other times my whole body was occupied trying to get up this mountain! Think of the Grouse Grind, Lynn Valley, and all 3 peaks of the Chief combined but ten times worse/more difficult with more peaks! But just as beautiful.
Here is a picture of the very, very beginning. There was eight of us total, again both genders, but probably all in our 20's and had people from the US, Nepal, India, and Korea.
Below is one of the first views as well as Jin and I taking a break. I could not be more happier to have Jin on this hike as we both needed breaks more often than the rest of the group - I'm glad I wasn't the only one!!
Off we went to the next peak while Jin pointed out the funny rocks along the way. On the left, they actually call this the poop rock, and on the right ... well, you can use your imagination!
Kinda of made me feel like I was in Vancouver :)
And at the next peak - more gorgeous views.
For a lot of the hike, we had to use rope to help get us up and through the pathways.
This was the next big feat to face - literally scaling the side of the mountain finding footholds and holding for dear life onto rope.
This was the very top of the mountain. I was not able to take pictures at every peak, as my phone eventually died but I think there were 5 in total.
This was the beginning of the way down, I liked that they placed lanterns along the way.
A temple on the mountain - there were a few of these! We stopped at one and again it started to down pour!
On the way down we followed a stream/waterfall type thing. We found a spot that water had pooled and took a break, all shoes were taken off then we jumped into the water - so refreshing and cold! I have pictures of this but on the camera which I am still working on figuring out how to take the pictures off of. When it was all said and done, the hike took a total of 7 hours and was no where near a 'beginner' hike!
We all opted to go for Korean BBQ to end the day which had turned to night and it was delicious - much better than the BBQ place I was taken to my first night here and the meat was generally lean!! :) Here is a group shot at the restaurant:
Two things I keep forgetting to mention - when the train is approaching at the subway station they play a funny trumpet soundtrack over the speakers which I find funny every time. Also there are cicadas everywhere in Korea. If you don't know what they sound like, please YouTube it - they are sooo loud! I'm getting used to it now, but man oh man was it annoying at first! Also days like this make me miss protein powder. So much.
<3
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