Kindergarten Old & New

We had been preparing for graduation since the end of January, learning songs and dialogues, prepping the students for the big day come the end of February. We practiced almost daily in class and had four big school wide rehearsals. This practicing was essential of course to ensure perfection for when their Moms would come to watch. My class had been practicing singing and dancing to Summer Nights from Greece as well as memorizing the "LCI News" script I wrote for them. As part of the skit, Micheal was the sports reporter and because I wrote the script in January, we assumed Yuna Kim would win gold -again- in the Sochi Olympics for figure skating. Unfortunately she won silver - which created a huge outcry in Korea - so we had to change the script a bit last minute. As well, two of my students were sick graduation day so more last minutes adjustments were made but everything, surprisingly, went smoothly. I was impressed with how well my students were able to remember and change the dance routine the day of. 

I arrived early graduation day to find out that Tyler, my most shy student, had been crying since she arrived at school that day. So I immediately went to class to help improve everyone's spirits. Tyler and I sat in another room, chatting and hanging out for awhile to try and calm her nerves. She was so incredibly nervous about going on stage in front of so many people as all of the Moms of all of the students would be there (as well as some grandparents and a few dads).

Tyler very upset as the other students try to encourage her

Unlike the previous song contests we have done, where we get to view everything. We did not get to see the entire graduation. We stayed with our students in our classrooms getting them ready for their next performances. When it was their turn to shine, we sat in front of the stage prompting them. So I didn't actually get any videos of their work which is too bad. 

As you can see from the first picture of Tyler the students wore costumes! It's a big enough event where the school orders outfits for each student to wear. So as part of my job that day I helped my students change a few times. At one point, they were changing out of their costumes into their jeans, I assumed they were able to put on their pants themselves. I assumed wrong. I remember Anie not even knowing which way to put her pants on! So I had a classroom of little kids undressing and dressing and I just thought it was so bizarre as you would never see that in North America!

Grace, Sally, Michael and Diana in their Summer Nights costumes

Sally being Sally

And other classroom costumes: Joseph in Sarah's class

Dane in Nate's class

Sally and Anthony in Sarah's class

William and Emily in Ben's class

My students in their "LCI News" costumes

Tyler in her graduation gown

All of the students on stage after receiving their "diplomas"

An awkward picture of my class and their Moms

At one point during the ceremony, all of us teachers went on stage and had to make a short speech. At the end of my Cheny, Sally's sister ran up on stage and gave me a bouquet. I get a few more afterwards as well. The appreciation from the Mom's here is incredible.

A photo of my class from their graduation album

Not only does the end of a school year mean students moving on, but teachers as well. The foreign teaching staff at LCI shrunk from nine teachers to six as well said goodbye to Sarah, Nate and Ben. I was so sad to see my good friend Sarah go! But excited for the new adventures she will have!

Miss this girl!!

On a side note - why is she wearing the mask?! The 'yellow dust from China' as everyone calls it has been quite bad this past month. We have been told by our supervisors to wear masks. The air quality here is quite bad. You can search a cities AQHI (air quality). If you look up Vancouver's it is usually around 3 which is green = good, whereas in Seoul for a while it was 135 which is orange = unhealthy. Today it is at 60 which is moderate. But 3 - 135 is significant!!! Not only is this bad to breathe, but it also hasn't been great for my skin. 

Another tangent - My good friend Joel also left Korea to go back to Vancouver. He also kept a blog but one that more so documented the realities of living and working in Korea. You might want to check that out here: http://joelseoulsearching.tumblr.com/ More recently he has blogged about dating relationships that take place in Korea. I have been questioned by several people as to why I am not in a relationship, or why I haven't even gone on a date in the past year for that matter. While some may disagree with my thought process on this, one huge factor is the fact that we all have a clock on top of our heads, as Joel puts it. Whenever you meet someone new, you ask and are asked the same three questions - How long have you been in Korea? When does your contract end? Are you going to stay longer? We all have clocks and we are all on different timelines. It's just too complicated and too messy. He also makes some good observations as to why people stay so long in Korea known as 'the trap'. Worth the read if you are interested!

Moving on. The new year has started and I have a wonderful bunch of students! I got the class I was hoping for which was a bonus. I started off with six kinder students but now have five as one left to go to a school that has "a lot of playtime" - I don't blame her. 

Roy, Jae-hun, Jaden in the back and Jenny and Isla in front

We also celebrated Jenny's birthday in the first week

Isla has such a fun and silly personality, she loves to make goofy faces

The first week of the new school year was extremely draining on every level. Honestly, I could not imagine starting this job in March when the new year starts. If I did not know the how great the last half of a year could be, I would have wanted to quit that week. It was hard to not have those feelings as it was. I don't even know how to explain why it was so hard either. But everyday I would get home from work and go to bed until I had to wake up the next morning and that was basically how we all survived that first week. Everything was last minute, we didn't have all of our books we needed, some students couldn't even speak English, there is no system in place, they don't know how to do the new books, you have new students, they aren't comfortable with you, you aren't used to them yet, there were new Korean teachers, new bus teachers, new classrooms, new students thrown in half way through a class, miscommunication, wrong paperwork, it was just absolutely chaos. Everyday. 

But we are now nearing the end of the first month and things are getting smoother. I didn't realize how easy it was to come in half way through the year with foundations laid already. My students knew how to do everything and it was routine. I now have to lay those foundations for my new students. For example, they still don't really know how to copy from the board and with no access to technology things take an incredibly long time to accomplish. And while I miss my old students SO much, my love for my new students is constantly increasing. 

My afternoon classes have also changed. I teach quite a few lower level classes compared to before. Here is a breakdown of my classes:

I teach two first grade classes: In one class (four of my former kinder students) I teach grammar, and language arts. In the other class I teach social studies and critical thinking. 

I teach three second grade classes: In one I teach grammar and language arts. In another I teach science and critical thinking. In the last one I teach social studies - which is actually American geography. 

I also teach a grade five class literature. In this class, we read a condensed version of a novel, discuss it, they act it out. I was excited for this class but they aren't very enthusiastic about it, so it's not as amazing as it could be. It probably doesn't help that we are reading Sense and Sensibility in a class of mostly boys. 

One thing that has remained that same is that my prep time has stayed the same which means I still leave school early on Fridays! 

And finally - my NEWS!

Some of you know this already, but for those who don't - I have extended my contract! I had been anticipating being asked to stay longer for a while so it was no surprise when I returned from my Christmas vacation and my supervisor asked me. I did not take the decision lightly, it was actually quite a hard decision for me to make and there were a lot of factors that lead me to my choice to stay. I also sought out advice from a few of you, so thank you. I have extended my contract for 7 months, which will bring me to the end of the existing school year. So instead of finishing at the end of July 2014, I will end my contract at the end of February 2015. Quite fitting as my last day will be my birthday! 

I do not feel like it's the right time for me to return to Vancouver quite yet, and there is still a lot more I want to see and experience in Korea. As well, a huge factor, I had no idea what I would do back in Vancouver. Since I made my decision a few months ago, I have made a rough plan for the next year and a half which I feel confident about. 

It's crazy to think that as of Monday, I have been here for 9 months. It's strange to think that I could have been going home in a few months. It's a bit scary to know I'm here until next February. But I am looking forward to all of the adventures, and all of the learning and growing I will do within the next year!

I will leave you with that - this weekend I am going to the Jindo Sea Parting Festival which I will post about next week. Spring weather has also arrived and I'm embracing the warm weather!

<3

The last month ...

Where do I even begin!

The last month has been extremely busy. We ended the school year, started a new one, I had my birthday and of course have been up to several fun and exciting things! My last post was about Nami Island, so let's start from after that.

The following weekend I learned to make another Korean dish - Kimbap! Kimbap is sort of like sushi but is filled with egg, ham, cucumber, radish, roots and usually artificial crab. Chris and I went over to Sunny's house to learn and eat. Sunny is one of the Korean teachers at our school that started after I arrived but we became friends quite fast. She is funny, shy and very kind-hearted.

As you can see, it turned out well! I was super surprised at how much salt there is in making kimbap, and the fact that you can't even taste it! This is definitely something that I would like to make again, and even make when I return to Vancouver. We planned to have another night of cooking together, we recently decided to do it this Saturday, this time we will teach Sunny how to make spring rolls!

That Sunday, Chris and I went to see Mamma Mia! Chris' friend works for the productions that come to Seoul and got free tickets for Chris who then invited me along. It was so much fun! It was the British cast, but they incorporated Korean elements which I thought was cool. For example, during one of the dance routines, they did the Gangnam style dance as part of their routine. We went and ate Greek food in Itaewon beforehand which I was excited for, but it wasn't as good as the Greek food you can get in Vancouver. Afterwards, Chris, Erin (the friend who got us the free tickets) and I got drinks at Blue Bridge Wine Factory. Definitely a fun Sunday. 

The last week of February was a blur. It was the last week of the school year, we had the kindergarten graduation ceremony, it was my birthday, several people left Korea as their contracts ended - so many things! I will do a separate post about the graduation ceremony, so stayed tuned for that! 

My birthday on the other hand, was a blast! The morning of my birthday was a little bit sad for me. I absolutely love celebrating my birthday and this year was the first year that I woke up to nothing special, being that I am living by myself. It was a bit strange but walking into my class and seeing that Sally not only made me a card but brought me a birthday cake made me feel so special! So that day we had a birthday party for Ashley Teacher in class. 

Then Sally and I took silly pictures together. 

 I was also given lipstick, lip gloss, a rose and a notebook from students in my afternoon classes. :)

Later in the day, I a cake was brought to me in the staffroom, from the staff, something that they do for all of the teachers.

Anie was away on my birthday, and was away for most of Friday, our last day of the school year. My supervisor Lucy, told me that Anie would be coming for the last 40 minutes of class to have a party. Both of us assumed that it was to celebrate the end of kindergarten. Anie and her mom arrived with a cake and so many snacks, only to find out that it was all for my birthday! So sweet! She missed my birthday and insisted that she come for the last 40 minutes the next day to celebrate. 

For the Friday night after my birthday, I had made reservations at ASHLEY a buffet restaurant. Making the reservation was a bit funny. I tried myself but they didn't have anyone who spoke English. So I had Chris call on my behalf as she can speak Korean! When they asked what name to put the reservation under it became very confusing as they couldn't figure out how to spell my name or understand that my name was the same as the restaurant name, so we put it under Christine instead!. I basically invited all of the friends I have made in Korea and it was a great turn out. 

Xander, Jess, Chris and Ben

Mayna, Noelia, Mel, Sarah, Xander, Joel, Jess, Chris, Ben, Kelly and Martin

Chuck, Nate, Laura and Elliot (not pictured) sat at another table as they came late

Afterwards we went for drinks at PUB210 and then went dancing at a dance club called Monkey Beach. One great memory that I have from that night is how Ben is always there to save us from unwanted attention. Ben will always pretend to be my brother and tell people to back off if I want them to, such a great friend and it was needed at Monkey Beach. 

My friend Glenn was in town that weekend as he flew back after visiting home for 3 weeks. We walked around Seoul for the day then went bowling. It's not as easy to just google where things are in Korea, most of the time, and even finding a bowling alley was a big tricky, but we were determined and eventually found it. I hadn't been bowling in quite some time and had so much fun. I love bowling and it was fun to do near my birthday, as I usually do that back home as well. We walked into the alley to find everyone dressed in pink bowling outfits - so amazing. Although we had already gone into the basement to get to the alley, there was another floor below for those not as "pro". We played three games next to a Korean family who cheered for us when we got strikes and spares and we cheered for them as well. They had a little boy we kept trying to bowl which was way to cute. 

From there, we met up with Ben, Bo (Ben's girlfriend) and Chris at Ben's new apartment in Seoul. He finished his contract at the end of February with LCI and got a new teaching job in Seoul. His apartment is nice and he has a great work set up so I'm super happy and yet a bit jealous of him. We ate pizza, drank beer, and played cards. We gave each other dares when we lost at cards, so I had to eat a pack of parmesan and then later I had to have a photoshoot with a fire extinguisher. 

We were all supposed to go out for Nate's leaving Korea celebration but Ben and Bo called it a night so Chris, Glenn and I headed out. First we met up with some of my friends at a bar called Thursday Party for my friend Tatiana's birthday. From there we went to another place to see Nate and other friends. It was a good night of seeing many people. 

The following week we started the new school year - longest week of my life. But more on that in another post as well. 

The following weekend was Ben's birthday. So Friday we planned to meet in Gangnam to go to a bar called Rainbow. Chris, Laura and I were the first to arrive in Gangnam and we were having trouble finding the place. My friend Joel, who had just gone back to Vancouver often went to Rainbow so I messaged him pictures of where we were and he gave us directions and we found it! How cool is technology these days?! The place was packed when we arrived but we decided to wait to get a spot. Eventually we were given two separate spots and then we got to move to a bigger area so we all got to sit together. Afterwards we went dancing in Sinchon.

SY, Laura, Ben, Bo, Myself and Chris

The next day was Jessica's birthday celebration. We met at Dino Meat for dinner then went to Norebang. Dino Meat is a meat buffet. All you can eat meat of different cuts of beef! It was good, but I have a favourite galbi (Korean bbq) place and so far nothing has been better than that. Honestly, I would have rather been there than Dino Meat. 

During the week, I went out for dinner and Norebang to celebrate Allison's one year in Korea. 

Martin, Myself, Reid, Allison, Heidi, Mayna, Noelia and Kelly

And finally last weekend!! 

On Friday Chris and I ventured out to check out a Hanbok cafe. Unfortunately by the time we got there, it was closed. So we decided to go to the Sheep cafe. Unfortunately again, the sheep were not there that day. So finally we decided to check out the Victorian Era cafe. So cool! It was completely decorated and we got our own private area to have tea. I loved the decor and enjoyed my Cinderella tea. The only disappointing thing was that they were playing music that didn't match up with their theme. BUT it was amazing because we got to sit on couches!! I have not sat in a couch in 8 months, it was glorious. Really it's the little things. We didn't want to leave. The place was called the Palace "where princess lives". 

There was a cute heart shaped jar on our table, so we decided to leave a note inside for the next person: "Appreciate yourself and honour your soul."

On our way home we walked by the Norebang that was on the last season of the Bachelor!

We decided we would check out the Hanbok cafe the next day before going out for the St. Patrick's day festivities. The hanbok cafe is in Insadong. You arrive, have tea, select which package you want. We decided to get the package where we get to try on a hanbok, get our make-up done and two professional pictures. A hanbok is the traditional clothing here in Korea. It was fun to get all done up! These are the two professional pictures that I got. I loved that they photoshopped my hair black to match the wonderful hair piece I wore. 

                               

We also got to take a bunch of our own photos in different areas they had set up. Of course for these ones, my hair doesn't quite match but that's okay!

From here, we celebrated St. Patrick's Day with other friends. The Irish Association here in Korea put on a big festival in Seoul. Here is a picture from there:

Stay tuned for my post on graduation, the new school year and some news!

<3