3 weeks in and beginning my fourth! Can you believe this? I am almost a month already in. They aren’t kidding when they say the time flies!
My mom left to go back to Hawaii this Sunday. As much as she has been a royal pain in my ass at times, I still shed a few tears because she has really been the biggest help to me. Now I am on my own to face the Land of the Morning Calm (Korea) with no interpretation from her. Lord help me.
I have officially been an official teacher for a week and one day now. The kids are starting to talk to me in English more and climb on me even more…like a bunch of orangutans. At first they were shy about trying to hold conversations with me, but they are getting the used to me being their new teacher now. The teacher I replaced had lived in Korea for 5 years so had picked up on the language very well. Fortunately on the kids part, that meant that the kids could ask him for something or say something and generally he would know what they were saying. As for me who currently only has a Korean vocab of about less than 20 words, I can never understand what they are asking me so they are forced to try to figure out in English. This usually just results in them pointing at the bathroom, a spoon, more rice, or just some water. Either way, it’s breaking the language barrier!
I was talking to my co-teacher, Sonny, and explained to her that the kids here are so unbelievably affectionate. I am not sure if any of the American 7 year olds would be like this, but what do I know? The minute you sit at their level, they are just hugging you, wanting to play with your hair, holding your hands—this includes boys too!! And they are so affectionate to one another. I constantly look over and see the students hugging each other or having their arm around each other like they are the best of buds. I have had students who want to kiss me goodbye, which about makes me melt, but I just couldn’t believe their attachment with people here. Sonny explained to me since most of the kids that attend the school have well off parents, they have busy jobs that require them to be gone a lot and the kids are usually the only child. She thinks they just crave the attention when any is offered to them.
I was talking to Lindsay, a friend of mine who is a teacher in the states, about how these young kids get so excited about the littlest things. It is just so innocent when they get so excited that you drew a smiley face on their paper and they start showing all their friends like I just gave them a celebrity signature. The minute I tell them they are able to color something, there is no chance of getting my class under control for at least a good thirty minutes. They LOVE to color! I let them make butterflies today with a clothespin and 2 pieces of colored tissue paper. I swear, they could have been entertained for hours on end with these things. They were throwing them in the air and showing their friends, and were sincerely so happy and intent with the cheapest craft ever.
Furthermore, last Friday I also found out that my co-teacher, Sonny, is pregnant! She was a little shocked but she is happy to be pregnant. She already has the cutest little girl and she is hoping for another one although her husband is rooting for a boy of course. I am excited because she is only 5 weeks in and she is supposedly due in April or May which means I will see the whole 9 month pregnancy! It made me think of you Erika! :-)
I found a gym and went to it today for the first time. Possibly the nicest gym I have ever been to! Surprisingly I have packed on a few pounds while I have been here. Must be that white rice…ugh. Instead of eating my occasional 5 piece taco meal, indulging in a whole pizza, or hitting up the local Chinese buffet, I have been mainly just been eating a lot of rice, meat, and vegetables. Unfortunately, one of my co-workers said that the side dishes and a lot of the meals Koreans serve here are high in sugars because of all the sauces they put on everything. All these skinny Korean girls just must be immune to this food then! Hmph! It doesn’t help that Koreans LOVE to eat here… so you know what they say…”When in Rome…”
I am still in the “getting to know people” stage and it is sinking into me lately how much I miss talking to someone that just knows me and I don’t have to tiptoe around the conversation so they don’t think that I come off too strong. I know I am only 3 weeks in and it will take time, but I always wish I would have someone to experience this with me right now.
There is a possible hiking trip in the works so hopefully I will be reporting to you about that soon!
P.S. Did you know they DELIVER McDonalds here???? All the delivery men here ride mopeds so occasionally I see a moped with a McDonald’s logo on the back. Incredible. Not sure if they have a minimum delivery balance, but it would be cool to see if they would deliver me a 1$ McChicken right to my front doorstep!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
You Tube of my Apartment
A lot of people have been requesting pictures of my apartment. I finally put up pictures on facebook and have made a video as well! Now you all can get the virtual tour. It's no MTV Cribs, but it will do. Copy the URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDyjuJoGrCc
Smooth Sailin'
I have officially been here two weeks and fortunately haven’t had any emotional breakdowns…yet. I know I keep saying this but I still can’t seem to get the grip that I am going to be here for a YEAR! I told my dad I was about 2 weeks in and he goes “Well you have about 50 more to go!”.
I am really surprised I have had such a good attitude about everything. It usually doesn’t take long for me to not like something and in my past short visits to Korea, I would have been wanting to catch the next flight home by the first few days. I am not sure if it is because of the city I am in or the excitement of it all, but I have a lot more tolerance for it all now. I have never lived in New York City, but if I ever did, this is what I would envision it to be minus the Korean language everywhere and the fish cakes on a stick. I love the city lights, the fashion, back to back little shops, and being close to just about anything I would ever need. I am not going to get ahead of myself because I am prepared for it all to hit me at once and sure enough I will be calling a few of you crying how much I miss home. Haha, but let’s hope it takes me awhile to get to that point or hopefully never to that extreme!
One thing I am going to master when I get back to the states is my walking aggressiveness. I am going to come back as one mean walking machine. It’s like playing the game chicken when walking on the streets here. You will be coming HEAD ON with the person coming towards you and technically you both are supposed to get out of each other’s way which would be the courteous thing to do! But in Korea, no matter what, it is YOU that better get out because sure enough, they are not backing down on the walking chicken race. I have had quite a few people shoo me to go the other way around them as if I------- am the one that is supposed to move around them. So needless to say, I have become quite aggressive and have been winning at a few of these walking chicken races. Anyone who doesn’t move when they are walking towards me might just get a slight elbow jab in the chest. :-)
Last Friday my coworkers took me out to dinner close by my apartment to an area called “Meat Street”. Appetizing sounding, I know. Haha, but it really is delicious! It is basically a long street filled with restaurants that allow you to cook your own meat. It is basically like your own bbq. The meat is always seasoned perfectly. There are always anywhere from two to twelve side dishes included that are called (banchan) that make the meal all well worth the money. I found out more about my co-workers which was really nice. They told me more about the school and the Korean culture and the things they have learned so far while they have been here. They decided to take me out to a few places to have a few drinks and do some dancing. The night turned out to be very fun. I discovered where all the foreigners were hiding out at in the city of Ilsan, and that is… the bars. One thing that I absolutely LOVE about Korea so far is the fact that you don’t tip here! When they tell you your meal is 14,000 won (roughly $14), then it is ONLY 14,000 won. Same for a drink, taxi cab, and delivery. It is amazing and extremely convenient for me and my wallet!
Today was my first day of having the class as my own official class. I am still getting used to how to teach the language and trying to figure out what my students are capable of. I know I will get used to it, but it is stressful wondering if you are doing something right. The school doesn’t give us much direction on how to teach. They just want us to make sure we are teaching them English! My Korean co-teacher, Sonny, just always stresses that all teachers basically need to do is make sure the kids are having fun as well. I may be rusty at teaching the students, but I do know how to goof around and have fun so no problems in that area. Here are a few pictures of my little kiddies!
I recently found out that all the parents pay about 1,000,000 won (roughly $1,000) a month for their little 6-14 year old to learn English. I can’t imagine paying that much till they were ready to go to college and then paying for the college tuition as well! It just gives you idea how much people value education here. I have another Korean teacher named Rebecca, who is looking to further her education in America. When I asked her what city she would like to move in she said her lifelong dream has been to move to New York City ever since she started watching Friends. She explained to me that she dreams about living in this city because of the sitcom and learned a large majority of her English because of the show! It was funny to hear how she has been inspired by this show and cute at the same time. The even funnier part is she probably has the best English from a Korean I have heard since I have been here. Thank you “Friends”.
I am really surprised I have had such a good attitude about everything. It usually doesn’t take long for me to not like something and in my past short visits to Korea, I would have been wanting to catch the next flight home by the first few days. I am not sure if it is because of the city I am in or the excitement of it all, but I have a lot more tolerance for it all now. I have never lived in New York City, but if I ever did, this is what I would envision it to be minus the Korean language everywhere and the fish cakes on a stick. I love the city lights, the fashion, back to back little shops, and being close to just about anything I would ever need. I am not going to get ahead of myself because I am prepared for it all to hit me at once and sure enough I will be calling a few of you crying how much I miss home. Haha, but let’s hope it takes me awhile to get to that point or hopefully never to that extreme!
One thing I am going to master when I get back to the states is my walking aggressiveness. I am going to come back as one mean walking machine. It’s like playing the game chicken when walking on the streets here. You will be coming HEAD ON with the person coming towards you and technically you both are supposed to get out of each other’s way which would be the courteous thing to do! But in Korea, no matter what, it is YOU that better get out because sure enough, they are not backing down on the walking chicken race. I have had quite a few people shoo me to go the other way around them as if I------- am the one that is supposed to move around them. So needless to say, I have become quite aggressive and have been winning at a few of these walking chicken races. Anyone who doesn’t move when they are walking towards me might just get a slight elbow jab in the chest. :-)
Last Friday my coworkers took me out to dinner close by my apartment to an area called “Meat Street”. Appetizing sounding, I know. Haha, but it really is delicious! It is basically a long street filled with restaurants that allow you to cook your own meat. It is basically like your own bbq. The meat is always seasoned perfectly. There are always anywhere from two to twelve side dishes included that are called (banchan) that make the meal all well worth the money. I found out more about my co-workers which was really nice. They told me more about the school and the Korean culture and the things they have learned so far while they have been here. They decided to take me out to a few places to have a few drinks and do some dancing. The night turned out to be very fun. I discovered where all the foreigners were hiding out at in the city of Ilsan, and that is… the bars. One thing that I absolutely LOVE about Korea so far is the fact that you don’t tip here! When they tell you your meal is 14,000 won (roughly $14), then it is ONLY 14,000 won. Same for a drink, taxi cab, and delivery. It is amazing and extremely convenient for me and my wallet!
Today was my first day of having the class as my own official class. I am still getting used to how to teach the language and trying to figure out what my students are capable of. I know I will get used to it, but it is stressful wondering if you are doing something right. The school doesn’t give us much direction on how to teach. They just want us to make sure we are teaching them English! My Korean co-teacher, Sonny, just always stresses that all teachers basically need to do is make sure the kids are having fun as well. I may be rusty at teaching the students, but I do know how to goof around and have fun so no problems in that area. Here are a few pictures of my little kiddies!
I recently found out that all the parents pay about 1,000,000 won (roughly $1,000) a month for their little 6-14 year old to learn English. I can’t imagine paying that much till they were ready to go to college and then paying for the college tuition as well! It just gives you idea how much people value education here. I have another Korean teacher named Rebecca, who is looking to further her education in America. When I asked her what city she would like to move in she said her lifelong dream has been to move to New York City ever since she started watching Friends. She explained to me that she dreams about living in this city because of the sitcom and learned a large majority of her English because of the show! It was funny to hear how she has been inspired by this show and cute at the same time. The even funnier part is she probably has the best English from a Korean I have heard since I have been here. Thank you “Friends”.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Amanda Teacher
I am officially 3 days in now teaching and although it is a career choice I probably never would have considered for myself, I enjoy it… mainly because the kids are seriously so damn cute! Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I work from 9-6. Tuesdays and Thursdays I work from 9-4:20. Surprisingly, the day goes by fast and from what everyone says, so will the weeks. I have a class of 12 students consisted of 5 boys and 7 girls. The beginning of the morning starts off with all the kids coming and handing in homework. In the morning they have a snack provided by the school while I grade the homework and have them read to me all their sentences they wrote. There are different workbooks done till lunch time.
The nice thing that I won’t have to worry about is bringing my own lunch. Unlike most of the teachers at the school, I actually like what they serve! The past few days they have had rice, kimchi, tofu, spiced vegetables, fruit slices, soup, and noodles as just some of the different foods they have been serving for lunch. There are three homeroom classes for English and I know my class and I were meant to be because my class eats the most. Haha! The past few days I have been here we have had to go to the other classes to mooch off their leftovers. My co-teacher, Sonny, says that my class does eat the most and they eat very well. So I can’t help it to give them a big heaping mound of kimchi when they come up to me in their cute Korean accents saying “Amanda Teacher, more please!” while holding their tin tray towards me. After lunch we continue with different teachings. The whole morning till 2:30 consists of workbook lessons, singing and dancing class, cooking class, and drama class. The kindies favorite things to do are drama class and singing and dancing class. The first day I was able to help teach, we acted out The Three Little Pigs. They can’t technically act but you walk them through it and it is just as good. I wish I could have videotaped some of them saying “not by the hair on my chinny chin chin!”.
Next week, they are starting to put me in charge of going to the homeroom classes to teach art and cooking! What could be better than food and crafts?
After 2:30, the elementary kids come and I usually have 2 or 4 classes depending on the day teaching the elementary kids. These classes are much smaller usually consisting anywhere from 2-6 kids. Tomorrow will be Friday and then Monday I will officially be the homeroom teacher for my class. I am still learning things about the school system and the people that work there. The Korean and the American teachers have just been unbelievably nice. They are all so sweet and constantly are asking me how I am doing and how I like Korea. Did I mention how cute the kids are? I know I have… but I just want to say it again! Haha, there is seriously NOT ONE that isn’t cute. Must be the Asian eyes but they all seriously melt your heart. By the second day they were already jumping on me and giving me hugs and presents. I am still getting used to being called “Amanda Teacher” all the time, but I know it will grow on me. They are extremely curious because they know there is a new teacher in the building so throughout the day I will have random kids from the school peeking in the windows or popping their head in to see me.
I am hoping once I get on a routine that I will be doing videos and pictures of my classroom and the kids. So stay tuned!
The nice thing that I won’t have to worry about is bringing my own lunch. Unlike most of the teachers at the school, I actually like what they serve! The past few days they have had rice, kimchi, tofu, spiced vegetables, fruit slices, soup, and noodles as just some of the different foods they have been serving for lunch. There are three homeroom classes for English and I know my class and I were meant to be because my class eats the most. Haha! The past few days I have been here we have had to go to the other classes to mooch off their leftovers. My co-teacher, Sonny, says that my class does eat the most and they eat very well. So I can’t help it to give them a big heaping mound of kimchi when they come up to me in their cute Korean accents saying “Amanda Teacher, more please!” while holding their tin tray towards me. After lunch we continue with different teachings. The whole morning till 2:30 consists of workbook lessons, singing and dancing class, cooking class, and drama class. The kindies favorite things to do are drama class and singing and dancing class. The first day I was able to help teach, we acted out The Three Little Pigs. They can’t technically act but you walk them through it and it is just as good. I wish I could have videotaped some of them saying “not by the hair on my chinny chin chin!”.
Next week, they are starting to put me in charge of going to the homeroom classes to teach art and cooking! What could be better than food and crafts?
After 2:30, the elementary kids come and I usually have 2 or 4 classes depending on the day teaching the elementary kids. These classes are much smaller usually consisting anywhere from 2-6 kids. Tomorrow will be Friday and then Monday I will officially be the homeroom teacher for my class. I am still learning things about the school system and the people that work there. The Korean and the American teachers have just been unbelievably nice. They are all so sweet and constantly are asking me how I am doing and how I like Korea. Did I mention how cute the kids are? I know I have… but I just want to say it again! Haha, there is seriously NOT ONE that isn’t cute. Must be the Asian eyes but they all seriously melt your heart. By the second day they were already jumping on me and giving me hugs and presents. I am still getting used to being called “Amanda Teacher” all the time, but I know it will grow on me. They are extremely curious because they know there is a new teacher in the building so throughout the day I will have random kids from the school peeking in the windows or popping their head in to see me.
I am hoping once I get on a routine that I will be doing videos and pictures of my classroom and the kids. So stay tuned!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
You Learn Something New Everyday
Last Wednesday I was finally united with my Mom and my aunt also known as Oma (mom) and Emo (aunt) in Korean! We went shopping for a few things I needed for my apartment and when we came back they went to town on cleaning my apartment. I knew the apartment looked old but my mom and aunt were disgusted by the way it looked. eek! A few things I learned that day:
1. If you know me, you know I HATE recycling. I know it’s good for the environment but it is a pain in my butt. Well with my luck, I happened to move to a country that REQUIRES you to recycle. I have to separate my food, boxes, and then regular trash into different bags. Then once I separate those, I have to go downstairs where I sort through my trash even MORE because there are specific bins for all the different bottles, cans, glasses, and jugs. Oy. Maybe I will have a new found love of recycling when I get back into the states, but I highly doubt it. Wishful thinking Dad
2. There are a lot of good things thrown away in Korea. If Koreans don’t need something, they don’t want to sell it, they just want to get rid of it. So when you go by the dumpsters in Korea, you will find a lot of good things on the side such as tables, chairs, tvs, etc. Many foreign teachers who usually stay here for a short time will usually set their furniture out to be thrown but are treasures to the new foreign teachers moving in.
3. I usually don’t eat the American food here because it’s not the same. But if you ever are craving something from your homeland, Costco’s concession stands still have great pizza and hotdogs!
Afterwards my mom and aunt took me hostage (pun intended) for a few days to Seoul where my great grandmother and grandfather live, and where my mom has been staying. During my time there we shopped some more for my apartment. Although my mom has a way of getting on my last nerve, she has the biggest heart. I feel like the luckiest English teacher here. She has really done everything she can to make my apartment feel like home. She set me up with a new cell phone, showed me what all the Korean writing means on all my appliances, bought me a brand new t.v. and some furniture, and has just been my life saver all in all.
Unfortunately, I was living in a Korean house straight out of the movies where you had to sleep on the floor with no air conditioner in 80 degree weather all the time. It was rough, but I survived. We had went to dinner one night with a couple that were my mom’s good family friends. The dinner entrées were a little much for me to take. I really do try to taste everything when I am here, but there are a few things that I draw the line. The husband of the couple handed me a large fried fish about the size of my hand with head and all. When I went to go take a bite, a massive amount of fish eggs came pouring out of its body! That was a no-go for me. The restaurant also served us the raw insides of the fish on a bed of rice noodles which the husband of the couple popped in his mouth like popcorn. Needless to say, I mainly ate a squid pancake all night. Yummmm haha
The last day before I went back to Ilsan, my mom’s entire side of the family went to this large river resort where we set up a tent and had a picnic and played in the clearest water. My mom’s sister in law has two little boys named Sung-ha and Sung-hu. They are going to English summer school right now so throughout my stay with them, they thought it was fun to use English words around me which was so adorable. The vocabulary mainly consisted of no, yes, thank you, hello, etc. At one point I was trying to teach them the difference between pretty and ugly and after that they thought it was funny to say “You-are-UGLY!” to their mom all day. Haha
A few other things I have learned about Korea so far:
1. Koreans are health nuts! Everything Koreans do, eat, and buy seems solely based on their health. They are concerned about taking their vitamins all the time and making sure everything they eat is good for them. This probably explains why my 92 year old great grandmother was still kickin’ it and was probably more active than I was when staying there. I even saw a face roller that is used to roll on your face to exercise your face to make it slimmer. Hopefully some of this health craze will rub off on me!
2. The first night I arrived in Seoul my mom’s family wanted to take me to dinner to celebrate me being here. I learned there are specific rules to drinking in Korea. In Korea you should not pour your own drink. It is customary for others to pour your drink for you and for you to pour for them. Whether you pour using one or both hands is important. If the person for whom you are pouring is older than you or of higher status, then you should pour holding the bottle with two hands, otherwise pour with one hand. This is extremely different for me because my family was placing their empty cups in front of me waiting for me to pour for them. I had read about this before but didn’t think it was so implemented!
3. Customer service here is amazing! There are people in every isle of every store waiting to help you. There are always super happy greeters at all the stores that take a long bow when you come in. I noticed in the grocery store that whenever someone got something without a label instead of the customer going to go get the price code, the cashier would run and go get it for them. They always throw in something for free as well! We went to go get gas and the man who pumped our gas just decided to give us 2 free bottles of water with our gas. They just seem to go the extra mile here.
4. Everything is a race here whether it is getting on the elevator, the escalator, getting in line, getting on the bus, even just getting into a door. No one can wait for the next person. My aunt who lives here told me people do treat life like a race here because everyone is so busy they don’t have time for waiting-in-line manners.
I wish I would have had access to my computer over the last few days so I could have written about everything. Everything seems like a blur now looking back. My blog for my first day of school will soon be coming.
1. If you know me, you know I HATE recycling. I know it’s good for the environment but it is a pain in my butt. Well with my luck, I happened to move to a country that REQUIRES you to recycle. I have to separate my food, boxes, and then regular trash into different bags. Then once I separate those, I have to go downstairs where I sort through my trash even MORE because there are specific bins for all the different bottles, cans, glasses, and jugs. Oy. Maybe I will have a new found love of recycling when I get back into the states, but I highly doubt it. Wishful thinking Dad
2. There are a lot of good things thrown away in Korea. If Koreans don’t need something, they don’t want to sell it, they just want to get rid of it. So when you go by the dumpsters in Korea, you will find a lot of good things on the side such as tables, chairs, tvs, etc. Many foreign teachers who usually stay here for a short time will usually set their furniture out to be thrown but are treasures to the new foreign teachers moving in.
3. I usually don’t eat the American food here because it’s not the same. But if you ever are craving something from your homeland, Costco’s concession stands still have great pizza and hotdogs!
Afterwards my mom and aunt took me hostage (pun intended) for a few days to Seoul where my great grandmother and grandfather live, and where my mom has been staying. During my time there we shopped some more for my apartment. Although my mom has a way of getting on my last nerve, she has the biggest heart. I feel like the luckiest English teacher here. She has really done everything she can to make my apartment feel like home. She set me up with a new cell phone, showed me what all the Korean writing means on all my appliances, bought me a brand new t.v. and some furniture, and has just been my life saver all in all.
Unfortunately, I was living in a Korean house straight out of the movies where you had to sleep on the floor with no air conditioner in 80 degree weather all the time. It was rough, but I survived. We had went to dinner one night with a couple that were my mom’s good family friends. The dinner entrées were a little much for me to take. I really do try to taste everything when I am here, but there are a few things that I draw the line. The husband of the couple handed me a large fried fish about the size of my hand with head and all. When I went to go take a bite, a massive amount of fish eggs came pouring out of its body! That was a no-go for me. The restaurant also served us the raw insides of the fish on a bed of rice noodles which the husband of the couple popped in his mouth like popcorn. Needless to say, I mainly ate a squid pancake all night. Yummmm haha
The last day before I went back to Ilsan, my mom’s entire side of the family went to this large river resort where we set up a tent and had a picnic and played in the clearest water. My mom’s sister in law has two little boys named Sung-ha and Sung-hu. They are going to English summer school right now so throughout my stay with them, they thought it was fun to use English words around me which was so adorable. The vocabulary mainly consisted of no, yes, thank you, hello, etc. At one point I was trying to teach them the difference between pretty and ugly and after that they thought it was funny to say “You-are-UGLY!” to their mom all day. Haha
A few other things I have learned about Korea so far:
1. Koreans are health nuts! Everything Koreans do, eat, and buy seems solely based on their health. They are concerned about taking their vitamins all the time and making sure everything they eat is good for them. This probably explains why my 92 year old great grandmother was still kickin’ it and was probably more active than I was when staying there. I even saw a face roller that is used to roll on your face to exercise your face to make it slimmer. Hopefully some of this health craze will rub off on me!
2. The first night I arrived in Seoul my mom’s family wanted to take me to dinner to celebrate me being here. I learned there are specific rules to drinking in Korea. In Korea you should not pour your own drink. It is customary for others to pour your drink for you and for you to pour for them. Whether you pour using one or both hands is important. If the person for whom you are pouring is older than you or of higher status, then you should pour holding the bottle with two hands, otherwise pour with one hand. This is extremely different for me because my family was placing their empty cups in front of me waiting for me to pour for them. I had read about this before but didn’t think it was so implemented!
3. Customer service here is amazing! There are people in every isle of every store waiting to help you. There are always super happy greeters at all the stores that take a long bow when you come in. I noticed in the grocery store that whenever someone got something without a label instead of the customer going to go get the price code, the cashier would run and go get it for them. They always throw in something for free as well! We went to go get gas and the man who pumped our gas just decided to give us 2 free bottles of water with our gas. They just seem to go the extra mile here.
4. Everything is a race here whether it is getting on the elevator, the escalator, getting in line, getting on the bus, even just getting into a door. No one can wait for the next person. My aunt who lives here told me people do treat life like a race here because everyone is so busy they don’t have time for waiting-in-line manners.
I wish I would have had access to my computer over the last few days so I could have written about everything. Everything seems like a blur now looking back. My blog for my first day of school will soon be coming.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Reality Check
Today was my first reality check of living here in Korea.
This morning I was picked up by one of the managers from the school where he took me to the nearest bank to set up an account. I got my money converted and officially have a Korean bank account! Wahoo! Here I am with a few crisp Korean wons!
After the bank, my manager told me we would do the health check tomorrow which I was glad. I definitely could wait another day to get jabbed at by a needle. I attempted to call my mom at the 2 phone numbers she gave me to call and neither of them worked. Great. Now I was stuck in this 10x10 apartment with no internet, tv,phone, or any idea how to order some food! For those who know me, I do NOT do well without internet. Haha. My computer had no more battery life yet and I still hadn’t found a converter to use with it in hopes my mom would be able to help me in that department. So with nothing to do, I decided I would trudge outside into the city to see if I could find one myself. I went into every store near my apartment that may have looked like they sold electronics, I went to drug stores, and I went into places I didn’t even know what they were selling. Everyone thought I was crazy. Each Korean I spoke to went something like this:
Me: “Annyong haseyo! Do – you- have- converters?
Korean: “uh…..” *tilts head*
Me: “Korean to American plug” *does jabbing motion to illustrate plug*
Korean: “uh….” *does a goodbye waving motion*
One girl whipped out her cellphone which I am guessing had a translation feature and STILL didn’t know what I was talking about. I had read in my research about Ilsan that if you wanted to see Americans, your best bet would be to sit at Starbucks. Sure enough, I walked in and there was an American man with his Korean wife. Although it was refreshing to talk to someone who understood the words that were coming out of my mouth, he couldn’t remember where he got his converters at and didn’t know where else to tell me to look. I gave up and settled for a vanilla frappuchino and a cream cheese bagel.
I finished the Chelsea Handler book and am now onto Twilight ladies! I had only gotten a few pages in because the internet man finally came and installed my internet. Thank god! And get this- I explained to him that he wouldn’t be able to work on my computer because I had no power and didn’t have a converter to plug in. He said he would be right back and came back about 30 minutes later with converters that he said he went out and bought! I offered to pay but he refused. That is like the cable man coming in to set up your cables and realizes you need a surge protector and then runs out and buys one for you! Not only was I happy with the gesture but I finally have contact with the outside world now! Tomorrow is my appointment for the health check and hopefully I am able to see my mom.
This morning I was picked up by one of the managers from the school where he took me to the nearest bank to set up an account. I got my money converted and officially have a Korean bank account! Wahoo! Here I am with a few crisp Korean wons!
After the bank, my manager told me we would do the health check tomorrow which I was glad. I definitely could wait another day to get jabbed at by a needle. I attempted to call my mom at the 2 phone numbers she gave me to call and neither of them worked. Great. Now I was stuck in this 10x10 apartment with no internet, tv,phone, or any idea how to order some food! For those who know me, I do NOT do well without internet. Haha. My computer had no more battery life yet and I still hadn’t found a converter to use with it in hopes my mom would be able to help me in that department. So with nothing to do, I decided I would trudge outside into the city to see if I could find one myself. I went into every store near my apartment that may have looked like they sold electronics, I went to drug stores, and I went into places I didn’t even know what they were selling. Everyone thought I was crazy. Each Korean I spoke to went something like this:
Me: “Annyong haseyo! Do – you- have- converters?
Korean: “uh…..” *tilts head*
Me: “Korean to American plug” *does jabbing motion to illustrate plug*
Korean: “uh….” *does a goodbye waving motion*
One girl whipped out her cellphone which I am guessing had a translation feature and STILL didn’t know what I was talking about. I had read in my research about Ilsan that if you wanted to see Americans, your best bet would be to sit at Starbucks. Sure enough, I walked in and there was an American man with his Korean wife. Although it was refreshing to talk to someone who understood the words that were coming out of my mouth, he couldn’t remember where he got his converters at and didn’t know where else to tell me to look. I gave up and settled for a vanilla frappuchino and a cream cheese bagel.
I finished the Chelsea Handler book and am now onto Twilight ladies! I had only gotten a few pages in because the internet man finally came and installed my internet. Thank god! And get this- I explained to him that he wouldn’t be able to work on my computer because I had no power and didn’t have a converter to plug in. He said he would be right back and came back about 30 minutes later with converters that he said he went out and bought! I offered to pay but he refused. That is like the cable man coming in to set up your cables and realizes you need a surge protector and then runs out and buys one for you! Not only was I happy with the gesture but I finally have contact with the outside world now! Tomorrow is my appointment for the health check and hopefully I am able to see my mom.
Favorite Things from Home
Hey Guys!
This is my first youtube video I have made for the beginning of my Korea adventures. It is dedicated to all my friends and family. Check it out!
Copy the URL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGx16LnG4eQ
This is my first youtube video I have made for the beginning of my Korea adventures. It is dedicated to all my friends and family. Check it out!
Copy the URL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGx16LnG4eQ
Monday, August 10, 2009
Annyong haseyo! (Hello!)
Well I have officially survived my first day in Korea. Fortunately I did not have to exactly start teaching the first day I arrived, thank god. The teacher I will be replacing showed me the ropes to his classroom and I got to meet my little nuggets. I have 12 cute little Asian 7 year olds all eager to learn my native language! Raymond, the English teacher I will be replacing, introduced me to the kids and let me do an introduction of myself. It took me a few minutes to explain to them I was from INDIAN-A and not Indians. All the girls in the classroom are so sweet…as for the boys, there were a few I already wanted to drop kick. But all in all, I am excited to start my first official day! Luckily, my boss felt bad I had just landed in and since my apartment wasn’t cleaned up yet, they put me in a hotel for the middle of the day to get some rest and wait till my apartment would be ready to move in the evening.
The hotel they set me up in was very nice and I am pretty sure a “love motel”. Most hotels in Korea are more geared towards couples who want to get a room together. Everything was very couple oriented and was made to be very swank and romantic. I didn’t care because I just wanted a place I could lay down in some air condition (it is very HUMID here). This is a clip of the place I stayed at which was Hotel Boutique K. Copy the URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZlaQ_2FK7M
Around 6, they picked me up from the hotel and took me to my apartment. The director and a few of the people that work in the office for the school were in there setting up my bed and had already bought me food, pans, a comforter, and even some bathroom slippers! The apartment isn’t too bad. You can tell it’s very old. The building feels like a dorm to me. The hallways are very long and there are always a few doors that are always open. I live in a GREAT location though. I am smack dab in the busy part of the city where everything is literally at my fingertips. I am able to walk right down and step outside and there is a 24 hour convenient store. The city is still new so it is a very clean area. I will be doing a youtube clip to show you the apartment once I get more settled in.
After we were done setting up my apartment, Kim, an English teacher at my school who is from Georgia, showed me the ropes of the city! She also lives in my building so that will be nice to know someone else lives here. She took me out to dinner where we had this large dish with chicken, potatoes, vegetables, and noodles sautéed in a spicy sauce. She told me a lot about the school, the city, and just how to get around. I unpacked tonight and got a little more situated. Fortunately, the school is still allowing me to have a week off because of the threat of the swine flu here which means I have some more time to get settled in. My mom is here in Korea waiting to see me and help me with everything which I am EXTREMELY thankful for because I know she will help me out so much. Tomorrow they are taking me to get a health check which I am VERY nervous about because there is a blood test involved and not only have I never given blood before, but I haven’t had a needle stuck in me for awhile and was almost starting to forget how uncomfortable it is. After that, they are taking me to the bank and then hopefully I will be meeting up with my mom. Should be a busy day.
The hotel they set me up in was very nice and I am pretty sure a “love motel”. Most hotels in Korea are more geared towards couples who want to get a room together. Everything was very couple oriented and was made to be very swank and romantic. I didn’t care because I just wanted a place I could lay down in some air condition (it is very HUMID here). This is a clip of the place I stayed at which was Hotel Boutique K. Copy the URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZlaQ_2FK7M
Around 6, they picked me up from the hotel and took me to my apartment. The director and a few of the people that work in the office for the school were in there setting up my bed and had already bought me food, pans, a comforter, and even some bathroom slippers! The apartment isn’t too bad. You can tell it’s very old. The building feels like a dorm to me. The hallways are very long and there are always a few doors that are always open. I live in a GREAT location though. I am smack dab in the busy part of the city where everything is literally at my fingertips. I am able to walk right down and step outside and there is a 24 hour convenient store. The city is still new so it is a very clean area. I will be doing a youtube clip to show you the apartment once I get more settled in.
After we were done setting up my apartment, Kim, an English teacher at my school who is from Georgia, showed me the ropes of the city! She also lives in my building so that will be nice to know someone else lives here. She took me out to dinner where we had this large dish with chicken, potatoes, vegetables, and noodles sautéed in a spicy sauce. She told me a lot about the school, the city, and just how to get around. I unpacked tonight and got a little more situated. Fortunately, the school is still allowing me to have a week off because of the threat of the swine flu here which means I have some more time to get settled in. My mom is here in Korea waiting to see me and help me with everything which I am EXTREMELY thankful for because I know she will help me out so much. Tomorrow they are taking me to get a health check which I am VERY nervous about because there is a blood test involved and not only have I never given blood before, but I haven’t had a needle stuck in me for awhile and was almost starting to forget how uncomfortable it is. After that, they are taking me to the bank and then hopefully I will be meeting up with my mom. Should be a busy day.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Finally Here In Korea
After a long two and half hour drive to the Chicago airport, $100 in excess baggage fees, and a 13 hour flight, I am finally here!!!
My flight was at 1:00 AM on Sunday. My sister and her boyfriend Justin dropped me off at the airport around 10:00 on Saturday night. I checked in and was told I had to take a few things out of my luggage, of course. Luckily my sister was there to take back a few t-shirts I had to take out. When I checked in the gentleman at the desk was nice to ask if I wanted an isle or window seat. I requested an isle because nothing is worse than being on a 13 hour flight and having to hold your pee because the people next to you are in a peaceful slumber. Unfortunately the only isle seat left was next to a baby so I settled with a window seat.
Once we got in the air we had a choice of steak or a korean dish called bibimbap. Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE bibimbap. It is a korean dish that is made up of rice and vegetables and mixed with a hot pepper paste. Delish. I slept most of the flight and then read the my book by Chelsea Handler (sorry Christine and Laura... I know I said I would start Twilight, but I was biting at the bit to read Chelsea Handler's book and get a good laugh, but I promise, I WILL read it). Once I landed I was greeted by a little asian man that was waiting for me that had a sign up that read "Amanda Susan Basile". I felt like a celebrity. I wanted to take his picture so bad but he was in a hurry to get me out of there and didn't speak a lick of english. Needless to say it was a long silent one hour drive to my school.
That is where I am currently at now. It is going to be a loooong day. I just got off a 13 hour flight and now I am going to be thrown in the with the sharks on my very first day. I got here very early so we are just waiting on the other teachers to be coming around 9. After school today I am guessing they will be taking me to my apartment which I am very anxious to see.
So far the reality of all this hasn't hit me yet. I am still taking it all in. I think I am going to get off and explore the school a little bit now. I'll keep you all posted!
My flight was at 1:00 AM on Sunday. My sister and her boyfriend Justin dropped me off at the airport around 10:00 on Saturday night. I checked in and was told I had to take a few things out of my luggage, of course. Luckily my sister was there to take back a few t-shirts I had to take out. When I checked in the gentleman at the desk was nice to ask if I wanted an isle or window seat. I requested an isle because nothing is worse than being on a 13 hour flight and having to hold your pee because the people next to you are in a peaceful slumber. Unfortunately the only isle seat left was next to a baby so I settled with a window seat.
Once we got in the air we had a choice of steak or a korean dish called bibimbap. Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE bibimbap. It is a korean dish that is made up of rice and vegetables and mixed with a hot pepper paste. Delish. I slept most of the flight and then read the my book by Chelsea Handler (sorry Christine and Laura... I know I said I would start Twilight, but I was biting at the bit to read Chelsea Handler's book and get a good laugh, but I promise, I WILL read it). Once I landed I was greeted by a little asian man that was waiting for me that had a sign up that read "Amanda Susan Basile". I felt like a celebrity. I wanted to take his picture so bad but he was in a hurry to get me out of there and didn't speak a lick of english. Needless to say it was a long silent one hour drive to my school.
That is where I am currently at now. It is going to be a loooong day. I just got off a 13 hour flight and now I am going to be thrown in the with the sharks on my very first day. I got here very early so we are just waiting on the other teachers to be coming around 9. After school today I am guessing they will be taking me to my apartment which I am very anxious to see.
So far the reality of all this hasn't hit me yet. I am still taking it all in. I think I am going to get off and explore the school a little bit now. I'll keep you all posted!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Packing for the Year
So I finally got word that I am officially leaving Sunday morning and will be arriving in Korea Monday morning! Eeek! Every now and then I have those “WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING?!?!?!?!” moments but I manage to pass through them. One of my major concerns right now is how I am going to magically cram one year worth of all my belongings into two suitcases and try to make them under 50 pounds. I have already come to the conclusion that no matter what, I WILL pay the excess baggage fee. To my friends and family who know me too well, one of the first questions they asked was “How are YOU, out of ALL people, going to pack for this??” Now if you know me well, you know that I am NOT a light packer. I just so happen to be one of those people who like to pack a few extra things… just in case. I am still waiting the day I am proven right when my friends and I are stranded on a desert island and the extra curling iron and massive amount of jewelry I decided to pack are used as survival tools on the island. Here is just a glimpse of my attempt to pack my life into two (what seem to be) SMALL suitcases. Try not to laugh… 
Trust me, everything I have in there is a NECESSITY! After a test trial of trying to see if I could close both suitcases, I was forced to leave of some of my favorite things behind: my steamer which would have made each of my shirts look fresh and neat, my robe which I would probably walk around in all day if I could, my snuggy (the best invention ever), and a new Brookstone nap blanket my friend gave to me. Those are to just name a few, trust me…there were plenty of other sacrifices. It probably doesn’t help that I had to pack a year worth of deodorant since apparently Asians don’t sweat very much which I unfortunately never got that gene and I also had to pack a large amount of my shoes because I DID get the big foot gene which Korea doesn’t cater much to.
Tomorrow I will be driving back to Chicago to pick up my stamped visa and then I will officially be ready for Korea. I thought this time would never come, but now that it is happening, it is all happening so fast. The only thing I will have left to do is say my goodbyes.
Trust me, everything I have in there is a NECESSITY! After a test trial of trying to see if I could close both suitcases, I was forced to leave of some of my favorite things behind: my steamer which would have made each of my shirts look fresh and neat, my robe which I would probably walk around in all day if I could, my snuggy (the best invention ever), and a new Brookstone nap blanket my friend gave to me. Those are to just name a few, trust me…there were plenty of other sacrifices. It probably doesn’t help that I had to pack a year worth of deodorant since apparently Asians don’t sweat very much which I unfortunately never got that gene and I also had to pack a large amount of my shoes because I DID get the big foot gene which Korea doesn’t cater much to.
Tomorrow I will be driving back to Chicago to pick up my stamped visa and then I will officially be ready for Korea. I thought this time would never come, but now that it is happening, it is all happening so fast. The only thing I will have left to do is say my goodbyes.
Beginning a New Chapter
Scrambling to squeeze in our favorite things to do for “one last time” our senior year, celebrating in an unnecessary amount of Grand Prix festivities, getting ready to leave the apartment we called home, and preparing for graduation day were all signs that our last year at Purdue was dwindling down. It was funny to think that just a few years ago parked in front of the freshmen dorms, I was bawling in the car and hanging onto my Dad like a little koala bear. You know those fights you have with your parents that revolve around the topic that you think you are a grown adult able to take responsibility of yourself but your parents insist to think you are too young to do it on your own. That day in front of the dorm…I would have gladly let my Dad win on one of those fights. Now four years later, the last thing I wanted to do was leave that university. The thought of leaving some of the most amazing people and times I have ever had in my life was a hard pill to swallow—the thought of not having a job by the time I graduated was even harder. With a major in retail management and with 6 years of retail service under my belt, I wasn’t sure if that was the field I wanted to pursue. With a tough economy and uncertainty of what I wanted to use my degree for, I felt lost. I came across the opportunity to teach English in Korea, and after some research-- I was sold. What a better way to take some time off to travel, experience a different culture, and do something totally out of the ordinary all while getting paid. If I can go to a foreign country alone, overcome the language barrier, become good at doing a job that I have never done before, and survive a whole year while still having fun, then I hope I will be able to do just about anything afterwards. We’ll see…
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