Oh hey! A whole month went by without a blog post from Sophia? Weird.
Not a whole lot has been happening around these parts lately. I told the boss lady I wouldn't be coming back for another 6/9/12 months, so my official leave date is something like June 2nd. My plans are sort of in place, but not really because I haven't booked anything yet :/. Anyways...
We had our big finale show thing-a-doodle on the 15th. It wasn't so bad, guys! I feel like it went a lot better than we all thought it would. Although, having all the Korean teachers leave us three in a tiny room without television and/or some sort of entertainment with 5 classes for about 2 hours was not the highlight of the evening. I was so proud of the kids! They did such a great job. I scored a DVD from it, too! Woot! So now I can watch it allllll. We started at the school to practice and I took some videos of that, and once I actually upload them, I'll post them here! After lunch, we made our way to an art museum where we did the performance. The two classes I was "in charge of," Elephant and King, were great! Elephant class did the drama The Three Billy Goats. Everyone remembered their lines and movement and songs! And King class did their speeches! Super proud of those rascals.
Since the 15th, we were wrapping all the books and stuff up, hurrying the kids to finish them so we could mark them up and send them home last Thursday with all the kids. Yep, last Thursday was the last day of the school year! So sad. I'm gonna miss King and Robot class a tremendous amount! But, no worries, because 7 of the students from King class will be back for elementary classes this new school year!
So even though Thursday was their last day, we had to go in on Friday. And Saturday. Friday, we were taking down our classrooms and doing a general cleaning of the floors. Saturday morning we had to look "presentable" for the parents during orientation. We literally stood up there for 5 minutes. All we had to say was who we were and what classes we will be teaching this year. Katie will be in charge of Robot (which is Puppy class moving on up) and the newest Puppy class. Peter will be in charge of King (which is Zebra and Elephant moving up). And I will be in charge of Zebra, Elephant, and Apple (Zebra = new, Elephant = last year's Apple class, Apple = day care??). So yea.
My new schedule consists of me moving around the third floor a lot! I'll mostly be teaching Zebra (6 years) and Elephant (5 years) Language Arts, Learn to Read, English Village, and Science. And I'll be making weekly visits to Day Care and Apple class. Should be fun! I'm a bit nervous just because I don't know these kids and the kids I do know speak no English! It should be interesting, that's for sure.
Anyways, we went in today, Monday, to set up our new classrooms. We spent most of the day coloring, cutting, laminating, and cutting. Needless to say, my hand is officially sore. We have tomorrow off because it's some sort of holiday and we have to go in Wednesday to finish our rooms, lesson plans, etc and we start teaching Thursday. Yikes! I'm super nervous. I hope it goes well!
So that's pretty much it. All the new, boring news that is happening here! :)
Peace & Love!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Five Things
1. It's a beautiful 40 degrees here.
2. It makes me miss warmth.
3. I think the world is going to shit. There are some things that make me doubt this, which is why I am not 100% sure about it.
4. I sorta miss my friends in the States, but they have made it easy for me to not miss them.
5. I love my turtles. And my friends here.
2. It makes me miss warmth.
3. I think the world is going to shit. There are some things that make me doubt this, which is why I am not 100% sure about it.
4. I sorta miss my friends in the States, but they have made it easy for me to not miss them.
5. I love my turtles. And my friends here.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
RR: Random Ramblings
1. Peter teacher has been here for a week and one day! It has been the greatest week and one day ever! The kids love him, the staff loves him, and it's just been great! Love it.
2. King class Peter left :( sad day for me. Loved that kid. His family moved too far away to make the commute everyday to school. Le sigh.
3. Our end of the year performance has been pushed back a week to February 15th, which is great! The whole entire school has been working uber hard on this the past week and one day! Every free moment has been dedicated to rehearsing dramas, speeches, and songs. Today the boss lady sat in with me for Elephant's drama and King's speeches. It didn't go too bad. I was impressed. The kids impressed me. They have come so far in the time that I've been here. :)
4. Boss asked me to stay on another year, I said "no" cos of the Italy cruise, then she said she'd give me 3 weeks off if I stayed for a year, then I said "ah shit, guess I'll think about it." Needless to say, I was obsessing over it for about a day. I've decided another year ain't gonna happen. I'm gonna cross my fingers and see if she'll let me stay til at least October/November. I doubt she will let me stay and still give me time off for the cruise, but we'll see.
5. Katie's dad came today! And this Wednesday-Friday we have no school because of the Lunar New Year! Exciting. Then we come back and have three weeks left with King and Robot then they move on to elementary school and then everyone moves up a floor. Scary/exciting. I'm gonna miss King and Robot a tremendous amount; I've become very attached to those kids.
6. Pretty sure that's it. Peace, love, and cookies.
Sarah, Cindy, and I on picture day!
Peter and I! <3
2. King class Peter left :( sad day for me. Loved that kid. His family moved too far away to make the commute everyday to school. Le sigh.
3. Our end of the year performance has been pushed back a week to February 15th, which is great! The whole entire school has been working uber hard on this the past week and one day! Every free moment has been dedicated to rehearsing dramas, speeches, and songs. Today the boss lady sat in with me for Elephant's drama and King's speeches. It didn't go too bad. I was impressed. The kids impressed me. They have come so far in the time that I've been here. :)
4. Boss asked me to stay on another year, I said "no" cos of the Italy cruise, then she said she'd give me 3 weeks off if I stayed for a year, then I said "ah shit, guess I'll think about it." Needless to say, I was obsessing over it for about a day. I've decided another year ain't gonna happen. I'm gonna cross my fingers and see if she'll let me stay til at least October/November. I doubt she will let me stay and still give me time off for the cruise, but we'll see.
5. Katie's dad came today! And this Wednesday-Friday we have no school because of the Lunar New Year! Exciting. Then we come back and have three weeks left with King and Robot then they move on to elementary school and then everyone moves up a floor. Scary/exciting. I'm gonna miss King and Robot a tremendous amount; I've become very attached to those kids.
6. Pretty sure that's it. Peace, love, and cookies.
Sarah, Cindy, and I on picture day!
Peter and I! <3
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
7.5 Months Down
It's been a month since my last post. Not a whole bunch of new stuff going on, I suppose.
The family visited for Christmas/New Years. The parents came on the 18th. We hung out for the weekend and waited for Sarah to get in. Unfortunately Sarah had some plane mishaps (surprise surprise, right?) and arrived, like, a day late. Not too bad. Parents and Sarah stayed up in Seoul for the later part of my last week before Winter Vacation. They got to go to the DMZ and did the Seoul City Tour and a bunch of other neat-o things while I got to work work work. Yay.
Mommy, Daddy, and Sarah at the DMZ
It was a pretty good week, the week before vacation, especially Christmas Eve! We had a party after lunch and didn't have to teach! That was exciting. And for our elementary classes, we watched Christmas movies and then had another party. I ate soooo much food. Ridiculous. It was a lot of fun though. I like the kids. They can be cool.
King and Robot partying it up on the Eve of Christmas
Elementary boys digging into our salsa we made.
I went up to Seoul on Christmas Eve and we spent Christmas Day wandering around this Korean village thing in Seoul. It was pretty cool. They had huge ice sculptures! After making our way back to the hotel to grab their belongings, we hopped on the subway for an 1.5 hour trip back to Ori. Once we arrived, we had our Christmas. We made chicken, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, stuffing, and bread from the best, Paris Baguette. It wasn't too shabby. Christmas was weird. It was our first Christmas not in the States or with the whole family. We weren't completely prepared, so I think it was a bit disappointing, but it was still very nice to be with family for the holidays.
Ice sculptures!
Famjam on Christmas
Christmas dinner.
We hung out and didn't do much on Sunday and Monday I went up to base to visit Nate. Then on Tuesday we rented a car and drove down to Busan. I didn't think it would take as long as it did, but I totally forgot to factor in the drivers here... But we got there safely and got to our nice love motel! It was like a castle! Pretty cool.
The ceiling of one of our rooms
Ow! Ow! Love Motels!
While we were in Busan we visited two temples and the famous Jagalchi Fish Market. We also spent a lot of time in Nampodong Market. Also visited Haeundae beach and market and ate at Fuzzy Navel Tacos (YUM!). It was a nice getaway from lil' ol' Bundang.
At Haedong Yonggungsa Temple
At Beomeosa Temple
Rents left on New Years and seester and I got to hang out for a week. We didn't do much because I am lame and was exhausted after work, but we got to watch a bunch of movies and play catch up. Love you, seester and sorry for being lame.
Other than that, there really isn't a lot going on here. Still waiting for Peter to get here. Still rustling around getting things done. Still trying to figure out my next step. I have about 4.5 months left here. Just enough time, I think. I'm going to miss KatieDale, for sure though. She's been a great friend to me.
The family visited for Christmas/New Years. The parents came on the 18th. We hung out for the weekend and waited for Sarah to get in. Unfortunately Sarah had some plane mishaps (surprise surprise, right?) and arrived, like, a day late. Not too bad. Parents and Sarah stayed up in Seoul for the later part of my last week before Winter Vacation. They got to go to the DMZ and did the Seoul City Tour and a bunch of other neat-o things while I got to work work work. Yay.
Mommy, Daddy, and Sarah at the DMZIt was a pretty good week, the week before vacation, especially Christmas Eve! We had a party after lunch and didn't have to teach! That was exciting. And for our elementary classes, we watched Christmas movies and then had another party. I ate soooo much food. Ridiculous. It was a lot of fun though. I like the kids. They can be cool.
King and Robot partying it up on the Eve of Christmas
Elementary boys digging into our salsa we made.I went up to Seoul on Christmas Eve and we spent Christmas Day wandering around this Korean village thing in Seoul. It was pretty cool. They had huge ice sculptures! After making our way back to the hotel to grab their belongings, we hopped on the subway for an 1.5 hour trip back to Ori. Once we arrived, we had our Christmas. We made chicken, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, stuffing, and bread from the best, Paris Baguette. It wasn't too shabby. Christmas was weird. It was our first Christmas not in the States or with the whole family. We weren't completely prepared, so I think it was a bit disappointing, but it was still very nice to be with family for the holidays.
Ice sculptures!
Famjam on Christmas
Christmas dinner.We hung out and didn't do much on Sunday and Monday I went up to base to visit Nate. Then on Tuesday we rented a car and drove down to Busan. I didn't think it would take as long as it did, but I totally forgot to factor in the drivers here... But we got there safely and got to our nice love motel! It was like a castle! Pretty cool.
The ceiling of one of our rooms
Ow! Ow! Love Motels!While we were in Busan we visited two temples and the famous Jagalchi Fish Market. We also spent a lot of time in Nampodong Market. Also visited Haeundae beach and market and ate at Fuzzy Navel Tacos (YUM!). It was a nice getaway from lil' ol' Bundang.
At Haedong Yonggungsa Temple
At Beomeosa TempleRents left on New Years and seester and I got to hang out for a week. We didn't do much because I am lame and was exhausted after work, but we got to watch a bunch of movies and play catch up. Love you, seester and sorry for being lame.
Other than that, there really isn't a lot going on here. Still waiting for Peter to get here. Still rustling around getting things done. Still trying to figure out my next step. I have about 4.5 months left here. Just enough time, I think. I'm going to miss KatieDale, for sure though. She's been a great friend to me.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Hectic Hack-tic
Hello folks,
It's been about two weeks since my last update, so I figured another one was due about now-ish. That, and the familia starts coming in this weekend! Wahoo!
The past two weeks and a day has been pretty hectic. We are down one English teacher at school due to certain circumstances and so Katie and I have been runnin' the joint and trying to own it as much as possible. It has been difficult and not the least bit of fun (just a little bit of fun, seeing as my cry count is up to something like 10 for December). Since we're down one English teacher, Katie and my friend, Elise, has been filling in til lunch time and doing a splendid job. The boss loooooves her and so do we, so it's perfect. Only thing is that Elise teaches at one, too! So she has been quite the busy bee, as have Katie and I. We've taken on extra elementary classes and not for extra pay, unfortunately, but seeing as the school is des.per.ate. we are doing our best at trying not to complain too much. So, our planning time has drastically decreased, leaving us breathless and exhausted at the end of every day. It's tiring! And also sickly! Yea, Katie and I are both sick (sshhhh), hence the "hack" in the title of the post, eh? eh? yea? You like? Yea? I'm cool.
BUT! We have a new person coming in soon, hopefully. It's someone who left the country earlier, like summer? And has been wanting to come back and Katie recruited him to our school! Thank goodness.
Also! Katie is now the head teacher! Woot! And I'm pretty sure Sunnie and Boss have put me in charge of the graduation song. It's difficult. We've come up with different songs to use, so I'll sell them to the Boss tomorrow and hopefully she'll really like Somewhere Over the Rainbow, because that song is the best!
Speaking of graduation. Oy. In February (Feb. 8th to be exact) we're having our performance. The kids put on either speeches or plays for everyone and the parents so we've been trying to get them ready for that on top of having to do everything else and then some at school. HECTIC. Chaotic. Downright ridiculous right now. I'm in charge of doing a play with Elephant class. We're doing the 3 Billy Goats... super fun. I'm also in charge of getting King class ready with their speeches. I'm not too worried about most of King class, cos they're pretty smart; there's just a few I'm super worried won't get it at all (coughcoughalvinandliamcoughcough) grrrr.
Anywhos, after dragging myself through school days, I come home and practically collapse, but it's still difficult to sleep, odd. But whatevs, I've been trying my hardest to get ready for the rents to come in on Saturday. Katie and I got Jason's apartment all cleaned and ready for them, so that's exciting. Just gotta clean mine. Ugh. I'm so lazy I don't want to, but I gots to.
Other than that, folks, there's not a whole lot going on. OH! The DMZ has reopened, so I'm just gonna throw this out there, nothing is going to happen, just like I knew.
Mkay. Peace and love to infinity my people. Keep dreaming.
It's been about two weeks since my last update, so I figured another one was due about now-ish. That, and the familia starts coming in this weekend! Wahoo!
The past two weeks and a day has been pretty hectic. We are down one English teacher at school due to certain circumstances and so Katie and I have been runnin' the joint and trying to own it as much as possible. It has been difficult and not the least bit of fun (just a little bit of fun, seeing as my cry count is up to something like 10 for December). Since we're down one English teacher, Katie and my friend, Elise, has been filling in til lunch time and doing a splendid job. The boss loooooves her and so do we, so it's perfect. Only thing is that Elise teaches at one, too! So she has been quite the busy bee, as have Katie and I. We've taken on extra elementary classes and not for extra pay, unfortunately, but seeing as the school is des.per.ate. we are doing our best at trying not to complain too much. So, our planning time has drastically decreased, leaving us breathless and exhausted at the end of every day. It's tiring! And also sickly! Yea, Katie and I are both sick (sshhhh), hence the "hack" in the title of the post, eh? eh? yea? You like? Yea? I'm cool.
BUT! We have a new person coming in soon, hopefully. It's someone who left the country earlier, like summer? And has been wanting to come back and Katie recruited him to our school! Thank goodness.
Also! Katie is now the head teacher! Woot! And I'm pretty sure Sunnie and Boss have put me in charge of the graduation song. It's difficult. We've come up with different songs to use, so I'll sell them to the Boss tomorrow and hopefully she'll really like Somewhere Over the Rainbow, because that song is the best!
Speaking of graduation. Oy. In February (Feb. 8th to be exact) we're having our performance. The kids put on either speeches or plays for everyone and the parents so we've been trying to get them ready for that on top of having to do everything else and then some at school. HECTIC. Chaotic. Downright ridiculous right now. I'm in charge of doing a play with Elephant class. We're doing the 3 Billy Goats... super fun. I'm also in charge of getting King class ready with their speeches. I'm not too worried about most of King class, cos they're pretty smart; there's just a few I'm super worried won't get it at all (coughcoughalvinandliamcoughcough) grrrr.
Anywhos, after dragging myself through school days, I come home and practically collapse, but it's still difficult to sleep, odd. But whatevs, I've been trying my hardest to get ready for the rents to come in on Saturday. Katie and I got Jason's apartment all cleaned and ready for them, so that's exciting. Just gotta clean mine. Ugh. I'm so lazy I don't want to, but I gots to.
Other than that, folks, there's not a whole lot going on. OH! The DMZ has reopened, so I'm just gonna throw this out there, nothing is going to happen, just like I knew.
Mkay. Peace and love to infinity my people. Keep dreaming.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Thanksgiving - NK - Hiking
It's really too bad I can't come up with more creative titles for these posts, but then again, the posts aren't all that creative or exciting, so I guess it fits.
1. It's the end of November, guys. Tomorrow is the end of November, guys. I have one more teaching day of November, guys. I have been working for six months so far. That means I have six more months to go! The past six months have literally flown by pretty quickly. They've had their sluggish moments, but for the most part, they've flown. I've had so much fun so far! I hope the next six months prove to be just as exciting! Let's be honest, they are looking like they might be! Harry Potter comes out December 16th (I have a love-hate relationship with this day because Nate is leaving... weak); December 18th the padres arrive!; December 21st the seester arrives!; week off for Christmas/New Years; January SaraBrown comes back to Korea; February Taylor Swift concert with Anthony?!?; February Lunar New Years! Hopefully in a distant land...; March new school year starts! The end. That covers, like another three months right there! Craziness. Exciting. Lovely.
My contract should be up and over the end of May, which means I'll have about 2.5 weeks to travel wherever til I go to Italy to meet up with the famjam for a cruise in the Mediterranean! Awesome! After that, I'm hoping to have the opportunity to travel a bit in Europe before heading back to the States before I figure out my next big adventure! Yup!
2. We celebrated Thanksgiving the weekend before Thanksgiving because Jason went home for a week since he signed on for another year (he also had a wedding to attend to). J found a website that made Thanksgiving dinner for you, so we paid for it (about 100$) for a turkey, stuffing, veggies, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, and more(???) to feed about 10 people! Baller. Jason made some home made stuffing and I made eggplant bruschetta, yum!
Katie, Jason, Nate, Ian, Carly, Ben, Ben's gf, and I all dug in and enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving meal! It was a great time! I did miss having Turkey Day at home, but this was pretty awesome. I even got to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade on actual Thanksgiving! Yay! Here a photo from the day's events:
3. North Korea. Now, I know everyone has heard about this. Guys, I'm not too worried. Some people are freaking a bit, but so far, I'm not worried. Everything is fine here. Things are running normally, and the Koreans don't seem too flustered. But, all in all, I'm fine. I've been in worse situations (I feel).
4. Hiking! This past weekend I needed to get out of Ori, so Nate and I went up to Dobongsan (Dobong Mountain). We originally had planned on hiking Suraksan, but we wandered around til we found a mountain and the one we found was Dobong. It was awesome. Started off really swell (as usually) then it started to get a bit crazy. It felt like I was rock climbing as opposed to mountain climbing. There was one part where I had to hold on to a rope and hoist myself up. Craziness. It was freezing at the top, but gorgeous. I was scared, ha, weird. The peak was, like, 4 rocks piled on top of each other. Insanely amazing. The wind was rough, so I was holding on to the metal railing for dear life while Nate took pictures. It was a gorgeous view of Seoul, though!
At the top!
At the top!
Recap: 6 months left in Korea, Thanksgiving was fun, NK is lame, Hiking mountains is fun.
THE END!
1. It's the end of November, guys. Tomorrow is the end of November, guys. I have one more teaching day of November, guys. I have been working for six months so far. That means I have six more months to go! The past six months have literally flown by pretty quickly. They've had their sluggish moments, but for the most part, they've flown. I've had so much fun so far! I hope the next six months prove to be just as exciting! Let's be honest, they are looking like they might be! Harry Potter comes out December 16th (I have a love-hate relationship with this day because Nate is leaving... weak); December 18th the padres arrive!; December 21st the seester arrives!; week off for Christmas/New Years; January SaraBrown comes back to Korea; February Taylor Swift concert with Anthony?!?; February Lunar New Years! Hopefully in a distant land...; March new school year starts! The end. That covers, like another three months right there! Craziness. Exciting. Lovely.
My contract should be up and over the end of May, which means I'll have about 2.5 weeks to travel wherever til I go to Italy to meet up with the famjam for a cruise in the Mediterranean! Awesome! After that, I'm hoping to have the opportunity to travel a bit in Europe before heading back to the States before I figure out my next big adventure! Yup!
2. We celebrated Thanksgiving the weekend before Thanksgiving because Jason went home for a week since he signed on for another year (he also had a wedding to attend to). J found a website that made Thanksgiving dinner for you, so we paid for it (about 100$) for a turkey, stuffing, veggies, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, and more(???) to feed about 10 people! Baller. Jason made some home made stuffing and I made eggplant bruschetta, yum!
Katie, Jason, Nate, Ian, Carly, Ben, Ben's gf, and I all dug in and enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving meal! It was a great time! I did miss having Turkey Day at home, but this was pretty awesome. I even got to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade on actual Thanksgiving! Yay! Here a photo from the day's events:
3. North Korea. Now, I know everyone has heard about this. Guys, I'm not too worried. Some people are freaking a bit, but so far, I'm not worried. Everything is fine here. Things are running normally, and the Koreans don't seem too flustered. But, all in all, I'm fine. I've been in worse situations (I feel).
4. Hiking! This past weekend I needed to get out of Ori, so Nate and I went up to Dobongsan (Dobong Mountain). We originally had planned on hiking Suraksan, but we wandered around til we found a mountain and the one we found was Dobong. It was awesome. Started off really swell (as usually) then it started to get a bit crazy. It felt like I was rock climbing as opposed to mountain climbing. There was one part where I had to hold on to a rope and hoist myself up. Craziness. It was freezing at the top, but gorgeous. I was scared, ha, weird. The peak was, like, 4 rocks piled on top of each other. Insanely amazing. The wind was rough, so I was holding on to the metal railing for dear life while Nate took pictures. It was a gorgeous view of Seoul, though!
We also saw the first snowfall in Korea on Saturday night! Cool. And it snowed Sunday night, too! Ahhhh. At least it was kind enough to wait til after Thanksgiving. :)
Takin' a break. Near the top.
Takin' a break. Near the top.
At the top!
At the top!THE END!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Weak Sauce
Hola Amigos!
I apologize for the un-updation of this blog. (I know that's not a word, but I don't really care) Anywhos, in the past month or so, a couple things have gone down. Not a whole lot, that's for sure, but whatevs.
Anyways, Feinschule went on a field trip for Halloween! We went to this place called "American City" which was showing a Virginia old town city (not a real place). It was cool, though. They had a bunch of cool shops and stuff in there. Anywhos, for the field trip we all had to dress up, except for the Korean teachers... weak. So we went to this place and had a blast doing Halloween party stuff. The kids had fun and so did I (surprise, surprise).
Let's see, what else? Not a whole lot. I've been going to work on the weekdays, and chillin' out up north on the weekends. Relatively chill, some would say boring (coughcoughsometimesmecoughcough). But it's all good in the hood.
At the end of this month, I will have been here for six months. Half way through my contract! Craziness. I'm getting super antsy. I need change or I need something! Not entirely sure of what I need. I guess just to move, ya dig? So, I bought a long board. It's a skateboard, but longer... Duh. And it's mainly for cruising, not doing tricks and stuff. Anyways, I bought that today. KatieDale and I discovered a gym in our complex, so we're going to look into that and start going there (yay!). And the famjam comes in one month!! ONE MONTH! Yay! So, I'm currently "planning" what we're going to be doing while they are here. I suppose I will start figuring out points of interest for my travels after Korea, too.
But yea, that's pretty much it. Like I said, nothing exciting. This was more of a "hey, I'm still alive in Korea" update. So, there ya go. Peace.
I apologize for the un-updation of this blog. (I know that's not a word, but I don't really care) Anywhos, in the past month or so, a couple things have gone down. Not a whole lot, that's for sure, but whatevs.
Anyways, Feinschule went on a field trip for Halloween! We went to this place called "American City" which was showing a Virginia old town city (not a real place). It was cool, though. They had a bunch of cool shops and stuff in there. Anywhos, for the field trip we all had to dress up, except for the Korean teachers... weak. So we went to this place and had a blast doing Halloween party stuff. The kids had fun and so did I (surprise, surprise).
Let's see, what else? Not a whole lot. I've been going to work on the weekdays, and chillin' out up north on the weekends. Relatively chill, some would say boring (coughcoughsometimesmecoughcough). But it's all good in the hood.
At the end of this month, I will have been here for six months. Half way through my contract! Craziness. I'm getting super antsy. I need change or I need something! Not entirely sure of what I need. I guess just to move, ya dig? So, I bought a long board. It's a skateboard, but longer... Duh. And it's mainly for cruising, not doing tricks and stuff. Anyways, I bought that today. KatieDale and I discovered a gym in our complex, so we're going to look into that and start going there (yay!). And the famjam comes in one month!! ONE MONTH! Yay! So, I'm currently "planning" what we're going to be doing while they are here. I suppose I will start figuring out points of interest for my travels after Korea, too.
But yea, that's pretty much it. Like I said, nothing exciting. This was more of a "hey, I'm still alive in Korea" update. So, there ya go. Peace.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Untitled
I apologize for the un-upkeep of this blog. This past month has been a strange one, indeed. Last time I posted, it was about my coworkers' plans for the upcoming school year (in March). I am here to update you that they are both staying for another year. Insane. I'm proud of them, though. They are doing something that I don't think I could do, and it makes me proud to know them. They are both excellent teachers, and I can't wait to hear all the new stories they will have after I am gone.
On that note, as you can tell, I do not plan on staying another year. If boss lady asked me tomorrow, I would say no and be completely comfortable in my decision. I am not entirely sure what I will do, though. There are many different things I'd like to get my feet wet in, so we'll see.
Anywhos, on October 7th, we had a field trip to a potato farm! We (aka the kids) got to dig up sweet potatoes. It was fun, and really nice being outside on a farm all day. We played with chickens and rabbits, I got to climb trees! It was a good, beautiful day!
Feinschule hard at work
One of my 4 yrs (aka 2/3 yrs) with his bag of potatoes!
Also, Katie and I are now in charge of a new class that comes in the afternoons. There are three little girls of kindergarten age (that is to say, 7) that come to me for Next Stop and Katie for LA. They are super smart. King and Robot class are both 7 years old, but these three girls are, like, woah smart compared to our kids... They are super duper cute, too, and love to talk, which helps make the 40 minutes go by a lot faster! :)
After getting the scooter fixed with a new battery, Nate and I were able to enjoy some awesome times with it until, lo' and behold, it pooped out... again. I've sort of decided that it's not even worth it anymore. Yes, I love it (OH SO MUCH!), but it's so much work in a place where none of the car or auto places within 10 minute walking distance of me can work on scooters and where there is a hardcore huge language barrier. So, that is that for that. Oh well.
This past Thursday was my birthday! I am not 23 years old! Insane. It was an excellent day, though. Some of the kids gave me presents and Jason and Katie bought a cake and sang happy birthday. That was nice. Then Katie, Jason, Carly, and I went out to Traveler's a couple stops up from us for dinner and drinks. It was awesome! They were holding a raffle for an orphanage, and I put some tickets in cos you could win American-people food! So I put tickets in literally thinking I won't win, but I did! TWICE! In one win, I won a bunch of blocks of cheese and some Wheat Thins (YUM) and in the other win, I won 8 boxes of Mac n Cheese (aka my fave) and some easy-make pasta! Exciting. And in the middle of the wins, we were playing darts and without even looking, I kept getting bulls eyes! In fact, in one round, I got three for three bulls eyes! Insane cos that never happens ever. Luckiest bday ever (other than the real day of birth)...
So yea. That's pretty much it. I'll leave you with these awesome videos I took of King Class and Robot Class being ballers. :) They are growing up so nicely.
King Class
Robot Class
On that note, as you can tell, I do not plan on staying another year. If boss lady asked me tomorrow, I would say no and be completely comfortable in my decision. I am not entirely sure what I will do, though. There are many different things I'd like to get my feet wet in, so we'll see.
Anywhos, on October 7th, we had a field trip to a potato farm! We (aka the kids) got to dig up sweet potatoes. It was fun, and really nice being outside on a farm all day. We played with chickens and rabbits, I got to climb trees! It was a good, beautiful day!
Feinschule hard at work
One of my 4 yrs (aka 2/3 yrs) with his bag of potatoes!After getting the scooter fixed with a new battery, Nate and I were able to enjoy some awesome times with it until, lo' and behold, it pooped out... again. I've sort of decided that it's not even worth it anymore. Yes, I love it (OH SO MUCH!), but it's so much work in a place where none of the car or auto places within 10 minute walking distance of me can work on scooters and where there is a hardcore huge language barrier. So, that is that for that. Oh well.
This past Thursday was my birthday! I am not 23 years old! Insane. It was an excellent day, though. Some of the kids gave me presents and Jason and Katie bought a cake and sang happy birthday. That was nice. Then Katie, Jason, Carly, and I went out to Traveler's a couple stops up from us for dinner and drinks. It was awesome! They were holding a raffle for an orphanage, and I put some tickets in cos you could win American-people food! So I put tickets in literally thinking I won't win, but I did! TWICE! In one win, I won a bunch of blocks of cheese and some Wheat Thins (YUM) and in the other win, I won 8 boxes of Mac n Cheese (aka my fave) and some easy-make pasta! Exciting. And in the middle of the wins, we were playing darts and without even looking, I kept getting bulls eyes! In fact, in one round, I got three for three bulls eyes! Insane cos that never happens ever. Luckiest bday ever (other than the real day of birth)...
So yea. That's pretty much it. I'll leave you with these awesome videos I took of King Class and Robot Class being ballers. :) They are growing up so nicely.
King Class
Robot Class
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Real World?!?!
In September our boss lady asked Jason and Katie if they wanted to stay another year. Boss Lady gave them til November to decide. So, needless to say, they have both been thinking about what they want to do. Do they want to stay for another year, six months, go to another school, go to another country, go home, etc? There are so many options. Welp, today J said that he'd stay on for another year and K has definitely narrowed down her options and will be deciding by next week. Anywhos, with them thinking (intensely) about what they want to do for the next year, it has got me thinking, too.
*Deep breath*
Should I stay another year? I've already answered this and it's no. I like Korea, I do. But I just can't see myself here for a whole 'nother year. Especially not at this school. I mean, it's a great school, it is! And I love everyone I work with and stuff. But, honestly, teaching English and teaching tiny people just isn't for me. They touch too much and English is hard! I can't even speak it right. See?! Anywhos. I could go to another country, but like I said, teaching English is difficult. It really is. It's not as easy as it may seem. Grammar kicks my butt and, well, yea.
So, as most of you know, the rents are in Kuwait teaching math and economics (aka stuff they pretty much like to teach) and they have told me bunches about the people they work with. Welp, supposedly (I mean, not really supposedly, considering they do work with these people) they work with young couples, like some people a little older than me. These young people are teaching things they WANT to teach. They aren't teaching English because that's really the only thing they are qualified for, they are teaching math, social studies, gym, and they are counseling. They got their masters and went overseas to teach what they want to.
Moving on, I've started (briefly) looking into grad schools for teaching so I can get my masters and then from there where I want to teach. If I can get my masters in history or social studies, that will allow me to go anywhere I want to and teach what I want to teach which is way better than teaching English. Yes. Yes it is.
So yea. Real life/world is difficult. There are so many options. If any of you have any idea or comments, please tell me. It's greatly appreciated. I mean, I have lots of time, but time here seems to fly, so I figured I should start. Plus, since Katie and Jason have to make up their mind now, I now know I'd like to know what I'm doing after Feinschule, too. Oy.
Peace & love.
*Deep breath*
Should I stay another year? I've already answered this and it's no. I like Korea, I do. But I just can't see myself here for a whole 'nother year. Especially not at this school. I mean, it's a great school, it is! And I love everyone I work with and stuff. But, honestly, teaching English and teaching tiny people just isn't for me. They touch too much and English is hard! I can't even speak it right. See?! Anywhos. I could go to another country, but like I said, teaching English is difficult. It really is. It's not as easy as it may seem. Grammar kicks my butt and, well, yea.
So, as most of you know, the rents are in Kuwait teaching math and economics (aka stuff they pretty much like to teach) and they have told me bunches about the people they work with. Welp, supposedly (I mean, not really supposedly, considering they do work with these people) they work with young couples, like some people a little older than me. These young people are teaching things they WANT to teach. They aren't teaching English because that's really the only thing they are qualified for, they are teaching math, social studies, gym, and they are counseling. They got their masters and went overseas to teach what they want to.
Moving on, I've started (briefly) looking into grad schools for teaching so I can get my masters and then from there where I want to teach. If I can get my masters in history or social studies, that will allow me to go anywhere I want to and teach what I want to teach which is way better than teaching English. Yes. Yes it is.
So yea. Real life/world is difficult. There are so many options. If any of you have any idea or comments, please tell me. It's greatly appreciated. I mean, I have lots of time, but time here seems to fly, so I figured I should start. Plus, since Katie and Jason have to make up their mind now, I now know I'd like to know what I'm doing after Feinschule, too. Oy.
Peace & love.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)