Long time NO see

So, things have been so busy and fast here in Korea. I have gone on vacation (China) come back and gone back to vacation.

I finally feel comfortable in teaching. Yes, there are the things that still annoy me, but overall, things are going well.

I have decided to begin my master's degree while here in Korea. I will be taking courses online through an university in the U.S.

So that's one big change since the last time I wrote. Another is that I stopped taekwondo. I can always go back, but with the addition of classwork to my life and the fact that I started up badminton again with my school, I just won't have the time. That's cool. At least I have a cool Korea uniform to sport.

So let's go back to my vacation that I am currently loving. I am in Japan right now. It is AWESOME, expensive as hell, but awesome none the less. I'm staying with my friend Sayaka, who is also awesome. You know you have a good friend when you can not see each other for 5 years and yet jump right back into things like you just saw each other yesterday.

Things are good. I'm in day three of this adventure. Japan definitely won the contest against Korea for who has cuter guys. I've seen more attractive men in Japan within these past two days than I have in Korea, and I have been there for almost 4 months. Haha....

When I get back from Japan, I have training for three days. Now normally, I may be bummed about this, however, this means 3 more days away from work....and I still get paid...YES!!! I love my kids, but sometimes you need a break.

Well, I will be sure to post some Japan pics when I get back (along with the China ones that are long overdue), as well as a HOT/NOT list for Japan.

Until then....

Hot or Not

So I just came back from China. I really suck at the whole touristy thing. However, I can say that I didn't fail to shop. China is AWESOME!! I am going to to go back there this winter hopefully and do some REAL damage. Anyway, to sum up my trip:

HOT

Cheap shopping

Modernizing and ancient living beautifully coinciding

Close proximity to Korea (through airplane, of course)

FOOD

NOT

Censorship (I mean, no facebook AND Youtube?? You really bugging....)

Lack of driving skills (I mean, do I REALLY need to fear for my life everything I get in the car or cross the street? I really think that they give free licenses at the car dealership. I will never complain about Korea again)

Overall, I had a great time. When I go back to China, I will do all the touristy things. Besides that I will put up my pictures from China soon.

Next up.....Japan!!

So, I'm still sucking at posting

Yeah, the whole everyday thing didn't work I guess, but I will still try to get better. Since the last time I posted, life has pretty much just been going. Nothing too much happening. Living, working, and spending my money---though I should be saving. Pretty much I work during the week and do taekwondo and play during the weekend.

I bought a new camera this past weekend. So yay! I can actually post some pictures. The funny thing is that my friend and I went to this place called Lotte World (an indoor theme park) and we BOTH forgot our cameras in the locker. (I spent all that money and didn't even take a picture..haha). It was a good time. It's not like a Six Flags or anything, more like a small Valley Fair.

I've been getting ready for summer camp to arrive. I had to plan all the lesson plans for the four groups. Today my "supervisor" and I will go over the stuff so hopefully, I can get started making my samples and buying supplies. The camp starts next week. I've even got my 5/6 graders acting for camp. Haha suckers!! I hope I only have the good kids coming to camp and not that parents with the bad kids don't want to handle them and ship them off to me.

I've been learning Korean each week and learning more and more each time. I met a girl in my taekwondo class and actually spelled her name with the letters I've learned and with no help.....haha....you wait kids at my school, once I learn Korean..it's a wrap for you.

So I learned that each school has an official disciplinarian. I need to find who this person is so I can threat my kids with a visit to him/her. (I know, I'm mean).

Anyway, with my new camera, I hope to take lots of pictures today of my daily routine. Then, I will post them up so you can see what's going.

Oh yeah...did I mention I have a date this week...ugh...what do I get myself into somethings...

So I suck at blogging....

It's been a while since I've blogged. I have been very busy. Anyway, I am going to write something everyday, so that I keep you up to date with things. So somhe days may only have a sentence, but at least I will be consistent. So I've really settled down well in Korea. I've made friends, started taekwondo here, and found some hotspots to hang out in Seoul.

On yesterday, my friend celebrated her birthday. We went out to eat and then we went out for some dancing. The two clubs we went to made it feel like home. It was great. They played dirty south music all night. I'm definitely going to be coming here if I ever feel homesick.

So in my crazy way, I ended up on stage with the guys and some of my girls and we showed them a thing or two about the south. I ended up the night well worked-out and with a number. hehehehe....

The next day, I met with a girl name Geumju to exchange languages. She is going to help me with my Korean and I will help her with English. I think I got the better end of the deal because she has alot to teach me. All I have to do is hang out and talk with her. It's cool though because she is really nice. We went to buy a book from the book store. I have never seen so many people in a book store at one time. It was crazy. They sure love their books in Korea.

After that adventure, I came home. I am going to chill in my bed all day. My feet hurt from being out all night on Friday, I have a blister in the arch of my right foot. We had started the festivities at 9pm and I didn't get in bed until 5:15am.

So that's it for now. I know you haven't seen pics but that is because I, like a dork, forgot to bring my camera. Anyway, I am going to buy one next Sunday. Then I will take hella pics. Until then, here is a sneak peak of one of my classes.

I'm a Teacher!!

So I started teaching this past Monday. What an experience! I have been so tired that I have slept at 8 or 9 and stayed sleeping until 7 in the morning! It's been good. As my usual self I have been procrastinating lesson planning, so I plan things the day (and sometimes the class) before the lesson. I just haven't had time because I didn't know their abilities, where they stopped, etc. But I am into the swing of things now. This weekend (well Saturday), I am going to make lesson plans for the rest of this semester. (Don't be too impressed. The end of the semester is July 22.)

I've gotten a little scratch in my throat. At first, I was like, NO, this is not the time to get sick, but it's just allergies. I'm still trying to figure out what it is. Oh well, it'll probably be gone by Monday. At least, let's hope!!

So, let me tell you: Korea is NOT as cheap as people think it is. Food, like things that were once alive, natural food, can be cheap. However, other things are more expensive. I tried to buy knives and two knives were like $30+. Thanks alot to those of you who told me not to bring my knife set (ahem...Kareen), I just paid $20 for 1.5 knives and I had a 20+ set at home that cost me $24. Now I know.

On the other hand, I am glad that I brought my contact solution. I went to the store and they tried to sell a travel size bottle for $9..haha...I'd rather make my own.

Oh, back to teaching....I taught my 3rd grader lower class on Tuesday and I was told that they are one of the more "active" classes. Well, they were my best. Sixth grade lower, on the other hand, hmmm.....Lord help me. What makes it harder is that I do not speak Korean. I really want to say, "Sit down and shut the hell up before I knock you into your seat." Ok...I wouldn't really say that. (Hmmm...I'm gonna look into a polite way to say it in Korean.)

Well, that's it for now. I think tomorrow, I will shoot some video of the school and my experience. I will try to upload them.

That's it for now!

I'm in Korea!!

So, I reached Korea on June 9th. (I know, it's been a while since I have written.) I am trying to get better with posting blogs. Since I don't have internet yet (I have to wait for my alien registration card (ARC), I have to actually walk to a PC Room near my house to use the computer. ) So, until my internet is up and running, my posts will be infrequent.

All is well. Jetlag didn't get me like I thought it would. Maybe it's because I arrived in the evening, so by the time I was settled down and ready for bed, it was night time anyway.

So since arriving in Korea, the following has happened:

---Did my physical: Not as bad as I thought it would be. They took my blood, urine sample and chest xray.

---Visited my school: The kids are so CUTE! I start teaching tomorrow (Monday). When I went to the school on Friday, I felt like a rock star! The kids kept sneaking out of class to see me and when I went into the English Zone/Room, many stopped by to say hello. Some stayed to play games. I was working on my lesson plan for the students. I need to finish working on it today. It was kinda difficult and confusing because I couldn't understand all of the previous teachers notes. Oh well, it's my class now.

---Went out with teachers and directors from my school: It was great! We had eel for dinner. Apparently it is expensive, so they pulled out all the stops for me. It was fresh and delicious. When I say fresh, I mean FRESH. The end of the tail was still moving even though it had been sliced. And the drinks were plentiful.

Everyone was very nice and the director, vice principal and head teacher are HILARIOUS! I was told that I may not have to cook a lot for dinner because the teachers and directors go out alot together. (I'm not complaining! )

The director told me that he likes the students to learn through music. I had said that I USED to play the clarinet and piano, and I don't know it that statement got lost in translation, but they were like, "That's great, you can use our piano whenever you like.) Ahhhh...lol.

---Learning the bus system: I took the bus to a city that is 30 minutes away today by myself. I went to a store (kind of life a Wal-Mart) to buy cleaning supplies and some odds and ends. I wanted to buy some other things, however, because I am taking the bus, I cannot take too much. So I will go again some time this week.

---Visited Seoul: I went to Seoul this weekend to eat (like always) as well as to see the World Cup game of South Korea v. Greece. Wow...these people have got SPIRIT!!!

Anyway, that's all for now. I am going to do some things on the computer, since I have to pay a dollar anyway regardless if I use an hour or not.

Talk to you later!

6 days and counting....

So, I leave this Tuesday, June 8th for Korea. I have successfully received my visa and ticket (all two weeks ago). This past Monday, I finally finished cleaning my apartment. Whew...it was horrible. I did not know that I owned so much. I am definitely going to do "spring cleaning" once a year, so I don't have this problem again. Thanks for Kareen for sticking with me two days and helping to push me to clean the mess. Haha...and Muresuk and Dan for carrying that hella big dresser to the trailer. Anyway, I'm done. Also, in more good news, I found someone to buy my car, so I've paid off my car loan plus some. (I know, it's a nice deal). So now, I just have a conference to attend this weekend, then I fly back to Georgia to spend a day and a half with family and friends, then I'm off. I am thinking about staying up all night on Monday because my flight on Tuesday is at 5:30am. Don't they realize that that time sucks...I think someone doesn't like me already. :)...joking. So now, I'm just chilling, waiting. I hope I can fit my clothes into one suitcase because my first attempt was not so success. I am pretty sure the size was illegal and the security people would have a problem zipping it back up if they attempted to try and search the suitcase.

In conclusion, I still do not feel like I am going to Korea. I'll see how I feel once I am leaving for the airport, but like I said before, I don't feel like I will get that "feeling" until maybe a week or two after I arrive. I travel a lot, so I think my brain still thinks that I am going on a vacation trip, not that I am actually going to be living there.

Got my visa!

So I just finished my interview! I was semi-nervous because no matter how many posts say it is a piece of cake, you are always nervous because what if this interview is different? (I'll just go with what my coach said: You're nervous because you care.) However, my friend was correct. I had no reason to worry. Now that that part is done, my next step: Getting my flight information from my recruiter. Ahhh!....did I mention I'm so excited?...

Got my Visa Issuance Number!

So this is officially my second post. I have not written in a long time because nothing was going on. I was awaiting my visa number (getting a little nervous) then learned that I received it on Tuesday. The crazy part is that I still had to go to Chicago for the interview (boo to you Minneapolis), so this is how the events occurred, are occurring, and will occur:

Tuesday: Found out my number
Wednesday: In the morning, I bought my ticket to Chicago (thank you Priceline!) after checking with my cousin about her schedule
Thursday: I am in Chicago now, hanging with relatives
Friday: At 10:50am, I have my "interview" at the Consulate

Slowly, but surely, it is becoming a reality to me. I don't really think I will feel the full scope of this adventure until I step onto Korea.

Well, with that, I will let you all know how the interview went tomorrow.

In the beginning....

This is a blog to share my experience as a black female in a small city in Korea. I found other people's blogs very interesting and useful in my research for Korea, so I am hoping I can help someone with mine.

And so it begins:

I have always wanted to go abroad to live and work, but never knew how to get there. Then one day, my friend told me about teaching in Korea (she did it for a year) and the idea just stayed with me. I thought about grad school, moving back to Georgia, etc, but the opportunity to go abroad, work with students, make money, and explore a new culture was so exciting and would not leave my mind, so I took the leap.

I began the search for a job in March, after hearing that I did not get into the one grad program that I applied to. But it is fine with me because everything happens for a reason. (Plus, I have so many interests that if one does not work out, I can easily move to the next one.) I turned down two teaching positions in Korea because they did not spark my interest. However, after searching, I found a job working at an elementary school in Gapyeong, SK. Which brings me to today.

I am officially on the path to go to Korea. I sent off my documents to Korea today to my recruiter so that I can obtain my Visa Issuance Number. Hopefully I get it next week.

I am very excited for the position. For a small city (about 55,000 total and 10,000 in my area) I am surprised to have already met another black female who works at the middle school (through the Brothas&Sistas of Korea facebook group). I am happy to have a connection before I even get there.

Also, I have spoken with the current teacher, so I am feeling good about the teaching part of the job.

All in all, everything is good. Now, all I need to find out is if I can do a video/Skype interview instead of going to Korean Consulate in Chicago. I doubt it, but there is the rumor going around that it may be a possibility, so it doesn't hurt to ask. (I'll keep you posted on the outcome).

Well, that is it for now. Just wanted to start my first blog.