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.