Typhoon and DMZ

Annyeong-haseyo! This past week included a couple of interesting events. First and foremost, a typhoon. The Typhoon Kompasu hit Seoul early Thursday morning. It was pretty scary to have my door rattling and look outside and see the wind carrying things across the street. In the photos I posted above, you can see some of the damage that was right by my apartment. A brick wall fell on a car and the traffic light near us was turned almost all the way to the side by the wind. I also witnessed a motorbike accident. A lady was riding along and a gust of wind came and knocked her over. She appeared to be hurt pretty badly and all I could do was flag down a Korean and signal to them to call for help. It was a very scary thing to see.

Also, yesterday I went to the DMZ. For those of you unfamiliar with the terminology, the DMZ is the Demilitarized Zone, also known as the close as a civilian can get to North Korea without going into North Korea. There was a period of time where foreigners were allowed to get day passes into North Korea, but that was changed when a woman was there and got accidentally shot by a North Korean soldier. The DMZ is 2 km on either side of the 38th parallel that divides North and South Korea, where no war is supposed to happen because of its beautiful scenery and wildlife. The 38th parallel is also known as the Military Demarcation Line.

On our tour, we went to Imaganjin Park, which has an altar that was designed for S. Koreans to come and honor those in their family who got stuck in N. Korea. There was also a barbed wire fence with ribbons that had unread messages from S. Koreans for their family in North Korea. Then we went to the 3rd tunnel, which is named so because it was the 3rd tunnel discovered that North Korea built with intentions of using it to send troops to attack Seoul. It is said with this tunnel, if it had been used, could have had 30,000 soldiers to Seoul in one hour. There are only four tunnels that have been discovered like this, and it is suspected there are several more that remain unfound. Going down into the tunnel, at the end of it, I was only 170m away from the border of N. Korea.

We then went to the Dora Observatory, from which we could see North Korea, and the line where the DMZ ended. I could only take a limited number of pictures, as there was a certain line I had to stand behind to take them. The reason for this is the S. Koreans do not want any pictures of their side of the DMZ in case N. Korean intelligence were to get a hold of it. I got to see a N. Korean village from the observatory, and looked through binoculars to see some cars driving around.

Our final stop was the Dorasan Station. This train station eventually has hopes of carrying trains of civilians all the way through N. Korea, to the Trans-Siberian Railway, to connect to European railways, which could then take someone all the way from S. Korea as far west as Portugal. The construction on this was halted after the event this spring where a S. Korean ship was suspected to have been sunk by N. Korea.

North and South Korea are trying to work towards a completely united Korea, but only time will tell if this can happen. Going to the DMZ was definitely an educational experience, and helped me understand Korea a lot more.

Just one week left here, and then I'm headed home. Hard to believe. Happy Sunday, Western World!

Seoyundo Island

Hello everyone! I know it has been awhile since I have posted, but up until this weekend, there was really nothing out of the ordinary to post about. This past weekend I went on a trip with Adventure Korea to Seoyundo Island. We had about four good hours on Saturday, and I thoroughly enjoyed those. (The rest of the weekend it was downpouring.) We got to ride bikes around the island as well as spend some time on the beach. It was very beautiful scenery.

On Sunday, even though it was raining, we went to catch some laserfish in the sand which we then ate a half hour later. At low tide, you put salt on the sand and essentially trick them to come up to the surface, thinking the tide is rolling in, and catch them.

As most of you already know, I will be finishing my time in Korea and returning to the US in 11 days from now. It has definitely been a great experience, and I'm happy that I got to do it, but my time here is done. After going to a restaurant yesterday, I was able to see how much I have learned just from being here. I went to a restaurant where no one spoke English, the menu was entirely in Korean, and I was able to order exactly what I wanted (and know what I was getting) perfectly with no miscommunication.

Before I go home, I will be going to the DMZ next weekend, and will be able to see North Korea and be very close to it. I'm hoping to blog about that before I come back.

That is all for now. Happy Tuesday, Western World!

Maiow-ka!

Sawadee-ka! (That is hello in Thai.) I just got back a couple of days ago from visiting wonderful Thailand with Nate. We spent time in both Bangkok and Phuket. We started in Bangkok, and got to stay with my cousin Katie, who is currently teaching English there. We ate some good Thai food our first night there at a roadside Thai restaurant. We ate a fish that had been fully fried (as in the full fish was stuck in a fryer and cooked), some rice and vegetables. Then on Monday, we headed to go see the Grand Palace. We got there and were sidetracked by fast talking Thais who told us to get in a tuk-tuk (a type of open air taxi) and see some other sites around the city. (Despite being 6'6", Nate actually fit in the tuk-tuk.) The driver did take us to a couple of cool temples, but also took us to 7 different stores-3 jewelry stores, 3 custom clothing stores, and 1 rug store. This is apparently par for the course when going on a tuk-tuk ride, except a higher than average number of stores.

We got back to the area of the Grand Palace once more, and asked about the temple hours. They said it was closed for the day because of a special ceremony going on. We then wandered around the outskirts and got approached by another man telling us about some more temples and saying a tuk-tuk would take us there. We decided to go, and the driver took us to where we wanted to go, but then said he wanted to take us to a store. We said no (Mai-ow-ka) several times, saying we were not interested, but he didn't listen so we walked away. Truthfully, riding in the tuk-tuks were fun and not expensive (less than $2 for all of the carting around), but if you go to Thailand, just look out for the tuk-tuks! We also found in Bangkok so many people would try to sell us things, and found ourselves having to use "Mai-ow-ka" so often!

We then spent the rest of the evening with Katie and Ed, eating and wandering around the city. I got to try some Pad Thai off the street, for the equivalent of $1. I really like Pad Thai and it's typically at least $9 in the US, so it was awesome to try it in Thailand!

On Tuesday we took a plane south to Phuket. The weather was absolutely beautiful, and we stayed at a really nice hotel resort that had its own private beach and six pools. We spent a lot of time in the water and just relaxing. On Wednesday, we were able to go on a little safari in which we rode on an elephant, went canoeing, saw an elephant and monkey show, saw some Thai boxing, and rode in a 4x4 through the jungle. It was definitely really cool.

On Thursday, we were able to go on a speedboat tour and snorkeling trip around the islands that are all around Phuket. I have never seen clearer or bluer water in my life. The snorkeling was really cool, and we got to see all kinds of coral and fish. I actually got stung by a jellyfish, but it was a very small one, and the sting was pretty much healed by the end of the day. (They had things on the boat to treat it) We also got to see a monkey beach, a beach where wild monkeys live, as well as the island that part of "The Beach" was filmed.

Then Thursday night we headed back to Bangkok. Friday morning we successfully went to the Grand Palace, did some shopping, got Thai massages (2 hour massage for $9) and ate some Thai barbecue.

We got up early Saturday morning to fly back to Seoul. We had a layover in Gwangzhou,China on the way there and on the way back. They took away our passports and boarding passes for awhile before returning them. They also did a full body search on us. Just to sit in their airport!

The trip was really excellent, and I definitely had a great travel partner. I started work again on Monday, and it's business as usual.

That's all for now. Happy Tuesday, Western World!

Aniyo Food

Hello everyone! I am finally on vacation and very excited about it. Nate arrived safely in Seoul last Saturday, and we are heading to Thailand tomorrow morning. We did some sightseeing while he was here. On Monday night, we got to go to a wonderful concert with a professional male choir, orchestra and solo singers. The best part was that we got to go for free! We showed up about 10 minutes before the concert and they told us that it was sold out, and then it turned out someone else hadn't shown up, so we got to have their will call tickets for free. It was a great program with a lot of variety.

On Tuesday night we went to Seoul Tower and got to experience the day, sunset, and nighttime view of Seoul. It was really cool to see the city all lit up at night, and reminded me again of how massive Seoul is. (It is a city of 10 million people)

We also experienced some of the fine cuisines of Korea, and today got to go to Everland, which is a big amusement park in Korea. They have rides, a garden and a zoo all included in the price of admission. (Which is suprisingly very reasonably priced.) They had so many costumes at all the different rides (the workers) and several of them did little dances while the ride was going on. I also rode that which claims to be the world's steepest wooden rollercoaster, which was a lot of fun. The zoo had many more animals than I expected and was a lot of fun. There were several signs that said to not feed the monkeys, but people were doing it anyway, which we found to be a bit strange.

Overall, it has been a great time and I'm ecstatic to go to Thailand tomorrow! Happy Saturday, Western World.

Morgan's Visit and Mudfest

Greetings everyone! I know it has been awhile, but trust me, this blog was worth the wait. (At least I think so.)

Last week Morgan visited Seoul. We went on a few adventures while she was here. One of the cool things we did was go to the palace at Gwanghwamun. There are some pictures from that in the new photo album. It was a very large collection of different palace buildings and very cool to see. We also had several people to ask to take pictures of us and with us. We believe this is because we are white, and in Korea we are pretty foreign still (95% of the Korean population IS Korean). However, a couple of the people who did ask to take pictures with us were not Korean, some were Japanese. (I am guessing so anyway because they said "Thank you" in Japanese.) It was a very cool attraction to go see, and it was only about $2.50 USD. Anyplace like this in the US would cost so much more money to go see!

Another thing we did that is pretty unique to Korea is go to a cafe with Dr. Fish. This is where you stick your feet into a fish tank with small fish and they bite the dead skin off your feet. It felt pretty weird at first, but eventually we got over it. There are also some pictures of this in the album.

Then, this past weekend I went to the annual Boryeong Mud Festival. It is on the west coast in the middle of Korea. I went with a few of my coworkers and it was everything you would expect a mud festival to be. First we went to the mud beach where all the mud for the festival is brought in and played rugby, mud wrestling and chicken fighting. Then we went and enjoyed the festival which had many mud activities, a sand beach nearby and a lot of live music playing. It was a lot of fun and definitely a unique experience.

Nate is coming here this weekend, so I'm sure the next time I post I will have many Seoul adventures to write about and subsequently Thailand adventures! Happy Sunday, Western World!

Summer in SoKo

Hello everybody! That is my album of most recent pictures in Seoul. There are some pictures from mountain hiking a few weekends ago in a national park, some of my kids, some of the musical, and a few of me bungee jumping last weekend.

So last weekend I did indeed go bungee jumping. I was on a trip with the group Adventure Korea. We first went rafting in some very murky and sketchy water. (It smelled pretty bad.) The weather was rainy and a bit unpleasant, but the scenery was still very beautiful. It was also my first time rafting, and I had a lot of fun. I hope to do it again sometime. After that, we proceeded to a bridge above the same river to go bungee jumping. About 40 people on the trip decided to take the plunge. A few decided against it, but most who had signed up for it decided to do it. I wasn't scared at all, and just went the first time the worker counted down. It was very exciting and something I have been wanting to do for a long time.

Korea faced some disappointment last weekend, as their soccer team lost in the World Cup. It still amazed me to see how much national pride there was here for soccer. I can't imagine that in America every nearby bar and restaurant was packed with people watching the game, as well as with big screens outside of subway stations. We don't care that much about soccer in the US.

The monsoon season has officially started here. Yesterday we had downpouring rain and 96% humidity. While it hasn't rained yet today, the forecast says it might and there is 98% humidity. Needless to say it is very sticky and not the most fun to be outside at the moment. The yellow dust hasn't been too bad lately, although last week, it was at a very hazardous level one day, so I stayed inside.

Tonight I am going on a boat cruise on the Han River to celebrate the 4th of July. I am going with a bunch of people from the cast and a lot of other foreigners will be on board, so it should be fun.

I will leave you with some videos of my students. Happy 4th of July weekend, Western World!

My elementary students, very excited for the Korean soccer team. (This chant literally means "Go Korea!")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NsV0EkDB7A

One of my kindergarten students really likes to dance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaVJMBR0dVw

My geography wiz in kindergarten sees something different when we are coloring.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTXmjGRjb1E

I am the very model of a modern major general.

Greetings everyone! I realize it has been a little while since my last post, as my life has been consumed with work and the show. We had our last performance today. I would say overall it went really well, and especially impressive since we put on a show with only 10 rehearsals. I can't say I have ever done that before, and I think we all did a good job.

Next weekend I am going on a trip with Adventure Korea to go rafting and bungee jumping. Yes, bungee jumping. It is something I have always wanted to do, and now that this opportunity is here, I am eager to take it. I'm pretty excited for it!

Last week I started learning Korean symbols and am starting to be able to read a little bit now. It's kind of fun walking around and being able to know what signs say rather than having them be a mystery all the time.

This weekend, I feel like I ate like an American. What does that mean? (You might wonder to yourself.) I ate out at a Western restaurant every day this weekend. It was today that I realized exactly how much what I eat has changed since I have been here. Most meals, I make for myself, and generally if I'm not making meals for myself, I am eating Korean food. One of my favorite things in Korea to eat is 김밥 (kimbap). It is basically sushi, but doesn't always have meat or fish in it. It's usually vegetables inside, though you can have meat or fish in it as well. It is also really cheap and convenient here. You can go to a convenience store and pick up some for $1. My other favorite Korean food that I have eaten is 닭갈비 (dakgalbi.) This is Korean barbeque chicken essentially, made right on your table with spices and vegetables. There are many barbeque restaurants in Korea that have the grill right on your table. There is some Korean food I haven't found to be particularly appealing, but I do enjoy some of it.

World Cup fever has been abound here as well. I have never seen so much national pride in America as there has been here over the Korean soccer team. Every store has been blasting the team's theme song, and on the days of the games, you could know what was going on in the game just by sitting in your apartment and listening to the varying degrees of cheers coming from outside.

That is all for now. Happy Father's Day to my dad and all dad's and Happy Sunday, Western World!

John and Kelly is English.

During playtime the other day in my kindergarten, one of the kids in my class came up to me and said, "John and Kelly is English." What they meant by this (and I understood completely what they meant) was that John and Kelly were speaking English during playtime-one of the times in the day that they are allowed to speak Korean. It's kind of fitting with how much all of them have grown. Now, sometimes even when they are allowed to speak Korean, they don't. The librarian will speak to them in Korean (who doesn't speak much English) and they will only answer her in English. It's quite amazing how much they are able to do in my class with English being their second language, and especially with someone like Kelly, who does not speak English at home. (I write home comment books every week, and the only times I have gotten responses, they have been in Korean.) Next week we are having an "open class" where all the parents come and watch a rehearsed lesson. It will be nice to meet all the parents, as I have only met half of them so far.

Our first performance of Pirates is on Saturday, and we will be having a new Pirate King. Our Pirate King/Director for the show got into a motorcycle accident, and so someone is filling in last minute to take his part. Hopefully that person will be able to fit into the role well and keep the show going!

July is going to be an exciting month. My friend Morgan is coming to visit, I'm going to the Korean mud festival, and then Nate is coming to visit. Nate and I finalized our trip plans for our vacation too! We're flying to Bangkok, staying there for two nights with my cousin Katie, then headed off to Phuket for a few days, then coming back to Bangkok, then back to Seoul. I'm so excited!

That's about all from me for now. Happy Thursday, Western World!

Geomundo/Baekdo Islands

Hello everyone! That is the link to my pictures from this weekend. I know it has been a couple of weeks since I have blogged, and it has been quite busy. A couple weekends ago I was rehearsing all weekend for the musical, with no time to do anything else. This past weekend, however, we had a three day weekend and I was able to take a trip to Geomundo and the Baekdo Islands.

After taking an overnight bus from Seoul on Thursday, we boarded a ferry to Geomundo Island. Almost immediately after arriving there, we got on another ferry to take us on a tour around the Baekdo Islands. They are also called "Treasure Islands" and are not what you think of when you think of Disney's Treasure Island theme park or anything of the sort. It is an island chain of uninhabited islands in the middle of the ocean. The scenery was very unique and unlike anything I have ever seen before. The water was also the bluest I have ever seen a body of water be, which was very refreshing to see.

After our cruise around those islands, we returned to Geomundo. We had a lunch break (we ate all Korean food this weekend for our meals) and then went for our first hike around the island. We hiked up some hills and got to see the random British cemetery with three graves. After that we went to the "beach." I say "beach" because on Friday there was very little sand, and actually we were laying on stone steps next to water. On Saturday, when the weather was rainy, there was plenty of sand to be found as the tide had receded. It unfortunately wasn't like that for our nice day of weather.

On Saturday I woke up to watch the sunrise with others of the group, only to find it was overcast and we would not be able to view the sunrise. A little later on, we went on a 4 hour hike around the island and up a mountain or two. It started raining about midway through the hike, however, that did not deter our fun. The scenery was really beautiful and a very excellent hike overall. Our group had planned to stay on the island until Sunday, the weather had proved something different though. There was a severe wind warning that was issued for Sunday, and all ferries were canceled for Sunday and Monday. There was a bit of suspense in not being sure whether we would make it on to the last ferry on Saturday, but eventually we did. Our group leader made alternative plans for us to go to the coastal city of Younsin for the night and stay there.

Sunday, the rain had still not relented, but I still went on the planned hike around an island park. (An island you had to cross the bridge to get to.) We got to see the "dragon's cave" and the lighthouse there. I didn't take any pictures because I did not want my camera outside in the pouring rain. After that, we had lunch and headed back to Seoul. It was a really great weekend, and I got to see and experience some really cool things, as well as make some new friends. I'm definitely excited for the next time I can go on a trip with Adventure Korea!

That's all from me for now. Happy Sunday, Western World!


Also...GO HAWKS! :-)

Pirates, Mountains and Rainbows, oh my!

Hello everyone!  I know it has been a while since my last post, but I have been quite busy the last couple of weeks.  Two weekends ago I went mountain hiking for the first time in my life.  I hiked Mt. Umaneson (not sure about the spelling) with Megan and Chelsea.  We got a great view of Seoul at the top of the mountain.  One of the best parts was the popsicles at the top of the mountain, a very good way to end a climb on a warm day.

This past week I also auditioned for and got cast in the Pirates of Penzance.  I am in the chorus and am playing one of the daughters.  Over 80 people tried out and only 11 women got cast, so I feel pretty lucky to be a part of this show!  Our first performance is June 5, and we are going to have a couple other weekends of performances besides that.  We are performing the show in English, and the director is a Luther graduate, so all rehearsals are in English as well.  I'm really excited for this great opportunity!  We had our first couple rehearsals this past weekend and it seems like it's going to be a lot of fun.

This past week we had Rainbow/Crazy Hair/Fashion Show day at our school.  All the kids and teachers came to school in bright colors with their hair styled all differently.  Every teacher practiced runway walks with their students and nearly every student forgot the moment they were in front of all their peers.  I can't blame them for  being nervous!  The kids all looked so cute in the different outfits they came in.  Definitely a fun day.

This past Friday, our director treated us to an overnight excursion.  We stayed in a large cabin essentially, with no furniture.  All the Korean staff and American staff came along.  We had group dinner and bonding time.  Then the next morning we took a ferry to Nami(nara) Island, a small island that is kind of a tourist trap.  We walked around, rode a bike through the trees, and saw an ostrich that roams wildly around the island.  The best part was getting out of the city for a little while and being able to enjoy some pretty scenery.

This week I also booked my summer trip to Thailand!  Nate and I will be flying into Bangkok and then heading down to Phuket rather shortly after.  We're also trying to go Cambodia, so we'll see how that works out.  I'm so excited!

Aside from that not much else is new.  Happy Monday, Western World!

The...Twins??

Hello everyone!  This past weekend I went to a Twins game.  That's right, the Twins.  The LG Twins, that is.  They are the home team at the Olympic Stadium baseball park not too far from where I live.  They have a Korean baseball league and the Twins are one of the few teams represented in Seoul.  A baseball game in Korea is different from American baseball in a few ways.  One is, there is constant cheering throughout the game.  I don't mean just random people in the crowd chanting, I mean the home team and the away team have cheerleaders that lead the crowd with (Korean) cheers.  It felt more like a college football game than a baseball game in that respect.  You are also allowed to bring food and drink into the baseball game which is nice.  The tickets for the game range from 6,000-12,000 won (slightly less than $6-$12), MUCH cheaper than you would find in the US.  The concessions are also a lot more reasonably priced.  They did not however have hot dogs, but they had KFC and Burger King inside the stadium as well as a few other eateries with Korean specialties.  They did not have a seventh inning stretch, and in Korean baseball, after 12 innings if it is a tie, both teams are considered to have lost.  They do not keep playing until a team wins. The Twins did win this particular game against the Eagles.  It was a pretty good time, and for such a reasonable price, I definitely want to go again!

The school (pleasantly) surprised us this week by announcing that in honor of Teacher's Day (May 15 in Korea...mark your calendars, haha) they are taking all of us teachers on an overnight trip to Sami Island, a river island not too far away.  We don't have a day off, but they are taking us May 7/8 after school to go there.  We're all pretty excited about it!

We are going on a field trip on Thursday this week to the zoo at Children's Grand Park.  Good weather pending, it should be a good day and we get free Quizno's for lunch.  We're also going to see some kind of animal show.  I'm so excited to take the kids there!  It will be fun to see how excited they get.  Next week in honor of Children's Day (May 5) we are doing a "Crazy Hair and Vibrant Color" fashion show.  The kids will come decked out and we are expected to as well.  We are also going to teach our kids runway walks and bring makeup to maybe put on them.  It seems a little over the top for 5-7 year olds, but hopefully it will be fun.

That's all from me for now.  Happy Tuesday, Western World!

2 months!

Today officially marks two months since I have been in Korea.  It's hard to believe, but it's true!  Last week we welcomed a new teacher, Chelsea.  She is from Michigan and is in her 20 somethings like the rest of us.  She seems to be doing pretty well so far!

Last weekend I got the opportunity to see Megan and Aaron.  Megan and I went to school together (before college) and found out that we were both going to be in Korea around the same time.  Aaron is in the army, so they are stationed in Daegu, which is a few hours away from Seoul.  They came this past weekend and I showed them around the city a bit.  They also invited me to come to Daegu, which I am thinking about doing this weekend.  It's just a train ride away, and it would be nice to get out of the city since I haven't been since I got here!  I also went to see the cherry blossoms this past weekend, and posted some pictures on my Picasa web album.

My kindergarten students have been doing so well.  It's really amazing to think that doing the workbooks with them was SO difficult when I first started with them, and now they have improved so much.  When I first started with them, most of them had to have me help them with every letter they had to write, and now, if I just say out loud what letter they need to write, they know what it is.  Also, when I came, only one student knew how to read.  Now about three more are reading some words on their own!  It's amazing how quickly they are learning.

We did cooking class for the first time this past week.  The school decided to have this once a month, and this was our trial run.  We made BLT sandwiches, and the students (and teacher) did pretty well.  They all successfully made the sandwich and were able to eat half and take the other half home.

Last week, we had a spelling bee  for kids in our afternoon classes.  I was the MC.  Having once been an avid spelling bee competitor, it was kind of funny to be on the other side of the competition.  The kids in my class did well, and I was proud of them.

That's all from me for now.  Happy Thursday, Western World!

But, if we are wise, we know that there's always tomorrow

Well as most of my readers know, this past week has been rather difficult as I received news of my grandfather passing away.  It has definitely been a new experience dealing with a tragedy on the other side of the world, but I know that in the end I will come out stronger.  I would also like to profoundly thank everyone for their support and continuing support while I'm over here.  It is greatly appreciated.

One rather shocking thing this week was the Dunkin' Donuts across the street from my school closed.  It was there on Friday and completely packed up Monday.  The sign was taken down and no sign of any equipment.  It was amazing to me that a business could close up that quickly.  Usually it takes so long in the US to clear out, but they shipped out pretty fast here.  Any readers concerned about my coffee well-being- no fear, there is one two blocks from my apartment.

I had my first payday on Friday, which was an incredibly exciting day.  I am now a millionaire! (In Korean won, that is.)  I also booked a trip for a three day weekend we have in May.  I'm going to Geomundo and Treasure Island.  If you want more information about the trip, here is the link to the group I booked it through, Adventure Korea.  It is a travel group specifically for foreigners.  http://www.adventurekorea.com/ourAdventure/calendar_content.asp?id=calendar&RowNo=478

My kids continue to impress me with how much they're learning English.  Not much else to say now, Happy Tuesday Western World!

Son-sang-nim (Teacher)

Hello everyone and Happy Easter!  This week went by pretty quickly and was a busy week at school.  My kids were pretty good this week, although there were a couple of incidents.  One of my students peed his pants unfortunately, and there were a few tears shed, however all turned out alright.  On Friday we celebrated Easter by dying some Easter eggs and decorating them with stickers.  The kids were really amazed at how the dye worked and were excited to take them home.

This weekend has been pretty good.  Our school said goodbye to Ashley this weekend, who is headed home for Minnesota, and said hello to David, who is from Georgia.  David has been here a few months already, but his school had financial problems and closed down, so he was lucky enough to find a job at our school, and our school was lucky because they didn't have to fly another American out.  (The likelihood of my school closing down for a similar reason is very low.  We are part of a large chain and so there is a large safety net.  The school he was working for only had a few locations.)  To say goodbye to Ashley we went out to eat at a place called Jenny's Bread, which is like an upscale Panera.  Really good food!

Yesterday I experienced the free market in Hongik.  It has so many really cool things to buy and almost all of them are handmade.  Really great souvenirs.  It's also a great area to go out to eat and go shopping in as well.  I was out with Laura and she got her hair cut, and now I know a good place to go for a hair cut when I need one!  The lady did a great job and spoke really good English.  We also went out to eat at a really great Indian restaurant, so now I know where to go for good Indian food!

Today Laura and I went to the International Lutheran Church.  The pastor is from Mankato, Minnesota, of all places. (If you don't know, Mankato is 12 miles away from Gustavus.)  It was a good service, and I'm thinking about joining the choir.  While there, I also ran into two Gusties, Christine and Shauna (who I knew were in Seoul) and we got to go out for an Easter brunch afterwards!

Overall a pretty good week! I bought a lot of postcards today as well, so if I do not have your address and you would like a postcard, email me and I will be sure to send you one.  Happy Easter Western World!

P.S.- Here are some video links from Korea that you might enjoy watching!

Video one: My kindergarden students singing, "Go Cubs Go." Go Cubs Go!

Video two: Really random Korean toys hopping around on the street.  Crazy toys

Video three: Ice Cream man in Insa-dong who plays tricks on people getting ice cream. Ice cream man

Week in review (part two)

I have discovered from being here so far that Seoul is a very easy place for foreigners to live.  While several signs are exclusively in Korean, there are still many that are in English.  Almost all cab drivers also have a free interpretation hotline to call so that they can translate into Korean where you are going to the cab driver.  If I am just going home, though, all I have to do is show them my Alien Registration Card which has my address on it in Korean.  All the subway signs are also in Korean, English, and Chinese.  When you are riding on the subway, they announce the stops in Korean and English.  When I think about a Korean going to a big city in the United States, I know it must be so much harder for them.  Unless you go to a Korean part of town, hardly anything is in Korean, and especially with public transit, everything is in English.

I have also discovered from being here that it is indeed a small world.  On Saturday I met someone who was from Evanston and went to Evanston Township.  We talked about Evanston and my former summer (beach) workplace and all the places to eat.  It was crazy to be having this conversation with someone in Seoul!  Then yesterday, I met two people from Minnesota who both know people that I know.  The one girl I met knew someone who I was in choir with and lived next door to me last year!

My first three day weekend is in May, and I'm trying to plan a trip for that weekend.  I might be potentially going on an island trip then, we'll see.  Happy Sunday Western World!

Week in review (part one)

Another busy week, so I have a lot to write about!  Instead of doing one very long entry, I'm going to do two entries, one now and another one later.

The week was pretty good as far as teaching is concerned.  I have come across one road block.  In one of my afternoon classes, I have a student who is very young, maybe even too young to be at school.  At the oldest he is four, and is possibly younger.  He has been crying almost every class out of nowhere.  Now, dealing with a four year old with a temper tantrum is hard enough, but with an extra challenge added when you do not speak the same language as they do as a first language.  Thankfully, my supervisor has been very helpful in helping me deal with this kid and told him that he can't cry for no reason like that, otherwise we can't help him.  Hopefully he will be better next week.  The kids in my kindergarden class continue to be cute everyday.  In one of my other afternoon classes, the kids have decided that they are going to tell me happy birthday everyday, and on Wednesday they hid under the table and when I walked in the room jumped out and said, "Happy Birthday!" even though I had told them on Monday my birthday isn't until November.  That class also got a kick out of me saying some Korean words and asked me to say them over and over again.  I didn't comply with the request.

This week I also got to be a "doctor."  On Thursday, the kids spent most of the morning getting a mini-medical check-up from the teachers turned doctors. (They even had white coats for us and everything.)  We were in charge of checking height, weight, hearing and color blindness.  I was in charge of weight and used an impractical scale that made me enter their age, gender, and height before they could step on the scale.  The hearing test that was done was also kind of impractical, using tuning forks in wooden blocks, and since most of the kids don't really know the difference between left and right it didn't work too well. The color blindness test was also pre-dispositioned for failure, as the numbers like 74 and 85 the kids didn't know.  What the teacher ended up doing was blocking one of the numbers so they wouldn't have to try such high numbers.

This week I also finally transferred my phone to my name, so I could put money on it. (Had to wait until I got my Alien Registration Card to do this.)  The woman at the cell phone place didn't speak any English, but was dedicated to helping me and called someone who spoke Korean and English to translate for her.  I was really impressed with how helpful she was and she got everything done.

That's all for part one.  Part two coming later!

Yo-gi-oh!

Hello everyone!  The title is what you say when you want to get a server's attention at a restaurant.  Not to be confused with "Yu-gi-oh" the card game phenomenon that struck a few years ago.  I apologize for the lack of posting this week, but it has been pretty busy!  It's hard to believe that tomorrow marks a month since I got here. 

Things went pretty well at school this week.  No major speed bumps and I picked up a couple more classes, so I'm now teaching about 7 hours a day.  My hours at school are still the same, I just have less prep time, which is fine.

On St. Patrick's Day, I had my class color rainbows and pots of gold during our free time.  I also gave them little treat bags with M&M's and chocolate gold coins at the end of the day.  I of course didn't say anything about them until five minutes before they had to leave, otherwise they would have wanted to eat them during the day.  After school, all of the teachers got together and had pizza and celebrated Laura's birthday. (A fellow teacher.)

Thursday we had an all staff dinner to celebrate the March birthdays.  (Considering there are 9 teachers and 7 Korean staff, having 5 birthdays in one month is a lot!)  We went to a buffet called Seven Springs that had pretty much all western food and was pretty good.  We also got a discount, so it wasn't as expensive as we were initially told.

Friday I went to a jazz club with some of the other teachers that was excellent.  There was no cover charge either, so it was a good way to spend a Friday night.  Saturday I also had traditional Korean Barbecue for the first time which was really good.  We ordered beef and what we were told was pork.  When the "pork" came out we were pretty confused.  It looked nothing like pork.  We then asked another person who worked there who spoke decent English and he told us it wasn't pork-it was pig skin.  We got more of the meat we were supposed to get, but did end up trying the pig skin.  It wasn't all that appetizing, but at least we can say we tried it.  It was also a pretty cheap meal, lots of meat, rice and side dishes for under $5! (5,000 won.)

Yesterday was also the first yellow dust storm I have experienced.  I was really confused as to why it was so dark outside and then the sky was yellow later in the afternoon.  It apparently comes from China's deserts and pollution.  It's advised to not spend too much time outside when these hit.  Thankfully it was gone by today.

I remain amazed at how clean the streets and subways are here.  It's actually difficult to find a trash can sometimes, but yet you never see that much garbage everywhere.  One of the other teachers said it's because Korea employs so many people to take care of it that it's not a big problem here.

I'm also amazed at how sometimes I can understand exactly what Korean people are saying to me even though I don't know a word of what they said.  Hand gestures and facial expressions can sometimes tell a story alone.  Obviously knowing the language would be the most helpful, but in the meantime I'm just improving my charades skills.

Happy Sunday Western World!

Friday's, White Day and Warhol

Hello everyone!  I had a pretty good weekend over here.  On Friday night I went out to eat at TGI Friday's...yes, just like the one in the US.  The menu was slightly different, but had a lot of the same stuff on it, including my favorite brownie dessert.  (Which was, however, slightly different than the one in the US.  I don't think they used Ghiradeli Chocolate.)  The mall where I ate, the COEX, is a huge mall that is kind of like a maze.  They have Friday's there as well as Uno's (with "Chicago style" food,) Pizza Hut, Quizno's, Subway, and several other Western places.  I wanted to see a movie at the theatre there too, but they were all starting way too late.  They release American movies here, usually at a later release date than in the US, and then they have Korean subtitles.  I was happy to know that I can find movie theatres here!

Saturday was a pretty relaxed day.  I spent quite a bit of time on Skype with friends and family, and then I went to Itaewon to meet up with one of my friends who is currently in Korea.  She doesn't live in Seoul, but she was up here for the weekend to go shopping and visit some other people.  Then Saturday night was a dinner party with all of the other teachers from school.

Yesterday I went to Insadong for the first time.  It's a pretty cool area with a lot of little shops and great street food.  I got this thing similar to a pancake with cinnamon sugar inside.  I keep forgetting what the Korean name for it is, but it was really good, and less than 1000 won. (Which is less than $1.)  I also caught my first sight and smell of a street vendor with silkworms, a delicacy in Korea that I'd probably rather not venture to try.  After that I met up with Greg and Danielle, two Gustavus graduates who are living and teaching right outside of Seoul.  We went to the Andy Warhol exhibition at the Seoul Museum of Art and then out for some Korean food.  It was the best Korean food I had so far!  I have not had any good Kimchi yet, as my only experience with Kimchi has been the school lunch, but last night at dinner the kimchi was really good, as well as the mondu, beef, and noodles.  Delicious!  It was also really great to spend time with them.

Yesterday was White Day in Korea.  Here, Valentine's Day is a holiday where the girl gives a guy something, and White Day is a holiday where the guy gives the girl something.  Both are considered romantic holidays.  There is also Black Day, which is single's day, and I'm not entirely sure when that is.

That's all from me for now.  Happy Monday, Western World! (Also note:  Daylight savings is NOT observed in Korea, so there is now only a 14 hour difference between here and Central Standard Time.)

Emily Teacher! Mamma Mia! Mamma Mia!

The week before I got here, the school had a festival performance.  In this, all the students had dances and songs (one of them being a medley from "Grease.")  The teachers also had a dance performance to ABBA's "Mamma Mia."  Since my students found out that I have that song on my iPod (please hold back judgments) they request that I play it every day.  However, we also colored spiders this week, during which I played "Spider Man" a la Michael Buble.  Now they request BOTH of these songs every day.  I didn't play either today, but I am discovering a theory that if you play a song enough times on repeat with younger children they will begin to like it and ask for it again and again.

Tonight I had my first experience with a Korean spin class.  For those of you who don't know what spin is, it's a group cycling class on stationary bikes, and in the United States, you adjust resistance and bike harder and simulate hills during your workout.  I have done spin in the US and I really enjoy it, and I heard that the spin class here was quite different, and wanted to try it.  I think the best way to describe it is this: if Richard Simmons were Korean and led a spin class, this is what it would be like.  There are flashing lights and spinning disco balls in the spin classroom.  There was club type music playing and the instructor would turn the music down every so often and have the class sing along. Then, you don't do much with the resistance, but you do dance moves while on the bike.  This includes fist pumps, shimmying, quick head turning and booty shaking.  All while riding a bike.  It was pretty crazy but fun.  The instructor also during one song came and gave feedback to everyone on the bike.  Or he just stood there and did dance moves.  I have never laughed so much during a fitness class.  Who knows, I just might sign up to take it every week.

That is all from me for now.  Happy Thursday, Western World!

Figuring things out

Every week, I send home comment books to the parents of my kindergarten students.  Last week, I just introduced myself, and said a little bit about each child.  Some of the parents responded in English and others responded in Korean, and my supervisor translated it into English for me.  Some teachers find this tedious, but I actually really like doing it!  I think it's a great way to communicate with the parents who I don't always see, since most of the kids take the bus to and from school.  The general consensus so far is that my students told their parents that I am pretty and kind. (Thought it was kind of odd to mention physical appearance, but it is perhaps another cultural thing.)  Let's hope they at least continue to think the latter! Also, one thing I really appreciate about Korean culture is that the parents are not in denial when their kid is bad.  The one (kind of) troublemaker I have in class had their parent write that she knows that he can cause trouble sometimes and that I can let her know about it and what I think she can do at home to help.  This is not only my class, either.  Several other teachers have been brought presents or treats from parents as apologies for their children behaving badly.  I have found to be the case with several of my misbehaved students in the US that parents are in denial that their child could be doing wrong, and I am glad that is not the case here.

Today I left school a little early to go apply for my Alien Registration Card.  This will enable me to travel outside of Korea once I get the chance and open my bank account.  Right now, the Visa I have is single entry, so I can't travel outside the country until I get the card in a couple weeks.  It was a lot like going to the DMV...except a little worse in terms of wait.  I picked number 661, and they were only on number 580 when I got there.  Thankfully it only took about an hour and a half, but I was a bit frightened when I saw where my place in line was.  With all that done, they should be getting me my card soon!

I got my first piece of mail today from my friend Karen.  Apparently it took only a little over a week to get here.  She didn't use stamps, but went to the post office and only paid about $1.  It was card sized, to give you a point of reference.  I think if you just use stamps it takes longer.

That's all from me for now, it's my bed time.  Enjoy your Tuesday everyone!

Seoul Searching

I find the blog post title appropriate for a couple reasons.  I also titled my photo album the same thing.  You can click on the link below to see my pictures so far!   

Seoul Searching

 I really am just beginning to search around Seoul, and kind of figure out the city.  But also, I am reaffirming through this experience my soul decision to be a teacher.  One of my friends asked me what the best thing about being here was so far and I said teaching and having my own classroom.  I love that I get to work with kids every day and help them learn.  It's so much fun!

Outside of that, however, I really love living in a big city again.  I loved when I lived in Chicago (not around it, in it, though to be clear I do like the Chicago suburbs as well) and was excited for the opportunity to live in another city.  There are so many places to walk to and so many things to do!  There are a lot of foreigner friendly places as well, which is nice.

I went for a long walk around Olympic Park on Saturday.  It is so cool, and I can't wait for everything to start blooming and for the dreary brown of winter to be gone.  It is a HUGE park and a really great place to go for a walk, jog, etc.  My favorite things I saw so far (didn't even see all of it!) were the World Peace Gate and the Olympic Swimming Pool. (Surprise!)  I also got to go to Itaewon (American/Non-Korean part of town) on Saturday and ate a burger and fries at Kraze Burger, which were pretty good.  I guess now I know where to go when I get a craving for a burger!

It is a bit past 11 here, so I am about to head to bed.  Happy Sunday everyone!

-Emily

First few days

Hello everyone! It has been quite the busy week for me. I met up with Brandon and Lisa on Monday for lunch in Itaewon (American part of town) and walked around there for a while. There I discovered that Korea can be a place for haggling as well. Brandon wanted to buy a backpack and she originally told him 65,000 won. He said no, he would only pay 30,000. It was clear she really wanted to make a sale, so they kept bargaining until he got it for 35,000 won. They also had a lot of fake Coach and Luis Vuitton purses there too, and a lot of American sports gear. I also got ice cream from Coldstone, which was very good!

I spent all day on Tuesday setting up my classroom, and also went to the hospital for my medical exam. Part of the deal with coming over here is getting a medical exam to make sure I'm not carrying infectious diseases. One of the supervisors came with me and translated everything so it was no trouble at all.

Yesterday was my first day with the kids. I have six kindergarden students. Sam, Uni, Kelly, Eddie, Joseph and John. These are their names that they picked for the school. These are not their "real" names as their real names are Korean names. However, to make it work with the school policy of no speaking Korean they have to choose English names. The kids seemed a little scared of me at first, but now are starting to warm up to me. I was told before I came here that kids might be scared of you at first because they don't see that many people like you in general. Since the population in Korea is 95% Korean, that makes sense. The book that we were supposed to use at the beginning of the day yesterday hasn't come in yet, so instead we started coloring flowers for our classroom garden. There is a wide range of English abilities. The student in the class with the best English can read and write without problem. The student who is struggling the most has to have things repeated several times before he gets it. I try to speak very slowly and clearly so that they can understand what I am saying. They are doing pretty well so far. They have been at the school for a year, but somehow some of them missed learning the alphabet, so I am doing some review on that now.

I also have two afternoon classes, one with nine 8 year olds, and another with 4 4 year olds. I really like both of those classes, and I really like that one of my 4 year olds comes in with a faux hawk everyday. He also likes to sing and after we did "Head Shoulders Knees and Toes" he kept singing it while he was getting ready to go home.

So far so good! I also found a website to download American TV shows, so I can keep up with my favorites from back home. Additionally, I set up a Skype phone number. It is (630) 303 9875. You can call this number from your regular phone, and if I am signed on to Skype I can answer, and if not you can leave me a voicemail. Also, when I make calls from Skype to a phone, that is the number that will show up.

There are so many things to do in Seoul! There are definitely plenty of different activities I can do to keep me entertained.

Well it is about time for bed, so have a good day everyone!

-Emily

Symphony and Costco

Hello everyone! I have officially moved into my apartment as of yesterday. I'm unpacked, but not completely organized and not decorated. It's a cute apartment and I like it a lot. It's a studio with a little kitchen and bathroom. There is no oven, so I think I'm going to take the advice from other teachers and buy a toaster oven sometime in the next couple of days, as they say it has worked well for them in place of an oven. The internet at my apartment isn't completely working, but I found a wireless network without a password to use for now.

Friday we had no students at school, but still had to be there since it was graduation day for the 2nd graders. (That is as high as our school goes.) Friday afternoon we got treated to a nice lunch to say goodbye to the teachers who are leaving, hello to our new director and hello to me. It was a five course Italian meal and incredibly delicious. Friday night I went to see the Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra, with Laura and Ashley which was amazing! They played the Overture from the Barber of Seville, Brahms' Piano Concerto #1 and Dvorak Symphony #9. The piano soloist for the piano concerto was absolutely incredible, and orchestra played really well overall. The ticket came out to about $8, and they had free juice during intermission. Completely worth it.

Yesterday I spent most of the day unpacking, then went with all the teachers to Itaewon, the American part of town for dinner and goodbye to the teachers who are leaving. Everything there is in English and all of a sudden you see a lot of non-Korean people once you step off the subway. I was able to eat a chicken sandwich and fries, which was a very delicious decision. I got really tired so called it an early evening and went home before everyone else.

Today I got to have my experience with Korean Costco. They have so many things the same as as the Costco in the United States. It was a great place to go for a first time grocery run, a good way to stock up on certain things. Terrance and Megan were nice enough to take me there with their card and then help me carry my groceries back to the apartment. They have definitely been extremely helpful! It's so good to have a supply of food now.

We have tomorrow off because it's Buddha's birthday, and we have to be at school Tuesday, though no students until Wednesday for the new school year. I'm going to have five cute kindergarden students all day, then teach 2 classes after school with 1st and 2nd graders. I'm going to decorate my classroom all day on Tuesday, set it up, and clean up the mess Steve left at the desk I'm taking over and set it up how I want to.

Tomorrow I might be going mountain hiking, meeting up with some other people I know here, or both! We'll see how the day pans out.

Happy Sunday everyone!

Emily Teacher

Emily Teacher- That is what students call me and all teachers/supervisors in the school. First name and then Teacher. While observing a class, students were asked to describe things going on in a picture of a birthday party. There were three adults in the picture and the students referred to all of them as teachers. They looked like Americans (non-Korean Americans), and so for them to have that connection makes sense-the only Americans they know are teachers.

I started taking the subway a couple of days ago. I got my T-Money card and put some cash on it. They don't offer any unlimited monthly passes or anything like that, but it averages out to about 70 cents per ride. Even if I rode the subway 100 times in one month that's only $70! Not a bad deal at all. The first time I took the subway Megan came with me, and while I was a bit nervous to try it by myself yesterday, it was not hard at all. I have a little map that I kept checking and I didn't get lost at all! (Though I probably will sometime, just not yesterday.) The Korean subway is much different than any subway I have experienced. First of all, it is clean and it doesn't smell terrible as subways notoriously do. They also have glass doors that block off the actual rails, similar to some airport trams. Korean people also wait in line for the subway that comes in to the station. There is no mob, no pushing and shoving, but everybody waits their turn to get on. The subway ride is also very smooth and I found myself being able to stand up without holding on to anything with no problem. They also play classical music in between stops.

I signed up for a gym the other day called "Jamaica Fitness." A couple of the other teachers from the school go there, so I'm trying it for a month and then deciding how I like it. All of the machines are in English, so that makes it easier for me, and the staff speak a little English as well. I walked into the locker room for the first time and saw a bunch of shoes and said, "Oh how nice, they have shoes for you in case you forget yours." Then Megan told me that no, actually, they leave their shoes at the gym. As I'm finding out, Korea has a very trusting culture. They also don't send bills for the gym membership, as they expect people to be honest and pay. Also, for the subways there is no turnstile, you scan your card and walk through, but someone could easily walk through without paying. Megan tutors a thirteen year old daughter of one of the staff in English, and she had to explain what stealing was to her. She asked Megan why anyone would want to do that. Of course this could be an exception, but that is amazing to me. Most of the trouble that people hear about is caused by foreigners, not Koreans. Very interesting to learn.

I also got a phone from Meghan (notice different spelling, different person!) someone I know from Gustavus who is leaving this weekend. I get free incoming calls, but outgoing are expensive, so it is likely that I will not make any calls on this phone, and will limit my calling to Skype once I can use my personal computer.

Here is the number: 010-8062-9851

I found a website that talks about how to call Korean phones from the US, but I obviously have no way to try it, so here is the link. http://www.howtocallabroad.com/south-korea/

Well I'm going to start getting ready for the school day now. Have a great evening!

-Emily

Address!

I forgot to post my address in my last blog! I talked to the other teachers and they said the school is the best place to send mail, so here it is.

Emily Moran
LCI Kids Club
3rd Floor Shinsung Bldg. #489-8
Dunchon-dong, Gangdong-Gu
Seoul, Korea, 134-060

Panty Man

In case you're wondering why I titled this post "Panty Man" it's because I found out yesterday that the students call Superman "Panty Man. " One of the students also asked me if I liked panties. I just laughed.

I got my luggage back yesterday, so I'm happy about that. I'm going to try to unpack as little as possible still, since I won't be moving into my apartment until sometime this weekend. It is 5:30 here right now, and I have been up since 4, so I have jet lag to thank for that. It's ok though, since I have TV and the Olympics are on and I do have internet access.

I got to do several observations at the school yesterday, and got excited whenever I realized I was getting paid for my time. It is still not entirely certain all of the classes I will be taking. I will have Kendra's class during the day (5 and 6 year olds, very small class) and then in the afternoon I will be teaching a couple of classes as well. The students are at all different levels in their knowledge of English. They are technically not allowed to speak Korean once entering the school, and during the school day I didn't hear much Korean. After school, however, several of those students don't have any other English education outside of these classes two or three days a week, so they usually do not retain much of what they learn. Some of the classes were very wound up to have a new person around, and some seemed to be more shy. It is a pretty small school, and all of the teachers are American, and the rest of the staff is Korean. I was kind of shocked that all the teachers were Americans, as I was expecting some Korean teachers. However, given the rule of no Korean, it makes sense since we cannot speak Korean and help them in that way. The school I am working for, the Songpa-Gangdong LCI Kids Club has a very set curriculum. It means that I will not be spending very much time lesson planning, as so much of it is given to me. I will use my creativity in other ways when presenting material, but not in coming up with the material. I will be observing all week, and they have a graduation ceremony on Friday for the 7 year olds leaving the school. This weekend is a three day weekend, and the new school year starts Tuesday, so things are kind of hectic right now. They are also getting a new director at the end of the week, which has made things even crazier.

Last night after I got back from school, I started watching some TV. I was surprised to find so many channels in English with Korean captions. They have the Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Style, and a few other ones. Shawshank Redemption was on with Korean captions, and GLEE the TV show was on, which made me SO happy. They also have Korean MTV which I watched for a while. It seems like boy bands and girl bands are quite popular over here, since that is most of what I saw.

The kids seem really sweet at the school, and I'm excited to start teaching. I already got a present from one yesterday, a candy necklace he made.

That's all from me for now!

-Emily

I'm here!

Hello everyone! I made it safely to Korea. My two connecting flights in Denver and Los Angeles were really close, but I did make it. The travel time was long, but was actually not too bad. The flight to Korea had personal tv screens on the back of each seat, with a selection of about 20 movies and some tv shows available to watch. I put on probably about 5 movies during the course of the 13 hour flight and fell asleep during each one of them. They were clearly really good movies worth watching.

I made a couple of friends on the way over, Lisa who is from Denver but just graduated from Washington University, and Brandon who went to Hamline in the Twin Cities. We talked quite a bit whenever we walked around during the flight, and they both are not too far from where I am staying. When we arrived in Seoul, oddly enough, we saw all three of our names rotating on the baggage carousel. As it turns out, they somehow didn't get our luggage over. All I could do was laugh because I had prepared for this with what I brought in my carry-on, clothes for a few days, a pair of dress shoes, and travel size toiletries. I was just really glad I thought about it ahead of time. Not having a personal phone number to give them, I gave them the phone number for the school, and they'll call the school when my luggage gets in and deliver it.

As soon as I filled out the missing luggage paperwork, and walked out, I saw a Dunkin Donuts. Turns out they have them all over here, and one right by the school. I guess I know where I can get my coffee fix. Mike came and picked me up from the airport and took me to my hotel. I will be staying here until about Saturday, when the teacher (Kendra) whose place I am taking leaves. It is a pretty nice hotel room, and I have this lovely computer with internet. There is not wireless in the hotel, so I won't put up any pictures until I use my personal computer with the internet. Right after I got in here, Terrance and Megan (two American teachers from New York from my school) came over and showed me around the neighborhood and we went and got some dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant which was really good. The menu was in English and Korean so that made it very easy.

The neighborhood I am in is really great, only a couple blocks from the subway, and so many places to eat and shop nearby.

Well believe it or not I am pretty tired and it is 10:22 pm here, so I am headed to bed. Have a great day everyone!

-Emily

6 days!

Hello everyone! Just a few things.

I got my flight itinerary finally, and I'll be leaving this upcoming Sunday (21st) at 6:13 am. I am flying from Minneapolis to Denver with a short layover there, Denver to Los Angeles, with an hour and a half layover there, and then LA to Seoul. I just got back from Chicago, and there is much to be done before Sunday! I will be using my time pretty wisely this week to ensure I don't forget anything.

I will be using the internet as my primary source of communication. While I will have a phone that I am buying from someone over there now, I am not entirely sure how pricey it will be. Once I have the number, however, I will post it on here. Once I get internet set up at my apartment, the best ways to keep in touch will be on Skype (username: emoran87, add me if you haven't already!) and through email (emily.a.moran@gmail.com)

What I would really like from anyone in cyberland reading this is mailing addresses! I would like to send mail to people, and so if you don't think I have your address (I probably don't) just email it to me, and I'll put it in my first ever, legitimate, address book.

That's all from me for now. Have a great night everyone!

-Emily

One month!

My departure date draws nearer. It's hard to believe I'm going to South Korea in a month!

No later than a few hours after I wrote that last entry did I find out that I'm actually going to be working for a different school in South Korea. As it turns out, the school that initially wanted to hire me has lower enrollment numbers than they anticipated. However, their sister school, the Songpa-Gangdong LCI school was still in need of a teacher. It is still in roughly the same neighborhood, just a little further east. I'll be closer to the Olympic Park than I was going to be initially, and a little farther from the Olympic Stadium. It's still the same neighborhood though!

Until I leave, I will continue working for the YMCA in Burnsville, MN. I did want to substitute teach, but alas, most districts will not let you do that until you receive your actual teaching license, which I will still not get for a couple more weeks.

I will be in Chicago one last time before I leave, February 11-February 15 (leaving at 3 pm the 15th.) My departure date is going to be either February 19 or 20th from my understanding, I'm still waiting for the official word from the school.

That's all from me for now. Have a great day!

My next adventure!

Hello! (Annyeong-haseyo) As a lot of you already know, I have found a job for my next step in teaching. On February 17, I will be moving to Seoul, South Korea to teach for a year. I will be working at the Jamsil LCI School and teaching English to elementary school children. While it is not teaching music, it is still doing so many of the things I want to do: go abroad, teach, live in a big city, experience a different culture, travel and start sooner rather than later! Also, the school said I might be able to start a choir, which would be wonderful! This is an incredible opportunity with so many advantages, it was hard to pass up. They are paying for my airfare, housing, and half of health insurance. On top of that I get a salary, and will only be responsible for paying for utilities, internet, phone and food.

The school and where I will be living is in a wonderful location, considered one of the best places to live in Seoul. I will be right by the Olympic park and stadium that were built for the 1988 Olympics, as well as the river, the subway, and a large indoor amusement park. It's a quite bustling area to be in!

The time difference between here and S. Korea is 15 hours. (They are 15 hours ahead of us) So as I am writing this, it is 5:15 tomorrow morning there! I will continue to use Skype while I'm over there (hopefully more than in Spain, because the internet will be more accessible) and I will probably purchase a Korean phone once I get there.

I'm really excited about this opportunity, and I will keep everyone updated on it!

-Emily