Happy Tales

Check out the Happy Tale I wrote about Meeko's (yes I changed Sonny's name to Meeko after the mischievous raccoon on Pocahontas) on the site that I adopted him from. The organization certainly has saved a lot of dog and cat lives in Korea. Surf their site and learn more.

To the tune of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song:
"Now, this is a story all about how
My life got flipped-turned upside down
And I'd like to take a minute
Just sit right there
I'll tell you how I became a cat with a name of Meeko

In south of Seoul, Korea born and raised
Out on the streets was where I spent most of my days
Huntin' out playin' relaxin' all cool
And all survivin' the streets with very little food :(
When a couple of guys
Who were up to some good
Picked me up and took me to a shelter-hood
I looked deep into the eyes of one volunteer
She said 'You're comin' home with me; I will give you care'

My temp name was Karra and I met a new cat
And started going potty in some sand in a box
She posted my story and pics on ARK's site
And one week later moved to my new mom's, Sarah!

I pulled up to the house about 11 or 10
And I checked the new crib 'Yo home: you smell good!'
I looked at my mommy
I was finally there
To sit on my throne as Meeko the Cool Cat!"

So that's all fun and I hope you followed the storyline. Here's a story from the foster mom Katey:
"I found Karra aka Little Guy, at an animal shelter that my boyfriend and I had been volunteering at. We told the shelter that I am allergic to some dogs so we could only volunteer with the cats because they had told us they don’t really take care of the cats there. The cats and kittens were all in run down cages outdoors (I wonder what will happen in the winter) and I felt terribly bad for them. One day while washing some of the older cats that were covered in their own feces and urine, some new kittens came in and I just couldn’t bear to leave there another day without rescuing some of them. We ended up taking two babies home with us, as there is no adoption fee and they really don’t monitor the cats as well as the dogs. After numerous vet trips the kittens were able to be adopted out. The first one to leave went to a friend of ours. After a few weeks I heard of ARK and posted the picture of our ‘Little Guy’ and within a week had found a wonderful match for him! I hope to go back there and get more to find homes for!"

After I, Sarah, adopted him and visited the vet for the first round of vaccinations, he started taking pills for a mold on his skin. He took them for two weeks then stopped for a week but now is on them for one more week just to make sure it's cleared. His ear mites are gone and he's getting neutered mid-December. He is my lovey - like a kid. I've spoiled him with gifts and we play all the time. He sleeps and cuddles by my warm body. We are already very close. I think Meeko found his way to me. I named him after the mischievous raccoon companion in Pocahontas and the fact that his markings are similar to a raccoon. Plus it's a cute name.

I want to say thank you to Katey and the ARK organization for your efforts. You've given us both a family. :)


Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm thankful for my cat, my opportunity to be in Korea, my friends at home, my friends here, my family, Phil, my students, food, G-Market.co.kr, my senses, knowledge, and so many more things. I love you, life!

Home

I'm currently sitting at a coffee shop at the station by my house (Yoger Presso) drinking a hot mint mocha latte and eating a hot blueberry waffle with powdered sugar. On my way out I said goodbye to my kitty who was not happy with my leaving. While walking along the river to the station, listening to the Bird and the Bee (my current "always listen to" band,) I soaked up the sun and cool fresh air. I couldn't help but smile over the remaining nature, warm sun rays, happy people walking with loved ones, and accepting this place at my home.

I think back on the places I've called home: Lenexa, St. Teresa's Academy, Creighton, Omaha, and now Uijeongbu. They say home is where your heart is. Is it possible to split your heart into many? My heart seems to be stretched thin these days. :) In each home, it never quite became that for me until I found my "family." Only recently did I start finding my group here and frankly, they're my newest family. Of course having a child (aka kitten) helps with the whole family concept. I no longer am expecting the week to end with a flight to the USA because I'm "only on vacation." I have accepted that this is my life for the next year and I'm enjoying it. My how time flies when you're having fun - 1/4 finished with my year.

I'll be heading to the Seoul horseraces with Alison and the girls in a few minutes and maybe be making some money! ha actually I don't even know if I'll be betting but it should be a fun time and a chance to meet more foreigners!

Oh yeah - and welcome to South Korea Zach!! (friend from KC teaching south of Seoul...)

Hoping your week starts as bright as mine... ^^

This is what I'm going through right now

I'm trying to feed Sonny his pills but he won't take them. I had to "wikihow" techniques. You know when you're typing "how to give a cat a pill" into google, you're having troubles.

_____________________

On another note...it's been forever since my last update. I figure it's because every time I write a blog it takes 4 hours since I'm so detailed and want to write about every little thing. This time I'm testing a new technique: bullet-point summaries. I predict it will be non-chronological and slightly confusing. Let's see how this goes.

1. Please see my newest pics on my Facebook album with comments and easy scrolling. Any feedback on whether you prefer the in-blog pics, shutterfly, or facebook would be greatly appreciated. No guarantees on honoring your request! haha

2. If you're one of my students (B6-1/B6-P!) reading this, then ignore my grammar! Blog writing is not correct! For +2 points, ask me this joke next time you're in class: "What falls down but never gets hurt?"

3. Had Membership Training (MT) with my school - I found out later that MT also means somethings like "drink until you puke" in Korean. SOOO....many drinking games, whisky, soju, beer, milk, food for hour = puking. I didn't but some did. Not a good next. Fun bonding with co-workers and there was some team building activities.

4. Day after MT visited a well-known lake for some sightseeing. Lots of random statues. Took a swan paddle boat on the lake for a splash fest against a much more controllable rowboat. We lost. Obviously.

5. Visited a Korean Folk Village about 3.5 hours from where I live - comparable to a one-room schoolhouse (or Amish village) visit in the states. Interesting and peaceful.

6. I met another teacher, Kelli, from South Dakota who works and lives so close to me. We occasionally meet for lunch and hang out on the weekends. Really awesome and nice girl. Will make a good weekend trip buddy.

7. I've explored the downtown area of Uijeongbu much more and found some interesting markets with interesting things i.e. pig heads, freshly butchered fish, purple and white spiraled beans, bamboo trees, any dried sea creature, charred octopus legs, noodle-stuffed pig intestines...the list goes on. Also have visited a few western bars and restaurants - good to have a taste of home - of course it comes with a little Korean style on top.

8. Climbed Mt. Seoraksan (mentioned in last post) with the Kim Family (GaYeong's family.) It was their little family trip. Took a bus there in the early morning and took a breathtakingly beautiful 5 hour hike across this famous mountain. The fall colors were gorgeous. My Facebook album is mostly of this trip. The pic of the leaves at the top of my blog are leaves I collected from the hike - such amazing colors.

9. My body hurt for one week after that hike.

10. I got the kitten!

11. I named the kitten "Sonny" because I couldn't stop thinking of "I've got you babe" by Sonny and Cher the days after I got him....thinking of changing it. haha.

12. Planned and had a successful Halloween event at PLUS Academy (Korea doesn't celebrate Halloween so this was many kids first time.) Not the expected amount of students came because it was raining but the students still had a blast. The decor was awesome! The kids loved the costumes, games (mummy wrapping, pumpkin relays, trick (dare) or treat, orange toss) face painting, monster popcorn hands, ghost stories, mystery boxes, and of course - candy! I was proud to be a part of it!

13. Was looking for something fun to do for the night of Halloween and surfed the internet. I stumbled upon a Facebook group for Uijeongbu and then their Halloween event. I made a post to their group page and got a few messages saying I should come to the party. I even found a new friend to go with! Alison from Canada! GaYeong joined us as well. I was a nerd-witch turned "Sally Potter" throughout the night. I had a blast meeting a load of new people and just hanging around Uijeongbu. This new group has already proved to be friendly and fun.

14. Was privileged to go to a Korean wedding - one of the male Korean teachers at PLUS invited me. Unfortunately, my camera was out of battery but the images are in my head. The bride and groom wear western-style dress for the ceremony then change into their hanbok traditional clothes for a private tea ceremony with the parents and the reception. The parents wear hanbok as well while everyone else wears the same as what you would wear in America. There are no bridesmaids or groomsmen. The 6 floor wedding hall is built to be used for only weddings and has pre-decor and music. The reception hall is shared with other wedding parties (multiple couples getting married each day - probably 10 at this hall.) The ceremony was 20 minutes. The buffet was however long you wanted. The end. It's over. No dance. Just quick and easy! I must admit it was beautiful and really interesting. I know the bride and groom were still stressed like the states.

15. I took Sonny to a great vet - ears cleaned, claws clipped, 1 of 3 rounds of vaccines, and he has mold on his skin! He has to have a pill twice a day and a shower every three days - essentially the definition of cat owner hell. BUT it's totally worth it - this little guy has a spunky personality, a hunter spirit, kisses me hello, sleeps on my warmth, purrs for a good stroke, and looks in my eyes with love :) He's amazing. FYI: I will be bringing him back to the States with me.

16. Met Alison and the Uijeongbu Crew: Meg, Feb, Stella, Breda, Alex, and many more for drinks on Friday and dinner in Seoul on Saturday. Post-dinner Saturday continued to a western "ice" bar (hole of ice with beer from all over the world in the middle of the table) and then a booking club. You may ask: what is a booking club? No we don't read books on a Saturday at 12am. It's like a night club but there's an extra step: you get dragged to tables of the opposite sex by employees. It's like night club speed dating. Pretty fun - music and dancing was good. I got dragged once. hehe! Friends only mister!

17. 11.11=Veteran's Day in America=Pepero Day in Korea. Pepero is a chocolately delicious snack stick that is considered to look like 1 1 1 1. It's celebrated much like the American Valentine's Day. My students flooded me with boxes. I did not object.

18. Sonny got a collar and tags are on the way! His 2nd visit to the vet let me know that his recent diarrhea might be related to my easy method of mix-the-capsule-powder-into-wet-food. Thus, I'm struggling to feed him the whole pill. First successful feed: 11-12-09 at 11:03:39 PM.

19. Major back problem: I think a small gnome snuck into my apt and stabbed an invisible knife in the left side of my back. I can't use the muscle that requires you to hold your head forward (sit up, ride in a car, lead head back.) At first I thought it was muscle, now I think it's bone. Either way - I dunno wtf to do here - no chiropractors! I went to an oriental doctor today and will go three more days to manage the pain. Of course if something's out of alignment, then I'll probably be in pain soon after these session. I like the acupuncture though - it's relaxing and it helped a little the first time. If next week is still bad, I'll visit some bone-ish doctor and see what they can do. I think I just need to find that gnome and torture him until he takes out the knife. Any advice on how to track gnomes is appreciated. Seriously.

20. Cleaned apartment and did laundry. Ate almost rotten food. Started to set up Quicken. Transferred money to US bank (YAY small cheers inside.) Set up school loan repayment (BOO small growls inside.) Notes to self: learn to buy food smarter. Buy winter clothes. Look into learning Korean. Be a more frequent blogger.

Things that make me smile

Some short thoughts I've been meaning to post...

Last week I walked into my classroom to a funny scene by one of my students, English name Cole, who has a difficult time paying attention and following along. He had two pieces of scotch tape holding up his upper eyelids and two pieces of scotch tape pulling down his bottom lid. He looked at me and said with a completely straight face (and no blinking), "Teacher! Teacher! No sleep! No Sleep!" I burst out laughing - couldn't even hold it in. He was serious - he never cracked a smile. The best part was - he participated way more than usual. Maybe I should recommend this method for my middle school classes!

Went hiking on this mountain last weekend. More details and pictures to come. It was gorgeous with all of the fall colors. The picture at the top of my blog are leaves that I've collected.

I'm meeting a potential kitten for adoption tonight! I'm soooo stoked! He's adorable and sounds amazing! Apparently he likes to watch TV and movies when they're on! heehee! His temporary name is Little Guy or Karra. I felt he was calling my name. The foster parents are bringing him over to my apartment after I get off work tonight (so nice and willing of them - its a one hour drive!) If we click, I'll keep him now or think about it for a few days and prepare my apartment for his arrival!

Wanted to share this diary entry of one of my students that moved up levels of classes and switched from the other foreign teacher to me. Made me smile. (These are the kind of things I get to grade!! I included the mistakes too!)
" 'New Teacher'
My new teacher is 'Sarah' She is very pretty and she is very kind. Umm...And She is very fun fun ~! I like her. Dominic is very fun. but Sarah is very very very very very x10000000 fun. :) Ah. Sorry. Dominic ^^;"

:) = ^^

Time flies when you're having fun!

Can't believe it's been this long since my last post. I've taken a whopping 170 new pictures since then! ha! A little crazy...guess it's good I have digital! (thanks Mom!)

Didn't end up going to the palace but I'm sure I'll make it there in the near future. I did however go see Fame (English!!) and ate Pizza Hut! I also bought a new phone. I ended up buying a contract phone with SHOW (one of the top three cell phone companies) under my Korean friend's name. The bill still gets paid out of my bank account so no fuss with that. It was quite a decision and struggle to get one so I'm glad I finally got one. I also chose a sweet phone that i will pay off monthly with my bill. Its dark brown with gold! Bling! Features of the LG Cyon: watch TV, listen to Radio, Mp3, Eng-Kor and Kor-Eng dictionary, subway map, camera, and sweet games to pass time on the subway. It's all-in-all amazing!

SUSHI with PLUS!

Went out for a nice sushi (the sushi with no rice) dinner with the school and the owning company (Woojin) to celebrate having 80 students. (We'd already passed 100, but we missed the 80 celebration so they found a reason to celebrate!) The big man GM was there and a total of about 25 of us! It was so fun. There was toast after toast after toast of "So-Mec" which is soju (yummy Korean rice alcohol) and beer or "mecju" mixed together. Basically, soju bombs. ha. Chugged and finished every time. Notice the bottles on the table. Needless to say, the night turned fun very fast. The pictures I've included are from the night starting with 10pm dinner (this was a Thursday night btw), moving to Karaoke until 3am, and then finishing at another bar at 5am! i skipped the last stop. ha. You can see some food was very different - even for Koreans. Many are just as freaked out as I was about the sea urchin that still moves.

I had no idea and picked it up with my chopstick and accidentally dropped it. Then went to go pick it up again and it was hard! I screamed and dropped it on purpose in fear! I was soo confused! Check out the video. The video is taken about 2 hours after it was out so it wasn't as alive and kicking but it was still moving! You can see me kissing the full fish (which is "pregnant" aka eggs spill out when you bite it.) Did not go for that one :/. Other dishes included a full fish in a sweet sauce which was good. The sushi was on ice and delicious! The final course was these beautiful sushi cones. I could not stop eating!

Then it was on to Karaoke, or the "Nori-bong" translated "singing room." How fun is this?!

I love karaoke-ing so much I think I'm going to start this in the US. For real. It's amazing. I would do it everyday if I could. This nori-bong even had a little US pride with a Statue of liberty carving in the wall! :) I took it as a sign. ha

On Saturday we had an event at the school for promoting. It was really cute. We showed Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs with Korean subtitles. The students brought friends. We provided snacks. At the end, Dominic and I asked quiz questions and handed out candy to the students with the right answers. It was fun and I got some pics of the students! Finally! They probably look really small. I plan to get more soon. I loved it when I walked in the room and a bunch of kids shouted "Teacher Sarah! Hi! Hello! Hello! Hello!" Afterward I got a snapshot of some of my students. Max chose to model. hehe. He was the student that gave me a pack of stickers and an American flag fact card on the first day of school. When I take attendance every class and ask, "Hello. How are you Max?" he's my only student that actually asks about me: "I'm fine. How are you?" with a great big smile. He's a sweetheart (but of course can be a little booger too!)

This past week, my good friend and sorority sister, Laura (who's teaching in China), came to Korea for their holiday break with her other China teachers. Luckily, her week here overlapped with my holiday. We met for lunch one day in Seoul to eat some Italian food and talk. It was a lot of fun to compare our experiences. I think she's interested in coming to Korea next which might be while I'm still here. Later that night (Thursday night of my 3-day weekend) me, some PLUS teachers, Laura, and Laura's friends all met up for a late dinner and a night out. First we went to a bar and took over a whole section with the 15 of us. They made strong drinks there for a middle price. We stayed there for a few hours and the conversation was great. There were people from all over the world speaking the same language sharing ideas about life. It really makes me excited about having more of these conversations while I'm here with the people I meet. We left the first bar at 3am to head to the nori-bong of course! we had more liquor there and a really great time. All English songs - yay! At 5am we weren't about to pay for a $40 taxi when we could just wait another 30 minutes to catch the subways. That's the great thing about a city that never sleeps. Literally. There were still tons of people out and places open! We came across two couples having a picnic of soju and beer on the street with their parked car playing music. We crashed their party and danced but they loved it too. We then headed to a hookah bar which I was soo stoked about but they for some reason wouldn't start us a hookah at 5am! wtf? ha. just kidding. Anyway the place was so cool with drapes and water and candles and flowers. I must go back another day at an earlier time. After that I just headed home. Of course sitting on the subway at 6am for an hour, I fell asleep. Ended up making it home but had to transfer trains twice, wait forever, take a cab to my actual apartment which got a little lost. I got home at 8:30am. HA! Definitely a new record. Needless to say, I slept in.

Saturday was Chu Seok (Korean Thanksgiving) with GaYeong's family. I met her family at a subway station and we continued to her uncle's. They had two dogs, one an angel, one a devil! The devil growled any time you even looked at it even though it was wearing a frog suit. ha i was scared. The angel had her nails painted which I found humorous. We ate a ton of food. The pre-meal snack specific to Chu Seok is songpyeon (a Korean rice cake.) It was delicious. Most people make them and if your expecting, you're supposed to make them pretty for a pretty baby. Instead of team time, they have a fruit course which is delicious and much more healthy I'm sure! I love Korean pears, the grapes are a lot of work but yummy (take the peels off and spit the seeds) and this orange fruit (yut?) is so sweet and I can't really compare it to anything. After the meal, the men went to watch comedy TV (sound familiar?!) and the women played a traditional Korean game, Yut Nori. They had a homemade set. At first, they were laughing at me and my confused looks but after I got the hang of it, it turned out to be really fun. We put money on the games and at the end of day, I lost 4,000won (aka ~$3.80.) The winner bought ice cream and we went to hang out at the park. We took some fun pics there! Including jumpy pics! We headed back to GaYeong's for dinner and TV and then I passed out!

Sunday we woke up and ate breakfast. I played with Ricky, her cute dog! We went to church at 11:30 for 1.5 hours. It was pretty hard to stay awake for a 50 minute sermon all in Korean. I was good reflection time for me though. Afterward I was amazed by the car elevator used to park cars! Maybe they have it in bigger cities with no parking in America but I'd never seen it!

Unfortunately, Ga Yeong had to go to work that day so it was me and her older sister Sun Yeong. We headed to the famous shopping district Myeong Dong! Yay! SOoooo many people! There was a Dale Chihuly art exhibit in one of the department stores. The colors was amazing! I bought a bunch of clothes at Forever 21. I know I know, it's in the states BUT I found out - it's a Korean brand! The fashion at F21 is just like what everyone wears here! i love it so much! i want every outfit I see on the streets. and the shoes.......AHH! omg I wish my feet were smaller. I saw a store called "Rainbow Optical." First rainbow I've seen in a while. I'm pretty sure this one was screaming dad :) Later, Ga Yeong was able to meet us for dinner at a famous dumplings place - so famous we had to stand in line! They were delicious. I finally headed home after a packed weekend to rest up.



School is going well and that's all the energy I have to write about that now. :)

the true global language = body language

Hi world!

Been awhile since my last post. Consider it a good thing - I've been so busy that I haven't had time to upload pics! :)

Started a Friday night tradition to go see movies with Dominic. so far we've seen "My Sister's Keeper" and "9." My Sister's Keeper could definitely have been better - semi-ok acting and scripting was unrealistic. The movie seemed to aim more at displaying all the emotions of grief which was good. 9 was way more intense than I thought - def not for kids. I really liked it.

been to a few bars with Dominic and other co-workers and friends. nothing crazy yet. just some beers and chatting. kicked some ass at some darts one night which was fun. always seems to be an adventure getting home. there are three options when partying in Seoul: 1) you leave at 11pm, 2) you pay for a taxi, or 3) you stay up until 6:30 when public transportation opens! ha. Only taken options 1 and 2 so far :)

explored COEX mall two Saturdays ago with Dominic and Ga Yeong. It's the largest underground shopping complex in Asia. They recommend a map so you don't get lost! We checked out the duty-free area with expensive designer stores including a $91,000 100% diamond watch!!! If you feel like going in on a Christmas present for me, contact my mom for details on buying the watch ;) I bought some souvenirs and thats about it. we ended that day with some TGIFridays for dinner and Karaoke with beer! So fun!

I ventured out alone last Saturday to go see a Korean-Japanese theater collaboration musical called the Silence of Sound at the Sejong Center for Performing Arts. The musical is a story meant to touch people from all over the world and has the intent to launch globally in the next few years. The story is about a man in a mental institution that has flashbacks of his life before and during the war. Of course I could not understand the spoken Korean or written Japanese but with actors' emotions and music, I was able to understand through emotion. I thought that was pretty cool and encourages me to try that again. While I went by myself, no one was sitting to my right, so I put the seat down and pretended someone from home was with me. It was a nice thought anyway. After the musical, I ventured around to take pictures. See them below! There is an area called a plaza with the Gyeongbok Palace entrance (see how the lighted picture imitate the shape of the entrance) and a statue of a famous man in Korea. It's all very beautiful at night. I'll be going back on Saturday for the palace tour which will get me inside for the real pictures! Later Ga Yeong met up with me and we went for dinner to get dumplings (yum!) To end the night, we grabbed juice box wine (literally) and went to sit at the historic Cheonggye Stream flowing from the palace entrance.

I visited Ga Yeong's Methodist church on Sunday for the 2PM service. I felt like the first foreigner to ever visit there. I was a superstar! Ga Yeong had told me how people were excited to meet me but WOW! The church fits 1,000 but is about 55% full and has three big screens with lights and decor. They are trying to bring newcomers of course. The service started out with pop music and then choral music. After the readings, the pastor was about 10 minutes into his Korean sermon when all of sudden he said "what's your name?" in English!! A bunch of people turned around. Ga Yeong said, "He's talking to you!" So I timidly replied, "Sarah!" Shortly after, the screens panned and zoomed to me. haha. For the first time, i realized how much I really stand out here - i was thinking: 'Hey there's a foreigner on the screen! oh wait, that's me!' The pastor continued asking me a few questions like "why are you here" and "where are you from?" He asked to meet me after the service. I met the pastor, Ga Yeong's friends, sister, and mom. Her mom took us to the best Korean meal I've had. I bought eye glasses (which are really cheap here so if you want some let me know!!) My favorite part of the day was going to coffee with GaYeong, her sister SaYeong, and her sister's friend NaeMoo. We chatted for a few hours mostly girl talk and in English! I felt like I finally has some girl friends here! I'm excited about what we will do together - shop, go out, eat, talk, and dance! I'm going with them to the palace this Saturday and then out to dinner. Should be a really fun time.

At school, we are in the middle of the two filming days where they are filming a piece of our classes and English interviews of the students. it's all for a promotional marketing video which of course i understand! :) Thursday we are celebrating having 80 students (which we missed that celebration) by going out for nice sushi. i'm stoked!

Chuseok is next weekend (Oct 3) which is the Korean Thanksgiving. I hope to find someone to celebrate with (and we'll have to cook cuz pretty much everything except for public transportation shuts down that day!) My friend and sorority sister from Creighton is coming to Korea over that time period and I can't wait to meet up with her.

Found this of a cute Korean kid! love it:

More updates pics!:

Click here to view these pictures larger

Kimsanida! (Thank you)

and then some.

Friday: was observed in class and things went well. i guess i need to raise my tone of voice (basically be more excited and enthusiastic which is draining after 5/6 classes in a row.) The other thing i need to watch is time (one of my favorite classes was observed and i went over on time because i was so excited about teaching! ha) She did think my classes were very organized :). I thought those were both positive feedback comments that don't require too much fixing.

Saturday: tried to go shopping but didn't leave uijeongbu. just did more exploring of the area. i did find a really cute vest at a little boutique. im getting to the point where im becoming more desperate for clothes for my work and everyday wear! i feel like i brought nothing! ahh! of course i WANT to shop as well - its just a matter money and where to go. Check out this site and this site. I think I'll head to myeong-dong which is suppose to be the "mecca" of shopping. 9x9 blocks of shopping. im down! Saturday night i was able to go out with some other English teachers from other branches of PLUS. We went to the apartment building rooftop of a british and irish couple to have drink, food, and a view (check out my pics below.) It was great to talk to English speakers and hear some stories of their experience here.

Sunday: I had been waiting a few days for this day - I got to go hiking on Dobong mountain (this site is a very accurate portrayal of my experience) with my manager and her friend. We thought it was going to be a 1 hour hike but found out at the bottom of the trail that it would be either 2 or 4 hours round trip. so we chose the 2 hr trail. Somewhere along the way we took a wrong turn and ended up taking the 4 hour!! it was such a good workout though! I was sore for the next two days. Half way up you could really feel that we were above the city smog and the temperature dropped to a nice cool breeze. It was still humid so we were sweating a ton. Once we were at the top, the view was beautiful. With it still being summer, the mountains (which are not very high in altitude) are lush with green trees. I want to go back in the fall when the mountains are orange, red, and yellow and then in the spring when trees are in bloom.

Monday: Back to school. I like going to work. It's a time to meet up with my co-workers and get some human interaction! The day goes by fast especially when i don't have any breaks. I started grading student diaries which is pretty fun to see what they write about. Their vocab and grammar can be humorous too. One student wrote, "Today I went to grandfather and grandmother's house. I arrive but the grandfather was not there! oh! my! god!" and then it went on. Just thought it was funny :)

Tuesday: The school reached 100 student enrollment!! This is a huge milestone for us! It took another branch a few months to reach 100 students and it took us 7 open school days! We got a case of really premium ginseng drinks. It's small glass bottles that you drink for your health. It tastes pretty good too (a sweet taste at first then an earthy root taste with a strong ginger-y leather ending.) We also went out to celebrate with chicken, coleslaw, dried squid (i only tried a little!), spanish peanuts, fried potatoes, peaches, puffed rice, and beer of course. The chicken restaurants have such a random mix of food i think but every chicken restaurant has those same offerings. Got home late so i slept in Wednesday. Went to the mart after work and bought some delicious pears that are the shape and size of grapefruit, have texture like an apple, but taste like a pear! they're soo good (but expensive!)

________________

Interesting thing I learned:
Korean birthdays: when a baby is born, it is considered to be 1 year old. So Korean age is 1 -2 years more than the international age - pending on the time of the year. When someone's birthday passes, they don't turn a year older. Every Korean turns one year older on January 1 of each year. For example:
Someone born in 1987 is this old today:

Westerner Age: July Birthday - 22y/o; November Birthday - 21y/o
Korean Age: July Birthday - 23y/o; November Birthday - 23y/o

This also means that a baby born on December 31, 2009 (1 year old), turns 2 years old one day later. Very different! Calculate your Korean age on this website (Korean calendar is identical to Chinese calendar.)

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First Weekend...First Week

First Saturday in Korea: My new Korean friend Woo Seok picked up me and his brother (who speaks more English!) and took us to sushami (no rice sushi.) While it is Japanese, they still like to eat it. The fish (flounder aka CRAZY fish according to Woo Seok) was literally served raw on the plate. It was delicious! I also tried a raw clam! My face was not of enjoyed while chewing and swallowing haha. I got some great pictures (see below.) After sushi, we got ice cream and went to KARAOKE! soooo fun! It's totally different then in the States. I walked in looking for the stage and singer but i could only hear music from a distance...wtf!? The boys paid the equivalent to $20 and we were taken to a private room where you only sing in front of the people you are with! AAAhhh now I get it. There is a big screen, two mics, a semi-circle booth to fit 10+ people, books with song lists, a huge remote to control the system, and a DISCO ball! haha! I loved it! They had a lot of English songs so I really had a great time showing them some of my favorite songs - a lot were outdated so I didn't know the lyrics (like New Kids.) The system scores you, plays continuous songs, automatically adds time, and the place is open all night! I could definitely see some DZ girls singing the night away in a place like that! 3:45am - sleep time.

Sunday: Off of quarantine - Everybody cheer! WHOOO! So of course I visited Seoul for the first time! Sooo busy and so many people! Ga Yeong came all the way to my apt and took me on the subways so I could learn the system. A taxi ride is about $30 to get to where we were going (1.5 hours into Seoul.) We went to lunch at a traditional Korean restaurant (some what yummy, some what different.) I went to go get my hair cut and she helped me explain what I wanted. It's super cute (short) and was only $15! Yes I love this place! Ga Yeong found out she got an awesome internship (Congratulations Ga Yeong!) and had to go to orientation that night. I knew that she would have responsibilities that day so I came into the city knowing I'd spend time alone. I tried shopping but didn't know where to go. Too expensive or didn't fit. I trekked back to the subways to head home and make sure I could do it...and I did! No problems getting home! I was pretty pleased.

I started learning the Hangul (Korean) alphabet so that I can translate the characters that look like line-line-circle-slant-line into sounds in my head. Still doesn't mean that I'll know what it's saying - just the sounds.

Monday: Observation at PLUS Academy Gireum Branch. I loved being out of my apartment and getting a chance to see the students and other teachers for the first time. I sat in on 4 classes of different levels so that I could get a good idea of the variety. I learned that each teacher has their own style and it important to find your own that will give the students "edutainment" or entertaining education. When I walked in the classroom, the students look at me confused and said "change teacher?!" It made me laugh. They also asked how tall I was because I seem tall for a woman to them. It was a long night but a great way to transition into my first day of teaching. I got a better idea of how reserved/relax to be with the students and some great pointers on controlling and engaging a classroom of rowdy children. :)

Tuesday - September 1st - PLUS Academy in Uijeongbu opened.
My FIRST day of teaching! I wore my grey skirt with a black shirt with a satin ribbon with a creamy gold cardigan - the ideal teacher outfit right?! I came to the school really early so I could prepare my lesson plans and class materials. I made myself detailed plans and felt pretty confident going into the classes. I had 3 classes my first day: Basic3 (8/9 year olds), Junior5 (15-17 year olds), and Basic6 (12/13 year olds.) The number of students in the classes are low right now because its a new school but our enrollment has increased from 60 last Thursday to 96 students this Thursday. SUPPOSEDLY, if we get 100 students by Saturday, we all get a paid trip to a popular Island on the southern point of Korea!! If we get 200 students within the first two months, then we get a bonus! I hope it happens!! My first two classes were a little jumbles as far as the class flow and getting responses. The students are SOO cute! They are great kids and I hope they enjoy my classes. In my first class, one of my boy students gave me oragami paper and an American flag card. Haha it was really cute. Apparently, later he told his mom that his foreign teacher was beautiful! :) Of course I loved hearing that! I would say that the Junior5 class is going to be difficult because the book is probably not challenging enough and they know more formal grammar than I do - it's the highest level class before adults. At the end of my day, I prepared some lesson plans for Wednesday.

Wednesday: New classes with more new students.
This day I had Basic1 (7 year olds that have never taken English!), Basic2 (8 year olds), Basic6 again, BISP (advanced students), and Basic7 (13/14 year olds.) The Basic1 class is of course adorable! The B2s are going to be a major handful with their energy...I can tell already. Just gotta lay down the law! The other classes went well and I felt more and more like the student were learning from my class. It's a great feeling. Wednesday was also the boss man's birthday so he took us all out for chicken, beer, and cake! It was great to finally talk to the staff at my school and get to know them personally. We had a great time and they are all so nice. I look forward to our next dinner!

Thursday: 2nd class for same students.
I enjoyed coming back this day because I could tell the students were settling in to the school and being more comfortable with me. They came into my office to say "hi" and were shy but excited to see me which was cute. My classes went well again. I am getting more confident in what I'm doing and teaching. I am really trying to bring fun into the classroom while being entertaining. I played games at the end of some classes and brought American candy for everyone. They really enjoyed the candy with English writing (got that tip from Tiffany, a Korean waitress I met in the USA!) I also found out that I will be observed on Friday which is a bit scary. Luckily, the students in the two classes being observed are hard workers and participate. I'll let you know how that goes.


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Today I saw a dragonfly. In Korea, it is the symbol of the coming fall season. The temperature is dropping and I can imagine that the next few months will be beautiful.

I plan to shop this Saturday and go hiking in the nearby mountains on Sunday with my manager. Not quite sure what else will come my way this weekend but I'd love to go Karaoke again!

Until next time: Share a chocolate moment with someone you love. Dove chocolates! Yummy!

Welcome to Uijeongbu

It's been a few days living in my new home. Quite different. Trying to eat as much American food as I can while transitioning to Korean food (that includes, processed meat sandwiches, pb&J, and the first cooked dish i thought about taking a picture for you to see but realized how unappetizing it looked - mushroom garlic mashed potatoes :/ ) It's not that I don't like Korean food - I don't know what to order! And usually everything is for two or more people at restaurants. So I stick to the basics for now.

As for Korean, Ga Yeong and I ate Kobe pork that you grill in front of you with whatever vegetables. There were some interesting soups and side dishes as well. Quite delicious. This morning, my manager took me out for porridge and I got Pumpkin served with a plum tea for good digestion at the end - Yummy!

I did a little tour of where I live. Check out the video! Hope it gives you a better idea of my life thus far here.

These are some pictures I took while walking around my area. Thanks for my new camera Mom!

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Besides all of the fun pictures...
The new English teacher moved in last night. His name is Dominic and he's from outside Philadelphia. His best friend works in Seoul teaching English so I'm kind of jealous! We haven't talked much yet but it'll be great to have someone else to experience all these new things. This morning we went to the hospital to start the process of Alien registration (pronounced "A-lion" here haha.) It was a whirl-wind of dental examine, blood test, urine test, eye exam, size measurements, and x-rays! Once I get the application filed and it goes through (hopefully ASAP) I get an ID card which allows me to get a bank account, a cell phone, start my internet/utilities...so it's pretty huge and I really want it to be done!

On Monday I visit my school for the first time and then head to the main branch of Plus Academy for two things: an orientation with the foreign teacher manager who wrote an 80-page manual on teaching English (quite helpful) and class observations at the other branches. September 1st is the opening and starting date of my new school so I'll have to train quickly!

I've been missing everyone at home a lot. It's hard not to have someone to share your meals with or even speak English and understand! I made a Korean friend who lives in Uijeongbu but speaks little English. Besides Woo Seok and Ga Yeong, I have yet to make friends here in Uijeongbu. I think in one week from now, things will be much different - I'll be out of quarantine, I will have visited Seoul, and I will have met other English teachers from Plus Academy locations in Seoul. Exciting future!

Arrival

I've made it to Uijeoungbu, South Korea!

I spent my birthday and three more days in Chicago to finalize my visa before heading out. Mom and the boyfriend Phil came with me and we were able to stay with Mere. What a great way to spend time with those that I love most before I left! Saying the goodbyes was no easy task but there is such an exciting adventure before me (mixed emotions :/) I met Tom and Kristy, two friends also teaching but in Incheon, at the Chicago airport before flying to Seoul. It was so helpful to have two Americans going through the same thing. Besides a crazy layover in LA, the flight on Asiana airline was quite nice considering they were the number one airline for 2009. Your own screen with a TON of movie choices, enough leg room, food, and a seat that actually leans back. The flight staff was so polite and each one was beautiful. 12 hours later and a flight into the future (left 2pm on Saturday and arrived 6:30pm on Sunday) I arrived in Korea!

My good friend Ga Yeoung met me at the airport with a school representative. Ga Yeoung studied with me at Creighton and lives in Seoul. She has been my SAVIOR these first 30 hours of being in Korea. She spent the night the first night and was able to take me shopping for the essentials in my my apartment. Speaking of my apartment...it's way bigger and nicer than I thought! It's brand new since the school is brand new. Nice appliances and basic furnishings. I don't have internet or cable yet (using a PC cafe) but I will get pictures up once I can use my laptop.

I had my orientation with the Foreign Teacher Manager, Kristy Huh, and my Uijeoungbu manager, Jen today. They came to my apartment because I'm in a one week quarantine because of the swine flu. That means I need to stay in the Uijeounbu area and not go to work (darn!) Walking to my Plus Academy takes about...oh 5min! Nice and close. I got the regulations, cirriculum handbook, and books for the classes I'll be teaching today. A little more explanation of cirriculum and classes later.

"Most different" things to get used to...
- taking shoes off before walking into a restaurant, home or other place with nicely kept floors
- no shower sectioned off - water drains straight onto floor (so I have separate bathroom shoes of course!)
- no toilet paper goes into toilet - goes in the trash ALWAYS (if you know what I mean!)

"Most familiar" things I did not expect...
- YUMMY fruits and other products I know (Peanut Butter!) in the Mart
- cutest clothes for cheapest price

until next time.
peace out

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the train to Chicago. My last night in my bed is tonight. It's strange to think how this house that I've grown up in will be so different with a different pair of eyes one year for now.

I have to keep reminding myself that "it's only a year" and not forever.

Train to Chicago Tuesday (also my 22nd Bday) and flight to In-cheon/Seoul Saturday with some hard good-byes in between.

Better start packing...

Stalk me here!

Welcome to Sarah's (that's me!) blog on her year in South Korea. First off, I'll be in Uijeongbu (I'll be embedding links for things you may want to get more familiar with.) It's 40 minutes north from the center of Seoul. I assume I'll be spending a lot of time in Seoul to shop, dance, eat, and sightsee.

I am teaching English as a foreign language to Korean elementary students age 8-16. The private institute I'm teaching at, Plus Academy, is the 5th branch of the popular school owned and run by the Korean Agency that recruited me, Woongjin Think Outside. They are providing a single-living apartment, 50% medical insurance, and the round-trip flight in addition to my monthly salary. I have 10 vacation days and would like to visit Kyoto, Japan and Thailand - maybe more if I'm lucky. Email me if you're interested in joining!

Goal = minimum of 1 post a week. I hope for you all to visit often and see what I'm up to! I'll try to keep it entertaining. Here's a start - can't wait to run into this:



Wanna visit me here?: