Happy Halloween!!!

Yep. What the title says.

Hope everyone had fun / is having fun dressing up and giving out candy... or eating it. ;) Sure wish I could find some American candy to munch on this fine holiday. While these Korean cream fruit candies are swell, not quite the same as your Junior Mints, Laffy Taffys, Nerds, and those chocolate caramel candies in chocolate that I suddenly can't remember the name of... Ahhh it's gonna kill me until I remember. I wanna say it starts with a D... clearly things are bad when I can't remember candy names.

I "celebrated" Halloween with a hike on Mt. Achasan with Angela, then lunch - Korean barbeque that I'd been craving as my first fully solid meal! Huzzah. My stomach is back in action. I hope to never repeat that terrible experience.

I just finished watching the Disney classic Hocus Pocus, and might even watch another movie before bed... perhaps my go-to film, Shaun of the Dead. Thanks iTunes for having it on sale for $4.99!!

Well, tomorrow starts the week of iBT testing, the big test that determines if the children level up, or stay in their current course for another term. Here's hoping the students I've had suddenly take all my wonderful study tips and do well!! Ha.

UPDATE: I remembered the candy name!!!!! MILKDUDS. Well, there's a 'D' in there somewhere.

What Comes Around, Goes Around

Perhaps Justin Timberlake was talking about love and karma, but something else can go around... sickness.

So Tuesday saw the splendid evening of student vomit. I was already battling a headache and fever, and then to add on to that, good ole stomach issues. I'll not get into details. Ha

Something must be going around here because others have felt badly, though not to the extent I was. Fortunately, everything got better yesterday. Now, I need to work on eating solid foods again. Last solid meal was Sunday. I've mostly been sipping juice, Gatorade, and munching on crackers or granola bars here and there. Plus the occasional fruit a kind student might give to me.

Halloween is coming just around the corner!! Unfortunately it's not as widely celebrated here as it is at home, so that's been adjustment to my second favorite holiday (first being Fourth of July). Debating whether or not to test my stomach controls with some candy... hmmmm. This Halloween looks like it'll be lowkey.

Teaching Ups and Downs

Like any job, teaching has it's ups and downs. Let me share a quick down, though actually there is an up... as in throw up.

One of my students didn't feel well so she had her head on her desk, which I don't normally like but if she isn't feeling well I rather her try calm down and just be. I know that I haven't felt well yesterday or today so I'd want the same thing. Two minutes before break as we're going over our model summaries, I hear a splashing sound and students yelling 'Teacher!' I was then witness to the lovely sight of more vomit. Ughh. Won't be getting that out of my mind for a while.

On that note, hope everyone has a much better day!!

Parent-Teacher Conferences and Weekend

This week was very busy! So busy I managed to fall asleep Saturday around 8pm and woke up after 10 am Sunday. Haha

Parent-Teacher Conferences went well this past Thursday. I saw 7 mothers, and I was able to talk to one child's mother who I definitely needed to talk to (he got into a fight with another student Monday). We discussed through a translator their grades, participation in class, and suggestions for improvement. For one student I need to find some books that might help him become a more confident reader and speaker, so any suggestions would be wonderful. Keep in mind that although he's about 10 or so, he's still learning English so I don't think some of the amazing chapter books out there would be for him. Would love for him to get to that point, though!

On Saturday I met up with Sean, my friend from high school who's teaching just outside of Seoul for lunch and to check out the Olympic Park. Beautiful place! Definitely bigger than the Atlanta Centennial Park, and perhaps a little cooler... Of course, I really think the last time I was in Centennial Park was the 90s, so perhaps it's changed since then.

Today Sean and I met again in his area, Seongnam, to hike Namhansanseong, one of the popular mountains to go hiking. I think this might be the reason why you see very few overweight Koreans. There were some serious hills... and a serious workout. I should've taken pictures of the crazy steps we went up, but I was more concerned with making it up there. Haha Definitely got to put my new running trail shoes to good use. Below are a few photos from this weekend.


Seoul Olympic Park


Beautiful Walking Area -- Might be one of my favorite photos


My attempt at the infamous Korean photo pose


Beautiful views from the top


Fortress waiting for us near the top

Quick Update

As the title suggests, just a quick update for the week before I go to bed.

Tomorrow marks my two month anniversary. Again, hard to believe I've been here 2 months already. But clearly it has been because bills are coming in. Yeahhh I feel like a grown up being able to pay for them all by myself. My first bill was for gas it was for about $4. FOUR DOLLARS! Completely unheard of when I was in charge of the gas bills for the SEA house. The only time it was anywhere near that low was for this past May when we were all gone for the most part after graduation / end of school.

Tomorrow I also have my first parent-teacher conferences. The branch is trying this out for the first time in a few years as a way to communicate more with parents as more students are leaving across the company. Apparently even the economy in Korea is beginning to slow, and since many students go to multiple academies, sometimes you gotta cut the budget. Not sure how many parents I'll see, but they'll most likely be mothers, and I'll need a translator. Hopefully some of the parents I really need to talk to will come. Some kids have been slacking off on their work and it's affecting their grades. I would hate to make them repeat the level just because they don't do their homework and/or show little concern for their progress.

Itaewon Global Village Festival

I traveled to Itaewon with my friend Angela this afternoon to check out the Global Village Festival, and it was pretty stinkin' awesome. They had food stalls set up with food from around the world... My dinner was a spicy lamb wrap from Iran. We managed to find a wall to sit on and eat our food as we watched a band cover some of my favorite American alternative hits. A few videos below:


Cover of 90s grunge heroes Nirvana



Traditional Korean drums... plus techno?

Not the Kimchi!!!!

Forget the South Korea - North Korea crisis... it's all about the kimchi crisis!!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/15/world/asia/15kimchi.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=homepage/

Hug an Asian Day

Apparently today, October 15 is Hug an Asian Day.

So, my advice to you for the day... go hug someone, Asian or not. Hugs are wonderful. I miss them.

Now, where am *I* gonna find an Asian to hug!?!?

C'est La Vie

I think this is the name of a song from the 90s Irish pop group, B*Witched. Yes, I have their CD back home. Oh, the 90s.

Speaking of the Irish, I went to the Irish music and dance festival this afternoon with a friend I met at the Embassy, rode on the plane with, and we trained together. Took some videos, hopefully at an hour that does not read single digits in the a.m. I will be able to post a video or two. It was your typical Irish festival, minus the crazy Irish drunks... oh, yeah, and there were lots of Koreans doing Irish dances. The greatness of cultural mingling.

After watching that for a few hours, we made our way to the shopping district of Seoul, Myeng-dong. We spent another few hours inside the 3-story Forever 21 looking for various fall/winter-ish outfits. I found a couple of cute things, but right now they seem to still have mostly fall clothes out. I did buy a hip coral-colored blazer to go with a pin-striped shirt. My attempt to become a Korean fashionista. We'll see how that goes.

Joys and Concerns

The church my family attended for a while when I was growing up used to have a time for joys and concerns. My last post I mentioned my Monday/Friday class I generally do not look forward to because of some attitudes. Well, I'm happy to report a joy: I feel as though I might've had a breakthrough with the "problem student."

Most classes she might do her homework, but never have exceptional grades on her tests. Every Monday we have a review test from the two lessons covered the previous week.

This Monday I was pleasantly surprise to not only see that she had completed her homework, but she also did very well on her application and memorization test!!! I would like to think she had a wake-up call, perhaps literally when I had the front desk call home about her incomplete work. Maybe even my talks to her about not studying and/or refusing to participate was only hurting herself and her grade sunk in. Maybe my multiple notes of encouragement sent to her via the online site whenever I saw a sign of improvement are working their magic... Or maybe it'll just be a one time thing, but the positive me is hoping this is not the case. Class was actually enjoyable, and I think she and a few others realized that.

Also found out today I have to work Saturday. Boo. Positive side, it's only for 2 hours in what is called the A+ Hunters. Those students who have not done well (and by not well the company thinks anything below an A- is not good... not sure how I feel about this) come into class to re-study the material and re-test as a chance to replace their previous test grade. I didn't think I'd be picked since I'm a newbie, so not sure if this a sign of approval for my teaching methods or what... but at least I'll be making a little extra money! I already had a lot more hours than other co-workers since some of their classes were canceled this week and last week due to middle school testing.

Sunday I'm going to the Irish Festival in Seoul with a friend from training... noooo idea why they're having an Irish Festival, but it should be entertaining!!! Afterwards the plan is to go shopping at Forever 21 and/or H&M (YAY payday today!!!) to stock up on some winter-ish clothes. I'm discovering I may not be as prepared for winter as I originally thought. Georgia winters will be no match for Seoul winters. JOY. A sarcastic joy.

Hello, Goodbye

Brittanie left this morning to return to Atlanta. I went with her and the Korean family she knows to the airport. I was sad to see her go but hopeful for what's waiting for her back at home.

My apartment is now very quiet and boringggg. Now I'll have to find new ways to amuse myself, although episodes of Modern Family help. I might have to continue my routine of sightseeing before work or else I might return to sleeping in and accomplishing little during the daytime. I really want to go back to the Buddhist temple we found near the business district of Seoul. It's a very peaceful place and seems like it could be a great place to just sit and think, even though I'm not Buddhist, when the weather's good.

Monday starts another week of work. It's amazing how quickly the days go by. It certainly makes it easier to get through the classes I don't always enjoy. I'm working on trying to have a more positive attitude with some of the students. It was going well Friday until the girl I don't like much ruined it by being her normal sour self. I think the middle school age is great, but sometimes the moods are just too much. Ohhh the joys of a young adolescent's development.

Milledgeville?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AytSwTkIQUk&ob=av2n
Jesusland by Ben Folds

Saying Goodbye

Tomorrow Brittanie returns to the US. Despite her unyielding efforts, she was not able to work things out with Immigration in time to find a job. Kudos to the US Embassy for attempting to help as well. Fortunately, she was able to line up a job back at home so at least she's not going home empty-handed.

I loved having her here with me, if even for only a few weeks. This was the first time we were able to spend a lot of time together since high school. After years of talking about living together, it finally happened. Although cramped in a place just barely large enough for me, we had fun together. I'm glad she was here to help me explore before work, giving me a reason to actually get up rather than sleep in as late as possible. With her I was also able to try new foods from my favorite kimbap restaurant (a delicious place near my house with popular, cheap Korean dishes).

After having Brittanie with me for so long, I'll have to adjust again to having an apartment to myself and not being around someone I really know. I quite enjoyed having someone to come home to and hanging out with someone with my same values and understanding of my personality. Now that it's been a month here, I'm realizing that some of my coworkers have different values than me. Korea is a drinking, smoking, etc culture and they are taking full advantage of that during their stay here. I don't mind a drink now and then, but I would like to remember my evenings, especially if I was to go out multiple nights in a row. I'm using this moment as a moment of clarity with God to further understand my role here and who I want to be... and who I want to be with.