Merry Christmas Eve Day!

Hi Everyone,

It's Monday here, which is Christmas Eve Day. :) Nothing really to post, except Merry Christmas and Happy New Year's!

In anticipation for Christmas I've gone through several cycles where it feels like Christmas and then it doesn't.

However, in anticipation of this holiday I downloaded a bunch of Christmas songs about a week ago and have been playing them on loop. This helps make it feel like Christmas. Also, about two days ago I began wearing my Santa hat around the apartment, which made my homestay family laugh. I also mailed out some Christmas cards, and have received some gifts and cards myself. :)

Thank you all for reminding me that I am loved this Christmas!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

-me :)

P.S. I have dinner/lunch dates with different teachers throughout the week, which is nice. I think it's good to relax in Daegu, even if I had hoped for other plans.

Christmas right around the corner

Hi All,

Another late post! I have been really busy trying to wrap everything up before I leave tomorrow on winter break. I get out a week earlier than the Korean teachers which makes me feel a little guilty, but I am thankful for the break.

This past weekend I was in Gumi- volunteering at an orphanage and then went to Busan with a friend. I had a great time in both places. I'll post pictures soon!

A former ETA, started a non-profit organization to help out the orphanage where she volunteered when she was an ETA. There are several former ETAs that helped create this non-profit and this weekend was the kick-off event for the organization, called KKOM. KKOOM or "koom" means dream in Korean. Here is the link http://www.kkoom.org/
There were events planned for the kids- arts and crafts, singing, video games, picture with Santa, etc. The kids really seemed to have a good time. I spent most of Sat. cooking dinner with a few other ETAs for everyone. It was a lot of work, but fun and totally worth it. The best part was that every kid received a Christmas package (from donors in the states). The kids were so excited- it really felt like Christmas. We ended up spending the night and had breakfast with the kids the next morning and going to church with them. The ages in kids range from toddler to high school (some college kids come back too- it really is a family).

Unlike some orphanages in Korea, none of the kids were available for adoption. The kids live at the orphanage in houses with each other and form a family unit with one woman (mother/aunt) taking care of the kids. The older ones really look out for the younger ones as well. None of the parents have given up their parental rights, and some parents will even visit their children at the orphanage. This is a place where kids come when their parents cannot afford to take care of them. It is like a version of foster care in America. If you want to know more, let me know.

After Gumi I went to Busan with Alison. It was a quick bus ride (2 hours) and the weather was super nice. The first thing we went to do was go to the beach! Apparently it's pretty famous in Busan (Busan is the 2nd largest city in Korea and is the 5 largest port/trading city in the world). The city is really spread out- so the beach is nice and doesn't feel like a "city". We had Indian food (yum) and then went to Busan tower- which took a while to find! But we managed to check into a cheap hotel which was good. The view at night from Busan tower was cool- all the lights and such. It was an early night, which was nice. Then Monday morning we went shopping and to the fish market- ick! All in all a relaxing little trip.

Early Merry Christmas!!! I miss everyone lots and wish I could spend the holidays with all of you. My Christmas plans got moved around- I'm skiing for New Year's, not Christmas. I'm pretty bummed that I don't have any plans for Christmas. Hopefully something will come through.

Catch you all soon!

-me

*crosses fingers*

Hi all,

I'm late in posting, mainly because I was away yet again this weekend in Seoul for another meeting. It was actually a lot better than I thought it would be. The meeting was finished sooner than expected, although lasted longer than it needed to. However, we went out for Mexican food and margaritas after!!! Woot. Then Alison and I went to a jimjilbang to relax, which was super nice. Although, I still managed to get sick, yet again. But I'm beginning to feel much better now that I have medicine to help relieve all my head congestion.

Other than that, nothing else is really new. I'm pretty sure anyone who reads this log received my e-mail about my students podcasts. If not, please go to www.dong-moonhs.blogspot.com and listen to them! They're really great!

Hope all is well at home!

-me

P.S. Oh I forgot, my host mom failed a breatalizer about two weekends ago and isn't supposed to drive for three months- even though she is. If I got the interpretation right, I think she and my host father spent a night in jail? And had to pay a fine. This was coming home from my host grandmother's 70th birthday.

P.P.S. AND yesterday driving to lunch the car I was in got into a minor car accident as we were about 50 meters from the restuarant. But everyone was fine- the only damage was done to the car. The entire front bumper popped off...yikes.

5 months and counting...

Hi everyone,

I hope winter is treating everyone well- wherever you may be. I am really looking forward to a winter where there isn't snow fall where I live. I like snow a lot, but was definitely sick of it last year when my car got stuck in it twice. It does snow in Korea, just not as far south as Daegu. I'm sure I'll get to enjoy lots of it when I'm in Seoul for January. Which brings me to my first piece of news, I was selected as an intern at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. I will be working in the Regional Program Office, which puts on programs about America to different regions in Korea. I'm excited to have this new experience and live in Seoul/on base for a short while. The internship is a little shorter than usual because I was also selected (I don't remember if I mentioned it) to take 5 students from my high school to Seoul for 6 days in January to learn about Korean and American politics, economy, etc. I am excited about that as well, because we will learn a lot, go on field trips, and I'll get to know some of my students better.

I really cannot believe it is December- 5 months into my 13 months here. I am really enjoying my time. The beginning part of November/end of October was a little hard for me, but I seem to have gotten over that. Although I spoke with a lot of the people from our program this weekend and a lot of them are ready to go home for the holidays. They are generally missing America more than they are liking Korea. Which is understandable. I think/hope I'm going skiing for Christmas! My family is Buddhist and I don't particularly want to stick around on Christmas since they won't be doing anything.

Nothing else is really new. I have a final for my Korean class next week and am worried because I am definitely not studying as hard as I was for the midterm. I will be happy when class ends and I have my evenings free again. I am not sure if I will take Korean class in the Spring- it really depends on the time the classes are offered, where they are offered, and what my school schedule looks like.

One great thing is that I only have 8 more days of class to teach from now until I go on winter vacation (December 22)!!! It's because my kids have finals, there is a national day off, and I don't teach on Fridays. It's pretty crazy, but nice. I still don't know if I'll be teaching the same kids again, when I think about how I might not- I get a little sad. Even though I don't know their names (there are about 500 of them) I really like them.

My podcast project started today and I will e-mail everyone when I start to upload the recordings to the website- www.dong-moonhs.blogspot.com I haven't had a chance to listen to all of them, but overall I'm pretty proud of what my students accomplished!

Please write and let me know how everything is going!!!

-me

Early Thanksgiving in Seoul

Hi Everyone,

I know I’ve missed the Sunday deadline again, but I was super busy on Monday catching up. First, thanks for sending me postcards and cards! They made me smile! It also makes me look bad since I still haven’t been to a post office in Korea- I know I’m totally lame. However, I do have high hopes for sending out Christmas cards from Korea- we’ll see if it happens :)
I was super busy in Monday because I spent 4 days in Seoul (a long weekend) on a mini-vacation of sorts. I had Wednesday and Thursday off because of the national testing in Korea. The KSAT happened on Thursday, our school was a designated testing site, so I could not even be in the building on Thursday. I had Wednesday off because of some meeting being held about the testing. Wednesday I spent in Daegu just relaxing and trying to do some work. I took off for Seoul on Thursday morning.
Just an FYI- on the national test day, the military grounds all flights (so the noise won’t disturb the test taking students), ambulances, police cars, and fire trucks are on standby to transport tardy students to the test, and some other crazy things happen. Wednesday I dropped by the school to do some grading and saw students from other schools just coming by the school to look at the building where they would be testing (and taking pictures with their cell phones of course). If you think about it, it has to be the single most important day in most Korean students’ lives. It is the first and most important factor in where they will go to university. A good university means a good job and in most cases even a good significant other. No wonder most high schoolers spend 12 hours a day studying.
Back to my travels in Seoul- I successfully bought a KTX (fast) ticket up to Seoul and made it to Seoul in a little under 2 hours. I got there sooner than I intended to check in, but decided to head to where I was staying anyways. I booked three nights at a guesthouse of sorts in Seoul called Koroot. I didn’t know what to expect, but it is super cool. It’s a place where Korean adoptees can stay and it’s super cheap. It’s designed so people can stay for extended periods of time to learn about Korea, learn Korean, or even do a birth family search. I met two Norwegians, a guy from Denmark, two women from France, a woman from Australia, a guy from Sweden, and another woman from America. It was really interesting listening to their stories and getting to meet people from all over the world. Plus, Koroot is a cool place- there’s a kitchen so you can cook, they provide breakfast and will even make you lunch. There’s a t.v., laundry room, and computer. It’s a really great idea and I’m glad it’s around.
So after checking in and getting lunch (which was great!) I left to go site see. I went to a palace near Koroot- it was super pretty. Then I went to see a prison that was used during Japanese occupation- not the most uplifting thing, but really interesting historically speaking. I had lots of time so I decided to have dinner in Itaewon (the foreigner district) and got REAL Indian food!!! Following my fabulous dinner I went to a famous shopping area- they were putting up Christmas displays!!! (See the video below!) It was early, but I decided to head back and ended up talking to some people staying in Koroot for awhile.
Friday morning I woke up and made myself toast with CHUNKY peanut butter *cough* it really was exciting. I got ready and then went out and visited Seoul tower and walked around Namsan park and the Korean Contemporary Art Museum. The park was gorgeous- a lot of the leaves are still on trees and there was really beautiful foliage. Friday night there was a Fulbright forum- a place where researchers get to present a little about what they are doing. It was a great place to meet other people and there was dinner! (Seriously, why do all my comments revolve around food?!) The forum was presented by a woman who is a dancer and has created her own 10 steps to strengthen a particular muscle in dancers (and consequently singers). It was a little odd- but interesting nonetheless. If you’re interested check out Maureen Flemming.
Saturday I woke up and met some friends in Insadong and then we walked to the U.S. Ambassador’s residence for our Thanksgiving lunch! The residence is really nice and built in a traditional Korean style, not American style. We got to meet the ambassador and his wife, along with other people who work at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. Apparently it was the third year they hosted ETAs- it was a really nice gathering and the food was good- catered by some place on the American base. I had turkey, stuffing and yams!!!
Afterwards I had the meeting for the program where I am taking 5 high school students up to Seoul. It turns out that there isn’t much planning at all, which is cool. Really I feel like I’m along for the ride. We’re going to visit some cool places and get to hear a lot about international affairs. I think my students are really going to enjoy it. Saturday night I bummed around seeing different people which was a lot of fun.
Sunday I ended up going to church- an English speaking service in Seoul- which was okay. It was a larger service than the one in Daegu, which was cool, and the music was good.
I left Seoul on Sunday night and when I got home my host parents seemed really happy to see me- which was nice.

All in all, a great weekend! I hope all is well back in the states and everyone has a great Thanksgiving! Eat extra stuffing for me…it’s my favorite!!!

Love you and miss you all!

-me :)

P.S. Sorry you have to tilt your head to see this video! And I posted all the pictures in the album labeled Seoul. I tried to be artsy with some of the pics and I even took a series of doors.

Some more cultural experiences in my travels...

Hi All,

I feel like I've forgotten to blog about a lot of things that have happened. Mostly surrounding different cultural experiences within the last month or so. I'm going to correct that now.

This Sunday my host parents took me to two weddings. I did not know about these until Sat. night around 11:00pm when we were drinking beer and I was eating fish/squid jerky (ick). But my host parents invited me and excited about a new opportunity I said, "yes". So, I woke up on Sunday and my host parents told me to get ready- I didn't know what to wear so I pointed to a suit and my host om shook her head "yes". And off we go- we walk to a nearby subway stop and take the subway across Daegu to the wedding site also known as, "Wedding Castle". Which is a huge tacky wedding hall. Think of happily ever after and such- a Disney wedding essentially. Now, Korean wedding halls are interesting because there are literally weddings booked back to back- which means the place is crowded with tons of people- plus most wedding halls have more than one wedding going on at one time (in different rooms). We literally stayed at the wedding less than 5 minutes. Enough to watch the bride and groom walk down the isle- after they made their entrance on a carriage apartatus that was on tracks suspended on the ceiling! I'm not too sure why we didn't stay longer- I don't htink my host parents knew them all that well. Almost like they were boliged to go an show their faces and give a gift. But, we did manage to eat at the buffet- which is a really interesting experience. Instead of a nice reception hall- there is a buffet area for the whole wedding venue, which means you eat at a cafeteria like place with evryone else who there for the other weddings. Very informal and interesting- the food wasn't all that good either. Now, as I mentioned before, there were two weddings- I only thought we were goign to one, but at lunch my host parents announced that there was "another wedding". So, we hoped into a cab and went to another wedding. We didn't even stay to watch any of the ceremony, but dropped off ou gift, said heloo to a few people and came back home. I have a feeling that if my host parents actually knew these people well we would have stayed longer. Oh, the second wedding hall was a lot more understated and nicer than the first one. Much more traditional. I wish I had pictures, but I think my host mom deleted them off her camera. :(

Another cultural experience I forgot to blog about is a funeral I went to. One of the first year teachers at my school had her father pass away. I think it's tradition for the co-workers to pay their respects- so I went with my co-teacher and other teachers to the funeral home. I'm pretty sure the funeral home was attached to the hospital- like in another wing or something. As we were driving my co-teacher was explaining how it is tradition to bow twice to the person who died and once to their family members. This isn't just a bow, but a full bow to the floor. He explained that Christians usually do not participate in this, but bow their heads instead. Since he's a Christian, he said he'd just do a head bow and tht I should do the same- because I am a Christian and because he didn't want me to offend anyone with a sloppy bow. So we went into the building and went into a room that was reserved for this family. We took off our shoes and went in and bowed to the father- there was a picture- I didn't see a casket or anything. Then the family members (sons) came in and we bowed to them. Then we we went to another little room where we ate some food and talked to the teacher from our school. All in all, it was a somber event, like in the states. The women were dressed in blakc honbok (the Korean traditional dress) and the men were in black suits. Everyone also gave 3,000 won ($3.00) in an envelope to the family. I'm not sure what the money goes toward, but I'm guessing the ceremony.

The third cultural event I forgot to mention was the fact that my host brother had his black belt testing. I kept asking him when it was, but he didn't know until the night before. He tol dme the testing was at 9:30- so I made sure I was up and left the houe with him. I thought it was strange that his parents didn't come, but clearly something was lost in translation. The testing wasn't at 9:30, he had to be at his gym at 9:30 to get ready! I had to hang around for like an hour and a half waiting for kids to get ready. Then, the testing wasn't at my host bros' gym, it was at an elementary school like 20 minutes away. Which means, I got to sit in the very back of a tae kwon do van with like 9 little kids! Note: Tae kwon do vans can be seen all over Korea. Generally each tae kwon do gym has a van that they drive kids around with. I never want to be in one again! The testing went well- it turns out that they test all the kids at one time from many different schools- there must have been like 50 schools- no joke!!! The test wasn't that difficult, but my host bro did well. We're still waiting for his belt.

Okay- a quick update on things that happened this week. Nothing new really happened. Although I did get to go to Pohang this Saturday and see my friend Alison, which was great! I'll post pictures soon. I also have some funny pictures, video of Korean teachers singing the Carpenter's song, "top of the world" for the singing contest at our school! SOOOO funny! I'm heading up to Seoul this weekend for some sightseeing and a Thanksgiving dinner athte Embassy. I'm super excited for turkey and some time by myself.

One more exciting piece of news, I/my school was selected for the Alumni Youth Partnership Program in January, which means I finally have some solid winter break plans! AYPP is going to let me take 5 students from my high school to Seoul for 6 days where they will learn about domestic and international affairs (mainly Korea-US realtions). It's super exciting for the students because a. they get out of class and b. the entire program is in English. I have to interview students today for the program, since I can only take 5 :( Still trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my break- I'm still hoping for the Embassy internship!!!

AH! One MORE thing- please check out www.dong-moonhs.blogspot.com This is where my students will be posting their blogs! Actually- I think I might have to do most of the left work, but we'll see! Exciting stuff all around! I'll let you all know when you can hear them!

-me :)

4 months!

Hi all,

I really had a nice relaxing weekend- which is what I needed since I'm
trying to get over bronchitis- ick! I went to the hospital twice last
week and got antibiotics...I just hope it works, because I only got
the antibiotics for three days each time- so I had a day in between
when I wasn't taking them. But I think I'm finally beginning to
actually feel better. Friday at the hospital (which really means
doctors) I had my sinuses cleaned out- which is gross, but I'm gonna
explain anyways. They take this long (6-8 inches), metal, thin suction thing and
stick it down your nose and suck up all the stuff. I didn't
understand at first, but then I realized what she was going to do and
I was horrified. There wasn't much I could do to stop her at that
point, thankfully it didn't hurt. But it was one of the weirdest
things I've ever experienced.

Friday night was fun- I went to a movie with one of the Korean
teachers at my school. I really like this particular teacher because
she's really with it and speaks English almost fluently- she studied
in the states. We went and saw Once- an Irish rock musical. It is an
Indie film- and I honestly can't say I'd recommend you see it. The
music is really good- I liked the music a lot, but the movie itself
was a bit painful to watch. At first the film was shaky and the story
drawn out and not very good- but if you have a chance to listen to
the soundtrack, you should.

Saturday I hung around and then went to a girl's spa night- one of the
women from church was hosting it. She actually teaches for the
Department of Defense Schools here, which is interesting. She has the
sweetest apartment ever!!! I'm not even joking- it's a 5 bedroom
apartment on the top (27th) floor of the building (she lives by
herself). It has a spectacular view- she was able to buy a whole
bunch of American snacks from the base- which was a treat. I ate a
bunch and felt really icky. But we also had chili- which was kinda
crazy, with real sour cream and cheese! (Clearly, I'm in another
country.) We watched Rent, there are some musical fans, and Step Up.
We had manicures and just hung out- it was really nice, because it was
the first time I've gotten to hang out with these women from church.
Of course I'm the youngest, but there is one girl who's 23- most women
are around 30. Some are even married- which is cool. I ended up
spending the night- sleeping on a real mattress. And then had eggs
and pancakes for breakfast!!! The first time since I've been here!
(Notice how all my news revolves around food.)

Then I went to church yesterday and after had dinner and gelato with some
of the people and women's Bible study. I really like the women, which
is exciting because I've been looking for fellowship for awhile. I
don't necessarily like the sermons at church. However, I do like the worship at
church- so that's cool- fellowship and worship I guess isn't a bad
reason to go to church.

So, four months have gone by and although I am missing family, friends, and familiar things- like Boulder and driving my car, I am having a good time. Everytime a new month begins it makes me reflect and evaluate how I'm spending my time in Korea and how I feel about it. Last month I reflected upon how I hadn't made any Korean friends, Korean language study was really hard, that I didn't have any fellowship, and I wasn't sure where to apply for jobs and such next year.

This month things have changed. I have made one Korean friend, another aspiring English teacher in Korea and I have started to do things with teachers at school- I think some of them count as friends. I passed my Korean test (80%!) and I really like some of the people at church, which equals fellowship. Hopefully it also means friends, as some of the foreigners will be here the entire time I'm here. I still don't have clear direction for where I'll apply for jobs and such next year, but realize that I don't have to think about that immediately- which is comforting.

Hope everyone is dong well at home, please let me know what's happening!

-me :)

Cha-cha-cha-changes...

Hi All,

I'm not exactly sure who can read this anymore, but I hope most of you all are still able to read my blog. I apologize for changing the format of how to read my blog. The program I am on in Korea wanted to make all blogs private for security reasons (for our home stay families, schools, etc). So, if I forgot to send evites to anyone who regularly reads this (and you know about them) please send me their e-mail address and I will invite them. The other option is for me to send out mass e-mails every now and then to those who cannot log in to see my blog. Let me know what works for you.

I didn't update this last week because I was away in Gyeongju for the Fall conference. It was mainly a time to catch up with everyone in the program and make sure everyone was okay. The goal of the actual conference was to swap teaching techniques and stories from the trenches to make us better teachers. The conference aspect of the trip was ok- not all that helpful, but it was nice to be in a pretty place (by a lake) and see friends. We did a tour of the city on Sunday- we saw sooo many places, I was exhausted! Gyeongju is really cool and probably has the most historical sites in all of Korea. It's about an hour away from Daegu and was once the capitol of a Korean dynasty. I've posted many pics on the website for all to see. We saw historical sites, went to an amusement park, and even rode mini bikes around the lake! P.S. I'm sporting some new cute Korean clothes.

There are also some pictures up under teaching. Last week I taught about scrabble and let the kids play the game. It turned out to be a pretty good lesson and really quite easy for me. I was surprised how into it all the kids were. There were only a few that I had to remind to participate. I actually made the scrabble boards for the kids to play on- each board took about an hour. So not that bad in terms of lesson planning and now I have the boards- which is uber helpful.

Life is pretty good here- I am sick- which sucks. I'm trying to get over it myself, otherwise I have to go to the doctor's next week. Ick. Next week is Halloween and I'm going to bring in candy for my students- woot! I haven't decided what I'll teach on yet, but it'll involve candy.

Today I got to sleep in until 10am, which is a huge treat! I'm meeting a Korean language partner (hopefully friend) later today and then going to Costco with an American friend! Tomorrow is my host brother's testing for his black belt- I'm totally going. I'll try to post pics and video of that too.

Thanks again to everyone who sent me something- check out the pics of my office under teaching. If you've sent a card I've put it on the bulletin board. O! and I have a spiffy official sign for my office "English Lounge".

Hope everyone is doing well!

-Me :)

Firebreathing Peacocks and English speech contests, oh my!

Hi all!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIGI JENSEN!!! :)

This weekend is very relaxing and enjoyable. Rather last minute, I decided to visit Jinju with the girls from Daegu. We went to visit another friend on our program who is teaching there for the Jinju light festival. It was really pretty! there are lanterns on the riverbank and floating on the river. There are small lanterns, but also huge floats! It was really neat to see. Apparently all the floats are made of paper and painted. Some of them are very elaborate and range from traditional Korean things to more modern other things- such as the Statue of Liberty. We crossed one of the makeshift bridges and got to see some of the larger animated lanterns- hence the fire-breathing peacocks!



We actually ran into two other people from our program, which was unexpected and cool. After walking around we managed to find a "live-cafe" and had dinner. The place was pretty ridiculous, think karoeke, but it was dinner.

Saturday afternoon I met up with a teacher from school and a student for the speech contest. This teacher and I had listened to a few students give speeches two weeks ago and then we chose the best one. Then I helped this girl prep a little this past week and the contest was yesterday. She was very good and I had no doubt that she would win something. The contest took forever because there were middle school contestants and high school contestants. The panel were 3 native/4 native speakers of English and two Koreans. I think all of them were from Daegu University and were professors of English- I'm not sure if they were really professors or just teachers of English at the university. But all the judges were pretty harsh on the students. Way too negative. Some of the feedback was good, but generally they were a pretty intimidating bunch. The whole speech contest seemed pretty political to me. It was sponsored by a specific district of Daegu and for the beginning introductions two American soldiers were there to welcome everyone. Even the Korean teacher I was with from my high school said, "English is such an industry here, I hate it." Which I thought was pretty interesting. Anyways, you're probably wondering how our student did- 2nd place! Her speech was about how she likes to watch soap operas and movies- it was pretty funny. I meant to record it, but forgot! I think the teacher I was with recorded it, hopefully I can get it from her!

Nothing much to do today, except I slept in and will go to church in a little bit. Maybe a Bible study tonight- I'm not sure.

Here's one more video clip from the mask festival two weeks ago- it is the lion dance! I also updated pictures "Around Korea" and "Daegu"

-me :)

Cultural Notes

Hi all,

Oooo- yes, it's an extra update this week and it's extra long! I am talking to Victoria online and got inspired to blog about some Korean culture, some funny anecdotes, etc. I finished planning my teacher classes for next week, but I still have to plan for regular classes next week. I'll do that later. Right now I have some down time- it's Thursday here which means I taught two classes this morning and will teach three classes after lunch. I was supposed to study some Korean with a teacher today, but I have to help a girl with an English speech she will be giving at a contest this Saturday.

Next week there aren't any Korean language classes and that is really really nice. I just get very tired with teaching and then going to class (which takes an hour), class (which takes an hour), and then coming back home (another hour)! The break in class is because te university has midterms- so all extra classes are cancelled. It will be nice to have the time off. However, the week after that we have a test for class. AND I am certian I will fail it. So, I need to study a lot next week. I'm not too concerned about the test, it doesn't mean much. If I pass I get a little certificate saying I passed and am allowed to move to the next level. Although, if I pass, I'll probably have a heart attack and won't be able to move up. If I fail, I'll just take the same level again. Since the class is over my head anyway in vocabulay and content, I feel like I don't have much to lose.

Hm, before I venture into any comments/analysis of Korean culture, I want to say thank you for everyone who is reading this, writes comments, e-mails and sends me things! I know I have a lot of support from home and it means a lot. The past three weeks I've been tired and out of it. I've missed everyone a lot, but everyone's support has been uber helpful and I am feeling much better.

Okay- some things I've noticed about Korean culture from a Western (biased) stance.

A. Koreans are very honest (blunt) and usually pretty accurate in their conclusions.
1. Today everyone keeps telling me, "You look tired." And since I did not get enough sleep last night I believe this is true.
2. My host siblings kept telling me how my host brother's English teacher has a husky voice and mimicking what it sounded like. I finally met the woman and they were 100% correct.
3. You look fat/thin today. Well, sometimes this might be true- or not. Generally Koreans do not have a problem talking about weight. It isn't unusual to be asked how much do you weigh?

An anecdote for when this is not true:
Scene: High School cafeteria, waiting in line for food. My co-teacher talking to gym teacher behind me.
Co-teacher: "This is the P.T. (Physical Training) teacher. He wants to attend your English class."
Me: "Oh! Great! Please come!"
Co-teacher: * smiling * "Uh, he says your pronunciation is not good."
Me: "My Korean pronunciation?" * confused since I didn't speak Korean... *
Co-teacher: "Uh...no, your English pronunciation."
Me: "Really? What?"
Co-teacher: "He says it sounds like konglish"
Me: "Oh, well, I don't know enough Korean for it to be konglish!"

** note ** konglish is a mix of Korean and English. Think Spanglish.

So, the gym teacher did some to my English class, where he proceeded to say I have bad pronunciation. Where the other teachers did an unussual thing- they lied to me and told me he said I had good pronunciation. (I only knew what he said, because of the say before.) But they also spent the next 5 minutes explaining to him that I had only lived in Korea for 3 months and grew up in America. I think he seemed satisfied- I'm not sure. Pretty rude, but I didn't let it get to me. Mostly I thought the whole situation was pretty interesting.

B. Koreans are very concerened about their appearance.
1. Clothes- always in good condition, designer if they can be, newest styles.
2. Hair- always done (even men)
3. Make-up- almost always. Someone asked me the other day if American don't wear make-up (because I don't). But I said that most did, I just didn't.
4. Body image- this does not just mean weight.
a. Double-eye lid surgey- very big here. Asians typically don't have the double eye-lid that Westerners do, and for some reason they
want it.
b. Calf surgery- this removes part of the calf muscle to make your legs look more slender. I think maybe making you "appear" taller.
c. Nose surgery- I think to make more of a bridge or something.

C. English education is EXTREMELY important
1. Private tutors- Korean parents pay through the roof for this.
2. Hagwons/academies- Ditto, private study places for kids
3. Some parents are able to send their children overseas
4. Some parents move overseas for this
5. English camps, etc.
6. Surgery- yes, it's true. Some children have the piece of skin under their
tongue cut/sliced, so they can pronunce the r and l sounds in English.
a. This is a very painful surgery as you can imagine, but it "works". Now, there are plenty of Asian children that live overseas (ahem, I'm an example) and I can pronunce the r and l sounds fine, without ever having my tongue detached from the lower part of my mouth (sorry Emily, I don't know the medical terms!). Yet, somehow this logic doesn't transfer over. Like any language, past a certian point, there is no way to master it completely and I think these sounds are an example of this. It's because these children grow up speaking a langauge that does not have these sounds, not the fact that their mouths cannot reproduce the sound.

Okay, I don't mean to "rag" on the culture here, but these are just some things I've noticed. And my history degree would not be any good, if I didn't recognize that I have a huge bias coming from a Western background. Generally I don't think these things are bad or wrong, but just a different perspective. Although, I'm not keen on on the surgery for children.

Please leave comments, I'd love to hear your responses! Plus, comments make me feel good! :)

-me

Andong & Wonju

Hi all,

Sorry for the late update! Just wanted to write a few things about my two latest trips. The first one was to Andong for the International Mask Festival with two teachers from my school and their daughters. The festival was pretty big- apparently it's the twelfth year it's happened. They have large mask dance performances every two hours or so from different countries around the world. We saw a Thai dance and a Korean traditional dance. The Thai dance was okay- it wasn't necessarily a professional troupe. However, the Korean traditional dance was really cool! There are pictures up of the dances. There were lots of tents set up where people could buy food, gifts, and do arts and crafts. It was cool to see- a little boring, but I am glad I was able to I got to go.

This weekend I left to visit my friends in Wonju. I was told it would take 4 hours to get there on the bus, however it only took 2.5 hours! I was very surprised and unsure if where I ended up was the correct place! I had to take a taxi, subway, taxi and a bus to get to Wonju. Thankfully I had enough sense to get off the bus when I did, otherwise I would have ended up in a different town! I got to see my friend Lauren and we spent the day eating, going to a coffee shop and catching up on what's been happening in our lives. It was a really nice time. Sunday I went to church with her and then went to her choir concert that evening. It was really good! I also met up with some friends to see the concert- and that was cool too. I came back to Daegu on Monday (my students had midterms) and did some shopping, went to Korean language class, and the gym.

Hope all is well back in the states, please keep me posted! I'm still a little tired and am wondering if I'm going through another bout of culture shock- I had KFC tonight! Also, if you could please pray for my friend Laura's recovery after brain surgery. She's recovering well, but really needs prayer to heal quickly (her speech and movement of the left side of her body) so she can get back to her normal routine!

Miss you all!

-Me

Teaching Goal

Hi All,

I am back at school (yesterday was a National holiday) and although I was supposed to teach today I managed to get out of actually teaching. This is because a. I wasn't very happy with the lesson I created for this week (it was boring and not fun) b. I am tired from yesterday and c. the students have midterms tomorrow, sat. and Monday. All this adds up to my students having my class as a self-study time. I thought this would be like a study hall, where I would be in the room and watch them, but it turns out that most of the Korean teachers went to watch the classes instead of me! Which was super nice of them. I only had to attend 2/5 classes today. This has given me lots of time which I have used in very productive ways (surprisingly). Instead of just gchatting or watching t.v. online I managed to study some Korean, lesson plan a little for next week, and get excited/interested in teaching again.

I enjoy teaching and am fairly good at it, but sometimes I am not all that interested in it. I felt like that was happening the past two weeks. However, I have a goal for my students to reach at the end of this semester- make their own podcast. I had this idea when I came to Korea, but thought it would depend on my student's English ability, resources, etc. When I began planning my lessons I threw the idea out because I thought it would be too difficult. My student's English level is decent, I would say most of them fall into the intermediate range- with a few outliers (in both directions) here and there. I really want my lessons to be productive and my classes to have a product showing their English ability at the end of my time here in Korea. I really think that a podcast is the way to go. We have a language lab downstairs and I think if I structure the assignment correctly (step by step), my students will be able to surpass my expectations (like the Green Eggs and Ham lesson).

All the lessons I have taught thus far either teach or review a skill my students can use to make a podcast. Such as reviewing introductions, having confidence when speaking, and reviewing contractions (speaking like a native English speaker!). Next week I am going to do a lesson on syllables, again this will help with pronunciation. I am fairly certian I can continue in this theme to prepare them for creating a podcast.

I will create a rubric with all the requirements. Something like: a written script of what will be said, making sure everyone speaks, some parts of speech, etc. I want to have students work in groups of 3-4 and create a podcast around a topic they are intested in- something surrounding Korean or American culture- I'll make a list later.

Now that I have some of my logistics settled I need to check with the school to see if this is possible. Mainly that they'll let me download the two programs on every computer in the language lab I need to make the podcasts. I think I'll also need to make sure it's okay if I put the podcasts online- to protect my students' privacy, etc. So, we'll see...I guess I could still do the assigment even if we cannot record them. But I'm super excited about this possibility. Note: it would also be difficult to navigate all my students through these programs!

Okay- back to planning class for next week- so I can leave for this weekend without worrying about anything!

-me :)

P.S. I uploaded pictures of my friend David teaching (I went to visit him two weeks ago) and pictures around my apartment/Daegu, and most notably (sorry David) pictures from the Andong Mask Festival! I went there yesterday and I'll post more pics and maybe even some vids on here soon. This post was originally supposed to be about the festival, but I got excited about the podcast idea! I'll post more about the festival (probably tomorrow)!

"Front hair teacher!"

So, I missed the Sunday update by one or two days, depending on how you look at it. Here's a brief update on what I've been up to and what's happening in the future.

Chuseok was nice- I met more of the family and even if I didn't talk to 99 percent of them, it was nice to see how they all get along. They do seem to be a pretty well funtioning group and it was nice to go to the countryside- really pretty. I did not want to go at first, because I thought I would be bored out of my mind. But I enjoyed the time. It really was the country and I think one of the only places in Korea where I didn't have cell phone reception! I told some of my students that yesterday and they looked horrified. :)

I got to see some friends the end of last week and that was nice. I missed going to Andong to the mask festival with them because I had to give a test for my program. I made some cash, but generally was disappointed that I had to miss out on the fun. Although, I am going to Andong tomorrow with three/four teachers from my school. I think it will be nice to go with them, since I like them and I think it will be an interesting perspective going with Koreans. Plus, two of the teachers are bringing their daughters and I love little kids!

Sunday was relaxing and I got to check out an English service- which was great. It turns out I knew the gu y that was speaking. He works at Yeungam University where I am taking Korean language class. I met some other foreigners and hopefully it will be a place where I can make Korean friends too. I met another American who teaches at a DOD school- which is pretty interesting, so I can't wait to talk to her more.

I also baked a cake with my host sister Sunday night for her mom's birthday, which is really Wednesday, but we celebrated last night. I bought flowers and it was my job to finish decorating the cake. I'll put a picture up here soon. It turned out really pretty- but did not taste very good at all! It was way too dense!

Tomorrow is the trip to Andong and this Friday is lunch with teh English teachers and then a trip somewhere. I'm not sure where. But they're excited because the students have midterms, so they get out early and all the first year English teachers are doing something special. Then Saturday I am going to head up to Wonju to hang out with some friends and I think I'll come back Sunday or Monday- I'm not sure which. I might have a chance to see another friend, but we'll see. Then in two weeks I have the Fall conferene for our program! I feel really busy, but am excited to see friends and some more of Korea.

Okay a few funny conversations I've had surrounding the fact that I got my haircut last night and now have bangs!!! (Don't worry, I didn't get anything else done.) I've wanted bangs for a while since I've been in Korea. I think it looks super cute and was really excited!

My older host sister, "Jenna! Bangs, look better with not having bangs."
Me, "What? You like the bangs?"
Older host sister, "Yes, look better with bangs than without."
(And I trust her opinion, since she's the one that called me fat last time!)

Teacher, "You look different today- you're wearing glasses!"
Me, "Uh...I wear glasses everyday..."
Teacher, "But you look different..."
Me, "Bangs?"
Teacher, "Oh! They look good!"

Another teacher, "I was wondering what looked different, but it's bangs, right?"
Me, "Yes"
Another teacher, "cute"

Students, "Front hair!!"
Me, "Bangs"
Students, "Looks good!" "Very pretty" "Teacher, beautiful!" "Look younger!"

-me :)

P.S. I'll post a picture of the new look as soon as I get one!

"That's okay!"

Because of my "J" personality- something Jamie would say- I have spent an obscenely large amount of time updating my pictures. I even added a new link to the picture section on this page. I have added an album labeled "Around Korea" and updated the albums "Daegu" and "Kangwon dae Hakyo". It dawned on me that most of the pictures labeled "Daegu" were not actually pictures of Daegu itself. So, I moved them to the album "Around Korea". Here is a brief synopsis of the new pictures under the three albums:

"Around Korea"- the first group of pictures are of the 9/12 hour hike my host mother, father, and brother went on this weekend. We left at 7:00am and got back around 6:45 pm. Although we took a break for breakfast, lunch and some snacks. All said and done, I estimate that it as a 9 hour hike up Seoraksan, or Seorak Mountain. It was gorgeous- too green, in the fall it's supposed to be AMAZINGLY beautiful. I'm not sure why my host family decided to go this past weekend- except for the fact that I think my host father had some time. Either way it's beautiful and I am happy that I had the chance to go. Although, I was not so happy coming down from the mountain. I don't think I've ever been in so much pain- my feet killed me, my knees hurt, my back, shoulders, etc. Typically, I've heard to hike Seoraksan, to the highest peak, it usually takes two days. I guess we were originally supposed to spend the night at a Buddhist temple, but my host mother decided she didn't want to, so around 2pm or so, we started back down the mountain. I was glad to be going home, but it turns out that we stayed in a motel on Saturday night and to my horror, on Sunday morning, I was told we were going hiking again. At first I thought- what?! But it ended up being okay, because what was meant by hike, really meant ride up the small peak in a cable car and walk a little ways to the really pretty view. I also got to boulder some, which was neat. Seoraksan is about 4/5 hours away from Daegu.
Also in "Around Korea" are pictures from K/Gumo mountain in Gumi (about 45 minutes away from Daegu). I met up with Ray and we hiked/walked up the mountain (it wasn't too difficult) and got to see the pretty waterfall and the cave. Again- amazing views! Oooo- there are also two pictures of dinner, blowfish soup and blowfish tempura! It was surprisingly tasty! It's actually a white fish. I couldn't keep from thinking of seeing the mini-pufferfish with Quinn. "Puff up!, Puff UP!"
Lastly, there are some older pictures from Heinsa and Bulguksa Temple- they're pictures I got from my host father. There's even a picture of my youngest host sister and I.

I updated the album "Daegu", it has fewer pictures (I moved most of them to the "Around Korea" album, but it has some pictures of the World Cup Stadium at night for those of you who love football. There's also a picture of my cell phone, finally- it's not all that spiffy, but some of my friends have very spiffy phones and the cell phone technology in Korea is about 50xs better than in the states. Koreans also don't go anywhere without their phone- I'm not even joking. The fitness center (while working out), the bathroom (in the stall), at the jimjilbang (while naked)- you get the idea.
There are also two pictures of me helping with the cooking preparations for Chuseok! My host mother and her sisters (2 of them, shown in the pictures), along with my host grandma have been cooking since this morning. We have made so much food in preparation for all the relatives (about 20 or so) that will be coming to our house tomorrow for Chuseok (akin to Thanksgiving in the states- but not really like it). It is a huge three day holiday where families travel back to their father's homes. Some will visit graves and honor their ancestors in a ceremony (I'm pretty sure it's a Buddhist ceremony). It really is a big deal, comparable to Christmas in the states. People bring presents, there are gift sets galore at shops (very expensive) and everything is busy as people are traveling (especially roads). It's been really neat to see and experience, hopefully more pictures will follow. I'm not too comfortable taking a whole bunch of pictures as I don't want my family to feel like they're in a fishbowl. Here's the picture of me:



Lastly, I added about 4 pictures to the album "Kangwon dae Hakyo". They are pictures of friends and I from Yonsei Day, when we met our principals and co-teachers, effectively the last day of orientation.

One more interesting story before I have to get back to my host family: Friday night I lost my business card holder, which was a graduation gift and I felt really sad about it. However, I thought I knew where I dropped it (back at my high school). I was going to walk to the high school, it was nearly 10pm, it would have taken about 20 minutes, but my host mother insisted on driving me. That was really nice. I found the business card holder- yea!- but on the way back, my host mother clipped a teenager in the arm with her car! It was really scary- because I was sitting in the passenger's seat and the kid was hit with the passenger's side mirror. She stopped, got out and made sure he was okay- and then came back into the car (where I was waiting- what else could I have done?) and said "That's okay!"

By the way, if you missed the earlier post about teaching- it's pretty good. It also features two video clips of my teaching/student's learning. I'm going to end this blog with one more video clip of me teaching. My students have a fit whenever I speak in Korean- it's pretty fun!

-Jenna :)


P.S. I just showed my host family this video and my oldest host sister told me I looked fat! (I love Korea! Thankfully I have thick skin!!)

A glimpse into the everyday...

Hi Everyone,

I was lucky enough to have a good friend visit me yesterday and observe and help me teach. This means I have a lot of footage from this week's lesson- which I think is pretty niffty. So, I've changed the picture on the right to a picture of my students and added a new album, cleaverly labeled- "teaching". I am also trying to upload a video or two of me teaching, so please enjoy! It might take a few days to upload the videos and pictures- I'm still trying to wrestle with technology! This should be a picture of me looking silly- I was trying to get the students to guess what what was in the envelope!



As you can see by looking at the pictures, I write an agenda on the chalk board (yes, chalk board) everyday. I also write a daily phrase. This helps the students get into a routine and helps them practice and learn some English classroom vocabulary. I try to keep the phrases and agenda as simpe as possible so the students can read and understand what is happening. This week's phrase was "May I go to the bathroom?" Which was inspired after a few students did not know what to ask when they had to use the bathroom- my bad! Th first three weeks were phrases to help the students understand things I will say in class on a daily basis: May I have your attention please? (ala Kent, it works in Korea too!) Do you have any questions? Please pass your papers forward.

The lesson I taught this week was about Green Eggs and Ham. Actually- that is the story I used to get the students speaking. The real goal/objective every week is just to make the students speak English. There is no curriculum I have to follow and the textbook they use seems very disjointed to me. Besides they use the textbook with other teachers- I'm not supposed to use that. So, as much as I would like a unit/curriculum map my essential goal is to have the students speaking English. They know the vocabulary, the grammar, etc- it's all stored in their minds after years and years of rote memorization. My job is to tap these resources and get them to use what they know. I have begun this task by using American music (last week's lesson) and books (this week's lesson) to get the students hooked into the lesson and from there to get them speaking.

Green Egs and Ham worked really well because it was something the students could read- and felt confident in reading. Yes, the actual words themselves are easy for freshman English Foreign Languge students to read and speak, but I added a rather difficult twist to the task: put the story together before we read it. I literally cut up and laminated the story into 41 parts (41 students being my largest class) so every student would have a piece of the story. I grouped the pieces by page number (divided the actual story into just 5 pages) and then coded each piece of paper with a letter- my secret answer key. [This really didn't take too long.]

In class I gave a quick intro. to popular kids books in America, some of my favorites! Then I told the students we would read a story in class, but bfore we read it, I needed their help. I explained very thoroughly about how each of them would get a part of the story, but they would be putting the story together in groups and I would be there to help and support them. I passed out the pieces of paper and watched the students get to work. Now, after 13 years or so of rote teaching methods, my students were very eager to work in groups to complete a hands-on task. It was relaly neat to see! The only hesitation students had were if they did not understand what I was saying in English. Once a stuent helped translate into Korean they were off. I walked around to each group and checked in to make sure they were on the right page. I helped with giving hints "read the pieces of paper out loud- it will help!" "look for similar words on the pieces of paper". For some classes/students this activity was above their heads, but most students could complete the task, and other students flew through the activity. After I had the students read thir passage together before they were finished so they could hear how the story flowed (Dr. Suess is great for this).

Then I had the students sit back in their original seats. I showed them the full text of the story- explaining how each page I showed was a page of the story each group put together. It helped them understand what they just did. Putting the story together with no real prior knowledge of the story was very difficult for them. Debriefing the activity helped a ton- I even asked the students "was this difficult? Why?". I would even pull out a few sentences and read them aloud to the students. Instead of me reading the whole story to them, I found the cartoon version of Green Eggs and Ham on YouTube. This was much more of a visual for the students and a lot more interesting than Miss N reading through the story. Watching the cartoon really helped with their comprehension.

Class ended with one more debrief of the story itself. "Was the story easy or difficult to read (speak)?" My students- "Easy!" Me- "Why?" After waiting a few minutes a few students will throw out answers, "same words (repetition), same sounds/like song (rhythm), for kids (short/small words and simple sentences)" Last question, "The story was written for children, so it has a message or a lesson to teach them- what do you think the message of the story is? What it is trying to teach kids?" After a few moments- "Encourage, try" Me- "Great! Exactly, we should try new things! The man in the story would not eat green eggs and ham, but once he did, it turned out (he ended up) he liked them!" One boy in class even said the message was "Don't judge a book by its cover" I nearly fell over I was so happy! So, I tell the students that message too. I think it's a great lesson for them when they learn English too. All my lessons have similar components- speaking and an extra lesson like confidence, or to try new things.

As you can probably tell, I am really excited about how well this lesson went. I was a little nervous at first, but am glad that I stuck with my instincts because my students surpassed my expectations. I alwyas have high expectations of them, but am continually amazed at their abilities nonetheless.

-me :)

"The belly button is bigger than the belly." -Korean Proverb

I've generally been feeling a little down this weekend. I think it has to do with the weather (it's been rainy and cloudy all weekend and the fact that I was exhausted from the week). Nothing too serious, but this weekend was relaxing and in about a week I will have ten days off from school. I am looking forward to this a lot. I will write a bit about this weekend and then recount the rollercoaster that is Korean language class and the inspiration for this blog title.

Friday I was able to sleep in a little, but I got up to have breakfast with my host fam. because I feel bad if I don't eat with them. Usually the mother or grandmother leaves food out for me and then heats other food for me. I try to avoid this and ate with the fam. and then went back to sleep- a little. I walked to school and met my co-teacher who was kind enough to contact and drive me to a place where I will start volunteering every Friday. I really wanted to volunteer at an orphanage, but it turned out that places did not need anyone on Fridays. I did not understand this until he told me in the car- I would have worked on the weekends to work in an orphanage, but am excited to be where I am- I think I might be needed more. It's an after school center for children who have lost one parent and/or are having financial problems. I think there are only 22 children who come to the center and they are all elementary age. The range is pretty sweeping and there is a good mix between girls and boys. Apparently there are a few orphans who live above the center and might come and attend my class. I think I am teaching the children English- which isn't all that interesting, but hopefully I can make it fun for them. I am excited to meet the kids, I start this week. The woman at the center who met us told me that some of the kids are rude and might not treat me that well, but it is because of their situations. I told them it was the same as in the states.

After I went to language class and then got together with two classmates for dinner- at a Mexican restaurant!! I had a lime daquari and a taco with real sour cream and guacamole! It was super exciting. I haven't been craving anything really, but it sure tasted really good. It was also really nice to talk with other native English speakers and got to meet new people. One of the women I went out with is from Canada and the other from Florida. They are both really nice and are English instructors at the university. Sara, the Canadian, has been in Korea on and off for four years teaching and loves it. She also has a cat! Which I got to hold and pet! I really miss kitties- they don't like them in Korea and no one really ever has them as pets. They're are like rats in America. Chris has been here for three weeks and she's pretty cool too. It was my suggestion that we go and get a drink and I had a nice relaxing time.

Saturday morning I met up with a friend for coffee and that was really nice. We walked around Daegu and found this really interesting outdoor market. Lunch wasn't the best, but it was edible. 국밥 not my favorite thing! Then I came home and just hung out with my host family. I really don't think I did too much of anything really- it was nice. Today I woke up and had a delicious breakfast! It was a fried rice omelette!! Man it was tasty- I can't wait to try and make it myself. My host family invited me to go hiking with them today, but were cool that I wanted to go to church instead. Church was pretty good- this time, the pastor's wife helped translate. I missed a lot, but the service was pretty good and I liked the worship music again. We sang, "God is good all the time, all the time God is good"! It was exciting. Then I went to Bible study and that was good- I still feel bad for disturbing everyone and making them translate things for me. But everyone was excited to see me again and one girl in particular really wants to be my friend- which is really exciting. Then I came home. I was going to go to the gym, but forgot that my host sister wanted to make brownies. So I helped her instead. Dinner was interesting- sushi and a hotdog. :)

Korean language class is difficult. But I am glad I am taking it. Really I think I could just hit myself over the head with a baseball bat over and over again and I would feel the same. Monday night I started in the beginner 1 class, but it was really really easy. I somehow convinced my teacher to let me try beginner 2- but the beginner 2 teacher was less than happy to let me in. Mainly because she thought I wouldn't understand anything. It was really frustrating, I brought my little certificate from Korea University and everything too, but she didn't even read it. Wednesday night she asked me a question in class (part of the grammar we were learning) "how long have you been studying Korean?" I answered correctly "2 months" my teacher nearly had a heart attack and exclaimed "what?!" but really rude. It made me really mad! If I had a different personality I think I would have gone home and cried and changed classes. Instead I was really mad and am now determined to do really well in class- which means I need to study a lot. I left class on Wednesday night and got on the bus angry and then five minutes later my bus broke down. I got off and followed the other Koreans and hoped another bus would come because I had no idea where I was or how to get back home. As bad as this sounds, I am happy I am in class and that it is challenging. Teaching has been pretty easy and it is nice to be challenged. My co-teacher told me the Korean proverb to describe Korean language class. It is because my class is only 50 minutes, but I have to ride the bus for about 2 hours (one hour each way). So, I think the proverb translates to something like "a wash" in English. The bus ride isn't all that bad- except for the fact that Korean bus drivers and driving in general is really scary. I like the time to myself.

I have to go study Korean now! I think I might post again before Sunday as there are a few things about Korean culture and such I want to blog about.

Stay tuned!

-me

Hi all,

I am going to try and get back to the schedule where I post every Sunday. Hm, this is longer than I expected... :)

Last week my schedule was changed. I had to teach on Friday. It wasn't that big of a deal, I just figured I would be uber tired on Friday because I had to teach all the classes I normally teach on Thursday. I teach 5 classes on Thursday and then had to teach another 5 on Friday. Which really meant that I had to plan a lot on Wednesday. But I made a really fun lesson about contractions and pop songs. How do they relate you might ask? Well, I reviewed what a contraction is with the students and explained how native speakers use cotractions all the time when speaking. We did a few activities with that and then I played two pop songs. I printed out the lyrics and then had the students find teh contractions in the lyrics. They really seemed to like it. It was fun and I had a good time. I even tried to make them sing! I get to teach the lesson 7 more times and then I have to plan a lesson for Thursday's class. I am thinking about a lesson around articles. Many Korean tend to leave out articles of speech when they speak. I have to figure out a way to make it fun.

Friday a really nice teacher took me to sign up for language class! Thankfully it looks like everything will work out and I will go to class every day (sort of a bummer, but I want to learn!). So, I will leave straight from school- hopefully get on a bus in a timely manner, go to class, and then come back home. I should be home around 8:30 every night. I need to remember to take a snack with me.

Friday night was fun as I met up with Ray, Ariah, Amber, David, and Amelia. We went out for dinner and just got to hang around. Then I met up with Alison on Saturday and that was a lot of fun! I showed her around downtown, we had a "picnic" in a park with kimbap and mandu. Then we walked to the traditional market and then to Daseong Park- which has a zoo. The park is really pretty, but the zoo is really depressing. The animals do not have any toys in their cages and generally do not look very happy. Some looked a little underweight as well. The most astonishing thing to see was the fact that people kept trying to throw food to the animials- completely unheard of in America. The moneky cage had a whole bunch of trash at the bottom of the cage from people throwing food in bags. Some of the monkeys were even gnawing and trying to eat the plastic bags and such. It was pretty ridiculous.

Anyways, later Alison and I went to a resturant that had an outdoor area. We ordered a bottle of white wine and a cheese plate!!! It was soooo good, even if I did get bit by 20 mosquitos. We hung out there for a while until Ray, David, and Luke met up with us. Then Amber, Ariah, and Amelia found us and we all hung out at a bar. Ariah, Amber and I stayed at a jimjilbang Saturday night and woke up for Dunkin' Donuts Sunday morning. :) I then went back home to drop stuff off before going to church. I forgot that Sunday was a "holiday" of sorts and when I got home my host mother's sister was there. I was told to eat food- so I sat around and tried to hang out. Then I left for church and when I came back home there were moe relatives. In fact, there must have been about 10 relatives or so who came for this holiday. It's really an observance of the ancestors. It's a mini-observence compared to Chusok, which will happen in two weeks. It was interesting to meet the family- no one spoke english, so I just sat around trying to smile. But the family did the whole thing where they set out food and drink for the ancetors and bow and such. It was interesting.

Church was interesting on Sunday- but good too. I met up with the young adult pastor who speaks really good English. Again, he reiterated the fact that there is no English service, so he was not sure how the church could serve me. But while we were meeting the worship band was practicing for service and they were practicing songs I recognized! I was really excited. The songs were in Korean, so I could try and sing the Korean or sing the English I knew. It was cool. The pastor sat with me during church and tried to write down parts of the message, but it was hard for me to understand everything. Apparently the head pastor really wants me to come to the church. I feel bad because everyone has to bend over backwards to translate for me. So, after service I went up and introduced myself (not as scary as it sounds, there aren't a whole bunch of people at the young adult service and I only said about 2 short sentences in Korean). I was about to sit down, but they were no! wait! We are going to sing a song for you. So, that was nice, I did not know what it was about and if they sing songs to visitors or what- but I felt very welcome. :) Afterwards I got invited to a Bible study and got a book. They are going through the Purpose Driven Life group series. But the book is in Korean. There really wasn't a Bible study yesterday because the group had me introduce myself and they introduced themselves. Everyone is older than me, but very nice and helpful. Some were very eager to speak English and others were very shy. I am going to try and go back next week. After Bible study we went to get food and I got to talk some more about myself and Colorado. Then I went home- turns out a few of my new church friends (hopefully they'll be friends) live in the same apartment complex as me. So, that's cool.

Okay, I have to go and teach! Hope all is well with everyone! If you want some more to read check out my friends' blog- he ate dogmeat soup the other day. I haven't had it yet! http://koreanexperience.blogspot.com/

-me :)

"Come and I will make you fishers of men"

Hm, after attempting to fish this weekend, it appears that I should not give up everything and become a fisherman- or woman for that matter! My host family took me to Kampo (Gampo) on Sunday afternoon to fish. Kampo or Gampo is located on the South East coast of Korea. We fished in the sea- the water was pretty gross and polluted. I did not manage to catch anything. However, Han Soong caught a few fish and my host father caught many. Na Kyung even caught one. I was worried we were going to have sushi from the fish we caught, but instead my host mother cooked a few of the fish into a soup we had for breakfast on Monday (I did not eat much of it!). Before the great fishing adventure we had sushi at a restaurant near the sea. Apparently the family eats there every time they go fishing. I was a little worried about the fish and decided to drink lots of soju to try and kill anything on the fish! I'm feeling fine- so do not worry!

Before all this we went to Bulguksa Temple, a famous Buddhist temple, another UNESCO World Heritage site, and to see a famous statue of Buddha, another UNESCO site. They were very nice. Sometimes I think all Buddhist temples look the same, but it was really pretty and a little different than the last Buddhist temple I visited. The statue of the Buddha was pretty cool. It was huge (I forget how tall) and carved out of granite. The sign said it is the best Buddhist artwork in the world. I am not sure how much stock I put into UNESCO site designations, but it was still nice to see.

Saturday night I went out to dinner with a teacher from my school. She invited me out to meet a friend of hers, another native English speaker. Linden turned out to be a Kiwi; he's from New Zealand! He was very nice and it was really interesting to talk to him about the cultural differences between America, New Zealand, and Korea (he's been here four years)! We went to an Indian restaurant- it was Korean-Indian, but still yummy. I even had naan! Afterwards we went and played pool- that was fun too.

Teaching this week had been good so far. The students are speaking a lot better than I initially thought- which is great. Next week I am going to make class a little more difficult. My dad gave me a great idea for a lesson and I am going to try and somehow work it in for next week's class. The idea is around the t.v. show American Idol. I never watched the show and actually do not like it at all, but a lot of my students are interested in learning American pop songs and like to sing, so maybe I can create something around this idea.

Some things that are coming together this week- an orphanage in which to volunteer, a university in which to take Korean language classes, and a church to attend! I am very happy and excited that these things are coming together. I have been trying to be patient and not too pushy and they all seemed to happen at once. My plan was just to work on a place to volunteer this week.

Check out the pictures, I've updated them! I updated Kangwon de Hakyo too! One of my favorite pictures is on the right hand side of this page. I have been teaching my host siblings how to pop snacks up in the air and catch them in their mouths! Hahaha, I'm such a good cultural ambassador!

-Jenna :)

You're not good at chopsticks until...

-You can eat buffalo wings with them (substitute buffalo wings for any meat on the bone)
-You can de-shell a shrimp with them (substitute shrimp for any shell fish)
-You can pick the seeds out of watermelons with them
-You can transfer food from one set of chopsticks someone is holding to your own set of chopsticks


Interesting things I have heard this week:

"You are the smartest foreigner I have ever met." In regards to the fact that I memorized my cell phone number. Apparently everyone else has just handed the phone with the number showing to this teacher.
"Teacher you are very beautiful." A student, or multiple students.
"Because you look like us, you should wear a name tag so people know you are the English teacher." My principal being concerned that people might not treat me right because I look Korean.
"Teacher, you and my brother are predestined. He's 26!" Student trying to tell me that her brother and I are "meant to be together" aka married.
"The students are behaving very well because you are a beautiful stranger." A teacher at the school explaining why the students are well behaved in my classes.
"You are very smart, because you can understand my English." The gym trainer guy talking to me about how poor his English is. It's actually not that bad.

Interesting things I have seen written this week:

"I love you teacher!" Written by a student.
"I want to learn about sexy girls bodies." In response to my question- what do you want to learn about in this English class?
"Teacher you and my brother should meet!" Same student trying to get me to date her brother.
"Jenna could make friends with a brick wall." A friend's mother's comment about how easily I can make friends.

Nicest thing I have read this week:

Jenna, like I said, you did a great job!
I think they'll learn a lot from you.
I was writing about how I "enjoyed" watching your class but the bell rang~ I'll talk about it more later~ OK?
Have a good day and see you tomorrow~

From the teacher who sat in on my class today. I didn't notice the quotes around enjoyed until I was posting it here. Oh well- I'm sure it's okay. This is from the teacher who made me feel self-conscious about my lesson plans last week. So, I'm a step ahead.

Now, into the long blog. I haven't written in a week- I missed the Sunday deadline because I posted later in the week.

I had a great time this past weekend. The weekend starts for my on Thursday night- I know, everyone already hates me. But regardless I met up with the friends here for dinner and Ray came down from Gumi. We had a nice time. Then I met up with two other friends to get our nails done on Friday morning (I got a French tip manicure and I actually really like it! Who knew!) Then I hung out with Amber and Ray the rest of the day. Saturday I lazed around and went to my co-teacher, Mr. Choi, daughter's one year birthday party. It's a huge celebration here. They rented out a room in a seafood buffet restaurant. They had an album of professionally taken pictures and party favors for the guests. I bought the little girl a cute dress. I was very happy to be invited to such an event. After the party I went and saw D War with Ray and his host brothers. It was a horrible movie! Aw man- it was terrible. I went to church with Jess and Ray in Gumi on Sunday- that was cool.

Monday was the first day of teaching- I had three classes. I was a little nervous at first, but it went really well. Most of the students are really excited to see me and I think it is the reason why they are well behaved. I had the students ask me questions to see how comfortable they felt speaking English and to hear their pronunciation. It went pretty well and then I went through the rules with the students. Pretty much the same as in the states- no cell phones, no mp3 players, no talking and no sleeping. The sleeping rule has to do with the fact that most students study until 12am every night and are way over worked. I promised that I would try my best to make lessons interesting for them so they won't want to sleep.

It's Wednesday and that means I've taught seven classes this week- I have five classes to teach tomorrow! I am happy that my biggest class load falls on Thursday- since I've taught seven of the same classes thus far, I feel comfortable with the lesson- they should go really well. I am also treating teachers to lunch tomorrow. I'm excited because they all kept buying me lunch last week. So Korean-Chinese food it is! Woot- it's also because I got payed yesterday!

I am excited to finally start teaching. :) It's really been neat to be here, because I am constantly talking about teaching strategies with other people. It's been great to be in that mindset again. I really enjoy it. I am also thankful that my classes will be "easy" for my students, compared to the Korean classes they take. I made it very clear to my students that they can come and speak to me whenever they want about English- whether it's just to talk or if they have questions. I had one girl come in today and talk to me about what I thought about Condeleza Rice and Hilary Clinton. :) Students here have it much harder than in the states. They study extremely hard- long hours too. Their academy teachers can hit them (as a form of punishment) and schools can use all sorts of punishments not allowed in the states (corporal punishment was outlawed here a few years ago- but it still happens sometimes). One of my host sisters told me the other night that her teacher at academy hit her hand because of a low test score and how her hand was still hurting her. I couldn't believe it!

I don't have any plans for this Friday or Saturday. A friend of mine was going to come visit on Saturday, but plans were changed last minute- which is cool. I'm sure I'll think of something. My host family is going to take me to a Buddhist Temple, some other thing, and then fishing. Very full Sunday. Mr. Choi found a church that has English services- I'm going to try and start going to church in two weeks. We'll see. Mr. Choi thought it was ironic that my family was taking me to a temple on Sunday- even though I'm trying to start going to church. I thought it was an astute observation and that it showed he had a good command over the language if he can identify things that are ironic.

I'm still setting into Daegu- but am feeling pretty good still. There are a few more things I would like to know about while I'm here, but we'll see. I want to take language classes and I also want to volunteer in an orphanage. I have been trying to bring it up here and there to Mr. Choi and he tells me that he's looking into it. There's also a teacher at my school who is a Christian and volunteers at an orphanage. Hopefully I can go with him one time and then start going on my own. :)

Thanks again to everyone who is supporting me while I'm here!

-Jenna


P.S. I've updated my pictures. There's a new album called Daegu, but I also updated pictures in Kangwang University- check 'em out!

"For the Jenna!"

Hm, well it is sort of late, but I do not need to go into school tomorrow until the afternoon. So, I will write about my random-interesting day.

I got up a little before 7- around 6 (I went to bed early last night) and was officially awaked with a knock at my door at 7am. I think the family thought I had to be up that early, since I had to be at school at 8:10 am on Monday. However, I did not have to be at school until 10am. Regardless I ate breakfast with the family and then hung around until my host mother drove me to school.

I arrived at school, entered the teacher's office and awkwardly said hello to all the teachers and waited for Mr. Choi to tell me what to do (I was supposed to get my bank account- that's why I went to school this morning). Turns out he had a class then, so I went to my office and did some work (mostly chatted on g-mail and tried to figure out where I actually am). And, even though it might be a suprise, I finally figured out where I am! There are two subway lines that run through the city and I am about a 20 minute walk from the nearest stop. It is a huge relief to finally know where I am. It's such a humbling experience not to know anything about where you are and what is going on. This is also helpful since I am supposed to meet friends in Daegu for dinner on Thursday night.

Mr. Choi came back and we left for the bank- where I signed my life away on about 20 different documents. But I have a bank account and I even deposited money! Supposedly I will get paid soon- although I am unsure how much and why. Typically we don't get paid until we actually start to teach. Since I haven't started I am not sure why they are paying me. Maybe it is an advance? Some of us started teaching this week and their pay will be adjusted for the time they teach this month. But, I am happy I have a bank account- I am slowly beginning to feel like an actual member of society again. Nevertheless, the simple act of opening an account led to an interesting foray into Korean culture. It went like this:

Mr. Choi: "Jenna have you heard about the Korean custom for when a person receives their first salary?"
Jenna: "No" (shakes head)
Mr. Choi: "It is customary to give underwear to one's parents. I think, it would be a very good thing for you to do- especially for the grandma of your homestay."
Jenna: "Really?" (Tries to play it cool- although is trying not to laugh and wondering if this is a joke.)
Mr. Choi: "Yes. Traditionally the underwear is red."
Jenna: "Red? Where do I get it?" (still in disbelief)
Mr. Choi: "Hm, a store like EMart- nothing expensive" (similar to Target)
Jenna: "Okay, thanks" (Makes a mental note to ask her Korean friends about this later.)

And before this interesting conversation...was lunch! Where I proceeded to sniffle and tried not to blow my nose. We had chee-gae, which is a spicey soup with ramen, hot dog pieces, ham (spam), rice cake, cabbage- etc. It wasn't all that spicey- but you know my nose. I felt really bad, because the teachers I went with were all very sad that they had picked the restuarant. I do really like it and it wasn't all that spicey- but my nose couldn't handle it. I swear it will be the death of me in this country. It is REALLY rude to blow your nose in public (anywhere outside a bathroom- pretty much) and I just can't do it sometimes. My host family thinks I'm sick and since I have to sniffle all the time I cough too. It's an intersting situation.

So, back at school Mr. Choi and I try to set up my internet banking and it doesn't work. It looks like it will take awhile to figure it out and we decide to work on it another day. Around 3:00 I am inundated by a whole bunch of students who are curious about me. Some are brave enough to enter the office and others wait outside in the hallway. I think I get some new students because I made a few signs that say "Welcome, Please Come in! and English Zone" I also have a group of five boys that come in with Mr. Choi. They are here to clean my office. Apparently 3:00-3:20 is cleaning time and I have five boys assigned to sweep, mop, wash my windows, etc. in the office. Students in Korea, like some other Asian countries, are required to clean their classrooms, the hallways, offices, take out the trash, etc. It's a good idea that American public schools should pick up. I think it helps build pride in the school- plus it cuts down on maintence costs.

At 3:30 I have to call my host mother and the fun really begins. To begin with the call last all of 2 seconds in which she answers her phone, says "Jenna" and a few other things in Korea. I quickly gather all my things and am out the door to meet her in front of the school. From what I garnered earlier this morning I am being taken to a nearby university where my host brother takes English class. It turns out that she is trying to sign my up for Korean classes- which is great. Although there are no Korean classes available this month. I have to wait until next month and even then it is sketchy- the times might conflict with my teaching schedule. I really hope they do not, because I really do want to learn.

After that my host mother looks disappointed in not being able to help me get what I want. However, she says a few other things and the only word I pick up is "Costco" and I get the gist that we are going there. Now, Costco is a huge thing in Korea for Americans. Not that I have been missing much American food, but for most American's it's a huge treat to be able to go. It turns out that my family has a Costco card- and not only that, but my host mother is a VIP member (which I'm pretty sure just means she buys a lot- it makes sense since the family is so large). Costco is the same as it is in America- save for the different types of Korean food you can get here- although it does carry a lot of the American brands, which is why Americans love it. Now, this (seemingly) was not an ordinary Costco trip- who knows. But it turned out that we met up with a friend of my host mother, who was also doing her shopping. We shared a cart with her and I helped push- about the only useful thing I could do, inbetween being forced the sample food (not all that bad). I thought of Dad and going to Sam's club. I even took a picture with my camera phone. If I figure out how to transfer pictures onto my computer I'll post it. Now, after completing shopping (I did find one American thing I have missed- Nature Vally granola bars- the ones in the green wrappers- I was going to buy them, but my host mother bought them for me!) we went to a VIP event. Which is why we were there in the first place (I think). It was pretty much a small area of the store sectioned off where there were select items on sale and free food. Neither of the women bought anything, I really think we went just for the free food. :)

My host mother and I then picked up my host brother from English academy and drove to pick up my host father from work. I think he owns two tire factories (one in Daegu and another one somewhere else). This took awhile, but we finally got home and I go to taekwondo with my host bro. I had promised to go with him the day before- so I followed him to practice because I wanted to see him and his teacher wanted to meet me. Well, it turned out that I ended up working out! And I'm supposed to go back every Tuesday for class. I didn't pack my uniform, but now I wish I had- the school is pretty informal. Actually- it is a lot different from my old school and I don't like it all that much- but it might be another way for me to stay active. Besides it is good hang out time with Han Soong. We'll see what happens!

Ah- after taekwondo we went home- I had ten minutes to relax and then we were off again with his parents to get beer. We waited for a long time at the table and I was wondering what was wrong- why we didn't just order. However, it turns out we were meeting friends at the bar. The same woman who I met at Costco and her husband (who is a Korean doctor- I'm not sure what that means). They were very nice and the husband kept trying to speak in English- he was okay...he didn't know a whole lot, but his pronuciation was okay. This is where the subject of the post comes from- everyone was trying to figure out how people toast in America. I taught them "cheers" and they started saying "For Jenna!", which devolved into "For the Jenna!" and finally evolved into "to Jenna!" I could not stop laughing. Thankfully my host bro was there and helped translate. I was able to talk a little more about myself, America, and other people on our program with the family in a relaxed atmopshere- it was nice.

After that we went to norebang (singing room/kareoke). Where everyone sang- and I had to sing songs in English- which was a big hit. I sang "Bye, Bye, Bye, Hotel California, Yesterday, Build Me Up Buttercup, and Dancing Queen" Not my top picksm but I tried to pick songs and everyone helped me that they knew. Most host mom and dad are pretty good singers and everyone had a good time. Finally after an hour of that we came home. I played some cards with Han Soong and now I am blogging. It was an increadibly long day! I had no idea that so many random things would happen!

Overall I felt like today was pretty good. I'm getting to know the family a little better. Shopping helped today with getting to know my host mother a bit more. Taekwondo- although unprepared as I was for it, helped me get to know my host bro more, and going out for beer and singing helped be get some face time in with my host father. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

-Jenna

P.S. I have a cell phone and a bank account. I have friends' cell phone numbers and I know where I am. The only thing left I really need is internet- which hopefully will be set up tomorrow at 5:00pm. Then, I will be a full-fledged member of society again!

:)

Okay, I'm trying to leave school, but just had to post a quick message about my first day hanging out at school! It's 4:38 and classes offically ended at 4:20pm- although it sounds like some teachers stick around to teach a supplemantary class- probably for an extra hour.

I got here this morning (my host mom drove me and my host sister to school). I got into my office, which was a feat snce I could not remember the combination to my office! It's my office until a Japanese teacher comes and then I will have to share it with them. It's a bit unusual since most teachers all share one office. Then I had to give my address (introduction) to the entire school staff at the meeting this morning- it went surprisingly well- even if it was only 6 sentances! I also gave the principal, vice prinicipal, and my co-teacher (Mr. Choi) their gifts. Mr. Choi really liked it!

I decided to sick around school because there was a lunch with all the English teachers from the school. I sat around and tried to lesson plan and such- it went pretty well. Every now and then students would pop into my office or stand outside and yell "HI TEACHER!" from the hallway. When I would say anything they would laugh and run away. Some of the braver students actually talked to me. I can't wait to get into the classroom- I'm sure their energy will mellow out!

While I was here this morning Mr. Choi tried to register my cell phone (one that I had been given by a previous participant). However, it would not work so he bought me a phone! This is increadibly generous! I cannot even imagine how must it must have cost. All of the Korean people I have met so far are extremely generous! His daughter's one year birthday is later this month, I will be sure to bring something very nice!

And lastly, this is what Mr. Choi sent me earlier today on messenger:

Hi! Jenna...

Do you know who I am?

Yes, Mr. Choi...

You can use this messenger from now on...

When you have something to tell me(all of the staffs in this school), use this messenger freely. You can visit me also whenever you need...

You may feel tired, I think. But as time goes by and as you are getting familiar with this rather strange and unfamiliar situation, you will feel better soon.

Cheer up, Jenna^^....

Though you sometimes may feel hard to understand me due to my poor English, I'll do my best to help you....
If there is anything that you can not understand, don't hesitate to let me know about that....

Well, I hope you first day in this school would be great...^^


I am still having a wonderful time and am so thankful for everything! Now I will walk home in the stiffling heat!

-Jenna

Daegu!

Hi everyone!

I arrived safely last night around 8 o'clock. My host family is very nice! My cooperating teacher is also very nice and he stayed to talk and eat fruit with the family when I arrived. The family really wants me to feel like this is my home, which is great. I was told I could eat anything in the fridge and even cook my own food (which seems to be pretty unique). They cut up fresh fruit when I came and showed me around the apartment. It is really nice, pretty spacious. I actually am kicking out the youngest sister from her room- she will live with her grandmother while I am here. The girls seem nice, but weren't all that interested in me. The boy however is very good in english and is a huge help already. He also seems very excited to teach me things- which is great. Last night the girls left at 9 to go to an academy to study! They won't come back until 12! The boy is on vacation now, so I think I'll spend more time with him. However, as the girls were leaving they said a few things to me. As soon as my cooperating teacher left, my host mom took me to get a gym membership (which she paid for) and to show me where the closest grocery store is. Both are very close- in the apartment complex.

When I got in last night they showed me my room and there was a stone bed (a slab of marble) for me to sleep on! My co-teacher was very concerned for me and the mother, father, sister, and my co-teacher dragged the thing out of my room and put it into the master bedroom. I will sleep on the floor for about a week until a bed arrives (the host mom ordered it last night!). It is really generous of them and even though I explained I could sleep on the floor they insisted on getting me a bed. I slept pretty well last night.

I woke up this morning and met my co-teacher and he showed me his office and introuced me to a lot of teachers in the school. I also got to see my office, which is really nice- I have it all to myself- kind of unusual. I also got to meet the principal and met some students. The school is only 4 years old- it has 6 floors. My office is on the third floor and the majority of the classrooms I will teach in are on the third floor. The other classrooms are on the second floor (teachers move from class to class, rather than the students). The school is a little further away than originally thought- about 15-20 minute walk from the apt. I think my daily schedule will look like this (at least for now): health club (work out) in the morning myabe around 7, then eat breakfast and walk to school. Come home from school and hopefullly take language classes and/or volunteer.

My school schedule looks like this ( I think it could change, but hopefully it will stay like this):
Monday I teach class number 4 from 9:30-10:20, class number 7 from 10:30-11:20, class number 3 from 1:20-2:10, and class nunber 2 from 3:30-4:20. There is an hour break for lunch (12:20-1:20) and apparently teachers eat in the cafeteria with students.
Tuesday I teach class number 5 from 10:30-11:20 and class number 8 from 1:20-2:10. Wednesday I teach class number 11 from 3:30-4:20.
Thursday I teach class number 12 from 8:30-9:20, class number 1 from 9:30-10:20, class number 6 from 1:20-2:10, class number 10 from 2:20-3:10, and class number 9 from 3:30-4:20! Thursday is my busiest day!
Friday- no class!

My schedule is amazing! Technically I will only be teaching 12 hours a week! There are only 12 classes for the freshman (first grade class) and I will teach the entire first grade class (40 students per class)! I am so happy that I have Fridays off- I cannot believe it. I have already agreed to teach an additional language class (two times a week) since they were so great about my schedule. It also looks like I will be teaching a teachers class too- but that could change.

I have to go to the teachers staff meeting this monday at 8:10, but I do not start teaching for a week! I am so thankful, because I feel like I have a lot to prepare. But I am confident that a week will, be plenty. It's also nice to be able to settle in. There is still a lot I need to learn (like how to do my laundry!). Also, I think I will get my cell phone set up this monday and a bank account. I still have to unpack and work on an introduction (in Korean) for the staff meeting. As soon as I can take pictuers of the apartment and my school I will let you know and post them!

Thank you so much for all your support and prayers! I really felt comfortable during the move and feel very comfortable at my homestay- even though I don't know what is happening 99% of the time. I really cannot imagine a better homestay or school- God is so faithful!

Love,

Jenna


P.S. Please excuse my deteriorating English. I fear that the longer I stay in Korea and the less exposure I have to native speakers the faster my English will disappear! I have heard from past program participants that this happens, also that they tend to speak very slowly (especially when they have to explain things) and that they use a lot more body lanaguge when communicating!