This is my last year, I swear (and some stuff about Tokyo)

Today is the first day of my last year working in Korea. Seriously. This time I really mean it. If you don’t believe me, take a look at my phone. I’ve got a countdown clock going to the last day I officially have to come into work. As of right now I have 11 months, and 12 days. After that, the future is very blurry, which is both terrifying and exciting at the same time. 

I spent some time in Tokyo on a solo trip recently. I had no idea what to expect when I got there, except for things friends had told me and some Youtube videos. I didn’t know if I’d get lost, lose all my money or worse. This was my first solo trip that didn’t involve a visit home, and my first trip to Japan. And, you know what?

It. Was. Awesome.

I went shopping, I ate food, I got NAKED (not in public).  Even though the weather wasn’t that ideal while I was there (crazy wind), it was the most calming trip I’ve ever had. My head tends to be very busy, particularly when others are with me, and it can be frustrating when I can't get some time away from that.  But here I was, in a new place with new people. I couldn’t read the language, or understand most of what was being said, and my impulse was to respond in Korean (what little of it I know). Overall, not a good indication that I’d survive 5-ish days by myself.

But I did. And, even more importantly, it was probably one of the least awkward trips of my life. I slipped into the daily Tokyo routine relatively easily. There were no children gawking at me, like they’d just seen a bear wander into the building that no one else could see. None of the children randomly shouted “hello!”, running off like it was a ding-dong ditch without a door. I did have a girl wave at me from her stroller, but I think she did that because she likes to wave at people. I waved back.

The children, and adults, didn’t particularly care that I was a foreigner. And when it became clear that I didn’t understand most of what they were saying, they were professional and friendly. And, in turn, I was the relatively calm, curious foreigner. .. I hope. 

A Quick Catch-Up Post

Hello, everyone!

It's been a long time. A REALLY long time, unfortunately. I seem to do this a lot. Sorry!

I've survived 5 semesters in Korea so far, and 1 day of summer English camp. Since I don't have much to prep for tomorrow, I thought I'd update my long neglected blog. A lot has happened since my last update, so I'll try to cover some highlights.

1. I went to Singapore. Most of my family and friends probably already know about that, but yeah. It was hot, humid and fun.

2. The CT I was hoping to still have, I still have. She's pretty much the only person in this school I can joke around and have conversations with, so that helped with my sanity this year.

3. Dyed my hair. I'm now Black Widow. :P

4. Had a birthday. It was grand.

5. Lost my passport. That was not grand. People, do NOT lose your passport. I had to take a day off work and go up to Seoul to get it replaced, which brings me to...

6. I stayed at a very unclean hostel near Hongdae. Don't recommend it, but I did meet this girl who was in Korea for the first time and we got chicken galbi and listened to a band in Hongdae sing "The Scientist".

I've been open to new experiences this year, more than I used to. I've never toured anywhere by myself until now, and I've found that it can be really fun. And, you have a chance to meet new people along the way. And sometimes they'll be a little crazy (in a good way), and you'll find yourself at an international festival, dancing to "Uptown Funk" while a henna tattoo dries on your hand.

I have 9 more camp days to go, and then I'm off to my own summer vacation. I'll let you know how that goes and what I did. I promise that update won't be months after. Promise!

Thanks for reading!

p.s. if you're raising your eyebrow at the whole dancing and henna tattoos thing. Yes, it really happened. No, I haven't gone off the deep end.

p.p.s. It's so muggy right now!

Welcome Back to Korea

Hello everyone!

Since my last update I’ve been to the US and back. I’m glad I got some down time, visited with friends and family, and got to eat my weight in food. But now I’m back in the cold (which isn’t all that bad at the moment, looks like winter is almost over) and back to school (temporarily).

Welcome to the one week back, we’re not going to do a lot of teaching, get ready for graduation period. All the students are back, but there aren’t supposed to be any classes until Monday next week. So, essentially we’ve been cleaning and discussing these past two days back (and eating chocolate).

I found out that we definitely won’t have a replacement for my co-teacher who’s leaving. This means a total schedule makeover for the new year. I get less time with the 3^rd and 4^th graders, and kindergarten is completely cut from the year (kind of sad about that one). I get one more class period with the 5^th and  6^th graders, which could be good or bad. I’m still deciding.

Once again, I’ll be teaching some of my classes with the homeroom teachers. The thought of this stressed me out at first, but taking a look at the suggested schedule layout and my CT’s input on the matter makes it better. Instead of dealing with 8 HR teachers, I’ll only be working with 4. Plus, they don’t touch my designated sections in the book. No touchy.

Some other good news -- There won’t be an after school class in the English room any more, which means we can liven up the place without worrying about those brats other students tearing it down. And no more incessant banging on the door by students who can't figure out that a dark, locked classroom means you should wait or go next door to politely ask someone to let you inside. 

My CT and I (whom I really hope will be my CT this last year!) talked a lot about things to change up the classroom and classes. More posters, projects, and themes! I’m pretty excited about it.

What this will mean for the English camps, I’m not sure. I just hope I’ll be the main voice in that like I have been before. That’s the highlight of my job, and I don’t want to give it up. Plus, I still need to do my Harry Potter camp. 

Thank you for reading. I'm really trying this year to keep this up to date. Especially since it will be my last year here. Keep an eye out for another update, hopefully very soon!

Desk-Warming in 2016

It seems like the only time I really update my blog is when I have some desk-warming time. So, here I am, sitting at my desk with nothing much to do. I have three more days of this.

Some news -- apparently one of my co-teachers is not staying next year and, due to some budget cuts, she’s not being replaced. It’ll just be me and one Korean English teacher. Not only that, but the ct I thought for sure would be my ct next year still doesn’t know what’s going to happen. Yaaay…..

I’ve had to deal with substitute ct’s, working with homeroom teachers and pretty much teaching on my own, so what else could they possibly throw at me? Famous last words, I know. Good thing this is my last year.

I have no idea how this is going to affect the lesson schedules next year. We’ve typically had it so each grade had one lesson with just the Korean teacher and then 1-2 with both of us. That’s ten lessons, split between 4 grade levels a week, 2 grades per ct (about 3-4 classes per grade). That gives me 7 lessons a week, counting the KG classes I teach solo once a week.

I have this dreaded feeling they’ll decide that, hey, Emily Teacher did ok teaching with the homeroom teachers. Let’s do that for an entire academic year!

Nope. Nopety nope. I hope the HR teachers object to any proposals resembling that, should they arise. Do you know how stressful and difficult it was to communicate with those teachers, to sync the lessons and then teach while most of them sat in the back and didn’t bother to talk to me until last minute?

Nope. Nope. Nope.

Nope.

Well, it’s certainly been an adventure so far, hasn’t it? And I seem to have named my blog fairly well, because things do get stranger by the minute. You’d think that being here for two years would diminish the surprise, but you’d be wrong. I still roll with the punches, though. That, or go sit at my computer and browse flight options…

Other than the unknown future of English classes at this school… I’m cold. It’s dropped well below freezing point today. There are only so many layers I can fit under my coat. I’m very grateful to my ct, who left me her little electric mat to keep me warm while I’m at school. If I could carry a hot pack the size of this thing with me on my walk home, I’d be very happy.

Thanks for reading! 3ish more days of this weather.  

Health Check or Spa Day?

Looks like I finally have some down time, everyone, so you get to hear about my interesting health check experience. Yay!

To be honest, it was kind of exciting... for a health check. This was the third health check I've had since coming to Korea. The first was in a gym, the second in a small hospital over in Sintanjin. This latest one was at Sun Healthcare International. The swankiest hospital I've ever experienced.

The reason it's so nice is because people go there for medical tourism. This means they travel to Korea for medical reasons, whether it be cosmetic medical reasons or more life-threatening ones.

I wasn't there for either.

First of all, this checkup was required by my school for all the staff. It was also paid for, which is probably the only reason I got to go to a place that looked like a 4 star hotel. Otherwise, I'd probably opt for a more affordable one, where it's perfectly normal to carry an open urine sample across a hallway (yup).

Sun Healthcare was a pleasant surprise after the first two. Before you begin all the screenings, you're lead to a changing room where you find the locker that matches your wristband number. The wristband is your key for the locker and for later (getting to that). Just hold it up, it unlocks, and change into some baggy scrubs (aka pj's) and slippers.

Next, blood sample time. I'm not particularly fond of having my blood drawn. I have a thing about needles being poked into the crook of my arm, call me crazy. But it certainly was the least terrible experience I've had. The sign up list is electronic for every test area. The wristband I talked about earlier? You just hold that up and your name goes on the list. I've heard that there is a similar system in many spas/saunas/jjimjilbangs in Korea. Made waiting to be jabbed by a needle seem more luxurious.

Once that was done, it was urine sample time. You'd think there wouldn't be much to say about this, or that I wouldn't want to talk about peeing in a cup, but you'd be wrong. Like I said, my last checkup involved peeing in a paper cup and carrying that cup across a hall. I could have tripped, run into someone, all kinds of disasters could have occurred. At Sun Healthcare, they have a two-way cabinet in the stall. You pee, put the cup in the cupboard, close it, and it "magically" disappears. Nice, right? No one has to see your pee but you and the professionals.

Everything else after that was pretty routine. Hearing test (done in a sound proof box), sight, height, weight, blood pressure, chest x-ray, and dental check. I have great teeth, by the way. I might have had to go through the awkward braces and tooth-gap phase in high school, but at least genetics has given me plaque resistant teeth (Thanks, Mom and Dad!).

Last thing, I had a short doctor visit. I was not expecting a guy close to my age, of reasonable attractiveness, to ask me personal questions, but hey, it's got to get awkward somewhere. Once that was over, my co-teacher and I headed out for a bite to eat. Easy Peasy.

I finally got the checkup results last week. Wasn't really surprised by the results. Could lose some weight (in my defense, I'd been on 2 flights a couple days prior, but still), but otherwise I'm in the normal range.

So, that's my story. One of these days I'll actually go to a spa or jjimjilbang here and tell you about that too.

Thanks for reading! :)

Summer Camp (And some stuff on MERS)

I am so behind on updates it's ridiculous.

So. MERS. I'm sure most of you back home haven't heard much about it. Google it, freak out on my behalf and then PLEASE take a deep breath. I'm alive. My school has stopped checking everyone's temperatures in the morning, while class representatives line up with signs and face masks (creepy, imho).

All's well. Sort of. Well, it could be better, but the situation has been improving. So, think positive!

We're about a month away from summer break in Korean schools, which means one big thing for me -- English Camp!

I was nervous my first time planning, but after finding my mojo during winter camp I'm pretty excited. I've heard of other English teachers stressing out over it, and I do admit that planning will come with some level of stress, but I look at it like planning any other children's activity group -- just with English language and Western culture thrown into the mix.

Another note, my co-teacher pretty much took the lead in planning our first camp together. I was still new to it, and whenever I made a suggestion it didn't go over very well. But, the next camp I wrote out this detailed plan of activities and a theme, and sent it to her in advance. It was my way of showing what I was capable of, and I was successful because this year when I mentioned I was planning the summer camp she trusted me to work on the details alone.

So, let's say you're planning an English Camp in Korea for the first time and have no idea where to start. Here are some of my thoughts on the whole planning thing:

Movies: Some say yes, others say "you're lazy". I say, it depends. I've used them in a way that compliments the English/Culture learning. English camp is not just about learning words, but also familiarizing your students with the world they come from. Lazy? Only if you don't have any reason to show a movie other than "to fill up some time". If your school is fine with it, why not?

Themes: You can apply things to a theme that might not always appear to connect at first. Do a little creative thinking. Just like a good story has multiple layers to it, your camp can too. I don't mean make it complicated, but just look at your theme from a different angle. Take Christmas as a theme, for example. You can stick with Santa OR you can talk about Santa Claus and Claus figures around the world. Then, you can jump off from there and do even more. Also, sometimes there are things about your culture that are very new to your students even if they're old news to you. Use that to your advantage.  

Prep-Work: If it's something the students could do themselves, in most cases you should just let them do it. You don't have to cut everything out and assemble it for them. This is camp, not a birthday party. You have time and the kids are happy to do it. Turn on some music, and let them go at it.  

Materials: Sometimes things that are cheap back home are pricey and hard to find in Korea. This means looking for alternatives or simplifying your activity. We made dream catchers last year, which we made with small plates, yarn and paper. It doesn't have to be the aesthetically best of the best. It just has to keep the kids entertained and busy.

Efficiency: Your students don't have to be doing something "planned" every minute of camp. At least mine don't. I've always enjoyed schedules that had some elbow room. Plus, there's always the chance that something you planned ends up being a flop. It's easier to let go of the failures and move on to something else if you're open to the idea of failure and hiccups.


Ok. Thoughts, done. Thanks for reading. It's probably not a very fun post to read, but hope you found it useful.

The first day of the rest of my year

Hey everyone! By the time I post this, the majority of you will be waking up on the other side of the world, maybe hitting the snooze button a few times and giving yourself a pep talk to get out of bed. Sounds like my morning, actually.

Moving on...

Today was the first day back to school for the new academic year. I kind of wish that US school years ran a similar schedule, just for the fact that it can sometimes be confusing to keep track of what year you were in which grade. Plus, as an Arizonan I wouldn't mind a long winter vacation vs. summer. 

We spent the first day without classes to teach, but we kept pretty busy. First there was greeting the vice-principal, tea time, greeting the principal, finish up tea time, early lunch, talk about co-teaching plans, cleaning, meeting and the surprise arrival of some former 6th graders (in their middle school uniforms and uniform hairstyles, I might add). Busy day. I was so wiped out by the end of it all, I felt like I'd just gotten off a 12 hour flight.

I have one new co-teacher this year, and so far we're hitting it off pretty well. I'm actually feeling sad about the fact that she'll be leaving in October on maternity leave, especially since that means she's going to miss how gleefully insane I can become during that month. The co-teacher she replaced was on maternity leave up until the week of Halloween, and she missed out on my Halloween lessons too. Sigh~

Looking back a year, I can safely say I feel more comfortable and organized than I did the first time. I remember being shown to my desk, handed a pile of books and materials, and nervously blinking my way through planning sessions with my co-teachers. Orientation hardly prepares you for your first day. They might cover some lesson planning and "what to expect", but I can't help but think about the story of the blind men and the elephant when thinking back to orientation. You never got the whole picture, and in our case the blindness was induced by ambiguity.

Now, I understand how the textbooks work (for the most part, still can't read half the text since it's in Korean) and I know more of what to expect or what to ask. I was a little frazzled by the idea of working with a completely different co-teacher this year for half my classes, but we communicate like we've known each for a lot longer.

I'm also surprised to say that I'm not so easily surprised anymore. To clarify, one of my coworkers is very.... unique. I met her my first day at the school, and had no idea what to do. I kept saying yes when I meant no, feeling like I'd been caught in a compromising position when I hadn't, and just plain awkward the rest of the time.

So far, I'm just rolling with it and it's working. She might have asked me to come with her to the bathroom today and hand-fed me a piece of chocolate, among other things, but I managed to laugh it off. Which is good, because I have more important things to mull over than what unusual thing she'll do next. What important things? Tune in next time.

That's my way of saying I'm still mulling....... (Don't worry, it doesn't have anything to do with a secret boyfriend, marriage proposal or anything a wild imagination could cook up)

Thanks for reading!

  

Yeah, I Got Moves

It's been a while since I last updated. Last time you heard from me, I was nervously waiting for word of my renewal. My CT and friends here told me I didn't have to worry, but... I'm a worry-wart.

Good news! You've probably already learned this (I mean, if you're reading this you're most likely family or friend, and word has likely spread on FB, haha), but I was renewed and even signed my new contract and got my bonus days, yes! I'm about one week away from visiting home for a good chunk of the month, but I thought I thought I'd talk a little about living in Korea. After all, I'll be here a while longer.

Living in Korea as a Mormon is... different. An interesting, and maybe a little bizarre, different. Many aspects are the same, and then there are things like YSA (young single adult) dances. I attended one in the Summer (did I mention that?) at a YSA conference I impulsively decided to attend at the last minute. I remember people telling me, "our dances are different here," and they certainly weren't wrong.

For those not familiar with LDS Church dances in the US, let me paint a picture for you. The lights are dimmed, the music is blaring. If you're from Arizona, you'll probably get a mix of pop songs, swing, country and Spanish music. There will be clumps of friends collected around the gym floor maybe dancing, maybe pretending to, and the occasional couple who glide by who actually know their left foot from their right.


Korean Mormon dances are nothing like this. In the Summer, I walked into the building we were holding the dance in and saw all the lights on, genders basically self-segregated and music playing in the background, but no one even half-haphazardly bobbing to it.

Less this...

When I discovered KMormon dances were like this, I couldn't help thinking about the old musical film, Calamity Jane. I don't know why this particular movie came to mind in that moment. It might have had something to do with the fact that I had a bingo paper around my neck that reminded me of Calamity's dance card at the ball.

More this.

Instead of letting us loose to put shame to the word "dancing" (you know it's true, fellow US Mormon dance goers), we were partnered up and LEARNED choreographed dances. Some of them were really confusing, at least for me, and some were really fun. I managed not to step on any toes and I actually felt... a little glamorous?

Fast forward to December 27th. I didn't really know what to expect. I'd heard one thing here, another thing there. It's a ball, it's line dancing, it's funk. It was all of these and more. It was like the Summer dancing, but with more music and a couple of the dances changed. I managed to do the first dance (in heels, might I add). The second one, cha cha, I .... pressed forward until it was done. The waltz.... managed to trip on some tarp material by the dance floor and stumbled RIGHT onto my partner's foot (still VERY sorry about that). We also learned a line dance to the song Sunny, found here.

During the dance, it was pointed out to us that there was a "confession note" table set up. If you were interested in someone (I'm not sure if it was for both men and women), you could write a letter to them and it would be delivered to them later during the event. Interesting....

When I went to the last dance, there was one other foreigner. This time, there were four of us in total. We shared in our awkwardness, and maybe because we were in this little "foreigner bubble" it made us bolder. Near the end we decided to "American Style" it up. The song "Happy" was playing, we'd just consumed pizza and a few cups of soda, so I also blame it on that. I'm not sure what everyone thought of this circle of Waygookin girls in the center of the room, just doing whatever and laughing like crazy people, but I know I was having fun. We had a couple Korean friends join in with our insanity, and even a leader. So.....

(Except the injured foot of a certain gentleman...)

The Renewal Process

Hi, everyone!

Some already know, but I should probably announce here that I have decided to renew my contract. The road to renewal is not as simple as you might think, so I thought that I would share some of the basic information with prospective ESL teachers.

There is a process that you have to go through, one of which I wasn't aware of until renewal time came around. I received a guide just last week with the details, which is where I'm getting my information for this post. I can't guarantee that it will be the same for you if you applied to a different area or program, but maybe it will help in some way.

First, timeline:

(The dates listed reflect my intake, not all)

GET Evaluation by Principal, VP and co-teachers (10.31~11.12)

Renewal Packet Submission to DMOE   (by 11.12)
 - Includes evaluation, renewal application
   and self health check report

Renewal Eligibility Screening and Evaluation  (11.13~11.21)

Official Notification for Approved Renewing GETs  (11.25)

Medical Check (11.26~12.09)

Signing New Contract and Document Submission (12.12)

Official Notification of Renewing & Non-renewing GETs (12.16)

Final Placement Notification of Transferring GETs (2.12)

So far, I've filled out and signed the renewal packet. This simply indicates whether you intend to stay, leave or transfer. You can back out before signing the contract since you're only expressing an interest in staying, and therefore doesn't hold the same consequences of breaking a contract.

November 25th can't come any faster for me at this point. I feel confident that my co-teachers have given me good scores, and I would like to think that the principal and VP have a decent enough impression of me despite our lack of interaction.  There is also the chance of budget cuts leaving me with no position to hold, but... happy thoughts, right?

More info on this later. Deep breaths, keep distracted. I can get through this until November 25th.....

Thank you for reading!

Pre-Sugar Crash Post (That sounds really confusing...)

I can feel myself getting closer to a sugar crash as I type this, but I feel like this is a good moment to refresh my blog.

Halloween has come and gone in Korea (Or Halloween Day, as my students have called it. I've been trying to correct that.), but it is still October 31st back home. Last year on this very date I was scheduled to have my interview with EPIK. I had to re-schedule, which made me super nervous about the whole thing, but it all worked out in the end.

It's crazy to think how I have come around to this date again. At that time I wasn't sure where I would be going, physically and metaphorically. Occasionally I would think about the possibility of never making it past the interview. All that work to get to that point, it would have been pointless.

I am grateful that I've gotten this far. I'm in a good place, with great people and students who to surprise me.

Happy Halloween, everyone! I REALLY need to go to bed now. Once I've had some sleep, I'm setting aside some time tomorrow to write more.... and probably check this post for typos.

Thanks for reading!

Socialize? Pfffffft

All the students are taking tests today, so I figured this was a good time to test whether or not I still know how to write… As you can see, my ability to make poor jokes is still fully intact...

I’ve been in Korea for about 4 months now and my experience so far has surprised me. Is it culture shock? No. The way my brain works is this – the more unfamiliar it is, the easier it is for me to ease into it. The more familiar it’s supposed to be, the more nervous I am.

Do you know what’s really unfamiliar to me but should be familiar? Hanging out with people. I mean, like, going out and DOING things, chatting, having a meal together, etc. I panic a little inside just thinking about it. The shy person inside of me is going, “No, nononono. You can’t talk to these people. What are you going to say?” And then the introvert is saying, “Do We even have the energy for this? That book looks really nice right now.”

My introverted side speaks with the royal "We". 

But maybe it’s the fact that I’m in a foreign country that has given me the motivation to make plans that don’t involve my bed and a book. I once read something that discussed how you often make fast friends with people from the same country while you are both abroad. However, the curious thing is that in many cases when you return to your own country you might find that you have no idea why you bonded in the first place.

I certainly hope that this is not the case with many of the people I have met here (and not everyone I've been spending my time with is from the same country). They are wonderful people and I’m glad I met them. It does make me think of how much I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone. I’ve eaten out a lot with a group, helped cooked a meal, gone camping and traveled with people, gone to the movies about once a month… I even played basketball with a group of guys. You know how rare that is for me? I’m not athletic. I like to cheer people on from the sidelines, hopefully with some kind of barrier between me and the ball/puck/whatever so that I don’t get hit in the nose or doubled over from a ball to the gut (true stories, people).

Sharing this with whoever chooses to read this is my way of playing catch-up since, well, I haven’t been updating. If you happen to be one of those people I’ve met since coming here, thanks for making my time here so far already bewildering and amazing. Maybe I’m not so grateful for the bewildering part, but who really ever is when they’re going through it?

Thanks for reading!

What's Happened So Far: Part 2

Wow, this is long overdue.

Let’s do a quick re-cap of my trip to Seoul, shall we?

First, there was a lot of walking involved. A LOT. We went to Gyeongbok Palace (경복궁) the first day there. There are free tours offered, which I didn’t know until a middle school came up to us wearing a sash and asked if we wanted a tour guide for the palace. Word to the wise, it was okay to say yes in this case but I’d be wary of letting strangers guide me to less popular or busy areas.

Then, we went to a street market and got food. The amazing part about this market was that you could pay 5,000 won to get a food tray and some coins to purchase food around the market. It was pretty awesome, even though some of my food choices weren’t the best… But, hey, trying new foods.

Next… shopping. I’ll skip over the details of that. I got clothes. The end.

We also went to a trick eye museum. I have yet to upload those images, which I really should. What’s the point of going to a trick eye museum without pictures, right? They also had an ice museum, which would be fantastic to explore on a hot day.

After that, dinner at a place called Ho Lee Chow. Americanized Chinese food. We got orange chicken, which was really good but I have to admit that it’s not as good as Panda Express orange chicken.

Next day, we found ourselves outside one of the entertainment buildings. I don’t know much about Kpop bands, but I think by the abundance of fan graffiti on one side of the building I can tell you that BIG BANG is with that entertainment group. Then, it was a shopping area where we encountered a celebrity!

Well, sort of.

What we saw was a crowd of people around a store and then one of the celeb vans they have here. I never got a glance at who it was, but apparently it was an actress from a Kdrama I’ve never seen.

Last thing we went to was the coex mall, which was mostly closed for construction. They left the most expensive places open -- of course -- and so we decided to just go to the aquarium. This turned out to be much more interesting than I thought, because they had some cool designs. Also -- sardine feeding. Sounds lame, but it was in fact cool. 

When I got back home from Seoul it was close to 10pm. We took the fast train back, which I'm glad we did because I was pretty much ready to go to bed. 

Aaaand, that's it. This recap is kind of all over the place, but that's what happens when you try to play catch-up with a blog. Next blog post will be up sooner, I promise!

Thanks for reading. :)

What's Happened So Far: Part 1

I have seriously been lazy with the blog updates... and the picture taking. That's one thing everyone told me to do when I got here. "Take a lot of pictures."

Fail.

So, after half a week in training, a weekend in Seoul and being told yesterday that I would be desk-warming today, I decided it was about time that I updated my blog. FINALLY.

I've already been at my school for over a month now. Time has gone by a lot faster than I thought it would. When I first arrived here, during that first week at EPIK orientation, I was very unsure of myself. I'd be in bed, my head resting on the drinking straw filled pillow (pretty much what it was), when suddenly a thought would pop into my head: "I can't do this. Why did I think I could do this?"

I felt even more nervous after the lesson demonstrations at the end of orientation. Our evaluator had basically nothing but praise for the other girl in my group, while I was told I had an "angry face". This was probably true, but only because he had also told me I had a small voice and kept turning towards me when he was giving criticism. So, understandably I felt singled out and upset.

Then I get to my school the next day. At this point, I feel like they're going to take one look at my teaching style and change their minds. Surely, I'm going to do something wrong and they'll send me home. I'll do something taboo, offend the principal, look unprofessional -- take your pick.

And then I met my co-workers.  

I've never felt more taken care of by a group of strangers in my life. I got food, clothes, teaching materials, supplies... Here I am worrying about making them happy when they are concerned that I feel comfortable. I feel really blessed to have the co-workers that I do. We are still developing our relationship, but I feel more comfortable than I thought I would.

As for my classes, once I got through the first-time jitters, I did pretty well. There are definitely off days (and our 5th graders are just plain rowdy), and I'm still learning but I have realized that I shouldn't take so much of what the evaluator said to heart. My co-teachers tell me that I have a good teacher voice and that I'm a good teacher. I think I just do better in front of kids than in front of a group of my fellow peers.

And then in-service training began...

These training sessions are supposed to make you feel pumped up to teach, right? There were a lot of helpful tips and information provided, yes, but I felt like I was going through that emotional roller-coaster of ineptitude once again. AKA "High School: The in-service training edition".

It was during training that I remembered just how much of an introvert I am, and how much the majority of the other EPIK teachers are not. I got tired of making conversation after the first day, and was completely NOT up to participating in most of the game demonstrations in our last class.

I hate to sound like such a sourpuss, but it just wasn't a pleasant experience. It was like I'd entered a black hole. I'd start to say something and then realize no one was actually listening to me. They'd already turned to someone else, and the conversation I thought I'd been having was apparently dropped already. Oops.

 

At least I had a fun weekend after that, which I'll get into for my next blog update. I might have desk-warming time on my hands right now, but this post is already long enough. Thanks for reading!

TO BE CONTINUED...

A Well Balance Meal

I just ate mac and cheese with a side of kimchi, tomatoes, grapes, seasoned seaweed and drinking yogurt. I'm not making this up, people. This is what happens when you have limited utensils and cookware in your kitchen because you are waiting for pay-day to get the bulk of it.

Maybe I should eat this? No, too much prep work and I don't have a cutting board. This? Nope, I'd have left-overs and nothing to put them in. This? I... I have no idea what that is or how to prepare it, so no.

I've been wandering down many of the aisles where bachelors with no cooking skills linger. I'm not stereotyping here either. Most of the people I see in the pre-made, ready-to-eat, just-add-water food sections are guys who look like they don't have anyone at home to cook for or to cook for them.

For now, I'm one of them. Except I'm not a guy...

Anyways... The only meals I have lately that involve smart meal planning are school lunches, and school staff dinners (Hweshik). I really need to cut back on the carbs, though. I might be more active than before, but snacking on rice cakes is a disaster in the making. I looove rice cakes though! Most foreigners don't particularly care for them, but I love the chewy consistency. I haven't met a rice cake I didn't like so far. THIS is what I mean by rice cakes, by the way. Rice puff cakes are good too IMO, but they are nothing compared to these.

I know, I'm weird. I should just stick to my American sweets and snacks, and complain about how the cookie part of the Twix sold here doesn't taste the same (Really, it doesn't and while I am sad about this, I have come to terms with it).

Well, thank you for reading my blurb about my weird eating habits. I promise, my meals will be more coordinated soon. At least I haven't just gotten fast food for the past 2 weeks. I haven't even set foot in the Lotteria around the corner since my first night, even though I was craving some fries the other day.

Again, thanks for reading and talk to you soon.

Recap! The EPIK Teacher Edition

Hi Guys! I can log into my blog again, yay! Okay, so I forgot to change the security settings on my gmail account, so that's why I couldn't log in for a while. Fun, fun.

I have been at my new school for about a week and a half now. First week -- no lessons. This week, I've taught Grad 4, 5 and preschoolers. To be honest, the preschoolers were the most fun to be around even though I meet with them at the end of the day and I'm just about ready for a break by then. The teacher wanted me to sing a "Hello" song, which I totally blanked on. I don't know any "Hello" songs and I was suddenly too nervous just to make something up.

So, next time I'm going to be ready with a song. Let's hope I don't get too nervous though!

Before I get too deep into all of this, I need to play a little catch-up. I've been away for so long so.... Recap!

EPIK Orientation -- Think high school almost, but condensed. Scary, right? Or awesome, if you were one of those "high school glory days" peeps. You have about a week to find people you mesh with, learn some tips and tricks of the EPIK teacher trade and occasionally panic from all the info dumping. I met some cool people, had a lot of awkward moments with others and by the end of the week I was ready to lock myself in a room for an introvert day.

Which brings me to my new apartment, new school and new everything else...

I live in a studio apartment about 15 minutes walking distance from the elementary school I teach at now. I have 2 co-teachers, who I will refer to at YS and JS for future posts. YS has been an English teacher before, and has been a co-teacher before. JS is new to the school, new to being an English teacher and therefore new to being a co-teacher.

Yikes.

Okay, so I have to say there are things about Korean schools I like. I like that teachers get rotated from one school to another after so many odd years. I like that the staff are a kind-of mini community (which includes staff dinners and team building activities).

What I don't like is the fact that teachers are expected to rotate SUBJECTS. When I first heard this I was really, really confused. One of my office-mates is a PE teacher for the first time this year and, like I said, my co-teacher JS has never taught English before. Her English isn't that bad, but I can practically feel the struggle she is going through to communicate with me as well as the students.

So, I feel sorry for these teachers. I don't know how much thought is put into who gets transferred where (do they do interviews, look at entrance exam scores, what?), but I know that both co-workers mentioned are feeling a little panicked from the new experience. Poor JS.

Now... Outside of school stuff -- I couldn't get my heat to work the first night I moved into my new apartment. Neither could a co-worker who came over, but co-teacher YS came the next day to help meet the maintenance guy and so I only went without heat for about 1 day, which wasn't too bad.

I rode my first metro bus in Korea just this past Sunday when going to church. I got a little turned around, but made it to the church building safely. One of the missionaries was kind enough to translate for me, and then told me about a semi-English speaking session recently organized just 10 minutes away. So, I'll try to find that next Sunday. I also know which bus to take to get to an E-mart, so great experience.

That's it for this blog post. I have a lot to share, but this is already getting really long. Thanks for reading!

My Significantly Unexpected Journey

February 18th

4 am -woke up after only about 3 hours of sleep. Finished packing.

~6 am - Journey to airport after hugging my mom goodbye.

7 am - Arrived at airport, hugged my dad goodbye, breezed through check in and security.

8:30 am - Boarded flight with Southwest to SFO.

10:00 am - Got off plane (wait for it) without departing because we needed to switch planes.

10:20 am - Re-boarded new plane. 

11:00 am - Finally took off.

12:20 pm (California time) - Arrival in San Francisco, missed my next flight.

12:35 pm - Baggage claim.

~2:00 pm and the rest of the evening - Awesome parents helped me out by getting me a hotel room for the night. I cried a little. Discovered pretty much all my jewelry was missing from my checked in luggage, which made me cry some more because those things had sentimental value. Made a lot of phone calls, got re-booked, ate because I hadn't eaten anything except pretzels and a piece of beef jerky since 8 am, posted like crazy on Facebook and went to bed.

*Time Skip*

19th - 20th

8:30 am - 12:30 pm - Made it back to SFO to check-in with Singapore Airlines, get through security and boarded my plane. 

12:55 pm - Take off. No one sitting next to me, which means both armrests are MINE! There's a cute baby in front of me. Pretty quiet as well as his fellow baby passenger (a girl). The baby boy keeps peeking between the seats to smile at me and reach out, so overall actually a better seating arrangement than my last flight and what I would have originally been assigned to had I made it in time for my original flight with Singapore Air.

Meals

We got snacks, lunch, and a light meal. I asked for the gluten free meal because you get a rice cake instead of a roll, which I thought would be better for my stomach on the flight. This turned out to be true, but not how I thought. I got queasy about 6-7 hours in and the rice cake was the only thing I could stomach during the light meal. I almost gagged when I opened the tin foil to discover chicken
and broccoli.

Note: Special diet meals get served first, so you can eat a lot sooner if you ask for one of those. 

Entertainment

The entertainment system had lots of options available. I played some games, used the language learning program to learn Korean numbers and watched 3 movies because I had a hard time sleeping sitting up. I got to watch Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2, Windstorm (Ostwind) and The Face Reader (Favorite Korean actor was in this one!)














Overall Service

Soooo much better than Southwest. They offered plenty of drinks, there was more space and the flight attendants were decent. The seats are smaller compared to Southwest, but that was fine for me. The Southwest seats hit the back of my knees when I'm seated, but I have a couple inches in Singapore's seats. They were also slightly more comfortable than Southwest's, especially since I had a pillow and blanket.

6:45 pm 20th - Arrived in Incheon Airport. Followed the crowd through to the train, immigration, baggage and customs. Got some money exchanged, and pushed my heavy load towards the other end of the airport. I heard someone call my name when I was about halfway there, which turned out to be my recruiter! She gave me a hug. I was sweating like a pig from lugging all my heavy stuff, and I was exhausted, but sooo relieved to see a familiar face and to learn that I was in time for the last shuttle!

10:30 pm - Arrived in Daejeon at the orientation location. I was fully prepared to lug my stuff to the dorms, but I must have looked so pitiful with my rolling luggage that wouldn't roll straight and bag that kept slipping off my shoulder because one the EPIK coordinators ended up helping me. I then was asked by another guy later when I just had my duffle bag in hand if I needed help so, yeah, I'm just a damsel in distress here apparently.

Note to self: Start weight lifting, try to pack only one bag next time, and get all rollers instead of just one and a duffle bag.

We only get one key per room, which is to be left at the front desk when both roommates have left the dorms. My roommate finally got into bed around midnight, and I'll tell you all about the next day as soon as I get a chance to type that all up.

Oh, and surprisingly not as cold as I thought it would be when I got here. Other than the foreign words, Daejeon at night almost feels like Flagstaff, Arizona. No snow so far and no rain (thank goodness). I'll keep you posted! Thanks for reading! And sorry there aren't really any pictures on here. I will add some later!

Almost There!!

I realize I haven't updated this in a while. Things have been a little crazy around here. Packing, repacking, and still packing. I've been considering what I really need, especially after I lifted my large luggage and almost staggered.

Holy cow, it was heavy and I am WEAK!

So, I  decided to rethink my packing list/methods and also started a bit of strength training. A little close to really help, but at least I'm trying, eh?

It's the final countdown, people! I've finished my jobs here, gone through some of my things, gotten stocked up on things I might miss while there. Another EPIK teacher shared pictures of pricing at a department store in Korea and the imported stuff is EXPENSIVE. I think it was about $11 USD for a large bag of fun-size Twix, $8 USD for peanut butter.

Whaaaaat? My favorite snacks are now luxury items. Yikes. Don't even get me started on how much it could cost to get some decent root beer there.

Anyways, that's my update. I thought about doing a "What to Pack" post, but figured I can do that after I get settled in Korea, and have a better idea of what I really need.

Thanks for reading. Next time I post will either be on the way to or when I'm finally in Korea. Crazy!

Tax Exemption Terrors - Form 8802

Taxes confuse me. There are so many forms, enough rules to fill a library and plenty of ways -- I feel -- to screw it up. So, when I was told that I should get started on the whole process to get a residency certificate so I could be exempt from Korean taxes while teaching, I sort of panicked.

To start you need to fill out form 8802, which is the form to request another form (6166).... whaaaat? How many forms are there going to be and am I going to be up to my ears in paperwork after all of this?

Turns out, it's not all that complicated or frightening. All you need to do is get a little help. I was directed to this blog post by my Korvia recruiter, which simplifies the whole process pretty well. It is a little out of date, however, so I'm going to go through the changes here in my blog post and share some resources.

First, you can find the form instructions here. And you can access the 8802 form here. The IRS website isn't all that organized, in my opinion. They have links that take you in circles and I finally had to search for "8802 instructions" in order to find that page. Ridiculous.

Even more ridiculous is some of the wording on this website, but I won't get into that now. That's a whole rant on its own. Instead, let's move on to the things you should know that have changed since "The Agony of IRS Forms" blog post was published, or just something I thought I should add.

1. The form now has a total of 12 lines, not 13. Don't panic, there aren't any pages missing.

2. For the perjury statement, things have changed. As an EPIK teacher (or any invited teacher coming to Korea, I think) you should be writing something like this:  

Countries other than Japan: [Insert name of individual and TIN] was a U.S. resident within the meaning of Article [20] of the U.S.-Korea treaty (including, in some cases, physical presence in the United States) immediately before entering Korea. The assignment began on [date] and ends on [date]. Article [20] of the U.S.-Korea treaty provides a [2 or 3] year exemption from income tax. 

Again, I had to go searching for the Article number, just like the instructions, but I've inserted the correct number here so you don't have to go through the same search process as myself. If you're wondering where I found the information, check here.

3. User fees are $85 per application. This increased April, 2012.

4. Mail:

Mail or Private Delivery Service

Send Form 8802 and all required attachments to this address only if you paid the user fee by e-payment.

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Philadelphia, PA 19255-0625

Private delivery services cannot deliver items to P.O. boxes. You must use the U.S. Postal Service to mail any item to an IRS P.O. box address.

Once you've mailed it off, the wait-time varies depending on when you've sent it. I mailed mine in late November, got it back late January. So, about 2 months. The form is very simple. It's funny how the IRS, a group I consider to be long-winded and confusing, would send me a form with ONE sentence on it, stating that I am a resident of the United States of America.

They might as well have sent it on a post-it note. 

Update: The Visa Edition

Hey everyone!

I'm almost there! I sent in my visa form to the LA Korean consulate, and will hopefully get it back next week or the beginning of the next.

So, while I wait for all of that to go through, I've been working on some other stuff. I'm slowly sorting through my junk to see what I should and can bring with me. Obviously, I need all the documents EPIK has asked me to bring. I even have a form that will exempt me from being double taxed (yay!), which I will do a blog post for because it can be headache inducing.

Anyways, I have my tickets for my flight over to Korea. I'm so glad that I got them when I did, too, because a few days later the price went up. Thank goodness! Now I just need to:

- Wait for my visa (Hope there aren't any problems!)
- Eat lots of stuff I'm going to miss
- See a lot of people I'm going to miss
- Pack my stuff
- Fly to Korea!

So, later I'm going to write a blog post about the whole tax exemption process, and something about packing once I figure out what I'm doing. All I know is that the beginning of my process involves an open suitcase and junk being tossed around.

Thanks for reading!

Double-Check The Inbox

I checked my spam folder last night, so I guess you could say I'm getting pretty anxious to hear something.

They said they'd mail stuff out this week so... fingers crossed because it's already Wednesday!

Meanwhile...

Work, EPIK pre-orientation, nervous pacing... I have been stretching out my time watching the pre-orientation videos because I know that if I finish them all before I get my email from Korvia, I'm probably going to listlessly wander around with no motivation to do anything else. THAT would be bad, especially since I needs mon-ay.

Again, fingers crossed! 

Update:

Just like magic, I've been notified that my packet is on its way. I got the tracking number and it looks like it's either at the airport or on its way out of Korea as I type this. Yay!

Now I just have to make sure the visa form is filled out correctly, which means calling the consulate. Wish me luck!