Settling In: New Apartment and Amazing Co-Teacher!

The most important part of teaching here in Korea is your relationship with your Co-teacher!  Therefore, I am so relieved and happy to say that I get along swimingly with mine!  After one day of helping me run a thousand errands, I already feel like we are friends!  Awesome!  Her name is Hye Hee Kim.  She and I will be planning and conducting many lesson plans together at Taepyeong Middle School.  The Middle School is huge and is co-ed, but the classes are split (either all boys, or all girls in one class). 

My wonderful Co-Teacher Hye Hee!

As you can see...there is my shower!  This going to be fun!

Also, I am so thrilled that I have my own apartment.  It is a 15 minute walk to my school--which is perfect.  Also, it already has a homey feel to it.  The only thing that was a shock to me was how there is no shower...just a shower head in the bathroom.  So when I take I shower, I will be getting everything completely soaked in the bathroom...  Whatever! haha! 

Korean Folk Village

Orientation has been packed with fun cultural activities.  On Sunday we took a break from our daily routine of listening to lectures and went on a field trip to a Korean Folk Village.  We made crafts and had Bibimbap for lunch.  Then we saw many exciting cultural performances, including a traditional male dance where the men where ribbons the rotate when they spin their heads.  Also I saw an old man perform an amazing tight rope walk and bounce on the rope in socks.  The grand finale was a horse acrobatics show...I was in shock at how good the performances were.

On our bus ride home, there was actually a Karoke machine built into the bus.  So if you can image, the entire 2 hour bus ride home we sang Karaoke to English songs and a few Korean K-Pop songs!  It was very fun.  Our Korean counselors were a hit...I can tell they've done a lot of karaoke before.

These past few days of orientation have been packed with lectures and ideas for helping us be good teachers in Korean classrooms.  I have been given access to so many wonderful teaching resources.

I went out with some students from orientation and had Korean Soju and Cass Beer.  To my surprise, there is a big drinking culture here in Korea.  Soju is similar to vodka, but it doesn't burn as much when it goes down.  Koreans mix soju with their beer so that they can't even taste it.  I tried a little with some new friends.  It was a lot of fun!

Tomorrow I have to present a model lesson plan and get feedback from my peers and some current EPIK teachers.

On Thursday I will leave orientation and move in to my apartment here in Daejeon.  I will be meeting my Co-teacher.  On Monday I will start working at Taepyeong Middle School!  I was under the impression that I would be doing elementary, but I am excited to do middle school!

An "Epik" Orientation

I have been having a blast at orientation!  Besides the fact that I have had the stomach flu the second night here, I am meeting so many awesome people from New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and the UK! 

I have become quite famous here at orientation because I am the only person that packed one suitcase.  Everyone else has at least 2 bags.  Also, my nickname is "Minnesota." --a name given to me the very first day.

We have been learning a lot of cultural information as well as teaching advice--it has been very interesting.  We even got to try on traditional Hanbok.  You can see pictures below!

Ok...I got to go on a field trip now!  Until next time!

Arrival in Korea!

I had such a nice flight to Korea!  I took Asiana Airlines and I felt as if I was flying in business class because it was so comfortable.  It was an enormous plane with 9 seats across.  I immediately noticed the stunning Korean flight attendants--they were tall, skinny, pretty girls wearing berets and beautiful aprons with embroidery.  They were so cute!  I had Korean Bibimpbap and Spicy Octopus and rice on the plane. I also was provided with a tooth brush, mouthwash, and slippers!  I watched about 4 or 5 movies on the flight, read my book, and slept only about 30 minutes...  It was about a 14 hour flight, but I finally made it.

I met up with my dear Korean friend Linda Lee and we went out to eat near my hotel.  I experienced some culture shock as I left my shoes at the door and went to sit at our table ON THE FLOOR! We sat on little cushions and the floor was nice and warm.  Linda ordered a hay-mul-pa-jeon which is a Korean pancake with vegetable and seafood!  We also had a Spicy Seafood soup, kim chi, and Korean beer.  I am eating a lot and trying so many new things, but the food is so healthy-- I bet I am going to lose weight over time just eating so many vegetables!!!

We came back to the hotel and slept on extremely firm mattresses.  I couldn't really sleep much because my internal clock was so messed up.  We just went down for breakfast and I had a mushroom soup and some bean sprout salad with kiwi dressing.

I am back in my hotel room getting ready to take a shuttle back to the airport.  All of the EPIK English teachers are having our 8 day orientation in my city, Daejeon.  It should be a 3-hour bus ride and then I will be staying in university dorms in Daejeon. 

Pre-travel jitters

Well, it has suddenly hit me that I am going to be in Korea for an entire year and that I should probably start packing!!!  It feels almost surreal that I am going...I feel like I have been just counting down the days, but that it was too early to start packing.  Suddenly it seems like I have to rush to say goodbye to everyone and run a thousand errands.

As I have been preparing for my adventure, I have been given lots of interesting packing tips.  First of all, I was informed that I should pack a year supply of deodorant because I won't find any in Korea.  Secondly, I was told that if I have "big feet", (a.k.a. a size 8 or larger) I should plan on packing enough shoes for a year because I won't find any in a store.  And thirdly, I was told that I will be treated like a celebrity in Korea...so I should get used to people posing next to me and taking my picture!  Korea will be quite the self-esteem booster it seems!

I feel a combination of disbelief, nervousness, and excitement.  Mostly excitement. This adventure will include a lot of "firsts".  1) I have never lived completely alone (I've always had a roommate) 2) I have never been away from home for more than 6 months at a time 3) I have never been to Asia 4) I am going to a place where I can barely speak the language 5) I am working abroad and don't have to pay taxes! 6) I will probably eat kim chi every day! 

I fly from MSP to Chicago, then Chicago to Seoul on February 18th.  I will have an 8-day orientation with English teachers from all over the world (Canadians, South Africans, Brits, and Aussies included!) in Daejeon, South Korea.  Daejeon is also the city where I will be living.  It is the 5th largest city, known for having many universities and located in the center of the country.  I should have great access to transportation since the 2 main railways converge there!

I have been told that I will probably be teaching 4th, 5th, and 6th graders.  I will be teaching alongside a Korean Co-teacher as well.

Counting down the days and scrambling to pack!  Wish me luck on my adventure!