Home Again

I am back in America.  Honestly, I have missed it quite a bit, but I never really had too much homesickness while I was in Korea since I always knew this was a temporary stint and that I would return.  And I have. 

I am still adjusting to life back in Ohio.  It's strange to do the normal every day tasks and think, wow I haven't done this in over one year.  Just the simple things like eating real pizza (sorry Korea, but American pizza is like 1000x better), texting from my American non-smart phone, turning on the TV and understanding everything, or even driving my beloved manual '95 Civic.  It's a little strange sometimes, but I'm enjoying it. 

It's good to see all of my American friends again and there are many I have yet to see.  I haven't really started to miss Korea yet since I'm still adjusting, but I can guarentee that the thing I will miss the most are the people and friends I have made while I was over there, particularly my friends from CrossFit and Pusan National University.  But luckily we have facebook, kakao (when I get my smart phone!), and all sorts of other lovely technology.  Still, it is going to be a very long time before I can return to Korea and even when I do, I know it won't be quite the same, especially at the rate this country is developing at.

A lot of people are asking if I am happy that I went.  I tell them yes.  It was the opportunity of a lifetime and I am so glad I was able to take advantage of it.  I've never really been one to follow the crowd or do things in the traditional manner that most others do so really it seemed almost natural that I would do something like this.  I've always wanted to go abroad and I was able to for a very short time prior to this, but nothing like my year in Korea.  I stayed in that country for exactly one year and nine days straight, never leaving it and I have no regrets about it.

I suppose this is the end of the blog then since my Fulbright adventure has been officially wrapped up (after I finally send in the IIE report that I started a while ago and need to submit by the end of the month).

On to the next adventure.

A few goodbyes from students

So this week we are doing last lessons as I will return to America on Sunday.  So we are playing "Benjamin Trivia" which is bascially a rather narcissistic version of Jeopardy but it's fun.  After about 30 minutes of that, we spend 20 minutes writing goodbye post-its to me.  I thought I'd share some of the more memorable ones.  The only thing changed is names which are just initials and I put which class they were a student in at the end.

"Hi I am SH. When I met first met you I feel frustrated. because I don't know what to say but now I'm okay." 1-3A

"Benjamin teacher!  Thanks for teaching us.  I never forget all the time.  Whenever I hard, I think your favor.  I hope you are always happy!  Goodbye teacher~" 1-3A

"Good bye benjamin ㅠㅠ I miss you so much~ I like you. you are so beautiful and so handsome!" 2-1

"good luck benJamin while your life. I will remember you, Although I don't speak very well I Feel your Passion. I hope your dream come true - Gwang Yang High School 2-1 SJJ" 2-1

"Hi 벤자민 ! [Korean for Benjamin] I don't speek English! Ha Ha Ha Ha bye bye um...maybe. I miss you from JH" 1-3B

"Hi Mr. benjamin maybe you can't remember me but I will see you later in busan. goodbye" 1-3B

"I will remember you when I sad or bore your class was enteres to and excited to me I remember you benJamin.  One bad student GSS" 2-2

"Benjamin is very funny  Fasion is great  I'll miss you teacher!  America going happy I hope you  Good Bay" 2-2

"I want to leave in korea. I want to go America. Korea is bad contury  Made in U.S.A. gift send me signature "Jony dep." please.  Good bye  You are a good teacher.  From -THK- 'Dokdo is Korea'" 1-5B

"Thank you for Benjamin  push up 200 try [In the game we played I said I can do 100 pushups] I hope happy to Benjamin Dear JH" 1-5B

"Benjamin teacher~ First, I'm so sorry about our impolite manner. I think you are little bit hard in our school day.  But I hope You are little bit happy in our school day and our country too.  Umm....Thank you for teaching me about cursive and bravery.  You are very good, stylish and handsome, kind teacher.  See you later GIS the future Korean teacher and poet" 2-3

"Hi Benjamin  I'm your best student.  I will miss you.  You will have been returned to Gwangyang.  I will buy Ice Cream.  I ♥ Benjamin. LJH" 2-3

"Good Bye! Your class is my break time!  You will be best in your life! Bye" 2-4

"Thank you~~! I've never miss you.  Class is very funny.  air plane go America. Be care full. You don't me miss.  Bye...  GwangYang High School -SJL  [Back] BenJamin From....  in Korea 2013.7.10 whether: sunny" 2-4

"to Benzamin  Hi. Benzamin teacher.  'I'll pray for your Good Luck' see you later." 1-8C

"We have a good time with you We never forget you  time is so fast but you must go  I miss you teacher  Don't miss our school" 1-8C

"My name is LIJ.  English camp is cooking  very delicious  Good Bye" 2-5

"To BenJamin  If you like play League of legend, you must be play the game when you reach in America.  I'll creat N.A. account tomorro So when you reach in america send a message to my naver mail _______@naver.com" 2-5

"Thank you for your teaching.  I was happy iwth you.  your yellow hair is charming.  I love you.  I will miss you.  Goodbye.  See you later." 1-7A

to. Benjamin  When you start LOL [League of Legends], add me '_____'  I'm good at Draven!  and, I always though that your fashion is so handsome!  from HJ" 1-1A

hey ben teacher. Dear.  I love you  please marry with me ♥ ~ Don't forget us." 1-1B

"bye teacher  teacher your good boy  See you next time.  I'm real teacher love   teacher bye bye bye ㅜㅜ" 1-6C

"Sorry to sleep  I did not sleep last night.  Thank you for teaching us.  We will miss you.  you was great teacher." 2-6

Anyways, you probably get the idea!  It was pretty cool to see.  I'll def miss them all.

The List Revisited

Okay so wayyyy back in time (last June) I made a list of goals that I wanted to achieve in Korea.  Well I am going to revisit these goals and grade myself on how well I did.  Might be a bit scary but I'll go ahead and do it.  So here it goes:

Goal 1:  Become a better teacher
Grade: A

Yay!  Okay I really do feel like I have become a better teacher.  I am more comfortable than ever standing in front of a classroom (or teachers for that matter) and leading and teaching them.  I have learned to roll with the many, many punches that come at teachers here in Korea and have learned how to adapt my lesson and incorporate last minute changes as needed.  I have also been able to meett difficult challenges (namely non-English speakers and huge class sizes) that teachers encounter and, in my opinion, thrive.  Overall, I am very pleased with how I have developed at a teacher here in Korea.

Goal 2:  Ready for this?  Learn Korean
Grade: D

Alright, well I will be the first to admit that this was pretty much a bomb.  Not completely since I did learn to read Korean and my listening is okay, but I am not able to "hold a semi-intelligent conversation" as I had hoped, unless you count introductions.  But I am not upset about this because I was able to experience Korean culture and life in many, many other ways.

Goal 3:  Learn to cook Korean food
Grade: C

Very sad as I would have loved to learn, but I ended up getting involved in other things and it just slipped out.  I did do some cooking classes which was great, but not the extent at which I wanted.  However, I gave myself a few points because rather than learning to cook Korean food, I taught Koreans how to cook American food!  I was still able to have a great cultural exchange using food and the students that I taught really enjoyed making and eating these dishes.

Goal 4: Practice/Regain long lost photography skills
Grade: C-ish

Alright well it's an ish because my digital cam was a bit kaputt for a while (haven't checked it in a while so maybe it's resurrected?)  I did use my film cam for a little bit, but I haven't developed the photos -__-  I do however, have a significant of photos on my phone that has never seen the light of this blog so that counts for something too!

Goal 5: Go climbing on real rocks
Grade: B

Okay well I didn't do the type of climbing I was hoping for, I did do some climbing of mountains and such so that counts! :)

Goal 6: Be as open to as many adventures and opportunities as I can
Grade: A

Yes!  Complete and utter success here.  Love it!  Where to start?  First off coming to Korea, bungee jumping, eating dog soup, moving to Busan without knowing what to expect (ended up being the best decision of my grant year!), basically never saying no to my host fam and their outings, doing CrossFit, getting haircuts alone, traveling alone, missing my bus in Mokpo and not freaking out, going to saunas, and so many other fantastic adventures that I have shared with you on this blog and facebook.

Goal 7: Live a healthier and more active lifestyle
Grade: A

Again, another huge victory!  Whoo!  I joined CrossFit Suncheon and CrossFit Busan later on during winter break, and I LOVED it!!  I am actually going to the gym (which was probably a huge shock to people at home...it was to me haha!) and kind of naturally eating better and it's great!  Huge A for this goal.

Goal 8: Be more neat and tidy
Grade D-

Yeah about that.  Maybe slightly better than America, but not much.  Actually at school I am definitely more tidy and neat (still organized even if I wasn't!).  Oh well.  I'll try again next year!

Overall I guess I did pretty well.  I completely succeeded in the catergories that are most important like teaching and being open to adventures but of course I floundered in a few others.  And even though I didn't necessairly accomplish all the goals I wanted to coming in, I achieved so much more as I did things that I didn't even think about when making this list like becoming more independent, becoming more open-minded, learning a ridiculous amount about Korea (though there are still many, many things I have yet to learn), becoming more tech-savy, and a ton of other stuff.

So I would say it was a successful year.

Wrapping Up

I can't believe this whole adventure is coming to a close soon!  I remember coming into the airport, wandering aimlessly and wondering how the heck I got myself into this whole situation.  Officially have about one week left! 

My students had their exams this week so I had Wednesday - Friday off.  On Wednesday, I was in Suncheon the whole time.  I was lucky enough to meet up with my former co-teacher, Ms. Choi, her daughter, and the previous Fulbright ETA teacher at my school, Ryan.  It was great to see them all again before I headed back to the USA. 

And, of course, I had to go back to Busan before I left!  It really became my second home during the grant year.  If you ever have the chance to go to this city, please do!  In my humble opinion, it is much better than Seoul as it is significantly smaller (though still an extremely large city with ~3 million people), the sidewalks cleaner, the people are friendlier (though there are always exceptions), the weather warmer, the shopping cheaper, and just a wonderful place.  If I would have stayed in Korea, I certainly would have gone to teach in Busan. 

Anyways, I got to Busan and checked into a motel in Seomyeon.  It was actually the first time I have stayed overnight in a city alone and it felt great!  Anyways, I had one last shopping spree at H&M and got several fantastic deals as usual.  I will definitely miss Korean clothes so I had to load up before I left, right?  Afterwards, I met a Fulbright friend and a PNU student for dinner which was great!  There was a slight problem, but luckily, my fantastic Korean friend, Jung Hwan resolved it brilliantly (Note: If you are a new ETA, teacher, or just random person checking out Korea, make some Korean friends.  They can basically do anything and make some serious magic happen). 

But yeah, we got dinner and ran into some Fulbrights which was totally random, but awesome!  So we all hung out with each other and it was great!!  Went and got some coffee and chatted for a couple of hours.  It was a wonderful last night in Busan.

In the morning, I slept in and met two of my other PNU students for lunch.  Again, it was awesome to see them!!!  And they are incredibly easy to talk to as their English is ridic good and we are all of a similar age.  We had some Shabu Shabu and then went to a cafe afterwards.  Again, Korean friends are awesome because you can really open up and have a great cultural exchange.  I feel like I have gotten a glimpse inside the culture that can be somewhat difficult to see, especially if you are like me and have poor language skills.  Those goodbyes were probably the hardest of all of them so far, but we are connected through facebook, kakao, etc. so I guess it isn't really a goodbye.

Now I am just sitting around my homestay typing this up.  Although the homestay has definitely been the hardest part of my grant year, I really do like them all and I will miss them (as Young Chan is screaming in the background haha).  I feel very lucky that they were willing to open up their home to me (which is like realllly unusual in Korean culture). 

Alrighty.  I guess that's it for now.  I do have some new developments career-wise, but I'd prefer not share until I have made final decisions and I know for sure what I will be doing and where I will be going.  I will say that I will probably be able to discuss it next week or the week after.  Sorry to keep you in suspense haha.

Okay, until next time!  Only a couple more posts probably.  Crazyyy haha.

Last Two Weeks

Hi!

 

So I guess I will actually update for real this time.  The main reason being that the internet at my school is down so I can’t really do my work and I’m not just going to sit at my desk doing nothing sooooo here I am being slightly productive haha. 

 

So I only have like 13 days left in Korea.  Nuts!  Here’s a few things I have been up to lately:

 

l  I went to Seoul this past weekend.  We had our final Fulbright dinner.  It was bittersweet to say goodbye to everyone, but we all knew this day would come and it was great to see everyone.  I’m sure I’ll stumble into some of the ones when I go to America.  I don’t really know where I will end up being when I return to the States, but we are literally scattered all over the country from Hawaii to Maine so we’re bound to stumble into each other sometime!

l  Anyways, the dinner was pretty good.  Some ETAs complained about the food, but hey it was free and it was fairly tasty.  Yeah it wasn’t as good as past dinners, but I left feeling full and happy.  We had like a ton of speeches and presentations to sit through before we ate though and that was a little rough since the only thing I at prior to dinner was some ddeokboki.  Maybe I was just so hungry I didn’t notice about the food haha.

l  After dinner, I set off and hung out with some of the other ETAs.  We went to this bar/restaurant place (where we accidentally found some 3^rd year ETAs which was cool).  There were like 7-8 of us and then we split up to do Norebang/Karaoke which is always very fun.  All of the people in this group are very, very good at Korean so they were all singing all these K-pop songs.  I was pretty impressed.  I did a few numbers, but they were English songs haha.

l  On Sunday, I slept in with my fellow Fulbrighters in our hostel and we eventually rose from our slumbers and headed out to meet some others for lunch.  We had Mexican!  It was actually the first time I had Mexican in about 1 year.  It’s like the number 1 food a lot of people miss, but I haven’t really.  I mean it’s good, but there’s a ton of other foods I would rather have.  But it was pretty tasty.  Got a pork burrito.  After lunch, I said my final goodbyes to some of my ETAs and I headed out back to Suncheon.

 

So that was last weekend.  I have a few other plans for the rest of my time here.  This week is exams so we don’t have a lot to do.  Most teachers are just letting students do self-study, but I’m not really all about that since all the other teachers do it.  So we are going to play speed quiz instead!  Yay!  And the native Chinese teacher is coming to class.  She only teaches like 4 hours a week, but she must be there 9-5 every day.  So she’s super bored.  I just learned this Friday so I invited her to come to my classes and she said she’d love to!  She’s really good at English so she’ll understand everything easily.  Should be fun!

 

Since it’s finals, I do not have class Wed-Fri.  Therefore, I am going to my favorite city, Busan, one last time on Thursday and Friday.  I’m really excited!  I’m going to try to meet up with all of my friends one more time there and then go do some last minute shopping too. 

 

Okay, internet is back.  I have to finish doing all of the speaking test scores.  I’ll update at least another time before I head back to America.  See you soon!

A Case for the Boys

Hi! 

I promise I'm not dead or have been shipped off to North Korea or anything.  Pretty much it's been a mix of laziness and being busy that I've neglected this poor blog.  I've had several weekend trips to Seoul, Busan, Hwacheon, and more in addition to my usual school work, applying for jobs, preparations for the YDAC Conference, arrangements for going home, speaking tests, etc., etc.

But I wanted to take a moment to talk about something that has been bugging me a bit lately.  As all of my faithful readers of my blog know, I teach at an all-boys high school.  And I absolutely love it!  When I proudly tell people I am meeting that I teach at an all boys school, generally the reaction is something like "Oh that must be so hard" or just awkward laughing and sympathetic looks.  This has quickly become one of my biggest pet peeves.

Even some of my ETA friends that teach here in Korea are very wary of boys and teaching them.  Boys have this reputation as these hyperactive, rowdy, mischievous, perhaps even uncontrollable group of students.  This isn't only the case in Korea, but in America too.  I think these expectations are potentially devastating for these students.

There's this stereotype that boys can't sit still, girls are smarter than boys, and other ones that I mentioned.  And frankly, there are quite a few boys that are living up to this expectation.  I've seen this in my own academic career.  For example, at my honors program in college, women had a significantly presence than that of men.  Approximately, ~30 women and ~10 men.  Even here at Fulbright it is a huge gap between men and women.  In my ETA class there were about 20ish men and 60ish women.  From my experience, men are just disappearing from the high-achieving academic world.

I really believe that teachers and society in general needs to have much higher expectations for males in education.  It happened with females a number of years ago and this obviously needs to continue, but expectations shouldn't be lowered for the male students. 

So simply excusing male students for poor behavior and simply writing it off as "Boys" as I saw recently on facebook, is simply intolerable.  We call it the "Self fulfilling prophecy" in the education world.  Students will meet the expectations that are given to them whether good or bad.  We need to have higher expectations for our male students.

Okay rant over haha.  It's just been something annoying me lately so I thought I'd let y'all know what I was thinking. 

Anyways, things are great here so please don't worry about my lack of updates.  I will be back in American July 14, 2013 btw!  Flying into Cleveland at like midnight or so.  I guess I can forgive you if you don't show up at the airport to greet me, but I'd love to see all of your happy faces soon! :D

The Island Getaway and My First Bomb

• We had a three-day weekend this week thanks to Buddha's B-day falling on a Friday!  So a few friends and I (well really them) organized a trip to a small island off of one of my fave cities Mokpo.  The name of the island is 비근도 and it was awesome!
• We basically just rented out a small pension/house and chilled for 3 days.  It was so great to get to see the ocean and a whole new place in Korea.  Korea in generally is a beautiful, scenic country, but this island gave me the most beautiful views I have EVER seen!  It was fantastic!!  Instead of just describing them, I'll show you some pics instead.  They really don't do it justice, but it's the best that I got!

• So I went with Di, Mina, Hana, Jason, and Mary (all Jeolla ETAs! Whoo!) and we did some hiking/rock climbing, swimming (even though it was freezing), cooking, card game playin, riding in a truck-ing, and just chilling enjoying each other's company and the splendor of the island.  It was definitely one of the best weekends I have had in Korea thus far!
• Now the Bomb.  So last week, I tried to do a grocery shopping simulation lesson.  We just did a money and big numbers lesson and now I figured a good transition to build off of that would be shopping.  So I put the most prep into any lesson I have ever done in my short, but robust teaching career.  I would say at least a good 12 hours when you added it all up.  And the first class I did it with was okay.  The actual "shopping" went pretty well (but I had to take a lot of money away from students since they were speaking Korean) but the clean-up/organization part did not go so well.  And, of course, this was the day I had 4 classes in a row.
• I managed to get everything to a decent presentation, but I now had to teach the class of second graders.  38 second graders.  This was coming from the class of 22 first graders where the lesson was okay.  I was a bit worried.  And, as I could have easily predicted, it was a diaster.  They hardly spoke English, they stole from each other, they bought too much, and the clean-up was essentially non-existent.  Ugh.  So I didn't even bother to try it with the next Grade 2 class.  I just used a filler Konglish lesson instead.  I tried again with the advanced 1st graders 4th period, but it again was only okay and even a little worse than 1st period.
• I was ready to scrap the lesson completely and play The Price Is Right on Monday, but my co-teacher convinced me that I should give it another shot.  After as much revision and simplification to it as I could, I tried it again with 2nd and 1st.  2nd grade was probably the worst.  The students just didn't listen well and it was the day when my co-teacher didn't show up so that didn't help either.  When I tried to get them to clean up, only 6 of the teams actually did and the rest just sat there and stared at me or slept.  I was finally just done with this lesson and I took the rest of the time in class just to do it myself.  I gave it one more shot with the smaller 1st grade class and it went fairly well, but again, clean-up was still a bit messy.  And this was done with all of the directions given to them in Korean by the co-teacher.  If they couldn't get it right in Korean, than there was no way it was going to happen in English.  I begrudingly came to the realization that the lesson bombed.
• It is a bit frustrating since I spent so much time planning and prepping it and it worked well in other ETA schools, but I guess I overestimated my student's abilities.  Overall, they have been doing better this semester than last, but I guess I forgot that the majority of them are pretty low-level still.  Oi.  Well I'm planning on posting it on the ETA forum so maybe other teachers could use it so it doesn't completely go to waste but I definitely cannot do it again.  At least all of the classes will be on the same page when we start up again next week becaussssssse I have a mini-vacation!
• Yes!  My students are all going on a field trip so there will not be any classes for me.  I mentioned some time ago that my students were going to Jeju Island and some military base, but I couldn't go with them due to funding.  While I am bummed I can't go, I am excited to use my 4-day vaca!  I will be going to Busan tomorrow to visit some old PNU and CrossFit Busan friends.  I might stay the night, but I'm not sure.  Probably not, but again who knows?  Then on Thursday (possibly Wed night), I am planning on going to Mokpo (again haha) to visit my pal Ammy's middle school.  She invited me to come last time I was there and now I finally have a chance!  I've been really wanting to go to another school, but it just hasn't been able to happen yet so I'm excited that it is going to!

Alright that's it.  going to CrossFit later and I have to nurse my sunburn.  I got burnt as usual, but hopefully it will be the last one of the year...

I ran a 4k in slippers

Hi!  Today was Part I of the annual Gwangyang High School Sports Day!  Super exciting!  Here are some of the highlights:

• To open the day, there was a ceremony type thing where a bunch of people make speeches and all that. A lot of Korean events do this I have noticed.  It's kind of annoying because I think people just wanted to start playing the games and stuff.
• Anyways, the first event was Tug-of-War!  It was pretty cool, they were all really getting into it.  This was pretty long because all 23 homerooms had to compete so I just moseyed around and chatted with students and stuff.
• There were soccer games of course.  Soccer is the most popular sport in Korea so this was one of the main events.  I watched for a while and it was actually pretty interesting!  I usually don't like it, but it was enjoyable.  I was playing a "bounce the soccer ball in the circle" game.  Despite my trash talk and comparisons to David Beckham, I wasn't too good, but it was really fun anyways!
• I also got to catch some basketball games so that was fun to watch.  Then came the Marathon (which really ended up being a 4k).  I didn't really want to run since I didn't have any shoes and when the race was setting up I was wearing dress pants, a tie, and a vest.  And slippers.  Not exactly proper running attire.  However, some 3rd grade students that I really miss started talking to me and they were saying how they were going to run and all of this and they somehow convinced to go with them.  I did have my gym clothes that I changed into, but I had to complete the 4k in my slippers.  It was pretty funny actually.  And I finished in a decent ranking so that was cool.  A lot of students were cheering as I was turning to the corner to finish so that was great too!
• Then afterwards, I got to just sit around and chat with some 3rd graders.  I really do miss them a lot.  It was great to just relax and talk with them about what's going on and how we don't really have a high school sports day like they do in Korea.  When I was talking to some of them, I noticed that some of them seemed to have lost some of their speaking abilities.  There's one in particular that was very vocal in class, and he is still vocal now, but his grammar is definitely worse and he adds more Korean than he used to.  The 3rd graders are pretty much exclusively studying reading and listening so he simply isn't using those skills anymore so they aren't as sharp as they used to be.  Oh well.  It was still great to talk them.

More sports day tomorrow!  Should be fun!!!! :)

Parent's Day and Birthday Secrets

I had an extra minute so I figured I'd just write a short post :)

• The money/big numbers lesson is going pretty well!  I'm glad that I thought to bring my money from the States because they get really into it, especially the 50 and 100 since they haven't really seen those before.  And with the 100, they don't have a bill in Korea that's equivalent or greater in value so they are really impressed with that one haha.  I think that and my high school yearbook have been the most helpful things that I have brought with me from America.
• I haven't been able to do as much crossfit this week since I've been under the weather.  But last night, I braved it and went and it was great!  I didn't go crazy with the intensity level, but it was still good.
• Speaking of CrossFit, I really want to go back to Busan to visit my CrossFit Busan friends!  They have this group on facebook that I'm part of and they post pics all the time and it looks like there are a TON of people there now!  The business has been super successful so that's great, especially since businesses in Korea have a really high turnover rate.  I still talk to the two instructors from time to time so it's good to keep in touch.
• Yesterday was Parent's Day in Korea so I got my parents + 할모니(spelling?) some cupcakes which they were pretty grateful for so it's good to get some bonus points there.  I got a pastry from the bakery to share with the children and myself.  I also scored a free pastry from the bakery since the owners and bakers are super friendly and I'm a pretty frequent customer haha. 
• Tomorrow is my birthday and I'm trying to keep it secret at school so no one goes crazy or anything.  So far it's working!  The homestay figured it out, but I'm safe at school for now!  I just don't like a lot of attention, though it's pretty hard to do when I with my blue eyes, blonde hair, and fluorescent white skin am teaching in a school full of Koreans, but whatever haha.

Sick (again!!!) and Dollars

Hi

• It was a good week last week.  I went back to Mokpo for like the fourth or fifth time last Wednesday due to having no school because students were taking exams.  It was great to see the Mokpo Mafia (minus Liam and Sarah) and we had some coffee and dinner and all that.
• Then I got sick yet again!  So annoying!!  I get sick maybe once a year or even like once every 18 months, but this is like the THIRD time I have been sick in the past nine months!!!!  Ugh!!  I fully blame the fact that 1.) I am constantly sharing food with people around me and 2.) my twin 4th grade host brothers basically never wash their hands and cough everywhere!  Example: Young Chan was making kimbap and coughed right in front of him and right next to the kimbap that he was making.  I was like "Young Chan!  You can't cough like that!" and I proceeded to demonstrate a good coughing technique into my arm.  He repeat that but then he coughs into his hands and starts handling the kimbap like normal.  Lesson fail.
• On Thursday, I made an attempt to actually hang out with foreigners for once and I posted on the facebook group to see if any Suncheon foreigners wanted to grab some lunch at a new brunch place, buttt the only person to respond was a Korean haha.  But that was cool so we had some lunch and it was good.  He's an optometrist/professor at the local health college and lives in the hotspot foreigner area.
• But I successfully hung out with foreigners on Friday night!  We went out in the area I actually live in so it was cool that it was close.  We got some makeoli and I got to meet a few of them and learn about where they teach and all that so it was nice.  Then I split early to have a fantastic skype session with the one and only Gus!  It was good to catch up with him.
• School is great!  This week we are starting a large numbers/money lesson so it went okay today.  I brought in some American money and the first class I taught, the $1.00 bill went missing -__-  But that's why I didn't pass out the $50 or $100 haha.  
• I've been doing my non-English teacher class and we talked about how being a teacher in America is different from Korea so it was pretty interesting since there are a lot of differences.

That's about it!  Sports day is coming up which will be super fun I think.  I wanted to go to Busan, but couldn't since I was sick.  Maybe Sunday?  I have teachers sports day on Sat so don't know if I'll have time for that.

See you in nine weeks!

Mario and Jinju

Highlights of the week:

• This week in school, I started to do a review lesson for the students to help them with their test and we are playing a Mario "Bomb" game (which is kinda like Jeopardy but with more points and twists).  It's pretty fun, but it turns out that only the 1st grade will actually have my questions on their exam.  I was told that it would be 2nd grade too and that's what I told my students, but there was a total miscommunication between teachers and now it isn't there.  Pretty annoying since this is the only grade that I really give them expect for the final.  It seems my class is already more just the "fun" class and the fact that they will not be tested over the material we learned just contributes to this idea.  Ugh.
• Turns out that I will not join my students for Jeju which is also a big bummer.  It would have been great to been able to spend time with them outside of school and to go back to the Island, but alas the budget does not allow it.
• I had an interview for a position back in the States this past Wednesday.  It went pretty well so we'll see what happens.  In the mean time, I have to keep applying and trucking away at these job applications!
• Today (Sunday), I went to Jinju with some friends from my gym and we ran in the Jinju 10k!  It was really fun!  I got a fairly decent time considering I haven't really ran in ages and I met some new people that were pretty cool.  We also stopped by the Jinju Zoo which is this tiny little zoo with a small amount of animals (including deer?) but the kids of some of my fellow gym-mates sure had a blast!  Afterwards, we went out to eat some black bean noodles that were super tasty.
• Homestay has been okay.  Living in a homestay definitely has it's pros and cons and right now it's getting a little harder to see more of the pros.  It is just annoying to not be independent and treated differently.  The grandmother in particular is a bit frustrating in how she'll tell me what to eat, how to eat it, not to do laundry, etc.  I can politely refuse some of these, but it is still annoying to deal with.

That's about it for now.  I'm going to try to do my laundry because I really just want it done and over with, but I'll have to wait until Grandma is in her room.  America is just around the corner!  Crazy to think about, but I'm looking forward to it!

The Garden Expo and Korean Jeans

Hi!  So not too much has been going on that's brand new but here's the basics!

• I've been starting an Emergency/Illness lesson to go along with my body part lesson at school.  Unfortunately, not all of the classes will able to experience this fanastical lesson (which I mostly stole/adapted from Sara over in Mokpo!) but that's okay.  This week's lesson will be a bunch of reviews and I might try to squeeze in a body image lesson with the one class that is super far ahead.
• I recently obtained information that the 1st year students will all be going to Jeju on a field trip and I am going to do what I can to sneak on the boat and find myself back on the Island.  I told my co-teacher that I was interested and she talked to one of the 1st year teachers, but he said he wasn't sure if there'd be enough room in the budget because other teachers will want to go to.  However, I met another teacher over the weekend (technically ex-co teacher since she moved to a new school but that's okay!) and she encouraged me to speak directly to the principal himself to try to wiggle my way into the budget.  I think that would probably be the most likely way I will be able to go, especially since the principal likes me.  I'll see what I can do and I'll be sure to keep you all updated!
• Yesterday (Saturday) I went to the Suncheon Garden Expo, which is this huge 6 month festival that just opened and has a ton of different gardens within it.  We saw the indoor gardens, water gardens, gardens from other countries (including the US which my co-teacher deemed as a "not beautiful" garden....but to America's defense most flowers aren't exactly in full bloom yet!).  It was pretty cool, but the weather wasn't all that great and most of the flowers are in bloom yet so I'll probably head back in May or June when it really starts to get going!
• Today I had the day off since it was Saturday so I went out on the town a bit.  First I stopped at Lime, one of my fave sandwich shops in Suncheon to grab a BLT.  Then I was going to head back to the apartment, but it is such nice weather so I decided to take the bus to the other part of town instead.  I was going to go get some coffee and do some work on the computer but I got distracted by some ties hanging out the window of a shop.  
• While I have done quite a bit of updating my wardrobe with pants and a few shirts here and there, I haven't had any luck with Korean ties.  They all tend to have loud patterns or glitter or sparkles, stuff like that and I like simple solid color ties or simple patterns.  I found one tie that met my standards but I didn't really have any shirts that it would go well with so I gave up on Korean ties once more.  However, I saw some reasonably priced jeans that were in my size so I tried them on.  I've had great luck with pants here in Korea, but jeans not so much.  The main reason for this being I have huge legs.  I have been blessed with the enormous Louis family calves and quads that 99% of Koreans seem to lack and therefore the jeans become more like leggings.  It's kind of annoying since the waist fits perfectly and the length is spot on.  It's just my legs are too big for the actual pant part.  Oh well!  I looked at some shirts but they were too expensive so I ended up buying a pair of Korean-style glasses (non-prescription) for 10,000 won.  I think they look good.  I'll probably post a pic on facebook when I get back.
• And right now, I am sitting in a cafe that I am trying out for the first time and I actually really like.  It's called Mango (I don't know what's with all these fruit named cafes) and I had some great Mango/Strawberry juice.  And it has wifi!  There's a ton of coffee shops but it can be tricky to find some with wifi sometimes.  The drink was great, but a little pricey.  I'll definitely come back and probably try something different next time.
• Next week I'm going to Jinju for the 10k.  I've ran basically nothing this past few weeks so I am completely unprepared other than doing the usual CrossFit.  Oh well.  I'll wing it haha.  I know I'm not going to win any running awards any day soon so I'm not going to fret about it too much.  
• Since I've decided to return to the States, I'm still chugging away at job applications.  It's going okay.  I'm mostly hearing non-responses which isn't that good.  But I do have a job interview via Skype on Wednesday for a position at an all-boys boarding school so I'm super stoked about that!  I'm qualified for it and match what they are looking for pretty well so hopefully it will go well!

That's about it so I'll sign off for now.  Plus it's starting to get a little loud in here.  I'm going to try to find a pair of decently priced black shoes since I left mine in Busan.

See you soon America.  Less than 3 months now!

Jeju & Survivor Game

Here's a quick summary of the Jeju conference!

• I flew in from Yeosu and actually ended up getting there a little late (but I only missed the ice breaker bingo activity so that's not too bad).  I couldn't really help it though since it was pretty tough to get flights.  But we stayed at a super hotel.  It was really nice!!  We stayed in a suite-like room too!  It had a living room area with another bedroom and a couple of small balconies.  It was pretty fly! haha.  Anyways, I took a few pics of it on my phone so maybe I'll upload those.
• We just had a bunch of small workshops with some of the ETAs.  I went to a few good ones.  There was Liam's about lower level classes, but I was the only one there so we just swapped teaching stories and shot the breeze for a bit.  Also went to a renewee panel where some renewees talked about their second year (or third) here.  We also got to hear from the researchers and what they have been up to.  It was super interesting and I wish I could've heard more!  There were some about the whole Chaebol issue, cosmetic surgery, North Korean defectors, obesity, and more.  A great variety which always makes it more interesting.
• On Sunday, a bunch of us took a tour of the major sites of the Island.  We went to a traditional village, we saw some cliffs, we went to a waterfall, and of course, Sunrise Peak, probably the most famous attraction of Jeju (along with Halla Mt.)  Here's a great pic of it that I stole from Google Images!

  

  My pictures didn't look nearly this good.

So that was Jeju-do!  Pretty cool.  So back to last week:

• At school I am trying to get all of the classes on the same page, but it's pretty tricky.  There's one class I literally have only seen twice!  But I started yet another new lesson this week, this time about body parts.  I did an appearance lesson last semester and this is kind of building off of this, but making it more detailed with more body parts (like forehead, elbow, calf, spine, etc.).  Then we do a race type game where they make labels for the body parts and stick them on each other.  It's a lesson I stole from another ETA but it works well!
• We are still prepping for the debate conference in Gwangju and it's going okay.  Some of the students aren't quite as ready as we had hoped they would be so I don't know how that'll go in June when we have the conference.  I'd be shocked if we won, but I think we can still do fairly well nevertheless.
• CrossFit has been great of course.  We had a lot of variety this past week with lifting and running and jumping and all sorts of stuff.  On Friday, I did a bunch of pull-ups so my arms were dead all weekend but they feel better now!  A bunch of us are gonig to Jinju, a city about 90 min east to go run a 10k in two weeks.
• This weekend, a few Fulbrighters and I got together and we played "Survivor Game!" aka Paintball!!  It was super fun!!  Most haven't gone before so we were all amateurs for the most part, but it was still awesome!  There was my team, Team Chocopie and Team DD (Destroy Di, the capt of our team).  It was a nice little woodsy area and it was nice to just hang out and do something different!  I even got a few people!  I normally have horrific aim, but I got closer and was more agressive than normal so I was able to tag some people!  The operator said that games with foreginers always go faster than those with Koreans because I guess they are more trigger happy/agressive haha.  We did have a Korean on our team though (an ex-military one at that!) and he was amazing at shooting the other team.

That's about it!  It's been a good week.  It's hard to believe I only have three months left here!

North Korea and The Decision

Hello!

• So a few people back in the States have expressed concern about the situation with North Korea.  I want to assure everyone back home that I am indeed safe and I would say 99% of South Koreans are not at all worried about this situation for a few different reasons.  One is that if North Korea actually does launch a missile, everyone already knows so it will easily be shot down by the South, Japan, etc.  Also, if it were to engage in fighting, South Korea is extremely well prepared with more technology, American soldiers, and a ton of Korean soldiers (there's a draft here for men) and it would basically sever any remaining relationships it has with other countries.  And the North actually is fairly dependent upon the South for a good part of it's economy as well.  So essentially no one here is worried about it, but safety precautions are in place (and here at Fulbright we have an emergency warden in the Seoul office).
• So the Decision (and not LeBron style haha).  So during the Jeju Conference I decided that I will not be renewing my grant.  While I love Korea and I love teaching at the all boys school, I think it's time for me to return to the States and start my social studies teaching career.  When I really thought about it more, the primary reason why I was looking to teach here for another year was simply the job security of knowing I will be teaching another year, but I think I can get a job in the States so that shouldn't be my main reason.

Okay I should tell you all about Jeju, but that'll take too long so I'll do it next time!  I guess all the new Fulbrighters for next year were told if they were accepted or not!  If you're reading it and made it, congratulations! :) Maybe I'll see you at Orientation in July.  I'll probably try to lead a small workshop or something. 

Anyways, hope things are good at the States and please don't concern yourself too much with North Korea!

Konglish and Pre-Jeju Conference

Hey!  It's been a great week.  Super fast!

• I'm mostly sticking to the cursive and playing catch up from vacation days missed, exams, etc.  I don't know how some classes are behind!  It's nothing really in my control though so not much I can do except catch them up.  I did start a filler type Konglish lesson for a few classes that I have seen every week.  It was a fun little game lesson where they learned different English words and how they related to Korean words.  It was fun.
• The debate club has been pretty good too.  My co-teacher is a bit worried about how they will do, but I think they can do well!  They wrote some essays in the standard 5 paragraph persuasive style and they were pretty good for their first time.  It's kind of funny because they all have the elements of a good essay but they are all missing certain things.  Like the one is actually a great writer, but his artgument is the weakest while another had nice points but he didn't have the 5 paragraph structure at all.  But I'm having them read and critique each others so hopefully that will help a bit.
• I'm going to Jeju tomorrow!!  I'm really stoked!  I'm heading out on a plane from Yeosu to go to Jeju for the annual spring Fulbright conference!  Yay!!!!  I've been wanting to go to Jeju basically since I landed in Korea haha.  I will finally be able to go!  It's going to be great to see everyone again too.  I am going to be leading a small workshop where we can critique each others cover letters and resumes and about post-Fulbright jobs and stuff.  Hope it'll be great!

That's the news for this week.  When I get back from conference on Tuesday, I'll be teaching a new lesson that I almost forgot about until just this very second.  And then I'll be going paintballing with some of the Fulbright peeps from Jelloa (my state).  Whoo!

Brown Eggs and Busan

Here are some highlights from this week!

• School has been going well.  We started a lesson with some classes on Cursive Part II.  Basically we were writing small sentences and then played a relay-race type game using cursive.  Overall, it was pretty successful, but I'm not sure how it'll work with the shier classes, but we'll see!  It's just hard to keep track of it because there are three lessons going on at once since some classes are behind because of days off and all of this.  But I have miraculously become more organized this semester so that's been a big help!  I have folders now, a lesson chart, all sorts of things.
• CrossFit has been good.  I think I am doing well with it.  We're using a lot of bars and lifting which definitely isn't my forte, but I'm getting there, slowly but surely.
• Oh something with school that I forgot is debate prep club!  So in June, some of my Fulbright peers and I are going to a conference in Gwangju with our students to have a nice debate/conference!  I'm pretty excited and my students are too, but I think they are a bit concerned since there are going to be some pretty impressive schools there.  I think we can do pretty well, maybe not when but at least do well!
• On Saturday, I woke up early and I made a trek to Busan!  I made arrangements to meet two of my PNU students for lunch.  I wish I could have seen more, but they are so busy with their semester now!  Anyways, I met Keun Woo and Eun Hee and we had a nice lunch in an outdoor restaurant on a mountain.  It was so cool!  We had a great Korean vegetable pancake (Paejeon), Korean Noodle Soup, and Korean Chicken Soup.  Delicious!
• I also went to do some shopping at the Seomyeon shopping district.  I pretty much was just at the H&M where I bought a couple shirts, a blazer, and a hoodie.  It was a lot of items but 3 of them were more than 50% off haha :)  After shopping, I grabbed some dinner and headed back to Suncheon.  It was a very short trip, but quite enjoyable!
• It was my first Easter abroad and my parents sent a lovely PAAS egg dye kit.....but I discovered that there is not a SINGLE white egg in Suncheon!  I went to two of the major Western-style supermarkets and only brown eggs!  Brown eggs everywhere!  I couldn't believe.  There were white eggs in Daegu, but not in Suncheon.  I don't get it.  So we have postponed the egg dying until further notice.

Well that was my week!  Right now I am focusing on working on these crazy foreign taxes, applying for jobs back in the states, and making my new lesson for this week.  It has to be a semi-filler lesson because not all of the classes will get it.  I'm still thinking.  I have until Tuesday so it's all good.  And I'm heading to Jeju Island, Friday for our Fulbright Conference!  Whoo!

My first full week of the semester

Hello!  As you can tell from the title, I had finally had my first full week of school! Yay!

• So this week we have three lessons all going on at once so it's a little complicated but I made a nice lil chart to organize all of my lessons so I know exactly what class needs what lesson.  And I got to meet all of my classes so that's good. Up to this point, there were like 5 or so classes I still didn't see at all, but now I've seen all of them at least once so that's good!
• This semester is going much smoother in general.  I guess it's because I'm used to how things are going now at the school and they are used to me!  I'm definitely liking how things are going though.  I've have raised my expectations overall for the students and they seem to be meeting most if not all of them.  I think I wasn't really sure what to expect or do the first semester and I didn't get enough out of them.  That's changed this time around!
• The new lesson this week is a two-week lesson on cursive writing.  When I was in Busan at the university, some students said they couldn't read and I don't think any of them could write in cursive.  This was a bit of a problem because some of their foreign profs wrote in cursive so I figured I'd show the Gwangyang guys what it's all about!  So far, most of them are much more interested than I thought they would be.  We were only able to blast through all the letters on the first lesson.  I know with cursive, repetition is key, but we don't really have time to do a lot of repetition, so I just have to show them the basics.  Next week, we are going to do more of the writing and practice actually connecting the letters together which is something some of them had a hard time doing.  But I'm glad I'm doing this lesson!  It's something different and all levels of students are able to do it, even if they can't really speak English because it is simply copying what I do on the board.
• I'm going to start up a club type class again.  This time it is to prepare for a conference/debate in Gwangju with a few other Fulbright schools.  I'm a little nervous, because some of the other schools are very advanced, but we're just going to go in and be confident and do what we can.  We're having our first meeting this week!
• I'll also be starting an English class for non-English teachers.  It'll be on Monday mornings when I have a nice free block.  Last I heard, only two signed up, but hopefully that number will increase!  It has to be in the middle of the school day so it's a little tricky with the timing.  We'll see how it goes!
• What else...oh my Uncle flew into Seoul last week and I got to see him.  It was really great to be able to hang out with him and catch up with the family.  He also brought along a nice care package from my family that had all sorts of goodies for me and my host fam.  It was great!!
• This weekend I'm staying in Suncheon.  I'll go to the Maewha (apricot blossom) festival tomorrow in Gwangyang when some of my Fulbright buddies will be in town.  That should be good!
• CrossFit has been good, but hard.  I'm doing more of the Rx'd(aka hardest level) workouts.  It's cool to be able to do them now, but I get too tired to do the extra Challenge workouts that he has for us.   Or if I do them, then it's reallly slow.  I made a new buddy at CrossFit!   He's an elementary school teacher in the countryside so he speaks English pretty well!  It's fun to hear about the elementary school side of things since I'm in the high school all the time.

That's about it for this week.  I don't think I really have any other news to report.  So yeah things are good as usual!

Spring Semester Week II

Hey what's up?  Sorry there hasn't been a whole lot of updating lately.  Just trying to get back in the groove of things I guess!  Here's some things that have been happening!

• School has been great!  I'm on this strange honeymoon period with the first year students.  They are doing everything I ask them to and no one is sleeping.  It's bizarre but I like it!  Most of the second years have really stepped it up to (I think largely due to getting rid of a co-teacher who really didn't teach at all/slept through my class).  A few of them have been dozing off but I just wake them up as usual.  I'll just grab their shoulder or lift their desk or if they are super sleepy then I'll have them stand.
• This week we started my second lesson (even though quite a few still haven't seen my first lesson...just the way the schedule worked out!) and it's about small talk and creating better conversation than just than just the infamous "How are you?" and "I'mfinethankyouandyou?"  So far it seems to be going very well and the students are participating well.  And I haven't played a game at all yet this semester!  I'll probably do one next week though haha.  I think I'm going to try to tackle a 2 week Cursive 101 lesson since almost none of them know it.  They can read it for the most part, but I've only seen one student write it so far and that's because he learned it in a hagwon (English tutoring).  My PNU students said that some foreign professors use it at university so it actually would be helpful.
• Homestay has been good.  Nothing too exciting.  The kids are going to even more tutoring and hagwons than last semester.  They are so busy even though they are still in elementary school!  We haven't had any trips or anything yet.  It's probably going to be a bit more low-key this semester since everyone is busier.  My host mother moved to a new school that is a lot closer (15 minute walk!) so she is here more often but she is teaching 22 hours a week which is a pretty good amount so she is super busy as usual.  I made some fettuccine alfredo on Tuesday because I had the day off for the school's birthday and I think she was happy she didn't have to cook. But yeah, it's going good.
• Yes, I had a day off on Tuesday and I had a day off Wednesday since the students were taking an English test so I didn't go to school for two days in a row!  I didn't really do all that much though.  Just planned this lesson that I am doing now and applied for jobs, stuff like that.  And sleep in and watch TV on the computer of course haha.
• I'm back at CrossFit.  It's been good.  There's definitely a lot more people who have joined the gym since the fall.  There's waaaay too many during the 8:00 class so I strive to steer clear of that one.  I prefer my 5 or 6 that go to the 6:00 class.  It's been tough, but in a totally different way than CrossFit Busan.  Here we are using more weights and bars and stuff for a shorter amount of time where in Busan we never used bars and we did intense workouts for a longer amount of time and we did crazy warm-ups that we don't do here.  My upper body is still pretty weak so I'm not exactly blossoming at Suncheon, but I'm pleased with how it's going so far.
• This weekend, I'm going to Seoul!  Super pumped about it.  I'm going to meet my Uncle Mark up there who is flying in (he's a pilot) and we'll have dinner and stuff.  It'll be great to see him!  I'll also meet up with my friend./PNU student Su and I think we're gonig to check out this foreigner flea market thing that is happening on Sunday after my uncle heads back home.  Should be an awesome weekend!

That's about it.  So that's what going on here!  Thanks for reading I guess haha.

First Week of School

Started school back up this week!  So far so good, but I've only taught 2 classes.  My schedule is a lot different and a bit more complex, but now I'm able to see the 2nd graders every week and the 1st almost every week so that's great!  I am teaching 3 extra classes, but they got rid of my club classes so it's the 20 hours a week that I had last semester. 

We're just doing intro lessons so far.  Basically for 1st, I am introducing myself, telling them what I did over break and they have to write about what they did for break in a nice paragraph form (whenever I had them write last year they always made it more list like and I wanted to steer them away from that).  I'm trying to set a more academic and serious tone for the semester instead of just jumping into a game right away.  I have been pretty impressed by 1st grade this year so far.  It helps that they are in classes of 24-25 and they are leveled.  2nd is mixed level and has an average of 37 students in each class so it's a little crazier there.

I didn't teach the first two days because we had to arrange the schedule.  It was pretty hectic but we were able to get it done.  It's like this weird 6 week rotation with the 1st grade so I'm going to have to be super organized in terms of what class is doing which lesson.

We got a lot of new staff members too.  3 English teachers left (including the one that slept in the back of my class so I can't say I was devastated to see him go) but the new ones that I have met seem great so far.  I'm going to hopefully meet all of them later this afternoon at our first teacher workshop.  I'm also able to teach with some of the 3rd grade teachers since they have 2nd grade classes so I'm excited for that.  It'll be nice to work with all of them.

It's been great seeing my old students too!  They greet me with waves and hi's as normal (some of the first graders are still bowing and giving me the Korean greeting which I don't mind but I'm sure it'll change as we move along).  Definitely missing some 3rd graders but I get to seem them in the halls and at lunch so that's nice.  And the lunches have been great too.  I've been a fan of them last semester too so it's good to know that we still got some good ones.

The only other notable things is that I cleaned my desk out completely and threw away a lot of the things that I haven't really used/were from ETAs like 4 or 5 years ago and a first grader came into the teacher's office, went to my desk, and asked me for chalk (except he couldn't remember the word for chalk haha).  It was just reallly strange since I'm pretty much the last person I would ask since I have no idea, I don't know the Korean word for chalk, and pretty much every other office worker and teacher in here does know haha.  But it was very endearing and I'm glad that they wanted to talk to me, even if it was just to get chalk.

So yeah things are good and back to normal here at school.  So far so good!

The Last Week in Busan

Here's what's been happening my last week in Busan!

• I've been doing my PNU classes as normal.  On Tuesday, my younger sister was a "guest speaker" via Oovoo/Skype which was pretty neat.  She's adopted from Korea and my students say she looks 100% Korean but acts and sounds 100% American.  They got to ask each other some questions and things and it was pretty cool.  We also got to play a couple of games on Wednesday and then on Thursday, our last class, we went to the American Corners building here in Busan and then got some lunch and coffee.  I was a little bummed that there weren't a whole lot of students in the afternoon class, but we still had a good time with everyone that was there and we eventually reunited with the morning class.
• I have most of the topics for my upcoming semester in Gwangyang sorted out.  Now it's just a matter of executing those plans and thinking of how to teach the said topics.  I'm excited/nervous to meet my new students!
• I'm going to be able to see some family in person next month!  I'm pretty stoked about it.  My Uncle Mark is flying to Seoul and we will be able to spend some time together during the weekend.  It'll be great to finally get to see someone from home.
• I'm back applying to jobs.  I took a small break since there weren't all that many schools hiring yet, but now they are starting to post some jobs so I'm applying for them!  I'm pretty much going all over the country.  I was applying to the more selective independent schools since they were the only ones posting their openings, but almost all of those want candidates with 5+ years of experience which I definitely don't have so now I'm able to broaden my range.  I'm trying to get three done by today but they take so long!!  
• I went shopping the other day at H&M.  I got some pretty good things at fairly reasonable prices so I'm happy about it.  I got a few t-shirts, a blue button down long sleeve shirt, a pair of grey pants, and a black vest.  I might hit one more store up today for I leave Busan tomorrow.  I'm heading back to Suncheon tomorrow night.  And I haven't packed basically anything.  I'm reallly not looking forward to packing.  I remember barely getting my things all to fit in my bag in the first place and now I have some extra clothes and a comforter I had to buy so I just don't see how it's going to happen.  I might have to actually buy a new bag which wouldn't really be tragic since the one I have is broken anyways.  But still!  It's going to be painful.

I guess that's about it!  So yeah, Busan has been great.  I didn't exactly get to travel to a bunch of exotic beaches, ride elephants, or get to go back home and pig out on Chipolte, but it really has been an awesome winter break.  I've learned so much about Korean culture from my students, I met some wonderful friends that I will be visiting throughout the rest of my time in the country, and I got to live on my own and call a new city home.  All that being said, it's hard to complain.  But alas, I must return to my original purpose of being in Korea and teach those crazy high school boys.  I can't wait to see them!

A Normal Week

Here's what's been happening this week!

• We had some good classes at PNU this week.  We did all sorts of stuff.  On Monday we had an interesting discussion about capital punishment, Tuesday we had a discussion for the first half and played battleships the second half, Wednesday we did Speed Quiz/Price is Right/Scrabble, Thursday we had an awesome cooking class! (we made Chicken Scallopini), and Friday my friend Elaine came in as a guest speaker!  It was a great week.  Only 4 more classes though!
• I also went to Asia's largest department store on Thursday to meet Elaine and get some dinner.  It was pretty cool.  I didn't really do any shopping but maybe I'll go back before I leave Busan later this week.
• CrossFit has been good.  Hard as usual, but I enjoy it!  I think I'm going to get lunch with the instructors and some of our classmates sometime next week before I head out to Suncheon.
• I haven't started practically any lesson plans for next semester.  Ugh.  I have a few ideas including exchanging and actually responding to letters from Soon's all girls high school and doing a unit including shopping, big numbers, food, fashion, and other things that fit in that category.  I really want to try to get more unit based lessons that build off each other.  I was able to a bit last semester, but it was hard with random classes cancelled and things like that so sometimes it seemed a bit jumbled.  
• Ryan is here for the weekend.  I think he's still zonked out right now even though it's like 1 in the afternoon haha.  Whatever.  He didn't seem too pleased with my goshiwon, especially the bathroom and shower facilities haha.  It's definitely not luxury, but it works!  I think I have to move out this Friday or Saturday.  Hopefully I can stay through Friday night, but I guess I could always just stay in a hostel for one night if I need to.

Well I think that's about it.  I haven't really done anything too terribly exciting.  I have no idea what Ryan has planned for today, if anything.  Might go to the sauna since he seems to not want to use our lovely showers here.  We're having dinner later on with a few of our buddies that are here in the city already so that'll be good.  So overall things are good!

The Busan Life

Well I am still here!  I haven't really done a lot of updating as you can see.  I don't really have an excuse to be perfectly honest.  Pretty much just laziness haha.  But hey it's vacation so I can be lazy right?

Even though I haven't really been doing a whole lot of blogging, I have been doing some things so I guess it's more like I have just been lazy at blogging.  Last time we left off, I was hanging out in the goshiwon and getting settled into there.  Since then, I had my mini-vacation within my vacation where I wasn't teaching any classes, but now I'm back to work and resuming my class at the University. 

I guess I'll just give you the highlights of what I have been doing rather than a gargantuan blog post.

• I traveled to Daegu to visit my friend Elaine and help out with her winter English camp at her elementary school.  It was really cool!  I went the night before and stayed with her homestay where we had a nice dinner and got to hang out with her host parents and siblings.  They were really nice and they spoke really good English!  Her siblings are also very good at English even though they are both in elementary school.  In fact, I think her host sister would probably fit right in with the advance class at my high school haha.  She's very smart!
• It was really fun to help out with her winter camp too.  They were doing kind of a food camp and the day I was there, they were dying Easter eggs.  Elaine introduced me as "The Egg Master" since I told her that I am totally into dying eggs and that I still do it regularly which is true.  It was really fun!  Her kids were very well behaved and even though it was a bit messy and got a little crazy at times, it turned out to be a great cultural lesson for them as none of them have ever done it before.  So yeah Daegu was great!  Oh I also got a really nice new winter coat.  It was definitely a lot more than I would normally spend, but it was like more 50% off and it had a really high quality and I know I'll wear it for a long time so it's worth it.
• My wonderful co-teacher, Ms. Jeon, booked my flight tickets over to Jeju for the Spring Fulbright conference!  Yay!!  I'm really excited to finally get over to Jeju.  Jeju is the island off the southern coast of Korea and is frequently called Korea's Hawaii.  Granted it is not nearly as warm, but from what I have heard and seen, it seems to be just as beautiful and has many lovely white beaches.  Unfortunately, I will be there in April so I probably won't be able to enjoy the beach as much as I would like, but I'm not complaining!  I'm really really excited to go to Jeju!
• Along with or invitation to the conference came a survey inquiring about the possibility of renewing our grant.  With Fulbright, you are permitted to renew your grant for up to two additional years, provided that you have performed well enough during your first grant year.  Well, I'm still not 100% sure either way so that's basically how I filled the form out.  Honestly, I'm probably not going to renew, but I'm not completely committed to saying no yet.  If I were to renew, I would change cities and schools.  Suncheon is awesome, but there aren't really any ETAs around as I have mentioned before so I would want to go to a new city.  If I were to renew, I would definitely keep an all-boys high school environment, but I think I would want students that have higher levels of English.  I don't know.  Like I said, I probably won't end up renewing, but I still have to get a little more info about it so we'll see how it goes! 
• And yes, I started my new class at the university!  I actually have two classes now so that's cool!  It's pretty much the same thing as last time, just have a discussion and informal chats.  The biggest difference between this and last class is that I have a budget!! Yay!!!  It's about 400 dollars so I have to spend it wisely.  A good part of it will probably be spent this week towards buying ingredients for a cooking class that I am doing.  I am super stoked for it!!  I think we are also going to go to Norebang/Karaoke and to a Board Game cafe where we can teach each other games and stuff.  I'm pretty stoked. 
• We went out as a class for Valentine's Day.  The first class and I went to a coffeeshop and the 2nd one and I went out for lunch.  It was really fun!  In celebrating V-Day and most of our single-ness, we decided that the topic of the day should be love and relationships in Korea and America.  It was pretty educational and it was fun to be able to talk about it and compare and contrast Korea and America with regard to those things.  
• I have been continuing getting beatings at CrossFit Busan.  I can't believe how much harder it is here!  This week they introduced a new exercise called Hindu Pushups.  It's basically like a push up except you dip down onto the floor and flow back.  I don't really know how to describe it well.  It's like combining "The Worm" dance with push-ups.  For some reason, I just can NOT do them!  I don't know if it's because my upper body strength is like non-existent or if I'm just too uncoordinated or if I have bad balance or what.  It was pretty awful.  He also tried to get us doing more exercises with the Kettlebell but that wasn't really working out because we couldn't get the right form down and he didn't want us to hurt ourselves haha.  
• But I'm starting to get to know everyone there a bit better and they're all super cool.  I was chatting with the owner and he told me that he is leaving in September to go to Dubai to compete in the World Jiu Jitsu Championship.  I guess he got 1st place in the East Asian trials so it's pretty exciting stuff.  He's going to get to fly over there and stay in the famous 7 star hotel there.  He said that he's also entering grad school at PNU this March and he's going to get married in October, on top of all of his training for World's and opening the gym!  It's crazy!!  But yeah, all of them are cool and I'm kind of bummed that I have to leave so soon.
• I've also been able to hang out with some of my Fulbright buddies that have come down here to Busan!  I got to meet up with Payal, Ryan, Adam, Hilary, and Lauren was just here for the weekend.  It's great to be able to see them!  Most of them are all up in Seoul now so I haven't been able to see them as often as I would like, but some of them are starting to make their way down here so I'm super stoked about that!  I'm trying to get them to come to my class, but a lot of them are teaching winter camps and things like that so it's been a little tricky to coordinate, but I think I'll be able to get a couple of them to come in towards the end of this week and some of next week too.

Um I think that's been about it.  That wasn't too bad of a summary.  Short(ish) and covered the things that have happened so it's good enough for me!  I guess if you have questions, you can always send me an email or write a comment or something.  Gosh only like 5 more months left!  It's been a fast one.  Hope things are going well back stateside!

The Move into the Goshiwon

So yesterday I finally moved into the goshiwon.  The place itself is good, but the move was frustrating.  Of course, it happen to be pouring down rain this fine afternoon and I proceeded to soak my suitcase, my backpack, and the bottom of my pants.  It was pretty annoying, but thankfully my suitcase absorbed most of the water and my clothes and other things were spared so I guess I can't be that annoyed. 

When I arrived at the goshiwon and after a call to the lovely May, the owner of the goshiwon came down to greet me and show me around the building again.  She was talking to me in Korean for about 6 or 7 minutes and I honestly understood about 3 words that she said.  I was trying to convey that I had absolutely no idea what she was saying, but I was experiencing little success.  This is one of the many, many times I have wished that my Korean skills were at least semi-existent, but alas, there is very little I could have done in this particular moment.  After some nodding and smiling from yours truly, she seemed content to leave me on my own to unpack and she left.  She is a very nice lady and I know the communication problem certainly isn't her fault, but it's probably the biggest problem that I have encountered living as an expat who can't speak the language.  It is really my fault that I don't know Korean very well since the only time I really studied it was at Orientation so I don't really have a right to complain about not being able to understand people.  I just wish it was easier sometimes.  Oh well!

Then I had to check out of the dorm where I experienced more communication problems when dealing with paperwork.  It was just not that fantastic of a day.  But eventually everything was worked out and I successfully checked in the goshiwon and out of the dorm so that's good.  The only thing now is that I don't have internet at the goshiwon!!  The internet cord just doesn't work and I'm pretty sure it is a problem with the internet and/or cord rather than the computer since I successfully posted this so I guess in a way that's a good thing.  I'm going to tell my buddy May about it, but I'm going to wait until Monday so she can have a weekend off from helping me haha.  And I still have my smartphone so I can send/receive emails and things so I can still communicate with the world so that's good. 

Here's some pictures of my new crib!

I can't actually sit at the desk since my suitcase is under it.  There's no other place for it though!

There's my bed and maybe more importantly, my fan/tie rack!

Where did that handsome guy come from?

Those are actually just nails on the wall that are now part II of my closet!  And there are 3 pairs of pants on that one hanger...you have to be creative in tight spaces!

What else...  Um I had a couple of CrossFit days.  Those got better.  The MMA fighter took over the last two classes I did and they seemed to actually be easier than the other guys.  There's two teachers there and I guess they take turns teaching the Jiu Jitsu and the CrossFit classes.  The other guy is a bouncer at a popular club/bar that he's trying to get me to visit so he's a pretty fit guy too.  But yeah the MMA fighter/owner was a little bit easier, which I was pretty surprised about but no complaints from me!  I was telling him a bit about the differences between his gym and the one I go to in Suncheon and it's interesting to hear why he has his certain style and why he has or doesn't have certain equipment.  I'm definitely learning more about fitness than I ever have in the States.  Didn't really see that coming when I initially came here, but I guess it goes to show you that you should just expect the unexpected over here!

Okay well I think that's about it for now.  I'm attempting to plan a zipline adventure at Jeju Island sometime this month too.  I've really been looking to go to Jeju for some time, but it's hard to coordinate with school so hopefully I'll be over to go!  If not, I know that I'll be there for sure in late March/early April with the Spring Fulbright conference.  I also ran into one of my PNU students at the coffeeshop and we're going to hang out sometime next week.  Maybe go shopping for some Korean clothes! :)  I've noticed that Korean clothes fit me a bit better than most American clothes so hopefully I can get some good things before I leave.  I would really like to get a suit sometime since the ones in America were almost all too baggy on me and I didn't want to go to a tailor.

Anyways, I'll post again soon, hopefully in my goshiwon so I don't have to use the wifi from the coffeeshop!  Have a good one. 

A Vacation within a Vacation

Hello world!  This marks the first week of my vacation within my vacation, which means I have a 2 week break from my winter internship!  It's pretty exciting but I'm a little sad at the same time since I really enjoy having the classes and getting to know the students and Korean culture as a whole.  But it is nice to wake up and have the freedom to just do whatever I want with no obligations. 

So what have I been doing?  Well on Tuesday I ventured out to the CrossFit facility that I recently discovered to see what it was about.  Apparently it is really new and there aren't a ton of members yet.  I might even be the first non-Korean member!  I don't really know for sure since I haven't gone during all the different hours but it could be a possibility.  Anyways I walked in and a couple of guys greeted me and started telling me about the gym.  It's a half Jiu-Jitsu half CrossFit gym that's owned and ran by an MMA fighter who is probably the most ripped Korean I have ever seen.  He looks really young too so I was pretty surprised to learn that he was the owner of the gym, but then again most Koreans look pretty young to me. 

So I signed up and went to the 7:00 class that night.  Unfortunately, there isn't a little uniform they provide like the gym in Suncheon so I have to bring my own clothes and then do my own laundry and all that, but it's not a biggie.  The gym itself is actually pretty empty too.  Just some medicine balls, kettlebells, and some stretching equipment.  It's pretty much just a big open space which is a lot different than the gym in Suncheon.  There you have some weights and benches and a rowing machine and a few other things so I was a little surprised but whatever.

Then we get to the warm up.  There's only 3 of us in the particular class I am in and we go in full force right away.  He has us run about 1/2 mile, do a bunch of bear crawls, some crab walks, jumping things and a few other things I haven't done at Suncheon.  It was a much longer warm up than I have ever done.  Then we did the workout.  We had to do 50 up downs/burpees, 100 push-ups, and 150 squats.  Ugh.  In Sucheon, the owner divides the workout into 4 or 5 levels and you pick the one that works best for you.  Not here!  It's the hardest level for everyone!  Yesterday's workout was even worse, especially the "warm-up."  And it focused largely on arms which made for a difficult workout for me since my arms aren't really all that strong.  He had us do burpees, kettlebell swings (with 20kg kbs...I usually only use 12kg!), and pull-ups.  And to "strech" at the end, he made us hang from the pullup bars for 30, 20, and 10 seconds.  I couldn't even go today because my triceps felt completely shot.  It was a struggle to even lift my arms above my head haha.  I was in my dorm room and I was going to try to do a thing where you drop down to the ground and do a push-up but I knew that just was not going to end well so I relented and I gave myself a rest today.  It's definitely going to be an intense month, but I think it'll be good.

Tomorrow I move into the goshiwon!  I think I'm excited for it.  I'm definitely going to miss having a bathroom in my room, but it'll be nice to have my own space.  It'll be a hall bathroom that I share with the other students in my hall.  But yeah I'm thinking I will like it.  I know a few of my friends are already in their goshiwons in Seoul and they seem to like it.  And I'll get to sleep with the fan on!  My roomate doesn't like to and always turns it off if I have it on so that'll be nice.

Today I got a haircut!  I was so overdue for one.  It was getting all curly and nasty at the ends and I've been meaning to for a while, but just never got around to it.  So I downloaded a pic of myself on my phone that had my hair at a length that I desired and just showed it to the barber and he did his work.  I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.  But really, most anything was an improvement over what I had haha.  And it's only like 5 dollars for a cut so I can't complain!

I'm also trying to plan for my next 3 week class.  I'm thinking of different ideas and things to do with them outside of the class.  I have a little syllabus made, but I don't really have anything planned out day by day or any of that yet so I think I'll do that next week.  Also I have to go on my recruiting spree to get guest speakers for my class!  I'm also going to experiment and see if I can get a Skype thing going so I can recruit my stateside pals to join us, but I'll have to see about that. 

I suppose that is about it.  I only have like 5 and a half months left here in Korea.  Hard to believe last year at this time I learned that I was a finalist in the Fulbright competition.  I'm still surprised that I got it haha. Okay well I'll try to keep the posting more regular and I'll catch you all later. 

Have a good one.