Ok, so since I have not written in about a week or so and my memory is a bit more fresh on more current events, I will, on this blog, blog backwards from most recent activity to the time when i last blogged. So here it goes...
JACKY- So the other day I came to school and guess what? Jacky got her hair cut,.... looks supa supa cute! absolutely love it. I mean... she already looked super cute, but now she just looks even cuter. Really looks good with her cute little double dimples :-) . btw. Did i mention how cute she is? lol. anywho....
YOGURT IN KOREA- A couple days ago Dana and I were talking about food and foods in Korea in general and all and she had mentioned how absolutely awesome the yogurt is here. I had not really bought any yogurt since it usually tends to be a disappointment. Guess i have been spoiled by German yogurts. Seriously, all jokes aside, the yogurt in Germany is the best i think. For some reason U.S. yogurts seem to be really bland and have a weird texture. At any rate, so the the other day i went to home plus cuz i needed to get some juice (of course, as always, i came out with a billion other things i did not really need),... as i was walking through the isles I remembered Dana's comment about the yogurt and decided to purchase a couple of kiwi flavored yogurt. Of course, first thing i did when i got home was open one of them up and try it. To my surprise,.... it was REALLY good. So I opened up another one and totally devoured it. yummmmmyyy.... guess I'm gonna start buying more yogurt here.
FIELD TRIP!- So on Saturday i went to a field trip with some other English teacher to the independence hall of Korea. It was good an bad. Here is the trajectory of the day. So first of all, i had to get up kinda early since the there was a bus that was supposed to pick us up at this one elementary school (and from there it was a one hour bus ride to the place). So got up, got ready, and headed out. Jacky had given me which buses to take, but i forgot to ask her which bus stop i was supposed to get off at so what i ended up doing was getting off at a stop that i knew was kinda close to the place and then took a cab. Of course, if you know me, you would know that i always try to get everywhere early. So i was there super early... not that this was bad, but in a way it WAS since it was freaking freeeezzzzing cold. The wind was blowing super super strong, the temperature was rather low and i had not bundled up adequately for that kind of weather. Anywho....
so i waited for a bit and tried to figure out where this one bus was supposed to pick us of. Then after a while, freaked out a bit cuz there were supposed to be 40 people and by the time the bus was supposed to be there there were only 2 of us. Eventually about 10 ppo ended up showing up and we were off. We got there, and a Korean lady gave us a presentation on Korean history, then we walked through some galleries (a museum really). It was nice cuz we had these headsets that give you all the information as you walk through each section so you don't actually have to read all the stuff that is on the walls (which usually takes me forever, as i am not necessarily a fast reader). After the galleries, we got some lunch, which was actually decent and then watched a short film (cartoon) in Korean, and then did some hands on activities, tried on military uniforms and rang this huge bell of independence. Super cool. ... overall, the whole trip was super cool, but the weather was a real bitch. my feel were cold and wet the whole time and i would not stop shaking. Then again, everyone was freezing, not just me. So cant complain since we were all in the same boat.
YOUTUBE- i have tried, since i got to Korea, to upload my videos to YouTube, but for some reason it does not let me. I might end up creating yet a third YouTube account just so i can upload videos. At any rate, if i manage to figure things out, will let you know so you can take a look at 'em.
INTERNET- here is part of the reason why i have not blogged lately. Since i got to Korea i have been "stealing" signal from some neighbor. and up until now it has been working fine. Some days my computer would loose signal, but this was only once in a while and i could live with it. But just about a week ago, whoever signal i was picking up, finally put a password on their Internet and so i no longer have Internet at home. I knew i was gonna have to finally get my own. So Jacky , as always, helped me out and today someone will come to my place some time between 5 and 6pm to install my Internet! I think its gonna cost about $40 per month, but i don't mind. It's not like utilities are expensive and i mean... i overall expenses, are not very much i think. The only thing is... i am not sure which service i got. I just know i told them i did not want a contract service (though with no contract its a bit more expensive) since i do not know if i will be staying a second year (if i don't, i would have to still pay for 3 extra months of Internet) anyways... i guess i will figure out in a month when my bill comes, what i am paying for and how much. Also... heheheh.... i am still not sure how I'm supposed to pay. Gotta figure out some things. Will get back to you on that.
GEPIK ORIENTATION- So i guess all English teachers in Korea are technically required to go to this one gepik orientation in which you learn more about teaching methods, how to manage big classroom, you go over your contract etc etc etc... and of course, it is a great opportunity to meet other English teachers, network .... and all the works. Ideally, you should go to one of these within your 2-3 months of being in Korea, but i guess its random and some people end up going after they have been here for like 5months, 7 months,... anyways... but i think it was good timing for me. The orientation was from wed-fri. There were about 150 teacher i think, all from Gyeonggi province. Got lots of useful information and good ideas for lesson planning. What i did not like, is that i realized a)that my current lesson plans suck, and are boring and B)that i have failed to include my co-teacher in my lesson plan. So now i know i got lots of work to do and lots of rethinking as to know to do my lessons. I need to incorporate more games and activities... but i just don't want my classes to become all game and play and no learning. And as i am not the most creative individual, it is actually kinda a challenge for me to come up with activities that a)related to the lesson b) are fun, entertaining, but not distracting c) are educational. So yeah... my brain was fried by the end of orientation
good things is, i met lots of awesome people. some that live in suwon, some that live not so close. hope i will stay in contact with most of them.
oh, another complaint is that people were complaining all the time. Since this orientation is also an opportunity for people to get issues resolved that they are having, for 3 straight days you hear all of people's complaints.... it's kinda funny because the whole time, as i was listening to these people talk about how their co-teachers don't even show up to their classes, or how someone is getting ripped off on their pay etc etc etc.. all i could think about was being done with orientation so i could go back to school since i already missed everyone so much. Particularly Jacky. I seriously think i have become rather attached to her. Not that this is bad.... but i feel really sad when i cannot see her. life is so unfair sometimes! ... She is just such a wonderful and awesome person,... i cant help, but wanna be in her presence. In a weird, but good way i guess, she kinda reminds me of Bri. Super independent woman, super self-confident, knows what she wants, good personality, good heart, good-intentions, keeps her word, always follows through.... yup... I think she's following the blueprint.
FREAKING OUT ABOUT SWIMMING- So a while back Jacky had mentioned to me that Young teacher knew that i went swimming every day and that she (young teacher) wanted to come swimming with me. First of all, i must say that up until recently i had been kinda intimidated by her, as every time i saw her at school she was always yelling at some kid. Just from watching her and not really talking to her she seemed kinda mean and stuck up if i may say. So I was not immediately thrilled about this idea at first. Also, an immediate thought that came to mind was "i do not want her to see me naked" i know, weird but true. Because in the pool, you have to get undressed, then go shower, then put your suit on, and then go swim... anywho.... the point is that you are always just walking around naked. And so, given that I did not think Young teacher was very nice (and considering that she has a nice slender body; or at least much more slender than mine) i thought she would maybe be quick to criticize mine. And another things is that... i dunno... it just seemed a tad bit strange for someone with whom i work and whom i see every day to see me naked. Then again, the concept of nakedness in Korea is completely different from that in the U.S. Being naked in front of others is like absolutely no big deal... totally normal and fine not matter weight, body type, etc etc etc.
And so the day finally came when we went swimming. And so i took Jacky's advice and made no big deal out of it and acted as though it was all perfectly normal and not strange whatsoever. And it was. Actually, i was rather pleased. It was strangely nice to spend time with Young teacher. I realized, in the time that we got to spend in the pool and in the bus on the way back home, that i had gotten her all wrong. She is actually super nice and really sweet. and likes to smile a lot and seen just really innocent overall. She is just harsh on the students,... then again they probably deserve it. I asked her what some of the reasons were for her yelling at her students and she said how sometimes they lie to her, or just misbehave. Anyhow.... so really her yelling is totally comprehensible . I actually feel really bad now that I just thought she was mean and not nice. I have always kinda prided myself in the fact that I always try to give myself the chance to get to know people before judging them or making assumptions, but this time around I did not do that and I was quick to jump to conclusions without even really getting to know her. which is just wrong really. But i guess that served as a little kick in butt for me....a little something to tell me..."hey anais, you should not be quick to make judgments!" Lesson reinforced. :-)
so i guess these are the updates for the moment. if all goes well, i will have Internet at home by tonight and will be able to go back to blogging on a more regular basis. I seriously and honestly try to keep up, as i am quick to forget things and details..... but sometimes i just get busy with work and forget to write... sorry. 'till next time!
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