May 8th Friday
Today is Parent's day in Korea. Its not an official holiday as in things are closed but the kids are suppose to show appreciation for their parents.
Today I paid my management expenses-almost 97,000. Mk told me the office was on the 5th floor so i went there and there were 8 rooms so I didnt know which one to go to. I texted him and he said it was the 15th floor.
I went to the wrong class today. I usually have my lowest class at 4:10 on Friday, but this week the schedule changed so I didn't notice that it changed on Friday. Then I went to my regular class.
There was only one student in my first class. The other student was absent. I gave her the word test and she got 8 out of 10 right. Then she was really having trouble with the lesson today. I don't think she understands the material.
In my 2nd class we were going to have a word test. They were all frantically studying. They asked for 10 mins to study. I let them have 15. Then when it was time to take the test they were telling me to be quick. haha. Most of them did really good. One student only got 3 right (out of 10). Some of them were begging to not have the test today. I gave them the papers on Monday so they had all week to study. After the test was over I graded the papers. Then two boys in the back of the room started fighting. They were hitting each other. I went back there and broke it up and told them to sit in their seats. They were good for the rest of class. I don't know why they were mad at each other. They weren't saying anything. Just hitting each other.
In my 3rd class I had 2 new students. Now I have 8 students. 3 boys and 5 girls.Over the past week I've had 3 new students in that class. I don't know why we would accept new students 2 months into a semester. They have missed so much.Its good that the material doesn't progress in a way where you have to know what was in the previous chapter to understand the current chapter. The students begged me not to have the word test today. I told them okay but that meant we will have 2 nexts next week.Plus I have to give them a writing test next week. Most of my classes will have 3 tests next week because of missing one day this week. One of the boys in this class has a pencil case in the shape of a boy. Its like a doll and there is a zipper in the back so you can put in your pencils. He was playing with the pencil case in class making it walk across his desk. The boys thought it was so funny. At one point I had to tell him to stop playing and do his work.
I had to go to Nokbeon tonight to meet Mk to get my papers about my salary. He just not noticed my hair. I saw him the day after I got it cut (Wednesday). And today he said "you changed your hairstyle". He was explaining everything on my paystub. Its pretty self explanatory as to what everything is-I just want to sign it and get out! He was telling me that this would be the last month that I pay my security deposit. I'm glad! I'll have an extra 200,000 next month! He always wants to know what I'm doing every weekend-Where I'm going, who I'm going with. And he always wants to know if I'm going to Itaewon. Every week he asks "are you going to Itaewon this weekend?" I don't go there every weekend.
I'm going to see the Doonsan Bears tomorrow. Its one of Korea's pro baseball teams. A group of about 8 of us are meeting. I only know one person-my new recruiter. She posted on Facebook(she's one of my friends on facebook) that there was a baseball game and asked who wanted to come. I replied and said I'd like to come. My friend Lesley who teaches at my school saw my post on facebook and I'm going to meet her at her subway station and we are riding together.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Day 141
May 7 Thursday
So last week one of the Korean teachers told me not to make my monthly test. I was glad because I hate making the test! Today we were recording grades and the other Korean teacher noticed that I didn't have a writing grade. I told her that the other teacher told me not to make them. She says we have to have a writing grade. She asked me if I could give the tests today and tomorrow. I said no. Those tests take time to make. I can't just make the test right before class. So now I have to give the writing test on Monday, Tues, and Wednesday. My students are going to hate me next week. I'm giving them 3 tests. 2 speaking tests and one writing test in my Tues/Thurs class. I have to give them a weekly test. We didn't have class on Tuesday so I didn't give them a weekly test today. So I'm giving 2 next week. This month I'm doing word tests. I give them a list of vocabulary words that we have learned and they have to know how to spell the words.
In my first class some of the students wanted to change their name. They took up about 5 minutes of class asking me about various names. I kept writing various names on the board. Its hard to think of names off the top of my head. They use an English nickname for my class. I had a "new" student in the class. There was this boy who missed the whole month of April and now he's back for May.
In my 2nd class we reviewed our lesson and then we played games for the rest of the class. Today we played 3,6,9. (You have to count and you clap on the numbers 3,6,9..if you dont clap or say the wrong number then we start from the beginning. When someone messes up they hit each other.
In my 3rd class we went over 2 pages of material. Today we were talking about animals and parts of animals like tail, head, leg, fin, etc. In the book there were some animals with the wrong number of body parts. Like a giraffe with 2 necks. They had to correct it. Example: Giraffes don't have 2 necks. They have one neck. Then I let them draw a funny animal.Then we played 3,6,9. We made it all the way to 100 once.
Students in my 4th class were studying for a test during my class. Every time they would get finished with an exercise they would go back to studying words for another class. We started a new writing book in this class.
My last class was being silly as always. One of the students wouldn't say anything half of the time. He would mouth the words, but not say it out loud. Sometimes the boy in front would act like he was translating for him. The boys were drawing in their book as always. They like to do crazy things to pictures in the book. One of them drew horns on a girl in the book. They like to poke out the eyes also. They will punch a hole in the book where a person's eyes should be.
I got my medical card today. I finally have health insurance. Now I need to research what it covers and doesn't cover in case I need it.
I have to meet mk after school tomorrow to sign papers for my salary. This month I'll have extra deductions for medical and pension. This will be the last month that I have the apt fees coming out of my check (like a security deposit).
I'm going to a baseball game this weekend with my new recruiter.
The won is going down! Its currently at the lowest point that its been since I've been here. According to Yahoo's bank rates today's exchange is $1usd=1257 won. That
will be good when I transfer half of my salary to my wachovia account on Monday! (the day I arrived in Seoul it was at 1262 and the highest was 1500). I watch the exchange rates because the lower the won the more my salary is worth in American dollars.
I'm joining a gym on Monday. Its way overpriced, but I want to go to a gym. I've got to try hard to eat healthier.
So last week one of the Korean teachers told me not to make my monthly test. I was glad because I hate making the test! Today we were recording grades and the other Korean teacher noticed that I didn't have a writing grade. I told her that the other teacher told me not to make them. She says we have to have a writing grade. She asked me if I could give the tests today and tomorrow. I said no. Those tests take time to make. I can't just make the test right before class. So now I have to give the writing test on Monday, Tues, and Wednesday. My students are going to hate me next week. I'm giving them 3 tests. 2 speaking tests and one writing test in my Tues/Thurs class. I have to give them a weekly test. We didn't have class on Tuesday so I didn't give them a weekly test today. So I'm giving 2 next week. This month I'm doing word tests. I give them a list of vocabulary words that we have learned and they have to know how to spell the words.
In my first class some of the students wanted to change their name. They took up about 5 minutes of class asking me about various names. I kept writing various names on the board. Its hard to think of names off the top of my head. They use an English nickname for my class. I had a "new" student in the class. There was this boy who missed the whole month of April and now he's back for May.
In my 2nd class we reviewed our lesson and then we played games for the rest of the class. Today we played 3,6,9. (You have to count and you clap on the numbers 3,6,9..if you dont clap or say the wrong number then we start from the beginning. When someone messes up they hit each other.
In my 3rd class we went over 2 pages of material. Today we were talking about animals and parts of animals like tail, head, leg, fin, etc. In the book there were some animals with the wrong number of body parts. Like a giraffe with 2 necks. They had to correct it. Example: Giraffes don't have 2 necks. They have one neck. Then I let them draw a funny animal.Then we played 3,6,9. We made it all the way to 100 once.
Students in my 4th class were studying for a test during my class. Every time they would get finished with an exercise they would go back to studying words for another class. We started a new writing book in this class.
My last class was being silly as always. One of the students wouldn't say anything half of the time. He would mouth the words, but not say it out loud. Sometimes the boy in front would act like he was translating for him. The boys were drawing in their book as always. They like to do crazy things to pictures in the book. One of them drew horns on a girl in the book. They like to poke out the eyes also. They will punch a hole in the book where a person's eyes should be.
I got my medical card today. I finally have health insurance. Now I need to research what it covers and doesn't cover in case I need it.
I have to meet mk after school tomorrow to sign papers for my salary. This month I'll have extra deductions for medical and pension. This will be the last month that I have the apt fees coming out of my check (like a security deposit).
I'm going to a baseball game this weekend with my new recruiter.
The won is going down! Its currently at the lowest point that its been since I've been here. According to Yahoo's bank rates today's exchange is $1usd=1257 won. That
will be good when I transfer half of my salary to my wachovia account on Monday! (the day I arrived in Seoul it was at 1262 and the highest was 1500). I watch the exchange rates because the lower the won the more my salary is worth in American dollars.
I'm joining a gym on Monday. Its way overpriced, but I want to go to a gym. I've got to try hard to eat healthier.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Day 140 20 weeks
May 6th Wednesday
I've been here 20 weeks.
I had to go to Nokbeon today to meet with mk. I was there 20 minutes just to get one piece of paper so I could pay my management expenses. Its 96,000 this month. I was there at 1:30 but mk didnt show up till 1:40. I texted him about 1:35 and asked him "are we meeting today?" Then he comes about 5 mins later and tells me "i was in the convienent store. Ok so he's always telling me to not be late and he is late because he was in the store. Anyway he tells me to pay my management expenses by Saturday. He always stresses how you need to pay it on time. Man I'm a grown up!
Now I have 4 classes on Wed instead of 2.
My first class only has 2 students. They were in my tues/thurs class but now they are in a separate mon/wed class.I think that will be good for them since they dont have to be in that big class. There were 10 students in the other class. They are both really well behaved and they participate.
My 2nd class was moved from Friday to Wednesday. Today they weren't as good as they were on Monday. They wanted to talk to each other during class and I kept telling them to do their work. I also had to keep telling them not to work ahead. They were trying to do more than what i told them. I want to do the lesson as a class. We finished 2 pages and then I let them play a game since I didn't have time to cover any more new material. I was trying to give them a word test today but they didn't understand the format. I was going to call out a word and then they write it down. But instead they write all the words they can remember. I just let it slide this week. They spelled all the words right anyway. Next week I'll have to explain how it works. I know their Korean teachers have that format-they say a word and the students write it.
In my 4th class I had a "new" student. There was a student who was there in march and she left for the month of April and now she is back for May. I knew she looked familiar when I saw her in class. One of the students asked me "do you remember my friend?"
A few people commented on my hair today. One person said it made me look younger (yeah just what I need..now people can think Im in high school).haha. One of the Korean teachers said it was pretty. Another teacher said it made me look better.ha. A student liked it.
I think its so funny when Koreans try to talk to me. One old man was talking to me while I was waiting for the subway. He gave me his business card and said he had food that would make me skinny.haha. The card is in korean so I cant read it. Then when i was on the elevator this one man was talking to me in Korean and I just looked at him. I had no clue what he was saying. Then these 2 women got on and they were just carrying on a one sided conversation. They were talking to me in Korean but I wasn't replying!!
Then there are those people who can speak English and they always want to know "why don't you know Korean?" or "are you going to learn Korean?". I do plan on learning a little bit but if I'm only going to be here 10 more months its kinda pointless and Im certianly not going to be proficient. I dont plan on staying in Korea for more than one year. Once I learn I'm going to forget. I'm not going to use Korean in the real world. It's just like algebra. When was the last time I used Algebra in the real world? never! I've forgotten most of the Spanish I took for 3 years.
I've been here 20 weeks.
I had to go to Nokbeon today to meet with mk. I was there 20 minutes just to get one piece of paper so I could pay my management expenses. Its 96,000 this month. I was there at 1:30 but mk didnt show up till 1:40. I texted him about 1:35 and asked him "are we meeting today?" Then he comes about 5 mins later and tells me "i was in the convienent store. Ok so he's always telling me to not be late and he is late because he was in the store. Anyway he tells me to pay my management expenses by Saturday. He always stresses how you need to pay it on time. Man I'm a grown up!
Now I have 4 classes on Wed instead of 2.
My first class only has 2 students. They were in my tues/thurs class but now they are in a separate mon/wed class.I think that will be good for them since they dont have to be in that big class. There were 10 students in the other class. They are both really well behaved and they participate.
My 2nd class was moved from Friday to Wednesday. Today they weren't as good as they were on Monday. They wanted to talk to each other during class and I kept telling them to do their work. I also had to keep telling them not to work ahead. They were trying to do more than what i told them. I want to do the lesson as a class. We finished 2 pages and then I let them play a game since I didn't have time to cover any more new material. I was trying to give them a word test today but they didn't understand the format. I was going to call out a word and then they write it down. But instead they write all the words they can remember. I just let it slide this week. They spelled all the words right anyway. Next week I'll have to explain how it works. I know their Korean teachers have that format-they say a word and the students write it.
In my 4th class I had a "new" student. There was a student who was there in march and she left for the month of April and now she is back for May. I knew she looked familiar when I saw her in class. One of the students asked me "do you remember my friend?"
A few people commented on my hair today. One person said it made me look younger (yeah just what I need..now people can think Im in high school).haha. One of the Korean teachers said it was pretty. Another teacher said it made me look better.ha. A student liked it.
I think its so funny when Koreans try to talk to me. One old man was talking to me while I was waiting for the subway. He gave me his business card and said he had food that would make me skinny.haha. The card is in korean so I cant read it. Then when i was on the elevator this one man was talking to me in Korean and I just looked at him. I had no clue what he was saying. Then these 2 women got on and they were just carrying on a one sided conversation. They were talking to me in Korean but I wasn't replying!!
Then there are those people who can speak English and they always want to know "why don't you know Korean?" or "are you going to learn Korean?". I do plan on learning a little bit but if I'm only going to be here 10 more months its kinda pointless and Im certianly not going to be proficient. I dont plan on staying in Korea for more than one year. Once I learn I'm going to forget. I'm not going to use Korean in the real world. It's just like algebra. When was the last time I used Algebra in the real world? never! I've forgotten most of the Spanish I took for 3 years.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Day 139 Holiday: Children's Day
May 5 Tuesday
In South Korea, [(어린이 날) in Korean] May 5 is officially recognized as Children's Day. Parents and teachers give presents to their children as well as spend time with them. The children are taken on excursions to zoos and museums. It was originally celebrated on May 1st, but was later moved to May 5th. The children's Author, Bang Jeong Hwan, was instrumental in creating Children's Day in Korea. He even invented the word in Korean for "children" (어린이) which did not previously exist in the Korean Language
Its a normal holiday..banks, schools and post offices are closed.
---------------------
Today I was up before noon on a holiday. Someone better check to see if I'm okay! I got up early to go to the gym to workout with Lesley. I was going to join her gym today, but I wasn't ready to pay the big price. A one month membership is 150,000($118). If you sign up for 6 months you get a 20% discount which is 576,000($454/$75 a month). I'm going to sign up for a 6 month but I didn't have that much money with me today. I'll be able to join after payday. I wonder why its so expensive!!! They let me workout with Lesley today. We were on the eliptical machine for 25 minutes then we worked with the weights. She showed me all the weight machines and I worked out my arms. I felt good after the workout.
After the workout I came back home and showered. They have a shower the gym but you have to change in front of everyone. The korean woman sure dont mind being naked and changing in front of everyone, but I'm self conscious esp since I'm so fat.
Then I headed out to find a lens for my camera. The subway was crowded today. I went to Namdaemun market. I navigated my way through the crowded market and then made my way to the camera district which has tons of camera shops. I walked into 2 of them and they wanted 200,000 for a new lens. I asked how much a used one would be in one store but they didnt have any used lens. Then i went to a 3rd store. I got a used lens for 130,000 (that was a decent price-lenses are expensive!) and I got a lens cleaning cloth for 10,000 won. So I paid 140,000 won in all which is about $110 usd. The man in the shop gave me a vitamin c drink. I actually have one in my fridge that I haven't tried. I was curious to see what it tasted like. Its actually tastes good. I might have to buy some of those. Its a small drink that provides vitamin c.
Then I headed out to Itaewon to go to a beauty salon. I was searching on google for beauty salons in Seoul that speak English. I found a review for a place in Itaewon called "The Green Turtle". Exit 4 3rd floor of the building that has Quiznos and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. I got there at 5 they said I could come back at 6:30pm. While I was waiting I went to Geckos Terrace to eat. I had my usual-the cheeseburger. Then I sat outside for a little while just watching people. There was this man who was talking to himself. Then at 6:30 I went in for my appt. I saw someone that I knew there. I met her when my recruiter set up a get together back in December. We talked briefly. She is friends with my friend Joel from Charlotte who is also in South Korea.
They washed my hair and then I guess the next thing was leave in conditioner. They put it on and put on a cap then waited about 5 minutes. The person cutting hair was a man. I showed him a picture of when my hair was chin length and described what I wanted done. He did a great job. After he was done they styled my hair. I wish I knew how to style my hair like the beauty salon. I can't ever reproduce the look! The wash/cut/dry was 25,000 won.
Then I headed home. I stopped by the little river near my subway station. There's a waterfall and it was lit up with different colors and there were fountians that shoot water up. I took a few pictures. Then I went home and played around with my new camera. I love it. I tried out the remote also. I can sit the camera on a ledge and then hold the remote and take the picture. I took some pics of myself. I changed my myspace and facebook default pics. I haven't put up a recent pic in a while.
Back to work tomorrow. Instead of 2 classes I now have 4 on Wednesday. As of tomorrow I will have been here 20 weeks. This is my 10th week at my new school.
I'll be home in @299 days!
In South Korea, [(어린이 날) in Korean] May 5 is officially recognized as Children's Day. Parents and teachers give presents to their children as well as spend time with them. The children are taken on excursions to zoos and museums. It was originally celebrated on May 1st, but was later moved to May 5th. The children's Author, Bang Jeong Hwan, was instrumental in creating Children's Day in Korea. He even invented the word in Korean for "children" (어린이) which did not previously exist in the Korean Language
Its a normal holiday..banks, schools and post offices are closed.
---------------------
Today I was up before noon on a holiday. Someone better check to see if I'm okay! I got up early to go to the gym to workout with Lesley. I was going to join her gym today, but I wasn't ready to pay the big price. A one month membership is 150,000($118). If you sign up for 6 months you get a 20% discount which is 576,000($454/$75 a month). I'm going to sign up for a 6 month but I didn't have that much money with me today. I'll be able to join after payday. I wonder why its so expensive!!! They let me workout with Lesley today. We were on the eliptical machine for 25 minutes then we worked with the weights. She showed me all the weight machines and I worked out my arms. I felt good after the workout.
After the workout I came back home and showered. They have a shower the gym but you have to change in front of everyone. The korean woman sure dont mind being naked and changing in front of everyone, but I'm self conscious esp since I'm so fat.
Then I headed out to find a lens for my camera. The subway was crowded today. I went to Namdaemun market. I navigated my way through the crowded market and then made my way to the camera district which has tons of camera shops. I walked into 2 of them and they wanted 200,000 for a new lens. I asked how much a used one would be in one store but they didnt have any used lens. Then i went to a 3rd store. I got a used lens for 130,000 (that was a decent price-lenses are expensive!) and I got a lens cleaning cloth for 10,000 won. So I paid 140,000 won in all which is about $110 usd. The man in the shop gave me a vitamin c drink. I actually have one in my fridge that I haven't tried. I was curious to see what it tasted like. Its actually tastes good. I might have to buy some of those. Its a small drink that provides vitamin c.
Then I headed out to Itaewon to go to a beauty salon. I was searching on google for beauty salons in Seoul that speak English. I found a review for a place in Itaewon called "The Green Turtle". Exit 4 3rd floor of the building that has Quiznos and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. I got there at 5 they said I could come back at 6:30pm. While I was waiting I went to Geckos Terrace to eat. I had my usual-the cheeseburger. Then I sat outside for a little while just watching people. There was this man who was talking to himself. Then at 6:30 I went in for my appt. I saw someone that I knew there. I met her when my recruiter set up a get together back in December. We talked briefly. She is friends with my friend Joel from Charlotte who is also in South Korea.
They washed my hair and then I guess the next thing was leave in conditioner. They put it on and put on a cap then waited about 5 minutes. The person cutting hair was a man. I showed him a picture of when my hair was chin length and described what I wanted done. He did a great job. After he was done they styled my hair. I wish I knew how to style my hair like the beauty salon. I can't ever reproduce the look! The wash/cut/dry was 25,000 won.
Then I headed home. I stopped by the little river near my subway station. There's a waterfall and it was lit up with different colors and there were fountians that shoot water up. I took a few pictures. Then I went home and played around with my new camera. I love it. I tried out the remote also. I can sit the camera on a ledge and then hold the remote and take the picture. I took some pics of myself. I changed my myspace and facebook default pics. I haven't put up a recent pic in a while.
Back to work tomorrow. Instead of 2 classes I now have 4 on Wednesday. As of tomorrow I will have been here 20 weeks. This is my 10th week at my new school.
I'll be home in @299 days!
Monday, May 4, 2009
Day 138 Schedule Changes
May 4 Monday
Today I had to meet mk at the school so he could give me my ARC. We were suppose to meet at 1:30pm. It was 1:40pm and I was getting tired of waiting so I texted him and asked him where he was. He called a few minutes later and said that he went to check on one of the teachers that called in sick. He could have called me and said "hey im going to be late" instead of making me sit around and wait. Anyway one of the teachers called in sick today. Mk went to his house (he lives in the same building as me) and he wasn't at home. If Mk knew he was going to be visiting the teacher in my building he could have called me and met me there and I wouldn't have to take a trip to his school. I don't think he has enough common sense to figure that one out.
I don't think I will ever call in sick unless I am so sick I can't get up. Over here if you call in sick they come looking for you.
Its 10 weeks into the semester and I have a schedule change. Some of my classes are moved around and I have 2 extra classes. I usually have a class called Pupa 5 on T/Th but now I teach that class on W/F and T/Th. And one of the teachers asked me if I would switch a class with her. She wanted to teach my 6:20 class and I teach her 8:00 class. Thats fine with me. Now I teach 2 classes till 5:45 then I get a break till 8pm.
My first class was good. They were acting silly at the end of class saying everything really fast.
My 2nd class surprised me. It was like night and day. They are usually active and like to get out of their seat and love to talk. The 2 boys were there today and the girl was absent.Today One of them didn't want to talk at all and the other one wanted to answer all the questions. They were perfect angels today. One of them asked to play a game and since they were being so good I let them. We played 3,6,9. One time we made it all the way up to 100 before stopping. We stopped because it was time to tell them what their homework was.
Tomorrow is a holiday!! (It's Children's Day)I get a day off from work.
I've got a full day planned. I'm going to work out at the gym at noon. Can you believe I'm going to be up before noon on a day off?? Then I'm going shopping for a camera lens at Namdaemun market. Then I'm going to Itaewon to a beauty salon to get a much needed haircut! I was searching for hair salons that spoke English and there was a recommendation for one in Itaewon. Its 25,000 for a wash/cut/dry. Thats a decent price. That comes out to about 19 usd which isn't much more than I pay at home.
Today I had to meet mk at the school so he could give me my ARC. We were suppose to meet at 1:30pm. It was 1:40pm and I was getting tired of waiting so I texted him and asked him where he was. He called a few minutes later and said that he went to check on one of the teachers that called in sick. He could have called me and said "hey im going to be late" instead of making me sit around and wait. Anyway one of the teachers called in sick today. Mk went to his house (he lives in the same building as me) and he wasn't at home. If Mk knew he was going to be visiting the teacher in my building he could have called me and met me there and I wouldn't have to take a trip to his school. I don't think he has enough common sense to figure that one out.
I don't think I will ever call in sick unless I am so sick I can't get up. Over here if you call in sick they come looking for you.
Its 10 weeks into the semester and I have a schedule change. Some of my classes are moved around and I have 2 extra classes. I usually have a class called Pupa 5 on T/Th but now I teach that class on W/F and T/Th. And one of the teachers asked me if I would switch a class with her. She wanted to teach my 6:20 class and I teach her 8:00 class. Thats fine with me. Now I teach 2 classes till 5:45 then I get a break till 8pm.
My first class was good. They were acting silly at the end of class saying everything really fast.
My 2nd class surprised me. It was like night and day. They are usually active and like to get out of their seat and love to talk. The 2 boys were there today and the girl was absent.Today One of them didn't want to talk at all and the other one wanted to answer all the questions. They were perfect angels today. One of them asked to play a game and since they were being so good I let them. We played 3,6,9. One time we made it all the way up to 100 before stopping. We stopped because it was time to tell them what their homework was.
Tomorrow is a holiday!! (It's Children's Day)I get a day off from work.
I've got a full day planned. I'm going to work out at the gym at noon. Can you believe I'm going to be up before noon on a day off?? Then I'm going shopping for a camera lens at Namdaemun market. Then I'm going to Itaewon to a beauty salon to get a much needed haircut! I was searching for hair salons that spoke English and there was a recommendation for one in Itaewon. Its 25,000 for a wash/cut/dry. Thats a decent price. That comes out to about 19 usd which isn't much more than I pay at home.
Day 137 Nikon D40
May 3 Sunday
Today I went to Bundang to buy a camera from someone. Its a long ride on the subway. I was on the orange line for a long time then I got on the Bundang line. The journey one way was around 80 minutes.
Now I have a Nikon D40..a DSLR. I paid 350,000 ($273 usd) and I got the camera body, 2 battery packs, a charger, wireless remote, 1gb SD card and a bag. The camera is only 10 months old. Its really lightweight. Thats a great deal! The camera alone is worth more than $273 and I got a lot of extras.
Now I have to buy a lens. He had already sold the lens a while back, but I still wanted the camera. I'm going to buy a basic 18-55mm lens.
I can't wait till I can finally try it out! Oh and I need to see if I can find an English instruction manuel. He bought the camera in Korea so the manuel is in Korean. And I also want to find the book called "Nikon D40 for Dummies".
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Day 136 Buddha's Birthday
May 2 Saturday
Today is when they celebrate Buddha's birthday. The date changes every year since they use the lunar calendar. I'm not celebrating his birthday because I'm not Buddhist.
I went to bed at 6am and got up at 2:15pm then I decided I wanted to sleep longer so I stayed in bed till 4:30pm.
I was going to go to a flower exhibition but I chose sleep instead. I may go tomorrow. I was suppose to eat with mk and the bank teller on Sunday but mk hasn't called so I'm guessing we aren't going to eat unless he calls later.
I do a lot of things alone which works out great for me. I change my mind often. I'll plan to go somewhere then my alarm rings and I decide I'd rather sleep instead. I'll plan to do something then at the last minute I'll decide I don't want to do it. That's why I like doing a lot of things alone. If I don't want to go then I don't have to cancel. I can go whenever I want instead of a predetermined time. I never cancel plans with people though. If someone does want to hangout I'll go at the predetermined time unless something happens that prevents me from going. I do enjoy hanging out with people, but when I do enjoy alone time also because I can do things at my own pace.
So what is planned for today? well so far I've been playing on facebook and myspace. There's an application called Yoville and I like it. I also like a game on facebook called Chain rxn. I like trying to beat my friend's scores on the applications. On Chain rxn 2 of my friends also play it and I currently have the high score. On Yoville I currently have the highest rated room of my friends that also play the app.
I may do some cleaning. I also need to go to E-mart to pick up a few things. I think this week I'm going to get by on all the food that my mom sent. I've got peanut butter and jelly, macaroni, tuna snack packs, and grits.
Today is when they celebrate Buddha's birthday. The date changes every year since they use the lunar calendar. I'm not celebrating his birthday because I'm not Buddhist.
I went to bed at 6am and got up at 2:15pm then I decided I wanted to sleep longer so I stayed in bed till 4:30pm.
I was going to go to a flower exhibition but I chose sleep instead. I may go tomorrow. I was suppose to eat with mk and the bank teller on Sunday but mk hasn't called so I'm guessing we aren't going to eat unless he calls later.
I do a lot of things alone which works out great for me. I change my mind often. I'll plan to go somewhere then my alarm rings and I decide I'd rather sleep instead. I'll plan to do something then at the last minute I'll decide I don't want to do it. That's why I like doing a lot of things alone. If I don't want to go then I don't have to cancel. I can go whenever I want instead of a predetermined time. I never cancel plans with people though. If someone does want to hangout I'll go at the predetermined time unless something happens that prevents me from going. I do enjoy hanging out with people, but when I do enjoy alone time also because I can do things at my own pace.
So what is planned for today? well so far I've been playing on facebook and myspace. There's an application called Yoville and I like it. I also like a game on facebook called Chain rxn. I like trying to beat my friend's scores on the applications. On Chain rxn 2 of my friends also play it and I currently have the high score. On Yoville I currently have the highest rated room of my friends that also play the app.
I may do some cleaning. I also need to go to E-mart to pick up a few things. I think this week I'm going to get by on all the food that my mom sent. I've got peanut butter and jelly, macaroni, tuna snack packs, and grits.
Friday, May 1, 2009
day 135
May 1st Friday
Today I had to get up early to go to immigration. At least this time it was a quick process. I just took my receipt to the pickup window and I was in and out in 5 mintues. Then I went to eat at Burger King.
I love watching people sleep on the subway. Its so funny. Their head is going in all directions. There was a woman on the subway today and I kept thinking she was going to fall over into the next seat.haha.
I'm wearing my new dress to school today. Its a black dress made with jersey material. It has 2 pockets on the front below the hips and a ruffle at the bottom. I'm wearing my new spanx footless pantyhose with it. I hate pantyhose. They run like crazy! I already see 2 small holes in my hose. I'm wearing my hair down which is rare. Its usually half up or in a ponytail since it gets in my way. I think its time for a haircut. I need to research salons. I'll check out forums online to see if there are english speaking salons. There's got to be one somewhere. I think I'll get it chin length again. Its so much easier to manage when its short.
I went to Nokbeon at 1:30 to meet with MK. He had to give me my 5,000 won back cause I paid too much for my gas bill. He was also suppose to make copies of my ARC to give to the finance dept for medical insurance, pension, etc. He had my card and was walking around with it. Then he brought it back to me. Then he chased me down and said he needed to keep my ARC card till he sees me on Sunday. I asked him why. He said he needed to make copies. Why didn't he make copies when he was in the teacher's room and he had my ARC??? So now he has my ARC. I have to carry around my passport as indentification.
When I was at the subway there was this woman talking to me. She told me she studied in the USA for 6 months. She was asking me various questions. She wanted to know why I'm not learning Korean. I told her I am going to learn some. Everyone wants me to learn Korean!! I might learn a little but there's no way I'm going to be proficient and I'll forget it when I get home. Plus when I get home I will have no use whatsoever for Korean. I don't know a single person in the USA who speaks Korean. I could understand learning Spanish-there are tons of latinos in America, but Korean isn't widely used.
I found an event to go to on Saturday. I think I will go to the World Flower Exhibition. Its only a 33 min subway ride and it costs 9,000 to get in. I think it will be interesting and I can take a lot of pictures.
Today the Korean teachers took up more of my teaching time so I didn't get to teach anything new. The students were taking the TESOL test in their regular class time and the majority of my class time. I was only in my 3rd class for 15 minutes. They just took my test and then we went over homework.
I hate having to stay till 9:30. I'm done at 8:00pm and then I have to sit at my desk and zone out for an hour and 30 minutes. Thats what I do. I try to think of every possible website I can look at or I play on facebook.
Today I had to get up early to go to immigration. At least this time it was a quick process. I just took my receipt to the pickup window and I was in and out in 5 mintues. Then I went to eat at Burger King.
I love watching people sleep on the subway. Its so funny. Their head is going in all directions. There was a woman on the subway today and I kept thinking she was going to fall over into the next seat.haha.
I'm wearing my new dress to school today. Its a black dress made with jersey material. It has 2 pockets on the front below the hips and a ruffle at the bottom. I'm wearing my new spanx footless pantyhose with it. I hate pantyhose. They run like crazy! I already see 2 small holes in my hose. I'm wearing my hair down which is rare. Its usually half up or in a ponytail since it gets in my way. I think its time for a haircut. I need to research salons. I'll check out forums online to see if there are english speaking salons. There's got to be one somewhere. I think I'll get it chin length again. Its so much easier to manage when its short.
I went to Nokbeon at 1:30 to meet with MK. He had to give me my 5,000 won back cause I paid too much for my gas bill. He was also suppose to make copies of my ARC to give to the finance dept for medical insurance, pension, etc. He had my card and was walking around with it. Then he brought it back to me. Then he chased me down and said he needed to keep my ARC card till he sees me on Sunday. I asked him why. He said he needed to make copies. Why didn't he make copies when he was in the teacher's room and he had my ARC??? So now he has my ARC. I have to carry around my passport as indentification.
When I was at the subway there was this woman talking to me. She told me she studied in the USA for 6 months. She was asking me various questions. She wanted to know why I'm not learning Korean. I told her I am going to learn some. Everyone wants me to learn Korean!! I might learn a little but there's no way I'm going to be proficient and I'll forget it when I get home. Plus when I get home I will have no use whatsoever for Korean. I don't know a single person in the USA who speaks Korean. I could understand learning Spanish-there are tons of latinos in America, but Korean isn't widely used.
I found an event to go to on Saturday. I think I will go to the World Flower Exhibition. Its only a 33 min subway ride and it costs 9,000 to get in. I think it will be interesting and I can take a lot of pictures.
Today the Korean teachers took up more of my teaching time so I didn't get to teach anything new. The students were taking the TESOL test in their regular class time and the majority of my class time. I was only in my 3rd class for 15 minutes. They just took my test and then we went over homework.
I hate having to stay till 9:30. I'm done at 8:00pm and then I have to sit at my desk and zone out for an hour and 30 minutes. Thats what I do. I try to think of every possible website I can look at or I play on facebook.
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