Day 419

Tuesday Feb 9

I was looking at the newspaper site that I have to use for my classes today. I'm not happy with the quality of articles for this week. They are all boring. The ones for the lower level are short. 4 sentences? really?

For the older kids I chose: Running is good for your brain, English robots, A dog who travelled 700km to find his owner, and insect candy

FOr the younger kids I chose: Learn from your mistakes, butter is bad for your heart, a new baby born in Haiti, world's oldest dog, and Vancouver

In my first class we had 2 speaking lessons on animals and famous people. The lessons were very short so they had a lot of free time.

My 2nd class was not good. The boys were constantly talking and not even paying attention and being too loud. Most of the time they didn’t even know where we were in the reading. If they paid attention I wouldn’t have to show them where we were reading from. Our topics were “leave me alone” and “parents”. We finished the book today.There was one funny moment. I asked one of the boys to read a question. He read the question from the wrong page. Then he found out that the page we were doing was on the floor. The boy beside him busted out laughing and then the whole class was laughing.One of our questions was "Does your family love you?". One student said his family doesn’t love him because he plays on the computer too much. Another one said “maybe”.There was one boy and one girl who always knew where we were and paid attention so I gave them a sticker. The other 3 boys did not get one

The 3rd class was my newspaper class. I started out with 10 students in the class and every desk was occupied except the one at the front of the class. Near the end of class another student came in so we ended up with 11 students and We had to move desks around so he'd have a place to sit. 2 of the students were from my MWF class. They missed class yesterday so they came today. They will be hearing the same material over again on Friday. One of our topics was English robots. I asked all the students if they wanted to learn from a robot. Some said yes because robots are cool. A few said no because they don't like robots. I personally think that English teaching robots are a bad idea. You need a human to teach you how to speak. The boys were loud in class. Most of them were not paying attention or even on the right page.

After class one of my students in the newspaper class told me that there was an earthquake.

I looked it up on the internet. An 3.0 earthquake hit at 6:08 which was during my newspaper class. I didn't even feel it.

In my last class we had 2 speaking lessons about lifeguards and lying. My students who came from my mwf class didn't bring their books so I had to make a copy. While I was making copies the copier kept getting jammed. I think it happened about 2 or 3 times in a row. Some of my students were sticking their head out the door trying to find out why I was taking so long. We had a good class. One of the lessons was about lying. One of the boys answers made me laugh. I was asking him if he ever lied. He told me that he did. He said if someone is ugly he will sometimes lie and tell them they are beautiful or handsome. haha. Then that same boy wanted to know what "truth" meant. He knew all about lying but didn't know what truth was. He said its okay to lie when he gets a bad grade but he doesn't want his mom to know about it.

My plans for this weekend fell through. The KTX bullet train was all booked. We could have taken an express bus but I really didn't want to ride a bus for nearly 5 hours. Plus its the holiday weekend so it might take even longer. I'll just do some exploring around Seoul and check out the traditional folk games and activities at Gwanghwamun.

I watched "The Bachelor". This show is just full of drama. I can't believe its only the 6th episode and they are already down to 3 girls-Vienna, Gia and Tenley. I don't know who he will end up picking. I don't really have a favorite. This week Ali chose to leave because of her job (just like Ed on the bachelorette). She had to choose love or job. She chose the sure thing. I was reading on the message boards and someone said she worked for Facebook. I probably would have done the same thing. Who would give up a job at Facebook? I think Facebook would be a sweet job to have. They probably have tons of perks. Then Jake was devastated because she left.

3.0 Earthquake in Seoul

A magnitude 3.0 earthquake occurred with its epicenter located just outside western Seoul, Tuesday evening. Some citizens, apparently alarmed by a recent major tremor that hit Haiti, called fire stations and media outlets for confirmation of the temblor, although no injuries or serious property damage were reported.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), the earthquake occurred at 6:08 p.m. in an area about 8 kilometers north of Siheung, a satellite town in Gyeonggi Province on the outskirts of the capital.

``The tremor continued for two or three seconds,’’ the administration said in a briefing. Residents especially in western Seoul reported that the quake was strong enough for them to feel the buildings they were in shaking.

The tremor was felt as far away as Yongin, Suwon and Goyang.

It was the strongest tremor out of three recorded in the bustling capital city of 12 million since 1987, when the administration began to monitor earthquakes in Korea. The other two occurred on Sept. 15, 2004 and June 14, 1990, but again they caused no damage.

A 31-year-old man, who was working at an Internet start-up in Siheung, about 40 km southwest of Seoul, told The Korea Times, ``I was startled, when the windows of the building I was in were trembling and I also heard some noise.’’

The quake was the seventh to hit the Korean peninsula this year alone, the KMA added.
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It was during my class..I didn't even feel anything!

More Korean Music that I like....

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Korean music? Just in case you didn't know-I love Korean music!

Here are some songs that I really like right now:

"Even If I Die, I can't let you go" by 2AM



"Calling You" Seo In Gook


"Wrong Number" DBSK



"Time to Love" T-ara and Supernova



"I do" Rain (I'm ready to say "I Do" to Rain)

풀하우스--Korean Drama

This drama is great! I found it online with English subtitles.

Here's a clip:



**If I marry a Korean man my first boy child will be named: Young-Jae....I think its a great name


풀하우스 (Pul hauseu) (Full House)



So I've started watching another Korean drama. These Korean dramas are so addicting. This is the 3rd drama that I've watched.

Full House is a 16-episode South Korean television drama broadcast by KBS in 2004. This is a televised version of a comic story. It is also known as "浪漫满屋" in Chinese. A season 2 for Full House is said to be expected, and there has been 20 episodes written. It is to be expected to air in Autumn 2009.

This drama attempts to answer the question of whether two people can be in love only on paper. It also explores the meaning of the family by presenting that no matter how hard the present may seem, the world is still a good place to live on because of those who bring hopes into our lives through their presence alone.

This drama features diverse characters: considerate, caring, frank, patient, and sticking to life’s basic values. But no matter how different the personalities, everyone finds happiness in the end.

This drama is based upon a manhwa of the same title, Full House by the Korean author Won Sooyeon.

Plot Summary
Han Ji-Eun lives in a house called Full House, built by her father. She is an aspiring script writer. One day, her two best friends, for money reasons, trick her into believing she has won a free vacation, and while she is gone, they sell her house. On the plane, she meets Lee Young-Jae, a famous actor. Through comedic events they get acquainted during her vacation, and when she returns, she discovers her house has been sold to him.
Though they don't get along with each other, as she is messy and he has a bad temper and likes cleanliness, they agree to live with each other. At first, Ji-Eun works as his maid in order to buy her house back, but later, because of Young-Jae's wish to make the love of his life, Kang Hye-Won (Han Eun Jung) jealous, they get married. They set up a contract for the marriage to last six months. During that time, complications arise and Ji-Eun and Young-Jae become attracted to each other. Also, Ji-Eun starts to feel a strong bond with Young-Jae's family. However, Young-Jae's bad temper, along with the romantic attentions of Yoo Min-Hyuk (Kim Sung Soo), Ji-Eun's handsome and friendly publisher, starts to create a rift between the couple. So does Hye-Won, who starts to feel jealous when she sees Young-Jae and Ji-Eun getting close. Eventually, Young-Jae and Ji-Eun get a divorce and he moves away.When he returns, he realizes that Ji-Eun hasn't married yet and knows that he has fallen in love with her - and she with him. He proposes to her, this time for the right reasons, and finally, they get married for a second time.

Day 418

Monday Feb 8

I had a new student in my first class today. We covered 4 pages of material and learned new words. They did a good job in class today. Then I let them play a game. One of the students wanted to know everyone's birthday so she was writing it on the board. She only wrote the day and month. I asked her for the year so I could figure out how old my students were. My youngest student was born in 2002. The other 2 were born in 2000. The girl is 11 years old (Korean age). My new student is 11 years old.(Korean age). My youngest student is 9 (korean age).

My second class was good. When I came in the room one of the students asked me "are you busy?". No. I helped her with her vocabulary then we started class. Today we did 2 speaking lessons. We had a good discussion about lying and friends.2 of my students were absent.

My 3rd class was pretty good. We also did 2 speaking lessons. Our lessons were about "if you leave me alone" (about a kid who wants to be left alone-his parents nag him too much) and a lesson about parents.

My last class was actually good today. They asked me at the beginning of class if they could play a game. I said "maybe". Their behavior was good today. Most of the class was participating. We covered 4 pages of material and reviewed. Then I let them have free time. We have a test on Friday. Then we have 2 weeks to finish the last 2 chapters in the book. I think I'll skip ENIE next week so we can do one chapter in a week. We will lose one day because of the holiday.

A girl I met in my neighborhood is planning to go to Busan this weekend. She posted it on Facebook to see if anyone wanted to go with her. One other girl responded.I responded and told her I might be interested. I've always wanted to go to Busan (a town in Southern Korea) and I never got around to going. This weekend is a 3 day weekend and right after payday so it would work out good. I'd finally get to ride the bullet train. That's something I haven't experienced in Korea yet. I also never went to any cities in the South. I barely made it past Seoul. I had all this time and I wasted it. Travel in South Korea is so cheap. I could have seen all of Korea in a year. Maybe I will end up coming back and exploring the rest of Korea.

Day 417

Sunday Feb 7

I went to bed at nearly 7am. Then I woke up around 3pm.

I didn't do anything productive. I have to clean soon. I think I'm going to hire a maid on my last day to do a through cleaning. the whole apartment. Doesn't matter how long it takes. Its only 11,000 won an hour with this one company that uses Phillipino maids who speak English. (Are maids that cheap in America? $10 an hour?)

I watched "Post Grad". It was okay.

The copy I downloaded of "Leap Year" was a bad copy so I couldn't watch it.

I also downloaded "Up in the Air", "The Hurt Locker", "The Invention of Lying" and "Alvin and the chipmunks"

I watched "Ninja Assassin". Its very graphic and violent. Way too much blood, but I actually sat through all of it. I only watched it because Rain was in it.

Movies I want to see soon: "When In Rome", "The Last Song", "Valentine's Day", and "Dear John".

Day 416

Saturday Feb 6

Well I haven't done anything productive. I went to bed after 6am and woke up around 4pm.

I downloaded the last 2 episodes of "Tough Love". I went to the website to see how all the girls were doing after the show. Only one of the girls is still dating the guy she was set up with on the show. The rest just didn't work out.

I downloaded some movies that I might watch today or tomorrow. "Leap Year", "Post Grad" and "Pretty Ugly People".

I should have been out doing things since I don't have much time left but its close to pay day and I need to make my money last until pay day. So I stayed in.

Next weekend is a holiday so there isn't much I can do. I may go down to Gwanghwamun to see the traditional folk games and watch people skate. I would go skate but its no fun when you go alone.

The next weekend I want to get out and go to Star Avenue at Lotte World. Its a place to see costumes, props, and personal memorabilia donated by stars like Rain, Big Bang, TVQX, Choi Ji-woo, Park Yong-ha, and Song Seung-heon

Day 415

Friday February 5

My first class was good. I gave them their newspaper test. I make it really easy for the little kids. They both made 100. While they were taking the test the girl was singing "Bibimbap is yummy" over and over. It was cute and funny.Then I gave them their spelling test. Our words had eer or ear in them. The boy made 100 and the girl made 50. Then we did our lesson and I let them play a game for a few minutes. The girl was writing my name on the whiteboard in Hanguel. My last name is spelled 나이트 which would be pronounced (na e teu) when romanized...나이트 클럽....they know the word nightclub so I'm Valerie nightclub...2 of the younger students have called me that..haha...At the end of class I gave each of them 2 stickers. Then they started begging me to give them 3 stickers. It was so cute. They got down on their knees and begged twice. The girl even got down on her knees and was hugging my leg. I still only gave them 2.

My 2nd class was my favorite newspaper class. I look forward to this class every week because the kids are so enthusiastic and interested in the articles. When I was passing out the papers they all started shouting "me first, me second..." There's only 4 articles so I went with who asked first and I wrote it on the board.They liked the pic of the pet deer….They said it was cute and deer meat is expensive…one looked at it and said “meat”…the deer’s name is dillie…when they would say dillie one kid would say ‘delicious”….Everytime we have a story about an animal at least one person says it looks delicious..haha.One boy pronounced Ohio funny…everyone laughed-it was hilarious.He said it like "oh e o" They corrected him.They all liked video of 5 year old drummer…said he was a genius drummer and they asked “he’s only 5?”…They were telling me how difficult drumming is..His name is Jonah..They kept asking me “what’s his name?”..They said that Jonah sounds like a bad word in Korean..so they want me to keep saying it…They thought the bird was cute.One kid looked at the picture and said "no meat"..haha……I didn’t have a pic of universal studios……They asked if “theme park” was an English word…its the same in Korean
테마 파크 (tema pakeu)romanized.

My 3rd class was okay. There are only 2 students. We also do the newspaper class, but they arent so excited about the articles. The boy unwillingly participates.

I just wish all my students had the excitement of my first 2 classes....

My last class feels like a lost cause. I try my best but they don't seem to want to learn. Almost everyday is a struggle. They are loud and they wont pay attention..Half of them wont practice speaking and reading aloud…we had a decent class but not as good as I would have hoped..Today we started a new chapter on food.We went over 4 pages of new material. All during class they are playing around..throwing things at each other…For some reason they think my nose is funny..They were calling me Pinnochio. I just laughed at them. Oh well. Its not like I can do anything about my nose. I was born this way and if they think its funny then oh well.

14 school days left....

only 3 weeks left in Korea....