July 4 2009
Just a boring Saturday.
I got up at 2pm and went to the gym. walked on the treadmill. used the incline and walked at about 5km per hour and burned around 200 calories.
The only other place I went today was E-Mart. I ate at Mcdonalds and then I bought some things that I will use for prizes. Things like notebooks, pencils, stickers, erasers.
I've just been relaxing.
I think I'll actually get out tomorrow and visit a palace in Seoul. I'm going to take my camera and take a lot of pictures. I'll try out some new settings on my camera to be more creative. Hopefully I'll find some good shots that I can submit to the photo club.I joined the Seoul Photo Club on Flickr. You have to live in Seoul to be in the club. You post pictures and get them critiqued. You also have to comment on other people's photos. I think the criticism will help me to become a better photographer since its a big hobby of mine. Maybe I should be a photo journalist someday.hmm. I've got a long way to go before I'd consider photography as a career. So much to learn. I seriously need to take some photography classes when I get back to the US.
I'm considering buying a new laptop-I'll use the money that I saved by not going on vacation. My laptop is so loud. Its two years old and it seems a bit sluggish and some of the keys are falling off. I was looking at the US Dell site last night. I can get a 15 inch laptop for $399 base price. I'd have to have it shipped to my house in SC and then shipped to me in SK. I looked at the dell website in SK but it was $710 (when converted to USD). (300 dollars more! for the same computer!)...$399 is a great price for a laptop. My current laptop was on sale for $499 and it has been great for 2 years.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Day 198
July 3 Friday
Right before my first class the person in charge at Nokbeon messaged me on MSN. She wanted to know if I paid all my utilities. I told her I paid all of my bills for June. She wanted to know if I had the receipts. I gave the receipts to the woman who is in charge at my school. Obviously there is no communication between schools!
I had another good day-only 3 classes.
When I went into my first class my students were playing baseball.haha. one person was throwing an eraser and one kid was trying to hit it with a soda bottle. We had a good class today. We took a test and then just went over class rules. There wasn't time for actual work. I had made out a homework sheet, but since we didn't have time to cover the material I didnt give it to them. I just assigned the CD Rom. I think one of the kids actually looked at the cd. He told me the cd was funny. haha.
I had a new student in my 2nd class. Today we were just reviewing what we learned so I was going faster than a normal lesson. I was giving the lesson all the way up to the end of class. I got finished teaching "that's and those are" and I looked at my watch and class was over. I didn't even get to finish reviewing. We'll finish next time. I'll give a test and then we'll start a new unit.
My 3rd class was pretty good today. One of the kids was getting aggrevated with 2 of the boys who like to talk during class. I might have to split them up. He kept telling them to "be quiet". He's a good student. He was telling me that he doesnt like essays. He asked me if I liked essays and I said no. Then he laughed. Today we finished up a writing unit from last class.(I hate essays and assigning essays--I only give them because I have to! I still havent corrected the ones that the students turned in!)
Right before my first class the person in charge at Nokbeon messaged me on MSN. She wanted to know if I paid all my utilities. I told her I paid all of my bills for June. She wanted to know if I had the receipts. I gave the receipts to the woman who is in charge at my school. Obviously there is no communication between schools!
I had another good day-only 3 classes.
When I went into my first class my students were playing baseball.haha. one person was throwing an eraser and one kid was trying to hit it with a soda bottle. We had a good class today. We took a test and then just went over class rules. There wasn't time for actual work. I had made out a homework sheet, but since we didn't have time to cover the material I didnt give it to them. I just assigned the CD Rom. I think one of the kids actually looked at the cd. He told me the cd was funny. haha.
I had a new student in my 2nd class. Today we were just reviewing what we learned so I was going faster than a normal lesson. I was giving the lesson all the way up to the end of class. I got finished teaching "that's and those are" and I looked at my watch and class was over. I didn't even get to finish reviewing. We'll finish next time. I'll give a test and then we'll start a new unit.
My 3rd class was pretty good today. One of the kids was getting aggrevated with 2 of the boys who like to talk during class. I might have to split them up. He kept telling them to "be quiet". He's a good student. He was telling me that he doesnt like essays. He asked me if I liked essays and I said no. Then he laughed. Today we finished up a writing unit from last class.(I hate essays and assigning essays--I only give them because I have to! I still havent corrected the ones that the students turned in!)
Friday, July 3, 2009
Day 197
July 2 Thursday
I actually had a good day!
I made a list of class rules today. I figured it was a great time to give it since its the beginning of the month. I have things such as "only speaking in English","Stay in your seat","use your 'inside' voice",etc. I've even started some positive reinforcement. If they do their homework every day of the month I will give them a reward. I'm going to go to Emart this weekend and see what I can find. I think I'll find a lot of little things and give them a choice. Something like cute pencils or erasers, notebooks, etc. Things they can use. Or I'll give them a choice if they want something like a snack. All kids love ice cream. I told one of my classes that the prize might be ice cream and he got excited. ha. I wonder how many students will actually follow the rules and do their homework. I'm going to give them a calendar for the month and I'm going to put a sticker on the calendar if they do their homework. I gave everyone a freebie for today whether or not they had their homework. I'm also giving a penalty for not doing homework. I'm going to take 1 point away from their final grade. If their final grade for July is a 90 and they missed 3 homework assignments then their grade is an 87.
My first class was good. We went over the rules and one page in the book.
I had a new student in my 2nd class. 2 of my students were absent. We went over the rules and they all taped their calendars in their book. We went over about 3 pages of material and we were working all the way up till the end of class. The students really enjoyed writing the answers to the questions on the board. I was going to write the answers on the board but one student asked if she could write the answer then 4 more students volunteered. Then they all wanted chalk. I broke off little pieces of chalk and gave it to them. They love writing on the board.
My 3rd class was extremely good. They only spoke in English and kept the noise level down(this is usually my worst class!). The twins were absent so I had 4 boys in class today. One of the boys didn't get to class until it was game time. He's always late. I think they cause a lot of the noise. We went over our rules and then covered 3 pages of material. They asked for a game so I let them play a game since they were really well behaved. They love to play their own version of hide and seek. One person puts a bookbag on their head and the other students run around the room and that person tries to find them. Its quite funny. We are usually laughing a lot when the blindfolded person is running into desks and chairs.
My 4th class was pretty good today. I gave them the same test that we took on Tuesday because they needed some good grades to pull up their other bad grades. Well after I gave them all of the answers on Tuesday they still did just as bad. The highest grade was a 1 (out of 10 points). All they had to do was study the last test where i wrote out all of the answers for them, but they didn't. We went over 3 pages in our writing unit today.
My last class never causes problems but I still gave them the same rules as everyone else. They are well behaved, always do their work and homework, and participate.They asked if the rules were only for their class. I told them everyone had the same rules. Today we went over a few pages in the writing book and then I gave them free time. During free time one of the girls likes to write korean/english vocab on the board and the other student likes to teach me new korean words. She was so excited when I remembered a word that she taught me about 2 weeks ago.
So overall it was a good day. All of my classes behaved and I didn't have to yell at anyone. success. If only all days were this good then maybe I'd like my job. Maybe things will turn around once they get used to my rules. I'm hoping the reward will help them to do their homework.
One of my students told me that he had an error on his cd rom so he couldn't do his homework. Then the boy that was with him said that his computer had a virus. The other boy said he was lying. I dont know if the 2nd boy was lying or not. I think I'll mention in class that if anyone has a problem with their cd they can play it on my computer during my free time. I'll be there watching them so they don't try to get into any of my files. I want them to be able to do the activities.
I dont have a way to know if they are doing the CD or not. If they say 'yeah I did it' then I just have to take their word. I'm going to start watching the cd rom and taking activities straight from the cd to make as homework sheets. Its going to be a lot of extra work for me, but I'll know if they watched it bc the answers will be on the cd and not in the book. or it means they just copied it from someone else. They are always copying each others work for other classes. Its pretty much a normal thing over here.
I actually had a good day!
I made a list of class rules today. I figured it was a great time to give it since its the beginning of the month. I have things such as "only speaking in English","Stay in your seat","use your 'inside' voice",etc. I've even started some positive reinforcement. If they do their homework every day of the month I will give them a reward. I'm going to go to Emart this weekend and see what I can find. I think I'll find a lot of little things and give them a choice. Something like cute pencils or erasers, notebooks, etc. Things they can use. Or I'll give them a choice if they want something like a snack. All kids love ice cream. I told one of my classes that the prize might be ice cream and he got excited. ha. I wonder how many students will actually follow the rules and do their homework. I'm going to give them a calendar for the month and I'm going to put a sticker on the calendar if they do their homework. I gave everyone a freebie for today whether or not they had their homework. I'm also giving a penalty for not doing homework. I'm going to take 1 point away from their final grade. If their final grade for July is a 90 and they missed 3 homework assignments then their grade is an 87.
My first class was good. We went over the rules and one page in the book.
I had a new student in my 2nd class. 2 of my students were absent. We went over the rules and they all taped their calendars in their book. We went over about 3 pages of material and we were working all the way up till the end of class. The students really enjoyed writing the answers to the questions on the board. I was going to write the answers on the board but one student asked if she could write the answer then 4 more students volunteered. Then they all wanted chalk. I broke off little pieces of chalk and gave it to them. They love writing on the board.
My 3rd class was extremely good. They only spoke in English and kept the noise level down(this is usually my worst class!). The twins were absent so I had 4 boys in class today. One of the boys didn't get to class until it was game time. He's always late. I think they cause a lot of the noise. We went over our rules and then covered 3 pages of material. They asked for a game so I let them play a game since they were really well behaved. They love to play their own version of hide and seek. One person puts a bookbag on their head and the other students run around the room and that person tries to find them. Its quite funny. We are usually laughing a lot when the blindfolded person is running into desks and chairs.
My 4th class was pretty good today. I gave them the same test that we took on Tuesday because they needed some good grades to pull up their other bad grades. Well after I gave them all of the answers on Tuesday they still did just as bad. The highest grade was a 1 (out of 10 points). All they had to do was study the last test where i wrote out all of the answers for them, but they didn't. We went over 3 pages in our writing unit today.
My last class never causes problems but I still gave them the same rules as everyone else. They are well behaved, always do their work and homework, and participate.They asked if the rules were only for their class. I told them everyone had the same rules. Today we went over a few pages in the writing book and then I gave them free time. During free time one of the girls likes to write korean/english vocab on the board and the other student likes to teach me new korean words. She was so excited when I remembered a word that she taught me about 2 weeks ago.
So overall it was a good day. All of my classes behaved and I didn't have to yell at anyone. success. If only all days were this good then maybe I'd like my job. Maybe things will turn around once they get used to my rules. I'm hoping the reward will help them to do their homework.
One of my students told me that he had an error on his cd rom so he couldn't do his homework. Then the boy that was with him said that his computer had a virus. The other boy said he was lying. I dont know if the 2nd boy was lying or not. I think I'll mention in class that if anyone has a problem with their cd they can play it on my computer during my free time. I'll be there watching them so they don't try to get into any of my files. I want them to be able to do the activities.
I dont have a way to know if they are doing the CD or not. If they say 'yeah I did it' then I just have to take their word. I'm going to start watching the cd rom and taking activities straight from the cd to make as homework sheets. Its going to be a lot of extra work for me, but I'll know if they watched it bc the answers will be on the cd and not in the book. or it means they just copied it from someone else. They are always copying each others work for other classes. Its pretty much a normal thing over here.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Day 196
July 1 Wednesday
The weather channel predicted isolated thunderstorms for monday, tues, and wed but there haven't been any yet. I'm not complaining though.
In my first class one of my students told me that his essay ran away. okay. I had one new student in my class. We just went over a few pages of material. They were being loud at times but they were pretty good.
On Monday I told the 10 yr old to study 2 pages in the book for his test. I asked him today if he studied. He said no. I gave him the test but he wouldnt ever do it so I told him to study and I'd give it to him on Monday. I need to give him another test or his average will be a 20. He needs to do good on another test so I won't have to give him a 20. I doubt he will study and will end up with a bad grade anyway.Today his name was King Kong. My kids are silly.
In my 3rd class we just went over a speaking unit. We were talking about chores. Both of my students, 13 year old boys, don't do chores.
In my 4th class I had to give 2 tests to students who were absent on Thursday. They both made a 50. Then we went over 2 pages of material and then I let them play a game for about 10 minutes. They played hangman.
At the gym I was on the eliptical for 30 minutes and the bike for 20 mins. burned about 200 calories. Today at the gym they were having some sort of popularity contest. There were these boards with all of the employees pictures. They gave us a sticker and said put the sticker beside the best person. I put it on the PT. It looked like the PT and the front desk guy had the most stickers when I left.
I think I'm actually going to bed at 3am! I got less than 6 hrs of sleep last night but I wasn't tired during the day. I'm going to get plenty of sleep now. I'll wake up at noon.
The weather channel predicted isolated thunderstorms for monday, tues, and wed but there haven't been any yet. I'm not complaining though.
In my first class one of my students told me that his essay ran away. okay. I had one new student in my class. We just went over a few pages of material. They were being loud at times but they were pretty good.
On Monday I told the 10 yr old to study 2 pages in the book for his test. I asked him today if he studied. He said no. I gave him the test but he wouldnt ever do it so I told him to study and I'd give it to him on Monday. I need to give him another test or his average will be a 20. He needs to do good on another test so I won't have to give him a 20. I doubt he will study and will end up with a bad grade anyway.Today his name was King Kong. My kids are silly.
In my 3rd class we just went over a speaking unit. We were talking about chores. Both of my students, 13 year old boys, don't do chores.
In my 4th class I had to give 2 tests to students who were absent on Thursday. They both made a 50. Then we went over 2 pages of material and then I let them play a game for about 10 minutes. They played hangman.
At the gym I was on the eliptical for 30 minutes and the bike for 20 mins. burned about 200 calories. Today at the gym they were having some sort of popularity contest. There were these boards with all of the employees pictures. They gave us a sticker and said put the sticker beside the best person. I put it on the PT. It looked like the PT and the front desk guy had the most stickers when I left.
I think I'm actually going to bed at 3am! I got less than 6 hrs of sleep last night but I wasn't tired during the day. I'm going to get plenty of sleep now. I'll wake up at noon.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Day 195
June 30 Tuesday
Why am I still up on Wednesday at 6am? cause im crazy! Its light outside and I haven't went to bed. Less than 6 hrs of sleep. yikes.
I got another funny essay today.It wasn't in complete sentences.
What is your favorite animal? Lamb
What does it look like? Rice
What does it eat? Pizza
Where does it live? Yeokchon (Seoul)
Oh my. A lamb that looks like rice and eats pizza. Still doesn't beat the unicorn.
I got a text message from the gym (in korean). Its usually from the gym number but today it looked like it came from a cell phone number. I asked one of the teachers to tell me what it said but she wasn't really helpful. She said something about 'giving their regards'. man-I want you to translate it! I'm going to ask the front desk guy about it tomorrow if he's not busy. I wanted to ask him tonight but he was busy when I came in and when I left. I think the message might have been from him bc it was from a fitness counselor and I think some of the characters in the text look like it could be his name. I'll ask. I know its from the gym bc all the gym text messages have the gym name at the top of the message.
I had a decent day. Didn't get much accomplished because of all the darn tests.
In my first class one student was late and one student was absent. When they have a big test at school they skip my class and stay home and study. I had one student who missed Thursday and I had to give him makeup tests today. He told me he stayed home to study for a school test. I gave 2 seperate tests. The student who was absent took the whole class time to do the tests so we didn't learn anything. The boys in the class (2 of them) kept telling me that I was pretty, beautiful, happy, and good.haha.
In my 2nd class they didn't want to study. We had to review so we reviewed and then they had free time. There is one student in the class who was absent today. I don't even know what to test him on. He's missed so many classes. I will tell the teachers that there's no way to give him a grade. He's missed 5 classes. If they dont like it then oh well.
In my 3rd class there were 2 students who were absent and 2 who were late. I had to give 2 makeup tests in this class also. After the tests were finished there wasn't enough time to learn anything bc we only had 2 minutes left.
In my 4th class we had a short test then we studied 2 pages of new material. Then they had free time for the rest of class.
In my 5th class I gave a test. They all did poorly so I went over the answers and we are going to take the test again on Thursday. They were being loud while I was grading their tests and one of the teachers came over to talk to them. She told them they can't speak korean any more in my class. If they do I can punish them. One of the boys still spoke in korean twice. I didnt punish him though. They were more cooperative today in my class. I actually got them to read as a class.
I went to the gym alone tonight. It was Lesley's boyfriends birthday so she was with him. I just walked on the treadmill for 40 minutes and burned about 275 calories. I think the Korean celeb is going to be at the gym tomorrow for a class. I'm going to take my camera. Hopefully he is still there when I get there and I'm not too shy to ask for a photo. I may try to get a pic of the PT and the front desk guy.
When I went out I was looking in my bookbag and I realized that I left my purse at school. I'm always rushing out and I left it. I texted one of the teachers to make sure it was at school. She said it was.Good I didn't lose it elsewhere!
I watched The Bachelorette. Jake came back to tattle on Wes. She still chose Wes. We didn't get to see any of the footage of her meeting his family. Then she got another surprise. Ed was back. She let him come to the rose ceremony and he got a rose. I like Ed. And she seems to really like him. My pick for final 2 are Ed and Reid. Reid is so cute with his glasses.hehe. I hate that I have to wait a week to see what happens!
Why am I still up on Wednesday at 6am? cause im crazy! Its light outside and I haven't went to bed. Less than 6 hrs of sleep. yikes.
I got another funny essay today.It wasn't in complete sentences.
What is your favorite animal? Lamb
What does it look like? Rice
What does it eat? Pizza
Where does it live? Yeokchon (Seoul)
Oh my. A lamb that looks like rice and eats pizza. Still doesn't beat the unicorn.
I got a text message from the gym (in korean). Its usually from the gym number but today it looked like it came from a cell phone number. I asked one of the teachers to tell me what it said but she wasn't really helpful. She said something about 'giving their regards'. man-I want you to translate it! I'm going to ask the front desk guy about it tomorrow if he's not busy. I wanted to ask him tonight but he was busy when I came in and when I left. I think the message might have been from him bc it was from a fitness counselor and I think some of the characters in the text look like it could be his name. I'll ask. I know its from the gym bc all the gym text messages have the gym name at the top of the message.
I had a decent day. Didn't get much accomplished because of all the darn tests.
In my first class one student was late and one student was absent. When they have a big test at school they skip my class and stay home and study. I had one student who missed Thursday and I had to give him makeup tests today. He told me he stayed home to study for a school test. I gave 2 seperate tests. The student who was absent took the whole class time to do the tests so we didn't learn anything. The boys in the class (2 of them) kept telling me that I was pretty, beautiful, happy, and good.haha.
In my 2nd class they didn't want to study. We had to review so we reviewed and then they had free time. There is one student in the class who was absent today. I don't even know what to test him on. He's missed so many classes. I will tell the teachers that there's no way to give him a grade. He's missed 5 classes. If they dont like it then oh well.
In my 3rd class there were 2 students who were absent and 2 who were late. I had to give 2 makeup tests in this class also. After the tests were finished there wasn't enough time to learn anything bc we only had 2 minutes left.
In my 4th class we had a short test then we studied 2 pages of new material. Then they had free time for the rest of class.
In my 5th class I gave a test. They all did poorly so I went over the answers and we are going to take the test again on Thursday. They were being loud while I was grading their tests and one of the teachers came over to talk to them. She told them they can't speak korean any more in my class. If they do I can punish them. One of the boys still spoke in korean twice. I didnt punish him though. They were more cooperative today in my class. I actually got them to read as a class.
I went to the gym alone tonight. It was Lesley's boyfriends birthday so she was with him. I just walked on the treadmill for 40 minutes and burned about 275 calories. I think the Korean celeb is going to be at the gym tomorrow for a class. I'm going to take my camera. Hopefully he is still there when I get there and I'm not too shy to ask for a photo. I may try to get a pic of the PT and the front desk guy.
When I went out I was looking in my bookbag and I realized that I left my purse at school. I'm always rushing out and I left it. I texted one of the teachers to make sure it was at school. She said it was.Good I didn't lose it elsewhere!
I watched The Bachelorette. Jake came back to tattle on Wes. She still chose Wes. We didn't get to see any of the footage of her meeting his family. Then she got another surprise. Ed was back. She let him come to the rose ceremony and he got a rose. I like Ed. And she seems to really like him. My pick for final 2 are Ed and Reid. Reid is so cute with his glasses.hehe. I hate that I have to wait a week to see what happens!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Day 194
June 29 Monday
It was hot today!! Around 3pm it was 84 degrees but felt like 88.(according to The Weather Channel)
I don't know what coward called me at 9:30am. I didn't answer. I don't know who it was because they disabled their info so I couldn't see the number.
It was just an ordinary day. Mondays are usually good. I only have 3 classes.
In my first class we took a test and then we went over 3 pages of material.
In my 2nd class I was giving 3 different tests. There was a makeup test for one student. Then 2 students took a test that covered material from the last class. Its really hard to make tests when students are absent. I can't make them take a test when they missed the material. Then I had a seperate test for my child that missed 2 classes in a row. I also showed him what pages to study in the book so he can take the test that the rest of the class took. I gave him an old test from when he was in another level-I couldnt test him on something he hadn't learned. My 10 year old in that class is so adorable. He's the troublemaker, but he's fun to joke around with. Today he changed his name again. He changes it every class. He told me he wanted to be Koala today. He picks random animals from a poster in the class. Today my students had a lot of energy. They found out that I had colored chalk and they all wanted to write on the board. Later they kept moving around the room-changing desks. We didn't really accomplish anything today in class because of having to give so many tests.
Tonight I had dinner with Johnny Depp. We went to McDonalds. We talk to each other a lot. The other teachers say he talks to me too much. He likes to practice his English. Its good to have someone who does want to talk to me during my breaks when Im bored to death and trying to look at every possible website I can think of. I don't want my readers to get the wrong impression--I don't "like" Johnny Depp. (If you haven't been reading-the real johnny depp does not live in Seoul. A Korean guy picked this name as his English name) If you've been reading for some time you know that I've got my eye on one particular guy although I'm too shy to ask him to hangout. It's complicated.
Its very different here where everyone wants to talk to the foreign person. It's like everyone wants to know everything about me. In the USA I was used to being ignored and now I get tons of attention.
It is so funny when the middle school girls talk to me at school.All they ever say is "hello" and "goodbye" and they giggle a lot.
I can tell that my highest level class don't do their CD rom activities. I gave them a test on what we learned on Wednesday.They both got a 4 out of a possible 10 points. Today we did a writing unit in class. They also got to practice their speaking.There is a part at the end of every lesson where they have to interview their classmate and write a paragraph.
The gym was packed tonight. When I got there at 10pm there was only 1 treadmill open. I got on it for 30 minutes-burned 200 calories. I wanted to cycle also but all the machines were full so I just decided to go home. As I was leaving Lesley was looking for me. She was talking to the PT and looking around. (The PT was wearing shorts tonight-he's got nice legs. ha. am I bad for saying that? He also has nice arms. He's a small guy but he's muscular)She got on the wrong bus and got there later than usual. The PT said I should stay and workout again. I went home.
It was hot today!! Around 3pm it was 84 degrees but felt like 88.(according to The Weather Channel)
I don't know what coward called me at 9:30am. I didn't answer. I don't know who it was because they disabled their info so I couldn't see the number.
It was just an ordinary day. Mondays are usually good. I only have 3 classes.
In my first class we took a test and then we went over 3 pages of material.
In my 2nd class I was giving 3 different tests. There was a makeup test for one student. Then 2 students took a test that covered material from the last class. Its really hard to make tests when students are absent. I can't make them take a test when they missed the material. Then I had a seperate test for my child that missed 2 classes in a row. I also showed him what pages to study in the book so he can take the test that the rest of the class took. I gave him an old test from when he was in another level-I couldnt test him on something he hadn't learned. My 10 year old in that class is so adorable. He's the troublemaker, but he's fun to joke around with. Today he changed his name again. He changes it every class. He told me he wanted to be Koala today. He picks random animals from a poster in the class. Today my students had a lot of energy. They found out that I had colored chalk and they all wanted to write on the board. Later they kept moving around the room-changing desks. We didn't really accomplish anything today in class because of having to give so many tests.
Tonight I had dinner with Johnny Depp. We went to McDonalds. We talk to each other a lot. The other teachers say he talks to me too much. He likes to practice his English. Its good to have someone who does want to talk to me during my breaks when Im bored to death and trying to look at every possible website I can think of. I don't want my readers to get the wrong impression--I don't "like" Johnny Depp. (If you haven't been reading-the real johnny depp does not live in Seoul. A Korean guy picked this name as his English name) If you've been reading for some time you know that I've got my eye on one particular guy although I'm too shy to ask him to hangout. It's complicated.
Its very different here where everyone wants to talk to the foreign person. It's like everyone wants to know everything about me. In the USA I was used to being ignored and now I get tons of attention.
It is so funny when the middle school girls talk to me at school.All they ever say is "hello" and "goodbye" and they giggle a lot.
I can tell that my highest level class don't do their CD rom activities. I gave them a test on what we learned on Wednesday.They both got a 4 out of a possible 10 points. Today we did a writing unit in class. They also got to practice their speaking.There is a part at the end of every lesson where they have to interview their classmate and write a paragraph.
The gym was packed tonight. When I got there at 10pm there was only 1 treadmill open. I got on it for 30 minutes-burned 200 calories. I wanted to cycle also but all the machines were full so I just decided to go home. As I was leaving Lesley was looking for me. She was talking to the PT and looking around. (The PT was wearing shorts tonight-he's got nice legs. ha. am I bad for saying that? He also has nice arms. He's a small guy but he's muscular)She got on the wrong bus and got there later than usual. The PT said I should stay and workout again. I went home.
Monday, June 29, 2009
day 192/193
June 27/28 Saturday/Sunday
It was another lazy weekend. Part of me wants to get out and do things and the other part of me just wants to relax. The relaxing part usually wins.
I did get out and go to the gym on Saturday. I woke up at 2pm and got dressed and headed to the gym. I was standing at the crosswalk and someone started to talk to me. It was the fitness counselor from the gym (the handsome guy at the front desk). He asked me how I was doing and wanted to know where I was going. (I was on my way to the gym). He said he was going to the gym also. He asked if I had eaten lunch yet.(he always likes to ask if I've eaten--which is a normal thing they do in their culture-but it has a very different meaning to them-to them its used as a greeting, but I always answer in the literal sense. He's asking in the literal sense also because when I say yes he will ask "what did you eat?"). I told him I hadn't and he wanted to know why. I told him I just hadn't eaten yet. What I didn't tell him was that I had just woke up 45 minutes ago. I'm not too quick on my feet when trying to think of what to say.After crossing the road he went somewhere before heading to the gym. At the gym I just walked on the treadmill for 40 minutes while watching various things on tv.
At night I went out to celebrate Lesley's birthday-She turned 24 on the 28th. We were meeting in Itaewon to watch a rugby game with her boyfriend and coworker. We were at a pub called 'Dinkins Lounge.' Everyone in our group was drinking Cass. I find it interesting that everyone thinks I'm so weird because I don't drink. I've tried stuff but there isn't anything I like. Plus I just don't see the point of drinking and doing crazy things. People do stupid stuff when they are drunk! I don't want to have a moment where I'm so drunk that I can't even remember what I did the next day. I'd rather stay sober and remember my night. I'll just stick to my soda. The British and Irish Lions were playing South Africa. Lesley is from South Africa and follows the rugby team. She told me South Africa's colors were gold and green. Her and her boyfriend were wearing south africa shirts. I wore a Saint Patricks day shirt since its the only green thing I had! Which was actually funny since its an Irish holiday(and the other team was Irish although their color was red). Anyway I was a neutral spectator. I didn't care who won or lost. I didn't even know what rugby was. There were a lot of people there cheering for the british/irish team. I'd never seen a rugby game so she explained a few things. Its sorta like American football, but there are differences. I stayed for half of the game then left at 11pm so I could catch the subway. I left at halftime. When I left South Africa was losing.
Sunday was a lazy day. I went to bed at 6:30am and got up at 5pm.
The only place I went was GS25 to buy garbage bags and to E-mart to eat at McDonalds and buy some food.
I'm finally caught up with 'The Bachelorette.' I'm really not liking Wes. The show is created to make drama and they edit it to make certian people look bad. He's just looking really bad! I think he was there to promote his music career. She shouldn't have let Jake go.She should have let Michael or Wes go and kept Jake. But her problem with Jake was that he was 'too perfect'.When he was gone he was talking about how nice guys finish last. He just needs to find a girl who appreciates nice guys. My favorites are Kiptyn and Reid. She thinks Reid is neurotic.haha. It seems like some big things are going to be happening soon. Jake is coming back to tell that Wes has a girlfriend. Then somebody is coming back at the end before she is ready to pick her final person. I'm ready to see the hometown dates.
It rained today. First official rain of the monsoon season. It was just a light rain.
I'm considering staying at home for vacation. I really want to go somewhere, but all the expenses are really adding up. I have estimated that I'll spend around 600,000 (@500 usd). I don't want to spend that much. I don't really want to spend 160,000 won(@125usd) for a one hour plane ride. I think I'd rather stay at home and do things that are inexpensive thn i dont have to pay for a plane or a hotel. I could spend a week doing touristy things in Seoul. I could go to the zoo, palaces, and other things and probably end up spending less than 50,000 won.
I've got to stop spending so much money. One of my goals was to save up for a new car (I wanted a Hyundai Genesis Coupe, but I think I need to be more realistic and get a 2009 corolla). I've been here 6 months and I haven't really saved anything. I've just been living like I have a lot of money and spending on frivilous things like fast food nearly everyday. I like not having to worry about money. I live on very little but I spend too much on things i shouldn't be buying. The bulk of my money that I will be saving will be coming at the end of my contract. I'll have my last month's salary and a months salary for severance. Almost a months salary for pension and I'll get my security deposit back.
Billy Mays died..He was 50..he was the person who did the Oxiclean commercials.
I'm starting to slowly teach myself some Korean. I know most of the alphabet and I can write a little. They have 24 letters in their alphabet-10 vowels and 14 consonants. I just need to spend a little more time, but really it might be a waste of time since I am definatly leaving in 8 months. When I get to America knowing Korean isn't going to mean anything. I don't know anyone who speaks Korean and its not something you need for a job. North and South Carolina don't have a huge Korean population. I'd never even met a Korean before actually coming to Korea. I need to concentrate on my Spanish. That's something that would actually be useful. There is a huge latino population in my area in SC. (I should open a Spanish/English hagwon in SC--I could teach English and knowing Spanish would also help me..haha)
It was another lazy weekend. Part of me wants to get out and do things and the other part of me just wants to relax. The relaxing part usually wins.
I did get out and go to the gym on Saturday. I woke up at 2pm and got dressed and headed to the gym. I was standing at the crosswalk and someone started to talk to me. It was the fitness counselor from the gym (the handsome guy at the front desk). He asked me how I was doing and wanted to know where I was going. (I was on my way to the gym). He said he was going to the gym also. He asked if I had eaten lunch yet.(he always likes to ask if I've eaten--which is a normal thing they do in their culture-but it has a very different meaning to them-to them its used as a greeting, but I always answer in the literal sense. He's asking in the literal sense also because when I say yes he will ask "what did you eat?"). I told him I hadn't and he wanted to know why. I told him I just hadn't eaten yet. What I didn't tell him was that I had just woke up 45 minutes ago. I'm not too quick on my feet when trying to think of what to say.After crossing the road he went somewhere before heading to the gym. At the gym I just walked on the treadmill for 40 minutes while watching various things on tv.
At night I went out to celebrate Lesley's birthday-She turned 24 on the 28th. We were meeting in Itaewon to watch a rugby game with her boyfriend and coworker. We were at a pub called 'Dinkins Lounge.' Everyone in our group was drinking Cass. I find it interesting that everyone thinks I'm so weird because I don't drink. I've tried stuff but there isn't anything I like. Plus I just don't see the point of drinking and doing crazy things. People do stupid stuff when they are drunk! I don't want to have a moment where I'm so drunk that I can't even remember what I did the next day. I'd rather stay sober and remember my night. I'll just stick to my soda. The British and Irish Lions were playing South Africa. Lesley is from South Africa and follows the rugby team. She told me South Africa's colors were gold and green. Her and her boyfriend were wearing south africa shirts. I wore a Saint Patricks day shirt since its the only green thing I had! Which was actually funny since its an Irish holiday(and the other team was Irish although their color was red). Anyway I was a neutral spectator. I didn't care who won or lost. I didn't even know what rugby was. There were a lot of people there cheering for the british/irish team. I'd never seen a rugby game so she explained a few things. Its sorta like American football, but there are differences. I stayed for half of the game then left at 11pm so I could catch the subway. I left at halftime. When I left South Africa was losing.
Sunday was a lazy day. I went to bed at 6:30am and got up at 5pm.
The only place I went was GS25 to buy garbage bags and to E-mart to eat at McDonalds and buy some food.
I'm finally caught up with 'The Bachelorette.' I'm really not liking Wes. The show is created to make drama and they edit it to make certian people look bad. He's just looking really bad! I think he was there to promote his music career. She shouldn't have let Jake go.She should have let Michael or Wes go and kept Jake. But her problem with Jake was that he was 'too perfect'.When he was gone he was talking about how nice guys finish last. He just needs to find a girl who appreciates nice guys. My favorites are Kiptyn and Reid. She thinks Reid is neurotic.haha. It seems like some big things are going to be happening soon. Jake is coming back to tell that Wes has a girlfriend. Then somebody is coming back at the end before she is ready to pick her final person. I'm ready to see the hometown dates.
It rained today. First official rain of the monsoon season. It was just a light rain.
I'm considering staying at home for vacation. I really want to go somewhere, but all the expenses are really adding up. I have estimated that I'll spend around 600,000 (@500 usd). I don't want to spend that much. I don't really want to spend 160,000 won(@125usd) for a one hour plane ride. I think I'd rather stay at home and do things that are inexpensive thn i dont have to pay for a plane or a hotel. I could spend a week doing touristy things in Seoul. I could go to the zoo, palaces, and other things and probably end up spending less than 50,000 won.
I've got to stop spending so much money. One of my goals was to save up for a new car (I wanted a Hyundai Genesis Coupe, but I think I need to be more realistic and get a 2009 corolla). I've been here 6 months and I haven't really saved anything. I've just been living like I have a lot of money and spending on frivilous things like fast food nearly everyday. I like not having to worry about money. I live on very little but I spend too much on things i shouldn't be buying. The bulk of my money that I will be saving will be coming at the end of my contract. I'll have my last month's salary and a months salary for severance. Almost a months salary for pension and I'll get my security deposit back.
Billy Mays died..He was 50..he was the person who did the Oxiclean commercials.
I'm starting to slowly teach myself some Korean. I know most of the alphabet and I can write a little. They have 24 letters in their alphabet-10 vowels and 14 consonants. I just need to spend a little more time, but really it might be a waste of time since I am definatly leaving in 8 months. When I get to America knowing Korean isn't going to mean anything. I don't know anyone who speaks Korean and its not something you need for a job. North and South Carolina don't have a huge Korean population. I'd never even met a Korean before actually coming to Korea. I need to concentrate on my Spanish. That's something that would actually be useful. There is a huge latino population in my area in SC. (I should open a Spanish/English hagwon in SC--I could teach English and knowing Spanish would also help me..haha)
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Day 191....Michael Jackson is dead...
June 26 Friday
I walked in to work today and I was greeted with "did you hear the news?". And Im thinking what are they talking about? and then they tell me "Michael Jackson died. wow.
3 celebs have died this week: Ed McMahon, Farah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson.
Classes were good today.
We didn't have time to cover any new material in my first class. We just took 2 tests. They all did pretty good on both tests.
In my 2nd class we took one test then we covered a few pages of material. They got to draw and color today in class.Its my lowest level. Our words were things like shirt, pants, jacket, shoes. They had to listen to the cd. They would say "my shirt is blue" so they had to write blue in the blank and then color it. I was laughing at the cd. The kids didn't think it was funny but it was funny to me. One of the characters said "Im a cowboy. My jacket is brown. My pants are blue. etc" I was laughing because of the accent. It sounded like a southern cowboy.ha. After we studied I let them play a game. The same game that levels 2 and 3 love using the last letter of the previous word. Its great for building vocabulary.
My 3rd class was good. We had 2 tests, went over homework, and then we did 2 pages of a writing unit. I think the 3 girls in the back of the class do thier tests together. They all missed the same questions. "Columbus was a famous inventor" "Bell was a famous explorer" "Henry was a famous queen" haha.(those are their answers)
I finally found episodes of "The Bachelorette" online-I watched one at work tonight. Wow. Men can be just as catty as women. Its crazy. I like most of the guys. I can't stand David-I don't know why she keeps him around. He seems like a real jerk. I think Juan is really cute but all the guys hate him. They also hate Wes-they think he's there for his music career and that he has a girlfriend. I think Tanner is funny with his whole feet obsession. So far I'm up to episode 4. I'm only 2 episodes behind I think so I don't know who is currently still in the running and I'd prefer to keep it that way.
While I was waiting on the train these 3 middle school boys started talking to me. They said hello and wanted to know where I was from. They said I was cute. They asked me if I thought they were handsome. I said yes. Then they said "choose". They assigned numbers to themselves and asked me to choose but I didn't want to choose although I did think number 3 was the most handsome. haha.
I went to the gym alone tonight. I just walked 45 mins on the treadmill. I was searching through the channels and I finally found the channel I was looking for. There's an English movie every Friday night. Tonight I was watching "Pride and Prejudice". I liked it. I only saw 40 mins of it.
Afterwards I went to hangout with 2 of the Korean teachers. I took a taxi to where they were. One of the teachers talked to the taxi driver on the phone and told him where to go. We probably hung out for about an hour. We had chicken and I drank coke and they drank beer. One of the teacher's husband came to pick up his wife and they took me to my officetel. One thing I love about Seoul is how there are tons of places that are open late even a lot that stay open 24 hours. All of the convienent stores are open 24 hours. Its the city that never sleeps. We were at the restaurant till about 12:50am.
I don't have much on the agenda for the weekend. I may go check out a palace on Sunday. Tomorrow I'm going to hangout for Lesley's birthday. We are meeting at a bar and watching a rugby game. I've never seen a rugby game before. I don't even really know what rugby is, but I will find out. The South African team is playing the british and irish lions. (Lesley is from South Africa)
I walked in to work today and I was greeted with "did you hear the news?". And Im thinking what are they talking about? and then they tell me "Michael Jackson died. wow.
3 celebs have died this week: Ed McMahon, Farah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson.
Classes were good today.
We didn't have time to cover any new material in my first class. We just took 2 tests. They all did pretty good on both tests.
In my 2nd class we took one test then we covered a few pages of material. They got to draw and color today in class.Its my lowest level. Our words were things like shirt, pants, jacket, shoes. They had to listen to the cd. They would say "my shirt is blue" so they had to write blue in the blank and then color it. I was laughing at the cd. The kids didn't think it was funny but it was funny to me. One of the characters said "Im a cowboy. My jacket is brown. My pants are blue. etc" I was laughing because of the accent. It sounded like a southern cowboy.ha. After we studied I let them play a game. The same game that levels 2 and 3 love using the last letter of the previous word. Its great for building vocabulary.
My 3rd class was good. We had 2 tests, went over homework, and then we did 2 pages of a writing unit. I think the 3 girls in the back of the class do thier tests together. They all missed the same questions. "Columbus was a famous inventor" "Bell was a famous explorer" "Henry was a famous queen" haha.(those are their answers)
I finally found episodes of "The Bachelorette" online-I watched one at work tonight. Wow. Men can be just as catty as women. Its crazy. I like most of the guys. I can't stand David-I don't know why she keeps him around. He seems like a real jerk. I think Juan is really cute but all the guys hate him. They also hate Wes-they think he's there for his music career and that he has a girlfriend. I think Tanner is funny with his whole feet obsession. So far I'm up to episode 4. I'm only 2 episodes behind I think so I don't know who is currently still in the running and I'd prefer to keep it that way.
While I was waiting on the train these 3 middle school boys started talking to me. They said hello and wanted to know where I was from. They said I was cute. They asked me if I thought they were handsome. I said yes. Then they said "choose". They assigned numbers to themselves and asked me to choose but I didn't want to choose although I did think number 3 was the most handsome. haha.
I went to the gym alone tonight. I just walked 45 mins on the treadmill. I was searching through the channels and I finally found the channel I was looking for. There's an English movie every Friday night. Tonight I was watching "Pride and Prejudice". I liked it. I only saw 40 mins of it.
Afterwards I went to hangout with 2 of the Korean teachers. I took a taxi to where they were. One of the teachers talked to the taxi driver on the phone and told him where to go. We probably hung out for about an hour. We had chicken and I drank coke and they drank beer. One of the teacher's husband came to pick up his wife and they took me to my officetel. One thing I love about Seoul is how there are tons of places that are open late even a lot that stay open 24 hours. All of the convienent stores are open 24 hours. Its the city that never sleeps. We were at the restaurant till about 12:50am.
I don't have much on the agenda for the weekend. I may go check out a palace on Sunday. Tomorrow I'm going to hangout for Lesley's birthday. We are meeting at a bar and watching a rugby game. I've never seen a rugby game before. I don't even really know what rugby is, but I will find out. The South African team is playing the british and irish lions. (Lesley is from South Africa)
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