Sunday Feb 28
438 days...wow....I've been here a long time!
I have officially left Korea..I am writing this blog from Tokyo at 12:25PM at the Narita International airport. It's currently snowing here. I'm sitting in the terminal and watching it through the windows. I have a 7 hour layover. I purchased a day pass for 500Yen which is about $5.00. Whatever happened to free wifi? Its great that they have a plug in here. I don't have to worry about running down my battery and losing power!
When I got to the Incheon airport I went to exchange some currency. I had a lot of change so I had to go to the branch at B1. I had 32,000 won in coins! That came out to $27! Sweet.
Everything is going smoothly so far. Check in was quick. Why do they always tell you to show up 2 hours before? I was checked in and went through security in a matter of minutes. Then I had to sit around for a while. My first flight took off and arrived on time. My first flight was with Korean Air. I was surprised that they gave us a small meal on a 2 hour flight. I slept for most of the flight.
Now I'm at the airport for a long layover. I'm going to surf the web and watch some movies.
TO BE CONTINUED........
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Day 437
Saturday Feb 27
I got a call from one of the leaders at my school. She told me if I wanted to come back in 2011 just keep in touch with my recruiter and send in my documents when it comes close to time to come! Yeah! I get to come back!! I survived 1 year at that school. I can survive 1 or 2 more.
I spent a ton of time cleaning today. cleaned the entire apartment.
One of my friends in my neighborhood mentioned going out to Gangnam tonight. I decided to join them.
They were already in Gangnam when I met up with them. We went to a Turkish restaurant called Pasha. It was pretty good and expensive. It was a nice restaurant. Me and the girl from my neighborhood were going to order the same thing, but then she asked if I wanted to get something different and share. So she ordered number 1 and I ordered number 2 and we split each one. I ordered a chicken breast stuffed with rice, pine nuts, turkish seasoning,etc. It was pretty good. She ordered marinated beef with onions, green peppers. It was pretty good too.
Afterwards they were going to another girl's house to play a game. I decided to go back home since I needed to finish packing, cancel my cell phone, and take out the trash. The subway was going to take an hour so I took it a few stops and then took a cab the rest of the way home.
I stopped at the LG store before heading out. The guys that I spoke too didn't have much English ability. I told them I wanted to cancel. They told me I had to wait until March 2 to cancel. I asked him how I was suppose to cancel and he gave me a phone number to call. I'm afraid that when I call I might not get an English speaker. I'll try calling customer service on Tuesday. I might also have a problem with cancelling. they need to see a copy of my arc card. well i'm leaving and I wont have it anymore.
I came home and packed up my things. My big suitcase is packed to the limit and is really heavy. My other one is going to be really full also. I'm hoping my carry on doesn't weigh too much. I have to carry around so much stuff! I have 2 laptops so one will be in my carry on and the other in my laptop bag. Its such a hassle going through security!
I got a call from one of the leaders at my school. She told me if I wanted to come back in 2011 just keep in touch with my recruiter and send in my documents when it comes close to time to come! Yeah! I get to come back!! I survived 1 year at that school. I can survive 1 or 2 more.
I spent a ton of time cleaning today. cleaned the entire apartment.
One of my friends in my neighborhood mentioned going out to Gangnam tonight. I decided to join them.
They were already in Gangnam when I met up with them. We went to a Turkish restaurant called Pasha. It was pretty good and expensive. It was a nice restaurant. Me and the girl from my neighborhood were going to order the same thing, but then she asked if I wanted to get something different and share. So she ordered number 1 and I ordered number 2 and we split each one. I ordered a chicken breast stuffed with rice, pine nuts, turkish seasoning,etc. It was pretty good. She ordered marinated beef with onions, green peppers. It was pretty good too.
Afterwards they were going to another girl's house to play a game. I decided to go back home since I needed to finish packing, cancel my cell phone, and take out the trash. The subway was going to take an hour so I took it a few stops and then took a cab the rest of the way home.
I stopped at the LG store before heading out. The guys that I spoke too didn't have much English ability. I told them I wanted to cancel. They told me I had to wait until March 2 to cancel. I asked him how I was suppose to cancel and he gave me a phone number to call. I'm afraid that when I call I might not get an English speaker. I'll try calling customer service on Tuesday. I might also have a problem with cancelling. they need to see a copy of my arc card. well i'm leaving and I wont have it anymore.
I came home and packed up my things. My big suitcase is packed to the limit and is really heavy. My other one is going to be really full also. I'm hoping my carry on doesn't weigh too much. I have to carry around so much stuff! I have 2 laptops so one will be in my carry on and the other in my laptop bag. Its such a hassle going through security!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Day 436...last day of school
Friday Feb 26
click on album to view: (My gifts on the last day from my sweet students)
I Went to post office to mail a box of things I sent 8000 g-17 pounds for 28,000 won…about $25.I sent it by surface mail. South Korea's postal system is great!! Its cheap to send mail from Korean to the USA but its expensive to send mail from the USA to Korea. It's going to take a while but I didn’t put anything valuable or anything that I needed right away.There were a lot of people in the post office.I heard them clapping and I was wondering what was going on over in the corner. I looked over and they were watching the Olympics.The south korean skater was on tv. She won a gold medal. That's the biggest news in South Korea right now.
My team leader gave me a hairbow as a gift. I wear my hair in a ponytail almost every day. Its cute. It looks like a crown.
My first class was good. When I walked in the girl gave me a present. She told me it was chocolates. She also wrote me a note. It said "Hello Valerie teacher. I am is Anna. The while hard teach thank you. then good bye. From Anna...How sweet! We covered 3 pages in our spelling book today and then I let them play a game till the end of class. They love hangman.
My 2nd class was also good. Before class 2 of the students brought me a little heart card. I'll post a pic so you can see what it says. Today I decided to only do 3 articles since it was our last day. They were interested in the articles. They asked a lot of questions about the blood and the blue whale. Then we had some free time. They like to play around on my computer so I thought i'd show them Google Earth. They were fascinated by it. I showed them a close up of some neighborhoods in South Korea. One boy pointed and showed me where his house was. Another student showed me his elementary school. I gave the kids my phone number and email so they could keep in touch. When I was leaving the kids were teling me they loved me. One of the boys makes me laugh. He kept telling me "I don't love you. I like you." He told me in class and then he told me after my last class. Is that suppose to be good or bad? Is it better for someone to like you or to love you? He's a sweet kid. He used to tell me I was beautiful all the time. He's 13. I think he has a crush on me. how cute. One of the kids told me last semester "he likes you".
My 3rd class was good. The boy was watching figure skating on his cell phone during class. We covered 3 articles.
My 4th class was actually good. When class started they were begging for a party because it was my last day and one of the student's last day. He told me he was going to die. he was just kidding. It was his last day at our school. They were asking for a game. I gave in and let them study one page and then we would play a game. Surprisingly, they were very well behaved today! We had a good productive game where you start a word with the last letter of the last word. 3 of the boys in the class wanted my phone number. They also gave me theirs. One of the boys told me he was sad because I was leaving. Actually my biggest troublemakers in the class wanted my phone number. Those 3 boys rarely paid attention, but outside of class they were sweet.
After work we went to a restaurant to eat Galbi. It was delicous. We ate a lot. I ate a lot of salad and Galbi. I was so full! The top boss came to see me. He ate with us for a little while.It was the first time I had met him. After we finished eating we said our goodbyes. Our team leader told me she would miss me. I told her I wanted to come back next year. She was excited. She would love to have me come back to the school. She wants to keep in touch with me through email. So hopefully I'll be working at the same school again!!
I know everyone in America, yes everyone,would be heartbroken, but I might consider staying 2 years next time. (I'll come home to visit) In that time I could save up enough money for a nice car (Hyundai Genesis Coupe!).I even want to buy a Korean car. I wanted that car before I even thought about coming to Korea. Next time I'm going to try to live as frugally as possible and save a lot!
Maybe I'll just find a temp job for 2010. I'll stay at my parents and just work enough to cover the essentials. Round 2 of Korea will be 100X better because I know what I'm doing. maybe i'll take some time to travel while I'm in the USA. I may even consider getting certified in TESOL.(Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages). I want all of my students to be excellent English speakers!
Now I have one year to practice my Korean. I want to have some level of fluency when I come back. I need to search hard for a Korean friend in the USA. Or I could even use skype or a webcam to communicate with someone in Korea.
I leave on Sunday...I can't believe its been 14 months! Its going to be so weird seeing everyone again!
Sorry its so long..If you made it this far you are a great person. I feel like one of those people who just won't shut up.
click on album to view: (My gifts on the last day from my sweet students)
 |
| last day |
I Went to post office to mail a box of things I sent 8000 g-17 pounds for 28,000 won…about $25.I sent it by surface mail. South Korea's postal system is great!! Its cheap to send mail from Korean to the USA but its expensive to send mail from the USA to Korea. It's going to take a while but I didn’t put anything valuable or anything that I needed right away.There were a lot of people in the post office.I heard them clapping and I was wondering what was going on over in the corner. I looked over and they were watching the Olympics.The south korean skater was on tv. She won a gold medal. That's the biggest news in South Korea right now.
My team leader gave me a hairbow as a gift. I wear my hair in a ponytail almost every day. Its cute. It looks like a crown.
My first class was good. When I walked in the girl gave me a present. She told me it was chocolates. She also wrote me a note. It said "Hello Valerie teacher. I am is Anna. The while hard teach thank you. then good bye. From Anna...How sweet! We covered 3 pages in our spelling book today and then I let them play a game till the end of class. They love hangman.
My 2nd class was also good. Before class 2 of the students brought me a little heart card. I'll post a pic so you can see what it says. Today I decided to only do 3 articles since it was our last day. They were interested in the articles. They asked a lot of questions about the blood and the blue whale. Then we had some free time. They like to play around on my computer so I thought i'd show them Google Earth. They were fascinated by it. I showed them a close up of some neighborhoods in South Korea. One boy pointed and showed me where his house was. Another student showed me his elementary school. I gave the kids my phone number and email so they could keep in touch. When I was leaving the kids were teling me they loved me. One of the boys makes me laugh. He kept telling me "I don't love you. I like you." He told me in class and then he told me after my last class. Is that suppose to be good or bad? Is it better for someone to like you or to love you? He's a sweet kid. He used to tell me I was beautiful all the time. He's 13. I think he has a crush on me. how cute. One of the kids told me last semester "he likes you".
My 3rd class was good. The boy was watching figure skating on his cell phone during class. We covered 3 articles.
My 4th class was actually good. When class started they were begging for a party because it was my last day and one of the student's last day. He told me he was going to die. he was just kidding. It was his last day at our school. They were asking for a game. I gave in and let them study one page and then we would play a game. Surprisingly, they were very well behaved today! We had a good productive game where you start a word with the last letter of the last word. 3 of the boys in the class wanted my phone number. They also gave me theirs. One of the boys told me he was sad because I was leaving. Actually my biggest troublemakers in the class wanted my phone number. Those 3 boys rarely paid attention, but outside of class they were sweet.
After work we went to a restaurant to eat Galbi. It was delicous. We ate a lot. I ate a lot of salad and Galbi. I was so full! The top boss came to see me. He ate with us for a little while.It was the first time I had met him. After we finished eating we said our goodbyes. Our team leader told me she would miss me. I told her I wanted to come back next year. She was excited. She would love to have me come back to the school. She wants to keep in touch with me through email. So hopefully I'll be working at the same school again!!
I know everyone in America, yes everyone,would be heartbroken, but I might consider staying 2 years next time. (I'll come home to visit) In that time I could save up enough money for a nice car (Hyundai Genesis Coupe!).I even want to buy a Korean car. I wanted that car before I even thought about coming to Korea. Next time I'm going to try to live as frugally as possible and save a lot!
Maybe I'll just find a temp job for 2010. I'll stay at my parents and just work enough to cover the essentials. Round 2 of Korea will be 100X better because I know what I'm doing. maybe i'll take some time to travel while I'm in the USA. I may even consider getting certified in TESOL.(Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages). I want all of my students to be excellent English speakers!
Now I have one year to practice my Korean. I want to have some level of fluency when I come back. I need to search hard for a Korean friend in the USA. Or I could even use skype or a webcam to communicate with someone in Korea.
I leave on Sunday...I can't believe its been 14 months! Its going to be so weird seeing everyone again!
Sorry its so long..If you made it this far you are a great person. I feel like one of those people who just won't shut up.
Kim Yu-na wins first gold in Olympics
Korean world champion Kim Yu-na won the gold medal in the women's figure skating competition in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics on Friday (KST).
It is the first time that Korea has grabbed the Olympic gold medal in the figure skating and it is the second in Asia.
Kim burst into tears after finishing her free skate at the Pacific Coliseum which gave her gold by a massive 23-point margin on her arch-rival Mao Asada of Japan.
Kim received a world record of 228.56 points, renewing her own record of 210.03 set in last October.
“I can't believe this day has finally come for me," said Kim "I still can't believe my performance.”
Wearing a simple blue dress with a sparkling band around her neck, the 19-year-old skated to the Concerto in F by George Gershwin.
She never before had cried after a skating competition but tears flowed on Friday as she nailed all jumps--triple lutz-triple toe loop combination, four other triple jumps-- all with highly positive grades of execution. The 11,000 plus crowd in Pacific Coliseum gave her standing applause.
“Watching previous figure skaters, I always wondered why they cried after their performance. Crying for the first time today, I still don't know why I did." Kim told AFP. Mao Asada skated immediately after Kim. She managed to execute two back-to-back triple axels, the second combined with a double toe loop. But halfway through her routine she ran into trouble, double footing a triple flip and singling the following attempted triple toe loop, according to AFP.
"I didn't see Kim's score," said Asada. "I couldn't watch her skate but I knew she had a solid performance as I heard the crowd's applause."
Mao scored 131.72 for an overall 205.50 and enough to take silver. Canada's Joannie Rochette earned 202.64 to grab bronze. Kim's fellow teammate Kwak Min-jung finished 13th with 155.53 points.
Kim's victory gives South Korea its first Olympic figure skating gold and adds to an already impressive showing at the games by the country's speed skaters, with big-name companies expected to increase their ad budgets for athletes who won medal, according to Yonhap news agency.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Day 435
Thursday Feb 25
What is your favorite English blog on Korea? (There are over 300 English blogs on Korea. 3 or more votes in the "Other" section gets a blog added to the list.)
http://10magazine.asia/2903/april-readers-10
Vote for me(in the other section)...there's no prize...i guess just bragging rights...My blog isn't as popular as the ones that were nominated but it would be cool to see my name on the list...
____________________________________________________
I went to the pension office today to apply for a refund. There was no one in line so I was first. Didn't take very long. The man at the counter spoke very little English. He laid down this sheet in front of me which was like a script of what I was suppose to do. Anyway, by the end of March I should have abour 1300 usd show up in my American bank account. sweet.
Today in my first class we did our last speaking lesson in the book. The title was "My worries".4 of the students have no worries.One worries about studying.
My 2nd class was decent except for the chatty boys being loud all during class. At least everyone participated.One boy said “I don’t know” for every answer.Our topics today were "my dreams" and ‘do you like to______’. Their dreams were: Fashion stylist, doctor, mouse, bike, and a singer. The 2 talkative boys chose the crazy answers of mouse and bike.
We had our newspaper class in my 3rd class today. We had a good class. I gave them my email so they could write me if they wanted to. The girls all wrote it down.
In my last class we also did the speaking lesson on "my dreams". 2 of the students don't have a dream. 2 students didn't know how to say it in English. I also gave them my email so if they wanted to write me. The girls wrote it down, but the boys didn't care.
Tomorrow they are having a farewell party for me. We are going out to eat chicken.
I have to take some money to school to pay for my bills. Once I pay the money that will cover my bills I get my salary. Why not just take it out of my check?
I'm going to load up a box and send it by surface mail so my suitcases won't be so heavy. I've heard sending things by surface mail is pretty cheap. The only downside is it takes a long time-a month or more. That's fine with me. There isn't anything in the box that I need right away.
1 more school day...tomorrow I will have a spelling class, 2 newspaper classes and a speaking lesson and then I am done!
I still have so much to do! Saturday I'm going to spend the whole day cleaning!
My time is coming to a close. I think I'm experiencing a lot of emotions although I don't express those emotions to anyone in person. I'm a very private person and I hold myself together pretty well. I can be hurting a lot inside, but on the outside I appear to be happy. I'm happy, anxious, sad, angry, regretful, and whatever else you can think of..I'm not ready to leave it all behind. My opinions have changed drastically since I arrived. I think I started counting down the day I got here! I hated it for the first few months. I kept thinking "what the hell am I doing here?" Now as it comes to the end I have started to appreciate this experience and I don't want to leave. I have to leave behind a few friends who were geniunely interested in being my friend. There were others who I really wish I had a chance to spend more time with. I wish I would have asked out that guy that I really liked even though there's a 99% chance it wouldn't have worked out. regrets are tough.
I really hope I can come back for round 2.
What is your favorite English blog on Korea? (There are over 300 English blogs on Korea. 3 or more votes in the "Other" section gets a blog added to the list.)
http://10magazine.asia/2903/april-readers-10
Vote for me(in the other section)...there's no prize...i guess just bragging rights...My blog isn't as popular as the ones that were nominated but it would be cool to see my name on the list...
____________________________________________________
I went to the pension office today to apply for a refund. There was no one in line so I was first. Didn't take very long. The man at the counter spoke very little English. He laid down this sheet in front of me which was like a script of what I was suppose to do. Anyway, by the end of March I should have abour 1300 usd show up in my American bank account. sweet.
Today in my first class we did our last speaking lesson in the book. The title was "My worries".4 of the students have no worries.One worries about studying.
My 2nd class was decent except for the chatty boys being loud all during class. At least everyone participated.One boy said “I don’t know” for every answer.Our topics today were "my dreams" and ‘do you like to______’. Their dreams were: Fashion stylist, doctor, mouse, bike, and a singer. The 2 talkative boys chose the crazy answers of mouse and bike.
We had our newspaper class in my 3rd class today. We had a good class. I gave them my email so they could write me if they wanted to. The girls all wrote it down.
In my last class we also did the speaking lesson on "my dreams". 2 of the students don't have a dream. 2 students didn't know how to say it in English. I also gave them my email so if they wanted to write me. The girls wrote it down, but the boys didn't care.
Tomorrow they are having a farewell party for me. We are going out to eat chicken.
I have to take some money to school to pay for my bills. Once I pay the money that will cover my bills I get my salary. Why not just take it out of my check?
I'm going to load up a box and send it by surface mail so my suitcases won't be so heavy. I've heard sending things by surface mail is pretty cheap. The only downside is it takes a long time-a month or more. That's fine with me. There isn't anything in the box that I need right away.
1 more school day...tomorrow I will have a spelling class, 2 newspaper classes and a speaking lesson and then I am done!
I still have so much to do! Saturday I'm going to spend the whole day cleaning!
My time is coming to a close. I think I'm experiencing a lot of emotions although I don't express those emotions to anyone in person. I'm a very private person and I hold myself together pretty well. I can be hurting a lot inside, but on the outside I appear to be happy. I'm happy, anxious, sad, angry, regretful, and whatever else you can think of..I'm not ready to leave it all behind. My opinions have changed drastically since I arrived. I think I started counting down the day I got here! I hated it for the first few months. I kept thinking "what the hell am I doing here?" Now as it comes to the end I have started to appreciate this experience and I don't want to leave. I have to leave behind a few friends who were geniunely interested in being my friend. There were others who I really wish I had a chance to spend more time with. I wish I would have asked out that guy that I really liked even though there's a 99% chance it wouldn't have worked out. regrets are tough.
I really hope I can come back for round 2.
Washing Machine Accident Claims 3rd Child
***Why are kids wanting to climb inside the washing machine? I never had the urge to jump into the washing machine as a kid. I don't think the thought ever crossed my
mind! Thats got to be very uncomfortable. My front loading machine is tiny. 3rd child in 2 years!
Don't leave a 7 year old alone!
_________________________________________________
A seven-year-old child was found dead inside of a front-loading washing machine last week. It was the third such death of a child involving an LG washing machine. The child locked himself inside and suffocated, according to police in Daejeon, where the child lived.
"The machine in question is a model that can't be opened from the inside," a police officer said.
What led him to crawl inside remains uncertain, police added. His parents were out at the time of the accident, said an officer familiar with the case.
"I found him locked inside the machine after returning from school, which was at around 7:50 p.m.," an elder brother of the deceased was quoted as telling a 119 emergency official. "He had hid himself there several times while playing hide-and-seek with me."
Rescuers tried to resuscitate him but he died on his way to the hospital.
"Our washing machines have a warning label so we are not liable for the death," an LG official said. "However, we feel morally responsible for the accident that involved our product and have decided to install a latch that can be opened from the inside."
On Tuesday, LG Electronics announced a voluntary recall of some of its front-loading washing machines, including the 2007 model that was updated due to safety concerns. About 1.05 million machines are subject to the recall, an LG official said.
Installing a new lock system costs about 20,000 won to 30,000 won, so if all the machines are turned in for lock replacement, it would cost the company up to 30 billion won.
The LG official said that actual requests will likely be much lower in number.
On Sept. 9, 2008, a nine-year-old child suffocated inside a front-loading washing machine made by LG. About two weeks later, another nine-year-old died in a similar accident.
The accidents forced LG to adopt a new door design that makes it possible for a person locked in to open the door. The new design has been applied to all models of the company since October 2008.
The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards plans to kick off a nationwide campaign aimed at raising public awareness of the risks involved with such front-loading machines.
mind! Thats got to be very uncomfortable. My front loading machine is tiny. 3rd child in 2 years!
Don't leave a 7 year old alone!
_________________________________________________
A seven-year-old child was found dead inside of a front-loading washing machine last week. It was the third such death of a child involving an LG washing machine. The child locked himself inside and suffocated, according to police in Daejeon, where the child lived.
"The machine in question is a model that can't be opened from the inside," a police officer said.
What led him to crawl inside remains uncertain, police added. His parents were out at the time of the accident, said an officer familiar with the case.
"I found him locked inside the machine after returning from school, which was at around 7:50 p.m.," an elder brother of the deceased was quoted as telling a 119 emergency official. "He had hid himself there several times while playing hide-and-seek with me."
Rescuers tried to resuscitate him but he died on his way to the hospital.
"Our washing machines have a warning label so we are not liable for the death," an LG official said. "However, we feel morally responsible for the accident that involved our product and have decided to install a latch that can be opened from the inside."
On Tuesday, LG Electronics announced a voluntary recall of some of its front-loading washing machines, including the 2007 model that was updated due to safety concerns. About 1.05 million machines are subject to the recall, an LG official said.
Installing a new lock system costs about 20,000 won to 30,000 won, so if all the machines are turned in for lock replacement, it would cost the company up to 30 billion won.
The LG official said that actual requests will likely be much lower in number.
On Sept. 9, 2008, a nine-year-old child suffocated inside a front-loading washing machine made by LG. About two weeks later, another nine-year-old died in a similar accident.
The accidents forced LG to adopt a new door design that makes it possible for a person locked in to open the door. The new design has been applied to all models of the company since October 2008.
The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards plans to kick off a nationwide campaign aimed at raising public awareness of the risks involved with such front-loading machines.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Day 434
Wednesday Feb 24
I emailed my friend from the gym. I sent him the pictures that I took at the gym of me and him. I also wanted to know his age. He is 30 in Korean age. (same as me). He asked me “how old are you? 20 or 21 maybe? HAHA. Wow he thought I was really young!
We didn’t do any work in my first class. When I came in the girl was writing something on the white board and she told me to turn around till she was finished. It said ‘I love you.’ Then All 3 students wrote their own messages on the chalkboard. They made me face the opposite way so I couldn’t see. They all wrote “I love you. Thank you very much”. They are so sweet. Then they wanted to take pictures of me on their cell phones. The youngest boy was having a fun time taking my picture over and over. He has these templates on his phone and he kept putting my head in all of them. It was cute. I just let them have a free day.
In my 2nd class we did a short speaking lesson. All of the kids told me “I don’t have my book.” I made a copy for everyone before class since today was normally writing class but I wanted to do speaking. One of my kids was not feeling well so he just laid his head down during class. Today’s topic was “My dreams”. It was the last lesson in the book. I was interested in knowing what their dreams were. Their dreams are: teacher, English teacher,dentist, veterinarian, scientist, and work at the UN. We had free time after. I gave my email and American phone number to 2 of the students. 2 of the students have given me their emails.
In my 3rd class we also did a lesson about dreams. The girl wants to be the ‘world king’ like Obama. The boy doesn’t know what his dream is. He didn't want to participate at all in class today. They were excited to see me write Korean on the board. I translated a few of the words to help them out. Hard words like achieve and realize. Sometimes its hard to describe words like that so I give the translation. The girl liked looking at my Korean-English dictionary. She wanted to know what words I knew so I told her what little Korean I do speak.
Last class was okay. We started the last chapter of the book. They asked me “is Monday when the crazy teacher comes?" They were asking me questions about the new teacher. I don't know anything about him or her. I won't even meet them since I'm leaving before they arrive. We learned a new set of words and covered 3 pages. They participated some of the time. Some of them didn't want to do their work, but I told them if they didn't do it we wouldn't have any free time.
I went to eat at a Korean restaurant tonight. It was a very small place. There's only 4 tables in the whole restaurant. I was trying to tell the waitress what I wanted but she couldn't understand me. I just pointed to it on the menu. I had 뚝불고기. It was delicious. I always end up burning my tongue. The dish is very hot. I didn't cool it off enough before eating and it hurt!
I arranged for a pickup for things that will be given to Salvation Army. I have 3 small boxes full. They are coming to my house on Friday at 10am.
I have to go to the pension office tomorrow to apply for my refund. I also need to take my comforter to the dry cleaners to be washed.
I made a list of everything that the new teacher should do. I think its very through.
I still have so much to do! 3 days to do it all!
I was disappointed by the girls on American Idol. It just wasn't that great. I'm ready to hear the guys.
2 more school days...I'm going to miss my students! They don't want me to leave. I don't want to leave but....
I emailed my friend from the gym. I sent him the pictures that I took at the gym of me and him. I also wanted to know his age. He is 30 in Korean age. (same as me). He asked me “how old are you? 20 or 21 maybe? HAHA. Wow he thought I was really young!
We didn’t do any work in my first class. When I came in the girl was writing something on the white board and she told me to turn around till she was finished. It said ‘I love you.’ Then All 3 students wrote their own messages on the chalkboard. They made me face the opposite way so I couldn’t see. They all wrote “I love you. Thank you very much”. They are so sweet. Then they wanted to take pictures of me on their cell phones. The youngest boy was having a fun time taking my picture over and over. He has these templates on his phone and he kept putting my head in all of them. It was cute. I just let them have a free day.
In my 2nd class we did a short speaking lesson. All of the kids told me “I don’t have my book.” I made a copy for everyone before class since today was normally writing class but I wanted to do speaking. One of my kids was not feeling well so he just laid his head down during class. Today’s topic was “My dreams”. It was the last lesson in the book. I was interested in knowing what their dreams were. Their dreams are: teacher, English teacher,dentist, veterinarian, scientist, and work at the UN. We had free time after. I gave my email and American phone number to 2 of the students. 2 of the students have given me their emails.
In my 3rd class we also did a lesson about dreams. The girl wants to be the ‘world king’ like Obama. The boy doesn’t know what his dream is. He didn't want to participate at all in class today. They were excited to see me write Korean on the board. I translated a few of the words to help them out. Hard words like achieve and realize. Sometimes its hard to describe words like that so I give the translation. The girl liked looking at my Korean-English dictionary. She wanted to know what words I knew so I told her what little Korean I do speak.
Last class was okay. We started the last chapter of the book. They asked me “is Monday when the crazy teacher comes?" They were asking me questions about the new teacher. I don't know anything about him or her. I won't even meet them since I'm leaving before they arrive. We learned a new set of words and covered 3 pages. They participated some of the time. Some of them didn't want to do their work, but I told them if they didn't do it we wouldn't have any free time.
I went to eat at a Korean restaurant tonight. It was a very small place. There's only 4 tables in the whole restaurant. I was trying to tell the waitress what I wanted but she couldn't understand me. I just pointed to it on the menu. I had 뚝불고기. It was delicious. I always end up burning my tongue. The dish is very hot. I didn't cool it off enough before eating and it hurt!
I arranged for a pickup for things that will be given to Salvation Army. I have 3 small boxes full. They are coming to my house on Friday at 10am.
I have to go to the pension office tomorrow to apply for my refund. I also need to take my comforter to the dry cleaners to be washed.
I made a list of everything that the new teacher should do. I think its very through.
I still have so much to do! 3 days to do it all!
I was disappointed by the girls on American Idol. It just wasn't that great. I'm ready to hear the guys.
2 more school days...I'm going to miss my students! They don't want me to leave. I don't want to leave but....
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Day 433...more changes in plans....
Tuesday Feb 23
Got up bright and early and headed out to get my crown at the dentist. It was a quick appointment. I sat in the chair at 10:58am and I got out of the chair at 11:07!
I gave each class a party. All the students were excited. I took them down to Home Plus to get whatever they wanted that was 1,000 won or less. Then I gave them candy and an eraser. We listened to music during class. I only took one photo of the whole class in each class. The Tuesday/Thursday kids didn't see the camera and want to play around with it like my Mon/Wed/Friday classes did.
I only had one class where we did work. We had our newspaper class today. It didn't go too well. This week is just busy work since we are through.The boys were talking the entire time and I was trying to talk loud enough to talk over them. Telling them to be quiet didn't help. Oh well. Today our articles were 'the history of the telephone','what is blood?', and 'the blue whale.' They don't really seem interested in the material. They were surprised about the size of a blue whale. I found a picture on in the internet that compared a blue whale to a bus and grey whale. Blue whales are the larges animals. They weigh about 109 tons! Their heart weighs about 450 kg. (990 Pounds!)
After one of my classes there was a sheet of paper laying on my desk. As I looked closer I found out it was my flight reservation. Its for the 28th of February. I'll actually be home on Sunday! I have 3 flights. 2 layovers.
I'll fly from Seoul to Tokyo on Korean Air. While I'm in Tokyo I'll have a 7 hour layover. What am I going to do on a 7 hour layover? I don't want to leave the airport and risk getting lost. Plus Japan is expensive and I don't want to spend my money. I'll try to find a plug for my laptop.
Then I'll get on American Airlines and fly to Dallas Fort Worth. When I get there I will have a 2 hour layover. Then I'll be at Charlotte around 9pm. 9 hours of layovers and 15 hours of flying. It's literally taking me a full day to get home, but because of the time difference I'll gain a few hours. I'll leave Seoul at 9am, fly/be bored for 24 hours, then I'll arrive in Charlotte at 9pm.
After all that travelling I'll just sleep until its time to leave for NYC on March 4.I wonder how long it will take me to get adjusted to the time change! I don't think I ever adjusted to the time change in Seoul!
How did I accumulate so many clothes? I know there's no way its all going to fit into 2 suitcases! I'm going to take it to Salvation Army. I'm going to have to make 2 trips. I've got a small box full and my grocery cart thingy is filled to capacity. There's probably enough clothes in the cart to fill another 2 small boxes. I would ship some stuff home, but I don't want to pay a lot for international shipping. I can always buy new clothes at home. If I had a car it wouldn't be a problem. I'd just stuff in all in my car, but I dont have one. I have to take the subway so i can only take what I can carry. I don't have enough stuff to arrange a pickup.
I'm scared my big suitcase is going to be over the limit. It can weigh 50 pounds. If its overweight it will cost 50,000 won! Maybe I should take out some of the heavier items like books and just ship them home. I don't want to pay extra!
So much to do in the next 4 days!! I still have to go to the pension office to apply for a refund.
Its going to be hard to get rid of everything before leaving. I want to come back. I wish I had a place to store a few things that I will need if I do come back. I dont want to purchase them again and its too much to ship home. Things like a transformer, mirror, extra shampoo/body wash, drying rack, hangers, pillow, mattress topper. I don't want to pay a storage fee for a unit and I dont know of anyone that would want to keep my things for me. yikes!
Got up bright and early and headed out to get my crown at the dentist. It was a quick appointment. I sat in the chair at 10:58am and I got out of the chair at 11:07!
I gave each class a party. All the students were excited. I took them down to Home Plus to get whatever they wanted that was 1,000 won or less. Then I gave them candy and an eraser. We listened to music during class. I only took one photo of the whole class in each class. The Tuesday/Thursday kids didn't see the camera and want to play around with it like my Mon/Wed/Friday classes did.
I only had one class where we did work. We had our newspaper class today. It didn't go too well. This week is just busy work since we are through.The boys were talking the entire time and I was trying to talk loud enough to talk over them. Telling them to be quiet didn't help. Oh well. Today our articles were 'the history of the telephone','what is blood?', and 'the blue whale.' They don't really seem interested in the material. They were surprised about the size of a blue whale. I found a picture on in the internet that compared a blue whale to a bus and grey whale. Blue whales are the larges animals. They weigh about 109 tons! Their heart weighs about 450 kg. (990 Pounds!)
After one of my classes there was a sheet of paper laying on my desk. As I looked closer I found out it was my flight reservation. Its for the 28th of February. I'll actually be home on Sunday! I have 3 flights. 2 layovers.
I'll fly from Seoul to Tokyo on Korean Air. While I'm in Tokyo I'll have a 7 hour layover. What am I going to do on a 7 hour layover? I don't want to leave the airport and risk getting lost. Plus Japan is expensive and I don't want to spend my money. I'll try to find a plug for my laptop.
Then I'll get on American Airlines and fly to Dallas Fort Worth. When I get there I will have a 2 hour layover. Then I'll be at Charlotte around 9pm. 9 hours of layovers and 15 hours of flying. It's literally taking me a full day to get home, but because of the time difference I'll gain a few hours. I'll leave Seoul at 9am, fly/be bored for 24 hours, then I'll arrive in Charlotte at 9pm.
After all that travelling I'll just sleep until its time to leave for NYC on March 4.I wonder how long it will take me to get adjusted to the time change! I don't think I ever adjusted to the time change in Seoul!
How did I accumulate so many clothes? I know there's no way its all going to fit into 2 suitcases! I'm going to take it to Salvation Army. I'm going to have to make 2 trips. I've got a small box full and my grocery cart thingy is filled to capacity. There's probably enough clothes in the cart to fill another 2 small boxes. I would ship some stuff home, but I don't want to pay a lot for international shipping. I can always buy new clothes at home. If I had a car it wouldn't be a problem. I'd just stuff in all in my car, but I dont have one. I have to take the subway so i can only take what I can carry. I don't have enough stuff to arrange a pickup.
I'm scared my big suitcase is going to be over the limit. It can weigh 50 pounds. If its overweight it will cost 50,000 won! Maybe I should take out some of the heavier items like books and just ship them home. I don't want to pay extra!
So much to do in the next 4 days!! I still have to go to the pension office to apply for a refund.
Its going to be hard to get rid of everything before leaving. I want to come back. I wish I had a place to store a few things that I will need if I do come back. I dont want to purchase them again and its too much to ship home. Things like a transformer, mirror, extra shampoo/body wash, drying rack, hangers, pillow, mattress topper. I don't want to pay a storage fee for a unit and I dont know of anyone that would want to keep my things for me. yikes!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)