English Summer Camp Day One

07.26.2010

Woke up at 6am, like clockwork. It’s the start of the third week of work and the beginning of English summer camp. It is my big test, a classroom of 20 students from third and forth grades by myself for three straight hours. It could become something really bad or something great. Thankfully, I’ve heard from many other teachers that many of the students like me, so hopefully that will work to my advantage. I have an outline for the class, keeping the first day easy with an overview of the basics: introduction, my name is, goodbye, alphabet, numbers, ordinal numbers, and shapes. This is something every student has been taught, but their English levels aren’t the same. I got to school early and made copies of a couple of my worksheets. Class was held in the Science room, since the English room didn’t have a television or a projector for my ppt lectures.

I handed out my ‘English Camp Rules’ while another teacher took roll for me. I was told that my project for the day was to make sure all the students had English names. By the end of class all of the students had their English names.

The students were quite respectful to me, probably out of fear. No one tests the waters on the first day. After the lecture, I had prepared reading and repeating activity with the book, “Count with Maisy”. My outline helped me through the whole class and at the end there was enough time for a game of ‘Alphabet Attack Soup’. I wrote letters on the board in random and there were two teams: boys vs. girls. First one to point at the correct letter gets a point, if guessed incorrectly no more guesses and no points. It was a huge hit and the best way I could make the teams fair since the 3rd grade was at a lower English level to the 4th grade. Thank goodness English camp day one was a success. Some of the teachers came in periodically through the class to see how it was going and they were impressed at my variety of activities and keeping the class on task. After camp was over, I had lunch with the teachers in the teachers lounge; we had ordered food out, since we had to stay on school grounds until 4:40pm. I ate the spicy noodle soup and then prepared for All Day Class. We were covering part 2 of the in-depth look at letters: I-P. After teaching the All Day Class, I was so tired, it’s hard to keep up with their enthusiasm, but I love that they all participate so well in class, so it’s a catch-22. One of the kids gave me an origami heart with Korean on it; I wish I knew what it said.

After class I got a wonderful surprise, my own computer and printer in the English room and its completely in English! Too bad it wasn’t connected to the Internet yet. In a matter of time, it will be, hopefully.

I prepared for my next day’s classes until the end of the workday. I had a quiet evening in after a long (yet worth every worry) day. I really do enjoy teaching and I now finally feel like a real teacher, sort of.

1st time in Seoul

07.25.10

Slept in until 8am again. Talked with Phill and my parents via texting. Cleaned my apartment and washed the floors. I then took a shower and got ready for my day out with Seoul with So-Young. I was so excited! She came to my apartment bearing gifts of food, since I explained to her earlier that I loved cooking. She brought me chicken bulgogi and three tradition Korean side dishes.

I thanked her as I planned on cooking it ASAP after our trip. We left around noon in her cute burnt orange Kia Morning. Our first stop was to pick up her friend who spent about a year in Philadelphia to learn English. Then we went further downtown to pick up the artist friend whom also lived in America for a year in Chicago to learn English. We went to a sushi restaurant, where there are plates moving on a conveyor belt. We ate a wide range of sushi, some I was familiar with and most I was trying for the first time. We also spotted a celebrity at the restaurant; I was told she was a famous drama and movie actress in Korea. All I remember is that she was extremely tall and very thin. Then we went to the COEX, a huge multiplex with many different kind of stores and we went window shopping like no other!


I fell in love with two stores: the Sanrio store and the Totoro store!

I purchased a small trinket at the Sanrio store, a Korean Hello Kitty cellphone charm for 5,000 Won, ($4.15 USD) totally worth it!


We also saw another celebrity, a famous Korean Photographer. I have seen his picture earlier for a Canon Print Advertisement. This time I got up the nerve and kindly asked if he could be in a picture with us. He said, “ok” and asked if I was from the United States. I replied, “yes, Minnesota”. So-Young and her friends were saying I was very brave, because they were afraid to ask him.

Afterwards, we went to The Coffee Bean and had some coffee and dessert.



We walked around a bit more looking at stores and parted ways. So-Young drove me back home and I thanked her for the trip. I began cooking my lovely meal. It was my first time cooking chicken bulgogi, but I didn’t destroy it. The whole meal was very flavorful and I ate it all up!



I watched some Korean television and relaxed for the rest of the evening. A great way to end a wonderful weekend!

Taking the Plunge

07.24.10

I had a relaxing morning; I slept in until 8am, blissful sleep. Chatted with family, friends, and Phill until noon. Saturdays are my one-day to catch-up with everyone back home. I wish I could speak with them more often, but it’s hard to find a good time to do such everyday. I planned on going on my own to Osan later in the afternoon. I studied the maps and locations of various places I intended to visit. My main goal today is to go to Osan and see “Inception” at the theater. I had been to the theater once before with Michael, but never on my own. I ate some food and got ready. I quickly wrote down the Korean translation for “Inception” so I could understand the show times at the theater. I left my apartment at 1:30pm, walked to the Osan College Station, and boarded the train to Osan around 2:20pm.

I got to Osan and I felt pretty proud of myself, as its not easy for me to broaden my areas so quickly. I tried walking around and retracing my steps by memory, luckily I found the theater! Yay. At the box office, I looked for “Inception” in Korean and obtained the next showing, 2:50pm. I bravely asked for one ticket for “Inception” in my horrible Korean/English. The system is much more difficult then in the States, you actually have to choose your seat in the theater before getting the ticket. I tried my hardest to understand the clerk and I picked a seat in row J. I spent 8,000 Won ($6.65 USD) on the ticket.

I took the elevator up to the eighth floor and I went in and found my seat in the theater. Today was marked down as a success by this simple task: going to see a movie. The movie was mind-blowing and extremely clever. I saw it in English with Korean subtitles. I highly recommend everyone to see it! After the movie, I headed back to the train station for dinner in Suwon. I had a terrible craving, Burger King. The only Burger King I knew was in the huge Suwon train station. After searching the three levels, I found it and ordered a chicken sandwich meal. I spent 6,000 Won on a meal that tasted like the Burger King at home, disappointing and full of regret. But that’s what I think of most fast food. I lazily took the train back home to Osan College. On the train ride home an elderly Korean man approached me and asked, “USA?” “Yes, Minnesota” I replied. “USA number one”, he said. I replied again, “No, Korea number one” and he laughed and said, “Ok”. Then I walked home. I had a full day traveling the trains alone and I was pleased I didn’t get too confused or too lost.

Girls Night Out

07.23.10

I woke up early and talked with Phill for a while on Skype. I noticed the sky was getting a bit dark as I was getting ready for the day. Monsoon season. It rained a lot. It rained without relief until 3pm. Unfortunately with the rain it took me a bit longer to get to school. I made an effort in my whole look today after feeling unworthy by the Korean fashion scene, so I gave the ultimate ‘Office’ look with a nice collared shirt and pencil skirt.


Many of the teachers and staff said I looked very beautiful. That doesn’t mean I’ll do it everyday, probably just Fridays. I can’t raise my expectations too high, lol. My English class today was a focus on the letters A through H. I only had a few worksheets for the students and I tried to stay minimal with one short ABCs video. They seem to have a good understanding, but I want to make sure everyone starts off right, even though it might be review for some students. After I had my English class I met up with Jen in the Teacher’s Lounge, she wanted to change up our plans instead of going to Seoul, because of the rain we planned to go out locally. So as an alternative we went to Hwasan, where we did some quick shopping. I purchased two items: one summer dress and one light dress shirt, total cost of 40,000 Won.

Thanks to Jen, she haggled off an extra 3 dollars, as it is common for many Koreans to haggle prices. We also stopped off at Davich Optical, so Jen could pick up her contacts. We ate at Mr. Pizza (‘Made for Women’ is their logo) in which we split a salad bar, Shrimp Golden, and a Sprite. It was my first Korean style pizza. I have to say it was actually pretty good and probably healthier. http://www.mrpizza.co.kr/ We then walked around the city in search of a good bookstore, and no luck. But we did have some ice cream at Baskin Robbins (they are everywhere!). I can never turn down ice cream; it is my weak spot and apparently the same for many Koreans. http://www.baskinrobbins.co.kr/main/br_main.jsp After a long and fun evening, we decided to head out and take the bus home. We took the 300 bus and I got off on my own, I felt like a little bird leaving my nest for the first time and trying to find my way home. After I had a rough idea of my bearings I made it home in one piece and texted Jen when I got to my apartment. I had a wonderful evening out and we plan on doing the rain check on Seoul later next week possibly.

Mini-Seoul

07.22.10

I woke to my alarm at 6am, texted Phill around 7am, finally got to video chat with my brother and mother at 7:30am. My mom seems thrilled with Skype, so she can actually speak to me and see me in real time. It was a great start to my day seeing my family and even my cat, Peach. I got to school and spoke to some of the teachers and the ladies in the front office. Now that summer break is underway, in the office it seems more relaxed but still productive. English class was at 2pm today; I was on time and planned a quick overview of the alphabet with a fun worksheet. The students seemed more receptive and attentive today. I tried to keep them entertained while learning as I asked what letter was on the PowerPoint as well as “what is this?” to the corresponding picture. I tried playing an Alphabet music video, but the audio didn’t work. Oh well, it was still good enough to keep them learning and we sang the ABCs song. I met up with Jen at work and we chatted, she was still recovering from the festivities from Tuesday. We made plans to go out on Friday night. I got a ride home from another teacher afterschool, yay. I met up with Brian around 5:30pm. We went to Suwon via the train. He was excited to show me a magical place I’ve never seen. The train station has its own movie theatre and a huge mall. He said it’s one of the bigger cities in the area, but nothing like Seoul. Brian goes to Seoul on a regular basis, as he is heavily involved with his church. I was overwhelmed by its size and I can’t imagine how big Seoul is going to be. We went and ate at rib place and I asked him many questions about his background and how he has adjusted to life in Korea. I had a great time and a great meal. We walked around the area as he pointed out a few key places in the city.


I had to get a picture of this bar, just for the namesake. I hope to check that place out at a later time. We stopped at a small café, Soho Café; it was very feminine and cute. Great coffee and fruit ice cream. Then we took the train back to Osan College station and walked home. I saw his apartment, it’s much larger than mine, and he saw my cute/quaint apt. I’m quite jealous of his place, as he has an elevator. We said our good byes and called it an evening. I had a lot of fun and hope to hang out with him again, possibility over summer vacation after he returns from his trip to Easter Island. I’m glad to be in this small city close to others that want to go and have fun and hang out together!

First Real Day of Teaching

07.21.10

I woke up later than usual, now 6am to my cell phone alarm. I have 20 minutes prepaid on my phone, but if a person calls me or texts me it doesn’t affect my prepaid minutes. I felt nervous about teaching by myself, but thankfully it is just one class. Baby steps, I’m just going very slowly. I intended to just teach the basics in conversation, “Hello”, “My name is”, “Good Afternoon”, and “Thank you”. The English class for the ‘All Day Class’ was in the afternoon at 2pm. I spent most of my morning getting prepared and talking with other teachers and the women from the front office. Since last night, many of the staff became more comfortable and relaxed speaking to me in English. Before, many of them were nervous to speak to me. I am happy to have gained more friends and acquaintances. I mostly asked how they were and if they were tired like me. ☺ Before lunchtime I snacked on a Clementine while refining my ppt for the next day. I felt prepared for the day and I went downstairs to the Teacher’s Lounge to chat with some of my co-workers. I discovered they were having lunch and I felt bad for interrupting, they invited me to join them, so we had lunch together. Some of the teachers were at school today to wrap up their paperwork for first semester. I tried not to disturb them too much, but they were all kind and helpful when I asked questions. I waited in anticipation as my English class was postponed for a half hour. The all day class consists of first and second graders, there are about 18 students in total and they are all very excited. They know most of the basics, but I want to make sure that they all understand it, rather than just regurgitating it. The all girls were shy but delighted to meet me and the boys were loud and full of energy. They enjoyed the matching game from the textbook’s CD-ROM after my lecture. The students enjoyed my worksheets as well; as soon as they finished the worksheet they would bring it to me to correct it with enthusiasm. That class was very tiring, but I enjoyed it. I think I’ll make a great English teacher. After school I went home for a quiet evening. I watched some movies on television, “Tristan & Isolde” and “Crank 3”. I prepared a vegetable induced dinner of boiled squash, zucchini, and red bell peppers with curry rice noodles. Yummy curry!

Tomorrow will be another great day at school and in the evening a planned outing with Brian in Suwon.

Working Hard and Playing Hard

07.20.10

Last day of school, summer vacation is upon us all, except me. It leaves me with mixed emotions. With the classes winding down it gives more time to get ready for summer classes. I think I have a good outline for the English course. In the meantime, today was a ‘party day’ after the classes were dismissed. All of the staff got to go on a ‘field trip’ of sorts… We went to Pinnacle Land in Asan (www.pinnacleland.net). It is a network of formal and informal gardens, which we explored in 95°F. There are about 20 separate gardens within the facility.





After we had a cold drink in the café (I had a peppermint iced tea, and I remembered it’s the best tea to drink to cool off quickly!). Afterwards, we boarded the ‘party bus’ and went to our second destination to a restaurant in Jebu-do, Seosin-myeon, Hwaseong-gun, Gyeonggi-do. Its specialty was a variety of local seafood dishes, in particular sliced raw fish. You name it, they had it!



It was a wonderful meal filled with laughter and joy. I met many of the staff and thoroughly enjoyed their company. On the bus ride home we sang karaoke, I sang two songs: (buzzed with Soju) ‘Under the Sea’ and ‘My Girl’. After saying our goodbyes at school I got a taxi with ‘Jennifer’ and ‘Steve Stone’ (two of the teachers). I was deliriously happy I took a chance and socialized with the staff at school despite the language barriers.

News, Papers, and Fun.

07.19.10

Second to last day, for the first semester of school! Many teachers and students are anxious for summer break. I found out today that my English co-teacher is leaving the school after this semester. He used his holiday last week because his father is sick. So instead of teaching he will be going home to care for his father. I will be getting a new co-teacher next semester, but I don't know whom yet. I spent most of the school day preparing for summer camp.

After school, Kwag Sang-hyun and I picked up my health papers at the Osan Hospital to apply for my 'alien card' at the Suwon government offices. I felt like I was waiting forever. I should be receiving my documents within two weeks, just before my summer vacation, hopefully! Afterwards, we went to a nearby English bookstore “Little John” to get some textbooks for my English summer camp, I got two different level books and the corresponding workbooks. The school paid for the books since I will be making copies to handout to the students. I also learned the school is going to inquire about purchasing a bicycle for me to make my commute easier and quicker. Yay! Hopefully, I will be receiving it before the end of English summer camp. Then I went back to school to meet up with some of the teachers to go out for dinner and drinks. My English co-teacher was very kind to invite me and I had a good time too. After dinner we went upstairs to a billiards hall and played some pool. One of the teachers (Jennifer is her English name) beat me in pool several times, I only won one game ☹ but I had plenty of fun.

(Jennifer and I)

(The other male teachers playing)

(My silly English co-teacher)

(The English Teachers; I think he looks like a Korean version of Sven Sundgaard, but taller and has similar mannerisms)

Traveling the Area

07.18.10

I woke up later than usual (7:20am), happily. Ate some fruit for breakfast, then took a shower in my petite bathroom. Because of the humidity my hair remained wavy through the whole day :/

I checked my webcomics and emails. Then I checked the NWS for the updates on the storm brewing at home. I texted my parents and talked to Phill over Skype. I made plans with Michael for an early dinner and went on with my day. I did some Korean speaking programs both Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur until my brain hurt. Then I checked the weather at NWS and found there were several tornado sightings at home. I promptly began texting my parents and Phill with the latest updates on the storm as both of their homes were without power. I was the 'remote meteorologist'. After the storms passed I said good bye to them and watched a bit of Korean TV until dinner. Michael took me to Songtan via the train, I bought my first transportation card with 10,000 Won loaded (Cost overall 14,000 Won).


We had some Mexican food on the “American Street” They even had a GameStop (there’s only 2 in the whole country) and a few other ‘American’ stores. The GameStop had a pretty decent selection of games, including many R4 cards.


After Songtan, we went to Osan and I went to the Lotte Mart for a few apartment supplies (Cost overall 10,790 Won). Then we went to a coffee shop next to the Osan Hospital. I had a yummy strawberry-mango smoothie (Cost overall for both drinks 8,000 Won).

We walked home from Osan (good exercise!). I’m glad his is willing to show me around to places I wouldn’t have known that they existed. I’m slowly understanding the transportation system and how to get around outside of my bubble. At some point soon I will have to travel alone and explore new places.

This is my day off?

07.17.10

I spent a good portion of today talking to Phill and my parents. Yet, at the same time, multitasking with refining the summer camp worksheets and starting on my PowerPoint presentations. I finished one complete ppt and half of another. I ate one complete meal today, noodle soup with vegetables and snacked on some mixed fruit throughout the day.

I spent my entire day inside, thankfully, since it continued to rain the whole day. I even took a long nap in the afternoon. I love the bedding gift from Yang Young-Rae, its soooo comfy!

Hopefully, I will be catching up with them soon as I thoroughly enjoyed their company. In the late afternoon, I watched “An Affair to Remember” with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr on DVD, a classic romantic drama. Then, I lazily went to bed early.

Officially One Week!

07.16.10

I have been in Korea for one week! Today I had no classes to teach, no English classes on Fridays. So, it was another day prepping for the summer camp and saying hello to all the students. It finally started raining, but the humidity was still very high (93%). I had another yummy lunch at school. after classes were let out, there was a gathering of students interested in the summer camp in the auditorium. Apparently, more students were interested than the openings available. So to make it fair every student was given a number and with the numbers 1-15 those students were able to drawn names out of a box for the summer camp enrollment. There were some upset students when their names were not called. I didn't understand the situation until after the whole event. Then I went to the teacher's lounge searched for more ideas for the summer camp. at 3:30pm the teachers played volleyball with an opposing elementary school teachers. I watched some of it and played the scorekeeper for a few games. They wanted me to play, but I remembered the last time I played in middle school with some bruises afterwards. I also spent some time with some of the female teachers and getting to know them. We cut up a small watermelon for a treat for the volleyball players. There are three female teachers that are befriending me and I'm happy to speak with them through broken English and Korean. After the volleyball game I walked home in the rain. It continued to rain into the late evening. I enjoyed my relaxing evening in and surfing the tube for some familiar comfort.

Planning Ahead

07.15.10

Woke up later than the usual, at 6:20am. I quickly got ready and made my bed, then talked with Phill on Skype around 7:00am for a short chat. I hurried to school and my co-teacher was back from his holiday. Yay, I’m not alone for the whole day. Worked on the summer camp lesson plans after the wonderful brainstorm yesterday. I have a rough draft and I made a lot of progress considering I learned of the camp not more than 24 hours ago. I still have yet to sit-in or teach in any English class at the school. I guess they’re just letting me adjust or something. I have 12 sections planned, in case the students are more advanced then I originally thought. They are from the lower to middle income families; most are living in the subsidized housing in the Humansia apartments. Those apartments are springing up everywhere near the school.


I’ve been told not to expect great things from most of them. But that won’t stop me from pushing to teach them. If I can learn Korean this year, they can learn some English. I tried to contact the U.S. Embassy via Phone, and no luck (I tried calling for an hour straight). They are very difficult to get a hold of, so I sent a quick email. Apparently, they respond to email better, that’s what I’ve been told. I saw a student at school today wearing the Korean Cub Scout uniform and I asked him (in English) “are you a boy scout?” and he nodded yes. I told him I was a girl scout a long time ago. That was my highlight during school. On my way home I wondered around the park next to my school. It is very beautiful.




After school I met up with Michael (Brian was unable to get out of his all male school dinner). We walked to Osan (about a 40 min walk) and he kindly showed me around downtown.

We went to the open market, it was huge. On the weekends it’s apparently very busy. We saw a jindo dog (any dog bigger than a lap dog is rare in this city) it was very cute and friendly.


We stopped at one of the cinemas in Osan, inside was a quaint coffee shop. I had a lemon ‘smoothie’, very tart and very sweet. I saw a movie poster for ‘Eclipse’; Twilight seems to be bigger here then at home strangely.

I keep seeing trailers for it on Korean TV. I can’t escape it. Afterwards, we headed home and took the bus (the Green 301), only cost 1,000 Won, a good bargain. After a busy day, it was nice coming home to unwind, but I enjoyed every minute of it!