Happy Thanksgiving

Its been 2 weeks since my last post, and I have thought of tons of things I wanted to write, but at the time I was no where near a computer or just really tired... I think I should get one of those voice recorder things so I can always make a note of what I want to say online!

I have recently dragged one of my friends into hot yoga with me! And two more seem rather interested in joining... seriously... if you haven't tried hot yoga for a couple of weeks you really should give it a go... even if you think you are in good shape you will find out how wrong you are... and if you are in terrible shape you will see how easy it is to improve your body! I went to class three times so far this week. Unfortunately I think it will take more than 1001 days to do a standing bow pose :( But I guess that's why we can make another list when this one is completed! On the up side I was able to do the toe stand pose on my left side for the first time yesterday... I didn't do it perfectly or anything, but I was able to take my hands off the floor for the first time ever! My knee is still too messed up on my right side to be able to have proper posture on the right side, but at least I can balance! And I Tuesday we did some really strange, but awesome poses, they were really hard, but totally rewarding! Of course I was no good at it, but I tried! Like they say at Bikram yoga "If you can, you must, if you can't, try!" Unarguably one of my favorite motivational sayings.

I have met with my weekend students three times so far, and I REALLY like them. Maybe I just really like kids in general, I dunno, but its so refreshing to spend some time with kids again. They are just so cute and sweet and try so hard. Its not easy to learn another language, and they have a hard time understanding me, but they haven't quit yet, which I think is comendable! We did a lot of listening stuff last week. I wish I could see them every day, I think I could really help them if I could see th that often... I think a group of more than 10 kids would be too much... I think the magic number is somewhere between 6 and 9 students. Maybe someday the people of the world will cherish kids appropriatly and give them what they need to thrive... small, supportive classrooms where the kids can take risks and grow to their full potential... but until that time I guess I will stay on damage control and try my best to help where I can... I am so going to end up home schooling my kids! hahah... poor kids!

I really need to get more organized... my office, home and inbox are a mess! I just don't "feel" like being on top of things these days... I just wanna let stuff go where it wants to go, I don't feel like orchestrating all the minor aspects of my day, and because of that things are getting out of control and super messy... sigh, but at least on Tuesday I cooked some food... when I was in America a few weeks ago I picked up some curry powder so I made curried lentils with barley and baked tofu. I really had no idea how the tofu would turn out since I have only recently began experimenting with actually cooking it (I used to just mix it in with stuff raw) but I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome... definitely something I will make again. The barley took twice as long to cook as I anticipated... and I wish I had seasoned it with something, but I don't know what... and the lentils were a complete disaster! They turned into lentil mush since I don't know how to cook them... so it looked like I had green mashed potatoes with my barley and tofu... better luck next time. And I made WAY too much for one person (this food isn't really John's style) so I packed it for little snacks to heat up at work, since my microwave has been broken for months. I took pictures of the food after packing it, bento style!

Last Weekend of Freedom

So, here I am, about to start waking up at 6am (without choice) and dressing up every morning... sometimes on Saturday to make a buck (rather a won.) Its really not a bad job, and I am getting pretty bored these days... honestly, I don't know what I would do with myself if I didn't have a job, I really sympathise with disabled people who cant work when I go through times like this.

A little over a week ago the building I work in caught on fire! I work on the 10th floor and the fire was on the 7th floor. My office was totally filled with ash and so much was destroyed... I have to get stuff dry cleaned that I left there, and my shoes... I don't even know how to clean them, but they were brown before, now they are black... and I only bought one new pair of shoes in the US, and they aren't the best for pants... oh well. Oh, and the whole place REEKS!!! It smells so bad, I am sure the fumes are toxic. Its just nasty. Its gotten better since last week, and I really hope that next week when I start will be even better.

I updated my books Ive read page. I finished the book Middlesex, and I thought it was quite good... it was long though! But I think most people would like the story, I did.

I made a to do list, but I still haven't printed it out. I will have to do that when I am back at work... and I'm going to make some of it public:
1. buy plane tickets to Japan
2. buy plane ticket to US (for Nov)
3. Contact my advisor and figure out when I can start my paper for my masters
4. email old school friends, is it possible to film a lesson in their class in Nov for my cert?
5. apply for an extension to my certification

That was all pretty important stuff that I have to do... well I don't have to do it, but it would make my life a lot easier if I could have those things done asap. The stuff on my 101 goals list is mostly not essential, but just stuff I would like to do, but the above list is actually essential. And I figure if I write it down I will stop worrying so much. All this worry and other bad emotions I have been feeling about all the stuff I have to do isn't healthy or helpful. Also, If I write this down in a public forum it gives me some type of accountability. (Hopefully)

My microwave is broken :( I have to tell my landlord, but its a holiday weekend, so I guess they will be with their family... but that means no more nuked rice for a while... that was sorta staple in my diet... sigh, I'm hungry. Oh well... I just don't feel like getting pots dirty right now. I think I might force myself to go to bed soon. night night.

DE Students Comments

This is a post that I want to use to generate anonymous comments about my teaching from my students. Hopefully they will post here.

If you are my student, here are the four questions I would like you to answer:

1. What do I do well in class?

2. What can I do better in class?

3. Why did you register for my class?

4. Will you register for my class again?

DIRECTIONS:
Just copy and paste the questions into the comment section and add your answers. You do not need to put your name unless you want me to respond to you in person. I will try to respond to everyone on this site here. Check back for updates

Thank you for helping me to become a better teacher :)

They are dropping like flies!

It's hard to know who to sympathize with... In one corner we have the teachers, who want to quit their contract, but they know if they tell their boss they could get monetarily penalized. In the other corner we have the hagwon (language school) that wants to keep its teachers and protect its investment, so they try to make it hard to quit. When a teacher leaves without notice then its a mad scramble over the next few days... trying to find replacements quickly is hardly ever an option, there is such a dearth of English teachers in this country, so the hagwon must call up all the students (maybe over a hundred people) and tell them "Sorry, your teacher fled the country so you can't have a class." Or in the best case scenario, there is another teacher who will work overtime to teach the class, but maybe the student really liked the teacher who left... But if the teachers were to tell the hagwon that they planned on leaving at a certain date... ending their contract early, then the hagwon might not pay them, and deduct a bunch of money from the final paycheck.... Sigh, all around it is a bad system.

Well, as I'm sure you can tell we just lost two teachers in the same day. I love my students, I don't hate my company, and I liked the teachers who left. So I'm not really taking sides here... its just bad all around. Losing one teacher without warning is bad enough, but two is a serious headache... but I totally understand, people shouldn't feel shackled to their job, and its good that these teachers are doing whats best for them... something we should all be doing.

But, maybe..... just maaaaybe, something good can come of this. Morale has been rather low on our floor lately for numerous reasons... one chief reason we feel powerless to do anything about... but... After the two teachers didn't show up to work (but they left a letter explaining that they won't be back) the Director of the company came down to have a meeting with all the foreign teachers. He wanted to know what was wrong... This is what the Enron guy should have don't before the sh*t hit the fan. Well, we told him as much as we were comfortable showing him, and he promised us a new contract in the next few weeks that we would be much happier with, and implied some other changes might be in the works too.

Pretty much everyone felt like "I'll believe it when I see it." I was just really happy cause he bought us food (I guess I'm easy to please... let me speak my mind and give me some food!) But my co-workers are right, lets not count our chickens before they hatch. Time to continue contacting other places... maybe this contract will be all its cracked up to be, but maybe not... and If it isn't then I cant see staying with a sinking ship... even though I really do like the ship... damn 정! That says "jung" and 정 is the Korean idea that we grow comfortable with people we are around a lot... even if they are not nice to us, or we move far apart, there is still that feeling between us... Its hard to explain... but I have 정 for my company and especially my co-workers and students, so making the decision to look at other places is not easy... and thanks to my study of the Korean language, I now have a word to explain how I feel :)

Anyway, Have a nice night. The Internet is back on at home, so I can post more pics when I get the time :)

Evidence that I have no shame!

Well, the trainer here asked if I could do a promo for my job, and I said yes... I wish the camera loved me as much as I love it... as you can see, at this link: http://www.jobpagoda.com/user000_info?depart=user_000_033_selectall&site=0004
I am NO GOOD in front of a camera when I don't have a script and tons of practice... this was one shot and I really regret that, I wanted to do it again... I am such a spaz in this video... so yeah, but my co-workers are kind enough to ignore it.

You can jab around that site and check out the other awesome videos of my company... see how little work I have to do to make all this cash! its kinda sick. And we are still getting ripped off...

Yikes! March is almost over!

I haven't made any posts in March... In the past two months I have visited two countries and I haven't posted anything about them... Why is not important, but I am shirking my bloging duties... I complain that no one reads this, but I never write, so why should poeple read this?

Well Thailand was a wonderfully amazing place! I want to return there now! Infact I want to move there and open my own school! Sigh... I think Thailand is the best thing about Korea :) I know that sounds like a terrible thing to say, and its not that I don't like Korea, its just that there are some people here who are really annoying me now. You know how people get fired for talking smack about their job on the internet, Well, I think I would like to test that theory! Of course since most of the people who work here dont speak fluent English I think I might be in the clear! hehe

Well basically I keep getting booked for Overtime classes that I did not approve and I was really sick earlier this week and they wouldn't let me go home. And my boss doesnt like my clothes and nothing in this country fits me... seriously... I went to a shop, tried on the biggest pair of pants they had and they were too small... maybe I am just shopping in skinny district... but its still really upsetting. Infact, my boss even told one of the other managers to take me shopping, it was a bit degrading.

Just having less than wonderful feelings lately and I wish I was back In Thailand! Well here is a picture of extreem bliss, If I go back to Thailand tomorrow it will not be soon enough!

On Being Bored and Busy

Well, I am working TONS of OT this month and last month... last month I worked 85 hrs of OT, and this month I will work at least that many hours perhaps more...

SO I haven't really done anything, so I haven't had much to write, but even though there have been things I want to write about... the last thing I want to do in my free time is write... or sit at a computer... I want to read, or explore the city, but I tend to do nothing... oh well... I am going to China in Feb so that will be interesting... I need to buy a camera... and suggestions?

Happy Wednesday

So, I say Happy Wednesday, and Happy Monday and so on to my students all the time. Most of them ask my why it is a happy Wednesday, and I just tell them if I celebrate Wednesday it makes it more fun and it goes by quicker... then they smile :) But, I am starting to think that if I continue to speak with my students in my strange ways I will send many Koreans to America and they will sound like me, and then Americans will think Korean people are strange. I mean, don't get me wrong here, Korean people are just as strange as American people, but they have their own unique strangeness, I don't want to foist my own abnormalities on them... As fun as it may sound ;)

Anyway, I am reading Freakanomics now, and I think you should too. Its very interesting, and eye opening. You should buy it, read it and then give it to a friend to read... What's it about? Well let me just tell you that in the introduction he talks about the crime rate began to drop when abortion was legalized. I am not about to say that everything this man says is accurate, but it is definatly interesting. And at least it is backed up with some statistics and research. But, as my mom is so keen to say, you can manipulate a statistic to mean many different things... so you have to take your own meaning from this stuff. It is a really interesting book though... Sumos and School teachers cheat... I knew about the later!

So, I am working a lot of overtime lately, its good but I don't get enough me time... happily I am stealing some me time righ tnow, which is why I have this chance to write to you! Hopefully today I will get to set up my computer so that I can make internet purchases with my Korean bank account. In Korea you cannot just use your debit card to buy something online, only credit cards, and it looks like it is really difficult for foreigners to get a credit card. In order to buy stuff online with my bank account I have to get a password for just my computer, and then I can only make purchases from my computer. I guess this is a good idea cause I don't have to worry about someone stealing my card # and buying crazy stuff online!

Ok, well I am going to lunch with John and friends soon so I am gunna raid my email now, thanks for listening, and comment if you can... so far it looks like only two people read this, and I LOVE you both for commenting, it sends a lot of love my way!

Byee

So, I suck at keeping any type of journal or records in general... unless I am getting paid for it that is. I think the reason I don't edit this that much is I think no one is reading it, but I have heard for quite a few people that they wish I would update more often. So, I am going to try and update this every day, with what ever mundane things happen! And, I am going to send out an email to everyone I can think of and let them know I will do this. Also, I would like to ask that if you read a post can you please just post a quick comment, I am trying to see how many people read this. Thanks :)

Ok, so I had to go to a Foreign Teacher's Seminar yesterday at 9AM, which was a bit early considering the place was almost an hour from my place. Of course it didn't help that I made a mistake and made John and I get off at the wrong subway stop, but we just had to get back on, so it was ok. Anyway the lectures at the seminar were pretty dull, but at the end there was a really fun music deal. They had a Korean rock band play about 5 songs. They played, Green Day, My Chemical Romance, AC/DC, something British and something Korean. They weren't amazing or anything, but it was cool. Unfortunately a lot of the teachers in the audience took this as a sign to ditch, the lights were low and they were pretty apathetic. These people were also quite rude, they were laughing at the poor English of the Korean presenters, and talking all throughout their lectures, and of course leaving early. Well, I am not party pooper, and John isn't either.

During the My Chemical Romance song John and I went up front and started dancing! It was really cool, one other guy we work with came up and danced too, and so did a woman I didn't know! And then there was a Korean drum and dance group with four members. They did a really cool drum peice and then they did a dance, only one guy danced but he also said a lot of stuff in Korea, like a chant. I don't know what he was saying but it sounded really cool. He taught the audience a sentence, and I don't remember it, but it was pretty strange! Then he said he would teach people to dance the way he did if they wanted to come up on stage, one of the guys who works in my building ran up, so I followed him! It was pretty fun, it really hurt my legs though! And the MC of the show gave us both 10,000 won gift certificates (around $9) when we walked off the stage, and the guy gave me a hug later on.

Anyway after the show we went to eat with two of our friends and walked around the department store. We went home and watched some TV and snacked on junk food. This morning we had French Toast and eggs (YUMMY) and watched some more TV. I skyped my mom for about 2 hrs. Then John and I went out for a walk, it is Pepero day, so there are lots of couples out. Pepero day is the day you are supposed to give pepero to your boyfriend or girlfriends. But friends also swap Pepero, one of my students even game me some. What is Pepero? It is a cookie in the shape of a stick covered in chocolate. They have many different flavors, but I like this chocolate covered chocolate ones and the chocolate filled ones the best. Here is a pic of Pepero.


And this is what the front of all the convenient stores looks like this weekend. They make lots of strange gift selections for suckers to spend TONS of money on... I just bought two boxes, I think thats good enough :)

So, I wonder if any American products will ever have a holiday named after themselves? Pepero day is only about 5 years old, so I figure American companies will figure out how cool this is and before you know it we will have M&M day... But Pepero Day is always on 11/11 because Pepero is in the shape of a 1, so the day with all ones is for Pepero.

Ok, Stargate is on (NERD) so I am going to go watch, I love you all, and comment please :)

Happy Weekend

So, after promising to blog even when nothing eventful happens I find myself, actually keeping my promise! So, I am finally free for a day... it was nice this week, only having to work three days, but it really put a dent in my paycheck. We have this deal where as long as we work 8 hours a day we get a guaranteed minimum pay... normally we can make much more than that since we get paid for each student we have, and its pretty easy to get OT... well with three days off I lose about $150 a day! So I am really close to the minimum pay now... sigh, Well there still is one more day, and I didn't add in the little extras (OT pay, interview pay etc.)

When a student is absent I only get paid half what I would make if they were there... so I have been sending my students text messages on their phones... it worked really well on Thursday and Friday... but today I had three absences and one of my hour students was a half an hour late! It was a pretty nice day out... but when the student doesn't show up to a class (or cancels with less than 48 hrs notice) they still have to pay the full amount.. I would love to know the reason I only get paid half... oh well... its better than nothing.

So, heres a sad story... one of the office managers brought her new puppy to work today cause her mom wants her to get rid of the puppy! Its a really cute little white dog, I cant remember what its called, but his name is Peppy, and he certainly is peppy! Well I guess her mom doesnt like the dog, but he is really cute, and he isnt as dumb as I thought a little dog would be... I was teaching him not to hump my foot... of course I was using Korean ("anee-o" instead of "no") and after about 3 min he started to figure it out... of course 20 min later he forgot it, but it only took about 1 min to retrain him... so I think he is pretty bright. He is so tiny! I really hope her mom has a change of heart, she has only had him for 4 days, and as anyone who has had a puppy knows they can be a pain in the neck for about 18-24 months. I hope to post some happy news about the situation on Monday. I didn't have a camera so I couldn't take a picture, but I think I will try and convince her to bring him back some day.

So, John and I went to this place called Kim's Club on Wednesday... it took us a while to find it, but fortunately Korean people are SUPER nice and even if they don't speak your language they will try to help you... I totally recommend coming here and you will have no problem as long as your not afraid of a little language barrier! Of course if you come here when I am here you will have an advantage (I have several Korean friends!) Anyway, Kim's club is like Walmart but looks more like Wegman's... its nice and clean, good prices, and there are food samples on every isle! It is also open 24 hrs a day! It was really crowed when we went there... which is typical in the country! So my students have recommended I go there at 10 PM... its really close, so I can take a taxi home... the subway stops running at midnight here. and a taxi ride is only a few bucks... less than 4... its really cheap here.

Well I got a cute binder and some food... we got cds, and cat food. Its really cheap cat food, we get paid on the 10th and I am going to order some food online and get it delivered to our house... They only deliver stuff when you are home, so they call you before they come over... if you arn't home they come back another day. And many places charge little or nothing for delivery, and the service is really good. I am told it is because there is a lot of competition between the delivery companies. In America we only have 4 companies... FedEx, UPS, USPS and DHL, but here there are more than 20... and thats just in Seoul!

Ok, well I love you all, and I am hoping to go see a movie tonight, but John is feeling a little sick from hanging out in a cafe where people were smoking like crazy... I guess that is one thing I can thank my parents for... I am immune to cigarette smoke... at least I feel immune, I'm sure it is still doing its fair share of damage. So, I wish there was a way to send out an automatic email to people who want to know when I update my blog... if anyone has any ideas let me know... right now I only have manual ideas... looking for something easy and automatic.

Good morning to you and Good evening to me! :)

Repeat Weekend?

So, It's been a really busy week. First week of the month. At least half of my students are repeat students, so I think I am doing a good job, and I am getting several of the longer classes, which pay better and are more fun. I will get my first paycheck in about 3 days, its automatically added to my bank account. I made about $2,800 but since it is the first month I am keeping very little of it. I have to pay two months worth of rent ($1500), deposit ($400) and something else and taxes... I think it come down to about $800 that will actually be deposited. John made more money that I did so he is gunna be my sugar daddy for a while!! :) But I am pretty happy with the amount I made, and I think I can make even more since I didn't even work the whole month (started on the 6th.)

So, last weekend was a lot of fun. John and I went out with about 6 other people we work with for dinner and then to a bar. We didn't really eat since we weren't hungry, but we had a lot of fun.
These are the people I went out with (except Kristen is taking the picture so you cant see her). This is the typical spread you get at a Korean BBQ place. There is a BBQ pit in the center of the table and most of the other plates are side dishes that come with the food. You also get rice and soup and eggs. Its pretty nice. Most of us made the mistake of having soju also, which lead many to feel somewhat less than awesome when we had to go to work at 10AM tomorrow morn! But I only had a small amount, alcohol puts my right to sleep, so there really is no point in me drinking it.
Of course, this is what happened after dinner when we got to the bar, Woodstock. This bar was actually really cool. You can kinda see in the background that instead of liquor bottles on the back wall it is filled with records and cds. When you sit down you get little cards where you can request songs. Almost all of the music is American, so you don't have to worry about not knowing Korean music. I wish we took a pic of the bathroom cause it was disgusting! We got some chips and dip and beer, and then later on the host gave us free fries :) All in all it was a great night.

I have finally realised what is going to be the worst thing about going to South Korea. I am going to be here for a year, and in that time I will make some good friends, I've met several fabulous people already. And in a year I will have to part with them. Chances are I will stay in contact for a while, but I know how it goes... I just wish the world were a little smaller so that we would never have to lose contact with the people we cared about.

And on that note. It looks like we will be going out again tonight. I don't know where we will go this time, but I'm sure it will be too much fun :) You are all sleeping now, so I think I will take a nap too. I really should go work out. Love ya all.

Of Costco, buses and great news!...

Well has been a good day so far. I am sitting at home chilling out before the second part of my shift starts up. John and I just returned from our adventure to Cost-co. I was shocked to find out that there are 5 such stores in the country and three right here in Seoul. Unfortunatly they only accept cash, checks and two types of credit cards, so we weren't able to buy everything we wanted to buy. But all in all it was an ok experience.

This morning one of my students told me how to take the bus to Cost-co since it is about a 40 min walk from the nearest subway station. I was so afraid to take a bus anywhere, there are, at any given moment, at least 10 buses within my view as I look up and down the street. They literally go everywhere. They are pretty cheap, 1000won, which is about $1. So we got on the bus and said "Cost-co" several times hoping that would let the driver know that we didn't know where to get off. He was so funny, when it was our stop first he just waited to see if we were going to get off, and then he started yelling "Hello, hello, Cost-co." Then when we walked off the bus I guess we looked confused so he called us back and pointed in the direction we were supposed to go. Everyone here is super nice and helpful for foreigners even if they only know a tiny amount of English.

A short walk later we were at the strangest wholesale club ever. I know your image of a wholesale club is a sprawling complex in the middle of nowhere, but no one goes to the middle of nowhere in Seoul... unless you are a farmer. So this place had to be in the thick of it. It was about three stories high, with shopping in the basement and first floor, parking on the second, and something else on the third... I am not sure I didn't go up there. They have escalators that you can use with a shopping cart. They are essentially large moving ramps. The carts don't slide down the ramps because the wheels have magnetic rings on them to hold them to the ramp until you reach the floor you want. Its really amazing. But while I was there I did see one person's cart get stuck and people started to pile up behind him for a few seconds until he got it unstuck. I think it could be pretty hazardous, but there are tons of hazardous things here that don't tend to kill anyone, its rather strange.

Anyway, I was hoping to take a taxi (or as they say tak-shi) back since this stuff was heavy, but we only had 8000 won and that might not make it. So we went for the bus again. After a short walk back we missed a bus but caught the next one, about 5 min later and enjoyed the aircon (which is what they call a/c) until we got home. You would not believe the way these guys have to drive, rush hour was starting and its every man for himself on the roads. They don't even yield to other bus drivers, and I think they actively try to ram taxis off the road. After several near misses and lots of honking we returned home magically unscratched.

So, Cost-co wasn't quite what I had hoped it would be, but I certainly enjoyed the adventure. I am going to start bringing our camera everywhere, even seemingly mundane places, since something interesting tends to happen where ever I go.

Oh, and I had this student this morning, a man, probably 40 years old max. And he came into my office at the start of his class and asked me "Is it sexual harassment if I say 'Hello beautiful woman" I told him I didn't think so and he said its what he wants to say to me when he sees me! HAHA seriously, if you are a white woman with long hair you have to come over here... for some reason its really attractive... I think the same goes for white men, but then I have been told they are a little intimidated by us as well (strong American women!) I have had my fair share of exceptionally shy male and female students, some will hardly talk. But after a while they can relax... like three classes later!

Oh and now for my good news! Before I left for Korea I took a Physics CST exam, which is the test you have to take to become a physics teacher in NYS. Well I took the test once before (many years ago) and I failed by not too many points. And this time I actually passed! I needed a 220 and I got a 232! I don't know what it is out of, and I don't really care since I don't plan to take it again to improve my score. NYS only cares that I pass. So now I just have to finish up this grad degree and then some paperwork and I will have my perm. cert.!! Pretty cool.

So far today is good. :)