24- two years!!

Two years ago I left the USA and got on a plane to the unknown. It has proven to be the best decision I've made so far, I think. I'm currently in Ubud, Bali Indonesia. Arrived earlier this morning after spending some time in Yogyokarta and prior to that Malaysia. I have one week of vacation left, and when I go back to Korea the majority of my EPIK class will have left Seoul. The idea of a third year, and a third winter in Seoul is a little scary at the moment but time seems to go by too fast and I haven't accomplished half of what I set out to do when I came here, so here's to having a better, and more productive third (and final) year in Korea!!! 

19 months

I'm back from vacation in Thailand and Cambodia, and the new school year is now into it's third week. This year is soooo soooo different from the last year and a half i've experienced in Korea. For starters, I now teach third graders as well as fourth, fifth, and sixth. Teaching third graders is completely new to me, and something I'm having a little bit of a hard time adjusting to. They're just now studying English for the first time, so their level is far lower than any other student I've had, and also, as is to be expected due to their age, they're incredibly chatty and energetic and a little bit hard to manage. Along with teaching a new grade, I also have three new co teachers, and a total of four co teachers altogether. Three of them I had never even had a conversation with even though they've been at my school since I started here, and then the fourth one is my sixth grade CT who has been with me since the beginning. My sixth grade CT and I have a pretty good routine down, so that hasn't been any different. The sixth graders this year are students that I've taught since I arrived in Seoul, half way through their fourth grade year. They're already really familiar with me and my teaching style, so far the terrible bad attitude that seems to plague most sixth graders hasn't kicked in yet, but then again it's still early. There are six fifth grade classes this year, four of them I teach with the designated fifth grade English teacher, and the other two I teach with one of the homeroom teachers who has taught English in the past. In the two classes with the homeroom teacher I'm pretty much in charge and she assists with translating a little bit, and some classroom management, but as far as the points and rewards system it's all my own and I'm really happy about that. Fourth and third grade I teach with a lady who was a homeroom teacher in the past and has never taught English before. She's having to adapt to not only working with a native teacher, but also to teaching English overall, so we haven't quite figured out a routine that we're completely comfortable with, but I she's also leaving for maternity leave in one month and I'll get a substitute teacher, so I'm not really sure how that's going to go, but we'll work it out.

The other thing that changed is where I eat lunch. In the past all students ate in their homerooms, and the subject teachers ate in a separate room near the principal's office. Towards the end of last year my school built a cafeteria and students ate there, but the subject teachers still ate in their own little room. This year however, everybody eats in the cafeteria. Students, homeroom teachers, and subject teachers alike. It's really noisy, and kids will be kids so every time they see me they say hello so I constantly have to stop mid bite and acknowledge them so as not to hurt their feelings. I definitely like that they like me enough to greet me, I think it would be strange if they chose to ignore me instead, but that's not to say I don't miss the quietness of the old lunch room.

Yesterday was the first warm-ish day of the year so I went to one of the parks along the river with a friend and we rode bikes for a couple of hours, and then walked around and got dinner. It was definitely refreshing to be able to go outdoors and not have to bundle up to the point where moving is uncomfortable, I'm looking forward to more good weather days before the dreaded humid summer hits.

15 month update

It's cold..oooh soo terribly terribly cold.
I was starting to wonder how I would ever make it through this winter since the first flurries of snow have started falling already this week, but luckily somebody heard my calls for help and the heating has been turned on at school! granted, it doesn't get turned on all day everyday, but the highlight of my day now is when I hear the little ring that the system makes when It's turned on :)

My main co teacher is back now and things so far seem smoothly, we've only taught one day together so far but hopefully everything continues to stay calm. She is really good at class management, so hopefully she can reel the sixth grade students back in, since they're going a little mental with winter vacation and graduation approaching soon. Now that my main CT it's time to get serious about winter camp planning, so now I'll be more busy with that. I want to do a very good job since my summer camp didn't go that well. In teaching I've found that my weak point is teaching younger/lower level students. I really struggle with finding material that is fun, educational, but not too difficult for them, this winter camp we will have third and fourth grade students so my material needs to be the lowest possible and that will be a challenge -___-;.

Anyways, nowadays I'm keeping busy doing a lot of things and nothing at the same time. I don't know how to explain it, but I feel like I have very little time to myself, but when people ask me what I've been up to I feel like I haven't been doing anything.
I need to finalize where I will travel to for my winter/spring vacation, and soon.. yes, very soon I need to start thinking about what I will do when my contract is over. Stay for a third year? move onto a different country or go back to the States?
I'm so happy now with my life, that thinking that things have to change soon is scary. I've finally settled into my own space, made cuts and additions in order to better work towards improving myself, I think I need more time before making any drastic decisions. Even if I do stay in Korea a third year it doesn't mean I can keep the same lifestyle I have now. Most of my friends here are expats/transient so they'll be moving on, and even my co-workers will change next year. Staying a third year doesn't guarantee the same smooth sailing I've had this year, but it also leaves room for things to be better. decisions, decisions!

Halloween at school

 Korea doesn't really celebrate Halloween on the same scale as we do in the States, so I wanted to share a little bit of that tradition with my students and thus, all of last week was Halloween week at school. My substitute grade six co teacher is the sweetest lady ever, and she went out and bought all sorts of neat decorations for the classroom, and during class I showed a few scary videos that made some students jump, then so that they wouldn't hate me completely, I followed that up with some funny haunted house videos, and gave them a brief history of Halloween. At the end of the Halloween lesson there was a quiz to see who was paying attention, the team who answered the most questions got to stick their hand in my "mystery box" and fish for candy. My mystery box contained mashed up bananas, peanut butter and jelly so since students didn't really know what was inside they were apprehensive and a bit disgusted by the texture, but I think they really enjoyed it.

On the actual Halloween day I told my 6th & 5th grade students that if they came to my office wearing a costume and said "trick or treat" I would give them a candy. I expected most of them to forget, or not wear a costume, but I was really surprised when I saw how many showed up, and specially surprised when I saw how creative some students got with their costumes! It was a really fun time, and even though by the end of the week I was more tired than usual, I'm really glad I did this with them.

Enjoying snacks & watching a video

Class 6-5

This is a costume they said ;) fifth graders

Two of my funniest sixth graders

She dabbed sunscreen on her face and called it a costume, grade 6

Hulk hands, grade 5 

Pretty witches, grade 5 

I'm not sure, Frankenstein, and a Zombie with an arrow, grade 5

Some fifth graders

Happy Halloween!

Travel Videos

Below are two short videos from my most recent travels. First is a compilation of shots taken during my trip to Beijing in September, and second is from my trip to Jeju Island in October. 

14 month update

Phew! I almost forgot to do this one- honestly I think I could have very easily gotten away with skipping this month as nothing exciting happened, but I know myself and skipping just one month will be the start of a series of many missed months so even though there isn't much to say, I'll update anyways ;-).

My main co teacher is still out on maternity leave, and me and the substitute teacher are trekking along. We get along really well, but I also miss my Co-teacher; can't they both work at my school? Sixth graders are troublesome. I'm really concerned about their English level for when they start middle school next term, but it seems nothing I do can get them motivated to participate in class. Fifth graders are still a dream, and I actually have a pretty big open class with them first thing tomorrow. I was told this will play a big part in whether I can renew my contract or not. Honestly, I haven't really put much thought into renewing, but I want to do a good job either way so I can at least have that option. Fourth graders.. they are a mess (but the good kind of mess) they're terribly cute, but also terribly chatty.

As for my personal life, I've started having less crazy weekend nights out and more chill movie nights with friends. I think first year was dedicated to exploring, trying out everything, but now that I'm more settled most of the time I just really prefer to stay in my area and have a relaxed time.

So, that's month 14 in a nutshell! winter is just around the corner and I have a feeling I'll have even less to write about once I start hibernating in my house.

;-)

13 month update

The first month of my second contract has ended and it was so much different than the first month of my first contract. I feel very settled and at home here. My main co teacher is away on maternity leave so since we returned from vacation I've been teaching the sixth graders with a substitute. At the beginning she was really shy and nervous but now I think she feels more comfortable and we've actually gotten pretty close. She's really friendly and we have a closer relationship than with my usual co teacher.
The grade 6s are starting to get a little bit restless and are harder to teach now that they seem less motivated to learn and participate in class, I think it's because this is their last semester before graduation, luckily though, fifth graders are still a dream and I love them so soooo much! I'm sad that when my contract ends they will only be halfway through sixth grade and I won't be able to see them graduate. Fourth graders are cute too, but my co teacher has changed up the way my lessons with them go, so now I don't actually teach them from the book and I just come up with activities or games to do during the entire class period.
All in all life in Korea is really good and I'm really happy that I stayed.
Wednesday marked the start of the Chuseok Holiday which I've been told is the equivalent of Thanksgiving back home. So I've been on school break for the last 4 days. Last Chuseok I had just arrived in Korea so I spent int sight seeing and getting settled in, this time around my friends and I decided to take a trip and I'm currently writing this from Beijing, China! I will post a separate post about my trip later, but for now this is my 13 month update!

turning 25.

Today is my 25th birthday! the second birthday I spend in Korea, and while I've been at work/my office the majority of the day I have definitely felt loved and been made to feel special from both friends near and far. My coworkers have been so kind and generous, dropping by to congratulate me and asking if I have plans with my friends so as not to spend it alone. I've even been surprised by not one, but four beautiful and delicious cakes from some of my co-teachers. Since it's Wednesday, tonight I will take it easy and have dinner with a friend in my building, and then Friday night I will meet my other friends for a night out in the town. Last night I went to bed a little depressed by the fact that I would be a quarter century old when I woke up, but now I realize just how silly that was. I mean, I'm off to China in less than a week! I'm seeing and doing things that people only dream of. Twenty-five is nothing to be scared of, and if anything, I still have five more years to worry about turning thirty. ;)

12 month update

One year ago I sold or gave away pretty much all of my belongings, packed up two suitcases and set off to the other side of the world to teach English! Deciding to quit my comfortable job, and saying goodbye to everything and everyone that was familiar to me was the craziest, and bravest thing I've ever done. Even though not a day passes in which I don't think of the home and people I left behind, I can't imagine my life now without the people I've met since arriving in Korea. People whom were not even in my life a year ago, are now the people I talk to everyday, and the people whom I've grown to think of as my family. I've signed on for a second year at my school, and I think this will be my final year, but I also didn't plan on staying longer than one year so it will be interesting to find out what exactly happens when this contract ends.

In less than a month's time I will be celebrating my twenty-fifth birthday, and while I'm probably not at the place (career and personal) where SOCIETY things I should be, I know in my heart that I'm definitely where I, MYSELF want to be.

Living abroad for the past twelve months has changed me in ways I wasn't even aware of, until people started pointing them out to me. No matter for how long you do it, living abroad is something I think everyone should experience.

EPIK Renewal Process

I started my original contract with EPIK/SMOE in august of 2012, and although each school/district is different, below is an estimated rundown of the renewal process for me. If you're interested in applying with EPIK, or already working here and curious about how it will work, hopefully this will serve as a guide. I also have a timeline of dates during the application process, if you're still in that stage.

Late August 2012 contract began

Mid May 2013 had open class for school administration

Late May 2013 school administration gave OK for my renewal. Was asked if I wanted to stay or go, and fill out a form indicating my decision.

Mid June 2013- Signed new contract

Late June/Early July completed required health check to be picked up within five days.

Mid July 2013- Extended ARC card/Visa

Everything in order for me to stay in Korea for a second year has been taken care of!

11 month update

Eleven months have passed since I first arrived in Korea!! While having dinner with friends earlier I mentioned that this would be the time when I'd be panicking and rushing to do and see everything before my time in Korea ends, but since I have made the decision to stay I feel really calm and at ease, specially since none of my close friends are leaving either.

Today I renewed my visa, and completed everything that's required for me to stay a second year. Nowadays, I find myself preparing for the two week Summer English camp that's coming up, trying to stay cool in this crazy hot weather, and daydreaming about my vacation to Japan that's also coming up. Life is good, honestly, I feel very settled and at home here. My school is wonderful, nobody really bothers me, which at first felt lonely, but hearing horror stories from friends or other people online, makes me really thankful that my school staff pretty much leaves me alone as long as show up and do what I'm supposed to.

I haven't been going out as much lately for crazy weekend nights, I feel like I've experienced Seoul nightlife enough to where I feel completely comfortable staying in and hanging out watching movies with friends, or even hanging out alone at my apartment. I've slacked off on my Korean classes, but I'm looking forward to starting that up again once camp and vacation are over with.

I'm just really content with everything in my life now, the only thing that would make it perfect would be seeing my family, but that's just once again me wanting to have my cake and eating it too.

10 month update

Hooooooorayyyyy! I have now been in korea for ten months, and have some pretty exciting news: I finally made up my mind about whether I wanted to renew or not, and most importantly, my school, and the Seoul Office of Education decided as well, and I'm staying for a second year! I have signed my new contract, and will go in to renew my visa and health check within the next few weeks. Deep inside, I think I knew all along that I wanted to stay, my hesitation came from feeling guilty about being away from my family, and letting more time pass by before I succumb to expectations about where I should be at this point in my life. Thankfully, even though I know my mom isn't thrilled about the idea of me staying a second year, she has been supportive and was happy when I told her I had passed my evaluations.

Now that renewal is out of the way, I'm spending my time preparing for Summer camp. I have already finished the workbook, next will be making power points, and coming up with activities that will fill ten day, and four hours each day -___-;
 It is really hot and humid now, they say the monsoon season has started so we've had more cloudy days than sunny days lately.  My school doesn't really like turning on the air conditioning, so teaching has gotten really difficult; not only do I feel exhausted, but It's hard to get the students excited about learning and participating when everybody is busy fanning themselves or trying to stay completely still to stay cool.

To cope with the heat, I keep my mind thinking about my vacations coming up within the next couple of months! In August, I'm finally going to visit my friends in Japan for two weeks! I will be spending most of the time in Tokyo, but I'm hoping to travel to the Kyoto/Osaka area. In university I had may Japanese friends, some of whom I haven't seen in a few years, so I'm really looking forward to that reunion. Then in mid September Korea will celebrate Chuseok (similar to American Thanksgiving) and I will have a five day break from school. During that time, some of my friends and I have booked a mini vacation to Beijing, China! If you take a look back at my Asia travel wishlist that I wrote while I was still in the States, none of these places were on it! but, they are still places I'm happy to be going to. While in Beijing, I'm most looking forward to climbing the Great Wall. Although I miss my family very much, I don't have plans to return the the U.S. until I'm finished working abroad for good. I just think I owe it to myself to take advantage of these opportunities and travel  and and see as much as I can. Depending on my winter schedule though, I am hoping to visit my grandparents in Guatemala and hopefully my parents can fly down and meet me there. If that doesn't work out, perhaps I will tackle another country from my list.

Whatever happens, or wherever I go next, I'm just relieved that at least my job and living arrangements have been sorted out for the next 14 months. Luckily, my closest friends in Seoul have all signed on for a second year as well, so I'm looking forward to making more memories together with them~

Video: My life in Korea (so far)

Hello~

I'm always taking random videos of my life in South Korea but I never do anything with them, they just stay on my iPhone collecting digital dust. A couple of weeks ago I actually ran out of storage space on my phone, so rather than deleting all of these memories, I decided to put this together so that I can have it to look back on when I'm old and gray :)

The videos were shot sometime between August 2012 and May 2013 with an iPhone 4 and put together using Final Cut Pro X.

Youtube: abcdaisytv

Instagram: abcdaisy

Blog: http://abcdaisy.blogspot.kr

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/abcdaisy

Music by:

Jess Penner- Life Is Rosy

https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/jess-penner/id295150515

http://jesspenner.com

https://www.facebook.com/jesspenner

https://twitter.com/jesspenner

9 month update

Hello! Hello!
The winter blues are gone and sprummer has landed in Seoul with full force. I say sprummer because we maybe had two weeks of spring like weather before it started getting way too warm, but it's not quite summer yet because the awful humidity hasn't settled in yet. The last month has been quite busy for me, and also very uneventful at the same time. I don't know how that would be possible, but yet somehow it is. In my last post I was gearing up for my renewal open class, and I'm happy to say that it went off without a hitch. The principal, head teacher and other admins of my school came in to observe, as well as two of the other Korean teachers I co-teach with. At the end my principal and co-teachers said really kind things about my lesson, and I filled out an application to renew, now it seems it's up to the Office of Education and their budget to approve or deny my renewal, but true to Korean customs, I probably will not know their decision until around July.

Aside from working, I've been preparing for summer by buying some new clothes and finally getting the famous Korean Magic Perm. My hair is naturally really thick, and frizzy and although it's tame when I use a flat iron, any hint of moisture in the air turns it into a wild lion's mane. I went to a hair salon in Myongdong about three weeks ago and was greeted by very kind people, however, none of them could speak any English (nor I Korean) so I phoned my friend and she was able to translate what I wanted. Because my hair is so long and thick I was prepared to stay at the salon for nearly five hours, so I was really surprised when an hour and a half into my visit the girl told me I was "finish-yyy". My hair now is really smooth, and I can wash and air dry it and go about my business. The salon I went to normally charges around 150,000 won (roughly 135 USD) but I had a discount voucher and only paid 89,000 won (70 ish USD). My one disappointment with the treatment is that a week and a half after I got it done, I noticed that some parts in the back of my head were starting to get wavy again, so I went back to the salon where my friend once again translated, and I found out that my "foreign" hair is more than the chemicals could handle, and thus, I will never have that pin straight hair that most Korean girls have, but as long as the top of my hair is frizz free, I can deal with it.

Lastly, the last month included a trip outside of Seoul! I haven't left Seoul since early November, so I was really excited to escape the craziness of the city. Two of my good friends Celebrated birthdays recently, so we went to Sokcho, a beach town in Gangwon province which is bordered by the East Sea (also known as the Sea of Japan). We took a commuter bus Friday evening right after work and the trip took roughly two and a half hours. We stayed at a really nice Hostel named The House Hostel, it was super clean, and the owner was really friendly. This was my first time ever staying at a hostel, so I was a little bit hesitant, but luckily I had a good experience! Sokcho itself is a really quiet town, with not much of a night life, but that was fine since we get plenty of that in Seoul. More than anything, my friends and I were interested in catching some sun on the beach, and some of my friends even hiked Seoraksan, which is said to have the third highest peak in Korea.

Today is Bhudda's birthday, so I'm enjoying a relaxing three day weekend in Seoul. I'll end this now, and leave you with a couple of photos from my weekend getaway to the beach. :)

hello new school year!

When I arrived in Seoul six months ago, I actually came into my school halfway through the academic year (In Korea school runs from early March-early August, then early September-mid February) and just took over whatever the previous foreign teacher had been doing, since it was too late to try to change the rules or start a new routine. For almost two months I didn't teach proper textbook lessons since we finished it early, so instead I came up with filler lessons with games and such, then I was off school for two weeks in which I did a 'staycation' meaning I pretty much just bummed around Seoul and the area near my apartment. So coming back to school last week and getting back into a routine was a bit challenging, but today I completed my first full week back at teaching and I'm happy to report that it all went smoothly. It might be because It's a new year and students are still filling things out, but for the most part it seems that my students this year are really well behaved. The hallway were my office is located is a lot quiet now since the new sixth graders are not as rowdy as last years. But I do miss my students from last year though, they were the first bunch I ever taught and were goofy kids that made my classes really interesting; luckily I see them occasionally around the school when I'm walking home. Also, with the new school year has come the new EPIK intake; New teachers have arrived to start their contracts, and lives in Korea. I've met a couple of them since my building houses several foreigners, and It's almost like dejavu. Everything they're going through I did six months ago, all of their questions I had when I first got here. It seems like a cycle almost, since so many people come and go. There is still so much about Seoul and the public school system that I'm still learning about, but I'm trying to help out wherever I can, but still trying not to say too much and overwhelm them; for me, most of the fun from being in a new place came from getting lost, exploring and figuring things out on my own.

Things this year are really different; the second foreign teacher finished his contract in late February and wasn't replaced since my school no longer meets the guidelines for having to NETs.Now I am all alone in the office, and rather than teaching two grades, I'm now in charge of three, meaning one grade all together doesn't get a native teacher. I'm teaching grades 4, 5, and 6. Because I teach three grades, I only see each grade once a week and I've already noticed that bonding with them is going to be hard. Luckily, my new 5th graders are the same ones I taught during 4th grade last year so they're familiar with me, and seemed excited to have me as a teacher again. I also have three co-teachers now instead of two, and one of my grade 6 classes I teach with a homeroom teacher.
Two of my coteachers are the same from last term, and we are getting along really well. I feel like at the beginning perhaps they were cold/indifferent towards me because I was just another foreigner who isn't really that dedicated to the job, but hopefully by now I've shown to them that I really do care about the students and I want to do a good job so they've started to trust me more. My third co-teacher was a grade 6 homeroom teacher last year, and this is her first time teaching English in a long time. Her English level isn't as high as my other two CTs but we can still understand each other, and she is really sweet. Overall, I feel really lucky to have gotten the school I'm in because even with the language barrier, they're all super friendly and kind to me. I've heard bad stories of mean principals or VPs, and I can honestly say that mine go out of their way to make sure I'm comfortable. This semester I'm going to make a conscious effort to learn more Korean and try to socialize more with the other staff rather than eating and dashing, or staying shut in my office all afternoon. I feel the reason I don't try to talk to the other staff or my VP is because I feel guilty that I haven't learned more Korean, and they probably don't approach me because they're nervous of their English so there's definitely barriers we both need to work on.

It's finally starting to warm up in Seoul now, last weekend it was even warm enough to only wear a thin jacket and go to the park, and go on a hike the next day! There's a rumor floating around that schools typically ask if we want to renew whenever the weather starts getting nice, so I'm expecting it to happen any minute, but I'm still not entirely sure as to what I'll do; I've always been bad at making decisions.
A few photos from my most recent hike: we originally headed off towards Mt Achasan, but it ended up only taking about 40 minutes and wasn't challenging enough, so we kept going onto Mt Yongmasan. It's very clear that Hiking is Korea's national pass time since the minute we stepped out of the subway station there were tons of people decked out in their hiking gear; we actually didn't know where to go once we left the station, so we ended up following the parade in colorful hikers and ended up at the right place. Hopefully I will go on more hikes as the weather improves and will be able to make a post solely on hiking as I think it's a big cultural experience that everyone should experience at least once. Hiking in Korea is not the same as hiking back in the U.S. for sure!

parade of hikers

Seoul from the peak to Yongmasan

Seoul from Achasan & snack time

5 months

Today marks 5 months since my arrival in Korea. There is so much I still haven't done or seen that I'm starting to think one year just won't be enough!

to celebrate, here is a video tour of my apartment in northeastern seoul!

playing catch up

So I've pretty much put this blog on the back burner since arriving in Korea, and I definitely didn't plan on that. I just got...busy/forgetful/insertotherlameexcuseshere. After chatting with some friends, and reading through blogs of fellow teacher, I've been motivated to pick this up again. If not for the people who may or may not read this, but for myself. I'm not yet sure if I'll continue teaching after this year, but I definitely know that I'll want to remember these moments in the future. It's impossible to recall in detail everything that I've done since arriving in Seoul, but I'll attempt to catch you up via list form on the events that stand out most in my mind:
-During the last weekend of September Chuseok happened. I've been told that Chuseok is the Korean equivalent of American Thanksgiving, and thanks to that we were off school for three days. During this time my former roommate, and good friend from uni came over from japan for a short visit. Since neither one of us has family in Korea we couldn't celebrate the holiday as it's meant, so instead we spent the time playing tourists in Seoul. We went sightseeing, shopping, ate loads of delicious food, and finished off with a trip to South Korea's largest theme park, Everland.
-First visit to a Jjimjilbang. I was too chicken to try out the naked spa, and opted out for rotating in and out of the sauna and napping on the floor.
-First language cast meetup. I've gotten into the habit of only hanging out with my fellow teacher friends, and haven't really met any local Seoulites so I thought this would be a great way to meet new people and learn some Koreanl I only accomplished one of those things. I met new people, but they were only interested in bettering their English skills so no Korean was spoken.
-First weekend trip. I found a group through facebook that does weekend trips to various locations, and the one that caught my eye was going to Jinju (a small town about 4 hours South of Seoul) for the Floating Lantern Festival. I went with some friends, and we spent the first day exploring Jinju, and taking silly pictures with the awesome lanterns. On Sunday before heading back to Seoul we went on a Hike through some pretty amazing temples, but unfortunately I can't recall the name of the place.

I'm sure there is much else I could write about, but unfortunately I tend to have the memory of a goldfish and I can't remember much else without pulling up Facebook and looking through photos (and I'm at school with co-workers at the moment, so I can't really do that). The weather now is really cold, entirely too cold considering we are supposed to be in Fall right now.
As far as teaching goes... well, everyday is a challenge, but luckily not all challenges are bad. Fourth grade is loads of fun, but sixth grade is more intense. They are at that weird stage where everything is boring, and even if I manage to come up with something fun and interesting, they are still too cool to show that they are actually having fun learning. I was told I have my first open class coming up next month; open class is when the principal, vice principal and headteacher sit in and observe one of your classes, and then I guess they let you know what you're doing well and what you should change. My co-teacher said this is important because it determines whether they renew my contract or not.

So I think that's it for today's catch up session. Hopefully the next time I write it will be about more current things so I can give better details, and have pictures to go along!

walkway from my school to bus stop

Annyeong-Haseyo

Welcome to my first post from the East! After twenty-something odd hours in transit my flight arrived safely in South Korea yesterday evening. I'm currently fighting jet-lag, but I'll give it my best attempt at compiling coherent sentences :)

Today was my first full day in Korea and I've probably eaten more rice today alone than I have during the past year! The food selection during mealtime is actually pretty extensive, I am just too exhausted to spend time looking over it and just grab whatever seems familiar. The weather is a little bit warm but not unbearable since it hasn't really been that sunny, what complicates things though is this humidity! Having lived in Florida before I thought I would handle it just fine, but man, South Korean humidity puts Florida's humidity to shame; I step out of my building and immediately my hair frizzes up and my clothes stick to my body.

After arriving at the airport I was picked up by EPIK and brought via coach to a town about two and a half hours south of Seoul for a week long orientation. It's been really nice recognizing the faces of people I've been chatting with on Facebook for a while, and of course just meeting all of the other teachers and hearing their stories has been very interesting. Everyone has been incredibly nice, the EPIK staff, the other teachers, and even the lady and old man (whom I believe take turns working in the mini-convenience shop downstairs) have been very patient and helpful.

This orientation is packed with activities and lectures I must attend in order to get better prepared for teaching and living in Korea so luckily I haven't had much of a chance to think about missing home and my family. I'm staying in a dorm with a cafeteria, lecture halls and a roommate so it feels very much like being back in college. I'm afraid that the overwhelming realization of everything that has changed will hit me all at once whenever I'm dropped off at my apartment and left on my own for the first time, but I guess I'll cross that bridge when it gets here.

I can't really keep my eyes open much longer so I'm gonna call it a night, hopefully by tomorrow my body will be better adjusted to the fourteen hour time difference.

xox

timeline

Since my last EPIK update I have: received contract and notice of appointment, applied for Korean visa, received said visa, gave notice at my current job, and booked a one way ticket to Seoul. This entire process was quite long, and daunting at times, but now it's all pretty much over! All I have left is to complete the online pre-orientation, pack, and get on that 14 hour flight. People keep asking me if I'm nervous or scared, and to be honest, I am not. I mean, that is not to say that I won't be, but I have a little more than a month to go, so panicking now is unnecessary so I'll save it for the week leading up to departure ;)

For reference later on, or for anybody else reading who may be interested in applying to EPIK, below is a timeline of events as far as gathering documents and hearing any news (give or take a day or two).

January
- Stumbled upon EPIK Facebook page, began poking around and decided I wanted to appy

February
2- Submitted request for FBI check

Mid-February
-Requested letters of recommendation
-Requested copy of university transcripts

Early March
-Got university degree notarized
-Enrolled in TEFL course
-Received college transcripts

Late march:
-Received letters of recommendation

April
2- submitted application
4- FBI check received
5- Received email stating I had made it onto interview stage
10- Interviewed via Skype
12- Received email stating interview passed
13- FBI check & diploma sent to get apostilled
24- Apostilled documents received
26- Final documents sent to EPIK Seoul office via Fed-Ex
29- Documents received by EPIK

May
3- Documents approved by EPIK coordinator
10- TEFL course completed
24- TEFL certificate received & emailed to EPIK coordinator

June:
1-Received email stating placement made
27-Contract and notice of appointment shipped from Seoul
29- Contract and notice of appointment received
30- Visa application mailed to Korean consulate in Houston, TX

July
3- Visa application arrived at Korean consulate
5- Visa approved and mailed to me
9- Visa received
12- Booked one way flight to Seoul
30-*EDIT* Completed online pre-orientation course

August
12-Deadline I've given myself to complete the online pre-orientation course *
19-Depart the U.S.A.
20- Arrive in Seoul, take bus to orientation location
21- First day of orientation

My travel wish-list: SE Asia edition

My life-long dream has always been to travel the world. I've filled up several notebooks with doodles and make believe schedules I would one day follow when on my travels. However, no matter how much planning I did life always took me in another direction. It wasn't until I found out I had been accepted into EPIK that I began to allow myself to think that maybe, just maybe, my travel scrapbook would actually be put to use. I'm sure the list will expand the longer I stay in SK, but as of now in no particular order, here is the list of places I absolutely must visit before returning to the states (all photos unless otherwise stated are courtesy of the Lonely Planet).

Tiptop Island, Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

"According to local legend, when Vietnamese had just started to develop into a country, they had to fight against invaders. To assist Vietnamese in defending their country, the gods sent a family of dragons as protectors. This family of dragons began spitting out jewels and jade. These jewels turned into the islands and islets dotting the bay, linking together to form a great wall against the invaders. Under magics, numerous rock mountains abruptly appeared on the sea, ahead of invaders' ships. After winning the battle, the dragons were interested in peaceful sightseeing of the Earth, and then decided to live in this bay."

Sunrise silhouette of Angkor Wat through trees

Angkor, Cambodia- "Angkor is a region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to 15th centuries. The temples of the Angkor area number over one thousand, ranging in scale from nondescript piles of brick rubble scattered through rice fields to the magnificent Angkor Wat, said to be the world's largest single religious monument."

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Twin Petronas Towers are the equivalent to 95 stories each

"KL to its friends – is more than just a capital city: it is a monument to Malaysian ingenuity and determination. From humble beginnings as a tin-mining shanty town, KL has evolved into a 21st-century metropolis, dominated by the tallest skyscrapers in Southeast Asia and flush with the proceeds of international trade and commerce. The marketing slogan for the Malaysian tourist board is ‘truly Asia’ and nowhere is this more true than in the capital. KL is every inch the Asian cyber-city: historic temples and mosques rub shoulders with space-age towers and shopping malls; traders’ stalls are piled high with pungent durians and counterfeit DVDs; and locals sip cappuccino in wi-fi–enabled coffee hops or feast at bustling streetside hawker stalls serving food from across the continent."

Tapplia Waterfalls- Batad, Ifugao, Philippines

The Philippines
"First and foremost, the Philippines is a place of natural wonders – a string of coral-fringed islands strewn across a vast expanse of the western Pacific. Below sea level, the Philippines boasts some of the world’s best diving and snorkelling, including wreck diving around Coron and swimming with the whale sharks off Donsol. Above sea level, it has a fantastic landscape with wonders enough to stagger even the most jaded traveller: the Chocolate Hills of Bohol, Banaue & the Rice Terraces and fascinating reminders of the islands’ history in places such as Samar & Leyte and Vigan. And if you’re after palm-fringed, white-sand beaches, try laidback Sipalay or flat-out party town Boracay."

Bangkok street markets at night

Bangkok, Thailand "Bangkok is excess in all of its unrestrained glory. Bigger, better, more: the city is insatiable, a monster that feeds on concrete, shopping malls and diesel exhaust. The city demands that you be in the present and in the moment, not necessarily for a religious epiphany, but because the city is self-absorbed and superficial, blissfully free of wrinkle-inducing self-reflection."