Strings

As I sat down with a cup of coffee in a cafe to write some Christmas cards on this chilly and windy Sunday afternoon, I get word of my grandpa's passing in an email from home.  Though I live thousands of miles and 15 time zones away, I have never felt disconnected from home thanks to Skype, web-cam, instant messaging and email magic.  Until now.  A web-cam simply cannot give that comforting hug from other grieving family members and a Skype conversation sadly cannot replace an absence at a funeral.  My grandpa's death in itself does not sadden me.  He lived a long life on Earth and my strong belief in an eternal afterlife with Jesus assures me I will see him again someday in heaven.  The disconnect at this time is what saddens me.  Not being able to share "grandpa stories" with people who knew him well makes it hard to properly grieve.

Among various titles in his life of husband, father, soldier, carpenter, farmer, etc, etc, my grandfather was a writer. And a good one at that. He had folders and folders full of poem, short stories, and "proverbs."  Many that he would find himself writing in the middle of the night.  It would be more than fair to say he was a man of many words, in both writing and speaking.  Therefore, I find it only appropriate to express my thoughts through writing as a way to honor his life on this earth.  

A stroll past Dunkin Donuts today reminded me of The Donut Hole.  My first distinct memory of eating donuts is sitting with a tall glass of chocolate milk in The Donut Hole between you and Dan, both with your strawberry bismarks and me with my pudding-filled chocolate long john.  You never could convert me to be a bismark lover but you tried your best.  Now donuts make me think of the sugary goodness of elephant ears.  Elephant ears at the Boone county fair.  A week spent away from home in the summertime always meant a week with Dan, grandma and you at the fair.  The place where I fell in love with the Tilt-A-Whirl as you watched from afar smoking your classic Sherlock Holmes-style pipe.  That pipe makes me think of  the deal we cut when I was eight.  I would stop sucking my thumb if you would stop smoking your pipe.  Your bad habit was a bit more difficult but with some extra nagging from me and a little perseverance you quit.  I was a master persuader even as a small child, wasn't I?  Difficult situations reminds me of stories from your childhood.  Being the oldest of eight brothers and sisters during the Great Depression meant picking potatoes at the age of 12 to help support the family.  Potatoes reminds me of your extra sweet, sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving Day.  I was your biggest fan.  The word fan sparks thoughts of summer which reminds me of clothes lines.  Your threats to hang me upside down on the clothes lines did actually worry me a bit but I couldn't let you know that.  Hiding emotions makes me think about your WWII army experiences and the late-night poems that revealed much more about that time than you told us for our school assignments or Memorial Day parade.  Watching you march in those parades reminds me of the pride and responsibility I feel knowing such tough, honorable and brave genes are in my blood.  Feeling proud reminds me of our last hug goodbye just a few, short months ago.  "Stay away from that Korean alcohol," you chuckled.  Followed by a, "You know I'm proud of you, kid."   But mostly, this string of memories reminds me of your constant string of stories and commentary on everything.  I know you're entertaining angels with this skill now.  

Love you grandpa, see you again someday!

Turkey, pie, and mucus

Sorry for the slightly graphic title but that, my friends, is the best way to summarize my life recently. With that being said, happy belated Thanksgiving to you all! I hope the day was full of blessings in food form and people form. Of course I missed being home with the fam and all the good eats, but I feel extremely thankful and blessed right where I am. Following my body's ridiculous tradition, I managed to catch a cold a few days before the holiday (wwwhyyy? every year!) and had to be that gross, snotty kid at all the gatherings. Oh well, so it is...sorry friends. What's worse is being that gross, snotty teacher. At least all the kids wear facemasks these days (swine flu paranoia is still going strong). I don't feel as guilty about spreading my germs around then because they are blocked, right? :)

My list of thanks from this year, 2009. I am thankful for...
-Korean friends who became family (Ji, Gon, Ots, Jung Won). Without them my 1st year experience in Korea would have been completely different, not nearly as meaningful or exciting.
-Waeguk friends who became family (Kristen, Kat, Jenny). For the much needed companionship after a rough day or week at school, travel buddies, teacher story swapping, jokes only foreigners can find funny and the hearty laughs that follow.
-finishing my contract at ELC. For the good memories made there; the good co-workers, cute students, crazy director, funds it provided and the appreciation for my new job.
-paying off my student loans! Even with a rough exchange rate for most of the year, I met my goal set upon my departure. And it felt fantastic.
-my Costa Rica trip. For the funds to get there, my host family, great training, fun classmates, excellent teachers, the breathtaking scenery, safety and a slight improvement with my Spanish skills.
-a lovely and lengthy reunion with the family after 13 months of separation.
-old friends who didn't forget about me when I was overseas and wanted to hangout upon my return. For good company while I was in Iowa. I <3 you guys!
-my reunion with my old and bestest friend Kate! For the companionship of her and Chaz in a new and still mostly unfamiliar city, the comfort of company who you know well and know you well, laughter, venting, and continued adventures in this country.
-my new job. For providing the means to which to bring me back to Korea, the much improved working conditions, better hours, less classes, more prep time, friendly students and legit vacation time. For good stories to tell after the end of each day.
-Mrs. Lee who drives me to and from school each day. For her sweet spirit and dissipating shyness towards speaking English. For her all her glorious K-pop knowledge and for giving me Krispy Kreme donuts this morning!
-the helpful and kind moments with my co-teachers. The much appreciated observation week, the slow but steady help with furnishing my apartment, foreigner registration, health check, answers to my million questions, and occasional translation during lunch.
-the frustrating moments with my co-teachers, involving many of the same situations mentioned above. For both parties learning and accepting cultural differences and for the continual learning from each other throughout this year.
-mountains and beaches within 15 minutes walking of my apartment. For living in (I'm convinced) the best part of the city.
-Quizno's and Pizza School within walking distance for the nights when I just want to endulge.
-my afterschool, club and teacher training programs that allow me to teach whatever I want and actually get to know some students (then trick those students into being leaders in the regular classes...ha-HA!) and teachers.
-a subway system that allows me to manuever around the city for a low cost and free of traffic jams.
-a Thanksgiving feast at church with turkey, cassaroles, rolls, pumpkin pie, and the whole works. And new church friends.
-60 degree days this first week of December.
-Skype to remain connected to people back home. Set up Skype dates people!
-And same as I ended last year but certainly more sincere, KIMCHI! My body has officially embraced the taste as of a few weeks ago and now I can truly say I enjoy eating kimchi with my meals.

I could go on but that's it for now. So what are YOU thankful for?

A Peppero Story

Storytime! YAAAY! This story is being told to illustrate a few points. First, how kids are hilarious. Second, to show how stinky my co-teacher (Mr. Adjussi) can be. And third, how much I enjoy what I do.

Setting: Peppero Day (11/11), in the 5th grade English classroom, 1st period (8:50 am)

*Bell rings*

Students scurry to their seats. Immediately Mr. Adjussi teacher commands them to put their hands on their heads and close their eyes in order to calm them. The students sit quietly for a few moments as he scans the room. The three (generally) talkative boys who sit in the back are not there...he's probably relieved. I begin by asking the usual questions, "How are you?" FINE/GOOD/SO-SO (shudder)/HAPPY! "What day is it?" WEDNESDAY! "How's the weather?" SUNNY! WINDY! Ending with, "What's the date today?" NOVEMBER 11th, PEPPERO DAY! Yes, that's right, excellent! The kids cheer and giggle about my knowledge of Peppero Day. "HAPPY PEPPERO DAY!" I say. My co-teacher takes over at this point saying, first in English, then in Korean, he doesn't like Peppero day because it's just some company who invented the day to sell their product. Suddenly the three missing boys burst through the door, walk directly to me, each hand me a box of Pepperos (Wooow, thank you!), do not even look at my co-teacher and sit in their chairs. My co-teacher repeats his beef about Peppero Day while sending dagger eyes to the boys in the back. They giggle knowing that he is directing the statement at them.

*Some time passes*

I am going over their vocabulary words. Buy. BUYYY! Very good. What can you buy? CARS. Good. COMPUTERS. Good. PPPEPEROOOOS! (from the boys in the back). YES!!! Pepperos for your teacher, such good boys you are!! They laugh and I can tell they feel proud for getting such a positive, genuine reaction out of me. Next word....watch. WATCHEEE! Noooo, WATCH. WATCH! Good! What can you watch? TV. Good. MOVIES. Good. PPPPPEPROOOOOS! Everyone laughs, including me, except my co-teacher. He scorns. No, actually you can't watch Pepperos, you can eat pepperos. Nice try though. *laughter* And we move on to the next word. Same scenario for the next word. My co-teacher is not having it. STOP SAYING PEPPERO! he says aggressively. *laughter* and whispered pepperos follow after every vocabulary word until we finish.

*Some time passes*

Students are in pairs writing a short dialogue pretending to call their friend on the phone. "Hello is Peter there?" "Speaking..." and so on. The chatty boys are in the back working away in their notebooks...not distracting the other students. This is rare. The students work for a while and then it's time to present. My co-teacher asks for volunteers. The usual, hard-working students volunteer and present their dialogue. *clap, clap clap* Who's next? The chatty boys' hands shoot up. My co-teacher seems surprised (as am I) and kindly welcomes them to the front, handing them each a microphone. They begin:

A: Hello, is Peppero there? *giggles*
B: Peppero!
A: Peppero?
B: Peppero, peppero, peppero. *giggles*

The students burst into laughter. I can't help it and burst into laughter too, trying to hide my face from my angry co-teacher. Come on...honestly, it's hilarious. Immediately my co-teacher has both giggling boys noses' against the wall and hands above their heads. "These boys are making fun of our lesson," co-teacher announces to the class, as if we don't know what is happening. I nod in agreement even though my eyes are stilll watering from holding back my laughter. Lucky for the boys the bell rings after a minute or two and class is dismissed. They are ordered to clean the floor and straighten the desks before leaving the room and it's done happily without any hint of remorse.

THE END.



Afterword: I don't blame them. Had my co-teacher not been so openly and agressively against Peppero Day and lighten up a little bit when he can see that clearly it's a fun day for the elementary school students, none of this would have happened. During many frustrating conversations with that co-teacher following that day, which usually begin by him saying, "If you knew Korean better, you would be a better teacher..." (GRRRRRRRR), I replay this peppero scenario in my head to bring a smile to my face and have to hold back the urge to say, "Peppero! Peppero? Peppero, peppero, peppero..."

fight, fight!

Much to my surprise and disgust, I woke up to a light dusting of snow outside this morning. After my (hushed) curses about the sudden drop in temps this week, I dressed in my layers and left for school. The beauty of the snow clinging to the still color changing mountains on the ride was spectacular. And then to witness the kids of all ages (on their way to school) going NUTS grabbing every bit of snow they could find to throw at their friends was just hilarious. In the end I could not help but smile about it all. :)

Sidenote: It is very rare to see snow here in Busan even in December and January hence such extreme excitement from the children.

빼빼로 (Peppero) galore!

Happy Peppero Day! This is a fantasically unique and well marketed holiday to Koreans. People give boxes of peppero sticks to their friends and special someones and TEACHERS (bless their hearts) because it is 11/11/. The sticks look like the numbers, get it?

Well played marketing division of the Peppero company. They must sell BILLIONS on this day. I know this because I alone was given a billion pepperos today. Some people hate today because of the commericalization of it all. Well, I LOVE IT. So mmmehhhh to all you haters. I think it's cute.

I have no idea how I am going to get them all home. I have plans to eat them until I vomit. Good idea or no?

This is the book I write....

One week under my belt! Huge strides are being made. For one, I've met almost all of my students. With the exception of some 4th graders whom I will be meeting today. They are shocked to have a friendly, female native teacher since their last teacher was an older, married man who apparently didn't like children. "Oh teacher, big eyes, beautiful, beautiful!" was the most common reaction, along with receiving folded hearts at the end of classes. Secondly, I feel I've conquerred the once intimidating Busan public transportation system. Getting to and from school is quite easy now and takes exactly an hour with walking, subway, and bus time combined. Not bad, especially with my "morning commute" playlist to get my blood pumping for the day of classes. In the evenings I used the subway to get downtown to meet Kate and Chaz and even went all the way to Ulsan by public transit over the weekend. Thirdly, there have been major breakthroughs with my stern (see previous posts) co-teacher. He rode the bus with me all the way home on Tuesday to make sure I knew where to get off at and by the end of the week was introducing me to his classes as a "wonderful, pretty native teacher". He let me solo plan and teach the English club classes on Tuesday. This was the turning point in our tense relationship. I think he saw I was very much capable of teaching the students on my own. I had to prove it to him. Things have been increasingly more comfortable since then as he seems to value having me in the classroom.

After all my co-teachers' talks of disinterested students, bad attitudes, etc I was shocked at the lack of discipline commanded in their classes. They each spoke softly, just above a whisper, when starting the class and giving directions. No one could hear them, I could barely hear them and I was trying to listen. A handful of students in each class "forgot" their books. I watched nothing be done about this, a great excuse for them to tune out and distract others for the whole 40 minutes. No, no, no, no, no. I handed them all blank pieces of paper to write and follow along. I saw students playing games on their cellphones, not even being sneaky about it like they did at academy. No, no, no, no, no. I took the phones away. A few had their heads down in the back, I kindly woke them up and required them to participate. Several groups of rowdy boys or chatty girls sat in a pack constantly causing distractions but were never required to participate, answer questions or called out for their rudeness. No, no, no, no, no. You, "Mr. Rowdy", will sing a solo if you don't want to learn the chant with the rest of the class. Instant obedience. Or why not try splitting them up? I asked my co-teacher what the punishment was for all these offenses after class and he replied bashfully. "Oh, there's no punishments." Duuuh, it's no wonder the students don't respect you or the subject you teach! I gave my two-cents. Both seemed to agree that something had to be done and seemed thankful I would assist them in the process of whipping the students into shape.

The weekend was lovely. Friday night Kate, Chaz, Enah and I met for some tasty Italian. Then we discovered a little jazz club gem called "MONK" in the hip-hopping university district. We sat nursing some beers and listening to the smooth rhythms. Saturday Ji had a sk8ing competition in Busan so we went to cheer him on. It was in a beautiful part of the city I had never seen before, right next to the Lotte Giants baseball stadium, basketball arena, and indoor swimming pool and with an amazing view of the mountains behind it all. It reminded me of Olympic Park in Seoul. Then it was off to Ulsan for my cute, little Jenilee bear's going away party. She has been teaching in Korea for 2 years now and is heading back to the Phillipines. Many of my favorite Ulsan memories include Jenilee so of course it was sad to say goodbye. But I know I will see her again and perhaps soon (winter break in the Phillipines anyone?). I was able to reconnect with many Ulsan people once again and extend the invitation for them to stay in Busan with me whenever they want. The rain on Sunday was perfect as it gave me a good excuse to be lazy and catch up on sleep after a late night with friends on Saturday.

(Jenilee and Jong Won)

It's Monday morning, the sun is just peeking out from behind the left-over rain clouds and I'm about to start my day of classes, 아자! This week is going to be a good one. Wednesday = Peppero Day. Which means I'll definitely be sick Wednesday night after eating so many peppero sticks from students....I can't wait! Thursday = OTS ARMY BREAK!!!! OTS will have 6 nights of freedom. I'm so excited to see his lil soju face again. And excited to see him with a buzzed haircut....bahahaha.

(Kat and OTS)

안녕 선생님! (hello teacher!)

I don't think it will ever get old hearing the excited greetings from students whether in English or Korean. I was a doubting Thomas but....I'm actually getting an orientation week like was promised! I get to sit back and observe each class once before I'll jump into teaching them next week. All day yesterday was 3rd grade. They are tiny, very sweet and giggly, but shy to speak much more than basic greetings in English. My co-teacher translates everything for them. It's my opinion that they could go without the translation in most cases, these children seem severely underestimated. 3rd and 4th grade study only listening and speaking. Therefore, most class time is spent practicing songs or chants. While songs and chants are more entertaining and work to practice correct pronunciation, they are very much useless when it comes to actually speaking. Here's today's chat, "Wow, wow. It's so small. Look at the monkey it's so small. Small, small. It's. So. Small. Wow, wow. It's so big. Look at the bear...." As I sat listening to these chants over and over I wondered to myself how great it would be if we all, did in fact, speak in chants. Conversation would become an art! Usually the people most likely to use profanity are the ones with the lowest vocabulary, but in this case they'd have to be clever about their profanity and probably just give up and sit quietly. Fantastic! Hmmm...this would be a great sociology experiment, who wants to take it on?

The public school system was such a mystery to me last year when I taught in the academy. I often wondered what the students accomplished at school regarding English, what the schedules were like, were there extracurricular activities?... etc. Now I can better piece together the educational life of a Korean student. First of all, classes are big. Big classes mean very little one-on-one interaction with the teacher. It makes me think of UNI's cheesy slogan that I often mocked...."You're more than just a number!" Well, in Korea you are a number...literally. Each student is given a number which is used instead of their names, even in elementary school. "That student 15 was really distracting today in class." What? It's hard for me to refer to students by numbers so I have requested they pick English names. It may mean having to memorize an entire school of names, but I'd prefer it that way. I can now see why academies are so desirable for parents. There their child would be getting attention and be called by their actual names.

Secondly, students do have extra-curricular classes/clubs. They are in the afternoon and students get to choose from things like recorder class (a classic!), English club, movie club, craving class, sports group, etc. I teach 2 English club classes a week. They are a bit smaller and I have total freedom of the lesson, assa! I think I will really enjoy these classes.

Thirdly, the kids really do eat rice and kimchi everyday for lunch! I always thought this was just a cheap, rehearsed answer the lazy kids would give me at academy. Who knew? I've eaten my kimchi everyday so far and am actually starting to enjoy it. Whoa!

I am directly experiencing a lot more cultural differences in the public school as I interact and observe my students and co-teachers than I ever did in the academy system. It's fun and interesting (classic Korean elementary student response for all "why" questions). I will keep you all updated as I continue to learn. :)

let's do it again....yyyyeah

There's much to be updated since my last Debby Downer-like entry. In summary: my situation has been increasingly improving.....and thank goodness for that! My entire day on Friday was spent at the school, mostly sitting in my, now, cleaned out office.

Here's a run-down of the cute/hilarious moments:
1. Two 1st graders knocked on my door and delivered me a small cup of Korean (aka instant) coffee at the very beginning of the day, giggled and ran off to their classrooms.
2. A group of 5th grade boys came down to work as slaves for the principal. He ordered them to clean out my office. There was lots of standing around and looking at things, moving things out, then moving them back in.
3. I walked past a 1st grade room on my way to my office and one girl saw me through the window and yelled, "HHHELLO!!" Next thing I know there's a chorus of "HELLOOOOS" and the entire class is in the hallway waving at me despite the teacher's yells for them to sit down.
4. In a meeting with the principal he mistakenly called me "virgin". After an explanation by my co-teacher and lots of laughter, he correctly called me "young lady".

All my frustrating moments occurred when I spent time with my stern, "adjussi" (term for older man) co-teacher. Having 30 years of teaching under his belt I highly respect him, but the generational and cultural gaps between us are HUGE. After Friday I know he is going to be my biggest challenge of my new job. Assigned to help me with opening a bank account and apartment hunting, I spent a good part of the day with this challenge. Through conversation I find out that he, most seriously, thinks Korean students' attitude are getting increasingly worse "because they are becoming Westernized". Also, due to "Western influence and Western styles of teaching" it is now officially illegal for teachers to use corporal punishment in the public schools (which, believe me, is overlooked at a lot of schools). Because of this, teachers have no power and students have no respect for the teachers. Beating the students who misbehave or score low on a test apparently is the only way to breed respect.

Wow. I began to understand his rude, you're-the-scum-of-the-earth treatment to me. Western=evil. Kelly=Western. Therefore, Kelly=evil. I listened to his opinions, asked questions and kindly offered my opinion about student attitudes, behaviors, and learning styles (even though he didn't ask for my opinions). Learning can happen with both Western style and old Korean style teaching. There must be some reason that most parents who want their children to succeed in Korea send them aboard to study in the U.S. Western educators must be doing something right, right? I told him I was hopeful there could be a compromise in the two styles and I could change the students' attitudes about learning English. He was just silent. Thus is my relationship with Teacher Adjussi. Sigh. I could go on and on about conversations with this man but I regress. I will not give up on him!

We looked at one apartment in Jangsan, a part of new Haeundae. My principal's friend is a realtor and offered one place available immediately. One year old apartment building, in a great location, Starbucks on 1st floor, department store directly behind, a block from the subway station, restuarants everywhere, 2 stops from the beach or a 15 minute bike ride away....YES, I ACCEPT (duh). It's much smaller than my place last year and an hour bus ride from my school but it's worth it to me.

Friday night was spent with Kate and Chaz, who graciously let me stay with them rather than another night with my other co-teacher. Friends, meat, flavored soju...mmm it was all good. Saturday I met my nice co-teacher to sign the housing contract and go shopping for apartment goods. I've never had to pick out furniture before so it was harder than I thought. I think my non-pickiness was frustrating to my co-teacher. Eventually a bed and a table was ordered for me. To be delivered Tuesday evening. Then came the shopping for things like bedding, dishes, other houseware items. Simple, plain colored bedding (or dishes for that matter) are not an option in Korea. Seriously you all would just shudder. I picked out the least hideous bedding available (basically the only one without pink) and pressed on.

I spent the night deep cleaning the apartment, unloading all the new goods, and FINALLY unpacking my bag and suitcase. It felt great even if I did miss all the Halloween outings. Today Kate and Chaz travelled across town to see my pad and help explore the area. I really love my dong (neighborhood) and can't wait to host friends here. Tomorrow is my first official day of work! Since I have no schedule yet, I was told on Friday that I would be observing classes to see how things are run. I don't entirely trust this will be the case, too good to be true, so I'm nervous. Speaking of school, I have to be up early (alarm set for 6:30) like a real teacher this year so I best get some rest tonight.

<3 <3

Hmmm. Oooh Korea.

I've arrived! The journey was pretty typical.....delays in San Fran resulted in just making my flight out of Tokyo, which also meant me being labeled with an alert sticker and escorted through the Tokyo airport to ensure I made my flight in time. I felt like a 12 year old child. It was pretty hilarious. Since I barely made the plane, my luggage most definitely did not. No biggie as I am now a pro at reporting lost luggage. And Koreans are much more helpful/concerned than the people in Costa Rica were which made me feel good about things.

I was greeted by Kate, Chaz and Jung Won at the airport. Glorious!!!! Simply glorious. But no person from my school. Hmm? After calling my recruiter I was informed that nobody arranged for my school to meet me. Even though I was told someone would be there the night before I left Iowa. Good thing I have amazing friends who came to greet me! No school greeter also meant no home. Thank goodness again for my amazing friends.

Jung Won drove me back to Ulsan, the city I stayed in last year, so I could crash with/spend some last remaining hours with Kat before her departure from Korea. I arrived just in time for a meat night with many old Ulsan friends. Kat had arranged it for her going away meal and I surprised a bunch of people with my appearance. I should have been exhausted after very little sleep and 30 hours of traveling but the excitement of being back in my old hood was ridiculous. I was skipping and grinning and wanting to hug EVERYTHING. Sooooo great.

Wednesday was spent shopping with Kat, eating delicious foods that my body has been craving for months, helping her clean, and an appearance at my former school. It was nice to see the people of ELC again. Students also. I think I royally confused some of the lower level students as they just assumed I was back to teach at their school again. Not the case buckos, sorry! One of my old students, Jenny, just stood in the lobby and repeated my name over and over again in a state of shock when she saw me. Her new teacher was trying to drag her into class but she wouldn't budge.....bahaha.

At some point in the evening we started looking up information about my school (since I was finally given the name of the school). Google map showed it being located far from the beach. Well, it wouldn't be far if there wasn't a mountain in between! Gah! In order to get to the beach, without climbing a mountain, it estimated around an hour by public transportation. Rrrrats! In fact there looked to be not much "happening" around the neighborhood/village at all with only a bus system connecting this area to the rest of Busan. Hmmm.

I arranged to meet someone from my new school at 2 pm on Thursday, after traveling back to Busan with Kat to see her off at the airport. The email sent said I would be able to look at 2 or 3 apartments before I had to choose my home. Perfect! And I was asked to meet the man at the beach subway stop. Perfect...optimistically thinking maybe the aforementioned apartments were located there.

Jung Won was bad and woke up late to take Kat to the airport, causing (fair enough) Kat much stress. We made him speed along the highway and THEN he missed the exit for the airport. We could have killed him! Kat's flight was already boarding when we arrived but luckily she got all checked in and zoomed off to get through security. The goodbyes were fast; it was so sad to see her go. I hope January comes soon!

My luggage had arrived the day before. It was waiting for me at the airport, thank goodness. It was soothing to see it once again. We loaded it up in Jung Won's car and set off to meet the person from my school. We had time to walk along the beach for a bit before the arranged meeting. 2 pm comes and no sign of the school person. Hmmm.

A call confirms that we had a misunderstanding about meeting locations. Probably not a great way to start things off. The young, friendly voice who I'd talked to on the phone (with excellent English) turned out to be a middle aged, nervous man who spoke a few words to me in English and the rest of the time in Korean to Jung Won and Ji. Ugh. Jung Won informs me that they have no apartment for me and I would homeless. I figured it was just another case of Jung Won giving me a hard time so I brush off the comment. Not possible. Or is it?

I depart with the last bit of familiarity as I drive away with what turns out to be my co-teacher (the native Korean English teacher at the school) and wave goodbye to Jung Won and Ji. Mr. Co-teacher didn't speak without me first prompting with a question for the entire 30 minute drive to the school. Yes, not to go apartment hunting/choosing but to the school. Hmm. It was exhausting making conversation but I tried not to let my deflating enthusiam show. He seemed very sweet and his English was far better than anybody at ELC, just not much for chit-chatting. I asked him about the students and he told me that most children at the school are poor so their English abilities are not so good. Like most other children in Busan, many there cannot afford to go to English academies after public school each day. Hmmm.

At the school I was briefly introduced to a few people, immediately followed with what seemed like heated/worried discussions in Korean. La di da di da. No explainations were offered for me in English. I sensed it had to do with me. Next, I was taken to the foreign teacher's office. In the darkest, furthest corner of the school mind you. And filled with the most random things you could ever imagine. A school nurse's bed, rolled up curtains, a high chair (?!?!), a bookshelf full of Korean textbooks, etc. No desk, no computer, no anything of use or office like. My co-teacher looked embarassed as I scanned the room offering, "Uhh, of course, we'll have to clean this out for you." Uhh, that'd be appreciated.

I had some instant coffee with my co-teacher while drilling him with more questions and waiting for the principal to come in to greet me. I learned that indeed there were no apartments picked out for me. And they did not know when anything would be prepared. Maybe I would stay in a hotel for a while? I would need to use my settlement money for that. Which I couldn't get anyway until I opened a bank account. "You don't have a bank account?" he asked shocked. No, I just arrived 3 days ago and still don't have a home! Why/where would I open up an account? Silly Koreans. Or I could stay at his apartment with his family. He seemed stressed. I told him not paying out of my pocket for a hotel room would be ideal (duh). Hmmm.

The principal arrived and seemed very sweet judging by his very typical Korean greeting translated through my co-teacher. In a long winded way he said he hopes I will enjoy everything in Korea while asking that I love the children. Good man. Next I was introduced to the other English teacher at the school who I will be co-teaching with. An older, very stern looking man whose English was nowhere near as good as the other one's. In a 10 minute conversation with him I gathered that he didn't seem to enjoy teaching, the students were not excited about learning English and my young age and lack of teaching experience in the States bothered him. Hmmm.

Finally, the original Mr. Co-teacher decided that I would stay with his family. However, due to the perceived poverty (aka lack of movie theaters and department stores) in the school's neighborhood we must drive over 30 minutes to the more upscale skyscraper apartments to find his home. For those of you who are familiar with Busan, I am referring to the Centrum City 'hood. We unloaded my bags and I was greeted by his cute, 2nd grade son and wife who looked angry/embarrassed to have a surprise foreigner guest. I can't blame her. Mr. Co-worker told me to get some rest and closed the door to his 13 year old daugther's room on me, who unbeknownst to her was kicked out of her room while she was away at English academy. Awww.

It was all pretty awkward until a few hours ago when the daugther returned from academy. She speaks English almost perfectly and is just the sweetest thing ever. I shared some of my American candy as a peace offering and that seemed to win the 2 kids over. Easy enough. I have no idea what tomorrow will bring other than I will be dropped off at school where my disapproving co-worker is going to take me to get a bank account and my "host dad" co-worker will be gone all day at some conference. Lack of knowledge about where I'm at and how to get places may damper Friday night plans but I hope that's not the case. *crosses fingers*

At some point (I hope rrreal soon) I'll be put up in some apartment next to my school. Bonus: it's right next to my school. Un-bonus: It's a least an hour bus ride to anywhere cool. Can I survive this? Absolutely. But I may be whiney.

Things could certainly be worse and with that in mind I have high hopes for better things to come. Oooooooh Korea. And so it is, the adventures this far in Round 2.

The Great Return 2009

Since I haven't been overseas this last month or so, I've felt my life has not been "exotic" enough to blog about, hence the lack of blogs during my time at home. As I am reflecting on my time in the States, I must admit, shame on me for thinking like that. Iowa is not "exotic" by any means but it is certainly worthy of some blog space and appreciation. And full of its own adventures.

The time has come for The Great Return 2009. I am flying out in just a few hours to begin the 28 hour journey to my one of my most of favorite places: Korea! This time I'll be teaching at a public school with better hours, more vacation time, in a better city and hopefully a lot more little perks like trainings and outings throughout the year. I'm amazed at how all the things for the job fell into place. And so quickly! That's how Korea operates though....fast.

It's such a strange feeling being home after a long time away because I came back and everything was generally the same. Things carry on much like they did when I had a break during college. In that regard, it's so easy to take for granted the time I have at home, picking on the fam, being ungrateful and bored. But on the other hand, it's wonderful to be able to experience the same old routine of life at home. Regardless, I feel pretty good about how I spent my time.

I made a trip out to see Dan (and Abs!) in North Carolina. I saw the beautiful mountains of western NC and camped in them. I saw lots of football games of Peter and Caleb. I saw Lana tie the knot. I saw a piece of KP's new life. I had several mega friend hangouts with high school buddies. I got fitted for Annie's wedding and gave opinions on wedding dresses. I rode bikes a lot. I road tripped to Columbia, MO. I got in some solid runs with Kitty. I had a few shopping trips with my mom and lunches with my dad. And I had many hilarious nights in with the sibs, mattress sliding, rollie chair street challenges, hallway soccer, etc.

It's. been. good. Just what I needed to renew my spirits and vigor.

Now on to another year of experiences in Korea. I'm pumped! Pumped to see old friends in Ulsan (but not to say goodbye to Kat right away...), pumped for a new city, students, friends. AND SUPER UBER PUMPED TO SEE KATE AND CHAZ who are in the same city as me!!!!!!! What a glorious reunion that shall be!!!

Now, I expect people (yes, you who is reading this) to remain faithful in promises of better efforts to stay in touch. As I too expect to be held accountable in that department. You can expect to hear about my flight experience (there's always something interesting that happens) in the next blog....so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen adieu....

i love seeing the stars.

i love sunrises over the endless fields and silos.

i love driving.

i love singing along to bad music from the 90's on the radio.

i love watching my lil bro score a touchdown.

i love reunions.

i love having people to say goodnight to.

i love being home.

Iowa oh ooo oh, iowa oh ooooh ooo oh i-iowa

After 13 months of listening to the Dar Williams song, "Iowa" to remember home, I'm finally here, back to my roots. And it feels refreshing.

I was greeted in Chicago by the whole fam (minus Dan) with a big sign and balloons. As it turned out one of my TEFL teacher trainers from the month was on the exact same flights as me. We spent the whole day together from the 6 am bus ride to San Jose to the 11 pm arrival in Chicago...and then she got to meet my whole family. The crazy kooks with the big sign and balloons waiting at the bottom of the escaltors. :)

Monday was Labor Day so the sibs didn't have school. We packed up our bikes, squeezed in dad's truck (all 6 of us!) and drove to Geneseo to ride along a beautiful, prairie bike trail following a canal. The turtles, herons, and toads were all out to greet us on the ride. So lovely. A stop at Pizza Hut for lunch and Dairy Queen for dessert was a must....so good but so ewww. My goal is to gain about 40 pounds during my stay in America...I'm well on my way. :)

Running errands with my mom on Tuesday led us to a Payless Shoes store. I wanted to hug the saleswoman as I gazed down the long aisle of women's shoes in 9's, 10's, 11's, and even 12's! Oooh glorious! I don't know what came over me but I ended up buying a pair of....HEELS! For 10 bucks. I think my missing Korea so much has morphed my mind, enough that I could somehow justify buying a pair of heels...it's bizarre. Then we entered the land of Walmart...dun dun DUN. So many products and labels that I haven't seen in so long, so many unnecessary goods, so much junk food! Argh, it gave me a headache. While pushing the cart out to our van in the HUGE parking lot, it really hit me...I am home.

Each day thus far has included a pleasant jog on my old routes and or long bike rides to Grand Mound and back. I LOVE BEING BACK ON MY SCHWINN!


It is soooo nice to be out and not be starred at (like in Korea) or oggled at (like in Costa Rica).

A good chuck of my days have been spent starring at a computer screen looking for jobs, sending off my resume, creating cover letters, etc. I'm anxious to get back to Korea but am easily overwhelmed by the whole job hunt process. *sigh* I need to be more patient...thankfully I am familiar with the visa process already so I am gathering the needed documents now while I am weeding out job offers and whatnot.

Every night is spent watching Conan (<3) or catching up on a year's worth of movies.

So far I've just spent my days with the fam and their friends. "How was Korea? How was Costa Rica?" Blah, blah, blah, blah. I hate that question. Do you really want to sit and listen to my experiences. Probably not. I answer short but honestly. But I have to be sensitive. Every time I truthfully express my love for Korea and how much I miss it, I watch my mother's face become more and more dejected. So I must follow up with a, "But it's GREAT to be home, really, really great!" And it has been great, that's no lie.

I'm looking forward to reuniting with old friends from high school and university in the next few weeks...I think my soul needs a little refreshing in the form of rekindling old friendships. Time is flying and I know I must treasure this time in Iowa. :)

C da rapids, c da falls, water LOO!

Yeah, yeah I jumped off this! Super scary, super thrilling and super freakin' beautiful.

Also, check out this link if you want to see the cutest thing in the universe:

http://vimeo.com/6245016

that's right, they're my students. awwww....i miss them!

¡Pura Vida!

Phhhew. I now have five lessons under my belt. Teaching five out of the past six school days has been a lot of work and a surprising amount of stress. My schedule wasn't originally created to be so hectic but one guy dropped out leaving some classes that needed to be covered. Maybe I am crazy but I volunteered for one additional class thinking the more experience and feedback I get during this course the more value I will get from my tuition. Plus I wanted to help out my very kind and helpful teachers who were stressing about filling the slots. Now I only have one more lesson to teach and a final exam to create before I graduate with my certificate. Wa-hooo! *throws up fists*

The days have left me exhausted, but in the end I feel great having created original, fun, interactive, and most importantly, successful lessons for a variety of different levels in a variety of locations (including the lobby of an emergency room and a hair salon).

Tomorrow is completely free of lessons and teaching. Assa! I'm planning to sleep in, spend the day at the beach or meandering as I please. Jealous?

I haven't done very well describing Costa Rica for you all. My apologies. I'll start by describing the small, beach city that I've been living in the last 3 weeks. Quepos. The city is nothing special really. There's a few banks, some clothings shops, a fairly large supermarket (Pali, owned by stupid Walmart....*grrrr*), a not so impressive beach, and a LOT of small hotels and restuarants/bars. At night it's pretty scary. Nothing like San Jose scary but I definitely get nervous when I have to walk home from school after the sun goes down. Luckily I've befriended a very nice Tico boy (and local scuba dive master) who just happens to live near me and who always agrees to escort me to and fro my home in the late evening hours.

Drug usage is an obvious problem here (and I'm talking hard drugs like LSD and cocaine). It's not unusual to see ridiculously skinny and sad souls tweeking out on the street corners late at night nor is it unusual to have a night out with a group of classmates without being approached to buy drugs at least a few times.

Up a long, windy, and very steep hill from Quepos is Manuel Antonio. Just a 20 minute bus ride from Quepos, Manuel Antonio is home to numerous beautiful beaches, a national park and many tourists. It's just being "discovered" as a tourist destination so new, expensive hotels/resorts seem to be popping up everywhere in that area. It's a bit cleaner than Quepos but definitely still as shady and drug invested after the sun goes down.

Living with a host family has exposed me to a typical Tico diet. The most common Costa Rican dish is called a casado. A casado consists of either beef, chicken, or fish served with white rice, beans, and a small salad that is generally all stirred together and eaten. At first my withdrawl from Korean food was leaving me dissatisfied with all food here but now I've come to really like the casados and other dishes. One morning for breakfast my host mom made me banana pancakes from scratch. I almost cried. I tried to explain to her that I haven't had a banana pancake in over a year. I'm not sure I communicated it correct since I was busy stuffing my face. Oh well. They tasted amazing.

Ticos are right up there with Italian men when it comes to whistling and harassing women passing on the street. It's a tad amusing but mainly obnoxious. Married women here generally stay at home to do the cooking, cleaning, and raising of the children. Women have babies at such young ages too. One of the students in one of the beginner classes at TEFL works at a small clothing store on my way to school. It's become a habit to stop in each day and have a short language exchange as she makes me refresh my Spanish and I answer her questions about English. Come to find out we are the exact same age, born just nine days apart! When we discovered this she immediately followed by asking if I had any children. I kind of chuckled and quickly said no. Then to my surprise she tells me that she has a six year old son and a four year old daughter. Wow. Raising them by herself. Double wow. Apparently a common story.

The trademark of the Ticos is their "Pura vida!" slogan. Literally it means pure life but they say it as hello, goodbye, your welcome, no problem, have a good night, enjoy....everything. I love it. I will continue to use it all my life.

I have just one more week left in this land of paradise. I hope to squeeze in a trip to Jaco this weekend with some classmates and a few more afternoons on the beach so I can impress you all with a tan (it could happen!) when I return to Iowa.

See you soon!

Writing good lesson plans is ridiculously time consuming.

I had no idea.

We have zero materials here so we must develop everything from scratch. "If you can do this now, you can teach anywhere."-TEFL motto/excuse for providing us with nothing.

A-ja! Fighting!

2 down, 4 to go!

Feliz cumpleaños a ti

Hey Pete:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YA CRAZY MONKEY!

Love,
Kelly

Ccccheck....one week of class complete! At times the days in the classroom seem long, but what I am learning is so valuable that it keeps my attention and focus. Besides that it's a bit relaxing to be the learner once again rather than up in front doing the teaching. I was told before I left Korea by a few that the TEFL/TESOL course would be a waste of my time since I completed a year of teaching already.

FALSE.

I'm learning tons! Actually, I think it's an even better situation that I'm taking this class after a year of teaching rather than if I had taken before I left for Korea. While sitting and discussing methods, activities, etc, I can picture exactly how they can be adapted or fit into my classes for next year. The ones in the course who have no previous ESL teaching experience seem to lose focus quickly, perhaps having trouble seeing the 'big picture' of it all.

My classmates are a great mix of people. A few from England and the rest representing all the regions in the U.S. We spend all day together and most nights choose to hang out with each other as well...a good sign I'd say. I have a feeling by the end of our course we're going to be a tightknit group.

Despite my muy mal español skills, I am having a lovely experience living with a host family. They are such kind, jolly people! My host mom is a lil prankster. She told the other student and I we were eating iguana the other night for dinner. She had us both going until she let out a good, hearty chuckle, finally telling us it was pollo (chicken). Cute. :)

The beauty surrounding me each morning when I wake up is still surreal. Just a short bus ride away is the most goregous beach....straight out of a romance novel. Titi monkeys run around right outside the windows at my school. Gekos crawl on the walls as I eat dinner. I have yet to see a sloth but that is most definitely the goal of the weekend as I plan to hit up the national park.


It's rainy season. Meaning each morning starts out hot with clear, bright blue skies. As the day progresses, in comes the rain. Most afternoons the rain is off and on into the still hot and humid (it is the jungle) evenings. So is the life of a Tica, I s'pose.

I miss Korea.

I miss Iowa, too.

Hola amigos~~~

Estoy super en Costa Rica! I've made it to my home for the next 4 weeks...Quepos, Costa Rica. But not without some typical traveling frustrations that always seem to haunt me. My 30+ hour flight landed me in San Jose without my luggage, lots of paperwork to fill out as a result, and without the shuttle bus to my hostel. Nevertheless, I met some great people on my flights. One being a surfer representing the U.S. in the World Surf competition. Pathetic brush with pathetic greatness? I think so Nell and Kate!

I waited around in San Jose for 3 days until my luggage arrived (all in tact) and found it to be a pretty dirty, scary city. Not the best place a 'solo', American girl wants to find herself in for a long period of time anyway. Getting the bus ticket to Quepos was another frustration but thankfully my taxi driver turned out to be an angel.

The bus ride was absolutely beautiful....words cannot describe properly. My head never left the window the entire 3 1/2 hour ride. It was a bit rainy/misty, giving the lush, green countryside its proper jungle look.

Here are a few of my observation thus far:
-I've left a land where curves are found disgusting, where bare shoulders are a "no-no", to enter a land of many curves...curves that have no shame and bare all. This is probably an appropriate transition before going home as most people here are not fat, just chubby. :)
-Costa Ricans, called Ticos, are generally friendly, smiley and helpful.
-Hot showers do not exist.
-I don't remember near as much Spanish as I thought I would. (Molly study hard!)
-I'm as pale and white as they come. No longer a sign of beauty like in Korea but more probably a sign of weakness.
-My body cannot handle average amounts of cheese anymore, nor do I find it all that appealing.

As I was typing this I met two girls who will be doing the TESOL course with me starting Monday, one who just happens to be living with the same host family! Bright and early tomorrow I'll be on a rafting excursion with some other people from my hostel. I'm ready to get out into the exotic nature that surrounds me!

Out of battery power, I'll try to update in a few days!

xoxoxo

Happy ttttrails to me.......

So much to blog about and so little time as I am in the process of packing up and saying goodbye to everyone.

A quick summary (and a few pictures) from these last few weekends:

Roadtrip to the northern part of South Korea= gorgeous scenery and visiting the infamous Penis Park. A little horrifying/scandalous and a lot hilarious! More details on that for those interested....(or just google it). This is the most PG-rated picture I have.


Banana boating in the East Sea = awesome + sore arms

Camping with friends = consuming a lot of grilled meat and great memories

One week from today I will be in Costa Rica. Eeek. All that is familiar will be gone. Eeek. I'm getting increasingly more nervous as the day of departure draws near. Mixed with extreme excitement. I hope to get a final blog in before I leave Korea but I can make no promises....

....but this I can promise....see you all in September!

xoxo

Bi: Rain

July has been a month full of 비 (Bi). A.k.a. rain but also the name of the Korean pop singer sensation. You may know him in America as Steve Colbert's arch nemesis after Rain was rated higher than him in Time magazine's 100 most influential people of last year. It has been my dream to meet Rain while in Korea. My dream almost came true over the weekend.

I boarded a bus with handfuls of foreigners from Ulsan at 2 am Friday night for Boryeong beach, home to Korea's infamous Mud Festival. Leaving at 2 am insured arrival by 8, just before the Mud Festival activities began. I wasn't too excited to go, (especially as 2 am rolled around and all I wanted to do was sleep) but knew I couldn't past up the experience. Besides that, the company of Kat and Jenny always means for a good time. We karoaked on the bus ride after Jenny and I promised the bus driver everyone would be seated and singing. Oooops, total lies! But he must have known this wouldn't be the case. Immediately everyone was up and dancing in the aisle. Could you sit still to Momma Mia or Beat It? I don't think so!

When we arrived to Boryeong at 7:30 am, Kat, Jenny and I (since we had no hotels booked like most people) took a taxi to a jjimjilbang to get some rest. We crawled into the batcave-like sleeping room and didn't flinch until noon. With no need to shower (duhh, we were going to play in mud all day) we were back on the beach soon after we woke up to begin the festivities. In our taxi to the beach we find out Girls Generation and Rain are going to be performing at the festival....wwwwhat?!? We screamed like 12 year old girls! We covered ourselves in mud and ran around with thousands of other people doing all the different mud "stations". Mud prison, mud pool, mud shower, mud painting, mud slides (lines were too long)...etc. Great time! I don't have any pictures to show of the day since I left it locked up, away from the dangers of the mud, sorry guys. But I may post a few from Jenny's camera once they are up on Facebook.

We break down and get a hotel room despite the ridiculously high price for the comfort of being able to lock up our things for the night, beds, our own shower, and being a block away from the beach. Best decision evvvver. We cleaned up for the Girls Generation concert but in the end that didn't matter much since it started raining. Before the concert was an AAAaaamazing fireworks show. By far the best show I've ever seen (Sorry Grand Mound) as they shot the fireworks from a barge out on the ocean all put to a medley of songs including Regina Spektor (how cool is that?) and the Pirates of the Carribean song. It was a good thing the fireworks were so good because Girls Generation was a huge disappointment. They didn't sing their biggest K-pop hit "Gee Gee Gee"! How dare them! Another disappointment being, Rain (the singer) was scheduled for the next night at the same time we would be on the bus back to Ulsan. Buuummer! We considered waiting to see him, taking a train home, and being super exhausted for work on Monday, but it didn't seem worth it.

After the concert we had samgypsal with people from Ulsan, made some new Korean friends from Seoul University, and ended the night with my first experience in a Korean dance club (surprisely much like any other dance club). It rained off and on the whole night but that didn't stop us. Our 2,000 won ponchos kept us from being grumpy and cold like others. The next day it was monsooning (not really but I'm convinced it was the same feeling) from the time we woke up until we left at 2:30. No Mud Festival action was seen that day, just taking cover inside from the strong winds and rains.

Rainy season is in full swing in these here parts lasting through most of July. It has rained nearly everyday for about 2 weeks now. A bit frustrating at times but a nice break from the otherwise insanely humid summer days. The rain will not stop the adventures though. It cannot because my time is packed full of plans until I leave in a few weeks. This weekend roadtrip, next weekend camping, and the last weekend PACKING!

I just purchased my plane ticket to San Jose....it's beginning to feel more real now. Eeek!

Ouch?

I pretended my shoulders were sore so I could experience some oriental medicine...this is what happened. It was the strangest thing ever and left me with perfect circular bruises all over my upper back for a solid week...completely worth it.

Two Fine People, Two Teary Goodbyes

When I first walked off that plane in Korea, knowing not a single soul (was I crazy?), I could only hope and pray for a close-knit friend "family" that would make me feel at home in this foreign land. At that time, I couldn't even fathom developing the kind of friendships that I have made over the past 10 months. I definitely have a "family" here.

BUT my picture perfect Korean family has been deteriorating these last few weeks as I've been forced to say farewell (more like, until we meet again) to my dear friends Kristen and OTS. It has brought out some serious tears.

Kristen was one of the first people I met in Korea besides my managers and directors, seeing as she was the closest foreigner teacher to my desk at work. She was a huge blessing at ELC, showing me around the city, how to maneuver the buses, where the English church was, etc, etc...Kristen and I have been on so many great Korean (and Chinese) adventures together, mostly as a team of 3 with Kat. The triple K threat...haha. Now it just feels strange without her around, and I don't like it one bit! We have promises to meet again and this I am sure of.
ELC is definitely not the same without her. Thank goodness I am down to 6 more weeks or I might just go insane there.

Then there's OTS. Aww, OTS. Maybe you faithful readers remember the blog I wrote soon after I met him (and the other sk8ter boys) for the first time:

"Also this past weekend, Kat and I managed to meet our first counter-culture friends...Korean skateboarders! In America you've got your plethora of counter-culture groups...you've got the goths, the punks, the hipsters, the heavy metal-lovers, etc. In Korea, you never see any of that. So to say the least, we l-o-v-e them and had a b-l-a-s-t hanging out with them. Their unique, outgoing, and fun personalities reminded us of our favorite friends from back home. It did our hearts good. I'm positive many hilarious adventures involving them will happen in the future." -February

And many hilarious adventures with those boys, particularly with OTS, indeed there have been! Birthday camping, trips to the beach, Busan, fishing, scooter rides, movie nights and countless nights out on the town. He's by far the most unique Korean I've met...I mean, he doesn't like kimchi the staple Korean side dish. Beside just being flat out crrrazy, his style and music tastes are very much his own which is what I love most about him.

Now he is off being turned into a square for the next 2 years in the Korean military. He is late going in (most go a year or so after high school) because he had an opportunity to train for the Korean snowboarding team after high school. Now he is 23 and will be considered "old" in comparision to others there. I don't know if it's possible to make a square out of OTS, but I'm worried he'll be a different guy when he comes out.

All Korean men are required to fulfill this duty so it is to no surprise to OTS (or anyone)...he's known he was leaving in June and been counting down the days since I met him. The American in me screams, shakes my fists, and wants to write nasty letters to the government saying their 2 year mandatory military service is BS. Two years is sooooo long. And they generally make it a miserable 2 years. His high school friends have all finished by now and have very little good to say about their time, which makes it even harder for him.

Needless to say OTS was super down about leaving. No phone, no Ipod, no skateboarding, no scooter, no email, no contact with friends or family (except through letters), no goofy glasses or strange T-shirts for 4 months. Plus he was sent to the training camp right at the border, notorious for being harsh. Argh. Bad timing with all the North Korea jazz as well. Oh life.

To make all this short: I am missing them both terrrribly and my life in Korea will be not be the same without 'em. Sarangheyo!

Happy Father's Day!

Dear Dad,

Freestyle rap:

Hip hip HORRAY!
Hip hip HORRAY!
Just a short shout-out on Fa-ther's DAY!

I miss you
I love you
You've always been the BEST!
Guiding me
Training me
on this life-long QUEST!

I hope this brightens your day. Does it bring back memories of when I was so young and adorable? I can't wait until I can give you a big hug again....just a few more months! Thanks for everything you do for me. I think you've done a darn good job raising me. (the others I'm not so sure about....they're crazy!)

Love your eldest daughter,
Kelly

Wallet Scmallet

Once upon a time in Korea there lived a not-so-little but silly girl. She loved to frolic and play. She bought a new camera, then lost it a week later. In the winter she lost her apartment keys and had to buy new locks. In spring she lost her cell phone. Not weeks later she bought a new wallet as her old one had become ragged from use. Most recently she lost her beautiful, new wallet full of money, bank cards, a driver's license, her foreign registration card (very important) and precious points cards for many of her favorite restaurants and coffee shops.....

What will she lose next????

Bongo Bongo

Happy sssssummer! It's great, eh? Unfortunately for teachers in Korea summertime yields no summer break. Boooo. But alas, I must keep trucking, enjoying the precious weekends and push on til the end of my contract.

Oh my! I haven't blogged about my birthday yet! Well, turning 23 was pretty perfect. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. First, I claimed a whole weekend for celebration....teehee. Selfish but awesome. Gon, Ji, Ots, Matt, Kat, Kristen, Jenny, and I loaded up Gon's car and headed to Jujeon beach for a birthday camping adventure. It was fantastic. Kristen and I raided the woods for firewood, Matt built a killer fire, we cooked some yummy campfire food, played games and fell asleep listening to the waves hit the pepples.

The 1st weekend in June was super memorable as well. Kristen, Kat and I took a bus to Daegu to watch our friend Edwin in a play at his university. It was great, even though it was all in Korean! Edwin was soooo good! Ah, my heart was bursting with pride. Then we met up with some skater girls we had met at Ji's competition a while back for dinner. They took us to this super hip restuarant....it looked like a factory on the inside. And the food was aaamazing! We returned to Ulsan so Gon, Ji, Kristen, Kat, and I could head to a different beach outside of Ulsan to watch the sunrise at 4 a.m. I made the poor decision to go out with a friend Saturday night rather then get a little sleep like the others....but regardless, the sunrise was beautiful!
After taking a bunch of ridiculous pictures we stopped by a beautiful temple along the rocky coast. As expected, I fell asleep in numerous awkward places every time I sat down to take in the scenery Needless to say, I didn't get the most I could of out of the temple stop. Oh well. We pushed on to Haeundae beach in Busan where the annual sand festival was taking place, arriving around 8:30 am. We ate our lunch for breakfast then napped in the warm sun. We spent the entire day (til 10 pm) at the beach cruising up and down, checking out the sand art, laying in the sun, a little swimming and watching an international dance festival being held at the beach as well. So much good stuff.
I loved this past weekend too! Saturday I started the day by running 7 miles. Boy, did that feel great! Phew, a month ago I never thought I could be in shape to run that far. Then I ran off to study Korean at the university. I hadn't been studying much lately so it felt good to get a good study session in. While studying Kat and I managed to convince Jong Won to take us on a roadtrip in his Bongo truck. Bongo trucks are these small, flat front trucks that old men drive around at a snail's pace selling apples or old computers and blaring Korean out of speakers at all hours of the day. Basically, they are obnoxious.
Which is why it's so hilarious to us that our friend drives one around. He attempts to take us to some lookout point but gets us lost in the mountain. We drove through a bunch of rice fields and farms then ran into some little memorial/temple for some strange cult like leader. It was super random which = great. Then he takes us to his elementary school/younger years neighborhood. He even showed us the spot of his 1st kiss....haha which of course called for a mini photoshoot....
This week is going to be a busy one since it's Kristen's last week here....she leaves on Friday! Boooo. Therefore has many goodbye get-togethers planned which means A LOT of meat parties! I'm way sad she's leaving *tears, tears*....so it's going be a bittersweet week.

School has been increasingly frustrating lately (not the teaching but the managing) which just makes me yearn for August and excited for things to come once I'm finished with my contract. The clock is definitely ticking on my time left in Korea....

xoxoxo

Dear Molly:

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday dear Mol Booool,
Happy birthday to YOOOOOU!

A Birthday Limerick
The years since your birth is fifteen
There's much left to do and be seen.
You'll be driving next year,
In six you'll drink beer,
Make today a day fit for a queen.

I am sad I cannot celebrate with you this year...


BUT I know we will have many birthday celebrations together in the future. Enjoy your day, ya old woman!


LOVE YOU MUCHOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

May days...

Phew, it's about time I blogged, eh? Sorry for the infrequency of blogging these days...there's really no excuse for it. May has already been packed with so many fun adventures and we're only halfway through it...yipee!!

To begin, May 2nd was the big golden guy's birthday (aka Buddha). It was also Kristen's birthday. If that's not reason enough to celebrate big, I don't know what is. The streets and temples were all decorated with array of colorful hanging lanterns. People pay to hang a lantern for their deceased relatives in the temples. Word on the street is the more money you pay, the closer your lantern will hang to Buddha therefore bringing your ancestor more honor (?) or something. I need to read up on my Buddhism to better understand the whole deal. Regardless it was a pretty sight to see.

(photo credit: co-worker Leslie)

In honor of the big birthdays we went to....wait for it....can you guess?? A SKATEBOARDING COMPETITION! *giggles* It was in the Korea's cultural city (Gyeongju) so I feel like we participated in the big cultural event enough by experiencing the ridiculous amount of traffic heading towards the temples that day. It was a pleasant (but windy!) afternoon watching the competition outside of some fancy resort hotel along a beautiful lake. It was even better when our friend Ji blew us all away and won the competition! I felt like a proud mother watching him....haha. We spent the night with the 'boarders as honorary members of their club and joined their after party in these large cabin-like buildings for groups to rent. We were under the impression we'd be camping so we came prepared to introduce the Koreans to s'mores. Well, as close to s'mores as we could get...which meant marshmallows (small, fruit flavored ones are the only ones we could find) plus Digest cookies (graham like cookie with a thin chocolate top). There was no fire so we improvised by roasting over lighters (haha!!). But it was a roaring success! I do believe we've turned our friends into adapted s'more monsters! The rest of the night was spent playing games, making new skater friends, a food fight (resulting in much drama), and very little sleep.

A few days later was Children's day (May 5th), our first day off work since New Years (way too long...gross). That day was spent "in a valley with a creek eating meat" as was the invitation description given by our friend. Heck yes, Kristen, Kat and I joined in! It was refreshing to be out in nature for the day which of course included pushing each other into the creek to supply us with some extra entertainment.

The following Saturday was spent with the university's robotic engineering students eating lunch together than later studying Korean with a professor from that department. The professor has excellent English (as well as Japanese and Chinese) and is full of advice on how to best learn Korean. Best of all he's encouraging, gives missions (aka homework) to keep me from slacking off and allows us to use his lab room with a whiteboard to study in. I've discovered learning a language is much more fun when you can use a whiteboard rather then just staring at a book all day. After the studying (4 hours of it...wow!) Kristen, Kat and I headed to the Ulsan's river, Taehwa for some free canoeing! We raced a dragonboat, too. Ooook, so not really, BUT there was a dragonboat behind us for a while. :)

Friday, May 15th was Teacher's Day. It was a wonderful day where I truly felt appreciated by my students. It was also the opening ceremony day for our newly remodeled floor at school! As tradition goes there was a pig head (real!) with money stuffed in the nose and ears to bring good fortune to our school. Apparently people do this after buying new houses and cars in Korea as well. Our directors and other ELC staff members cut a ribbon then did full bows in front of the pig head. Very interesting to say the least. After the ceremony we enjoyed some yummy meat and rice cakes galore...some that mysteriously tasted like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches....super! The day was made complete by reviving some office pranks with the new part-time worker Min. Bah hahaha... :)

And finally, this past weekend...phew, I need to take a breather....Saturday was all stinky and rainy but that made for some perfect inside-study-Korean-all-afternoon conditions. I'm definitely feeling less stupid now that I've gotten some serious study sessions in these last couple of weeks. I'm finding Korean is quite a fun language to study. Later Saturday evening I starred in my first acting debut...a remake of a scene from Halloween (terribly gross movie btw)! My friend is in a movie-making club at the university, so I got to play the part of the sister who gets stabbed in their classy remake. I haven't seen the final cuts of anything yet but I'll let you all know when it hits the big theaters in America (hahahaha...).

Yesterday was a perfectly gorgeous day spent at Ilsan beach. After some reading/napping time in the sun Kristen, Kat and I hiked around the area to the right of the beach....beautiful! The pictures describe it best.


In other life updates, I've been private tutoring a young housewife (in her early 30's) since March. It's just twice a week for one hour each session but I look forward to that part of my morning on those days. She used to work as an editor for a magazine in Seoul before she was married so I immediately connected with her through journalism interests. We discuss one certain topic each day so she can practice her conversation skills...so far it's been going great! Plus I think I've gained a new friend which is always a nice bonus. :)

Also, I'm officially on week 4 of a 16 week marathon training program. Yes, yes I am crazy and yes, I plan on doing a marathon (or half marathon) when I am home in September. I've stuck to the schedule so far and I'm feeling really, really good about myself. I hope this will be one more thing I can cross off the life list soon!

I've committed to the 4 week course in Costa Rica starting August 10th. I'm really pumped about it and nervous all at the same time. Nervous to be returning to a school like setting once again but mostly excited for the insane adventures to be had in Costa Rica, home to the best rafting in the WORLD! plus beaches, plus jungles, etc....eeek! That puts me home right around the 2nd week in September, so get ready!!!

Lastly, my 23rd birthday is rapidly approaching (weird!!!) so I've been planning some birthday adventures for this coming weekend. If all ideas pan out as expected, it looks like a select group of friends and I will be camping out along one of Korea's more rural beaches for a night of fun in nature. I hope to have many stories to share later about all that.

Well that's certainly enough from me. Love and hugs to you all back home. Remember to keep in touch you lil' stinkers....

Happy Parent's Day!

Tomorrow is Parent's Day here in Korea so we've been making cards in our classes for the students to take home. One student rushed to finish her card for her parents then scribbled a card for me before the bell rang...



Best! :)

Plans, plans, plans

I'm feeling at peace as things seem to be falling into place for next year. After inquiring about the Costa Rica TEFL program on the program's website I received several excited emails from the administrator of the site who had done her training in Costa Rica. She just had to tell me about her great experience there. Part of one of her emails is here:

"I cannot say enough about Costa Rica. Jenny and Mark are the most amazing teachers. They really enforce how to teach and effectively get across your grammar point. They offer great feedback on your lesson plans and teaching observations. Costa Rica itself is a must see place and I feel so lucky to have been there. I really did do my lesson plans on the beach and met some people that I will stay in contact with for life. The weather was perfect and my host family is really like my family. I am not sure if you can tell that I have a smile on my face but I do. You will not regret going to Costa Rica."

Makes it hard to resist, eh? I went ahead and filled out an application for the program. As of yesterday I've been accepted and just need to send in a deposit to secure my spot!

Still mulling over the idea of teaching in Korea for another year, I started to worry about finding another job. I knew I didn't really want to resign with my school (for several small reasons) but was torn about moving to a different city and having to start over again making friends, becoming accustomed to the area, etc, etc.

Then a lovely thing happened. About a month ago, my friend (and kinda neighbor) Willy quit his job as manager at Kat's ELC to take a director position of a language school in Busan (2nd largest city in Korea, only 40 mins. from Ulsan). I had talked to him a few times since his move but was excited when Kat set up a dinner appointment a few weekends back with him so her parents could meet him. He gave us a tour of his school then over dinner he asked me about my plans after my contract with ELC. He very seriously offered me a job at his school for next year! "Kelly, I want you to teach with me."

It feels good to hear those words, to be wanted for a job. Not to mention that Willy is the BEST! Best of the best is what I always tell him! He's funny and silly but also really good at his job. I would love to work for him. We used to joke about it when I first came actually! We're going to discuss contract details later but I'm pretty sure that's where I'll end up after Costa Rica and some extended time at home! All in all, I'm super excited about the way things are working out!

Also, last few weekends have been a BLAST so I will write and post pics about that at a later time! Love you all......xoxox