New Address!

Hi friends and family!

I just wanted to post an update letting you know I have a new address. My school recently moved to a new building. We are no longer Little America and have become Langcon English Academy. Rest assured that things will not get better at this new school..... no, not until I walk out of that school and never have to return again. Currently I teach over 6 hours a day, which isn't much, I know. But after 6 hours I am suppose to get overtime pay. It has yet to happen after 7 months of working overtime. Now, I start teaching at 11 am and finish around 7:10/ 7:40. Explain to me how I can work from 10:40 - 6:55 and be working over time and now work 11 am to 7:10/7:40 and be only working 6 hours? Something doesn't add up.

Anyway.... here is my address

LangCon English Academy
Cheong-yong Building 2nd Floor
19-2,3 Mae-gok dong Buk-gu Gwang-ju
South Korea
500-815

my kids wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

Time flies

It's amazing to me how fast my time in Korea is going. Sometimes I don't even realize how far I've come or how fast the time is going by. Take for instance my blog, it's been a month since my last update. I looked at it the other day and thought, "that can't be right I just updated it!" I went from updating every week to now forgetting about it and coming back to all this time that has gone by without an update for friends and family back home.

happiness....

A lot has been going on in the past month. From stuff at school to the weekends spent with good friends, they are all good memories that lucky I have lots of pictures to remind myself of those times. It has been quite some time since I've gotten out of Gwangju for a weekend. I guess I have been busy with celebrating friends birthdays, events in the city or just pure relaxation that there hasn't been much time to get out and explore more of Korea. The cabin fever is setting in and I'm ready for some weekend adventures elsewhere. Hopefully I'll remember to update about them when they happen.

rooftop gathering with friends...

The week of October 18th was the Kimchi Festival in Gwangju. It was the Festival that I was most excited to check before I even came to Korea. Kimchi is such a huge part of Korean culture. They eat it at every meal. I was really excited that the festival took place in the city I was going to be living in. There were concerns about the festival. The weather in Korea had ruined a lot of crops and there was the "Kimchi Crisis" going on. It didn't affect Gwangju as much as the Northern cities, though. I went on the weekend with a few friends to check out all the hype. It was about 10 minutes away from my apartment so it was easy to find. We walked up to see a huge stage with musicians playing. There were people and stands everywhere. We went straight to the tent where we could make kimchi ourselves. The foreigners go to one table where we had some friendly Koreans helping us and who spoke English. The Koreans were on the other side making their own kimchi. We were given a head of cabbage and the ingredients. We mixed the ingredients together and then began rubbing it on to the cabbage. It took us about 10 minutes after we put the ingredients on the cabbage we were given a taste of our own kimchi. It was pretty good, but not really spicy enough. They put it in a bag and then a container (kimchi is pretty rank smelling...). On we went around the area to check other things out. There was stand after stand after stand of different kinds of kimchi. There are so many different tastes and ways to make kimchi, you can use cabbage, lettuce, radish or cucumber. They are all tasty, sometimes you find ones that are better than others. We stopped at a little food stand, sat down and ordered kimchi soup and some other meat dish. It was definitely a great experience!

Sarah, me, Danielle and Marleen making some kimchi

The weekends have been pretty low key lately. I'm going to skip the weekend night life stories and go to talking about school. I've already talked about how frustrating my school is with all the things going on. My school is turning into a Langcon, which could be a good switch. They have a set out curriculum to follow, which we definitely need! I have doubts that many of my students will be able to keep up with the new curriculum though. I have probably the rudest kids in the city and ones that don't care even the slightest. It's unfortunate really, for Dan and I, to be at such a poor academy. It kind of ruins the whole experience. But then again, we are over halfway finished and have managed to find ways to get through. Besides the afternoon classes, which really aren't fun or worth teaching. The kinders.... are little kids. What to say about them. 5 crazy kids that drive us nuts sometimes, they are whiny, fight all the time, don't listen, those 5 little kids are pretty awesome, to say the least. Dan and I both are really proud of our kinders. We have gone through several Korean teachers, for the last several months the only teachers they have had consistently have been Dan and I. They are forced to speak English, try to translate their problems to tell us. They do a great job at it, too. It's amazing to think back 6 months ago and realize how much they have truly learned in those months. Their speaking is better, reading is better, they still have trouble with spelling, their coloring skills have improved. It kind of makes up for the rest of the kids that haven't improved at all. Take for instance Samuel, I have been teaching him for about 5 months. His reading use to be really bad, his speaking not so great.... but now, his reading is really good and you can't get him to stop talking in English. He loves to tell me stories, they usually take a good 20 minutes to get out, but it really is a great feeling. My boss has actually been telling me how much Samuel has improved and his parents have complimented on it, too. He use to never want to sit down and study, it was almost impossible. Now he is actually excited. I think a lot has to do with the fact that he wants to catch up to his classmate, Brenda. Who is a smart little girl and is really far ahead of any 7 year old (and a lot of my 13 year olds too!!) We use to hide from the kids during our lunch breaks, lately we've been going into the big room with the kinders and playing soccer with them. They love it and it really makes for a fun 30 minutes.

Stella, Paul, Samuel, Brenda and Iris... love their smiles in this... Dan and I have some good kids

For Halloween, Dan had the kids make tiger masks.

we gave them lots of candy for Halloween

I'm coming up on my 7 months in Korea. 5 more to go!

I'm Grandfather, you are young. GO!

The title is a line that an old man said to my friends and I on Saturday while we were hiking. We had stopped to take a break before continuing the hike. I guess it was his way of encouraging us. Either way, we made it to the peak to show him

Fall in Korea!!

Saturday morning a few friends and I got on a bus and headed to Yeongam. It's a town a little over an hour away from Gwangju and is the entrance point to Wolchulsan National Park. Wolculsan is marked by mountain ranges mostly covered in enormous rock formations. Getting off the bus we were quite intimidated by the huge rocky mountains, thinking we were going to be rock climbers instead of leisure hikers. We squeezed into a taxi and drove to the entrance of the park. We walked up a little hill and found the entrance to the hike. We were met with the map of the park and some basic stretches they suggested doing, oh Korea. We began the hike thinking it was easier than the hike we did 2 weeks prior, despite hearing from various friends that the hike was "a bitch." We soon began to find out that they weren't lying to us. After about an hour and a half of hiking we made it to the Cloud Bridge. It had a phenomenal view of the surrounding areas! We even saw trees with beautiful fall leaves. The suspension bridge was pretty awesome and we took several pictures on it.

heading up the Mountain

We decided to continuing hiking, but weren't sure if we really wanted to go to the top. Seeing as we were all pretty tired as it was. We kept on going though, pushing through the burning in the legs! As we got closer to the peak, it got a little scarier. From the bridge up we were climbing up steps like a ladder. It was incredibly steep and we were all but pulling ourselves up these steps. After making it up the steps there were rungs that we had to climb up to go further up to the peak. Being afraid of heights, it honestly was pretty terrifying. But I wanted to see the spectacular view for myself so I kept going!

first view of the Mountain

I sat by a rock and enjoyed the view and peace at the top. Koreans would walk by and smile at me and say Annyong or ask where I was from. At one point a Korean lady opened up some food and offered it to me. It was really sweet, but I unfortunately had to decline the free food as she was offering apples and I'm severely allergic. After sitting at the top for quite some time we started our decent. We found a new way down and it was a lovely walk to the bottom. After we walked to the opening where we started we were greeted with claps from other hikers who had finished the hike, too. It was pretty cool.

Suspension Bridge

A perfect Saturday spent with some pretty fantastic ladies.

Danielle, Kelsey, me, Megan, and Kate on the Cloud Bridge

Many the Miles

It's really amazing where the paths in life can take you. A little over a year ago, I had quit my jobs and made the decision to move. My life would be so different right now if I didn't decide what I was doing wasn't what I really wanted for my life. I knew from the time Caley and Chris had come to Korea, that I too wanted to come. But there were lots of things holding me back from what I really wanted to do. When I finally made the decision to come here, I couldn't have been happier. It was really awesome that Danielle and Megan decided that they too wanted an adventure and could be part of this experience with me.

I have officially been in Korea for 5 months. There have been so many ups and downs. Most of the downs have come from the job. But really, I knew what I should expect signing on with a Hagwon. Hagwon's are a business, its more important to make money that see improvements in the children's English language. I have met so many great people and had some really awesome times with these new friends. I've also been fortunate enough to travel to China, twice, to see some old friends from college.

School isn't all that bad. I mean, I love my walk to and from school and the talks and laughs I have with my coworker. And my kinders, Samuel and Brenda. I sometimes get really frustrated with them. But they are smart little kids for being 7 (well, really by our standards they are 6). Brenda translates so much for Dan and I during the day. She is a smart little girl and is pretty respectful. Samuel is a little independent kid. Sometimes he can be a little brat and not do his work, so can Brenda. Usually if one is being bad and not working, the other is really good and going out of their way to do MORE work. I love the hugs they give me everyday and the really awesome days are when they stop what they are doing and give me a massage. Sounds weird, but it isn't. Brenda likes to give hand massages. Samuel usually climbs behind me on the chair and will give me a shoulder massage. He is pretty strong so sometimes he hits me pretty hard. But, he means well. The kids have really changed a lot since I arrived 5 months ago. Iris use to be a really shy girl and every time you talked to her, she would cry. She was usually the only one to not run up and give Dan and I hug. Now she won't let you go and rarely cries!

This past weekend the girls plus Geoff and I all went hiking on Mt. Muduengsan. It was a beautiful fall day and we had a great hike together! On the way down we met this awesome Korean man, who for being older spoke great English. He gave us all these random facts about the mountain and himself. He was 62 years old and for the past 36 years he had been climbing the mountain, everyday. He said he's climbed the mountain over 10,000 times and they call him the Mountain Tiger. He was cool!

The past few Sundays, Meg, Danielle and I have been getting lunch and then going to the DVD bong and watching movies. The DVD bong is where you can rent a movie and you get your own private room to watch it in. The rooms are always very comfortable with a bed and/or couch in it. It's great for a lazy Sunday!

This coming weekend there is an International Community Day in my city. I'm looking forward to it and afterwards we are having a roof top gathering. In 2 weeks is the Gwangju Kimchi Festival as well!

There are so many things to look forward to and I'm excited. I'm so happy to be in Korea. Life here is so comfortable and fun. I can't even begin to imagine how things would be if I didn't decide to come here....

Until next time.

Vacation!

I just got back a few hours ago from an amazing vacation in Beijing. My friends Keith and Ithzel went out of their way to make our vacation fantastic. There is something about Beijing that makes me want to stay....

Anyway, instead of writing about my vacation Danielle and I decided to do a video blog of our daily happenings. We are going to spend some time putting the videos together and editing things. Stay tuned for that update!

Enjoying the view on the Great Wall

Turn and Run

Well, I guess it's been almost two weeks since I've updated. So, here is the brief update.

Last week was my birthday weekend extravaganza. On Saturday a few friends and I got together downtown and rented a room to play Nintendo Wii. It cost us each about $3.50 for a drink and we could play for an hour. We had a lot of fun of course! Afterwards we all headed to the Outdoor Galbi Restaurant (aka Korean BBQ for those not sure what it is. You cook your own meat at the table). It was really good. We got ice cream and had a drink and were all home and in bed early. On Sunday, Megan, Josh and I went on adventure to Sangmu to check out the 5.18 Memorial Park. We sat in a park for a long time just hanging out and talking. It was really fun. We then headed to one of the best restaurants in Gwangju The First Nepal, for my 2nd birthday dinner. I didn't really know much about the dinner. Other than Danielle and Dan kind of planned it. A bunch of friends were there with cake and a cool necklace that says my name in Korean. I have some great friends here :)

On to school things.

I think I've talked about before on how we currently have only one Korean teacher.. She told me last week that she wants THIS Friday to be her last day. If that's the case it will be Dan and I plus our director. Dan and I basically do everything as it is. Several Korean's have been interviewed for the position. But she keeps saying how she is "too busy" right now to find a teacher. One lady was in for several days sitting in classes. I guess she was hired... she called and said she wouldn't do it. More people were in to interview. On Saturday we had to work and the newly hired teacher was in shadowing. She seemed pretty nice, despite not having much English skills. Yesterday was suppose to be her first day... guess who never showed. I think my boss has given up on finding a Korean teacher. Which is not really good for Dan and I. Also, we were suppose to be paid Friday. Money is finally in our account today, but of course, only half. I hope I can warn future foreigners on this train wreck of a school.

On the plus side of school topics. I have one class all afternoon who is my absolute favorite. They love to have conversations, are polite and just fun to be with. The girls all gave me birthday presents, which was really sweet of them. On Saturday we had school and that was the only class were I said, keep your books out. We will pretend to work but play games all class. They loved it and really were happy with me for it. 3 of the kids in the class have birthdays this month. So, I bought them all a snack as a little present to them. They were so happy and started chanting my name. It was cute.

And lastly, Saturday begins my 6 day vacation. WIN! Danielle and I both fly out on Sunday to Beijing. We will be staying with my friend from college. I'm so excited! After we get back I have to teach on Friday and then it'll be the weekend. September is almost over :)

Life is Good

This coming weekend not only is my birthday weekend (yay), but it's also my 4 month anniversary of being in Korea. I can't believe 4 months is already here! It's been a crazy ride so far and I'm sure the next 8 months will be just as crazy. I have had a lot of ups that have been pretty epic, but I've also had some serious lows. I know I absolutely made the right choice by coming here. I got out of the rut I was stuck in, in Limestoneville and get to experience and meet so many great people. I'm also meeting up with friends I haven't seen in years that live abroad, it has and will continue to be an amazing experience.

2 weekends ago Megan and I ventured out of Gwangju to the Boseong Green Tea Plantation. I've been hoping to go at some point and that Sunday turned out to be a great time for both of us. We jumped on a bus and with the help of some nice Korean's got off at the correct stop and then purchased another bus ticket to go to the Plantation. We left pretty early in the morning, so both of us only had a light breakfast. It turned out to be a gorgeous, but very hot day. We did plenty of hiking through the fields and up the mountain. It was about 1:30 in the afternoon, with the sun beating down on us when we made it to the top of the mountain. The view was beautiful. I don't know how those ajummas and ajosshi's climb that mountain regularly to pick the tea, but more power to them!

view from the top of the mountain

lines of Green Tea

me in the fields

more lines of Green Tea

This weekend is not only my 4 month anniversary of being in Korea, but also my 25th birthday. I'm getting old! I think I'm going to have a low key type of weekend and get some friends together for dinner and to play some Wii downtown and of course, eat ice cream!

Now, on to my children.... My one kinder Brenda is in love with me, most of the time. She gets mad at me when I make her read or write (haha). When kids in class (she is in a class with older kids, she is VERY VERY smart) say they don't like me, they like Dan teacher, Brenda will be the first to say "I like Megan teacher! She is my favorite friend!" It's cute and other times she'll say "Megan teacher is a Princess" Of course, 2 days ago she was angry with me and told me all the reasons I'm NOT a Princess. Want to hear them? Of course you do!

1. I wasn't wearing a beautiful dress

2. I didn't have a pretty crown (I said it was at home)

3. I didn't have a sparkling ring

4. I didn't have a horse

5. Where was my Prince? (I'm wondering that too!)

6. I didn't have heels on

7. My hair wasn't done properly

and finally

8. I wasn't wearing a bracelet

Clearly, someone watches too many fairy tales! It was pretty adorable and made me laugh. She was really excited to hear my birthday was coming up and wrote herself a note so she could bring me a present, too.

That's my update for now. Despite the bad things that have been thrown at me in my 4 months in Korea, I still love it here. There have been way more awesome times to even things out. Life is good and I know I made the right choice by moving halfway around the world to start a new path!