After School Classes

Today was the first day of after school classes. One of the new English teachers, Mr. Kim, asked me how many I wanted to teach, how many students, and what kind of materials. I decided on three times a week, 20 students or less (but an even number) and that it would be called "Advanced English." The class is grade 2 only, which is great because they're all my kids from last year that I don't see too much of this semester.

Going into it, I only knew of boys that were in the class. There are a bunch of grade two students that I taught last year who come in to the EOZ during lunch time and they've been asking about it for a few weeks. I had an attendance sheet, but I still can't tell if a person is a boy or girl just by looking at the name. I was pretty relieved to find that the class was evenly split, 10 boys and 10 girls.

However, the class might as well all be boys. What I mean by that is, the boys are at their loud, obnoxious stage. The girls barely say a word all class, they just sit in the back of the room and try to hid behind their thick bangs. I'm now used to teaching my first graders, who have yet to go through their growth suprts. The kids still look like they are in about 5th grade. It's pretty strange being in a classroom now with boys my size or larger- I swear they all must have grown 3 inches from last winter!

I'm really excited for the classes, I've got lots of fun things planned. I feel much more confident this semester with my teaching abilities, and I know my co-teachers can tell I am also. I basically can teach whatever I like in my normal classes (like this week I taught about the life cycle of frogs) and I can do the same thing for after school as well, though there is more paperwork I am required to turn in. What I'm looking forward to most is the "Wallace and Gromit- A Close Shave" lessons. It will span 6 lessons and it's only a 30 minute video (each period is 45 minutes). I found an excellent website with an amazing movie guide filled with grammar, vocabulary, and extension activities. I'm not planning on telling my school how many copies exactly I'll be making because it's pretty long ^^

Anyway, I'm pumped for things to get going in the next few weeks. After school classes were my favorite part of last semester, and I hope they are again this semester also ^^

New Phones

We're getting new phones. Everyone in EPIK. I've sent my papers in to the phone company, but I haven't heard anything about when I'll be receiving it yet. Lots of people have been having problems in the last few weeks, and somehow it always seems to come up in conversation. Some peoples phones are shut off because they didn't send their papers, and others can only receive texts and calls, but nothing outgoing. Luckily I haven't experienced this (yet).

We won't be getting the Lollipop phone unfortunately. Here's the promotional video for the new phone. I don't know what I'd say if someone called me his lollipop!

Gwangju's Party of the Year

This past weekend, Alli, Emily, and I hosted a party. It wasn't just any party, it was THE party to be at. Everyone had a fantastic time!

We celebrated 3 birthdays, Brian's, Alli's, and Ann's. They all fall within a few days of each other. People here have been excited to have a party ever since our friends in Incheon threw a great party, so it was the perfect time.

We organized food, jello shots, decorations, drink specials, sparklers, and games. The party took place at Soul Train downtown, which was perfect because of the space. The bar is huge and there's plenty of room to stand and talk in. We told them a week ahead that there would be about 50 people, so they organized a drink special and a bottle juggling show.

Miguel showed up with a homemade beer bong, which everyone was very excited about. Brian got all 18 guys lined up to do one each and that was highly entertaining with Michael emceeing the event.

I tried to talk with everyone that showed up and made sure they were having a good time. I really hope everyone did. We had people from out of town (Busan, Ulsan, and Incheon) visiting and it was great to see them again.

Later on, the party moved to Project Beer where everyone continued to have a good time dancing to the 80's music there.

Lots of pictures were taken, here's just a few of them:









For even more, follow this link:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=46814277&id=3612744#!/album.php?aid=2227957&id=59501140&ref=mf

Korean Healthcare

I made it 7 months without being seriously sick, which is pretty good for me, considering my bad allergies. This past weekend we had some bad Yellow Sand blow over for China. I had heard about this yellow dust, but didn't realize how serious it was. I received a text from my cell phone provider cautioning people, especially young kids and the elderly, to wear masks if they had to go outside. Well, I figured I didn't have to worry, because I'm not in either category, right?

Wrong. Sunday night, my eye started to get a little red. I didn't think anything of it, even after it was still red Monday morning. By Tuesday at lunch, it had gotten pretty blood shot. My co-teachers told me I should go to the hospital to get it checked out. I left school around 2:30 to do so.

I walked to the hospital just up the street, but they refered me to a eye specialist in Unnam-dong. Close, but still had to take a taxi. I found the specialist easily enough, and after filling out some basic paperwork and presenting them with my ARC, I got to see the doctor. His English was great of course, and after asking me some questions, he diagionsed Conjunctivitis due to Yellow Sand.

For treatment, I got a shot in the butt. I'm not exactly sure why, but that was pretty uncomfortable when she kept slapping it, just like you would when taking blood from your elbow. The total to see the doctor and get the shot was 4,100 won, around $3.75. I then went downstairs to get my two kinds of eye drops and 4 kinds of pills from the pharmacy. Total for that was 3,600 won (about $3.20).

In the end, my 24 pills, 2 bottles of eye drops, shot, consultation, and two taxi rides cost less than a Long Island at one the bars downtown. Another highlight? I was home in less than an hour. Oh, and I think the medicine is working too. ^^

Girls Generation "Run Devil Run"

This is Girls Generation ( 소녜시댸) newest song. It was just released yesterday. The black and white and dark mood is a huge contrast to the bright, happy colors of "Oh!" I really enjoy it, and even though I've only heard it twice now, the "run, devil, run" is stuck in my head. ^^ Enjoy!

North Korea Vocab

I've always wanted to know how to say some of these things! I got this from the Korean Times. I have some practicing to do!

Perez Hilton

One of the sites I read everyday at work is the Korea Times. There was an article today about how he posted a video of the Wondergirls and Big Bang and praised their musical abilities. You can tell that whoever wrote the article doesn't have English as their first language, as there are many spelling mistakes. They also keep referring to Perez as a girl, which I found amusing. Here's an example:

"Perez Hilton, operator of her blog, Perezhiltontv.com, which reports news on pop songs, movies and other U.S. entertainment last Friday put single music videos of Bing Bang (BING Bang? hahaha) and 2NE1 on her blog.

Perez Hilton showed her favor to Korean pop songs, saying, "I love Korean pop songs," after introducing Big Bang's single "Lolli Pop Part II under the title of "K-Pop Amusingness."

I wonder how many people will make comments about the article on the website!

Wow! 소녜시대 and Super Junior Together!

I just found this video on You Tube, and it makes me happy. It's a combo of Girls Generation, my favorite girls group, and one of my favorite songs, "Sorry, Sorry." After "Sorry Sorry" they sing some of their own songs too.

I read an article about one of the girls (Seohyun) that had recently graduated from high school. I can't imagine the applause she must have gotten when she got her diploma!

Spring Fashion

This weekend the girls and I are going to Seoul again. One of the hardest parts of moving abroad is packing- there's always so much you want to take, but it's just not possible. We've got a general outline already of where we want to go. The list includes places like Itaewon for Emily's broken Mac, Dongdaemun, and our priority, Myeongdong. Myeongdong's got everything, last time I went to the Forever 21.

This time, we'll be also checking out the recently opened H&M, the first in Korea. I loved this store when traveling abroad in Europe, I'm excited to see how it compares here. According to the articles I've read, it is 2,600 sq meters, spread out over an "astounding" 4 floors! I've got a feeling I'll be spending some money this weekend...

We also figure that when we start dressing alike WITHOUT planning it, it's time for some new clothes.




Another store recently opened in Gwangju over the weekend, WhoAU. It is a South Korean clothing store that is modeled after "California" fashion. Think American Eagle, Hollister, and Abercrombie. They did have some cute clothes, and it's always nice to have options when shopping. I think that will replace UniQlo as my favorite women's clothing store in Gwangju.

Balut

Tonight I've only got one word: balut.


Well, alright, maybe a few more.


In the Philippines a few months back, I decided to be brave and fully embrace the culture. That meant eating balut. For those of you who don't know, balut is egg. Not just any egg though. This is special stuff.

A balut is a fertilized duck (or chicken) egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in the shell.

Popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac and considered a high-protein, hearty snack, balut are mostly sold by street vendors in the regions where they are available. It is commonly sold as streetfood in the Philippines.

Here's some of the best of 40 pictures Kenny took of me trying my best not to throw up. The pictures are not flattering at all (I had just gotten out of the pool and I'm a bit sunburned) but I personally think the pictures are HILARIOUS.

First, this is what it looked like with a part of the shell off:



Here I am trying to get up the courage to eat it:



I needed a swig of liquid courage:



I make scary faces sometimes:



Taking a big bite:



Trying to keep it down:



Swallow:



Just seeing the pictures that Kenny posted to Facebook bring back the memories. That was something I'll never forget!

2NE1 "I Don't Care"

If you saw my facebook status yesterday, it was in reference to this song. I made the mistake of saying "I don't care" at some point during my introduction lesson to a group of new 1st graders. I didn't realize the response I'd get, because I'd said it numerous times last semester, and nobody noticed. The new students however burst out in song immediately. This song has been out for a while now, and the group is very popular, like in the top 5 girl Kpop bands. They also joined with Big Bang for the song "Lollipop," which I posted last year. Check it out, soon you'll be singing along!

New School Year, BIG Changes

First semester has officially begun! I should start by saying that this year, I will only be teaching at Suwan MS (수완중학교) about which I have mixed feelings, and is a different story. The first day was technically yesterday, March 2. To celebrate, the students came in for a half day that included a welcoming ceremony in the gym. Last year, our school was brand new and was only 7th grade. I asked at one point, "Why aren't there 8th and 9th graders here if we have the room for them?" I was told that the kids need stability in their lives, and that they didn't want to pull them out of their schools that there were attending to come here. I guess that makes sense. It also would have meant hiring many more teachers in what I am assuming was a small time frame.

Now I feel that the school is packed compared to last year! Last years 1st graders (7th grade) are 2nd grade (8th grade), and we've gained over 400 students. Instead of 8 homeroom classes total, now we are up to 19!! At the welcoming ceremony, some kids received scholarships and the new students took a vow of some sort. New teachers were also introduced to the school, I'd guess there are at least 25.

My co-teachers have also changed slightly, along with my office mates. This year, I am teaching 1st grade only, so I won't get to teach the students I had last semester in class. Kinda bummed about that. The 1st graders are divided into 3 levels- low, mid, and high. I'll teach each with a different co-teacher. Mihey and I will still be doing the high level together. Jiyeon, who I taught low level with last year, and I will be doing mid, and a new teacher, Ms. Jeong, and I will teach low level. Mihey has moved up to a 4th floor office, so I won't get to see her as often. I know she'll be busy teaching all of the grade 2 students in addition to high level 1st graders. I'll be sharing my office off the EOZ with Jiyeon and another new English teacher, but I can't recall her name.

Mihey gave me my schedule today, and it looks good. I teach 3 classes every day, one of each level (low, mid, high), and I also run the EOZ lunch period three days a week. So it's 18 hours of teaching, and I think we will also continue our teachers class, to get to my total required teaching hours of 19. The rest of the time is mine to lesson plan, blog, Facebook, and take naps :)

This week we are just doing simple introduction activities and games so I can assess what level the students are at and they can get to know me. I'm anxious to get back into the classroom and start teaching!