Today is the first day of classes! It's hard to believe this is my 4th and final semester at Suwan Middle School! By now, I've learned all sorts of tips, techniques, and tricks, so this semester should be the best.
I've got a new schedule, of course. I teach 11 9th grade classes per week, and 8 7th grade classes. I won't be teaching any 8th graders, because I taught them last year. The school has also switched the time schedule as well- we're beginning 10 minutes earlier this year, and eliminating 6th period on Wednesdays. We'll make up for this by having 7 periods on both Tuesdays and Thursdays.
We've got so many new teachers this year! Including myself, there are 52 teacher. I'm teaching with 6 different English teachers: Hyeon-hwi (my new handler/co-teacher: 6 classes), Han-su (4 classes), Ms. Jeong (6 classes), Mi-hey (1 class), Young-ran (1 class), and Chi-won (1 class). It will be difficult to stay on the same page with all the teachers and grades, so I'm going to have to work at being very organized.
There's a ton of kids now. We've got 33 homeroom classes for 3 grades, about 30-32 per class. We also had to extend the lunch period by 30 minutes to make sure everyone's got enough time to eat! If I'm lucky, I'll learn 10 new names by the end of the semester.
My new 4th floor office is pretty nice. It's got heat, so that's an improvement from last year. I share with 10 other teachers, though I'm not exactly sure what they teach.
The focus this year for the 9th graders has switched from speaking to writing. Now, the students will have some short answer and/or essay questions on their tests. We're considering buying a new book for them with a variety of writing activities, but it will depend on cost. I don't know too much about this yet, but will probably find out more in the next few weeks.
Spring is always the best semester- there's so many things happening! Field trips, sports day, Children's Day, Buddha's Birthday, and the many "democratic" days in May and June. There's a lot going on and I know I'm going to be so busy!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Vietnam- Tentative Itinerary
I'll be leaving for Vietnam soon. I have 10 official vacation days this winter, and I planned to take it over the Chinese Lunar New Year, giving me 3 extra "free" vacation days. I'll be in southern to south-central Vietnam for a total of 18 days!
I'm flying down to Ho Chi Minh City with Amanda, and Christina will join us a day later. The rooms are so cheap, Amanda and I decided to splurge on a $10 each hotel room rather than stay in a $5 each dorm room for the first night. However, when we're all together, we'll just stay in hostels.
We each have ideas of what we want to do, but nothing set in stone other than the first two days. We'll be staying in HCMC for a few days. I can't wait to explore and see all the French architecture! Oh, and dodge lots of motorbikes.
We want to do a few tours when we're there- The Mekong Delta (hopefully an overnight tour) and the Cu Chi tunnels.
From there, we'll probably go up to Mui Ne, a beach town famous for their sand dunes. I may consider getting a wind surfing lesson one afternoon, depending on the prices.
We may go up to Pan Thiet, the home of Vietnamese Fish Sauce. But we'll definitely make our way to Dalat, a kind of quirky town in the central highlands for some real adventure- canyoning, trekking, and mountain biking:
After mountain biking for a day through the scenic highlands, we'll end up in Nha Trang, just before Tet and spend our days relaxing on the beach, pina colada in hand. I also hope to do an island hopping tour and go snorkeling/scuba diving.
Eventually, we'll have to come back to HCMC, but I'm sure we'll just wish we could stay! One thing the three of us are really looking forward to is the food! Pho, spring rolls, dimsum, Vietnamese sandwiches, French bread, and real coffee! I can't wait to eat authentic, street vendor pho!
Anyone have any other suggestions of places to see or things to do?
I'm flying down to Ho Chi Minh City with Amanda, and Christina will join us a day later. The rooms are so cheap, Amanda and I decided to splurge on a $10 each hotel room rather than stay in a $5 each dorm room for the first night. However, when we're all together, we'll just stay in hostels.
We each have ideas of what we want to do, but nothing set in stone other than the first two days. We'll be staying in HCMC for a few days. I can't wait to explore and see all the French architecture! Oh, and dodge lots of motorbikes.
We want to do a few tours when we're there- The Mekong Delta (hopefully an overnight tour) and the Cu Chi tunnels.
From there, we'll probably go up to Mui Ne, a beach town famous for their sand dunes. I may consider getting a wind surfing lesson one afternoon, depending on the prices.
We may go up to Pan Thiet, the home of Vietnamese Fish Sauce. But we'll definitely make our way to Dalat, a kind of quirky town in the central highlands for some real adventure- canyoning, trekking, and mountain biking:
After mountain biking for a day through the scenic highlands, we'll end up in Nha Trang, just before Tet and spend our days relaxing on the beach, pina colada in hand. I also hope to do an island hopping tour and go snorkeling/scuba diving.
Eventually, we'll have to come back to HCMC, but I'm sure we'll just wish we could stay! One thing the three of us are really looking forward to is the food! Pho, spring rolls, dimsum, Vietnamese sandwiches, French bread, and real coffee! I can't wait to eat authentic, street vendor pho!
Anyone have any other suggestions of places to see or things to do?
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Goals for 2011
Here are 11 goals/things I want to do in the upcoming year:
1. Have an adventure while backpacking through Vietnam.
2. See the US Coast Guard Band play in Taiwan.
3. Check out the view of Victoria Harbor from above.
4. Explore the many rice paddies and temples on Bali.
5. Get certified to scuba dive in the Gili Islands.
6. Play with orangutans in Sumatra.
7. Ride a camel into the desert (and sleep under the stars) in Rajasthan.
8. Trek in the Himalayas.
9. Appreciate the beauty of the Taj Mahal.
10. Relax on the beaches of Goa.
11. Finally go to the Christmas Markets in Germany!
1. Have an adventure while backpacking through Vietnam.
2. See the US Coast Guard Band play in Taiwan.
3. Check out the view of Victoria Harbor from above.
4. Explore the many rice paddies and temples on Bali.
5. Get certified to scuba dive in the Gili Islands.
6. Play with orangutans in Sumatra.
7. Ride a camel into the desert (and sleep under the stars) in Rajasthan.
8. Trek in the Himalayas.
9. Appreciate the beauty of the Taj Mahal.
10. Relax on the beaches of Goa.
11. Finally go to the Christmas Markets in Germany!
Monday, December 27, 2010
Gwangju Christmas Party
One of the hardest things about living abroad for an extended period of time is missing family and friends, especially during the holiday season. I'm so lucky and blessed to have a wonderful group of friends in Gwangju that have really become my family in so many ways during the last year and a half.
Christmas Eve, me and about 25 of my closest friends in Gwangju got together downtown at German Bar for a potluck Christmas dinner. Everyone chipped in some money or food, and had an amazing time! We even had special place settings and decorations!
We had two turkeys, cooked by Steve and Rupert at Steve's school's kitchen (with the help of some of his students!), stuffing, gravy, rolls, green beans, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, wild rice salad, veggie tray, lettuce salad, carrot and ginger soup, cheese ball, sliced cheese, jello, ice cream, doughnuts, and banoffee pie. I'm not sure if I'm missing anything, there was so much selection!
Here I am with two of the best turkey-cookers I know!
I brought the cheese ball!
Song, the owner of German bar, has always been gracious to us (rock night, poker run, and bake sales), and we were so thankful that everyone was able to gather there without any problems. Andrew gave him a present for all he's done for us.
We also had a secret Santa gift exchange, which Rupert did a great job of organizing and emceeing. Some of the presents were really thoughtful (slippers, scarves, tea, coffee, clothes, toys, liquor, etc), while others were a "last minute" idea (ie: random items from Mini Stop!)
In the end, everyone was just glad to be around friends and to have had such a great meal. I think everyone would love to do it again sometime soon!
Christmas Eve, me and about 25 of my closest friends in Gwangju got together downtown at German Bar for a potluck Christmas dinner. Everyone chipped in some money or food, and had an amazing time! We even had special place settings and decorations!
We had two turkeys, cooked by Steve and Rupert at Steve's school's kitchen (with the help of some of his students!), stuffing, gravy, rolls, green beans, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, wild rice salad, veggie tray, lettuce salad, carrot and ginger soup, cheese ball, sliced cheese, jello, ice cream, doughnuts, and banoffee pie. I'm not sure if I'm missing anything, there was so much selection!
Here I am with two of the best turkey-cookers I know!
I brought the cheese ball!
Song, the owner of German bar, has always been gracious to us (rock night, poker run, and bake sales), and we were so thankful that everyone was able to gather there without any problems. Andrew gave him a present for all he's done for us.
We also had a secret Santa gift exchange, which Rupert did a great job of organizing and emceeing. Some of the presents were really thoughtful (slippers, scarves, tea, coffee, clothes, toys, liquor, etc), while others were a "last minute" idea (ie: random items from Mini Stop!)
In the end, everyone was just glad to be around friends and to have had such a great meal. I think everyone would love to do it again sometime soon!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Boshintang (Otherwise known as dog soup)
Last night I did something illegal. I went out with 5 other friends (Kenny, Matt, Steve, Emily, and Miguel) to a restaurant in Pungam-dong to try boshintang soup. It was my first time, along with Steve, Emily, and Miguel. Gaegogi (dog meat) is illegal to serve in Korea, but I read an article not long ago that estimated there are around 3,000 restaurants in Korea still serving it. Back in 1998, there were as many as 20,000 I won't get into any animal rights or treatment of the dogs, because thats just sad. I do know that nowdays there are not beaten to death in Korea, as they still are in other parts of the world. There is a specific breed of dog raised for this purpose, called Nureongi, so it's not as if we're eating random strays off the street, or cute fluffy pet dogs. Nureongi dogs are not normally kept as pets, according to Wikipedia.
We were really nervous, because we had no idea what to expect. We had to get some beer and soju before hand to help it all go down.
Here's what the soup looked like when it first came out:
Here's the first bite!
It didn't taste quite as bad as it looks like it does. The broth wasn't bad, it tasted similar to other Korean broths I've had before. Then there were some onions and vegetables, which I ate. There were some unknown chunks of something that honestly looked like skin... but it may have just been a tendon or fat. I don't really want to think about that! As for the meat itself, it wasn't horrible. It's more of a mental hurdle you have to get over. If it wasn't in the soup, it would taste greasy, gamey, and fatty. However, when you took a bit of broth, rice, onion, and meat in one bite, it wasn't the worse thing in the world.
Kenny did the best out of all of us finishing the soup, but didn't do it entirely. The rest of us had about a third, and filled up on the kimchi and rice. Including the drinks, the total for each of us was 10,000 won, or about $9. Not a bad meal cost wise, but I'm pretty positive it will be the last time I have boshintang!
We were really nervous, because we had no idea what to expect. We had to get some beer and soju before hand to help it all go down.
Here's what the soup looked like when it first came out:
Here's the first bite!
It didn't taste quite as bad as it looks like it does. The broth wasn't bad, it tasted similar to other Korean broths I've had before. Then there were some onions and vegetables, which I ate. There were some unknown chunks of something that honestly looked like skin... but it may have just been a tendon or fat. I don't really want to think about that! As for the meat itself, it wasn't horrible. It's more of a mental hurdle you have to get over. If it wasn't in the soup, it would taste greasy, gamey, and fatty. However, when you took a bit of broth, rice, onion, and meat in one bite, it wasn't the worse thing in the world.
Kenny did the best out of all of us finishing the soup, but didn't do it entirely. The rest of us had about a third, and filled up on the kimchi and rice. Including the drinks, the total for each of us was 10,000 won, or about $9. Not a bad meal cost wise, but I'm pretty positive it will be the last time I have boshintang!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Seoul Getaway
A few weekends ago, Kenny and I went up to Seoul for our 6th month anniversary. I hadn't really been out of Gwangju since I'd come back in August, so I really felt the need to get out!
We just went up for Saturday night, but we seemed to do so much in the short amount of time that it felt longer than it actually was. We did lots of fun things, but I think our favorite was going out to dinner at "Between" in Itaewon, and going to "All That Jazz," also in Itaewon.
"Between" is a relatively new restaurant on the main drag in Itaewon. They're known for their wide variety of Tapas and bar selections. We had no problem getting a seat in the non-smoking section, even though it was busy. It was much bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside!
We poured over the extensive tapas menu for a while before we decided. We chose the set menu, assuming it was a "couples set." Unfortunately it wasn't (but for the price, it should have been! 55,000 won!). However, we looovveed every dish they brought us!
We had a total of 6 courses, and started with the appetizer- raw beef, lettuce, fresh Parmesan, olive oil, and some nuts:
Our second course, the tapas, we selected seared scallops wrapped in bacon. They were my favorite!
Third course was a spicy seafood pasta:
Fourth course was our meat dish- so good! Roasted duck with a orange glaze, garlic mashed potatoes, and cooked apples.
Fifth and sixth courses was desert (creme brule) and tea (mango). All this food was washed down with a nice Canadian IPA, Alley Cat. Even though the food was delish, we weren't completely full, but that made getting the late night Kebab from the street vendors all the better!
Here are some more shots of the restaurant:
We just went up for Saturday night, but we seemed to do so much in the short amount of time that it felt longer than it actually was. We did lots of fun things, but I think our favorite was going out to dinner at "Between" in Itaewon, and going to "All That Jazz," also in Itaewon.
"Between" is a relatively new restaurant on the main drag in Itaewon. They're known for their wide variety of Tapas and bar selections. We had no problem getting a seat in the non-smoking section, even though it was busy. It was much bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside!
We poured over the extensive tapas menu for a while before we decided. We chose the set menu, assuming it was a "couples set." Unfortunately it wasn't (but for the price, it should have been! 55,000 won!). However, we looovveed every dish they brought us!
We had a total of 6 courses, and started with the appetizer- raw beef, lettuce, fresh Parmesan, olive oil, and some nuts:
Our second course, the tapas, we selected seared scallops wrapped in bacon. They were my favorite!
Third course was a spicy seafood pasta:
Fourth course was our meat dish- so good! Roasted duck with a orange glaze, garlic mashed potatoes, and cooked apples.
Fifth and sixth courses was desert (creme brule) and tea (mango). All this food was washed down with a nice Canadian IPA, Alley Cat. Even though the food was delish, we weren't completely full, but that made getting the late night Kebab from the street vendors all the better!
Here are some more shots of the restaurant:
How a 7th grader can Save The Earth~ Unit 10
Dear Principal (Mr. Hyeok Seun Kim),
We can do a lot to save the Earth! There are many kinds of pollution: water, air, ground, and noisy. We can save Earth. We should use less water and recycle bottle, paper, plastic, cans and turn off the lights, TV, fan... but some of students think teachers waste many thing. Why teachers say, "Student turn off heater!~" Oh... my God!! Because of teacher, we waste many things. Students are cold. Please give our mercy! I want to turn on the heather. We are very cold. Please one more time say, teachers save Earth too.
(Korean blah blah blah 400,000won blah blah Korean)
Please teathers! Save Energy!!!!
Sincerely, Kim Chi Hun
We can do a lot to save the Earth! There are many kinds of pollution: water, air, ground, and noisy. We can save Earth. We should use less water and recycle bottle, paper, plastic, cans and turn off the lights, TV, fan... but some of students think teachers waste many thing. Why teachers say, "Student turn off heater!~" Oh... my God!! Because of teacher, we waste many things. Students are cold. Please give our mercy! I want to turn on the heather. We are very cold. Please one more time say, teachers save Earth too.
(Korean blah blah blah 400,000won blah blah Korean)
Please teathers! Save Energy!!!!
Sincerely, Kim Chi Hun
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