Korea Cold

Soooooooo yeah the weather here turns on a dime. And now I have a cold. Boo. Thank goodness I have medicine. But my cold comes at a time where the 6th graders are learning about symptoms of sickness and being sympathetic, Lesson 13 "That's too bad". lol When someone tells me they are sick I saw "awww. That sucks" but I guess you can't teach them that. I have a new name besides Ricki Techa, Sung-san-nim (I think that is the spelling) It means teacher in Korean. Today is a busy day I have classes all morning and one after lunch. Today I had class with my 6th grade dance girls. Monday I was accosted when I was coming out of the bathroom by them. They wanted to tell me their names. Then it turned into a game of stump the teacher. They switched places and wanted me to say their names. I can't spell them but they were jean hang, sun-ye, da hee, sun-yu. Turns out there were on a dance team and they were practicing. Then I joined them of course dancer that I am. They were impressed by my ability to pick up the moves so quickly. Off to teach class then dinner tonight with my co-workers.

This week so far

This week I taught my first lesson plan I made for the 5th graders. I planned these fun activities like charades and guessing game. I made power points found a song about what did you ? That's the lesson we are on past tense. They went well. But I think I have to plan more activities as a back up. The first class went by fast. We had some extra time and Ji-Hye had some activities that she did last year that we could use. Nevertheless she was impressed by how I could move from one activity to the next and my ability to plan activities tailored for the lesson.

Stairs of death, crossing the street, and drivers

Soooo in Korea they have a shit load of stairs everywhere. The stairs in the train station reminded me of the Jamaica ave stairs to the subway for the I think F train (super steep). I thought I was going to die going up and down those stairs. Not only that but there are over passes everywhere because of the drivers I am convinced. Those can be steep as well. I call them the Korean stairs of death. If they don't kill me they will give me killer legs so I guess that's the plus side. Ohhhh and the over pass by my house is being repaired so you go up the stairs o' death and then I am fearing for my life because on one side is the floor of the other side that is being repaired but the cement is off it. So it's unfinished and I feel like if I step in it I will fall through. Then on the "fixed side" there are plywood boards (not very supportive) and on top of that people who walk there are always in a hurry so they will breeze past you. But when there are alot of people on there it's terrifying. I fear for my life on that also. I can't wait till it gets fixed. Bus Drivers here I have 2 words "HOLD ON". If you don't hold on you are libel to go flying through the front of the bus or out the back. It's akin to riding the NY subway. Very abrupt stopping and starting. It's crazy. I get up and leave early so I can get on an uncrowded bus. That way I can have a seat orrrr I can stand near the back exit poles which are more sturdy than the straps they have. I always need to hold on because sometimes they don't stop at the lights and go barreling through the intersection. But they are good about stopping for you. Crossing the street here is unpredictable. Since the drivers stop at the suggestion lights if they want 2. I say suggestion lights because to the drivers they are merely a suggestion, especially for taxi's and buses. At a crosswalk you are less likely to be run over but only by very little. Just because it says you can walk doesn't mean the cars will let you. Some drivers don't even tap on the brake. Not even a pause. So it's like playing who can bob and weave best. Another reason I leave early there are less cars on the road at the time so I can be less fearful. A couple times I got honked at because I guess I didn't cross fast enough for the drivers who drive through the red lights. As soon as I passed the car they took off while the light was red and the cross sign was green ! If you come here and want to drive be careful. Sometimes drivers will drive in 2 lanes, bust a u-turn in the middle of the street, or of course cut you off, and turn in front of you even if your 2 seconds away from them. I don't think I will drive here. I'm scared. It's worse than driving in Manhattan. Oh annnd the streets here don't have street signs sooo you're SOL also, I believe that is why all cars I have seen here have a gps in them.

Last Weekend

So last weekend Sun-Ah my co-worker took me to Itaewon( known as a foreigners shopping district) which is in Seoul. When she told me about it she said "If you want to go to Itaewon we can go this weekend. They sell big size clothes there." I was slightly offended but I understood her point. Korean women are so tiny. She was also being considerate and showed concern for me so it was cool. Saturday we took the bus to the train station which is a couple blocks from my school. The trains were very crowded but all the train stations are very clean. I had to take the 4 blue line to Samgakji (I think that's the name) then transfer to the 6 brownish line to Itaewon. The first thing you see when you emerge fro the train station is KFC. lol About 5 stores from that is Burger King. It's funny to see these American stores in the middle of the Korean stores. Outside of their stores the Koreans are all trying to get people into their stores by saying "Come, come, we have big sizes we have nice clothes for you" It was very funny to me. There are tailors there also I read somewhere you can get a tailor made suit in a few days for the same amount you would pay for good suit. I may consider it later but at my school everything is very casual. Most teachers wear jeans everyday. The prices of things are pretty reasonable. Since there are alot of clothing stores on the block people are willing to make you a deal so you buy from them. I didn't buy much since my paycheck has not come in. Also I didn't like the style of the clothes. But I have a distinctive taste. I like the skinny girls clothes. If they had a Lane Bryant or Ashley Stewart type store I would be all over that but they had middle aged lady clothes. While walking around it started drizzling. Since it was lunch time we went to, I think it was called American Diner. We ordered some burgers and wings. They wings were expensive and not that great you got 8 for like almost 10 dollars. The burgers were good but over priced I would have taken a Burger King burger any day. After lunch the drizzle had turned to rain and since it's hard to shop in the rain (the street gets pretty packed like Jamaica ave but the street is smaller) we headed back home. While on the way back home Sun-Ah stopped to show me a subway map to see if I recognized the way home yet. I will transcribe what happened next as a dialogue. SA= Sun-Ah, AG=African Guy, and M= Me. AG: Hey! Where are you going ? M: Excuse me ? AG:Where are you going ? M: We are not lost. Thank you AG: I can see that. But where are you going? Where do you live? M: In Korea. AG: I know me 2. Are you in a hurry? Can I talk with you. You are very beautiful I want to get to know you. M: Thank you, yes we are. I have a fiance. AG: That is not a matter we are all free to do what we choose. I want to know you information. M: No sorry. I am not see I have a ring. I don't have information. No phone. AG: Me either, I have no phone but maybe we can get together. I will take you around I want to touch you. Can I accompany you? M: I don't like to be touched. No need to accompany me now. But if you want I will come back with my finance and you can take us around. Just wait for me right here in this station and I will meet you. AG: You will meet me here ? M: Yes wait right here I will come back with my fiance and we will go together. AG: You are funny you want me to wait for you here ? M: Yes right here. If you are so interested in taking me around you can wait for me. AG: You are funny. You think I will wait here ? M: Why not ? If you want to take me around. AG: No I will not wait. But you are very funny thank you. Bye M: Ok well if you insist on not waiting. Bye SA: You are very funny Ricki We continued on to the other train and went home. After I got home I played Sims 2 castaway for like 10 hours and went to sleep, the best sleep I had since I got here. I was so tired. Sunday I woke up and cleaned my apartment up. Then I finally seasoned the meat that I had bought the week before. Since I had no dinner plans I also cooked. I made chicken with rice. I thought I almost set the fire alarm, but thank goodness I didn't. There is a vent above my stove but there was no way to turn it on. Finally after I cooked the damn chicken I found the light and the fan that is above my stove. You have to pull the vent out and the switch for the fan and light are there. I enjoyed my first meal I cooked in Korea. It was very good but I think I need to get a foreman grill or something. Might be easier on my nerves so I don't think I will set the alarm off.

Talking with loved ones

Yay last week I finally got to speak to my family members! I got skype on my computer at work and brought in my webcam as well as my mic and began calling them. Since I only have Internet at school now I decided to give it a try. I was so happy to speak to all my family and friends at a normal time and more frequently. Skype is awesome so far I'm very happy. It's a good alternative to paying for a public phone. Since Korea is sooooo technologically advanced there are few pay phones. You can rent a phone from the airport but I forgot to make reservations in advance. This is a better alternative anyway. I miss all my friends and family very much and wish I were able to go back more frequently. I'm gonna miss everyone on Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Years. For Christmas I am able to send my address for those who would like to send me presents lol. I would say I'm just kidding but really I'm not I love getting gifts. Ask my sister she knows. Lol

My First Class

I worked with the 5th graders last week for the first time by myself. I did the lesson " This is a Bedroom". A lesson about the rooms of the house and the furniture or appliances it holds. Everything went smoothly. We did review and the power points. The students were very receptive and they responded well. I have one class of 5th graders I taught where all I got were blank stares every time I ask a question, or asked them to repeat after me. Ji-Hye said they have trouble with English. I thought I was speaking too quickly or that they did not want to participate. But they just had no idea what I was saying. Surprisingly that was more comforting than oh you're not getting you're point across your a bad teacher. I just have to speak slower and get Ji-Hye to explain to them what I am saying. Though they will never learn if they constantly have someone babying them like that. This week I had the same problem with them. We are learning the past tense and I got the she has five heads look from them. It can very funny when I say something and I could hear the breeze flow through the room. But at least they are paying attention to me more now. I told them to repeat after me and they did without my co-teacher giving them instructions. My other classes go well also. I say all things English and if it needs more clarification my co-teacher takes care of that. I like my 6th graders and 3rd graders. They are more active and most of them seem like they want to learn English so it is easier to be silly and talk to them more regularly. I find with most students when I speak to them I am speaking very slowly and enunciating. Even with some of the teachers I am like that. I get complimented because I speak that way by the teachers. I think when English speakers come here they speak their regular speed instead of slowing it down a bit.

Church baazar and co-workers

I love my school and am happy I did not let the stories I read keep me from coming here. I also think it has to do with where I live as well. I live in Uiwang near the art and design school and by 2 English academies, so the people around my area are used to foreigners. Ever since the first day I came to the school all the teachers have been nice to me. They treat me very nicely and are always concerned. If I like the food? If I am eating? If I am sleeping well? Do I like where I live? Am I able to communicate with my family? Oh and if I have enough things in my house ( dishes, appliances, sheets)? My 3 core friends I have made here are Ji-Hey (co-teacher), Kyoung-Ja, and Sun-Ah. Last week I went with them to a church bazaar near my school. There was alot of food there and not much as far as objects for me to buy. But they did buy me things to try also some of my students gave me some food. Everyone here loves to hear that I like anything Korean.

Back to blogging

I am back to blogging. Internet problem fixed. It was my web browser but I just downloaded a new one to my external and installed it and problem fixed yay! Ok soo Where do I start ? I'll start with last week. I went to the hospital to get my physical for my alien registration card. I had my blood taken, urine, weight , height, x-ray of my chest. It was interesting going there because that day alot of native speaker teachers were there as well. We were all on different schedules so there was no time to sit and talk, I had to get back to school because I was having dinner with the principal. Dinner with the principal was interesting. We went to a restaurant where we had golbi (marinated beef or pork cooked over a fire in front of you) and *name to come* ( basically thick sliced bacon cooked on a fire in front of you). Both were very good. In Korea when you eat out you basically share the side menu (various veggies and kimchi). The side menu there was kimchi of course, this coleslaw like thing, soup, rice or noodles, and leaves to make wraps with the meat. There was this one leaf there that was just horrible it tasted like a forest. It was bitter and gross, I hope I am never lost in a forest and forced to eat this foul leaf again. There wasn't much for conversation. Thank goodness Ji-Hye was there they would ask a question and I would answer yes or no sometimes elaborate but that was the gist of it. After dinner the vice principal, who also went with us, dropped us off near my apartment. Time to go teach will blog later. ta

Updates to come

Hi everyone I am sorry I have not been a faithful blogger. I have Internet problems at school and no Internet at home so that leads to my Internet problems. Anywho last week was kind of action packed so I will write about it in more detail when I fix this darn Internet but what's to come. Dinner with the boss, my physical,going to a church bazaar, hospitality and my co-workers, my first class I taught, getting to talk with my family, oh and going to Seoul this weekend, train, oh Korean bus drivers, getting hit on by an African dude, Korea and the stairs of death, being terrified for my life every time I have to cross the street, and cooking for the first time. I bet you guys can't wait to read everything. I promise sometimes this week you will be laughing your a** off.