Getting Settled

I'm nearing the 2 week mark of my arrival in Korea. The past 2 weeks have been a whirlwind of things that legally needed to get done such as finalizing my foreign citizen registration, things that were crucial to get done like getting an apartment of my own, figuring out the public transit and beginning my actual training at work, and things that I wanted to get done like exploring Suji and seeing as much as I could during my free time...which wasn't much time at all.

Work this past week went well. Monday marked the official beginning of my training at the school. As I've mentioned, I am teaching kindergarten class in the morning alongside a native Korean teacher and the have my own 3 classes in the afternoon.  In the morning I work more as a teacher's aide to my co-teacher and starting tomorrow I will actually begin teaching some of the classes lessons myself. The portion that I will be teaching is called Smart Kids and it's basically an introduction to the names, places, and objects that the children use in their everyday life. This class has already learned how to speak all the sounds and combinations of the the alphabet, so now I will just playfully introduce their new vocabulary. In the afternoon, I teach phonics to 2 of my own (smaller sized) kindergarten class and I am introducing them to all the vowels and consonants from scratch. These classes are easy on 'good days' because the children are really eager to learn. BUT...when the kids aren't so interested in learning, they tend to get up and start playing and because they don't know hardly any English and I don't know very much Korean, it can be hard to maintain focus and control over the class. But I hear this is common with foreign teachers when they are working with such low level english speaking students and that as the year progresses it gets better due to their english getting better as well. I do find that the best way is to just make a fool of myself by dancing, singing, acting, and entertaining them by making myself look silly. My other class in the afternoon is my 9 year old class, which I LOVE!!! Every day is pretty much a new discussion type topic and we just kinda hang out and they are learning english/doing worksheets without even realizing they are doing homework.
All in all last week at work was fun and I hope this week I hope will be just as good or better!

My social life bumped up a notch as well this past week! Monday and Tuesday not much happened, but Wednesday and Thursday night I went out with my coworkers. The other 3 teachers and I had dinner both nights out. Wednesday I had traditional Korean style food (bimbimbap, kimchi, and a soju cocktail) but on Thursday night I had Italian. It was WONDERFUL! not only did I eat my whole plate of Cheesy Pasta, but also downed some garlic bread and a slice of my friend's pizza. I hadn't realized how much I missed 'home' type food until I had it. The next day I went grocery shopping, and actually bought the Korean version of American foods. I figured I could eat American when I'm at home and Korean when I go out...after all they probably cook Korean better food than I could!

Saturday night was the highlight of my week tho. My fellow foreign coworker who has been here for a year already took my to Seoul for the International St. Patrick's Day festival.  After a 30 minute bus ride and 15 minute train ride, I was in the center of Seoul and the festival was awesome! The festival was pretty self contained in an amphitheater and we joked about how they were keeping us from disturbing their city. There was a stage for line dancing and classic celtic music and rock band performances. There was also green beer vendors, face painters, and foreigners galore. I met all sorts of my coworkers friends as well as new people she didn't know from the U.S, england, Australia, China, New Zealand, Mexico, Canada, and I'm sure other countries as well...I just can't remember too many details after sundown :)
After the festival, we actually soldiered on to Itaewon, the foreign district of Seoul. Walking through the crowded streets of Itaewon was like walking through the streets if chicago. People of every culture were evrywhere. There were dance clubs, Irish pubs, pool halls, Western Bars, Middle Eastern street vendors, and so many more elements that made me feel like I was back in the states. We hung out at an Irish pub to start, then wound up at a hole in the wall country line dancing bar...and that's when I really had flashbacks to Iroquois county (where I grew up).
It was a fun night and all, but next time I venture to Seoul I definitely want to go early morning and stay for the daytime so I can see and explore the more 'korean' part of Seoul rather than the party scene.

After a wild night, sunday was very chill. I did some additional grocery shopping and took a few short walks, meandering through new streets that I hadn't explored yet.


Another big highlight of this week - I GOT MY APARTMENT!! YAYYY! It's super tiny....the smallest place I've lived since I was in a dorm, but it all completely brand new, has a nice view, and I don't plan on spending too much time 'lying around the house'. Because after all, I may only have this year to get out and see Korea.... but this first year may evolve into a 2 year stay. Time will tell!

Hope you all take care and I love ya lots!

Busy Busy First Days

So today marks the 5th day that I have been in Korea. Really? Only 5 days? It seems like an entire week because I've been so busy, but in a good way!

After 2 planes and a total of 17 hours spent on them, my flight arrived in Seoul late Wednesday night (Wednesday morning US time) and I was greeted by an office worker from my teach abroad agency who then sent me on a 45 mintue bus trip to the suburb of Yoning City, my new home. at the bus stop in Yongin I was met by my supervisor and president/owner of the school where I will be teaching. To much surprise he wanted to take me out for a late night snack at a chic coffee shop not too far from my school. We spoke about all sorts of stuff, mainly just getting to know each other which was nice that it wasn't automatically about work. I was also told that he hadn't been able to find a decent apartment for me yet soooooooo as of right now I'm actually staying with him and his family (wife and 2 young kids). His 3 oldest boys actually go to my school so it's pretty cool hanging out with them. Also, his 3 kids are the same ages as my nephews and niece, so that helped alleviate the initial "lonely " feeling.

On Thursday, I woke up early enough to go to work (8 a.m.) but my boss told me to take a restful morning and to come to work at noon...which was much needed! When I got to work, about a 15 minute walk, he gave me a tour. It is much smaller than I expected, but very modern. It's in the 2nd and 3rd floor of a newer building and we actually have a bakery, clothing store, and traditional restaurant below us. I met my coworkers, who are all super awesome; three young women, one of which is from the U.K and the other 2 are native Koreans. I also met the school cook, bus drivers, and just hung out all afternoon and floated from here to there.
After work, my boss and his family took me out for a MASSIVE Korean feast. We went to another suburb, Bundang, which is like an 'old money' type of area. Very modernized and beautiful lights lit the streets. The restaurant was called "Gokie" which literally means Meat. Now I for one am not a big fan of eating a lot of meat, but I am making an exception while in Korea because I would like to try EVERYTHING. We ordered 3 serving of Ssam, which is the under part of pork, grilled at our table, and comes with lettuce, hot and sweet sauces, seasoned korean veggies, rice cake sheets, and also 2 huge side dishes of Naemyun (spicy cold noodles). It was beyond delicious...but I next time I think I'll get much smaller portions.

Friday was also very similar, except this day while at work I actually taught. In the morning I worked with one native korean teacher and just watched and helped her out. Later, after lunch, I taught a phonics class to my future classrooms. I will be teaching two separate 5 year classes and one 9 year old class. I will be covering phonics, linguistics, spelling, and reading/comprehension. It seems pretty straightforward and there is a set curriculum. All I need to do is read the teacher's guide, but that will come later :)
Friday night was also very similar, but this night I went out with my 3 other co-teachers to a restaurant called ShabuShabu, again in Bundang. This was much different than the previous night's dinner. Each table has their own bowl of water which they boil at their table. Once boiled, there are a variety of dishes you can order like raw beef, a raw seafood platter, veggie platters, and a variety platter. I ordered the seafood and veggie platter which came with raw squid, octopus, shrimp crayfish, and oysters all in which I boiled and ate at the table- after covering them in all sorts of sauces of course. Again, I overate too much, especially when it came for dessert when I got Korean fried Sweet potatoes and mushrooms which are both covered in sweet sesame sauces and sugar. Definitely will be eating more of those!

Saturday Morning, I woke up and was not really sure what to do with myself due to me being a guest at my boss's house. Luckily, he had a plan. Him, his 2 sons, and I went on a hike through the mountains that surround Yongin City. We hiked for about 2 hours. It's amazing that we are in such an urbanized area yet there is so much forrest and wildlife. The trails were actually pretty advanced, I was impressed! Later this week him and I may go on a longer hike, 2 hours each way, to the top of the mountain where you can see all of the Seoul and suburban area, which is suppose to be an amazing view. In the afternoon, him and I went apartment shopping in a few different neighborhoods. As of now I have it narrowed down to 2. By the weekend I will definitely have my own place tho!
Saturday night tho, I experienced something I had read about...and wanted to try...but didn't think it would be this early in my trip. My boss and I went to a Korean bathhouse, or a Jimjilbang,  which is a nude bathing facility- but more like a spa. There are both steaming hot and freezing cold pools, water massage tubs, hot stone rooms reaching temperatures of 160 F, and relaxing cool down rooms for napping and snacking on the fresh natural foods. I was a bit hesitant to strip down (especially with my new boss), but after the initial 5 minutes of awkwardness....it was total relaxation and something I would like to try again...but he says I need to go to the mountains and experience the more authentic spas.

As of right now tho, it's a lazy sunday morning. I intend to go exploring my city on my own today and figure out the public transit system...which supposedly is extremely cheap and super awesome. Like I said it's only been 5 days and I do miss talking to my family and good friends back home, but I also can't wait to see what my next experience will be. Till then!

ps- Pictures will eventually come, but I'm far too lazy at the moment :)

SSam- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ssam

Jimjilbang- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jjimjilbang

Off I Go!

Just 9 months ago, after graduating with my B.S. from the University of Illinois, I was yearning to do something more in life and wondering where my next step would be. I had toyed with the idea of continuing onto grad school or applying for full time positions working with children or within the social work field. But more school and getting into a mundane daily routine just after graduation seemed a little bit 'un-interesting' at the time (to say the least). That's when I remembered how many people I knew that had traveled overseas and taught English as a second language and loved every minute of it I began doing some research and instantly found CIEE, The Counsel of International Education Experiences. Long story short, they are an awesome program that provide English teachers to countries all over the globe and provide these teachers with creditable working institutions (with salary included) and endless benefits such as free housing, visa assistance, job placement, and even in country assistance once their teachers are in their new country. Best of all, I was able to apply to work with Kindergartners (which is what I love doing)! After discovering CIEE and researching their programs in various countries, I knew that this was my next step in life; becoming an English elementary school teacher in South Korea.

Breaking it down, the past 8 months have been filled with paperwork, documents, becoming ESL certified, road blocks, getting turned down by some school in Korea while turning down those that I wasn't happy with. All seemed to be a never ending process of new contracts and late night Skype interviews until one night I spoke with the school that fell in love me and I the same. The Baum Kids School in Suji-Gu, Yongin City (just 30 minutes south of the capital of Seoul) is where I am officially hired as an English speaking Kindergarten teacher. I am on a 1 year contract running from Mid March 2012-March of 2013. I will be working alongside a Korean teacher who will split classroom responsibilities. I am so excited to finally be working with children in a country that I have fallen in love with both before and after partaking in this opportunity.

What first intrigued me about applying to teach in South Korea was the fact that I had numerous Korean national friends who I had met while in college. Hearing their stories, seeing their photos, and partaking in their festivities here in the states was always something I enjoyed and figured I would most likely never get to experience the 'real thing'. However, that is about to change.....today is the last day I will be in the U.S. until March of 2013. I'm ridiculously excited, nervous, worried, and anxious to discover and experience all of what my life will be within the next coming year. Working at the school aside, I am going to be introduced to new foods, music, movies, media, people, sites, sounds, and who knows what else! The city of Suji-Gu is supposedly very beautiful and very modern...and one major highlight that I'm looking forward to is how many mountains are scattered all across the country of South Korea. I'm sure many day hikes are in store for me, as well as late nights out in the city, and laughs will be had in the classroom.

With Korea in mind, I'm also going to be missing out on a lot here in the U.S. My closest friends and family mean more to me than anything, and I'm sad to be apart for a year (possibly more if I re-new my teaching contract). But I also know that because we are all so close that when we all meet again it will be as if I had never left at all.

 I will for sure have much more to say soon, and within my time in Korea, but for now the abundance of random thoughts running through my head I feel a little scatter brained.  Today I leave hopeful and optimistic of my new life in South Korea!

Much Peace,

Patrick

Links: Yongin City - http://en.yongin.go.kr/en1/message.asp
           CIEE - http://ciee.org/teach/south-korea/