feelings

I'm feeling very established, very adult, fairly content, confident in myself as a person. Korea has not been all good experiences for me, but being here itself has been a good growing experience. I've been learning some things recently, both about myself and about life:

-I really value quiet/alone time for a while after a long day of teaching.
-Professionalism is respectable, even when you disagree over something.
-It's ok to stand up for yourself at work; otherwise, you just might get trampled over. Being a good worker doesn't always doing exactly what your boss tells you to do.
-Friendships can bloom out of unexpected places. But also, the friendships I've formed at home, that have grown with time, should never be devalued. They are so priceless, and I want my friends to know how much they mean to me.

You are loved.

I despise the inevitably bumpy bus ride, no matter where the destination is, I love random adventure, which I'm trying to squeeze in as often as possible, I love my friends, I love working on my writing while abroad, I love discovering new things, I love SOME of my kids, I can't wait to go home and go skiing and hiking... I love living life.

Winnings and Weddings

This was such a good weekend!!

Sunday I got to go to a real traditional Korean wedding! Rooms on several floors of the Ritz Carlton were rented out to fit all the people, but the strange part is that only the floor with the bride and groom’s closest friends actually got to observe the ceremony. Most floors didn’t even get to watch it! I was on the next floor down, but really wanted to watch, so Katelyn and I sneakily watched the ceremony from the doorway of the floor where it was held. I heard this isn’t normal for Korean weddings, or sometimes they do the same thing but with big TV screens in each room so everyone can at least watch what is happening even if they can’t see it in person. The pastor spoke for awhile and then the bride and groom walked down the aisle as husband and wife. Then they changed into traditional Korean hambuks and visited each table on every floor briefly. Korean weddings don’t have bridesmaids or groomsmen either. It was all very beautiful and fancy, followed by a five-course meal, dessert and wine. It must have been really expensive. Her dress was so beautiful too… white with a small sweetheart-neck lined bodice and an enormous hoop skirt bottom. She looked like a dainty cupcake, with little white gloves to match.

But even more fun was yesterday. In front of hundreds of people, our school performed a dance that I choreographed and Katelyn sang to—“All I want for Christmas is you”! And then…… we won!!! Got one of those giant cardboard cutouts of a check for a thousand dollars for us to split. Good times!

A lovely day :)

So there is this coffee shop that I frequent, just a hop away from work, called Benesian. Today was a good day at work: I didn't get upset at/too impatient with my students and I actually enjoyed teaching them. For me, that is a great day. Then I wandered over to Benesian for a bagel and a chat with Jinny, who is always working there. She was so sweet! We did have a great chat and I felt really touched to be reminded of how much she cares for her customers. All seven of us foreign teachers from Avalon go to Benesian a lot, and she makes a genuine effort to get to know us all. I go there just for her friendliness. And it's really cool to see that she makes her coffee shop her ministry. Her friendliness and generosity don't go unnoticed and everyone loves her.

I'm just feeling happy, we had such a great chat about life, and how she lived in CA the last 6 years and moved back to Korea recently but really misses Cali. She can really relate to missing home. Just an encouraging, uplifting day today, finding support from my barista.

Good Day.

Updates! And practicing brevity:

-I discovered that in a nearby bookstore, they sell lots of art supplies!! I loaded up on acryllics, brushes and canvasses. I've already made my first painting. It's such an accomplishing feeling, and such a stress reliever! They also have very "Korean" stickers and cool, cheap pens.
-I am going to read tonight. Yay!
-A kid drew a picture of me, including my enormous earrings, and I was happily reminded that I am still an individual, amongst a sea of...hmm, what's a nicer word for conformists?
-I'm really happy with some adorable earmuffs I just bought. They're blue/gray, furry, and have a miniature bear and button on each ear.
-I am signing up possibly next week for a dance membership. Time to get in shape.
-I've been playing a lot of card games recently. It was a great weekend.

missing home

Obviously I miss my family and friends, but I'm surprised how much I'm realizing I miss Oregon itself. In my little town of three million people here, the buildings are so tall that I only get a glimpse of the sky, and when I do, it isn't the same shade of blue or even gray that we can appreciate in OR. The sky here seems almost colorless, especially in the winter, and it's beyond depressing to me. I miss mountains and being near any body of water... ocean, river or lake, I would take anything! I miss green grass and mud I can mush my feet into. I miss thick trees... for some reason all the trees I have seen here are thin and spindly-looking, and it kind of weirds me out, like this place was just born out of nowhere. I don't recall seeing a tree wider than myself yet. I miss real houses. I haven't even seen a house in the last three months! It's all apartments, apartments, apartments. I get excited if I see a patch of grass so I can run in small circles in it, but even then the grass is meager and emaciated-looking. I miss feeling like I'm breathing real, fresh air, and I miss the blackness of night in the winter at home. Here, the night sky is almost as lit up as it is in the day, with neon lights blaring at me from all sides and no curtains to hide it. (My blinds barely help.)

I miss Portland hippies. I still am a faithful one even here in Bundang, but I am alone amidst these trend-setting, smartly-dressed conformists.

I have no problem comitting to something for a year, but only if I enjoy it to a degree. My job itself is going all right, but that isn't the issue. Home, I miss you.

I realize I haven't written in for far too long. No excuses; it is what it is. I might fill in the gaps later, actually, because I did keep an updated journal for much of the time, but just didn't get a chance to post the entries online. And really, I feel like there hasn't been a whole lot of new things to say. It's been fun, but nothing too new and unique. I really do want to be better at writing, though. I am starting this thing called Novel November... I supposedly will be writing approximately 6 pages a day for 31 days, to have a completed novel by the end of the month. Of course this is probably a wishful goal, but with the support and encouragement of thousands of others online, this is a better push towards accomplishing my dream than anything else so far has been. So far I am at 10,000 words. Yeeaaaahh.

I sipped an iced vanilla hazelnut latte in my shower this morning, homemade with the french press mom got me. It was so delicious, and actually quite fun to drink in the shower. I felt so rebellious, but the cold drink was delicious under the pounding heat of the water.

I should probably say a bit about my birthday. It was really nice, and I'm thankful for the touching little things I got from so many people. Co-workers decorated my work computer with happy birhtday propaganda.... colored paper stencils and a party hat... and this was on the day our school decided to celebrate halloween. I came in dressed as a pirate and was touched to find my desk laden with little goodies... keychains, chocolates, air fresheners, candy. :) A lot of us foreign teachers as well as Korean teachers (don't get confused! The foreign teachers are the North American ones!) also went out after school for dinner and drinks. It was so fun to have a ton of people show up. It was a great birthday. And of course Jake was wonderful... he has given me lots of gifts and dinners and it's been so fun with him. My good friend from home KVL showed up on my birthday, which was a present in itself... :) She is just starting her own year-long contract here. Two of my good friends, both Katelyns, and myself, Katelyn, working in South Korea for year... haha how funny. The Katelyns unite! K cubed! K-power everywhere! It's going to be a good rest of the year with the three of us painting Korea red.

~~~~~
I drink a Chai latte from Benesian and am in total bliss. It's ridiculous how often I've come to dream about fancy coffee drinks and lattes... Starbucks peppermint mochas, Holly's Coffee Dark Belgium chocolate mochas and Vanilla Delights, Cafe Bene white chocolate mochas, Tom n Toms mint choco blended tommicinos... wow, that list went on for much longer than anticipated. I have so much work to do, and yet, it snowed briefly about an hour ago, and was so chilled to the bone I had an incredible craving for a hot drink. I use the "I deserve..." catch phrase to justify treating myself to one of my fancy coffee drinks all to often: to lessen the blow of the inevitable cold weather that has finally come upon us, to "celebrate Mondays" or make bearable Terrible Tuesdays, or to get over the hump on Wednesdays, or to celebrate Friday... but I've resolved to treat myself to only ONE fancy coffe a week. So far, I've been good about it.

I sign a contract stating in multiple paragraphs the exact same idea: I will not divulge Avalon's secrets! All the ridiculous schemes they go to, I am not to discuss with third parties... Um, right. But their schemes are just so FUNNY, how can I not?! The irony is that I'm signing my name in red, three separate times on the paper. Red signifies an immanate death soon to come! If I write my name in red, I'm basically admitting I am going to die soon, and they take this belief very seriously in Korea. It's ridiculous, the incredible lengths I am forced to go to to keep from signing a kid's name in red when I'm grading papers or trying to write with a red marker on the classroom whiteboard. I try to be respectful of this superstitious belief by staying very aware whenever I write one of my children's names, but with my own, I don't care.

I'm at school making flashcards for my next class tomorrow. I am so sick of making flashcards. But, I have no choice! And being at school is a brilliant time to blog it up, since internet is so poor at my house. I figured out how to hook it up at my place, but it would cost $40 a month and my cheap-O self refuses, when I could just go to coffee shops for hi-speed or steal a poor connection from my neighbors. All right, 9:30 and it's finally time to go home. See, why bother blogging when all I've got to write about are fancy coffee cravings or my loathing for flashcard-making? ...Will write again anyway, this time sooner rather than later.

Money money money!

I go to Seoyeon, again returning to the dreaded hospital, with no expectations as I once again request medical reimbursement for my week's stay hospital bill. None of the nurses or assistants speak English well enough to figure out what I want, so they give me the invaluable time of one of their doctors. He looks young; early 30s, I would guess. “I am very busy right now, but if you buy me some bread, I will help you,” he says.

Oh Korea.

“Absolutely,” I say without hesitation. He leads me downstairs to the hospital coffee shop and picks up a chocolate muffin. I almost laugh. “That’s all you want?” I ask. “yes,” he says, and leads me into an office where I stand awkwardly in the doorway, unsure whether or not I should enter the room. He leads me out and tells me something about a hundred-something dollars. I feel tricked. If they are going to bother giving me a discount at all, they can at least make it worthwhile, or they may as well not honor the 50% medical insurance coverage plan at all. He flirts with me and tells me that he will give me not just fifty but eighty percent back. Did I hear him right?! How can he change the plan? My contract says fifty, and it's been an uphill battle for the last month just trying to convince my school I got here in time for the coverage to be in effect. The most I got out of them was "try going to the hospital to see if they will give you any money back."

He reaches into a drawer and pulls out several thousand dollars in cash and hands it to me. And not even so much as a receipt….?!? Needless to say, I take the money and run, never to return again.

Healing

God you have redeemed this. You have redeemed this whole situation. God thank you for your mercy and for answering prayer. Yesterday was possibly the worst day of my life. I have never felt so alone. Today is a world of difference. Thank you God. You have been incredible. I wondered if I might die. And today I am high on life. I feel so instantly better after a night's sleep and new drugs. I'm healing at last! It will only be a few days now and then I will feel freedom again. Time for this free bird to fly.

get me outta here!

Today has been the worst yet. I had a terrible episode. I freaked out today on the nurses and doctors. I was gagging when the nurse came in and then kept vomiting and didn't stop, throwing up lots of blood and chunks and then I got really mad, so she ran and got the doctors because I was rambling on in English and she didn't know what I was saying, so then four doctors came in and circled my bed and watched me. I let them have it. I was yelling and crying and still throwing up, and showing them the vomit bucket and saying "What am I throwing up, and why? I shouldn't be throwing anything up because I haven't touched real food in seven days now! All this is my stomach! Also I'm starving, my stomach rumbles all night even though I have fluids going into me, and I'm sooo thirsty, and I'm so sick of having to spit every minute because I can't swallow it. You keep telling me to try eating something, but I do try, and I still can't even swallow water! And I've shown no improvement since being here and this is miserable because none of you know what I'm saying and I just want to go home!!"

They didn't say anything but had the nurse shoot me up with something that made me sleepy, but I was so angry and I threw the blanket over my head so that I wouldn't have to keep watching them watch me suffer. I guess they immediately called my "legal guardian" Dan, so he came in pretty quick to see if he could help, but by then I felt completely exhausted. When I woke up though, he told me they are going to change everything on me: give me a brand new set of different IV liquids with more vitamins in them, try a new breathing machine out on me, and change my antibiotic medication to see if I respond better to it. I AM feeling a lot better now... poor Dan only just left a little bit ago... I think he was scared to leave me alone.

hosiptal.... and not just a checkup

I'm feeling pretty miserable, spending all day in the hospital with an IV dripping morphine into my body because I'm sooo sick. I got a bacterial infection, and that's all I know. I went to the ER after days of not being able to swallow anything, including water. My whole body is in pain. I'm missing school right now. I thought I would feel better once I started on these antibiotics, but I don't, I feel like I'm right back where I started. Unable to swallow, and even if I do manage to get down some water, I throw it right back up. I feel terrible.

I want to go home. I sit down at my computer to bang out yet another letter to my ever-listening boyfriend. Really, he’s too good to me. At this point, though, it’s more like writing in a diary or speaking to a wall, just for the heck of it, even if the wall doesn’t speak back. I will go insane if I don’t find anything to do. I hate hospitals.

I feel like I'm encountering one frustration after another. Yesterday I had determined to stay in a cheery spirit, but today is my fourth day here at the hospital (it's been 6 days since I've been able to swallow anything)and there is still no improvement. I tried just sucking on an orange and I immediately threw up. I can't believe how intolerant my body is being. I can't even swallow my own saliva--I have to spit pitifully into a cup every few minutes. I just don't get it. It never takes me this long to heal! I'm feeling really, really discouraged. It seems like one thing after another keeps happening. And I still need so many drugs all the time to keep me from being in pain, and I still feel sooo weak it's strange. I'm really... missing home, I guess.

The docs just told me this infection was pretty life threatening when i first came in, so it'll take a long time to heal from. maybe another week here at the hospital!! :_( gahhhh terrible terrible news. but katelyn and our korean friend dan have been visiting every day... I'm just so sick of being here and feeling soooo weak, and bored! they put me in the long-term ward, so i'm sharing a room with 10 other ladies who are either dying of old age or recovering from a surgery. gonna try to go back to sleep.

letters from students

Dear Kate Teacher,
Hi! My name is Alex. And I'm eleven years old. My hobby is writing and make computer program. I'm cheerful child. What is your hobby? I think your hobby is writing! And how years old? Reply letter, please. (And here he drew a picture of a grinning boy!) Good bye~! From Alex.

Aww!! Too cute right?! And now, I'm not full of typos; this is how they wrote them.

Here is another, that made me feel really good... it was a pop-up letter (heehee!) and it says:

To Kate Teacher. Hi, my name is David. You said you made a book. Can you tell a summary of story? I want to know the summary because I will remember and tell a summary to my little brother and my cousin. I think it is a good story because you write it, and I think you are good teacher to teach the writing. Good by~ from David.

Aww, again! And I just have to share one more...

To Kate Teacher. Hi Kate I am your student James! What are you doing. I am write letter for you. I think you are best writing teacher. Because your fine and good for teacher. And I like you. What's your favorite animal is what. My favorite animal is the wite tiger. Tiger is scary. And I like tiger. See you Friday. Bye Kate Teacher. From James!

doctors's visits: not a fan

I have a bump and pinprick of blood on my arm! Leftover from getting blood drawn... apparently I'm not as good at tolerating that as I thought I was. It was the dreaded but mandatory health check in Seoul that five of us new foreign teachers went to this morning before school started. We had to go through multiple stations like a hearing test, eye test (20/20 vision!), chest X-rays, etc. to make sure we were healthy enough to live in the country, I guess. It was pretty intense.

I think the sight of blood isn't a big deal for me, but seeing and feeling a needle being jabbed into my delicate skin doesn't go down so well. Hahaha. I didn’t even know I was going to have to get my blood drawn, and then I saw the needle and said "Oh, you're going to poke that into my..." and JAB! She just thrust it in with no hesitation and NO warning! >:( It was even worse than the peeing in a cup, which I loathed because I found it repulsive to have to carry a cup of pee from the bathroom back to the reception desk... it seemed completely unsanitary. I mean, what if I had tripped?!?

~~~~~~~~~~

I could not be happier right now: that spaghetti was sooooo good! I’ve been craving rich, creamy, fattening American food, and this is as close as I’ve gotten to it. I could always go buy fast food, but Western food is more expensive and I’m trying to be frugal until I get my first pay check.

I’m seeing that when you have less, you really do learn to appreciate more, and I only have a couple frivolous decorations, which I love. They are just a three-dollar tea pot with two matching cups and a thick round bamboo plant in a square vase. They look so good together, and they’re sitting on my counter. I’ve been making tea almost every night. :) :) :)

~~~~~~~~~~

spaghetti.

I'm sick of spicy ramen and don't think I will ever touch kimchee cabbage ever again. Ahh, what I wouldn't give for some fattening, creamy and cheesy American food right now. I mean, I could go buy some, but I need to be frugal until my frist paycheck, and Western food is always more expensive. As for chopsticks: I'm fed up. I never asked God to teach me patience, and learning the chopsticks has never been a desire of mine. Tonight though I will treat myself to making a giant pot of spaghetti, ahhhh with creamy tomato basil sauce and fresh chives. Bliss!

In other news, I'm learning to read Korean, and am actually starting to pick it up. It's a fun language to read, and will be fun to write, even when I don't know what I'm writing. It's probably pretty funny to watch me try... when I'm riding the subway, I sound out the characters one by one like a five-year-old learning to read for the first time. Some Koreans smile at me, and I've had some jump in and help me sound them out. Let's just say that when I'm back home and want to encode something, I know how I'm gonna do it. Bwahaha.

It's not uncommon to bump into another North American along the street. There are sure a lot here, all teaching English at any of the dozens of campuses in every town.

I'm quite enjoying my desk space at school. It's not like I have my own cubicle, but I still feel like hot stuff with a big personal computer, phone, school supplies and drawer... no one else uses this desk space. All mine!

I still don't have consistent internet at home, but if I perch midway on my stairs I can sometimes steal wi-fi from the my neighbor. Or, I can always sit in the hall of my housing complex, where internet is more reliable.

So, as I said, my converter came in the mail yesterday, and I did a typical Kate thing and had bought the wrong one. When I plugged it in, my hair dryer turned on so low I could barely hear it! Converter wasn't strong enough. Ughh. I think tonight I'm going to shop around comparing converter prices... I need my 110watt items (hair dryer, hair straightener...) to magically turn to 220, so I can either buy the right converter for $54 or buy a Korean hair dryer and straightener if combined I can find them cheaper. We will see. Something's gotta happen soon though... my frizz hair is quite unflattering.

"When two are eating, one could die and the other would never know it." -Korean proverb

Photoshopping passport pics

I am slowly going crazy! Crazy am I slowly going! Slowly am I going crazy 1232321! I may have gotten it wrong, but this used to be a song we sang in girls' camp at Twin Rocks, and that has been running through my head all day! I have been working long hours at this school and finding one frustration after another. I just loathe not getting clear instruction. Today I was handed twelve text books for three classes, and it took the longest time trying to sort out which ones were for which class. Now that I have all that figured out though, I honestly do think things will be better. That is, AFTER the journey to Seoul all of us new teachers have to take early tomorrow morning... it will involve a long trip and lots of cash just for a doctor to declare me healthy, all before school starts.

YEYY!! My plug adapter and converter came in the mail today! I can start using my hair dryer! And will be able to plug in my laptop! And even use a hair straightener! Which means I will actually start taking pictures, now that I can look good!! :)

That reminds me: today I had to have passport pictures taken to apply for my alien residence card (my Korean ID), and the shops spend an hour photoshopping the pics before they will hand them back! (I was amazed at my clear skin upon receiving them!) :) Isn't that funny though...? Does the government not want to know what we truly look like, pimples and all? I am of course speaking for the general public here. Really, a pimpleface could be barely recognizable after the digital facejob they get for passport photos.

Last night Katelyn, Paul and I ate at an authentic kim bop shop. I have already been eating kim bop every day for a while now, because you can get a roll for $1.20. That's what I'm talking about!

typical work frustrations

Yesterday at school was as bad as the day before was good. I was at school for more than ten hours "preparing" for my lessons, which officially begin today. Today I teach three classes, and when the younger kids begin class next week, I will have about five or six classes a day to teach. The problem with yesterday was that I had no clarity. No instruction, no direction, only a pile of syllabi and a room full of text books I had to try to match to the correct syllabi. I asked for help, and the director's assistant picked my books out for me and handed them to me. I finally figured out how to follow the books and I planned the first lesson, with flashcards from clipart to help the kids with the vocab words of the day, and at the end of the day I found out I had the wrong books... the entire day was a gong show and completely unproductive. Today I am going to plow through lesson planning and be ready hours before my first class, which starts at 6:30.

First church service

Sunday. 22. 2010.


Church today was so lovely! Well, the service itself was decent—I just wanted to say lovely—but was ten times better just for being in English. You can imagine my delight to discover there is an English service directly across the street from me. An enormous building there called Global Ministries apparently has thousands of people come to multiple services they hold in several different languages.

And the craziest thing happened!! I met some people from DUNDEE, who it turns out I have a lot of connections with, even though I didn’t actually know them before meeting them here. I met them on the street actually, right before I went up to the church. They looked like lost North Americans, so I said “if you’re looking for the English church service, it’s up here.” They thanked me and I asked where they were from, and they said Oregon! So I said me too! Small town called Newberg. And then they said they are from Dundee!!!! What are the odds?!? Their names are Steve and Paula, and Steve’s sister was my boss at Chehalem Youth and Family Services.

ALSO, they were going to the same church I went to growing up (2nd St!) until just before they moved here!! Isn’t that crazy?! AND their daughter Lindsey married Andrew Moore, whose sister was one of my good friends in high school! I couldn’t believe it. They said I was “in” since I knew Ashley, and they treated me like family. They took me to their house for lunch, and made a wonderful American-style BBQ dinner (hamburgers) and told me I’m welcome there any time. I thought that was really cool.

I told them I was really struggling trying to find places to buy plates and silverware that didn’t have prices through the roof, and they said “Oh we know a great place, like the dollar store! We’ll take you!” And they took me to this obscure place I never would have found on my own, I loaded up with lots of good things and they dropped me back off at my apartment afterwards. They were super helpful in giving me tips on where to go, and soo nice... it seemed like more than a giant coincidence that I would run into them. I’ll probably be seeing them a lot this year. :)

Also, the free gift this church service gave newcomers was a phone card with 888 minutes on it. Yes, 888. This day was such a blessing. My phone card from Costco that I brought with me doesn't work on my cell, and I tested this one and it does work, so I can finally call home whenever I want to!! Too incredible...

Bored!

Terribly, tragically, terrifically bored. I'm at Avalon right now and have been for the last hour and a half with no instruction. So, what can I do but surf the web? In this amount of time I have discovered tumblr though, which looks pretty cool. I'm starving. I could go for a two-dollar sushi roll right now. I'll go get one as soon as I get released.

My Korean phone is really cute. It's like a dark silver color, looks like a mirror though, and when I close it stars twinkle all over. :)

Aaand my apartment is so cute. I haven't really described it yet. It has wood floors, which I LOVE. Great for dancing on! And I have huge windows, from which I can look out and see the busy street far below or a skyscraper full of ads straight in front of me. There's a fancy air conditioning unit mounted on the wall, and I have a remote for that as well as for my light fixture hanging straight above my bed. It's so nice because I can read in bed and night and then bam, flip the lights off by just touching a button. I also have stairs leading up to a loft, but... the loft room is only three feet tall! What does one do with a three-foot-tall room?? I'm just using it as storage now. My kitchen is about 8 square feet in total. Two feet wide and three feet long. So basically, I can take two steps down the aisle, and have just enough room to turn around in and walk back. When I open the refrigerator door it bumps into the stove on the other side. Ahhahahaa. Oh well. Then I have one room, with a bed in it. And a bathroom. Small place but brand new and cute.

Ooh! Just found out today that Jake is coming to visit me in two weeks!! YEYYY!!! :D

Fry. Day.

Just got back from lunch break.  A long roll of sushi, like 10 pieces, for $2.50! Awesome.  It's really a shame though that I'm not loving the food... I see hot dogs so often I feel sick just looking at them now.  I mean seriously, do they need to wrap them in a pastry? Gross!  I finally bought groceries and will have fun cooking them, but I'm afraid all I feel like I can tolerate eating is pasta of some sort and normal bread products, like pastries and PB&J sandwhiches.  (Both of which were like $7 for tiny jars... American imported products.)  A high-carb diet sounds sickening to me though.  I really do like to eat healthily, and that is not happening here so far.  Oh, I've been drinking lots of coffees, too... and I only ever like mine extra sweet, so my diet is definitely not good yet.  Fruit is so expensive! And vegetables I don't recognize, or I can only find Korean-style lettuce in 20 different varieties, and nothing else.  All they eat here is meat meat meat and ramen, Korean-style sushi (not as good) and kimchee... fermented cabbage.  Ohhh I feel sick just talking about this.  Let's move on.

Class today went so well!!! I feel like a real teacher! :)  I taught a really basic-level English class today, using a book about body parts, so I made the class really interactive and taught them Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes and played charades acting out their favorite activities.  I demanded more respect today than I got last class by first writing the rules on the board, using stern tones, and actually taking away phones during class.   Seriously, what does a first-grader need a cell phone for anyway?  I also started an incentives plan.  If a student gave an exceptional answer, in a complete sentence, or won at Simon-says or one of the other games we played, they got points.  If they talked out of turn, they lost points, and at the end of class the kid with the most points won the best-imaginable prize, which is obviously candy.  It worked!  Teaching so far is proving to be fun and tiring, and definitely a trial-and-error process.

Population of Bundang: 3.7 million!! In this city alone!! It's outrageous.  I've never even been to such a big city.  I feel like this must be what Vegas looks like... neon signs all over the buildings, which are all incredibly tall skyscrapers, and I live right in the middle of it.  It feels like the city that never sleeps.  I'm on the seventh floor of one building and see nothing but flashing or spinning signs when I look out my window.  It's funny to me that I've finally become a city girl, for a period of time anyway... in Korea.   Everything is within walking distance because not only are there tons of businesses crammed one right after another as I walk along the streets, but many of the floors in these "apartment" buildings are full of businesses too!  Like yesterday, Katelyn, our Korean friend Dan (met him where we all went to school at Trinity) and I  went to the 10th floor or so of some building right across the street to a frozen yogurt place.  It's really nice having a Korean friend who hapens to only lives 10 minutes away.  I never would have thought to go floor-to-floor to discover new places to go.  Get this: the whole place was full of rocking chairs or benches swinging from the ceiling!  The swinging benches were on either side of a table.  It was so cute, and decorated with flowers covering the whole ceiling... why don't we take such creative license back home??  I think artsy people would thrive here.  Like Jamie, you should come live here.  I think you would love it, seriously. 

I've finally figured out where to buy groceries, can take the bus by myself, and am feeling good at my school.  The school I'm teaching at is called Avalon, and they have several different campuses in the same city.  The specific campus where I'm teaching is brand-new, just opening this week, so our entire staff is new--7 English teachers and 7 Korean teachers.  I think there will be about 300 students enrolled by next week when we open to the public.  This week has been some other sort of program they're offering, a book club, which are the classes I've taught so far.  The curriculum will be different by next week.  The school is so cute.  Stark white all around, with brightly-colored trim and doors.  And the numbers and labels are all so cute and cartoony-looking.  I feel like I'm living in a cartoon.  The other day I ate at a Hello Kitty cafe... needless to say, the entire shop was a living cartoon.

I am teacher

I’ve already had my own classroom twice!  But allow me to back up to the beginning.  So. After about 26 of traveling (reaaaally should had someone drive me to Sea-Tac rather than tolerating a seven-hour layover there), I and all my luggage found my driver at the airport who, unfortunately, spoke no English.  It was a long, quiet ride to the apartment.  He led me to my room, let me in and said “8:30, 8:30.”  Since it was already 10 at night, I assumed I would be picked up by 8:30 the next morning.  

 I get a guy the next morning knocking on my door and saying, “I am welcome! Follow me to institution!”  I finally figured out that Welcome is actually his English name.  Definitely snickered at that one.  He showed me how to use the bus, and find the school, 15 minutes away.  Then I met everyone at school (so nice!!) and was told to start preparing for my first lesson.  Ahhhh hahaha.  No training whatsoever.  I was handed an English kids’ book and told to make a worksheet to hand out to the kids and I would be teaching 70-minute class periods the next day.  It was nuts… I’m so tired.

But my apartment is cute!! :)  Excited to decorate!

D-Day (Departure Day, silly)

Aug. 15. 2010.

I’m having a hard time fathoming the length of one year. I’m hoping it flies by, but that I will have made a lot of awesome memories.  I’m really anxious about not getting to see my friends and family for so long.  I hope they’re the same when I come back, and that I will be able to pick up those friendships right where they left off, like I never left.  Ahh… I miss you all already!! Add me on Skype: kate.symank.  It was especially hard when Ally came over last night… it was the first time I felt real anguish about what I’ve decided to do and wondered if it was the right decision.  I just keep thinking a year is so long.  Sleep last night was fitful.  My cat will probably die at some point while I’m gone, he’s so old, and Zoe will probably forget me.

It’s really funny to remember that I am going to South Korea to be an English teacher.  What do I know about teaching?  Ha, not much!  I keep forgetting that minor detail, since the only thing I know going into this deal is that I will be teaching 4-6^th grade kids English from 2-10pm at a school called Avalon. I have no idea how much English the kids already know, I know nothing else about the school.  Brave, or ignorant?  I will be living in an area called Bundang, which is a relatively new city, clean, pretty big and rather posh.  And that is the extent of what I know of the land.  I don’t know what kind of curriculum I will be receiving or how long training will be before I get thrown in as a teacher.  This is so silly… basically, I know nothing at all about what I will be doing. 

I’m sitting in the Sea-Tac airport during my ridiculously long layover of seven hours before my 11-hour flight to Seoul takes off.  I’m sure this first entry will be particularly long because I’m bored out of my mind and I would rather write than sit twiddling my thumbs.  If you have no interest in reading about what I’ve just eaten or who I’ve talked to in the last few hours, stop reading now and I’ll understand.  Four hours left!  I’ve just guzzled down the best iced mocha I’ve ever had—a marble mocha from Seattle’s Best—and now I’m ready to bounce off the walls.  I’ve already napped for an hour on the airport floor, discussed philosophy with the last airline attendant and unpacked and reorganized my carry-on bags. 

So, this is my first-ever actual blog.  Word.  I’m not counting the last entry.   

My biggest personal tangible goal is to write daily, whether in the form of my blog, journal or “book in progress.”  It would be cool to have a book-length’s worth of material after one year specifically about my travels in Asia, memoir-style.    My big chance as an aspiring traveling writer!  I’m also planning on visiting Japan, Thailand, Cambodia and possibly Taiwan at some point during the next year in South Korea.  And quite possibly one trip back to the US, perhaps in the spring.  I only have 10 vacation days during the whole year though, so I’ll have to plan carefully.  Any suggestions?

South Korea is going to be 16 hours ahead of Oregonian time, FYI.  So basically just add four hours to your time and switch the AM and PMs.  If it’s 8pm Monday for you, it will be noon on Tuesday for me; a perfect time to Skype!  Laura, don’t forget we have an ongoing 7pm Wednesday Skype date.  No, you’re right; I’m the one who is more likely to forget.

Hmmhmhmmmmm…. Guess I’m all set.  I have a calling card, purchased a Korean cell phone which should be handed to me as I get off the plane, some new teacher clothes (heehee!), a cool electronic Korean pocket dictionary, new laptop sleeve from my Aunt (hey, it’s okay to get excited about the little things!), etc.  I’m really excited to have an apartment of my own, to decorate and keep clean and cute!  The last English teacher will have just moved out of there, and apparently they aren’t really required to leave the place clean, and it isn’t inspected before they leave, so I could have quite a project on my hands.  On the flip side though, they also could have left a lot of useful things in the apartment that they didn’t want to haul back to North America, i.e. silverware, dishes, bedding, hangers, pots and pans, furniture.  To supplement for whatever I don’t have/find in the apartment, apparently all I have to do is hop in a cab and say “emarta” and I will be taken to the Korean version of Wal-Mart. 

My shoulders are sore already from the staggering weight of an overflowing backpack, and I feel like a tool in my wool coat and winter boots (it’s at least 80 outside) with another sweater tied around my waist and shirts in my coat pockets because I can’t squeeze another dime into my suitcases if my life depended on it!  Expecting a material girl to fit a year’s worth of living into two suitcases and two carry-ons is a joke.  I can’t imagine how I will get everything back to the states, either.  Obviously I’m also planning on buying a good amount of clothes while abroad…Korean girls are just so cute!  Is that racist to say?  Well, whatever, I love Asian styles.

Heck, I didn’t even have room to pack a towel with me.  As soon as I arrive and will be dying to take a shower, I’ll have to towel off with a washcloth.  I suppose I could have left out the Pasta Roni, or my little kid purple pillow, but it’s all about priorities. J  It didn’t take long to realize I just couldn’t squeeze in my espresso maker, to my great chagrin. 

Food is another thing I find myself thinking about.  Food for me= kind of a big deal!  I’d say I have a two-man appetite.  What if I hate it?  I have no idea what kind of food/ingredients I will find and be eating most often.  Sensing a theme here?

To buy:

-An electronics converter

-Frying pan

-Bath stuff: shower curtain, shower product basket, bath mat, towels

-Bedding: foam mattress and comforter

-Hangers

-Teapot

-Groceries

Well, I think I’ll go study my little Korean 101 handbook, and then jog in circles before I’m expected to sit for 11 hours straight.  Thanks for all the well-wishes and prayers, and I’ll be keeping you updated.  Peace!

Me? Korea?

June 17. 2010.

So, here it is… I’ve  been accepted! As soon as Avalon has an opening at one of their campuses in Seoul, I will be offered a teaching position there.  Craaazy… it happened so fast. It was just the other day that I realized: I have been graduated from university for a year and a half now. And do not have much to show for it.  I am working at a coffee shop, a grant writing job which could be good, but from which I am getting too few hours, and a serving job which I am still in training for and have not acutally started.

The thought terrified me. Me, stuck in Newberg… forever? ME??  Of all people… not to sound snooty, but I thought I would be the first to leave. And let’s just say I never expected to be working a coffee shop job over a year after graduating from college.  So, I realized: I have to get out of here.  Granted, there is that little issue of a down-trodden economy, but I am not one to use that as an excuse.

I have been talking about teaching English as a second language with my friend Katelyn for years now, and now it is suddenly taking shape before my eyes as something  more than a mere possibility.
Admittedly, I know very little about Korea.

So why Korea?

Well.

Why not?