Teaching

Figured I should post some about teaching as well!

Classes are still going pretty well. The classes during the day I teach with my co-teachers Kimmie and Sam. They're pretty short and I just work on making different activities than what the book provides for each lesson. Some of the book activities are good, but most of them are boring. I work on making them into more games and trying to get them speaking more. It's difficult because the English levels range so much within each class, so there are always those few that have more trouble than others.

Besides the hitting (which i sometimes just find funny) and whinning (which is never funny :P ) the kids are really cute! They have a game like pogs that they love to play and any time I say anything in Korean they get really excited. The downside is then they think I know Korean and will try to ask questions in Korean. I just look at them and say "English?" I haven't picked up much Korean, but it is something I really want to work on. I'm not sure how much I will be able to though...they use to provide Korean classes for EPIK teachers, but now that they have started after school classes every day until 6:40....I don't think they will offer them anymore. The after school classes use to only be 3 days a week. hmmmm Right now I need to work on memorizing the alphabet anyways!

After school classes are fantastic! I teach these on my own and can basically teach anything. We have a book that we use the first 2 days and then I just decide what else to teach the other 3 days. The beginners are difficult because their attention span is soooo short and they just need high energy activities....I don't always have the energy for it though! Luckily I've found a couple fall back games that they love. I also turn everything into a competition which makes them participate more and help their group members out.

I'm definitely enjoying the job....the after school classes are a lot of fun to me! And just like anything else it has its ups and downs. Luckily, my schedule works out nicely so that some days I have more prep time and can relax, and others are just go, go, go! Speaking of....I should probably get back to planning for my after school classes today : )

cheers

busy busy busy

well, it's obviously been a little while since I've posted so here's the short and sweet : )

Karate - I went to a Karate class and got my ass kicked...it was fantastic! Unfortunately the days of the classes are Thursday and Friday nights, and Saturday mornings....aka I won't be able to actually join the class and go regularly. Weekends are for adventures! : P

Ulsan Tigers - A group of us ventured to the Ulsan Tigers soccer stadium and watched their pro team! It's great fun, and I will definitely be going to as many games as possible. I miss watching sports!

Cherry Blossoms - It is the time of year for all of the Cherry Blossoms to bloom and they are GORGEOUS! Hannah and I ventured to GyeongJu and walked around for hours through the streets lined with cherry trees! It was beautiful. We then found this PERFECT little coffee shop. It was amazing...so cute, I felt like we were in Italy, not Korea....but then I wouldn't be able to order my beloved hongcha late!

April 14th - Black Day - this is a day dedicated to all those single out in Korea. You are supposed to eat Chinese 짜 장 면 (black noodles) and they will bring you luck in the dating world. I didn't have any black noodles....guess i'm screwed : P haha

Random - The weather has still been pretty back and forth between being nice, rainy, cold, warm, ..... Luckily the weekends have been really beautiful. I've been able to explore more of Ulsan now seeing many markets, Ulsan Grand Park, and running into numerous students on the street! It's great fun and I can't wait to explore more!

Korean clothing - Their style is pretty fantastic, unfortunately with more curves, it doesn't fit me too well. Whoopsi! They do have some very funny t-shirts though. Mostly just the English translations or sayings are hilarious. My favorite shirt I have seen thus far (and unfortunately I did not buy it...epic failure): It had a picture of a bicycle on it and said bicycle and underneath it was written:
"I don't even want this bike back
just made these flyers to tell
you that i hate you, bike thief.
Hope you ride my bike without
a helmet and get hit by a monster
hope my bike takes you."
hahahahaha what does that even mean!

Couch - I found a couch! It's blue and pretty and was only 30,000 won (less than $30). It was pretty dirty, but after Hannah and I carried it 6 blocks and up to apartment 401 we cleaned it off and made it all nice! We already get stared at all the time for being foreigners so just imagine the looks and laughs Hannah and I received as two girls carried a big couch down a busy street. This is also in a society where the boyfriends carry the girls purses and shopping bags and the girls carry nothing! assah!

Beach in Namchang - FANTASTIC DAY!!! Hannah, Ryan, Melvin, and I spent most of the day this past Sunday at a beach in Namchang. It was so entertaining. We couldn't go five minutes without Koreans coming up and talking to us. We had a group of Koreans stand behind us yell "ATTENTION" "ATTENTION" and then start taking pictures with us. The main guy was wearing a bright pink sparkly jacket and had clown face paint on. After that two men came up and started talking to us. They saw that we were drinking Makali (Korean rice wine) and decided that the Makali we bought ourselves was not good enough. Therefore, they went and bought 3 bottles of good Makali and procceeded to drink and talk with us on the beach for an hour or so! Completely random and so much fun!

Sports Day - We had a sports day at my school which was really entertaining. The kids were split up by grade and into two teams. They all had their colors and just did a bunch of random games and races. It was really cool to see the parents get involved in them as well! They had a dad race, mom race, and even a grandparents race! The grandparents were my favorite. They ran with their kid in a hula hoop around a cone and back. A lot of the kids didn't like it too much because there are so many students that they spent a lot of the day just sitting and watching.

Amethyst caves - Hannah and I went on a random adventure off to Eonyang to the Amethyst caves and it was definitely not what we expected. There wasn't a lot of amethyst to be seen in the cave, but what we did see was quite beautiful. Then there were some petroglyphs and different exhibits...? A dinosaur hall, human evolution hall, Egypt hall, Tribal Living display, and a really random acrobatic performance...what in the world?! hahaha I really could not believe what was going on down there. It all just seemed so out of place and didn't have much to do with Korea at all! Very very strange, but a great adventure indeed!

Ganeolgot Cape - This one time Hannah, Ryan, Melvin and I decided to go to Ganjeolgot lighthouse to spend the evening "sleeping" on the beach to watch "the earliest sunrise on the entire Northeast Asian continent." It was insanely cold, there wasn't much sleeping involved, but it was well worth the gorgeous sunrise in the morning. Even with the slightly overcast sky it was amazing!

Obviously more adventures to come!

classroom and students

Just some pictures of my classroom and a few students. There will be more when I remember to take a charged camera to school : P

students being silly before class
mine and Kimmie's classroom, my desk is on the left
after class...ready to run home!
Kimmie...checking answers!