Cat Cafe & Chuseok

So, I finally have some interesting things to say ... well maybe just lots of pictures you may want to see.  Anyway, I'm rambling like always.  So, my co-worker invited me and Nathaniel to go to a Cat Cafe with her as she knew I loved cats ... like that is anything new.  So like Japan, Korea has Cat Cafes.  Surprisingly, I never went to one in Japan, more I didn't know where they were and who to go with.  So when the opportunity came to go with Chris, I was really excited.  I miss having kitties around to play with, and despite being allergic to them ... yes, sadly I am allergic to cats ... I was going to have the best time.  And it really was fun, allergies acted up a little, but that is okay.  Thank Nathaniel for the pictures and the videos.

 Hairless Kitty

 

He's My Favorite 

Nap time

 

Yes I Love Attention

So I saw a furless cat, who was just precious.  I forget all the cat names, though it might have been Charlie.  Either way, he was really shy and scared, but so cute.  And then the fluffly cats kept attacking this one adorable cat, who was hiding behind Chris' leg.  He was a sweety, and I wanted to take him home with me ... but alas I couldn't.  Either way, this Cafe was filled with cats.  For 8,000 (which is less than $8) you got a drink and got to play with the kitties as long as you wanted.  We got there early enough so we got the good window seats which the cats liked to sit by.  This one cat kept running on a treadmill.  Seemed like she wanted to stay fit, though her sibling really seemed to like attacking the other cats.  And Chris was partial to the Blue Russian who was quite a lover.  And here are some amusing videos or videos of me that Nathaniel took at the cafe.

 

 

It's Time To Start Running Because The Eye Cleaner Is Coming

 

First Kitty To Come To Me

 

This Kitty Loved The Attention

 

So, we had a small Chuseok, which is kind of like a Korean Thanksgiving, celebration.  From what my students told me (in broken English), it is a holiday where they honor their ancestors, and that I think they get money from their grandparents.  I'm not quite sure if I understood them correctly, but that is what I think they told me.  At least they were trying to use English, so I couldn't find fault with that.  Anyway, the Morning Kindergarteners all dressed up in their traditional Hakbok, and came to school like that.  They were so adorable!!! It is one of those things that I just want to try dressing up in.  Lol, I can be such a child sometimes.  Anyway, the kids all dressed up and looked all pretty.  We made Songpyeon, a kind of rice cake, in class.  Meena showed them how, as I obviously know nothing about it.  A bunch of the kids offered me some of theirs and I ate one.  It's basically compressed rice and beans.  I took lots of pictures.  The real Chuseok isn't until Sunday, and so we have a four day weekend, which will be a nice break.  Sadly though, because of what this holiday is, many things will be closed, so I may not get to go exploring this weekend and see new things.  Thank you, Meena, for taking the group picture for me.  Also, the parents gave me a lot of gifts for the holiday, so thank you parents!

 

Traditional Lineup

(Left to Right)

Top Row: Joseph (New Student), Sohee, Winston, Sally, Anthony

Wendy, Serry, Amy, Kate

 

Making Songpyeon (Rice Cakes) With Meena Teacher

Group Picture With Jessica Teacher

Left to Right

Back Row: Wendy, Jessica Teacher, Kate, Serry (Laying Down)

2nd Row From Back: Anthony, Sally

2nd Row From Front: Amy, Winston, Sohee

Front: Joseph







Suji Energy Plant Field Trip, Amy's Birthday Party, & Reading Champions

So, I forgot to mention during my first week of teaching we went on a field trip to the Suji Energy Plant, which is located right near my apartment.  Here the kids got to learn about energy and energy saving tips.  There were interactive games, and such for the kids to watch or help demonstrate.  There were also movies to watch and though I didn't understand a work of it since it was in Korean, it wasn't too bad.  Thankfully, having studied some of these topics before, I could guess what they were talking about.  The kids were amused when I had to demonstrate one of the bike machines, which my legs were too long for so was banging my knee.  But the students were happy because I was able to pedal fast enough to save the figurative world.  Yay! Go Energy Saving!  I found out later from a parent that their child had gone home that day and unplugged everything in an effort to save energy.  I was so proud.  Here are some pictures that I stole from Meena (I forgot my camera that day) from the field trip.

From Left To Right

Back Row: Winston & Wendy

Front Row: Sally, Anthony, Sohee, Jessica Teacher, Amy, Serry, & Kate

Also, on Tuesday, we had a birthday party for my student Amy.  The school throws a birthday party for the class of the birthday student and the birthday student's parents are invited to come as well.  I got to meet Amy's mom today who speaks English thankfully.  She seemed very nice.  All the kids were excited and we got almost no work done, but thats okay will have time to catch up later ... hopefully.  Anyway, Amy got to be a princess, and they even changed her clothes for the party.  It was really adorable and the school and Amy's mom provided treats for everyone, including myself which I found surprising but sweet.  So the students spent a good amount of time playing around and eating their treats.  They had noise makers, bubbles, stamps, stickers, cake and cookies, fruit ... etc.  They had a blast and it was fun watching them enjoy themselves as their workload has increased lately.  Some of the following pictures I took, and some I stole from Katie, one of the Korean teachers.

From Left to Right

Top Row: Jessica Teacher, Wendy, Sally, Sohee

Bottom Row: Serry, Anthony, Amy, Winston, Kate

 



 

 

Another thing that the school does is hold a competition for students to read lots of books.  The harder the books are, the more points you get, and the students with the most points won.  From my second grade class, my two girls each one a prize.  Michelle won the third or bronze prize, and Hana wond the second or silver prize.  For winning, they both got big stickers that can be traded in for toys and things from the school, and a small monetary prize.  The both read lots of books, and I was really proud of them.  I am especially proud of Michelle, who has continued to read books despite the fact that the competition is now over.

 

 

So, my morning kindergarten kids also had an art project using paper class.  My boys made snakes.  The girls made various things such as flowers, bird's nest, food, etc.  I tried to make a cat but since it was paper class, it didn't really stick together too well, so I ended up making this flower instead to show the kids.  They were allowed to make whatever they wanted, and they seemed to have fun, though some of us had issues with hair in our faces and  with our hands covered in white paper clay, we couldn't exactly get it out of our faces.

 

 



Orientation, Anguk, & First Week of Teaching

So yeah, Orientation mostly consisted of my observing classes I was taking over or similar classes to that which I was taking over.  And having a lot of information thrown at me.  In the course of three days, I had to learn schedules, curriculum, etc.  It was a long three days, and needless to say I was ready for the weekend when it came.  Thankfully though, all of the students seem to take well to me, especially my morning kindergarten class.  The pictures below are my morning kindergarten class working on a science project.  We were making donkey carts that moved by blowing up balloons.  The kids really like science.

 

I also have an afternoon kindergarten class, with students who love to play with me, a second grade class, a third grade science and writing class, and a fourth grade literature class.  Yay! I get to teach Literature!!!!  Anyway, back to orientation, I am really glad to say I have awesome supervisors who really help out, especially Meena, who is the supervisor for three of my classes.  Michelle and Ellie also supervise a class for me.  Without them, I would probably be completely lost.  Meena does a lot of things that would normally be my job, but she does it anyway.  Thanks so much Meena!!!!  I also found out I had to into my apartment the first day of orientation, which was nice, as I didn't have to stay in the love motel.  I unpacked the night I moved in since I was having trouble sleeping anyway.  Here are some pictures of my apartment.  It is much bigger than what I lived in in Japan.

Anyway, I was much looking forward to the weekend, as I got to see Nathaniel, who is also in Korea now.  Those of you who read my Japan blog or were in Japan with me, you will remember that Nathaniel and I were close, so it is nice seeing him again.  Even if I did have to harass him ... and if you know me ... you know I literally mean harass.  But anyway, Nathaniel took me to visit a Korean friend who we also knew from Japan, Seong-muk.  He showed us Anguk, which I think is either part of Seoul or near Seoul.  Either way, he showed us an old architecture town in Anguk which was really cool to see.  Wish I had remembered my camera, but I didn't, so the pictures below are ones I stole from Seong-muk and Nathaniel.

In the old town was a Gold Leaf Silk Printing museum, and so Nathaniel and I got to hear the history of Gold Leaf Silk by a Korean guide who spoke English.  It was interesting to hear about the differences in culture.  For example, the bat is revered in Korea (or at least it was in the past) and in the US we think of the bat as a dark creature.  Also, we learned interesting little facts like the princesses would wear green silk and women couldn't show their hands.  The tour guide found it interesting when he started talking about the first birthday, or what I call the 100 day birthday (I don't remember what it is called in Korean, when I told him I had actually celebrated it since I was born here in South Korea, and didn't leave until a month after that 'birthday.'  The below picture was Nathaniel and I leaving out mark at the Gold Leaf Silk Museum.  After that, Seong-muk treated us to Korean Style ice cream, which I rather enjoyed despite in being a milk tea or something like that.

 

So, first week of teaching was interesting, especially since jet lag finally decided to kick in.  I have a lot of work to cover in a short amount of time, so it can be very stressful, but I find that I am loving my job for the most part.  Monday through Friday, I have my morning kindergarten, which is a class full of characters, but I like them all, and my second graders, who can be quite the handful, but there are some pretty smart kids in there if they make the effort.  I have high hopes for them.  Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I have my Afternoon Kindergarten class, which currently consists of three little girls who take any opportunities to chase Jessica Teacher (yes that is what all of the students call me and I now find myself refering to myself in the third person as Jessica Teacher) around.  On Tuesday and Thursday, I have my third graders who I teach science and writing to.  Then my fourth grade literature class which is three girls who think The Count of Monte Cristo is too difficult and much better in Korean.  Which I proceed to tell them it is basically the same book, just in a different language.  Those girls also tend to like to ask me personal questions, like do you have a boyfriend.  Which normally I wouldn't answer, but since they were making the effort to speak English, I made an exception.

 

Anyhow, it was a busy week trying to figure out schedules, having to catch up on reading the same books as my students so I knew what was going on, doing the same homework so I had the answers to their homework, etc.  I was really glad when I stopped sitting at the printer desk, and finally got a desk of my own, and binders, so then I could at least attempt some form of organization which has now saved my life.  I also had to learn how to write weekly progress reports for my morning kindergarten students, which was interesting, but figured it out and now get to respond to parent comments and such in future reports.  Should be an interesting process.  I have learned to greatly appreciate prep time, as it means I don't have to continue staying late or taking work home.  I am also appreciating weekends a lot more.  After a long week, you definately want the break.

 

We have class pets for morning kindergarten, which for most of the classes are edible snails (which we are not going to eat).  My class named the boy Mickey Mouse, and the girl Seraphina.  We tried to get the girl's name to be Minnie Mouse, to have a set, but couldn't get enough class support, as too many girls wanted the name Seraphina.  So Seraphina is the name of the girl snail.  A lot of us kept forgetting to feed our snails, but I eventually remembered and found out that the snails like apples but don't like bananas.  I hear they like lettuce too, but I haven't tried it.  I have managed to not kill our class pets as of yet.  So Yay!  Though one of Ben's class snails came dead, so we had a little snail funeral for him on the way home from school one day.

 

 





The Start of a New Life

Hi, welcome back to my adventures, though this time I am in South Korea.  Those of you who followed my Japan blog may remember that I wrote about every single day in Japan.  I will not be doing that for Korea.  I don't have the time or energy to keep it up.  Besides, because I was writing about every day some of the posts became a bit redundant and boring, so to avoid that, I will be writing a bit less.  I hope you still enjoy my blog. 

So a couple of month ago, pretty much after I returned home from Japan and passed all my tests so I could graduate college on time, which I did, and I got to enjoy Senior Week with a bunch of friends, I decided to start applying for jobs.  I pretty much knew I wanted to try teaching English abroad, so thought about it for a while.  I wanted to go either back to Japan or to South Korea and see the country I was born in.  After a lot of research into South Korea, I realized it had some of the best opportunities and options for ESL teachers, and so I applied.  And when I say best options, I mean decent pay, the help you get settled like picking you up at the airport, and cover all your travel fees to the country and at least the school I am working at covers fees like getting a health check and cell phone. 

After the initial interview with the recruiter, I had an interview with JoAnne from LCI Kids Club, Suji School.  By the next day, I found out I had the job.  Yay!  So then came all the paperwork, and there was a lot of it.  I mean a lot.  I had to get government FBI checks, get certain paperwork internationally approved, etc.  It took a while, but I eventually got my working Visa for Korea.  If only that was the last of my worries, but no still a lot more to do.  But thanks to my recruited Hosoon, she made my life a lot easier, making sure I had the correct paperwork at the right stages.  I would have been much more stressed if it hadn't been for Hosoon.  Thank you Hosoon!

Well a bit of a waiting period after that, which in the meantime I finally got my driver's liscence (don't worry I'm not in the US so the streets are safe :P ) and got some experience with children babysitting a great kid named Chris.  But then it was time to fly to South Korea ... and yes, I still hate planes.  I arrived way early to the airport because I was worried about not having enough time and mixed up the departure time, meaning I was there at 4 AM for a flight that didn't even bored until 6 something.  But at least the flight to Chicago was relatively smooth and problem free.  The flight to Incheon, South Korea was delayed 3 hours due to typhoon weather in Korea.  Then delayed another hour due to airfield traffic.  And once we got there, the gates were in use, and then because of the typhoon, the winds made it nearly impossible to gate and so I didn't get into the Korean airport until 10 PM when I was suppose to arrive there at 4 PM.  Thankfully the banks were still open, and someone was there to meet us at the airport.  Needless to say my 7 PM dinner appointment with my co-workers was cancelled. 

So the pick-up/greeter service dropped me off at the motel, which yes was a love motel.  Hehehe.  It was called Theme Motel and had a very unique taste in design, I mean neon lights on the room, yeah...  Anyway, I was pretty out of it, managed to log onto the motel computer, figure out how to change the type to English and send off a quick email stating that I was alive.  Then crashed for the night until I had to get up to start orientation the next morning.  Thankfully, my co-worker Chris came and picked my up, so I didn't get lost.