Reports from Nina Teacher

So I finished my second day of teaching!  This means that I have officially met all of my students, since we are on a MWF/ TR schedule.  It wasn't bad at all. The kids are cute and pretty well behaved.  I have a few rascals but I was strict the first day so that that the bad behavior doesn't worsen.  The ages of my students vary and I have 3 different levels.  I have "seedbed 1" which is the very beginners.  They're still just learning the letters and sounds.  Fortunately, I only have one of those classes... it's like pulling teeth at times.  You'll repeat "the cat is cute" a million times as a class, and then ask one person to do it by themselves and they are completely dumbfounded.  The other two levels that I have are "Seed 2" and "Sprout 1."  They have similar curriculums and class structures but the material for Sprout 1 is a bit more difficult.  In today's class, Seed 2's theme was "Friends and Family" and Sprout 1's was "The Horse Cart."  It is nice that I only have 3 preps, but it gets a bit dull doing the same thing over and over again.  I am starting to get the hang of it though, so that's good!  I even grade papers, like a real teacher.  It's funny because for one of the answers, the kids had to write "The father gave the balloon to his daughter."  But almost every single kid wrote "The father gave his daughter to the balloon."  Just picture that!

One of the best parts of teaching so far:   I was splitting the kids up into teams for a game, and asked what team names they wanted.  Of course, one was the "Golden Tigers," one was "The Flying Unicorn Snakes" and when I got to the third group, the boy said he wanted his team name to be "Penis." 

Today was not the best day.  I had to go to the immigration office to get my alien registration card... it was a ZOO.  Possibly worse than the area of Secaucus that houses both Wal-Mart and Sam's club (If you've never been there.. use your imagination).  I got there at 10:30 am thinking I'd have plenty of time to get my papers processed.  NOPE.  I waited until 1 pm and there were still almost 100 people waiting ahead in line of me.  I had to leave to get to work... so I'm getting my sleeping bag out and camping in front of the doors of the immigration office to be there when they open tomorrow morning. 

As for this past weekend, MJ came in to Seoul again, thank god!  We had a blast.  She got here Saturday, early in the afternoon.  We had lunch with my co-workers then stopped at e-mart, picked up a bottle of wine ("Long Neck"-- South Africa's answer to Yellow Tail, I guess) and sat down by the river all afternoon enjoying the beautiful weather of early fall.  Since it was the weekend, they had the fountain going- orchestrated to music.  It was fantastic.

Here's the water show!  One Korean guy even got up at one point to pretend he was conducting the whole thing.

Here is my fabulous friend MJ!

After a lovely afternoon, we headed to Itaewon to meet up with some of MJ's friends.  They were fabulous and I had a great time.  One was a Kiwi, one was a South African, and the third from hawaii.

That's all that is new with me.  I NEED to get my shit together and start learning Korean.  It's getting embarrassing.  

PS- How is the Mark, Tom and Travis Show STILL as funny as it was when we were 13??

You are lucky to be reading my blog because I'm a celebrity

I have a few things to share.  One: there is banana milk here.  When you put it in pancake mix, you have banana pancakes.  When you put it in your coffee, you have banana coffee.    When you drink it on it's own, it has all the nutritious benefits of milk, but it tastes like bananas. It is fantastic.

Also, whoever said "oh, yeah, everyone in seoul speaks english" was lying.  I never have any idea what's going on.  Ever.  It's terrible, because I can't eavesdrop on ANYONE.  The good news is, I learned how to read korean, kind of.  It will be great motivation to really learn it.  And when I go places, people give me free stuff cus they feel bad for me.  Like, I go to "Buy the Way" (another chain like 7-11 but with a REALLY clever name) with the intention of buying batteries and they give me free powerade- which, by the way, comes in a can.  Or I was at my favorite dumpling place and they brought me out free seaweed (salad?) that literally tasted like you were eating seaweed off the beach.  I think I liked it but I'm not sure.

Anyway, yesterday was a pretty shitty day, weather-wise, so I curled up in bed and watched tv via the internet.  But then I was SO bored and lonely.. and starting to get homesick.  My co-worker was nice enough to invite me to his friend's house for dinner.  We went and had an amazing spaghetti dinner.  Plus, this girl figured out how to make cakes in her rice cooker!! I'm seriously amazed.  She bakes all this awesome stuff... in a rice cooker!  I think it deserves some sort of award.

Then today, my friend courtney and I did some touristy stuff.  We went to an important palace that was SO crowded with people all up in our grills that you couldn't even see anything. 

Here is one of the palace walls.. check out how many people there are.

Here I am at the palace.  My caption for this picture.. "Hi Mom!"

Once we admitted to ourselves that the palace was crowded and sucked, we left and went to Namsang tower.... it's really high up on a hill and you can see the whole city from it.  It's awesome.  We hiked up to the top and complained almost the whole time about how much our feet hurt.. Until we saw Korean girls hiking up it wearing heels!! How do they do it??  The tower was pretty awesome and the view was spectacular.  It forces you to realize how HUGE Seoul is.  

Namsang tower from down below

View from the top

They call these "Locks of Love-" lovers promise to never part. Awww... (puke)

Courtney and I enjoyed a much needed cocktail after our intense hike to the top

After we left the tower we had dinner and did some shopping at the night market.  I couldn't help comparing it to the markets in Thailand.  The bad part about shopping in south korea is that stuff is not as cheap as it is in Bangkok.. but the good news is that it probably wasn't stolen.  

Also, you might be asking.. does this girl have a job?  To you answer your question.. its STILL the holiday.  We had the entire week off.  But tomorrow, we have a teachers workshop so I will see the other teachers mock teach and we will probably do some other stuff, but I'm not really sure what.  Speaking of some other stuff, I really need to do laundry, take out the garbage and watch the daily show.  

Oh, and I lied about being a celebrity, in case you were wondering.  I am sadly still not dating a Korean pop singer, but I'm working on it.

Over and out.

True life: Today I cut into an omlette and it turned out to be stuffed with rice

The internet! In my apartment! Finally!  My stalkees have been thoroughly neglected during the last week and a half.

I'm picking up wireless from the neighbors, I think.. which is fine with me.  So much for reading all those books I brought (why read when I can mindlessly catch up on true blood, right?).

So I moved into my apartment in Eunpyeong a few days ago... its a cute little studio with a washing machine placed exactly where you would think a stove would go.  It freaks me out every time I look at it.  Anyway, the area's adorable.  It's quieter than the crazy parts of Seoul and has a neighborhood feel.  I went to emart with my coworkers and we saw a bunch of our students.  They bowed.  It was awesome.  But it also means that we need to be on our best behavior when we go to e-mart- which, by the way, is the biggest store I have ever seen in my entire life.  It took me like 5 minutes to figure out how to penetrate the building.  But once I did, they had everything I've ever needed/ wanted and more.. including bed sheets!  Which, for everyone that has ever talked to me, would know that they were something I've been stressed about getting since before I even left.

I can't figure out how to rotate this picture.. but.. its My studio apartment.. unmade bed, obviously

view from my window

Another thing is that about 5 minutes away there is an awesome creek with a path where tons of people walk/run/ ride their bikes and there's all these cool statues and places to sit and read.  I give it a thumbs up.. I went running there today and could see the mountains from certain points, which made it even prettier.  There are a lot of little parks around here. It's nice.  A few of them have neon fountains that double as light shows.  I'm already obsessed.

they have exercise equipment along the path

Here is my co-worker Andrew in front of one of our many neon statues. At this moment, it was red.  In one second, it will turn blue!

I observed a class last week and I think this job will be fun.  The kids are super cute.  I would love to tell you what age they are, but I'm not even sure.  They're definitely elementary aged, but  Korean age is different than American age.  The formula for it is: (The current year- the year you were born) +1.  So you're always a year or two older in Korea than you are in the U.S. So here, I'm 23. Eek!

On friday night, my friend MJ came in from the DMZ.  We had a really fun Korean BBQ dinner and the waiter was really nice and gave us free pepsis.  Then we went out in Hongdae and met up with some of my friends from training.  Hongdae is IN-SANE.  It's a huge area near a university where there are just tons of bars and clubs and young people hanging out.. a lot of foreigners but mostly Koreans.  We did a LOT of dancing and had a great time.  I keep hearing about how Soju (korean alcohol) gives you terrible hangovers.  Unfortunately, I learned that this is NOT a myth.  I woke up the next day hung over like a freshman in college.  MJ and I went out and tried our hardest to choke down some mondu (dumplings that are usually awesome) but I couldnt bare it.. I went home and spent the rest of the night in bed.  Literally.  After MJ left at 3 or 4, I slept until the next morning. Ooops.

Well.. anyway, I have some True Blood to watch.  Everyone: COME VISIT !! Or at least add me on skype. :)

They don't know his name, though they're calling him Anyang because that's Korean for "hello"

Referring to the title of this post: Thank god for Arrested Development.

Ok so something that I am currently obsessed with: when boys and girls here walk together in the street, the boy holds the girl's purse.  It gets me laughing EVERY time.. and I'm not sure it'll ever get old. 

Anyway... Korea is awesome so far!  I've been here almost a week and boy is it humid.  I got here last Saturday and it has been a whirlwind ever since.  Getting used to the 13 hour time difference actually didn't suck as much as I thought it would.  I get tired really early but wake up naturally at 6 or 7.  Since we have to be at training at 9, it's given us plenty of time in the mornings to take brisk walks (okay, we only did that once), prep for the day's lessons, or watch Korean soap operas.  ChungDahm (the  language institute I'm working for) has been putting us up in the "Hotel Coatel" (it's funny cus it rhymes) but wasn't interested in splurging on an appropriate number of rooms... so I'm squished into a tiny room with 3 people.. and all of us have at least 2 huge suit cases. You do the math.  There is NO floor space.  It looks (and feels) like camp, had I ever gone.  The thing is, it has been SO much fun.  We've been having a blast- the people in my training group are awesome.  We haven't had too much time to explore the city because training has been so intense, but have been able to hang out in the area around our hotel quite a bit.  The area is called Gangnam, and it's the ritzy business district.  If not for the Asian signage all over the place, I would have NO idea that I was in South Korea.  It's busy like New York but clean like DC.  This spot has a lot of the chains from home- Dunkin Donuts, TGIFridays, you name it.  Speaking of food, I'm loving the Korean stuff.  Kim Bap is amazing.  Korean BBQ is out of this world.  

Also, boys and girls wear "couple shirts."  I'm obsessed.  I guess dating here means you need to match, which I'm very cool with, because it provides a lot of good laughs.  Another thing I've noticed while walking down the street is that I keep seeing the Asian versions of my friends from home. 


As for my job (that thing I apparently came here to do), I think I'm going to really like it.  I've NEVER wanted to be a teacher, and I came in not knowing how to be a teacher AT ALL but I am leaving training fairly competent (I hope).  I'll be teaching the little kiddies... something that I was disappointed to hear at first, but now am SO excited about.  They're gonna be adorable and our lessons look really fun.  The school really encourages creativity so the kids are always writing stories or putting on plays that we can film and put online for them to watch.  Every classroom has a green screen so we can add different backgrounds and stuff! It's gonna be fun and super cute.  Maybe I can sneak one on here.

Training ends tomorrow, so sadly I will have to say goodbye to all my new friends- They'll be sent to branches all over the country.  Fortunately, SK isn't too big, so it'll be fun to visit.  I'm also sad to be leaving Gangnam, because I will miss seeing the Korean men walking around in their business suits.  They look good all dressed up!

On the plus side, I'll be moving into my apartment tomorrow afternoon, so I'm really excited !! I'm in Northern Seoul (in an area called Eunpyeong. Yeah, try pronouncing that) and apparently there's a mountain within the district.  I'm interested to see what that'll be like.  It's about 20 minutes from Hangdae (spelling unknown) which is supposed to be a fun brooklynish area.  The school looks as if it's close to the subway station, which I am thankful for because it's annoying being far from the subway.  Speaking of the subway, they need to get hopstop up in here!  The subway map looks like a white piece of paper that a child scribbled on with 15 different colored crayons.  One thing I do love is that people here are VERY into queuing.  They line up for everything.. even getting onto the subway.  It's opposite of new york where everyone is pushing to get through the bottle neck that is the train door.  Getting on the subway is actually not an unpleasant experience.

I'm hoping once I get into the swing of things, I'll be able to sign up for some Korean classes.  As for the short-term, I'm psyched for the weekend!! MJ, my friend from Thailand who is also teaching here, will be coming into Seoul from her home on the DMZ and I am SO excited to see her.  After a long week of training, I'm ready to go out and do some dancing!

"Leaving on a Jet Plane" and other sappy sentiments

So it is 4 PM on September 9th, meaning I leave for the airport in about 13 hours.  I'd assume that I'd be FREAKING out at this point, but I'm weirdly un-nervous.. mostly just crazy excited.  It's been sad saying goodbye to everyone (never a fun thing to do) and I've eaten pizza 4 times in the past 2 days (that's disgusting).  My buddy Kelly is on her way down from CT to hang out for the night and  bring me to the airport in the morning.. which is when I might break down and cry.. in public! Which I haven't done since junior year of high school when Mr. Cokeley gave me a zero because he thought I cheated on my lab report (I didn't.  Also, I majorly overreacted).


Anyhoo, here are some things I will miss and some things I am excited for:

Things I will miss:
Family & Friends (definitely number one on the list. Everyone come visit!!)
Richmond tailgates
Aunt Susan's cooking
New York City (getting major NYC "fomo")
The jersey shore (not the show)
Bud Light
Coors Light
Magic Hat #9
Jersey pizza
My full sized bed
Driving
Christmas time
Thanksgiving (anyone want to send me pumpkin pie & cranberry sauce in a can?)
Fourth of July BBQs
Dryers (you don't realize how convenient they are until you have to hang everything on a line)
Blending in

Thing I'm excited about!
Sunsets in Seoul (thank you, industrial pollution)
Misspelled Engrish signs
Asian techno festivals
Spicy foodz
Awesome public transportation
Learning Korean [??]
Reading for pleasure (although business statistics was always light reading)
Food without high fructose corn syrup (my enemy)
Not driving- i.e. No need for a DD
Politeness (I <3 buddhists)
Crazy fruits
No open container laws
Asian architecture
Korean BBQ (as i recently read in a trashy novel, "Anyone who says nothing tastes as good as being thin feels has obviously never had Korean barbecue")
Being close to Japan
Teaching little kids

That's all for now.  Stay tuned.. 

This is only a test

I know I'm getting old because it just took me an embarrassing amount of time to figure out how to create this blog.  Also, thank god this thing has spell check because I just spelled embarrassing wrong.  Which makes the fact that in 4 short days, I will be an English teacher, very interesting.

Anyway, this post is for trial purposes.  We'll see if it's still here in the morning.

TESTING 1-2-3. TESTING 1-2.