The Teaching has Begun!

I have now been in Korea for a month...wow! Time flies-the crazy thing is *if* I only stay for the one year time is a ticking...good thing I got my ARC (Alien Registration Card) the other day b/c now I can finally start to travel-and that is what I have been waiting for!!! Exploring Asia starts now :)
Last week was a big week-I finally taught my first classes! I did my introduction PPT for the classroom (so they could find out ALL about Erin Teacher!) and it was pretty fun. A lot of you would've laughed at some of the pictures used...or the references I used in pictures to explain something the kids would enjoy/like/faces would light up. I think the funniest is I used my friend Allison's dog Gunner as a picture for my dog (and yeah, I don't have a dog, you are all correct! but didn't even have a pic of my parents dog) because I figured they would like to see a dog AND I had a pic with Gunner. Gunner is famous over here at Bukbu Elementary :) Then, the other picture that they LOVED was the picture I have with Dana Vollmer and me wearing her Olympic gold medal. Their eyes got really big-I think they might've gotten confused and thought I had won the gold medal...there was definitely some translating from my co-teacher on that one! The kids were allowed to ask me questions after and some of the questions I got were: how old are you (remember it isn't rude here-it is all about hierarchy), do I have a boyfriend, and how tall are you. I realized that I needed to learn the metric system b/c when I told the little boy I was 5'7" he just looked at me so confused. The funniest question I got was towards the end of the week-this boy raised his hand and asked me if this was my real hair color. My sister in law told me they would love my blue eyes, and I know my hair color is not a 'typical' color BUT it was so cute to hear him ask. They are so used to everyone having the same color hair (again like when we went to Costco-easy to spot us b/c we have lighter hair!).
Last week I also figured out the subway all on my own (I had to meet up with friends to watch my guilty pleasure the Bachelor). The subway is super nice, easy to use and clean! I have become very comfortable catching a cab back from downtown as well...since the bus stops at 11 and I didn't make it by that time. Ooops ;)

So let's see...last week also consisted of sleepless nights. Definitely not fun. It is all part of the adjustment I am assuming...could also be the night owl in me. I get to that point where I am like 'I will just stay up b/c now people at home are awake...' yeah, that needs to stop! It is pretty amazing to be overseas this time b/c in the last 10 years since I lived overseas technology has advanced SO much! I mean, before we had email and international calling cards. Now we have Skype, Facebook, Instagram, good ole iMessage/Facetime with the iPhone/mac AND Kakao. For my friends that haven't downloaded this from home you need to. Pretty freaking cool. AND it is the THING in Korea :) I especially liked it when I sent my sister a text and she sends me one back that says 'my phone just talked to me' yep...it does...it says kakao hahaha

I will say that I forget how much I love the traveling family you acquire when you are traveling/living overseas. Just the bonds you make with people who are also going through what you are going through is amazing! And, let's not forget about the people back home that introduce you to someone they know that is here. I had this happen to me last weekend. I worked at Chevy's in Sacramento in between coming back from Dallas and starting at the AHA. While working there I met Charlotte. Charlotte was cool and she went off to teach in Thailand 4 years ago...well we were friends on FB (of course) and last year when I was thinking of coming overseas I got in touch, and then this year I did again when I knew I was really (finally!) going to do it. She introduced me to her friend and his gf who have been out here for 4 years between Thailand and South Korea. They had me over for dinner Saturday night (amazing meal too-yum!) and we got to just talk about living overseas and they shared their experiences with me. It was wonderful! I also hiked in my backyard over the weekend. I mean, you think I am joking but I am not! I can walk out of my building and go about 10 minutes and be at the foot of Mt. Hamji. I love hiking and feel so blessed that I can hike whenever I want without having to go far. There are SO many other mountains and I will definitely be exploring those too. My friend Jen came over and we set out for Hamji...we took a wrong turn and hiked up the other mountain-Hamji's neighbor :) and when I say we went up, I mean we went UP and right away. It was a great workout-Jen & I both had a blast and the weather was perfect! I was a little worried about wearing a tank top (since it is not appropriate in this culture to show your shoulders or your chest/cleavage) but it was so warm that I didn't care. And, I didn't get too many stares-not any more than usual :)

The things I have noticed in the last month are interesting. I don't know if you could really say they are 'culture shocks' but they are different. But, many differences are just that-different. They aren't good, or bad. This is why I've come here-to experience the differences.

Here are some of the ways that South Korea is different than good ole California:
1. Toilet paper...it is like BYOTP here. No joke. So, the bathrooms have toilet paper as you walk into the restroom. Not in the individual stalls. You grab what you think you will need and continue on. Sometimes there isn't TP. That is just part of the journey. I have learned to ALWAYS have kleenex with me :) andddd since we are on the subject of the restroom you don't flush the TP here. There is a wastebasket next to the toilet for that. Okay moving on!
2. Kleenex are napkins. No really! When you go into the lunchroom (at my school) there are kleenex boxes that they use as the napkin. And, even the 'paper towels' I have bought at Home Plus (our Target) are not the Bounty you would get at home :) they are thin, small and little. I feel like I use a lot of paper in general haha
3. Soap on a stick-some of you saw the picture on facebook and instagram. For those of you that missed it please see below. This reminds me of the bathrooms back at home in the nasty gas stations that have the towel that is in the towel holder that you pull down and wipe your hands dry with. Do you know what I am talking about?! So, this is just like it sounds. Soap on a stick and you use that as your 'soap' to wash your hands. Now there aren't towels or dryers-they all just shake them dry. I have a towel at work that I use, and again I always have kleenex with me too. I mean, let's be serious, I don't even like using hand soap that people I know have touched (it is one of my things I dunno).
4. Cold classrooms, hallways & bathrooms. So, people told me that the classrooms weren't heated before I came over. I freaked out. I remember emailing Andrew (another one of those 'friends' that became my friend since he is over here and we have a mutual friend at home-he is amazing, answers all my questions & I pretty much owe him a year of beer!) and asking the Q. Especially since I was already concerned with the cold that I was going to encounter. I remember being at orientation, in the lobby of the dorm, and being SO cold. I could see my breath it was so cold. I was having a conversation with one of my new friends over here, she is from cold Minnesota, and she said that even for her it was an adjustment. Because, let's face it, at home it is cold OUTSIDE not inside. So...yeah the cold hallways (and bathrooms!) are quite a shock when you walk out of the warm (sometimes) classroom. The classroom temp varies as well-because even though we turn the heater on the office really has all control. And, I wasn't here for the dead of winter so can only imagine. Thank goodness Zach had a heater at his (now my) desk. There is a reason that Koreans keep those puffy jackets on all day!
5. Okay so back to the bathroom for just a second (I feel like a middle school boy discussing the bathroom so much!). They do have toilet seat warmers. We were at orientation and the one stall had this crazy looking toilet-I seriously should've taken a picture! There were all these buttons on the side. Anyway someone decided to check it out and we realized it was a seat warmer. Soooo that was nice. But, I haven't seen one of those since the dorm at the university!
6. Korean age. I have shared this knowledge with some of you. It baffled me. So there is international age, and Korean age. International age is what we are all used to. Korean age is different b/c they consider the term that while they are in their mother's womb so when they are born they are 1. Then, they all age during the New Year on January 1, not their birthday. So-they are between 1-2 years 'younger' than what they say. It just depends on when their birthday falls. So-my 3rd graders that I teach are really 1st grade ages. Yes, they are babies! :) There are a few ways to figure out your Korean age but the easiest is to take the current year and subtract the year you were born and then add a year. And yes, I am 34 Korean age...no thanks! haha
7. Hagwon. A hagwon is where students go after school for more school. It amazes me how many hours they study here. During our orientation one of the other EPIK teachers gave a lecture about classroom management. She was talking about different things that would come up in the classroom and ways she has handled them, etc. She did bring up sleeping in the classroom. I initially reacted by thinking 'that is so rude if they sleep during the class' but then, after hearing her say a few things my thoughts changed. She was telling us that the kids/students will go to school from roughly 8-4. Then they will take a bus to a hagwon (private school/academy/tutoring) and have school from 5ish-10 or even later (especially high school since they have so many tests that they study for). So, not only do they go to school for that many hours in ONE day they then go home, eat dinner with their family (Koreans eat super late) and then do homework! People told me how important education was here but it didn't really sink in until I heard that (and now witness it). If you want to see a funny video about a day in the life of a Korean student check this out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bniwLF4hYHQ&list=PLYg_KcjCjrMhK30ROZ2JFIep5ABdHk-fU&index=7

At the end of the day this is all part of the adventure. The little things are what truly set it apart from life at home. And, this is what makes living in a foreign land so appealing :)

The English Zone-my classroom

My school-Bukbu Elementary

Friday night dinner with Irish neighbor (Chris), Siu & Jason

Door & fridge

Hiking with Jen

4th graders making their English name cards

5th grade-super cute class

My bathroom

Good ole shower!

My closet for the year...it is twice the size of the closet I had in London!

Playing 4 corners with 4th graders!

Gift from my co-teacher! Pencil holder :)

School lunch...let's talk about how hard it is to eat spaghetti with chopsticks! 

Thank goodness for Costco-made myself some Mexican!

My kitchen!

My Korean name

My one bedroom house (as they call it!)

View from the door-complete with drying rack!

The washing machine (or as my family likes to call it my jacuzzi!)

Can you figure this out...yeah me either. Thank goodness for Zach!

Walking home from school and noticed the shoes...

My wine cellar :)

Grocery shopping...spam anyone?!

Subway ride!

Blossoms are everywhere-so pretty (and not nice for allergies!) This is right in front of my school.

My First Three Weeks in Korea...

Where do I even begin? First off, I will be better with the blogging-promise! It has been a BIT crazy since I left SFO 3 weeks ago! The journey started with me attempting to repack my suitcase about 3 times to get it under the amount of kilos that were allowed. I told the guy I would just pay the overage and somehow that wasn't an option. Singapore Airlines was legit though...they fed you constantly! Every time I would look up there was another 'snack' or meal heading my way. I had the window seat and sat next to a very nice father & son. I watched a few movies (Captain Phillips was SO good & then watched We're the Millers), drank some wine & took a cat nap (I wanted to be nice & tired so I could sleep that night when I arrived). So...here is where things start to get a bit funny. We all know that I didn't even know I was going on the early round until 10 days before...so the whole time I thought my orientation was in Seoul (b/c that was where we were flying into-makes sense, right?). Well...I get my luggage & pile it onto the cart...and make my way toward the EPIK desk. I made an instant friend (Jen) who told me to grab a paper from the desk and wait for my number to be called. Then I made friends with some girls from the UK...and then I overheard the shocking news. That we were getting on a bus for 3 hours. Um, what? So apparently my orientation was NOT in Seoul :) The good news was I stayed in my yoga pants. There was no way I was going to get changed to get 'ready' for a 3 hour bus ride that was going to consist of sleeping! AND arriving close to midnight.
We stepped outside and I was actually surprised b/c it wasn't too cold-yay!!! We got to Jeonju University around 11:30 pm and checked in-got my nametag, nurse took my temp, got my roomie and hauled my luggage to the 7th floor. My roommate was Tarah, from Florida, so we both bonded on being 'cold' haha
Okay so the thing that Korea has that is AMAZING (I know there will be more but this was the first thing I noticed and fell in love) is heated floors (Ondol). No joke, it is amazing! I mean-the whole 'don't want to get out of bed b/c your feet might get cold' yeah, that doesn't happen here ;) Nice & toasty-our dorm room was a heater! So when we checked in we got our orientation packet in a cute little canvas tote with some snacks too! I will say that the EPIK program was very organized & took GREAT care of us. Since I planned events for so long I know how much goes into making something like this flow and was very impressed.
Orientation was great-long ass days-but great. Met some cool people and actually had some GREAT lectures taught mainly by other EPIK teachers. So, they were able to give you some hints as to what you could encounter in the year ahead. The university dorm provided us with breakfast, lunch and dinner. Perhaps NOW is the time to tell you that after my plane food over I have only used a fork 3 times since...yes you read that correctly. So, breakfast Wednesday morning (first day of orientation) I got the 'surprise' reminder that 'oh yeah, you are in Korea, home of the chopsticks :) Luckily they always have a spoon with every meal (b/c they have soup breakfast, lunch & dinner with their meal). The first few days I felt like a toddler-using my spoon to {help} eat everything (mind you this was after using the chopsticks first but there comes a time when you just want that last 'spoonful'). Do you know how hard it is to eat eggs with chopsticks? Let me tell you...we got creative. Like the piece of toast we got with the eggs-yeah that meal became an egg sandwich :)
Orientation consisted of an awesome welcoming ceremony that had a kick-ass Taekwondo performance & a great professor that gave us a Welcome to Korea lecture. Seriously, this guy was funny. Not only was he dealing with people that were on serious jet lag, it was also an oven in that lecture hall so you wanted to fall asleep, but he was FUNNY! Good think he was, otherwise we might've all fallen asleep. Saturday of orientation 'week' was a field trip to see the local sights. It was a great day-gorgeous weather (I was worried b/c so far we had been inside so of course I was warm enough due to heating!). We explored Hanok Village in Jeonju. Our classes split up and saw the sights. We saw one of the first Christian style chapels that was built (and it was a tad awk b/c here come about 100 of us and there was a funeral taking place...boy did we stick out!). After that we went to a paper making company and saw the process that goes in to making paper. Lunch was next and boy was it yummy!! We had bibimbap-some of you saw me post it on fb & insta. After lunch was free time and then we all met up and had a crafty afternoon-made pencil boxes & then played the drums...good times! The last part of orientation consisted of us working in groups to co-teach and demonstrate the lesson to our class. We also had lectures going on so the days were even longer. Tuesday night we had our closing ceremony and then an amazing FEAST of a dinner (they also gave us forks that night lol). Wednesday was the big day-we got to leave orientation, say goodbye to the friends we had made, and finally be on our way to our 'home' for the next year. When we got to Daegu they called us up in groups based on the area where your school was. I had found out I was teaching elementary (Zach, who I took over for, had emailed me and we skyped-he was/is a lifesaver and gave me a LOT of guidance...shoot he still is-he helped me with my laundry today via FB when I couldn't figure out how to work the machine!). I met one of my co-teachers and we were on our way. Okay...so that day was BUSY. You all know me-I enjoy busy-but holy shiza that day wore me out...I think I could still be catching up! So from there Mrs. Na brought me and all my bags to my new home-pics to come. The place is great-Zach hooked it up BIG time and left me a TON. I am soooo lucky-you all have no idea. I could go on and on but I won't right now-let's just say that some of my friends walked into nothing-literally some had/have no beds still-and I walked in to a clean studio (stocked with food!), post-it notes giving me directions/explanations for different things AND internet-yes he kept it on for me. Lifesaver!!!
So after I saw my place we left to get lunch, then went by the school, then went to get my ARC card (alien registration card)-which was an EPIK reunion! There were a TON of people from orientation at the immigration office so it was fun to run into a friendly face. After that we went to Home Plus (imagine 5 story Target) and then, finally, back to my 'house' where we unloaded all the stuff we bought shopping. That first day here was the most tired I have been in a long time-I can't describe it, but all the other EPIK teachers agreed. It was almost like we were on this adrenaline high and then came down from it.
In addition to Zach being helpful with everything to make my transition as easy as possible he also did something else. He introduced me via FB to his awesome Irish neighbor Chris. Chris came over my first night when I was freezing and the heater wasn't working to help me out. Since then he has been my tour guide, introduced me to some yummy cuisine in our neighborhood & given me great directions when I ask where something is. He is super social (more social than me!) and invites me out and about with him and has introduced me to some of his friends. I am so lucky to have him right next door!

I only had to go into the classroom on that Thursday with my one co-teachers and we stayed until lunch and then went to set up a bank account for me and get me a cell phone (oh yeah, you know it, I can't go too long without one!). I did eat lunch with the Principal, VP & office staff that were working that week. They commented on how good I was with chopsticks. I think they were just being polite LOL

That first weekend was fun-I went out for my birthday and there was a welcome party for all of us 'newbies.' Celebrating my bday on a new continent was a first for me and I am glad I got to do it! We all went out to some bars and then norebang after (which is karaoke and amazing and you all know how much I love to sing-I am in heaven!). The next day (my actual bday) was a lot of fun too! Some of the girls I met at orientation came to my neighborhood and we went and got Korean BBQ and then got some treats to eat at my apartment. Cheers to 33 and me feeling 'free' :)

So...the teaching part. I am sure many of you are thinking-okay so what is going on, is she actually teaching over there or not!? Well I met my one co-teacher (like I mentioned-she picked me up and took me all around on day 1 here). I have 2 other co-teachers as well. They are all very nice & two of them actually lived in the states before! I am teaching 3rd-6th grade and have my time split up between the three of them. Co-teaching is interesting and I am still getting introduced to it. The first week of school was last week and I actually did not teach. The teachers wanted the first week with their classes and I totally understand why. I teach 20 classes per week so only see the kids once. I have about 500 students total...memorizing names is going to take me til summer I am sure! So like I said last week there were no classes for me to 'teach.' I got to do what we NETs (Native English Teachers or Guest English Teachers) call deskwarming. OMG I haven't facebooked that much in forever. Seriously. I wanted to just fall asleep in my chair. I did do some research for lessons, etc. but still...8 hours times 5 days is a lot of time to lesson plan...especially when you aren't even sure what you are supposed to cover :) Friday night was the teacher welcome dinner-this is a BIG deal b/c the school takes everyone out to dinner (& lots of drinking!) and it is all about first impressions. Soooo yeah...let's just say I was told I was a 'strong' drinker & got to take shots with my principal & VP and then the VP showed me how to soju bomb. It was a lot of fun-the staff laughed at me attempting to speak Korean and had fun teaching me how to say different words/expressions. It is going to be an amazing year!

Saturday was a big day...I went to Costco. Yes-there is a Costco and it was AMAZING. I mean, don't get me wrong, the food here is good. But, it is also so awesome that I can go to Costco and get avocados...or salsa...or...the list can go on and on! There was a group of us girls that went-it is 25 minutes away by bus for me and was a super easy (and pretty) ride. The funniest part of the trip was this-it was packed...I mean, yes Costco usually is but WOW you thought you were at Disneyland! So, one of the girls had to use the restroom and we were telling her where to find us/the general area where we would be. Well, she got back to us and said we were easy to spot. We were the only 'foreigners' around...we stood out like where's waldo style :) There were even some little kids that just stared at us-because a lot of them haven't seen Westerners before. They might've seen 'us' on a movie but not in real life.

There is soooo much more to say but I am going to wrap this novel up! I want to share about some of the culture shocks but that will have to come in the next update-and that will be soon-PROMISE :) And I will also have pics of my apartment too (I have had some requests!).

Yesterday I taught my first classes FINALLY (4 total classes and 100 students total). Some of you saw the picture of my last 5th grade class on FB & Instagram. Anyway, it went great! I think after deskwarming all last week I wasn't nervous anymore-you get past that, where you just want to do something! My co-teacher was super great to work with. The kids LOVED the PPT intro I had put together-it included pics of 'my life' in America-lots of family pics, friend pics, WEDDING pics (lol b/c we know I have enough of those to share pics) and one of the students favorites was me wearing the Olympic gold medal. It was a lot of fun putting it together for them as well-just looking at some of the things I/we take for granted! The kids are so cute, and seem so excited to meet Erin Teacher. I know not everyday will be perfect, and there will be challenges, but that is okay. That is all part of this adventure. Thank goodness for the friends we made at orientation. Since we are all going through this crazy journey together-and even though EVERY school is different, and every co-T is different, we at least can laugh and share how the day went with each other.

The beautiful thing is that tomorrow is always a new day, and if you are lucky it will teach you something new while you are teaching others. You just have to open your eyes (& maybe even your mind) to see it!

Hope you all have a great day! Love you~

Thank goodness for the free luggage cart! 

Milkshakes-yum!!!

School lunch...squid soup :)

Teacher welcome dinner!

              Taekwondo class at EPIK orientation!

Costco 'field trip' fun! 

EPIK orientation field trip to Hanok Village-Jeonju

My Classroom!

Gorgeous cathedral!