Grandmas bday

Grandmas birthday! 8/28

So on the constant struggle of trying to feed me we have Grandmas birthday.  After school we walked over to grandmas house and i met a bunch of cousins, aunts, and uncles.  When i got in the 6 (8 in Korean) year old ran over and hugged me then sat by me and tried to talk to me in Korean,  they all knew a few words but all i could think was “its like she's trying to speak to me i know it!” My host mom has three brothers and two of them were their with their wives and kids.  I sat at the kids table, which apparently was better then the wives table where three of the wives sat in the kitchen after cooking the entire meal.  I ate so much pasta but was schooled by the 6 year old across from me, im not sure she tasted it.  At one point she started choking and CONTINUED to slurp more pasta into her mouth while her gag reflex was working up.  Dedication man. Everyone was adorable and they wanted me to play but man im tired.  The smallest girl who was about 3 (koean age 4) was petrified of me.  Something about me being white or the tallest girl she's ever seen, im not sure but she hid behind someone the entire time and when we were all playing she almost started crying.  Sorry little girl, i dont think im that terrifying, I guess i was wrong haha.  Then I came home am relaxing a bit before bed.  SO MUCH FOOD! TGTF thank god tomorrow is friday :P

Instead of an Up quote-  Finding memo

 

8/27 so tonight we had sort of a going away dinner for some of the staff at our school.  Though i originally thought it was going to be awkward it turned out to be a lot of fun.  The first week was a great time but I really never got the chance to socialize with many of the teachers, so i figured id sit there confused, not knowing korean, and sitting on the floor trying to figure out who i should bow to, and whose drink i should fill. This is called weishi(i think english spelling) and it turned out to be a lot of fun.  luckily i sat next to a lovely woman who spoke perfect english.   I also encountered my first koreans are touchy moment as she introduced herself and then started putting her hand on my leg haha.  I also met a younger korean who said shed call me for coffee (i dont know how i didn't give her my phone number, maybe she just knows I'm not sure) and a younger guy i think i might have been been set up with? he didn't speak english well but apparently he understood and was very tall so we were good.  The younger girl took the bus with me and kept holding my arm, she was so nice and sweet, but im defiantly not used to it. (shes around 30)  Overall it was a great dinner and Im glad i actually talked to some coworkers for once :)

Up quote of the Day

Day WHAAAAAT

First day down, here we go.  So our contract says absolutely no teaching on the first day but you know, what does that even mean.  So I met two of my classes today and they were just thrilled to see me.  Ive never been so popular ya’ll.  And the bowing, i mean really.  Overall the girls are amazing.  They are so smart and sweet, the only issues are that some of them are sleepy, coming from the 15 hours per day.  For reals.  But they were all nice, even though I ran out of time and my computer wasn't acting the best.  But all well.  My co-teacher is very nice and friendly.  I got my bank info sorted out and a NEW PHONE!  hit me up (not really its a Korean phone) 01032921286. BUT i only taught two classes in-between which i awkwardly sat in the teachers lounge reading the past ETAs advice.  Then I went home around 4:15 which is early here :O.  But all in all it was a good day.  Many teacher beautiful.  Oh and for the third time in two days i have been complimented for my abilities to use chopsticks.  Came home, ate another delicious meal, and even went to the store.  real Korea man.  My apartment is not airconditioned and my school is only airconditioned in some rooms after lunch but let me tell you…this school was voted number one for school lunches! You know its good because the students like it.  Oh and Erik is now considered very handsome and Steven looks like Leonardo DiCaprio…all white people look the same problems.  Oh and here are my host brothers, who I have successfully bonded with over uno...no word yet from the dad :P

Where am I?

We then finished up orientation with the renewies joining us for the next two nights.  Crazy goodbyes and we were at the ceremony.  Many tears yall.  But thats just because the ETAs are all amazing people!  thanks for everyone being so generous and nice to me :) were gonna rock this year!  Oh and shout out to Jemarley…told us all he was going back to NY and not extending.  LIAR! found out today he is indeed staying in Korea, probably because were so amazing.  Not really upset though, he's an awesome guy and he was super supportive of me this whole orientation, I'm glad we got thing chung going man.  And shout out to all the OCTs being amazing!!!! love you all and miss you! As our names were read our principle/ co-teacher stood up, mine gave me awesome flowers, and we tried to remember them to find later.  then a mad scrabble for lunch buffet (awesome food) and we were off.  We then drove to my school where i met the principle and a few other teachers.  Then off to my home stay of two parents, two younger brothers, and a sister.  The sister is currently staying in the dorms of the high-school i teach at so i haven’t met her yet.  The dad was also busy so not much interaction.  The mom is fluent in english and teaches english to kindergarteners.  She's super super mom.  Theres something about Koreans which require them little to no sleep to function.  She goes to sleep around one and wakes up around six to vacuum everyday.  Then she makes breakfast, goes to work, comes home, and considers herself a house mom.  Crazy crazy.  The two younger boys are 13 and 16 Korean age.  They both speak english really well though the younger one is too shy to talk much, the three of us were able to play cards while the mom was at the gym.  I get my own room in their spacious apartment the mom apparently rents from her parents.  It sits right above a restaurant and an art studio, which ill have to check out.  Also i saw two white people today, so I will find you, and we will be friends, just a heads up.  So that was my first day.  Im a little nervous about my first day teaching but it'll be good im sure, just gotta navigate the korean bus system 15 minutes to a school ive been to once, find the right rooms, figure out my schedule, make my computer work, and make the students love me.  LETS DO THIS!

up quote of the post

Russell: [off screen in the jungle] "Mr. Fredricksen? Am I supposed to dig the hole before or after? "

oh and heres my address ya’ll 

Kelsey Hagenah

Chungbuk Cheongju-si

Heungdeok-gu Gagyeong-dong

Seogyeong-ro 24 (1587 bunji) 3rd floor

361-803

South Korea

Almost done with orientation!

Oh gosh its been awhile.  Well here it goes.  I haven’t updated in a while because, well, its been a whirlwind of a time.  Not only did we finish orientation, but I am officially moved in.  We finished up Korean language classes with a graduation trip to Seoul.  Though i barely know any Korean, i did pass.  Though perhaps everyone does, I know I was the worst.  Well we got to Seoul super early as per usual.  We mingled, ate some snacks, and then got ready for the ceremony which consisted of some pretty awesome skits from all of the classes.  We then ate a ton of food, got subway sandwiches, and headed to discuss our contract review.  A lot of complaining but its still a pretty good deal, 18 days off mandatory, ill take it! Afterwords we were given some PAPA JOHNS PIZZA! and then headed back to the hotel.  At this point we had been up since 5 am, so many of us opted to stay in for the night, which included an awesome bath :) (and the theft of several complimentary sewing kits) what a class hotel.  The next day we got some brunch…so amazing!  we then walked around, did some shopping, and just generally hung out and explored.  After getting lost on the subway we made it back to the hotel where i turned around with a group to head to the foreigner district for food.  Wound up with Thai (awesome) and hung out.  I then met some af guys who were wearing ASU shirts, welcome to small world, this kid was from jersey went to ASU and we ended up in a Patriots themed sports bar in the middle of Seoul.  We hung out with them for awhile and then when they had to make curfew, we wandered.  Met a few other of our group, split up, wound up at a club, and took a taxi home.  The next day we woke up early to go to hwachon.  The DMZ was closed for the holiday weekend so we went to this town on the Northern border.  IT would have been interesting except for the 5 hours of traffic we encountered instead of the normal 2.  We did get to see North Korea though, and the final battle place for the Korean war.  But then more traffic.  We again got back super later and i was planning on staying in but wound up seeing Guardians of the Galaxy in 4D!!!! yes not 3 but 4.  The seats moved, lights flashed, air blew, and the seat vibrated.  It was REALLY cool!  Then an exhausting three hours of sleep before the bus ride back.  

up quote of the post “Russell: Whoa, that's s gonna be like a billion transfers to get back to my house…"

Temple Stay

Temple Stay-  This past weekend i had the opportunity to stay overnight at a temple.  It was a unique temple in that its main teacher/founder was a women.  Its pretty rare to have many male Sumin(monks/nuns) follow a nuns teachings.  The temple was gorgeous.  Situated above a small city it was surrounded by trees and mountains.  The main grounds have a main temple hall, a mountain shrine, the conference center, the cafeteria and more sleeping arrangment, SUNIMS quarters and shrines for the deceased.  We all stayed in one large room on mats on the floor (except the boys were in a different room).  While there we participated in meditation, ceremonies, and conversations with the monks.  It was extremely interesting.  One of the monks that was visiting was actually from the United States so he was very easy to understand.  The first day we arrived in time for a few talks and discussions on how to bow and meditate.  We toured the grounds and got to eat a traditional monastic meal.  Eaten in silence we took cleaning your plate to a whole new level.  After eating our food we rinsed the bowls and drank the water.  We then rinsed them one more time to wash them and drank the water.  Zero waste, no talking, and sitting on the floor.  I never realized how difficult it was to sit cross legged on the floor, or on your knees, for such a long period of time.  All of me hurt at the end of it and I could barely bow anymore.  It was very interesting but I’m in pain.  We then participated in evening candle ceremony to remember the living and walked about the temple.  We were asleep by 10 pm so we could wake up for the 3:30 morning  ceremony.  We went to the temple and joined the monks in chanting and mediation to start the morning.  After the ceremony was a finished, and a quick nap was taken, we ate breakfast in the dining hall.  all the food was delicious, vegetation, and fresh!  After breakfast we rotated between mediation, lotus flower making, prayer bead making, and discussion with the Sunim.  It was very informative and helpful.  I made some great stuff and the Sunim were so friendly and helpful. We then listened and discussed a few more ideas of buddhism, meditated a few more minutes, and headed for some delicious lunch.  We said our goodbyes and loaded on the buses back to our marble mansion.  It was an amazing experience, even though I’m exhausted a sore.  I loved being so personal with the Sunims and the temple, and i actually felt like i was meditating.  I also feel like i can go to temples without looking ridiculous.  Though thats been done a million times before, this isn't my first time in Asia people.  Temples on temples on temples last time i was here.  There all different, beautiful, and unique in their ideals.  

Up quote of the post : “Young Ellie: [to Carl] You don't talk much... I like you!”

Where am I going?

Placement.  So I have been placed!!!! You can check out this map for more information on where we all are placed.    https://mapsengine.google.com/map/viewer?mid=z92Rk7T7sOaQ.kx70rIO5SqhY Ive been assigned to Cheongju, a smallish city in about mid South-Korea.  My placement is a little on the outskirts and is called Sanaam High School.  Its an all girls high-school where I will move from class to class to teach my students.  Ill find out the details more when I get there.  the process for applying required me to fill out a preference form including location, size, gender, co-ed vs segregated, who you wanted to be placed near and more.  Though I didn't get much of what i asked (co-ed middle school in a large city) I think it will be a great experience.  I have to think my teaching background gave the office faith to place me somewhere they thought I could handle myself.  The ceremony included a speech by Mrs. Shim and an awkward half circle where me waited to hear our names called.  As we were called we stepped in, bowed, and went on stage to meet the other people in our province.  Theres six of us first years and a few returnees in the area.  I think its going to be a great year, tough it still feels a little overwhelming.  

photo credit Bijou

Up quote of the post “Dug: [to the bird Kevin] Won't you please be my prisoner, please, please, please!”

My few crazy weeks

Its been a crazy few weeks here so far.  I never expected it to be so warm, loving, and inviting.  This program has created a great network of people and I am beyond excited to keep in touch with everyone.  The days are long and busy but there are always fun things to do.  If were not in class, listening to a lecture, or teaching at camp Fulbright we can enjoy free time playing soccer, learning Taekwondo, creating Hangii, just hanging out, or drinking at the local GS25/ Beer Bewer (yes there is no r).  I could write for days about every things thats been going on but ill try to keep it short.  Ive made a bunch of friends, including a few that i had originally met on the plane in Ny, go figure.  Our OCT team is fantastic and have been working so hard to make sure our experiences are wonderful.  They are all super relatable and loving.  I have been major struggling with Korean, but its ok.  Language has never been my thing, so well just have to see how I do, but learning Korean doesn't look very promising as of now.  On our free time we often hang out by the river talking, or getting out of this marble mansion in general.  On the weekends we have done a few different things.  One weekend we went to Donghai, a beach town a few hours away from us.  It was a great weekend, relaxing and full of delicious food.  I spent the time hanging out on the beach at night, going to norebang, exploring some “interesting” parks, getting lost, and generally taking the time to unwind.  Another weekend I managed to join some OCTs on a trip to the movies.  We wanted to see a 4-d one but ill have to save it for later as it was sold out.  We got to see Planet of the Apes, and though it was english the subtitles remained in Korean, so I’m just going to guess the monkey sign language.  The past two weeks have been filled with camp Fulbright, a camp designed to help students learn conversational english in an emersion environment.  Current ETAs have been teaching with a few of us first years teaching a lesson here or there.  Overall its been going pretty well, i love summer camp so its right up my ally, i hope i can maybe get involved with it later on next year.  We've also been experiencing some supplemental talks from past ETAs on topics ranging from skin care, to lesson planning, to working with North Korean defectors.  All of it seams interesting and im very excited to begin becoming involved.  Overall orientation is moving much too quickly! 

Up quote of the post “Carl Fredricksen: You'd better get up, Russell. Or else, the tigers will come and eat you.

Russell: Tigers don't live in South America. Zoology.”