Man, updating sucks. I mean, I'm so behind. The last thing I wrote about was from the FIRST WEEK. It is now the "last week." I can't even call it that since there is only 2 days, and the last day is PARTY DAY, meaning no lessons. Oh well.

So, yes. I've been busy. I apologize. I end up hanging out on facebook whenever I get home from school at 930p. I guess I should have spent that time blogging...oh well! can't help that now, so...on with the updates!!! I will TRY to write in order. But I think I will just end up writing all over the place. Plus, my english is breaking.

Life has been good. I always discover a better way of teaching AFTER I've just finished the class. So hopefully I can get these epiphanies earlier. This would be especially good for the junior classes. I teach 3 hours of juniors per day. Except the 3rd hour is taught over 2 days instead of 1. So Tuesdays and Thursdays I have a longer break after juniors before my last adult class. One lesson that we've had to learn is that even though we are working for 6 hours, the 6 hours is spread out throughout the day, so you could very well be "working" for 12 hours. But that is how a teacher's job is, anyway.

I taught two of my junior classes "Steal the Bacon." In one class it didn't work out so well, I think because the room was smaller. But in the second game it has become really popular. Of course I didn't call it "Steal the Bacon," that would send mixed-signals :}, but they call it the "Eraser Game" regardless. These kids are so cute.

So, for each hour of juniors, we visit 3 classes for 15 minutes each. Every hour I have a "Favorite class," but I think I'm biased toward all three classes during my 4:00 hour. They look like to be 5th to 6th graders. Their English is just good enough to communicate "Tarzan" style. But that is good enough for me :) Especially if they request to play games that we tried the previous class. I feel that it means I did a good job the previous class. So I think I will miss these particular mixes this term :( I guess all teachers feel that way.

I went to Seoul a week ago for Debater training. I will be teaching this "Advanced" class next term, and since I and this class are both new, the developer of the books for the class wanted all the teachers to come in for training for it. Admittedly, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. But I still did not enjoy the 9am-6pm schedule. Sure we got a break for lunch, but I had to leave Daejeon by 7 if I hoped to make it to the Inst by 9. Meaning I had to wake up at 5 to make sure I left by 6. Did I mention I took this trip alone? The hardest part was moving from the train station to the metro at Seoul station. Previously I had arrived at Yongsan Station, and the trains and metro were in the same "building." At Seoul Station, I had to go out into the sunlight and then take the escalators down. So the longest time during the trip was spent making sure I found the correct line.

Anyway, I'm not here to complain about the trip there. When I showed up, it turns out that most of the teachers who came were the Junior teachers. Meaning, the Korean teachers. Thankfully, Caroline, one of the teachers (later I found out that she is the Jr Coordinator in Namyeong!) sat next to me and translated during the first hour. She's so nice :) Marjolynne and Vanessa, both from my orientation group, showed up later, so I was no longer the only English-speaking-only teacher there.

We were all DONE with that class by 4pm, but there was one more teacher we had to listen to. The "starter" teacher. He was the prototype/guinea pig teacher for Debaters, so he came to share his experiences. Which was nice, because it is one thing to learn HOW to teach, but it is another to hear about actual teaching. But, mind you, it had already been 7ish hours since we had started. We all just wanted to go home. It didn't help that this guy had NO EMOTION in his voice. After speaking for 10 minutes I seriously wondered how he taught his classes. He sounded so boring...At the end of his presentation, he asked if there were any questions. I think even if we did, NO ONE wanted to ask. So after his bit, we had a short survey then went home. They gave us Dunkin Donuts and juice for the trip home :)

//Total side note, but I'm listening to my ipod as I write this, and Sorry, Sorry is currently playing. :D
//end side note.

So Caroline asks me how I am going home, and when I told her that I was going to Yonsan Station to catch the KTX, she decided to go with me on the subway since her stop was along the way. We talked about the class, and I asked about her English. She was a product of SDA, and I thought her English was amazing. She also boasted that she'd never travelled abroad, so I thought her English was extra good because it was all through books and teachers. I also thought she had a nice speaking voice. I've heard different voices since I've been here, and I think the lower and slower voices sound cool. Husky? No, it doesn't really sound husky, just lower. Speaking of voices, I've been told that I have a calming, womanly English voice. I find that interesting because I've heard my voice in videos and through the phone. I suppose my voice is "different" here since I have to speak slower English. Not as much slurring...I guess my voice becomes higher the faster I speak...Well, I guess that is true with everyone.

Ok, so enough about voices. So Caroline got off on the stop before mine, and it was really nice speaking to her. She's only been an Adventist for five years, but I can feel the strength she has for it. She has already experienced some of its ugly sides, but I admire her for still sticking it through. I've been Adventist now for 22 years (23 in Korean, but that's another story...), and I guess I've been lucky so far. By no means do I wish to experience these bad things, but I just wish that I will have strength for it. :)

So I decided to catch the train home from Yongsan instead of Seoul Station because I had already walked around the stn during my previous visit and wanted to do the same before going home. Unfortunately, the next train home was leaving 12 minutes from when I purchased my ticket. So I decided to just go to the train. It was already there, too. hahah. There were more people on the train now, versus at 7 in the morning. But no one ended up sitting next to me. Which was okay, really.

Starting the second week of term, I have seen Kris practically every weekend. Then starting Thanksgiving weekend (that is US's Thanksgiving), we've started hanging out with Lewis. Then with Larry, the four of us are the Daejeon Crew, or DC, for short. The last spice girl of this band is Emily, but she isn't an SDA teacher, she just goes to the same church as me and Larry. Anyway...we've done different things together. The most popular is Pizza Maru. :) A nice tradition, I say. Pizza here is different from home, and it feels extra nice since the pizzas are cheap and within walking distance of everyone's house. So we could all just walk home and eat it with each other. If we are at Kris's small apt, he have chicken in addition to the pizza.

Our orientation group became really close, and since we were lucky enough to have 3 of us in one city, I suggested that we do more inter-Inst activities. Chronologically, the first one was going to be the "Saturday Afternoon at the Park" to be hosted by Daejeon Main (Kris's). But it was too cold (and it rained that week), so that event was postponed. We ended up doing a pseudo-park day on the 12th, but only one student showed up. But we still hung out after. So it wasn't too bad. Except maybe for the student...

So the second event was going to be Dunsan's Christmas party.

...which was also cancelled and postponed. So we will have Christmas in February. So the reason it was postponed was because we didn't have enough support from the foreign teachers. It probably would have helped if they were THERE when the idea was first introduced. Granted, we did introduce the party late, but we agreed to postpone the party on the promise that it will still happen next term.

It didn't turn out to be a COMPLETE waste. Seodaejeon Inst (I think they changed their name though...) had a Christmas party, also on the 19th, complete with potluck and gift exchange. (Basically what Dunsan wanted, except with the other institutes of Daejeon) So we ended up going to their party. Marjolynne came that same weekend, so she got to hang out with the DC. We missed a bulk of the party (ie, the eating) but they still let us participate in the gift exchange, even though we didn't bring gifts...I got this cute Christmas doll-thing that I would have proudly displayed in my room. But someone exchanged with me. So I got an equally awesome sweatshirt that appropriately says "Beverly Hills." :)

Then Kris had a short puppet show where the kids were totally enthralled. The pastor's kid especially enjoyed the performance. So now Kris, at least, is known by Seodaejeon.

Since we missed dinner, we ended up trekking to Lewis's enviable apt, and ordered (you guessed it) Pizza Maru. It was almost 9 when we got to the apt...and it was almost 2 when we went home...We didn't even do much. Just sit around the coffee table eating pizza, cake, cookies, and ice cream while talking about different and random things. That is how we roll.

So we get home at 230ish. After giving Marjolynne a quick tour of the Apt, I went to sleep.

...to wake up at 730ish. I HAVE NO IDEA WHY. The only plan we had was to go to CostCo with Larry whenever he woke up. But that wouldn't be until 11ish, maybe. But he never called, and I was still awake. I managed to stay in bed, wide awake until 8ish. But I finally got out then turned on my computer. I took a shower, then I started cooking breakfast. I cooked enough to last me the rest of this week. Which, I just realized, will be term break, so I wouldn't have had to make all that food. But that's okay, one less thing to worry about, I guess.

After eating, since Larry never called, Marjolynne and I decided to do some window shopping in the underground shopping at Jongang-no (sp?) subway stop. Poor Marjolynne spent money. I would have too, for myself. But I ended up buying some pasalubong. Well, just one. If I had more confidence in my balance, I would have bought some cute heels. But there is ice on the ground, so I will just have to endure and do more shopping in the future. Especially when I have money...

I know I am skipping around, because all that happened Saturday night and Sunday morning, but now I will talk about Friday. On Fri, my 10AM students took me out to lunch. To VIPS, mind you. Not exactly cheap. The food was okay, and I'd been there before, but I don't think they enjoyed the high price too much. I felt bad and wanted to help pay, but they didn't let me. Oh well, next time maybe I'll try to be more ninja about it. But the students really don't like the teachers to pay for the meal.

Classes in general seem to be ending in a high note, so I am glad. There is one more day of learning left, then party day on Tuesday. I saw Jenga when I went to Home Plus the other day, and so I think I will have to buy it since I said I would bring it on Tuesday. It is 25000 KRW, though. A little more than 20USD. Then again, I don't even know how much Jenga costs at home. I want to find some playing cards as well. I found Uno, so I bought that. I will show them that game. I think I will also teach them speed. :)

Most of my orientation-mates already have their term breaks planned out. I have nothing though...but that's okay. I've been neglecting my living arrangements. So I think I will clean and inventory the kitchen on Wednesday. That is the plan, anyway. Thursday, I will clean the floors? Friday is Chirstmas, here, so maybe I will rest. Or start calling different people at home. I've been neglecting that a lot, too, sadly.

Last of all, I will start working on my Religion class. I had an idea, but as I started working on it, it's becoming different from what I was imagining. So we'll see how that turns out. I wanted my title to be "Scandalous!" Then follow 5 characters from the Bible and their Scandalous stories. We'll see how that works.

So more stuff has happened. I will eventually reminisce about them. But for now, that is it.

This message was brought to you by me!

Chapter 2: Being There

Day -1 and 1: Settling in, Home and School

Classes started on Monday, so on Sunday, I took a mini-tour (and to say mini would be an understatement) of the school. Staff room was on the 3rd floor, and the foreign teacher's tableswere at the back. Nancy, the junior coordinator was there, so I was able to meet her. No other teacher was there for a while, considering it was Sunday and the school was closed.

I was with the asst. pastor and his wife. So while he was busy checking some stuff out, his wife took me upstairs to look at some of the classrooms. Mine happened to be on the fourth floor (though, to say it is my classroom is pushing it, considering the time I will ultimately spend in there. which is 2/6 (or 1/3!) hours. That is 2 out of 6...)

After going back downstairs, I met my first foreign teacher: Mario. He is one of the more exp teachers (this being his 5th? term). One of the first things he said: Sssaai-rouul. Ahh! You have a schedule worth envying. In a way, it is. I get to start bright and early at 10am. So my schedule for the term is:

MWF:     10a-1050a    Adults-Lvl2
    11a-1150a    Religion (which start next week)
    (Lunch Break for ALL teachers!)
    03p-0350p    Juniors (15 mins) (which start on Wednesday)
    04p-0450p    Juniors (15 mins) (")
    (GAP!)
    08p-09p        Adluts-Lvl2

TR:    10a-1050a    Adults-Lvl2
    11a-1150a    Religion (which start next week)
    (Lunch Break for ALL teachers!)
    03p-0350p    Juniors (15 mins) (which start on Wednesday)
    04p-0450p    Juniors (15 mins)
    06p-0740p    Juniors (30 mins)
    08p-0850p    Adluts-Lvl2

You don't need to know what all that means, just that I am at school at those times. In fact, I like to go to the inst within the hour ahead.

Anyway...

The pastor finished whatever it was he finished, and after I got to look at the tourist map in the bookshelf, we took off to the apt!

Five min...well, it was more like seven mins because of the traffic...we arrived at my new home.

High rise apt-living is the way of life for most Koreans. So my new home happened to be on the sixth floor. Very cool, I thought. High enough that it felt like I as in a high rise, but not high enough that I was constantly reminded that I was in a high rise.

My poor roommate, bless her, was napping when we came by, so she barely heard the doorbell, which happened to be fur-elise. I think. I haven't rang the bell recently...

Anyway, pastor and wife finally dropped me and my HEAVY bags off and we said our goodbyes. Then I was left (keyless, mind you) at the hands of my roommate...

...who just wanted to go back to her nap.

No problem, I ended up rearranging my bags in my room (><), then took a general "tour" of my new abode. Spent time on the computer, as well as started "cleaning" my room. That is, I swept the carpet-less floor. I somehow sweeped the rest of the open space (ie, kitchen and living room). Don't really know if I did a good job, but I did what I could.

There are three rooms (as in most apts, I hear): Large, Medium, and a room. Here, it is seniority, and since there are only two female foreign teachers, I got the Medium room. The Large and Medium rooms have "Balconies" connected to them. The Large room has the "biggest balcony," since it stretched the length of the living room and the edge of the apt. My "balcony" is the length of my room. The Room doesn't have one, it has to share with the "back" balcony. So I call these "Balconies" because they are "outside" the rooms, there are doors leading to them. But they are not ACTUAL balconies since they are still enclosed as part of the apt, itself. The "back" balcony is the length of the kitchen, bathroom, and room. It houses the boiler, the washing machine (no dryer!), garbage/general storage, and the Room's "balcony." People generally hang their laundry dry, so each room has a drying rack in their respective "balconies." I just made it all sound more complicated than it is. So just trust me here...:D

>< so the reason I just rearranged the bags in my room was because there were still bags there. As I write this, it sounds a bit scarier than it did when I first saw them. Anyway. I could understand empty bags, since it is possible someone would leave them behind and not throw them away because they are still too good. But these bags were still FULL, as if the person the bags belonged to still had plans to come back. So instead of seriously unpacking, I spent that time on the computer, fighting with the internet connection.

Then that bit about dinner with Dervette, Larry, Mike, Kris and Alfonso that I mentioned before happened. Nothing new happened, still the same story. Though to expand, the four of us (-Kris, Alfonso) had interesting discussions on the trainride home. One of them was about women we considered "sexy" or "hot." A few "ScarJos" and "Angelinas" were thrown around among the "Megan Foxes" and "Not really-s". I don't know if the hot women were in response to or even related to the topic of chick-flicks.

In Any Case...

When we got home, I finally, though still very RELUCTANTLY, began to unpack. As per usual, I just threw everything where they would go. Once I figured out where everything would fit, I finally began to fold them all into place.

Not bad, I thought. That is, I actually was able to put everything away. I WOULD have liked a bit more closet/drawer space to REALLY be more happy, but whatever. I shouldn't have that much stuff to begin with.

Finally, I got tired and went to sleep...

...to wake up at 700am, because I could. :}

Really, I could have woken up at 8am, but since (can I say that "but since" I don't think so...but it makes sense...) I was keyless, I needed to be ready in time to leave when my roommate came by. So let me explain this.

Since I had no key, there was no way for me to lock the door after me when I went to school. Instead of leaving the key with me, Dervette said that since her classes finished early enough, she would just come back to the apt and lock the door for me. In retrospect, I got a sense of her character at dinner, and I really should have just taken the key.

0930a came by, and she did not come yet, and I had a 10a class. So I prayed REALLY hard that nothing bad would happen to the apt, and left. Never so stressed in the past 2 weeks as I did that morning.

Of course when I walked into the staff room, she said, "I was just about to go get you..." As if she only remembered to come get me after she saw me. But that is in the past.

I thought there would be orientation for all students, so I didn't really make the effort to go up to my 10a class yet. Thankfully, Zola, our fearless coordinator, decided to take me up to my room anyway. Turns out there were already a few students waiting. Not too long, I hope. So I need a minimum of 9 students in a class to avoid getting dropped. There was a grand total of 4. That day. I do enjoy the smaller classes...I am more willing to take 1/2 pay for a small class versus no pay for a dropped class...

Religion class is at 11a. But those start next week. So basically I had free time...

...esp to wait for the key to my apt. Class finished at 11, but the earliest that the key could arrive was 115p. So I walked to our apt anyway, hopefully the roommate was there to answer the door...

...that didn't open. I prolly should have just rung the bell again, but I became unbelievably (because I still now, can't believe) stubborn and went to explore the little neighborhood.

I didn't walk too far, because I wanted to go back to the inst to pick up the key as soon as possible and get back to the apt. But I was able to find, perhaps, the most important place for me for the next six months: Home Plus Express (and Comma, but that is a later story...). Grocery Store. I walked around and almost bought every little thing I could think that I would think. But I apparently had more control than I thought (that, or logic, since I didn't have a key, I couldn't just drop the stuff off at my apt...), and limited myself to just a few of the REALLY essential stuff. Namely, lunch, future lunch, wipes, bathroom slippers, hand towel, and back scrubber. Which was nice. Well, I didn't buy lunch at Home Plus, to be honest I bought it at G25 (?) a combini. This one was on the way from HP, versus the 7-11 which is on the way to the school.

I almost bought a liter of Lotte 2% Peach flavor (No Idea what the actual name is, just that it says "2%" on it, as well as a picture and the word "peach") "water"--Juice? Flavored water? I don't know, it was clear like water--simply because Daesung was on the bottle. While I was cleaning out the drawers the previous night, the previous tenant apparently saved a can of this same drink because TaeYang was on it. I don't know why I put the can in the recycling, though, it is probably better that I did, who knows how old that can was...ANYWAY. At G25 I was starting to get really hungry. So I had picked up for myself a riceball (which turned out to be tuna and delicious!!) and was now looking for a drink to go with it. I would have spent more time contemplating the drinks if the owner's eyes weren't boring at the back of my head. As it was, I was debating getting the 2% with TOP or TaeYang on the bottle (no Daesung :() or the coffee drink (mocha con latte? was the flavor methinkss..) with Daesund (:D) on the cup. I ended up taking TOP. I figured, I would try out this 2%, and if I liked it I would go back and buy Daesung at HP.

In retrospect, a very good choice. I hope 2% is not alcholic nor an energy drink...cuz I'm about to go buy some more later.

So all that walking and shopping did nothing to pass the time. I ended up walking to the playground/plaza? thing next to our apt building and sat there to eat my lunch.

SO Fucking cold.

No, it wasn't THAT cold. It was just colder because I had to sit outside, there was a slight wind blowing (even though minute), and I was not adequately dressed.

Just had to suck it up. Even when I got my key, I stil had more adventures. The secretaries were given a set of keys versus just one, so they know which one actually opened my front door. So they told me to return the other key once I found the right one. But locks, doors, and keys here, apparently don't like each other. Even though I had my key, it still took a while to open the door. I rang the bell and FINALLY my roommate opened the door. I showed her my new "key," then proceeded to figure out if I really could lock and (most importantly!) unlock the front door.

Long story shorter, I did.

So I trudged back to the inst and dropped off the extra key. On the way home I decided to drop by Comma, Dervette had mentioned it was a knickknack store...

...and promptly fell in love with it.

They were selling umbrellas outside the store, I almost bought the piggies-one (Murokuro? dang, can't remember), but decided I didn't really need a ~20USD umbrella...no matter how cute it could have looked. Anyway, I walked the store around looking at the cute little accessories for your hair, the bags, the PHONE CHARMSS, the pencilware, the pillows/stuffed animals, the notebooks, etc. and the little spiny-thing that has stickers and calendar books of some Korean Music Idols like from that little band called BIG BANG. I still have to look for SNSD for Zyx...

I resisted buying the store, since I WILL be here for the next six months, and so buying ALL that stuff with money I didn't have would not have been wise. I did buy a "key chain" for my newly acquired apt key, though. it is actually a phone charm, but whatever, it's MY phone charm :)

Finally, with key properly accessorized, I trudged back up to our apt to get a short rest. Though no nap. Roommate went out to buy groceries, so I finished fixing up my room. Partway through internet surfing, the main pastor of the institute called the apt and invited me and Dervette (when she came back) to dinner with him and his family at 6. So that gave me an hour to finish resting and get ready for dinner first, then class at 8.

I guess I have this fear about being late, so I arrived at the inst at 540. So I hung around the staff room before waiting downstairs for 6 to come. Finally Pastor arrived with his son, then his wife and daughter arrived shortly. After a short introduction, we took off to an Italian restaurant.

Dinner that night was nice and peaceful, though I admit I was nervous. This guy is going to be my boss, after all. But, like I said, it was nice. Pastor and wife had spent some time in the Philippines as part of the 1000Missionaries (which I am slowly starting to learn about...), so Pastor actually shared with me the phrases he knows. Very nicely said, by the way. Sounds like me, hahah. After dinner, they dropped me off at the inst in time to prepare a little for my 8p class.

So, my 8p class has more students, and they all actually speak very well. I think my only problem in that class would be to prevent them from getting bored...hopefully I can think of something!

And so, I went home with Dervette (who also had an 8p class), and we both knocked out...

Day 2: Aaaaaannd, Go.

...only to wake up for the next day. I think by the end of this six months I will be REALLY good at ironing. I still need to learn how to adjust the heat properly. It might also help if I knew WHAT the iron said, but I have six months to experience.

Tuesday, we had our first staff meeting for the term. VERY interesting meeting. In that short hour or so, I was able to see the hidden team dynamics. A psychologist might be proud of me. Anyway, one of my projects I think, will be to think of a social event for the entire inst. Or something similar. Larry and I will head this out. He has experience with these things, so we'll see where this leads us.

After meeting, since we had no junior classes yet, I went to lunch with Larry and Zola. From them I was able to learn a little more about team dynamics. I think my time here will be very interesting.

After lunch I went home, but then decided a visit to E-mart was in order. So I went, all by lonesome. WOW!! I never would have considered this in Jordan, especially since it was some distance away (ok, 13ish min-brisk walk) and I had to cross several intersections. My mission was to find a Downy ball.

Never found it, but I bought some cleaners for the kitchen and the bathroom, a sponge, gloves, and bottled water. I bought 500ml bottles. 20 of them. Yeah. It was on sale, I think, so I decided that I would buy bottled water. I decided to go with the 500ml bottles vs the bigger ones. So I carried ALL that stuff home. I decided to buy a reusable bag from E-mart, because there was no way, I thought, that I would have made it home carrying those bottles without the plastic (that the bottles came in) ripping.

Of course, by Murphy's law, after I got home and deposited the bottles, my roommate tells me that we DO in fact, have filtered water in the apt available for drinking.

Bah. I was merely working out my arms.

The rest of Tuesday ended with no more troubles. Went to 8P class, got evaluated (already?!) by Zola, then finished. So I went home and to bed...

Day 3: And He Said, Let the Children come.
...to wake up to Wednesday. Wednesday marked the start of Junior classes in the afternoon. Morning classes passed by without much pizazz. Soon I was home to prepare myself for the afternoon.

So, 230 rolls around and Dervette and I take off for the inst...to be almost run over by children running to get to class. Everyone is really scared of the flu since all the kids received temperature checks as they walked into the school.

Then classes started. The first classroom I get to go to would, of course, belong to the coordinator of the Junior Program of the Inst. Nerve wracking? Just a LITTLE bit. I guess I was more overwhelmed than I thought. I forgot to check the time, so Teacher had to remind me to leave. haha. As a result, I think I spent more time watching the clock than I should have. At least I use the same book for all the classes at the 300 hour. Pretty soon I was back at the staff room to recoup for the next hour. As I came in (after using the bathroom), I passed the JR coordinator, it was brief, but she said I did okay. I was so happy, but I knew that I would have to do GREATER, next time.

Then 400 came around, older kids. For the first class, I probably should have spent more time introducing myself and not dive straight into the lesson. The kids did not seem to really want to start learning right away, but the teacher didn't mind too much...the next two classes passed by rather similarly. After introducing myself, and trying to learn the names of the different students, I don't know how I thought of it, but I decided to ask the students to ask me questions. The teacher only had orientation planned for that day, in other words, introduction and no actual learning. It turned out fun. They asked where I was from, so I made a game out of it, where was I from? I think the most interesting answer I received that day was "Saudi Arabia." One of the classes, though, guessed the Philippines right away. So that game turned out short. But the students of that class asked me a lot of questions, so it was okay. They all asked me how old I was, so I made that into a game. How old did I look? The funnest answers were "100." Very fun.

Soon 400 finished. I didn't have any classes at 5, so I was free until my 6pm class. Which didn't meet until the next day. So, basically, I was free until my adult class at 8pm. For 8P, since they have a shorter week, we had practice for the pronunciation test. They all seemed so nervous...but they didn't need to be. I like my 8p class very much. I guess I breezed through the drills faster, because there was so much time for conversation. But I think conversation is more important anyway, thankfully, this class really likes to talk. I must have been a good teacher that day, because one of the students gave me a candy. :) I think I will buy candy and stickers soon.

But that will be for another day, since it is time for sleep...

Day 4: Confused? Me, too.

...to wake up nice and "refreshed" for Thursday.

Thursday morning passed by fairly easily, the drills that day seemed extra long and tedious. I really need to learn how to present the material, esp what to say so that the students will know exactly what and when to say things. I will work on that this weekend.

On top of finishing planning religion classes, being creative for the junior classes, as well as planning out my meals so that I can make it to the first payday.

3P and 4P ended nicely today. Two of the Korean teachers said I did good and I had an interesting style, resp. I was so unbelievably pleased! They have been doing this for a while now, meanwhile, this is my first time here! So for them to point that out to just another new girl is very nice of them! :)

Again, no classes at 5, but this time I had 6P classes. These classes were held in the annex, so I got to go exploring today! But that hour was just weird...

When I went to the first class, the teacher seemed surprised to see me. Perhaps she really did just forget that I was coming...but I'm worried that maybe I wasn't supposed to come yet, considering the second class. My schedule said I was supposed to go to room 403, but it was empty of teacher and students, in fact, the lights were off. I guess the class was cancelled. So I put my stuff down on the bench outside the room I was going to next. But the teacher came out to look for me. She was ready to rip me one (understandable since I am expected to come at a certain time), thankfully I had a schedule with me, because I was able to show her that I was not due to come to her class yet, at least according to MY schedule. So what could she do about that? I apologized for being late, she admitted that I couldn't help it and it wasn't my fault, she then took my schedule and fixed it to match her schedule.

So then I finished my bit and headed to the next class. It was a good thing that the class was on its break, because I could see that, perhaps, that was not my class. So I asked that teacher if I was supposed to be at his class next. No, he said, Bongi (the other foreign teacher) had just come there. So I asked to see his schedule, it matched mine. So puzzledly, I walked out. The previous teacher saw me and tried to send me back to that room, but I told her that that wasn't my class. Then she looked even more confused. Thankfully Bongi still had a class. There were only 4 teachers in that building, I had already visited 2, and Bongi had the other 2, so I just walked back to the main building. Puzzled, but at least it gave me time.

For 8P, I gave them their first Pronunciation test. I decided that instead of having them read from their books, I would have them read from strips of paper. So I typed out the five sentences and had them pick three sentences to read. It went by so fast! Soon, testing was done, and right after, class was done. 4 of the girls came up to me, concerned about their grades. I almost considered showing them, but I decided to just tell them that they did well (which they did!) and not show them their grades. They were okay with that, I guess, because soon they, too, left for the day.

So then I went home to sleep...

Day 5: Really, TGIF.

...to wake up ready for the last day of the week! WooHoo! As I write this, I am really starting to realize how tired I actually am. So I should probably consider sleeping soon. Anyway.

Only morning classes today. So, just my 10A class. We practiced the pronunciation test that day, and we only had review. I considered continuing, but I ended up just putting them in conversation and evaluating them. I think I will introduce the rubric to both classes on Monday, let them know what I use it for and the reason why I listen to their conversations.

After class, we decided, or maybe Larry and Dervette decided, that a team lunch was in order. So we waited for Mario to finish his last class, then headed out to lunch. We decided to head to TGIF since Dervette saw a sign that advertised 13000KRW for the 3-item set (appetizer, meal, and dessert). On the way, I saw that one of my students was still around, so I decided to invite him to lunch with us.

On the way he asked me if I knew if the waiters at TGIF knew English. I told him that I didn't know, but he said it was okay since he could just speak for us. But as we looked through the menu, Mario saw that he couldn't find any meals for the vegetarians, and then Dervette discovered that the 13000KRW price was only for members. So the group decided to relocate. We went to VIPS, across the street. It was a buffet, with a special price for lunch. It was so nice! Because they had "Mexican" food. I was unbelievably happy by that. I didn't eat too much, but it was fine, because I still got full.

After lunch we all parted ways to rest before Vespers that night. I decided that a grocery trip was in order, so I went to Home Plus Express and bought some essentials. I almost bought Peanut Butter for my sandwiches, but rethought it. I wasn't sure I was prepared to drop 6000+ KRW for it. I will probably buy it though. But I will buy it all on Sunday, I can survive on what I bought for the weekend.

Then I made it home. After putting the stuff away and playing on the computer, I decided that a nap was in order. So I took my nap, then woke up 10 minutes before the alarm. I ended up just lying there for a while, though. Eventually I got up and went to the inst.

Vespers tonight was nice. It wasn't too hectic, and I was able to follow along fairly well. After Glow (the after-vespers prgm) went off rather well, at first. We had some interesting conversations that night. And my head is still so full of thoughts even though my body is demanding rest. So hopefully I will be able to sleep tonight.

And that is the end of my scholastic week. I shall end this here, anymore and I might forget to update. :)

Until then, This message was brought to you by me.

Today we started Mock Teaching in the Junior Program. Our icebreaker game

turned out rather long, so we only got through the presentations from the

"Yes I Can" series. I'll have to go tmr. And since I am reviewing, I will be one of the last people. But at least I have a chance to compare myself against other people. At least, I hope that might be a good thing.

After lunch, four people were taken up to the hospital for a check-up since they were all feeling flu-ish. The school didn't want to take chances, since the government can close an entire school if they suspect. So Kris (yes, my cousin), Lewis, Hadessah, and Camoy (my roommate!) Left before the start of Adult training.

Then adult training went on, as usual, with a quiz. I passed the first one, but i bombed this one :( oh well. I got a planner for scoring well! But the planner is for 2009. so I get 2 months to use it. There is a lot of pages for notes, though. It is more of a notebook. But it does have a map of the subway lines, and I think the fwy/hwy system.

Near the end of the day, we received news that we were to start wearing masks whenever we found ourselves in a group setting. Then the 4 were sent back to their rooms to rest. So I have a white mask!! :)

I was the only one happy to get one, mostly because I thought of buying one as a souvenir, anyway. But they were not as expensive as I thought they might be. Maybe I will buy more, and send them home as souvenirs, :D. Like, for Syndy.

But that joy was shortlived, after dinner, I came home with a plate for my sleeping roommate. A half hour later, Leo comes to our house and tells us that Camoy is getting quarantined. :( So that next hour, she ate the food I brought her, then started packing. They were dead serious in moving her, because next thing we knew, the secretary and one of the Korean ladies came over and changed the sign on the door as well as took her beddings off! They were serious as swine flu.

So now I am awake, speaking to my parents, as well as doing a little laundry. There is downy, so I SHOULD have brought a downy ball. Oh well. I have fabric softener.

We were supposed to go out for BBQ, but we decided to hold it off and see what happens.

So until then,

This message was brought to you by me!