Feel the Anticipation- my going to Thailand journal entry!

While I am off exploring Bangkok on my first full day here, I thought I would share with you my feelings (random musings included) with going to this oft-talked about city and country of Thailand. Here, for your viewing and reading pleasure is my journal entry (with slight editing and enhancements) written on the plane to Bangkok. I traveled from Seoul to Guangzhou, China and then to Bangkok. The total flight time was 6 hours 50 minutes. Ten hours, fifteen minutes if you count the layovers (I do) :

I am on my way to Thailand! I will be there in less than two hours if I have the time difference down right- it is 6:27pm according to my computer which is still in Korea time. (Thai time is 2 hours ahead of Korea, 11 hours ahead of New York.) Find out the time difference between Bangkok and your city here

I was having lunch with my friend before I left and was telling her how I don’t think it has kicked in yet that I am actually going to be going to Thailand- it’s like a dream, I don’t believe it yet. When we were getting ready for take off, though, I felt a burst of excitement. I then was amused with a foreign guy's antics (or lack thereof-foreign meaning non Asian. Since I had moved to Korea, I started using the term 'foreigner' to describe myself and other non natives of the country, sometimes this confuses/amuses my friends when I refer to myself as a foreigner. In Thailand, foreigners are called 'farangs' which is used mostly in the same way foreigner is and rarely used in a negative sense.) So anyway, this foreigner sat with the two Thai girls in front of me, only to shortly later get kicked out, because it was not his assigned seat. His smile in response to this was cheesy in my book, but to him I think it must have been an award winning cute, oh-look-you-caught-me smile, as he turned around and flashed his pearly whites to the girls who looked at each other and giggled (nervously?).  He cheerily explained to his bouncer, the Asian guy who owned the seat, that he thought the seat was empty. He then moved forward to his rightful throne seat in front of them.

New Experiences: free as a bird or learning why the caged bird sings?

As I sit watching this take place, more serious concerns fill my mind. I might not even be allowed in the country, as I don’t have what is apparently required: a return or outward ticket anywhere. So I thought I would go online at the airport or on the plane when I realized this and buy a cheap bus ticket or train ticket online to the nearest country. It’s not meant to be though. No internet. The airline attendant didn’t understand me at first when I asked about it. Some flights do have internet, so I thought it was a sure bet. It’s international from China, after all. I hope this doesn't mean I will end up in some type of tourist jail.

The attendant checking my bags in Seoul told me that China might give me some problems, so it would be up to me to solve it if they let me through. China didn’t give me any problems. (Did she mean the airline or the country?) The country didn't give me any problems anyway, Thank God!
But the Thailand entry cards they handed out hint to me that it’s a rather serious matter. They ask for your entry and return information- down to the flight (“or other vehicle: number).

A loudspeaker announces they are giving us the option to buy things while in the air. We can’t use internet to get a way out of the country, but sure we will let you shop in the sky. How do people get what they buy? I was wondering that on the first flight to China- and figured they wouldn’t keep everything on board. But my seat mate just ordered cigarettes. So maybe they do have some stuff available. I was thinking about the big and fancy items that you could buy from a plane. Now my seat mate is singing in quite a funny way, I must say, in a scratchy voice and a weird tune, as if he’s singing some mix of punk, and sad romance song. Not sure if I am into it. Followed by a phlegymy cough and a not so discreet spit into the airline barf bag. Maybe he shouldn’t have those ciggarettes?

Okay, so I really can’t wait to get off the plan and into Thailand! Maybe I can make a run for it? Doubtful, as my luggage is way too heavy. Not to mention the heat. I really must pack lighter. Maybe some training would help too.

On the flight to China, we got off the plane and went down the stairs to go outside, which threw me off a little (along with no sleep the night before) as I don't think I had ever done that before in my limited flight experience (which consists of about ten planes to get to the jungles of Brazil and almost 30 hours total to get to Korea by 3 planes. Although on second thought, I may have. All those planes and switch overs in the Brazil jungles kind of blur together).

I don’t know if they had the ciggarettes for my seatmate, I must be in luck. Not so for my seatmate? At least he will live longer?

I am scared about the heat, so I put shorts on underneath. It’s the hottest time of the year now in Thailand and it doesn’t get any cooler in the evenings. I booked a hostel for the first night in Bangkok.

I was thinking before how I felt a bit like the crew in Lost on the plane when they had to get rid of stuff to get the plane lighter as it was running out of fuel. I felt like that myself, having to take most of my stuff from my apartment with me, so it was very heavy and awkward to carry, which definitely will not bode well with the heat.

Here's to some trekking of my own- maybe a jungle trek?

So I was thinking of what I don’t need and was slowly trying to get rid of it. Left my umbrella at the airport bus stop- it was pouring out so someone will need it and I already got my use out of it- going straight to the airport so didn't need it anymore. Then I left my book that I was planning on giving away on BookCrossing- great site for readers/travelers on a bench in the airport- I know I know, that will not help me get into China if they suspect me of suspicious activity at the airport. But the fuel was running out and I had to drop things fast.

I changed the coins I had into bills since the banks apparently closed by 4pm  or so, which caused me to lug all the coins with my already packed luggage and carry-on. Not so good. Especially when it broke the paper bag it was in, sending all my stuff crashing to the floor of the bus as I was getting off. At least I was the last person on the bus. The bus driver was kind and tried to find a bag for me but only found a little plastic baggie type one. It worked for a few things, the rest I shoved into other bags.

 Now I am numbering off the items I will get rid of, looking forward to a lighter bag, even it if it a slow process- item by item , bit by bit, kind of like leaving a trail of breadcrumbs. I had brought stuff I might take home, stuff I might use to volunteer and/or donate in Thailand as well as stuff I would need in Taiwan to teach and live there. But I must have the mindset of the Lost crew- if you are running out of fuel- what can go?

And believe me when I say carrying almost 20 pounds on each arm and on your back definitely makes you run out of fuel fast.

It makes me look at those massage chairs at the airport with a new sense of wonder and curiosity, that I might actually try one.

So looking forward to the beaches and the island and meeting the locals and learning the language and the full moon party and the Thai New Year (Songrakan) big water fight blow out!

I have been learning a little about the culture, and I'm ready to jump into the water with both feet. to dive into the water. to go deep sea diving. To get my diving instructor licsense!

But really, I would love to see if teaching here would definitely be something I want to do in the future! Right now, maybe not, because of finances. But definitely once I get those finances in order!  Imagine living and teaching on this beautiful country of islands and beaches and jungles? I can only imagine this and cannot wait! And I may just have to get that diving instructor certification while I'm at it!

A Place to fall in Love with: Taiwan

Happy New Year! from Taiwan: On spending the end of 2011 and beginning of 2012 in another country and returning having learned much about travel, beauty, new friends, and places I want to return to

Three Things Taiwan Taught me

 1.) I learned what it means to make a friend in a foreign country that you have never been to before.

On the subway on the way to the New Year’s Eve celebration at Taipei 101, I was not sure of the exact route to get there. I went over to look at the map of the different stops, which two girls were sitting by. I asked them if a certain stop was the right one to get where I wanted to go. The stops had also been changed due to the crowds that night. They told me the stop and said that they were also going, so I could go with them. I happily went with them and we started talking, as much as we could with the language barrier. I do not know Mandarin Chinese and they spoke a little English (they understood more than they could speak, which seems to be common) But we communicated well enough for the most part. We hung out together for the New Year’s Eve party and played cards on the stone floor of the balcony outside of a building across from Taipei 101 where everyone gathered to watch the fireworks. It was very crowded and we squeezed in between different groups so we could get a spot to sit down. As we played cards, I tried to learn whatever Chinese I could, and learned (or heard at least) the words for 'Happy New Year', 'two', 'liar', 'yes', 'ask',  'him/her' and 'your welcome', among others.

 My two new friends went out of their way to show me around, help me have a good time and make sure I had a place to stay for the night. The people in Taiwan in general are very welcoming and extremely helpful, not giving a second thought to helping someone they don’t know or just met get where they have to go or helping them, not concerned about going out of their way, but happy to help all they can. This is similar to how people in Korea interact as well.

We had a great time together watching the fireworks, as well as playing with sparklers afterwards. I was looking at the sparklers glowing in the dark, then was surprised when my new friends got some for us to play with! I ended up burning my finger and palm a bit, but nothing serious. I still have the mark on my palm, though. I was happy to have a "battle scar" or 'memory mark' of my time in Taiwan!

We then got tea from a street vendor. There was a big stand set up by the area of the crowds. There were several young guys who were trying to sell the last of it, so they were having a friendly competition with each other. Since they each had a different flavor, they gave us samples and cheered when we chose their tea, which was quite amusing and added to the celebratory air of the new year and the chaotic crowds. I said 'Happy New Year' to them in Mandarin and one of the guys joked that my tea would be free. I chose the berry flavored tea, which was quite strong and thick, kind of like a juice or wine.

2.)  I learned what it means to go with the flow to make your adventures even more fun!

I did not go to Taiwan with a detailed itinerary, or with a very strict one. In fact, you could say I did not go with much of one at all. Because of not knowing too far in advance what days I would have off and not deciding on the location until a few days before (it was Taiwan or Japan) I did not do much in the way of planning an itinerary. I like to go with the flow for the most part and am not a big planner usually. By taking opportunities as they came, I was able to make new friends, explore and learn more and have an awesome and fun time!

3.) I learned what it means to trust God.

Since I went without an itinerary or plans on where to stay other than the first night of my 3 night trip, I prayed before I went and trusted God to provide me a place to stay. I stayed at a hostel the first night, which was booked the other 2 nights, before New Year’s. God amazingly provided a place for me to stay the last 2 nights, through the new friends I made, as well as an awesome itinerary full of new adventures and experiences!

For this trip, I had a goal of exploring what I could and seeing the beauty of the country. I had one contact that I wanted to meet while I was there: the YWAM team of Taiwan. YWAM is a group with bases around the world that has the mission of sharing God’s love with the world around them. I had heard good things about it before from several people who had been in it. To learn more about YWAM, click on the YWAM link or to learn about Taipei, Taiwan's YWAM, click here. Read on for my ocean adventures and future travel plans!

I wanted to learn more about the program firsthand as I am considering being a part of one of their classes/outreaches/adventures (that is to say, being part of DTS- Discipleship Training School, which is the first adventure/discipleship program you can take in YWAM)

Talking about adventures and seeing the beauty of the country, I was very happy that I got to see the ocean while on the island of Taiwan. It was off season, obviously, but that did not stop me from getting to the coast and going in the water! (Okay, I put a foot in the water…then got soaked from a wave crashing onto the shore, as the high tide was coming in! J It was a blast though and the water was not very cold at all, aside from the shock of getting wet without expecting it!

 Once I was “baptized” by the water, (Ask me about this!) I then made my way back to the capital city of Taipei to get there in time for the New Year. I almost did not want to leave the spot I was at, as it was so beautiful and peaceful. That is what I love about the ocean and why I want to live there one day. Now, with my new travel plans of going around the world, back-packer style, anywhere can be my home and I can certainly live by the ocean- this year, in fact! This is the first step of the new year in my many travels and adventures to come!

I would like to hear what countries you have traveled to that you loved. Where do you want to travel?
Where would you want to celebrate the New Year? Please answer in the comments!

Stay tuned to hear more about my time in Taiwan as well as my plans to travel and where I may go next- just click to follow on the righthand side of the page or sign up for email updates.

Korean Thanksgiving, Monsoons (or the lack thereof) and Magic

I apologize, my dearests, for not writing for so long.

I love to write, as you know and I see writing as magical. At least I hope it to be so. That may be one of the reasons why I put off writing for Monsoon Mind. (Lack of monsoons? Lack of "magical" things to share?)

 I hope it to be magical. If not magical, at least to have a little uniqueness and pizazz. I wish it to be even the slightest inspiring or at least to make you think.

I would like to share my journey, though, every step of the way. And so, as we all know, everything is not magical. This is not Disney, after all. (I do not know if everything is really magical all the time there either...the last I heard about Cinderella's stepsisters...but I digress, that is another story.)

So I will continue this blog and I will try to post at least every other week for now with the hope of writing a little more often in the near future, after I finish my online class.

But as I was saying, I will be real and will share my journey with you each step of the way, whether it is magical or ordinary.

This week will be is the third week of the new curriculm program that our school has implented. It is going very well so far. It was definitely a slight process to say the least to switch over. I like it better though, for the most part.

The program has the students watch animated stories online and practice speaking the dialouge. It is kind of like a power point program and a movie blended together. For the younger kids, it works really well. They enjoy watching for the most part and it helps them to understand the words more by seeing them firsthand instead of just using a book and pictures. They are able to see actions and then practice on their own.

On Teaching Teenage Boys and Kings (Or the teenage version of Where the Wild Things are)

The older kids, in particular the older boys class, does not enjoy it so much. They are very hard to motivate.Nothing seems to motivate them. The King of England couldn't motivate them. The King of France couldn't either. (Why the royal references? I am watching The Other Boleyn Girl- I read the book- very thrilling and is what got me more interested in historical fiction! It's based on Ann Boleyn (and her sister Mary's) relationships with King Henry VIII(also a wild thing in his own right) who has always fascinated/horrified me. He killed two out of six wives. How did he get 4 more wives after he killed his second wife? How did he get his last wife after he killed 2 of his wives? She almost got beheaded too. Curious on more King Henry the 8th history? Find out more about his wives here. )

On Giving Thanks, Contests, Ancestors, Sweetness and Wrestling

Last weekend, as you may or may not know, was the Korean "Thanksgiving" called Chuseok (see picture above for how to pronounce it). There are several theories for the origins of the holiday including a month long weaving contest in which the one who weaved more cloth would be treated to a feast. It is also said that it was the day of a great victory of the Silla kingdom over their rival kingdom of Balhae. For the original celebration of this victory, there were weaving contests, archery competitions and martial arts demonstrations.

The main reason for the holiday though is to pay respect to their ancestors for the abundant harvest (this is where the Thanksgiving feast comes in-the most told about food to eat for their thanksgiving is a type of rice cake with a sweet filling served on steam pine needles) and so it is tradition to travel to the husband's hometown to pay respects there. They go there to clean the area around the tomb, decorate and plant, as well as to offer food and drink to their ancestors, as the crops (and what they have today) are seen as being a blessing from their ancestors. That is a good way to see things, I think. Would love to hear your thoughts on this in the comments!

There also is wrestling involved with this holiday season (or there was). It was custom for villages to wrestle to see who was the strongest man of their town and then they would win cotton rice or a calf as the take home prize. This led to the modern version of wrestling competitons taking place close to Chuseok to determine the strongest man in Korea. However, this is no longer as big a part of the celebrations as it once was.

A big part of Chuseok tradition was also Ganggangsullae or the Korean circle dance. This dates all the way back to 1392 (the Joseon dynasty) until 1910. The Korean army would have the women of the village dress up in military gear (where the trend of those army pants may have come from) and circle the mountain to make it appear that their army was that much bigger and scarier and thus, unbeatable. This method worked very well for them, as they are reported to have won lots of battles with the army getup!

While I was not able to go to my own hometown, I decided to go to the country's "hometown".  I traveled to Seoul, being sure to plan my trip to avoid the mass exodus and return of people traveling back and forth from their hometowns. Success on that! I was just there for one night and went to Itaewon, the city for foreigners with food and shopping reminiscient of home so much so that it seems almost like New York City, although on a smaller and safer scale. I am glad I got to visit the city that never sleeps (SIDENOTE: this title is being contended for by major cities in Korea, as it is quite common to never sleep and I for one, have taken up the trend as well, so this nickname for NYC is currently under investigation) one more time before I left for Korea and it is a nice memory of spending time with friends.  ~Shoutout to southern gentlemen! JK ;)

So that is my not so magical  update on my life in South Korea.  I am enjoying my time here though and I like to see the magic in the small and seemingly unimportant things as well as things that are larger than life. It can be a once in a lifetime opportunity everyday, right? Not just here, either. Wherever you are. It's what you make it.

In honor of Chuseok, a list of things I am thankful for:

• sunshine
• coffee
• water
• ocean waves
• the kids' smiles
• my coworkers kindness
• not having to wake up early
• walking 1 minute to work
• going on the roof above the school to get some sun and look at the city
• learning something new everyday
• korean/english translation on the internet/people's phones
• the super sweet deal this is to be here and get this great opportunity
• kids greeting me and hugging me and saying they love me
• how the kids make me smile and laugh
• my family and friends and how much they encourage me
• the opportunity to travel here (that I will definitely take advantage of!) and see beautiful nature- mountains, ocean, waterfalls, here I come!

I look forward to finding the magic throughout South Korea, in the land and in the people. 

I challenge you to make your own list of things you are thankful for in honor of Chuseok.

Where do you find the "magic" in your own life?

And would like to hear what you think about what I posted about Chuseok, the Korean Thanksgiving. If you are Korean, how do you celebrate or is there any insight/comments you would like to add?

Also, for anyone reading this, I would love to hear about where have you traveled or lived that you especially loved (or hated)? Would love to hear your thoughts on this and anything related. (Or unrelated of course!)

New things all around and not a word to speak

New recipes and spices all around- what are the ingredients? (Or how do you put all this together to make it work?- will tell you when I find out!)

I have been away from here as I have been quite busy with getting the hang of things around here, as it is all new. Add to that the teaching and writing my novel for Camp Nanowrimo (summer camp version of National Novel Writing Month, which if you have not heard about is an awesome crazy writing adventure you can learn more about  here  (ALSO mix in a whole new bunch of spices with starting another blog- a book review blog- be sure to check that out on the sidebar to the right or at the end of the post!) and spinkle some traveling on top of that and you can see why my time has been a crazy new blend of flavors-very jam packed with new things and no time to tell all about them!

Getting ready to switch over to the new curriculum program. I am glad that we will have a curriculum all set up with media and interactive activities for the kids. I need to get to know it more from the inside out and be able to use it in my own way to reach the kids in the best way and keep them interested and engaged.

The main problem with the kids is keeping them from getting distracted. As mentioned in a previous post- (click here-under "Class of Chaos...") Korean students do not fit the quiet obedient student stereotype that many people have. They are the complete opposite to put it simply. The only time they are quiet is if they need to speak English in class ironically. Then they clam up and do not know what to say. Which is actually understandable, as they are not fluent in the language and don't want to embarrass themselves.

It is like a different world as I don't know what they are saying if they are speaking in Korean, so this is why English teachers here are encouraged to not allow Korean speaking in the classroom, as the students are there to learn English and they need to practice it and be able to understand explanations and instructions in English. I can definitely understand that this is difficult, as I obviously experience the feeling of not knowing what is going on around me living in a smaller town in Korea where it is not easy to find someone who speaks English like it would be in a larger city here. This is why I definitely want to learn to speak the language.

The students can very sweet on one hand, saying "I love you," to me which is a normal part of their culture to say to each other and to their teachers. But they can also be quite the opposite of sweet. Then, of course, we have the students who try to get out of trouble by acting cute, so I do not allow this. Although I can never stay mad at them long because they are just too cute! Of course some of them are not as cute and those students I kick out of the classroom when the do not listen! No really, they are all loveable and all very talkative, so it is a constant challenge to rein them in.

Not going to write anymore tonight, just wanted to give a quick update. I have been writing for Nanowrimo, which I need to catch up on, as I started late and also have been reading quite a lot for my new book blog. Check that out here! http://bookwormcastle.wordpress.com/

Next post will be about my recent travels! Please sign up for emails to get updated about new posts, click on the gadget in the top right side of the page. And I would love to hear what you think in the comments below- what do you want to hear more about and do you have any travel suggestions?

Discoveries: New thoughts in Seoul and word play on Soul/favorite words/ramblings in the early hours of the morning

Discovering Two Souls? and Speech about Goals

*Disclaimer- this was written between 1 and 2 in the morning! Ramblings or deep thoughts ahead, depending on how you look at it...also this is just a "short" posting, not all encompassing! And yes, I know the word play on Seoul/soul has been done before, but this is my version of it, so it is new!*

I am currently in the city of Seoul- I plan to make the most of my time here and want to explore and see all I can see! My goal is to learn all I can, see all I can, appreciate the beauty in everything and make people smile when I can! I know this may sound mawkish possibly, but those are my goals and I am sticking to them. I had posted in a previous post (under "What Matters...") about my goals and how I want to learn more about loving others and what this means and trying to show others love. Even though I am an imperfect human being who does not always show love or put others first, this is my goal.

Two Souls? (or your own Doppleganger Twins)

We are all human and we all need to try our best to help each other and love each other. You can learn a lot about yourself when you are put into a new situation or when you challenge yourself (or when others challenge you, of course) I choose to challenge myself in this new situation as I am teaching for a year in a new way in a completely new place (South Korea!)with new people, new sights, sounds, words, feelings, new everything! Yet I am the same person, but different. We are all always changing, and when we learn more about ourselves, we can become a better version of ourselves- our truer selves hopefully. I have been reading a lot (yes I always read alot...but reading more philosophical pieces...?) and below will discuss some of what I have been reading and the impressions it made on me.

Is there a difference of who we are and the utmost highest that we can become- that best version of ourselves- two versions of one person? Is one of them more "real"?

What I have been reading

C.S. Lewis- Mere Christianity

Very thought provoking and really makes you think about who you are and what you believe and who you can become. I will go more into depth as I read further, just wanted to mention it for now.


Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

I have only begun to read this today and I am already fascinated and inspired by this book- definitely one to read, keep, and read again- it will inspire and DEMAND change for the better!

I will mention ONE thing I am currently turning over in my mind: (or that is turning my mind over!)

Chapter Two: The 10,000 Hour Rule

This chapter talks about the idea that you can be that rock star, that child prodigy (or can you, really?) as long as you put the hours in developing that talent or skill!

"Practice isn't the thing you do once you're good. It's the thing you do that makes you good."

I would like to apply this "rule" to develop a talent/skill of mine- thinking of a possible challenge/experiment on how to do this....just a preliminary idea!

I agree with this rule- so many writers, for one example, talk about getting so many rejection letters from their writing, but they kept trying and finally succeed in publication years later! After they put the hours in and became an expert at their skill.

It is easy to give up at whatever talent or skill you have, but the key is to ask yourself how much you want it and for what reasons? Then you will know if you are willing to put the time and effort in! And it's not just "a few hours here and there" that this is referring to. Check out this link: http://www.ryac.ca/blog/2010/01/10000-hours-how-long-is-that/ to find out how much time this is- change the time according to your wishes/plans to see how long this is for your talent! Thank you to Ryan Yacyshyn for this information from his blog!


A Million Little Pieces by James Frey 

Just started it and once again, just wanted to mention the mix or ménage à trois of what I am reading currently. The question- can you  be healed or "fixed" once you are "broken?"

Especially if you are the one who hurt yourself?

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More to come! Guess what my favorite word in this posting is- put it in the comments! Winner will appear in a future blog post and win an honorary online award!

My (Real) First Day, Game Days, Slippers, Spices, Chants and other Randomness

Training...or on the train (Or subway)

Just thought I would throw this in here about my training since I didn't talk about it much yet.... (which there are reasons for...ask me about that later... ;)

While traveling on the subway in Seoul, there were two elderly gentlemen, so I offered them to take a seat, (as respect for your elders is especially big here, but even more so and is considered customary to give an elder gentleman or woman your seat if they enter the subway/bus/etc), one sat down, but after the one refusing to take the seat and motioning for me to take it, I sat down, as I saw that he wasn't going to take the seat either. They engaged me in conversation, introducing themselves as a doctor and lawyer and asking if it was my first time in Korea. They were glad to hear where I was from, one of them saying he had been to the US, to New York and California, among other places, I believe. (Many people have been to NY or Cali, it seems who have visited, or at least these are the main places they know. When I tell my students I am from NJ, it is helpful to tell them how far I am from NYC, then they seem to understand more where I'm "from." Also funny story about my "Jersey accent".... to be told later...)

So the one man was very kind and smiled a lot, and expressed how happy he was to get to speak English with a native, saying that he hadn't gotten this opportunity that often, so I thought it was very sweet and endearing how he said it, as I could see he was really happy and was genuine about it. He later told me he was not really a lawyer, the other man had just introduced him as that, as he did study law, but worked for the electric company now. Needless to say, it was nice talking to him and he was very kind.

New Food, Chopsticks, Staying in Seoul, Spice of Life, and finally getting to move into my new apartment!

During the training (a mixture of lectures, class observations and hands on training, i.e- presenting a lesson to the rest of the "training class", while also trying to get used to the time difference and trying not to get too sleepy during the observation classes and training, and unlike Bi-Bim-Bap (known as a mix of different foods you have to stir/mix together) it was not a very good mix- even the director mentioned she was quite sleepy during part of it!) And this is still not what I meant when I said the bit about not talking about training for a reason... that will come later yet...

Anyway, what I was going to say was that they provided lunch and dinner, during the training, which was a very nice unexpected bonus! The training was not paid, so this was good that I did not have to worry about that, as we do not get paid for the first month, since we get paid monthly, as I may have mentioned before (and may be mentioning again because of the lack of won (dollars) that is being experienced!

We stayed in Seoul for the training, getting a hotel for the Thursday night we started training(leaving early to arrive in time for training that morning), to go back late Friday night after training all day, then returning the following Monday and staying up to and including Wednesday for training and then traveling back that night. A whirlwind of travel.  The we was referring to the director and I, as well as a Korean girl who works in the office at the school, who stayed for a night and couple days of the training to get a feel for the new program/curriculum we will be using.

Chopsticks: Take Two

I also learned before this that I was not as good at using chopsticks as I had originally thought. I had never learned the correct way to hold them, so the teacher who was leaving kindly showed me how when the director took us out for lunch. It was a little hard for me to catch on how to hold them right (and use them right!) but was able to get a little better at it, even getting a compliment that I used them pretty well the first time I had lunch with the Korean staff and everyone at the training. I was glad, as I thought that it would take me years to get it right! Still not perfect at it, but I was told that everyone uses them differently and that practice makes perfect, as my lovely (white-haired) grandmother used to say. (I say white-haired to differentiate between her and my red-haired grandmother, which is what I used to call them to refer to them when I was younger.)

Finally- home sweet home (for the year at least!) (Or Whirlwinds and Dorothy's Slippers-there's no place like home?)

I was very happy to move into my new apartment after staying at the director's (which was very nice and they were very welcoming) and then traipsing through Seoul to find a hotel for the first night of the training. (--Cut to-whirlwinds-- This whirlwind of travel also coincided with reports on the news of heavy winds that caused some damage in Japan and parts of South Korea, causing damage to some buildings and causing a couple of bricks to fall into the street!)

(--Return to prior scene--) But of course being on the move is not the same as getting to move into your own place, which will be your home for the next year. It helped me feel more settled and ready to continue the adventure. I was happy to have all my stuff moved in and ready to explore my new city! P.S. Talking about Dorothy's slippers- that is what we wear at school. Not Dorothy's slippers, but our own slippers. As it is customary to take off your shoes before entering a building you are staying at, (home, school or restaurant, not a store or anything...) we have footwear we change into once we get to the school.

Do you like it spicy?

I got to try a bunch of new Korean foods, so this was a good thing and I learned that some of the foods can be really spicy. Not the "Oh yeah that's a little spicy." But the "They really ain't playing around" kind of spicy. Spice is what makes it interesting though.  Even if it makes your eyes water and your nose run. The spice of life. We all could use a little more spice and seasoning in our lives, right? Shoutout here to the Spicy Club and my bro KJ! Your entourage will be here to welcome you when you visit!


First Day as a Teacher.... for Real!

I went into it very nervous, as you saw from my last post, but was able to relax and get excited about starting. Although it was still a little nerve-racking at first, I am happy to say that I had an awesome first day!

It went really well and I got to start learning more about the students as they learned more about me and we tried to converse in English together. (Some of the students obviously still speak in Korean, which will be hard to tackle, as the goal is to get them to speak in English only during the class for the most part and to be able to explain in English to them and have them understand, otherwise they will not be able to learn if they are just given an explanation in Korean by their friends.) (They also enjoyed seeing pictures of my brother, whom they deemed "very hansom!" and these girls in the middle school class are KJ's above referenced new entourage! He was unsure how to feel about his new near celebrity status in South Korea!)

I had the first day as more of a get-to-know-you day with icebreakers and games designed to elicit English conversation and words from them. Then Friday was Game Day (every other Friday for the older kids, for the younger kids, I believe it is every Friday. Before starting, I was warned about the kids trying to claim it was game day more often than this, as they like to try to take advantage of foreign teachers, especially new ones! "It's Game Day, Teacher! Game Day! Play Game! I did get this request at least once, and I don't think it was Friday..!) They all seemed to enjoy it for the most part, with the exception of the one class of just a few boys (many of them are away for vacation right now, so classes are smaller) who did not want to do ANYTHING, even if it was a fun activity. They were just not interested! So I will have to work on them!

However, the other class, my biggest class so far, REALLY got into the activity, a competition that consisted of them being on 2 teams and running up to the board to write a word first to get the point for their team. They got quite loud, so much so that one of the Korean teachers came by to see what was going on!

My name....a Superhero Cheer? (or Spice and Superheroes)

Another highlight of the day was in one of my elementary classes. There are two boys that sit together in the one class. On the first day they played the name switcheroo game, which I was warned about in advance from them, as they each pretended to be the other one. Then, after that they proceeded to claim they had the same name as me....then one of them would shout my first name while pumping his arm into the air, as if he were saying the name of a superhero or celebrity or saying a cheer or chant, quickly followed by the other one doing the same with my last name. How they said it with their cute Asian accent made it quite amusing and endearing. Which I did not let them know of course.

I look forward to many fun (and challenging!) days. Including the days with extra spice and the days with superhero cheers!

My First day as a teacher in SOUTH KOREA!!!!! ;)

EDIT: HOW I FELT BEFORE GOING INTO SCHOOL

Totally scared terrified horrifed freaking out- what do I do?! I don't know how to pronounce their names! I don't know how to teach another language, have never done this before! AHHHH WHAT HAVE I GOTTEN MYSELF INTO?

I had to talk myself down- okay this is normal to feel this way. The hardest part is starting? I asked myself. BUT HOW DO I START?

I reminded myself of my earlier quotes about new beginnings (see link for this prior post) All glory comes from daring to begin... AND...All great deeds and all great thoughts have a ridiculous beginning and told myself this is normal to feel this way when starting something completely new like this, let alone being in a completely new, foreign place!

I still wasn't totally convinced but tried any number of arguments with myself and even tried out a new saying on for size- "Making the beginning is one third of the work." (Irish proverb) (Thank you Kelly D. ! JK ;) )

It helped more and I was able to convince myself to go to face the....  (FILL IN THE BLANK HERE... unknown/music/wild chaos/loud and out of control children/other of your own choosing...?) ~~If you filled in the blank, tell me what you chose in the comments below, thanks!~~

Okay, so you want to know what happened on my first day now, right? How it went and all that jazz? Tune in for next week's blog! JK! Will be coming soon! Just had to do the teaser...! Look for Part 2!