Procrastinating from packing

The last blog I wrote and this blog share the same title because, well...I am procrastinating from packing. Since I am running out of things to procrastinate with, I thought I would try by writing in here.

I leave bright and early tomorrow morning to fly back to Korea. I will leave the house at 4:30 Eastern time and fly out of Chicago at 12:45 Central time. Then, I will arrive in Seoul at 1620 Sunday.

Then, my driver will drive me to my apartment (maybe another 2 hour drive with traffic) where I will meet my co-teacher. I will start work bright and early the next morning.

I was supposed to start work two weeks ago but because of a delay in paperwork and the post office not being able to locate my passport/visa I am arriving a little behind schedule. I hear that I have missed a lot of rain and will be flying in to warm and sunny temperatures now so I am not too upset! ;)

This year I will be working at a public elementary school (again) about 2 1/2 hour subway ride away from where I lived last year. I will be working in Bundang (imae-dong) which is a really nice area directly outside of Seoul. It's basically the convenience of living in Seoul with really awesome parks and mountain trails to hike. The best of both worlds!

This year, I am going to try to use this blog as more of an informative tool for people trying to find out information about living in Korea. I noticed when I was trying to search for information about the area I will live in, etc. that there really isn't much on the internet from people who actually live there. At least, not in English! So, I will post a video of my apartment and try to be more mindful of information that may be of use for someone who is looking into teaching in this area.

But for now, I should probably stop procrastinating and start packing again.

Procrastinating from packing

I hate packing.  So I am going to write in here about my last day of winter camp, instead.

I had 3rd grade this week.  All of the students were definitely students that I talked to a lot during the school year when I had them in class.  We had a perfect class dynamic so this week went great.  On the first day of camp they convinced me to have a party on Friday.  So party it was, complete with Angry bird pencils and lollipops as presents for them.  And food.  A lot of food.

One of the things I love about Korea (ok, so I have grown to love it recently--and I still think about all the germs in the back of my mind every time it happens) is when the children will hand me food from their grubby little hands to eat.  And I have to take it.  And eat it.  Today, one of my students was literally handing me one chip at a time to eat.  Adorable.

I also received going away presents from some of them.  A cute letter.  A cup of coffee and cookies (I swear she knows me better than most people--perfect gift).  A traditional Korean wallet thing that is absolutely amazing.

Then we played games.  These kids absolutely love my variation of "Mother May I?" and "Simon Says." (I add a slight spin to them to make them more ESL friendly and educational).

I couldn't have ended my last day on a higher note.

PS--all of the teachers at the school is going to hate me as there will now be 7 students with pencils that has a whistle make bird noises and clinks when the slingshot at the top (yes, slingshot) hits against the pencil.  :)

Happy (Almost) New Year!

These next few days are going to be extremely busy so I thought I would post now as it'll probably be the last down time I have before being back in the States.

This past weekend I spent Christmas with some lovely people and I wasn't even homesick at all.  My first Christmas away from home.  But it probably helped to know that I would be home in two short weeks. :)

This weekend is NYE.  Tonight, I am heading into Seoul with my friend and co-worker, Miranda, to watch the Cats Musical! It should be fun.  Then, tomorrow we are headed back into Seoul to bring in the New Year! We are going to the traditional ringing of the bells which sounds like the thing to do while in Seoul.

Mon-Wed. I will be busy at school.  It's my last three classes teaching winter camp.  I get the 3rd grade students next week which is always a good time.  Then, after class my co-teacher and I will be busy closing my bank account, phone, internet, gas, electricity, etc.  This means my last 1-2 days in the country will be without phone or internet which is sad and definitely annoying but I'll figure out ways to get things done without it.

Since Wednesday is my last day at the school, Miranda is moving into my apartment bright and early Thursday morning. Which probably means I'll be pulling an all-nighter Wed. to get everything packed and cleaned in time for the movers to arrive.  I haven't bought my plane ticket yet (I'll buy it Monday) but I'll probably be heading back on Friday morning if I get the flight that I want. 

A lot to do and see and accomplish in only a few days so it will definitely be busy. It will be nice to get home and hold my new neice, though! And, of course, see everyone else.

Coming to an end

The classes are ending this week and so the students have started saying goodbye.  I have received some rather touching thank you and I'll miss you cards for the past week. 

One of my favorites says, "I remember the first day of our Korean class."  This made me laugh.  I hope he learned a lot of Korean in my classes as apparently that's what I teach now. :)

Another one that made me smile started out as, "Dear Mr. Jessica, I liked your class very much."  My students in America always called me Mrs. but Mr. is new for me. 

I also really liked this phrase, "Teacher you going to live in the soon."  She meant, "Teacher, you are going to leave soon." but I think I rather like the first sentence.  It's...almost like living in the now, right?  Only living in the soon? I'm going to live in the future? Wait, technically I'll be living in the past from here.

Even though the main classes are almost finished I still have winter camp to teach.  I have the 1st-2nd grade next week and then the 3rd grade Mon-Wed.  I think I will probably be flying out either Thurs. or Friday.

It's crazy to see how near it is for me to leave.  In many ways I still feel as though I just arrived and have so much more to explore and see. 

Jobs Jobs Jobs

Now that I have a little over one month left in Korea, the thought of where I will work next keeps entering my mind on a more frequent basis.  Do I want to come back to Korea for another year?  Overall, Korea has been a pleasant place to live, the money is great, and it's fun.  While I don't always feel as though I am teaching, I am sure the experience is invaluable.  That, and most of the really cool jobs that I want require 2+ years of teaching experience.
Or, do I want to move to a different country and teach English? The pay wouldn't be as good as Korea, but it would be a new place to explore. That's always a bonus.

Or, do I want to get a job teaching Social Studies in an International School?  That would be amazing (and definitely my first preference) but I feel as though once again I would probably need more experience.

I do know that teaching in the US has been ruled out. Not only is it boring to live in the US ;) but I would have to go back to get my Master's and well, I really can't be bothered with that right now.

I think about all of this now, but I really can't make any decisions one way or other until Jan. anyway.  I suppose it's always good to keep my options open.

Foreign Films

Have you ever watched a foreign film?  If you have, then you have probably noticed a time or two where the people are carrying on a minute conversation while all the subtitles only show something extremely short.  When that happens, I can't help but wonder what it was that I missed by not speaking the language.

Well, now that I have been editing papers that have clearly been translated directly from Korean (and not very well) I understand how a long statement is shortened down to one or two words.

For example, I just edited two paragraphs talking about the Independence Movement Day in Korea.  By the time I was finished, it was 2 sentences.  Short and to the point.  If I had to edit the subtitles (I wonder who has that job) I would probably do the same thing.

Warm weather

It's november 5th and 75 degrees.

I'll take it!

Tonight it's going to start raining and bring the temp down to the upper 50's/low 60's.  Still very warm for what I am used to.