Day 60: Sunday, October 23

The Upside of Anger 

After a couple of maddening realities at the closing of this week, I’ve decided to channel the anger into a more positive and productive task: making a list of the things I have to look forward to in this wonderful country.  The fact that I am doing this should come as no surprise to anyone who knows how list-obsessed I am, so, without further ado, here is a jot-notes version of my exciting agenda...

*baking in our newly-purchased toaster oven –Hilary, Andrea and I have shared custody of it for $23 each

*setting up a trick-or-treat activity with the different afternoon classes at Wonderland and teaching them the traditions of All Hallow’s Eve
*dressing up for Halloween (possibly going as a walkman alongside my iPod friends) and partying with my co-teacher April
*hiking the mountain that is in Gwacheon
*visiting my friend from home, Emily, who lives in a more southern part of South Korea; in order to save time, I will be taking the KTX (fast train) which is sure to be exciting
*filling Hilary’s tiny apartment with balloons for her 22^nd birthday –shh, don’t tell her! –and then heading out to Hongdae wherein my RA instincts will probably come raging back
*welcoming the three new teachers that are arriving near the end of November, including my good friend Jason from Teacher’s College at Western
*attending a K-Pop Concert being held by YG Entertainment, a producing company of a lot of famous Usher-like artists here in Korea
*celebrating my 25^th birthday in a foreign land (that believes I am actually 26, and then will be 27 in January) ; needless to say, I will try to find some way of marking my quarter-life crisis before I am immediately flung into my late-twenties
*heading to Malaysia for winter break!  :D

Day 54: Monday, October 17

NOT a Bad Case of the Mondays

This week started unlike most weeks I have had here –wherein the Monday is a slightly dreaded return to the working world –because this Monday rocked.  Not that “The Mondays” is a particular uneasiness reserved for the Asian part of the world, but I certainly felt it more here than in any other workplace environment (Formex excluded).  However, with the gradual flip of the switch, my Monday was actually quite productive and dare I say, fun! 

My brutish Blueberries still brought lots of energy but I was able to channel it into enthusiasm for our TinyTalk (textbook), high-fives and hugs.  Of course, there were still slip ups since they are children and having spontaneous fits of dancing, crying or daydreaming is just natural, but correction of such situations seemed much easier to handle with our recent bonding.  Also, I think it was highly beneficial that I had the opportunity to go on a work trip with a handful of my coworkers, my supervisor, Ann and the directors of my school: Mr. Cho and Eileen.  Having a chance to see my superiors far removed from the work environment (read: slightly tipsy in a Buyeo Norebong), I was able to create that more personal connection that I crave in any of my relationships with people.

From left to right: my co-worker, Chad; my supervisor, Ann; Wonderland's director, Eileen; Andrea, Hilary, myself; and Wonderland's co-director, Cho.  Taken this past weekend when we were on an hiking/cruise/bus tour of Buyeo, South Korea

Ultimately, the day seemed to fly by.  It helped that I utilized my juggling skills to spontaneously thrill and amaze my first period class and then continued to be popular with my planned Snack Party in third period.  By the time my fifth and sixth period classes rolled around, I realized that my all-male classes were finally starting to task risks in their written and oral communication.  Not only is my advanced class willing to ask questions like “Why is Canada so big?”, they also seem more capable of correcting eachother’s English in a whiteboard peer-editing exercise.  As someone who has been trained to teach English, it delights me that I can start to use the strategies that proved successful in Canadian classrooms; it’s a far cry from the ‘duck, duck, goose’ and hangman skills that I often elicit in my lower-level classes.   

Also, my middle-school boys have now come to the realization that their high-frequency use of Korean will not deter me from teaching them English –particularly because I’m sneakily hinting at their interests (such as the “beautiful and perfect” Korean singer IU or the ever-popular game of Angry Birds) in our conversations so they have no choice but to be drawn in.  Thankfully, a teenage boy’s capacity to talk about the hotness of a famous actress, singer, etc. is universal; beyond creating conversation, it keeps the chatter interesting until our class comes to an end at 7:30pm.

Day 48: Tuesday, October 11

October Already

After a three-week hiatus from blogging, I realize that I have a lot of stories to catch up on.  Also, I’ve become aware of how quickly time can pass here.  When I first arrived in Korea, I felt like I was constantly counting down.  Only a couple of hours until the orientation will be over.  Two more days until I move into my apartment.  Two and a half weeks until I could get my Alien Registration Card, and only one day after that until I can get a cell phone.  The most common advice I received upon arrival was “give it time”.  Being the somewhat impatient and perfectionist person that I am, it was difficult to give myself time to just adjust to work , Korea, and the overall feeling of being so removed from home.   

That being said, acquiring fulfillment at Wonderland, finding some delicious eats, meeting wonderful people and enjoying some really fantastic time out & about has made time pass so quickly.  I don’t look at the clock nearly as much, so before I know it, it is 7:35pm at the end of my work day or 5am on a Sunday morning after a big Saturday night out.  I’ve been forewarned that the speed only picks up from here, so, while I attempt to slow things down enough to get my to-do list done, I promise to continue logging more blogging soon.  

P.S. Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

Nicole, myself and Hilary enjoying our Gwacheon gourmet at Hilary's apartment.  Our version of Thanksgiving included chicken with Swiss Chalet gravy, garlic mashed potatoes and sweet corn.  Andrea, the newest addition to Wonderland, is the photographer.