Just a quick blurb to let you all know: I LEAVE FOR SYDNEY IN TWO DAYS!

I'm so excited, for a number of reasons... I can't wait to get out of the winter that officially set in this week, I can't wait to eat some great food, I can't wait to go to the Sydney Opera House and hear their choir/orchestra, I can't wait to stay at a frickin' cool hotel, I can't wait to see the vineyards in Hunter Valley, and I can't wait to travel with my amazing partner again!

All in all, I have a strong feeling that it's gonna rock!

Have a great Christmas, everyone!

Love, Kayleigh

Christmas season

Hello all,

Happy Thanksgiving week! I have spent the last few days making jokes with my students about how I wish I could eat turkey on Thursday and showing them clips of Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving special.

I have been researching how I could possibly pull together a Thanksgiving dinner, and I think I'm getting close. I've been able to find ingredients for mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, and maybe even pumpkin pie (if I can find a pie tin that will fit in my toaster oven). Sure the green beans may be canned, the gravy from powder, and instead of turkey there will be a rotisserie chicken... but I'm not complaining!

The spirit of the season was furthered today by the fact that I received my first Christmas present! It was even wrapped! My parents mailed me a package that included- among other things- the movie Bad Santa and some Christmas Tree-shaped pretzels dipped in white chocolate and green & red sprinkles. Talk about holiday spirit!

Christmas isn't a very big deal in Korea... the only places that ever look Christmassy are the department stores, and even then, it isn't that Christmassy. Christmas is seen as sort of a couples holiday, not a family holiday, and no one really talks about it or has any traditions for it. Yet, all of these little things- the chance of a half-way decent Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas presents in the mail, and the clock ticking down until I escape to Australia, is just enough to get me in the mood to start the Christmas music.

More Library Pics

Here are some pictures of the finished product!!

This is my vice principal and my co-teacher, Seona.

This is the classroom!

This is one of my favorite parts of the room- my students are always astounded when I point to Korea, and then I point to Minnesota. ("Oh, teacher! So far!")

This is my desk in the library

This is the computer counter and the theatre.

This is inside the theatre.

Some of my 5th grade students in the theatre.

Inside the library (The shelves are much more full now that we got our order of books in!)

The Bob Marley was all me! (The typo was not!)

Our posters at the back of the classroom.

Inside the library.

Information on how to use the library.

The entrance to Yangji English World (the name was not my idea).

So there ya have it, folks! That's the new room where I get to teach!

Hope you're all well!!

New Classroom!

Hey there!

It's been a long-awaited delivery, but here are some pictures of the construction of the new English classroom/library! I'll make this post all about construction and the next all about the final product, only because I can't upload more than 5 pictures per post!

The construction took a total of about two months, and then about another month to get all of the books and DVDs in. As I speak there are some 4th grade students enjoying, "Horton Hears a Who" in the theatre. :)

So here's the pics, along with some captions! Enjoy!

A wall that had separated two rooms was partially demolished to turn the two rooms into one larger space.

This is what would become the main teaching space with a blackboard, tv and side whiteboard.

This is the same area, only a few weeks later, after the main part of the construction had finished and the decorating had begun.

This is the theatre that has a small stage for role-plays as well as a tv for English movies. It also has graded seating that the students typically treat like a jungle gym.

This was taken while standing at the back of the classroom and looking into the library. The man pointing is the head of the project from a design company and the woman in the skirt is my co-teacher, Nam Seona.

Oh, Korea

Today, I planned a standard lesson for my after-school class out of the textbook, doing nothing but writing and reading. At the last minute, I ditched this lesson plan in favor of a review lesson from last week. Last week, we studied rhymes and how to make them.

The review lesson consisted of reading a couple Shel Silverstein poems together, cutting out words from a list, coloring them to match their rhyme (i.e. "shoe-glue" would receive one color) and then gluing them in the appropriate place on a worksheet.

Surprisingly, my students hated it and were begging for the textbook by the end of the activity. Who knew?

One month deep

Happy pre-Chuseok! This weekend is the big Chuseok celebration (Korean Thanksgiving) and I am greatly looking to my 4 day weekend! Andrew and I will be heading up to Seoul where we will meet up with a couple of friends, enjoy a more diverse selection of food than is on offer in Ulsan, and just bum around in general!

Being back at school has been good- it feels as though I never left. We are in the new English classroom, however, which is really nice! There's kids running around here all afternoon, which is different from our last classroom, but it's nice to see them enjoying the new books and DVDs!

I have also convinced my vice principal to give up his (free) English lessons with me and start teaching me some more Korean. Today I learned 공부 합시다 (gong-bu hapshida), which is, "Let's go study". But I also learned 공부하자, which is "Let's study!" (gong-bu hadja) for when you're angry at the students! I'm pleased to be learning more Korean- I feel like kind of a bum having been here for only a year and only having some basic survival Korean.

After Chuseok, I'll have a lame weekend of hanging around Ulsan, but then the weekend after that is Andrew and I's one year anniversary. We'll be heading to Busan to celebrate. We've got plans to go to the aquarium, eat some Mexican food as well as some fish and chips, and enjoy the last weekend at Haeundae Beach before it gets too cold!

So that's the skinny here- hope you're all happy and well!

Back in Korea

The travels have subsided and I'm settled back in Korea. In total, I've been away from my school for about 5 weeks. This includes summer English camp, Tokyo, my time at home, and my quarantine.

My summer camp went surprisingly well. I was happy with the other teachers and with our camp organizer. The organization of educational institutions in Korea can feel kind of slap-dash, so when something actually ends up coming together at the last minute, it's a pleasant surprise.

After camp, Andrew and I left for Tokyo the next morning. Tokyo was a whirlwind of fun and amazing things. Tokyo is, in essence, incredibly cool. I was overwhelmed by how the population of an entire city can look so effortlessly pimpin', but they manage to pull it off! People were also very helpful and friendly. We were approached by an attendant in the subway who helped us purchase our first tickets, we had a wonderful hostel, and found people very considerate in general. (What? People will actually move out of your way in a crowded aisle? No way!!!)

I think my favorite part of Tokyo was in Shinjuku. I think that Shinjuku largely encapsulated what I had always imagined Tokyo to be like- lights everywhere, tons of people, fun fashion, all sorts of shops to look at, as well as lots of different food to eat. The whole place absolutely came alive at night, and it was a wonderful thing to experience! In addition to Shinjuku, we went to Harajuku, Asakusa, and Shibuya. Each area was different from the next. It was so amazing to see a city that had just so much on offer.

I arrived back in Ulsan from Tokyo at about 11:30p.m., and had to leave Ulsan the next morning at 6:40a.m. to catch my flight in Busan to go home! It was a quick turn-around that resulted in me being quite stressed when it appeared as though the flight from Tokyo might be delayed by a minor medical emergency. However, the plane left relatively on time, and I made it back in just enough time to pack up for home and catch a bit of sleep before taking off.

I arrived at home at about 5:00p.m. the next day and was able to make it to my friend Rachael's wedding by about 6:30p.m. It was such a special thing to be present for and I was so happy to have been able to make it in time. Having missed several weddings last year and knowing that I'll miss at least one really important one this next year, I definitely did not take Rachael's for granted.

My home leave was also filled with seeing as many friends and family as possible. I was able to spend some good time with my parents while I was home, which was the major priority. I was also able to spend some time with good friends. I also celebrated my 23rd birthday while at home, which was a good excuse to get a lot of people together all at once. All in all, I left my home leave feeling very grateful for all of the people who went out of their way to come and see me. Being away for a year and then seeing people like that again really makes you realize who the important people are to keep around.

On my way

Well, a week from today, I will be in Japan! That's not something you get to say, and I'm definitely not taking it for granted! Andrew and I will be off on the morning of August 9th (Korea time) and will be enjoying several days in Tokyo. We've got lots of fun stuff planned, including...

*The Harajuku district (with young people sporting all of the funky crazy fashion that Gwen Stefani based her clothing on)
*The Tsujiki Fish Market which is where all of the day's fish for the city comes to be auctioned off at wholesale in the early morning
*The Tokyo National Museum (because I can't travel without seeing the local museums)
* The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Offices to head up to the top floor for a stellar view of Tokyo
* The Senso-Ji Temple, which holds a golden statue of the Buddhist god of mercy
* Shibuya Crossing, a massive meeting of roads, supposedly mind bloggling
* Anything Hello Kitty related :-)

We've also got some other stuff on the itinerary, but they're more general- walking around some neighborhoods that are supposed to encapsulate the essence of old/new Tokyo and stuff such as that.

We are also planning on getting our fill of bento boxes (cheap Japanese food), udon and other noodles, and sushi, sushi, sushi, sushi! I am planning on doing a bit of a splurge one evening on some good sushi... something I am quite excited for!

After my trip to Tokyo, I will be heading home! I began clearing out my apartment for things that should go home, and that made my trip seem much more real!

So that's the scoop for now- take care!

kb

Easter Hands

Yesterday I went to get my first manicure in Korea. There's a cozy little place near Ilsan Beach that I often walk by, so in I popped, excited to treat myself.

After a bit of work, discussing through an extemporaneous translator (a random guy who happened to be there), what exactly I would like done, it was decided that I would like "Care and Color" for the low, low price of 15,000 won (about $12). The lady set to work and I just relaxed and enjoyed.

I was able to chat a bit with the two ladies in there, using their broken English and my Konglish. We chatted about the standard stuff- Are you a teacher? Where are you from? Do you have a boyfriend? It was all quite normal.

After a while, I looked up at the clock and realized that I had already been there for nearly an hour and she still was nowhere close to painting my nails. She was still filing and removing cuticle. This continued on for a while and was dotted with an occassional *ouch*, because she was quite practiced with nicking actual skin, not just cuticle.

At the one and a half hour mark, she finally asks me what color I would like. I chose a modest, subtle pinkish-beige... something that wouldn't make my students exclaim," Oooooooh, teachaaaaa! Naaaaaaaails-ah!" After I chose my color, the manicurist looked at it, looked at me and stated, "Oh, no! You, cutie! Trend! Trend!" After trying to assert that the color I chose would be just fine, she reasserted her claim, "Cutie! Trend!" I conceded (because I'm horrible at saying no to people) and she proceeded to do the following:

Easter Hands.

I returned home and promptly removed the pink and yellow and proceeded to paint them clear, in the hopes of clearing away the memory from my mind, entirely. (Italics added for emphasis of the pun.)

Halfway Home

It's the last week of classes! Once Friday hits, I will officially be half way done with my teaching in Korea. That's pretty wild to think about, but during weeks like this, it's pretty nice to think about! Things have been pretty busy, and slowly getting busier.

After this week is over, I have to come to school on Monday and Tuesday next week, even though there are no classes, but because I have to teach two more Sarangbang lessons. After that, I'll have two vacation days to bum around, see the new Harry Potter movie several times, and start pulling together my to-do lists/packing lists for August. I then have to come into school for a few days to help put together the final touches on the new English room (which is looking wondeful, by the way) and then I will teach at English camp until August 8th.

After that, Andrew and I are off to Tokyo, and then right after that, I get to go home for a couple weeks! It will be quite a blitz for the next month or so, but once I'm back in Korea, I have 7 days of quarantine to rest up and get ready for teaching again.

The quarantine is all centered on the South Korean fear of Swine Flu. Any foreign teacher who is traveling outside of Korea during the summer vacation will have to undergo the quarantine. Luckily, we are being paid for that week of missed work and I'm sure not going to argue with being told to stay at home for the first week! It is interesting, though, because any Korean teachers who are traveling abroad don't have to undergo the quarantine, as far as I know. It's probably because they eat more kimchi, so they can't get sick.

This last week was the Boryeong Mud Festival. It was really fun, but unfortunately, our second day there got totally rained out. It was pouring and crazy windy so we only got to spend one day playing in the mud, sadly.

More pictures are coming, but they were taken with a waterproof disposable camera, so they may take a while in finding their way online.

And in other news, I've been reading a great book, The World Without Us. It was sent to me here in Korea by a favorite literature professor from college. It's a broad-sweeping account of what would happen to the environment were humans to disappear from the world tomorrow. How would our buildings collapse? What species would survive? Would any species from before the industrial age of humans come back? All in all, good environmental conjecture.

So, that's the deal for now. Take care.

Oh my...

One word to describe how I feel about this blog: Embarassed. My last post was after Beijing? Yikes.

Well, it is now June and life is good. I booked my flight for my two-week home leave this last weekend and am really looking forward to a short break from Korea. Also, the week before I head home, Andrew and I will be in Tokyo! Can't beat that, really!

Lately, I've been busy. We're in a new school year, so last year's 6th graders are gone and I've got new 3rd graders. Also, I have a new Sarangbang class (at an appealing new time- 4-6p.m., rather than 6-8p.m.), and we're building a new English room in our school. The Office of Education has given every school a lump of money to construct "English Zones". They basically end up being pimped out areas of the school with a small English library, fancy white boards, and cool desks. I'll be taking pictures of the process, as they just knocked out a wall for it yesterday.

One of the best parts of building the new English room is that I get to be mostly in charge of stocking the English library! Seona has told me to make a list of any books that I think should be purchased for the library, so I have been mentally reviewing all of my favorite childhood books. It's been quite fun!

As far as my new Sarangbang class goes, it's been a bit more challenging. This year's 6th graders are dating machines, and all of the playas are in my SB class! So, whenever I read the English diaries that they have to write each week, I get about 17 pages of who is dating whom and who is breaking up with whom. Also, this adds a certain element of craziness to the class because they are really preoccupied with who they're sitting next to and who is looking at them. Suffice to say, I have become a master of making seating arrangements.

Also, I have been doing a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course. It's all online, and it's pretty time consuming, but it's interesting and I will be getting a raise next year for completing it. I've got a better grip on grammar concepts and have been able to read about some practical teaching methods for EFL students.

As for other news, there isn't much of it. It's amazing how accustomed I have become to having Korea as my daily reality. Life here no longer feels like 'living in Korea', it just feels like living.

I'm looking forward to my time at home, and I hope all of you are well and content.

kb

Anyeonghaseyo 2009

Dear friends and family- welcome to 2009.

I may be 11 days late with that greeting (and very far removed from my last post), but I hope this finds you all happy and healthy in this new year.

Over Christmas, I went to Beijing, China for 5 days, and it was phenomenal. A group of friends and I left on Christmas Day and traveled to the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Bird's Nest/Water Cube, Asia's largest Lama Temple, Old Beijing, a Jade Carving factory, a couple markets, and stayed in an awesome hotel.

Following are a few highlights from the trip:

My first view of the Wall. This is also the pass that we climbed.

Me and Heather with a jade Buddha.

The Summer Palace

Walking along the lake in front of the Summer Palace.

The Hall of Mental Cultivation is in the Forbidden City... it's also the new name for my apartment. For example: "Would you like to have some dinner and play some Uno at my Hall of Mental Cultivation?"

Jenika and I in part of the Forbidden City- this is actually not one of the largest areas- the scope of the Forbidden City is indescribeable.

My first view of the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube.

Zhaodi and I in front of the Bird's Nest.

Dinner. Yes folks, Korea has taught me how to eat fish off of the bone using chopsticks.

The greatest sign ever.

So, there are a few for you... I took over 700 pictures, so if you would like to see more, let me know and I will send you the link! After I returned from Beijing, I spent one night in my apartment, and then left for Seoul with my friends Heather, Laura and Jenika on the 30th. New Years Eve is also Heather's birthday, so we celebrated her 28th year, as well as the commencing of 2009.

Since New Year's in Seoul, I have been quite busy. Since all students are on Winter Vacation, there are many winter camps. I taught a class of 20 3rd and 4th graders this last week at my school. Tomorrow, I leave for a winter camp that is hosted by my city's Office of Education. I will return from that camp on Friday, and then the following week, I will teach a class fo 20 5th and 6th graders at my school. The last week of January, I have off and am making plans with Andrew to do something in Korea.

While I was in Beijing/Seoul, Andrew took off for Hong Kong, which he loved! He said that the sight of double decker busses, the taste of salt and vinegar chips and other little things made him feel like he was at home at times. I was able to see him last weekend before he left for his Office of Education camp. However, he returns tomorrow, the same day that I leave for my camp. So, in the course of 3 weeks, we have been able/will be able to see each other for one weekend. It's definately not a desireable situation, but it's a bit out of our hands. And once I return from winter camp this Friday, we will be back into a routine and able to see each other like usual!

For now, I am signing out so that I can get some rest for camp. Based on what I have heard from Andrew and others who have been at camp this last week, it is not looking good. Very long days, not very good conditions (staying in the residence halls of Gyeong-ju University- sans heat), crap food (rice and kimchi does not a meal make...), limited teaching resources, and students literally everywhere, all the time.

But, back on the positive side of things... I really believe that 2009 has the makings of many wonderful things for me, and I wish you all the same. Take care.

kb