This blog was intended to document Korea happenings, but I thought I'd update it for my 3 or 4 avid readers.

After the last post, one of my former sophomores sent me a message saying he was surprised how busy teachers were in the summer. If there are people out there who think we sit around and stare at the walls all summer, I'm glad I can help dispel that myth. My schedule is not out of the ordinary for a teacher. I went to a barbeque with a bunch of teachers a few weeks ago, and none of them are sitting around bored. Most have housing projects, some are road-tripping, others are nannying or working other part time jobs, going to grad school, watching their kids, etc. Also, at summer school I've run into teachers who are organizing their classroom, prepping for next year, or working sports camps. But even if we did sit around and stare at the walls, we certainly deserve it. May (and the first week of June) was an incredibly chaotic month for me; I collected 3 sets of essays from my 130 sophomores, organized a field trip where we brought 160 students to the Guthrie, and helped organize the Mock Crash during Prom Week. When my non-teacher friends get jealous of my summers off, I ask them if they would trade places with me for the other 9 months of the year, and most say "no thanks."

Okay, I didn't mean for this post to be a teaching rant, but again, I make a point in life to dispel the myth that teaching is an easy job with cush hours and lots of vacation. I'm done now. On to Seattle...

Seattle was really fun, but for some reason I thought it was going to be warm and sunny and I packed as such. (It is June after all) I stepped off the plane to freezing cold, damp weather and grey skies. I guess I should have anticpated this, but I figured it would be at least as warm as Minneosta. My cousin, who has lived there for 8 years now, said it's been unusually cold for June, but otherwise the weather was pretty typical of Seattle. Everyone knows it's rainy in Seattle, but I guess I had to see it to believe it. I was contemplating moving there for awhile after returning from Korea, and while it's a cool city with lots of art, music, & outdoor sports appeal, I wasn't a fan of the weather. Maybe I'll stick to the So Cal plan. A friend of mine also told me that Denver has 300 days of sunshine a year. I think I'll look into that as well. Although I've lived in Minneosta since I was 13, (and from age 0-4) I despise cold and vow every January to move somewhere warm.

In other news, my younger sister got engaged last Saturday. She and her fiance are planning to wed in October or November of 2009. I've known it was coming for a while, and her fiance is practically a member of the family already, (he actually gets an Easter basket) but it's still a little weird. Like one of my mom's daycare kids pointed out yesterday, "she's getting married BEFORE you!" Gotta love kids and their frankness. I just told her that I wanted to travel the world first.

The pictures above are from Seattle and the Jack Johnson concert my other sister and I went to on Sunday. We are huge fans and were not disappointed. I also really dug Mason Jennings, who opened for him. I play two of his songs ("Fighter Girl" and "I love you and Buddha too") repeatedly on iTunes. I have a tendency to fixate on one or two songs and listen to them relentlessly. (My roommates in college just loved that) Anyway if you're into mellow alternative music, you should check him out. He's probably more appropriately categorized as a folk artist, (his voice is a little Bob Dylan-esque) but iTunes says Alternative, and iTunes knows all.

P.S. The last day and a half I was in Seattle it was clear and sunny, and that's when I took most of my pictures. I might have been exaggerating a little about it being "freezing." I just wasn't dressed appropriately...and I hate cold.

Summer "break"

I have decided to go with the public school job. I didn’t want to flake out and come home after 6 months, and a year and a half seemed like too much to commit to right now, so the year-long contract was the deciding factor. I still think the vacation days the private school was offering would have been really nice for all the traveling I want to do. I’ll just have to do a lot of weekend trips.

This is my first week of summer break, but it hasn’t really been much of a break yet. I spent two days cleaning out my classroom, which still isn’t clean, I’ve been running around getting all my documents for Korea in order, and the online course at UST I signed up for began this week. Tomorrow morning I’m flying to Seattle for the weekend to visit my cousin and two friends from high school who recently moved out there. Then I fly back on Monday, and start teaching summer school the next day. I probably should have given myself more downtime, but I think it’s better than last summer when I spent one too many afternoons sitting in my apartment watching “America’s Next Top Model” marathons on T.V. ☺

I already know that the next two months are going to fly by, and before I know it, I’ll be leaving for Korea. I’m not quite ready yet. I did meet with a gal on Tuesday who has been teaching over there for the past year who gave me lots of great advice and a list of places to find necessities in Seoul, so that was really helpful. But I think no matter how many people I talk to or books I read or how much research I do, I’m not going to feel “ready” when the time comes. I’ve just got to deal with it.

Placement?

I have a big decision to make in the next few days. I got offered two positions; one with Seoul Public Schools and another with a private English immersion school. The public school job would last a year, and I'd most likely be placed with junior high or high school students. (They don't actually give you your placement until you arrive for orientation) The private school job would involve teaching 1st graders in all subjects for 6 months, with the option to renew my contract after 6 months and probably switch to older students. The private school offers 4 weeks of paid vacation in that first 6 months, whereas the public schools offer 22 days paid vacation for the entire year. The pay is pretty comparable, so it really comes down to the age range.

I originally was hoping to teach older students, because that's the age I plan to teach when I move back to the states, but who knows, maybe I'll love 1st graders. If I don't, I can always renegotiate my contract after 6 months. The 4 weeks of paid vacation is also very enticing...

I really don't know at this point. I'm working with two recruiters; one who is a big advocate for private schools and the other who thinks the public schools would be a better fit for me. It's hard to know who to believe.

In any case, I have to make the decision this week, so I'll keep everyone posted.

Who wants grilled cheese? (A Woodbury Adventure)

My mom and I often joke that I'm the anti-Martha Stewart, because my domestic skills are severely lacking. I don't cook very often because what usually results is something like the picture above.

I was watching my little brothers this weekend, and one of them wanted grilled cheese. I started to cook it and then went back to grading my essays. (The obvious choice when you have something on the stove) I completely forgot about it until he came in from playing outside and asked, "What's that burning smell?" A split second later all the smoke detectors in the house went off, scaring the dog out of her mind and my brothers; who thought I was going to burn the house down.

Perhaps I'll spend some of my down time in Korea learning how to cook...

P.S. This is for my dad who noted that there wasn't much on my blog yet.

The Big Move

Since I won’t be in Korea until the end of August, I don’t have any adventures to write about quite yet. Instead I thought I’d just address some FAQ’s.

Why? 

I have wanted to teach or volunteer abroad for a long time now. When I graduated from college, I actually filled out half of a Peace Corps application but then chickened out because 2 years seemed like forever at the time. The desire has always been there though, and right now seems like a good time to go. 

What made you pick South Korea?

I studied abroad in France, and did quite a bit of traveling in Europe while I was there, so I wanted to go somewhere I haven’t been.  There is also a high demand for English teachers in Asia. In South Korea, most English teaching jobs provide free airfare and housing, so teachers are able to save money or pay off bills and student loans while there.  That is the plan, but as my mom said, “I’ll believe it when I see it.” This is in reference to my clothes-shopping addiction, but I’ve been told that unless you’re a size 2 and 5 feet tall, it’s really hard to find clothes that fit. So I should be okay J

Do you speak Korean?

I’ve been trying to teach myself, but so far all I know are hello/goodbye, yes/no, and thank you/you’re welcome.  From what I’ve heard though, the only time you really need to know Korean is when you’re ordering food or giving directions to a cab driver.  In the classroom, I'm only supposed to speak in English.  

I do hope to learn at least basic conversational Korean while I’m there. I’m sure once I get there I will have more motivation to learn. Right now I’m actually supposed to be grading my students’ research papers… 

Where in Korea will you be teaching?

I asked the two recruiters I’m working with to look for jobs in Seoul because I wanted to be in a big city where there would be plenty of English speaking people around and I wouldn’t feel completely isolated and out of my element. (Another reason I chickened out of the Peace Corps)

I haven’t signed a teaching contract yet, but right now it looks like I’ll be teaching in a public school in Seoul.  I have an interview with the SMOE (Seoul Metropolitan Board of Education) on Tuesday, so I’ll know more about my placement very soon.  I’ll keep everyone posted! 

Are you excited?

Yes! I can’t wait to leave, but I’m going to miss my family, friends, students and co-workers a lot. I love working at North, and it seems kind of crazy to leave my perfectly good teaching job, but my coworkers have been really supportive and assure me that it will be a great experience that I won’t regret. 

Here is the recruiting agency I’m working with if you want to know more about teaching in Korea: http://www.canconx.com/