Post #2 (creative name, huh?)

Hey guys!

So again, this is just stolen from a few emails to my mom (you guys think I have enough motivation to write messages solely for this blog?! Psha!)

My place is pretty cool! It's only about a 5 minute walk from the school, too. Because of that i don't know if I'll get a scooter or not. Probably eventually since I'll want to travel out to other parts of the island and the city is big enough where walking to the other end would take wayy too long walking.

The flight was pretty good because it didn't seem like it was as long as I thought it was. I didn't get to sit next to sarah (ok, gotta tell the background on this one: craziest random happening ever; my friend Sarah from high school was by chance going to Korea the same day I was, but the coincidence doesn't stop there.....we were on the same airline, the same flights, and even sat next to eachother for the first flight!), but sat next to some other english teachers going to Seoul and we talked for a while. The language tapes helped a bit too. And they gave us plenty of food on the plane (one snack and two full-size meals) that was probably the best food I've ever had on a plane before.

So backtracking a bit....when I first got to my apartment it was around 10 PM korean time. The temperature was about 80 and very humid even at night...so if feels really warm, especially in the day. I haven't found out where really anything is yet other than my school, but I'm going to do all of that soon. So far I've found out where two grocery stores are, the cell phone place where I got my phone, my school, and downtown. The city is pretty good sized, though, so there's a lot more to see.

On a side note:

I'm reallllly excited that favre is a viking! I've been following it really closely....sounds like he's other blown others away with what he can do in practice! It's the same system he used for 16 years in green bay, so he said it's like he's really back in his element and that after his recovery from his shoulder surgery, his arm feels better than it has for a year at least....so I'm thinking we'll see big things from him. With him, a good offensive line, a much better receiving core than last year, and the best running game in football (not to mention a good defense as well) I think we have a legitimate chance of going really far this year. I can't wait! Hopefully I get the games here. Andrew, if you're reading this, send the message to your team, (favre's former team coincidentally).....watch out!

So my kids really like stickers. Good thing I brought like three pounds of them haha. The lesson plans I use are really basic...I have kids that are as young as 5 years old, so for them it's more like babysitting than anything else. Even my older kids are probably only 15 at the oldest, so they're not too advanced. The average age, though, is probably around 11 or so. We usually practice basic words with themes like "around town" or "in the house" so they can learn about fire men, stoves, and basic words like that. The older kids start to work on grammar and senteces (which is a nice relief because then I feel I can actually speak like a real person instead of in slow robot talk).

It's kinda tough sometimes because for the most part, their english really isn't that good. Communicating can be tough so I have to get creative with lots of pointing, drawing, etc. I'm excited for this week to be over, though, so that I can start with new books next month. Every month we change books, and for some reason some classes are way behind in their books while others are caught up, so it's a real pain teaching those who are behind because we have to rush so much and I look forward to making my own schedule where we can move at a more even pace.

Maybe the hardest part about teaching, at least at first, was that there's no AC in there! By the end of my first day I probably looked like I finished working out or something because it gets pretty hot, and without AC, it's tough. BUT, there is a fan, so yesterday (my second day teaching) I moved that in there and pointed it directly at me. The students didn't seem to get bothered by the heat, so it worked out well that I had my own constant air flow. It was MUCH more comfortable. There's AC in my apartment though....it has everything from AC to a rice maker....it even came with a bug zapper and video door entry system. So thats nice.

My next week pretty much just holds teaching....I'm going to try to find a gym nearby, also, but other than that i don't really have much going (I don't really plan things though, it's more of a day by day approach). My new phone number is 010 3822 8231 if anyone wants to try to call me....I wonder if it will work. Probably via skype calling....guess we'll find out! Adios!