No car and a party

I really miss having a car. Not having one has definitely been an adjustment. It definitely has its perks, though. I love not having to buy gas or worry about maintenance and the way radiator problems always seem to haunt me. Trust me. I'm looking forward to a year without having to think about my radiator. But, when it comes to running a few errands around the city, a car would be nice. I feel like I always have to map out where I need to go first because I have to carry everything with me into the next store. So it's like, do I want to carry my pizza into the grocery store or my toilet paper into Papa John's? Both make me feel weird.

We had our company end of the year party on Saturday. And even though my mother told me to take pictures and I told her I would I only have one. That someone else took and sent to me. Sorry, Mom. I won a door prize and was voted funniest at my campus. (Are any of you surprised? I was not. Haha jk....but really.) My school won first prize in the talent competition. We performed a less than delightful handbell arrangement of Over the Rainbow and Chopsticks. Welcome to Asia. I saw some interesting karaoke performances and some entertaining dances. But even after all that I didn't feel like the 8 hours of bus travel made it worth it. Just how I feel. But, the food was good. So, there's that.

I hope you kids have the best new year. I'm doing it right over here. Under a blanket with a good book.

Love and miss you all!
Xoxo

Home sweet home

This is where I live. My entire living space is about the size of what my bedroom once was. But it's free, and it's warm, and it's all mine. And please take notice of the horrendous cat art on my wall. It was here when I arrived. I just haven't really had the time to shop for something to cover that up. Trust me, I have plans too. And as you can see I'm living a pretty simplistic life at the moment. I will eventually purchase a small table or desk. But I've kinda gotten used to sitting on the floor. And I hate my bedding. I think it's an awful color. It literally hurts my eyes and it's completely overwhelming in this 12 square ft box. And my pillow is really more like a brick than a pillow. But that brings me back to the free thing. Who complains about free stuff? I love free stuff. I won't explain taking a shower I this post. That might be too intimate and we all know I've never been good at censoring my thoughts. I will say it's really not that bad. And rather convenient if you have to pee while showering. You'll notice in my kitchen area that there is no oven. Only a small cook top. A friend suggested I buy a little toaster oven. Maybe then I could bake things in really small batches. Like 3 cookies at a time. I'd have to spend an entire day baking cookies, but I may become that desperate.
It's coming together. I'm sure once I get a full paycheck I'll go a little crazy and fill this baby up. Until then, it's kind of nice living so simple. Ya know, when you only have one pot and two glasses you never really have to worry about the dishes piling up.

Xoxo

Weekends and Grocery Shopping

Weekends

Right now my weekends are pretty boring. I don’t have internet at my apartment because I can’t have anything set up like a cable connection or internet until I get my Alien Registration Card. So when I’m at home it’s literally like I’m the only person in the world. I can’t call anyone, I can’t text, I can’t email, I can’t download movies. It’s ridiculous. It’s like the dark ages in apartment 303. I mean, I have to read for entertainment. Or go for a walk. Ridiculous notions.

There is this coffee shop/cafe place not far from my apartment. They make a wonderful cappuccino and they have free wifi so I spend some time there usually before going to work. One morning there I got a little crazy and I ordered a caramel macchiato and ended up with a cup of chamomile tea. But it was okay. I just went with it. They’re starting to figure me out at the Café Nescafe so I’m having less and less problems with my orders.

I did do a little grocery shopping this past weekend. It all went well. Nothing really surprising happened, but it did take me an abnormal amount of time due to the fact that I don’t speak or read Korean. So it was like picture shopping. This is an example of what was happened inside my head.. Okay, I think that’s an orange... I know that’s a banana... Coffee, good… Milk. Now what kind of animal did the milk come from? Hmmm, I may never know... Oh, orange juice! Nice! Oh my gosh, canned peaches, get in my basket. Eggs, why are theses eggs not refrigerated?? This makes me nervous. Its fine. I’ll just pretend they’re fresh from the farm…

Also, you should know that someone has seriously turned the sun down on this side of the world. Um, wow it got cold. Like over night. I kept thinking, dude this is no big deal. It’s December and I’m fine. Well, I’m not fine anymore. I walk to work and back everyday. It takes about 15 minutes. This week by the end of that 15 minutes my face is literally a block a ice. Literally.

Until next time

xoxo

Mom and Dad

I know I JUST posted, but I wanted to share this.

I don't know if it's because I'm growing up (finally, huh?) or because I'm on the other side of the world for a significant amount of time, or a combination of the two, but I'm really into this expressing my feelings things right now. Every night when I leave work I'm all like, "I LOVE YOU GUYS!" and then they murmur things in Korean and we all laugh and pretend I understand. Now don't get me wrong, I've always had a lot of feelings. I'm a little bit excessive in the emotions department. If you know me at all you know this to be true. But I'm not always so good at finding an outlet for those feelings. Those of you who know me best know this to be true.

I'm really loving this stage of life. This 20 somethings-weird-I don't know who I am-I don't know what I'm going do-I don't understand theses feelings kind of stage. It brings it own set of challenges for sure. Logically, the most challenging phase yet. Except for maybe when I was child and so earnestly wanted to be independent, but ya know, couldn't do things like tie my own shoes or brush my own hair thus ensuing fits of rage. Too much independent has always been a struggle. I'm telling you guys, there is a balance. However, this time is bringing a whole new realm of joy. But I think that's kind of how God planned it. Life abundantly. These days I'm trying not to think to hard or worry too much. I try to find joy in the simple things and sometimes I just have to stop and remind myself and the sun is gonna rise tomorrow.

Anyway, I've been subscribing to this website for a while. All Grown Up. I love it. Every time I read an article I'm like, "OH MY GOSH! HOW DID YOU KNOW???" When I read today's post it was like I wrote it. It was so weird. I laughed, I cried. It was prefect. So I just wanted to share this. I'm sure a lot of you relate. I mean, I know I have an abundance of feelings, but I'm not that weird. And if you're a 20something, check out the rest of these articles. I promise you'll love them.

So here's to my parents. My biological ones for which there are no English (or Korean) words to describe how thankful I am. And to all of my "adoptive parents". I have a little bit of all of you in me.

Dear Mom and Dad

Teaching

If you have ever been a teacher of mine, I feel like I owe you an apology. Or 47.

It’s not that I thought this job was going to be a breeze, because I didn’t. It’s not that I thought I would have a full grasp of the concept of teaching on the first day, because I didn’t. I knew it would be a challenge. A change of pace and a different life was why I came here. But OH EMM GEE. This is not easy. And I will be not be disrespected by an 8 year old just because he knows two languages and I know one. No sir. It will not go down like that. You will sit down in your seat and you will do your workbook or you will see American crazy.

Oh, but discipline is one thing. It’s the easiest part by far. It’s the blank stare you get when they obviously don’t understand and there are only so many ways you can explain what the word “browse” means. Come on guys! Or when you grade tests and they failed and you know they’re smart kids and even after a week of knowing them you feel this ridiculous burden of figuring out how to not only teach them English but teaching them to care. (I know that was a ridiculous run-on, fragmented sentence. I’m conveying emotion, not teaching.)

When I interviewed for this job I was told not to accept it if I was just looking for adventure because a lot would be asked of me. Well, I’m always looking for adventure (and I found it), but she wasn’t kidding. From 1-10 we’re working. It’s monthly test week right now so I’m frantically grading papers and trying to get 12 syllabi ready for next week vocabulary and comprehension tests. And of course they give the new girl 3 classes that are using all new books. Thanks guys. They really have too much faith in me. I’m absolutely sure my co-teachers are tired of answering questions, but they’ve been so wonderful. A new Korean teacher was actually just hired about 3 days ago and she thought I’d been at Reading Star for months. She had no idea I’d only been there a week when she got there. That was a great compliment. Showed me how really welcomed I am.

SO, to all of those teachers from grade school to college, I know what a “spirited girl” I am. I have a greater appreciation for what you put up with. And I’ve only been doing this for two weeks. Just imagine how thankful I’ll be at the end of my time here! Many thanks to all of you. Most of you have no idea how much you impacted me. So, here’s to impacting others.

Okay. Now let me explain a little about my school and why I work until 10 pm. Reading Star is a hagwon. Not to be confused with Hogwarts. Because when Koreans say hagwon it sounds a lot like Hogwarts and I’m not exactly qualified to teach spells. Okay, enough Harry Potter…A hagwon is an academy. Reading Star is an English academy. You can have any type of hagwon. English, art, math, dance, tae kwon do, music, ect. Academies never end. So the kids are in school from 8:00ish to 2:00ish, depending on their school. Then after school they go to their hagwons. Some kids go to multiple academies in a day. My schedule is really confusing, and I start teaching full time Monday and I still don’t completely understand how they keep up with all of these kids. There’s a whole color coded system and everything. Some kids come Monday, Wednesday, Friday and some come Tuesday, Thursday. The ones who come on Monday, Wednesday, Friday only have the same classes on Monday, Wednesday or Monday, Friday, or Wednesday, Friday. Like I said, confusing. I don’t get it either. Whatever. I just do what they tell me to do.

So yes, these children are in school until 10 and they still have to go home and do homework from real school and their academies but it’s because their parents are paying for it. So don’t feel bad. This is by choice. Yes, all of them would rather be home watching TV or playing computer games. They tell me. But Korean culture is serious about their education. Especially English. It’s very important for college admissions in the universities here. (no pressure, right?)

Sorry, I wrote a book this time. But I’m sure you guys loved every word.

Until next time,

xoxo