The people are sooo nice and friendly. Everyone is helping me to learn Korean. I'm really working on using appropriate greetings and bowing. It'll be nice once I know more Korean and can converse beyond, "Hello, how are you. Thank you. Goodbye..." ; ) But everyone is very patient with me. It is odd feeling once again like a 2 year old. The weather is mostly humid and warm. Not as hot as it was in Seoul. They sky is cloudy today, but EVERYWHERE is lush and green. I really loveit here, but I will get back to you when I [View Full Entry]

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So I am blessed. I am blessed and GREATFUL. I'm living in the girls dorm at Gyeongsan Science High School. I am working with this school soley. The school is two years old and has 120 students. The campus looks like a university and the kids act like university students. Their life is different than university students back in the states though... They wake at 6am to Michael Jackson: "Better place for you and for me..." It was insane to be awoken by a PA system playing that... Anyway, then they exercise for 30 min. Then they go to class and [View Full Entry]

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I found out my placement today: A science high school, Gyeongsan Science High School, in Gyeongsan, Gyeongsangbuk-do province, South Korea. It turns out that it is the premiere HS in the province. I'm very excited, but also a little intimidated. I feel honored and disorganized. I am going to spend a chunk of tomorrow planning. I leave, along with all of the other EPIK people to head to our future homes tomorrow. It will be a 5 hr trip to Daegu, the third biggest city in SoKo... We meet there to be introduced to our employers. We will then split up [View Full Entry]

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Before leaaving to teach English in Korea w/ EPIK: Bring: (Most house stuff and things like towels, umbrellas, etc. will be available at E-Mart or Home Plus or Costco, but when you are first in the country, getting around can be an issue and finding your local giant mart is not the easiest to find...) *deoderant (This is not commonly used here... I have not smelled a lot of rank people, but for the most part people do not use deoderant) *tampons (you can find pads, but tampons are not common practice here) *painkillers *bug spray (ESPECIALLY if you come in [View Full Entry]

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So I'm being eaten alive. I have spray, but I was hoping not to need it. The folk village was amazing. I had read other EPIK blogs about it and figured it would be like all of the other old school fieldtrips to historic places I'd been to... Not the case. The entrance was pretty commercial, but after that the place exploded with authenticity. The entrance had a huge stone that you could write your wishes down and tie to ropes around the stone. The village was an authentic recreation of folk villages from all over South Korea. The structures were [View Full Entry]

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Today was a lot of classroom time. We listened to four 1.5 hr lectures. I was mind numbed by the end. Then we watched a movie called "Taegukgi Hwinallimyo"... It is utterly tragic, more jarring than Schindler's List. I had to walk out of the auditorium at one part. Highlights of the day include: finding a group of frisbee enthusiastes and unleashing a mad crazy game in the quad and walking around the city tonight... Lots of bright lights and xoju (Korean alcohol) a-flowin. I'm going straight-edge-ish here. So no xoju for me. Tomorrow we head to a traditional mock folk [View Full Entry]

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Just met Chris, hailing from Moldova... i.e. Jessica's buddy, which she met while she was stationed there in the Peace Corps! We ate lunch together and he is grand. There are hundreds of people here with EPIK, so I am only getting a sampling of the other teachers. It is pouring rain and I am taking lots of vitamins to help my body. I've only been down a few streets to wander. I'm in at Ku:l House at Konkuk University. There are so many people that much of today has just been shuffling around in the rain. I'm SOOOO glad I [View Full Entry]

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I'm residing in a college dorm for the next 9 days... It feels like frosh year all over again! I even get a roommate. She is super nice and we are headed to the same region. Woot! My flight was smooth and safe (Hollar for Singapore Air). There has been a lot of waiting around and I did my first set of currency exchange in San Francisco Int'l airport... Everything feels familiar. On the flight I sat next to a guy from Quebec. We spoke French and spoke for about 1/2 of the flight, which is an impressive 6 hours. Everyone [View Full Entry]

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So, I leave for South Korea (SoKo) on August 20th for a year of English teaching. I've been reading blogs and talking to as many people as I can to get a better feel for what my experience will be like and what my prep work should include. I gave Honey up last week to a loving family that I have known for 9 years and trust with all of my heart. It was the biggest heart break I've ever experienced. I'm selling my car this coming week to a great friend of mine. It is amazing that everything is working [View Full Entry]

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