Typos

Having a ton of typos in my posts is a bad sign for an English teacher. I realize that my posts may be full of typos, and I don't really want that; however, in my defense, I have a tendency to write my posts during the wee hours of the morning and can't promise that my eyes are even open while writing.

That said, I apologize and promise to proof read my posts (old and new) when I get the chance.

I think I may just need to save the posts I write at night and post them once I'm actually awake enough to reread them ;)

PS. This may take a little longer than I'd like as I'm currently working 6-7 days a week in order to not be a penniless foreigner when I start my life in Japan. ^^;

Follow-up and Links for Korea

While I have left South Korea, I still have friends and contacts there. Though Korea wasn't the place for me, a lot of people have better experiences there than I did.

If you find yourself going to, or thinking about going to Korea, but have questions/fears/ or simply want some advice on how to choose a school, what to look out for before signing a contract, or how to travel, feel free to ask.

I realize I disappeared for a long time--my computer died and when the replacement came I just didn't have the interest in starting up again... However, most of that was stress and my own bad experiences.

After having some time away, I can more easily remember the good things.

The reason I am starting this up again is that I will be leaving for Japan this December and will be blogging about my experiences (hopefully this time I can keep it up ;)

Here are some great links, I forgot to post them before:

For Travel in Korea:

These are for the trains. You can choose your start and destination, it will give you the fastest route and how long and how much the charge is. The first is the main site, if you click the picture you ge the second. You can link either, but it only works on Internet Explorer (No Mozilla).
http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/ena/TR/TR_EN_5_1_4.jsp
http://www.smrt.co.kr/program/cyberStation/main2.jsp?lang=e

This one is for buses. You can enter the starting point and destination, or just zoom on an area and choose the 'Route Search' tab. (*Note: Buses aren't always kept up to date and they this site isn't 100% trust worthy... nothing is here with buses.)
http://bus.congnamul.com/SeoulRouteWebApp/view_english/map.jsp

This is for the KTX--fast train to Busan and other places. You can go here to pre-order tickets once you have your alien card.
http://www.korail.com/

For Learning Korean:

Told you before, the alphabet is easy. You will need some basic understanding of simple Korean words/phrases, but this is the best site I've found.
http://ecamp.cyberkorea.ac.kr/
It's actually really good, but if you want better you have to pay for classes, or find the free ones. It also needs IE.

For Discussion Class Ideas:

These are just links with Discussion Topics and Questions in case you need some ideas.
http://iteslj.org/questions/
http://www.btinternet.com/~ted.power/discuss.html
This is a site where it talks about laws that schools are supposed to follow with their foreign teachers.
http://www.efl-law.com/recruiters&the-law.php

Shopping for "Larger" Sizes

With experience living in Korea as a size 10-14 (US), I know it can be hard to find clothes that fit. Though their are some foreign stores like H&M that have bigger sizes, a lot of their clothes are still geared toward Koreans in Korean sizes.

If you want to find some good clothes that fit, and don't break the bank, try station shopping. Station shopping is shopping in train stations that often have shops of some sort. While many stops just have a convenience store, and/or make-up shop, there are several that are larger and include several underground shops. Some great stations to check out are Gangnam Stn., Samseong Stn., and Jamsil Stn. are all rather decent places. Yeongdeundpo Stn. is actually the biggest and best underground shopping that I've found in Seoul, and I often went shopping there.
For above ground shopping Dondaemun is not only the most famous, but a place full of options. From $5 shops to $500 dollar departments. If you have a little extra time and money, make it an all day shopping trip here.
If you happen to be in Bundang (just outside Seoul) visit the 2100 Outlet next to Migeum Stn. There are also several shops along the street that are cheaper and have a range of clothes.
If you live closer to Incheon, try Bupyeong Stn. Whether it's above or underground there are shops everywhere with plenty of options in price and type.

Have fun and don't buy anything you don't like. You can always find something better later.

Also, don't worry about taking make-up to Korea. South Korea is the home to the original BB Cream. It's very light and much healthier for your skin than American/French make-ups.

If you need a good moisturizer, check out The Saem. They have a line called See&Saw which uses echinacea and I've used all products in the line: they work ;)

Korea Life Blog 10 -- Thinking in Type...

Wow... still alive by the way. Maybe.

Life in Korea... no idea. Life at my work is...

I still need to finish my TEFL... I think once I do that, I can just rest everyday, after yoga of course ;). I found a great Hot Yoga class nearby and go about twice a week. I managed to get a language partner and ditch him all in one month. Seemed like a nice guy, but to out to be a jerk with a huge ego. Somehow, they are just the easiest to find. I managed to insult him, but not sure I cared. I don't have time to flatter other people and their egos.

 My friends in Korea are all too far to see during the week when I need them, and on the weekends I just want to rest or go somewhere scenic... unfortunately it's the only time I can see them T.T
I need rest time...

So recently I've been job hunting online for Japan. Looking for a chance to run away. I was completely serious about it too.... but now I'm reconsidering.... I really don't see the point in getting my BA... I'm still not qualified to have a decent job anywhere.

If I want to find a job straight out of Korea, then the best hiring times are about 2 months before my contract is up. However, since I can't interview in the US, they would be jobs where I need to find my own housing... which means money. I'll have money, if I could stay with friends it might even work out... but there still aren't a lot of work options for me, since I don't have a degree in Education. Even when I do finish the TEFL, it's not the same...

I decided against grad school. If I wanted to teach forever it would be fine and it would pay off in a few years... as long as I didn't want to save money, have a life outside of work, and never had children. However, since that doesn't sound appealing to me, it is therefore not worth it. If nothing else, I would like to save money, instead of going further into debt by about 40 grand in a year.

So without the degree the best option is....?

So the original point of signing my crappy contract was to start making money, be able to keep making loan payments, get experience, and save for Japan.
So I need to keep this in mind.

If I just survive this job... If I do, I'll have a year of experience teaching ESL and my TEFL. I'll also be able to save a decent amount of money to have a good start in Japan... the problem will be getting there...
Originally, I thought it would be best to go straight from here... but now I'm not sure.

If I want to go straight from here, then I will run into the same problem whether I leave early or not.
Rent money. I will have to get a job that leaves me to find my own housing which requires time and a lot of money.

The main issue being, getting the job....

I was thinking that if I just survive the contract, they will pay my ticket home, and I can reapply to AEON before then and have the interview when I get home. If it goes well, then it's a good starter job and gives me a place to live. After I finish that contract, then I will already be there and have a work visa so I'll be able to find a good job more easily, and housing if I need.... But, if the interviews don't go well... Grad school is still an option--even if not an ideal one.

Korea Life Blog 9 -- Suwon and Daejeon

Hey, hey. Still alive~ sort of! haha

God I'm missing real food. The school food is starting to make me sick... but I made a crap-ton of miso soup to take in, so I just have to remember it.

Anyways, last week was Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving), so I had a little break finally!!! I really needed it too. Was hoping to go to Japan, but put it into action too late. Sad day that.

But, I made the most of it... once I stopped being sickly sick. Love that, when you start a vacation stuck in bed... great time.
But yeah, only let that incapacitate me for one day.
Didn't matter much, it was still raining. Three-four days straight, but the weather has been darn nice since.

Wednesday went on a "not-date" with a random guy~ hahaha. I met him online in March or April? First time we met though. He's nice... enough... maybe. haha
We went to Outback Steakhouse to see Daniel Henney... but though he was on the menu, it didn't say how much. XD
Then we walked around and had ice cream. Thought about seeing a movie, but for some reason he didn't think I could watch movie that had no English or subs. What's that about? It's a moving picture... I'll get something anyways~! hehe
Then he dropped me at home and I took the subway to the grocery... which was closed. Then walked back by the river... which had apparently been so high while I was sick that it took out parts of the crossing bridges and most the plants nearby.

Thursday, I took a trip to Suwon to visit a college friend. She, however, was in Seoul most the day, so I was  left to amuse myself. Told the bus driver where to let me off, love when they are helpful! Especially since I was getting off near a large supermarket and we went by like 3 of them from the same chain!

Did some window shopping and went to see the new Ghibli movie. Sadly it was in Korean, didn't want to wait until 7pm for the Japanese one, since it was 2pm. But I was happy that I understood 90% from the moving picture and about 5% from the little Korean I know! :)

Did more window shopping and walked about taking pictures and being an escaped zoo animal for people to watch. Even saw some cute guys ;)

Once my friend came we went to dinner, Korean BBQ first time I had ribs at one~ Pretty good mind you. Then we drank, then some pool, and finally it was "home time".

Friday not so exciting: Went to the bank and transferred my money home. Maybe even made a new friend, but not sure yet. Have to see if she calls :)
Was supposed to meet my Korean "little sister", but she was visiting her Grandma. She left for 9 months on Saturday to study abroad... sad, sad day. I miss her already.

Saturday went out at night to meet my Suwon friend in Seoul. I went drinking with her, her boyfriend, and a few of his friends. Within two hours (and after drinking a bottle of Absolute alone--but not knowingly) I was drunker than I ever have been, and hopefully ever will be even close to again. It majorly sucked. I felt bad being the drunk who needed help... other than the friend who was completely passed out.

*The bf called his sister, who came in time to help me (it was the first time I'd ever been so drunk I got sick, and apparently I only speak Japanese when drunk ;) and the drunker guy to a motel. She spoke some Japanese, so we conversed: me drunkenly and her shyly. Great time that.
Once they found a motel, I didn't sleep much and washed my clothes in the sink and took a looooooooong hot shower! Then left after the trains started at 5:30am.

Anyways, I promised to go visit my friend in Daejeon that day. So I went home--2 hours on the trains, took a short nap, then got up and ready. Took a bus--another 2 hours, but this time a great nap time because I didn't need to worry about stops or transfers!

Daejeon was fun. We walked around downtown, and ate some Japanese food for lunch. Then we had some ice cream and went to see "Despicable Me" (or "Super Bad" in Korea) in 3D. It was great.
Then we had some funky-style fries and walked and talked a bit more before my return bus. Another great nap followed.

So ended my awesome vacation. :d

Korea Life Blog 8 --Pensions

Pensions!

So, apparently a pension isn't just the Korean version of a tax return, it's also a place to go on weekends and holidays.

Going to a pension, is like renting out a condo for a few days. They have them in different places, the country, the sea, so on...

I went with some friends to a pension in the country. It was rather close to "Ocean World" but we didn't go. Which was fine with me, since I've heard it's expensive. Our 'condo' had two bedrooms, a living room with a kitchen, huge bathroom, and a large deck. At night we had BBQ and there was the option of karaoke in the next building.

Then there was the countryside itself. It was really beautiful. There were fields, mountains, and a huge raging river that was bulging from the recent rains.

Though there wasn't much to do, I didn't see it as a problem. It was a great place to relax and breath.

August Update

I know it's been about a month since I posted, and I left off on a bad note, so let's get to work.

Last month was ridiculously stressful for me. During my vacation I realized that my work owed me money for orientation that I never received and therefore had to speak to my boss. I find that I can't talk to my boss about anything work related without my face twitching, which makes it really hard to talk nicely. (I don't know what that is, it's new.)

I also had to attend TTC (teacher training courses) for 3 out of 4 of the Saturdays in August from 9am-5:30pm, which it took over an hour by train and bus to get to and from. So I really didn't have any time to wind down and relax last month.

The second week we got a new foreign teacher. No one had time to take out her out and introduce her to the area. Since no one had time when I came either and I was pretty lost and bothered. So, I took it upon myself to take her out. Not that I'm that nice, but if you can remember your first weeks in a new country, you know you need some to be helpful.
That Friday I went to a Korean classical concert. It was amazing! I really want to go again. There were guest performances and a comedian, who is apparently famous but I didn't understand at all, so no point in me caring. :-p Still it was great.
After the second TTC, I found out on Sunday that my grandfather had died. It was incredibly sudden for me and a huge blow. I have a rather busy schedule on Mondays but I really needed some time to sort out my feelings, so I asked off for Tuesday. That didn't really work out. My boss told me that no one could take my classes, but that if someone had a free period they could teach, but that I still had to sit in on the classes.
So I taught two classes and didn't find out until the passing period that there was someone scheduled to teach each of my classes for the rest of the day. If I had known ahead of time, I'd have left. Meanwhile, I sat through another five classes with someone else teaching and my students not paying any attention because they were trying to figure out why there were TWO teachers in the room.
Then my work deducted 70,000won (app. $70) from my pay for "missing" one day when I was not allowed to leave. Mind you, that’s WAY more money than I make in a day…

The last week I had phone teaching (calling the students at home so they have to speak in front of their parents), it went well.
My friend had an art exhibition which I went to as well. It was fun and interesting. It was a merger of Korean and Japanese student’s works.
Then was my birthday party, which was an interesting night full of food and karaoke! Then I rested for a day.

The last Monday I went to E-mart (the big grocery store) and was sadly disappointed and annoyed at the outcome. The outcome being that I went in search of lettuce to make salad, and while I found about 20 different kinds of greens, none were the plain lettuce or romaine that I wanted. I paid 6,000 (app $6) for good American spaghetti sauce only to come home and hear no *pop* when I opened the lid and some crusty sauce around the outside. People, don't open the jars in the store and put them on the shelf!!! Seriously!
I also had two huge bags of groceries and could not manage to get a taxi to come home! I looked for a bus, and finally asked an older woman, who luckily was helpful. When she found no buses there that went to my stop, she hailed a taxi for me.
So, it's not all bad. :)
End of my August Update--Sorry, no pictures this time...