Saying Goodbye

Today was the last day with my students!  I will miss them all so much and almost cried like a baby but I held myself together.  I have gotten many students wishing me well and giving me presents.  I had one give me a handmade pillow with the word "luck" on it with two bears.  I also received many notes.  All of them pretty much saying they loved English class and will miss me dearly next year and that they loved me.  The one that got me most though was one from a second year girl, who came to my school not speaking any English but has studied hard and can now hold some small conversations.  She told me that she studied hard because she liked my class and wanted to learn English, and that was a surprise to her because she had always thought that English was useless for her.

I have had former students come back and tell me how much they miss me and how they loved my class.  It is always wonderful to hear from my students and find out that I have impacted them in a positive way and made them love English when they had once hated it.

I have seen my students grow in my two and half years here, and it pains me to leave them.  My second years keep telling me to stay and that I am the best English teacher they have ever had and that they are happy they had me as their teacher.  These kids have truly become part of me and I will always remember them and the fondness I have for Yeoju Agriculture High!  I will miss them dearly and I will miss my school!  However, I look forward to the next chapter in my life!  It has been a wonderful experience and I would not change it for the world.  This school and the students were the best thing I could have asked for when I first moved half way around the world to start this journey.  I was so lucky to have been a teacher here for such a long time!  It is a bittersweet day for me but in the end I leave with wonderful memories and fondness.

ICE CREAM CAKE

My birthday was wonderful!  I had a great dinner at Pasta and Potato, in town.  Then went for some soju at a local bar, and my friends got me ice cream cake.  It was a wonderful night with great people.  AND I GOT ICE CREAM CAKE!!!  Take that December birthday!*

*I am a child and my friend realize this! <3

There is a cat licking my cake

Birthday Shenanigans

Today is my birthday!  I am keeping it relatively quiet today, with only a dinner with some close friends at a good pasta place in town.  It will be chill and nothing to crazy, because it is a Tuesday night.  

However, I did celebrate for my birthday 10 days ago, with a night out in Seoul with my girls.  It was a fun filled night.  We got sandwiches at Rye Post, in Itaewon.  (We shared an amazing Philly Cheese-steak and Ruben, which was heaven!)  After dinner we checked out this tattoo exhibition, trying to get free piercings but not being in time for them.  Checked out a bar in HBC, afterwards, while waiting on another friend to show up.  We ended up at a random bar, with a DJ.  It was alright but not our vibe.  Amy decided to go home, but Carolyn and I ended up going to a club to dance.  We stayed out until 5am, and it was glorious!  Kebabs after dancing and then sleep.  Really a great night, and probably one of my last with these ladies, since they will be leaving Korea after their contracts are up.

Here are some photos from that day, and night!  I love these ladies!

 

  

Christmas Eve!

Korean Earthquake...

This morning at 4:30 am, there was an earthquake in Korea.  I have read that it was a 3.5 or 4.4 (differing accounts) earthquake.  So nothing major, but it did wake me up.  I did not think anything of it and just went back to bed, because I was not expecting an earthquake.  Did not think anything about it until my friend asked about it this morning.  Same thing happened with the two earthquakes in Indiana.   They were so small, that I woke up and thought nothing about them.  Oh well.

Saying Goodbye...

So, it is the end of the year and things are winding down at school.  Today was the first day that I had to say good bye (2 of 18 classes).  It is a bittersweet end, to a wonderful time at my school.  I have loved my school, even with the hard times and work load.  My students are wonderful little turdheads and I could not have asked for better students!  I will miss them and their love of English and how hard they tried in class.  Sure they would drive me crazy at times but in the long run they were sweet kids, who tried their best, even if they have a low level of English.  I am moving on but I was lucky, I found a gem of a school and I will miss it dearly.

Professor Kara June

After about 3 months of job interviews and applications, I can say that I have accepted a job offer from a university, and will be an English Professor next March 2016.  This is a huge step in my career.  I am also super happy to have a job, after all this time of interviews and shoddy contracts or offers (I have had 2 previous job offers, and 1 more potential job offer that just did not work out for various reasons).

First, I honestly did not think I would get a job offer from a university that is anywhere near Seoul or even in Gyeonggi Province.  These positions are prime, and many well qualified individuals apply for them every year.  University is the hardest market in ESL teaching to get into, and I did not think I would be able to do so, with my two and a half years of high school teaching.  Yes, I teach 5 credit hours of college courses but my contract is through the high school, and many schools see this as not counting.  You need 2 years teaching experience at a university level, with a MA to even be considered for most positions.  I have that but some see the high school, as only counting as 1 year.  Which has to do with visa rules for E-1 visa's, or Professor Visa.  Some schools are a little more relaxed with this, while other more competitive schools are super strict and hard to get into.  Either way, I honestly thought I would end up making low wages, in the country-side, or at another public school, instead of a position this close to Seoul.  I had another offer in a different city and province, from a very well known school.  I would have taken that position, but the one I ended up taking is so much better.

For one, the location is about 1 hour from the middle of Seoul, via subway.  Secondly, the pay is amazing.  I will be making a huge pay jump, for less work.  Instead of 23 hours of teaching, I only have 18 hours, with everything after that being overtime (if I want it, it is optional).  I will have to do English Cafe, which is where the students come and discuss issues, or whatever in 15 minute blocks with the professors, like office hours, but I get paid for this as well.  The only downside to this is the housing.  Unfortunately, I cannot take the housing that the school provides (a dorm style apartment, where I would live with another professor) because of Trixie.  The housing does not allow for pets, and as you all know, I will not go anywhere without Trixie.  So, in the next two months, I need to find housing, in a foreign country.  It will be interesting and i will tell you all about it!

As for my career, being a professor is the best thing that could have happened for me.  Teaching high school, in a public school, is the number one choice outside of university teaching.  So, I had it really good my first two and a half years.  It looks good on ESL resume's, but the cream of the crop.  There is often less hours to teach, no mandatory hours to be there (except for when you are teaching of course), and more pay (often, not always with the country schools).  Everyone with an MA in Korea (not everyone but most everyone) wants a university job because it is such a good job.  Additionally, if I choose to leave Korea, anytime soon, I will have a much easier time finding a job in another country because of the university position.  It will make my life easier in the long run.  

Overall, the school seems like it will be a lovely place to work.  I will be teaching Freshmen Conversational English, three days a week, with two days off or with overtime classes if I want.  The department has 11 foreign faculty members, which is nice.  I will not be going in alone and can ask for help.  I met some of these people during the interview and they all seemed very friendly and open.  The staff, I have heard, is very hands off but there if you need them.  It feels like the right school and I am excited to start this next chapter in my life.  

Interview, after Interview...

I have been on so many interviews and nothing.  I have had job offers but man is it difficult.  I have another two job interviews this coming week and I am hoping that one of them works.  I really want/need a job and these interviews are getting to me.  I am so tired from traveling to them.  Additionally, I have to pay to get to them as well, which isn't cheap because I live in such a rural area.  Hopefully the one on Friday works out or I hear back from the other schools.

BLEH!

Bittersweet

This week in exam week.  Finals!  It is great because that means I have about two weeks left until I finish the year.  However it also means I have about two weeks left until I am no longer teaching my wonderful little brat students.  I genuinely care for these kids and will miss them dearly.  They are wonderful kids, who can sometimes drive me crazy but they are good and love English (most of the time).  I was extremely lucky in my first placement teaching ESL, and I will miss this school dearly.

However, that being said, I am ready to move on.  Yeoju sucks!  Sure there are things to do but there aren't either.  I want to be in a bigger city or somewhere where I can at least get around better.  I have stayed here because my school is so awesome but I have not enjoyed this city.  It is time to move on and up.

Wanting a Job...

I have had 5 interviews so far.  Two job offers.  One I turned down because of a gut feeling and the other I am in the process of getting the documents for it.  But I have not seen a contract or anything related to the job yet.  So that is not 100% in the bag,  I am waiting to hear back from the other 3 interviews.  This process is hard and long.  I feel so bleh about the entire thing.  We will see what happens but I hope I find a job soon because taking time off to go to interviews is difficult and time consuming.  Here is hoping.

KTX to Gwangju

As many of you know, my school doesn't have the funding to keep me due to my pay increase and therefore I must find a different school.  Well over the weekend I had an interview at a university in Gwangju.  Thing is, Gwangju is 5 hours away (in the South West of Korea) from my current location.  There was no way I was going to waste 10 hours on three different buses.  So I decided to fork over the extra cash for a faster trip to Gwangju.  I took the train!

Instead of 5 hours via bus and 3 different transfers.  I took a bus to Seoul and then took the KTX to Gwangju.  Only about 3 hours total.  On the way there I had a normal seat on the train.  It was kind of nice.  Made the 4 hour bus trip into an hour and half train ride, where I could move around and actually use the restroom when I needed.  Not bad at all.  Coming home was interesting though.  When I got to the Gwangju KTX station to buy my ticket back to Seoul only one ticket was left for the time I needed to leave, and it was first class.  So, I bucked up and took the ticket because I wanted to be home.  First class was a little nicer than normal, with bigger seats and free snacks/drinks.  Was it worth the extra 20,000 won, probably not but yes because I got home, so priorities.

Now, this was my first time riding the KTX.  Most of you know that I praise the public transportation here in Korea and the KTX is no different.  I only wish it would go to more places but for now it is really nice.  If only America would have such wonderful and reliable public transportation.

Christmas Time in Korea

Christmas Time is here again!  I try not to acknowledge or decorate for Christmas until after Thanksgiving.  What can I say, I am a purist at heart and want to celebrate each holiday.  Anyways, Christmas is my second favorite holiday, with Halloween being my favorite.  I love the season, with the lights, and smells, tastes.  Basically all the magic that seems to be in the air.  It is a wonderful time of year and I truly miss home around this time.

There are various reasons for this.  One of the main ones is the lack of celebration of Christmas here.  People do not decorate their homes (because they are mainly apartments and not freestanding homes), and Christmas is a couple holiday.  I deeply miss the lighting of the Santa Claus and the hot chocolate that comes after seeing the lighting.  I miss putting up the Christmas tree with family and Christmas music.  I miss all the decorations everywhere.  I miss the magic.

Since I have been in Korea, the amount of decorations and people celebrating have increased dramatically but it is still not quite like home.  I understand the reasons for it but it is the hardest time of year for me to be away because I feel like I am missing something.  Mainly family.  This year, I hope to go and see the Christmas light park, so I can kind of feel the magic that I miss but I don't think it will be the same.  I miss my family and this time of year just shows it more.  It has gotten better as time has gone by but I don't know if it will ever be 100% okay.

Oh well.  Time to make new memories and feel nostalgia for home.  Sometimes, nostalgia is okay!

Compliments

I have said it before and most of you know, but I absolutely love my school.  The students are wonderful little monsters and I genuinely care for them and their English education.  As of late, I have been having some issues, which I will not get into too much but in a meeting with my co-teachers and head English teacher the following situation happened:

Head Co-teacher:

Can I say something.  I think this is all a misunderstanding on your part (to co-teacher) because I got a similar email earlier in the year from Kara.  She was concerned about the behavior of our 3-1 class and pointed out that she needed my help.  Now, I have known Kara for 3 years, and I am not taking sides, but I have heard about Native teachers and have experience with the one before Kara, and I think Kara is one of the best Native teachers in Korea.  I think it is a simple misunderstanding and all she was doing was asking for help and not trying to attack you as a teacher.

Basically, my head teacher stuck up for me and complimented my teaching.  I have heard before that I am a good teacher but it was nice to hear it in this situation because of the issues at hand.  Everything is better now and both, my co-teacher and I, realize it was just a simple misunderstanding that made things difficult for us.

Native English Teachers do not have a good image in Korea.  A lot of people think that we are lazy and overpaid monkeys.  Many people look down on NET's.  Now, I am not saying every NET is perfect, far from it.  I know a few who are worthless as teachers but because they look a certain way and speak English, they are kept on as teachers.  However, I also know just as many, if not more, that are wonderful teachers.  I think the few that are bad apples, sully the name of NET's and give all of us a bad image to Koreans.  Although, I am only one person, it is nice to know that I will be leaving my school with a positive image of NET's because we are not all that bad and most of us do genuinely care about our students.

Doggy Vacation

Last week, Trixie was in Seoul, for a doggy vacation but now she is back with me and I am so happy.  I have missed my little ball of fluff.  Anyways, she was in Seoul to help a friend.  So, this friend wants to get a dog but I have told them time and time again that they do not have time for a dog (working from 8am to 8pm most days).  They have told me that their brother and they were going to take care of a dog.  Their brother doesn't go to work until the afternoon.  However, I kept telling the individual that taking care of a dog is a lot of work and something you can not take lightly.*  So, I told them to watch Trixie for a week and see how they feel at the end of the week about dog ownership.  Well my plan and thoughts were correct.  On the first day, Trixie went outside to poop, with the brother, and some of the poop did not come all the way out, so the brother had to get the poop out of her butt.  Normal stuff.  However, he was so grossed out by it and told my friend that he no longer wanted a dog because he didn't realize how gross it was and how much work it entailed.  Apparently, Trixie would poop for the brother, every time they went outside, so that probably didn't help matters.  My friend on the other hand, was fine with her and would send me random photos of Trixie.  He even bought Trixie doggy clothes and treats.  It was all really cute but I think my friend now realizes that owning a dog (at least for now), is not something he can do.  I have told my friend that maybe one day in the future, he can get a dog but for now, he doesn't have  the time.

It was a hard week for me and I missed Trixie so much and now that she is home, I am so happy.  My baby girl!  She did really well when she was with my friend, so they will be watching her again, when my mom comes into town and I am moving to my new apartment/town.  Overall, it was a good doggy vacation and both Trixie and I are happy she is home!

*Side Rant: After living in Korea for so long and seeing all of the unwanted animals (both dogs and cats) running around without homes, I have become very into responsible pet ownership.  Before, in the US, I would have encouraged individuals to get a dog but now I speak of caution because many Koreans still see pets as disposable and not for life.  Pet ownership is a relatively new thing here and it is slowly catching on that animals are for life but there are still many that get the puppy or kitten and decide that they no longer want it or whatever.  I have seen time and time again, individuals (Korean and expat alike) that put up for adoption signs on their animals that they have had for a few years.  It hurts my heart to see these animals struggling to find homes and whenever someone talks about adoption, I make sure I let them know about the issues/joys of pet ownership.  I don't want to see these poor animals all alone or anything.  *I realize this still happens in America and probably at the same rate as in Korea but because Korea is such a small country, you can just tell.

Winter is Coming...

As many of you know, I work out 4 to 5 days a week.  It has not been too bad until now.  I work out with a friend (she keeps me motivated to go), and she works at a Hagwon (Private School).  Therefore, she doesn't finish work until about 2 hours after me.  Due to this, we have started working out at 6:30 at night, which normally would not be an issue but because winter sucks, it has started going dark before I even head out for the gym.  It makes me not want to go.

Now, I actually go to the gym if I am on my way home and just stop right after work.  It is easy and such.  However, once I am home, I rarely want to leave my nice warm home to venture out to the gym.  It is bad.  I feel bad for my friend because I don't want to go out but at the same time I need to work out.  I need to keep myself on point.  Issues, issues everywhere.  Here is hoping that next month her schedule changes back to what it was before, so we can start working out at a normal hour again and I don't have to leave my nice warm apartment so early.

Halloween 2015

Went to Hongdae and Itaewon with friends for Halloween.  We went together as Batman villains.  It was great.  Had a lot of fun and met some famous hip hop celebrities at one of the clubs we went to.  All in all, it was a good time and great holiday!

Job Searching

As many of you have probably figured out, my school no longer has funding.  They do have some extra funds but it is not enough to pay for my increase in salary and bonuses that I would get when I leave.  Therefore, I am now on the lookout for a job.  Currently, I am looking for a uni job but it is extremely difficult to get a job like that without knowing someone.  On Monday, I will have had 2 interviews though.  So there is always that.  In addition to looking for a uni job (which is my number one choice), I am also working with two recruiters.  I am trying to cover all of my bases when it comes to finding a job.  It is stressful and tiring and I want it to be over.  Bleh bleh bleh!

Anyways, I will keep everyone posted on how things go.  We will see what happens.

Gwangneung Royal Tomb

Another weekend gone but fun was had.  In celebration of Hangul day, I went on a mini-adventure to the Gwangneung National Forest.  This forest is gorgeous and well preserved area.  In order to keep it in such great shape, the Korean Forest Service only allows 3,000 guests in and only those who made a reservation.  Something I did not know prior to traveling to the forest.  So, I did not get to go on a nature walk but all was not lost.  A short distance away is the Royal tomb of King Sejo, who is the second son of King Sejong (the guy who created Hangul).  He basically became king by overthrowing his nephew after his older brother, King Munjong, died.  Fun times.  Anyways, the grounds of the tomb are beautiful and well taken care of.  It was like being in a forest anyways.  Such a beautiful autumn day in Korea.  Enjoy the photos:

Side note: you can totally tell which photos I took and which ones ChanHee took.  Such different ascetic.