Halfway thru summer camp! :D It's been so busy these days cuz we have to plan new material every day. We spend our afternoons working on lessons, finding/making worksheets or powerpoints and copying things. It's fun though! This weekend I actually need to do some work at home. We were supposed to be putting our lessons in a certain outline but we were able to wait on doing it for a bit. But now they need those plus the worksheets we've used by Monday! It's hard to get it finished during the week when we're busy planning everything. I just don't write it in the format while I'm planning cuz I do a step-by-step list. I'm sure it won't take too long and I'll go in early Monday to get organized. Let's hope I can get stuff done this morning! I need to be in Seoul around 3pm. I'm going to see a musical in the evening and we need to eat beforehand.
I'm already doing laundry, so I think I'll be ok~ :-P
Yesterday I went into Seoul to meet some friends for lunch, then we went to a coffee shop and hung out the whole afternoon. I bought an iced chocolate (basically choc milk?). It tasted like melted ice cream! So yummy~~
After that, I went with Matthew to Dunkin Donuts. Yup, they have those here! ^_^ I tried a rice-cake honey donut, a sweet potato, and a mangosteen filled one. I loved the mangosteen one cuz it was a little tart while the outside was covered in powdered sugar. The honey one was good cuz it wasn't completely a rice cake. So it was a little chewy. The sweet potato wasn't very sweet and they put seeds in it and all i could taste were the seeds.
Met another friend with Matthew for a bit and got invited to go to Myeongdong for some shopping. It's a pretty expensive area though, so I only bought a Reds shirt for 5,000won. It's the World Cup team, and even though I missed the games, I really wanted one! It's got a mask on it and the team chant in Korean. Love it! I think I'm gonna wear it today, so I'll take pics hopefully. :)
I'm sure there was other stuff to talk about but I can't think of it right now. I really need to try to post a little more often! It's just hard to remember and I'm usually too lazy to take extra time to post something. It always turns out to be so long!
Also still needing to work on resizing my pictures so I can make another video. Or figure out how to make a slideshow online. I have internet now!! woo~~~so it might even be easier to post stuff. :) I'll hopefully get a chance this week to get some stuff organized and posted. If not, the next weekend for sure! I'm pretty sure I have no set plans for next weekend, so I'll try to take one of those days and not do anything but post pictures. ^^
Have a great evening all!! I'm off to finish laundry and clean! Look at me being responsible...hahaha. LOVE YOU ALL! <3
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
a day of experiences
We started summer English camp last Wednesday. So far, it's been fun! The class size is small and it's good experience for me to teach on my own (which can get tricky since they don't often understand me and vice versa). But, I have learned some useful phrases: "Let's go home!" (So they know it's time to clean up and go home).
Overall, it's a great learning experience. I have to remember this is a lot more like summer school, cuz there are certain guidelines I need to follow for the lessons (such as vocabulary and target phrases/sentences). Which is of course important since we are teaching English. I just got a little distracted with making it more interesting and fun.
After work, I relaxed a bit then met the other English teacher from my school. Taylor and I decided to eat out for dinner (my veggies went bad) at this place she loves. It's a Indian food place that's in this Asian district in Ansan. It was soooo good. I'll need to remember how to get there and home so I can take others to it later. :) We had curry chicken w/spinach, a spicy chicken with a pesto dipping sauce and yummy bread (pan?) with garlic. We were so full. I was worried I would bug her to much by trying to hang out a lot or ask questions, but she seems to want to invite me places and is willing to give me tips. She's been here a few months already and had been on her own, so she knows some of the area well.
But the other experience was taking the bus to get dinner. Ok you might think it's just a bus, but oh my goodness they are crazy drivers!! The treat this huge vehicle like it's a compact car, weaving in and out of traffic, making suddens starts and stops. I thought it was hard to stand up on the subway... I had to hug the bar to keep from falling! It was slightly amusing.
Went out for the night (it is Friday after all!) with the friend that helped me get home last weekend. Yunkyu and I went to some bar, ate some food and went off to meet his friends. They apparently were excited to meet me, but none of them spoke much English (it was pretty much no Eng haha). Yunkyu had to keep translating, but there were a few words and sentences I picked up on. They wanted me to introduce them to my co-workers from school. The girl co-workers. :-P It was funny. Oh! This was the other experience I had: I ate raw cow meat! When we met up with them, they had already ordered food and were drinking. I tried the meat, it tasted like the sauce it was in and was only slightly difficult to eat. I think mostly cuz I was so full from dinner (and lunch) and knew that it was raw meat. But, it didn't seem bad at all. I think I'll try it again when I'm not full. They finished eating and trying to talk to me and we went to a karaoke bar (Noraebang). I got to start the night singing first, but I fail so horribly at karaoke unless it's a song I really know, which isn't a lot if I don't have the song to sing along to. But, it was fun anyway. We ate more food of course. That's pretty much common here. Drink and eat. I was thinking I would lose weight here, but not not so much. There's just always food to eat.
Got home at like 3am? Talked online a bit then crashed. I don't have much planned today until later this afternoon when I go into Seoul. Meeting friends for some concert cuz I need to spend the night with her tonight. We're going to Inkigayo tomorrow (basically a music show/mini concert)!! I am so excited cuz I am pretty sure this is the weekend the leader from CNBlue is gonna be one of the MC's. It might not be sure we get in, but I hope so! :D Also that evening we put our names into a raffle for a fansign with SHINee! A lot of you have no clue what I'm talking about, but basically it all is involved with kpop. :P I am super excited!!
Need to do a few chores and buy food. Better run before it gets later. Hope I can get pictures up this week. I'll try to do them in smaller batches. Maybe that will be easier! We'll see~~
Hope you all are doing well. Love you!!!
~xoxoxoxoxo~
Overall, it's a great learning experience. I have to remember this is a lot more like summer school, cuz there are certain guidelines I need to follow for the lessons (such as vocabulary and target phrases/sentences). Which is of course important since we are teaching English. I just got a little distracted with making it more interesting and fun.
After work, I relaxed a bit then met the other English teacher from my school. Taylor and I decided to eat out for dinner (my veggies went bad) at this place she loves. It's a Indian food place that's in this Asian district in Ansan. It was soooo good. I'll need to remember how to get there and home so I can take others to it later. :) We had curry chicken w/spinach, a spicy chicken with a pesto dipping sauce and yummy bread (pan?) with garlic. We were so full. I was worried I would bug her to much by trying to hang out a lot or ask questions, but she seems to want to invite me places and is willing to give me tips. She's been here a few months already and had been on her own, so she knows some of the area well.
But the other experience was taking the bus to get dinner. Ok you might think it's just a bus, but oh my goodness they are crazy drivers!! The treat this huge vehicle like it's a compact car, weaving in and out of traffic, making suddens starts and stops. I thought it was hard to stand up on the subway... I had to hug the bar to keep from falling! It was slightly amusing.
Went out for the night (it is Friday after all!) with the friend that helped me get home last weekend. Yunkyu and I went to some bar, ate some food and went off to meet his friends. They apparently were excited to meet me, but none of them spoke much English (it was pretty much no Eng haha). Yunkyu had to keep translating, but there were a few words and sentences I picked up on. They wanted me to introduce them to my co-workers from school. The girl co-workers. :-P It was funny. Oh! This was the other experience I had: I ate raw cow meat! When we met up with them, they had already ordered food and were drinking. I tried the meat, it tasted like the sauce it was in and was only slightly difficult to eat. I think mostly cuz I was so full from dinner (and lunch) and knew that it was raw meat. But, it didn't seem bad at all. I think I'll try it again when I'm not full. They finished eating and trying to talk to me and we went to a karaoke bar (Noraebang). I got to start the night singing first, but I fail so horribly at karaoke unless it's a song I really know, which isn't a lot if I don't have the song to sing along to. But, it was fun anyway. We ate more food of course. That's pretty much common here. Drink and eat. I was thinking I would lose weight here, but not not so much. There's just always food to eat.
Got home at like 3am? Talked online a bit then crashed. I don't have much planned today until later this afternoon when I go into Seoul. Meeting friends for some concert cuz I need to spend the night with her tonight. We're going to Inkigayo tomorrow (basically a music show/mini concert)!! I am so excited cuz I am pretty sure this is the weekend the leader from CNBlue is gonna be one of the MC's. It might not be sure we get in, but I hope so! :D Also that evening we put our names into a raffle for a fansign with SHINee! A lot of you have no clue what I'm talking about, but basically it all is involved with kpop. :P I am super excited!!
Need to do a few chores and buy food. Better run before it gets later. Hope I can get pictures up this week. I'll try to do them in smaller batches. Maybe that will be easier! We'll see~~
Hope you all are doing well. Love you!!!
~xoxoxoxoxo~
Saturday, July 17, 2010
weekend update~
I had to leave around 10:45 to meet up with Mai and a friend in Isu at 12. We went to see Eclipse! :) I was a little excited, mostly cuz I was hoping this one would be better than New Moon...or at least just as amusing. XP It was a bit of both! I really liked it and there were a few parts where we made comments and it was hilarious~ :D
After that we went to SPAO. I bought an SNSD shirt there and upstairs at the fangood store (forgot the name :P) I bought a Hangeng folder, SNSD mousepad. I wanted something else, but I didn't really see anything else I thought was useful. :P I'll probably go back to get a SUJU shirt. They still had some from the Sorry, Sorry days (all 13 YAY!). I think I might even know how to get back there! Might...
*these are k-pop bands i listen to, just in case you were confused haha
Got food, went into a place that only served cold noodles so we left. It was raining all day yesterday so we weren't in any mood to eat cold food. Went to a place and had some yummy food! I need to write them all down so I don't forget the ones I like lol...it was cooked at our table but was more soup-like. It had meat, a few other veggies and onions, which made it taste sweeter. But it was tasty! We also had the Korean dish that's similar to Japan's Okanomoyaki (sp??). ^^ Basically, a veggie pancake. :) Oh I bought an umbrella somewhere along the way. The one I brought already broke. It's a clear one yay! I love those~ only 3,000won (around a $1?)
After that, we went to some shops in the subway in MyeongDong. I bought an SNSD phone charm, and some Yunho postcards. :) (That day seemed to be a k-pop type of day) The postcards actually had two copies of every pic, so Mai and I could have split the cost lol~ oh well, I can maybe send one to someone who'd get a kick out of it. :P Oh! My friend Caitlyn is in town...I could give the copies to her. She might like em~
Last for the night with Mai, met up with some other girls and went to Noraebang!!! (karaoke in case you have no idea what i mean) It was actually Everysing in the SM area (SM is the big k-pop company)~ So fun! I met another Hanson fan friend!!!:D We sang Penny and Me~ Also a bunch of K-pop song, of course.
I left at 10:20 to meet my friend Caitlyn who just got into Korea. She was coming with Jason, whom I met a few times before through another friend. They unfortunately were running late (AND I STILL DON'T HAVE A CELL PHONE) so I got worried about getting stuck in Hyehwa and took off around 11:30. I got on the very last train from there but it only went as far as Sonbon. I knew I would take a taxi but I was pretty stressed by this time (II thought my friends would probably worry about where I was and I was tired and trying to get home)...a guy noticed it and asked me with his phone if I was okay (translated on it). Turns out he lives in Ansan and speaks pretty good English! :) We talked and exchanged emails and he helped me get a taxi home. It was so nice of him~~I'm glad I made a new friend. He's gonna help me get a cell phone, next week. I was worried cuz of the lack of Korean I speak would make the task a little tricky. I don't want to buy a phone that's too expensive or a plan that I don't need.
So, even with the slight stressful trek home, it was a great day and a fun evening! I really think I was so concerned because I don't want my friends worried about me. I think I'll finish getting ready for the day and if they still haven't gotten a hold of me I can call my friend's hotel/guesthouse. My other friend knew where she was staying and gave me the info. I want to hang out with her today, so hope it works out!! The week is usually so busy for me, so weekends are better.
Anyway, I'm gonna end the long rant. Hope everyone has a great day/evening! ^^
After that we went to SPAO. I bought an SNSD shirt there and upstairs at the fangood store (forgot the name :P) I bought a Hangeng folder, SNSD mousepad. I wanted something else, but I didn't really see anything else I thought was useful. :P I'll probably go back to get a SUJU shirt. They still had some from the Sorry, Sorry days (all 13 YAY!). I think I might even know how to get back there! Might...
*these are k-pop bands i listen to, just in case you were confused haha
Got food, went into a place that only served cold noodles so we left. It was raining all day yesterday so we weren't in any mood to eat cold food. Went to a place and had some yummy food! I need to write them all down so I don't forget the ones I like lol...it was cooked at our table but was more soup-like. It had meat, a few other veggies and onions, which made it taste sweeter. But it was tasty! We also had the Korean dish that's similar to Japan's Okanomoyaki (sp??). ^^ Basically, a veggie pancake. :) Oh I bought an umbrella somewhere along the way. The one I brought already broke. It's a clear one yay! I love those~ only 3,000won (around a $1?)
After that, we went to some shops in the subway in MyeongDong. I bought an SNSD phone charm, and some Yunho postcards. :) (That day seemed to be a k-pop type of day) The postcards actually had two copies of every pic, so Mai and I could have split the cost lol~ oh well, I can maybe send one to someone who'd get a kick out of it. :P Oh! My friend Caitlyn is in town...I could give the copies to her. She might like em~
Last for the night with Mai, met up with some other girls and went to Noraebang!!! (karaoke in case you have no idea what i mean) It was actually Everysing in the SM area (SM is the big k-pop company)~ So fun! I met another Hanson fan friend!!!:D We sang Penny and Me~ Also a bunch of K-pop song, of course.
I left at 10:20 to meet my friend Caitlyn who just got into Korea. She was coming with Jason, whom I met a few times before through another friend. They unfortunately were running late (AND I STILL DON'T HAVE A CELL PHONE) so I got worried about getting stuck in Hyehwa and took off around 11:30. I got on the very last train from there but it only went as far as Sonbon. I knew I would take a taxi but I was pretty stressed by this time (II thought my friends would probably worry about where I was and I was tired and trying to get home)...a guy noticed it and asked me with his phone if I was okay (translated on it). Turns out he lives in Ansan and speaks pretty good English! :) We talked and exchanged emails and he helped me get a taxi home. It was so nice of him~~I'm glad I made a new friend. He's gonna help me get a cell phone, next week. I was worried cuz of the lack of Korean I speak would make the task a little tricky. I don't want to buy a phone that's too expensive or a plan that I don't need.
So, even with the slight stressful trek home, it was a great day and a fun evening! I really think I was so concerned because I don't want my friends worried about me. I think I'll finish getting ready for the day and if they still haven't gotten a hold of me I can call my friend's hotel/guesthouse. My other friend knew where she was staying and gave me the info. I want to hang out with her today, so hope it works out!! The week is usually so busy for me, so weekends are better.
Anyway, I'm gonna end the long rant. Hope everyone has a great day/evening! ^^
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
finally another update!
Hey!!!! It has been busy this week, and I haven't made much time to post here. I still have a lot of pics to post! This weekend will get even more busy...my college roomie Caitlyn will be here for part of the week!!! So excited~~~ I'm meeting up with them Saturday night and will probably just crash with Cailtyn since the subway trains stop running around midnight or sometimes earlier. I'll need to remember to bring clothes! :P
This week (Tues and Wed) I had to teach without my co-teachers! It wasn't so bad with the 5th grade, I was able to get them to understand my instructions. The 3rd grade on the other hand...that was interesting~~ they understand very little English, so to try to explain to them that we are doing role-play was a bit of a challenge. Luckily, the homeroom teachers all stayed in each class I taught. They figured out what I was asking and helped to translate. :)
Today was even easier~ My second class was cancelled because of a test, and the third class because of the fire drill. WOW, that was the coolest fire drill ever! haha~~ There was some sort of smoke/dust coming out of the building (not fire smoke!) while the kids were going outside. There were two bins in the middle of the field that they lit on fire and had some students help put it out with the extinguishers. The firetruck even came by and knocked over the bins with their hose. It was super cool. I took pics and video, so I'll make time to post it tonight (if my internet cooperates).
Currently using wireless that I can pick up, but it's been messing up this week. I'm gonna give in and buy internet for my place. It'll make posting the pics easier, as well. :)
I also need to buy a phone, but I may wait until my friend Matthew is back in town. He can help with translating things. :) I'm not in a rush anyway. I get paid Friday, so I can get the phone next week. I also get paid from LPA one more time next week. That money will go to my loans, so I don't have to worry too much about making any transfers anytime soon. I also should get reimbursed for my plane ticket this paycheck! woo~~ that means I need to keep my spending in check. :-P It's so easy to buy things here.
I'm sure there was more to tell, but I was distracted by the fire drill and haven't updated in awhile. I'm sure I forgot about something.
Anyway, I have one more class today and then lunch! This afternoon I need to start thinking about Summer English Camp. It's already next week (Wednesday)! The lessons are pretty much planned, but I want to at least have the first week detailed and organized so I am prepared in case I have extra time or something doesn't work. Talk to you all later, love you guys!!
This week (Tues and Wed) I had to teach without my co-teachers! It wasn't so bad with the 5th grade, I was able to get them to understand my instructions. The 3rd grade on the other hand...that was interesting~~ they understand very little English, so to try to explain to them that we are doing role-play was a bit of a challenge. Luckily, the homeroom teachers all stayed in each class I taught. They figured out what I was asking and helped to translate. :)
Today was even easier~ My second class was cancelled because of a test, and the third class because of the fire drill. WOW, that was the coolest fire drill ever! haha~~ There was some sort of smoke/dust coming out of the building (not fire smoke!) while the kids were going outside. There were two bins in the middle of the field that they lit on fire and had some students help put it out with the extinguishers. The firetruck even came by and knocked over the bins with their hose. It was super cool. I took pics and video, so I'll make time to post it tonight (if my internet cooperates).
Currently using wireless that I can pick up, but it's been messing up this week. I'm gonna give in and buy internet for my place. It'll make posting the pics easier, as well. :)
I also need to buy a phone, but I may wait until my friend Matthew is back in town. He can help with translating things. :) I'm not in a rush anyway. I get paid Friday, so I can get the phone next week. I also get paid from LPA one more time next week. That money will go to my loans, so I don't have to worry too much about making any transfers anytime soon. I also should get reimbursed for my plane ticket this paycheck! woo~~ that means I need to keep my spending in check. :-P It's so easy to buy things here.
I'm sure there was more to tell, but I was distracted by the fire drill and haven't updated in awhile. I'm sure I forgot about something.
Anyway, I have one more class today and then lunch! This afternoon I need to start thinking about Summer English Camp. It's already next week (Wednesday)! The lessons are pretty much planned, but I want to at least have the first week detailed and organized so I am prepared in case I have extra time or something doesn't work. Talk to you all later, love you guys!!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
another update!!
So, yesterday I taught 3rd grade. I only had 4 classes. Today was the same, but I will teach three 3rd grade and one 5th grade.
Yesterday didn't start of as easy as the other classes. I have a different co-teacher for 3rd grade. She had me teach from the start, without me observing or really discussing with her first. But, I did ask her a few questions before the day started and also learned as I went along. :) It was very tricky (I felt like it was!) my first class, but it started to go better after that. I just followed the book as best as I could and figured it out along the way. Today was much easier, in my opinion. We had the same lessons as the previous days with new classes. So, all I had to do was remember what I did yesterday. We ran into a few snags because one class didn't have a working tv (all classes have a tv, computer, and those projectors that hook to the tv and don't use transparencies). So, I used the board and wrote down all the phrases we needed to practice. It was a little awkward...I could get used to relying on technology! :)
I forgot to talk about lunch time! I buy my lunch here, instead of packing a lunch (since I'm a little low on groceries) and it comes out of my paycheck. With the dollar->won conversion, it's in favor of dollars when I spend money here (10,000 won is about 8 dollars). I think it's 2,000 won for lunch here. Anyway, the lunches are of course, traditional Korean meals. Every meal so far has included rice, a soup of some kind (seaweed soup, something w/fish flavor, and another w/dumplings I think), and side dishes. We have had kimchi most meal, too. It's hard to explain since I recognize most of the common dishes, so I'll have to maybe take pictures (but maybe without everyone around...I stand out enough). Basically, lots of food. :)
Another thing I am getting used to is all this extra time I have at school. The latest I get finished is around 2:00pm, but all teachers are required to stay at school until 4:40pm. That's nice when I need to plan a lesson, but even then, I don't need all that time to work. Luckily the other eng teacher here says it's ok to be doing non-school stuff. Maybe I will study my Korean during this extra time.
Yesterday, I went out on my own again. I needed a few things for my place, as well as a gift for a teacher's birthday this Friday. I found a small market in downtown that seemed reasonably priced. I bought some stationary (send me letters so I can use it!! ^_^), shower shoes --the one's left in my apartment wouldn't come clean-- wrapping paper for the gift, tape, and scissors. It was only 11,000 won...I think I was charged for a plastic bag so I'll have to remember to buy some reusable ones. Then, I went to the big dept store called New Core. It has department items as well as grocery items. I only visited the 1st floor because I was looking around and decided to try to find a watch. I bought one! But I have to return it because the second-hand is stuck. I don't know how I didn't notice before I left, but oh well. I figured out what to say in Korean (Thank you Matthew!) when I go to return it, but my co-teacher offered to go with me. She has to visit that store anyway. I think now it will be easier to return it. Maybe they can fix it because I really like it!
I think that was it for now...if I think of more I will post again, soon. :) When I have time this week/weekend, I will upload more pics (I took some at school!). Talk to you all soon~~please leave me comments telling me what you think AND how you all are doing. I miss you!!
Yesterday didn't start of as easy as the other classes. I have a different co-teacher for 3rd grade. She had me teach from the start, without me observing or really discussing with her first. But, I did ask her a few questions before the day started and also learned as I went along. :) It was very tricky (I felt like it was!) my first class, but it started to go better after that. I just followed the book as best as I could and figured it out along the way. Today was much easier, in my opinion. We had the same lessons as the previous days with new classes. So, all I had to do was remember what I did yesterday. We ran into a few snags because one class didn't have a working tv (all classes have a tv, computer, and those projectors that hook to the tv and don't use transparencies). So, I used the board and wrote down all the phrases we needed to practice. It was a little awkward...I could get used to relying on technology! :)
I forgot to talk about lunch time! I buy my lunch here, instead of packing a lunch (since I'm a little low on groceries) and it comes out of my paycheck. With the dollar->won conversion, it's in favor of dollars when I spend money here (10,000 won is about 8 dollars). I think it's 2,000 won for lunch here. Anyway, the lunches are of course, traditional Korean meals. Every meal so far has included rice, a soup of some kind (seaweed soup, something w/fish flavor, and another w/dumplings I think), and side dishes. We have had kimchi most meal, too. It's hard to explain since I recognize most of the common dishes, so I'll have to maybe take pictures (but maybe without everyone around...I stand out enough). Basically, lots of food. :)
Another thing I am getting used to is all this extra time I have at school. The latest I get finished is around 2:00pm, but all teachers are required to stay at school until 4:40pm. That's nice when I need to plan a lesson, but even then, I don't need all that time to work. Luckily the other eng teacher here says it's ok to be doing non-school stuff. Maybe I will study my Korean during this extra time.
Yesterday, I went out on my own again. I needed a few things for my place, as well as a gift for a teacher's birthday this Friday. I found a small market in downtown that seemed reasonably priced. I bought some stationary (send me letters so I can use it!! ^_^), shower shoes --the one's left in my apartment wouldn't come clean-- wrapping paper for the gift, tape, and scissors. It was only 11,000 won...I think I was charged for a plastic bag so I'll have to remember to buy some reusable ones. Then, I went to the big dept store called New Core. It has department items as well as grocery items. I only visited the 1st floor because I was looking around and decided to try to find a watch. I bought one! But I have to return it because the second-hand is stuck. I don't know how I didn't notice before I left, but oh well. I figured out what to say in Korean (Thank you Matthew!) when I go to return it, but my co-teacher offered to go with me. She has to visit that store anyway. I think now it will be easier to return it. Maybe they can fix it because I really like it!
I think that was it for now...if I think of more I will post again, soon. :) When I have time this week/weekend, I will upload more pics (I took some at school!). Talk to you all soon~~please leave me comments telling me what you think AND how you all are doing. I miss you!!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Monday, July 5th
My day is almost finished! My last class was at 2pm today, but I had to collect paperwork from the hospital for my ID card (I had to get a health exam the other day). Also I needed another photo for the documents I need to turn in at the Korean Immigration Office. We went right after my last class to collect the paperwork and to get my picture taken.
My classes went great! I had 5 classes, all of them were 5th grade. We started each class with me introducing myself and they asked questions. It is common here to ask some personal questions, like how old are you, how tall are you. They even asked how old and tall Ian was. :-P One class asked about my best friends' names (yup, that's you Jan and Jill!!^^).
After introducing myself, we got right into the lesson (each class is only 40minutes). Today, the lesson was called: Let's Go Swimming. The phrase "let's go __." was taught with pictures and examples (such as swimming, shopping, hiking, skating, etc.) and the students had to repeat together. We also did some games to practice the phrase. They also learned responses to it, such as "Sorry, I can't." or "Sounds good!" Another activity was fill-in-the-blanks while listening to a video.
I already started teaching! In some classes, I reviewed the phrase "let's go_." and the picture cards of the words (swimming, shopping, etc). I helped check on them while they were playing a kind of tic-tac-toe game to practice all of the phrases. Also, I reviewed with the whole class the answers to the fill-in-the-blank worksheet to check their answers. If they got the answer right they get 1pt (or 1dollar). Their reward system, from what I observed, is used for winning an activity and getting answers right. I'm not sure yet what they can do with the "dollars" they get. But, I like it! I will probably try to use it for activities and such when I teach in AZ next year.
Everyone here is sooo nice!! ^.^ The kids all seem to love me, mostly cuz I'm the new teacher and because I'm American. One kid stared at my face until he noticed I had blue eyes~ :) It was cute. I also surprised some younger students by saying hello in Korean. They are all very impressed when I use Korean, even if it's just one word. :)
The school is very nice, and very big! It's a relaxed school, there are no uniforms. They do need to wear different shoes for indoors than outdoors (I have to do the same thing!). I am allowed to wear any shoes, but I do have a pair of shoes that I haven't worn yet, so I will use them for now. The teachers also seem to wear semi-casual, as well. I can even wear jeans, from what I observed.
Well, there is about 1hour left in my day. I am being introduced at the assembly today! I am very nervous, but I think it will be okay. I wrote down what I will say. :) Wish me luck!
I'll tell you about the rest of the week soon! I also think that this week there will be a dinner/party for me. They had one for the other Eng teacher (she's been here 2months). Hope you all have a great week!! Love and miss you~~~
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Picture update
Finally put together another video slideshow~~ this one has music! But, no text so ask questions if you want to know something. :)
This is a way i can contact you guys for free~! :) so when i'm online i can answer calls and even get texts! *PLEASE email me to set up a time so I will be at home and online. It is 16+ hr difference for AZ. :)
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