Construction Complete!

For the most part, photo uploading is complete. If you happen to venture to my earliest Korea posts, there are some pictures missing (my apologies!), but the rest of them are up. Thank you for your patience and happiest of new years to you! Resolutions to follow, both personal and teaching related for the REACH TO TEACH BLOG CARNIVAL.

Much love,

Abby

Under Construction

My apologies for the inconvenience as Bodging for Apples II is under construction. Photos are currently absent, but they will be back by the end of this year, December 2014.

Feel feel to continue to peruse and read, minus the photos ^^ Thank you so much for visiting my blog! Great things to come in the new year, including monthly posts for the REACH TO TEACH BLOG CARNIVAL.

A Week of Friends

This week, I had so many dinner dates and get togethers with friends. Friends from high school, college, and beyond. Now that I'm home from the last of these visits, I feel incredibly thankful for the time I had with them all. I do not think that any of us are really in the same place, and that is hard for me to grapple with sometimes, but I appreciate that we are willing to drag our butts out into the dark and cold that is winter to meet up and eat food.

I have always had trouble balancing social time with alone time, which makes that last part about the effort it takes to meet up with even the Best of Friends stand out more to me. The good things in life take effort and it is not always going to be something I particularly want to do at that exact moment in time. And just because I enjoy a certain amount of solitude does not mean I do not want friendship; living in Korea taught me that one for the last time. Also, That Effort is an important thing. Friendship by way of courtesy is not helping either party and is super exhausting.

So, I feel happy about this week. XOXO to all the friends out there.

Coming & Staying Home

After a little over one year in South Korea, I returned home to the United States of America in the last days of this past September. I think back to that very last day in Korea, my flight day, and remember that I couldn't sleep I was so excited-ansty to catch the early morning bus to the airport. I hauled my luggage down to the taxi stand, and my very last taxi ride in Icheon was with a fine taxi driver, noticeably irritated at the amount of luggage.

I had chosen to wear one of the bows I had bought from Artbox that day -- my friend the special education teacher at school always wore these big, beautiful hair bows. And I daresay the bow made me extra sweet and extra likable. At the airport check-in, not an eyelash was bat at my overweight, extra-extra large checked bag. Sitting at the gate, five traveling friends with matching carry-on luggage approached me and put some of the fruit they were munching on into my hands. Leaving the restroom, I was chased down by a cleaning lady: she handed me a sturdy Lotte shopping bag for the quilt I was carrying. I would miss this genuine interest and nature. I would miss Korea.

Nov. Soundtrack

Quick before the month ends, here is my November soundtrack. I've always been very much in my own head and the year in Korea especially. The lyrics and and phrases struck me this month.

Courtesy of Pinterest scourings

Goodbye, Korea

I feel so grateful for the time I had here in South Korea. The difficulty to try and find words other than ones that gush and get nostalgic already -- it's impossible not to. 

Teaching ESL, A Shorthand Guide

I wrote a "teaching guide" for the next native English teacher that will be at my elementary schools containing some general and some specific information about teaching in my corner of South Korea. I was so grateful for the letter I received from the previous teacher at Doam and I thought it could also be a helpful blog post.

Contents:
1. Classroom Set-up
2. Class Curriculum Notes
3. Games & Activities
4. Know Your Contract
5. Teacher Dinners
6. Happy Teaching

Welcome to Korea, A Shorthand Guide

More 'Type A' than ever before, I thoroughly enjoyed writing this "shorthand guide" to living in South Korea so much that I couldn't just give it to the new native English teacher - it needed to be blogged (parts of it anyway ^^). Geared towards prospective or new native English teachers, welcome to South Korea!

Contents:
1. Your Apartment
2. Helpful Technology
3. Official Business - Getting your ARC, Korean bank account, tax benefits, etc.
4. Contact Me

Got Style: Korea

Here is a post I wrote when I was maybe six months into my year in South Korea about fantastic fashion in Korea. I'd like to add hiking attire to the list of great, iconic Korean looks.

Feeling Inspired to Dress:

My looks during the BADGER BLOGGING BLITZ

Your Own Beauty

As my dental bills loom over what might have been in my bank account, I think about how my definition of beauty and style has evolved. I have become more willing to recognize that I do care about how I look because I am proud of the attributes I have. I like dressing to impress myself. 

With that, I am more willing to invest into that look nowadays. My dental work, while much was medical (root canals and cavities), a large portion of that work was bridging over gaps left by four baby teeth with no permanent teeth to back them up. I was getting by - eating steak, popcorn, and everything else. But at the end of my treatment, the dentist said to me, "Now your eating is much more comfortable and easy." I must also say, my bottom row of teeth has never looked prettier. 

My Summer Vacation in Korea

For summer vacation, I traveled with my family to the major cities in South Korea - Seoul, Suwon, and Busan. There are so many things to say about the experience - my family simply being here, traveling as a group of six, and working through food menus to order the right amount of spicy for each person. In lieu of writing a post, I thought I would share the Lesson 8 Intro PPT I showed to my 5th grade classes who are learning, "How was your summer vacation?" and "What did you do?" to show off our first-ever-flight-and-passport-involved Nedeau-Owen family vacation:

Summer Camp 2014 Projects & Games

This is the 'How To' post for the projects and games completed in DOAM ELEMENTARY'S SUMMER CAMP 2014: CHRISTMAS IN JULY.

Summer Camp 2014: Christmas in July

As part of my GEPIK contract with my Korean elementary school, I was required to teach a two-week winter and summer camp. Unsupervised teaching (no Korean co-teacher for the most part), I decided on a theme dear to my heart and somewhat inspired by my "Christmas Countdown" iPad app: Christmas in July.

Guided by my friend Rebecca's "It's a Small World" Winter Camp, we tagged-along with Santa as he delivered presents across the globe.

These are the countries we visited:

1.   Antarctica

2.   Kenya

3.   Australia

4.   India

5.   Japan

6.   Spain 

Almost Autumn Soundtrack

Been talking a lot about all the changes coming up (I'll be leaving Korea in less than a month), and I suddenly realized talking to my Korean mom the second grade teacher this morning that the season will also be changing. Where did the summer go?

With all that and my family leaving Korea after a two-week visit in South Korea, I've been in a dramatic mood. Hopelessly excited, then hopelessly sad, hungry for foods I will be leaving, hungry for foods back home, tired, upset... The music I've been listening to is helping me get through this itchy period.

Liebster Award

I have been nominated by Rebecca from Rebe With a Clause for the blogger-given Liebster Award! I had never heard of the Liebster Award before but am thrilled and very honored to be part of this movement to recognize bloggers and their blogs. Already knee deep in two of the blogs Rebe nominated, it is an excellent way to quote "discover new bloggers."

Nominee Acceptance Guidelines:
1. Acknowledge the blog that nominated you and display the award
2. Answer the 11 questions your nominator gives you
3. Provide 11 random facts about yourself
4. Nominate 5 blogs with less than 1,000 followers that you feel deserve the award
5. Notify the bloggers that you have nominated them and give them 11 questions to answer

End of the Semester Happiness

I'm ecstatic about the semester being over, though possibly not as much as my students. Bounding in and out of the English room, crowding around me, asking for the millionth time about the photos by my desk, wanting to play UNO, and sneaking up on/scaring the bejeezus out of me.

 

Teacher Outing: CATS

With the end of the semester finally here, the Doam teachers headed to Seoul to see CATS the musical. My co-teacher SK kept telling me that she heard it was going to be the Original Broadway version, and I didn't realize that meant the musical would be in English. That discovery when the lights went down, the music started, and the first words were sung was so nice.

Having never seen, knowingly heard any of the music from, or read anything pertaining to Andrew Lloyd Webber's CATS, I have never liked CATS. I have never gotten a good vibe from it. I would see stills of the Broadway actors in costume and I would quite consciously screw my nose up. Even pop culture references, such as on Modern Family, couldn't convince me to want to see it. But I was very happy to have the experience in Korea, with Korean actors and surrounded by a Korean audience. 

Does Not Compute: Korea Perspective

"Yes. No. Does not compute." I remember my older brother and his scrawny best friend sitting in the way back seats of the van playing this idiotic robot role play game. I was sitting in the middle seats and getting increasingly angry at my failure to ask a question that didn't win. Turns out, that game is for real. There are a lot of things that are so apparent to me that my Korean co-workers just don't understand.

For an example, here is a question I've been getting a lot lately at my schools: "So, why aren't you staying for the rest of the year?" Fair enough, I respond as best I can, "Well my contract was for one year, and I miss my family and friends. I'm very sad to leave Korea and will miss you and all the students very much."  Honest, simple, battabing-battaboo. 

Doesn't register to my co-workers. "Why are you quitting?" I was talking with a friend and she mentioned that the teachers at her school asked why she was quitting come September. Our GEPIK contracts are for one year -- it's not quitting if we don't renew. It's just moving on to something different. When I brought up the contract when I was similarly asked "But why aren't you staying?", my co-teacher shot back that most teachers stay for at least two years. That may be true, but *face palm* that may be true. 

Feeling Safe in South Korea

I admitted to some friends a thought I have about going home to the U.S. - I'm really excited to get back and see the people I miss and to do the things I miss. It'll be happy to get back in a place where my daily struggles are more professional and creative rather than cultural and languagual (for lack of an actual word I can't think of right now). With all these imaginings and an animation about going home, I also have this idea that I could very well be shot and killed upon returning to America.

One of the girls laughed and said that the radical Koreans were getting into my head. Well, where are people getting shot dead at schools, convenience stores, movie theaters, and places of worship? Where are people walking around in public with loaded guns? It's not paranoia driving this idea, it's matter-of-fact reason. It is a reality, one that won't change how I go about each individual day (America isn't a war zone after all), but it will be a small adjustment in mind set from the one I have gotten to know, living in South Korea.

The tremendous sense of security I feel living in Korea has translated into this world of trust and reliability I've never experienced before. It hasn't taken away the token of worry but it has reinforced a world view and every day living that I didn't think could exist. Some small examples: as a young woman of the smaller size, walking home late at night, I have stopped feeling that tightness and rigid fear of being attacked. The thought is still there, but the instinct - the sixth sense I've learned to trust - is nearly gone. A couple more years of living like this and that expectation of violence might vanish for good.

Sunday Lipstick & Music

This past school week, from Monday, not including Wednesday, I was so tired. And I blame the five-day weekend I had last week because it was cruel to come back to work from that. By Friday, basically every teacher who would normally talk to me told me how exhausted I looked, and I tried explaining my theory as to why (5-day weekend) to my co-teacher multiple times with no success, which made me even more tired - *breath* - it's a good theory I think. He would've applauded it I know it.

I powered through and after my last class of the week, I sank down into my chair and turned up the volume on my computer for a listen to one of my favorites: 

And then this today: 

Dan Deacon: We Can't Stop 50% Reduction (Straight Chop Remix)

Say what you will, these are awesome, plus a coat of lipstick to finish out my weekend. 

Family Matters

Had a wonderful Google Hangout with my family this morning. My relationship with my family is sporadic. Living an ocean away from them this year has capitalized on that; we've had to poke each other with sticks a few times. It's given me practice up-keeping long distance relationships, a necessary life-skill after college. My inevitable sensitivity to the forms of correspondence, digital and letteral, reflects my hot-then-cold attitude towards people in general. But what I've begun to truly understand, from not being a fifty-minute car drive away from the most important people in my life, is unconditional love and support. They are the ones I can jab with a stick after an absence and who will subsequently smack back, pin me down, and let one rip.

And coming this summer, yes, six out of seven Nedeau-Owens will be in Korea! This is the first big family trip in a long time and I can't wait. One of my friends does a lot of traveling with her mom and we've talked about how nice it is to travel with family -- no pretending, I am mean and grumpy but also somehow delightful to be around. I'm probably going to cry when I see them. 

When I studied in France, my first conscious time abroad, I missed my family from an angle that surprised me. I was seeing and smelling and tasting and hearing and touching SENSING all these things I hugely wanted them to be there for. Just so I could say, "Mom, look! Dad, do you see? It's Notre Dame! It's the Eiffel Tower! It's Monet's Garden!"

I am extremely excited to be with them as they experience and react to South Korea. I am so curious to hear what they think, see how they process everything with what different perspectives they will bring. Korea holds a lot of weight in our family and it will be a happy trip if also at times difficult, angsty, and tiring. It's going to be FABulous!! Poke. Love you, family. 

Open Class Success

"Hello, beautiful children!" I exclaimed to our 4-2 class yesterday as they came piling into the English room. My co-teacher SK fell to her knees laughing with good humor because we had just finished 4-1 open class with the principal.

I didn't think that I was nervous for this open class, but I had a pretty terrifying dream the night before about the computers not working, then not being able to find the right Powerpoint, and then the principal walking around the classroom pointing at the plants I forgot to water. I guess I am nervous I thought on the walk to school. 

SK and I did less "planning" together than I have in the past with other co-teachers, which I felt fit our personalities. I do sometimes wish there was more communication, but we have a good system that was reinforced by the high praise from the principal. It felt so good to hear that we did a good job. I was very happy and relieved for SK, too. She's been scrambling for the past few weeks, more than usual -- this class meant a lot for her professionally. 

As soon as the principal left the room, the air was light and we let out high-pitched gasps of glee. YES. WE DID IT. The 3-2 teacher then came in to ask how it went. Good, good, very good! The kids were great and SK is a top-notch teacher, truly one of the best. All was well and our second 4th grade class was just as successful as the first. I felt energized the rest of the day from the feedback and recognition. 

It was days like yesterday that made me think I could stay here for another year. Yesterday was a happy day. And I'm reminded of my role, especially on the bad days, by my students. Earlier this week I was outside by the pond when one of the third grade students ran up to me. A huge bee suddenly appeared and we both quickly and cautiously backtracked. "Oh, I don't like bees. Bees angry," she said. She's not the most outspoken student in class and I hadn't really ever heard her speak English. "Ugg, I don't like bees either," and we swapped bug bite histories.  

Musée d'Orsay, Seoul

When Anne mentioned that she wanted to see the impressionist paintings that were visiting from the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, my memories flashed back to walking around in the Tuileries Garden and seeing Monet's "Water Lilies" for the first time. That was such a happy day - sunshine, good company, and beautiful artwork. Turns out I was remembering the Musée de l'Orangerie, but the Musée d'Orsay is on the opposite side of the Tuileries Garden, housing impressionist and post-impressionist work in the marvelously restored train station. That day, our super-intense-awesome tour guide Joelle led us through the museum. Equally happy day.

Joelle and the Louvre, Me and Candice with a lightpost

sprouting from our combined awesomeness

Anyway, the timing didn't work out for a couple of weeks, but we finally made it to the National Museum of Korea, where the impressionist paintings from France would be and will be displayed until August 31st. The exaggerated, poppy flower-lined stairway from the subway station to the museum prefaced the atmosphere up at the museum. Korea has this wonderful way of making everything delightfully comfortable. From convenience store straws for one's milk to the fancy coffee machines at most places of business to the lovely, motivational stationary, there is an overall feeling of ease and gentle thoughtfulness in Korea. 

Getting the Vote: Campaigning Observations in Korea

I've really enjoyed seeing all the color and enthusiasm as Election Day draws near in Korea. June 4th is the big day and a couple of weeks ago I noticed a well-dressed man with a sash around his torso  standing on the corner of one of the busiest intersections in my city Icheon. Right by the bus terminal, I couldn't figure out what he was doing; he didn't have a bag or a suitcase and he was just standing there, arms straight at his side, waiting patiently. When the light changed and the traffic started rolling by, he began bowing. Deeper than the standard-everyday greeting bow, his bows lasted a few seconds. It is something I won't soon forget! "Oh, wow," I thought, "He's bowing to the drivers."

After School Club

I came into the new school year with three after school classes and a plan to focus on broadening vocabulary though the art and stories of children's book. I put together a "My English Notebook" for each of the after school club attendees, created worksheets and activities specific to each book, and established a sticker rewards system that they could track on the inside cover of the notebooks. With powerpoint versions of the books to display on the big touch screen, I was confident this was going to be awesome.

It was pretty clear by the second week that my plan had relied too much on their ability to focus that late in the afternoon. Combined with varying levels of English, extreme tardiness, and schedule changes, I abandoned the children's book lesson plan and opted for ABC and ABC phonics activities and English games - many of which I found here - that practiced the key phrases we were learning in our regular English classes.

Expressing Sewol

Thank You, Bus Drivers

The bus drivers here in Korea are cool, fearless, sometimes easily irritable, lay-on-the-horn type, and have a "I'm bigger than you" mentaility when driving. One of the city bus drivers I see more regularly has shocking white hair, wears aviators, and changes gears like he's flying a fighter jet. 

Red lights are optional and the bus drivers are, if possible, more anxious and impatient than the riders themselves to get where they need to go. Express buses to Seoul from my city, where seats are reserved (see below for online-iPhone reservation how to), leave the second the scheduled departure time rolls by. Leaving from Seoul, there's a great stand-by system that let people pay for seats of people who miscalculated their timing and don't get to the bus on time. When arrived at the destination, the express bus drivers stand outside the bus door and bow as each of us passengers get off. 

On the longer trips I've taken (to Busan and Seoraksan National Park), the bus driver has had a set of indoor driving shoes, driving gloves, and a suit and tie hanging behind his seat, you know, just in case. The level of professionalism and pride of ownership - I drive this bus - is so right. I've noticed in other places - taxis and public places like bathrooms and elevators - head shots of those in charge (the drivers, cleaners, operators and maintenance workers). It seems like a good system to me, one that says, "Hey, I'm here working and making life that much nicer for you." 

Doam Spring Sports Day

Happy Labor Day, all. I was thrilled to have a day off from work and even more excited to spend it outside at Doam with my co-workers and students. The weather today was sunny and cool, beckoning the track suits and visors of the abbreviated Sports Days.

I didn't write a post about Doam's Fall Sports Day, which was a full day of races, quirky games, whole-school choreographed dances, music, food carts, colorful decorations, and family onlookers. It was a big event, one of my favorite days in Korea. Because of the ferry, my second school's Sports Day was cancelled and Doam's Sports Day was significantly scaled back; absent were the dances, decorations, food carts, and flock of parents. There was only one big school relay race, otherwise small competitions (like dodgeball and jump roping) took place by grade in different sections of the playground yard. It was much less of an event and more a collective morning physical education class. Still great fun of course.

Trick Eye & Ice Museum

I went to the Trick Eye Museum, and by extension the Ice Museum, with Anne and Rebecca a few weeks back. Located in young and hip Hongdae area, the days were still quite cold and the winter drear was at a maximum for me. The Trick Eye Museum mashed together great scenery with the joys of taking and looking at pictures of ourselves, and the visit gave me some much needed "Vitamin D." I was carefree and high on art, though I was still plenty awkward as I tried to coordinate my body into a good pose for each scene.

School Feelings

Teaching is my teaching weakness. It's an inside joke with myself as I talk with other teachers and listen to their stories. But as I sit here and wrap up and bow tie twenty-nine mini Twix bars for my after school kids tomorrow, I'm thinking what a cool teacher I am. It is my secret plan to have the kids associate chocolate with English time, and I know that they'll be thrilled to get the little notes with my signature scrawled next to a heart.

It's been a tough two weeks for me at school. Mostly I've lately been struggling with my role in the teaching classroom, especially at my second school. Co-teaching is something that takes work; it's a partnership and I'm not sure everyone is meant to work well together. Throwback, but I must say how thankful I am for my time in the Dino Room. It was a subtle dynamic that made things work there, for me at least. Thank you Maggie, Steve, Preston, and Karli. 

Here are some shots of the "English Notebooks" I made a while back for my after school classes, along with the bow-tied treats. Paper and bookmaking heals all: 

Yellow ribbons for Sewol ::

Thoughts on the captain and crew:

I think that human mistake after mistake compounded into what is now one hundred seventy dead people with still over one hundred missing. I think that the people of authority on the Sewol made decisions and orders that failed to protect the lives on board. I think the surviving crew members had to decide to leave a sinking sink with three hundred some people, most of them high school kids, trapped inside. When I feel how I feel about that cold, hard fact, I know that the surviving crew are feeling that ten fold in the darkest way possible. And the reactions that are trying to find the "good" in their personal destruction and arrests and hold their actions as forseeably intentional are useless. 

It's difficult not feel betrayed as the numbers of the dead and missing tower over the heads of Captain Lee Joon Seok and the surviving crew of the Sewol. How could they abandon all those people? Why didn't they do more? Where is their honor? However, I reject the notion that they survived in the place of one of those who are missing, those who are dead. I think the decisions and actions made in crucial moments culminated into tragic realities where they were not trapped. They had a responsibility and they made the wrong choices, and South Korea is devastated. But I have to believe, until I hear from the mouths of the crew or of proof otherwise, that they did what they thought was best under the circumstances. Which was, tearfully, regrettably, furiously, not near good enough. 

South Korea & The Sewol Ferry Sinking

A friend from home sent me a message making sure I was okay, and I think it's important to acknowledge the tremendous sorrow and fear of the number of people that are still missing and of the number of people that have died in the Sewol Ferry disaster. 

I was at the home of one of my Korean teacher friends, excited to eat dinner with her and her daughter and mother, when she turned on the TV and asked me if I'd heard about it. The footage of the ship on its side -- it is a disrupting image. A ship doesn't look like that. We stood there and I slowly began to comprehend the facts. At that time, there were three counted dead, which I was understanding as, "Okay, three dead." My friend was saying how earlier in the afternoon the number was good at zero dead. But then, she explained what the other numbers in the counter box in the top right-hand side of screen meant. Then that most of the people on board were from an Ansan high school. High schoolers -- please let there be a gigantic jump in the number survived, please.  

GEPIK Workshop, Korean Education, & Change

The GEPIK Teachers' Workshop was a good series of lectures and meet-and-greets. It wasn't that I didn't think it wouldn't be beneficial, but the training addressed some topics that surprised me, including the over-demanding school system my students are a part of. I liked finding out that I am working under an organization that is aware of the problems and brought up rational points that go against the Korean status quo of more and more school time, more study time, and high test scores. That was the most important thing I took away from the training.

Held at the KSA Training Center in the middle of nowhere, somewhere near Suwon, one of the training rules specifically prohibited leaving the grounds, which, I mean, there was no where to go. Driving up the road to the main building, the bus passed a barn full of cows. But it was a beautiful location with a hiking trail, tennis court, and full-adventure arena with zip lines and climbing walls. I was disappointed we didn't partake in a team building zip line workshop, but it was lovely walking around with all the blossoms.

Badger Blogging Blitz Daily Questions Collection

Here is a collection of the "Daily Questions" from the 2014 Badger Blogging Blitz, where five fellow University of Wisconsin - Madison alums and myself blogged for a week about our lives living and teaching in South Korea. I've updated the "Day Four" answers, and here is a preview of the questions.

1. What has been your most surreal experience in Korea so far?
2. What would you have told yourself before you got on the plane in Chicago, given what you know now? 
3. How does your school experience at the age of your students compare to that of your Korean students?
4. If you had the opportunity to change 5 things at your school, what would they be and why?
5. What teaching methods have you found to be the most effective with your students (What do they respond to?)?
6. Do you think you're making an impact on your student's English ability? 
7. What have you learned about yourself through this experience?
8. What has been the most difficult aspect of Korean life to get used to?
9. What's your favorite part of Korean culture/society? 
10. Have you been able or wanted to keep up on current events in the U.S. - new movies, your favorite TV shows, news, etc.? Also, how do those things differ in Korea? What topics are covered in the news? Are people there as interested in TV/movies? 
11. Do you always try all the foods offered? Have you made an effort to try a variety of new foods or do you tend to stick to the things you've found and like?
12. What plans do you have when the yearlong contract is up? Will you renew? Why or why not?

Day 6 & 7: Badger Blogging Blitz

[Badger Blogging Blitz (BBB) 2014: Ashley ...meanwhile in Korea..., Vicky Outside the Pyxis, Maggie The Traveling Flamingo, Drew The Hungry Partier, Rebecca Rebe with a Clause]

Today is Sunday, March 30th. The weather today is sunny with a high of 68, low of 45 degrees fahrenheit. Saturday's weather was rainy, drizzling on and off all day in Seoul (high of 63, low of 48).

Saturday Daily Recap
Get in my belly, weekend. Dentist appointment in Seoul and first meal at Lotteria, Korea's version of McDonald's in case you don't want to go McDonald's. Shopping, soju, beer, and Vietnamese food with Anne and Rebecca on the "Avenue of Youth" in the Jonggak area; it was SO good to hang out with them.

7:13AM: I give up trying to sleep in until 8:00, when my alarm is set for. What can I say, my body is finely-tuned machine with the internal clock of a punctual polar bear. I listen to NPR's hourly newscast in bed and then I don't even know what -- pretty soon it's already 8:30 and I quickly shower, make coffee, take my calcium supplement, and race out the door to catch the Dongbu Express bus to Seoul for my dentist appointment.

Day 5: Badger Blogging Blitz

[Badger Blogging Blitz (BBB) 2014: Ashley ...meanwhile in Korea..., Vicky Outside the Pyxis, Maggie The Traveling Flamingo, Drew The Hungry Partier, Rebecca Rebe with a Clause]

Today is FRIDAY, March 29th. The weather today is partly cloudy and warm (high 75, low 50 degrees Fahrenheit). 

Daily Recap

It's Friday and the kids know it. Extra energy, extra laughs, extra enthusiasm for the games!

6:00AM: Alarm clock goes off. NPR's hourly newscast, check email, frozen blueberries, banana, peanut butter with a spoon, toast and jam, coffee, calcium supplement, brush my teeth twice with two different kinds of toothpaste.

7:30AM: Walk to bus stop. Notice a weird interaction between a high school "couple." The boy is standing next to me, drinking a milk box. The girl is about five feet away from where we're standing; she has her school uniform on and I recognize her from yesterday. The boy tosses his milk box on the ground, strides over to her, points down the street, and they walk off together, away from the bus stop. Weird...

Day 4: Badger Blogging Blitz

[Badger Blogging Blitz (BBB) 2014: Ashley ...meanwhile in Korea..., Vicky Outside the Pyxis, Maggie The Traveling Flamingo, Drew The Hungry Partier, Rebecca Rebe with a Clause]

Today is Thursday, March 27th. The weather today is sunny and warm (high 70, low 45 degrees Fahrenheit). The sunshine gives the dirt playground at Doji a dusty yellow glow. 

Daily Recap

This morning's sixth grade classes were painful. There's about 80% more Korean in my classes at Doji than at Doam (my Doji co-teacher basically translates everything I say). The 2nd and 3rd grade classes went really well, which is good, because it wasn't the easiest day.  

6:30AM: Alarm clock goes off. I was up late last night catching up on the BBB posts from the other Badgers; the fresh perspectives and different daily routines are like food to me -- really good stuff. The late night energy surge made it hard to fall asleep. NPR's hourly newscast, calcium supplement, banana, coffee, and packed toast again.

7:20AM: It takes me about ten minutes to walk to the bus stop that'll take me to my second school Doji Elementary. I'm not sure what the bus schedule is, just that it comes every ten minutes or so. It's a reliable bus, too, one that goes to the Icheon E-mart (which is essentially a Target super store), so my morning bus ride is actually quite stress free.

Day 3: Badger Blogging Blitz

[Badger Blogging Blitz (BBB) 2014: Ashley ...meanwhile in Korea..., Vicky Outside the Pyxis, Maggie The Traveling Flamingo, Drew The Hungry Partier, Rebecca Rebe with a Clause]

Today is Wednesday, March 26th. The weather today is cloudy with a chance of rain (high 72, low 41 degrees Fahrenheit). Woke up ten minutes before my alarm clock. Drat. 

Daily Recap

Teaching the younger grades is always a huge reminder about how kids are kids. They are so "pure of heart" as my co-teachers say. High energy classes and a productive afternoon today. 

6:00AM: Alarm clock goes off. I hop into the shower, get dressed, and listen to NPR's hourly newscast as I reheat the eggs from yesterday (now double microwave eggs). I take my calcium supplement and end up packing some toast and dried fruit I got from the Gwanghwamun market last Saturday into my bag to eat once I get to school. Boil some for water for coffee and into my travel mug it goes.
7:05AM: Walk to school. "How Did This Get Made #78 Crossroads (w/ Jeff Rubin)" plays on my iPhone. One of my go-to podcasts, How Did This Get Made? always makes me laugh. My favorite comedic actors discuss insanely bad and occasionally insanely good movies.

Day 2: Badger Blogging Blitz

[Badger Blogging Blitz (BBB) 2014: Ashley ...meanwhile in Korea..., Vicky Outside the Pyxis, Maggie The Traveling Flamingo, Drew The Hungry Partier, Rebecca Rebe with a Clause]

Today is Tuesday, March 25th. The weather today is overcast and warm (high 66, low 46 degrees Fahrenheit). I woke up feeling rested; I slept like a rock, the perks of a previously long day. 

Daily Recap

No lights and a cloudy morning, the hallways were so dark! Today was great class-wise, plus there were oranges in the teacher's room for snack. I was disappointed to find out that I was assigned more after school classes for April, even though I thought I had only agreed to teach extra classes for March. Lost in translation. 

5:45AM: Alarm clock goes off.  NPR's hourly newscast and I check my email and social media. Peanut butter and jelly toast with black pepper chai tea (water boiled in sixty seconds with my electric tea pot) for breakfast. The scratchy toast and steaming hot tea feels good on my throat. I make some microwave eggs but end up saving them in a tubberware for dinner perhaps.

6:40AM: Walk to school. It is a listen to "High School Musical" kind of gray morning. Zac Efron gets it.

Day 1: Badger Blogging Blitz

[Badger Blogging Blitz (BBB) 2014: Ashley ...meanwhile in Korea..., Vicky Outside the Pyxis, Maggie The Traveling Flamingo, Drew The Hungry Partier, Rebecca Rebe with a Clause]

Today is Monday, March 24th. The weather today is cloudy and cool (high 63, low 39 degrees Fahrenheit). I woke up feeling reluctant. Monday, you bastard. Koreans have a name for Mondays - 월요일 병 - which translates literally to "Monday sickness." 

Daily Recap

Today was a good day, despite it being Monday. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the 6th grade classes responded to the spelling activity, and I got to try several new games with my after school students. Lunch was fantastic per usual and my co-teacher SK and I had some good laughs today.

5:45AM: Alarm clock goes off. It's crazy, I know. I always lie to people when they ask me what time I get up. I listen to NPR's hourly newscast via iPhone before pulling myself out of bed. Fried eggs, toast, and a banana for breakfast. I wash down my calcium supplement with a glass of water (which I boiled via electric tea kettle the night before). After the dishes are clean, I drink my last yogurt drink and play an old episode of NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour "The Shambolic VMAs And Hollywood in The White House" as I get dressed, etc. I head out, grabbing the garbage bag that's been sitting by the door for the past week. 

6:35AM: Walk to school. Sunrise is around 6:30AM, and this morning was beautifully crisp. By the bridge, they're making good progress on the building they've been working on the past few months. Brickwork is finished and I suspect they'll be done in a couple of weeks.

Day 0: Badger Blogging Blitz

It's a Badger Blogging Blitz! Starting tomorrow, five fellow Badgers and I will blog every day for week, responding to the same questions about our lives in South Korea. I'm very excited to be part of this group of bloggers, as well as our larger group of University of Wisconsin-Madison alumni teaching English in Korea, because their experiences, thoughts, opinions, and theories - conversations with them - have been a huge source of support while living in Korea.

My goals for BBB are to provide more details on perhaps the more mundane aspects of my life in Icheon, South Korea (home of rice, ceramics, and peaches in the summer). If you have any additional questions, please do send me an email or leave a comment on this blog! If you have any questions you'd like the whole BBB gang to address, we are looking for reader questions for Day 6 and 7, so please don't hesitate! 

To be included in every BBB post:

1. Answers (to the two pre-determined daily questions)

2. A recap of the current day

Badger Blogging Blitz (BBB) 2014:

Ashley Wendorf: ...meanwhile in Korea...

Vicky Lee: Outside the Pyxis

Maggie Flamingo: The Traveling Flamingo

Drew Binsky: The Hungry Partier

Rebecca Thering: Rebe with a Clause

*2012 Badger Blogging Blitz

True Korean Teacher Dinner

My first teacher dinner with the Doji staff was filled with beer, soju, sam gyeop sal, mul kimchi, two impromptu speeches, and noraebang. I had a really great time eating (like the best time eating) and after the main part of the meal was done, I was so happy to talk with some of the Doji teachers. I met four teachers who are my age -- How old are you? Twenty-five?! Friends. -- and it was great to chat about twentysomething stuff with them.

Everyone got febreezed on the way out the restaurant door (to get rid of the grilled meat smell?) and we headed to the noraebang, which is basically a private karaoke singing room. It's funny, but this was an obligation. One of the teachers told me that Doji was too small of a school to hope to sneak out of singing and go home. Everyone was expected to sing, especially my co-teacher because he's new and Korean. For the last song, we all stood in a half circle, held hands, and the mic was passed verse by verse down the line. Five hours later, I'm home. Wednesday, you may have killed me. 

The highlight of my day: waiting outside by the front door at Doam. My Doji co-teacher would pick me up for the teacher dinner. While I stood there, one of the little second graders came hopping towards me. "Oh, hello," he always says when he sees me. My teacher friend KH comes out and I dunno, we three just stand there and talk in broken English. Then, one of my fifth grade students joins us and gives me a picture he drew and colored -- "Hero Cookie Man." I was also really happy to receive a very pretty basket of flowers at the teacher dinner. It's the simple things that get me through the social things ::

Korean Elementary Schools, what they're made of

Unlike American elementary schools, Korean schools have a distinct look. "Korean school spotted," is on of my favorite in-my-head catch phrases when exploring a Korean city. It's an insanely easy and comforting game haha. 

A massive, dirt playground is a key feature. Doubling as a soccer field, a track, a performance-dance space, a bus drop-off and pick-up area, and a parking lot for parents on special days, all the Korean elementary schools have one. Bordering its outside edges are monkey bars, slides, swings, and other playground equipment. Doam and Doji also have basketball courts. Trees and statues of various Korean figures, such as King Sejong, line the side of the dirt playground that the main school building sits on.

Doam Elementary School 

First week at two schools, Doji thoughts

[On February 18th, I was told by my employer, Doam Elementary, that I would start working at a second school, Doji Elementary, two days a week. Three days a week, I continue to teach at Doam.]

Happy White Day! Students at my new school kept coming into the English classroom with candy, and I finally made a comment about it to my Doji co-teacher Seong Ho. He told me that it was White Day, similar to Pepero Day. A second "Valentine's Day" where boys and girls give sweet candy instead of chocolates is how he described it. I liked that they were comfortable enough to approach me since I met three of my classes for the first time today - and I'm the first native or foreigner English teacher at Doji in either two or five years. I've been told both so...

The first week (or two days) at my new school went well. It was reminiscent of my first week at Doam back in September, minus jet-lag and culture shock. I had classes, met the principal (who is referred to as the royal director), and was introduced to the various teachers as we ran into each other in the hallways. It was nice not to be completely lost - a sign of growth for sure. I am an expert at what it's like to be a native English teacher in my section of Korea.

Pop sad, then happy

[On February 18th, I was told by my employer, Doam Elementary, that I would start working at a second school, Doji Elementary, two days a week. Three days a week, I continue to teach at Doam.]

I'm revisiting some of the hard feelings the night before I start at my new elementary school. It's not necessarily the extra work, though that is a sore point (eight different textbooks and all these 4-1, 4-2, 3-1, 6-2, 3-2, 5-1, 2-1, 6-1, 5-2 classes to keep bloody straight), but it absolutely is the fact that all the time spent coordinating and tweaking lessons is the result of someone who thought this was a good idea. It's not fair to the students and it's not fair to my co-teachers. I truly don't mind being busy. I've been super efficient with my time and I'm getting it done. I just need to shake the annoyance and I'll be set to go. 

So, to finish off finely wording my complaints about teaching in Korea, let me just say how thankful I am to have two hard-working co-teachers and how much fun I have talking and interacting with my students. Kids are amazing. Also, I'd send a warning letter to the next Doam native English teacher in a heart beat. 

Moving on, I thought it would be fitting to address what makes me pop sad and pop happy. Inspired by NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour segment titled "Pop Culture That Makes Us Cry & Somali Pirates" and a tweet from one of my favorite twitter accounts posing the question and judgement of the question, "how often are you supposed to cry?" here are my lists: 

Being Difficult: Teaching in Korea

First off, the Korean school system is a hierarchy. Very roughly, the principal sits at the top, then the vice principal, next the head teacher, after that regular grade or home room teachers, and finally special subject teachers (English, music, science, art, and physical education). Decisions are made at the top and information is trickled down from there. My co-teachers are often the last to know about things because it is the responsibility of each higher party to relay the information downward. Why they don't just send out staff emails bewilders me. 

This makes for a lot of scrambling on a daily basis for Korean teachers, because not only are they learning information about schedules and classes - by American standards - inconveniently late, they are dealing with that information constantly, constantly, changing. In a normal school week, we have at least two or three changes where English classes are cancelled or two classes are switched or a class we don't normally have that day, surprise! One of the more common conversations I have with my co-teachers:

Me [five minutes after class should have started]: "Sooo, no fourth graders today..."

My co: "Oh, I forgot to tell you. We will teach them tomorrow."