Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Korea Life: Teaching Kindergarten

Before I came here I was not a kid person. They annoyed me. When they screamed, I winced. When they ran, I wanted to trip them. I did not want them in my restaurants, I did not want them touching me. So why did I move to South Korea to teach English to kindergarteners?? For adventure, for experience, for money, but now.....

Oh... how things have changed. Teaching Korean 7 year olds (in the US they would be 5/6 year olds) has really changed how I feel about small children. It may be the mothering instinct that I suppressed for so long or it could be the responsibility you feel for your class. Or it may be the fact that they are all soooooo cute, I mean seriously adorable children. But I love all my students, even the ones that are complete brats (and I have many brats).

I feel like it may not be my place to comment on these things because I have only been teaching a month and a half. However, it did not take long for me to love my students. As soon as they were put into my care, I felt an overwhelming sense of responsibility for their well being. They are only children and so small, so you have to take care of them. It has been a challenge though. Going from not being around kids at all to teaching them all day, it has been hard. I will probably spend the whole year learning how to best cope with them and how I can take care of them better. (I think anybody would do the same though because in all aspects of your life you never stop learning.)

I like to think my classes warmed up to me as quickly as I warmed up to them. They are very affectionate and give me lots of hugs and cuddles. They say very nice things to me and give me pictures they draw for me and cards with cute things. It is a very rewarding job, but not easy by any means. We do lots of fun things in class (although sometimes it is hit or miss with the activities). So,
I am constantly moving around with them and lifting them (or peeling them off of my legs) so it is an all day workout. I knew it was gong to be a different lifestyle than the cubicle I was used to. But I did not know how much until I was on my feet and lifting small (but heavy) children all day.

I am sure I will have more updates about teaching as the year goes on. But I think this is a good overview of how it feels to start teaching in South Korea, specifically  coming from being a person who disliked (now past tense) kids.

Monday, September 28, 2015

Korea Life: My Apartment

I have been living in my apartment just over a month a now. I read a lot about how I would have to adjust to a lot of things. However, so far, I have found the differences minimal, to say the least. The apartment is small, but I think it is perfect for one person. Just enough room. I have everything I need in the apartment, with a little room to spare. It is comparable if not bigger than a studio apartment in Houston or any other big city.
It is a one room apartment with a small kitchen and a bathroom. As you can see it is not the biggest thing ever. But it holds a desk/table, bookshelf, tv/stand, queen size bed, drawers and has a nice size closet. The floor has a good amount of space for my workouts in the morning. I have enough room in the bottom of my closet to store my weights and yoga mat. I am sad that I filled the top up and my clothes are trying to bust out of the closet. My kitchen is very small and cannot hold much food. But, as I have said, it is enough for one. It is a pain to cook in because there is no room to cut veggies. There is no oven, only a stove. It saves on a lot of space and a lot of heat, so I do not mind.
So, let's move on to the differences. The main one is the bathroom. It is not like a traditional western bathroom. There is no shower or bath tub, it is just one tile room. Your shower head is connected to the sink. So you have to take a shower in the middle of the room. There is not curtain or anything. Just you in the middle of the bathroom showering. It means everything gets wet in the bathroom, at least at first. It is not bad, just different. Another difference is the washer and dryer, or lack thereof. There is only a washer and then lots of drying racks to hang your clothes. My porch, which in the US would be used for patio furniture, is solely used for my washer and drying racks. The last difference is that it is not normal to keep the A/C on for a extended amounts of time. In Houston, the A/C stays running, even when it is cool outside. It is not normal to keep the windows open all the time. But here it is very normal to keep your windows open instead of turning on the A/C or fan. So, my windows stay open all day and night, I have only turned on the A/C  a few times since I have been here. This could be because of a slight weather difference (hot/humid is all Houston is and the weather is beautiful here) but I also think it is just something we get used to doing now. There are a few other nuances that I think are well known. You don't wear your shoes indoors, so there is a spot in the front to take them off and put them. The plugs are different. You have different controls for the hot water. But those are all a given.
I am not done decorating yet because I need more on the walls to complete it. I have been on a search for really cute things to fill my apartment with. You know, the quintessential Asian cute stuff they are known for. I have found a few things. Cute stickers for my kitchen and bathroom walls. But nothing that I am super excited over. I will try to remember to take more pictures when I am done completely decorating. That could take awhile though.

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Korea Life: The Arrival

I have been living in Cheonan, South Korea for a month now. I meant to update sooner buuuuttttt surprise surprise three prong chargers are not easy to find in Korea. However, I finally got one on Friday.

Sooooo, my Korea adventure started a month ago. I have not taken many pictures. But that does not mean I have not been exploring everything, everywhere that I can. I have been trying lots of new foods and meeting new people.

I spent my first week in a love motel. It was kind of funny, because I was not expecting it. But the motel was very cute and super clean. It was fun for my first week, although a little creepy.. I think some people got the wrong impression of what I was doing there. For anyone that doesn't know what a love motel is, it is a cheap motel where people can go for uhhhhh "love".




I will post more specific blog posts about my apartment, food so far, and teaching kindergartners in Korea.