How-To: Teach English in Korea

Quite a while back, I wrote an article for Go! Girl Guides all about getting started with teaching in Korea. And then I totally forgot I wrote it for a few months. Recently, I've had a lot of people asking me questions about how to get a job over here, which made me remember that I wrote about it, and also that I'd totally forgotten to repost the info onto my own blog!

You can read the original entry here, and while you're at it, check out their website! Full of really great information for solo lady travelers all over the world. Definitely a great resource. :)

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Making the decision to move abroad is huge, especially when you also have to make decisions about where you want to work. When looking into teaching in Korea, the number of choices is absolutely overwhelming.

Here’s some basic information to help guide you through this intimidating decision-making process:

First, why should I teach in Korea? Is it really that great? 

Excellent question. “Why Korea?” I still get asked that regularly. For most people, when they hear “Korea,” they think of a) M*A*S*H, b) Kim Jong-Un and the bizarre hermit North Korea, or c) absolutely nothing at all. Korea is often dismissed or overlooked, which is a shame, since it’s an amazingly modern, interesting country with a wonderful culture and incredibly kind people. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that Korea is well on its way to surpassing Japan in fancy technology. Plus, it’s super inexpensive to live there, especially when you compare the cost of living to the salary you’ll make as a teacher. I’m in debt from my student loans, a car loan, credit card payments… etc. Each month, I can send over $1000 home to put towards payments and still have the money to eat out for dinner most nights, go shopping, pay my iPhone bill, and take trips around the country.

So, yes, Korea really is that great.

What do I need to get a job teaching English in Korea?

First, you need to speak English fluently. If it’s your first language, you’re golden. Actually, even if it isn’t your first language but you speak it fluently and with little to no accent, you’ve still got a chance at getting hired.

The second thing you need is that fancy piece of paper that says you graduated from a 4-year university/college with a Bachelor’s degree. Some jobs prefer an English-related degree, but for the most part, it doesn’t matter which degree you earned, simply that you did.

Also: have strong verbal skills. Speaking to a group is an important part of this job, so make sure you can see yourself in that role.

What kinds of teaching jobs are out there?

While you’ll find a variety of English teaching jobs out there, I’m going to cover the two most common types: public school and private English academy. (If you’ve got an MA and/or substantial teaching experience, look into university jobs. I don’t know much about those, so I’m not going to cover it, but I hear it’s a pretty sweet gig.)

What to expect from a public school:

• “Normal” school hours, being something like 8am to 4pm, Monday through Friday.
• Larger classes, usually at least 20 kids, many of whom you only see once or twice a week, for about an hour at a time.
• Vacation time generally reflects when the students are in school, meaning public school teachers often have more time off than private academy teachers.
• The big hiring times are geared around the start of the school year in February and then the mid-way point in August.
• It’s likely you will be one of a small number of foreign teachers at your school, if not the only one.
• Check out the following links for information about the big government programs that hire for public schools: EPIK, GEPIK, and SMOE.

What to expect from a private academy, or hagwon:

• After school hours, typically starting around 3pm and ending around 10pm, Monday through Friday. Some academies have Saturday classes, so keep an eye out for that too.
• Smaller classes, usually no more than 15 kids.
• Depending on the academy, you might have a different class each hour, or you might have one group of kids for two or three hours.
• Vacation time really varies between academies. Mine only offers 5 unpaid vacation days per year, plus two of the biggest holidays, whereas others cancel classes for every national holiday and offer excellent vacation time.
• Academies don’t have specific hiring periods — it’s pretty much a continuous/monthly thing.
• When looking into academy jobs, recruiting agencies are the popular route. Browse the following recruiting company sites for more information: Aclipse Recruiting, Footprints Recruiting, and Pegasus Recruiting. (All three of these are legit — I got my job through Aclipse and I know people who used Footprings and Pegasus — good experiences all around.)

Okay, you keep mentioning recruiters… Should I use a recruiting agency?

Ah, the big debate. Personally, I liked having a recruiter to guide me through the entire process, making sure my paperwork was in order and that I didn’t miss any deadlines. Other people just branch out on their own, contacting schools directly about a job. It’s really up to you. Overall, nearly everyone I know used a recruiter to find their job and they were happy with the process. Using a recruiter won’t cost you anything — the schools hire and pay them to find teachers, so don’t worry about that part.

Do I need to do a TEFL/CELTA certification course?

It depends on where you want to teach. For public school jobs, it is sometimes a requirement, such as with EPIK. SMOE seems to prefer you have it, whereas GEPIK doesn’t seem to care. When it comes to working for an academy, it could be helpful, and might get you a nice little pay bump, but it’s unlikely it will be required.

How exhaustively should I research a potential job?

Research until your brain can’t handle any more information. I cannot emphasize the importance of this enough. I’ve been lucky with my experience in Korea because my academy has been honest and (so far) hasn’t taken advantage. But it does happen. Doing thorough research won’t necessarily give you an immunity to shady behavior, but it should decrease the chances of having a miserable experience with a stingy school director.

The wonderful Internet is a great resource for you, so use it. Type something like “expat Korea blog” into your search engine of choice and see what pops up. Message bloggers — most of them are super nice and happy to answer questions. As you’re looking into specific schools or areas, look it up! Try to get in contact with a current teacher and ask a million questions.

One resource that I was pointed to by a friend, which is very popular, is Dave’s ESL Cafe. Lots of great information, including a page of job postings and a forum. Though be warned, there are a lot of bitter, grumpy people out there, and an internet forum is just the sounding board they need… Find all the information you can, but use your judgment and take some of it with a grain of salt. When in doubt, keep researching and asking questions.

Above all, remember that if one job doesn’t work out, there are tons of others. These schools need you, and with the right amount of digging, you’re sure to find a school that’s a perfect fit. For more information about this process, leave a comment or check out this GGG post from a couple years ago — it covers some of what I wrote and also goes into depth about what happens once you’ve been offered a job!

Do you have any sage advice to add? An experience worth sharing? Leave a comment below! 

5 Ways to Have FUN in the Classroom at CDI

This blog entry was originally published on the Aclipse Blog, which is produced by current Chungdahm Learning teachers in Korea. The blog features entries on current events around Korea, advice for incoming teachers, and the best spots sightseeing, shopping, and eating. The original entry can be viewed here. It has been edited slightly for content. For more information about Aclipse and Chungdahm Learning, click here. 

The Korean education system doesn't always lend itself to fun times. I mean, that's largely true of most schools in the world, to varying degrees, but it's on a whole different level here. My students are constantly telling me horror stories of their public school classes: class is so boring, the teachers are like robots, the teachers always yell at them, etc. So how can you, their English academy teacher, make it a little bit better? It's actually pretty simple...

Unfortunately, the hours spent in their regular schools each day means the prospect of coming to their English academy for an additional three hours of studying isn't exactly... appealing. Some students will still be wonderful -- they just have a naturally cheery outlook and will be angels in your classroom. But largely, even your best students would still rather be playing outside or on a computer than sitting in class. More homework and studying? No thank you, they say.

This is where you, as the teacher, can really ease their pain by finding ways to make the classroom more fun. Here are my five tried and true ways to bring a little more life and laughter into the classroom.

**Note: When it comes to rules and regulations at CDI, here's my disclaimer: I work for a strict branch, and yet these things are allowed. Each location is able to set its own tone, so there will be variations in what is and is not allowed. If you feel like any of the following are pushing the boundaries of what's kosher at your branch, speak to your Head Instructor or Branch Manager before implementing it in the classroom. Better safe than sorry, ya know?**

1. Supplement a lesson with photos and videos. 

So, so many of our lessons can be supplemented by an outside resource that's easily found on the Internet. The most simple of these options? Photos. A picture to accompany the topic is always great, and sometimes it's necessary to explain a vocabulary word that the students may not know. Learning about the tsingy formations in Madagascar? Frida Kahlo's paintings? Not exactly easy to explain or draw on the board. Show the kids some high-res photos -- it'll really help their understanding.

I, for one, didn't know what a tsingy was before teaching this lesson. (Photo credit.)

When you need more than just a photo, videos are super handy. A lesson about superhero physics, mentioning Sue Storm and Cyclops? The latest movies featuring these characters are over ten years old, meaning most of our students have no clue who they are -- so what better way to acquaint them than by showing some short movie clips from YouTube.

Other topics, such as ones that focus on scientific topics, can possibly be supplemented with a short documentary video. Some of our uppermost levels already have a DVD clip to supplement the listening classes, and I feel like it really does enhance their understanding of and interest in the topic.

If you're having trouble finding a good video clips on YouTube, especially on scientific or academic topics, check out TED Talks. Tons of different topics are covered in their videos, you can sort your search options by length, AND you can add subtitles -- English or Korean. 

Obviously, pre-screen the video before showing it to the class -- you always want to make sure there isn't any bad language or super violent gore! These videos are meant to help, not traumatize.

2. Add personal anecdotes -- yours OR theirs! 

Creating an engaging atmosphere is entirely on you, the teacher. Luckily, CDI's curriculum gives you some golden opportunities to be a comedian. From the stories in EC and Memory to the topical lessons in Bridge through Albatross+, you can definitely ham it up and get the kids engaged.

A recent lesson, all about pranks and hoaxes, is one of my favorites, simply because I can give the kids a dramatic retelling of the ridiculous pranks I've pulled in my life -- complete with over the top pantomime and slapstick humor. Then I turned it over to them -- after hearing my crazy stories, they were excited to share and nearly every hand was in the air. Finding ways to relate the topic to their lives definitely gets their attention and their interest. Plus it's a fun way to get to know your class! By getting them all laughing, they feel more comfortable with you. 

Various class discussions have even led to inside jokes, some of which have persisted well beyond when I actually had the students in my class. Sharing stories with each other can really help foster good relationships with your students, which in turn greatly impacts their attitude towards your class.

Also, it's worth noting that in listening to my stories and relating their own, they're greatly improving their speaking skills. A strong class discussion is so vital to giving them an opportunity to speak in an unprepared, unscripted way, which is definitely one of the hardest aspects of becoming fluent in a foreign language.

3. Modify CTP to include something creative. 

The Critical Thinking Project at the end of most classes is a great time for the kids to let loose a little. The topic of the CTP is important because it's related to their online homework, so don't stray too far from what's assigned in the book. However, many CTPs can be supplemented with a little somethin' extra.

The lesson had included a story about time travel, so I made this flyer for the CTP so the class had something to color and fill in.

When a CTP is particularly dry, I encourage students to also draw some kind of illustration or turn their final report into a skit once they've completed the bookwork. This allows them to show off some of their creativity, and also gives the rest of the class something interesting to look at or watch when the group is presenting. Sometimes, I've drawn up a template for them to fill and color in, other times, I've left them to their creativity.

She was playing the role of a "wise grandfather" for their skit, and needed a beard.

4. Encourage the use of props.

Quite a few of the CTPs already include a skit or a news report, so this is a great opportunity to encourage your students to use props. An easy, obvious way to make this happen is to provide the props yourself -- from a simple drawing of a sword that you've cut out or a cheap plastic microphone toy from the dollar store. Set a precedent by making these props available to the students and they'll become more and more comfortable with the idea of incorporating them.

One of my students keeps this prop in her bag -- she taped a photo of a microphone to a plastic tube and it gets used in almost every CTP.

If you cultivate a prop-friendly CTP environment, you'll be surprised with how creative the kids get. In some classes, you'll probably have to help them quite a bit, simply because this will be a new challenging element of the project, but once they get into the swing of it, the results are fantastic. The entire class becomes more interested when a group is presenting, the group itself is having more fun, and you feel good as the teacher for creating a great environment.

Paper, identity-protecting "mosaics," for a CTP that involved anonymous advice column letters. (These children, of course, are oblivious to any resemblance to an infamously racist organization... They were so proud of their idea that I kept my mouth shut.)

5. Create teamwork games. 

CDI's curriculum is pretty jam-packed with activities. In all levels, the students work on reading and listening comprehension, as these are important skills for English proficiency exams like the TOEFL. Often, these exercises come as a workbook page, including short-answer questions that require paraphrasing and answer justification. Sometimes, these pages serve as the daily quiz, but other times, it works well to let the students work in teams. 

To keep the classroom atmosphere at a level of contained chaos, I usually keep my teams to no more than two students. If it's a particularly well-behaved class, I'll let them work in a group of three or four, but usually, it's easiest (and best) to just do partner work. I explain the exercise, remind them of the requirements for their answers to receive full points, set a time limit, and let them get to work. When time is up, I check one book from each team, the stipulation being that all books must be filled in with the same answers. If there are seven questions, they can receive a maximum of 700 points. If one answer is wrong, they have the chance to correct it for half (50) points.

Classroom groupwork action shot, courtesy of a student who agreed to snap some photos on my phone for me. (Gotta love the two boys posing for the photo...)

I stand behind this strategy of teamwork games because it's absolutely fair. Every team gets the same chance for full points, so there won't be any cries of "You always call on the other team for an answer! This isn't fair!" What's even better is it challenges them to come up with the best possible answers, as those are the only ones considered correct -- and let me tell you, these kids love competition. They also love coming up with ridiculous team names so points can be tracked on the side of the board.

As further motivation, I'll sometimes, with their agreement, use their in-class quiz scores to add to their team's points. I'll average the score for the team -- add up what each member got and then divide it by the number of kids on the team. Knowing their quiz score will affect their team's points, the studens are often way more interested in actually trying on their quiz instead of just picking answers. 

When it comes to prizes, check and see what's allowed at your branch. Mine discourages from actually giving physical prizes, so we're encouraged to cut a page of their homework. All levels have a puzzle in their homework book, either a crossword or a word search, and it's always an excellent page to cut. Most students don't seem to like it much, anyway, so it's a win-win. 

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Teaching at CDI is a great opportunity, and with the right attitude (from both you and the students), you can make a rigorously academic environment become one that the kids genuinely enjoy. Feel free to swipe any of my tips -- I hope they'll be as useful for you as they have been for me! 

Do you have any other ideas for bringing fun into the classroom? Do you use any of the above methods already? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts and advice! 

New habits, meet my old life.

It's easy to adopt habits and mannerisms from other people. While we don't look much alike, people often ask if my best friend and I are sisters, and the only way this makes sense to me is that we have a lot of the same vocal and physical mannerisms. When you're around someone for a long time, you just sort of subconsciously take on these things.

The best part, I think, about these things is: they become the new normal. I really like the idea of a culture sneaking into your habits and instincts, leaving behind little traces here and there of your time abroad.

Now that I'm back in the States on vacation after fifteen months in Korea, I'm suddenly very aware of these subconsciously adopted habits. Often it's simply catching myself using Korean mannerisms that I've picked up from students and friends, and even more often having to pause and explain myself to the friend watching me with a puzzled expression. Other times it's having a craving for something that wasn't a staple of my American life's diet.

So here's a list, in no particular order, of the little bits of Korea that have become a part of my "normal" routine.

1. Taking my shoes off when I enter a house.
This has become a reflex to me that was actually difficult to override in my brain. (Think of how clean our carpets would be if we didn't constantly track in dirt!) While I was still trying to get myself out of this habit, I would intentionally make myself be the last one to enter the house so I didn't hold up anyone behind me. Which is something that had been happening...

Not my entryway, but mine would often resemble a shoe explosion like this one. (Photo credit.)

2. Bowing.
I'm not even always aware that I do this, actually. It isn't a full bend-at-the-waist bow, but just a small nod of the head. Always accompanied with a "thank you" in either English or Korean, this is such a simple and effective way to express gratitude that will be understood in Asia. Gestures of body language like this make a language barrier irrelevant. Once I was back in a country whose language I spoke fluently, I caught myself doing this pretty quickly and made an effort to stop, mostly because I was on the receiving end of quite a few bewildered looks.

3. Eating spam.
I am so. mad. about this one. Let me clarify: I do not buy cans of spam. I do not cook with spam on my own. I do not, ever, actively seek out spam as something to eat. But, after being in the ROK for a decent amount of time, I have become... used to eating spam. And... I recently had the shocking revelation that I actually enjoy eating spam. Not in large quantities, but a bit of spam in my roll of gimbap? Delicious. Oh, is that a bit of spam in my soup? Excellent. Now that I'm home? I'm so mad that I miss spam...

A spam giftset at a Korean grocery store, which is common and considered to be a generous gift. (Photo credit.)

4. Pushing and shoving.
Being as Korea is packed full with a whole lot of people, and subway stations can get a bit intense during those busy hours, I have gotten quite good at pushing and shoving my way through a crowd without so much as a single "excuse me." I've learned by watching the masters of this maneuver: the ajummas, who I aspire to be like someday. When I first got to Korea, I was still trying to apologize for inevitably hip-checking strangers, but now, I just plow my way through like a pro. During my time home, I've actually felt really bad quite a few times for my no-nonsense darting and weaving through a crowd. Sorry, everyone I may have cut off or bumped into at SXSW. I didn't mean to be an asshole. You were just in my way...?

You try being meek and making it through this kind of crowd.

5. Throwing up a peace sign in a photo.
Luckily, this is kind of a thing everywhere right now? So my learned instinct to automatically pose with a peace sign next to my face just had to be toned down a bit. Friends did call me out on this though... "What are we doing in this photo? Oh, are we throwing up peace signs?" "Oh, uh... sure...? *sighs* I don't even think I'm aware that I'm doing this..."

Some of the causes of my peace sign photo pose reflex.

6. Speaking in simplified English.
As is true with anyone trying to learn a foreign language, you find ways to express yourself whether or not it's grammatically correct. Sometimes, while it could technically be correct, it just isn't how people actually speak. English is a tough language, so I constantly hear little phrases from my students that sound awkward to my native English speaker ears, and yet do make sense. And, I've adopted some without meaning to. For example, I don't even know how many times I've described the number (as in quantity) of something as "very many" since being home, immediately catching myself and laughing. My students say this all time -- "Oh, teacher, there were very many people at the Big Bang concert!" It makes sense, and also doesn't.

7. Speaking in Korean/Konglish.
While I can't claim to have a strong grasp of the Korean language, like, at all, I have found myself doing a fair bit of code-switching. Ususally, this is in the form of various Korean vocab words being thrown into an English conversation. Instead of yes or no, I'll substitute the Korean equivalent. "Chincha?!" is used in place of "really?!" Sometimes it'll be more complex sentences, like an English word followed by the Korean for "give me, please." I frequently did this before going to Korea, instead with bits of Japanese, Spanish, French, or whatever foreign vocabulary happened to fit the situation. What can I say, it entertains me. I've also found myself using some Konglish that I've picked up from my kids. Strangee, not strange. Same-same, when comparing two things that are, well, the same.

8. Eating uncooked ramen.
The best part about this one is that I HATED ramen in college. I turned my nose up at it when my fellow poor college student friends would make some for dinner. This was not because I wouldn't deign to eat it, but simply because I thought it smelled terrible. Imagine their surprise when I came back from Korea and insisted we go pick up ramen from the Korean grocery store so I could eat it uncooked. While I will eat most packaged ramens uncooked (and prefer them that way), Korea has a brand that's actually meant to be eaten raw -- Ottogi's Ppushu Ppushu. And I am obsessed with it. Ob-sessed.

So. Delicious. (Though the best flavor is the BBQ.)

I'm sure there are other little ticks and quirks I've adopted, and I look forward to figuring them out. All of these "new norms" make me smile and I'm curious to see what else seeps into my habits as I spend a couple more years in Korea.

Has anyone else had an experience like this? Tell me your stories in the comments below!

Observations about South Korea, volume three.

1. Kids are fascinated by my romances, real or completely pretend. Some of you have heard these stories already... My students seem... preoccupied with imagining ridiculous and/or elaborate romances between teachers. This past term it seems that I've become a target. To begin with, these kids immediately want to know if I'm married. Then if I have a boyfriend. Then if I have children.

And then, every now and then, one of them will very seriously look at me and say something like this:
"You know, teacher, when you wear a ring it means you have a boyfriend."
"Any ring? On any finger?"
"Yes."
"(sensing where this is going) Oh, okay."
"Teacher. (serious stare) You have seven rings on."
"Yes. I have seven boyfriends."
"WHAT?! TEACHER!!"

So, to be fair, I haven't done much to dispel any rumors about me...

Since I have all these supposed boyfriends, much has been done to figure out who they are. According to my students, one of the other teachers is my "secret" boyfriend. But, our love is tragic, because I love him but he doesn't love me back. He's only toying with my emotions and I am very heartbroken.

Then there's my "scandal" boyfriend: one of the Korean counselors who happens to oversee most of my classes. Clearly, him coming into my class a couple times every day isn't because, say, he's doing his job and needs to check in with certain students, but it's because he's madly in love with me and he can't bear to be away from me. Yeah, okay, kids. And, because middle schoolers are ridiculous human beings, they think they have definitive proof of our gossip-worthy love: when we talk to each other, we make eye contact. Oh! The scandal!

And then there's my actual boyfriend, but my students don't much care about him. They probably don't think he's real or something. (Sorry, Corey.) Well, except a couple of my middle school girls. They are obsessed with my relationship and like to ask me "scandalous" questions. "Have you kissed your boyfriend?!? MORE THAN FIVE TIMES?!??!"

2. A day at the park is taken seriously. By this I mean Korean families set out for a day in the park all organized and seemingly packed like they were going camping for a long weekend.

I remember trips to the park as a kid -- usually with a picnic, a blanket, maybe some stuff to play with. This past weekend I spent a solid amount of my saturday hanging out at a park by the Han River and what did I immediately notice? Dozens. Of. Tents. Seriously. THAT is how you spend the day a the park. I'm impressed, Korea. As someone who quite enjoys a leisurely, shaded picnic in the park, you've made me kinda want to track down a tent of my own.

3. This country is too. Damn. Nocturnal. I'm a night owl. I have a bad habit of falling into a schedule where I stay up until 3am or so and then sleep late. (Or just nap a whole lot.) This bad cycle really got its hold on me in college. And I've tried to correct it, especially now that I'm working from 3-10pm, and sleeping until noon or one pm completely wastes my day. So I've tried really, really hard to be in bed by one am at the latest. Doesn't always work, but it's generally my goal.

However. Lately, it's finally warmed up. It's spring! I can leave my windows open! And it's wonderful. Except my neighborhood is full of bars. Bars that like to blast the same damn ten songs over and over. Until 3am.

I've looked like a damn zombie lately because I'm not sleeping well. Tried ear plugs -- they're annoying and kinda freak me out. So until it gets hot enough for my A/C, this is my battle. And I think it may mean just staying up late. Or, wearing myself out enough during the day that I can just pass out and sleep through the noise.

I'm just used to quiet neighborhoods. I've never lived IN the city like this before, so it's an odd adjustment to make.

4. That think-before-you-speak tact filter doesn't exist here. My students are always quick to tell me what they think of my appearance. More often than not, it's complimentary. "Teacher, you look so pretty today." "Teacher, I like your hair. It is cute today." Several girls, upon assessing my daily outfits, are convinced I'm filthy rich, and it's just not fair because I am also "smart, funny, and beautiful." It's all very sweet, but these kids are also quick to tell you what they really think.

"Teacher, your stockings. So red. Like blood."
"Oh, you don't like my tights?"
"They are not pretty. Because they look like blood."

"Teacher, you straight your hair today?"
"Yeah, my perm is starting to go flat. It's old. Time for my natural straight hair again."
"(appraising stare) I think it is much better."
"...Thanks?"

And the gem from today:
"Teacher, you have black eyes?"
"What?"
"Here, around your eyes. So dark today."
"Yes, teacher, like a panda!"
"I... have dark circles?"
"Yes! Like a panda! Are you very tired?"
"Well, yes, there's this bar near my apartment that plays loud music..."

Some of it is just kids being kids. I'm told some of it is also just Korean culture -- it isn't unkind or rude to bluntly comment on someone else's appearance. So I know they aren't doing it to be mean, they're just making observations... aloud.

5. Random elderly people LOVE talking to me. This has really been one of those random and delightful things about living in a country where I am very clearly from somewhere else. I seem to get approached nearly any time I'm out on my own, typically when I'm in a fairly captive situation, like a cab or on the subway/train. But luckily, the majority of these conversations have been charming and funny, even if we barely communicated much of anything.

One of the first memorable conversations was in a cab. It was the first time I'd been in a cab on my own here, and it was for a fairly long ride. After we got through the standard, "Where are you from" and "Are you teacher?" questions, the cabbie seemed to have run out of material. There was a long pause, and then:

"JFK!"
"I'm sorry -- what?"
"JFK! President! You know?"
"Ohhh, JFK, yeah. I know about him."
"Ronald Reagan!"
"Reagan? Yeah, him too."
"President!"
"Yeah. What about Barack Obama?"
"Accckkkkkk! (scoffing noise)"
"Haha..."
"Ahh... pop music! Michael! Jackson!"
"Yes! Music! I like his music."
"Basketball! Michael Jordan!"
"Yeah, Michael Jordan!"

This went on for like fifteen minutes. We covered pretty much every sport, various celebrities and musicians, as well as military ranks? It was funny. He was very, very nice. Tried so hard to have a conversation with me. And really made me wish I spoke more Korean so I could at least attempt to put in the same effort.

I had a very similar conversation with an old woman on the train not long after. Equally entertaining, although she spoke less than he did. But we tried really, really hard to communicate. At that point I'd picked up a few more Korean vocab words, so I was able to say a little bit more to her.

One day, heading home on a full subway car, an old man gave up from his seat after seeing that I was standing and basically herded me into it. Grabbed my shoulders, pushed me, pulled my backpack off of me, set it in my lap, and then stood and calmly chatted with me in English.

"Where are you from?"
"The United States."
"Ah! U.S.A.! Are you a student?"
"No, teacher. English teacher."
"Ahh, what age?"
"Elementary and middle school."

We chatted for a minute or so longer about very basic things: how long I'd been in korea, what city I was living in, etc. His english was really quite good for the basic conversation we were having. Then, my favorite part, was at the next subway stop when he suddenly threw his hands up and said, "Oh! I must leave! I am going to the senior center! To play ping pong!" This included him miming ping pong for me before giving me a friendly wave and literally bouncing out of the subway car.

The latest memorable conversation was with a middle-aged businessman, sitting across from me (on the floor) in the standing room only snack car on the KTX train. We'd made eye contact a couple times, mostly to share a laugh over the drunk guy who was absolutely belting it out in the private noreabang (karaoke) room on the train car. Then he scooted over to me cautiously.

"Excuse me, you speak English?"
"Yes, I do."
"Okay. I got this email... From my boss. American boss. I do not understand. (holds out cellphone)"

The email read: "Can back ups cover?"

Now, that doesn't really make much sense to me either. I asked if I could read the original email, which he agreed to. This businessman had explained in the email that he would be out of town and unable to take a certain conference call. After a few seconds of thinking, it dawned on me.

"Ohhh, are there other people working on this project? Like back up people? Who are helping you?"
"Yes."
"I think he's asking if one of them can take the conference call for you, since you'll miss it."
"AHHHHHH! Okay!"
"Does that help?"
"Yes. Very much. (pause) English is strange."
"I know, it really is."

--

So, that's all I've got to update with at the moment. In the next couple weeks I should be finding out a little bit about what I've got going on next term. Fingers crossed I'll be teaching a lit class...

I'm also planning an update with my overall reflections once I hit the six-month mark, which is just a few weeks. Crazy! I can't believe I've been here that long. The weeks are flying by, which I have very mixed feelings about. More on all that later. It's time to attempt to sleep despite the blaring music...

one term down!

so not only have i been in korea for over three months now, but i've completed my first term at my school! it feels good to have made it through without incident or too much stress. the new term will be a little bit different as far as the classes i'm teaching, but i'm feeling much more confident about the first day of the new term tomorrow than i was three months ago.

the past month has been relatively uneventful. the students take level-up exams in week ten of each term, and that was an interesting experience. extremely boring at times -- especially when they did the standardized test portion which basically meant i sat there for two and a half hours and just watched them take a test. one day of their exams consisted of speaking/listening/writing, which was actually a section i administered and graded. if you thought taking a speaking test in a foreign/second language was uncomfortable and no fun at all ever? imagine being the one giving the test. even some of my best and brightest totally froze up and just looked panicked when they couldn't think of what to say. i remember that feeling well from speaking tests in high school and college japanese classes, so i really felt for these kids as they sat at the other side of the desk.

this is how i kept myself entertained while the

students were taking the standardized exams.

while "proctoring," of course.

each term is thirteen weeks long, so the weeks following level-up exams were... less enjoyable than the ones preceding. in week twelve they actually received their level-up results, and at that point, convincing them to care about the last few lessons was, as one of my coworkers said, "like trying to shovel water." some classes were fine, just because we had a great rapport and the kids legitimately want to learn english. but those unmotivated students who kind of despised being in class anyway? it was rough.

this was taken a couple weeks ago, to illustrate

how i felt about teaching unmotivated students

post-level-up exams. so glad it's over. (for now.)

i'm really going to miss some of my classes -- i think almost all of my favorite students leveled-up into classes i won't be teaching next term. i can only hope that i'll have them again later on in the year. it will be really nice to have a fresh start with new students and classes, though. while i feel like my first term was pretty successful, i can definitely see little things here and there (particularly in areas like classroom management) that i should approach differently from the very first day. it's a learning curve. but i'm looking forward to walking into my classes tomorrow and being able to start over with a new group.

i could always adopt these rules one of my students made up.

speaking of my classes tomorrow, i'll be teaching a couple new levels this term. when i was trained, i was trained in memory english (which has three levels -- mega, giga, and tera), and then also in interactive reading/listening (which is higher than memory english and also has three levels -- bridge, par, and birdie). this past term i taught mega, giga, and par. next term i have mega, giga, bridge, and then a new level for me -- english chip. english chip actually falls below the memory english section in the hierarchy of levels at chungdahm, so i'm going to have some of the youngest/lowest english level kids our school teaches. i got a little bit of training in ec last week and i'm feeling pretty good about it -- since i've taught the level it feeds right into, memory english mega, i can see exactly why certain components of the curriculum exist. all of the levels really build on the skills learned previously, so as i'm exposed to more and more of these different levels, i'm finding it really helpful for my understanding of what's important for them to learn and why.

that's really all that's been going on lately. just working, putting a lot of energy into keeping burned out kids interested, and! decorating my apartment. people have been moving out lately so i've been scavenging a little bit -- picked up a couch, little cafe table and chair, and two frames that previously had canvas stretched across them. so i've been having a lot of cheap, crafty fun lately, and i promise an actual blog post about my apartment will be coming in the next month or so.

but despite the relatively boring day-to-day schedule i've fallen into lately, i've been able to spend the past few weekends in seoul, seeing friends, doing some shopping, and just hanging out. the weather is fiiiinally starting to warm up. it's been creeping above 40 almost every single day this past week! haha. i can't wait for it to be warm. there's so much that i want to do and see outside! definitely going to go crazy with taking photos and hiking and exploring as soon as i can. (maybe even as early as next weekend... it looks like we might be getting above 50 next week!)

i promise to be better with the updating. i fell behind because i just felt like nothing interesting was happening. but now that the term has ended, i felt like it needed a recap of sorts.

is there anything in particular i should talk more about? leave me a comment. let me know. and thank you to everyone who persistently reminded me to update my blog. you're all awesome. (though seriously, i promise it'll be much more frequent once i can come out of hibernation mode and i start to see more of this country.) until next time! :)

on teaching children, volume one.

kids are effing weird. wonderful, at times, but mostly just odd. here are a handful of my more... memorable interactions so far.

the general fascination with my hair: my entire life, my hair has been a point of interest. when i was little, it was platinum blonde. i was sometimes teased, it was frequently oohed and ahhed over by adults, and taking photos of me in direct sunlight was tricky because my head would just be engulfed in the white light of my hair. by comparison, my hair is much darker now, but still quite blonde. in korea, the fascination has moved to an entirely new level.

• you may remember my facebook status from a week or so ago. the one about the boy who actually pulled a hair OUT OF MY HEAD during class to look at and show to the other boys. for the record, this kid is also the one who thinks i'm a pirate since i have tattoos. he always peers at my hair anytime i'm anywhere near him and i think actually asks me every. single. class. if my hair is real. he's strange. but during one class, while i was checking on his group's progress on their presentation for the day, he actually just reached over and pulled a hair out. not off my shirt. but out of my scalp. like, i felt it. then he put it on the desk and all the boys leaned in and they examined it. ...yep.
• number of times i've had a student just reach out and touch my hair: i've actually lost count. this seems to be the most normal reaction. personal space is nonexistent.
• last week, one of my favorite students pulled some hair off my back. when i noticed and turned to say, "oh, thanks," i realized she wasn't just helping me keep my shirt free of hair, but she was picking off the hair so she could look at it. the girl next to her leaned in to look too, and when they saw me watching, they dissolved into a giggle fit. adorable, yes, but i also think she kept my hair..

the desire to be the teacher's best friend: this probably applies to the girls in my classes more than the boys, though there are some exceptions. but i have been so amused and touched by the things my students have done to be nice and get to know me.

• sharing their snacks! it's a pretty regular occurrence for my students to bring me a handful of whatever food they're eating during break time. one will even bring an extra clementine orange just for me when she's packed one for herself. of course, when i have a snack, they expect me to share with them too, but i always do. plus they seem to be greatly entertained when they give me something i haven't tried yet just so they can see my reaction.
• very earnestly telling me their opinion on a particular exercise in class. one section of my memory english classes involves practicing memorization skills. one student absolutely hates memorizing and waved me over to tell me this. "teacha, i really do hate this part of class. in korean, i am so good at memorizing. in english, it is not fun and i don't like. but i will try anyway. but i don't like." then, in every class since, he will look at me and shake his head and quietly say, "teacha, you know what i think about this. i told you." even though he doesn't like it, he still tries hard and has actually improved a lot. but he really enjoys giving me a knowing look and reminding me that we discussed how much he dislikes memorizing english sentences.
• giving me presents and/or drawing me pictures. right off the bat, students were giving me gum and angry birds erasers. every now and then, when they draw a picture for their presentations, they'll bring it to me at the end of class and say, "this is for you, teacha." but today, a couple of my girls actually drew pictures of me, folded them up, and quietly passed them to me during class. so sweet. and then they were so pleased when i thanked them for the pictures.

the love of death and all things morbid: i've mentioned this before -- the sheer joy the boys in my class get out of killing off any character in a story we make up. lately, even the girls have chimed in more than usual with their own... creative ideas.

• in one class last week, we read a story about a haunted house. two of the characters actually ended up being ghosts. for their thinking (creative) project during the last hour of class, they had to design and plan an entire haunted house attraction that they would then present to the class. one of my groups of sweet, adorable girls came up with a two-part attraction. first, you see this cute little house that's all pastel colored and pretty. then, you see what happens to the house after an evil witch takes over. as they were presenting, i noticed giant red blobs all over the page. when i asked them what it was, one innocently looked at me and matter-of-factly said, "oh, that's just the blood rain." oh, yes. of course it is. another group of girls even put an entire river of blood into their drawing. lovely.
• at the beginning of lessons, the students look at a couple pictures in the book and try to predict what happens next in the story. it's a fun exercise and they get to be really creative. the stories can literally go anywhere, so they really have fun trying to make them crazy. the first picture today showed a little girl talking to her mother and looking angry. the second picture was of the little girl at a camp, arguing with the camp counselor (who the students just kept calling "teacher," for the sake of the rest of this making sense...). so, during prediction, i always write their ideas on the board so we can plot out the story. they decided the little girl and teacher argue, the little girl wins the argument, and then here's the rest: yes, my students supplied "dehydrated" and "children play in river of teacher's tears." should i be concerned for my safety?

that's all i can think of at the moment for the really memorable stories. i'm sure i'll have plenty more in a couple weeks. i never really imagined myself teaching children, and while i probably won't once i move back from korea, i do have to say i'm quite enjoying it.

week two of teaching, weekends, and some pictures.

this week went by really fast, which was nice. half of my classes were cancelled because the middle school students have their super intensive exams this time of year. kinda sucks for my paycheck, but after two and a half weeks of going non-stop, it's a relief to have an easy week or two. i observed some more classes, decorated my apartment a little more, and got to hang out with some coworkers. we went to a good sushi buffet one night, saw a late showing of the new twilight movie another night... (and oh. my. goodnesss. that movie was terrible. we were laughing our asses off pretty much the whole time.) it was a much more relaxed week. next week should be a breeze too.

christmas lights along the walk to school.

teaching is already starting to feel more comfortable. i only had my memory english classes this week and the structure is literally the same thing every single day, so it's easy to settle into. the kids (who are mostly elementary school aged) were particularly rambunctious thursday/friday... it's amazing we all left the classroom alive. i made a game out of their workbook exercises and they were losing their minds trying to get the most points. seriously, these kids go nuts for competitions. seeing every hand shoot into the air to answer a question so they can get their team points? i'll take it.

vocab tests started this week. at the beginning

of every class, they take a vocab test over the

words in the lesson for that day. one student,

sohpia, studied the wrong one for tuesday.

sohpia's drawing on thursday's test... she's

one of my favorites in that class. (she's also the

one who gave me the angry birds erasers.)

also, one of the boys in my tuesday/thursday memory class, kevin, saw the edge of my wrist tattoo sticking out from under my bracelets (i have to keep it covered) while they were doing group work.

kevin: teacha! *pointing* tattoo?!

me: pfft, i don't know what you're talking about.

kevin: there! tattoo!! *grabbing my wrist* what is it?

me: i can't tell you. it's a secret.

kevin: waaaaa! no! please let me see!

me: maaaaybe... i'll think about it.

(then about ten minutes later)

kevin: what is your tattoo???

me: i told you, it's a secret.

kevin: pleaaassseeeee!

me: how about i draw it? *draws design on piece of paper*

kevin: ahhhhhhh. you are... uhh... *looks to his friend peter for help*

peter: oh! it is... *starts drawing*

me: what... is that a skull and crossbones? flag?

kevin: yes! yes! you are this!!!

me: pirate? i'm a pirate?!!

kevin and peter: YES! PIRATE!!

so, this just in, tattoos = pirate. i am a pirate.

last weekend i ventured into seoul for a little bit of sightseeing with john. it took longer than anticipated for me to get into seoul (long story involving a certain subway map printout that was missing some information i needed... like where my stop was...), but we were still able to go see jogyesa temple.

during buddha's birthday, this entire area gets

decorated with tons of lanterns. definitely going

to go see that when it happens in may.

there was a service going on and it looked crowded, so we didn't go inside, but just wandering around the outside of the building was impressive. so detailed and colorful.

i wanted to get some pictures of the inside through

the window, but i didn't want to creep on the service...

we'd planned to also go see a palace, but it was closed by the time we got there. we wandered through the museum next to it, but almost everything was in korean, so we called it a day and went to dinner.

gigantic burger! and dr. pepper! (it's kinda hard

to find here, sadly.) we had to cut up the burgers

because they were so big. but so, so good.

then i spent the rest of the weekend being a hermit and fully enjoying a quiet, lazy sunday.

and this weekend, first thing that happened: snow!!

i have to say, i like snow a whooooole hell of a lot more when i a) don't have to drive in it and b) it's the weekend. it all melted off pretty quickly, so that was kind of a bummer... i'm looking forward to a pretty white blanket of snow on everything.

sadly, by the time i actually went outside,

this little bit of snow had already melted.

this weekend i wanted to do a little bit more exploring, but closer to home, so saturday john came in from seoul to hang out in incheon for the day. (he also brought tortillas and cheddar cheese that he picked up for me from costco! breakfast tacos for everyone!!) once he was here, hunger and laziness ended up winning and we decided not to cook breakfast tacos as planned, so instead we grabbed a taxi and headed over to the arts center for an early dinner. one of my coworkers recommended a good shabu shabu restaurant, so we decided to give it a try.

with this, you start off with some broth with veggies,

and once it's brought to a boil, you add different things

like meat and noodles. then, with the leftover broth,

a sort of porridge is made with an egg and rice.

it was soo good! we were really pleased with the meal, even though we didn't really know what to do and felt like total idiot foreigners. luckily, the owner speaks really good english and was willing to guide us through it. and! his 5 year old daughter is probably one of the most adorable children in existence. she kept bouncing past our table and peering around the corner at us while we ate. then, towards the end of our meal, we managed to coax her over so we could say hi and talk to her. she's learning english in her kindergarten class, so she was able to talk to us a little. then when we got up to leave, she presented me with a drawing! i asked her if it was for us and she nodded, pointed at me and then at john, and ran over to her dad.

she's pretty much the cutest thing ever. i love

how she folded it and drew a seal on it.

we wandered about the arts center a little more before heading back to my part of town. relaxed day, but still fun. slowly but surely i'm finding good spots to eat and shop. it's nice to be surrounded by so many options.

this is part of the walk to/from the closest subway stop.

it looked so pretty last night after i walked john to the

subway. i still wish there'd been more snow though...

and now i'm enjoying another super lazy sunday. i took a late afternoon nap on my couch. i went to the grocery store. might do laundry. or just catch up on some tv shows and read on my kindle. i love hermit days.

next weekend should be busier... i think a plan for some shopping in seoul is in the works with some of my friends from training. maybe a bit of sightseeing too if it isn't too frigid outside. :)

observations about south korea, volume two.

1. respecting your elders is a crowd pleaser. having studied the japanese language and culture for years in both high school and college, the reverence asian cultures hold for their elders wasn't a new concept at all. so, when i went into seoul the other day i was able to grab a seat on the subway, but as we got farther into the city, it filled up. naturally, i offered my seat to an elderly woman who was going to have to stand. this apparently impressed several elderly people on the subway because they patted me on the shoulder and said something in korean to me and gave me a thumbs up. i was just being polite, and that's absolutely something i would've done back home too, but it was kind of nice to get that response. for all i know they were commenting on my hair or congratulating me for not being an asshole american, but i'm going to pretend they were pleased that i was respecting their cultural etiquette.

2. subways. i've only been on a handful of subway/metro rails around the u.s. -- la, dc, chicago, san francisco... but i'll be damned if south korea doesn't have one of the nicest and cleanest subway systems in the whole world. seriously. so. clean.

3. coffee shops are EVERYWHERE. like, i can't spit without hitting a coffee shop. however, this is not in any way a complaint. i think it is marvelous. because goddamn do i love coffee. it isn't so marvelous for my bank account, because it is now much easier to get coffee made for me than to make it myself... but that is my own personal struggle and i will overcome. but look at how adorbs their cups are!!!!

4. trash. some of you probably laughed when you read that. back in july-august, as i was getting ready to move away from austin and i was unemployed and spending huge amounts of my time reading blogs by people in south korea, i read about the color coded trash bags and how this is actually enforced/monitored. during one of my moving-stress induced meltdowns as i packed up my apartment in august, i'm pretty sure not being able to figure out the trash was one of my points as to why i was a crazy person for moving to sk. (becca remembers.) well, guess what i can't figure out? the fucking trash. haha, no, it's really not that bad -- it's just a matter of buying the right trash bags. luckily, i haven't had much food trash so far, so it hasn't been an issue. but one of the other new teachers, kara, totally had a run-in with the guy who monitors the trash and now we're afraid to just ditch our trash outside in the trash area without the proper bags... sidenote: there are no trashcans along the streets. at. all. why, korea? why?

5. i have superhuman powers. and by me, i mean my hair. also, i'm kidding, duh. but! i do have the ability to make large groups of teenage girls dissolve into giggles simply by looking at them. this went on for about thirty minutes on the subway the other day. they were being perfectly friendly and they were really dang adorable, so it was just amusing. definitely one encounter i'm going to attribute to my hair color. and definitely something that will take some getting used to.

6. korean kids are morbid. i mean, most kids are pretty damn morbid. every kid goes through a stage where they're fascinated with death. and honestly, these kids may be saying this shit just to get a rise out of me or to be funny. but seriously -- everything ends in death or violence...

"so this boy's mother wants him to take out the trash and he doesn't want to. what do you think will happen next?"

"she will hit him."

"oh! wow! then what?"

"BLOODY, TEACHA. HE IS BLOODY."

"...his mom hit him so hard he bleeds?!"

"YEAH. THEN HE CALL 9-1-1!"

or there was this gem today...

"he just threw the stick to make the puppy go away, so what do you think he will do next?"

"like this teacha! *kid mimes a puppy running and then getting impaled with the stick thrown by the boy*"

"wait -- the puppy is going to get stabbed?!"

"yeah! and then he will kick it."

"he's going to kick the puppy?!"

"YES, TEACHA!"

"but why?!"

"then he makes dog meat soup!"

"you. are. terrible."

let me also add that the majority of gory details are supplied by the boys in my classes. so, yeah, they're definitely messing with me and being silly. and even though they were telling me about killing and eating the stray puppy in today's story, they were totally joking and everyone was laughing. (only one had actually eaten dog before, and that was on vacation in china. yes, i asked. he said it tasted like chicken and then proceeded to show me a picture of his golden retriever.) but still. dang, korean kids. why so morbid?

i'm a teacher now? and some other stuff.

first off, thank you for the reminders to update. very persistent, just as i'd requested. :)

i can't believe i haven't even been here for two weeks yet. it feels like training was ages ago. going non-stop like this is wearing me out. i've definitely been taking the time to sleep and be a homebody this week so i can recharge my energy before it's too far depleted.

but! to more important things! like my new job!

part of my walk to school. it's a straight shot down the

street, so it's really easy to get to. takes about 10 min.

more of the walk to work. it was rainy today.

okay, these leaves are EVERYWHERE on the sidewalk

and they are SO. FREAKING. BIG.

so i've had my first two days of teaching now, meaning i am -officially- a teacher. (finally, right?) it's gone pretty well... i think. no out of control disruptive behavior, no disasters of any kind, no completely awkwardly unprepared moments... i know this means i'm doing something right, but i still feel so incredibly clueless.

i do have to say i am glad for the training i received -- quite a lot of people getting hired to teach esl over here get thrown into the classroom immediately. the fact that i got four (intensive) days of methodology and mock teaching? i'm rather fortunate.

however. i am teaching a class i did NOT receive training in... apparently schools can only choose two courses for their incoming new teachers to be trained in, and mine had me trained in memory english and par listening. but the par level isn't just listening -- it also has a reading component. i see those kids twice a week -- one class is reading and the other is listening. aaaand guess which one they have first? (i.e. the one i taught on monday and tuesday without a damn clue in the world about how they want me to teach it?) yay reading...

overall, it still went well. one of our head instructors, will, sat in on the first hour of my reading class tuesday night and i got good feedback. he was "encouraged" by my enthusiasm and ability to build relationships with the kids and all that, so all we would need to tweak was the actual approach to teaching this class. such a relief to hear that. i actually sat in on will's reading class today and got to observe his approach, and it was immensely helpful.

hopefully, the feedback i got from will is similar to what i'll receive across the board for my classes. when it comes to memory english and listening, i did actually get to mock teach the lessons we're doing this week, so i'm feeling a little more comfortable with those. but at the same time, there ain't no way in hell i'm teaching them perfectly to chungdahm's standards. there's just so much to learn and four days of training isn't nearly enough time. i know i messed up a section here and there of the lessons, so i'm sure i'll hear about that... but they've promised to be forgiving with us newbie teachers. our branch manager, mr. kim, has been watching us closely, and so far, no complaints from him. fingers crossed it stays that way. (i'm a little terrified to get on his bad side...)

it's been a bit of a rollercoaster. i was feeling pretty down after my first day. not because it didn't go well, but just because i wasn't sure how i felt about the whole thing. i left school feeling like i was sort of winging it in the classroom and that definitely killed my confidence. plus i couldn't tell if my kids liked me or if they were scared of me. but then tuesday's classes were better, partially because they ran smoother, but also partially because some of the girls in my memory english class gave me little presents...

gum and angry birds erasers!

if the kids are giving me impromptu presents in the middle of class (one also shared her snack with me at break time), that means they like me, right? it definitely cheered me up. i'm looking forward to that class tomorrow because those little girls were such sweethearts. (and they're three of the brightest students in that class, so they're well on their way to becoming some of my favorites.)

so, all is well right now. besides observing the reading class, i had today off. i think i'm going to enjoy having wednesdays off. nice break in the middle of my work week. and even though it's kinda annoying that i don't get home from work until nearly 11pm at night, i'm a huuuuge fan of getting to sleep in until noonish every. single. day. sleeping late > going to bed early. always.

tonight, after observing the reading class, the other new teachers (kara and angus) and i went to an ex-pat bar in our area called liquor burger because they were serving leftover thanksgiving turkey and stuffing sandwiches. since i didn't get a proper thanksgiving meal, this was too good to pass up. aaand it was delicious. i love korean food, like, a lot, but i also just love turkey and stuffing. haha. it was a nice reminder of home.

turkey + stuffing sandwich with gravy and mac and cheese.

speaking of home, i got to skype with my dog last night and it was pretty awesome. and also heartbreaking. hearing my voice but not being able to smell or see me (or at least i'm not sure if she could see me on the computer screen from dad's lap?) distressed her a bit. but when dad put her back on the floor she started barking at him until he picked her back up and let her look at the computer screen. aww. my maisie dog. i wish she was here with me. :( :( :( :( :( :(

derp face. (i was making a noise to get her attention.)

waving at the camera. :(

settling into living here has been pretty easy. now that i've started work, i'm falling into a routine that's really quite comfortable. it's been rainy the past couple days so i haven't ventured out much, but i'm looking forward to checking out the little shops around my apartment. even just walking to and from liquor burger was nice tonight, despite the chill and the rain. my neighborhood is neat looking at night. very bright and colorful, which is such a change from every other place i've lived that the novelty hasn't worn off yet. and this area is really, really safe. (actually, i think that's pretty true of korea in general.) walking around alone at night? perfectly fine. my one complaint is some of the bars nearby can be a little noisy, but it isn't so bad it keeps me awake.

daytime. the brown building is my apartment building.

a yeonsu street at night!

one of the main intersections near my apartment.

might be going into seoul this weekend for some sightseeing. it feels weird that i've been here nearly two weeks and i've done hardly any touristy history/culture things. so, weather and energy permitting, i'll hopefully have some pretty pictures to post after this weekend. :)