#teacheslkorea

[loldiana]

School festival activities! 🌷🌙🎃 #teacheslkorea

[aroseinnewyork]

For asking a Yes/No Be Verb question one of my students drew this dirty elephant. Lol

[rastapus]

Chaos and Skype relief

  So I guess it's that time to update and share with my small world my first two weeks landed in the far east. It started with a hard good bye to San Francisco, followed by a 12.5 hour flight to Incheon airport just west of Seoul. After sleeping for the majority of the flight I landed and was greeted by the infamous Mr. Kim. After hearing so much about him I was slightly disappointed to find out he was nothing more than a glorified taxi driver. Pyeongtaek ended up being about an hour drive from the airport, far longer than the "40 minutes to Seoul" in the job description. I found out from a fellow teacher that its about an hour by express train (equivalent to the GO). 

Anyways, finally got to my apartment and was greeted by the teacher I would be replacing (named Andy). Luckily he offered the floor of my future apartment for me to sleep on, which saved $30 of my precious stash for other more pressing necessities. Andy and his former co-teacher took me to dinner which was followed by a visit to the local expat bar. The night I landed I was lucky enough to be introduced to most of the teachers in the area. By the end of the night I had been awake for over 24 hours, slightly lubricated and thus collapsed on the heated linoleum of my apartment to be. 

One of the things I seem to fear the most is the way my speech is becoming simplified and much more physical. Communication with my coworkers tends to follow this progression: 1) Speak normally. 2) Increase volume and exaggerate body language/gestures. 3) Slow down. 4) Break down sentences into rudimentary nonsense.  5) Pretend they're children. It's not hard to imagine what this kind of pattern will do for my speech over a year's time. Luckily I caught my speech changing pretty quickly and am now working viciously to stop this terrible regression. It helps hanging out with other teachers in the area, something I ignorantly was against before getting here. I thought it would be the "cool guy" thing to do; only hang around Koreans and fully integrate myself. Being white makes this a little hard. It makes this a lot hard. So I've altered my approach slightly. I have met a few open minded koreans who will socialize with the foreign population and this will probably be the gate way. We'll see how that goes. 

  That's all I feel like sharing right now. There's the pressing issues of finding a clean site to stream todays formula 1 race. Adios readership! 

[loldiana]

This one is my favorite so far. So creative. It looks like a starfish which is fitting for a brochure about #Busan. #teachinginkorea #teacheslkorea

[loldiana]

It's the first day back and I have been given not one but TWO iced coffees, juice, and candy. #workperks #teachinginkorea #teacheslkorea

[loldiana]

#tbt to when I went through the most mentally/emotionally challenging hike of my life. Korea's 2nd tallest mountain, Jirisan. #jirisan #hiking #hikingadventures #itwascold #teacheslkorea #travel #Korea (at 지리산 로타리 대피소 & 법계사)

[loldiana]

Gyeongbokgung Palace. . . . . #travel #Korea #teachinginkorea #teacheslkorea #Seoul #EPIK #gyeongbokgung (at Gyeongbokgung)

[loldiana]

It's was so hot and sweaty but Lotte World was fun. #teachinginkorea #teacheslkorea #amusementpark #lotteworld (at Lotte World Adventure, South Korea)

[loldiana]

This parade at Lotte World was #lit. 😂😂 My office of Ed is taking us on a two day trip. Sorry in advance for all the photos. . . . . . #parade #lotteworld #korea #teacheslkorea #teachinginkorea #Seoul #costume #dance (at 롯데월드 (lotteworld))

[loldiana]

I got to judge a tteokbokki for my students. It was delicious and now I'm stuffed. #tteokbokki #koreanfood #teachinginkorea #teacheslkorea (at Jeollabuk-do)

[loldiana]

Yesterday's lunch for those curious back home. I've been trying to cut rice out of my diet. #teacheslkorea #koreanschoollunch (at Jeollabuk-do)

[loldiana]

Days like today make me wanna stay here forever ~ #whatdoesshelooklike #listeningactivities #teachinginkorea #teacheslkorea

[loldiana]

I was sport's day yesterday! #teachinginkorea #korea #middleschool #teacheslkorea

[loldiana]

@songs_sweethouse makes the best cakes I've ever had. Definitely lifted my spirits on this rainy Tuesday. #송과자집 #coconutlime #Jeonju #teacheslkorea #cake #남부시장 (at 송과자집)

[loldiana]

I'm so happy I came up with this project for my students. Some kids do the bare minimum but others go above and beyond and I love the good ones. This students wins for this class. It's so CUTE 😭😍 #teacherlife #teacheslkorea #travelbrochures (at Jeollabuk-do)

[loldiana]

I should be upset because she drew thus during class BUT I'm so happy one of my students finally drew me. #teacherlife #teacheslkorea