Sunday, June 27, 2010
Shady Travels is Under Construction
Friday, June 11, 2010
World Cup Red Fever
Every four years, I look forward to FIFA’s World Cup. It truly is the definition of a worldwide event. If I could guess, I think more people care about it more than the Olympics or dare I say the U.S. presidential election. Since 1998, when I began taking soccer seriously, I have whole-heartedly watched the beautiful game. I remember seeing my favorite soccer commercial of all time where Brazil kicked around a soccer ball through an airport to the sound of samba. I knew that from their dominant yet graceful play advancing with ease to the final against France, why they were called “The Samba Kings.” From then on, I not only played soccer, but I was a fan. I followed La Liga, Premiership, Bundesliga, Serie A and even MLS. I watched my favorite players like Beckham to Ronaldo go from play to injury while the rising stars like Ronaldinho and Christiano Ronaldo took soccer stardom to new heights with their multi-million pound/euro signings and sponsorships. Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong weren’t in my realm of sports heroes like the rest of the U.S. was obsessing. Mia Hamm was what I wanted to be. I remember telling my mom that I no longer wanted to be a doctor, but a professional soccer player when I grew up. Imagine the surprise and uncertainty on my mother’s face. Regardless of this pipe dream, I developed my passion for the sport into my central universe. I worked towards Varsity, club, and coaching soccer almost playing collegiate level. I settled for captaining the intramural dynasty “Mabakyao” at Fordham University.
From that very first World Cup, I have avidly watched each one thereafter. I spent Japan/Korea World Cup 2002 in the Philippines thankfully watching in the same time zone. At 16, I spent a month reconnecting with relatives I hadn’t seen since I was 3. I went to a local university everyday and played with both their mens and womens teams then coming home by 7pm to watch those Samba Kings. For the Germany World Cup 2006, I had to leave my beloved NYC for the summer to earn and save extra money for my trip around the world with Semester at Sea. I returned to my first job at Outback Steakhouse not as a hostess, but as a take-away server. Thankfully, I had my friends Chris, Matt, and Paul to watch every game and then go out to the Kiwanis Park tennis courts to play short-sided soccer past midnight. Now, I’m starting the South Africa World Cup 2010 in Korea.
Korea is really getting ready for the World Cup to begin on June 11th. All over Seoul, I see advertisements exclaiming “Fighting Korea”, “Red Devils”, “Dynamic Korea” etc. Random vendors are selling Korea fan jerseys on every corner. The likes of Park Ji Sung, Lee Chung Yong and Park Chu Young have replaced Kim Yu Na’s image as the main celebrity spokesperson for various brands like Samsung, Tous le Jours Bakery, Hyundai Motors, and Hite Beer. Don’t worry. Korea hasn’t forgotten its ice princess. She teamed up with Big Bang, arguably Korea's favorite boy band and created “The Shouting Dance” for Korea to do during the games.
I just hope with all of this excitement, Korea will increase its recognition of the sport of soccer as a leader in sports. It makes me so sad to hear that women’s soccer virtually doesn’t exist here. If I had more money, more connections, and the ability to speak Korean, I would create a Seoul youth soccer league much like the U.S. Growing up, organized sports fueled my weekend. I want these children to experience being part of a team and playing against other clubs from different areas. But, as anything goes in Korea, it’s all about making Korean mother’s happy and all they care about is a die hard no non-sense pursuit to be the best academically.
I just hope with all of this excitement, Korea will increase its recognition of the sport of soccer as a leader in sports. It makes me so sad to hear that women’s soccer virtually doesn’t exist here. If I had more money, more connections, and the ability to speak Korean, I would create a Seoul youth soccer league much like the U.S. Growing up, organized sports fueled my weekend. I want these children to experience being part of a team and playing against other clubs from different areas. But, as anything goes in Korea, it’s all about making Korean mother’s happy and all they care about is a die hard no non-sense pursuit to be the best academically.
This Saturday, I’m going down to City Hall to watch the game with the rest of Seoul. I had the chance to go out with some girlfriends to an all you can eat and drink hors d’oeuvres and wine bar. I’d rather go out with the masses and drink Cass on the streets while Korea defeats Greece for its World Cup opening match.
I am beginning the tournament in Korea, but I will be ending it in Australia. I’m excited to see how the tournament unfolds. Below are my picks from the Round of 16. Based on the Champions League outcome, I’m guessing Germany will be victorious. Despite the wins and losses, I hope nations like South Africa and Korea will see the importance of sports and the advancement of global unity through sports competition allowing repressed nations like North Korea showcase their abilities.
"Shave" Down Under
About three weeks into teaching this spring term, I got into a real funk. I wasn't happy teaching anymore. The smallest incidents irritated me enough to make me yell at my students and I really hate yelling at them. I loathed going into work. I would go straight to my classroom, thus socializing less. I realized that I was done with this job. I had maximized myself at this company being an instructor, head instructor, and trainer. Now, I was no longer challenged.
At this point, I decided I would not stay at Chungdahm any longer. It really is a cursed job. They pay us way too much for the amount of work I do. I would rather get paid half as much and actually building my communications portfolio. I reminisced to my days interning in communications and I really missed it. I missed working on my own projects and seeing the final project satisfied because it was of my own doing. Plus I was sick of Korea. I will never EVER be sick of the food though. Korea has been a great transitional home for those who want to make money and still travel. With this company I made a lot of money, but rarely traveled. It's also a great place to meet new people since the foreigner community is so tight knit. Now, I'm in a serious relationship and no longer in need to "meet" people. I'm also ready to live in a place where I can understand the community and they can understand me. I want to be able to join a soccer league, run marathons, volunteer, and just be active in my community. Korea and its people have been good to me, but now it's my time to move on personally and professionally.
So I started applying to jobs both in the U.S. and Canada. Dave and I are in a predicament because of our nationalities making it difficult for either of us to work in each other's home countries. Despite this, we applied everywhere. I applied to many PR firms and even with smaller organizations doing communications still. In addition to these North America ventures, I applied to one PR firm in Korea; Burson-Marstellar. It's actually an American firm with a Seoul office. I learned about their office here because I met a girl who was an intern there. I was doing women's aerobics on the river in Nowon and she approached me with such great English. Learning that she had a communications background and was working for one of the largest PR firms in the world, we got closer. Plus it was nice to have a nice Korean friend. Thinking of her, I applied to BM-Korea for fun. In fact, I applied on their website, which is usually a bust since applying through a company's website is like sending your resume into a black hole never knowing where it goes or if anyone ever sees it.
After a month, I heard nothing. Dave and I were anxious. We were so ready to leave with our growing disappointment and stagnation at work and with Korea. Luckily, Dave looked into working in other countries than U.S. and Canada. Since Canada is part of the British Commonwealth, he figured why not look into those states. He found that they all offer working holiday visas to persons 18-30 years of age, which allows a person to enter and exit freely into that country and then work there too! This is a typically a backpacker’s visa allowing those who need more money to work while on extended backpacking trips. Most people take on migrant work like fruit picking or construction. We found out that not all people with this visa do “migrant work”, but can also work in the service industry like bartending and waiting tables, or have an office job; what we want. Hopefully with an office job, it could lead to a permanent sponsored job. With both of us at a disadvantage, working in Australia would keep us both on the same playing field; working towards getting good jobs of our specialty (mine being communications Dave’s being marketing) leading to a permanent resident work visa. We decided that working in Australia would be a great idea. It was a westernized country where the primary spoken language is English. Better yet, it wasn’t either Canada or the U.S. We were ready to leave Korea, but we weren’t ready to go home yet. We are both avid travelers who still desire the challenge of new places.
We searched hard for information on this working holiday visa in Australia. We finally decided that we couldn’t apply ourselves. What sadness it would be if we spent $200 each having our application rejected because we didn’t properly fill out the application or send in the correct documents. We found a reputable visa and job agency called Visa First. It is a UK based company that services visas to the Commonwealth states. We were hooked when we saw their video clip on YouTube with a variety of positive feedback. No other website had such promising services and praise. They even offered Live Chat on their website to answer any questions we had. After a 30 minute Live Chat with them, we signed up. The next day we transferred $440 each to the service and they began the application process. With this payment, Visa First processed our working holiday visa, provided tax numbers, set up our ANZ bank accounts, and got us SIM cards for our phones. Along with these guaranteed items, we had 1 year internet access at their facility and a full support system for finding a job and housing when we arrived. The only thing we had to do was get a chest x-ray to show the Australian government that we weren’t carrying tuberculosis. The very same day we did the very last thing on our Australia working holiday visa checklist, the chest x-ray, I got a very surprising Facebook message.
The message was from the Director of Finance and Human Resources at Burson Marstellar- Korea. She asked if I was still interested in a career at BM-Korea despite it being a month after I sent my resume into the abyss of applying via company website. I replied immediately although Australia and my relationship with Dave weighed heavily in the back of my mind. I was afraid of losing the money we spent on the working holiday visa. Even more unbearable was jeopardizing mine and Dave’s well-being if I ended up getting a job in Korea. We knew we weren’t leaving each other and if we did try the long-distance relationship thing, it would be too hard to bear. This job was for an editor position at BM-Korea, part of one of the biggest PR firms in the world! It is the exact job I want to be doing. Plus, it could lead to more international experience or my ticket back to the States. Dave reassured me that whatever happened, he would stick by my side in Korea even if he had to teach again. I got a reply back to come in for a writing test.
Nervous about this writing test, I contacted my friend who had interned at this very same company. She reassured me that everyone is very friendly and that I would enjoy working there. She also gave me a rundown of the company’s profile. Feeling more confident, I prepared a folder of my resume, cover letter, and writing samples from university and the World Knowledge Form where I created press releases. When I arrived at the BM-Korea office, I was greeted by the very same woman who sent me the Facebook message. I was seated at a laptop with very detailed instructions. I had exactly 95 minutes to create four documents. Thank goodness they were all press releases! They asked me to create a press release about a fake company, new product, speech, and an already existing product. Although this test was tough being a timed test, it was pretty exciting too making my adrenaline flow as the time ticked. I got to use my imagination to create pieces that were interesting and promoted these things. I could add fake people with their fake quotes to enhance the story. It was like fiction non-fiction writing.
Leaving the writing test, I felt confident. I did however tell myself that even if I did terrible, it was a fun experience. I got an interview. Korea is really hardcore when it comes to hiring. A company will make someone go through a rigorous writing test, then if they pass, get an interview with HR and the department head, and if they pass, get a second interview, and if they pass, well, they get the job pending references. At my first interview I met with the woman who had initially messaged me and the person who I’d be taking over. They explained a lot about the company and what the editor does. I would be doing 60% editing and 40% client services directly working with companies like LG helping enhance their communications initiatives. With my usual charm (hehe!) I tried to win them over with my charisma and positive attitude. I explained how much I learned from my previous internships and current teaching job and the importance of teamwork. They asked me tough questions like what field do I want to work in and why. They asked me what I think my weaknesses are. They even asked me if a product I was representing killed people, what would I do about it. They even told me I got one of the writing test questions wrong. I interpreted a product name as a company name and even made-up a CEO with a fake quote. Eesh! I left the interview feeling very unconfident. Walking towards the elevator, the CEO greeted me. “Oh, you’re Shadiyah!” So overwhelmed by the interrogation, I smiled and apologized for making a mistake on the writing test. He said, “Oh, that’s ok. I enjoyed reading it.” Whew!
I left the office ready to go to Australia. Nevertheless, I sent them my references and more writing samples trying to act cool and professional. In the end, I got an email saying I didn’t get the job. It was kind of a relief. I didn’t want to stay in Korea any longer, and after what seemed like being shot by a firing squad at the interview, I was so ready to move on. They told me that they were really impressed by my writing test and that I was one of the strongest applicants being in the top 3 after the writing test despite my goof. Then, after the first interview, I was second for the job. To ease my sadness, I was glad to hear that I was competing against candidates with 5 years journalism experience and the other with 3 years consulting experience both from the States.
Despite losing out on this fantastic communications opportunity, Dave and I got our working holiday visas good for a year. We are leaving June 15th for Sydney. This is a huge leap of faith professionally and personally, but I’m ready to take it. I’m glad I’m not doing it alone and that I have a good support system with me and at home. Here comes “Shave Down Under”! (Pun Intended)
* "Shave" is a nickname our co-workers made for us. It is a combination of Shadiyah + Dave much like "Brangelina".
At this point, I decided I would not stay at Chungdahm any longer. It really is a cursed job. They pay us way too much for the amount of work I do. I would rather get paid half as much and actually building my communications portfolio. I reminisced to my days interning in communications and I really missed it. I missed working on my own projects and seeing the final project satisfied because it was of my own doing. Plus I was sick of Korea. I will never EVER be sick of the food though. Korea has been a great transitional home for those who want to make money and still travel. With this company I made a lot of money, but rarely traveled. It's also a great place to meet new people since the foreigner community is so tight knit. Now, I'm in a serious relationship and no longer in need to "meet" people. I'm also ready to live in a place where I can understand the community and they can understand me. I want to be able to join a soccer league, run marathons, volunteer, and just be active in my community. Korea and its people have been good to me, but now it's my time to move on personally and professionally.
So I started applying to jobs both in the U.S. and Canada. Dave and I are in a predicament because of our nationalities making it difficult for either of us to work in each other's home countries. Despite this, we applied everywhere. I applied to many PR firms and even with smaller organizations doing communications still. In addition to these North America ventures, I applied to one PR firm in Korea; Burson-Marstellar. It's actually an American firm with a Seoul office. I learned about their office here because I met a girl who was an intern there. I was doing women's aerobics on the river in Nowon and she approached me with such great English. Learning that she had a communications background and was working for one of the largest PR firms in the world, we got closer. Plus it was nice to have a nice Korean friend. Thinking of her, I applied to BM-Korea for fun. In fact, I applied on their website, which is usually a bust since applying through a company's website is like sending your resume into a black hole never knowing where it goes or if anyone ever sees it.
After a month, I heard nothing. Dave and I were anxious. We were so ready to leave with our growing disappointment and stagnation at work and with Korea. Luckily, Dave looked into working in other countries than U.S. and Canada. Since Canada is part of the British Commonwealth, he figured why not look into those states. He found that they all offer working holiday visas to persons 18-30 years of age, which allows a person to enter and exit freely into that country and then work there too! This is a typically a backpacker’s visa allowing those who need more money to work while on extended backpacking trips. Most people take on migrant work like fruit picking or construction. We found out that not all people with this visa do “migrant work”, but can also work in the service industry like bartending and waiting tables, or have an office job; what we want. Hopefully with an office job, it could lead to a permanent sponsored job. With both of us at a disadvantage, working in Australia would keep us both on the same playing field; working towards getting good jobs of our specialty (mine being communications Dave’s being marketing) leading to a permanent resident work visa. We decided that working in Australia would be a great idea. It was a westernized country where the primary spoken language is English. Better yet, it wasn’t either Canada or the U.S. We were ready to leave Korea, but we weren’t ready to go home yet. We are both avid travelers who still desire the challenge of new places.
We searched hard for information on this working holiday visa in Australia. We finally decided that we couldn’t apply ourselves. What sadness it would be if we spent $200 each having our application rejected because we didn’t properly fill out the application or send in the correct documents. We found a reputable visa and job agency called Visa First. It is a UK based company that services visas to the Commonwealth states. We were hooked when we saw their video clip on YouTube with a variety of positive feedback. No other website had such promising services and praise. They even offered Live Chat on their website to answer any questions we had. After a 30 minute Live Chat with them, we signed up. The next day we transferred $440 each to the service and they began the application process. With this payment, Visa First processed our working holiday visa, provided tax numbers, set up our ANZ bank accounts, and got us SIM cards for our phones. Along with these guaranteed items, we had 1 year internet access at their facility and a full support system for finding a job and housing when we arrived. The only thing we had to do was get a chest x-ray to show the Australian government that we weren’t carrying tuberculosis. The very same day we did the very last thing on our Australia working holiday visa checklist, the chest x-ray, I got a very surprising Facebook message.
The message was from the Director of Finance and Human Resources at Burson Marstellar- Korea. She asked if I was still interested in a career at BM-Korea despite it being a month after I sent my resume into the abyss of applying via company website. I replied immediately although Australia and my relationship with Dave weighed heavily in the back of my mind. I was afraid of losing the money we spent on the working holiday visa. Even more unbearable was jeopardizing mine and Dave’s well-being if I ended up getting a job in Korea. We knew we weren’t leaving each other and if we did try the long-distance relationship thing, it would be too hard to bear. This job was for an editor position at BM-Korea, part of one of the biggest PR firms in the world! It is the exact job I want to be doing. Plus, it could lead to more international experience or my ticket back to the States. Dave reassured me that whatever happened, he would stick by my side in Korea even if he had to teach again. I got a reply back to come in for a writing test.
Nervous about this writing test, I contacted my friend who had interned at this very same company. She reassured me that everyone is very friendly and that I would enjoy working there. She also gave me a rundown of the company’s profile. Feeling more confident, I prepared a folder of my resume, cover letter, and writing samples from university and the World Knowledge Form where I created press releases. When I arrived at the BM-Korea office, I was greeted by the very same woman who sent me the Facebook message. I was seated at a laptop with very detailed instructions. I had exactly 95 minutes to create four documents. Thank goodness they were all press releases! They asked me to create a press release about a fake company, new product, speech, and an already existing product. Although this test was tough being a timed test, it was pretty exciting too making my adrenaline flow as the time ticked. I got to use my imagination to create pieces that were interesting and promoted these things. I could add fake people with their fake quotes to enhance the story. It was like fiction non-fiction writing.
Leaving the writing test, I felt confident. I did however tell myself that even if I did terrible, it was a fun experience. I got an interview. Korea is really hardcore when it comes to hiring. A company will make someone go through a rigorous writing test, then if they pass, get an interview with HR and the department head, and if they pass, get a second interview, and if they pass, well, they get the job pending references. At my first interview I met with the woman who had initially messaged me and the person who I’d be taking over. They explained a lot about the company and what the editor does. I would be doing 60% editing and 40% client services directly working with companies like LG helping enhance their communications initiatives. With my usual charm (hehe!) I tried to win them over with my charisma and positive attitude. I explained how much I learned from my previous internships and current teaching job and the importance of teamwork. They asked me tough questions like what field do I want to work in and why. They asked me what I think my weaknesses are. They even asked me if a product I was representing killed people, what would I do about it. They even told me I got one of the writing test questions wrong. I interpreted a product name as a company name and even made-up a CEO with a fake quote. Eesh! I left the interview feeling very unconfident. Walking towards the elevator, the CEO greeted me. “Oh, you’re Shadiyah!” So overwhelmed by the interrogation, I smiled and apologized for making a mistake on the writing test. He said, “Oh, that’s ok. I enjoyed reading it.” Whew!
I left the office ready to go to Australia. Nevertheless, I sent them my references and more writing samples trying to act cool and professional. In the end, I got an email saying I didn’t get the job. It was kind of a relief. I didn’t want to stay in Korea any longer, and after what seemed like being shot by a firing squad at the interview, I was so ready to move on. They told me that they were really impressed by my writing test and that I was one of the strongest applicants being in the top 3 after the writing test despite my goof. Then, after the first interview, I was second for the job. To ease my sadness, I was glad to hear that I was competing against candidates with 5 years journalism experience and the other with 3 years consulting experience both from the States.
Despite losing out on this fantastic communications opportunity, Dave and I got our working holiday visas good for a year. We are leaving June 15th for Sydney. This is a huge leap of faith professionally and personally, but I’m ready to take it. I’m glad I’m not doing it alone and that I have a good support system with me and at home. Here comes “Shave Down Under”! (Pun Intended)
* "Shave" is a nickname our co-workers made for us. It is a combination of Shadiyah + Dave much like "Brangelina".
Friday, June 4, 2010
Junggye Spring 2010: Last Term Remembered
I hadn't envisioned this day so soon. The day that I am done with Chungdahm forever, yet unemployed. Actually, I never imagined being in Korea for more than a year. I came here in August 2008 with ambition to teach Korean students for one year and then go travel around South East Asia more. It's really incredible looking back at my time spent here never regretting one moment of it.
Here are my Monday Eagle Listening Middle School girls. This was the first time I ever taught an entire class of girls. I actually had one boy on the first day, but he transfered out unpreppared to be the single male in class. Nevertheless, me and the girls had a blast this term. We could be ourselves uninhibited by any judgement. They had the best critical thinking projects with multiple scenes and complex characters. They would really get into their characters like this was acting class. This class was so open. We expressed everything from stress, to pressure, to boys. I'm going to miss these girls so much!
This is my Tuesday Eagle Listening Middle School class. This class was a nice parallel to my Monday girls since this group was mixed boys and girls and were all new 7th graders. They were the top dogs in elementary level, but now are the fresh fish of middle school. They didn't know how to deal with the pressure, so many times they would be silent. I wouldn't take this. Fortunately, I taught some of these students in elementary level and so I brought out their rambunctiousness out and downplayed all the pressure of middle school. I made sure they remembered that they were just students neither classified by grade or social standing. We were goofy, silly, and had fun during class. It was great because they still felt that middle school pressure so I whenever I teased them, it was easy and I was still the top dog of the class, as the teacher should be.
For our last day of class, we played Kings, a drinking game I used to play in university. However, this is an educational setting so I changed the "drinking" to points. Whoever had the most points at the end was the loser. This particular class decided that the loser would be squirted by a water gun. Here's how to play: Arrange all cards in a circle. Everyone sits around the circle of cards and picks one after the other. Each card is a game.
A: Say something nice about our class (No loser points)
2: You (Picker gets to choose anyone to get a point)
3: Me (Picket gets the point)
4: Floor (Last to touch the floor is the loser)
5: Jives/ Sing a song (Last to sing your song is the loser)
6: Moose Master (Last to put their hands up to their head like a moose is the loser. Whoever picked 6 can put up the moose antlers whenever he or she desires.
7: Heaven (Last to point to the sky is the loser)
8: Pick a Date (Whoever you pick gets a point everytime you do)
9: Rhyme (Whoever can't rhyme your English word is the loser)
10: Categories
J: Make a Rule
Q: Questions (Point and ask a question. Must answer with a question. Whoever answers or pauses is the loser)
K: Baskin Robbins 31 (Go around the circle counting to 31. Can say one, two or three subsequent numbers) If 31 lands on you, you are the loser.
Surprisingly enough, this game was a blast. I'm afraid one day these kids are going to be in university and someone's gonna say, let's play Kings. And my kids will be like I played this in academy when I was young. Eesh!
The missing picture is my hell class Thursday Birdie Listening Middle School. I am so done with this class that I didn't even ask to take their picture. They made my term the worst term ever. I've never had to stop class so much to tell them to stop speaking Korea. There were so many times that I had to lecture them about doing their homework and stop wasting my time and their parents' money. This was the class that every instructor avoids. These kids had been in Birdie level for more than a year. That's pretty sad when most students at Chungdahm level up each term or every other term. They had seen the same books so many times that they stopped buying books and just brought in photocopies. To make it worst, there were 14 of them when most classes are 9-12. Two of the students are really good at English and have probably spent time abroad, yet they speak the most Korean. When I singled them out, they act like angels and pretend they are interested in today's topic. Pebbles in my shoe! I am so glad to be done with this class.
This is my Friday Birdie Listening Middle School Class. This is us playing Kings and enjoying hot cocoa together on our last day of class. Thankfully, this class was bright, alert, and fun. They were the ideal class to end my week. This was the first time I taught all 9th graders. They are the oldest students at Chungdahm about to get into highschool. They were past being too cool and disrespecting people. They were actually very chill and made for great conversation. I will never forget their love for McDonalds and how every project was centered around McDonalds.
I only had two elementary level classes. This one is my Monday/Friday Memory Tera Elementary class. This class began and ended my week. Unfortunately, they were bittersweet. We began together on a very rough note. They came from teachers who let them do what they want or teachers who were boring making them boring. It was a tough class to mold. They spoke a lot of Korean, played with their cell phones a lot, and made fun of the fat kid in class. I have written about this class in previous entries, but the thing to remember is that we ended up cohesive and more respectful than before. The boring girls warmed up and the bad kids ie Jaden shaped up and even started winning every project. He also discovered how much he loves to make webzines from his winning project. This was incredible considering he began as a rowdy kid who broke a desk in the first week of class! Although, they were much better than before, they were probably my worst elementary school class. I hope I shaped them up enough for their next teacher. *They were fighting, yelling, and hitting before this picture was taken.
This was my favorite elementary class ever! This is my Tuesday/Thursday Memory Giga Elementary class. Thankfully they made the middle of the week not just bearable, but fun. They were all either 4th or 5th graders who had class together in Mega so they were all friends. They loved joking around, but were very sharp smart students. I taught them so much about annotating, taking speedy listening notes, and not being so serious like my other elementary class. They would take concepts from past readings and incorporate them into their projects. We read about mummies once and every project thereafter had mummies and an afterlife. I found one girl who shares my love of pulling on her ears. I noticed she had big earlobes and asked if she liked to pull on them. She did! I used to do this too. We both have big earlobes. Haha! She wrote me a letter on our last day together saying I taught her a lot and she loved my games and jokes. One kid always erased my instructions to study before the test. He would write, "Don't study! Bad duck!" They thought bad duck was an insult. Adoreable! They were my youngest class and the cutest class I ever taught. They all levelled up! Only one student did not. On the day they found out if they levelled up or not, Jen came up to me saying she didn't want to. I thought this was strange because all students want to advance. She found out she didn't and was excited. She said I'm going to be the best student in Giga next term. I wanted to hug her right there. I'm going to miss this kids so much!
My last day of class was on Friday May 28th. I've been at Chungdahm Junggye Branch since August 2008. I've had so many good memories of fun co-workers and great classes. I've also been cheated out of bonuses and have had disrespectful students. Through all the good and bad, I've had such a memorable experience here and in Korea. I know I'm going to miss teaching. I've already looked on Cross Cafe to see if my students made an webzines, although the term is over. On Tuesday, I went to clean out my locker, but my real intention was to go see my former Giga now Tera kids (pic above). They were so excited to see me asking for my email address. The entire term, I was waiting for the day I'd be finished with it. Now, I'm enjoying unemployment till I move to Australia June 15th, but I still wonder how my kids are doing. All my work friends started the new term just the next Monday after mine ended and it makes me miss the first week of school introducing each other and gauging who will be the good ones and the bad ones. I ask them if they have my former students and I give them the run-down about them. I realize I got to know these kids so well and I will miss those relationships. In the end, I know this is the right decision for me at this time. My teaching days are over in Korea, but I foresee myself teaching again in the future.
It's About Time
Now, that I've finished work and am moving to Aussie Land, I decided that this would be a good time to get a new computer. After a few failed attempts (high price or they changed their mind) at Craigslist-Seoul, I trecked to Techno Mart in Gangbyeon and started scoping out viable players. Interestingly enough, my eyes caught a 13.3 in Toshiba with decent specs only costing 650,000 won. Never one to put all my eggs into one basket, I decided to continue shopping around. After a couple hours at Techno Mart and then at Yongsan Electronics Market, I settled on the first one I saw. I went home and researched average prices and reviews on it and was sold. The next day, I went back to the very same vendor and bought my new baby. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to haggle him down with my charm (trust me, I'm good). Usually, I would bat my eyelashes, and say 가카조세우 ~ ga ka juseyo or "discount please". This particular seller told us to go around to other shops and find that they had the best price. A little tasteless if you ask me. They really did have the lowest prices I had seen both online and with other vendors. In the end, I took home exactly what I wanted.
Toshiba Slim Portege T130 White
13.3 LED Screen
1.3 Ghz Duo Core Intel Pentium Processor
2 Gb of DDR Ram
320 Gb Hard Drive
Toshiba Carrying Case
White Mouse
All for 650,000 won! Get excited, this only means more blog posts!
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