As week three comes to a close (half way through orientation might I add) I am beginning to tire of the "orientation life". This past weekend was a really nice reprieve- we went to Donghae to relax by the ocean. Donghae literally translates to East sea so we were in a city called East sea swimming in the East sea. I swam and swam and swam. I also ate some delicious crab and visited a lighthouse. It was idyllic to say the least. We also got a reprieve from the food at Jungwon which was nice. It was kinda funny to pull up to the hotel and realize that the school and the hotel were affiliated. Some of the second years had joked with us that we would be "surprised by the hotel" by I thought they meant sleeping on "yo" or that the hotel would be typically Korean in its strange ornateness. This whole cult thing has started to freak me out a little bit...at this hotel they had ostriches, turkeys, peafowl, and monkeys all kept in too small cages. Maybe that has something more to do with Korean views on animal rights but it was still kind of disturbing. Regardless, I had a great time rooming with Leanndra and Amelea and a great time just relaxing. No lesson planning. No Korean. Just me and the water and friends. Getting back to Jungwon on Sunday night (we visited some Korean historical sites but nothing of huge importance and it was soooo hot) I had gotten a package from Karen (감사합니다 한국 어마!). She got me candy from paris baguette, so delicious, so cute! Then it was back to reality. 1-on-1's about placements, 1-on-1's about lesson plans, lesson planning, placement forms, homestay requests. This week I truly have been wiped out. Which is why I am writing this blog post instead of going to Taekwondo. I think I may look into TKD at my placement just because I need a class in order to make myself workout...but right now it is kinda painful doing it with fifty foreigners and one instructor. I know the poor guy is trying but for the most part we just look terrible and spend a lot of time not doing anything. I also think it could help with my Korean. I guess we shall see. Ooh this week I taught my first lesson. Being in front of those kids was not nearly as scary as I thought it would be...but the kids at camp fulbright are supposed to be the best of the best so I guess that isn't much to go off of. The main comments I got back was that I was basically a sesquipedalian... yeah, I got chastised for using too long of words such as currency and itinerary. What can I say Word with the Word really ingrained in me that good ole latin and greek based vocabulary. I have had some professors in college try to beat that habit out of me (here's looking at you Prof. Munter) but it just happens. Oh and one of my examples was the order in which you would buy and apartment in Seoul...I definitely am meant to teach higher levels in my opinion. Anyways, these poor intermediate kids still got what I was teaching (woohoo) and I am on to my next lesson with the Advanced kids. My first theme was "I dream" and next weeks is "We care". I get the feeling these themes are annual but its always interesting to see what people do with what they're given. I will try to talk more about the placement form later (maybe after I've gotten my results back) but in the mean time I hope to put up some more pictures. Miss you all! |
Author안녕! I'm Emmy and this is my blog detailing my life in Korea with Fulbright mainly through pictures. Feel free to contact me on my about page. TTFN Archives
June 2016
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