Cyber School

I thought some of you may be interested in learning about what we do in Cyber School. Justin and I each have our own cubicle, as does our friend and the other newbie, Christine. We work Monday to Friday, from 9 'til 5. There are six classes scheduled throughout the day. We can have anywhere between one to five students per class. We use a special computer program to teach our students. This program allows us to talk, chat, do worksheets, read articles and stories, and use a whiteboard. It works out pretty well. Each of us English teachers have different classes. My schedule works like this:

9:00-10:30 - Preparation Time
10:30-11:10 - Period 1 (Elementary Phonics), one student
11:20-12:00 - Period 2 (Elementary Phonics), one student
1:30-2:20 - Period 3 (Adults), no students...
2:30-3:10 - Period 4 (Preparation Time)
3:20-4:00 - Period 5 (Middle Intermediate), three students
4:10-4:50 - Period 6 (Elementary Intermediate), four students
5:00 - Freedom!

This schedule will change the beginning of next month, since students will be returning to school after summer vacation. But it works for now. I think that Justin and I will be teaching Cyber School until the middle of October, and then will head down to English Camp.

And here is a picture of me teaching my Middle Intermediate class at Cyber School...

Weekend Fun

Hi guys! I just wanted to tell you about my past couple weekends.

Our first weekend here in Korea was great!

Saturday, August 8th

Justin and I went into Changnyeong. It was market day, so we explored the market for awhile. We also walked around town a bit, just to learn where things were. We stopped by the Changnyeong Ice House, since we've seen it before and were curious to learn more about it. Then we went to the Orange Place for lunch. It's an inexpensive chain of Korean restaurants here in Changnyeong. I had bibimbap! (Isn't that a fun word?)

After lunch, we went to a dollar store to buy water bottles. Then we went to the bedding store, where we bought a small quilted blanket and a pillow for me (yay!). We bought backpacks, spatulas, and a lot of fresh produce from the market. It was nice just exploring more of Changnyeong!

Sunday, August 9th

This was one of my favorite days here in Korea. Justin and I went to Daegu, the third largest city in Korea. We went to Daegu with Randy, Chelsea, and Christine. Randy and Chelsea have been to Daegu several times before. It was very helpful to have them with us, showing us how to use the bus and subway and pointing out things of interest to us. We went to a bookstore, a shoe store, and a couple dollar stores. We went out to eat lunch at The Holy Grill, a restaurant owned by three Canadians.

Then we went to Costco! Costco was the main purpose of our trip. Justin and I bought large bath towels (yay!), shampoo, Ziplock containers, plastic glasses, and cheese (yay!). Between all us foreigners, I think we bought 8 pounds of block cheese and 6 pounds of string cheese. It's sad but true. See, cheese isn't available at most stores here in Korea, so we stocked up. We went to the food court, where our friends got real pizza and we got soft-serve ice cream! Then we took the taxi, subway, and bus back home.


This past weekend was also really nice.

Saturday, August 15th

Justin and I stayed around Changnyeong again this past Saturday. We called our family in the morning, and then left to explore the town after lunch. We went to the Changnyeong Museum, which has many tombs from the Gaya Period, a replica of one of the tombs, and hundreds of antiquities. We went to Paris Baguette to buy some delicious baked goods and strawberry popsicles! Paris Baguette is one of my favorite places here in Changnyeong. It was just a nice day.

Sunday, August 16th

Justin and I went to Busan for the day. We were gone for over twelve hours. The bus for Busan left at 8:40 AM, and didn't arrive back until around 8:40 PM. It was a long day, but a good day. Between the bus and subway, it was about a two hour commute each way. Our first stop was Haeundae Beach, one of the most popular beaches in South Korea! As we were walking to the beach, I saw many hats for sale for 2,000 won (about $2). I bought one to fit in with the locals... I'm not really sure that worked, though!

Then we arrived at the beach. We were amazed by all the umbrellas all along the beach. See, Koreans like to stay as pale as possible, and avoid the sun as much as they can. I went out and stuck my fingers in the water so I could say I touched the Sea of Japan...and a wave came and got my feet, socks, and shoes all wet! Oh well. Justin and I took some pictures.

We went on a walk to see what all was around. We got some nice travel brochures and maps which were very helpful. We decided to walk on a trail along the beach to Dongbaek Island. It was a beautiful (albeit hot and humid!) walk. We saw a mermaid statue, a lighthouse, the APEC House, and a little garden. I really enjoyed that!

We had lunch at TGIF. After lunch, we decided to take the subway back to the area where the church we were planning on attending is located. We had plenty of time before church started, so we wandered around until we found Home Plus. We explored around there and bought a few things we needed. That is one big store!

Then we went to church at Antioch International Ministry. The church service was good. After church, we went to a newcomers' welcoming thing at a nearby fancy youth hostel. Although we liked Antioch International Ministry, we'd like to find a church somewhat closer to us. Going to Busan each Sunday would be way too tiring. Then we took the subway and bus back home. It was a long day and we were glad to get back to our apartment.

Our First Week

Well, we survived our first week! Here's what's new in our lives:

Wednesday

We had our drug tests in the morning. Then Jeremy trained us about the Cyber School and we observed some of the classrooms and situation rooms. Then Justin and I caught the bus to town with Randy. Randy showed us around town, and took us out to eat at "the Orange Restaurant." Justin and I tried Korean bibimbap for the first time. The hot pepper paste was too spicy for me, but I think I'd like it without it. Then we went shopping at G Mart, where we bought food and a lot of things we needed for our apartment. That night I just visited with Lily and Randy at their apartment, which I really enjoyed.

Thursday

Once again, we had Cyber School training and observed the English Camp. After school, we had a group photo taken with all the English teachers and staff. Then we all went to a Korean restaurant here in town for dinner. I really enjoyed that. It was nice sitting with Randy and Lily, so I could know what items were vegetarian. Justin was a lot more adventurous than I was, and he tried several new Korean dishes, including kimchi. Then all of us English teachers went with Richard and Suzi to a noraebang, which translated to English literally means "song room." We spent the next three hours there, and had so much fun singing and dancing! It was my favorite day in Korea so far.

Friday

Today was also good. This morning, we observed PE, which was cool. We finished our Cyber School training and prepared for next week. As well, I went to a couple classrooms and talked with some of the students there. They're so cute! We'll start teaching at the Cyber School on Monday. Now it's the weekend!

We're in Korea!

Hi, everyone! I've decided to create a blog to keep everyone updated about our Korean adventure! I hope you enjoy reading this.

As most of you know, Justin and I decided back in October that we wanted to move to Korea to teach English. We went through Park English recruitment agency, which I highly recommend. We were placed at Changnyeong English Village. It's a government-run program with two parts: an English Camp and Cyber School. The English Camp is a weeklong program, where students from various schools come for a week of English immersion. The Cyber School consists of online classes, with each class having between one to six students. Changnyeong English Village is located on the outskirts of Changnyeong, which is a rural traditional town with a population of about 50,000. Changnyeong is located about an hour from Busan or forty minutes from Daegu. It was a long process getting all the paperwork done for our visa. But alas, we finally got our visas and plane tickets a few weeks ago, and we're here now!

Justiin and I left for Korea at 4:30 PM on Saturday afternoon. We had a long journey, with layovers in Montreal, Chicago, and Seoul. Finally, after 29 hours of flying and layovers, we arrived in Busan on Monday at 9 AM (Korean time). A driver who hardly knew any English picked us up from the airport and drove us to Changnyeong. It was exciting, but at the same time, very nerve-wracking. The next couple hours were a whirlwind. We went to the school, met the director Richard, and went to our apartment. We were told that we'd be in a new apartment, but it wasn't ready yet, so for the next couple weeks we'll be living in the old apartments that are very close to the school. Right after putting our suitcases in the apartment, we had to go back to the school to meet all the English teachers. It was nice meeting the other teachers and being around people who are in the same boat as you. The other English teachers here are Meghan and Jeremy, Caley and Preston, Chelsea, Lily and Randy, Layla, and Christine. However, within the next month and a half quite a few of the teachers will be leaving. All that will be left are Lily and Randy, Layla, Christine, and us. Anyway, then Justin and I had a meeting with Richard, Christine, and Jeremy. Christine arrived here a couple days before we did, and Jeremy acted as Richard's interpreter. The meeting was a little overwhelming. Thankfully, after it ended we were able to go to our apartment and have the afternoon off.

Justin and I went back to our apartment and tried to get settled in there. Lily and Randy came by to welcome us. They brought us food, toilet paper, and a card. That was so sweet of them! After they left, Justin napped while I cleaned the apartment. Our apartment was supposedly clean, but if that was clean, I'd hate to see dirty! I spent the next four hours cleaning it. I hate that we have to live out of suitcases for another two weeks, but at least we have our own apartment. After I cleaned the floors and every surface in our bedroom and living room and got a shower, I felt a lot better about the whole situation.

Then Justin and I went into Changnyeong with Meghan and Christine. We went to the market that's in town about every five days (on dates that end on 3 and 8). We explored around there, but didn't buy anything since we didn't have any Korean cash on us. The market sells everything! They sell shoes, purses, clothing, blankets, pots and pans, fruits and vegetables, poultry and seafood. Oh boy do they sell seafood! There was dried seafood, fish on ice, smoked fish, and live fish. It was crazy. Some of the produce looked really nice, as well as the blankets and dishes. We went to a store called Top Mart, where we bought some food and dishes. It was quite the experience shopping at a store where almost everything is in Korean and many items are unidentifiable! But we got some great deals, which made me happy. We came back to our apartment and I cleaned the kitchen and put away our purchases. We went to bed at 9:30, completely and totally exhausted.

Today, Justin and I woke up early, called our parents, and got ready for the day. We went to school at 9 and immediately went with Richard, So Hee (one of the Koreans on staff), and Christine to the hospital to get a complete physical. Then we toured the new apartments, which are studio apartments. They're much smaller than the old apartments that we're currently living in, but at least they're new, not moldy, and hopefully clean. The apartment we're currently living in has an entryway area, kitchen, bathroom, living room, bedroom, sunroom, and laundry room. On the other hand, our new apartment has a small bathroom, a small kitchen, a balcony, and a small room (about the size of our current bedroom) to be used as a living room and bedroom. I have no idea how they're going to fit the bed, couch, fridge, desk, and washing machine all in that apartment. But we'll make it work. After that, we went to the bank so I could convert my Canadian cash into Korean won.

We came back to school and talked with Jeremy, who has been working at the Cyber School the past couple months. He told us a little about the Cyber School, since we'll be teaching here for the next two and a half months before teaching at the English Camp. But then he had to leave for Masan with Meghan to do some paperwork regarding them leaving in a week. We had a lunch break at our apartment, then came back to the school. We spent all afternoon our cubicles in the Cyber School, getting familiar with the curriculum. There's not too much we can do until Jeremy comes back and teaches us the ropes these next three days.

Overall, I'm glad we're here. It's a lot to get used to, though. As Justin said, Korea has a distinct smell...like kimchi, I think. I hate not knowing much of the language, and really need to learn more. It's quite the culture shock, but I think I'll adjust. The other teachers seem very nice and the students are cute. It should be an interesting and fun year, I hope!