EFLTeacher's Xanga

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 22:55:49 GMT

Yesterday evening I volunteered to teach English to North Korean refugees. (That was an interesting experience. The men seemed eager to learn. They seemed almost politer than most Korean men. I think it was great that they could laugh at themselves when they made a mistake. I need to learn that. ) I left work around 6 o'clock and caught a bus to the meeting place. I barely get on the bus and place my card on the sensor when the driver started driving. Now most bus drivers in Korea are pretty crazy drivers. Rushing to get ahead and of course having to stop suddenly. Everyone wants a place to sit because it's very hard to stand on the buses here without being thrown around. So seconds after getting on this bus I was thrown to the back. This really was the worst driver in the world. He seemed to be slamming his foot on the break every chance he could get. He also was having a real hard time getting the bus into gear properly...it almost felt like he was just letting the clutch pop out every time he finished changing gears. I was very happy to get off the bus. As I got off the bus and it started driving to the light ahead I noticed the number over the door. It made me laugh. The bus was at a stop light so I was able to snap this picture. Sorry for it being blurry, but you can clearly see the numbers above the door.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 07:11:03 GMT

Wow it's been a long time hasn't it? Life really flies when you are really enjoying it.

So much has happened since I last wrote. I don't want to overwhelm you with an insanely long email. So I'll try to make this as short as possible.

July:
Pictures from July on Facebook
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=132948&l=5b67a&id=738410404

Attending SDA Language Institues's summer Bible camp. It was an ok weekend. The schedule was too intense and I think it was one day too long. I got to spend time with some of my new friends here. I got to see some old friends too, people who I met when I worked at SDA Language Institutes.

July 26 marked my 30th birthday. Now I'm not like most women my age. It really doesn't bother me to get older. I enjoy being older. I always have. I remember when I was 11. My brother turned 13 and I just didn't seem to understand that just because my age had 2 digits didn't mean I was a teenager yet. I prefer being older. It brings so much more freedom to life. For my birthday I met a friend in the morning for coffee and then I went to church. In the afternoon I went with a teacher from SDA to a get together that a mutual friend was having. Two people bought me a birthday cake and everyone sang happy birthday to me. It was a good birthday. The fun continued to the next day too. Some friends brought me out to eat and then we went to an arcade. After we were at the arcade we went to a singing room and enjoyed the fun of singing.

August:
Pictures from August on Facebook
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=144607&l=8a8e5&id=738410404

I met a new friend in July. Sadly she left at the end of August. Her name is Valerie. But through Valerie I met Tristan. I've enjoyed getting to know him more. Near the beginning of August a group of foreign teachers and a few Koreans went out to eat and we also went to a singing room.

A few days later I took a trek to an Adventist retreat center. A trip that should have taken us an hour and a half took us 3 hours. It was one of the last weekends of summer vacation here in Korea and it seems like everyone was heading in the same direction as us. The purpose of our trip was for my rebaptism. Here is part of an email I sent to the pastor who baptized me. It explains why I chose to be baptized again.

A friend recommended a workshop to me called Foundations. He really encouraged me to attend while I was looking for a job. When I decided to go back to Korea I thought it would be a good thing to attend this workshop. It isn't a religious workshop, but I believe it was there that the idea that God loves me went beyond my head and into my heart. Lots happened that weekend. But the moment I won't forget is when I was standing in my small group and people were telling me how they perceived me. One of my friends was a facilitator that weekend and he saw me standing up. He came over and said something like "Colleen, I experience you as a person who believes God makes junk." It was then that I burst into tears. Another facilitator said, "I experience you as a person who believes you're that junk." It finally dawned on me that weekend that my relationship with God had been about me doing things to be acceptable in his eyes. I hated myself. I didn't think there was any good in me at all. What I had forgotten, and actually I really never learned, was that God loves me. He sent his son to die for me. I had accepted his son's gift, but part of me wonders how deep I let that gift affect me. I believe now that I have a deeper understanding of what salvation really is. What it means to be a daughter of the King. I know now that I want to show the world the love that God has for me. I had said that in the past, but how could I have told people about his love then when I had never really let it deep down into my heart? I have that peace deep in my heart that I never thought I'd experience in my life. I truly enjoy being in Korea now, but even having said that it hasn't been an easy experience for me. But no matter what happens I must always remember that no matter what I do, or how I do things, my God loves me. I could make a million mistakes in everything I do, but my God still loves me.
This is why I want to be baptized again. It isn't a theological thing really. It's a love story. I don't know how else to describe it. I think I know what love is now. I know Who love is.

I bought a bike in August. I rode it often that month, but it's been sitting my apartment the last few weeks with a flat tire. I need more strength in my arms to pump it up. One Sunday in August I met 3 friends and we went biking.

I got to visit Ulsan again in August. I stayed with my friend Rose. We went swimming one day with another teacher at SDA and a student. I also got to go to a famous city in Korea that has a lot of cultural sites. Sadly it rained that day. I was wearing shorts and I was cold. I did get some pretty good pictures though.

My friend Carrie had a birthday in August. I organized a picnic for her. After we were at the park for awhile we went to a few different places. It was a fun day. Carrie said she had a great birthday so that's what matters most.

September:
So far this month I haven't done much. I saw the movie Mamma Mia!. I loved it. I have a new theme song. haha.

I began to realize recently that my life really does impact the lives of those around me. People have already told me that I have helped them come closer to God. I don't even know how to say how that makes me feel. My life has a purpose. My God loves me. I want everyone I know that they are loved by Him.

I also want to show you a little bit more of my school. I really enjoy working here. The students are great (even when they're being annoying teenagers). They are SO talented. You can see some examples of their work and performances on my Facebook page. I'm glad I am working here.

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=152094&l=15383&id=738410404

I guess that's all. If you have any questions about my life here from the pictures on my Facebook please ask me. I'd really love to hear from people. I haven't heard from people in awhile. I guess when you move away it's hard to keep in touch. Facebook is a great way to keep in touch if you don't already have one I really suggest getting one. If you have Facebook be sure to add me.

Blessings to you and yours. Don't forget to tell others they are loved.

HELP!

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 07:15:43 GMT

I work at a great high school. The work environment is great. The staff are great to work with. It's just in the classroom that I have issues.

This semester I've only seen the students once every other week. (this will probably change next semester, but if I teach both 10th and 11th graders next semester then I'll be teaching 40 students at once and I don't know if I want to do that.
)
The students only care about their major. They don't care about those classes that don't have to do with their major. Because of this they don't pay attention in my class (probably doesn't help that I haven't been able to build any rapport with them either).

What I would like to do different next semester is make the lessons immersed in their specific majors. I think this would keep their attention a whole lot better than going through a book that is totally detached from what they are studying.

Here are the majors in the school:

Art - Korean painting, Western painting, sculpture, and design

Music - Korean music, musical composition, orchestral music, vocal music, piano, and organ

Dance - Korean dance, modern dance, ballet

Drama & Film (they deal with movie cameras and also film cameras n the Film major)

What I would like from you is any input you might have for activities to do with these majors. Possibly you know someone who teaches one of these areas. I have started to build a list of activities to do with each major, but I don't think my list will make up 12 classes for next semester. I need terminology for each of these areas. I will be doing online research, but I thought I would contact people I know who to see if they know people or if they have stuff they already know about. Why reinvent the wheel if I can ask people I know if they have activities and material already. I look forward to hearing from some of you at least.

I teach English as a second language, but the activities and ideas do not need to be just for an ESL classroom, I just need as many ideas as I can get. Thanks.

update 3...can't think of an interesting title

Sat, 24 May 2008 15:01:18 GMT

A few things have happened since my last update. I'm still enjoying my job tremendously. I feel so much more confident and at ease with the job...and with myself. I'm really starting to feel like I am a teacher...a good teacher at that.

I continued the same activity in each class (the getting to know you sheet) and students seem fairly comfortable with that. Thursday I began the first real lessons with the students. My first class barely spoke to each other. They are art students and art students are known to not talk much even in Korean so it was a struggle to get them to do the activities in pairs. I've come to the conclusion that I need to do things and say things that will make them relax and even laugh in class. One question I'm starting with before each class begins the first lesson is "What is the worst thing that could happen if you made a mistake speaking English?" I have already asked at least one class that question. I got responses like being embarrassed, feeling stupid, offending someone. Then I asked them, "will you die if you make a mistake?" They laughed and some said no. Then I said to them "if you die in my class I will go to your funeral and apologize to your parents". That got a big laugh. They have culture "against" them when it comes to learning the language because Korea is a saving face society. It also doesn't help that they are teenagers too so it really doesn't matter what culture they are from they'd still be embarrassed speaking another language in front of classmates. But I'll keep pushing them...and make sure they're relaxed in class. The first lesson went well. I think most of the students got something from it...but there were those who zoned out. One even fell asleep and when class ended we are quietly left the room and called his name from the door. He saw me later that day and joked with me about it so I think he was cool with it happening.

As a little side note...instead of placing curtains in my apartment the worker from the school installed shades that have black on the outside of them. I have one friend who still wouldn't be able to sleep in the room, but for me it's so much better. I'm able to have a dark room in the night. No need to place something over my eyes to go to sleep.

Monday through Wednesday of this past week (May 19-21) I went with the 1st year students to the yearly retreat they always go to. It was about 2 or 3 hours away from Seoul and was located outside of a small city. The students had a great time and were very satisfied with the program. The teachers on the other hand weren't so satisfied. While the students had fun and learned new things, the teachers sat around and did nothing really. I was invited to go because I was told we'd do something. Well the most interesting thing we did was go to the East Sea and eat raw fish. yummy. haha. I tried some. It really has no taste at all. I don't see what the big deal is. They tell me there is a taste that I need to work toward tasting...food like that is not worth my time. The teachers stayed about a half an hour away by van from where the students stayed. That's mainly because our school had to change the date that it went there. The 2nd year students had made plans to go to Japan, but with fuel prices the way they are it was very expensive. So instead they decided to go to a famous mountain in North Korea. That changed the date for their trip so they had to change the date for the 1st year students too. With the home room teachers of the 2nd year students away they couldn't have the 1st year students in classes because many of their teachers would be away. So we were the second group that was there and the other group got first choice of where to stay. We were shipped off to a vacation cottage (they call it a pension house) and the teachers from the other school stayed at the retreat center. Instead of going in for breakfast in the mornings we stayed at the vacation cottage and ate fruit. Fruit is wonderful, but I can't eat a whole lot of it at once and feel full. I'm not one to eat sweet things in the morning. And if I do have much in the morning it's not a lot. So the teachers felt sorry for me because I didn't eat much that weekend. I even had to pass up their barbecue Saturday night because it was pork. It's a good thing I had eaten the supper served by the camp or else I would have been very tired. The other teachers were still stuffed that day from eating all the raw fish and were waiting until that evening for the barbecue. They kept insisting on me eating the pork, but the only way I'll eat it is if someone offers it to me at their home. I know many people who would disagree with my beliefs on that, but as a missionary in a culture where eating is a time for bonding I believe i can only refuse when I am out in a public setting, but if I am in someone's home I do not feel comfortable rejecting what they offer me. At this point they're realizing what I don't like to eat, but there may come a time when someone will not know my preferences and it would offend them greatly if I refuse. I do not want to put up barriers to friendship. I don't believe God would ever want us to do that.

Friday at school was a riot. I taught one class and then the rest of the day I basically did nothing. It was the student festival day. The classes had different activities in their classes and there was a large program in the auditorium for students to show their talent. A few of the classrooms had some nice things. One had a dance club, which I was a little disturbed with...I really think I'm getting old because I really don't get the youth culture today. Another classroom had a coffee house style to it. I liked that room the best. The room that I heard people liked the most had massages and they did people's nails. Everything you did you had to pay for too. At the program in the auditorium the students did performances that had to do with their major. There were a few dance numbers, many singing numbers, and one of the drama classes did a comedy act. The boys dressed up as girls and the girls dressed up as boys and they had a contest among them to see who will be chosen as Miss Kaywon and Mr Kaywon. The girls weren't as funny as the boys (to me anyways because I didn't understand the dialogue), but many of the boys were disturbing. Men should never wear certain things. There were also a few famous graduates from the school who visited and also performed. Two of the famous actress/singers decided to leave the auditorium by walking through the audience. Big mistake. They were mobbed as they were leaving. The principal quickly raced out of the auditorium and I am assuming he apologized to them for how the students (especially the boys) reacted. There was a similar response when the friend of a famous graduate performed. Many girls raced to the stage and were reaching out to touch him. It was pretty crazy to say the least. I took several videos just to document the experience. Teen culture is so different than when I was a kid...but then again I wasn't really into the normal teen culture at the time. I have so much to learn. I'm going to have to do research at the movie theaters and with the popular music. I'm even going to have to do some research about dancing and art and...the horrors...classical music. I know I'll never truly understand the culture, but I need to see what they see in their world so that I can at least get a partial understanding of what it's like to be a teenager in this day and age.

Last Sabbath I went to the main SDA Language School in Seoul for a prayer meeting. They were praying for the summer camp that will be happening in July. After the prayer meeting I went with a friend and the other teachers at her institute to their town and went out to eat with my friend. We were going to all eat together, but we were all so hungry and didn't want to wait and didn't want some things that other people were having and what not so I just ate alone with my friend and the other people went their separate ways. This Sabbath I went to church and enjoyed the sermon and the meal afterwards. I was then invited out for ice cream with some students and went with them. It was nice to talk with them and get to know them. After ice cream some of them went to get some food. It's called Dok poh key. Dok is rice cake in Korean and the other parts of the name I'm not sure what they are, but it has fish cake and noodles and a little bit of cabbage in there and it all some red spicy sauce mixed into it. I always have a hard time eating slippery food with metal chop sticks. I splattered the sauce all over my face. I'm pretty good with chop sticks, but I need more practice using the metal chop sticks with slippery food. Tomorrow I'm going to church with the pastor from my school. His church is very large and the service is all in English, no translation. There is also a larger foreign community at that church. I'm interested in meeting more foreign Christians. The teachers at SDA Language School's don't have much time to meet with me so I think it's best that I find Christian community with other foreign believers in other places. I may eventually have community among people at SDA, but I don't think it will be among the foreign teachers, so it will be nice to have a foreign Christian community to turn to when I need them.

Well i guess that's all for now. I keep meaning to post pictures, but I'm so busy these days and my internet at home is not very good. When I'm at work I always seem to forget to upload my pictures in my free time. Soon I promise.

update...pictures

Living it with all I've got...

Sat, 24 May 2008 15:00:10 GMT

Things haven't changed drastically here. Last week I met with the students for classes. They weren't typical classes. They were more getting to know you classes. I had them fill out a form for me to get to know them. After inputting the information into the computer I'm realizing I can go without doing that after this term. Might as well be consistent though. I've learned my lesson that's for sure. The more paper work I have them do, the more work I have to look over. Like I mentioned in my previous email the school I work at has 4 departments (music, dance, fine arts, drama/film). Each department it seems that the students are very similar. In the music classes they are both loud and quiet. It really depends on the major within that department.. The dance students are very respectful, but I've found them to be very talkative, but they seem to stop talking quickly so I don't mind that as much. The fine arts students are fairly quiet, but of course there are always exceptions. Now the drama/film students, they are the most talkative. I like the Juniors better than the Sophomores though. They seem to know English better. It makes for a little more interesting and somewhat easier class because I don't have to pull teeth to get students to talk...then again it's just as hard because it's hard to get them to stop talking so much. But if it's in English I'm not sure if I'll complain much.

In all of my classes I've been talking about different procedures I have in my classroom. It's kind of hard to have a regular routine because with the Sophomores I go to their classroom, they don't come to mine. I should be getting my own English classroom in January. The school is adding a middle school to the property and I heard they are going to have a classroom in there just for me. I'm happy with that...just as long as they don't add middle school students to my classes. I have been trying to get a routine started with my students. I want to have an assignment prepared for them to do at the beginning of each class. They will work on that assignment for 10 to 15 minutes and then we will then go into the main part of the lesson, tying in what they went over in the assignment at the beginning of class. We'll see how well this works because explaining things takes longer at times. I've also talked to my students about the word RESPECT. In the English classroom it is very important for them to all pay attention. It's rude in general to speak while other people are talking, but in the English classroom they need to pay close attention to what is happening in the classroom because the instructions and explanations won't be given in Korean. They're teenagers though...though that seems to be something many people do no matter what age they are when they are in a group setting like school. I know it's not necessarily the fact that they are bored though, because I've found myself talking at times when I wasn't supposed to and I was far from bored...but I do need to make sure I'm gauging their boredom level.

I'm still enjoying my apartment for the most part. One thing has bothered me though. When I turn the lights out at night there is a glow from the lights outside that gives the feeling of the sun rising at dawn. If I'm exhausted lights don't bother me at all. I can fall asleep with all the lights in the room on if I'm tired enough, but when I'm not that tired I always have a hard time getting to sleep. My sleep is also interrupted those nights as well. Last week I had 8 hours of sleep and I still woke up tired one morning. I hadn't had a tough day the day before so the only explanation I could think of was the light outside. I read that often when we are in REM sleep and the room we are sleeping in is lit up, even a little, it messes up our sleep. The school will be installing curtains soon. Right now all I've got are shades.

The teachers at the school are great. I've felt very welcomed. I think the fact that this school has never had a foreign teacher is an advantage for me. The teachers don't feel intimidated and they also don't feel like I'm just some foreigner here to make a few bucks with no experience. Granted I've never worked at a high school before, but I think they respect the fact that I have a 120 hour certificate to teach English and that I have a Masters. I had read a lot of stories online of teachers at schools not liking the foreign English teacher and treating them badly. I'm thankful that is not the case here at this school.

Next week I'm going with the Sophomore class to their camp out. Though it's not much of a camp out. It's at some resort somewhere and the teachers don't have to spend much time with the kids because the kids will be in meetings most of the day. I'm going mainly to get to know some of the other teachers. Of course I will get to know the kids too. I'll be sure to let you know how that goes. I'll be leaving Monday and coming back Wednesday.

This past weekend I had Monday off again. It was Buddha's birthday on Monday. The week before it was Children's Day. I'm glad for children and Buddha. Anyways, this past Monday I met a friend in Seoul for lunch. I haven't seen her since a week or two before I left Korea in December. It was nice to see her and to catch up a bit. After I get paid I plan to go and visit her at her institute one weekend.

That reminds me, I need to get in touch with some of my students from Ulsan, South Korea. I found out that three of them are in Seoul going to university. Many of my students were excited to hear that I was returning. I look forward to seeing them again.

Life is such an interesting experience. You think you have it all understood, you think you know exactly where you're going and then sometimes something happens that just creeps up and takes you down. I'm thankful to God that He never gives up on me. I'm in awe that He wants to partner with me to reach others for Him. I don't know how to describe the feeling that I have when I think about how He thinks of me. I was talking to a friend the other day about the fears that I have about teaching. She mentioned that teaching is not an easy thing to do because teaching involves working with people and people are always unpredictable. She asked me if my students in the past learned and if they liked me and I said they did. She then asked me that if my students learned and they liked me, then wasn't I already a successful teacher? I had to say yes to that. I guess it's normal to wonder if you're actually doing a good job. And if your accomplishing the goals you set out to do then you are a success, no matter how many times you mess up along the way. I told my friend that I get stage fright and I don't seem to know what to do next when I'm in class. She then said 'But if you are doing your best (being prepared for class, etc.) then nobody else could do what you do better. Nobody else can bring exactly what you bring to the classroom. Do you think God wants you where you are?' I answered, 'definitely'. She replied, "then all you can do is do your best, a nd NOT beat yourself up about when you are disappointed. Because you love yourself! And God loves you.' I hope I never stop remembering to love myself...and if I do I hope it's not for very long. I have no reason to hate myself, or dislike myself. I am a unique human being who has a place in this world...for such a time as this. I'm finally happy to be alive...and I'm living it with all I've got.

Korea...part 2

Sat, 24 May 2008 14:59:17 GMT

The trip began at 5:45am on Tuesday April 29, 2008. My taxi was 5 minutes early so I had to quickly stuff the odds and ends that were sitting around into my suitcase (Later I found out I had placed my computer cord in there too, which was after I had worried I had left it at my brother's place.). The taxi brought me to the Amtrak station. The Amtrak train brought me to Emeryville, CA. Their shuttle bus brought me into San Francisco and then I called an airport shuttle which brought me to the San Francisco International Airport. I arrived at the airport around 10 am. I always end up at the airport early. I guess I'm always worried I'll be too late. My plane didn't leave until 1:15pm so I had 3 hours to use up. That's when I discovered I hadn't packed my computer cord into my bag. So my computer wasn't my entertainment for very long. Once in the air the flight was uneventful. I nodded off several times, but didn't get much sleep. I don't think I've slept more than 3 or 4 hours in all my flights over seas. Upon arrival in Korea I went through immigration and got my luggage quickly and was out the doors. The airport van driver was waiting for me outside the doors. I was thankful for that. A much nicer greeting than having to take public transportation to my work. I slept a bit on the trip to my work. When we arrived at the high school the lead English teacher met me and brought me to my apartment. It was about 8pm when I finally got to my apartment.
My apartment is great. It's a studio apartment. They'll be getting me a small couch for the apartment too. They were afraid to get a full sized one because of the size of the apartment, but I told them a small one wouldn't be to large. Many Koreans still just sit on the floor in their homes so they don't always have couches in apartments this size. I'd tell you how large it was, but I'm not good with guessing the size. I'll upload the pictures at another time and send you a link. I like my apartment. The only problem I have is that every time the sun comes up in the morning it wakes me up. And that's around 6am...maybe earlier than that. It's ok that the sun wakes me up...I just wish it would be closer to the time when I have to get up. I'm either going to try to figure out how to hang some curtains or I'll get a face mask. I'd prefer curtains. The problem is the window is so large. There are some hooks up on the ceiling so maybe I could figure something out. The best part of the apartment is probably the bathroom. For those of you who've had the chance to come to Korea you may have experienced some of the bathrooms in Korea. The drain for the shower is often at the opposite side of the bathroom floor. So taking a shower means the bathroom floor is completely wet. With my shower I don't have that problem. It's actually a nice large shower stall that is sealed at the bottom. The drain is along one entire wall of the bathroom so if I waned to wash the floor in the main part of the bathroom I can just splash water on the floor there and it will drain along that wall too. I know this may seem very trivial to some, but for those of us who've had to live another way you'd understand.
I feel so much better about being in Korea this time. I feel more excited about teaching at the job that I have now. The school is great. I am their first foreign teacher. I thought they were a public high school, but I found out that they are not. They are a private high school that actually has a Christian foundation. I think most of the teachers and students are not Christian though. The school has a pastor as well. I think it won't be a problem at all if I put Christian themes in my lessons. I don't plan on doing any lessons that are outright Christian, but I want to go along with the school's philosophy of instilling Christian virtues in the students. That can be done without a Bible study. The student body is predominately female. I think that is because most of the majors appeal more to females. There are four departments at the school: Fine Arts, Music, Dance, & Drama and Film. There are several majors that the students can choose from. Most of the male students are either music majors or drama/film majors. It's been funny walking through the school. I feel like a movie star. I'm sure that will wear off eventually. I'll get over the fact that people stare soon. I have been away for four months. This next week I'll be preparing the curriculum. One teacher is already using a book so I will be working with her book with the Juniors. With the Sophomores I'll need to come up with my own curriculum. All of my classes are split in half. One week I meet with one half of the class and the next week the other half. This is better than 40+ students in one class. I substituted for the pastor on Friday and it was kind of hard to get the kids in that large of a group to stop talking. The only thing I think that will be best to work for me is to just stand there and not say anything. They seem to get the message and shut each other up. If you have any other suggestions please let me know.
Friday night I made my way across town to the SDA Language Institute for vespers. I was late for the main meeting, but they have clubs after the main meeting and I went into the class with the director/pastor of the institute. No students went into that class so I was able to talk to him for awhile. I told him my ideas about giving free lessons to students as a way to build relationships with them. After having lessons for a little while I want to start a LIFEDevelopment group at the institute. If you'd like to know more about that just check out the website at lifedevelopment.info. The pastor seemed happy to let me do the ideas I have. He said I can use one of the classrooms there in the institute. So I'll start working on that in about a month. I need time to make sure I've got my day job set.
Sabbath morning I made my way back to the institute for church. After church there was potluck. I like how there is so much food. I enjoy Korean food for the most part. I'll never like kimchi. It's not because it's spicy hot. I don't think it's very hot, it's just the mixture of whatever seasonings that are in there that I don't like. After potluck I invited myself along with some of the foreign teachers to their trip to the park. I went back to my apartment to change and then met them at the city's central park. We had a good afternoon. The park is very nice. Bundang is a nice city. It's very clean and the air isn't that bad either. It is was a planned city so the streets are wider and everything is well planned out. It is a richer city as well so I'm guessing that helps with how clean it is too. I'm thankful that I am in this city. After walking around the park we made our way to a place to eat for supper. We ate at a mexican restaurant. It really wasn't bad at all for a mexican restaurant in Korea. It was about that time that I was starting to feel very tired. I think jet lag still has it's hold on me. After supper we went to a bookstore and I really felt exhausted. The two teachers walked me to the subway and I took a train to the stop near my apartment. After I got home I laid down on my bed and fell asleep with the light still on and I hadn't changed out of my clothes. I didn't even get under the blankets. I woke a few times during the night and still didn't get up to turn the light out. I was so tired.
Today I've been relaxing. I haven't left the apartment at all. I may go out to get something to eat soon though. I'm not sure exactly though. I do have some bread and fruit here. I can just wait until tomorrow to go out and get food...
So far things are going well here in Korea. I know it hasn't been a week yet and I haven't even started to teach yet, but I feel so different this time around. I really feel like this is where I'm meant to be. I am nervous about teaching and getting a good curriculum for my classes. I do wonder if I'll find people I can connect with on a deeper level. But even with those things and others I feel like this time I've come to the right place at the right time. Like this whole situation was made just for me. I'm the one who now needs to live it to the fullest and not worry about what will happen in the end.

Please pray for Karanda Hospital in Zimbabwe (and the whole country too)

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:28:39 GMT

Dan and Julie Stephens are missionaries to Zimbabwe. They work at Karanda Hospital. I wanted to get the word out about them because the situation in Zimbabwe is delicate at this time. Check out their blog for any specific prayer requests that they have.

http://www.xanga.com/Karanda_Hospital_the_Stephens

Father God,

I ask that you will be with the Stephens and the other missionaries and staff that are at Karanda Hospital. I pray that you will keep them safe no matter what may happen politically in Zimbabwe. I ask that your angels will be watching over the hospital grounds. Let any angry people realize that the hospital is a place for healing and that any violence they would inflict would only hurt their own people. Please help the political situation in Zimbabwe to work itself out in a peaceful manner. There are still people in that country who have not heard your saving message. Watch over the missionaries at Karanda Hospital and elsewhere in the country of Zimbabwe. Help them to effectively show people You.

I ask all this in the name of Jesus.
Amen

Korea, my plan (and I hope God's plan too)

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 12:32:03 GMT

After reading this post you'll probably think I can't make up my mind and that I'm a bit flighty (possibly you already thought that). I just had the chance to read through some of the papers I wrote during my last year at Andrews in the Religious Education program. I realize now that one of my biggest mistakes when going to Korea was actually working with an Adventist institution. I had a hard time with one of my comp questions because it asked to integrate faith and learning. I know I can integrate ethical issues into classes, but the idea of integrating religious themes bothered me most. In the end I never even got the chance to write my own lessons in Korea. I feel that working for a religious organization does not give enough opportunity to reach others for Christ, at least not the way that the SDA schools in Korea are run. Their idea of reaching people for Christ is to have mission days once a term that are required for students (absence marked if they are not there), bible camps, Religion classes (where they actually have to pay to attend, sure it's not a lot of money, but I find that wrong), and the first 5 minutes of class where the teacher reads a Bible verse and prayers. There is no time for personal relationships to be truly built.
My other biggest mistake was not having a daily relationship with God. I was upset when they moved me to the other side of the country with no one from my orientation group. I felt hurt by that. I let that bother me a lot. I think I would have handled it better if I had had the connection with God that I need to excel each day.

I'm planning to go back to Korea. Here is what my plan is:

Before all else I need to discover what will keep me connected with God. It's like I have ADD when it comes to my relationship with God. I get bored quickly with reading the Bible and doing the other spiritual disciplines. I also tend to forget to do them too. I've also discovered recently that I hold a lot of hurt toward him for a lot of things. Most recently was the fact that my mother didn't have the miraculous character transformation that I had hoped. Part of me hoped her drinking was what caused her to be the way she is, but now I believe that she is that way because of how she grew up. I believe she is saved, but every time I speak to her I hear the real messages she says to me that don't match the words that she says. I can hear it in her voice. I do not like my mother. And I believe that I have taken that out on God. I've taken a lot out on him and that has made me estranged from him.
Find a school where I can teach adults or high school students.
Find a school in Seoul so that I can be in a place where there are lots of English speaking Adventists.
I have bought a book called "First days of school". I think this will help me with teaching. A teacher friend of mine suggested it. I will also do a lot of research before going back about lessons and such.
I want to find a school that has block shifts instead of the split shifts that I had at SDA. I would rather work one block of time. That gives me true freedom to do what I want during my free hours in the day.
During the hours when I am off work is when I plan to have free private tutoring. I found this to be the best way to interact with my students in Ukraine. In the main classes I didn't feel comfortable brining up religious topics, but in the private tutoring and outside of the classroom is where I felt most comfortable.

So this is my plan. I think it's God's too.

Thursday, March 06, 2008

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 08:38:45 GMT

I've been searching for a job for the last two months. I'm not sure what I'm looking for exactly. Part of me really wants to stay in Sacramento. There is an opening at a college in Nebraska that I'm trying to finish my resume for. There are a gazillion Administrative Assistant positions in this area, but most of them pay $13 or less and that is not enough for me to be able to live off of and pay off my student loans each month. I have been reading a lot of things about finding the right job. I've compiled things I like to do. I've described the atmosphere I'd like to work in. Do you know what keeps coming up time and time again when I keep thinking about a job? English teaching. And to do this I will need to go overseas. I could go through school and get another degree so that I could work in the States, but I don't want to go back to school to get a degree. I'm somewhat of a lazy person when it comes to studying (and several other things, but that's another blog, another time). I do not have the stamina to be a student again. And I especially don't have the stamina to be a student and work full time as well. That's just not me. So here I am thinking (praying) about going back overseas. My only real option is Korea, which I really wouldn't mind. I liked the country. I got annoyed when people couldn't understand me, but hey that happens in America too. So that's what's going on in my life.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 05:31:37 GMT

A lot has happened in the last month. Currently I have 2 days off. I finished my first term yesterday and the new term starts on Thursday. I actually contemplated transferring from this institute, but after spending time with my students I changed my mind.
The last thing I mentioned doing was going to Daewang Rock. Since then I've been doing something almost ever weekend.

The first weekend in October I was free from any weekend duties at the institute. A fellow teacher was going to come visit, but she got sick and decided to stay home so she could get better. So I just stayed in my room the whole weekend. I got lots of sleep.

The second weekend in October I went to teacher's retreat. It was located somewhere South of Seoul on property that is called Deer Mountain. It was relaxing. I spent some time alone in nature talking to God. There is a river that runs by the property. There is also a small wooded area that has an open air auditorium. On the top of the hill there is a metal cross with a stone alter in front. The cross says something in Korean on it. There is also a garden on the property as well. It looked like they were still in the process of building it. Over all the property is nice. It's very small compared to the retreat places we have in America, but for it's size it is very nice.
The topic for the weekend was Rekindle the Mission. As one speaker pointed out, it probably should have been Rekindle the Missionary. The person pointed out that the mission is very much alive, we just need to have it rekindled in us. I've been struggling with even getting the mission that this organization has...I guess in some ways I do have the same mission, I guess how they implement that mission is what I'm trying to at least not grumble about.

I actually got the next weekend off too. I wrote an email to some of the ladies from my orientation group and got an invitation to go to Daejeon. Kara, a fellow teacher works there. She and her roommate Theresa were very inviting and made sure we had what we needed. There were a lot of guests that weekend. I think there were around 7 foreign teachers there that weekend. The students who came to the weekend events really loved it because they got a lot of chances to practice their English with native speakers. Marielis, Toulas, and Mario from my orientation group were there as well as several other teachers I had met before and new people too. I took a bus to Daejeon. It took me about 3 and a half hours to get there. I arrived earlier than I thought I would so I had to wait for Kara to meet me. When she arrived we headed to her apartment and were soon out the door to her institute for vespers. A foreign teacher from another institute came to visit and did the vespers. After vespers we went back to the apartment and I went to bed. In the morning we were a little late to Sabbath school, but it seemed to be ok at this institute because they split some of their morning clubs (kind of like Sabbath school classes) and we ended up arriving right when they were transitioning.
Our speaker for the church service was an SDA who didn't work for our institutes. He had found a job with a public institute. We had lunch at the institute and then went back to Kara's apartment and spent some time until sundown. After sundown we went out to eat and then later went bowling. We came back kind of late and I was really tired. I went to bed soon after getting back to Kara's apartment. Most everyone else stayed up though because South Africa was playing against England in the Rugby World Cup or whatever it's called. The next day they were a happy tired bunch. The game was played at 4am our time and they thought it would be on at 2am. They were tired rugby fans the next day.
The next day was the party and there were a lot of people there. A lot of students came too. We had South African curry. It was so good. I stayed until about 5 and then took a cab to the bus station. When I went to order my ticket the lady told me it was sold out so I had to take a later bus. I arrived back in Ulsan at around 10:30 at night. I took a city bus to the stop near my house. It was a very good weekend.

Here is a link to pictures from that weekend:

http://andrews.facebook.com/album.php?aid=62698&l=b37f4&id=738410404

I also have two videos from that weekend as well. If you don't have time to watch them no worries. The first is from bowling and the second is from a party they had Sunday.

Bowling http://youtube.com/watch?v=O79JYMQSzyU

Party http://youtube.com/watch?v=vSoK5yPSXds

This past weekend was very busy for me. Sabbath morning I preached. I reused a sermon I preached in Ukraine. The people really liked it. I've gotten a lot of compliments and people said they thought it was really needed. The greatest part of preaching was having 4 of my students there. I'm glad that they came.
Saturday night I went out with my students to Pizza Hut. It's really interesting how they share plates of food here. I really don't like the idea of it. I did it, but I was thinking the whole time about catching a cold or something. 10 of my students came for that. It was fun to be able to go out with them. It reminded me why I'm here. After Pizza Hut some of us went to a coffee house/bakery. I had a lot of fun talking to my students there. I'm glad I'm staying in Ulsan.

Here are pictures from Saturday night:

http://andrews.facebook.com/album.php?aid=64215&l=7baa5&id=738410404

Sunday was a fun, but exhausting day. I was able to hike up to the top of a mountain that is almost 2,000 feet tall. The name of the mountain is Munsu. As you might be able to see from the videos that I am going to paste a link to into this email...I am out of shape so it was not an easy hike. It was fun to be able to do something in nature with my students. Other than being a big baby most of the time, I did have a lot of fun. I do have a new nick name. It's "big baby" in Korean. I may complain, but I do get the job done.

Here are the pictures from that day:

http://andrews.facebook.com/album.php?aid=64217&l=c49b7&id=738410404

Here are some videos from that day:

Before starting the hardest part of the mountain. They call the hardest section Katekogi.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=VCA7FuSzFrg

Somewhere in the middle of Katekogi
http://youtube.com/watch?v=cyKAnw2hGws

At the top of the mountain
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JthJrhmvGaU

As you might have been able to see, most of my free time is on Saturday and Sunday. Teaching itself is going fine. Several of my students passed onto the next level. I do hear it's very common to have a class with very few passes. The biggest reason that people did not pass in my classes was because they didn't attending class or internet lab. This next term I am really going to push them each week and remind them that if they don't come to class or lab they will fail the class. There are so many things I'm going to do differently. It's amazing how much you learn your first time teaching. As I've noted from all the teachers I've met in my life, you never stop learning as a teacher. You're always changing things and adjusting things and adding things to make it better for your students.

Well that's all for now. I pray you are all well. Please let me know how things are going for you. You don't have to be as detailed as I have been, I'd just like to know what is new in your life.