my view :)

This is the view from my humble abode.  You can see a little bit of the ocean if you look in the middle between the buildings (above the green netting).  Usually, you can see a bit more of it but it was hazy the day I took this.  The pictures are from left to right as you'll see by the captions.

to the left

 If you can see the big E, that's E-mart and my school is right across the street from that.  Its about a good 10-15 minute walk depending on how fast I decide to walk that day (or if I don't have to wait long for the traffic lights).

in the middle

Oh 2001 Outlets, how often I would be lost without you!  At the bottom of that building is my grocery store.  You can find everything you'd ever need in that building.  It literally is 2001 stores.  I love it.

to the right

More evidence of Haeundae New Town.  These were  just built and are starting to open.  Its crazy how many apartment buildings there are in this city and how many are being built as you read this.

near my building

These are picture of stuff around where I live.  I took them on my way home from school.

at night the brown building has lights that make it look like its raining

downstairs of my building

closer up

i miss my kitty

my school!

my school building - next to emart and jungdong station

So, this is the building my school is in.  We are on the 11th floor.  There are lots of businesses in this building.  Today, we went to the dentist's office on the 8th floor for a quick check up for the kids.  By the way, they do NOT use gloves in Korea during dental work.  I cringed watching the hands go in and out of each child's mouth especially since some kids were sick and some weren't.  They all got touched by the same unprotected hands.

Generally, I really like my school.  The only odd part is in the mornings when we have to do Christian things.  For instance, the day starts by them all SCREAMING this hymn in Korean with the chorus consisting of about 5 hallelujahs which they bellow with all their might.   Trust me hearing that in an enclosed space is a real treat.  Now, they have to learn that same song in English which is a little awkward since the English words don't fit the melody as well as the Korean words did.  Then, they have to say the Lord's Prayer in Korean and then in English.  Mind you, these kids can barely eek out "My name is...." but they are expected to know the Lord's Prayer perfectly.  Also, its a weird version of the Lord's Prayer which I seem to mess us every time since I was taught it differently.

Then, they are given a scripture verse to learn that changes every week.  Its just really difficult to teach children that don't speak English "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked."  After that, they are given prayers in Korean to put in their notebook.  I have NO idea where they get the cartoon pictures for them but let me tell you, I have to stop myself from laughing every day.  One pic was Jesus spraying a hose on children.  What was coming out of the hose you may ask?  Only a rainbow.... Another was Jesus leading a jogging group of children.  They were holding light sticks... No idea why... Today's was Jesus in bed with a little boy... yep... ummmm....   You draw your own conclusions. 

Altogether, I really like this school because it is an immersion based school so I teach the kids different subjects.  I get bored as easily as the kids do so its nice to change it up every forty minutes.  My favorite classes so far are Arts and Crafts and Science Kit.

Here are some pics of my little babies.  I spend the most of my time with them. Every day, I'm with them from 9:30-2:35 so I'm getting to know them VERY well.

Solomon

Ohhh Solomon!  This kid will grow up to be UBER emo.  He is super smart and sighs in class when he's bored.  He doesn't color; instead, he's the kid who just takes one color and colors until the whole page is indistinguishable.  He CANNOT for the life of  him sit through an entire class.  For some reason, he HAS to climb all over the tables.  I'm trying to break him of it.  Yesterday,  I made him take a time out (like supernanny) cause he would not stay in his chair.  He doesn't smile a lot but when he does it makes my day since its so hard to get him to smile.

Star

Star - aka the cutest kid ever!  I love EVERYTHING he does.  His motor skills are still being formed so everything he does is so slow and precise cause he's trying to be so perfect.  And his name is Star!!  Yes, he always draws a star next to his name.   He loves to play catch and sing.  Sadly, he's been sick these past few weeks so he's been in and out of class.

Side note: when Koreans say they went to the hospital, they mean doctor.  I was overly worried about this kid cause they kept telling me he went to the hospital.

Annie

 Annie- By far my brightest kid.  She finishes first before anyone else and she can generally figure out the next exercise which means most of her books, which are supposed to take month or more to finish, are already completed.  She keeps me on my toes cause I have to figure out ways to make it more challenging for her without seeming to give her more work.  Korean children ALWAYS have to do what their friends are doing - even if its more school work.  When I give her extra stuff to do, the kids think that I'm giving her special treatment and want to do the same thing.  Its aggravating sometimes.  This kid will go far though and she'll be super pretty when she grows up and is already by far the most popular student.

Yewon

 Awww little Yewon... I tried to give her an English name and we settled on Amy (even wrote that on ALL of her things) but her mom decided that she didn't want her to have an English name (so she now has two names on everything).  She knows the most English out of all the students.  I think her mom must have spent a lot of time teaching her which I REALLY appreciate.  Because of that, she helps out a lot in the class.  I try not to give her extra attention but its so hard cause she's so cute and she understands me the best.  She also hangs on to me like no other and she laughs like a baby which is sooooo adorable.

Quinn

Quinn, Quinn, Quinn... She is my challenge since she works slower then the rest of my students.  Also, I think their parents work with them at home and all the English she ever gets is in class.  She always makes this weird noise when she doesn't understand which is generally all the time.  However, today, she said her first English sentence, "I can do it!"  I nearly died with pride.

Well, that is all for now... i promise more later :)

-Melissa

welcome to haeundae :)

So, I would be writing more but I don't have internet or phone (everyday items that seem like LUXURIES to me now!).  I just wanted to show a little of my life in the past week.  I really like my neighborhood and I'm starting to get used to the food.  Everything is soooo cute here! 

Today, I went on a field trip to the LG Science Museum and it was so cool!  They let these kids eat dry ice (not sure if that is safe or not) but it was really funny to see it coming out of their noses while they ate :)

street view at dusk on my way home from work

I love my walk to work even though it takes a good 15 minutes.   I really love my job so much already that it makes it worth it.

my little room

This is my teeny tiny apartment...

my little kitchen

isn't it everyone's lifestyle?

random things i've seen

metro ride

oh i really really love ENGRISH!!

anyone want a pencake?

fantsy romance :)

car on my way to work

I'm here!!!!!!

I arrived in Busan at 9pm last night and was sooooo happy to see Sarah and Jin waiting for me!  Such a relief after 24 hrs of traveling!  Also, without Jin, I have NO idea how i would have found my school or apartment...(must learn Korean)...

Side note: Japan Airlines has the BEST food out of any airline.  I had chicken teriyaki for lunch and pasta for dinner with noodles as a snack later.  LOVED it.

Ok, so my apartment, smallest thing I have ever seen in my life!  I am debating whether I should ask to pay a little extra for a bigger place.  However, the location is soooo perfect.  Downstairs is a Starbucks and Paris Baguette (a Korean bakery chain).  Across the street is Baskin Robbins and lots of Korean restaurants.  Maybe I'm just in shock from everything being oversized in America...

Trying to find the place was really funny.  We went into the wrong building at first and although and ended up in an elevator that opened directly into a mini golf area.... cue Sarah and me dying of laughter...

My school: I think I am in love already!  I get 6 little babies :) they are between 4-5 actual American age.  2 boys and 4 girls!  Their names? Star and Solomon for the boys and Annie and Quinn for the girls so far (I got to name Quinn which actually turned out to be a bigger challenge than I thought).  The other girls don't have English names yet because one girl couldn't decide and the other one wasn't there today.

I get to teach 5 40 minute classes but they will alternate between English, Science, Math, PE, and anything else I can squeeze in there.  I'm soooo happy that I get to teach more than just English :)

So, since they are babies, they do not speak ANY English whatsoever.  I couldn't even get a "hi" or "bye" today from them.  They kind of just stared at me and Quinn and Solomon managed to mutter a few Korean sentences.  It was only orientation today and I'm so excited.  They have completely unformed (English-speaking) minds and its so cool knowing that by the end of the year (if I am a good teacher) they will be able to communicate in another language.  Most haven't been in any other kindergarten before so its very exciting for all of us.

I will write volumes more later I'm sure (with pics I promise!) but for now I'm off to E-mart to try to buy some stuff for the apartment.  Oh, and I have to figure out my shower problem.  I don't get hot water yet... talking to the apartment manager who I'm sure doesn't speak English should be a real adventure :)

Title Explanation :)

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!!!

Here is a little video from the tv show "Reno 911" to explain our title.  The show is about a fake police team who fight crime in Reno, Nevada.  Their fearless leader, Lt. Jim Dangle, has a love of short shorts, bike locks, Halloween, and boots (as you will see)!

SNOW DAY!

So it takes a lot for Koreans to call off school, but today it happened! Busan has experienced its worse snow storm for 5 years! I walked out of my apartment this morning blown away (literally and figuratively) by the weather conditions awaiting me. I had heard when I got here that Busan snowed occasionally, but it never stuck. Well, let me tell you, these were big flakes and they were sticking. They got at least several inches today.

I managed to schlep myself to school without falling, yet I still stood out. People here carry umbrellas for everything, sun, rain, and snow! I never carry one around, I felt quite naked without one as everyone else shielded themselves from the onslaught of flakes and wind.

Anyway, after I had made about 800 copies for test review today, I was informed school was cancelled because the shuttles that bus all these Korean little ones around from school to school all day, everyday would not be able to drive in the snow. Nobody has snow tires here.

Also, since we would be losing a day, review day was no longer needed...into the recycling box went my copies. Oy.

The foreign teachers had to stay 2 hours, until 3:00pm, to prepare for tomorrow. When the clock stroke 3 we ran out of there like giddy school children, along with the actual school children who had the day off thanks to the snow. Now, the walk home was tricky because many sidewalks and entrances, including my apartment building, are made of a faux marble type material, which I learned today is dangerously slippery when slushy. However, I avoided the embarrassment of wiping out and eating it in front of my door man and even managed to snap some shots of the historical (and beautiful if you ask me) snow fall...

The women were still wearing heels in this! Nothing will stop them from achieving fashion. I love it. Hope everyone had (or is having) a lovely Valentine's Day! Wish I could spend the day with my Valentine, you know who you are, So Ju is awaiting us when we are reunited!

~Sarah

Matching Underwear?

Ok, so this post isn't really about matching underwear, per se, I just needed a catchy title. This weekend I went out and about for the first time and explored Seomyeon, where there are lots of markets and shops. I also rode the subway for the first time. Instead of rechargeable cards (boring) like they have in London and such, they have phone charms. Ya? Adorable and clever. I am holding off on buying mine until I found the most sparkly and tacky one possible.

Anyway, in this shopping haven of Seomyeon, there are quite a few underwear shops, more than I have ever seen per capita in any other place. A common theme to these shops is matching underwear sets for couples. I know. But it is actually quite adorable. They had all of the red ones out for Valentines Day. Now, I have lived in romantic European cities, Paris of course being the epitome of love and romance, but Busan, surprisingly, rivals it. Not in the way that people are snogging at every bridge and park bench, but Korea is very couple oriented, and since couples are incredibly busy working and studying (and living with their parents) the time they have in public is quite treasured. I am constantly bombarded with couples holding hands and gazing into each other's eyes... And the men holding the woman's purse and shopping bags. We could do with a bit of that understated romance in the west I think. I hate carrying my shopping bags.

Enough about couples and underwear now. My parents are reading this.

Here are some photos of Seomyeon, a lot of the shops are also underground...

Street Food

For M-Larrrrr.....get here soon and we shall indulge.

After Seomyeon we took a cab to Busan Station, one of the bigger subway hubs here because you can transfer to another line and also catch the KTX train to Seoul. It is also home to China Town and Texas Street, funny enough, Texas Street and China Town is the night home of the Russian sailor population. This is evident by the sketchy vibe and signs in Russian.

Bottom two words say "vodka" and "sodzhyu" or so ju. I love both those things thank you very much.

We then made our way to a very popular tourist attraction, and hot spot for foreign night life, Gwangali Beach. We got there just in time to see all of the flashing neon lights on the hotels, clubs, restaurants, and even a mini carnival. Oh ya, and the gorgeous, epic bridge that makes Gwangali quite the landmark of Busan. I only had my point and shoot, so these pictures aren't great, but you can see what I mean...

That's about it for the weekend here. Can't wait to see more of this city.

~Sarah

Home Plus : Korea's Fred Meyer

Ok, so I have had no time to go shopping for anything since I have been here. Saturday is a welcome break and opportunity to get some things for my apartment, oh ya and some food, so I don't have to live off ramen from 7/11 anymore. Velinda, a teacher at my school from New York, met up with me and generously helped me go shopping at "Home Plus" which is a huge store with everything in it. It is about a 15 minute walk from my house, a walk that goes by quite fast. On the way there I saw 2 boys holding hands. Koreans are quite strange abut showing affection to the opposite sex, but it is very common to have boys holding their friend's hand and girls the same. I actually find this to be quite sweet and wish the west could be more open to this, as I know two teenage boys in Illinois would never hold hands. Anyway, I digress, we made our way into the huge building that is Home Plus. It also has restaurants on the outside and little jewelry/accessory vendors in the middle, kind of similar to a mall.

We got a cart, which moves not only forward and background, but also side to side. So that is fun to control in the mad house of Home Plus on a Saturday. Anyway, my first mission was to find sheets to cover my mattress, not seen as a necessity here. They had literally one package of sheets. Literally ONE. I will be sending away for sheets. I also bought another pillow because I enjoy multiple pillows. Everything was in Korean so I had no idea what the difference between all of them were but I picked this one because of the English description, which made no sense, but I am sure you'll find the humor:

Before you ask, I don't know what cervical vertebrae means. Or what Buckwheat has to do with it.

Anyway, I finished up the shopping, and by finished up I mean I was in there for probably around 2 hours. Along with some normal groceries, I decided to try out the ever so famous Korean seafood pancakes, I'm assuming they are like latkes, but with seafood.

After I checked out, which was a little frightening cause you bag your own groceries, (I always feel like I am holding up some old Korean lady in a rush) we were on our way. I couldn't resist the temptation of looking at all of the sparkly, bling bling, glittery accessories from the vendors. They were calling my name, or at least I think they were, I don't know, maybe they were just yelling "hello" in Korean. I don't speak Korean. I ended up buying some amazing headbands and a hair clip:

Successful Saturday here in Busan. I conquered the mountain of Home Plus on a Saturday and came out alive at the other end with some good buys. My mission for tomorrow is to learn how to recycle in Korea, they're a bit "specific." And also to take some pictures of my neighborhood. Miss everyone still...especially M-lar. Come quickly. So much to show you.

~Sarah

First Day of Teaching. And Drinking.

Well today was the day. The day I officially become an active, employed, certified teacher. I have 7 classes today, from 2:10-8:10 with a one hour break. It's not as bad as it sounds, it actually goes by super fast, classes are only 40 minutes. It started off well with me being told I was teaching the wrong class, in the wrong room. Because of this, I had no idea what I was going to be teaching (even though everything at my school is laid out and planned from a very structured book I had no idea what was going on). As goes the first day really. C'est pas grave. I finally got into the groove of things and landed with my feet on the ground. My day started off with the little ones, (as the day goes on my students get older I go from 5/6 in the morning and gradually work up to 12/13, but we'll come back to those students later, unfortunately) but anyway, the little ones have so much enthusiasm and energy. I love when they finish a worksheet and scream "teacher....finishie!!!!" (they can't say finished). Don't have the heart to try and correct them either. That is one phonetic mistake I will let slide, it's too damn cute.

My next few classes were young ones too, an 8 year old try to lock me out of the classroom and I couldn't push the door in because he was pushing against it, but a little girl came to my rescue and pulled him off. 8 year old Korean boys are strong, but apparently not as strong as 8 year old Korean girls. For the most part my early afternoon classes were lovely. The kids did what I asked and weren't too loud. But then came the middle school classes, and with them, the teenagers. I have always laughed off teachers who complain about middle school aged kids, I mean how different could they be right? Ok well, I am eating my words. The first class of surly teens I was blessed with had a wonderfully sweet front row, with a back row full of challenges. Overall, they were actually much better than I anticipated. Texting and cell phones are going to be my new enemy though, we'll see how that battle goes. The only challenging thing about my next middle school class was that no one remembered there books. Thanks guys. Cause I don't have a book either. That was a fun class.

Like I said before, overall a really positive day. I met a lot of very sweet kids, and even the ones who weren't I am hoping will warm up to me soon and vise versa. Or at least bring their books.

After work I was invited out by my Korean coworkers and one of the other foreign teachers. We went to a BBQ chicken restaurant of all places. I stuck to the service food and a side dish of mushrooms my coworkers had ordered for me because they felt so uncomfortable with the fact that the 2 Americans weren't eating. Love Korean hospitality. I really do love my new co workers though. They were all so awesome and it was a blast wasting away the Friday night over massive pitchers of beer and shots of So Ju. Kombae!!! This was not only my first night out with the office, it was also my first experience in a Korean restaurant bathroom, which is slightly more glamorous than a hole in the ground, in the fact that it flushes. I would like to announce to all of my close friends reading this, that to your surprise, I was actually very good at this and had no problems throughout the evening. Who knew? I guess So Ju makes the impossible possible.

Another successful day in my new home where I can check off even more firsts. Keep them coming Korea!

~Sarah

First Days in Busan...Awaiting My Second Half

So these first few days have been amazing, chaotic, confusing, overwhelming, and hilarious. I love everything here, even the things that I find strange I still love. However, I find myself wishing all of my friends were here with me all the time, not because I am lonely, (because this is actually the first night I have spent on my own in my apartment) but because every time I see something funny, I want to make a sarcastic comment but there is no captive audience to use my wit on (for Hanne).

I guess the best way to update everyone on what has happened so far is start from the beginning. The journey here was probably the hardest part of the move for me. I hate flying. I hate airports. I hate being near large amounts of people. I hate loud noises. And I hate babies. So air travel is my own personal hell. I am always shvitzing that my bags will be lost or stolen and the plane will go down in flames. None of this happened of course. The worst obstacle I endured was on my second flight (of three) which was 12.5 hours from Minneapolis to Tokyo. I actually had an empty seat next to me, quite lovely, but on the other side of me was a Vietnamese family with 2 children under the age of 4. Ya. The children didn't want to sleep when everyone else was (though they were more than happy to sleep through the meal times so their mother would have disrupt everyone during sleep time to get the flight attendants to bring them food). They also disrupted sleep time by allowing their children to watch DVDs on a DVD player without headphones. So I got to listen to Ratatouille the entire way to Tokyo. There are lots of scenes with crashing dishes in that movie.

Anyway, besides that, and my bags being outrageously overweight, (which I paid for financially and physically) it was a pretty uneventful trip to my new home 8,000 miles away. I was picked up by my boss, Daniel, who had a sign for me. He drove me to my new apartment in his car, which had tweety bird seat covers, again, an example of a time I would have loved to have some of my mates with me to enjoy that.

My new apartment is awesome in substance, size, and location. I live in Dognae....and I think there are a couple of other more specific location names, but Dognae is the most important for this purpose. It has a plethora of old bath houses and spas, facials here I come, apparently you don't have to get naked for those like you do for everything else in the bath houses. It also used to be the old center of Busan and is only a 10 minute walk for the main center of the city with loads of shopping and nightlife and it is only a 5 minute walk from school, very convenient.

Here are some photos of my new place on the 6th floor of the building:

The next day, the other foreign teacher, who lives below me, came to pick me up for my first day of work. I was observing her teach because I was going to be taking over her classes soon. The first class was adorable, they were at a beginner level, so about 5/6 years old. However, one of the girls had a cell phone that went off and it was then explained to me the Korean children get phones as young as 3….oy. I really enjoyed watching the classes and it will be helpful to be familiar with the kids before I start. Later that night the other 2 foreign teachers took me out to dinner at a restaurant called T3. We ordered broths, 1 seafood and 1 beef, and cooked vegetables and seafood/beef in them. It was really good and I tried octopus for the first time. When I say octopus, I mean we plopped a proper full on octopus in the water. It didn't have much taste and was kind of chewy.

The next day I got up early for my health check at the hospital which is a requirement to get an alien card here. We took a cab to the hospital and it was only like $2.00. Definitely going to be using cabs a lot here. I was really impressed with the Korean hospital. It was huge, no wait time, and cheap. The health check was simple and painless, except for the needle they stuck in my arm. But we go on. My supervisor, Jenny, took me around a bit afterward and we eventually schlepped ourselves back to school just in time for the first class. This is also when I was informed I would be taking over teaching on my own the next day. So that was a fun addition to the needle in the arm. The first class I observed this day was the cutest ever! They were the very first level and around 4/5 years old. One girl told me I had big eyes and then proceeded to draw a picture of me with big curly hair. She drew me quite thin as well....thanks for that.

~Sarah

update...

So, my best friend, Sarah has left and gone.  She is teaching today for the first time by herself!  Now that she is in Busan, waiting to leave is becoming harder and harder.  I have 18 more days!!  I leave March 1!

Although it has been challenging to wait, I am really happy for the extra time I have had in America.  I came back up to Seattle for a couple of weeks and it has been so good seeing friends that I haven't seen in a while.  As much as I hate to admit it, I will miss Seattle a lot.  It is so beautiful here with all the mountains and the water everywhere!  My true home will always be here... I just need sometime to find myself in the great unknown.

But for now, here are some little pictures of the magic I see almost daily being in Seattle, Washington.

Orcas Island, Washington

Percival Landing in Olympia, Washington

Seagulls around the ferry boat, Puget Sound

Ferry Boat in Seattle, Washington

Seattle, Washington

-Melissa

still...

So I found out today that I won't leave until March 2.  That's a full month from when I expected to leave.  I know they say patience is a virtue and it seems something that life is desperately trying to teach me.  As there is nothing I can do about this delay, a stiff upper lip must do.

-Melissa

Waiting...

So, this process all started a year ago. A relationship I had been in (and out of) for 3 years was starting to sour and I knew more than anything that I wanted to leave America. At first, I wanted to go to France because I had spent a year in Paris as part of a study abroad program for my junior year of college. But with $40,000 in student loans to pay off, consideration to potential income versus expenses had to be a focal part of any decision.

At the time, I was an AmeriCorps member serving a term in Mount Vernon, WA. I had 6 months left on my contract and explored every sort of option from serving in the military, joining the foreign service, working on an organic farm, or relocating to San Diego. Previously, my best friend, Sss-lar, had wanted to teach English in Russia and we began discussing this possibility more at length. Then, I found a program in Toronto, Canada, that would give us our TESOL certification from Trinity College London, one of the best certifications in the teaching English world.

So, off to Toronto my best friend and I went. After an unbelievably fun time there, we were finally clad with a certified skill! It was real triumph for us as we were both fine arts majors (her a French major and me a International Relations major)! Anyone who has graduated with one of those degrees knows how hard it is to transfer them to money making jobs without getting a graduate degree. During our student teaching, we met a lot of Korean students and heard from teachers who had previously taught in Korea. That combined with the knowledge that Korea pays for your plane ticket and apartment made the decision to choose Korea extremely easy.

Thus, upon our return to Seattle, our search began. We both posted resumes on Dave's ESL cafe and decided to let fate run its course. After a few minor offers, Appletree Recruiting contacted me and after speaking to them on the phone, I knew I wanted to work with them in finding the perfect job. Sss-lar and I had already picked Busan because of its proximity to the beach and smaller (yet still large) population than Seoul. I told Appletree about my friend wanting a job too and they seemed thrilled with the idea to place us in Busan.

After that fateful call with Appletree, the process of packing up our lives in Seattle and driving across the country to Sss-lar's parents' house in Illinois began. I spent the fall there and had several interviews with different schools. The first school, iSponge, said they would hire me which made me ecstatic as they were a very popular and well-known school. A week later, I got another job offer which confused me since I thought I was already employed. In broken English, the recruiting company explained that iSponge wasn't sure whether or not the teacher who was already there would stay or not. So, they wanted me to look for other schools in the meantime. Mild panic set in as I desperately needed a job!

However, this seemed to be a blessing in disguise as another school asked to interview with me. They offered more money and were in a better location! They offered me the position after the interview and I will now work for Berkeley Language School in Haeundae, Busan!

Currently, the school has sent my visa papers to the immigration office and I am waiting to get my visa number. Then, I can apply for my work visa in Los Angeles. So, for now, I spend my days hanging out in San Diego with my mom and my brother as much as I can because I do not know when I'll be back to America after I leave for Korea.

I plan to keep this blog (I know its a little cliché) so that I remember everything that happens. 2011 will be a great year. I just know it! So, happy new years and welcome Busan goofin' !

-Melissa