July = omitted

I have had a lot of requests to continue writing about my experience here in Korea, so here is the first step back in the pool. A lot of stuff happened in July, mostly boring vacation time away from work sitting in my apartment waiting for my next paycheck (which comes TOMORROW, WOO!). But starting my new job at Nowon English Village also occurred in July. As well as a long-overdue recap of my trip to Thailand.

But we'll skip that for the most part, because July was not a happy month. I missed 4th of July at Grandma's more than ever, have seen friend's birthdays come and go on facebook, shocked and overjoyed at the news of a cousin's wedding that again, i missed, monsoon rains off and on soaking me skin deep even with an umbrella, and not having any money (at all) here prohibited me from getting out of my room to go see other friends or to even buy a decent meal. I'm happy to move into August, even with the spike in humidity and increased work hours with summer camp.

I'll be breif about Thailand: don't get robbed, and don't leave your camera at a bar next to your hostel. :(

Changing jobs was the best idea i've made in my entire stay in this country. Working for a very strict private academy was not a good fit for me, and i don't think it's a good fit for anyone working there. Moving out to Nowon (outside of the downtown, quieter, fresh(er) air, mountains, and more friendly faces) has been a huge relief to my homesickness. Fun note: when a Korean is homesick, they say you are "kimchi sick." As in, you miss eating your kimchi at home. I'm positive that i'm catsick, as well as Leesick. But my apartment complex/school has a pool, which i can jump into at night, which is so relaxing. Showering in my bathroom/toilet/closet does not compare to being submerged in water surrounded by trees and stars. Nice.

The work itself is incomparable. This week i've been rushed (more like harrassed on how to complete paperwork correctly ("learning process")) to finish report cards for all of my classes. This workload that is required of me once a month per class is equivalent to my workload for every class once a week at my old job. Picture me typing on a computer and printing out teacher comment forms with a smile while sipping on a cup of coffee and whistling to myself.... yep.

That's all I have time for right now, I'll be sure to continue writing and keeping it updated more often now that I've busted through NOT writing on here.

The Prodigal Son Returns

KIWON IS BACK HOME.

I'm currently overwhelmed with the emotional response of seeing a familiar face here in Korea. It might also be the absolutely divine meal we just ate (galbi... marinated pork sliced moderately thin and cooked on the table in front of you... kind of like brisket but with completely alien spices). I ate a lot, maybe that accounts for the surge of endorphins. But having Kiwon back here makes this place feel like a home more than I ever thought it could. He just got home from his SECOND year abroad... i'm feeling homesick after 6 months. He has been through the culture shock at not only a younger age, but in High School when practically everything comes as a shock. I'm happy to see him mostly because he's grown up a bit and enjoys talking to me and asking me questions (his English has indeed improved) but also because he is someone that I knew before I left for Korea. We both know where he hid his cig butts in the backyard, we both know how good a cook my mom is, and we both know how crazy living in Seoul can be. He's a point of reference. He's like an anchor back to a place and a family and way of life that i miss. Sure, i want to come home, but being abroad just got a whole lot more exciting. I feel great. I'm leaving for Thailand tomorrow and paying for a vacation for the first time in my whole life. I miss you all back home and i will hopefully fill in the past few weeks after i finish packing here in the next few hours.

Korean culture

We were told today at work that it was not ok for any of the male foreign teachers to hang out with any of the female Korean teachers at our school. It "would not look ok", whatever that means. I couldn't help myself and asked if it would be ok for a male Korean teacher to hang out with a female foreign teacher. "Yeah, of course."

Double standard slam dunk.

Us guy foreign teachers were also told it doesn't look good when any of us bring a girl back to our room at night. I fail to see how this is unacceptable when we are A.) consenting adults, and B.) NOT CHILDREN.

I'm ready to leave Korea at least for a little bit.

last 3 weeks

I'm coming across my last 3 weeks of work here at Avalon. There are several jobs i'm applying to, but several of them begin hiring in May, which I am being told is not a possibility. Specifically, i'm told that if i leave before the end of the semester, I will not get a "letter" which will allow me to stay in Korea.
Without this "letter," I will have to leave the country and come back with a new visa. I'm assuming this "letter" is bullshit, because they don't want me to leave before the new semester is up. At best, this letter could be a sumbission to change my visa from one hogwan (private English school) to another. Without this letter, I would have to do it myself (a process taking ONE DAY). So i'm not entirely sure what's keeping me from leaving my job after payday on the 10th.
Like I said, the better jobs with better hours, shorter classes, higher pay, etc. are OUT THERE. I'm seeing several and I'll let everyone know when that time comes. But as it stands, i'm going to have to suffer through 3 weeks here. We came in on Monday and they literally doubled our weekly workload. We have to comment on every student and re-check every assignment in their workbooks, and THEN we have to call the students at home to give them phone interviews. These kids are miserable enough in my class, why call them at home? BECAUSE THEIR PARENTS PAY ME TO. It's not just lame, it's Korean.

Rain, rain, and changing schools

I'm quitting my position at Avalon. My last day of teaching is May 29th.

No, I don't have a new job yet.
Yes, i'm getting in touch with recruiters/schools.
Yes, there are several positions available.
Yes, I plan on staying in Seoul (or at least in the surrounding area).
Yes, this means I will likely be in Korea longer.
No, this does not mean I am staying forever.

On the plus side, I can shop around for something that pays higher and also somewhere with an apartment bigger than a janitors closet! YES!

Kiwon's parents have offered to help me figure out any problems with changing my visa or moving or anything, they are very kind.

More updates as they come, i feel like it is already happening very fast.

Grocery List 2

Pull up bar
xbox 360
controller
Street Fighter 4
Fallout 3
Alarm Clock (phone alarm was getting to easy to ingore, now i've got one across the room)
Power strip for my multiple chargers (phone, headphones, camera, laptop) and electronics (tv + xbox)
5-pack of stainless steel sporks. That's right, SPORKS.

I'm considering looking into an HD tv for the facts of my current tv: mono sound and i can't read the font on either of my games without approaching cancerous proximity. I will more than likely make do, but if it turns out shipping a TV home does NOT cost me an arm and a leg, then it would definitely be cheaper to grab one here.

I'm entirely sick of work after tolerating it for a while. There are no Middle School classes this week, which means that my number of classes has dropped to 2 a day on Tues/Thurs. This leaves me 3 hours to do.....nothing. But of course they are paying me for the day and must give me busy work to do. The phone conversations were ridiculous enough, but now that i've filled out counseling report cards for each one of them, they tell me that i need to "write more". One of the other teachers here simple wrote what the phone conversation was about (baseball, animals) another teacher wrote about the student's progress in class. I wrote breif comments on the student's conversation skills as observed via phone call. This is unacceptable to my school and i have to "write more."

Really sick of it.

Adventure, ju say yo

Last weekend, Bobby and I went hiking in the foothills North of the city. It was the most activity I have done in far too long a time (this is indicated by the amount of sweat accumulated on my entire body while hiking). I'm sure that there is more I can do around the city, but unfortunately, that would need to be done during the daylight hours. This is a problem because i've graded my sleep schedule to waking up at 12 or 1 and going to bed at 3-4 am. This may be considered unhealthy by many, but it's only really troubling because i don't get to do most of the stuff i want to do because i'm not AWAKE when things are available, and the subway closes 2 hours after we get off of work.

Hiking was incredibly fun, i could do it every weekend.