Chocolate Covered Everyberry (Mar 13)

• I keep crying in frustration in front of my mentor teacher. She’s going to think I’m a crazy girl soon. After the crying though, I gave her her present and she loved it. She didn’t want to take it! Then she shared her chocolates with me, Ji Hyeon and another teacher. It was cute. Even though she doesn’t speak English, I know she cares about me.

By Myself But Not Alone (Mar 12)

• Tonight I had dinner at a restaurant down my street. There was so much food but I managed to eat all 9 dishes by myself! (I'm going to miss getting that much food for $6 when I get back to the US.) And yes, I was by myself, but it was okay. Whether on purpose or inadvertently, the owner sat near me and read the newspaper while I ate.
• I’m creating a new verb: “K-popped”...and I’ve been K-popped. Someone had a status that said, “rain=<3” and I immediately thought of Rain.
• I finally found my motivation to get a real teaching job...so I can afford to visit all of my new friends all over the world. No joke, as soon as I have $10,000, I’m buying a ticket to Seoul for NYE/Sunrise Festival (lots of people will still be here), and then Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey for the summer :) I literally have not felt an incentive to get a full-time job until now.

Riding on a Bus (Mar 11)

• We all woke up at varying times this morning (Deanna even got up at 8 and did that stupid exercise we learned at English Village)...I think they played cards before I woke up but, once I was awake, it was Project Breakfast (French toast with caramelized pears). It didn’t taste as good as I thought it would, but it was so fun for us all to work together to make it (well, except Joey). And it wasn’t terrible. Then we played Uno (with VERY interesting/complicated Christian/Aussie rules) and then Jeanette and I watched music videos while they played an even more complicated game (along the lines of Fluxx, but with a regular deck of cards – just didn’t have the brain capacity for it this morning!). It was really chill and relaxing.
• After that though, we had to head to the bus station. We had to say a quick goodbye to Ruby, Deanna, Christian, Chanda, Joey, and Kyle because their bus was about to leave just a few minutes after they bought their tickets. It was kind of like goodbye at English Village all over again! Just because there were so many of us there and I don’t know when we’ll all be together again. Plus, this weekend was just fantastic. And no one wants to say goodbye to friends that make a weekend fantastic.
• So Jeanette, Joe, Olivia and I sent our friends on the bus and then went to find lunch. We were waiting for the elevator...for what ended up being more than 10 minutes! So long that Olivia had to go back to the bus station to catch her bus! Oy. So Joe and Jeanette and I decide to find the escalators to lead us to lunch.
• HomePlus is a store here that is almost exactly like Meijer...so I love it and go there way too often.
• After I got home (to my pitifully empty apartment), I realized that my guests were awesome on another level! The only thing I had to do to clean up was make my bed and wash a few pans from breakfast. I love my friends :)
• New Sherlock episode tonight. I really love this TV show – get it, BBC!

Party Like a Rockstar (Mar 10)

(Thank God we're in Korea, otherwise I'd feel obligated to title this post "Party in the U.S.A.")

• I never throw parties (even for my birthday) because I’m honestly afraid no one will show up...but today was completely opposite! (Now I won’t throw any more because I’ll be afraid it won’t be as great as this one was!) I had a party at my apartment that was (I think) the first multi-city get-together for our province, and it was a total success. Woohoo!
• I started welcoming people around 2, and they just kept coming in groups for the next 4 hours (at its height, we had 30 people). It was so fun to have people just keep showing up – I never knew who was coming next! Ji Hyeon’s phone was bombarded with texts and calls (she was my contact person for the party...she’s awesome). Chanda just started cooking and people helped as they showed up.
• There was not much room in my apartment, but it was perfect: “old” friends (can we be considered that, after just meeting a month ago? I think so :)), new friends, hugs, talking, eating, and hardly any alcohol (which is something I hadn’t wanted to deal with).
• After a few hours, we decided to go out. Some went to a Western bar in Pohang and everyone else (me included) went to norebang in Mundeok. It was fun to be with everyone in a big group again (like during orientation) and Mundeok is so lively! Much livelier than my factory-surrounded street. Plus, it was up to Liz (who has lived in Mundeok for 1 week) and me (who has been there once) to lead us around – which was empowering and interesting!
• Both norebangs we went to were great – there was so much room, and of course, plenty of drinking and singing.
• I held hands with Jeanette as we walked (not uncommon in Korea), so that neither of us strayed away. Which was helpful when we met high school boys who told us we were very pretty.
• Christian, Joey, Deanna, Jeanette, Ruby, Olivia, Chanda, Kyle, Liz, Darryl and Tony came back to my apt after we departed (though Liz, Darryl and Tony went back to Liz’s apt anyways). Shortly after we returned, I fell asleep very comfortably :)

Big Bang Theory (Mar 9)

• Played Jenga (with flashcards) with my 6^th grade boys, while we listened to Big Bang (a Korean pop group...not the TV show), for about 30 minutes of our lesson. It was so much fun. I wish I could get to that level with my younger kids too.

Better & Better (Mar 8)

• All of our kids were better today. A combination of absences and random schedule changes meant we had a class of grades 2/3 and a class of grade 6. The 6th graders were my and Ji Hyeon's favorite! There were only 3 of them, so that was nice in the first place. One of them brought me and Ji Hyeon cookies before class! They tried really hard to speak English, used phrases we taught them ("Yes ma'am" to us instead of "Yes sir"), and were excited and interested in the videos I showed them about Michigan. Oh and the one that brought me the cookie was really amused that my eyes weren't brown. (He was staring at me for a few minutes and then said, "Your eyes!" I said, "Yes, they're blue" and opened them wide so he could see.) It was really fun, which is nice because it was so not fun on Wednesday.
• Backstreet Boys on Oprah in English on Korean TV!
• Dinner 1 tonight = Oreos and sweets. Dinner 2 = stirfry. Nom nom nom :)
• There was a cockroach in my apt tonight! AHH! I was hoping the spray that was on the counter when I moved in was just a precaution...but apparently not :/

New Friend Request (Mar 7)

• Today was a bad day with the kids but I'm going to focus on the good things that happened instead.
• Some of my 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students came into class early today and it was really fun to talk to them and try to get them to talk to me in English (and talk to them a little in Korean...they thought it was really funny).
• I met the other English teacher at my school! She teaches English like a special (like music or art). A few minutes into our conversation, she asked if she could be my Facebook friend. It was so cute! She's really sweet, let me vent about the school and the students and interpreted for me a little. I can't wait to introduce her to Ji Hyeon (Mi Hye only comes on Wednesdays, one of the days that Ji Hyeon doesn't work) and hang out with her more.
• The Girl who works in the office told us at lunch that she's getting married in June and wants to invite us! I'm so excited! It will be SO COOL to go to a Korean wedding!
• I need to go to bed before 3 a.m...

Dinner at 6 (Mar 6)

• New day, new surprise: My mentor teacher told Ji Hyeon and me at lunch that we would be having class late today (starting at 2:00, instead of the normal 1:20), because the 1st and 2nd graders had extra class after lunch. Annoyed, mostly because that would have been useful to know before 10 minutes before we thought we had to teach (also, SURPRISE! all grades together again). But we rolled with it and hung out in the office for awhile. Around 1:20, we decided to head back to the classroom to finalize our lesson plan - and all of our kids were in our classroom! SURPRISE! We thought they weren't coming til later! SURPRISE! We had locked the room before we went to lunch. Another teacher had opened it for them and later told us that we really needed to be in our classroom 10 minutes before the students arrived. AHHHH. I know I'm bad with change, but this is ridiculous and at this rate, my ulcer will return shortly.
• Good things happened today too. Ji Hyeon and I spent some extra time with the administrative staff (a man and a woman, whom we affectionately refer to as The Guy and The Girl), getting to know each other a little. As we were talking (through Ji Hyeon basically), The Guy asked me to refer to him as "Oppa"! It was really funny because of the way Hyeong Jo taught us to use that term and the way that Chanda and Darryl say it (1:16). But also because we all knew he was joking - so he laughs a lot when I actually do it :)
• It was recommended that Ji Hyeon and I take a bus farther south of my apartment to find a cafe (none to be found near my apt/school), so after school, that's just what we did. When I realized we were headed to Mundeok (pronounced "Moon-duck"), I Facebook-ed Liz because I recalled her living there. Perfect timing led to us getting to have dinner together! Before that, Ji Hyeon and I had donuts and roamed around Mundeok...it is so so cute and not that far away - I will be visiting often. It was a really great way to spend the evening. I've missed Liz, she needed to vent and be surrounded by English-speaking humans, and Ji Hyeon and I got to explore something other than tool stores and closed restaurants (the bulk of what surrounds my apt).

Unexpected Changes (Mar 5)

• Well, today was the first day in the classroom...from the start, everything was unexpected. Ji Hyeon and I got to school a little early - and as soon as we did, our MT let us know that instead of three 40-minute blocks with classes separated by grade level, we would be having one 2-hour block with grades 1-6. AHHH! We re-planned almost through lunch and then hurried back upstairs to try to beat our children...but they were already there! And one was about to get on my computer - I used my teacher voice to say "NO." The kids were pretty crazy throughout the 40 minutes we had them - testing us, I think. We ended up letting them all go after the first block (instead of keeping the 3rd-6th graders as we were advised) because we didn't have anything specific planned for the older kids and we were both done. The only thing I feel like I managed to teach was that I follow through - I made one kid pick up every tiny piece of plastic that he cut up and managed to communicate the threat of the time-out chair to another. Oy. Tomorrow's another day.

Network of Friends (Mar 4)

• Ji Hyeon and I managed to make dinner by ourselves, despite neither of us being cooking-inclined! We bought everything at the market and it was pretty cheap, considering it will make more than one meal :)
• Talking with my TaLK friends on Skype over the past 2 days has made me feel a lot better. It’s great to hear their voices (or chat in real time) and it’s really nice to know I’m not the only one struggling and that I’m not doing it alone. I’m so glad I have all of these amazing people around me and I’m really grateful that the orientations gave me this great support network.
• I looked at the tag on my travel towel and it was made in Korea!
• HP1, the first Narnia AND Sherlock were on TV in English today...no words to describe that happiness (someday my life will be cooler, where Sherlock playing English is NOT the best thing that happens all day...).
• After those great movies, I watched a new Sherlock...upon further research, Anna and I found out it’s a BBC mini-series. It was just as fantastic as the movies and I need to see all of the episodes.

My Own Time (I'll Do What I Want) (Mar 3)

• I did things on my own schedule today and it was great :)
• First, I woke up and Skyped with Anna for like 4 hours – we talked AND were productive (she worked, I did my dishes and cleaned a little). I also talked to her mom, dad and brother :) It was really nice. I love Skype.
• Then, I was tired, so I took a nap.
• After I napped, I took a shower for the first time in my apt (don’t judge)…other than the temperature (not freezing but not warm) it wasn’t bad. I need to buy some more towels though, just for general cleaning and messes.
• Then, I went to the store to get things for dinner (I’m out of cash and not sure which places around her accept card). Made ramyon – it wasn’t awful but I don’t think I cooked the egg into it correctly…I’ll have to try again. I did have my yummy plum juice though :)
• Skyped with Rachel and Jordan for 3.5 hours…I didn’t realize we had so much to talk about! But it was a really good conversation, a great reflection on our time here, expectations, adjustments, etc. It made me feel a lot better about what’s going on. I’m still a little nervous for Monday and for finishing all these lesson plans, but I know I can call them if I need to :)
• Finished the night by watching P & P and organizing flash cards. It was a pretty good day.

Blue Jeans Pizza

• Pizza and Pop...Ji Hyeon and I got pizza in downtown Pohang after checking into getting a phone, and we heard Lady Gaga ("Poker Face"), Adele ("Rolling in the Deep"), Beiber ("Baby"), Miley Cyrus ("Party in the USA"), Kelly Clarkson ("Because of You"), and "Like a G6". It was funny, almost like being in the US :)

March of the Caterpillar (Mar 1)

• Happy March!
• I slept for 13 hours last night and it was glorious. I thought I missed Ji Hyeon coming over, but she slept really late too :) We are both recovering from a few very long weeks. Once she arrived at my apt, we went to run errands, back at the giant Home Plus shopping center. So many people were there because today is a holiday in Korea – it reminded me of when I went to Target in Brooklyn with Krystle. After being on the internet for a while and drinking some coffee, we went to work. We ended up getting everything I needed but it did take a while (and several trips between floors). Ji Hyeon thanked me at one point during the day, because I had been asking her about why today is a holiday and she had forgotten why it was so important, until I asked her and she researched a little. It was cute :) I made sure to thank her a lot for coming with me.

Lucky (Feb 29)

(Beware, long post ahead)

• Happy Leap Day!
• Today has been a long, emotional, and overwhelming day. It started with it being the last day of orientation. We had a little closing ceremony this morning too but the real finality came when we all congregated in the gym with our luggage. They had a slideshow of pictures from the last few days going on the projector and we were all taking pictures, and then – the coordinators started calling names. Our mentor teachers were arriving to take us to our towns. It was a really weird feeling, waiting for names, giving hugs and watching people leave. Kind of like being at the airport, but a little more ominous (because we didn’t really know where we were going and our names were called one by one). Rachel was crying, and since Alison was crying as she left, I started tearing up. When I met my mentor teacher – and found out she doesn’t speak ANY English – the waterworks started. MTs not speaking English is something that we were warned about, but I really didn’t anticipate it happening to me. I’m really really lucky to have a co-teacher who is as amazing as Ji Hyeon. Seeing as I feel isolated not being able to communicate with my MT even with Ji Hyeon’s interpretation, I can’t imagine what it would be like without her. (I’d like to think that TaLK wouldn’t put us in that position but I don’t think they can control that – or they choose not to.) So this was when I really started crying. Ji Hyeon held my hand and reassured me while my MT was talking with Korean Lady (she was telling my MT that I am a great teacher!) but, between being frustrated and missing all of my new friends, I couldn’t really stop. Especially because she was being so awesome/supporting me and a few other people asked me if I was okay. (I’m not sure sure why the support of people brings me to tears.) We ended up eating lunch in the cafeteria at English Village (I didn’t eat much) so I saw a few people again before I left...but I also watched those people interact directly with their MTs, which really just made me cry more. Luckily, on the way home, I was able to read and nap. When we arrived in Pohang, we went to the school. I was still weepy, and now sleepy, so I think I acted a little shyer than I really am. Oh well. We had tea with the non-English-speaking principal (where I felt talked around...I guess I will just have to get used to that feeling) and I met some teachers and the vice principal. Also, the school police officer was really nice! He speaks English (yay!), though he made sure to tell me how hard it is :) But he was very sweet and he and another guy carried my suitcases to my apartment and up the stairs. My apt is right next to the school (nice commute :) now let’s hope the kids listen when I tell them not to follow me home...) so we went there next. Ji Hyeon, my MT, the police officer and the other man checked things out for me (windows, locks, stove) and showed me how to use the heating system. Then we decided to go get my Alien Registration Card (which I need in order to get a phone and buy things online)...but my MT had to go back to the school. She’s busy preparing for other things for school...like I said, SO LUCKY TO HAVE JI HYEON. She got the information for finding the immigration office and we started the trek down there.

1) Find the bus stop.

2) Figure out the right bus.

2.1) Ask several people which bus is the right one.

2.2) When said people aren’t able to help, look up bus schedule on phone.

2.3) When said people aren’t able to help and said map is too small to see on a phone, call MT to verify address.

3) Board correct bus and ride downtown.

4) Marvel at the beautiful downtown and hail a taxi.

5) Pay and thank the taxi driver, even if he drops you off at the Dokdo Office of Fisheries.

6) Ask workers in the Dokdo Office of Fisheries where the Immigration office is.

7) Hail another taxi.

8) Arrive at the correct address and be directed by a really nice man to the inexplicably shabby, small and hidden building that houses the Pohang Immigration Office.

None of this would have been possible by myself...like I said, SO LUCKY TO HAVE JI HYEON. After we were in the office for a while, I hear “Emily?” It was Liz (friend from Orientation/Group 5)! I was so relieved to hear her voice and see her! She said she had been worried about me all day (I had seen her before we left DGEV and told her about my MT), which of course made me tear up again. A few minutes later, Joe (another friend from Orientation/Group 5) came in! It was seriously amazing that we all managed to be there at the same. And I’ve never been so happy to see 2 people that I know. After some hugs, Ji Hyeon and I left. She saw that I was crying again and was really concerned about me...at first, she thought it might have been because of her! I told her no no no no, of course not – that I wouldn’t have survived the day without her. After that, she told me to just cry, that sometimes you just need to let it out, and suggested that we find a coffee place to relax in. Since the office is literally right on the coast, we walked along the beach to a Starbucks. Arm in arm with Ji Hyeon, listening to the waves and letting my tears out, I started to feel a little better. After getting my favorite drink (despite it being over $6), a White Chocolate Mocha, I felt a little more relaxed. We stayed at Starbucks for about an hour, just sitting and talking and making a To-Do List...like I said, SO LUCKY TO HAVE JI HYEON. When we finished, we got a cab back to the city center and walked around a little bit. We checked about getting a phone without my ARC (not possible) and then caught the bus. When we stopped back at the apartment, I found several notes left by the previous TaLK scholar. Before, I had seen that there was bedding, a TV, dishes, a microwave, a toaster, a ricemaker and some decorations left over. After further investigation, we found food (PB and J!), books, shampoo, body wash, wrapping paper, and a hair dryer. She also left a note with some helpful information and she left her bike for me to use! It’s pink and adorable and I'm very grateful (even though I don’t need it for my commute). It was really nice of her. Next, we went to the market down the street. It’s not a full grocery store, like HomePlus, but there are a lot of things there and I bought toilet paper and breakfast food. The woman who was working was really nice – she thought I was Russian and also laughed when I asked if I could pay with American money. Hopefully, I’ll see her again. Ji Hyeon and I dropped the stuff off at home and then decided to go to the mall to get dinner. It was a good choice. Being in a usual place (like a mall) with a lot of people around was familiar and made me feel not alone. Plus, there was wi-fi, so I was able to briefly connect with my TaLK friends on FB and tell Mom and Dad that I arrived – flustered, but safe. And the kiwi juice I had helped to settle my stomach a little. After hanging out there for a while, we came back to the apt. Ji Hyeon made sure I was settled in and safe and then went home. Her day was as long as mine, but she was my rock the whole time...SO LUCKY TO HAVE HER. Now I’ve unpacked a little and watched NCIS (yay American TV shows!). I’m ready to put this day away. Very glad tomorrow is a rest/errand day before school starts – and VERY excited to sleep in past 8:30 a.m. for the first time in about a month. Goodnight.

Beer on the Table (Feb 28)

• Our last day of Orientation – I really can’t believe it. My brain does not fully understand what’s going on, because the last orientation setting it was in lasted for 3 weeks, not 5 days...I honestly feel like I’m going to be listening to lectures and eating cafeteria food for 2 more weeks. 
• We had a fantastic last day though. Our main objective during lectures today was to write and teach a 40 minute lesson plan in a group. Our topic and group members were assigned so, by nature, I was a little frustrated with the assignment. But our group worked well together and our lesson went great! Everything worked how we planned and we got really high compliments from the judges. One of the judges, who is an elementary teacher (for over 30 years), really liked our Memory Game activity and said she was going to use it in her classroom...cool! She (and a few of the other scholars) complimented me specifically on my teaching. It felt really good :) 
• After lectures, we had a little closing ceremony, with some speeches and Ukulele playing (by Eugene). Eric made us a great memory video and the coordinating staff admitted that we are honestly the best generation they’ve had. Yay! 
• Then, it was time for Pizza, Chicken And Beer! Not THAT exciting, but exciting when you’ve been stuck in the ghost town for 5 days. Plus, it turned into a dance party and was awesome. I loved dancing (KPop!)and taking pictures and just being with everyone not during lectures or meals. I also spent a lot of time with my new Korean Scholar friends. They are all so friendly and adorable in the way that they don’t think they speak English very well (even though it’s way better than me in trying Korean). I made an effort to get to know as many of them as possible and I found some pretty great people :) I hope I get to see them again.

Eugene wanted to be on my blog :) 

• After that party finished, we all went upstairs and celebrated a little more in the dorm rooms. It was great spending that last amount of time with my new Korean friends and getting even closer with my TaLK Scholar friends. I went to bed waaay too late, but it was totally worth it. All my love to GB (esp. Group 5) and our Korean scholars :)