Hello all,
I'm just stopping by to say hey and yes I am still alive - I'll probably end up editing this entry again later and adding more news, but I just don't have the time right now.
So don't fret! I will update again soon when I have some more time - this week is report cards week so I'm busy trying to fill in all the test scores and stuff. bleah.......
September 10 2009
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Waaah I am so relieved its almost the weekend. This week seemed to CRAWL by (especially considering my middle school class >.<) so I am happy that tomorrow is Friday. I'm also planning on seeing the long-awaited "9" movie tomorrow so I'm pumped for that. Hooray!
August 26 2009
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I said goodbye to my MWF classes today. Even though I was in a surprisingly good mood today, I still felt really sad to be losing these students.
After spending the better part of the last 6 months with these students, you really develop a bond with most of them, so it was harder than I thought it would be to say goodbye to them as their teacher. Of course, I'll still see most of them in the hallways so it's not terrible, just.........different.
Today I took a whole bunch of pictures with my camera - yep I'm bringing it out of storage! - but I don't think I'll be sharing them on this blog. Safety issues.
Ah well, change is hard but I've got to get ready for my new classes starting this Friday. I've already been told that I'm getting at least one awesome class from my friend Chris - he told me that they're great workers and really fun, so I'm looking forward to that class. I just hope my other classes will be much easier for me to handle compared to the classes I started out with in March.
Tomorrow is the last day for 4 of our teachers and already I'm starting to feel a little sad! They will definitely be missed, especially since they've done a lot for this campus and its students. I wonder what will happen to this school once they leave...
Anyways, its late and I should really sleep. Insomnia - and not the Craig David song (which I love by the way) - is not a kind friend...
After spending the better part of the last 6 months with these students, you really develop a bond with most of them, so it was harder than I thought it would be to say goodbye to them as their teacher. Of course, I'll still see most of them in the hallways so it's not terrible, just.........different.
Today I took a whole bunch of pictures with my camera - yep I'm bringing it out of storage! - but I don't think I'll be sharing them on this blog. Safety issues.
Ah well, change is hard but I've got to get ready for my new classes starting this Friday. I've already been told that I'm getting at least one awesome class from my friend Chris - he told me that they're great workers and really fun, so I'm looking forward to that class. I just hope my other classes will be much easier for me to handle compared to the classes I started out with in March.
Tomorrow is the last day for 4 of our teachers and already I'm starting to feel a little sad! They will definitely be missed, especially since they've done a lot for this campus and its students. I wonder what will happen to this school once they leave...
Anyways, its late and I should really sleep. Insomnia - and not the Craig David song (which I love by the way) - is not a kind friend...
Aug 22 2009
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Alright.
Let's get this going again. >.<
It's been such a long time since I've updated, though I do have some good reasons why I have been MIA. This last month has been crazy busy since our school has what are called Intensive classes every January and August. (This is because Korean kids are off from school during these months so they often sign up for extra classes at school so they can advance to a higher level much faster than usual).
The Intensives classes vary for each campus and we had about 8 or 9 different classes for this month. Depending on the class you taught, on an intensive class day you'd work from 8:30am (planning time 8:30-9:00am) to 8pm, with only one 2hr break for lunch and some more planning time - needless to say those days were exhausting. I had an intensive class day twice a week (Tues/Thurs) so it wasn't too tiring, and I actually really enjoyed my class. I taught a speech class, and I had about 7 students in all. Most of them were awesome - really sweet and hardworking, which made my job so much easier! Yesterday was the last class, so I had my students choose a country to research for homework and then make a poster and speech to present to the class. I'm a little sad that the class is finished, but I will be teaching 2 students from that class when I get my new schedule for September/October/November.
This coming week is the last few days of teaching for 4 teachers at our campus, and I will be sad to see them to go. It's kind of weird to go from seeing someone every weekday (and sometimes on the weekends) and then not seeing them again - sort of the same feeling I had when I first came here. We are getting 2 new full time teachers and 1 part time teacher, so hopefully the school will still run smoothly :)
I've also been joining Clara and Hyunjin and Heebeom at their UBF church in Sinchon, Seoul - and the people there are so amazing and welcoming! The service is all in Korean, but for the sermon they have a translator at the back that I can listen to as the preacher is speaking (both Clara and I use the translator). Tomorrow, I'm going to check out a church in Suwon (a lot closer, and it has English), just to see what its like. :)
When I figure out and organize the pictures I have taken so far, I promise to upload them ASAP. Right now I'm gonna go make me some delicious dinner.
Let's get this going again. >.<
It's been such a long time since I've updated, though I do have some good reasons why I have been MIA. This last month has been crazy busy since our school has what are called Intensive classes every January and August. (This is because Korean kids are off from school during these months so they often sign up for extra classes at school so they can advance to a higher level much faster than usual).
The Intensives classes vary for each campus and we had about 8 or 9 different classes for this month. Depending on the class you taught, on an intensive class day you'd work from 8:30am (planning time 8:30-9:00am) to 8pm, with only one 2hr break for lunch and some more planning time - needless to say those days were exhausting. I had an intensive class day twice a week (Tues/Thurs) so it wasn't too tiring, and I actually really enjoyed my class. I taught a speech class, and I had about 7 students in all. Most of them were awesome - really sweet and hardworking, which made my job so much easier! Yesterday was the last class, so I had my students choose a country to research for homework and then make a poster and speech to present to the class. I'm a little sad that the class is finished, but I will be teaching 2 students from that class when I get my new schedule for September/October/November.
This coming week is the last few days of teaching for 4 teachers at our campus, and I will be sad to see them to go. It's kind of weird to go from seeing someone every weekday (and sometimes on the weekends) and then not seeing them again - sort of the same feeling I had when I first came here. We are getting 2 new full time teachers and 1 part time teacher, so hopefully the school will still run smoothly :)
I've also been joining Clara and Hyunjin and Heebeom at their UBF church in Sinchon, Seoul - and the people there are so amazing and welcoming! The service is all in Korean, but for the sermon they have a translator at the back that I can listen to as the preacher is speaking (both Clara and I use the translator). Tomorrow, I'm going to check out a church in Suwon (a lot closer, and it has English), just to see what its like. :)
When I figure out and organize the pictures I have taken so far, I promise to upload them ASAP. Right now I'm gonna go make me some delicious dinner.
July 3 2009
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hehehehehehehehehehe
so...............I know what you're thinking...
Jessica is the biggest flake on earth for not updating her blog earlier.
Yes, I admit that my being MIA makes me seem a little unreliable, but really I honestly have been so busy this past month that it's hard for me to sit down and write out what's been happening here every day or week.
I can't believe how quickly June went by; I guess my parents were right when they told my that time seems to go by so much faster with every year you grow older. I made it through some very nerve-wracking parent teacher interviews at the end of the month, and some open classes (parents of student come in for about 30 minutes to sit in and watch you teach - that's even worse than parent teacher interviews).
I really loved seeing Sarah and Carleigh for the last week in June; honestly it was something I was looking forward to for such a long time. Even though they seemed a little tired from their travels in Japan, still we tried to do a few things to give them a taste of Korean culture - museums, Korean BBQ, noraebang, and of course the wonders of soju. ;D My students really liked meeting them too; even though they were really quiet when they met them, they still ask me how they are doing!
And now we're into July - Happy Belated Canada Day! I actually made little decorations on my board and gave a quick explanation/history lesson about how old Canada is and when it was first created to all my classes that day. A true patriot :)
I'm getting ready for my intensives classes that I have to teach next month - that means that on top of my regular afternoon classes I have to teach twice a week from 9am to 12pm. The plus is that I will get paid overtime, but the obvious downside is that I'm going to be unbelievable exhausted each day and will have to catch up on marking on the weekends. However, I do get to decide my own schedule for my particular class (which is speaking class) so I can think of some creative ways for students to practice speaking and making speeches.
Ok, well that's it for now. I'm really going to try to do better with this and update on a regular basis. I love you all and miss you so so so much!
so...............I know what you're thinking...
Jessica is the biggest flake on earth for not updating her blog earlier.
Yes, I admit that my being MIA makes me seem a little unreliable, but really I honestly have been so busy this past month that it's hard for me to sit down and write out what's been happening here every day or week.
I can't believe how quickly June went by; I guess my parents were right when they told my that time seems to go by so much faster with every year you grow older. I made it through some very nerve-wracking parent teacher interviews at the end of the month, and some open classes (parents of student come in for about 30 minutes to sit in and watch you teach - that's even worse than parent teacher interviews).
I really loved seeing Sarah and Carleigh for the last week in June; honestly it was something I was looking forward to for such a long time. Even though they seemed a little tired from their travels in Japan, still we tried to do a few things to give them a taste of Korean culture - museums, Korean BBQ, noraebang, and of course the wonders of soju. ;D My students really liked meeting them too; even though they were really quiet when they met them, they still ask me how they are doing!
And now we're into July - Happy Belated Canada Day! I actually made little decorations on my board and gave a quick explanation/history lesson about how old Canada is and when it was first created to all my classes that day. A true patriot :)
I'm getting ready for my intensives classes that I have to teach next month - that means that on top of my regular afternoon classes I have to teach twice a week from 9am to 12pm. The plus is that I will get paid overtime, but the obvious downside is that I'm going to be unbelievable exhausted each day and will have to catch up on marking on the weekends. However, I do get to decide my own schedule for my particular class (which is speaking class) so I can think of some creative ways for students to practice speaking and making speeches.
Ok, well that's it for now. I'm really going to try to do better with this and update on a regular basis. I love you all and miss you so so so much!
May 22, 2009
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Hey,
This is just a quick post before class - I know, I have been totally MIA for the last couple of weeks. This week was a little rough, so I'm glad that its finally the weekend (well, almost)! Tonight I'm going to see the new Terminator movie with some other teachers (Dad, this one is for you and your fandom of the Sarah Connor Chronicles tv. show). Tomorrow I'm thinking of going into to Itaewon in Seoul to meet up with Jenn and visit the Korean War memorial. Jenn tells me t is one of the most unforgettable experiences to have while in Korea, so I'm really looking forward to it. Afterwards we're probably going to the 63rd building (Hannah, Clara - Yes, we are going because of My Girl hahaha) with another Korean friend of Jenn's - Jinsun. She's super sweet and she was the one that took us to see King Sejong's tomb a couple of weekends ago.
I'm really going to try to keep updating this blog - I don't want it to become another thing that I forget to do... PLease Leavce me some comments!! I like them a lot!!
This is just a quick post before class - I know, I have been totally MIA for the last couple of weeks. This week was a little rough, so I'm glad that its finally the weekend (well, almost)! Tonight I'm going to see the new Terminator movie with some other teachers (Dad, this one is for you and your fandom of the Sarah Connor Chronicles tv. show). Tomorrow I'm thinking of going into to Itaewon in Seoul to meet up with Jenn and visit the Korean War memorial. Jenn tells me t is one of the most unforgettable experiences to have while in Korea, so I'm really looking forward to it. Afterwards we're probably going to the 63rd building (Hannah, Clara - Yes, we are going because of My Girl hahaha) with another Korean friend of Jenn's - Jinsun. She's super sweet and she was the one that took us to see King Sejong's tomb a couple of weekends ago.
I'm really going to try to keep updating this blog - I don't want it to become another thing that I forget to do... PLease Leavce me some comments!! I like them a lot!!
May 5 2009
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Hey!
I just got back from a weekend trip to Japan with another friend from Canada, and I absolutely loved it! Amazingly, this trip was planned and organized only a couple of days before we flew out - we hadn't decided if we were even going to leave on Saturday morning until Thursday night! We only toured around Tokyo, but it is a huge city and I don't think we would have had time for anything else.
Our first day we arrived in Tokyo at around 11:00 and found a hostel/hotel to stay at in Ueno. That afternoon we spent walking around that district and explored the HUGE park just a 15-10 minute walk away from our hostel. The scenery there was gorgeous, lots of towering trees and lots of small and large Shinto shrines everywhere. We met an old man who had been writing some poetry and talked with him for a little bit, then wandered down to a market area to sample some Japanese noodles and CREPES mmmmmmmm. Later that night we took the subway to Ginza, after hearing that it was a popular place to go, but there wasn't really much to see except shopping.
P.S. - Japan = RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE FOR FOREIGNERS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
The next day (Sunday) we woke up bright and early and visited the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno Park - lots of pictures from there too - and then spent part of the afternoon in central tokyo to see the Imperial Palace gardens. When we were walking toward the gate for the gardens we were approached by 4 college girls who wanted to show us around and practice having English conversations. The gardens were beautiful too, and the girls were telling us what buildings used to be what, and we got their email addresses to write to them too! Then we traveled up to Shibuya terminal - Carleigh, I immediately thought of you and Jet Set Radio Future when we were walking around here (I tried to go to Dogenzaka Hill, but it was waaay on the other side of the district). In Shibuya and the area of Harajuku there was some good shopping there and interesting sights to see, like the nightlife character of Tokyo. To finish the day off, we headed back into central Tokyo to visit the Tokyo Tower, which looks like the Eiffel Tower (actually it stands taller) and take a 360 degree look at Tokyo city. Breathtaking.
Our last full day we went to the Ueno Zoo in the morning and since it was a holiday in Japan a lot of places were free, including this one. The only problem was that it was ridiculously crowded and after about an hour or so we were so annoyed with the crowds that we left. After that, Jenn wanted to visit Shinjuku because she had heard it was a great place to see, and we ended up going into this MASSIVE garden park and spending a good 2 hours there. Inside we were able to drink tea in a traditional tea house, which was delicious. I have a ton of pictures from the garden that will slowly make their way to this blog. After Shinjuku, we traveled to Ebisu and walked around there for a little while before heading to Odaiba (a waterfront area) where I could ride the giant ferris wheel. YES, I GOT RIDE MY GIANT FERRIS WHEEL! Below, there was a HUGE arcade room where Jenn and I played Mariocart racedriving, some game where you drive a bus (haha) and, of course, DDR. Good times :D
This morning was relatively slow paced compared to our last two days; we spent part of the morning shopping for some souvenirs in Ueno before heading to the airport to fly back to Korea. Our plane landed at about 4:00, but with the busing I didn't get home until 7pm, and now I am getting ready for the next week of teaching classes.
I realize that this is a very condensed retelling of my trip, but maybe you can hear more about it on skype!
I just got back from a weekend trip to Japan with another friend from Canada, and I absolutely loved it! Amazingly, this trip was planned and organized only a couple of days before we flew out - we hadn't decided if we were even going to leave on Saturday morning until Thursday night! We only toured around Tokyo, but it is a huge city and I don't think we would have had time for anything else.
Our first day we arrived in Tokyo at around 11:00 and found a hostel/hotel to stay at in Ueno. That afternoon we spent walking around that district and explored the HUGE park just a 15-10 minute walk away from our hostel. The scenery there was gorgeous, lots of towering trees and lots of small and large Shinto shrines everywhere. We met an old man who had been writing some poetry and talked with him for a little bit, then wandered down to a market area to sample some Japanese noodles and CREPES mmmmmmmm. Later that night we took the subway to Ginza, after hearing that it was a popular place to go, but there wasn't really much to see except shopping.
P.S. - Japan = RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE FOR FOREIGNERS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
The next day (Sunday) we woke up bright and early and visited the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno Park - lots of pictures from there too - and then spent part of the afternoon in central tokyo to see the Imperial Palace gardens. When we were walking toward the gate for the gardens we were approached by 4 college girls who wanted to show us around and practice having English conversations. The gardens were beautiful too, and the girls were telling us what buildings used to be what, and we got their email addresses to write to them too! Then we traveled up to Shibuya terminal - Carleigh, I immediately thought of you and Jet Set Radio Future when we were walking around here (I tried to go to Dogenzaka Hill, but it was waaay on the other side of the district). In Shibuya and the area of Harajuku there was some good shopping there and interesting sights to see, like the nightlife character of Tokyo. To finish the day off, we headed back into central Tokyo to visit the Tokyo Tower, which looks like the Eiffel Tower (actually it stands taller) and take a 360 degree look at Tokyo city. Breathtaking.
Our last full day we went to the Ueno Zoo in the morning and since it was a holiday in Japan a lot of places were free, including this one. The only problem was that it was ridiculously crowded and after about an hour or so we were so annoyed with the crowds that we left. After that, Jenn wanted to visit Shinjuku because she had heard it was a great place to see, and we ended up going into this MASSIVE garden park and spending a good 2 hours there. Inside we were able to drink tea in a traditional tea house, which was delicious. I have a ton of pictures from the garden that will slowly make their way to this blog. After Shinjuku, we traveled to Ebisu and walked around there for a little while before heading to Odaiba (a waterfront area) where I could ride the giant ferris wheel. YES, I GOT RIDE MY GIANT FERRIS WHEEL! Below, there was a HUGE arcade room where Jenn and I played Mariocart racedriving, some game where you drive a bus (haha) and, of course, DDR. Good times :D
This morning was relatively slow paced compared to our last two days; we spent part of the morning shopping for some souvenirs in Ueno before heading to the airport to fly back to Korea. Our plane landed at about 4:00, but with the busing I didn't get home until 7pm, and now I am getting ready for the next week of teaching classes.
I realize that this is a very condensed retelling of my trip, but maybe you can hear more about it on skype!
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