Inspiring

My bff Chrissy lent me the book Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coehlo a couple weeks ago.  I'm not very far yet, but I really liked the following quotation from it.  I think it really sums up my life right now:

"Up until then, travel and the idea of going far away had just been a dream, and dreaming is very pleasant as long as you are not forced to put your dreams into practice.  That way, we avoid all the risks, frustrations and difficulties, and when we are old, we can always blame other people--preferably our parents, our spouses or our children--for our failure to realize our dreams."

I think it can be applied to any sort of dream, not just travel, that anyone is considering but is too afraid to pursue.  Anyway, I just really liked it and I thought I'd share.

What shell I do?

There is a great little holiday here in Korea that was celebrated last Friday.  That holiday is Teacher's Day.  Now if I remember correctly, there may be a teacher appreciation day or week or something in the U.S.  But I know it definitely does not compare to Teacher's Day.  Korean students spoil their teachers with bouquets of flowers, candy, gifts, etc.  I received some candy from students and a corsage.  My favorite gifts were the cards that some of my students made for me.  Allow me to share a few of their (unedited) messages.  Please keep in mind that writing in English is definitely not their strong suit.  In fact, the students' English vocabulary is amazing, and they know more English grammar than most U.S. students, but unfortunately their speaking and writing is sub-par because they are not tested on it.  So here are a few of my favorites:

"Hi!  My name is Kim Dong Woo.  How are you?  You are so beautiful.  Thanks you.  Say good bye.  Kim Dong Woo."

"Hi?  My name is Yang Min Gu.  I am hate English because English is very difficult.  What shell I do?"

And this one is my favorite because he is the only boy who shows up for my conversation club on Friday afternoons...

"Hello Anna Teacher.  My name is Kim Dong Yeoun.  Every Friday I was taught by you.  I was nervous when the first class, but now I'm possible to talking a few in English.  I gratitude to you although this centence something wrong I want talk "thank you" to Anna Teacher."

I don't want to be a Debbie Downer

Alright, time to be honest with you dear readers.  I didn't post for awhile, because for most of April I was feeling a bit negative about Korea and the whole teaching experience here.  And I didn't want to spread my negativity to others.  As I've always been told, "if you don't have anything nice to blog, don't blog anything at all."  I think that's how it goes.    I was rather homesick through most of April.  I'm not exactly sure why.  I think most of it stemmed from the fact that I was not getting along with Peter (my co-teacher) at all.  In fact I'm still not entirely getting along with him, but I basically just ignore him now.  He is a rather despicable person, and it's taken me awhile to realize this.  For the longest time I thought he was what all older Korean men are like.  But from talking more with my other co-teachers, he is a really difficult person to work with.  I'm glad it's not just me.  Anyway, I'm over my homesickness now.  I will be very excited to go home when the time comes, but for now I'm happy to still be experiencing what I'm experiencing.  I'm trying to focus on the positive.  And there's plenty to be positive about.    Allow me to list some good things about my life in Korea: The amazing ex-pat friends I've made here; Korean food that is veg friendly; the abundance of tofu; my co-teacher Woo Yeong (Sharon); my students; the technology at my school; ample mountains for hiking; shoe stores; Korean fashion; kimchi; my nice vice principal; the weather we're currently having; the hospitality of most Koreans; cute Korean children; going out for drinks with Koreans; knowing that I am missed at home; the travel opportunities coming up; spicy Korean food; Korean dramas; the parents in my parents class; the one student who shows up for my conversation class; students who tell me things like, "your eyes are the color of the sky"; having time to read for fun; hearing random English phrases from Koreans that we would never actually say; public transportation; a small apartment which means I have less to clean; soju and juice mixes; cheap food and drinks; pachingae (Korean pancakes); and most importantly, the friends I've made here.

English Zone

I received my laptop charger a couple weeks ago but for some reason still have not blogged.  For that I apologize.  Here's a video of my new office and the new English Zone at my school.  I grouped the two videos together, with the English Zone as the second part of the video.  It is a pretty sweet classroom if I do say so myself.  However, after using it for only a month so far, I can already see some wear and tear to my precious classroom.  I think this is mainly because my school sat around since October not doing anything to the English Zone then about two weeks before it was supposed to open, they put everything together.  I think they'll probably be re-doing the English Zone every other year or so, which is kind of a waste, but as I've come to     realize, is definitely the Korean way.




Anna Rickert MN