Destination Dubai

Being without internet sucks!

2011-08-17T10:54:00.000-05:00

So, I have arrived safely. Much of the past 5 days has been spent getting myself set up in my apartment and finding my way around. What is really nice is that orientation ends at 1pm each day so we have plenty of time to get situated. There is a huge mall that is only a ten minute walk away from my apartment. It has everything (well, almost everything) that I would find in the states.

The only problem now is that I don't have internet access in my apartment and can't get it until I get my residency visa. That depends on the US Dept of State so I am not holding my breath. My roommate should get her visa before me in a couple of weeks, but until we can get internet in our apartment I have to walk over to the mall and sit in a cafe. In addition to that I have to wait until after 7pm because of Ramadan. The Muslims fast during daylight hours and cannot eat or drink until after 7pm each night so all restaurants and cafes are closed until then.

Last night we took a cruise on an old type of boat called a dhow that the Arabs used for trading back in the day. It was fun except when we were standing on the open air deck it was still really hot. I'm told the weather will start getting cooler in the next couple of months as we enter "winter" here in Dubai. Nonetheless it was a neat experience and I will post pictures on Facebook in the next day or so.

Tomorrow night we are going out for Thai food for an end of the week celebration. It's hard to believe that I was still in the states a week ago at this time. I was probably getting ready to have lunch and wait for the Young and the Restless to start. It's crazy how things can change so quickly.

Two Days to Go

2011-08-09T08:28:00.000-05:00

After a wonderful summer spent with family in friends in the US I am getting ready to head off to my next destination in Dubai, UAE. I am feeling anxious right which is typical for me when I am about to travel. While I have never missed a flight in my life due to my own fault for some reason I always worry that something will happen that will cause me to be late. But my anxiety is totally unfounded. My new school has made this transition totally brainless. I had my ticket more than a month ago and just received an email last week with my visa and details on where I will be greeted at the airport. I know where I am going to be living and have been in touch with my roommate already. This school has already blown away my last school in Vietnam as far as creating a comfortable atmosphere and taking the stress out of traveling to a foreign country. All I need to do is get on a plane. I don't think that should be a problem.

Just What the Doctor Ordered

2011-06-18T07:17:00.003-05:00

I've been home for less than a week and I already feel healthier and happier than I have in a long time. I underestimated what a mental toll being in a foreign culture had taken on me. After the jet lag wore off I was able to get outside in the fresh air and ride a bike for the first time since I was in Bali. Today I am will soon be on my way to see more family for the weekend.

Ah yes...this is going to be a great summer!!

Home!

2011-06-15T13:30:00.003-05:00

I've been home for three days and think the jet lag might be easing up a bit. It is sooooooo good to be home. This summer is going to be a time to relax and regroup before heading off to Dubai in August. I plan on spending a lot of time reading, doing yoga and cleaning out the crap I left in my sister's basement! I know it doesn't sound exciting but being home and doing normal stuff is the best medicine for me right now. I already feel healthier all over just by being home and close to family.

Seven More Days

2011-06-04T22:08:00.002-05:00

Can I really last that long? If I was busy with having to grade finals or cleaning out my classroom or having something of value to do I think this week would be a blur. But by 1pm on Friday of last week everything I needed to do to wrap up the year was completed. Due to terrible scheduling we are left with a week with nothing to do. Our principal feels the need to fill the time by scheduling short events in the middle of the day which forces us to have to come to school. Monday we have a teacher lunch, Tuesday we have graduation practice. Do I really need to practice walking down an aisle?? Then on Wednesday we have the kids back in school, for what reason I have no idea. Thursday she tried to schedule a MANDATORY field trip that the kids had to pay for. She was upset when only seven kids paid their deposit by the deadline. So, it was canceled. Big surprise.

I would like to say that I am able to pass the time by spending it with friends that I have made here, but unfortunately many have turned out to be quite lame. I truly cannot wait to get out of here.

One Last Hurdle

2011-06-02T19:18:00.002-05:00

One week to go. Finals are almost finished. I will have all my grades in by this afternoon. But grades are not the last hurdle. This school shows every sign of going bankrupt. The latest obvious indicator was that half of the teachers at our school have yet to be paid for the month of May. I was one of the lucky ones. Rumors have been swirling since last month that the owners are out of money and investors and are looking to sell the school. I think I am getting out just in time...hopefully. My main concern is that I get the money that the school owes me by the time I leave on June 12. However, due to the fact that they can't make payroll for an ordinary month I am not all that confident it will happen. There is nothing I can do about it but hope. No amount of yelling or pleading will make the owners come up with the money for payroll. I have no idea how I survived for three years at this shit show. There is always something that I have had to worry about...like getting paid...that has been a distraction to what I was actually hired to do. This school is an example of how NOT to start a business. I can't believe the owners actually have other businesses up and running. But, I have to remember that in a little over a week I will be on a plane, heading out of here regardless.

And that, makes me smile. :)

Doing Time

2011-05-29T20:54:00.002-05:00

I would like to be ending my tour of duty in Asia on a strong positive shout out, but in reality it is a weak negative whimper. I am finished, done, kaput, defeated. I have met the enemy and I am theirs. I admit defeat. This place has beaten me mentally, physically, sexually and socially. My self esteem is at an all time low. Being tall, white and female in Asia at first was an interesting challenge. It quickly turned into a disability. But worse than that there is no peace of mind in this country. I have yet to find a place where I am able to relax, whether it be at home or on vacation, without having the silence interrupted by a jackhammer, drill, or screaming children. I am dreaming of a place where I can hear myself think.

Having said all that, I have definitely had good times here in Asia. I have met some incredible people, seen some amazing sights and got to experience a culture by living in the middle of it. Not many people can say that they have done that. I will miss my colleagues, students and friends I have made here.

However, I will not miss the daily struggle to complete the simplest task, the powerlessness to communicate and the inability to go to just one store to get what I need. I will also not miss the rampant incompetence that is accepted here. People aren't taught to think outside the box and critical thinking skills do not exist. If nothing else, living in Asia has made me appreciate being born in the United States, even with all its flaws, and to never take it for granted.

When I get home on June 12 I might just get on my knees and kiss the ground.

A sign that the apocalypse is upon us...

2010-08-24T09:39:00.003-05:00

No, you're not seeing things. This is a Carl's Jr. in a mall that just opened a few months ago right in the heart of HCMC. Take THAT, McDonalds...

Off to a Better Start

2010-08-21T20:44:00.003-05:00

I hate to say that things are getting better at my school because every time I do something inevitably goes wrong. The year did start off on a bad note when I found out a good friend and teacher at my school was let go a week before school started. Details are hazy, but due to the track record of this school I am sure she was not treated fairly. The kids loved her and she was a good teacher.

However, I am cautiously optimistic. The first week has been completed. There was less confusion, fewer students switching classes, more organization in respect to bell schedule, etc., than last year at this time. My classes are AP US History, US History and Study Skills/Current Events. Two of those classes are brand new to me (AP and SS/CE) so I have to do a lot of prep work to do to get the classes running smoothly.

I have decided to tutor 6 hours a week, compared to the 10 I was doing last year. Tutoring took up so much of my free time last year but I just couldn't say no...it is such easy money. However, this year I know that I am going to need the free time, at least some of it for planning my new classes.

But balance is my goal this year so speaking of free time I have also decided to start taking yoga classes. I went to a hot yoga class yesterday with 3 other friends. It was amazing in the fact that you really do work every muscle of your body without the use of weights. After the class I felt good, but I was shaky and I knew that I would be sore the next day. Today I feel like someone beat me up!! I think a massage is in order this afternoon :)

Less Than a Month

2010-05-14T21:53:00.002-05:00

School is out on June 10! I will be heading to Germany on June 13 to spend a few weeks catching up with my friend Sascha. Then I will be off to Chicago to spend a few days spoiling my niece Kate! :)

Since I last wrote I have been to Cambodia once, Thailand twice and participated in a Vietnamese wedding. Pictures are on my badge so you can just click on them there. The internet here is very unstable and slow so I apologize for not having posted very often. I hope to get better once school is out.

The Latest

2010-01-31T05:56:00.002-06:00

A new year has begun and along with that new year we have a new principal at AIS. Although the jury is still out, the new sheriff in town is not making many friends with her heavy handed approach. She began well by saying all the right things, but has done the opposite by dictating orders from the top down. We went from one extreme to the other. Why in the world can't we get someone in the middle???

Another item that is increasing my irritation meter is that I now have to deal with a one month single entry visa since I don't have my work permit yet. Oh, the joys of living in a country with a corrupt government who finally decide to put some laws in place. So, I guess I will be taking monthly trips to Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore or Malaysia until I can get this worked out...as if having a full time job weren't time consuming enough.

Each day continues to be a roller coaster ride about whether or not I want to put up with this. Every time I think I am set to stick out my contract something happens that makes me want to leave.

I need to start working on the book I want to write to keep my mind off the strangeness of this country and my school. I need motivation!!!

I'll end on a positive note. I am coaching the girls basketball team at AIS. This wasn't something I really chose to do, but was kind of coerced into it. I couldn't say no to the girls who asked me. Anyway, we have no facilities to practice and just got our uniforms the third game into the season. We lost the first two games 23-4 and 43-0...yeah you read that right. Anyway, we won on Thursday night 8-6!! We finally came across a team worse than us. Anyway, the girls were really excited and it was fun to see them that happy. Wish us luck for this week...we play International School of Ho Chi Minh City.

Shutdown Mode

2009-12-15T21:21:00.002-06:00

With just three days to go until our two week break I have officially shut down. I have run out of energy to think of ways to motivate my exhausted students. I am exhausted myself. This is what happens when you start the school year on August 24 and then schedule only two days off until December 21. Most schools have a fall break but the brain-trust of this wonderful school decided that wasn't necessary in our case.

There has been a lot of drama in the first half of the year. The major piece of news is that our principal was demoted, thankfully. However, his demotion has not been announced to students or parents and he has been given the freedom to play the part until the end of the semester (I am guessing). We have seen a few principal candidates touring the school, but no announcement on a replacement has been announced. On hearing the news that he was demoted a few weeks ago I thought that our school had turned a corner. However, a disturbing turn of events yesterday has left me as confused as ever.

Yesterday a colleague was fired. Now, although I am not excited about his dismissal I understand that there were some solid reasons why he was let go. However, the fact that our former principal was the one who fired him leaves me as confused as ever. The director of our school has assumed the responsibility as head of school and was at the meeting where the teacher was fired, but she said nothing. Why the man who was demoted as principal still has the power to fire teachers is beyond me. It is clearly time for a break and some time away from this sometimes ridiculous school/city/continent.

I also tried to do a nice thing and take over as the girls basketball coach when another teacher left the school. However, I was informed a few days ago that we no longer have access to the practice courts we had been using because the Vietnamese government just decided on a whim that they have been booked 24/7 for the next three months. It doesn't matter that when I drive by them on my way to and from school that there is no one using them. Things like this really make me question my own sanity when I signed up to teach here. What the hell was I thinking???

Anyway, the break cannot come soon enough. My US history students are watching The Alamo which is actually related to the time period we are covering. But, come tomorrow, A Christmas Story will be playing. I can't wait to open my student's eyes to the wonders of electric sex, Red Rider bb-guns and sticking tongues to flagpoles.

Hope all of you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! :)

New Hangout

2009-10-25T01:31:00.002-05:00

I may have found my new hangout for a lazy day in HCMC. I am sitting in a wonderfully over sized, comfortable chair in Highlands Coffee on the corner of De Tham and Pham Ngu Lao. It's big windows give me a clear view of the crazy activity outside (xe oms (motorbikes), taxis and pedestrians all trying to create space for themselves) but I am happily on the inside so I don't have to deal with the noise, pollution and constant attention from the peddlers trying to sell me something. The only problem is that it may be too full of tourists for my taste. But for now it's good.

What have I been doing lately?? Of course that is the first question that has OBVIOUSLY come to your mind...haha. My days and weeks consist of the same. During the school day I work a crazy schedule then try to decipher vague and cryptic emails for my principal in my free time. After school I tutor three Korean kids for an additional 12 hours a week. I am considering reducing my tutoring hours at mid year. I think one of my students might be heading back to Korea at Christmas break, so that might take care of some reduction in hours right there. The other two kids are cute too and I spend the majority of my time with them. The little girl is obsessed with appearance and I feel her eyes studying my earrings, my dress, my hair...but it doesn't annoy me because it is all due to curiosity. One thing is very clear...she WILL be a Korean princess with some boy carrying her purse on the subway when she is old enough to date.

Other news? Hmmm...looks like the director of our school is becoming more tuned in to the fact that our principal is a disaster. As a matter of fact I have heard from reliable sources that his job will be posted for next year. So, I think if I can live through this year things will be looking up in the future.

Oh yes, I will be going on weekend trips to Long Hai and Hoi An in Vietnam and then traveling to Malaysia over Thanksgiving break in about a month to see my roommate from last year who now lives in Kuala Lumpur. I am also trying to plan a trip to Cambodia and Thailand in February over Tet (lunar new year). Christmas is still up in the air, but the latest rumors are Laos or Philippines.

So, that's it for now. It has been a busy, but really kind of boring three months (except for a couple trips to Mui Ne). Hope to have more interesting things to post in the near future. I hope everyone has a Happy Halloween!! I can't believe that the holiday season is already here!! Take care everyone!

One Month Later

2009-09-24T10:36:00.003-05:00

This year has a totally different feel to it. I came in with expectations this year which was different from last year when I had no idea what to expect. The administration and principal continue to amaze me with their poor decisions and direction. The work permit issue keeps rearing its ugly head with no resolution in sight. My plan is to do nothing and if I am asked to leave the country because I have no work permit, then so be it. I don't have the time to decipher the cryptic and vague instruction from our "Human" Resources manager.

Although it is early in the year I feel the writing is on the wall for me to pursue other options. I plan on attending the regional job fair in Bangkok in January as well as try to apply to schools at home. I really do hate to have to leave this school and the friends I have made under such circumstances, but I cannot stay in a school where the administration and principal lie to teachers, students and parents on a daily basis. One of the reasons I came back to this school was because of the attachment I had developed toward my 11th graders last year. As of yesterday, at least six of them have left the school because of the administration and principal. At least another ten or so didn't bother coming back after last year. Sixteen students out of 38 is a pretty significant number.

Wish me luck and if anyone still reads this and knows of a high school history job opening please let me know :)

Back in 'nam

2009-08-23T07:14:00.002-05:00

Well, I have been back in HCMC for a week now and it feels like I never left. I remember getting here last year and having no idea what I was in for. This year is so much different because I felt comfortable getting off the plane and knew where I was, knew where I was staying (at least temporarily) and knew my way around the city. It took me at least 3 months to figure out my way around to different places and to feel comfortable in a taxi.

Now, having said that, things that I had hoped would have changed between last June and now have not. Namely, our principal is still here and is still on a mission to get the school certified while avoiding, or should I say ignoring, all other issues in the school. He is single minded in purpose and his goals don't have a lot to do with students or teachers. His long term goal of having the school become certified is admirable and will help students down the line, but it is almost as if he is so focused on that goal that the needs of his current staff and student body don't matter. I am one of the lucky ones...I don't have a lot of interaction with him and make myself invisible so as not to attract too much attention to myself. We have a couple of teachers, however, that are trying to make waves and complain about certain issues. Those teachers are being handled with an iron fist. While I admire them for attempting to make a difference at this school I fear they are only wasting their time and making a bad name for themselves at the same time.

Enough of the negative...tomorrow is the first day of school and I am excited to see the kids. More after the year gets going...

Feels Like Home

2009-06-17T13:35:00.004-05:00

I am very glad to be in the USA for the summer. In many ways it feels like I never left. I arrived in Chicago the morning of the 13th and after cruising through passport control and customs the highlight of my weekend was meeting my niece Kate for the first time.

Here she is with her mom picking me up at the airport. Oh, I'm Pig, by the way. I did have jet lag but I don't think it was as bad as I thought it would be. After sleeping a couple of hours at my sister's house I woke up to a dinner of meatloaf and potatoes...I was in heaven!! Western food is something that I missed very much while in Asia. You can get it, but it just isn't made the same.

On Sunday Cheryl, Barak Kate and I were intending to go to an antique flea market, however there was a dog show there and so we went to a park instead. It was a really nice day and it felt good to be in fresh air and such green surroundings. Later in the day Cheryl drove me to Cliff's apartment where I am staying while I complete my masters at DePaul. He had a little surprise for me...he had planned a little gathering at Justin's beer garden and I had a good time catching up with friends I hadn't seen for a while.

On Monday I was still not on Chicago time and woke up at 5am. That morning I got a gym membership, was overstimulated at Jewel, went to Office Depot and took care of my McDonald's Bacon Egg and Cheese craving. Then I walked to DePaul and got my books for my class that started later that afternoon. I did all of this and was back to my apartment by about 9:30am.

Today is the first day (Wednesday) that I feel relatively normal. I am looking forward to being finished with class tonight because then I can just coast right into the weekend. It should be a fun one too. I plan on seeing friends from high school on Saturday and then a family cookout on Sunday, so I should have more pictures to upload to flickr. Speaking of uploading pictures, that is my next task. Check out my flickr badge to the right for the most recent additions!!

Can't Wait

2009-06-09T19:15:00.002-05:00

After about 5 attempts at uploading pictures to Flickr and my blog I have given up. So, sorry for the lack of pictures. I'll keep trying before I leave, but I can't promise anything. I can't wait to be back in a country where it doesn't take 5 minutes to load a web page or upload a picture!!

Since the middle of last week my workload has greatly decreased. We started finals last Thursday and they were finished yesterday. I also stopped tutoring for the year as of last Friday. It is Wednesday morning and I really have nothing left to do except get on a plane and head home.

And, because I have had time to actually think I started reflecting on the year. And, if I do say so myself, I think the teaching staff at this school did one hell of a job with basically no direction from the principal. Without getting into a long story, he is more interested in pleasing the Vietnamese staff than he is with getting to know his teaching staff and student body. Case in point...I am quite sure he did not know my name until two months ago. When we got here we had no resources, no textbooks and our library was a joke. There were no video or audio resources available...however, I have found that YouTube is absolutely invaluable! I found so much there that I could use in my classes.

As far as the social scene is concerned...I have to say that the expat scene here is quite different than that is Seoul. Here there are more foreigners here on short business trips than teachers. HCMC is growing and there are English schools popping up all over the place, so the need for English teachers and that aspect of the expat scene will increase. I just saw on a National Geographic show last night where Vietnam has the 5th fastest growing economy in Asia. Construction is constant and there are cranes everywhere you look. But, there are still so many poor people here. I think the average monthly salary is about $75-$100. No wonder they look at foreigners and think that we are rich. I had money stolen from me last month...I am quite sure it was one of the cleaning staff. One of the other teachers and I kind of joked that we hoped she used it to send her son to a better school or a year's worth of clothes or something.

This year is ending on a positive note for me. I do not regret that I decided to come here. I have met some great people...some have left already or are moving on to new opportunities after the school year is over. But I am lucky that except for my fantastic roommate, most of my closest friends are coming back next year. And, since I had 11th grade this year I wanted to come back and see them graduate next year. There are a lot of great kids in that class. So, I have had a lot of wonderful memories and some GREAT stories to share when I get home. I hope to see as many people as possible when I am home for the summer. Until then I am signing off from
Vietnam...see you in the States!!!

Time For an Update?

2009-03-24T06:01:00.002-05:00

Yeah, I know...I have been really awful about updating my blog lately, which is entirely my fault. But, the unfortunate truth of the matter is that I haven't had anything real interesting to tell you all about in the last month or so. I added an additional 13 hours a week to my workload by picking up extra tutoring hours. The money is good, but it doesn't leave time for much else. Besides that, we haven't had a break since the Tet holiday back in January and since I have had no time off to do anything fun I figured might as well tutor, right?

I also regret to have to tell you that my camera is still broken and I haven't even attempted to get it fixed yet. There are so many places I could take it, but taking it and having them understand what is wrong with it are two entirely different matters. Bottom line is I need more Vietnamese friends to help me get things done.

Lately I would have to say that not being able to be understood has been one of my biggest frustrations. In the past 2 weeks I have had to explain that I needed an air conditioner fixed, there was a problem with the internet and the electricity was shut off (even though we paid the bill). Now, many of you may not know this, but March is the hottest month of the year in Vietnam...and when you live on the 12th floor that fact is magnified, well, at least 12 times over! And, I was the one who had to deal with all of these problems as my roommates were conveniently not home when each of these issues occurred. Learning Vietnamese is very difficult because of all of the different tones and accent marks each word has. I started taking lessons shortly before Christmas, but it was in a group setting with a bunch of other teachers. Some of them were not taking it seriously and were very distracting to those of us that were. I decided that if I was to learn Vietnamese it would have to be with a tutor one on one. It is not expensive, however, for me, at least, I haven't done so due to lack of time.

Ok, enough for now. My 8 year old student, Starfire (yeah, I said Starfire), is getting a little ancy.

Until next time!!!

Decision Made!

2009-02-22T20:26:00.002-06:00

I think the last entry I wrote had my decision whether or not to come back to Vietnam up in the air. It is no longer up in the air...I have signed an offer for two more years at this school. I am pretty happy about my decision. In the last couple of months I have started to develop a bond with some of the students here and I would hate to leave after only one year. And, there are plans on the table for a brand new K-12 campus to be built just south of one of the nicer areas of Ho Chi Minh City. So, I think improvements to the school are in progress.

In other news, many of you know that I submitted an essay to NPR's This I Believe program. Unfortunately it was not chosen to be broadcast over the radio but my essay is part of the database and can be found online. If you want to read it, go to This I Believe click on "Advanced Essay Search" and type Honigford in the last name field. This should bring up my essay.

And last but NOT least...I bought my plane ticket to come home this summer. I will fly into Chicago on June 13. I am really excited to see my family and friends!!! These next four months are going to fly by!

Tet Holiday

2009-02-05T18:08:00.003-06:00

In Vietnam and most countries in Asia, there is an annual Lunar New Year celebration. In Vietnam it is called Tet. I spent a week at Nha Trang with a friend I worked with in Seoul. It was a really fun, relaxing week and we had a great time catching up. Unfortunately, she had her camera, money and watch stolen on a rather festive (or rather, drunk) evening at the Sailing Club. The thieves are stealth. They will walk up to you and act as if they are practicing their English or want to touch your hair or sell you something and in the meantime their accomplice has his hands in your bag stealing all your valuables. You have no idea it is happening. The amazing thing was that they stole her money without taking her wallet and stole the watch right off her wrist! She didn't realize it until the next day that she had been robbed. As the week went on we met as many as 3 other people who had things stolen that week. Luckily I was not one of them!

So, it is getting down to crunch time regarding plans for next year. I received a contract offer for two years from AIS and I am meeting with the HR Director and our Prinicipal regarding it today. I am 99.9% sure I will be signing for the next couple of years barring some unexpected circumstance. Even though I plan on being back here I have my eyes open for any and all opportunities on the horizon. I plan on attending a job fair in Chicago when I am home over the summer and at least one of the regional international job fairs here next school year. At least three people I know got really good jobs at the job fair, but I didn't go because I felt that I just didn't have enough experience under my belt to beat out some of the other teachers who would be there. This summer I am going to get my M. Ed. and regroup for another year or two in Asia. Since I have been here I have felt unorganized. When I decided to work in Seoul it was only going to be for a year. I didn't anticipate spending a year in Vietnam as well. I think a summer at home to get my thoughts together is going to be a good refresher for me.

So, that's it. Sorry no pictures this time :( I still have to get my camera fixed.

Decisions...decisions...

2009-01-19T06:32:00.003-06:00

Over the long two weeks I was off at Christmas and the New Year I had a lot of time to think about what I was going to do come next year. I was really down because I wanted to be home with my family. Two Christmases away from home can really be hard to take. I kept myself somewhat busy by tutoring a cute 8 year old Vietnamese girl (English name is Starfire...yeah, I don't get it either) and kitten sitting for a teacher friend of mine who had gone back to the States for the holidays.

I sent out my resume to all international schools that I knew had history or social studies openings and got a couple of reply e-mails. But none of the places really interested me. So, after thinking about it a little longer I have pretty much decided to come back to this school for another year. Most international or domestic schools, for that matter, won't even look at your resume if you have less than two years experience. This summer I will come home and take the final two classes I need for my masters which will make me more marketable, particularly internationally. So, after having decided that and with school back after the holidays I have been feeling a lot better that I have somewhat of a plan. It's just nice to look forward to June and know that I will be able to see family and friends again.

I am headed to Nha Trang this weekend and the following week for Tet Holiday (Chinese New Year) with a good friend I made in Seoul. We should have a blast. I hope to have some good pictures to show you all...that is, if I get my camera back from being fixed in time.

Anyway...hope everyone who is still reading this is well. See ya soon!

Holiday Malaise

2008-12-27T03:03:00.002-06:00

If there is any time of year that makes me wonder what I am doing a half world away from my family and friends, it is the Christmas and New Year holidays. So, needless to say, I am suffering through the holiday malaise here in HCMC wishing I was back in the states. So, while I get over my holiday blues why don't you enjoy some of the pictures I have included of the AIS Winter Dance?

Amy and Kenny

Felix and his date

Santa Alex

Christmas tree in the lobby

Alison, Alice and me in front of the Christmas tree

Happy Belated Thanksgiving Everyone!!

2008-12-01T06:35:00.002-06:00

Many apologies for being away so long. I have updated my flickr badge with new pics so check them out.

The past couple of weeks have been busy as usual. Since I last checked in I went to the Reunification Palace here in Ho Chi Minh City, celebrated Halloween with my kids at school, celebrated Obama's win on election night, went to a "mountain" called Buu Long Mountain, celebrated Thanksgiving with some fellow teachers and went to the beach this past weekend.

The Reunification Palace was pretty cool. It was where the South Vietnamese government was stationed before they were overrun in April 1975. Much of it is the same as it was the day the communists took over.

We had a room decorating contest at our school for Halloween. The kids really got into it but unfortunately my camera's battery died before I had a chance to take any pictures of the finished product. I did manage to get some of the girls in their costumes as well as one of my 11th graders. I am not quite sure what he is supposed to be...

As a special treat I was lucky enough to get to take some of my US History students to watch the results of the election as it happened. The US Consulate here in HCMC extended an invitation to our school and the students really got into it. I was able to explain to them the whole electoral college thing, which was a bit difficult for them to understand. But, when they saw it in action they understood. Obama's acceptance speech at the end of the night was truly inspiring. I just hope he can make the changes that the US so desperately needs.

A few weeks ago we got an unexpected day off on a random Tuesday. An e-mail came out from our principal late on the afternoon of Monday, November 10th that Typhoon Noul was expected to make landfall and hit HCMC full force by 9pm. There has never been a typhoon in HCMC and the prospect of one hitting the city is terrifying. The city just does not have the infrastructure to support the kind of damage that a typhoon would unleash. I imagine if the storm had hit we would have been off for a couple of weeks if not longer. Anyway, the good news is that the storm completely missed the city and we ended up having a beautiful day. So, my roommate Matt and I took his motorbike in search of Buu Long Mountain. It isn't really a mountain but a big rock that sticks out of the earth. So, we drove about an hour and a half to get there, took about five minutes to climb it, took a few pictures and left. We tried to find a waterfall that was supposed to be around the same area, but we never could find that. Boy, was my butt sore from riding on that bike!! I guess you get used to it, but ouch!!

On Thanksgiving I got together with Alison, Van, Alice, Chris, Kathryn, and Raedel and her sons Drew and AJ. We ordered turkey with all the trimmings and it was absolutely delicious. We all had too much wine and too much food, but it was a wonderful time even though I wish I had been able to be home. Christmas might be a different story as most teachers are heading out of town, but I just don't think I will be able to afford to go anywhere then. C'est la vie.

But, I did go to the beach at Mui Ne last weekend. The bummer was that it was cloudy for four straight days!! That was the first time since I have been in Vietnam that it was cloudy for more than a day at a time. I feel like I got cheated because the whole reason I went was to get some sun! But, since the beach is only a 5 hour bus ride it is doable on another weekend. Maybe I will try it again in another couple of weeks.

Hope all is well with everyone who still checks in to read this thing. Have a safe and happy holiday season!! :)

Mekong Delta

2008-10-29T10:03:00.002-05:00

On Sunday my roommates, Matt and Jen and another teacher went on a day trip to the Mekong Delta. It was only about a two hour bus ride there. It was amazing to see how people live right on the water there. They literally will have a house on stilts about 100 feet off the shore. We took a boat trip, walked through the jungle a bit and had some tropical fruit, then had some honey tea while listening to traditional Vietamese music. After that took a row boat ride down a narrow canal and then had lunch. After that we visited a place where they make coconut candy. I am not normally a big fan of coconut, but this stuff was delicious! Oh, and did I mention that we did all of this wearing conical hats? We couldn't resist. Check out my pictures by clicking on the flickr badge.

Oh yeah...I have a new roommate. His name is Matt. Unfortuantely my other roommate Cynthia had to go back to the States unexpectedly and it worked out that Matt was looking for a place at the same time we were looking for a roommate.

Cao Dai Temple/Cu Chi Tunnels

2008-10-15T08:36:00.002-05:00

Even though work has been crazy I have managed to get out the past couple of weekends. A week and a half ago a friend and I went to Cao Dai Temple in Tay Ninh province. The best way to describe it is that it is a mixture of Eastern and Westerns religions including Catholicism and Buddhism. I thought that was kind of neat until I saw that amongst their "saints" was Victor Hugo, the French poet and author. But I guess to each his own. We stayed for part of the service which was interesting but I had no idea what was going on. You can check out the pictures I took by clicking on my flickr badge.

After we left the temple we went to the Cu Chi tunnels. The Viet Cong (supporters of Ho Chi Minh in south Vietnam) lived in these tunnels and made it hell for the American troops. The war was lost by the US mainly because they could not find a way to destroy the extensive tunnel network. One of the tunnels has been widened to twice its original size so that Western tourists could get through. I went through and felt claustrophobic. I can't imagine that they could have been any smaller. Some of the VC lived in those tunnels for years. I just finished a book called The Tunnels of Cu Chi by Tom Mangold and John Pennycate. I highly recommend it. It is fascinating reading.

This past weekend I went with some other friends who have their own car on a day trip through the Vietamese countryside. It was really fun because we stopped at some places off the beaten path that a tourist would never get to. And, we had a Vietnamese with us which made it even better because he could tell us all about the places we were going and good places to stop for pictures and good food. We had lunch and just drove around. After a while we decided that since we were so close to the Cambodian border we would see what was over there. But, we found out that the only thing close was a casino. Phnom Penh was 75 kilometers away and it was late in the afternoon, so we decided to save our day trip to Cambodia for another day.

Oh yeah, been meaning to include this link to American International School's website. I'm famous!! Check it out :)

The Latest

2008-09-23T09:31:00.003-05:00

The past couple of weeks have gone by in a blur, but I feel like I have been here longer than a month. It was exactly a month ago today that I got here and it has been a whirlwind. Last week was pretty rough and I had to ask myself what I had been thinking to come to a foreign country and a new school to experience my first year of teaching. I must have been crazy! It can be frustrating at times not only trying to communicate with the Vietnamese staff, but the cultural things as well that get in the way of being able to do my job. They lock every door in the school and refuse to give us keys. I am told it is a cultural thing, but the more I get to know the Vietnamese it is more of a control thing. We have to ask to get into our rooms in the morning. however, I know where the security guard keeps the keys on my floor, so I have 24/7 access :) We also have to wait until 7am until we can get into the room which houses the only two copiers in the school. It can be a mad rush trying to get your stuff copied, especially for an 8 o'clock class. AND, up until the middle of last week most of my students did not have their books yet, so I was having copies made and distributed as we went along. So as you can see it has been interesting.

I have attached some pictures of the view from my apartment building. We are on the 12th floor and we have some nice views when the weather is cooperating.

Looking straight down from the balcony

The alley that leads to our building

The view from the balcony at sunset

Yet another view facing northwest

It was a really nice view so I took a lot of pics ;P

Here is a good one of an approaching storm. You can see the clouds building up on the right

Until next time, be safe!! :)

Crazy but Cool

2008-08-30T10:12:00.008-05:00

I can't believe it is Saturday already! Just a week ago I arrived in this crazy place and in that time I have been overwhelmed with information about my job, finding an apartment and adjusting to a new country. I think my job is going to be fun, but unfortunately this week has been full of endless meetings with information overload. We have been getting a lot thrown at us in the morning and then with all that banging around in our heads try to plan out our classes in the afternoon. The school itself is still very much a work in progress...many of the classrooms are still being worked on and won't be finished until right before the kids start coming in on Wednesday. In addition, a lot of the school's policies hadn't been put in place so we spent a lot of time trying to iron that stuff out. So, that hasn't left me a lot of time to figure out what I am going to do next week with my kids. But, I guess I will figure that out in the next couple of days.

On Friday evening the school treated us to dinner at a really nice buffet style restaurant in the Windsor Plaza Hotel. It was here that I saw my first Vietnamese weirdness.

Girl spinning pie plates with "chef" looking on.

Clown with green hair giving the girl some kind of prize.

Today I moved into my new apartment with my two other roommates. They are also teachers at the school but they teach elementary. My apartment is pretty cool. It is on the 12th floor of a skyscraper and has a pretty good view of the city. It is off the main street so we don't have to deal with the street noise. There is a coffee shop on the bottom floor and we already found a pizza place that delivers. The rent is so cheap too! For a three bedroom we are paying $750. It is such a steal! On top of all that our landlord is such a sweet man. When we signed our lease earlier in the week he brought his wife and daughter over to meet us. They have already invited us to dinner at their house sometime in the near future.

Me with Cynthia, one of my two new roommates.

After we went to the buffet on Friday night some of the guys who have been in HCMC for a while took us to a bar called La Habana. It is popular with the expat community and there was a Filipino named Jerome who started singing around 9pm. He had an incredible voice. A little later in the evening we were able to persuade Chris (a teacher at the high school) to play some guitar while Jerome sang.

I was also able to get out one night during the week and saw Notre Dame Cathedral, the old Post Office and a park with a statue of Ho Chi Minh in front of the Old Parliament Building.

Notre Dame Cathedral...look a little familiar??

Post Office

Portrait of Ho Chi Minh inside the Post Office

Statue of Ho Chi Minh in park in front of Old Parliament Building

HCMC has Seoul beat hands down in just architecture alone. There are many old buildings that have remained from when the French ruled and they are beautiful. I get much more of a sense of history in this city than I did in Seoul. It is such a mixture of the old and new. It is a city that is growing very fast with many people becoming wealthy right along with it. But there are also many poor people on the streets that beg you for money as you walk by. They especially go after Westerners who they perceive to be wealthy. I guess we are by their standards. I feel almost liberated since I have left Seoul...like it was dragging me down. I am very glad (only being a week in) that I decided to come here.

Overwhelmed!!!

2008-08-25T09:36:00.003-05:00

Wow, where do I start??? Today was the first day of orientation and we covered so much that my head is spinning...and not one thing had to do with the actual job I was hired to do. We talked about the differences in culture and how to talk to people here. Asians have something called "saving face". When you "lose face" in front of an Asian then you have lost their respect. It was talked about in Korea when I was there, but not to this degree. The ways you can lose face is if you openly confront an Asian in anger or if you embarrass them. Then you might as well forget about getting anything done. You have to earn their respect back before they will even talk to you. So, that adds another interesting aspect to my job as I have to deal with an entirely Vietnamese administration. Not that I plan to get really angry with any of them, of course, but things happen.

What made my head spin the most today was the presentation given by a Vietnamese lawyer about legal issues you might find yourself in while living here. Basically, what I took from it was, if you get arrested for something, you are in deep trouble because no one in the police department speaks English. And, also, foreigners don't get any help from attorneys either. So, unless you have a Vietnamese contact here you are in a heap of trouble. Now, I have no idea why I might get arrested and I don't plan on it, but what I would do if it happened...I have no idea. Someone asked if there could be someone we could call at the school as a contact and all they said was, "We'll look into that." Yikes, not really a vote of confidence!

In addition, getting an apartment is proving to be quite a task. Long story short...two other teachers and myself thought we had a place but the landlord wanted 3 months security and 3 months of rent from each of us before we could even move in!! We had one of the school adminstrators negotiate to one month of security and 3 months rent, but now one of the teachers is saying she isn't sure she can come up with the money!!! We are supposed to meet him tomorrow with the deposit, but if she can't come up with it we will probably lose the place. I guess I will find out tomorrow.

Stay tuned...

Well, I Made It

2008-08-23T09:23:00.002-05:00

After a week that seemed to be gone in a flash I have made my way to Vietnam. My week was full of goodbyes and many tears. I will miss the awesome friends I made there. I had a great experience in Korea even though some of my blogs sounded quite gloomy. I did have my ups and downs while in Seoul. I think my experience here will be far more adventurous.

Speaking of adventurous, I had some initial anxious moments when I got to passport control and handed the man my information. I thought I was covered with the landing visa form sent to me by my school, however I was wrong. After waiting 45 minutes in line the nice gentleman told me I was in the wrong line and I had to use the form I received from my school to actually purchase my landing visa. None of this was communicated to me by my school. I was also expected to have a passport sized photo with me. Seriously, who carries passport sized photos of themselves??? And, there was no photo booth in which to take one. So, one of the guys in the visa office took my picture. And let me tell you...I was looking great after about an hour and a half of sleep and then a five and a half hour flight!! Of course, all of this was going to cost a fee, but I had not been able to get through passport control to change money and they wouldn't accept a credit card. In addition, I was tired and all of this was incredibly frustrating. I wasn't sure what I was going to do. Luckily the man sitting next to me on the plane was at the same window experiencing the same frustration. He was so sweet, and seeing that I was at my wits end, paid my fee for me. Then, I thought for sure my luggage would be gone because of the delay, but it was still there. After that, I thought that the person waiting to pick me up would have left thinking I hadn't made the flight, but she was there too with a driver from the school who took us to the hotel.

After we left the airport I got my first look at HCMC. At first glance the traffic here is just as crazy as I have read about. There are motorcycles everywhere that seem to come out of nowhere, weaving in and out of traffic. The weather is very hot and humid. I am not sure of the temperature today but it was definitely a lot warmer than when I left Seoul this morning. It is the rainy season now and true to form it rained early this evening. Vietnam only has two seasons; rainy season and dry season. Rainy season will last until November. It doesn't rain constantly but it will rain a little bit every day and the raindrops are huge!! The people have been so friendly so far...except for the jerk at the landing visa office at the airport. After arriving at the hotel and grabbing a short nap, I met up with a few of the other teachers and we went our for some ice cream.

Ok, I am exhausted and I need to get to bed. I was hoping to be able to have the entire day tomorrow to relax and get used to my new surroundings but instead I have to attend an open house from 9am-12pm. Not too bad, I guess, as I will have the entire afternoon off. Then my first day will be on Monday. We will have orientation and then get our class assignments and such. The first day of school is September 3. I am excited but also nervous...this is a REAL teaching job!! ;P

Much more to come...stay tuned :)

Success!!

2008-08-07T09:07:00.002-05:00

So I finally succeeded in connecting the link to my pictures that I am uploading on Flickr. There are more to come...enjoy the ones that are there so far :)

Less Than Three Weeks

2008-08-04T21:48:00.003-05:00

I have been very busy the past couple of weeks because of our summer intensive schedule. My friend from Germany was also here and I was busy working and showing him the sights of Seoul. I haven't really had a chance to get excited about leaving for Vietnam since I have been so busy but it is slowly starting to hit me. I am ready to move on from this job, but not from the wonderful friends I have made.

I received an e-mail from the principal of my school in Vietnam. In it he must have mentioned multi-year commitment about 5 times. I think he wants the new teachers to make more than a one year commitment to the school. I'll have to see how it is...if I am not really liking it I will definitely be coming back to the States in June...that is unless another international gig comes up.

Sorry for the lack of pictures lately. I am working on uploading all my pictures to Flickr and posting a badge on my blog page...but since I am technologically inept I haven't figured out how to do that yet. I'll keep you posted. ;P

Blah

2008-07-14T11:00:00.002-05:00

Yeah, I know...I haven't been around for a while. And, I wish it was because I have been doing exciting things, but it really isn't. I have been doing the same boring stuff since the last time you read this...that is if anyone is still reading this.

I leave for Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in about a month. I am excited, and I am getting nervous that the mind numbing job I have done for the past 10 months is going to render my brain useless for my real job teaching history. Speaking of my mind numbing job...the director of my school tried to get me to stay by giving me a raise on Saturday. He doesn't understand that I don't want to teach insolent Korean children to speak Konglish for the rest of my life. He loses a lot of good teachers because he doesn't give any paid vacation. I think a few paid days off for the bunch of us and we would all be happy campers. But, it was nice to get the offer...at least that means he thinks I am a good teacher, right?

Speaking of teachers, our head instructor, Aiden, is leaving on Friday. A new teacher has started this week to replace him. She took my former neighbor and co-worker Jenny's apartment and lives right next to me. She seems awfully quiet to be a teacher. Perhaps she is just overwhelmed by the culture shock, but she needs to become a little more outgoing or the kids are going to eat her alive!!!

I do have some fun to look forward to at the end of this week. My friend Sascha from Germany is coming to visit me for about a week and a half. Of course in the German/European style he has about 52 weeks of vacation a year and is able to basically take a month off from now until the middle of August. Seriously...I was born on the wrong continent. He swears he is going to help me get a job in Germany. Who knows...with a couple of years of international experience under my belt maybe a job in Germany will be possible :) I would love to work at the John F. Kennedy School in Berlin.

I also have two friends from Chicago that are coming to Korea to teach for a year. I am disappointed that I will only have a few weekends to spend with them when they get here, but at least I will get a little time to hang out with them before I leave.

In the meantime I have been reading a lot. I recommend a few books to those of you who are still awake. They include, I Am America (and So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert, America (The Book) Teacher's Edition by Jon Stewart and The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot by Naomi Wolf. The first two are obviously ridiculous and the last on is a serious book on how Americans are becoming lazy to the detriment of the country. It is a pretty interesting and eye opening book.

Ok, that's about all I got. I should have some interesting stuff during/after my visit from Sascha.

Bis bald!!

Bored or Boring?

2008-06-16T23:12:00.002-05:00

As much as I hate to admit it I have gotten into a rut here just like I tend to do every other city I live in. Part of the reason is that I haven't had the time to take some adventures in this country because of my dictator of a boss. I really hope that will change when I get to Vietnam and finally get some time off. I am trying to look forward to it but I also have a feeling of uncertainty and anxiety. Regardless, the title of this blog entry questions whether I am currently bored or just boring in general. My last two months here will pass quickly I am sure, but right now I feel like I am kind of in limbo

Love-Hate Relationship With Seoul

2008-06-02T19:10:00.002-05:00

Seoul can be a cool city to live and sometimes I love it...but sometimes I hate it. So, I decided to make a Top 5 Things I Love About Seoul list and a Top 5 Things I Hate About Seoul list. Ready??

Top 5 Things I Love About Seoul

5. Galbi (meat, either pork or beef, that is cooked right in front of you. You put it on a lettuce leaf and cover it with sauce, onions, etc. and shove it all in!)
4. Pub Quiz (goes without saying)
3. Itaewon and Haebongchon (two areas where most foreigners hang out)
2. Friendly People (I have met a lot of nice people both Korean and Westerners)
1. Subway System (one of the best in the world!)

Top 5 Things I Hate About Seoul

5. Miss my family and friends
4. No time off from work
3. Garbage everywhere
2. Too crowded
1. My apartment

Even though there are things I don't like about Seoul I have enjoyed my time here...but I am getting anxious to get to Ho Chi Minh City and start my job down there. Even though I have gained valuable experience being in front of students while teaching at CDI, I feel that I am a permanent substitute teacher. I don't make any of my own lesson plans so I go into each class trying to figure out what the person who developed the class wants me to convey tothe students. That can be interesting...kind of like trying to read someone's mind. Regardless...it has been easy so I can't complain, but I am ready for a challenge and to be able to use my brain. I think it is ready to go into shut down mode!

Update...at last!

2008-05-26T09:41:00.003-05:00

Wow! I didn't realize it had been almost 20 days since I had posted a blog. I have been keeping busy with school during the week and then tutoring on the weekends. I haven't really done anything else really exciting. The weather has started to warm up again after a few weeks of rainy, cloudy weather. I felt like I was back in the Midwest again!!

I am usually not a movie goer but I did go to see Ironman a few weeks ago. It was entertaining and I thought Robert Downey, Jr. looked pretty good :) I took the weekend off from tutoring and went to May Fest in Haebongchon which is a part of the city where a lot of foreigners live. There were some bands and we were able to sit outside and enjoy a nice Saturday afternoon.

Our summer term started today and it is always a big mess the first day. Plus the school makes us dress up for the first week...don't know why...the rest of the term we are allowed to wear jeans to work. It is hard to believe that this is my last term here. I told our Assistant Director about 2 weeks ago about my plans to leave and we determined my last day here in Seoul would be August 22. I plan to leave for Ho Chi Minh City on August 23 but haven't gotten my ticket yet. I guess I should do that soon!

In other news, we recently had two new teachers start. Conveniently, they are both named Stephen. One of our current staff who wasn't supposed to leave until September was told that he wasn't being schedule for the summer term. That is code for he was fired. I am not sure of the full story, but I think the Director wasn't too fond of some of the things he had been doing in his classroom. Plus he was really late for work one time...so, we think they fabricated a story that a student saw him looking at a porn site during class. And they also said there were a lot of complaints from parents. It is impossible to fight these "charges" which is kind of scary since that means if they don't like you they can make up just about anything to get rid of you. They know we have no recourse. I think it is good for the teacher in question though. He has been here for about 2 years now. He is going to go home on Wednesday, take the rest of the summer off and start grad school in the fall.

But that is really about all that is going on here in Seoul. I hope to get to the DMZ in June and I also am planning a trip to Busan on the southern coast of Korea in the next month as well. Time has been going really fast since I decided to go to Vietnam. Hope all who are still reading this are well!! :)

Everland

2008-05-07T02:11:00.004-05:00

Last week my friend Kristin and I took the bus for a 40 minute ride to Everland. It's an amusement park which has one coaster that is up to American roller coaster standards. However, it is pretty darn amusing as far as people watching is concerned. Because of that we were able to ourselves entertained.

To start the day we had to have our pictures taken with these friendly mice! Kristin is on the right.
A trip anywhere in Korea would not be complete without and example of Konglish. So, I tell you, have a fun!!
Yes, I AM the Golden Monkey!
There is a weird fashion trend here for couples in Korea. You and your sweetie wear the same t-shirt so that everyone knows you are a couple. Here is an entire family wearing the same Mickey Mouse tees...mom and dad...the kid on mom's back AND the baby in the stroller!! Pretty impressive!
This picture is my favorite. Not only do they have the same t-shirt on, but the guy has been carrying around a tripod all day to get that "perfect picture" of the two of them. What are they doing with their hands you ask? Well, of course, they are making a heart! Duh!
It was getting harder and harder to get these pictures covertly. I took this one from my hip without looking. Pretty good, huh??

These two don't look like they are having a good time...he seems a little pissed and looks like he is trying to walk away from her.
I like what these tees say. His has an arrow that is pointing to her that says "My pretty girl" and his says "My best guy" or something strange like that. However, they are standing on the wrong sides of each other and the arrows are pointing meaninglessly into space.

Hope you enjoyed the couple tees pics!!

Heading to Vietnam

2008-05-01T06:41:00.002-05:00

Ok, so I finally have news...I decided to take a job teaching at the American International School in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It is a school that teaches an American curriculum for grades K-12. I will either be teaching middle school social studies/language arts or high school history. I have told them that my preference is for high school, but I am not sure where they will put me. I start on August 25 so I need to be in HCMC the weekend before.

I think this will be a good thing for several reasons. First, I will be teaching what I am certified to teach. Second, I will be back on the American school schedule which will be good when I look at coming back to the States. Third, I will now have TIME OFF and hopefully will be able to come home at Christmas. And finally, it is warm there year round!

The school is very new, having just opened in spring 2007 and it is doubling in size for next school year. They student population is going from 400 to 800 kids. So they need to hire quite a few more teachers. I am really excited but nervous at the same time, but I never intended to stay in Korea to teach English as a career...but I will miss it because I am having such a good time!!! It is good timing though because about 5 teachers will be leaving in August...all of them are the ones I hang around with the most. It will be sad to say goodbye, but they also need to get on with their lives.

I am looking forward to getting home at Christmas though...it will be GREAT to see my family and friends again if only for a few weeks!! I miss you guys!!

Been a While

2008-04-21T08:33:00.003-05:00

Sorry that I have been MIA lately...but I have been really busy in a good way. I decided that since I don't have any time off my job to travel that I would try to make some more money on the side by picking up some private students. I tutor 3 students on the weekends now and am looking to add maybe one or two more. That has definitely kept me busy. I also have continued to send my resume out and had an interview with a school from Cairo a week ago. It was an interesting opportunity, but I turned it down because the money wasn't very good and it just didn't seem to be the right timing. I have an interview tomorrow with a school in Vietnam so I will keep all of you posted on how that goes. I also have met some really neat people since I have been here. I definitely am not spending my weekends at home anymore. :)

More soon...

A Development

2008-04-02T02:52:00.002-05:00

At some point next week I am going to have a web interview with The Integrated Thebes American College in Cairo that I wrote about a couple of blogs ago. I am just waiting to hear back from the headmaster on what I need to do on my part to make that happen. To be honest I am very excited about the opportunity to have a normal job at an American school that would allow me vacation time. I am feeling a little burnt out over here...even though my job is easy it starts to wear on you when you get no time off. One of the positives is that my time in Cairo would go toward retirement as if I was teaching in the US. I would also get the vacation and national holidays of regular US schools. I will keep you posted!

Even in a Foreign Country I Got Nothin'

2008-03-27T10:58:00.002-05:00

In the past, hmmm, three weeks I would say, there has been significant news from many of the teachers at my school. The newest teacher at school just announced to us last week that she is pregnant AND married. We had found out that she was engaged just about a month or so ago...they didn't waste any time. Another one of the teachers just announced this week that she got a new job working on a Korean television children's show. Another teacher and her boyfriend just got back from two weeks vacation in Cambodia and Thailand. Another teacher is really close to being accepted to graduate school. Another teacher is excited because she and her boyfriend are moving into a new apartment in a week or so. And, the latest announcement is that another one of the teachers is engaged...I just found out today. And what do I have to announce??? Nothing..hence the title of this entry...even in a foreign country I got nothin'... It sucks being boring in two countries, as well as two continents.

Contemplating

2008-03-16T23:13:00.003-05:00

The past few months I have made some friends and acquaintances who work for public high schools here in Seoul. They have regaled me with stories about where they have gone since they have been here...places like Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Japan and China. They are in positions where they are allowed the time off to travel. Unfortunately, I have had to accept that I did not choose well when I chose my school. I basically get no time off, not even national holidays here in Korea. Traveling for me is not going to happen while I am working at my current school.

So, I got busy a few weeks ago updating my resume and working out what my next move will be. I have been looking into teaching at a public high school or a university here in Seoul which would allow me a lot of time off to travel. In addition I am also looking into teaching at an international school. I tested the waters a bit and sent my resume out to about ten international schools. Most of them replied that no openings were available, however I did get a tentative offer of employment from a school in Cairo, Egypt. I was intrigued but also a little scared at the same time. I am not sure how safe I would feel as a Westerner in the middle of a Muslim country. But I was happy to get a positive response. We'll see what happens. I also received a request for my resume from an international school in China. It is all very exciting stuff...the possibility of teaching internationally (in my subject area of history) is very appealing to me and I think that is where my life is leading me. I might owe an international teaching career to the fact that I could not even get one school in Chicago to invite me for an interview last summer. However, I have not given up on the US for future jobs. I am going to also look for a job in the US but will not limit my search to just Chicago.

Let's see, what else is going on...oh yeah, I have joined a group here called PLUR (Peace, Love, Unity and Respect...no I have not turned into a hippie) which does a lot of volunteering at orphanages and soup kitchens. I had been looking to get involved with volunteering and found this group on facebook. By the way, I have a page on facebook...check it out.

Evil Wears a Red Suit

2008-03-05T08:52:00.002-06:00

Not too long ago I realized that I get one channel of AFN (American Forces Network) which shows soap operas. One day while I was waiting for the Young and the Restless to come on...I only watch it for its sheer ridiculousness...and "Passions" was on. That has got to be the most ridiculous show ever. But I did find out an interesting tidbit...I now know what the character actor Mickey from Seinfeld is doing now. Watch this.

Strange Forecast

2008-03-04T20:56:00.002-06:00

Just when I thought I was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel (which is winter) I found out there is one more hurdle that must be crossed. It seems that there is an annual week or more of a weather phenomenon that Koreans must deal with every spring. It is the infamous Yellow Dust that originates in Mongolia and effects most of East Asia. It can last for a week or more just depending on the severity of the winds. What makes this even a more wonderful event is that the sand mixes with the pollutants in the air which can make for a very unhealthy mix. As a matter of fact there have been some days in the past that have been so bad that schools have been closed and people are advised to stay indoors. I have been told I will need to buy a mask just to walk the 5 minutes to school until the dust storms are over. The first of the yellow dust is going to be here at the end of this week. Oh joy.

Spring is Almost Here!!!

2008-03-02T19:56:00.003-06:00

March is here and spring is definitely just around the corner. I have been told that it will get warmer here earlier than it will in the Midwest and for that I am thankful. The days are getting longer and the the birds have been chirping in the trees. I hope to soon see lots of blooming flowers.

Nothing of real importance has actually happened since my last update so I thought I would include some picture of my winter term kids. These kids are in the English Chip level which is the lowest level we teach at CDI. This class had more of its share of cute kids as well as a couple of hell raisers. Here are a few pictures of the more memorable kids at our "class party" during the last class of the term ...

Dong-hyun (black shirt)...although he looks rather tame here, this child was hell on wheels at times. He grew on me as the term went on...but he was the ringleader when the class got out of control.
This is Annie. I wanted to take her home with me after every class. She is so cute!!
Alex (in black) during a moment when I could actually get a picure of him. Along with Dong-hyun he was one of the crazy ones.

Sean, another one of the ringleaders...I had to isolate him from the other boys by putting him in the corner surrounded by my desk and the girls!
This is Rob. Don't let that angelic smile fool you. I am sure he is wanted at several other academies.
This is Jung-min and Shopia. Jung-min has a colored pen/pencil case obsession. She was forever opening and closing the case pulling out different colored pens. I think she was trying to write each letter in a different color!!
This is John-2. Notice how he is trying to get away from Rob?
This is John-1, one of my favorites. He always has a smile on his face. He and Annie were my favorites.

More Random Weirdness

2008-02-20T08:35:00.003-06:00

I am not sure if I mentioned it in a previous blog, but the Koreans sure do love their toast as is obvious by the picture below. This toast isn't just yummy...oh no, it's YAMMY!! Too bad it was closed or I would have tried some.

Unfortunately I picked the wrong day to come across the Yammy Toast stand.

And if that isn't weird enough for you...I came across this gem while minding my own business while shopping in Myeong-dong. It was on the doors to what looked like just some regular clothing store. Of course I can't read Korean so I have no idea what the words around the picture say...but one of the store's employees thought it was great that I was taking the picture and kept repeating, "George Bush, George Bush, George Bush..." as if I didn't know who was in the picture.

Yep, That's My Bush!! ;P

One other thing that I have noticed since I have been here is that there is a perpetual game of "chicken" going on. You know the game...you and someone else are on a collision course and whoever swerves first to get out of the way of the other is the "chicken". Well, in Seoul, a ridiculously crowded city where everyone is trying to carve out just a foot or two of personal space for themselves, this is normal. People will be coming straight at you acting as if they don't see you and then swerve out of the way right at the last second. The other day a woman was running to cross the street in order to make the light and she was coming right at me. I knew if I continued walking that we would have crashed into each other so I just stopped walking and let her choose her path. Jeez!! It can be a little exhausting.

Idiots Are Everywhere

2008-02-11T21:45:00.000-06:00

On Sunday evening someone decided to set fire to one of Korea's National Treasures, the 610 year old Namdaemun Gate in Seoul. I was fortunate enough to see it within the first month I got to Korea. Fortunately in 2006 the city made detailed blueprints of the structure and will be able to rebuild it. However, it will take around 3 years to do so. Click here for the story.

Random Winter Weirdness

2008-02-08T19:45:00.001-06:00

These hats are all the rage in Korea. I told Cheryl she had to post one picture of herself wearing the hat on her blog...but I didn't see one. So, I knew what I had to do. Don't you think she wears it nicely? :)

Happy Lunar New Year!!

2008-02-08T05:45:00.000-06:00

I hope you all are enjoying your Lunar New Year. In Korea it means everything shuts down from Wednesday through Friday. I was lucky in the fact that our school was off yesterday, but not today (Friday). All public schools and most businesses are closed including other private schools, but I seem to have chosen to work at the only school in all of Korea with a director who believes in being open every holiday. It felt like a Sunday morning when I was walking to work this morning.

Anyway, as cool (meaning really neat) as it is to be here it is still winter. And, as winter has set in and the boring month of February is here the malaise has also set in. It is that overwhelming feeling of wanting to do absolutely nothing but sit inside and stay out of the cold. It is no wonder I have become a huge fan of going to nice warm pubs to play pub quiz. We got first place the other night by the way :)

Since I have done nothing of real interest I have attached some pics of random things.

Me at Gyeonbokgung (the main palace of the Joeson era) at night.
Joe, Yaseen, Jeremy and Kris at Wolfhound for Superbowl. We had to work that afternoon. It was a little rough since the Superbowl started at 8am.
Some random cafe in Gangnam. Liked the sign.

Pub Quiz!

2008-01-27T22:29:00.000-06:00

Last week the month of hell that was our Winter Intensives schedule ended so we promptly went out to enjoy Pub Quiz. For those of you who don't know, Pub Quiz is a wonderful quiz which takes place in a pub (haha). Ok seriously, what happens is that either the same person or a guest (someone who hangs out at that pub a lot) take on the responsibility of Quiz Master and creates 4 or 5 different categories with questions for each of those categories. Our categories began with a picture round of breakfast cereals, then onto "nerds", "airlines", "girl bands" and finally "famous scientologists". We did pretty well, but ended up getting second place :( But it was a great time. I had gone pub quiz in Chicago and loved it. I was thrilled to see that the expat community here has it going strong. Next week Kristin is hosting. Wish I could be there to see it but unfortunately I have class Wednesday night. Below are pics of our team in action from last week.

Scott, Conner, Matt and some guy being very demonstrative about his answer as we try to name all four members of the Go-Go's. We could only come up with Belinda Carlisle...and that was from me!
Kristin and Matt during a break in the game.
Krisitin and me looking GOOOOOOOOOOOOD!

Our competition!! This was an attempt on my part to steal answers from the guys at the next table. I stopped trying once I figured out that they didn't know a whole lot of the answers. :)

What a month!

2008-01-20T09:21:00.000-06:00

Sorry for having been so long since my last communication. I guess when I signed up for this I didn't realize that I would be working extra hours from the end of December to the end of January. This is the time when the Korean public school system is on break, but the kids themselves are not on break. We have extra classes for them to enjoy :) It has added an extra 15 hours a week to my normal schedule. It doesn't sound like much, but I will be really happy when it is over on Wednesday. I promise to have some more interesting blogs after then, but until then I wanted you to know why I have been mysteriously silent.

On the fun side...I have decided to go to Thailand at the end of March or beginning of April. That is when I will have my first opportunity to go on a weeks vacation. I am really looking forward to it. More to come on a later blog!!

A Sunday in Seoul

2008-01-06T06:49:00.000-06:00

Today was one of those gray, dreary kind of days that I am so used to seeing during the winter in the Midwest. It was a perfect day to either stay in bed all day or go to a museum. When a friend suggested we go to see the Van Gogh exhibit at the Seoul Museum of Art I was all for it.

However, it was so crowded when we got there. There was a line for tickets and when we got in the exhibit rooms there were so many people that we were being herded single file past the paintings. I felt like a bit of a sardine. I think if we had gone earlier in the day it would have been a lot less crowded, but in a city of anywhere from 10-12 million everything is packed all the time. We went through rather quickly as it was also very hot in there.

Luckily there was a palace right next to the museum so we went there afterwards. This one is called Deoksugung or Palace of Virtuous Longevity. It was a palace during the reign of King Seonjo of the Joseon Dynasty in 1593. It became his palace because the Japanese in their invasion of 1592 had burned all the other ones. I am still astonished at how many times the Japanese ravaged this country.

Huge bell used during ceremonies in one of the temples at the palace.

King Sejong, the creator of the Korean alphbet (hangul), fourth king of the Joseon Dynasty.

A closer look at King Sejong.

Me in front of an empty pool of what I am sure is a lovely fountain in the spring and summer.

No, your eyes are not deceiving you...the kid on the right has a mullet. This is the first Korean mullet I had seen so I had to take a picture.

Me in front of some more lovely Korean architecture.

And, I just thought this sign was funny...they have take out sweet buns!! :)

Happy New Year!

2007-12-31T09:03:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to wish everyone who takes the time to check out this boring blog a very Happy New Year! It is 12:04am in Korea so it is already 2008 for me. Alas, I have no fun stories or pictures for you since Korea largely ignores the Western New Year but celebrates the Chinese New Year instead. Anyway, Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas from the ROK!!

2007-12-25T08:27:00.000-06:00

Although being in Korea has been difficult over the holidays because of all the things I have missed at home, it has also been an eye opening experience. I have been lucky enough to experience Christmas from two different perspectives. Here in Korea it is not a commercial extravaganza where the malls are open until 2am and there are hundreds and thousands of people crowding the malls. Here Christmas is way less commercial and more value is stressed on spending Christmas Day with family. I always knew that that was the best part of Christmas. When we were all growing up, my parents never had the money to buy us a ton of gifts, but they always managed to get each of us something that we really wanted. My parents were amazing how they were able to make us feel like we were so rich when we didn't have much money at all. Of course, I realize that now...and I wish my parents were still around so I could thank them for teaching me what was really important at Christmas...being together with family.

Ok, on a lighter note...the teachers at school suggested we have an ugly Christmas sweater contest. Little did they know that I had an ace in the hole. I immediately got on the horn to my younger sister Cheryl to come to my aid. She is the champion of finding ridiculously heinous Christmas sweaters at discount prices. And come to my aid she did by sending me the beauty she wore in this year's ugly Christmas sweater picture that has now become tradition with my family. However, after hearing me brag about the horrible sweater I had coming to me all of teachers but one decided to take on the challenge. Of course I won hands down. Check out the pics that follow.

The prize winning sweater!! Unfortunately the pictures of me wearing this hideous sweater don't do it justice so I wanted to make sure everyone got the full impact. Isn't it lovely!!

The sweater that scared all other competitors away...not the best picture...I think I need a new camera. Kristin tried her best in what was not really a Christmas sweater so much as a really ugly Korean dress.
This is me in front of the Christmas tree at Mandie's apartment. She and her boyfriend have an awesome place!! In Korea every apartment is tiny...this place has two bedrooms and is considered a palace. In the States it would also be considered to be very nice place. Those of us who live in shoe boxes were extremely jealous.

After dinner we took a picture of everyone around the tree. Bottom left to right: Jenny and Mandie. Top row: Aiden, me, Matt, Talia and Matt's girlfriend (can't remember her name) who kind of got hidden by Talia's hair.

A Toast to Us

2007-12-15T22:25:00.000-06:00

On Friday night after work a bunch of us went out to celebrate a number of things. One teacher had a birthday, one teacher had just started and recently one of the desk staff was promoted to Assistant Director. And, since I never really had an official "welcome" and since I am still somewhat new I was one of the guests of honor too. We went to a traditional Korean restaurant...there are hundreds of these places in every neighborhood, and had a traditional Korean meal. I can't think of the name of what it was now...I should have written it down. Anyway, enjoy the pictures!

Cheers to us!

Louis and Matt. It was Louis' birthday.

Liz (new teacher) Aiden and Kristen.

Around the table from the left: Aiden, Sue(new Assistant Director), Liz, Kristen, Talia, Sunny, me and Jenny.

Kristen in a self portrait. She decided to take several "artistic" poses of herself while I was in the bathroom.

Kristen with one of the locals

Holidays in Korea

2007-12-09T06:08:00.000-06:00

Spending the holidays in Korea is definitely not like being at home. There is no hustle and bustle caused by holiday shopping and general merriment of meeting friends; just the regular hustle and bustle of a city that has more than 10 million people. I have found it hard to get into the holiday spirit mainly because I haven't seen any decorations or heard Christmas music playing. However, some shops have started to play Christmas music as I heard today. And the gym I belong to apparently thinks blasting Christmas music motivates its patrons to work out harder. Last night and this evening I went out in search of some lights and holiday cheer. I was pleasantly surprised to find lots of activity and lights down by City Hall. There is an ice skating rink set up and what looked like a stage for choirs to perform. I am going to have to make this area a regular stop during the next couple of weeks.

Huge lit up sign on the side of the building that says Merry Christmas
Christmas tree outside the skating rink
Close up of the Christmas tree
A pretty, lit up street on my walk to find Christmas
The lights that mark the beginning of Cheonggye Stream...an ancient stream that had been covered by modern construction. The stream has been recently rediscovered and made into a pedestrian only zone. It is a very nice walk.Me in front of Cheondggye Stream

An Early Visit From St. Nick

2007-12-04T08:03:00.000-06:00

When I was growing up we had a tradition that St. Nick would vist on the evening of December 5. So, you were supposed to leave your stocking hanging on the mantle above the fireplace so St. Nick could put some goodies in it. We didn't have fancy red stockings like you see in the picture below, so we used my dad's socks!! And, we didn't have a mantle so we taped them to the counter and let them hang over the side. Hey, it worked and we didn't care as long as we got our treats. We might get a candy bar, an apple and maybe some kind of little toy or something like that. No matter what it was we always looked forward to it.

So, I was pleasantly surprised to see that St. Nick was able to remember me during this busy time of year! I got a great package in the mail on Monday that included a stocking from St. Nick. In it I got a Santa pez dispenser, a Reese's peanut butter snowman, some jelly beans and some body lotion. Included in my little care package was a digital keychain with pictures of my family, a miniature Christmas tree, pictures of my niece Brenna along with some of her latest works of art, some artwork from my niece Allie and two t-shirts. I included a picture of my favorite of the two shirts below.

Thanks so much for all my stocking stuffers!!!

My stocking stuffed with goodies from St. Nick!! :)

This shirt rocks! The front says, "Hey Michigan! Putting the "L" in Lloyd since 2001."
The back says, "Appalachian State started your season! (34-32) We finished it! (14-3)"

It Seemed Like a Great Idea at the Time...

2007-11-29T18:18:00.000-06:00

After having eaten tons of food at Thanksgiving (refer to prior post) I decided to join a gym. I mean how could I keep avoiding it? The gym is in the same building as my school. I have to walk past the doors every day to get to work! So, last Friday I joined. At first life was good...I used the recumbent bike and the treadmill and worked my way up to the stairmaster. But that was when Eun-young got a hold of me. She is a trainer at the gym and apparently it is her life's goal to make every muscle in my body scream in pain. She offered to take me through the weight training program. So, after taking my BMI (Body Mass Index-which tells you how much fat vs. muscle you have in your body) and my weight we got started. To make a long story short...since Monday I have been sore in places where I never thought there were muscles. The pain began in my shoulders and has slowly made its way down to my lower body as Eun-young has methodically taken me through a torturous routine for each muscle group. Have you ever felt pain trying to get dressed in the morning? Ever felt like screaming while putting your coat on? Does the mere thought of standing up from a chair make you want to stay seated forever? Congratulations, you are now living in my world. With any luck I will be able to enjoy pain free movement again in a few days. Until then...ouch.

Happy Thanksgiving from the ROK!!

2007-11-22T07:54:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving Day turned out to be very nice. Mandie ( a teacher at my school) and her boyfriend Peter(who is a serviceman at an army base in Seoul) were able to sign a few of us on base for a Thanksgiving Day buffet. I initially thought I would be spending Thanksgiving at home eating ramen noodles so this was a very nice surprise. We ate and ate and ate some more. Unfortunately afterwards we still had to work as this was just an ordinary day in Korea. All I wanted to do was go to sleep!

The gang

Talia, Kristin and Jenny

Kristin gives the food a thumbs up!

Kristin and Jenny

Louis and me

A sample of the eats!!

Mandie and her plate of desserts.

I swear Santa, I 've been nice!!

Spreading the word

2007-11-16T11:13:00.000-06:00

In honor of the annual Ohio State-Michigan game I decided it was time to spread the word to the youth of Korea about the Ohio State Buckeyes. I tried to explain the college football concept to the kids, but over here, as in Europe, football means soccer. But anyway, I got some volunteers to help me out.

From left to right Sam, Andy, Caiser and Michael doing O-H-I-O!!! GO BUCKS!!!

Unfortunately I didn't have time to teach them the words to the fight song...there is always next term...

Massage with a happy ending...

2007-11-14T07:20:00.000-06:00

You tend to learn some very interesting things when you are immersed in a different culture. At first I hadn't noticed how many barber shops were in Seoul until a friend pointed it out to me. After it was called to my attention I have to admit I began seeing them everywhere. However...there are barber shops and there are "barber" shops. Let me explain the difference...a normal barber shop is just what the name suggests...it is a place for men to get their hair cut. However, a "barber" shop is a place that also offers massages for men and some places offer massages "with a happy ending". These barber shops are marked by not one pole, but two. The women in Korea put up with this but not without some revenge. I am told that most women who know their husbands frequent these places have easy access to their husbands credit cards for frequent shopping sprees. No wonder I see such wonderfully dressed Korean women with tons of shopping bags everywhere I go! Anyway, there is a "barber" shop in the alley right outside my apartment.

On another silly note...I was on the train the other day and saw this poster inside the subway car for an upcoming conference at the COEX mall exhibition hall in Seoul..."Innaugural General Assembly of the Toilet Association" Toilet Association??? One can only imagine that this is an international conference, no? Well, regardless the I know what I'm doing the weekend of November 23-25...ha ha

And, although I didn't get to Suwon fortress like I had hoped over the weekend I did get out and take some pictures of some pretty trees today. These pictures are from a little park that is about a 15 minute walk from my house.

Time Change

2007-11-04T08:05:00.000-06:00

Just a short note to check in with all of you. Time changed in the US yesterday, but Korea does not fall back...as a matter of fact the time here never changes. So, instead of me being 13 hours ahead of EST and 14 ahead of CST I am not 14 and 15 hours ahead respectively...please make a note of it ;P if you are uncertain you can always check the time difference at this site http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/

This week brought nothing really exciting. I had to work on Saturday but went to dinner in an area of Seoul called Gangnam after. We went to a really nice and authentic (believe it or not) Italian restaurant. It was very good. Today I visited the War Memorial Museum again. I didn't get to see a lot of stuff the first time I went so I had to get back to see what I missed. The weather has been very nice the past few days, however the days of getting out to see the leaves is waning!! One good rain storm is going to bring them all to the ground. That is next weekend's goal: to see the leaves before they are all off the trees.

Seoul Tower

2007-10-28T01:18:00.000-05:00

My explorations this weekend took me and my friend James to Seoul Tower which sits on top of Mt. Namsan. It provides the highest viewpoint of the city. The tower was built 1969 to be used as a communication tower transmitting TV and FM radio signals. It is now a symbol of Seoul and used more for a recreational/cultural complex. There are concerts held at the base of the tower. The tower itself has 3 restaurants with very nice views. Although it was a very nice day and the sky looked clear we were disappointed to see that our view was obscured by smog when we reached the top. Unfortunately, this is a normal occurrence as Seoul sits in a valley surrounded by mountains. I still was able to get some pretty nice pictures.

View of our destination from the bottom of the mountain. Yes it looks rather far away!!
We did not walk up the mountain, although we could have. However, this would have taken a few hours and been exhausting so we took the tram. This is a view on our way to the top.
A close up view of the tower from the top of the mountain.
This is me on the top. If you look closely you will see that Chicago is listed on the glass behind me--10,575 miles away!!
After we were through with the views on top of the tower we went to dinner. James said he knew of a pretty good German restaurant in Gangnam so I readily agreed. Little did I know it was going to be a Hofbrau Haus!! When my sisters and I were in Germany we were supposed to go to the original in Munich, but we didn't get reservations in time. However, I have been to the Hofbrau Haus in Newport, Kentucky which is pretty cool. The one is Seoul did not disappoint either! It was awesome and having a few sausages with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut with a cold beer really hit the spot!!

Cheers!!

Lost in Translation

2007-10-23T09:09:00.000-05:00

Recently I found myself in need of some scanning/faxing services...now, as all of you in the US will attest there are places everywhere that you can do this type of stuff. In Korea, there might be a hundred places within 500 feet of my house but I wouldn't know it because I can't read the language. So, I decided to find a good old FedEx-Kinkos. I looked up their international locations on their website and good news...there are many locations in Seoul. Now the bad news...I have no idea where they are even when given the address. But one called itself the English Center, so I decided to give that location a call to see if could get directions.

When I tried to dial the number listed on the website from my cell phone I got a very confused Korean woman who was probably wondering why I was asking if she was FedEx-Kinkos. Obviously a wrong number...I tried again and got the same result. Then a brainstorm hit me...I would try to call from my skype account. I reached FedEx-Kinkos, however I found myself talking to a very confused Korean MAN this time. When I asked him if I had reached the English Center he said yes in English but couldn't answer any of my other questions which I found to be a little perplexing. So, after several failed attempts to communicate with this man and after the fact that I knew he couldn't speak English what do I do? I start to speak English to him slower as if that would help him understand me better. I am sure he was probably hoping that I would just hang up and go away. When I thought all was lost he started giving me a phone number...to what I had no idea. Of course when I asked him what the number was for he couldn't respond. I thanked him and hung up. When I called the number he gave me it was to and English speaking employee of the location I needed to go to. So, he was very helpful after all.

I guess the whole point of this long blathering story is that things that would normally take you no time at all to do when you are in comfortable surroundings take you twice as long when there is a language barrier. I feel very fortunate to come from a country that speaks a language that all other countries strive to speak. I would hate to think how long it would have taken me on my own to figure out to get what I need to have done today.

Hope you all have a great day!!

A Good Weekend

2007-10-21T10:39:00.000-05:00

Ok, so finally I got to a really neat place in Korea. The guy, Joe, who I was supposed to meet last week asked me to go hiking on Namhansanseong. Namhansanseong means south Korean mountain fortress. It was completed in 1626 and was built to guard the southern entrance to Seoul. Buddhist monks actually acted as soldiers rather than pacifists to protect it.

The mountains in Korea are very old, so they are not the steep mountains that you think of when you think of moutains. They are more like the Appalachians (you know...like Appalachian State...the "football" team that beat Michigan this year--hee hee). Anyway...there are steeper mountains in Korea that I hope to get to soon. As you look at the pictures you will notice that the leaves are still green. They have just started to change. I hope to go back to either this mountain or another one and get some good pictures of the leaves as they start to turn.

On our way down from the mountain Joe and I stopped for some makkeouli (rice wine). It wasn't bad...however when Joe tried to get me to try the boiled silk larvae...that's when I drew the line! There were some Koreans standing there drinking the rice wine and they didn't hesitate to make us feel comfortable. One man could speak some English and we had a nice conversation with him and the woman who made the rice wine. I have met so many nice people who have made me feel welcome here. Koreans are definitely very nice to foreigners.

After the wine, Joe and I walked down a bit to a stretch of restaurants. We found one that he had been to before. He wanted to go back for the duck that he had the first time. It was interesting, but overall pretty good.

This is the fortress wall looking south.
A view of Seoul from the wall. It is kind of hazy due to pollution. Otherwise it was really beautiful day.
This is a view of the mountains surrounding Seoul from the top of the mountain that we climbed.
Yours truly on top of Namhansanseoung.

Sorry For the Delay...

2007-10-17T01:30:00.000-05:00

I am so sorry for the delay in keeping up with my blog. I have to admit that there is a reason for it. As my family and friends will attest I am an incurable Cleveland Indians fan. Their recent run in the playoffs has kept me glued to my television keeping up on their progress. Believe it or not the MLB playoffs games have all been on here live so I have been able to watch them in real time with the benefit of NOT having to listen to American announcers (i.e. Joe Buck, Tim McCarver, et al). During the week when the games are on at night in the US it is morning for me here in Korea. By the time the games are over I need to get ready for school, therefore I have not had any new adventures of any realy significance this week.

However, I did go out a little bit last weekend. I had made plans to meet a friend on Saturday...well, I say friend, but acquaintance would be more like it. It is someone that I met while I was researching actually coming to Korea to teach. I have never met him in person; only through e-mail. We somehow missed each other at our designated meeting point and therefore did not go out and explore some of the areas of Seoul that I had hoped. I did get out and see another of the original fortress gates that surrounded ancient Seoul.
This is the Great South Gate originally constructed in 1398. During the daytime guards march around the gate and there is an impressive changing of the guard ceremony. However, I wanted to see it lit up at night so I came later.

Saturday was kind of a wash then because I did not get to meet up with my friend. However, I did have an interesting Sunday. I met a new Korean friend whose name is Brian Lee. We met over skype and found we had similar interests...one of them was beer! So on Sunday we decided to meet for a few drinks.

My new friend Brian.

Koreans traditionally order side dishes when going out for drinks alcohol even if eating isn't really what is intended. A popular side dish is pictured below...Brian told me the name of it but I can't remember. It is a noodle dish that is served cold with a spicy sauce. There are also cucumbers, carrots, pears, apples and some type of seafood creature in the mix as well. I found it to be quite spicy and didn't eat much of it.

Another popular tradition in Korea is drinking what is called soju (see below). It is a liquor comparable to vodka. It has an alcohol content of 26% so just a few shots will put you out but good! Below is one of the two! bottles that Brian and I shared. Needless to say the next morning was a little rough. At least I didn't have to work until four o'clock!! Poor Brian had to be at work by 8am.
So, those were my notable adventures for the past week. I still hope to get to the Suwon Fortress this weekend (if the MLB playoff schedule will allow :)

Recent Activities

2007-10-10T08:28:00.000-05:00

On Sunday I did a little sight seeing. I wanted to get out of my apartment, but didn't feel like going too far so I decided to go to Dongdaemun Market which is one of many open air markets in Seoul. It is a series of tents that are set up for about 5 or 6 city blocks. You can find anything from shoes to jeans to jewelry to food to medicine...you name it, you can find it here. It starts at the Great East Gate (see picture below) which is Seoul's Eastern fortress gate. It dates back to the 14th century, but what you see in the picture was built in 1869 and has been renovated due to damage during the Korean War when Seoul changed hands four times. What is really sad and something that I didn't realize was how many times Korea has been ravaged by the Japanese. All the palaces that exist today are not originals as they were all burned down and rebuilt many times during the various Japanese occupations and invasions.

After I walked around there for a while I went back toward my apartment to an area of Seoul called Daehangno. There are a lot of shops, restaurants, bars and theaters around this area. There is a university very close by so it is popular with the students there. I included a picture (see below) of the pedestrian only zone. It was Sunday and a little overcast and chilly so not that many people were there. The picture doesn't do it justice, because on the weekends at night it is packed with people. It also looks a lot better when all the lights are on.

I also took a couple of pictures of my classes at school. The first one (see below) is my English Chip Level 3 class. The kids are all 10-13 years old and are studying basic English. This is one of my bigger classes with 17 kids. My smallest class has 5. This class is pretty cool. I enjoy the kids. The second picture (see below) is of just two of my kids in one of my smaller classes. I could not get the girl on the right to look at the camera!!

This weekend I am planning a trip to Hwaseong (Suwon Fortress). A friend who has already been there tells me it is the most impressive sight as far as ruins are concerned in Seoul. I will be sure to take lots of pictures!!

Great East Gate which sits at the entrance of the Dongdaemun Market.
Daehangno area on a Sunday afternoon.
My EC3 class. The classrooms are very small and all the kids are almost sitting on top of each other. My desk is off to the left in the corner. Notice how all the boys are on one side and the girls on the other? You cannot even act like you are going to have them sit by each other...they freak out!
This is a picture of two of my EC4 students. Sophie is on the left, Annie on the right. I could not get Annie to look at the camera!!!

Random Observations

2007-10-06T06:54:00.000-05:00

Okay, so you've probably noticed that I haven't had any really interesting posts lately. Unfortunately I have to admit that the past week has been pretty boring for me. I had to do some rather mundane, everyday errands this week that prevented me from exploring any further into Seoul. However, as I was sitting here I realized that I do have some random observations of Seoul and Koreans in general that I can share with you. I hope you find them interesting...if not, oh well.

As far as my past week's activities...one of them involved going to the Immigration Office and applying for my Alien Registration Card. The office was interesting to say the least. Imagine the most unorganized BMV that you have ever been to with people everywhere and no sense that anyone knows what is going on. Now that you have that image in your mind also imagine that same BMV with no one speaking English. The place was crawling with people from many countries (mostly Asian) speaking languages that I could not decipher. Thank goodness that the sign to pick a number was in English...otherwise I might still be sitting there wondering why no one was helping me. Much to my delight I was in and out of there in about an hour...even though the number that I picked told me that 72 people were ahead of me. That visit was just to apply for my card...a week later I had to go back and pick it up. That visit was much quicker. It took me longer to get there by subway than it did to wait for my name to be called.

I also opened up a bank account here. That is another task that sounds pretty ordinary and boring, but when someone puts a piece of paper written in a language that you don't understand and says "sign here" it makes you a little nervous. Luckily for me the bank that my account is in is on the 2nd floor of the building where I teach and the Assistant Director of my school helped me through the translation part. Oh, and the girl that helped me at the bank spoke pretty good English, but it was that form all in Korean that still made me uneasy.

One observation that I have is that Seoul is a great city when it comes to technology and being connected to other parts of the world through internet and cell phones, but they are light years behind the United States in waste management!! There are garbage bags filled to almost exploding everywhere you look and litter is all over the sidewalks and streets. However, when you enter the subway system you will notice that there is not a scrap of paper to be found anywhere. There is no litter on the platform or on the subway itself...it is immaculate. But, when you walk back up to street level you are once again looking at garbage.

I also noticed that on the brightest and sunniest days you will not find many Koreans wearing sunglasses. I thought that maybe it was taboo here or something until I did see some younger people wearing some one day. They don't wear sunglasses, but on a sunny day you will see every woman on the street with an umbrella. In the US everyone flocks to a beach to soak up the rays, but here, where the whiteness of the skin is what everyone wants, the sun is an evil thing.

One more thing that I found to be strange was that women will openly spit while walking down the sidewalk. No one bats an eyelash. As a matter of fact, I have seen more women spitting as I go about my daily business than I have men...sorry, I know it is not the most pleasant of topics, but again these are my random observations, so that is what you are getting.

Ok, I think that is it for me for now. I do hope to get out tomorrow and see something fun to be able to post for you all.

Strange Neighbors

2007-10-01T23:14:00.000-05:00

The apartment building I live in has very thin walls. Beside me is my neighbor Jenny and I can literally hear every word of her phone converstations as if I were right in the room with her. It also might be because she talks a little loud too. But she is not one of my strange neighbors. There is a woman beside me who either has a lot of gas or blows her knows quite frequently...it is a little hard to tell what is going on in there. Then there is a man who lives somewhere (I have yet to locate exactly where he lives) who has what sounds like many very angry conversations on the phone at all hours of the night. Then to top it off the woman who lives below me apparently wants to be a singer and she uses late morning, early afternoon to practice. I wouldn't mind so much if she was a good singer, but she is horrible! I am not a good singer myself, so I can recognize bad singing!! Imagine someone yelling at the top of their lungs and trying to pass it off as singing. It really is quite distracting. Anyway, thanks for letting me get that off my chest about the strangeness that goes on in my building. :)

A Weekend in Seoul

2007-09-30T03:57:00.000-05:00

This weekend I had fully intended to go out and see more of the sights and sounds of Seoul. However, earlier in the week I was on Seoul's craigslist page and I saw a posting from a girl who was looking for someone to exhange English for Korean. I want to learn enough Korean to be able to order in a restaurant or carry on a short conversation so I replied to her posting. I met her on Saturday for lunch in neat little area about a 15 minute walk from my house. She was very nice and we spent about 2 hours having lunch and talking. She had spent a year at a language school in San Francisco and just came back to Seoul in August to go to school for her junior year. She has promised to help me with my Korean and started off with writing down the Korean alphabet and the sounds they come the closest to in English. I think learning to read Korean is going to be relatively easy, but speaking is going to be another story.

We talked about other things too like some of the cultural differences. She brought up what happened at Virginia Tech and wanted to explain to me why the people of Korea felt so bad about what happened. Cho Seung-Hui was from South Korea and Ji Hyun explained to me that since the Korea is a homogenous society there is a feeling of "we" instead of "I". When someone from Korea does something bad the whole country suffers for it. She said that the government suggested families with family members in the US should warn them not to go out at night in fear of being attacked by angry Americans. I was surprised by that. I didn't think anything bad about South Korea when the tragedy happened but just that some crazy nut had lost it and killed a bunch of innocent people. But the people of Korea saw it differently. They thought that Americans would take it out of them. I remember that the Korean government officially apologized and really didn't understand why they did, but now it makes sense. His family was humiliated and felt responsible. I hope those feelings have passed by now.

Before I left for Seoul my sister Cheryl gave me contact information for a Korean woman she went to school with. I got in touch with her not long after I got here and we made plans to meet today for lunch. She and her husband took me to a very nice Italian restaurant. Afterwards, we had coffee and talked for a few hours. They were so nice!! Since they had lived in Chicago we had a lot of things to talk about. They have already told me that they are going to have me over their house for dinner and show me some other neat areas of Seoul. I have to say that I have been very lucky to have met so many nice people in my first two weeks here.

So, even though I didn't get out to any of the sights I had a good weekend having met some very nice people. I felt energized after having met them and felt so glad (all over again) to have made the decision to come here.

Until next time annyeong haseyo!!

My First Day

2007-09-26T08:28:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I just got back from my first day on the job. It went better than I expected. I had no training at all in the class I just taught but I somehow managed to do (in my mind) a pretty good job faking through it. The kids were pretty good but there were only three there tonight out of a class of six. I guess the other students were still celebrating Chuseok. They only tried to snow me on a couple of things which I didn't fall for. I did, however, have to confiscate two cell phones during class.

Tomorrow I have to go to the Immigration Office and apply for my Alien Registration Card. Then I can get my cell phone and open a bank account. Then I get to come home and figure out how to teach my next two classes, both of which I was not trained on either. Good times! And these classes will have more students, so I'll have to deal with that too. Should be a fun day!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2007-09-25T09:06:00.000-05:00

Today was Chuseok here in Korea which is a national holiday comparable to our Thanksgiving. Most business were closed but since it was my birthday I wanted to get out and see a few things. I started the day by trying Seodaemun Prison which is a prison where Korean independence fighters who fought against the Japanese occupation between 1910-1945 were held. Being the history nerd I am I thought that would be a good place to start. Unfortunately it was closed for the holiday, but it did give me a chance to sit down and reflect a little bit on the reasons why I came to Korea.

I must warn you ahead of time, this is a little long, and is a bit introspective, so if you would like to skip ahead to the pictures, please feel free. :)

I wish I could say that I thought of the idea of coming to Korea on my own, but I didn't. My sister Cheryl had made plans to do what I am doing now but instead life (and love) led her to Israel and to her husband Barak. Going to another country to teach English always sounded like something other people did; not a person like me. I never thought I had the courage to go somewhere on my own; in a country whose language and customs I don't understand. I am so glad I got over my fears and took on this challenge. It has started out to be a fantastic journey.

Of course I had to get over some obstacles in my own mind. Although they are unwritten, society has put in place standards of how a woman my age should be living her life. I SHOULD be married; I SHOULD have 2 or 3 kids; I SHOULD be part of the PTA, a soccer mom, etc. But none of those things fit me at this time in my life. In the past I have waited for things to happen instead of making them happen for myself. I have been a follower and not a leader.

If I were to put my finger on the event(s) that made me (eventually) take this path it would be the terrible period between 1997-1999 when my brothers and sisters and I lost our parents. Although I tried to carry on like before nothing in life made sense to me anymore. It was a devastating and stark reminder that we only have one life to live and that we should live it to the fullest doing what we love no matter what it is and what people think. I guess I was having a problem getting over the what people think part.

The one person I would have to say has inspired me the most (although she may be shocked to read this) is my sister Cheryl. She wasn't afraid to pursue a job teaching overseas and then when her life took a turn after meeting Barak she wasn' t afraid to pursue that path as well. So, thanks, Cheryl, whether you knew it or not, for helping me see that I can do something really incredible with in my own life without being afraid.

Whew!! Ok, now that the seriousness is over...on to my adventures!! Since Seodaemun Prison was closed I went to Gyeongbokgung Palace which was the main palace of the Joseon Dynasty. It was originally built in 1395 but was destroyed by the Japanese in 1592. It was reconstructed in 1868, however restoration efforts will continue for another couple of years until 2009.

Main palace gate
Guards at the front gate. I missed the changing of the guard at 3pm because I was waiting for another event to begin. :(
The entrance to the palace within the palace of Geoncheonggung.
This was a ceremonial dance at the palace. An interesting side note...while I was waiting for this to begin a man who worked at the palace set up a little table about 10 feet to the left of where I was sitting and began to hand out small cushions for people to sit on while they watched. You would not have believed the stampede of people who charged over to get these things!! People were literally pushing each other down to get their hands on them. After a while when they were gone a little girl and her family sat down next to me. She looked right at me and said hello to me in English. I realized that she didn't get one of the cushions so I offered mine to her. She took it reluctantly but thanked me with a huge smile. A little while later as I was standing in a different area waiting for the show someone tapped me on the shoulder. It was the little girl offering me a bag of candy for the cushion that I had given to her. It was such a sweet gesture.
This is Aiden, Chandler, me and Jenny at Outback Steakhouse for my birthday dinner. They are all teachers at my school. Jenny lives next door to me.

Ok, so it's off to bed for me. Tomorrow is my first day on the job. Wish me luck!!

Where I live

2007-09-22T01:46:00.000-05:00

Today has been kind of a gray, rainy, yucky day. Since I had to meet with the director of my school early this afternoon I decided to sleep in a little bit and do some odds and ends today instead of venturing out into the heart of Seoul. I thought I would attach some pictures of the school and my apartment so you all have a little feel for where I am living.

Above is the school that I will be teaching. CDI is on the fourth floor.
This is my room. As you can see I have a desk (well, kind of a table) but it has internet so I am happy!! Next to it is my bed, and no, I did not buy that hideous lime green bedspread. I still have to find a store so I can get some different sheets.
This is the other half of my room. Yes, it is only one room. Just think a really large dorm room. I have a small fridge, microwave, sink, one burner stove and there is a washer behind the sliding glass door. Unfortunately I don't know how to use the burner or the washer yet as all the instructions are in Korean. I could try to mess with them but I think I'll wait until my neighbor Jenny gets home and ask her.

Later today I am going to map out my plan of attack and see some of the sights. I want to hit a few of the palaces. I think I will take one of the walking tours in my guidebook. I will have some more interesting pictures then. :)

Hell week is over...

2007-09-21T07:17:00.000-05:00

I am sitting here at 9:18pm on Friday night at my desk feeling so relieved that the week is finally over. I have finally been able to catch my breath. The past five days have been filled with training on two different programs that I will eventually be teaching at the school. One of them was an intensive 2-day training which meant they tried to cram as much as possible into our heads in 2 days instead of the5 days that it would normally take. For that reason I have not been able to get out and see much of the area around me. However, this weekend should be the perfect time for that.

I am living in an area of Seoul called Seongbuk. It is a little north of downtown which is a pretty nice area of Seoul. The city is very crowded and houses/apartments are very close together. Sidewalks are pretty narrow and you really have to watch out because all of a sudden you will look up and see a Vespa coming at you! I am not sure that is legal here, but the Koreans don't seem to bat an eyelash at it.

My next door neighbor, who works at the same school as I do, was nice enough to show me where the closest grocery store to our apartment building is. I would never have found it on my own...it's underground at a subway stop. Yeah, I know, sounds like a crazy place for a grocery store, but it is kind of convenient...especially if you live off of that stop. It is only about three blocks away from my apartment. It was funny...as I was deciding which toothpaste to buy a woman who worked at the store tried to sell me a certain type. She even went as far as putting it in my basket nodding her head the whole time. She was speaking in Korean and I have no idea what she was saying, but she was really trying to get me to buy that toothpaste. Although I was tempted I decided to decline and go with the Close-up that I recognized right next it. I was afraid that I might be finding myself trying to brush my teeth with kimchi flavored toothpaste.

I was also amazed at how many people they had at the store trying to get people to buy certain products. It makes me wonder if those employees aren't working on commission or something. Another thing I wasn't used to was the smell of the seafood in the food section of the store. There was raw squid, shrimp and fish just laying out on platters ready for purchase. I also saw whole raw chickens laying out in the open...although it did look like they were in a cooler type thing...but they weren't under cover. Thanks, but no thanks!

Speaking of food, it is almost more expensive to buy food from the store and make it at home than it is to buy something from a restaurant. When my neighbor and I were coming back from the grocery we stopped in a Korean "fast food" restaurant for a wonderful seaweed roll. I can't remember the name of it, but the bottom layer was seaweed, then there was a layer of rice, some vegetables and tuna. It is then wrapped up and cut up like a sushi roll. It was very good and cheap. It only cost 2,500 won or roughly $2.50.

Goodbye for now, but keep it tuned right here. Since I got my internet set up I will be able to update my blog more frequently...WITH pictures!!!

Greetings from Seoul!

2007-09-18T01:54:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! As you can see I made it okay. The flight was long, but not too bad. I managed to follow directions and get to where I needed to be just fine except for one glitch. I was instructed to call the director of my school when I got to the airport so he could have someone from the school meet me at a designated bus stop in Seoul. However, I could not reach him on his cell phone from the airport. Although I thought that was a bad sign I decided to go ahead and get on the bus to Seoul hoping that someone would meet me at the bus stop anyway. I thought that maybe it was a bus station. However, it was only a bus stop on the side of a very busy street, and, you guessed it...no one was there to meet me. After looking for and finding no pay phones nearby I waited about 15 more minutes before deciding to take a cab to the nearest hotel. I figured that someone there would speak English and help me get in touch with the director. The first cab driver did not speak any English at all, so I let him go on. The second driver who stopped understood the word hotel so I got in and asked him to take me to the nearest one. There was a Holiday Inn not too far away and I asked the driver to stop. The manager on duty graduated from the University of Wisconsin and spoke perfect English. He was able to help me get in touch with the director who picked me up 10 minutes later. He saw that I had tried to call...he apparently had left his house to run some errands and left his cell phone at home while he did them. That is why I could not get in touch with him. Anyway, he took me on a quick tour of the school, took me to my housing and showed my how to get to the training facility for the next day. I even met a girl who lives next door to me who also teaches at the same school.

Training has been going okay so far...a lot of information to process in only a week, though! There are about 15 or so other teachers here. Most are from the US but there are also a few Canadians and a couple from England. Everyone is very nice.

I also got to experience the subway for the first time yesterday. It is very fast, clean and cheap. It puts the El in Chicago to shame. And if I look like I have no idea what I am doing there have been lots of people that have come up to me willing to help. Everyone has been very friendly.

Ok, must go for now. I am borrowing this computer as I still don't have mine up and running yet. I hope to by later tonight or tomorrow. Until then, annyeong-hi gaseyo!! (or bye!!)

Goodbye, Chicago

2007-09-14T23:12:00.000-05:00

One of the things I forgot to mention that I would miss in the US was a good home cooked meal. Barak, Cheryl and I went to Stanley's tonight to have dinner and I had the roast beef. Boy, am I am going to miss that!

After dinner I met Cliffy, Rada and Aaliya at Mullen's for a few drinks and some darts. I am going to miss you guys!
Well, that is it for me here in Chicago. The next time you will hear from me will be when I am in Seoul. I am going to miss everyone so much! Thank you everyone for your well wishes and support. I couldn't do this without you all!

Top 15 Things I Will Miss About the US/Chicago

2007-09-13T21:51:00.000-05:00

Today was a beautiful day in Chicago. I decided to take a walk down by the lake to enjoy my 2nd last day in the city. It is still hard to believe that I will be in Seoul in 3 days. As I was walking everyone I saw was going through the motions of their everyday routines...going to work, doing their weekly shopping, meeting friends for lunch, etc. It struck me as strange because my world is going to change very soon yet to everyone around me it made no difference. In a way it made me feel really small and insignificant. On the other hand I realized that not just everyone decides to stop their everyday lives to move to Korea for a year to teach English and that makes what I am doing something special.

The view of the city from the trail.

I also started thinking about the things I would miss while I was away and thought I would list them here.

1. Family
2. Friends
3. My kitties Jake and Jorge (yes, I said Jake and Jorge)
4. Watching Bridezillas with my sister Cheryl and commenting on the ridiculousness of it all
5. Lake Michigan
6. Thursday nights in Justin's Beer Garden with friends
7. Chicago's diversity
8. Working out at my gym
9. Cook outs
10. Watching OSU games at Casey Moran's
11. The Cubs at Wrigley
12. Getting together with family at the holidays
13. March Madness
14. MLB Playoffs
15. Being able to do anything at anytime, day or night

One more full day to go...hope I'm ready!

Last Weekend in Chicago :(

2007-09-12T16:45:00.000-05:00

Sorry this is a little late, but...

It is hard to believe that last weekend was my last weekend in Chicago for a while. On Saturday Cliff and I went to Casey Moran's to watch Ohio State play Akron which is also the last OSU game I will get to watch live until next season. Wow, that is really going to suck! We had a good time as you see from the photo below. Although Cliffy is a UM fan (God help him) I love him anyway! He always converts to an OSU fan when I am around (except for one game each year). Thanks Cliffy, for an awesome time!

After a little downtime, I met back up with some of the rest of the crew at Kirkwoods to watch the Wisconsin game. Matt, have you recovered yet? :) The day and night went by too fast for me. I am definitely going to miss football Saturday's in Chicago.
Me, Cliffy, Matt and Aaliya at Kirkwoods. Thanks for hanging out with me during my last weekend in Chicago!

One step closer

2007-09-06T17:40:00.000-05:00

Well, I am one step closer to Seoul. I had to go downtown yesterday to apply for my E-2 Visa which allows me to work in Korea. I went downtown this afternoon and picked it up. It was a surprisingly easy process. You just need to complete the form, have a valid passport and pay them $45. The entire process if you subtract the travel time to and from the consulate took less than an hour.

By the way...I did have a pic of my visa here until a friend reminded me about identity theft...so I removed it. No big deal if you didn't see it...it was just a picture of the visa issued to me by the Korean consulate. Thanks Josie!! :)

Labor Day Weekend Fun

2007-09-04T18:41:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was definitely a good one and one I will remember for a while. My sister Cheryl, brother-in-law Barak and I traveled to Toledo on Saturday where my high school friend Kelly picked me up to take me to my home town. I wasn't expecting to get there but she called me and offered to pick me up so that I could see everyone before I had to leave for Seoul. I got to see everyone except my friend Jenny. It was good to see everyone before I left. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture with me and all my friends. I am going to attach the pics I did get though.

Me and Michelle at the Ottoville Park Carnival.

Michelle and Kelly at the Ottoville Park Carnival.

The next day at Kelly's house. Orlando, Larry and Abby Wurth.

We celebrated Cheryl's birthday at my sister Marla's house on Sunday.

I wanted to attach my pictures of our trip to see the Fallen Timbers Monument on our way to Grand Rapids, Ohio...but I couldn't figure out how to add them to the bottom of the post!! Remember guys...I am still learning! :0

Surprise!!

2007-08-27T22:09:00.001-05:00

I was very pleasantly surprised on Saturday night when a group of my friends decided to throw me an early birthday/going away party at Joe's. My friend Josie was in town and I found out that she was in on it!! It was a great time. There were scarlet and gray balloons (yes, for THE Ohio State University) on the tables and a huge cake. I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who came and especially to Cliffy and Josie for planning the surprise. Mission accomplished!!

Kristin, Barak and Cheryl

Me and Josie

Scott, Aaliya, Me, Josie, Cliffy and Rada

Aaliya, Me, Josie and Cliffy

Barak, Kristin, Me and Cheryl

Cheryl enjoying some Ultimate Fighting Challenge!

Jason, Me, Iwona and Laura

Josie

Seoul, here I come!

2007-08-19T08:40:00.000-05:00

I just received confirmation that I need to leave on Friday, September 15 for Seoul, Korea. I am excited, anxious and nervous all at the same time. I know I am in for a tremendous culture shock, but since I will be in Seoul, a city of around 14 million, I know it won't be like living in the countryside where no one speaks English.

First I should back up...for those of you who don't know what I am talking about...I am going to Seoul to teach English for a year. I received my teaching certificate in June after completing a two year program at DePaul University. My certificate is to teach high school history, but I am having a terrible time even getting an interview in Chicago. I knew it would be difficult, but not THIS difficult!! So, about 6 or 7 months ago I started thinking about what I would do if I couldn't find a job here. Teaching English overseas became my backup plan and now I am putting it into action.

Please forgive the appearance of this blog...I am a novice. It will look better the more I get used to working on it. But you can check my blog every now and then if you want to see what I have been doing.