“Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons.”

Wow lot's to update! I'll keep this one brief and post another one as soon as I can!
Busy, busy, busy! But the good kind of busy. The days and weeks are literally flying by. I don't know where the time goes.

Anyway, I'll share a few memorable experiences I've had in the past month or so.

Makgeolli

I ate 1 silkworm just to try it

One afternoon in the city a friend and I were walking through the Hanok village (the traditional house village I went on the field trip to and walk around often) and we were just strolling down the sidewalk on the main street. A couple of older men were sitting at a small table drinking makgeolli and eating.

pajeon (Korean style pancake)

He invites us to sit and drink with him. We sit for a few minutes and then he breaks out into song. He sang for a bit. I managed to capture a few seconds of his greatness. Then the next time he jumps up and stands on the chair and sings "The Star-Spangled Banner" as loudly as possible pulling me up there with him. We all sang together in front of the very crowded street and sidewalk. It was such a ridiculous moment. We continued on eating and drinking for a couple hours as various people came and went stopping to chat for a bit. We were joined by a fellow teacher from Whales who stayed the duration with us. This kid kinda looked like Harry Potter which caused the Korean man to yell "HARRY POTTER" to passersby repeatedly and even convinced several people. They got really excited and snapped photos. It was hilarious. Overall, it was such a cultural, random, and completely wonderful experience that I will never forget. Sitting in the middle of this traditional village, eating and drinking on the sidewalk, meeting new people, and chillin with old Korean guys and new friends. Priceless...

Once a week or so I have dinner with my fellow teacher friends in my town. This particular night after a delicious meal we decided to go to a Norebang afterward. A Norebang is Korean karaoke. It literally means song room. This is not your typical karaoke though. You get your own private room, with cool lights, microphones, a big screen TV that displays lyrics and strange videos, a tambourine, and a giant book of songs, you can have drinks and snacks as well.  I had heard about this before but had no idea what it was really like inside! It was so fun, and they had an amazing song collection. Like seriously almost every song from my ipod! I didn't get to sing my favorites, as we were only there for an hour, but I hope to go again soon!

My first "night on the town" in Korea.
A teacher from the next town had a going away party in the main big city, Jeonju. We started the night eating dak galbi, a spicy chicken dish with cabbage, onion, other vegetables, but most importantly CHEESE! I've been wanting to try this ever since I heard about it my first week here. It was amazing. Next we went to a makgeolli place. There were lots of flavors such as kiwi, yogurt, strawberry, orange, and they bring out side dishes and snacks with each new bowl. It was fun to try try so many different flavors and a nice chance to meet some new people. We ended the night with some drinks and dancing! It was exciting to experience night life for the first time here!

 

Oh! So I got a bike! I found this whole situation quite amusing. The bus driver and I tried for about 10 minutes to get the bike into the compartment under the bus. With no luck, I was still determined to get this bike home. I mean I had to! So as he was about to just drive away and leave me there in the city I walked on carrying it and gestured to take the bike on the bus. We carried it above all the seats together to the very back where I sat with it. I just had to document this moment as I laughed to myself about the whole situation. 

 In other news, school is going well. A couple fun non-teaching moments that stick out in my mind are these: One for example is with my kindergarteners after our lessons sometimes. They are sooo little and just crazy sometimes! We have such a blast as I run around chasing them, tickling them, making silly funny faces and crazy noises. We run around screaming and it's just so spastic and wonderful, and just the break I need sometimes in the day.  Another great moment was at the end of one of my 5th grade classes. We have giant foam dice which we use for games. With these we ended up playing dodgeball for about 10 minutes or so. It was just so nice to let loose and be my goofy self with them. Some good bonding times with these classes.
Work at the education center is going pretty good, it's somewhat difficult at times, but a good challenge and learning experience for sure. I'm really enjoying the teachers' classes so far, which I was most stressed about!
The weather is warming up, although it's snowed twice in April (yikes! the never-ending winter!), the trees are blossoming, flowers blooming, and green is appearing everywhere! I love always beginning my time in new countries in the winter and experiencing it completely transform when springtime comes. It always looks like a totally different country. It's really magical.
I've been enjoying hanging out with my friends here with dinners and movie nights during the week. Every weekend for the past month , I've been traveling seeing incredible and beautiful new places, and enjoying fun spring festivals! Will update about those in the next post! :)

“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."

Wow, I can not believe at all it has been over a month now that I've been in Korea. Time has really flown!

Ok so brief update, I was picked up by my co-teacher from the orientation site and needless to say it was a very stressful day. I had no information about my school, town, or much of anything. She took me to the immigration office to register for my alien registration card, then we had about a 45 min drive where we talked, I received a little more info, and we got to know each other a little bit. Next stop was our school. I met the principal (eeek!), and the man under the vice principal (3rd man). Whew! It was good to get those out of the way. Koreans are very into first impressions so I was trying my best to do well, with the bowing several times, and spouting out the few Korean words I knew. My co-teacher gave me a brief tour around the school then it was to the next order of business. An hour and a half later I had my bank account set, we stopped for a snack, and we lugged my suitcases up the stairs to my new home. The previous teacher left me a note with some helpful advice and info, my co-teacher showed how a few things worked (washing machine, stove, heater, etc) and I was on my own. Several hours later, I was completely unpacked, decorated, and organized, and it felt oh so good!! I now had 4 days of freedom until the first day of school.
I spent my first day exploring my town, wandering about as far as I could walk, and did a little grocery shopping. The next day I met my neighbor, a fellow teacher who's been here 10 mths, and we headed into the city, Jeonju (where my orientation was), for some exploring. It was an awesome first day in the city. I met another teacher, got some stuff for my apt, meandered through a couple markets, strolled down the main pedestrian/shopping street, and just wandered. A couple days later, I ventured into the city on my own for a complete day of navigating, exploring, and getting my bearings. It was wonderful!

First day of school! I was trying to be way more excited than I was nervous. After stepping on 2 different buses to check if they were the correct one, I hopped on the 3rd/right one and was off to school! I met the vice principal, all the other teachers, and we had a welcoming ceremony where all the teachers basically just stood there for an hour, and bowed to everyone when the principal attempted to say my name, which he forgot. Haha it was basically a crazy day in which I had no idea of what was going on or what was happening next. Our room was a disaster zone with piles of miscellaneous items covering the desks, tables, and floor. My co-teacher and I spent the entire day cleaning, organizing, and getting the room to an acceptable state. Lunch was awesome! The day came to a close and I was excited to have made it through my first day!

On the 2nd day I met one of my classes, and got started on some planning. The evening following the 3rd day of school was the teacher's welcoming dinner. We all went to a nearby restaurant where I had the opportunity to experience traditional Korean restaurant experience. Sitting on the floor, a giant pan cooking a spicy duck dish on the each table with about 8 side dishes surrounding it. It was interesting to experience the Korean drinking etiquette I had heard/read about, which is very important. One never pours their own drink, and when someone's drink is empty you must refill it, ladies turning away with drinking, rules about elders, etc. It was great to talk with a couple other teachers who knew some English, experience new food, and get to interact with everyone outside the setting of school. The whole evening was oh so fascinating!
Later in the week at school, I was complimented by the 3rd man and principal that I was very polite, which I was told my co-teachers and learned during orientation is very important to Koreans. I was doing all my bowing and proper saying 'anyunghayseyo' awesomely! I was quite happy! Go me!
The following evening, my neighbor and I rode the bus to a nearby town, where I met and had dinner with 3 other teachers who live there. It was a nice opportunity to meet some more people close by, the dinner was delicious, and it was a fun night getting to know them a bit. Friday came, I brought in the gifts from home for the principal, v.p., 3rd man, my co-teacher, and all the other teachers/staff. They were all so excited and I received so many smiles and thank you's! It was a wonderful start to the day! The day continued to be a pretty good one and I successfully completed my first week of school! It was quite a whirlwind crazy roller coaster ride, and I still hadn't met all my classes, but it was good to know a bit more of what was happening.

After finishing my 2nd week of school I felt as if I had a little more of an idea of what is going on. I teach 3rd-6th grade classes. Along with a few kindergarten classes, after school classes, and story times with all the grades. I will also be working at the local education center 2 days a week where I will be teaching teachers as well as students. Also, I've found out. a couple Wednesdays a month all the teachers play volleyball together in the gym. This was quite the experience! It was so entertaining to watch, and see a more chill side to my colleagues and superiors. It ended up being a really fun time followed by another dinner with the school. This time my co-teacher sat by me and it was so great to get to talk to her and know her better and socialize with good food and drinks.

The third week flew by and the 4th week I will begin my teaching at the education center.

During my time in Korea so far, I haven't experienced the extreme culture shock that I was anticipating. I'm not sure if it's because of possibly preparing myself more than previous times. I feel like I read a whole lot, books, blogs, etc, or if I'm just adjusting to living abroad in general better. I don't exactly know. During the past month or so I couldn't help but think about my previous times living abroad in Spain, but especially in Georgia. Besides my month in Prague when I had an apt (with a roommate, not host family) this is the first time I have had my own place by myself. It it definitely quite a different experience to say the least. 
There are several moments here in Korea that have been completely unlike anything else, sometimes even completely opposite to life before. There are other times though that are so similar. Living in Georgia there were some stressful and challenging times, as well as the greatest culture shock in any country I have lived/visited. I look back now and am so thankful for these struggles. I feel as if they made me stronger and just really allow me to appreciate different circumstances and life now. On the other hand, there were some awesome people, countless unforgettable memories, some amazing and incredible moments that when I reminisce I can't help but smile. And I am grateful for those wonderful memories to miss.

Overall, I'm psyched for this experience, and always and forever thankful for both the good and for the oh so challenging times!

I'll try to update soon with some extremely memorable moments, fun weekend stuff, and pics!  :)

 

Welcome to Korea!

 I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I promise my other posts will be shorter!!

MONDAY/TUESDAY: After about 29 hours of traveling including 3 flights and a bus ride I finally arrived to the site of my orientation, Jeonju University. Needless to say I was practically sleep walking at that point.

at the airport

The big flight had delicious food! We got 2 meals and snacks! I was most excited to watch tv and movies because on my previous 2 international flights there were no mini tvs, so this made passing the time much more enjoyable!

at the rest stop on the bus ride

So we arrived at the university about midnight on Tuesday night. We checked in, got our room numbers and went upstairs to crash.

Cute little dorm room (fancy key pad to get in, and on the top right is where you come in and take off your shoes)

WEDNESDAY: Morning came far too quickly since my time for my medical check-up was 7:30. That lasted about an hour leaving some time to chill and eat lunch until the opening ceremony that afternoon. Lunch was delicious. I got the opportunity to meet several new people as well as taste my first Korean food! Also, no forks or knives, only chopsticks and a spoon!
This program accepts teachers from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, the U.K., and the U.S. It's always so great to meet people from all over! The opening ceremony was wicked awesome! It was nice to get more information and listen to an interesting lecture, but the highlight was the performances!

 

                                        
Following the ceremony, we met with our group that we would be having lectures with for the duration of orientation. There's about 400 people in total in our orientation so we're split up into 8 classes and each class into 2 groups. So in my class there are 48 people.

mint hot chocolate!

Dinner, Yum!

That night we had the delicious welcoming dinner where we sat with our class, a great opportunity to introduce each other. Later a group of us walked to a huge store about a mile away where we picked up a few necessities, concluding with a stop for a delicious drink on the walk back.

THURSDAY: Lectures begin at 9 am and the day continues until 8:30 pm. This can be quite the challenge when jet lag wants to be your best friend, but we pushed through it! Today we had lectures on elementary school, English comprehension, then a lunch break, then ones on class management, and content-based lessons. After that we get a dinner break. After dinner and before survival Korean class a friend and I did a little exploring and came across a lovely place for some dessert!


FRIDAY: So today began with a Taekwondo class! So awesome and intense!! I had really been looking forward to this one! I want to learn it and take classes while I'm here possibly. After that we had lectures on school culture, co-teaching, and lesson planning followed by more Korean lessons. That night I went out with a few people to a place where basically everyone from orientation goes. I tried the famous soju for the first time. Soju is a distilled beverage native to Korea, similar to vodka, but a bit sweeter. I sampled the regular plain one, and 2 flavored ones, kiwi and pineapple!

SATURDAY: Field trip day!!! Yay!! We all boarded buses and went to Jeonju Hanok (means traditional Korean houses) Village. Our first stop was at the Traditional Wine Museum. Next, we went over to the Traditional Paper Center. The paper is called Hanji and we got to view different phases of the manufacturing process which was quite interesting to see!

Then we had some free time to wander around the village so we checked out the Gyeonggijeon Shrine (built 1410) where the portrait of the first King of the Joseon dynasty is enshrined. Also, had the opportunity to experience my first Korean street food, and explore the little roads a bit.

During lunch we had the chance to experience Bibimpab which literally means "mixed meal." It was delicious! That afternoon,we went to the traditional culture center where we got to make pencil boxes using the Hanji, play and learn rhythms on the Korean drums, and learn steps of the traditional mask dance.

SUNDAY: Today was lectures on after school and camps, lesson planning part 2, lesson preparation, and cooperative learning. We are in a group of 3 and we have to create a lesson to present in front of our group and leaders. Followed by more Korean lessons and a night out!

MONDAY: First we learned about EPIK English Program in Korea) life and etiquette, powerpoint use, secondary schools, and wonders of Korea. During the last session we got to try on the traditional clothes called Hanbok. Tonight we had time for lesson preparations instead of Korean class.

  TUESDAY: All morning and part of the afternoon we watched lesson demonstrations from our fellow team members and presented ours as well.  In the afternoon we met our supervisors from our areas and signed our final contracts, had the closing ceremony, and then our farewell dinner.

 

got to get lots of different things to try!

 WEDNESDAY: We all depart early in the morning and go our separate ways....

T-minus 3 days!

So I guess it's that time of year again! The third year now I am leaving to go live abroad!
The wanderlust is inescapable!

It's been over a year in the making, with endless paperwork, tons of emails, and interviews! Now it's finally time! (sigh of relief).  A year of teaching English in South Korea! That's right, 365 days of full-fledged Korean life! I'm told I will be in the Jeonbuk province. 

"It is well know for having a great natural environment, with many attractive lakes, rivers & mountains. Jeonbuk is also well know for it’s local cuisine."

BEFORE

How does one pack for a year? You may be thinking. A question many have asked, and a question I myself have pondered for months.
Well here is a little idea of what it looks like. Yes it might appear to be chaos...but au contraire it's actually an organized mess....this is my routine every year: for the few weeks leading up to departure I lay everything out and look at it daily adding or removing items as necessary. Yes I have packing down to a science!

AFTER (everything fits YES!! just got to fix some weight issues)

As I spend my remaining days in the States, it's an unfamiliar feeling than previous years. This time as I pack and prepare to leave, it's for a year (or longer). And by prepare, I mean eating as much Mexican food as possible, haha but seriously... I'm not going to be away for just a few months, or half a year, as I've done previously just to return at a set date for my normal summer job. Also, this time around, I don't completely have an idea when I am returning, or where I will I will be coming back to. It feels so cliche' to be boxing up all my belongings and room of 10 years, selling furniture and clothes, donating items, and packing up everything to travel the world. Taking on the challenge of deciding on the life I want to keep here, and my life I want to bring with me. 

My mom has plans of moving and living abroad as well, so I won't be coming back to my house (and possibly my car) this time, which is an adjustment all in it's own. It's wild that so many changes are happening at once, but maybe that will make it easier in the end. Even though I won't be living here when I come back, I know I will always have a home in North Carolina.

At times I can't stop thinking about all the unknown, excitement, and unforgettable experiences to come! I sometimes spend hours daydreaming about my Asian and world adventures to come! With the countless countries I am just itching to explore, my list of where I want to go is literally never ending!

Well that's it for now....I'm off to make the most of my last couple days at home, spend as much time as possible with my dogs, and continue eating all my favorite foods haha : )

"let the spirit of adventure set the tone"

So, I pretty much spent the whole month of December traveling! oh yeah!

My 1-week planned trip to California to visit a friend out there pretty much spontaneously turned into a cross-country road trip!! My trip began with a drive up to New Jersey and catching a flight from N.Y. out to L.A.


My time around the L.A. area was spent eating scrumptious food such as this deliciousness and of course Mexican food along with having the opportunity to explore Griffith Observatory for quite a few hours. This was such an interesting place where we checked out tons of exhibits and watched a totally sweet planetarium show!



The following morning was spent in the beach town of San Clemente after the official road trip began! Driving a couple hours east, our first stop was at Joshua Tree National Park. After a couple days of hiking in this unique desert beauty and gazing at the most breathtaking stars one could
                                                      possibly see it was onward to Arizona!


We spent 3 nights at Catalina State Park!
On this trip, being me, I was stoked to be living outdoors basically 24/7. I can never spend too much time outside... rising with sunrises and chasing sunsets day after day. Each night in the desert the stars could never seize to amaze me, and the s'mores were always just way too good.



New Mexico came next with a quick stop at the White Sands Missile Range where we checked out the museum for a brief history lesson of the goings on of bombs, missiles, rockets etc. throughout the years...random but fascinating...

After a night camping next to about 2 mile wide former lava flow in the Valley of Fires, indulging in one of the best breakfasts possible, and driving down the former "most dangerous street in America" , it was time to say so long to New Mexico and a great big howdy to Texas!



Our first stop in western TX was at the Monahans Sands State Park. Known for its sand dunes of up to 70 feet it was quite a site to see!
And you can totally rent sleds to slide down the dunes!!

Following our night in this strange land, we continued east to Fort Worth, TX, where I was super excited to have an absolutely amazing reunion with my one of my roomies from Spain!! It was oh so wonderful to see each other again and catch up, as well as eat the most delicious Mexican food by far! After an all too short visit, we cruised on through Louisiana and into Mississippi where we camped the night.




Continuing through the rest of Mississippi and then Alabama, our next stop was Chattanooga, Tennessee!!

After rolling out of Chat town we were northward bound, returning to my starting point of New Jersey. I spent a few days there and continued my journey solo further north to Massachusetts where I was going to spend Christmas.

I couldn't have been happier that for my short time in Mass. it managed to snow a few times!! And to think last year they had no snow at all and it was beautiful and sunny. My annual dream of a White Christmas came true!! I had the opportunity and visit with lots of my family who most of them I hadn't seen in countless years, eat some primo Polish food, and spend time with my love, snow! :)

"I realized that logically, the snow was not there for me personally. But, still, when it snows, something inside me says, ‘hey that’s your present.’ I don’t think it’ll ever change."

"Here's to the nights we felt alive, here's to the tears you knew you'd cry, here's to goodbye tomorrow's gonna come too soon"

Well quite a summer it has been! I got to enjoy the past 3 months at home and nearby places as well! I haven't spent this much time at/around home for years!

It was really nice being back in the States enjoying time with friends, family, eating good food, and having lots of fun times; while also doing plenty of working at camp for my 3rd summer!

I got to spend a few weekends up in the mountains! Did a little working up there, swimming in the river, chillin, eating and baking delicious stuff, and really just enjoying my time outside and going on beautiful hikes!  I just love being in the mountains so much!

Sangria!

I also had the pleasure of taking some trips to the ocean! Soaking up the sun, fun times with friends, good food, and several relaxing days on the beach!!

In Acadia National Park, Maine

hiked the highest peak in Mass

Bar Harbor, Maine

I also was lucky enough to get to spend some time up North! I rarely ever get to see my family so this was perfect timing to get a chance to see them before I'm gone again! I enjoyed time in the beautiful area of western Massachusetts where my family is along with getting to see Boston and the coast of Mass, and Maine which I haven't been to since I was younger while visiting some friends near there. Hiked in Acadia National Park which was incredibly beautiful, saw lots of cute harbors and adorable sea side towns, eat delicious blueberry foods, some sea food, and the best ice cream outside of Europe.

Overall, a pretty great summer! Seeing all my friends at home and everywhere else around NC, chillin with my dogs, working, and soaking up the possible quite limited time left at home.