I realize that in a year and a half I’ve never shared pictures of my apartment. The next few blog posts will be a little tour of my place.
This is my bathroom. It may not seem like much, but I’m actually really fortunate to have my bathroom set up like this. A lot of teacher apartments just have shower heads attached to the wall over their bathroom sink. My shower is somewhat separate.
About 9 months ago, my two best friends in Korea came by my apartment to see me, but I wasn’t home. Dave and I were actually out on one of our first dates. They probably came by to get the gossip because that’s just what girls do. When I didn’t answer the door, they left me a note. It says “Y u no here”. I never washed it off… until now. It made me a little bit sad. I feel so lucky to have met Jamie and Shanna. We have had so much fun together.
Dave left for Australia on Monday night so I have custody of our plants. I haven’t killed them yet, so that’s good.
Many of you don’t know this… I have turned in my resignation letter to my school. I have decided to quit teaching 6 months early. My last day of my contract is now August 25, instead of February 25.
I requested to take a week of unpaid leave so that I could go home for my brother’s wedding in October. My school declined my request and said that even Korean teachers can’t take a week off during the school year. I understand their point, but I’m only a co-teacher so my classes would be covered.
I am under contract, but my contract states that it can be cancelled if I give two months notice. I turned in my resignation letter at the end of June and my co-teacher seemed surprised. Did they really think I was going to miss my brother’s wedding?
There’s no penalty for leaving if you stay 6 months into your contract, but I will miss out on some of my completion bonuses. The pension system here has helped me a lot because in late September I will get back what I contributed and the school matches it.
I am not going back to the States until the wedding and I’ll be there for a few weeks. After that, I’m coming back to Korea until Dave finishes his job here. This time I’ll be living in Ulsan.
I’ll still be posting photos of all of my adventures and they should be more frequent since I’ll have a bit more free time.
Some of the big grocery store chains in Korea have coin operated grocery carts. You put 100 won (about 10 cents) into the cart and that releases the chain connecting it to the cart in front of it. When you’re done shopping, just return the cart, connect the chain once again and your 100 won will pop out.
Camp is over. Hallelujah!
Friday was tough. First, I taught low level 3rd and 4th graders (see the top photo) for two hours. The class would have been fantastic if it wasn’t for the twin boys. Their level was so low and their attitudes were really bad. I literally had to keep holding one of them back because he kept getting out of his chair every two minutes to beat up the boy in the top right of the photo. He even picked up a chair at one point.
Next, I had my regular 5th & 6th grade class for two hours. That age is a bit harder because the girls and boys don’t want to have anything to do with one another and the girls get really quiet. Also, I had one of the biggest 6th grade trouble makers my class. He’s not in the picture because he left early.
Overall, camp went pretty well. And I’m sooooo glad it’s over.
Camp is almost over! I’m so excited. Today was my last day to teach my low level 5th and 6th grade class.
I really enjoyed this class. They were always really enthusiastic and excited about class.
One of my very favorite people in the world is coming to Korea in less than a month. I absolutely cannot wait. I think about it every day.
I ordered a few things online to her house and she sent me this picture of them in her suitcase.
There is half a block in my neighborhood that’s lined with shops like these. I never thought anything of them until I walked by them at night for the first time.
The glass is fogged except for one line (at eye level if you’re sitting on a stool). Usually there’s a woman sitting there peering through the glass. The room is illuminated red. I translated the sign using my phone. It means “Firework.”
Korea is obsessed with poo (You may remember my previous post about poop bread in Seoul.) I found these socks in a Daiso (like a dollar store). You can guy them in grey or black.
Life Outside of Texas 