Welcome to Teaching

Just finished teaching for the first time! I loved it. The kids are hilarious. They thought the fact that my mom’s name and my name rhyme was the funniest thing in the world. They also just want to know a lot about me. Definitely a very different high school experience than my own, but teenagers are teenagers. I teach 2, 3, or 4 classes a day and two days a week I have a teacher’s workshop where I have conversation class with other teachers who want to improve their English. And at the end of the day every day, the students clean the school. There are no janitors here, every student has her own job. I supervise the cleaning of my classroom. More on that tomorrow. Here’s the powerpoint I used to describe myself: About Me

Awesome decorations at Q'z bar in downtown Yeoju.

Last night I had my first Korean BBQ – we went to a pork restaurant. Most restaurants only serve one kind of meat, pork is most common. It was good! Lots of new things to try. And of course, I had my first shot of Soju – it tastes like a weaker version of vodka. I met up with the other foreign teachers here, who graciously invited me to their Facebook group when they found out I’d be arriving in Yeoju. Even though this is a small city and is considered to be “rural” because it is so far from Seoul, there is a big group of English teachers who have formed a great community. We went to an American-style bar to play poker and drink beer, and to my absolute delight there was a Wisconsin Badgers Flag hanging proudly in the bar! Along with a Packers banner and a Brewer’s t-shirt. There has been a huge Wisconsin presence in Yeoju because of the program I am doing, so I guess I”ll have to carry on the tradition :)

At the top of the mountain is an ancient building where scribes would write. (Rough description from my Korean co-teacher. I'm going to venture up there soon and figure out what it is!)

Things in my apartment are beginning to come together, but I am missing a closet, making it slightly difficult to unpack and settle in. I’ll upload some pics once it’s ready for public display. But for now, the amazing view I wake up to. (A little too cliche in my opinion.)

There a lots of administrative things I need to do, like get an Alien Registration Card, open a bank account, and obtain a cell phone. I feel pretty lost without all these things, but slowly I’ll settle in and make this place my home.

Julia