Counting down....

This week, I have been counting down to many things.

First and foremost I'm counting down to winter break. I am burned out teaching English- out of ideas of what to teach and out of patience with both my co-teachers and students. I am SO looking forward to seeing my family and traveling over winter break.

Second, I'm counting down the the end of my after school program. While this program has been great (I've really enjoyed working with the students), it's has made for really long days. I get to school at 8:15 and don't leave until after 7:15. Although I did the same thing when I student taught at Centre, it was very different because I enjoyed what I was teaching.

Third, waiting patiently for ag. ed. jobs to start opening up in Kansas. I think about where I was at this time last year- I was getting ready to start student teaching- and job searching was the last thing on my mind. Now, I am already starting to get antsy. It doesn't help that educational funding in Kansas was cut big time this month. I know that usually the first things to go are the "extra" classes, therefore the "extra" teachers.

Last weekend, I spent the weekend in Seoul. My friend and I saw the New York Harlem singers at the Seoul Arts Center. They were very good! The first half was traditional soulful songs. The second half of their show was Christmas music. It was so great to hear both kinds of songs. My friend and I also got a lot of Christmas shopping done! We even found a Costco (finally, on our second try!), so that was awesome.

I had no school on Monday, so I went to the Vietnam Embasssy to get a visa. I am planning on visiting Vietnam over winter break. The worker at the embassy was a jerk, and got me to tears. It was a really bad experience (I'll spare you the details), and if I hadn't already bought my plane tickets I wouldn't be going to Vietnam. They had to keep my passport, and I got it in the mail on Friday.... along with a receipt. The worker that I dealt with ripped me off 60,000 won (about $55). Because I didn't get a receipt of how much I paid when I was at the embassy (and of course it was in cash), there is no way to prove that he ripped me off. I am still upset by it- the ambassador will be receiving a letter from me, and I will be paying this particular worker a visit. The only good thing is that I received my passport back.

Teaching this week was very strange. The first and second graders were testing. So Monday, no school. Tuesday, I was supposed to teach 3rd graders (they aren't testing), but I ended up only having a half day. Wednesday, I was supposed to come in for the afternoon classes. When I got to school, the English teachers were like, "Why are you here?" so I told them that I had a class and they were like "No, all of the classes have been cancelled for the afternoon." I replied, "Oh, no one told me. No one called or texted me." I still don't know why they didn't think to call me- it would have been really considerate of them. Thursday and Friday were regular days for me. The English department at our school just bought 20 new movies (English movies with Korean subtitles), to use in class. So, I had planned to use one of these. However, I got told that I could not show movies in my class, and that I needed to come up with something else. I don't understand why the English department bought all of these DVD's, if no one gets to use them.

My students wrote their first pen pal letters this week. They are so incredibly excited to be making friends in the U.S. It makes it a lot of fun for me :) I even had to convince one boy NOT to write "I love you" at the end of his letter- haha. It is such a great thing for these students to be able to "experience" a new culture.

Tomorrow, Hwacheon County is again taking us on a cultural experience of Korea. All of the foreign teachers in Hwacheon County will go. First, we will go to a ski resort and go skiing- YAY! Then, at the same resort, they have an indoor water park, so we will go swimming for the afternoon. On Tuesday, we will learn taekwondo (martial art) and salmunori (traditional drumming). I am really looking forward to these- it should be a lot of fun. When I get back, I only have 5 days of teaching left!!!

I hope you are doing well. Much love.