It has been a long time since I have written, so I thought I would take some time and write a quick post.
January is now over, which means intensives are over. During the month of January, public school is on vacation, which means that kids spend more time at academies instead of going to camps, playing or having fun of any sort. This means a lot of hours spent at the school, however a more normal schedule. I started work every morning at 8:30 and would get out between 5:30 and 8:30. The hours do not seem so glamorous, but there were breaks in between. This schedule suited me well most considering I am a morning person.
The teaching is becoming more natural. There are huge differences between what and how I teach here and how everything ran in the States. First of all, I am in a private language academy not a public school. This means that the people who pay are the only people to make happy, not the department of education. This also leads to the problem of not having a curriculum. Therefore, most of the time I am preparing for classes, I am creating curriculum. The classes that take most my time are my TOEFL Speaking classes. TOEFL is the Test of English as a Foreign Language, which is used to check speakers of other languages ability with English, most often in order to get into American universities. I teach all the upper level classes of TOEFL speaking, nobody else does at my school, so I am creating and teaching my own material. It is hard to tell if it is sinking in or not.
I have been regularly traveling around the area. Granted most often I am going to Seoul, but I have ventured a few other places. Seoul is very large and there are a ton of different places I have gone to but there is still tons more to do. I have gone to a museum, walked around the foreigners’ district, bought a custom fitted shirt (only $30!), went to see Seoul from the top of a tower, and just hang out with friends. I also went skiing once with some friends. The mountain was not so impressive, but it was a lot of fun and super cheap! It only cost $50 for transit to and from, lift ticket, and rentals. The last place I have gone exploring is a little area called Jukjeon. It is a tiny little café district. You can stand in the middle of the road and see 6 coffee shops (I do not understand how this country survives financially). The area is really cute and reminds me a little bit of Kerrytown with the older buildings and atmosphere.
I posted a video of my apartment on YouTube. Watch it so you can see where I live.
Hope you enjoyed! BYE!
