My weekends have pretty much gotten better and better. Though that probably means I'll have a terrible one soon.
We had New Years Day off work so on Thursday evening we all missioned it into Seoul. We went to Oi Bar, which was just such an awesome place. I couldn't really get any good pictures because of the lighting, but it's like a dark ice cave, with little running streams, low mood lighting, and caves - low and high, for people to sit on/in. It was possibly not the best place to have the NY countdown, but it was fun nontheless. Tequila, tequila sunrises, champagne! There was a big group of us, and some of the people I didn't really know or meet, so coordination was a bit tricky. Some us of broke off to go to some other bars/clubs. One was called FF, which is like a indie club - Saw a good band and they played some good music. Went to another, etc etc. Then on to Cocoon, a huge club. We didn't get there till about 4am, did lots of dancing and trying to not loose one another! The others met up with us in there too. Got a taxi back at... I have no idea when, but got to bed at about 10. Or 7. Maybe 10 was the following day. You get the picture.
On the friday night I met Peter, Chris & Dillon and went to Yeongtong again. We went to a bar called Boobie Boobie which I think is my favourite one I've been to so far. It's really cosy and the soju cocktails are yummy! After that we went to Crazyduck, another popular bar, and finished the morning at a DVDbang.
Saturday night was supposed to be a chilled out evening. TGI Fridays for some western food (I really did not want anything Korean!) and we decided to go to Boobie Boobie again. I think. ...I need to talk to someone about the order of events.
Anyway, you readers are probably getting very bored with me talking about nights out and drinking.
Despite being massively tired and exhausted we missoned it to Hwaseong Fortress on Sunday. It's a huge fortress in the centre of Suwon, but I don't know much about its history yet. It was quite a hike, a much needed workout I think! I loved it there, the scenery of the mountains was stunning (You just have to pretend the huge city isn't there) and we saw the giant gold Buddha - It's very serene. I'm glad I've done a bit of sightseeing now.
I wasn't looking forward to work today, but we had a snow day!!! I was so happy. I could have gone back to sleep or read or watched movies but I forced myself to go to Homeplus as I had loads of laundry to do and needed supplies. Then, my phone must have fallen out of my bag into the taxi. I was so pissed off with myself. I have the worst luck with phones. Fortunatly, a guy has it and I'm hoping I can get it tomorrow. Its just really not what I needed.
I've managed to have a semi-productive day though. Tidied and cleaned my apartment a bit, done lots of laundry, and made it more homely here. I really love this apartment, but I need to get a rug and more cushions. Or maybe I could ask my mum to send my cushions from home ^.^
I can't believe how much snow there is, and it's so beautiful! Just very, very hard to walk in.
Monday, 4 January 2010
Teaching and Movies
Teaching
On monday 28th I had my first day of teaching. Because of the fact that I had been here for two weeks and watched a lot of other classes, I was quite nervous. It's an interesting experience getting to work and knowing that you have absolutely no choice but to teach a bunch of children. I know it's a decision you make when you come out here, but for me it didn't seem real until that first lesson, and it kind of still doesn't now. Especially as it's something I would never have considered doing at home.
I had 7 classes on Monday which is quite a daunting prospect, especially as someone who has never taught before. I have a mixture of ages that I teach, some are 9 or 10 years old, and others are about 14. The younger ones are very intrigued by a new teacher, and like to ask lots of questions like how old I am and whether I am married! I find them much more enthusiastic, but I think children will always be like that - curious, naive, imaginative. Teaching the older kids on my first day was pretty tough. I just couldn't get them to talk, and they're supposed to have been learning English for a while so I just couldn't work out if they understood me or not. Therefore, I am trying to teach them that it's not important to always have the right answers, that everyone makes mistakes, and it's just important to try.
Most people I've spoken to have said that in their first few lessons the kids are pretty quiet. I think that especially the older kids are a bit wary of new teachers, but it sounds like they warm up to you eventually.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays I teach 2 classes and they are both younger ones - 9 or 10 years old. I really love to teach them and they're all great kids with a huge sense of fun about them. The only problem is that I want them to like me so I'm probably not enforcing enough discipline. I think I'm pretty good at the pissed-off-teacher-stare, though. Another issue I'm finding is that these younger children do their homework from their workbooks which we then go through in class. After seeing that they all have the right answers, I ask them some more questions - Sometime else about the subject, or a re-phrased question, and they arn't too sure of the answer. I don't know if the Korean teachers arn't teaching them grammar very well, but I do worry if they're actually taking anything in properly.
I can't really believe that my current job is to stand up in front of groups of kids and teach them. It's very strange for me!
But as I've always thought, teach and be taught. Share your knowledge and learn from others. I'm loving learning about my friends and the people I've met so far, hearing about where they're from, being asked questions about England. It's great!
Movies
I've been to the cinema 3 times so far. It costs about 8000won, which is around £4.50. So about half what we would pay back home!
Avatar was pretty incredible, and certainly not a let down. I didn't get to see it in 3D, but hopefully I will soon. I think it's rare to find someone who has created a whole new world, the main ones I can think of are Tolkien and JK Rowling! The landscape of Pandora is one of the most imaginative and creative I've seen. The film mainly focused on visuals so I think a bit more development in character would have been good.
Fantastic Mr Fox was just so much fun. I watched it and was transported to my youth where I would be reading the book! It was funny and quirky, witty and delightful. I encourage anyone to go and see it. Oh and the soundtrack was brilliant.
Nine I wasn't sure about. I went into it not knowing anything about it aside from the cast, so I had no expectations. It's directed by Rob Marshall who did Chicago and is about a famous film director Guido Contini who struggles to makes a new film as he battles with issues in his professional and personal life, whilst engaging in relationships with his wife, mistress, muse and mother. It was a bit too long, the songs wern't great and it didn't really go anywhere (though sometimes I that works.) There were some good performances though - Daniel Day Lewis, Penelope Cruz, Fergie. It did have some ideas that I found a little intriguing, particularly about his perfectionist nature and issues in general, though perhaps a little shallow. I guess I would say it was 'okay' but definitely not anything worth raving about. Funny, because it's the one I've written most about. The boys all hated it.
DVDbangs
We saw about half of 28 Days Later, which of course is a great movie! But realised we wanted to watch something a little more lighthearted, so we put on The Hangover. Remembered that it's not that great. When you're drunk and sleepy though, it's not so important.
The other night we watched Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - I can't remember paying that much attention to it but the HP films for me, are terrible and fun. I hate Daniel Radcliff and his acting makes me cringe, but if I could live anywhere it would be Hogwarts!
Watched the latest Star Trek movie too, which I actually saw about a week before I came to Korea, but I do love it.
I'm sure there were a couple of others but I don't remember what they were now!
I like that I've met many other people as into watching films as me, and it makes me happy that I'm getting to go the cinema lots as I haven't really been able to since moving away from Canterbury.
On monday 28th I had my first day of teaching. Because of the fact that I had been here for two weeks and watched a lot of other classes, I was quite nervous. It's an interesting experience getting to work and knowing that you have absolutely no choice but to teach a bunch of children. I know it's a decision you make when you come out here, but for me it didn't seem real until that first lesson, and it kind of still doesn't now. Especially as it's something I would never have considered doing at home.
I had 7 classes on Monday which is quite a daunting prospect, especially as someone who has never taught before. I have a mixture of ages that I teach, some are 9 or 10 years old, and others are about 14. The younger ones are very intrigued by a new teacher, and like to ask lots of questions like how old I am and whether I am married! I find them much more enthusiastic, but I think children will always be like that - curious, naive, imaginative. Teaching the older kids on my first day was pretty tough. I just couldn't get them to talk, and they're supposed to have been learning English for a while so I just couldn't work out if they understood me or not. Therefore, I am trying to teach them that it's not important to always have the right answers, that everyone makes mistakes, and it's just important to try.
Most people I've spoken to have said that in their first few lessons the kids are pretty quiet. I think that especially the older kids are a bit wary of new teachers, but it sounds like they warm up to you eventually.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays I teach 2 classes and they are both younger ones - 9 or 10 years old. I really love to teach them and they're all great kids with a huge sense of fun about them. The only problem is that I want them to like me so I'm probably not enforcing enough discipline. I think I'm pretty good at the pissed-off-teacher-stare, though. Another issue I'm finding is that these younger children do their homework from their workbooks which we then go through in class. After seeing that they all have the right answers, I ask them some more questions - Sometime else about the subject, or a re-phrased question, and they arn't too sure of the answer. I don't know if the Korean teachers arn't teaching them grammar very well, but I do worry if they're actually taking anything in properly.
I can't really believe that my current job is to stand up in front of groups of kids and teach them. It's very strange for me!
But as I've always thought, teach and be taught. Share your knowledge and learn from others. I'm loving learning about my friends and the people I've met so far, hearing about where they're from, being asked questions about England. It's great!
Movies
I've been to the cinema 3 times so far. It costs about 8000won, which is around £4.50. So about half what we would pay back home!
Avatar was pretty incredible, and certainly not a let down. I didn't get to see it in 3D, but hopefully I will soon. I think it's rare to find someone who has created a whole new world, the main ones I can think of are Tolkien and JK Rowling! The landscape of Pandora is one of the most imaginative and creative I've seen. The film mainly focused on visuals so I think a bit more development in character would have been good.
Fantastic Mr Fox was just so much fun. I watched it and was transported to my youth where I would be reading the book! It was funny and quirky, witty and delightful. I encourage anyone to go and see it. Oh and the soundtrack was brilliant.
Nine I wasn't sure about. I went into it not knowing anything about it aside from the cast, so I had no expectations. It's directed by Rob Marshall who did Chicago and is about a famous film director Guido Contini who struggles to makes a new film as he battles with issues in his professional and personal life, whilst engaging in relationships with his wife, mistress, muse and mother. It was a bit too long, the songs wern't great and it didn't really go anywhere (though sometimes I that works.) There were some good performances though - Daniel Day Lewis, Penelope Cruz, Fergie. It did have some ideas that I found a little intriguing, particularly about his perfectionist nature and issues in general, though perhaps a little shallow. I guess I would say it was 'okay' but definitely not anything worth raving about. Funny, because it's the one I've written most about. The boys all hated it.
DVDbangs
We saw about half of 28 Days Later, which of course is a great movie! But realised we wanted to watch something a little more lighthearted, so we put on The Hangover. Remembered that it's not that great. When you're drunk and sleepy though, it's not so important.
The other night we watched Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - I can't remember paying that much attention to it but the HP films for me, are terrible and fun. I hate Daniel Radcliff and his acting makes me cringe, but if I could live anywhere it would be Hogwarts!
Watched the latest Star Trek movie too, which I actually saw about a week before I came to Korea, but I do love it.
I'm sure there were a couple of others but I don't remember what they were now!
I like that I've met many other people as into watching films as me, and it makes me happy that I'm getting to go the cinema lots as I haven't really been able to since moving away from Canterbury.
Christmas in Korea
I definitely had mixed feelings about spending a Christmas away from home. I think it's only natural. In a way I was thinking about how it would be a good experience to spend it away from family in a new place. But mostly, I was dreading it. I was very lucky at Kim & Lee because they gave us Christmas Eve AND Christmas Day off work. Most of my friends here had to work both. On Christmas Eve I just went out for a few drinks with Peter and Tara who work in a school on the floor above mine, and Blake who works at the same branch as theirs but in a different area of Suwon. Later in the evening we went to Noraebang which I think I explained before is kareoke, and always quite a laugh!
Christmas Day I met up with some people I worked with and headed into Seoul. We went to a restaurant at about 4pm called Seven Springs. They didn't have Christmas food - It was more like a buffet of salads and other random things, then some of us ordered seperate things off the other menu. I had salmon, and as many of you may know, I love salmon. The food wasn't quite Christmas standard, but having some western food with friends can't go wrong.
After dinner we went for a walk up the Hahn River which is the 4th largest river in Korea and runs through Seoul. It was so, so busy and I was split between taking pictures, talking to family on the phone, and trying to make sure I didn't lose everyone! It was fun though, and really interesting to see Seoul at Christmas time.
We went for a drink to warm ourselves up a bit and I got to try Makgeolli. It's a rice wine native to Korea and has a milky sort of colour. It's is about 7% alcoholic, and tastes of white wine, milk and fizzyness. I know that sounds pretty horrible, but I really enjoyed it.
After heading back to Suwon we went to another bar for a quiet drink. The others went home around 1am, and I wasn't quite finished with my night, so I went to Tara's where she was pre-drinking with Peter & Sojung. We stayed there till about 4am, and went to Noraebang till maybe 5 or 6...again.
I think out of that weekend my Boxing Day was the best one, purely for a great night out. I went to Yeongtong for the first time, which is about 10 minutes from here in a taxi. I was with Peter, Chris, Dillon, Taylor and Blake. It seems like a really cool area to be in, with lots more going on than my area (Maetan-dong). Got to experience Now Bar which is where a lot of the foreigners go (it's a pretty standard bar), and Tinpan which I thought had a bit of an alternative feel, so I liked that! I think after that we went to a club called Envy - It was quiet, but we were all drunk and had a dance which I had missed!
When Peter, Chris, Dillon and I left we went to a DVDbang with some more drinks. I really love just chilling out on a comfy sofa with friends watching a movie, drinking some more, and reflecting upon the night I've just had! We've done it a couple more times since then, and every time leave when it's light outside.
I really enjoy hanging out with those 3, they're a great bunch of guys - Peter and Dillon have only been here about 3 weeks as well, and Chris has been here for 6 or 7 weeks, so we're all newish. Most of the others have been here for months. (But if anyone in Suwon is reading this, you're all brilliant people =p)
I can't think right now about whether I did anything on the sunday, but it would be surprising if I didn't. It's possible I went to Yeongtong again.
All in all it was a weekend of much fun. I did get a little homesick on Christmas Day, but it's just important to take one day at a time, stay positive and focus on the things you do have rather than the things you don't have.
Christmas Day I met up with some people I worked with and headed into Seoul. We went to a restaurant at about 4pm called Seven Springs. They didn't have Christmas food - It was more like a buffet of salads and other random things, then some of us ordered seperate things off the other menu. I had salmon, and as many of you may know, I love salmon. The food wasn't quite Christmas standard, but having some western food with friends can't go wrong.
After dinner we went for a walk up the Hahn River which is the 4th largest river in Korea and runs through Seoul. It was so, so busy and I was split between taking pictures, talking to family on the phone, and trying to make sure I didn't lose everyone! It was fun though, and really interesting to see Seoul at Christmas time.
We went for a drink to warm ourselves up a bit and I got to try Makgeolli. It's a rice wine native to Korea and has a milky sort of colour. It's is about 7% alcoholic, and tastes of white wine, milk and fizzyness. I know that sounds pretty horrible, but I really enjoyed it.
After heading back to Suwon we went to another bar for a quiet drink. The others went home around 1am, and I wasn't quite finished with my night, so I went to Tara's where she was pre-drinking with Peter & Sojung. We stayed there till about 4am, and went to Noraebang till maybe 5 or 6...again.
I think out of that weekend my Boxing Day was the best one, purely for a great night out. I went to Yeongtong for the first time, which is about 10 minutes from here in a taxi. I was with Peter, Chris, Dillon, Taylor and Blake. It seems like a really cool area to be in, with lots more going on than my area (Maetan-dong). Got to experience Now Bar which is where a lot of the foreigners go (it's a pretty standard bar), and Tinpan which I thought had a bit of an alternative feel, so I liked that! I think after that we went to a club called Envy - It was quiet, but we were all drunk and had a dance which I had missed!
When Peter, Chris, Dillon and I left we went to a DVDbang with some more drinks. I really love just chilling out on a comfy sofa with friends watching a movie, drinking some more, and reflecting upon the night I've just had! We've done it a couple more times since then, and every time leave when it's light outside.
I really enjoy hanging out with those 3, they're a great bunch of guys - Peter and Dillon have only been here about 3 weeks as well, and Chris has been here for 6 or 7 weeks, so we're all newish. Most of the others have been here for months. (But if anyone in Suwon is reading this, you're all brilliant people =p)
I can't think right now about whether I did anything on the sunday, but it would be surprising if I didn't. It's possible I went to Yeongtong again.
All in all it was a weekend of much fun. I did get a little homesick on Christmas Day, but it's just important to take one day at a time, stay positive and focus on the things you do have rather than the things you don't have.
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