I'm thankful for...

My life in Korea! It was amazing, beautiful, passionate...

But mostly I am grateful for all the growing and learning I did in Korea. A place where the flow of life is non-Western makes one learn not just to survive but also fit in. I think I put in my best effort here. I embraced the culture by traveling to many sites around the country, engaged in cultural affairs and exercised respecting their way of life. Even though I'm leaving I know a piece of myself will always be dedicated to Korea and the hard work I spent living and surviving here. With that said I can't help but be grateful for my Korean life this Thanksgiving season.

I came to Korea as an eager 27 year old ready to see the world and explore. I was also full of a lot of ambition. What I encountered when I arrived in Korea were not just a set of challenges but situations where I realized my strengths and weaknesses. Even though I worked with some tough people, been left tired from working 10 classes at a hagwon, I never blamed Korea. I've always known that Korea is the way it is and there isn't much I can do to change it. However, the key was to adapt and fit in to this Korean life.

Who knows, maybe I will return to Korea someday if I really miss this place. Until then I'm going to keep positive and be grateful for coming this far and knowing I could have gone even further.

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Make Math a Subject in the Classroom With These Books for Sale

More cleaning out goodness going on over here. Before I started teaching math at my school two years ago I bought these books to get a sense of how to do it. They were really helpful in understanding how young learners take in Math and also helped me see ways to turn it around into English learning. Therefore they were incredibly useful books and I think would be great for your collection.

If you don't teach Math in your class then these might inspire you to do so, as they have lots of ideas. Also many games and activities are included, which you could easily put in the classroom.

1. Developing Number Concepts, Book 1: Counting, Comparing, and Pattern

http://www.amazon.com/Developing-Number-Concepts-Book-Comparing/dp/0769000584

Price: 25,000 Won

2. Developing Number Concepts, Book 2: Addition and Subtraction

http://www.amazon.com/Developing-Number-Concepts-Book-Subtraction/dp/0769000592/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y

Price: 25,000 Won

3. Teaching Student-Centered Mathematics: Grades K-3

Price: 25,000 Won

OR 60,000 Won for all Three! Wow!


Let me know how you would like them delivered, and keep in mind if you have children this would likely be helpful in tutoring at home.

:)

Some fun time around Konkuk University

Even though my time is ticking away here in Korea I still hope to spend it with friends and exploring around town. I met up with a new friend last Sunday to enjoy an early movie, lunch and just looking around the Konkuk University area.

At the small independent theater run on the campus we saw "First Position", a documentary about young talent making it into the the dance world. It was a good movie and it flowed well as sometimes documentaries can get stuffy. For the most part I became inspired by the stories and also ignited my feeling to return to America. The tales of some immigrants who are trying to make it in America, makes me want to jump over and help them. I don't think you need to see this movie in the theater and can easily watch it at home and still enjoy it.

After the movie we headed across the street to 우마이도, which was an amazing and splendidly delicious Japanese ramen restaurant. The menu was by far the most simplest of things I have ever seen, with just two main choices and side dishes. I ordered the "regular" one where you could have ordered the "spicy" version.

What you see here is, and sorry the color isn't just right, a bowl full of fresh noodles, pork slices, hard boiled egg and green onion seasonings. The broth is what makes Japanese ramen unique and they did a really great job. For a cool end-of-fall day this hit the spot!

Next my friend suggested we wander around the Konkuk University campus and so I enjoyed the peaceful scenery. I didn't even know there was a small lake on the premises.

The lake came complete with geese who were eager to get some crackers or something off the visitors.

Sharing time with friends in Seoul is timeless and the walk around the lake quite memorable. But things were starting to get cooler and so we headed towards the downtown area, where I knew of a cat cafe.

This was my friend's first time to a cat cafe and I enjoyed watching his reaction. As for me I've been to many and so sized up the place.

The ...

고양이다락방 건대점

was a good cat cafe as it had many cats who were friendly and playful. Also the owners of the place weren't too strict on people and politely corrected where needed. It was a nice balance of sleeping cats vs. playful ones. 

I even managed to get one to sit on my lap and get a photo taken.

We stayed in this warm and cozy environment for a good amount of time, soaking up the sights of cats and people interacting with them. It came time to leave and on the way out I spotted the door covered in cat drawings, which was awesome. 

The rest of the evening was having pizza at a place nearby and then heading home to rest before starting the work week. It's great how there is still many places to discover here in Seoul before I leave. I certainly feel like I fit into this city and country and leaving is going to be quite an adjustment. But I'm confident the transition won't be too difficult. ;)

Fall's Last Moment: Around my neighborhood

When most of the leaves are on the ground and not up in the trees, you know fall is practically over. Yet it is all still beautiful and I couldn't help but grab the camera and meander around my neighborhood capturing this moment.

The fate of these leaves is to end up in bags piled up high around the 'hood.

Fruits for sale adding their own natural fall colors to the scene.

I also enjoyed the architecture alongside the scenery and a full trash bin.

It was all a nice distraction from everything and imagery to hold on to as the temperature drops and the trees become stick figures.

The red berries and green leaves in this picture made me feel a little Christmasy, and all end with that picture on this post as this holiday is around the corner.

Teaching 2nd Grade Math: Some materials

 Before I leave I am making sure I document all the materials I have made over the past several years. Most of which were made for teaching first and second grade EFL Math. The above is a set of telephone game cards. Each student is given the above sheet and can "call" another student in the classroom. I used toy phones and also they would get flashcards of fractions. They would practice target language and it was quite successful, although a lot to manage.

That is the same thing just in a more condensed format. Below we have a set of board games.

There were two styles of board games, one just on an A4 size paper and another quite larger. The kids enjoyed playing these games and I would make sure they were speaking English. One of the rules I reinforced was that if a member landed on a square and didn't speak it in English then that player would have to go all the way back to the start. This helped a lot as they could self-manage their own groups.

I found the above shape posters online and found them fun for English learners. Each one has a cute little poem with reference to what the shape is in real life. They currently are up on the walls around my classroom.

I used a lot of manipulative cards such as the shape cards above. Mostly for introductions and having students come up and do the work themselves in front of everyone. This allowed for vocabulary games and activities, too. I don't know how I could have gotten by without sets of shapes, coins and other various picture cards. Just writing the words on the board wasn't enough for me, I guess!

There is a lot more, so much that it fills up 26 pages in a Word document. If you would be interested in getting this document let me know, as I am very open to sharing. I'll see about adding more on a blog post another time, if it suits me. ;)

I will miss Korea / I will not miss Korea

It's an interesting circumstance to be leaving a country you have lived in for nearly five years. On the one hand you are about to embark on a new adventure, seize the day and capitalize on all your life experience. On the other hand you are stepping out of a world that you have on days treasured and on some despised.

When I think about what I will miss in Korea I call up fond memories of places I have traveled to and fun moments had on normal days. But I also start to understand what I won't miss while living here. .

I know for sure that I will miss the feeling of adventure living here. How I have become really independent, traveling around Korea on my own and taking the initiative even though my Korean is sub-par. Yet at the same time I know I can see new places and enjoy the incredible warmth from strangers, sometimes I feel living here is like being stuck in a box.

But I look back and pat myself on the back for coming to Korea, taking that first step in adventure. Indeed, the memories I have of my first months and years here are quite fond.

When I looked out my first office-tell window and saw the imagery above I couldn't help but feel how I was in a different place. I didn't understand really what I was looking at and the culture before me. I think for the most part I spent a lot of time figuring out my place here and the people I encountered. For sure this let's me know what I'm not going to miss after my time here. The problems I had with certain people (both Korean and foreign) and how I wasn't showing my best at times. But also I won't really miss being treated the way I was when coteaching. The whole thing of "nunchi" and keeping face is something I am going to enjoy not having to worry about back home. Yet at the same time I have learned to live with these aspects of Korean culture, to the point I no longer try and fight it.

Even though I know they had not enough money and didn't really care, I will never understand why my first public school put me in the above hideous dwelling. A room with no window and filtered in cigarette smoke does not make for a happy camper. In fact it's taken a lot of energy and time to get over this occurrence. But I know for sure I would never put a Korean visiting in my country in a place like this, and say "Oh sorry it was the best we could do."

So you see I have very sweet memories of Korea and also incredibly bitter ones as well. Yet they all mix together in a swirl, and I am not leaving Korea with hatred towards this culture. All of the bitter times in Korea helped me grow as a person and gave me strength that I can survive hard times. On top of that the pleasant times I had let me know how enriching living in another culture can be.

Therefore, when I look back on life in Korea I can't help but share with you the things I won't miss, but also those that I hold fondly. These days as I clean out my house and prepare for leaving I can't help but stop and imagine that soon I will be on the other side of the ocean looking back on it all here. It's a hard picture to grasp, and I get somewhat sad knowing it's going to end soon. Maybe I'll come back? Whatever happens I'm not going to regard Korea in a sorrowful light, it was what it was, and that's that.