Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody!

When I was still in Sacramento, my dancer friend Jamie told me all about how she was going to South Korea to teach English as a second language. I am definitely thankful for her because without her knowledge and courage (and being my human guinea pig), I may have never decided to teach English here... because I would have had my doubts. And now, since she has been here longer than I have, she is my swing sansei. She knows where to go, who to talk to, where to get the information... she's just got it.

So I've been out swing dancing a total of three times and let me tell you something, Koreans definitely know what's up! I would have gone out more, but I've been kinda sick :( Anywho, my theory on why Koreans are so good at swing dancing is the mechanics of it all. Koreans know how to execute a move that is taught to them. It's like a math problem, you input one two triple step and out comes Lindy. Also, practice makes perfect and Koreans know how to work. I actually learned recently that Korea works the most out of any other country in the world. True fact.

If I go out on the dance floor and ask any random Korean to dance, they will not only know how to lead, but lead the moves they know very well. Probably 75% of the time. If I go out on the dance floor and ask any random Korean to freestyle, that would kinda be like throwing a wrench into the works. See, all Koreans can regurgitate moves, the really great dancers have musicality as well.

Then it comes to me dancing with Koreans. I'm about 75% musicality aka I do what I want! So there is tension (haha get it? get it?) at times. Also, I'm a lot bigger than most Korean woman... and I'm not just saying height (there are actually a lot of Koreans taller than me), but frame. The women are petite and on average weigh 100 pounds (if that). I found out this past weekend that my shoe size is one size bigger than the biggest shoe they carry for women here. So you could imagine that dancing with me might be a little different then what the leads are use to here.

Nevertheless that doesn't stop them from asking me to dance! Jamie told me on our first night out to not be surprised if nobody asks me to dance because most of the time Korean men are really shy. So I was prepared not to get asked to dance. But luckily that wasn't the case... we were both asked to dance a lot.

All the dancing bars are in the Seoul area, so from the first step out of my apartment to the first step into the dance it takes about two hours. I have to take a bus to the subway, then transfer subways, then walk to the venue. It sounds like a long time, but for some reason time flies on the subway. It never seems like two hours.

All in all, I can't wait to go out dancing again. It's amazing. Not only because of the dancing, but because of the interaction. I don't get to interact with a lot of Koreans because for one, I don't speak Korean and two, even if a Korean knows how to speak English, they are usually too shy to speak English to me... they are afraid to be incorrect. Also, they have this family/group mentality which makes it difficult for an outsider like me to make new friends, because I'm not a part of any group yet. Hopefully I can be part of the Lindy family/group. Once someone has danced with me they usually open up more, and I like it. I want to get to know as many Koreans as I possibly can. They are good people :)

Video Time!

The Tranky Doo, Korean Style.
Lindy Hop at Happy Bar


If you are someone in Korea looking for a good night of swing dancing, check these blogs out:

Nalla's: Lindy Explorer

Adamas': Social Dance - Swing Dance in Korea

And it's also nice to know the metro website:

Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corporation

Manseok Park

One great thing about my school is the view. In front of the school, there is Manseok Park. It is so gorgeous and large. People run around the lake, there is a soccer field, basketball court, festival area... you name it, Manseok Park has it. I took some pictures for you to see.

That' s all I really have to say. Manseok Park is amazing. I know, not much to this blog post but sometimes less is more :) When I eventually do spend some more time in Manseok Park, I'll tell you more about it. How's that sound? :)

Step Into My Office...

The main reason I am here: To Teach English as a Second Language. Songwon Middle School has around 1000 students. The school has five floors and my office and classroom are located on the fifth floor. The students are 13, 14, and 15 years old and are put in classes according to their age and academic level i.e. the high achievers, intermediate, and low level learners. The school is literally five minutes from my apartment. I can actually see my apartment building from my office window :)

If you were to drive up through the front gate, it would look a little something like this:

When it comes to teaching, I create my own lesson plans for my students. I do not follow a curriculum, they just emphasize that my main focus is on English speaking. This week I am going to an orientation, so I might find out a bit more to what I need to be doing.

Every week I teach twenty classes and each class has forty students in it. I pretty much see every student in the school once a week. This rotation allows me to teach one lesson per week. With three hours of prep time a day, I have fifteen hours in a week to come up with one lesson plan, which means I am way ahead of schedule with my lesson plans. It's a nice feeling to be prepared. And if the lesson I put together isn't working for some reason, it gives me time to fix it. Usually with my one lesson a week, I adjust the lesson to be more difficult for the high achievers, and for the lower level learners I dumb it down.

My classroom is great. It has a projector mounted to the ceiling, two white boards, computer, teacher's desk, six windows with picture blinds, seven tables for students to sit at, and central heating. If you would like a tour, visit My Classroom in Suwon, that is, if you have facebook. Still haven't been able to load a video on blogspot yet. And here are some pictures:

The students are full of life and lots of energy. They always say hello to me in the hallways and then a lot of the time follow with, "You are beautiful". It feels awkward for random strangers, my students no less, to tell me I'm beautiful all the time. But it is nice on the days when I am feeling a little self-conscious about how I look :) The third thing they tell me the most is that I have big eyes... and not scary big eyes like the big bad wolf, but they think that having big eyes are a good thing.

The food during lunch is usually delicious, and you really can't beat the $45 a month it costs to have it. There is eating etiquette though... there are places on your plate that you have to put certain food (I don't know if this is a school thing or a cultural thing) and you can't leave the table until everyone at the table you are sitting at is done eating (which sucks sometimes when you have things to do during lunch, but it's a nice gesture). One thing you can't do in front of people is blow your nose, which is frustrating because most all of their food is spicy. I don't know about you, but spicy food can get my nose running, and this can be an inconvenience at times.

Something that I learned the hard way is they don't supply toliet paper at the school. It's BYOTP here at the school, and I've noticed in a lot of public restrooms too. And it's not like they run out all the time, they literally do not have holders in the bathrooms. Rarely do you see paper towels and if you're lucky, there is a hand dryer.

But yet, after lunch, most Koreans brush their teeth. They brush their teeth three times a day. And when they are sick, they wear masks to make sure they don't get others sick. Seems like a contradiction to me, but who am I to say which hygienic routine is more important.

Kinda getting off topic... my co-workers. My co-workers have been so nice and they are always making conversation with me. I was feeling sick to my stomach one day and my co-workers notice I was having a difficult time with my food. They thought I didn't like the food. I told them I did, but that I was feeling nauseous. Mrs. Hwang took me to the school nurse to get some medicine, she offered to take me to the hospital, and she made me rice cereal not once, but twice to help my stomach. Totally above and beyond.

My other co-worker Mrs. Chang, she has been getting all my paperwork together and just been on top of everything concerning me. It's really nice to have co-workers that are looking out for you. Especially in a place where half the time I can't figure things out for myself.

All in all being a teacher is just as I imagined. It's everything I want in a career. It's a job that I can be proud of and that makes me feel important. Most of all, I love doing it and being here, which makes it not feel like a 'job' at all. And that's the kicker :)

My New Digs!

I have waited awhile to have an apartment all to myself. Even though I like having roommates, there is always something special about having your own place.

My apartment is on the sixth floor, and highest floor, of my apartment building. Now you think I would have a fantastic view of the entire city living on the sixth floor. Apparently my apartment building is like the midget of buildings in Suwon. Don't get me wrong, I like my view, it's just funny to think I'm six floors up and still dwarfed by others.

The best thing about my apartment (besides that its all mine) would have to be that the heat comes through the floors. I love my warm floors because my feet are always cold. Also, it warms up my bed :)

The worst thing would have to be the water pressure of my shower, and that my shower is also my bathroom, so it gets my entire bathroom wet. The plus though is my bathroom stays really clean because I have to wipe it down every day :)

Location, location, location! I live super super close to work, it's only a five minute walk. I can actually see my apartment building from my office. I've always wanted to be in walking distance from my job and live in the city, and I have that here :) I am so close to many different stores and restaurants which makes things very convenient and I walk a lot more now than I ever did in Sacramento. Also, I don't consider myself a very good driver and I don't really like driving, so it's nice that I don't need a car here.

Here is a tour of my apartment. I hope you love it as much I as do :)


Note: I've been trying to upload the video in my blog all day, but it never completely loads. I will try to load it later, but if you have Facebook, you can see the video there. Here's the link: My apartment in Suwon. And here are some pictures.

More to come...

I made it! In one piece and everything :) I have lots of things to say, but no computer to upload photos and movies to go with what I have to say. So sit tight little ones, mama has to wait for an internet connection in her apartment. Until then, much love!