Eventful Month of May!

Well, another month down, 9 more to go! May has been a crazy, eventful, fun, amazing, and sad month. Crazy: my kids seen to get even more nuts when the weather is warm. Eventful: Buddha's Birthday, Children's Day, hostel stay in Seoul, visiting Seoul Tower, Nanta Theatre, etc. Fun/Amazing: my parents and Tyler came to visit me! Sad: Tyler left to go home and then my parents left to go home :(

So, I have so much to talk about since my last blog post. I apologize again for not being more prompt, I was crazy busy with entertaining visitors for most of the month! Tyler came to visit on the 11th, left around 5pm on the 21st, and my parents got in later that night of the 21st! So much fun! It was such a blessing to be able to see my family and favorite guy from back home. I have been really missing my friends and family lately and I was so happy to have some familar faces here. I was chatting with Bri the other day, and she mentioned to me about this thing called the 5 stages of culture shock. They are the Honeymoon Phase, where you see everything as just amazing and so different and so awesome and you love it all. Honeymoon Phase, check. Then there is the Negotiation Phase, when the differences between whats familiar and whats not become very apparent and sometimes frustrating. Hmm, frustrating like having old women elbow me and push me around at the grocery store to get to what they want? Negotiation Phase: check. Next is the Adjustment Phase, which I think I am currently in! In the Adjustment Phase you start to grow accustomed to everything and develop routines. Another marked point of the Adjustment Phase is homesickness! (Is that a word?) I know Katie and Bri are here, and Katelan, but they were all in the same house up at school and so they all have a lot of memories together and sometimes I feel a little out of the loop. I have made other friends here, but lately I have just been really missing my friends from home. My laid-back, down to earth, fun girlfriends! I am thankful to have familiar faces here in Korea but I miss everyone from home like crazy.

Which brings me to the next thing, I was so happy when Tyler came to visit!! It was so exciting to come home from work that day and have him waiting in my apartment. At first it was weird, like oh-my-goodness-I-can't-believe-you're-in-Korea-with-me!! But it didn't take long for things to fall back into place and start to feel normal again. We have a relaxing but also eventful week and a half together. He came into school most days and my kids just LOVED him! Especially the girls :) I have a student named Tyler in one of my afternoon classes and he was tickled to meet "Tyler Teacher". I was glad to have someone else in my classes for a while, not only was he a big help but now someone finally understands how exhausting this job is! For real! During the week we mostly went out to dinner together and with groups, and one night we went to this show called Nanta. It is hard to describe, but it is a comedy/drama show that involves drums and beats and cooking. The only thing I can think t o compare it ot is Stomp, but funnier and with food. Anyway, it was a blast and Tyler got pulled up on stage for one of the audience participation parts! It was SO funny! During the weekend we did a bit of sightseeing in Seoul, going to Seoul Tower and out in Hongdae one of the fun places with restuarants and bars. Overall it was a really great week and a half and I was sad to see him go. But I didn't have much time to be sad because my parents got here literally 2 hours after Tyler left!

So after Tyler's visit, my parents were here for a little over a week. It was also sooo much fun to see them! My Dad looks like such a businessman walking out of the terminal with his suit on, and my mom looked like such a world traveler coming out of the gate pushing her luggage with a big smile on her face. I think the first thing she said was "I did it!" I know Mom was a but nervous to travel on her own, but she did great and sounds like she actually got a chance to have authentic sushi IN Japan! I was so happy to see them at the airport. We took a shuttle van thing from the airport back to Dongtan, and rested that night. I think it had been a pretty long day for all of us! My parents also came to school for a few days, which was hilarious to see how thekdis reacted! While my dad was in Seoul for business, Mom came to class for the first couple days. The kids sure aren't used to seeing a grown up caucasian woman around the building! I told them all beforehand that Tia Teacher's Mom and Dad would be coming from the USA and so they were excited to meet both of them. The funniest part was watching the reaction of John And Kathy, two students in my afternoon class that I named after mom and dad. Once they put it together that John Teacher (dad) and Kathy Teacher (mom) were married, they got so embarassed and all the other kids starting saying all these things in Korean to them. It was really funny!

So besides coming to school with me, we also went to Nanta that week. It was still awesome the second time around! Unfortunantly, I had to work that Saturday but I was able to go into Seoul and meet up with them for dinner and drinks that evening. We got together with one of my dad's colleagues Jimmy Kim and his wife. It was really nice to meet them! Before I left for Korea, my dad let Jimmy Kim know that I was going to be there teaching at a hogwon (private school) and to exchange contact information. Jimmy Kim ended up calling my director before we even got here, just to make sure everything was as it should be and to make sure she was running a legitimate business. I guess hogwons do not have the best reputations here. The ROK has had trouble in the past with people submitting fake degrees, or lying on their background check when they submit their applications. So consequently, the private education sector has become a little corrupt and it is hard to find a reliable school that will come through on everything they promise before you leave your own country. Anyway, it was nice to meet with Jimmy Kim and have him answer some of my questions and give me some advice about living in Korea. I feel much safer and like I have someone to turn to if I run into any serious problems here. Overall it was a delicious and fun meal! I was sad to say goodbye to my parents though and to have to get back to the normal everyday routine.

Other important events of the month: Mother's Day and my mom's (and uncle's!) birthday on May 16th!

Another event of the month: Children's Day was on May 5th! On the actual holiday, we had the day off work and it is used as a time for children to celebrate and be celebrated, to spend time with their parents, and to crowd all the local zoos, parks, and amusement parks! It is a holiday that is used to instil pride and independence in children. We had a big outing here at school the day before to celebrate Chldren's Day. All of the kids from LCI school and GGUM school (where I teach in the mornings) went to this park/mountain area nearby. They played all sorts of games, made some crafts, hiked around the mountain, and came to the ice cream cone area that Rhonda and I were in charge of! It was so funny to see how sneaky some of those kids are, there were more than 500 kids there so I think they thought I wouldn't notice when they would get in line 2 or 3 times for ice cream! It was a fun morning and afternoon and I know the kids enjoy every break they get.

So Amy, Andy, Brianna, and I are off to Busan this weekend for a friend's birthday! Busan (pronounced Pusan) is on the Southern coast and is supposed to be very beautiful! It is a port city so there are lots of fish and other local markets. I hear there's amazing beaches as well. Were leaving this afternoon right after school and will be back Sunday evening. I will put up some pictures of everything next week!

Until then!

Tia Teacher