Week 13!

Hello All,

I have reached week 13! It is my last week with these kids that I have had for a while.
I will be sad to see a lot of them leave my class, but some kids it will be a dream to not have any more.

My faculty manager has already started with our schedule and it looks like I will be teaching some listening classes as well as reading. I am up for the challenge because I already know of so many things I want to do differently.
This new start reminds me of new semester in college as well. I had the chance to kind of whip off the slate of the last 15 weeks of college and I will do the same here.
There are a couple of girls who want to have me again as their teacher! I will have to see if I will be teaching the next level up of Par Listening or even Par Reading.

Well- last weekend I had a really great time. I went down to Ulsan to visit my friend Zach for his 26th Birthday Party!
THe KTX (fast train) was a piece of cake. I arrived in Ulsan at around 10:15.
We went to a bar to meet some of his friends and have some dinner. One of his friends who has been in South Korea for only a month, actually went to John Carroll! She graduated in 2008 and I kind of remember seeing her around but cannot be sure.

After dinner we went to a dance club near by and danced all night long. It was great! We kept requesting some Western songs but they were in a "techno" beat.

Saturday Zach told me he had to work from 2-6. Zach is also an English teacher for a Private school. He told his director I was from a Public school and how I wanted to see what a private school was all about.
Obviously this was a lie because I work for a private institute. It worked out well until she kept asking me questions about where I worked at this public school and I would always drift off into something different hehe!

I couldn't believe how different my school was. Zach only teaches hour classes and really has the freedom to conduct class as he wants. I have a strict schedule where I must do certain things in my three hour period.
I definitely liked how his school did things, but I also like a schedule where I know what I am doing. I don't think I could do that with Zach's school. There were also only about 10 or so instructors there.

Saturday Night was the big party. The owner of a Bar closed down the Bar to have a party for Zach. There were drink specials for him and he even bought Zach a cake!!
I got to know like 30 of Zach's friends. It was insane how many people know him! I suppose I shouldn't be surprised because that is how it was in college too!

Overall, the weekend was a success. It is really nice to get out of Seoul for a while and experience other places in South Korea. I was able to go to this one park in Ulsan and it was gorgeous. With a couple of lakes, bridges, and the leaves changing, it was picture-esque.

This upcoming week we finish off the term with a huge team party. It will probably be at a Korean BBQ.
Some instructors are taking a term off and there are two new instructors coming in :)

Happy Early Thanksgiving!!!
I will write before then!!

Kristen