well, it's about that time.

This week is going to be an easy week for me since there are midterms at my school and Friday marks the beginning of the Chuseok holiday - the Korean version of Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to it because I'm going to Seoul that weekend... it will be pretty void of native Koreans (all traveling to small villages/towns to visit their families), but a ton of EPIK teachers that I met at orientation are planning to head over there. I'm looking forward to seeing what cultural events they have lined up, and if the stores will be open at all on Saturday.

Since I have no classes this week and no need to plan any lessons (if I were smart, I'd be planning future lessons anyway...), I guess it's about that time to do some reflecting on my time here.

Culture shock?

It exists... I don't know if it's had much of an impact on me, though. I want to say I've settled in nicely. Honestly, living abroad in Greece may have prepared me. Greece and Korea are totally different countries but it's surprising how many things here remind me of Thessaloniki. For example, the showers? I'm used to showering in a 4x4 bathroom with no shower curtain and the mirror and sink right next to me. Small apartments? I shared one with another person. Foreign languages, signs, miscommunication... it's probably easier for me to adapt here because, well... everything's Asian. It doesn't necessarily look foreign to me, and more importantly, I don't look foreign to them. It's interesting when Koreans realize I am in fact, not Korean... they get a kick out of it, I think. I had been curious to see what they think of the fact that I'm of Chinese descent, but overall, everyone has been super nice and friendly... and they enjoy it when I practice my Korean with them.

One thing I have thought about here is how my fellow, non-Asian friends are adapting to Korea. Because I don't get stares or people pointing to me, I feel pretty inconspicuous at times. If I did, would I be adapting as well as I am now?

Teaching

For the people who knew me at Northeastern, I would say that planning lessons is a lot like planning workshops. Except I'm planning them every week. And instead of the very organized breakdown (I'll be in charge of this part, and it will take about 8 minutes, you be in charge of this..), it's very touch and go here. I am becoming very flexible with changing my lessons at the last minute, or putting something together 10 minutes before my class. I don't know if these lessons are helping my students, honestly. I'm torn between planning a "fun" lesson, and actually teaching them something. I think I've been able to incorporate both but it's been hard to determine the students' level of understanding. Most of the time, they just pretend to understand. This makes me wish I saw them more than once a week.... and that I wasn't hindered so much by school curriculums and co-teachers.

My co-teachers are great, but that's another interesting part of lesson planning. I work with so many of them, and they all have different styles. One will be on top of it all, e-mailing me frequently, checking to see we're on the same page. One will give me the lesson that morning, and I'll just wing it until I get the hang of it. One will just defer to me so I'll have to put the entire thing together. Throw in a language barrier and it makes for an interesting work environment.

Friends

I'm very happy with the group of friends I've made here. Honestly, without that type of network and support system, I can see people here having a hard time. Not only do we share school stories, lesson plan ideas, and meals... but we're sharing this new experience together (not to sound corny, haha). Again, makes me think of my last experience abroad, and how much the people around me impacted it. As much as I wish my friends and family back home could share this with me... at the end of the day, I can say one word to a friend here and they'll know what I mean.

K-pop

I don't know if I expected this to happen, but I am actually getting into K-pop!! Haha, it is just toooo catchy. A co-worker at my school gave me some popular songs, and I've been hearing them everywhere I go, and thinking, "Oh! I know this song!" Before you know it, I'll be able to belt out these tunes at noraebong... just you wait.