email: first day teaching

Subject:
Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 21:18:41 +0000
dear mom and dad,

so monday was the big day and wow i was so drained! that first day of classes really sucks the energy out of you. im sure it was all my nerves. the classes went fairly OK tho, i was prepared and the classes were very small (8 in one and 5 in the other), tho i heard the numbers will swell as the term progresses. overall i had a great time, the kids are so cute and were well behaved, but we'll see if the manners change as they spend more time with me. i think it'll be ok, i put down the iron fist.

i met another new teacher yesterday, it was her first day and she was so stressed. i felt so bad for her, i really thought she was going to cry. but i dont blame her; she didnt find out what classes she'd be teaching until 1am that very morning. at least she actually got training in the classes she teaches :) i talked to her at the end of the day, she was much calmer. i told her that we all know it's going to go smooth like butta next time.

i had tuesday off and used it to do my lesson plans and talk to the school about moving. still tentatively set for mid to late week. doing my lesson plans was super easy this time. im glad. how is everything there? mom, how is amado? are you still drinking coke zero? none of the full calorie stuff mom, ok? and you too, dad!

answering my friends' questions

Subject: RE: sha in korea
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2007 12:53:50 +0000
hi everyone! bcc for brevity. i got a lot of the same questions, so here's one email to answer them all.
=================

hi gwen! im still in the hotel, i'll be moving into my apt either late this week or early next week. i like the hotel, but im anxious to settle into my own space. it's small, but so clean and new looking and im in love with it.

I'll cc this email to teresa, but you can let her know that for korea, the only requirement to teach esl here is that you have a BA degree in any subject. i wrote a blog when i started my job search, about how i got this job and what it entails, etc. the url is http://theblackeslteacher.blogspot.com/

i started a different blog when i arrived here a couple weeks ago, so far it's mostly the emails i sent to my parents, but it lists my day to day so far http://sistershainseoul.blogspot.com/

There's a lot of info on teaching esl in different countries at http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/ it's divided by continent.

the food here is good, im really feeling settled here now b/c no meal feels complete unless i've had it with a side of kimchee.~sha

email: not my feet pictured.

Subject:
Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2007
13:49:33 +0000
dear mom and dad,

wow, there's lots of shopping you can get done at the subway stations. today i bought lots of socks. while walking through the subway, a vendor kept waving me over so i bought a pair of her crappy earrings for a dollar b/c she was small and elderly and spoke no english and i couldnt bring myself to say "no thank you." as soon as i pay, her colleague at the table with her, some middle aged korean guy, starts talking to me in english! well, it wasnt all on purpose im sure. he commented on my headwrap and that it looked very unique and asked if i was muslim and where i was from and all. we chatted for a minute and he thanked me for talking to him b/c he said he really wants to practice his english. it was a nice moment.

so it wasnt until yesterday that we all found out what classes we'd be teaching. many of my colleagues are annoyed, and rightfully so, b/c hardly any of us are going to be teaching the methods we'd been individually trained for. we were all given apologies galore. i heard from some veteran staff that it happens every year: the main office recruits and trains, without yet knowing which schools will need which type of teacher. we had some quick extra training that day. it's cool tho, all the teaching methods overlap so it wasnt too difficult.

of course this is not to say that i wasnt feeling nervous b/c of the class change, tho! i had a small panic attack yesterday, but today was very smooth and i found all the stuff i needed. it's still a little overwhelming, but i took a step back and told myself that everything i needed to prepare for my lesson plans is in my notes and i just needed to find it. hey dad, just like how you told me about how to change a tire! stop and think, ok what's the first step? put those brake things under the wheels... well, that's all i remember.

i went back to the school today to use the computer. there are an awful lot of handouts for the students that i needed to find and print out. monday is the big day. i saw a few of my colleagues on their way in as i was on my way out and actually i helped a couple of them navigate the computer. i felt so smart! it's a trip b/c we had all kinds of new info thrown at us when we came for orientation and the whole reason i returned to the school was b/c i didnt absorb everything that first time and had to come back to figure out what i needed. while i was having a small panic attack to myself during orientation, everyone else seemed soo cool and collected. and here it is a couple days later, and they came back too, as clueless as i was.

when i left the school, a group of small children on their way to their lessons all freaked out with smiles and giggles when they saw me and all waved and yelled "Hi!" and then "Bye Bye!" it was cute :)

email: i decided i could hold it

Subject:
Date: Fri, 23 Feb 2007
dear mom and dad,

things here are great. it's still cold and i still dont like that part, but mom, i have my wool socks on so im ok.

today i ate rice with some sort of thing that looked like potstickers, it was so good. i was thinking how glad i am that i know how to use chopsticks. no one even offers a fork or spoon; i kind of assumed restaurants would if they saw a foreigner. well maybe they see the filipino in me and know that im down. er, no, actually they eat with their hand in the filipines, right mom? Mom, you'd loose so much weight here b/c i know you can't use chopsticks to save your life! you'd starve to death! :)

im going to sign the contract to move into my place on weds or thurs, im really anxious to move in. that hotel is nice, but i cant wait to unpack and settle. three of my colleagues are working at the same location as me and we're all going to live within a few blocks of each other, it's really cool.

i stopped in the bathroom in the subway today and had my first encounter with squat toilets. couldnt bring myself to use it; but it was interesting sight to see, for sure. i did make sure that apt i'll be moving into has a "western style" toilet. monday is the big day; my first day in the classroom. im super nervous!

email: lush

Subject:
Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 00:33:12 +0000
hi mom and dad! i start teaching on monday! im so nervous!

mom, dont worry about not emailing me back, i know the computer is a scary challenge for you. dad, have you talked to ninong cooper? i used to cc copies of these emails home to him, but his inbox is full again. let him know im thinking of him. and godmother mary lovelady, too, i dont have her email adrs. and let grandma know that her prayers are working, b/c everything has been just so great here. oh and dave, if you dont want/need these emails from me, let me know and i'll cool it, everything is pasted in my blog anyway.

the school showed a group of us some housing options yesterday, im so in love with the officetel they showed me! it's only 10-15 min walk from the school i think, and it has a fridge and washing machine and stove and little balcony, it's so beautiful. i wish i had a video camera, i want to show it to you. well, i'll take pictures. the school put down the deposit for me and i'll be moving in mid next week, im so excited! and they take cats!!! tho maybe i wont get a pet, the place is awfully small and i dont think i'd feel right about keeping an animal in such a small place. maybe a fish.

oh, as for the degree from the school, go ahead and keep it. i ordered it a while back to have as back up in case anything happened to the original. when i was on my job search, i'd read a lot of things about schools not returning your degree or it getting damaged or lost, but everything turned out fine. anyways, yeah, do whatever with that back up.

yeah, i have to lay off those peppero sticks, i ate TWO BOXES yesterday. they so friggin good... i wont buy any today.~sha.this is of course from google image search, it's not quite as lush, but you get the idea. officetels are usually really nice.

email: pepero sticks are pocky sticks

Subject: pocky sticks are peppero sticks.

Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2007 08:56:12 +0000
dear mom and dad,

it's been a nice chill these last couple of days (chill as in relax, not like temperature. er, both actually, b/c it's still cold!) With training over, it's like everyone has breathed a sigh of relief. i actually havent seen too many of my colleagues yesterday and today. many went out on the town to, as they put it, "catch up on drinking for the last week." they seem really excited about soju b/c it's supposed to be very inexpensive. everyone was really nice and invited me to join; but i politely declined. not that i dont enjoy the occasional drink, but alcohol is full of calories!

tomorrow we're supposed to go in groups to the part of town our assigned school is in to check out the classrooms and hopefully see a prospective place to live. i look forward to it.

oh, i found DARK CHOCOLATE peppero sticks at familymart, it's my new favorite thing in the world. im still doing a step workout every morning, so i think it's ok that i indulge. :) ~sha

my mom

so i got an email from my dad and brother telling me that mom was in the news:

Car bumps San Diego post office

February 14, 2007
A car crashed into the Valencia Park post office on Stevens Way near Imperial Avenue today. The 10:30 a.m. crash caused only minor damage and no one was hurt, police and fire officials said.

oh momma... :)