Why do this?

As my American family gathers in Virginia to celebrate Thanksgiving, I ask myself, "Why do what I am doing?" Why take a year off, knowing full well I want to continue my studies in grad school? Why spend a year away from your family, missing your favorite family holidays like Thanksgiving, and Christmas? Why spend a year teaching children when I know I do not want to teach children in the future?

Turning for the camera! Beautiful fall leaves...

These questions have answers, though the answers are different than they were when I first applied to Fulbright.

 When I applied to Fulbright, as a burned-out senior in college, I thought this year would be my "year off." A fun way to spend a year in between undergrad and grad school. I was wrong. This year is not a year off, because I am working 40 hours a week, trying to navigate a full time job in a culture and language I don't speak. And yes, I am having fun, but I am also working very, very hard.

Here are some of the many reasons why I choose to spend a year away from friends and family:

• This year is a year that is allowing me to grow from a college student into an adult. (Even though college students are technically adults...they also are not. I'm learning that now.)

• This year is teaching me to respect my own teachers in life more (shout out to my Roanoke College professors), as I realize through experience how difficult it is to be a teacher. 

• This year is preparing me for seminary by providing very practical experiences in trusting God and giving me time to evaluate and grow in my relationship with Him. 

• This year is showing me things that I do and do not want in my future. I know now, that I do not want to teach children for my entire life. But I do want to go into teaching. This year (and living with 3 little Korean girls) is also showing me that I want children of my own....one day, definitely not yet. 

We are in the shadows, but I am sitting with two of
 my host sisters underneath the tree.

• This year is teaching me to be patient and content in the moment. Waiting for my co teachers to translate an important meeting for me, or waiting for my little host sisters to get ready for school (quite a lengthy process). And most of all enjoying this year, even though my heart very much longs to be at school studying again. 

• This year is an opportunity to grow in humility. I am not always a good teacher, I make a lot of mistakes, but people are very gracious with me. I am not that great at Korean. I do not always trust God, and I do let fear get the better of me. I am learning that there is so much to learn, and that it is a good thing. 

Autumn in Korea features amazing vibrant colors.

Settling into a New Life

It has been a little over one week in my new city, which I now call home for one year: Cheongju.

Last day at orientation, our orientation leaders are saying goodbye up front, as most of them are heading back to the States.
We owe them a lot for all the training they gave us! 

Last Friday, my wonderful co-teacher picked me up from Goesan after the Fulbright Orientation closing ceremony, and presented me with a beautiful flower bouquet from my school, Jeungan Elementray School, as a welcome present.

My host school welcomed me with a flower bouquet. 

She drove me to Cheongju and introduced me to my host family: host father, mother, and three little girls (3,5,7). The family welcomed me Friday night with a delicious cake and over the next few days showed me around the neighborhood. Our communication skills are limited, as they speak only a little English, and I speak only a little Korean. But with the help of a dictionary, we manage. I think as time goes on, it will get easier to communicate. My host sisters are full of energy and so cute I can't help smiling even when they are behaving naughty. As is part of Korean culture, the youngest always shares her food with me, and the others include me in their games as well. I don't think they understand that I don't understand them. Or maybe they just don't care. They speak Korean with me, and I think I will learn a lot from them.

My wonderful host family presented me with a beautiful cake, which we proceeded to eat with chopsticks!

Elementary school students don't begin the new semester until September, so this past week I have been helping another of my co-teachers teach the English camp. Tuesday welcomed third and fourth graders for one week. We sung Do-Re-Mi from Sound of Music and especially the boys participated with gusto! I also taught them a short dance from Zootopia, animals sounds and a Zootopia role-play. I had to practice the dance a lot...we all know how great I am at dancing! ;)
My co-teacher and I usually take our lunch hour at a local restaurant, as she is introducing me to various Korean dishes. I have promised myself to be courageous this year, so yesterday I tried larvae, fish liver and some kind of sea snail. It wasn't terrible, although I do not think I will willingly order any of the above again! Korean food has plenty of other delicious choices to choose from!

One of the three English rooms I will be teaching in. My desk and computer are in this classroom. I will have about 25-30 children per class. Overall, I will be teaching close to 400 students! 

There are over 8 ETAs in Cheongju. I am thankful for their presence and emotional support. During the week I do not see them a lot, although a few live in walking distance from me. However we are all trying to spend as much time with our school and host family as possible, to get used to each other and make the transition easier for all of us.

Last Sunday an ETA friend and I visited Sang Dang Church, which offers an English worship service. It was so good to have fellowship with others in a language that I understand! Both of us felt very welcomed and are planning on attending again!

This update has been a bit longer than most, but more has happened in the past week
than in the past six weeks! A new update to follow next week!
Peace out.

Teaching 101 and a trip to Cheongju

Today's post features a brief summary of my first teaching experiences, as well as a day trip to Cheongju (청주), the city I will be living and teaching in this year.

View of Cheongju from a vantage point in a mall.
My school will be close to this area.

This is the end of the fourth week of orientation, which means I have been here for almost a month, and in only two more weeks I begin teaching at my school in Cheongju.....crazy!!!

These past two weeks I taught my first lesson plan. First I taught a class of 10 students who ranged between 5th and 9th grade. They were such great kids! I started off the lesson singing "If you're happy..." And the students participated loudly. The second lesson plan was co-taught with one of the other awesome ETAs, and we had the kids make moon colonies, to help them start thinking about the future tense.

Teaching both classes was a lot of fun, but it was also a lot of hard work. My respect for teachers has risen exponentially! I also learned that I have several teaching areas that need improving, namely class management and time management, but I think this next year will teach me a lot about teaching, and I will learn naturally to adjust and change my teaching style based on students' needs.

Yesterday a friend and I took a bus to Cheongju; the city I will be teaching in. We spent the day shopping for new "teacher" outfits, and enjoyed the air conditioned stores away from the stifling city heat. Cheongju is a city of about 800,000. My first impression was that it is a bigger city than I imagined. It will take me a while to learn how to navigate the many streets and alleys, but I feel ready to begin my adventure there.

This weekend we also went out for Korean BBQ.
My prediction for this year is that I will spend a lot of money on delicious food...

Weekend in Sokcho: Hiking and More

View of Sokcho from the hotel restaurant

Last week concluded with a weekend field trip to Sokcho, further in the north, on the east coast of South Korea. After a lecture on Buddhism in Korea and a trip to a temple, some of us ETAs spent the rest of the evening on the beach, listening to the waves break on the shore. I always find something oddly comforting about the water, as it connects all parts of the world together. The water that laps on the shore of Korea also touches the shore of Australia, Japan, and somewhere far off Europe. I know they are technically all different oceans, but the water is connected, and through that the entire world is. I like the thought.

Our lecture hall in the hotel

Saturday in Sokcho was spent enjoying nature as a big group of us went hiking in Seoraksan National Park. It was simply breathtaking, and if possible, I'd like to return in the fall to hike under colorful foliage. A few of us chose to hike to the waterfalls, about a 1.5 hour hike. Once achieved, hikers have the option of continuing on for .4 km, to the outlook. However, the .4 km are climbing straight up stairs. I am afraid to say I only made it half of the way before my head began to pound unbearably and my legs became jello. One of my many goals for this year is to one day make it back to Seoraksansan and conquer the remaining .2 km!

Korean hikers are so fit!!

After our hike, we payed 10 000 won ($10) to take the cable car up to the top of one of the many mountains in the park. The money was well spent, as I have never seen a more breathtaking view. The jagged cliffs, and the beautiful, resilient trees growing in high up places; the mist surrounding the mountains like a blanket. It was beautiful.

View from the cable car

View at the top of the mountain

Sunday we returned to Goesan for another week of orientation, Korean language classes and F.E.P. (Fulbright English Program, an English camp for middle school and high schoolers). Tomorrow and Friday are midterm days for Korean classes, and Friday I teach my first ever lesson plan in class for F.E.P. I am nervous...I think almost all of us are. But I am also very excited to finally meet students first hand, and begin the life long learning process of how to teach, something I think only experience can truly teach.

The Airport World

I am here. I made it! After traveling from Brussels to Istanbul to Seoul, my inner clock is completely turned around, and I know, I know tomorrow I will be dead. But not yet. Today I am enjoying the airport world that is Incheon International Airport.

My flight landed this morning at 10 a.m. Because of pick-up scheduling, Fulbright is only picking all the ETAs up at 5 a.m tomorrow. So to save money, I decided to spend the night in Incheon. Uncomfortable, yes; but beneficial to my pocket book. I payed 15 dollars to have my luggage kept for me in a holding area and then, 70 lb lighter and accompanied by my trusty laptop, I decided to explore the airport. My km counter on my iPhone says I have walked over 5 km today. Not too unusual, except when you imagine those 5 km in an airport. On my adventure I discovered the ice rink hidden on the bottom floor of Incheon. Amazing! Later I stumbled across a movie theatre, and decided to stop in for a screening of the new Finding Dory movie. Not before eating dinner at one of the numerous restaurants on the 4th floor. While enjoying a very spicy dinner, I was serenaded by live piano and violin music, as the airport regularly entertains its guests with live performances, both modern and traditional.

The thing that impressed me most about Incheon was the attention given to educating visitors about the Korean culture. In only one day, I experienced traditional Korean music performances, saw exhibits of Korean art, and other activities. I think Incheon has the right idea, and more airports should make the effort to reach the travelers journeying through; thousands, and thousands every day. Many of us are only transferring to another flight, yet still, I think many travelers would like to learn about the country they are sojourning in.

D-25 Let The Preparations Begin

What do European cities have to do with Korea? Not much, except that I am currently living with my parents in France, as I prepare for my year of teaching English in South Korea.

The view from the restaurant terrace

Yesterday my parents and I took a trip outside of our city, to the small village of Cassel, settled on top of one of the only hills in the region. This Flemish-French village featured a long, cobblestoned road that rattled our brains as we journeyed to the top of the hill, however the view was reward enough. After a wonderful lunch on the breezy terrace of a restaurant, we walked through the city square where a music festival was being held. 

I returned to Europe, the place of my childhood, the beginning of May after graduating from Roanoke College in Virginia. As I prepare for my year in South Korea, I cherish the moments spent under the shadows of ancient cathedrals. The historic aura pervading all European countries wraps me in a familiar cocoon. I am leaving for Seoul on July 8th, and before then will have visited Ireland, Belgium, England, France (where my parents live), and Germany (where my grandmother lives). Sometimes I wonder what it would be like not to travel so much, but then I shake my head. I am thankful, so thankful for opportunities to travel and see the world, that I have had all my life. 

The restaurant 

When I first moved to France as a 15 year old, I had to learn French from scratch, and it was hard. I still do not speak French fluently, but spending the time here preparing for South Korea reminds me that I have lived in a country that I do not speak the language or know the customs before. If I did it once, with God's help, I can do it again. 

Music festival Cassel

This is my first blog post, of many more to come, detailing my adventures as an English teacher with Fulbright Korea. I hope that this blog will be a help to anyone considering to apply for a Fulbright ETA. If you have any questions, feel free to comment! I began my own process of applying to Fulbright May 2015, and I would have never successfully completed this long journey without the help from my professors at Roanoke College and friends who have gone before me as ETAs. So don't be shy!