Journal

As I am sure is quite noticeable, all of my posts are short and to the point. I would have thrown  the 'sweet' in there, but I felt the self flattery was a bit unjustified as my writing skills are something that only a 5th grader would be proud of. Besides I feel like long drawn out posts are a bit hard to stay with. So if you are looking for a Steinbeck type blog, then I would look somewhere else. But if a non heart wrenching 'soup for the soul' will do, then your dreadful taste can be fulfilled by me.


21 August 2015
Taipei, Taiwan
      My week in Taipei was full of adventure and very busy, but I managed to do everything I planned and more!

Saturday:
-Get to Taiwan
-Accidentally take a free taxi because I didn't have any money yet
-Get lost trying to find the hostel and am taken their by a friendly cop in his car
-explore the eccentric Ximen night market

Sunday:
-Taipei 101
    observatory and mall
-Sun Yul Suh memorial
-Donut cafe (lunch)
-Nanmen martket
-Chiang Kai Shek Memorial
      national theatre, arts festival, museum
-Songshan Cultural Creative Park
-Eslite Bookstore (24 hours!)
-watched a dance class in the park (pork bun  GOOD!)
-ximen red house and square
-ximen shopping (beef noodle soup VERY GOOD!)

Monday:
-228 Peace Park
-Starbucks
-Ximen FE21 Shopping mall
-Longshan Temple
-Abariginal Market
-Qinqus Temple
-Fortune Telling
-Baoan Temple
-Shilin Market (bubble tea MEH, Braised pork rive AMAZING!, stinky tofu BAD!)
-Hello Kitty Cafe (Oreo cheesecake OKAY)
-Daan Grand Park
-Beer and Cheese bar (OKAY)

Tuesday:
-Beitou Library
-Plum Garden
-Beitou Museum
-Beitou Hot Spring
-Beitou Thermal Valley
-Tamsui (old street, fisherman's wharf)
-Modern Toilet Restaurant (AMAZING!)
-Ximen shopping

Wednesday:
-Keelung
      Starbucks, pier, night market, temple
-Keelung beach (friend chicken GOOD!)
-Ximen


28 November 2014
Daegu, South Korea

What I have learned in my first four months of teaching
           I was thrown into my job as a teacher less then one month after graduating college at the tender age of 21 with no formal training. I guess you could say that there were just a couple of things I had to learn. Of course the list of lessons grew exponentially when it was made known that the ages of the kids that I would be teaching was hormonal preteens of which I had no experience with. The last time I had been around someone in middle school was 7 years ago and that was only because I was in middle school myself, and needless to say I was not a fan at that time.  All those boys with unwashed shaggy hair that were half the height as me was not something that I was to particularly interested in, to say the least.
         The list of things that I have yet to learn continues to grow everyday, but already I have feel I have learned a lot. Not only about others but also about myself. It is scary to think that a quarter of my year here has already flown out the window. I honestly feel like I haven't really accomplished anything but that may be due to my choosing Netflix and books over productive activities.

   1) Kids in Korean academies could not be bothered to do any of the homework. The amount of in class essays that I have received completely covered in 'I don't know' is unreal. Basically as long as their parents do not see what they write in class, they really couldn't care less. Of course this is not the case for all students as many of them continuously surprise me with how smart and dedicated they really are to their work.

   2) They  know you can not do anything about disciplining them, so they like to use  that to push all your buttons. There will always be 'that kid' in class who knows exactly how to act to completely drive you up a wall. But I really shouldn't complain about this one being as I was that kid growing up, so it is really just Karma coming back around to get me.

   3)Just like when we were in middle school, kids are basically 'too cool' to do anything. Which for some of my kids this includes complaining about games such as 'apples to apples'. Who doesn't like a good game of 'apples to apples'? Some people are just plain crazy because I would have died to play those games when I was 12.

Overall I am having an amazing time teaching and even though these kids can be sassy then I am in the morning before coffee, they are a lot of fun!


24 July 2014
Daegu, South Korea

Showering in Korea
          Even though it is the other side of the world, there is not too much that is different from living in South Korea compared to the US. But of course there are always the little things that take a little bit of time to get used too.
         The first one is the showers. Instead of a tub that you step into with a shower curtain, the showers in Korea are just in the middle of the room and there is a drain in the middle of the floor. It was strange at first but after the first shower you realize how nice it really is! Not only is it practical because it takes up less space, but it also gives you extra room to do jumping jacks or dance while singing to your go-to song. The only thing awkward about the whole thing is how you have a giant mirror staring at you while you shower. When I first noticed that, I just awkwardly waved at myself to break the tension that I pretended was there. But of course that just made me feel a bit silly.

Dangers in Korea
           When I told people that I was moving to Korea by myself for a year to teach English, the first thing I would get from people were long lectures about how dangerous it was and how I shouldn't go. But of course after I clarified that I was going to South Korea and not North Korea they relaxed a little. Of course I thought that it should go without saying that I would be going to the South, but some people don't know that North Korea isn't really pressing for English Teachers at this time.
          I have found that Korea is one of the safest places that I have ever been too. Not only are the people very friendly, they also like to go out of their way to make things easier for you. When lost, I have been able to stop anyone on the street and they happily try to help me find where I need to go even if we are not able to understand each other.