Post Birthday festivities

Quick little update! :) 

Starting my third week of work and I'm feeling pretty good about it! I started planning some of my own lesson last week. I am starting get the flow of the work space and not feel like the newbie, but really apart of the Lex Kim crew!! Woo! Planning my own lessons made me feel a different level of accomplishment and gratification. Seeing the kids really enjoy the activity was not to shabby either.

Friday our boss took all of us out for lunch before work to a buffet where there were more options to eat than just kimchi and rice...so needless to say I went H.A.M. on some chicken and veggies. Finally having a little more diversity in my diet was a fan-freaking-tastic way to end the week.

On Wednesday I was able to meet Julie Foucher!! (If you are not familiar with the crossfit world then you will know who she is or care...but for those of you that do, it was AWESOME!!) The week really flew by. Being busier at work helps make the week really move. It's making me realize just how fast this experience may go! It's making me think about all the things I need to do and see before I leave! Coming to this realization inspired me to start looking up flights for our long weekends and short little vacas. Bangkok for new years seems like that's happening, and possibly Bejing and the great wall in February. So much do and so little time!!

Saturday was my birthday and it was one of my favorite Birthday's to date! Lovely morning at the gym sweating as much as possible to prepare for all the food and alcohol later on. Brunch with 2 lovely ladies from work. Then Korean baseball game (Koreans really love their baseball). We weren't even watching the game and it was a blast. Then we had to get dinner at Korean BBQ obviously, then a bar where lots of expats hang out and then finishing the night getting invited to a party at the Ritz-Carlton. I have a feeling 24 is going to be a good year.

Monday morning and the last day of August. I'm ready to really get this year going and keep having a blast!

Me and Julie Foucher

Restaurant for my birthday brunch

Yummy birthday food!

Casually grilling squid at baseball

Lovely picnic in the stadium

Friends! 

I have finished my first full week working at Lex Kim English school! It is going to be a lot of work and I'm intimidated, however, working with the students at the school has been one of the best experiences so far. The students are so eager to learn and extremely respectful to teachers.

When the teacher enters the room the students greet you in unison "Good afternoon Ms. Buzzanca." I have not had many students speak out of turn. When working with the younger ones I noticed them getting a little over excited and the second I said to settle down they immediately listened. It is so different from what I am used to in the states. Students do not get out of their seats to leave until the teacher says they are dismissed, and when I do they all answer "Thank you Ms. Buzzanca."

The students are also so beyond their age mentality. Working with the 7 year olds is like working in a 4th grade class. It is amazing to work with them and find myself constantly taken back by the maturity and intellect.

There are the PA students I worked with for writing (P is for primary and they are considered 2nd grade, A is what level primary they are)

As you'll notice the class sizes are also amazingly small. The largest class I have worked with is 10 students. 

The teachers are respected and treated very well. We all eat dinner together and the school pays for our dinner. We order anything we want and it is waiting for us in the lounge on our brake. 

Pretty fancy with the name tag. (FYI: I'm getting pretty skilled at using chop sticks.)

This week was exhausting and so rewarding and also nerve racking. I have a lot to learn and the work is only going to get more demanding and detailed. This week the senior teachers were basically planning everything for me and Lauren. Soon we are going to be thrown in the water without a life jacket and it will be up to us to succeed. I'm willing to do the work and I know I am going to learn so much. This experience so far has been the scariest and most exciting of my life. I still have a long road ahead, but until then, I'm going to celebrate the success of my first week living in Asia. 

1 week = Success :D 

What has helped me get through my first week is not just the support with the girls I work with (It's a MAJOR part of it) but also all my family and friends back at home being amazing supporters and cheerleaders. When I FaceTime my mom about to cry I was so nervous to start teaching, calmed my nerves and believed I could. Thanks mom :)

ALSO long distance ain't got nothing on us. Long distance relationships are hard <3

The neighborhood

So I've been able to do some exploring now that I've been here for a few days. Amazingly after my exploring endeavors I was actually able to make it back to my apartment...so you could say I'm practically a local at this point (but I wouldn't). The street that my building is on has so many restaurants and things to eat that it may take me the whole year to make my way down. The area is really clean and so far pretty friendly!

This is what the entrance to my apartment building looks like! Not too bad :) There's a lot of stuff located at the bottom. Coffee shop, bank, convenience store, and salon. 

Long strip of restaurants 

Confusion at the market...I should probably learn Korean. 

View from the entrance of my building. 

Have not gotten lost! (Knock on wood!) I've only seen a very small portion of Seoul so far though so I still have a lot to explore! 

Day 1 highlights and My apartment

First full day in Seoul was a success. There is another new teacher who arrived one day before me so it was nice having someone go through the crazy first day process with me. This morning I was greeted by Lauren, the new teacher, and Taryn, one of the more experienced teachers. We met up with other teachers in the lobby and walked to work together. It was really nice to hear that they all walk to work together everyday. They were pointing out landmarks on the way, however, everything is written in Korean for the most part so nothing really stuck with me.

Interesting parts of day 1 was getting poked and prodded at the hospital. We had health tests done so we can get our resident cards. Blood test, eye test, hearing, X-rays, blood pressure, and a heart rate test which left me feeling slightly violated, but whatever, when in Korea I suppose! We were required to fast before the tests so needless to say I was ravenous by noon! Had to eat soup with chop sticks at lunch...not the easiest thing in the world.

We were then allowed to go back to our apts. to rest before observations (my school is a Hagwon: Private school, so the work hours are from 1-9pm). Jet lag set in though so getting back up to observe at 6 was a struggle.

Brief overview of the school...It seems really great :) The class sizes range from 6 students to 10 students. The students are very high achieving and work at a fast pace. They are very respectful and want to learn. I just hope I can keep up with them once I'm given classes!

The other teachers seem very helpful and friendly so far! We got dinner after work with a girl who has lived in Korea for 5 years already so she kind of blew me away with her Korean know how. *Korean goals!* Tried Gimbop for the first time...so good!

Now to please so family and friends who have been asking, here are some pictures of my apartment. I've only liked in it for about 30 hours so its pretty plane looking right now.

"Work" area where I was watching Seinfeld. 

Trying to make it a little more homie

View from my balcony :)

Made it!

Coming at you officially from the Gangnam district in Seoul! 

Just woke up after my fist night in my new studio apartment. 

I'm not going to lie, it's pretty hot and humid. 

6:20am and I have a lot to do today. 

So the trip all seems like a blur at this point. Asiana was a great airline, I'm glad I used them. The entertainment on the plane was great! Touch screen personal TVs and a wide variety of movies to choose from. The food was also pretty good. I was able to have bibimbap with kimchi. Not as good as Korean BBQ at home but I'll live! The seats were also pretty comfortable! My brand-new neck pillow helped! Great investment!

I felt like I was going to hyperventilate when the plane finally landed after the "short" 14 hours in the air. Realizing I was in Asia and this will be my home (hopefully if all goes as planned!) was a lot to take in. 

After getting my luggage and awkwardly trying to maneuver 2 giant suitcases and a little carry on, which was not cute, I tried to spot who should be picking me up. Finally I see him holding a paper with my name! I felt pretty important, not going to lie. 

The drive to Seoul took about an hour, and after driving for about 10 minutes it started to torrential downpour. 

All I wanted to do when I arrived at my apartment was sleep. It my have been 6pm in Seoul, but my body was telling me that it was 5am and it didn't get much sleep on the plane (I was too busy watching the avengers). When I arrived a woman named Shoomee who works for my school was waiting for me. She and her daughter brought me to my room and then I was given so much information I'm lucky I remembered any of it. Information about the apartment, about school, about the other teachers, about opening a bank account, about getting a phone plan, and about what my schedule will look like today. I was a lot to take in. She then took me to a market about 1 minute away by walking. My area seems like a great location! Starbucks about 3 min walk, restaurants right outside, and a market 1 min away. I needed to buy shampoo and conditioner...HOWEVER everything was in Korean so when she asked me which one I wanted I didn't even know what I was looking at. I could have picked up laundry detergent for all I knew, thankfully she was there to help. 

Picked up some bananas and eggs, wasn't really sure what else to get (mind you I was still in a jet leg haze and all I could think about was sleeping). 

Shoomee told me that me and another teacher that arrived the day before me would be picked up at 9am to start our day. We're going to have health tests run so I was told not to start fasting after midnight. Needless to say I am ravenous right now!!! It's only 6:40 so I'm assuming it's a while before I can eat anything. We'll also be observing a lesson or two. I'm excited to see where the school is and what it looks like. 

One struggle so far that has been notable is figuring out how to flush the toilet...

I'm too afraid to touch any buttons. 

Need to get my day going! Need to shower again because I'm sweating and I don't want to be the weird new sweaty teacher. No idea what the day may bring or who I will meet but I have an open mind and I'm going to take each day as best I can, one at a time. 

Waking up to Seoul. Day 1. August 17, 2015. The adventure begins. 

I got Seoul

So I am new to the whole blogging thing, but I was asked by a bunch of people if I would do this. So here it is!!
T-Minus 3 days until my departure to Seoul, South Korea. To keep up with my teaching escapades and experiences living in Asia look no furthur than right here!
While in Korea I will be teaching at an English school with other girls from North America. Going over knowing no one with no idea what to expect, we'll see how this goes. I'm so excited and also so nervous.
My first real challenge has become packing for 12 months, for an extremely diverse climate, using just 2 suitcases. It's like a very un-exciting Sophie's choice up in here. So many scarves, so many maxi dresses, yet so little space and being confined to 44lbs is a struggle.
So much to do with only 3 days left! Stay tuned.

Seoul is the capital of South Korea.