Inje English Village

Inje English Village is my place of employment. It is not a public school because in public schools, the English teachers actually teach with the Korean English teacher, so the co-teach. A hagwon (which is what I think I teach at) is defined by Wikipedia as a 'for-profit private academy or institute.' We are not necessarily a a hagwon I don't think, but some other foreign teachers in my city consider us just as "English village." Quite honestly, I don't know the difference, but maybe it's better that I don't.



Some of the time I think it seems like a lot of parents just need to send their kids somewhere to be babysat, so the parents send them to the English village and leave them there all day. So some kids don't seem very interested in learning. So those day/specific classes are difficult and frustrating to teach, but that's just the way it is. And I was just thinking; I usually tell people the youngest age I teach is 8, but I forgot that's their Korean age, so they add one or two years, so really they are 6. I don't remember the way the Korean age works, but here is an example. I am 23 years old Western age, so you either add one or two, so my Korean age is 24 or 25. I think when my birthday comes in April, I will be 26, but 24 Western age. I think it's because when Koreans are born, they are one year old, not one day old. Then when January 1st comes, I think everyone celebrate their second birthday. But I can't remember what happens when it comes back to their actual day of birth..I get very confused. Blah.



Our school is very small, and as I said before, public school English teachers teach with the Korean English teachers, so there are two teachers in the English classes. But at my school/hagwon/English village (whatever you want to call it), it is only me in the classroom. So every week, our director give us three teachers the topic for the week. The past couple weeks we did weather, clothing and rooms of the house. So typically we print out flashcards with pictures and say the English word. We repeat and repeat and repeat. Then we incorporate a game so the kids have fun and can run around. We are responsible for creating the games and activities and as long as the kids learn the vocabulary, it doesn't matter what we do.



Recently, I really feel like I have the hang of teaching and what I should be doing. Usually I have the older kids - the 11-13 year olds - so they understand way more English than the little ones. So now one day I teach the words and play a small game. The next day I try to have a worksheet where they see the pictures and try to match it with the written word for letter recognition. Then another day I do a writing activity where I print a sheet where the kids can trace the vocabulary words, then write it themselves. And finally, lately I have been creating my own crosswords puzzles so they can do word searches. That routine is what I do in my Class 2; I haven't taught Class 1 for a while, so they will need a simpler lesson plan. Class 3 is just vocabulary quizzes all hour.



Inje English Village has four classrooms. During summer camp and winter camp, we have many students because the public school are on vacation. But we only have three English teachers here (our new one is coming from South Africa tomorrow) so we teach five 50-minute classes Tuesday-Friday. Our hours always change and they will probably change sometime in March.

- Mom, you know who this student is -

Inje English Village is really just a fun place to learn English. There is never any homework and never any tests. Personally, I wish there was just not to know if to students are absorbing anything, but it would also show me if I am a good teacher or not. So, sometimes with those activities I can tell which students are learning and understanding and which ones I have to pay extra attention to. But as long as I know, that's no big deal.



That's about all I have going on for now. I am always thinking of the next trip I want to take, but a long vacation isn't coming until August. Then I have another one in September. The two countries I really want to go is China and Malaysia. We'll see what happens.

I'm bored. I think I'll climb a mountain!

Inje is a small town: not much to do, no store to shop at, no clubs and one bar. I survive, but the other day, the teacher that comes from Seoul to help teach on Saturdays came to Inje and he suggested we explore the town a little. I love doing that, so I told him sure.



We were walking all over town, saw some things I have never seen before or known about, but nothing to boast about. But we did stumble upon a sign that said 'three story stone pagoda and sitting Buddha staute: 4.2km." We both looked at each other and said, "that sounds interesting!"



We didn't have enough time to do that on Saturday, so we met on Sunday to climb the mountain. It was a beautiful: sunny, about 40 degrees and all I wore was a sweathshirt. Couldn't be better. We started to climb and tried to follow the map. The teacher that came from Seoul has been there for 10 years, so he knows a lot of Korean. We tried to find the Buddha, but never did. I think we were on the wrong trail. Towards the end of our journey, we finally understood where the Buddha was. So next time we know where to go.



We never found this 'pagoda' either. We did run into a temple where monks lived. Right on the mountainside. It was crazy. there was still snow on the side of the mountain where not much sun beats. It was snowy in some parts, muddy in others, and perfectly breezy.

How Do We Say Farewell To Our Friends

February is a busy month for foreign teachers. It marks the beginning of the school year for public schools. Typically, teachers come to Korea in February or August; either at the beginning of the school year or at semester change. Since I work at a hagwon, it doesn't really matter when a teacher comes or goes. A teacher's contract was just finishing up, so that's why I came in November.

It's a shame because one of our teachers left one month after I arrived, then another one of the teachers at my school's contract ended the last week of January, so she left. Now, all these public school teachers are leaving and it seems like once I finally starting to get to know these people, they leave. It's not the best feeling. But there will be new people coming, but I don't think they will be as cool as these teachers that are leaving.



So one of the teachers planned another party for another teacher and that was last Saturday. Some people couldn't make it to say goodbye, so we went our Friday night. Then the 'official' party was Saturday night. but on Friday night, one of the teachers met some random-old Korean men and they started talking about going to the club. We don't have a club in Inje, so they were talking about a club in Sokcho which is about 40km from Inje - or an half and a half bus ride. We told them we had plans most of the weekend accept for Sunday. So they invited us to come on Sunday.



So they drove out to Inje just to pick us up. And there was so much booze leftover from Saturday night's party, one teacher filled up liter bottles of the magical juice and we drank it on the way to Sokcho. We had so much fun. Then we ate some sea food and went to the club afterwords, Arabian Nights. It was really slow for a Sunday night (obviously).




Then Monday comes and the teachers still wanted to hang out. Of course, they don't have to teach anymore so all they have time to do is drink. So I went out with them again and we went to the Red Bar in Wontong - the city on the other side of the mountain from Inje. They call it the Red Bar because the sign on the outside of the building is red and they can't read Korean, so they refer to it as 'the Red Bar." After, we sang karoke and that is a typical Korean night. Many good times and I won't see those teachers for a long time (if ever), so it is sad to see them leaving.

속초에서 하루 - Sokcho, South Korea

During our Lunar New Year (which was about two weeks ago now, sorry it's been a while) I went to Seoul and I also went to Sokcho. Day trips are nice because these two cities are close to Inje and I also don't have to worry about finding any hotels or hostels. Korea has these things called jimjilbangs and they are very cheap. It's like a community room where people sleep. Like festival sleeping. The showers are always awkward because Korean men are always walking around naked. Gross. But they are cheap, so at least it's a place to sleep. I've only been to one in Seoul's Incheon International Airport. I know there are many in Sokcho, so since Sokcho is on the coast, I have a feeling I will go to the beach many times the summer and stay at jimjilbangs. It's not too bad.



I went with my teacher that works with me. One teacher left right as I came, and the other one left the last week in January, so it's just me and this one South African that will be together for the duration of my contract. She got here before me, but she will re-sign for another six months, so she will leave one month after me in November. So we decided to go to Sokcho for the day.



The city smells like fish. Like fresh fish. I'm not a big fan of fish just because Minnesota doesn't offer a lot of fish. I know there is fresh water fish and many lakes, but again, I never grew up eating that stuff. So I am always hesitant to eat it, but it tastes pretty good and fish is good for you.



We saw some sites and went to the spa. There is a huge lighthouse there that I believe was the first one in Korea, so it's pretty well-known. I hate to say it, but this city really reminded me of Duluth: a huge lighthouse, a view of a huge body of water (although this was the ocean and Duluth is just Lake Superior), and snow atop of rocks on the shore with the waves crashing against them. It felt like a piece of home. I think I will like going to Sokcho more than Seoul because it's closer and probably cheaper. The bus ticket was cheaper and lunch and other things were cheaper, so this will be a good city to escape to during the summer months.



We also went to Waterpia, which is a water park-slash-spa. When I think of hot springs and spas, I think of being outside in the winter with steam coming from the water and relaxing. That's not what it was like. It was a water park full of kids. Half was indoors and half was outdoors. It was really cool, but many kids and families there. And these 'hot springs' were just random hot tub-type things spread out about outside. They were relaxing, but not exactly what I pictured. It was great though.



We also paid 6,000 won to do Dr. Fish. That is when you stick your feel in this pool and little fish swim up and eat off all the dead skin. It sounds really gross, but it was awesome! It tickled like crazy at first, but after 20 minutes (that was the limit) your body tingled all over. That was relaxing. But, after thinking about it, everyone is just sitting in this pool with everyone's dead skin floating around. It's gross. Korea doesn't seem very sanitary. Not just that, but I find in a lot of bathroom, they never have soap or warm water...ew.

That was about it for this trip. I'm sure a few more months, you will see pictures from the beaches in Sokcho.

Gyeongbokgung Palace - Seoul, Korea

Well, we had all last week off from school and I thought it was too soon to go out of the country again, so I spent most of my time in Inje. It was quite relaxing. I thuoght I would get bored or go crazy in this small town - especially with all the other english teachers on their vacations - but to my surprise, I kept busy and wasn't bored.



One day I went in to Seoul by myself. My original plans were to help one of the teachers at my school to the airport. Her contract ended the last week of January, so she booked her flight for that week. The last time a teacher left here, we helped her with her bags to the airport. I thought I would do the same, get out of town for a while and spend a day or two in Seoul. We had everything planned and what time we were going to catch the bus. It takes about two hours riding the bus and however long on the subway to your final destination. So I usually like to go early and leave late so I can squeeze in a full day. We decided to take the 12:40 bus just so she had time to gather her things and whatnot. She Facebooks me (yes, that's a verb) and tells me she won't be ready. She told me to go ahead, so I did. I caught the 11:40 bus instead.



I haven't done many touristy things in Seoul, so I thought I would go to Gyeongbokgung Palace. I knew how to get there using the subway and I had to follow exit 5 and I would be right there. And I was literally right there. I come up from underground and I see the ticket booth. It was strange. Usually I would have to walk on the streets somewhere and find the entrance to the place I was going, but this popped out right at the entrance of the palace grounds. Very convenient. I saw the ticket booth and didn't really want to pay, so I didn't and just walked in. Later I found out that I was in the part where you didn't have to pay, but if you wanted to continue through the first gate, then you would have to pay. And I didn't want to pay because I thought it would be a lot of money, so I took as many pictures as I could then I was going to leave. Then I go to the ticket booth and come to find out that tickets were only 3,000won, which is less than $3. Lame.



Before I bought the ticket and entered, I saw the changing of the guard. It was a big show. They started by beating a huge drum three times. Then from another gate entered guards with traditional clothing. They had such serious faces, just like you would think of Buckingham Palace guards in the reed suits with the tall black hats, but these were a little different...Asian style.



The palace grounds were huge. I don't even think I saw everything there is to see in the two hours I was there. Now I know I can go back because the cost of the tickets are so cheap. There are lots of things that happened to this palace in its history. I don't know exactly what or why, but some of it was destroyed by fire when the Japanese invaded in the 1500s. Also when Japan occupied Korea in the early 1900s and during the Korean War is when more building were destroyed. Now they started restoring some of the buildings. Way too much history to take in in one day, but I would definitely like to go back.



That was my day. Hope you enjoy my photos!

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