The work of some of my Korean students...

So I'd like to take a moment to share some of the work from select amazing students... I've VERY minorly edited them (mostly with spelling and a stray article here and there), but they remain as close to their original state as possible.

These were written in preparation for an upcoming speech contest at our school.

The first two essays come from a 3rd grader:

TIME THAT I WAS GRATEFUL TO MY FAMILY...
I was obliged when I had a Nintendo DS. I was more grateful when I got clothing. But, maybe you didn't expect this. I am most grateful when I am being scolded by my parents. It's an uncommon thing, but it gives me a lesson, and makes me examine [what I did]. You will know that everybody can make a mistake, even a president, even a god.

So many children can make mistakes. But I think there are not many children who are grateful for scolding. Actually, I don't like solding. If I am scolded, it means I did something that's bad. I just think that the effect is just a way of helping children to go [the] right way. I hope my speech was interesting to you.


SANTA'S TRIP WITH SANTA

Santa is snoring very loudly. Santa is dreaming about his trip with his reindeer, Rudolph. Let's go into Santa's dream. Abracadabra! He is putting the presents onto the enrmous jet planes named "Claus." There are 9532580000 jet planes that are each the size of an Empire State Building or a Tower Eiffel or a Chrysler Building. Then, there are sleds in the jet planes. The sleds are programmed to move automatically with no error. They go through the wall, put a present in a sock with a powerful robotic arm. Then it goes away.

Santa is rich, so he has many expensive things. Then, he has all the reindeer in the whole world, and they are servants. They're Santa, the reindeer, and a Ruldolph!

****

Wow. And even MORE astonishingly, this next essay comes from a FIRST grader...

I wish that Christmas could be everyday. During Christmas, loved ones get together, sing songs, eat delicious food and give presents to each other- it's a happy time. Furthermore, we can get special gifts from Santa Claus.

If Christmas were only once a year, children might forget that they have to be nice and do many kind things. If Christmas were every day, there would be no more bad things like criminals and war, and the world would be full of love and peace. We wouldn't have to wait until Christmas for Santa Claus.

If children get presents for doing good work, then Santa Claus would not have to do hard work and birng all the presents on one day. Also, there would be no chance for Santa to accidentally forget about delivering presents.

Maybe Santa Claus is sad and lonely all year long. He might want to see us everday, but he can only see us on Christmas Day. If everyday were Christmas, he could visit children often and he would be happy. He would exercise everyday and become more fit and healthy.

If kids are waiting for presents every day, then they would go to bed happily and do good things all the time. But there's one worry for Santa: it would cost him too much money to buy presents everday. But Santa can use magic to change hard work into money, then he doesn't have to worry about it.

Christmas all year long would bring peace and love to everybody.

Merry Christmas! Everday Christmas!!

***

Sooooooo, yeah. Wow. These are the students I work with. I'm quite honored!

Also, it's presently snowing outside, which delights the children and myself. :) The school (and lots of Bucheon) is decorated with Christmas trees and the like. It is, indeed, beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. :)

A tad overwhelmed...

So here we are, over a week in now... and I just kind of feel lost.

Last night, I was attempting for the second time to meet up with a friend of a friend at my local subway station. I'd decided, to save money, that I would take a bus to the station instead of my normal $3+ taxi ride (bus fare is roughly 75 cents). A coworker kindly told me which bus to take (though she'd said 5-4 or 5-6, I'd interpreted it as 54 or 56)... I ended up on the wrong bus.

Let me tell you, there are few things more unnerving (to me) than being a.)alone in a country where you don't speak the language, b.) in a city you barely know, c.) with street signs you can't decipher, d.) on an unfamiliar bus route, and e.) with urgent news playing on the speakers. My eyes teared up, and I felt panicking thoughts surface: "What on EARTH am I doing in this country? Why did I decide to come here? I'm so hopelessly lost and awkward here. What am I doing with my life? I'm already late -again- meeting my friend!" ... ad nauseum. And this was on the night of the North/South Korea skirmish, where artillery shells were fired from both sides. Any pertinent news was lost to me, not being able to understand Korean. I felt completely and hopelessly detached from the world. What a feeling.

And then I decided to try something different: I took a deep breath and started some positive self talk: "You're an intelligent person. You're navigating a foreign city solo; give yourself some credit. Relax. If you miss your friend, it's not the end of the world. Be patient." etc. It helped a great deal. Eventually, I was able to find another subway station just one stop away from my own.

Horrendously long story short, I found my friend and was eventually treated to a delicious Korean meal. I was so relieved and grateful.

Then today, school was pretty decent, luckily. Though my homeroom class was HORRENDOUS at first, we eventually were able to have some fun and enjoy class. The day went pretty much as smoothly as possible, and I was looking forward to meeting a new friend this evening.

Well, eventually I felt a resurgence of last night's awful sinking feeling. My friend, ever educated and decidedly non-American (he's South African), engaged me in a conversation where I soon felt I was in over my head. I know a minimal amount of politics and literature, which are two of his favorite topics. Oy. I felt immediately as if I were drowning. I felt incredibly intellectually inferior (how's THAT for alliteration, eh?). There's only so much a girl's ego can take! Embarrassingly, I broke down and confessed these feelings to him, which undoubtedly made him uncomfortable as well. And there we were.

So here I am, home, trying to decide how highly I esteem myself. I had just come to be really happy with who I was and what I'd accomplished... and now it's like I'm back at square one. Well, I'm probably being melodramatic, but it's not a pleasant feeling at any rate.

I have a much more chipper entry that I wrote in a cafe this past weekend... When I have the time/desire, I will definitely type it up and post it. For now, I shall go do productive things (read: NOT wallow in self misery)! Cheers!

Day 4: Surviving on my own!!

So I'm at a PC bang (internet cafe)... it's really, really nice here! Anyway, I just took my first subway trip, and solo at that! I'm meeting a friend in a bit, and have heard about how easy the public transportation is here. It is, assuming you know where you're going!

I plan to write a more lengthy blog later, but here are some notes from my first few days here:

-Many people wear cloth surgical masks here, including many of my students... I wonder if it helps!
-Some students have difficulty saying my name. One student asked, "Marybeth? Like bath? Like bathroom? Marybathroom?" Good grief!
-TWO of my little students have MULLETS. Yes, Korean *mullets*.
-My name in the classroom is "Marybeth teacher," and I think it's adorable!
-The 7-year-olds (6-year-olds by American standards) can multiply. My 6th *graders* struggled with multiplication.
-I'm wondering if I'm actually here to perpetuate the demise of my own country... Am I educating the youth who will in turn take over the Western world in a decade or two?
-Trash cans are hard to come by; I have to learn how to dispose of things here. Rumour has it that food gets composted, so you're not supposed to throw it away. I love that!

All right, must go exchange some money, as I have only 2000won (~$2.50?) left!

Cheers!

Less than a week 'til takeoff!!!

So it's almost go-time!!! I'm getting sooo excited! Unfortunately, I've been under the weather the past week, but I think good health is on the way! :)

Also, the past week and a half, I've been training and now working as a SERVER!!! :D It's been a goal of mine for the past 10-ish years, and I'm so glad to finally be trying it out! I definitely like it, and the pay's pretty good, so I figure I'll make a little money before I leave the U.S. And I feel a little bad; my employers won't know about my South Korea plans until tomorrow... Just 6 days before I leave. Whoops. So yeah, there's a little guilt there, but hopefully they'll understand.

On a brighter note, Ohio's giving me a gorgeous sendoff; fall is in full force here, and it's lovely! I'll provide some photographic evidence to back myself up:






Finally, I've decided that tomorrow is the day to PACK!! I have to figure out what I'll need for the next year of my life... Should be interesting! I'll post before/after pics as soon as I take them, so the folks at home can play along. ;)

All rightee... this'll be one of my last posts Stateside (sound familiar??).

Cheers!

THREE MORE WEEKS!!!!!!!!!

So I'm only THREE MORE WEEKS out!!! :D My work visa arrived in the mail yesterday, so now I'm just about ready to go!! I just need to make a massive to-do list, and then I'm good to go! :)

Dang it... I really must stop updating this so late; I'm exhausted after a lovely weekend in South Carolina for a good friend's wedding.

Cheers!

Just a few more weeks...

Hello again! So it's after 5am (EST) and I should probably go to sleep... But I felt compelled to write for a minute.

I'm already networking with people in Seoul, which is proving to calm me down a bit about the whole process. Also, I keep hearing good things from ex-pats. Everyone seems to love Korea, and I hope I'm no exception!

Next on the task list so I can get over there: Obtaining my visa. I have a visa number from the Korean government, now I just need the Korean Consulate in Chicago to get that sucker in my passport! There are a few more documents to submit, which is annoying, but hopefully I'll be in Bucheon (Seoul) in less than a month!

Aw, man... I ran out of steam. Soooo tired... (I just got back from Arizona today, which is bittersweet as usual.) I'll add another pic from the trip, just so my blog's not so texty and dull.

Cheers!

U.S. Farewell Tour: Take 2!

So I'm off to Arizona to say goodbye (again) to my peeps in the U.S. I'm currently at the Cleveland International Airport (CLE), freakishly early for my departure. I'm trying to take it all in: the buzz of travelers, the chatter of businessmen, the quiet indifference of weary travelers...

A woman nearby just expressed a sentiment similar to what I've been feeling lately: "I'm worried that everything's been going so well lately...I just wonder what will happen when we get there." Yeah, that's the truth, sister! Funny how good fortune makes us leery of things to come.

The old familiar feeling of, "How do they do this in [name of country]?? How is their culture different than this?" is coming into play about now. International cities, from what I've seen, tend to be surprisingly similar: people speak a mishmosh of languages, there are crazy vendors and children and a fast pace of life and tall buildings... Not that it's old hat seeing a foreign metropolis, but it's... expected. I'm just happy seeing the cultural nuances of different countries. (As for one of my own nuances, I find it amusing, even now, that I type in Spanglish; I'd just typed "diferente" in place of [en vez de] "different.")

Some nuances I've seen thus far include...
-Not flushing toilet paper in Central & South America (Eeeww! The disease!!)
-Everyone responding to "gracias" with "con (mucho) gusto" in Costa Rica
-

The next adventure: South Korea!!

Sooooooo after a mini-debate with myself, I've decided my next destination will be South Korea! :) I've been applying & interviewing like a fiend, and hopefully something will come my way soon!

As for now, I'll put out there that the visa process is a bit confusing! I'm trying to get the required E-2 visa so I can actually work legally! We'll see... For now, I MUST go to sleep, but I'll resume my visa work tomorrow.

Cheers!

A Coveted Night to Myself...

So this is a rare night when I'm home alone!! Granted, it's a Saturday night and it'll be my birthday in about 30 minutes... but I'm happy to ring in my new year solo. :) I've been surrounded by people nonstop for the past 6 weeks, so I'm happy to have a night alone.

I feel a little... foolish(?) for making it so dramatic when I left the States. I'll be back in a few weeks, but then I am planning on going to South Korea to teach for a year (or two or three?). Several of my friends from the TEFL course are staying here in Costa Rica... and I thought about it, but I have a few reasons to move on:

1.) I'm not a huge fan of San Jose. It's dirty, crowded, and not safe for single females at night. (Since the sun sets around 6pm, I essentially have a 6 o'clock curfew unless I'm in a group or with a guy.) There are very few jobs outside of the big cities here.

2.) I'm in a good friend's wedding at the end of October. Though I love her dearly, this puts a hamper in my plans. Therefore, I plan to get back to teaching in November. (I fear I may have to wait until January to start, though... Oy!)

3.) Financially, South Korea is clearly the best choice. Here, I'd probably break even (as is the case with all of Latin America, it seems)... but in South Korea, they'll pay for my flight and housing, so that I can actually save money and pay off some student loans!! :)

Sooooooooo yeah. I will miss speaking the language of the land, but I'm very open to learning Korean!! :) Once I have a job set up, I definitely plan on buying Rosetta Stone to learn some Korean before I leave!

That's my plan for the time being. In the meantime, I have one week left with my TEFL friends... It's sad!! Time's gone so fast, and I've made a lot of good friends here. Our class "jives" well; I've never seen a group of 22 people get along better. I am very lucky for my experience here.

After this week (which is practical teaching... eek!!), I'll head to other parts of Costa Rica, then Panama, and maybe Nicaragua. I'm happy to see a few more countries before I leave!!

Crazy times... We'll see what happens!

Estoy aqui, por fin

What a journey! So I've been up for the better part of 48 hours... I went out with friends in Cleveland last night (Friday), and tried to go to bed about 1:30am...

...Only I couldn't sleep! It was really annoying! All in all, I probably got about 1-2 hours of sleep in the past day or two. Hopefully I'll sleep well tonight!

Anyway, the travel wasn't bad at all. I was surprised to not be stopped at customs in the U.S.- I packed my carry-ons SOOO full o' stuff!! The flight to Philly was uneventful and easy, and then it was onto Costa Rica... Fortunately, I sat next to a VERY nice woman and her daughter (from Philly) who stayed with me through immigration and customs (I was a tad nervous). From there, I soon found my liaison between airport and school.

Ingri, my "personal driver" for an hour, gave me a lovely little driving tour of the city. We conversed easily in decent Spanish (if I do say so myself!). I actually understood about 75-80% of what she said! :) She explained that Nicaraguans, not Americans, are Costa Ricans' main source of grief these days... And she said the relationship between Costa Ricans and Nicaraguans is akin to that of the U.S. and Mexico. (She explained the relationship initially; I drew the parallel.) Apparently, Nicaraguans work here for more money in menial jobs, then send money back home to their families. They are not liked by many of the Costa Ricans here, as it's said they live in crowded houses, use up resources, etc... This sounds horribly, horribly familiar. (I thought I'd left that behind!!)

Once I finally made it safe and sound to my own apartment, the loneliness and shock set in. What am I doing here?? I don't know anyone. (It's OK, Mb. You're OK.) Why did I sign up for this?? I want to go home!! (Breathe, Mb... Breathe.) This place seems dirty and overcrowded!! Where's the paradise I wanted?? (Nothing is perfect, Mb... Let's slow that heart rate down now...)

Yeah.

So I was starting to allow myself to cry heartily when... the front door unlocked and opened!! Luckily, I was in my bedroom, so I could wipe my tears before meeting the roommate.

Gold! I struck roommate gold!! Sabria, a native of Holland, was friendly, intelligent, fluent in 4-5 languages... and had already explored San Jose the past 2 days on her own. Hallelujah! Not only do I have someone to help me when my Spanish gets weak, but she also was able to walk with me to the grocery store, the mall, and the city in general.

To better things, I had also planned to meet up with a girl, Isabelle, in the afternoon. Sabria came with me, and the three of us walked around for a few hours. I even did some brief grocery shopping: PB & J, bread, and water... just in case. We all came back to the apartment and talked about all kinds of stuff. (Isabelle is from Germany, so I was able to get a few different perspectives today.) It was a mellow, enjoyable afternoon.

The evening came too early (6:30pm= pitch black outside!)... I decided to unpack and unwind; Sabria made an AWESOME salmon and vegetable dinner. I really couldn't have asked for more.

We spent the rest of the evening on Facebook (this free WiFi's gonna kill me!), watching "House" dubbed in Spanish, watching YouTube videos of AMAZING dancers, and snacking on the trail mix I brought. (Turns out they don't have trail mix in the grocery stores here.)

Anyway, overall, I'm looking forward to starting classes Monday. I'm homesick and miss my culture, crazy as it is. I haven't had to speak much Spanish lately, since the two gals' common language was English. This is good and bad, but I know I do need to keep practicing to improve.

Ok... I'm EXHAUSTED, and Sabria and I have decided to go for a light jog early in the morning. For now, I shall leave you with the mini-tour Sabria narrated of our apartment:

One more day!!!!!!

So in less than 24 hours, I'll be in San Jose, Costa Rica... Can't believe it! I just said a teary farewell to my mother, who is now driving to Virginia for our cousin's baby shower. Tonight is my last round of Cleveland goodbyes, then my obliging father drives me to the airport at 5am tomorrow...

Here goes!!

Let the packing begin!!

So I leave in just a few days now, and I have to decide how to pack... Do I take just 2 carry-ons, or do I check a bag, too?? Eeek!!

Last stop: Cleveland.

So I'm currently in The Motherland: Cleveland, Ohio. I've traveled to: Albuquerque, Amarillo, Tulsa, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Mackinaw, and finally... home. I leave a week from today (!!!), and I can't wait for all that will follow! This farewell tour has been wildly successful, with me able to see those I love the most. :) Cheers, and I should only have one or two more stateside updates!!

Road trip!!!

So I'm on day 2 of my first-ever solo cross-country road trip! :) I'm currently in lovely Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Seems they call it ABQ here...) I drove up to Flagstaff, Arizona last night (from Phoenix) and today said goodbye to some dear friends of mine. Tonight, I meet up with 2 new friends in ABQ, then tomorrow it's off to Oklahoma!! Crazy times...

Well, that's it for now. Greetings from the road! :)

Getting my ducks in a row...

So here's a non-exhaustive list of what I've been doing (and have yet to do) to prepare for my upcoming journey:

-change address
-move out of current apartment
-put important belongings in storage
-say goodbyes to local friends
-religiously update my facebook status
-read books/articles in Spanish (both aloud and to myself)
-learn local Costa Rican slang (e.g., "chunche" = knicknack, thing; "tuanis" = awesome, cool, all is great)
-get travel immunizations (expensive!!)
-decide what my luggage philosophy is ("travel light" or "be prepared"??)
-get a Skype account
-practice converting between the English and metric systems
-read about the political and economic climates of Costa Rica
-search craigslist... for Costa Rican job postings!
-open a bank account that can be accessed nationally (for my family), as i have a local credit union account currently
-sell my car (you ROCK, mom & dad!!!)
-sell all furniture and whatever books i can
-drive cross-country to drop off my car and see my family/friends
-continue paperwork, classwork preparation, and payments for Costa Rican program


...so, yeah, that's about it for now!! More updates will follow as I have more news. I'll be sure to upload photos when I'm in beautiful Central America!

Here we go!!

Greetings from Flagstaff, Arizona!! It is optimistically (though not without slight apprehension) that I begin this account of my newest adventures.

Briefly, so as not to bore myself (and any stray readers I may have along the way), here's been my life in the past few months:

-Moved to Central Phoenix in January 2010
-After a year-long debate, I decided in March not return to teaching middle school math the following school year.
-Panic ensued, as I was uncertain of my next step in life...
-In May, I knew I wanted to leave the U.S. for a while.
-In June, I talked with a friend who is in Spain taking a class. She's getting certified to teach English anywhere in the world.
-The above conversation prompted me to think that it'd be a sweet deal to travel, take classes, and perhaps pursue an international career for a while.
-I looked at a few programs online, chose one, and registered for a 4 week, 120-hour certification course. (It's TEFL: Teaching English as a Foreign Language.) The course starts at the end of July in beautiful San Jose, Costa Rica. :)

Crazy!! So that's my newest adventure...

Right now, I'm most preoccupied with logistics... How much do I pack? *What* do I pack? How do I get through customs & traveling on my own?? (This is my first international trip completely alone... I'll literally be flying solo.)

I think, though, that this will also help improve my philosophical growth. This will be a chance to see how others in the world live, what their views on life are, what dominant cultures are like abroad, etc.

Okee... it's late, and I have to start saying my goodbyes in Arizona... Good night!