Tomorrow morning we leave orientation to (finally) make our way to our schools and apartments. I feel like orientation has kinda been like camp--everyone meeting everyone, learning important info on our future jobs, discovering a new culture and language, and eating in the caf. Now, the real adventure begins!
On the schedule tomorrow: load luggage onto a bus, sit on the bus for around 2hrs, arrive at province of education office where each person will meet co-teacher, travel to school with co-teacher, meet with whoever is there (Principal, Vice Principal), give gifts (chocolates), and finally make it to the apartment. Who knows what will happen at that point?! Except... I definitely need to buy a few things and unpack as much as possible. On vacations I tend to live out of a suitcase. After 8 days of living out of 1 extra large, 1 large, and 1 small suitcase, I am OVER IT!!! And let me tell you, it was quite a challenge to repack what I had taken out and organize the dirty laundry together! EPIK (English Program in Korea) gave us towels, a sweatshirt, a mug, and some books. All greatly appreciated. All difficult to cram into my already crammed bags! Although it is nice to not have to worry about weight and measurements. Thank goodness my bags can expand! Oh, and I bought a hairdryer and an iron. I'm still not sure how those fit!
Orientation has been such a great experience! I met so many people who I hope to keep in contact with and get together with throughout the year. I learned about teaching techniques and teaching resources available in Korea that I'm sure will be invaluable to me as I lesson plan.
I wanted to show you pictures of where we have been, but I couldn't figure out how to put captions underneath so here are your captions....the first picture is of our teachers (Young Kim and Rebecca), the second of Fluke and me after closing ceremonies on campus, and the third is a part of the beautiful Pukyong National University. In the area pictured, upbeat classical music plays around you. It's awesome. Anyway, it will be awhile until my next post so until then...annyong-hi-gasayo! (goodbye!)
love and miss you all,
Jenn
You two look great, and happy!! As you begin the next part of your journey, remember this always... 사랑해, sa-rang-hae.
ReplyDeleteThis is from your grandmother:
ReplyDeleteHi Jennifer And Fluke
I'm enjoying your blogs, thank you so much for all the info and taking us with you on your journey. Eat your kimchi, it has a lot of health benefits, enjoy your next step on your journey.
Love You
Grammy
Oh Jenn,my tear is welling up reading your blog.I feel like you grow so fast in this Journey. All of these place names and terms that you used are the same as we use in Thailand.
ReplyDeleteLiving out of a suitcase is tough. Been there. Done that.
Kids will love you. Take a good care of yourself. Lot of love,Ms. Pao
Thanks for your comments everyone! I enjoy writing the posts for you. I never know exactly what I want to write when I start, but I'm glad that you like reading!
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