Oh boy this post is way overdue. Like months overdue. I had planned on writing a different post actually but since it’s been a while I feel like I should just write a life update post and save the other one for my next blog.
It's crazy to think that I have now been in Korea since February and I am almost halfway through my contract. Sometimes it feels like I just got off the plane, but somehow we're already finished with our first semester here at school. Things have been going well so far, I still like my school apart from a few random frustrating things that are bound to happen while working in a different country, and I like where I live. Recently though, life has gotten a little bit hectic. For the past month I have been planning English summer camp. Basically for two weeks I teach students English with a topic and theme of my choice. Last week I had 5th and 6th grade camp and then this week is 3rd and 4th. Planning camp was a little stressful for me as it’s my first camp ever and we don’t get any help or direction on what to do: I was basically told when my camp dates were and when I needed to turn in an outline of the lessons. That was it. So I picked a theme: travel, and planned each day and hoped for the best.
Last week went better than I expected it to. The students seemed to enjoy themselves for the most part and most of my activities went as planned. I did have a few problem students and two extremely low level (as in they legit don’t speak a word of English) speakers that made things frustrating but hey, I did it and the first week is over. This week is a little more challenging as the younger students English levels are even lower, and I now have 31 students as opposed to 10, but this week I have a co teacher to help me which is a blessing.
So each day of camp I picked a country and we learned about the language, sports, animals, and food that they have there. The students got to try Tim Tams from Australia and they were a huge hit (not surprising though as Tim tams are delicious and addicting), and got to make puppy chow during France day since they watched Ratatouille. I’m pretty sure they were into the puppy chow, they were turning the bags inside out and licking the chocolate and peanut butter off of the sides- it was actually pretty funny to watch. As of now though I don’t know how the heck I’m going to cook for 31 students, but that's a later problem.
Anyway, other than camp things have been fairly relaxing. I have been exploring Busan more and checking out cafes (there’s literally so many) and shopping for gifts for friends and family at home. I've also been to the beach a few times and am trying to work on getting tan but its not working out so well (my Korean co teacher told me I was too pale...and Koreans want to be pale, so that's good). This past weekend I finally got to go to the Harry Potter themed cafe that opened up a few weeks ago here in Busan! It’s called Potid and they serve coffee, cookies, and ice cream- cute right?. The inside is dark and has broomsticks and wand boxes decorating the walls and they have the Harry Potter soundtrack playing. I was actually pretty impressed with the cafe and the cookie was delicious (it’s hard to find a decent cookie in Korea) and I’ll for sure be back.
I have also discovered a love for fitness and working out that I didn’t really now I liked before. I have been doing PIIT28 (Pilates intensive interval training- like HIIT but with pilates moves) every day for the past few months and have been loving it and so that takes up a lot of my time but I don’t mind too much cause it’s a fun way to de-stress and move after sitting at a desk for most of the day. I’ve also been incorporating yoga into my daily workouts too and have found that I have a passion for it. It’s been great with teaching me to accept my myself rather than be super critical, and it’s making me realize that I am not as flexible or as strong as I thought. Yoga is hard, guys. But besides those things, I have been keeping busy and am enjoying myself.
So right now I have only a few more days left of camp and then I’m free for my very short summer break. All the other teachers have been on summer break now since the 20th and don’t have to be back until school starts again on September 3rd, but as an EPIK teacher we only have 9 (or 8 depending on how you break it) summer vacation days. My vacation will start on the 4th and I cannot express to you how exited I am for it. I need a break after dealing with crazy, energetic kids every single day, especially after camp: It’s surprisingly draining. It’s also been crazy hot here which makes life just a little more difficult than it has to be because I never want to move: when it feels like 106 outside you lose a lot of motivation to do anything other than sit inside with the air con blasting. Sorry if this is too much information, but it was so hot the other day that while I was just standing waiting for the bus my legs were sweating. My legs. Actually sweating. Just standing there. Like why, why Korea? Please cool off just a little, no one wants 90 degree weather everyday, jeez.
But anyway, back to break! This coming Saturday morning I will be heading to Gimahe airport in Busan and boarding a flight to Seoul, and then I’ll board another flight that will take me to.....CHICAGO!!!! That’s right! I’m going home for break!! I am so so so excited to go home for a bit and sleep in my own bed and use my own bathroom that doesn’t get everything wet when I shower. So excited. I’ve been making lists of things I want to do when I’m home since I’ll only have a little over a week but I’m hoping to squeeze as much in as possible.
When I get home from break I will have a few weeks of desk warming and then the fall semester will start! Once it does I will officially be halfway through my time here in Korea and I am blown away by how quickly time is flying. For now though, I'm taking things day by day and trying to enjoy the time that I have left in this little quirky country.
Until next time,
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