First Full Day

I can't get the taste of kimchi out of my mouth. We eat in the cafeteria at set meal times 3x's each day. They call it "prison style," where you grab a tray (with little dish-sized compartments built into them) and serve yourself. The food is actually really good; it's like eating at an all-you-can eat Korean restaurant everyday. I'll have to take a picture later, but there is usually a tray of rice, some sort of meat in a stew (to go over the rice), dumplings / chicken nuggets / spam (aka more bite-sized meats), squid & radish / kimchi (aka side-dishes). Then at another station, they have lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, celery ... maybe some sort of potato salad or fruit and dressing. (The fruits and vegetables are really sweet & fresh!) And at another station are a beverages: tea, water, maybe soda (I don't venture that far.) Some people have complained about the food because they've been eating it for several days, but after eating at IH for one semester, anything will taste good by comparison. I think it's healthier than Oxy food too.

I hear that my province is one of the more (if not the most rural) areas. It's not known for anything besides the really good (and hopefully cheap) food. In my spare time, I should learn how to make kimchi or cook delicious meals. Korea town will have nothing on me!

While everyone is feeling familiar with life at Korea University, I'm still playing catch-up. Finding the classrooms, maneuvering the dining hall, meeting new people. I'm in Group 6, which is comprised of scholars going to Jeonnam (my province) and Incheon. Everyone already knows each other, so it sort of sucks to be a week behind everyone blahhhh

Korea University Campus

Breakfast started at 7:40am, followed by a 9 hour day (6 hours of lecture, lunch, 20 min breaks in between), and an optional Korean Language Activity/Class that I signed for after dinner. My jet lag kicked in during the second half of the last lecture, which was around 5pm here and 1am (aka my bed time) back in LA.

Lectures are boring. Don't get me wrong, they are very informative. We learn about classroom management, how to engage the kids, how to teach them effectively through simple songs & games, and what to expect when teaching in rural areas. Most scholars do not have teaching credentials and only really took this opportunity to go abroad and take a year off. (Hey, that sounds familiar.) The guest lecturers give us heaps of creative game ideas to teach English and even make us play them to help us understand how the games work. Oftentimes, I felt like the lecturers were talking to us like kids. Mix that with jet lag, and you'll understand why I felt like I was losing my sanity. I tried uploading a video snippet, but I accidentally recorded it in AVCHD and my computer doesn't recognize that. waahhh, ok well I'm sure there will be more to record next week, so I'll keep ya posted.

View from the elevator. I live on the 7th floor.

View from my room.

View of my room  :)