Yeungnam at Last

Yesterday we left regional orientation at STX and went our separate ways to our individual schools, well sort of. Four of us are participating in an exchange program with Yeungnam University, just outside of Daegu. We are separated in two different suites, but within those suites we are roommates. I know that sounds really confusing, but its really the only way I can explain it.

The Office of International Programs has been so welcoming and helpful, it has been a pleasure to be here thus far. The only downside to the university is the fact that it is one of, if not, the largest in Korea. Everything is quite spread out, and many of us are looking into getting bikes for the coming semester. Tomorrow I will visit one of the two schools I will be teaching at; expect photos soon.

First Typhoon

Between national orientation ending, and a five day intensive regional orientation going on, I haven't had much time for posting. There is a backlog of video footage like you would not believe on my camera. Hopefully I'll have some of it uploaded later this week, but for now I'd like to introduce you to Bolevan, which is moving across Korea as we speak. Now don't freak out, Group 2 is perfectly safe in the mountains of our province, far from the coastal waters, but it will rain a lot, and be very windy for the next few days.

Counting down the final hours... 10, 9, 8...

So, I have to be out of my dorm room in less than ten hours leaving me very little time to post anything. Instead of typing out all my profound and ridiculous thoughts, I have decided to compile a group of quotes instead, using pinterest...

for Katie

teaching advice

more teaching advice

TaLK scholars

super good advice

Second to Last Day in Jochiwon

Seoul Time

This weekend I hope to upload a few videos to the vlog, but I signed on to help with our group video project which is due next Tuesday morning. So we'll see what happens. This weekend marks the end of week two of orientation, and the beginning of our final week at national orientation. Its going to be a very sad time when we all go our separate ways in a week and Lowell moves five blocks further into Jochiwon, Josh heads up to the most remote school on the northern border of the country (be safe Josh! Don't wander too much farther north!), Nina, and our English chaps, James and Henry depart for warmer regions of the country, and all of our coordinators go back to their real jobs. There are still many more I will miss, but fortunately, my province, Gyeongbuk has just over a hundred foreign Englsih teachers, and over fifty of those scholars are from the current group at orientation. 

Where are we going? Well, school doesn't officially start here until the beginning of September, so we have a one week orientation with our Provincial Office of Education. And we're staying here:

The STX Resort is located about an hour away from the town of Mungyeong in Gyeongbuk, which unfortunately means no church on Sunday :( but there might not even be a church in Mungyeong,so I'll just have to wait for Daegu. We're going to spend a week there, having more lectures and more activities (we're going to a shooting range), and the best part is our rooms have a kitchen/living room, and we'll be living three people to one room.

But enough about POE orientation. Today we're all headed up to Seoul to see Nanta, a crazy cooking show where they through food in the air in an incredibly cool/Asian way (at least that's what I've heard), and then we're off to Namsan tower.

Jochiwon Days, and Nights...

Since arriving in Korea, I really haven't been able to update my blog/vlog as much as I'd like. The main reason for this is that I'm outside all day, and some of the night, taking video and experiencing everything that goes along with teacher orientation. There are almost three-hundred of us in orientation, if not more, so there are always new people to meet and get to know better. 

In other news, the weather has finally cooled off! For the last couple of days it rained pretty hard, even causing some landslides in other parts of the country. Today, however, was sunny, warm (but not humid) with a wonderful breeze, which makes it hard to stay indoors all day in lectures, but the lectures are all wonderful as well. Today we had a lecture on classroom magic, where we learned five or six different magic tricks, like how to make a card disappear and other interesting activities. 

But where am I? Seriously, if someone could tell me I would appreciate it. According to this map, Jochiwon is the red circle, but it looks outdated because Daegu is spelled with a T. Our college campus is on the edge of Jochiwon (the town), but occasionally we'll wander in to find food, karaoke, bowling, drinking, and American food.  

Because the weather is so beautiful, Kesley, Florina (better known as Flo-flo), two of my Eastern Michigan University friends, and I are going to take a walk up the trail behind campus, which is supposed to lead us to a lake. Today has been the first day where you could walk outside and you didn't immediately feel wet from the humidity. We can't wait for the fall.

Orientation Officially Begins

A couple of days ago we were in Seoul for an opening ceremony thrown by the government agency that sponsors our program, and it was amazing. We had a fabulous time running around Seoul in the afternoon, and I even met a celebrity!

 Okay, obviously its not the real Jang Keun-suk, but it was still pretty cool. Since then we've been attending lectures every day and meeting wonderful people in the process. My province is Gyeongbuk, which is a really big province. I love orientation, but I can't wait till I'm settled in at school. I'm off to breakfast, I can't wait to see what we're eating today. Expect a food gif later this week.

Day Three

There are so many videos and pictures to post just from these past few days, but unfortunately I have many things to finish before orientation begins tomorrow, so those will have to wait. Until then here's the first meal we had after arriving on Saturday. I'm still not sure what everything was, but it was delicious, and the good news is I love kimchi!

 Today we visited a tradition Korea village exhibit about two hours away from our orientation location (don't ask me to pinpoint either of these places at this time, I'm still getting over jet-lag). I've met so many amazing people and been having a wonderful time, but our first official day of orientation begins bright and early tomorrow, and I need to sleep.

On Leaving...

Right now its 10:40a.m. in Seoul, and about 7:30p.m. in Omaha. Still not ready for the flight tomorrow, and probably won't be for several hours, but I wanted to post something on my last day at home. I don't think it will hit me for a few more days that I'm actually going to South Korea. The hardest thing is going to be being away from Kyle (my boyfriend) of course, but it will also be hard being so far away from my best friends, and missing the births of Riley and Isaac later this fall. I am, however, looking forward to some time and space from everything. I am also looking forward to dorm life. I live at home in my home town because its very close the university I attend and so spending money on dorms would just be a waste of money I don't have.

I don't really have time for more right now...

Until tomorrow,
Q

Saying Goodbye

Today is my last day in Omaha, and there's still so much to do! But last night I took a small break from the crazy packing adventure I've been on the past few days to hang out with my boyfriend, my brothers, and a few close friends. Unfortunately Rob, who works in Kansas City, but comes back on the weekends to hang out with us, couldn't be there, so this video is for him.