I love my mornings

This week I was thinking again about how awesome my work schedule is. My bosses are very laid back and never gave me set hours - they trust me to do a good job and they let me decide when I come and go. I work hard but I also work smart and I usually don't spend more time than is necessary at my desk. And I love it so much.

I love that I can stay up late because I don't have to wake up early.

I love taking my coffee and my Bear to the beach while the sun is up.

I love that I can do all my errands in the morning and just be free when work is over.

I also love that people are at work when I go to the store, and I can usually get in and out really quickly. 

I love coming home to a clean apartment because I had time to tidy up before I left.

I love being able to meet friends for coffee or brunch.

I love that my commute isn't hectic because most people are already at work when I leave.

I love having time to sit at Starbucks and read. 

I love being able to skype with people back home and not feel rushed. 

And so much more. Life is good friends. I'm lucky and I know it. 

The little things

Oops, it's been a while since I've written. Lately I've been feeling like I don't have much to say because nothing seems super exciting. Which, I guess that in itself is something. I think a little while ago I reached the point where life in Korea became less of an adventure and more ordinary. My home feels cozy, I have great friends, my routine is set, I even have a pet. At times it's easy to forget that I look different and sound different because most days I feel very comfortable and confident doing what I do and going where I go. I used to feel like an outsider every day, but not anymore. There are definitely moments where I get a fresh realization that I'm a foreigner, but those are not the norm. It's interesting - in the beginning I never could have dreamed that one day I'd feel this way. 

Over the weekend a friend had a 90s themed birthday party. I went out and bought a scrunchie, and we spent the evening reminiscing about polly pockets and American girl dolls and skip its, and listening to all the boy bands we used to love so much. It was awesome, and so good to celebrate a fun friend. I knew her in Ulsan, then we both left for a little bit, and now we're both here in Busan.

And today was full of so many little surprises! I ended up with a free hour at work, so I got things organized and planned and even had some time to read my book. Then my boss' friend came in - she shows up about once a week to hang out in the office - and she brought me a coffee and a cookie! After that one of my boys gave me a Hershey bar, and then I came home to a pretty huge refund on my gas bill, which means now I have extra money to spend on summer clothes :) Life is good. 

Letters to my students

Dear favorite student,

I like you a lot. Not because you're the smartest, or the cutest, there's just something about you. You have a great sense of humor. You understand jokes and sarcasm, which not a lot of kids get, especially in a second language. Good for you! You show up every day, you volunteer to read, and you're not afraid to speak up and potentially make mistakes. You're not mean to anybody and I don't think I've ever seen you in a bad mood. Everybody genuinely likes you and you set a great example for the other kids. I look forward to your class because you're such an awesome student. Thanks for making my day easier.

Sincerely,
Thankful teacher


Dear funny boy,

You have a dry sense of humor and your funniest answers usually come out of left field. Sometimes you are very inappropriate and you seem to know things beyond your years - maybe ease up on the mature video games. But man, you make me laugh. Sometimes I should be scolding you but you catch me off guard and I can't keep a straight face. Luckily a lot of what you say goes over the other kids heads, and thank you for not explaining it to them. You make my days way more interesting and you've given me some great stories.

Sincerely,
Entertained teacher


Dear unprepared child,

You. are. killing. me. News flash: you are going to need a pencil, an eraser, and your English book every single day. Quit acting like this is brand new information. I'm not asking for the moon here, I think this is pretty reasonable. I genuinely wonder what you're thinking as you walk to English class with nothing to use. Did you forget about yesterday when you needed a pencil and didn't have one, or the day before that, or the day before that? Do you think if you don't bring anything I won't make you do anything? Or do you maybe just not think at all? Whatever your reason is - do not bring a backpack full of shoes and snacks but nothing useful into this classroom one more time. Would you show up to soccer practice without a ball or cleats or orange slices? No you would not! Get it together child.

Sincerely,
Baffled teacher

Dear mom of the boy who never does his homework,

It's the end of the month and your child has done his homework 3 times, literally only 3 times. He is definitely smart enough to finish it pretty quickly every night, so I have to assume he's just being lazy and you are a little bit too. After all you're the parent, and you see the homework sheet where your child writes down his assignment every day. He should be responsible and do it, but if he's not going to it's your job to make him. I don't know if you realize this but you're paying for this. Don't you want to get your money's worth? If he keeps this up you might as well funnel that cash into something more useful, like more smartphone apps. I bet your kid plays his phone games every day.  

Sincerely, 

Frustrated teacher

Dear English beginner,

I started teaching you 2 months ago and you didn't know half the alphabet. You made my job pretty hard because you were so shy and quiet, I could barely get you to practice making sounds. It was also really hard to tell when you did or didn't understand what I was telling you - I felt like I was talking to a brick wall half the time. But now! Now you can read! You make a lot of mistakes but you're doing it. You've learned how to sound out words and you stammer through anything I give you. It is very rewarding to see how much you've learned. You've tried really hard and you're doing a great job. 

Sincerely, 

Proud teacher

Thanks for visiting Mom and Dad

My parents came to Busan last week! The whole family came to see me my first summer in Korea, and we did Seoul and Ulsan and a few day trips. This time around I obviously live in Busan and we just stayed around here. My bosses were great and gave me a few days off so I could spend time with my parents instead of my students. We had a lot of full, fun days. I got to show them what I do in a normal week and I got to do some things that were new to me too, which was great. I think my favorite part was taking them to all the different Korean restaurants. We ate a little bit of everything and they said they liked it all. They even used their chopsticks pretty well :)

Our first outing was to a temple on some cliffs right next to the ocean. It was unfortunately under some sort of construction/renovation/ugly transition time, but still pretty beautiful. 

Family selfie squinting into the sun. Mom closed her eyes in the good one.

One day we went to Busan tower, which I had never done before. It was a little cloudy that day so we didn't have the most crystal clear views, but still you could see buildings and oceans for miles. It's pretty impressive how they just built right around the mountains. And how a lot of the buildings look alike but at the same time are unique. We also spent a good amount of time watching tugboats go under a drawbridge. Never a dull moment in this family. 

Right after that we went to a very famous fish market. We saw this old lady with a bucket full of octopus that kept trying to escape and a crab that almost got out of his tank. Can you imagine if you were walking in the market and a crab ran up and pinched you?! That's the kind of stuff I think about in those situations. I did not take pictures there because I'm not a huge fan of dead fish, but I do like the boats the fish come in on. 

My favorite meal is gamjatang - potato and pork spine soup. The best. One of their last nights we ate there and then walked on the beach with some ice cream. A perfect way to end the trip. 

I'm glad you came to Busan parents! I'll see you this summer in Minnesota!

!

I've been taking Bear to the beach and he loves it! We're going to have the best summer!

One of my 1st graders pronounces "elephant" as "lalaphant"!

I just finished re-reading the Hunger Games and I liked them even more the second time!

It's been in the 60s 3 days in a row! I think spring is here!

I had a sub a few days last week, and now that I'm back my students keep telling me how much they missed me and what a good teacher I am!

I found a new cute cafe overlooking the beach with a good hazelnut latte!

I get to teach 2 science classes a week now!

I found money on the ground and I used it to buy a snack!

I got a free microwave!

I did a Very Hungry Caterpillar project with the kiddos and they were more creative than I expected!

It wasn't completely dark when I left work tonight!

I have a box of Thin Mints in my cupboard! Thanks mom!

Only 2 more days till the weekend!

Lately I've been...

Lately I've been watching the Olympics. Non-stop. Cannot get enough. I even have an app on my phone with photos and articles and recaps and all kinds of other goodies. I'm writing this blog post in the middle of the night waiting for the hockey game I stayed up to watch to start. I just get so caught up in the competition, and it seems like every athlete has some emotional or inspiring story. The theme song alone excites me. I love it all. I don't know what I'm going to do when they're over.

Lately I've been re-reading the Hunger Games. It's so silly because I've read the series before and seen the movies - I know exactly what's going to happen but I still get so into it. Literally I was reading on the subway today, heart racing, and I almost missed my stop for work. Imagine if I had been late and that was my excuse.

Lately I've been walking little Bear several times a day. He made some bad choices last week that landed him in his kennel while I'm at work, so by the time I get home he has tons of pent up energy that needs to be released in the outdoors. Rain, sun, cold, or snow he does not care. Fun fact: after a rainy walk he hates being dried off with a towel. He cries like he's being tortured and I'm just waiting for my neighbors to come over one night prepared to rescue him from his cruel owner.

Lately I've been listening to nothing. Usually I like to listen to my music during my commute but I forgot my headphones a few days ago and I liked it so much that I chose not to bring them. It's kind of exciting being aware of my surroundings. The other night on my way home I heard a loud clacking sound and I realized I've been walking past a tap dancing studio every single day and never noticed. A tap dancing studio! How could I not know that was there? I'm sure it's either filled with little kids or old women, and I can't decide what would be better. I hope they have a recital one day.

Lately I've been so frustrated with one of my students. He consistently comes 30 minutes late to a 55 minute class. He hasn't done his homework since December and he brings his books and pencil less than half the time. He has given up, his mom has given up, and I'm very tempted to give up too. What's the point of me trying to get him to make an effort when no one else expects that of him? But at the same time if everybody lets him slack off in life what's his future going to look like? Ugh.

Lately I've been eating McDonalds often. Like once a week. They built one around the corner and I can't resist. Cooking is so much work and burgers taste so good. Don't judge.

And last but not least, lately I've been wearing my new heart socks! Thanks for the Valentine's package mom.

A blog about Bear part II

Right now I'm pretty mad at Bear because 3 days in a row he's chewed up his puppy pad while I've been at work. I'm mildly concerned that he'll make himself sick, but mostly I'm annoyed and grossed out that I have to clean it up. If anybody knows how to make him stop please share the knowledge.  

He now weighs 6 1/2 pounds.

He got a new kennel. 

Bear really hates bath time. He gets mad and refuses to make eye contact and I just laugh at him because he's half the size when he's wet and I cannot take his anger seriously.

He likes to chase his tail and then hold onto it for a while after he catches it. 

He knows 5 words: Bear, no, sit, stay, and walk. 

Sometimes I hold him in the air like he's Simba.

Bear is afraid of the neighbor's bike in the hallway. I've tried to make face his fear because we walk past it on the way to the elevator many times a day, but he just runs as far away as possible. Baby.

We go on 2 long walks and sometimes a few short ones every day. Little puppy has so much energy.

Speaking of walks, he tries to pick up every piece of trash lying on the street. A few times I've looked down and noticed a wad of paper or a cigarette butt hanging out of his mouth. 

Bear is clingy. He follows me around and I step on him kind of often because he's always right under my feet. Give me some space dog! 

He's starting to shed. Boo. 

I still love him, even though he's naughty sometimes.