flightless bird, american mouth

My Friday was blissfully boring--since my 9th graders were on a field trip to the National Museum of Korea, I only had my two 7th grade classes. They were simple enough, although the classes as a whole were lacking in personality. In some ways, I prefer the rowdy, ADD-filled classes because they at least ooze and shout personality. Yet there are some classes that are just...missing something. They miss those one or two students that can subconsciously bring a class together. It's fascinating to watch a class with one of THOSE students--they can holler for everyone to shut up and the students will listen, but all they need to do is laugh and the serious mood is lifted again. The female student body president is so great to have in class! She is funny, loud, intelligent, and genuinely enthusiastic. When the students see HER having a good time, they realize that it's okay to have fun in English class. I'm secretly so grateful for her and the others like her.

Today, I didn't do much--just went shopping in Gangnam with some friends. We also went to Dos Tacos--it's fast becoming my new Chipotle. I need my Mexican fix once a week, and Gangnam is only about 15-18 minutes away by subway. I wish Mexican would take hold in Korea, but it doesn't seem likely any time soon.

No pictures today...just a short update.

Yeah, Mexican food is really bleak in Korea. I REALLY like Dos Tacos (it's better than a lot of the tex mex joints back in the US), but they don't have a huge menu and it's a bit expensive for the portions. Another Mexican place opened in Sinchon or Hongdae, so I definitely want to check that out.

I think I'm going to be here for two years, but I'm not sure. I'll definitely be here until the end of August. I haven't really picked up Korean, although I can understand some normal questions. My Korean tutor and I have been shamefully bad about meeting in the past 2 months--we're both too exhausted after 5 o'clock to make the effort. :(

Login or register to post comments
0 Up Down

by: the real ginger

Dec 03, 2007 11:22pm

thanks for the help. :)

by: saera

Dec 03, 2007 3:21pm

hahah, yeah mexican food is so hard to come by in korea >< well.. good mexican food.. I am kind of dreading that part about it because I am not only visiting next time I go I will be there for an extended period of time.. My friends and I are like... hmm what is the thign we miss the most and well sing " MEXICAN FOOD" (I'm half mexican so hahahah) I can cook it but there arn't any shops there that sell that stuff is there? =__= I have to ask, how long are you planing to stay in korea? how long did it take you to pick up korean as well? I really enjoy reading your blog posts ^^

by: Orange momo

Dec 02, 2007 8:40pm

Unfortunately, without a college degree, it will be quite difficult to find a place at which to work. It is illegal in Korea to teach/tutor without a college degree, actually, and if the government finds out, they'll kick you out of the country. It's easy to find people wanting a tutor, and some people DO get work "under the table", but be warned that people get money (about 500,000 won) for turning in someone to the govt who is doing privates illegally. All it takes is for one person to overhear about you teaching privates and they can call up their local govt to have you arrested. So...it's a risky, risky chance. Your best bet is, sadly, to wait until you have a college degree.

Dec 02, 2007 5:47pm

hey ginger, i've been reading your blog for a bit

i was wondering (since you're an english teacher in korea) if you knew how hard it is to come by private tutoring jobs in korea teaching kids english.

i dont have a college degree yet so teaching at a hakwon is kind of out of the question, since they probably dont hire students fresh out of hs. and i've checked out daveseslcafe.com (which you mentioned in your thread).

if you could just tell me whatever you know about this whole thing, that'd be great. :)

thanks so much

Dec 02, 2007 3:18pm

flightless bird, american mouth

Comments