Boston Campus

So here I am finally getting around to updating this and taking some photos after being here for a month! Time has been flying by, and I really have been enjoying Seoul and everything that it has to offer so far. I am teaching at a school called "Boston Campus". The school includes both a kindergarten, which takes place from 10 am until 2:40 pm, and a afternoon program for older elementary school students to come and learn English after they go to their regular school. It has been challenging for me to learn how to teach and manage a classroom with 6 year-old students and is a far cry from the style of teaching I did in Samoa. I enjoy the kids, but I find the babysitting part of the job to be a bit frustrating. However, I am learning to be patient and really beginning to become attached to my students. The older children in the afternoons are great and really intelligent. I enjoy discussing things with them and seeing their energy and enthusiasm for learning English. Some of them spend nearly 12 hours a day in a classroom setting, so I respect them immensely for their unwavering work ethic. It is really a reflection on the culture as a whole. Koreans are very hard workers and never seem to complain about how much they have to do. It is very different then my countrymen back home!
So outside of school, I have been attempting to speak and learn some Korean which is difficult. I have been bad about making time to study, but I am starting a language exchange with some of the teachers at school once a week. I think it will provide a more structured approach to learning instead of trying to just pick things up as I go. Other then that, life is good here. The city is huge, and I have enjoyed wandering around. I have a week off for Xmas and am planning to go into the mountains for some snowboarding which should be a blast.
Anyway, that is the update for now. I have attached a few pics from my kindergarten class and will put some more on soon. We have a school Xmas party this week which should be a good time for pictures. I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable holiday.

The supposed Witch Doctor???

Most of you who know me will find this humorous because you understand how much I love baseball and my Cubs. So this picture was taken in March before Spring training began for my beloved Chicago Cubs. I spent the first three and a half months of 2008 traveling in South Africa and Mozambique with my good friend Dane. One day in Cape Town, Dane and I visited a township where we encountered this very powerful witch doctor who asked if there was any sort of illness or issues with either of us or any of our family members. The biggest issue I was having happen to be the amount of time I have wasted watching this god forsaken baseball team. I explained to him that the hat I was wearing represented a baseball team from the United States that had not won anything in a really long time because they were cursed by a crazy fan and his billy goat. He told me to give him the hat and placed his hat on my head followed by some strange chanting. After he took the hat off of my head he explained that the curse had been lifted. I truly believed this man and after watching the regular season thought the Cubs were finally going to win. After they were swept out of the playoffs for the second year in a row I realized I was duped again into believing that they could win. I feel that this year really broke me and I don't know if I will ever watch them again...

Stompin the Boots

So I am starting this deal up here while I have ample amounts of free time. I probably should have done this before I left for Peace Corps in October 05' being that I have pretty much been on the move since then. I am going to periodically post pictures of my travels up until this point, and I will try and add some notes to each as I go along. When I do actually get to Korea, I will be posting as often as I have something to say.