SHINee - Lucifer (MV)

This song is very popular right now in Korea. These boys are really cute, and the tune is so catchy! My students love this song.

I really hope by the time I leave Korea that I can sing all of these songs when I noraebang (in Korean)





I will randomly post my favourite K-Pop songs while i'm here, look forward to many many more...

bah bye

Hallyu Dream Concert

I've heard about K-Pop many times before coming to Korea. Of course I knew Rain, but the others, not so much. When I came to Korea I didn't think that I would really get into all the K-Pop songs. That is until foreigners were given the opportunity to go to the Hallyu Dream Concert for free, which featured 25 very popular groups and artists on one stage, for one night.

So off we went, my little group of friends took the train from Ulsan station to Gyeongju station. 45 minutes later we were in Gyeongju. We made our way to the venue which was only a 3 minute taxi ride. Our taxi driver was driving at least 100 km/hr, it felt like we were on a roller coaster, it was fun, but those taxi drivers are crazy.

on the train to Gyeongju

We got there around 12:30 and the concert started around 7pm. We waited in line for many many hours but it was well worth the wait. There were about 6,000 foreigners and 6,000 Koreans at the stadium. It was amazing to see a sea of people with there glow sticks and fan cards. The girls screaming and singing along were so loud but so much fun to be a part of. 

I now have a long list of new favourite artists and groups in Korea. The list includes: Shinee, se7en, Beast, SuperJunior, T-ara, Miss A, Secret, Davichi, 2pm, 2am...and the list goes on. Everywhere I go in Ulsan I hear these songs and can't help but sing, even my students know all of the words to most of these songs. So if I play a youtube video of Shinee's Lucifer my kids goes crazy, singing and dancing. I love watching them dance and sing and the actual music videos are so entertaining, it reminds me of how much I used to love my boy and girl bands in the 90's.....

..keep reading, there are more posts to come!

bi bi

Chopin Ballade No.1 in G minor, Opus 23 by Tzvi Erez HQ

This is my favourite piece of music by chopin, I really tried to learn this on my own a long time ago, when I was at my best when I played piano. When I get back from Korea I will try again...hopefully I can get through it. It is a tough piece of music, but if you listen to it in its entirety you'll realize how beautiful it is.




Enjoy! and please comment, I'd love to know what you think of my blog

ba bye

Toronto > Jochiwon > Ulsan > JUJEON...final destination

I live in Jujeon, Ulsan

Jujeon beach to be exact.

Literally on the beach.

The black pebble beach.

There is no need for many words in this blog, the pictures will speak for themselves.



my beach house...in Korea it is called a pension





 













Next up, maybe a blog on my school or my very first K-Pop concert!!

We'll see...very soon i'm sure

Another Orientation..this time in Ulsan

This is going to be a short blog, a quick note to let you know how my week long orientation went in Ulsan.

 We (the Ulsan group) left Jochiwon on Friday, August 20th in the afternoon. There are 28 scholars going to teach in elementary school around Ulsan. I was very sad that I wouldn't be with the new friends I made for my birthday so I wasn't very happy on my way to UNIST in Ulsan.

Our group quickly bonded knowing that we would be together for the next 5 months. Even though we all missed Jochiwon we had a great time at our Ulsan orientation....or what we made of it. My birthday was on the Saturday, and yes, I was a little sad that I wasn't having my usual party with lots of food and presents. Fortunately, my lovely TaLK scholars threw me a surprise something lol, while we were watching movies in the amphitheatre. It was so nice, I was so happy, I felt loved! During that day we went to a school where we learned to play traditional Korean drums, this was actually a lot of fun.

The following day there was a heat warning so instead of touring Ulsan we headed to 4 museums!....4 museums in one day...it was a lot, some of it really cool and interesting, and some not so much...

The rest of the week was spent in lecture preparing ourselves to teach the next week with micro teaching and lesson plans. It was a lot and we were exhausted from the first three weeks. At this point we were a little bit fed up and wanted it all to end and get on with our move to our apartments. The day before we left we had a cultural experience lecture where a few ladies came in and taught us about Korean traditional culture. This was fun because they brought in a lot of Hanboks (Korean traditional clothing) that we could try on. It was a lot of fun watching everyone play dress up.

About five minutes before our last lecture was over they told us that we were having a talent show during the closing ceremony and that every group has to prepare three items to perform. We were all a little stunned considering that we have to do a talent show during English camp, Jochiwon closing ceremony and now in Ulsan. Very tired of performing yes, but we practiced anyways and came up with some good music. I think we did a great job considering we only had a few hours. After the talent show and ceremony our mentor teachers picked us up and took us to our schools and apartments to help us get situated.

In my next blog i'll post pictures of my apartment and where I will be living for the next five months...I know you will enjoy looking at those pictures!!

Until next time...buh bye

Orientation...Continued

So where did I leave off?

Well, considering that orientation is long gone I will sum it up real quick and move on to the more exciting adventure of me moving to Ulsan (my province).

We had three weeks of orientation and one week of English camp. We had several days of lectures all day with breaks only to eat. The best part of the day was our "free" time when we would head down the street to little bars and eat fried chicken, yummy honey filled pancakes and shark shaped ice cream. Also, there were a few outings with my new friends, one being the Peach Festival in Jochiwon. The peaches here are huge and very yummy, unfortunately when I did go it was night time and there were no peaches, lol.



roasting a pig at the peach festival



There was a trip to a Buddhist temple so I decided to go. I did not realize what the weather was like, it was hot, very hot. I wore jeans, which would have been okay if I knew that we were going to be hiking. We were not told that we would be hiking, so it was a big surprise to most of us. Most of the others were wearing flip flops or jeans like me. The hike was insane and felt trecherous in the heat. While at the temple we made prayer beads and did an ancient type of painting with special ink.

The opening ceremony for 5th generation TaLK scholars took place in Seoul. It was a two hour journey over there and it was very humid and rainy. Not very fun but we were all very excited to be there. They entertained us and showed us video clips and presentations from the past generations TaLK scholars. Everything was well organized, inviting and exciting for us all. I was especially excited to be in Seoul because I took a Fine Arts Cultural Studies class in my last semester at York called Urban Culture where we watched a documentary on the Cheonggyecheon bridge in Seoul, Korea (click on the link to get information about the bridge I am talking about, it's very interesting!). I told myself that I will go there one day and when I got there to that exact spot I watched in a documentary just a few months before I came to Korea made me feel like I am on my way to accomplishing what I want to do with my life. The first thing that popped into my head was to email and send a picture to my professor who would be very impressed with me (although that wouldn't matter now...but maybe I could get a reference letter..lol who knows)



 To finish up the three weeks of orientation we would go to noraebangs (a.k.a. karaoke) and went on one small trip to Seoul with some friends when we had a few days off. Noraebangs were a great stress reliever after a long day of lectures and being Seoul, the nightlife made you feel alive and amazed that you were in Korea and living it up!

from the left: Shayna, Shalini, Erin, Carlie, Nathan, Caitlin, Steven

noraebang in Jochiwon

Our 4th week in Korea was at an English camp in Pyeongchon (which is very close to the DMZ). We stayed at a youth centre for 5 days and every TaLK scholar was responsible for one child. The students came from very rural areas around Korea to give us an idea of what our students would be like. I had a 12 year old boy and he did not want to get along with me. It was exhausting to be with this student because he would throw tantrums in front of everyone out of no where, it was not easy. Eventually, it became so bad I was able to switch with another male scholar. I ended up sharing a female student with one of m group members which was fine. Then our student had a friend and they worked better when they were together. In the end, I ended up experiencing three different types of students. Although it was overwhelming it felt rewarding because I have experienced three different types of personalities and it made me feel a lot more prepared to meet my own students.

Our last days in Jochiwon were spent rushing back from Pyeongchon, repacking our suitcases, attending a talent show, a closing ceremony, meeting our POE (province of education), barley saying goodbye to our friends, lugging our suitcases down a steep hill in the burning sun and rushing on to our buses leaving Jochiwon behind looking forward to another orientation once we arrived in Ulsan. While in Jochiwon, I met some really amazing people, from all over the world. Shayna, from New Zealand, Erin, from Portland Oregon, Steven, Carlie and Caitlin from Kansas, Nathan, from Indiana, and my roommate Laura from Ireland. These are just a few, but they all made my free time and night so much more enjoyable and easy to get through, without missing home as much.

Jochiwon at night



Peach festival



resting before hiking at the Buddhist temple

closing ceremony in Jochiwon

night out in Seoul

Good bye Jochiwon I will miss you dearly and hello Ulsan...for the next 5 months.

















Orientation...the beginning.

I am very sorry for writing this blog so late :S
So, let's backtrack to the beginning of my TaLK (Teach and Learn in Korea) experience

I got my acceptance to be a native English teacher in South Korea mid-July. I was told that I would be leaving August 1st, so there was a huge rush to get my VISA, passport photos, all the paperwork necessary finished and packing finished for that day.

Leaving home was sad but I was very excited to be on my own in Korea and to start teaching in a real public school classroom.

August 1st I was on a direct flight to Incheon airport. My flight went by so fast; I took a book to read and didn't even open it. I barely watched a few movies and I was there. Thirteen hours went by very very fast, which I was so thankful for! I arrived at Incheon airport, had no problems with luggage and made my way out to the TaLK booth. They put the scholars from Toronto on one bus with our luggage and headed to our orientation location in Jochiwon at Korea University Sejong campus.

Korea University Sejong campus- Jochiwon

Right now, orientation is a blur. It feels like it was ages ago, when it really was only three months ago. I met so many new friends, had so much fun hanging out and getting to know each other. I think we were all feeling a little lost and being here together bonded us all very quickly.

I didn't have a roommate for a few days so I definitely felt a bit lonely, especially my first day in Jochiwon, sitting in my room all alone. On my second day in Jochiwon, before orientation actually started, there was a small group of people that wanted to make a trip into town to see if we could find a Home Plus (a.k.a. Walmart Supercentre). We were told it should take 20 minutes tops....but obviously it didn't. We walked for what felt like an hour, but in the end, we made it.

Home Plus Jochiwon

This was just the beginning of what was a very eventful and exciting time for me.

I will post more later...off to teach now!

Finally a Blogger

This blog is a long time coming. When I arrived in Korea I thought the best way to remember all of my adventures, friends, trips etc. would be to start a blog. Well, unfortunately I never got around to it, but I did take and post a lot of pictures on facebook. I know that a lot of my friends and family do not use facebook, so finally, after a lot of procrastinating I have decided to start my blog. I will try and remember past events during my orientation in August, but it's all a bit fuzzy right now. Three months into my six month contract with TaLK as a native English teacher and i'm doing fine. There are going to be quite a few posts this week, so look out and enjoy!!!

p.s. Timmy, be proud.