If you fall, dust it off

October 13, 2014

In January when I went on this epic date, I promised myself 11 dates this year. As you may have noticed, I've only had two others: One in March that included a date at the cinema and one small one in my town in May. I wish I had a valid excuse for not having any since then but I don't. To be honest, I've been busy living my everyday life and trying to stay ahead of the game for my classes. Also, I just forgot. I did think of doing one when  I was home in August but despite half my family not knowing that I was coming I ended up being busy nearly every single day (more on that and Japan later!). Well, this last week, Wednesday and Thursday in fact, I finally took some time for myself. It was so hard to do so this time, too! I made my decision on Monday that I'd have the date starting with my Yoga class on Wednesday and I'd continue until 5pm or so on Thursday as it was a day off. While this was a sound plan the amount of invites to hang out with friends was sorely tempting especially as they were going to the pub, on hikes and to see baseball games (which seemingly is quite a treat here!). Instead, I somehow resisted. It must have been my amazing willpower and the bottle of wine in my fridge because I don't know how I managed that!

So it started with Yoga under the tunnel at the lake park with a very beautiful Lunar Eclipse in the background. After buying some essentials in the local mart, I poured myself a nice large glass of wine and made dinner. I decided to do a cozy night in watching a movie. I really wanted to watch something with a Hallowe'en theme but I'm already committed to watching Hocus Pocus with some friends and netflix didn't have Hallowe'en town. So, instead, I settled down with a warm quinoa salad, some more wine and the hilarity that is Overboard. Seriously, if you haven't seen this Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn movie, stop what you are doing right now and watch it!  Once the movie, a good chunk of ice-cream and about three biscuits were eaten, I headed to bed. I wanted to get up early-ish to go on a bike ride which was my challenge for this date.

Nina and I went for a cycle

A bike ride was my challenge? Well, yes! You see, I bought a bike from my friend, Liz, when she left Korea. I've had it out once on a Saturday and I was really, really wibbly-wobbly on it. I've avoided taking it out since then because I am so nervous. I don't know why it happened because when I was a kid I loved cycling and while I wasn't a wheelie person, I didn't have this weird fear of falling (which is a genuine fear as I've problems braking so when I need to stop I fall off. STOP LAUGHING NOW! I MEAN IT, STOP LAUGHING!). So, I got up, did my dishes and a load of laundry (I know these aren't things you do on a date but consider it my preparation for bringing myself home. Ok now, I sound weird!). So, off I went. I started off great. That is until I saw this couple coming towards me and behind them I could see another couple heading the same direction I was going in. The first couple were a piece of cake...obviously as they could see me and moved out of the way. So, I rang the bell, the grandmother looked back, saw me and moved out of the way whilst saying something to her husband, who instead of staying where he was, moved into my side of the trail. I rang the bell again, and once more they swapped places. At this stage I was almost upon them so I rang the bell again. They stopped moving and I braked so suddenly that I fell slightly before catching myself. My heart was pounding and I was trying not to be a complete eeijet in front of them. I failed miserably as the old lady kept asking me questions and the old man kept looking at me as if I were the biggest idiot he ever saw. After about 30 seconds to one minute of absolute panic, I managed to whimper out (in English). "I'm okay!" and hop back on the bike and cycle on for the rest of my journey (around 4.5k!). I met them on the way back but except for a slight nod of recognition no more encounters were had! PHEW! In other biking news - and this is a big one, guys, I managed to traverse the stiles in the middle of the biking path - even the ones that my brain tells me are too slim for a bike to get through! Making progress! 

A wee bit of make-up, heels and a dress, i look halfway decent!

I bought this present for myself - amazing scent!

So while this was not the most successful date of my life, at least I accomplished my goal to get back out there and get on my bike and I'm incredibly proud of myself for getting back on it despite that little incident with the old couple. The rest of the date was spent reading outside Plan B Coffee Shop and in the local gimbap restaurant. I read part of a Jeffrey Deaver and started and completed the amazing wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson which is a novel about a girl who is anorexic. I found it fascinating and a great insight into how someone with this disease behaves. As someone who loves food it is really hard for me to understand this perspective. But, as someone who loves food, it's also easy in some ways to realise how quickly it can become an obsession. I work really hard to be healthy and I'm constantly battling with myself to not eat that biscuit or to avoid the snack aisles in the supermarket because, boy, do I have a weakness. My weakness has not spilled into as disease as, even though I am overweight, I'm not morbidly so, thank God. But for me everytime I eat something I know I shouldn't I beat myself up about it. So, while I find it hard to understand basically starving yourself, I can sympathise with the sentiments behind it because we are constantly told how we need to look/should look/have to look. It's horrid and it's no wonder this disease is so prevalent especially amongst teenagers. 

Once I finished that book, I decided to take some time to reflect at home. I lay on my bed thinking about this issue and at some point I fell asleep. I woke up to find myself under the covers. I guess I was tired! So yes, not the most successful date!

However, I really enjoyed this date and it gave me a lot of food for thought: If  I want to reflect on the serious aspects of life, I can not do it lying down - I need to sit up and think on it properly; bike riding, whilst fun, needs to happen more often so that I can completely enjoy it; and wine, good food and a great rom-com should probably be watched at END of the date and not the beginning!

You might think I'm mad but I will try and complete the remaining 7 dates before the 1st of January. I'm not promising anything but I will TRY and do it! Again, I'd appreciate suggestions for ways to challenge myself. However, I have picked the next one - to go to a cafe/restaurant alone with no phone, no camera, no book, no notebook. Nothing to distract me but my thoughts!

PS the title of this post was inspired by my wee incident and Beyonce's "Just Stand Up"

I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike!

And here we go again.

First up, a warning - I was sick - again! I really can't seem to get a break, healthwise. I wasn't very productive for part of the week and also, it was goodbye time as a few friends were leaving. Anyway, here is my rundown:

Friday, August 29th

Becky and I had dinner together around 7.30. Before that when I got home I did some cleaning. Tried to call my family on Skype with no success and watched Dr. Who. After dinner though, I headed out to one of the local bars around 8 or 9 for drinks with friends and rolled home a little after one. Tipple of choice? Kahlua and milk. Friday = Success and Failure

Monday, September 1st

Ok, I am ashamed of this day. I was off but I didn't do anything except meet Katetastic for lunch and hang out as it was her last day. I did some dishes and cleaned a little but I mostly watched Dr Who and coughed. Yep, still sick. So, yes, basically had Katetastic not been around I would have been a complete loser. Monday = Failure

Tuesday, September 2nd 

A good day! I was meeting my friend, Liz, at 6.30 so when I got in there wasn't much more time then to run out and eat. After dinner we had delicious tea at Plan B and when I got home I did the dishes and cleaned. I think I watched 10 to 20 minutes of Bones, finished some games for lessons the next day and went to bed. Tuesday = Success. 

Wednesday, September 3rd

Oh, so proud of this day! When I got home I had about an hour and a half until I would meet my friend, Swaglu to go to dinner. I went for a 2 mile walk, and shaved off around a minute of my time!! I then, got home, changed clothes and walked downtown to eat with an old co-teacher. We then went to Rosetta and chatted until 9.30. When I got home the only English program on that I was interested in watching was Dr. Who (Bates Motel, ugh!) so I had that on in the background while I got some serious cleaning and laundry done. Yes, I was actually productive! I went to bed nearer 11 than I wanted so I was too tired on Thursday to get up and go on a cycle. Fingers crossed for Friday or Saturday. Wednesday = Success

Thursday, September 4th

Another day to be proud of! When I got home I went on a 2 mile walk, started making an ice-cream cake (recipe here) and then met my friend, Lindsey for Shabu-Shabu. It was in a different restaurant than we usually go to but it was still good. I continued making the ice-cream cake until way past my bedtime and it still wasn't done! In between I did some lesson planning and watching Dr Who. Thursday = Success

Well, I may not have gotten up to do a bike ride but I was fairly productive this week! So you might think I'm mad, considering I'm not a morning person, but I am going to persevere and try and get up early next week at least one day for a bike ride! I'm off to Japan for Chuseok so this will probably be published late but it will be published!

PS - the post is inspired by my new bike and the fact that I've yet to take it out, and Queen's "Bicycle Race". 

Are you sleeping

And on to week three! Wow time flies!  I can't believe this is my third week on this exercise. As you will read below things weren't plain sailing this week:

Friday, July 11th: This was a fantastic evening! Katetastic and I finally had our mushroom and wine night. We ended up out at the local Ministop (which is a convenience store) with some other friends drinking more drinks. Then into the pub for even more in an evening that culminated in Tequila shots. All in all, a great evening. Friday = Success 

Monday, July 14th: I wanted to finish reading my Mistborn book (I was reading Well of Ascension), so I stopped at a local coffee shop, had an iced chocolate drink and read until dinner time when I joined Swaglu, Katetastic one of Swaglu's friends who is visiting from the USA. Afterwards, Katetastic and I sat on the park swings and chatted. As we sat there slowly but surely quite a bit of Jochiwon joined us. I ended up getting a tummy ache so around 9 or 9.30 I abandoned the gathering crowd and instead headed home to sleep. Monday = Success

Tuesday, July 15th: Well, what was a tummy ache has turned into something else and I was dying all day in work. A wee headache, scratchy throat, upset tummy. I got a lift as far as the Office of Education so as I walked home (around 15 minutes), I stopped and bought crispy chicken. I know it's not healthy but the idea or doing anything in front of the stove just about killed me. I got home, made some tortilla wraps with the chicken and some balsamic roasted tomatoes I'd made on Sunday night. It was easy and semi-healthy. Afterwards I  fell asleep for 1.5 hours and then prepared some games and worked on my camps. I did watch TV (or had it on in the background, rather) while doing my work.  Tuesday = Success? Well, only because I was sick.

Wednesday, July 16th:  Ugh. That's all I have to say, well not literally as you can tell by the following epistle. By the time 4.30pm rolled around all I wanted was my bed. My throat was really closed up and all I had eaten to that point was saltine crackers and Chilsung cider (like 7-up). I bought meds, orange juice and a nice big new bottle of water. When I got home I decided some wallowing was in order so I turned on the TV. While it turns out I hadn't been missing much (besides CSI Miami and the movie A.I. There wasn't much on for about 30 minutes and I hate CSI Miami) until Modern Family came on which I thoroughly enjoyed. Good news, I did do half my dishes and my 30 jumping jacks for a July Challenge I'm participating in. For dinner, I ate some fairly unhealthy wraps with the remaining crispy chicken and roasted tomatoes. At 7pm tired out by these really exhausting activities (this is supposed to drip with sarcasm but as this is the internet and I'm not a very sarcastic person, that intent might be lost in translation), I fell asleep and slept relatively soundly until around 6.45am on Thursday. Wednesday = Not a success

Thursday, July 17th:  I bought baguette and some ham, did the balsamic roasted tomatoes again and made a sandwich. I worked on my blogs, did the dishes and packed for the culture trip I was on for Friday and Saturday. And then...to bed. Oh yea, still sick!

Well, I may not have watched much TV but the week was a disaster - no personal growth at all and all projects went to hell.

Oh well, you might think I'm mad but I hope to remain encouraged for next week!

PS The title of this post was inspired by that French children's song that I learnt as a child "Frère Jacques"

So come on, see the light on your face

My curb - the arrow indicates "my spot" - Image taken from Google Maps

When I lived in Nebraska, one of my favourite activities was to sit outside on my aunt's porch in the morning, having breakfast, reading and soaking in the rays. I've spent entire days on that porch chatting, drinking and eating. It's wonderful and relaxing. When I moved home, I decided (weather permitting) to use the curb in the cul-de-sac beside my parents' house as my  "porch," for the occasional breakfast under the sun. The apartment I lived in, out in Swords, had a balcony and the house on Dorset Street a concrete garden, which were slightly more adequate substitutes for that porch. Living in Korea, however, has meant letting that slide. My apartment doesn't have a balcony and the curb is far too dangerous. Luckily, I live around the corner from a wee park with a playground and some benches. On one quiet Thursday it provided me with an opportunity to have a mini date with myself.

Originally, I'd wanted to do something to challenge myself each date. While I still want to do this, sometimes time and opportunity don't come knocking at the same time. I'd wanted to have my "date" on Tuesday May 6th as I was off for the long weekend and I figured it would be a nice way to round out  what promised to be an action packed weekend (more on that later). However, I found out on April 30th that I'd be off on May 1st. So, impromptu date it was! 

The night before was Wine and Crafts  night at BexC's where Katetastic and I stayed a really long time chatting with our hostess well after the time-frame for the event. It was a wonderful evening filled with laughter, wine and BRD chicken. Tipsiness definitely kicked in at some point as I devoured the chicken as if I'd never had it before. However, due to the night's activities, the morning didn't get off on as promising a start as I'd have liked as it was nearer 10.30 before I could drag myself from bed. 

After a long shower, I made myself a nice strong cup of tea, grabbed my book (I'm doing some self study at the moment) and a banana and headed across the street. In the 30 seconds it takes to get there the amount of looks I got was a little hilarious. One man, who was propped up on his motorbike, dropped his feet to the ground on seeing me trying to not spill my tea everywhere. Even after 10 minutes of sitting and reading he was still staring! The day was gorgeous with the sun spilling down and a gentle breeze balancing out the heat of the sun. 

I love tea...I especially love tea in my new mug!

After finishing my book I headed back inside for a while. As I mentioned above, this was a mini date, so I split the rest of my day between cleaning (boring) and working on my blogs (date time!). Photo editing takes time, a lot more than I realised and even after a good two hours at it, I still hadn't made as much headway as I wanted (I have an upcoming photo post that I am working on). Eventually, I gave up the ghost that was my date (and my blog post) and decided to prepare for my Baduk lesson (it's a board game). Unfortunately it wasn't to be as my co-teacher needed me to sign the form stating my intent to stay another year. She wasn't able to come until nearer 5.30 and we chatted for more than an hour. 

So you might think I'm mad to have tried to cram a date in on such short notice and to have sacrificed my goal to challenge myself for some time to edit photos. I'll be honest I had no idea what my challenge would be for this month.... I was going to wing it. And while I wish I had had a stronger plan, the day I had was really nice and relaxing - which really is what a date should be about, right?  You might think I'm mad to share such a boring date......... no challenges, no funny stories, no deeply insightful thoughts - except that the English language is hilarious! Seriously look at the photo below  - I was in stitches! 

My Grammar and I (or should that be me?)  - Caroline Taggart

So on to the next date and something a little more challenging now that eating by myself in a restaurant and going to the movies by myself is out of the way. Maybe a performance or to go to the jimjibang (not likely)? Any suggestions?

PS This title was inspired by a beautiful sunshiny day and Take That's Shine.

We [are] sharin' all we've got!

In my second school, my 2nd graders' home room teacher is an older man, nearing retirement. He doesn't have much of a "get up and go" attitude and so when the students come to my class they tend to be a wee bit hyperactive and silly. Thankfully, despite the silliness they are really well behaved and really like to have a chat and participate in class. Granted, much of the chat is held in Korean with a dash of English, and I have to guess what they are trying to say...but we get there!

Like last year, we are concentrating on phonics. At the moment we are reviewing the alphabet but will start reading CVC words soon. Some of their favourite games to play are when they make a line, and I say a sound or word and they have to identify the correct starting letter. They can so dramatic when they guess incorrectly! They try to have two or three turns to guess the right letter! My favourite time is when I give them a word or sound like a BPVF sound (all are very similar in Korean) and it's not a word they know, like fish. Instead I will say something like "Facsimile". It usually takes a few students to figure out the right letter! (So in case you are wondering, they don't need to know what any of the words mean the key is recognising the right sounds.). 

The class is split between 5 boys and 3 girls. And, let me tell you, the competition is fierce! One of the girls and two of the boys really know their stuff. They try to out-do each other all the time. Despite the competitiveness, the kids are really sweet. They help each other out and race to be finished with their worksheets.

Whenever they can they try to use their minimal English to tell me about themselves or whatever is going on in the class. For example, recently, I wore earrings to school for the first time (in case you are wondering, my ears have been pierced since 2001). The second grade girls were completely enamoured and kept saying "beautiful" so I taught them the word "earring". (Actually side story - since I've started wearing earrings to school, I've been called beautiful a lot more often by my students. It makes me wonder what I look like without them on!). The following week, I met them before our class and the three girls started to point out their earrings: Stickers of flowers, diamonds and hearts adorned their ears. As I admired their beautiful earrings, one of the girls gave me my very own sticker for my ear. I was so chuffed that I wore it for the rest of the day. Some of my older students laughed at me but I thought it was really sweet! I woke up the next day and found it still on my ear. Since then I haven't worn any earrings to school and I've had several questions from both the boys and girls as to where they were! 

My beautiful sticker earring.

In my main school, I teach an Afterschool phonics class to 4 students - 2 boys from first grade and a boy and girl from second grade. We are working our way through a book (GHI is currently underway) and supplementing that with games, Starfall.com, and other worksheets. One of the boy's Taesan is this teddy-bear of a kid. He is really cute but really mischievous too. I usually have to remind him at least 3 times each class to sit down, listen and be quiet! Nevertheless, this little charmer evidently likes me and my class as he brought a few of his friends around to meet me last week. These kiddos lined up to talk to me (in Korean) whilst Taesan chattered on in English: Hello Teacher. My name is Taesan. What's your name? How are you! Ah, buh, cuh! Apple, cat!...". Whilst I was trying to control the giggles half the kids lett and 3 of the boys, along with Taesan proceeded to the door to my back to peek out at that classmates. I managed to capture a snap of them. You can just tell they are cheeky, right? Since then I've run across these boys on a few occasions and they now shout out to me "ANNYEONG HASEYO!"  Now....If I could just get them to say hello in English!

So you might think I'm mad but I think that "[I'll] be having twice the fun" as long as these kids stick around! 

PS The title of this post was inspired by the lyrics of "Let's get together" from The Parent Trap starring Hayley Mills. Also, this song always reminds me of my cousin Al, whose mom, coincidentally, was the one who got my ears pierced!

Chip the glasses and crack the plates...that's what [Maggie] hates.

For the last few months the ice in my freezer has been building up and I have been steadfastly ignoring it because I really hate defrosting fridges. I know, technically, it's not hard work but it is time-consuming.
Anyway, after months of pretending the problem didn't exist, things came to a head last week when I realised that the inside of my fridge was starting to freeze too. So, with much reluctance I set aside Saturday morning for defrosting the freezer.

To be honest, it went great. I followed the steps on WikiHow and by 1.30 things were looking good. That is until, I was mopping up the floor where the water had run out the side of my fridge! Seriously! I still had a crap load of things on top of my fridge (you can see where this is going, can't you?) and as I shoved around the fridge to tackle the water, everything stayed in place. I was done and dusted and ready to plug in the fridge. So, I adjusted it to shove back into place when THUMP, SPLOT, CRACK. My jar of chickpeas smashed to the ground. It broke everywhere. Glass and chickpeas were mixed together and had flung themselves under my bed, across the kitchen and all around the fridge. I was so annoyed that I cried. I had to leave for a good-bye dinner with my friend at 2.45 and it was 2.15. I had planned to do the dishes, put out the laundry - and get dressed, in  those 30 minutes. Instead, I spent the time cleaning up my mess.

I wish I could say it stopped there but my bad luck continued. I got to the train station and realised my boot had something in it, and worried it might be a piece of glass, I took it off, shook it out but found nothing. So, tying them tight, I got on the train and made my merry way to Seo-Daejeon. Now, between Seo-Daejeon train and subway station there is about a 10-15 minute walk. I had only gone about 2 minutes when I realised the back of my foot was in pain. I decided to ignore it until I got to the subway station but, literally 1 minute from there, I couldn't take it anymore. I pulled off my boot, pulled up my jeans and realised that there was blood on the back of my foot. I checked my boots and sure enough there was a little round spot of blood. Something rough was there and had been digging into me for the 25 minute train ride and 10 minute walk. I didn't know what to do and, not wanting to be late to meet my friend, I decided to suck it up. I put my foot back in the boot but didn't bother zipping it up and made my way to our meeting place.

Looking back I think I might be mad for having been so reckless as to carry on. However, when I got home that night the cut on my foot had scabbed over. I haven't worn the boots since though and before I do I'm going to carefully check that there is nothing dangerous in them. I didn't die but I don't recommend my course of action. Had I not been able to walk, I definitely would have gone to a hospital!

PS This post was inspired by a few disasters in an otherwise lovely weekend. Also, a huge goodbye to a good friend who has been an important part of the Tea Party and the Wine and Crafts Club. You are going to be missed, Addi!

PPS: The title of this post is from Tolkien's The Hobbit when the dwarves are raiding Bilbo's pantry. Speaking of the pantry: a huge thank you to all the people who kindly volunteered their freezers for my food! And a mega thank you to Annette for letting me use hers.

Tell me why, I don't like [desk-warming]?

The textbook and teacher guide for 5th grade
and my trusty Essential TEFL

It's that time of the year, the dreaded desk-warming time of the year. School is out, camps are over but your job is not done. What seems like a pointless exercise is indeed upon us. You sit at your desk for around 1-2 weeks and try to find a way took busy. One of my friends, Chasing Glitter, posted a good amount of suggestions about what to do with this time for Reach to Teach. It got me thinking about why we have this time, what are supposed to do with it and how it is usually spent.

Firstly, this is not a blog post criticising anyone on how they spend their desk-warming. Goodness knows I haven't utilised my time very well in the past. This post is only to give you an insight into how I best believe I can make a difference in my time during desk-warming. You can choose to follow my new example or you can do whatever you want including what I used to do which was to spend a lot of time on Facebook, Imgur and Pottermore and watching  How I Met Your Mother. Whilst this latter suggestions sounds like an excellent idea right now, I don't believe it suffices for me. Firstly, I've seen all the episodes, sometimes several times, and I am completely caught up on nearly every single show I like. I suppose I could start a new one, but do you know just how addicted I am to TV as it is? I can't find room for a new series! In fact, the only reason I started watching Agents of Shield with any regularity is because HIMYM and Psych are coming to an end.

My first period of desk-warming was way back in August 2012. That was so long ago I can barely remember what I did. However, I also only had about 2-3 days and I spent the time I had working on blog posts, preparing what I could for my first week of classes the following semester and playing around on Facebook and catching up on the aforementioned TV show. A lot. I think that is also around the time I heard of Lamebook and I spent way more time on that site than I ever should have. My first winter was a long one and both before and after I went to Vietnam, I had way too much time to kill. That's also when I was introduced to Imgur and Pottermore. If you are a Harry Potter fan this last site is amazing, time consuming and way too preoccupying. I did spend some time preparing things but I wasn't really sure what my role was going to be and, in fact, two of the teachers changed their minds on how they wanted me to participate once I was actually in their classes. The little preparation I did didn't benefit me much! I also spent some time working on my blog. Which brings me to August 2013. I spent quite a bit of time on my blog, very little time on Pottermore and little to no time on any other sites that weren't school or blog related. I was a lot more prepared for my classes and it made a difference for me.

To that end, I am starting my desk-warming on Monday. What will desk-warming 2014 bring me? What changes to my lifestyle do I want to make and what can I do to improve my time? To begin, I spent quite a bit of time in between camp and classes (I am on double duty this week) reflecting on why we have this time. Yes, in many ways it is pointless - if I were able to be at home I could go to the bank, clean my house, catch up on laundry and maybe go on a visit to some interesting place in Korea. However, most schools require their teachers (English and homeroom teaches alike) to spend time in school. During this week, most homeroom teachers know where they will be assigned when school starts back up in March, so they will spend that time clearing out their old room and/or setting up their new room. Time will be spent on lesson planning, and if it the summer, evaluating the materials and lessons you have left for the remainder of the year. For us NETS, the time goes very slowly. A week spent at your desk and not teaching is interminable.

This time is, ostensibly, to prepare for your camps/future classes and if you are not renewing your contract preparing things for the incoming NET. However, there is only so much time you can spend on these things. They are times when you need a break. This is where I have had trouble in the past. Either the break from lesson/camp planning becomes the main focus or I just don't ever get really started on what I need to do. I've thought long and hard about how I want 2014 to pan out. I want to be in the TEFL game for a lot longer than I have been thus far. This means that not only do I need to "up my game", I also need to be on top of my game. I think upping your game is really important. Whether you are here for another month, six months or several years, why not up your game? It benefits everyone, especially you.

Whether you like teaching or not. you are here to do a job and I know, from personal experience, giving 100% is so satisfactory. Therefore, for 2014 here are the 5 things I want to accomplish during this years desk-warming:

1. Plan my afterschool lessons. For my phonics lessons prepare worksheets, games and ppts that can be used for any number of students. (1 hour per day)
2. Talk to the home-room teachers once I know what classes I will teach and plan my textbook lessons using original materials and adapting materials from Waygook.org (1 hour per day)
3. Book and start my final 20 hours of my i-to-i TEFL online course to boost me from 120 hours to 140 hours. (1 hour per day)
4. Start studying TEFL books for CELTA and/or TEFL Masters programs (1 hour per day)
5. Reorganise my class room. Plan boards for each season and boards with target language from text books or the TEE book (1 hour)

You might think I'm mad not "wanna shoo-oo-woo-woo-woo-oot the whole [desk-warming time] down". However, by just doing these things I will have used up 5 hours of my 8 hour day. For the rest of the time, I want to work on my blogs (this and my new cooking one), work on things for The Sejong Dish, read and do something fun. I don't know yet what the fun thing will be - maybe planning my trip to Taiwan? Either way, I refuse to let the grass grow under my feet this year! And, I'll still get some relaxation time.

PS Links to the above distracting websites were not included because if I had visited any of these sites this post would NOT be ready to be published before the end of March! However, please feel free to visit them yourself.
PPS This post was inspired by my own experiences, the article linked above (click on Reach to Teach) and the Boomtown Rats "I don't like Mondays".

It's time to trust my instincts, close my eyes and leap!

Imagine standing at the top of a hill. Excitement fills the air. A cacophony of sounds fill your ears. Fear fills your tummy: "What on earth have I done?" There you are standing at the top of a hill that suddenly seems a lot steeper than it initially looked (ok, Irish readers, it was twice the size of the hill in Griffith park. It's scarier than it sounds!) and sledding seems like a very bad idea.

This January, at the end of our week long English Camp (the theme was Around the World), we went to a nearby English Village. The highlight of this trip was sledding and I was super excited for it when my teacher told me about it. Although, I thought she said we were going "sleighing" and had an image of all of us in a sleigh with Santa going around the English Village much like how you see people go around Central Park in the movies (by the way, can any New Yorkers tell me if that does really happen?). I was a little shocked when I realised that it was actual sledding. However, I've been wanting to do a winter sport for ages and it just hasn't happened. So, after a cup of tea, and handing over my purse to my co-teacher, I headed up to join our students. I, luckily, bumped into one of them straight away and she took me under her wing. We got our sleds - they looked like inflatable rings that you use in the swimming pool but with a bottom that you sat on (when I sledded as a kid it was on a tray or plastic bag in the local park!) - and headed up a hill to join the other sledders. My students who spotted me were delighted that I was that brave to go up with them and the strangers who were there stared, pointed and chatted about me. Meanwhile, panic was starting to bubble up and I really wanted to turn around and run away: I was having images of breaking a leg or tumbling out of the sled and not being able to get on my plane home that evening. 

Then, a small hand tugged on mine and I looked down to see my student smiling and saying "Margaret Teacher - together." I was instantly grateful and I squashed down the fast building panic, rearranged myself so that I was holding on to her sled with one hand and she could do the same for me. A few seconds later the whistle blew and we were off.  I thought my heart would fall out of my mouth on a few occasions but it was so much fun. I did squeal but it wasn't from fear as much as exhilaration! I got up and, this time, I went with two of my students. 

One of the other teachers joined us on the next run but decided that hill was too tame for her. She wanted the higher one and encouraged me to join her. It wasn't until I was on top of that hill that I realised why the other one worked for me: Joining your students in going down a hill at lightning speeds is definitely easier - you can't show them your fear! However, on that second, higher hill, you could only go down alone. I still enjoyed it but I thought my heart would stop.

So, you might think I'm mad but that despite having a ton of fun, I've no desire to go back to that English Village, and in fact would strongly discourage others from going. The reason for this is (obviously) not the sledding but that I don't think that the program they run actually encourages students to learn English. The games they played (domino towers and musical chairs) don't practice any conversational English. Further, the market roleplay didn't teach target sentences that are appropriate to a class of mixed level learners (approx 30 kids from 1st to 4th grade). A higher level of English was required than I think should have been and all of our 1st and most of our 2nd graders were left floundering. They didn't make sure that all (or most) of the students knew the sentences before they started the roleplay and the general negativity energy coming from the facilitators was discouraging for me, my colleagues and our students.

Bad angle but these are the sledding hills!

However, leaving aside the dismal encouragement of English, this sledding, apart from my trip home, may have been the highlight of my winter. It was liberating, fun, and it showed me I could face my fears - even the little ones - I could make that "leap". So here is to 2014 and facing one's fears. No matter what they are, and how deep they are, let's try "defying gravity"! Except for snakes. That one is NEVER going to be faced. Uggggh.

PS This post was inspired by Wicked's  "Defying Gravity" and a wonderful few, bruising, hours of sledding!

So while I’m still healing

I'm not a huge New Year's Eve person. I don't remember the last time I truly enjoyed it in years. Ok, I do. It was my first year back in Ireland after college. My sister's friend MK came up for a visit and we stayed up watching Surviving Christmas and, I think, a Take That performance. We were dragged outside to greet the new year and then rushed back in for sausages and egg-flip. We stayed up late and, eventually, one-by-one crawled our way up the stairs and into bed. My younger brother and sister remained downstairs as they decided that they'd clean up so our Mam wouldn't have a heart attack first thing in the new year (yes, we were that messy). The next thing I knew my dad was shouting for us all to get up and come downstairs as there was a grand surprise in the kitchen. I remember grumbling and complaining that it was probably just one of the neighbours. I was so annoyed that my sleep had been disturbed (it was 9.am!!!) and so I reluctantly pulled on a jumper, scrambled for socks and shoes and made my way down stairs. A screech of excitement poured out of me and the rest of my siblings: My aunt from America was in town! She hadn't told my mam that she was coming and only the two dotes who had stayed up cleaning knew about it. We spent the day chatting, eating and, at some point, in Cineworld watching Happy Feet while my aunt passed out next to us. It was a marvellous  new year as was the one following that (wow,  this is not going well for my post about not liking New Year's!) as another aunt and a cousin visited us from America. My Aunt stayed with us on New Year's eve and we spent the evening drinking, singing, playing games and just having a good time. I think we all stayed up, parents and aunt included, until at least 2 or 3 in the morning.

Most of my New Year's Eves, however, have felt like a let down. There is this huge build up to what amounts to not very much. Maybe I'm a cynic and maybe I've been alone too long but I feel that, much like Valentine's day, New Year's is a couple's holiday and there is a stench of desperation in the air when you are single. "Oh, you're single? What are you going to do for Valentine's/New Year's?" "Oh, who are you going to kiss when it's midnight?" Seriously, who cares?  I'm fine with the fact that I am single and alone on New Year's. It honestly doesn't bother me very much. Do I wish I had someone? Of course, I do...but not for the sole express reason of New Year's Eve. I don't want someone just for one night. I want someone for a long time. Hopefully, someday, forever (the single, independent me got shivers typing that!).  I don't need anyone to make my life complete right now. I'm happy being me and living these experiences. Yes, I want other experiences like marriage, a husband and kids. But, I'm (mostly) ok with the fact that it hasn't happened yet.

There's a point to this story, dear readers, and to this rant, so please bear with me a little longer. Katetastic recently helped Swaglu plan a date for herself. Swaglu went on a date by herself with herself. My mind boggled. What the feck? Seriously? What.....?  However, the more I thought about it and started to reflect on my hang-ups and the things that bother me about dating, the more the idea appealed to me. For example, at the moment dating someone seems like a chore - I don't want to have to consider anyone else in my plans. If I want to go up on a Saturday morning to Seoul, I don't want to feel that I have to invite someone else. I know I'll feel different about it when  I do have a boyfriend or husband but in the meantime, I don't think I'm ready for this step yet. I am having hard enough of a time trying to figure me out without adding someone else to the mix. On the other hand if someone were to ask me out, I (probably) wouldn't say no.

Breakfast and a book

To that end, Swaglu's date with herself inspired me. The weekend that I celebrated my birthday, I decided I wanted to go on a date with myself. I didn't know exactly what to do so I researched.
 I knew it should be something that I wanted to do so I decide to do some reading, eating, writing and cooking. I also wanted to factor in some reflection time and some fresh air. It's getting to be time to decide on whether or not I will stay in Korea, and, unlike last year, I have no real clue as to what I want to do. Taking myself on a date sounded like a good option. I decided that I would get up early so I could enjoy as much of the day as possible and I would dress up using mascara, jewelry and heeled boots. And, unlike normal I decided that I wouldn't plan too much. I had vague ideas of what I wanted to accomplish and the only solid thing I had decided on was that I would read Waris Dirie's Desert Flower.

On New Year's Eve, some friends and I had arranged to go to Noraebang (singing room) and whilst waiting for everyone to be free, I decided to take my book and read at the local coffee shop. Shortly after sitting down, I decided I wanted to start my date early and had started to text my friend to tell her. Before I could send the text she walked in, dressed all sparkly and ready to sing. And it hit me. Yes, my date is all about me. And despite having the voice of a crow, I love to sing. So off we went for a fun time! Sometime around 1, after a tipsy call home to say "Happy New Year", I flopped into bed. 

When morning arrived, I got up around 9.20 and began what would end up being the most relaxing day I ever remember having. I'm one of those people who usually needs about 50 alarms to wake up every morning. I set one and I paid attention to it. I spent my day reading and eating, walking and thinking. It was a perfect day for a winter date. The sky was fairly clear and, instead of bitter cold, the air was quite warm and pleasant. While I did things that I enjoy - walking in the sunshine, drinking tea and reading.  I also did something that challenged me: I ate alone in a restaurant and I enjoyed it. There is something about coffee shops and eating a muffin alone that are just fun but eating in a restaurant alone unnerves me. I've done it plenty of times, but always involuntarily. It's just one of those things that I don't like to do. So when I planned my date, I decided that I was going to enjoy a meal by myself in a public setting. 

The Memorial park I walked to

Nom Nom Nom

I picked one of my favourite restaurants here in Korea, Mt Fishtail in Cheonan, which has delicious Indian food and I set off. I arrived and was seated in a both next to 4 men. A little unnerved at the idea of facing them the whole time, I sat with my back facing them and had a great time. I spent some time thinking of what I want from life. I then read a book on my phone because I had accidentally left my second book for the day laying on my bed. I took a long time to eat - over an hour  -and I just enjoyed the time that I had.

Tea time!

Afterwards, I decided to go for a walk around the town thinking that I could tackle a second thing that I don't like doing by myself: going to the cinema. As I made my way up the several escalators, I was giving myself several mental claps on the back for being brave. And then, I go upstairs. The Hobbit wasn't on, and since I truly wasn't really enamoured with the idea of going to the cinema by myself, I decided it was time for home. Although, had The Hobbit been on, I think I could have done it and enjoyed it! Unfortunately getting out of the cinema proved difficult as I spent 15-20 minutes wandering around trying to find the exit. I even took a lift (elevator), which is not something I embark on lightly, to the 1st floor only to have to go down tons of escalators because I somehow managed to get up 5 floors ABOVE where I had been. Eventually, I found the exit and proceed home for more tea and relaxation.

You might think I'm mad to go on a date with myself. You might think I'm mad to be scared of eating alone and of elevators. Well, let's address elevators first - I've been stuck twice in them and had to be let out both times. So that is a reasonable fear. I have been in them plenty of times but I don't like being in them. Regarding the eating alone. I personally think it's ironic that for someone who enjoys food as much as I do that I don't like this activity but then I think of what a meal means to me: It means sitting around the table with my family, people jostling for the best seats and the biggest plate. It means conversations and laughter, ribbing and memories. However, as I discovered on New Year's day - eating alone has value too. I just need to channel my alone-ness better. As for dating myself, it isn't because I don't want to date someone in reality, it's because I need to get to know me better. I need to look at what changes and challenges I want to face in my life. There are things that have been on my list for years like eating alone and going to the cinema by myself that I have never gotten around too.

I have decided that I am going to commit to 11 more dates this year and for each of them I am going to do something that challenges me. February's date will be about going to the cinema alone. I don't know what the rest will be yet, but I hope that this challenge/resolution has a lot of value for me as a person who wants to grow and be the best version of herself that she can be. For someone who wants to get married and have a family someday, that I can be ready for the things that will scare me then. Like getting married and having children. When I was younger I was fearless but somewhere between the last year of college and now, I lost my courage and my freedom. I became shy and scared. It doesn't matter why it happened, it matters that it did and the only way I can get some of my freedom back is to challenge myself. So while I am challenging myself to find some healing and courage, "just try and have a little patience".

PS. This post was inspired by my New Year's day, some great memories and some great people. It was also inspired by Take That's "Patience".

PPS. Thank you to Rucy for recommending the perfect book to get me to look at my life from a different perspective. I highly recommend everyone reads Desert Flower, especially if you are interested in the topic of FGM.

The most wonderful time of the year

Imagine you are in a room with bunk beds. Some people are lying in the bunk beds and others are lying on the floor, sleeping bags tucked up under their chin. A CD is playing. Toys, books and games are in messy piles waiting to be used. Instead, the occupants of the room are caterwauling their hearts away to "Santa Claus is coming to town!"  Ever so often, Mam or Dad poke in their heads to ask "Are you kids ever going to sleep"? Fast forward to morning, and I am the first one awake. I wait as long as I can (usually 5 minutes) before deciding that my siblings have slept long enough and I start singing (off key as it's the only way I sing) Jingle Bells or some other tune. A lot of growling, pleas to shut up and threats to smother me later, we stand at the top of the stairs, blankets wrapped around us, socks pulled as high as they can go, waiting on our mother's signal. Down we creep, each of us grabbing our Christmas sock. We file into the front room and wait for our dad to return with the tea (good guy, Dad!). Jostling each other we fight for the best seats and then open our socks, spilling pens, sweets and goodies onto our laps. Christmas day has started.

I love Christmas and everything connected to it - Christmas Eve Mass, the Nativity Scene, Christmas trees, lights and decorations, food, traditions and gifts. Coming to Korea, I knew that I wouldn't get to celebrate Christmas the way that I had in the past. While there were some traditions I wanted to keep (Kris Kindle with my family), there were some I had to forgo (my Mam's Christmas cake) and some I got to start. Some of these traditions I've decided to not only continue in Korea but for the rest of my life. What better way to keep a piece of my family and Korea with me always than by sharing with my own (hopefully, someday!) family.

Christmas is different in Korea - it's harder to get the turkey... and the spiced beef isn't happening....but you can still have the sides: mashed potatoes, garlic potatoes, roast potatoes, fried potatoes (did I mention potatoes?), green bean casserole, roasted veg and even pumpkin pie. It just takes being a little more creative. Last year, Christmas morning was spent having brunch with some close friends and their siblings. It was a lot of fun as everyone contributed yummies from crepes to chocolates! The evening was spent having a Christmas dinner where again wonderful food and company was provided. Now there are way more people in Jochiwon than last year, which means meeting in one person's house is really difficult. On Christmas Eve, a bunch of us are going to meet to exchange Kris Kindle gifts and on Christmas night I've invited the community to come to my house, if they want, for some drinks and maybe dessert.

Being with your family is probably impossible as an expat in Korea, unless someone visits you or you are lucky enough to get the Christmas week off to go home (on both counts, I am the queen of envy!). However, you can still spend it with people you love. Spend it with your friends and Skype with your family. That's what I did last year and what I am doing this year. My house isn't big enough to fit people sitting comfortably (last year at least 3-4 people had to stand to eat!) and as mentioned already we have a lot of people this year. Both this year and last year, I spent the majority of the day with my close friends and then the evening with my all my other friends. I know I wasn't the only one then and I won't be the only one doing it this year. My brother and his friends travelled distances to be together as their "family" his Christmas here.

I've already talked about how I have made decorations for Christmas and I mentioned the advent calendar. This is my new favourite tradition. A lot of times, I find it hard to balance my excitement with what the season is really about. When this happens I can become a bit snarky (Christmas 2011, anyone?). I don't like this side of me, so in an effort to combat it and so I don't feel "let-down" by Christmas I came up with my advent calendar.  This calendar allows me to put up one decoration a day from the 1st to the 25th December starting with the Christmas tree and lights all the way down to the baba Jesus in the crib. Every day, I get to put up one decoration (Santa decoration) or several types of one decoration (baubles). There are days where in order to put up the decoration, I must make something (snowmen and snowflakes). I have found that doing this has helped me to keep my Christmas spirit intact all the way through Christmas Day and even into the New Year. I've been quite busy this December so some things I am leaving to make on my birthday and even maybe the next crafts club in February (it's a sewing project, so it's allowed!).Another tradition that I have decided to start is making my own Christmas inspired foods and drinks: Non-alcoholic apple cider and mulled wine (my sister is going to send me the recipe..hint-hint), peanut butter cups (thanks, Jaime), mincemeat, and my own version of the Chocolate Refrigerator cake (original recipe is here).

Some other things that have helped me was to enjoy Christmas in Korea are as follows, and who knows maybe they will help you too!

• Listening to Christmas FM. This is is a charity radio station from Ireland and every year their charity partner changes. They play lots of Christmas songs and it's always nice to hear the Irish accent!

• Don't sit alone at home. This is key. Sitting alone at home induces wallowing and the cry of "Why me?" Go for coffee, meet for dinner - just get away from yourself for a few hours.

• Go to something Christmassy. Last year, I saw The Hobbit and I went to a performance of The Phantom of the Opera. I have yet to make it to the second Hobbit movie but I did go see The Nutcracker.

• Decorate your home. Even if it's just to put some fairy lights up - it puts you in good spirit, add in that music and sure you'll be laughing in no time at all! The more creative you are the better - I like making Christmas decoration and will happily spend hours cutting out snowflakes but you could also do what my friend, Rucy, did and make a Tripod tree. 

• Do something charitable, even if you can't make it to an actual place to volunteer, give some cash to the Salvation army or if you know someone who is involved in a charity, perhaps you can donate. This year, one of the girls in my town is organising gifts for the local orphanage. Another girl is organising a wrapping party for these gifts. Fun shall ensue! 

• With your close friends share a part of your childhood Christmases. Santa always brought stationery to us and I am passing that useful tradition on to my friends. Delicious roast potatoes will be my other reminder of home this year as is the tea, games and chats. At home, my family doesn't turn on the TV for the few days surrounding Christmas. Instead we partake in each others company. So in my house (while the computer will play music), no TV is the rule on Christmas day!

"Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night". 

 Clement C Moore

So you might think I'm mad to try and start traditions in Korea that I think I want to do for the rest of my life. You might think I'm mad to try and recreate as much as I can the Christmases I had as a child. Christmas is about magic and if you believe hard enough, then much like Tinkerbell, Christmas is alive and well. As my very wise mother once told me when I was being a bit of a brat, Christmas is what you make it - if you only let yourself get caught up in the commercialism of it you will be let down. So even if you are far from home and far from loved ones, keep your Christmas spirit and just maybe you'll find that the "love ones [don't need to be] near" for it to be "the most wonderful time of the year."

PS. This post is inspired by the song "It's the most wonderful time of the year" and trying to make Christmas in Korea the most wonderful time of the year.

Loud, LOud, LOUd, LOUD, sssshh quiet.

When I cook, I sometimes have the TV or some music on but, generally, I prefer silence as I chop, slice and dice. I like hearing the sounds of whatever I am making come together - the hiss of the oil, the rolling bubbles of water and the clatter of pots and pans  - as I make my way around the kitchen. Usually, this is the only time I allow my self some quiet (outside of reading). It's not that I don't like quiet, I do, but I find it hard to just sit quietly and think. When I cook though, I am able to separate my brain from my actions. I know how to chop an onion, peel a carrot and crush some garlic. I do this automatically and my brain gets to think, quietly.

Hmmm this sounds as if I only think when I cook. That's not true, I think a lot - on the bus or train (when I'm not napping), snatched minutes between classes, whilst I am out for a walk or wandering around Home Plus by myself. However, I have noticed that over the years I have developed some bad habits: when I am not cooking or doing some other crafty thing, I generally don't set aside some time to meditate or just think. Instead, I use up my free time doing stupid stuff: playing on my smartphone, Imgur (seriously, whoever told me about this site, I want to take back my thanks), Facebook, TV, streaming TV or movies. None of these things are bad, of course, but like anything in excess they are not healthy for you me. 

With this in mind, over the last few months, I've been making some changes to get a little more quiet in my life. While the whole TV related thing is where it has always been, I have made strides in two areas: Facebook and my smartphone. A few months ago, I deleted FB from my phone for 4 weeks. It was tough and I didn't like it at all. I had become very reliant on the FB app so I decided to bring it back. When I did I changed my settings though. I changed them so that my phone no longer vibrates a notification or buzzes me a preview of a message. Instead, when I go into the app, I see my notifications. It's heavenly. Yes, I do sometimes miss a few messages here and there. Yes, I do sometimes check my phone obsessively every 10 minutes but these times are less and less. Instead, I only use my FB phone app on the bus and when I am at home - and not as obsessively as before!

With the freedom no longer have FB notifications gave me, I decided to extend this freedom to my other apps: Kakao especially buzzes a lot. I love this app as it keeps me very connected here in Korea.  Instagram, has also followed suit. It's amazing how much time I don't spend on my phone, now. I also turn my phone off when I enter work and turn it on again when I leave. It gives me so much more freedom to just get things done. I only have notifications for Gmail and Snapchat. Only 2 people Snapchat me so it's not too big of a deal to have it on my phone and Gmail is used for several things - from messages from my family, co-workers and projects I am involved in, so it's important that I keep those notifications!

However, despite these efforts, I still haven't found as much quiet time as I want to have in my life. Again, this is mostly my own fault. Somehow despite having between 5-6 hours every evening to be productive and get quiet time, it seems to just fly in. I don't know what is that I do, but the evening  is always over much faster than I expected. School can crawl by but the evenings fly by.  I let myself get distracted by stupid things - checking Facebook and staying on Facebook for hours, Imgur and Lamebook are total distractions (to prevent you from being distracted, I have kindly refrained from providing links) and I spend a lot of time just watching TV. It's actually good that I like to read, cook and do crafty things because if I didn't I'd totally waste my day.

For the rest of December (3.5 weeks), I am going to to make time for a little silence in each day. I don't know yet what I will do but I feel that these two things are manageable: I am going to use the quiet place everyday. It's only a few seconds (90secs). But they will be my few seconds to breathe. I am going to get outside by myself and go for a walk or a jog for a few minutes everyday. I already do this in my main school 3 days a week but I need to incorporate the other days into my life, too. 

So you might think I'm mad to waste so much of my time. You might think I'm mad to not take time to just breathe and be quiet. You might think I'm mad, considering it's snowing heavily, to want to go out everyday of the next few weeks. Well, I agree with you for one and two. I definitely need to manage my free time better. For three, well....even when it's snowing there is still value to be had in going outside and just breathing! So with a little help and prompting from myself, I think I can get a little quiet in my life! Wish me luck!

PS This post is inspired by my daily struggles to find some time to reflect and be quiet.
PPS This post is inspired by the Super Simple Song "Open, shut them" that I have used in a lot of my classes to demonstrate opposites.