I was wondering what direction was east...

Today was game day in the afternoon.

The first game we played was a speed game. Both teams would quickly try to describe a given word to another member on their team using only English. The team at the end with the most completed words was the winner.

The second game was a vocabulary game. One member of each team would stand in the front, facing the class. I would write a topic on the board, such as animals, and the two would alternate naming different animals until one could not think of a new one. If the other could still think of a new one, their team received a point.

I have met many nice people here. The majority of the Korean and foreign teachers are very kind. A few days ago I felt like I didn't quite fit in with either group, but now it feels more like I fit well in both groups.

I am trying to decide what to do for my two week vacation after camp. I will be moving into an apartment on the first day, but after that I am free to travel. However, I will probably just stay here in Jeonju and walk around downtown.

Mongmatin

I started going by Martin since there are two other Davids at the camp. Mok is the surname of my coteacher, so she gave it to me when helping me make a Korean name. The two combined is Mok Ma Tin(said teen), but said together comes out Mongmatin. All the kids and the other Korean teachers think it sounds hilarious. That is why I like it.












All the kids made passports for while they are here at camp.

The Korean kids, of course, had to write theirs in English. Once they were finished they got in stamped.












One girl wrote in her daily english diary, "I think my passport is the real thing!"

Dinner with the choglings

It is a joke among the Korean coteachers that the kids are little monsters, choglings. Chogling is a take off of zergling from Starcraft. The Cho is means elementary.

I did the oral part of the placement test for about 20 of the students. Some are quite good for their age. I asked them about where they live and go to school and what they like to do. Almost all the boys and many girls like sports. For the guys, it was almost always soccer. The girls had greater variety from tennis to swimming and baseball. All the girls seemed to like animals, especially puppies. One girl said she likes pigs beacuse they are fat (and therefore cute I guess).

At dinner it is our responsibility to help serve the meals. I dished out rice to helf the students and other teachers. I ate last, but I like it that way so if I want some extra kimchi I know I can take it. I sat down and talked with Ran and Stella who are coworkers with the other coordinators Hyoung, Shawn, and Eric.

I spent the evening trying to get the internet working for another lady on our floor named Haitie from South Africa. It connects but then the server blocks it after about 20 minutes prompting for her to install Symantec software. It is strange.

A different lady on our floor is named Elmarie. She is from Australia. She is LDS, and I am helping her to find the church building next Sunday we have off.

Summer Camp Starts

Well, I'm finally connected to the internet in my room. I had to mess around with the IP and DNS numbers to get it to work but now it works.

This is my dorm room for the next three weeks until I move into my apartment. It is small and the AC does not work, but otherwise ok.











This is the view from the window.













We finally had our official meeting yesterday. I met all the other foreign teachers, about 20 in all. Some are here only for the summer camp while others will stay for the school year as well. There are several from South Africa, England, and Scotland. I am one of 4 or 5 from the US or Canada. We each have a Korean co-teacher who will help to corral the kids. Many co-teacers are quite good at English, but mine is just ok. She is a 21 year old female, English name Sally. She has a boyfriend though...too bad :{. Today I must wear my suit and greet parents and students at the entrance to the dormitory. Then I will help give a placement test to the students. After the placement tests they will tell me who will be in my class. It will be about 15 students. I am supposed to prepare an informative American culture lesson to give to my students in the 2nd week. I, of course, also want the lesson to help them with their English. Any ideas? So far, I have made just a maching game of big US companies like Boeing, Nike, Victorias Secret, etc...saying, What does each US company make? Airplanes, shoes, lol....

Narita, Incheon, and Jeonju

2008.07.21 - Narita

I am writing from Narita airport in Tokyo. For some passengers on NW007, the long journey ended here. 10 or so hours of cramped knees and stiff backs. The rest of us have 3 hours more, continuing on to Incheon. For some reason, we had to leave the plane and go through security again even though we are taking the same plane. The humidity that greeted us at the airport reminded me of honolulu.

2008.07.21 - Incheon

It took a while to connect, but I eventually met the Mr. Kim I was supposed to meet at the airport. I dont think he likes me for some reason. He was quite antagonistic. I spoke a little Korean to him and he told me, since I earn money by speaking english, to speak english. I only spoke Korean in the first place because his english sucked. He took me to the "guest house," which feels more like empty apartments for 50$ a night, but I still love it. I remember the taste and feel of the korean air from before. Anyway, Mr Kim will take me to the bus terminal tomorrow to go to Jeonju, then I will hopefully never see him again.

2008.07.22 - Incheon

Last night I lay in bed from about midnight to 5:30 but I didn't sleep more than a couple hours. Mr. Kim Su Min may have been an hour late this morning, but at least he was a little more plesant. I was just dropped off at the airport and am now on a bus to Jeonju. The bus ride will take 4 hours and cost aboiut 24,000 won. Someone is supposed to meet me at the Ko-a department store when I arrive. I forgot to get a converter so I can't plug in my computer to charge yet. This morning while waiting for Mr. Kim I watched MBC game channel which featured a professional Starcraft match. I think it was on hidden temple, zerg vs terran 10v3 positions.

2008.07.24 - Jeonju

I met a guy named Young when I arrived in Jeonju. He is actually about my age, but is kind of the coordinator for all of the English teachers in Jeonju. He speaks English well. He took me on a few errands, including doing the required heath exam at the hospital. He is a really nice guy so I am excited to be working for/with him.

This was taken from my seat after reboarding the plane at Narita airport. The plane flight over to Korea was interesting because we were travelling east about as fast as the earth is rotating, so it was sunset the whole time.

Japanese meals are so elegant. I had about 6 cups of green tea, so i didn't sleep so well that night.

Maybe it reduces the integral of the plaque on your teeth.

This is a typical view from the window of the bus on the was to Jeonju. Did I mention is is monsoon season and quite humid?

The motel I am staying in, as well as Woosuk University, is actually not in Jeonju. It is in kind of a suburb of Jeonju called Samnye. I tried to walk to Jeonju thinking it was not very far, but it turned out to be a long way and I eventually just hopped on a city bus to get there. I went downtown and had breakfast/lunch waiting for the stores to open. E-Mart opened at ten and I purchased a watch and some bandaids for a blister on my foot from hiking in sandals. I then went over to the Lotte department store (which is like 15 stories tall, all different departements) and ended up buying some new shoes. I figured Derek would appreciate the picture since he likes shoes so much.