Tuesday

Ladies and Gentlemen.. I am happy to announce that I HAD A GOOD DAY TODAY!

  Yes, you have heard it right!  

I was sleepy when i woke up this morning, and not really in the mood to go to school.. but its a good thing to do.  

  I was cheerful today.  I worked on powerpoint all morning,  as I only had one class at last period today.   The powerpoint went very well, and I also got things for my house from the school *they paid for it, not me*

  I was happy enough to be humming when i was eating an apple.  Apples make me happy.. it was a nice, crisp apple :)  And they remind me of fall, and it its getting to be fall like here.. sorta..

   This afternoon was also spent of ppt's, and some activity thinking.

My class that I assisted in today, went SUPER well.. at least that is what I thought.  I had a fun activity.. which was a poem about being sick.. which means for the first time I actually supplemented a lesson :P

  And I made elbow noodles with tomato sauce for dinner, BUT that meant that I missed out on having dinner with Brian and another person in our building.. I keep missing them, as I missed people last night when I was grocery shopping. (i got chocolate.. yay for my sweet tooth) I am very thankful that people are trying to see me at least :)

  And we are making plans for dinner on Thursday night.. as we all who teach, DON'T have classes on Friday.. so we can stay out late and not worry about teaching.. YAY for a National Holiday!  That means my week is very close to being done :)  Only 2 more teaching days.. and I don't have any 1 grade classes this week... do doo doo.. *happy mood song* 

OH! I saw the funniest looking dog today.. It was about the size of size of MY hands *i have small hands, really small hands*.. This dog could fit in a small tea cup.. and it was fluffy.. and wearing a sweater.. I saw it walking home from school.. and it really made me laugh inside. And the fact that dude in the relationship had to carry the puppies PINK housing purse.. silly Koreans..

  

Thanks again for all the prayers and love.. I am feeling them :)

Address

Ok, so i know my address.. sorta.. You will have to look up on the internet what the postal code is here.. if there is one needed. So this will make things even more confusing.. the Postal code is 425.. BUT i also live in apt. number 425.. SO i don't know how to explain this.

This is the formate the address should have:

person's name: Melanie Rowaan

house number: 425 NeulBom Street, Officetel

Subdivison: Seonbu-dong, Danwongu

City Name: Ansan

Province: Gyeonggido

Country Name: South Korea

So now people can send me stuff :) I would love mail.. but it might be hard for me to mail everyone who send things. because here in Korea mail in not common.. as most things are commicated through e-mail.

Weekend

So my saturday was ok.  I was really happy to get to talk to people on Skype, and the weather was nice so i went for a walk and took pictures.  Then i just spent the rest of the day relaxing and watching a movie.  Ate some soup and another scary sandwich...

  Now its Sunday morning, and I'm a wreck.  My nose was runny when I woke up, this is relevant because the teacher beside me is sick.  I dont want to get sick.   I'm also super homesick feeling right now.  

  I miss normal.  I miss things making sense.  I miss being able to go outside and not feel lost.  I miss my mom yelling upstairs on Sunday mornings for me to get up.  I miss my dog hogging the bed.  I just miss home so much.. and i dont know what to do with myself.  I don't know if I can do this.  No, I can do this... It just hurts a lot now.  I really want April to come quickly.  

  Its been a week since i've left home.. wow.... but still I don't think I was as ready for this as I had thought.

  I need support right now... and a BIG hug.  I miss that.  I can interact with people, but it will be a long time until I will be able to hug someone... a very long time at this point.

Friday

Oh, its nice to say that.  my week is done...

  Things went alright today.

Last night i met up with Brian, who is also from Canada for dinner.  He showed me some of the places near the apartment, and got me a bus pass which was awesome.. now I just have to learn the whole bussing thing.  OH! and i tired Kimchi fried rice.  Kimchi is fermented cabbage with spices.. it wasn't gross.. it had a fried egg on top.. which was a little strange :)  And it wasn't as spicy as they say.. it reminded my of taco spice.

  I was able to go to bed around 9 again.. but I woke up at 2 and thought it was 6 again.. its getting annoying that i keep doing that...

   When i woke up this morning, I had little to NO motivation to do anything.  I didnt want to go to work.  But the walk was nice, as it is not warm here anymore.  All the koreans were cold, and i wore a t-shirt and walked.. I was thankful i was not sweating for once, and that i could have a cup of coffee at the school with my morning work.  

To make my day even MORE awesome.. I had somehow lost the key to the English Zone.. yep.. brilliant me. I so totally remember putting it in the drawer before the fire drill yesterday.. but i guess not..

  So i had 2 classes today.. one with Mr. Lee.. which always goes well.  He is a very nice man, and can speak english fairly well.  The other one was with Ms.Kang... umm.. different story there.  She teaches grade 2, but her understanding of me, SUCKS.

The rest of the day i sorta just sat at my desk and fiddled with some of my powerpoints... and played on Facebook.  I was really bored.

   Then i walked home.. tried to figure out my washing machine.. haven't done that yet.  Ate some soup, because Ms. Lee bought it for me, and told me that i should eat something warm.. eating warm foods is important to them..  And now its like 10:48 pm.. its the latest i've stayed up since I have gotten here.  The monday night doesnt count.. because that was terrible sleeping.

  Yay for saturday tomorrow.. the plan is to go and take some pictures of the area.. maybe do some shopping... i got shown the Korean dollar store :P

  If you can all pray extra hard for my weekend that would be great.. i am worried about it being hard.. and getting pretty home sick...

Day 3

Today i am going to write about my day on the day it happens instead of blogging at school when i have free time (which i have a lot of).

  Anyways today started great!  After actually eating supper last night! I slept through the night, after going to bed at 9, i woke up at 6.  I find myself waking up early, so that i have some time to talk to people at home :)  But today i was very tired, my body is defiantly craving sleep..

And i was also able to eat breakfast without feeling sick or anxious.. that is because i know how to get to the school without any problems.  And i can walk to the school year around i figure.  Unless there is a monsoon or something.. lol

  So then i got to school.. and i didnt have classes until like 4th period.. so I worked on some lesson powerpoints and tried to stay awake.. it was pretty hard.

  My classes that i DID have today went pretty easy.  The classes were very interested in meeting me, and had lots of questions for me.  The classes i worked with today were all girls, and they are so nice.  I am a very pretty person in their eyes.  And they complimented my skin.. i had a laugh from that.. remembering my skin back in the day.. gosh.  And part of me see that the Korean skin is not as oily as ours.. so the shine my skin has, which they are jealous of, is actually a bad thing.  The girls also asked if my family all had small faces like me... having a small face in Korea is a good thing.

  The rest of the day was pretty uneventful.

Until we had a fire drill.

Fire drills in Korea are NOTHING like the ones in Canada.  They actually use smoke bombs to set off the fire alarm!  And then the school has to evacuate, but there are so many students.. so it take a little while.  After the homerooms get outside, they are to sit together surrounding the front field at the school *i was going to take pictures today, but it was raining*

Once all the students are out, they begin this long speech in korean that i didnt understand, only that it was really long, and i understood why the kids were not listening.

THEN a FIRE TRUCK shows up.  That doesnt happen in Canada!  The truck drives around the field and parks at the back.

  Then one of the staff lights another smoke bomb and puts it in a box.  I guess there are teams that are trained to use the fire extinguishers.. so they had to try to put out the smoke bomb.  It took about 3 tries.. which is how many teams there was.

   BUT to make sure the box was out, they go and bring out the fire hose out of the school and go on testing it.

I guess it wasn't doing a good enough job, because the Fire truck then turned on its water cannon and started spraying the front field.

  Maybe that is why they talked to much,  they thought that they should get some talking in if the kids were going to get a show.

  After school, I ended up having to go to the Hospital.  Don't worry, I am not sick.  I had to go for some test before i can go to the Immigration Office, and after that FINALLY open a bank account.  So by Monday all my results should be ready, and I only live like 4 min from the Hospital ( i never really hear sirens).  But my arm is KILLING from where they took my blood!   I pretty much bombed my eye test.. lol.. silly contacts not working by themselves.. i need both eyes to see :)

  The cool thing is tonight I am going out to dinner with some people that are all ESL teachers here in Ansan.  Kristin (who worked and lived here before me), was the one who got me in contact with them.  And i met Brian in the elevator on Tuesday... so it will be good to speak english and have these people understand me.

  Oh! and for those who knew about my money problems.. I now have money! The school gave me my advance WITHOUT me having to open my bank account, like they are actually supposed to.  I am very thankful to have money finally.. I can get some food in the house (or not), but no more worries about if something bad happened if i would be really stuck!

   When the weather clears up, I will begin to take pictures of my walk to school and maybe my walk to the Hospital.. and the park infront of my apartment.  I havent explored much else of Ansan.. but thats ok.. I haven't been here long..

  I'm doing well.. thanks for all reading this and caring! Your prayers are greatly felt!

  

Day 2

So my second day. 

It was a good day.  Things went very well.  my first class was a second year class, filled with boys.  and those children are LOUD, and a lot of them do not want to be there or learning English.  Their teacher, Mr. Lee was VERY helpful, and was apologetic that the boys were rude and misbehaving.

  My second class was a little crazy.  Ms. Song doesn't speak English very well, so she had a hard time understanding what I was there for.  Instead of me helping her teach, I was to be in charge of the class of girls. I introduced myself, and then asked them if they had any questions.. but they were very shy and didnt want to ask me anything, they just wanted to talk.  So then Ms. Song made each girl introduce themselves.. that was really hard because everyone was talking over each other... that was a stressful experience.

  I also had my first experience with corporal punishment.  ACK! its intense!  They still smack kids on the hand with rulers and HARD.  They also yell loudly.  I didnt want to look or stare, but i was worried about what is going on.  Ms. Spring even had given me the stick when I was teaching, because when the kids are too loud, you slam it on the desk... or you go and wack the kid that is goofing-off.. i DONT think i could do that!

  I then had lunch with ms.Lee's homeroom.  I am now going to be bringing my own lunch because then i dont have to have that deducted from my pay as well.  And then i can eat my food, and sorta know what i am eating.

  My third class was another class with Mr. Lee.  I got some points with the kids by saying Hello in Korean, but it was another class of boys.. so we got some rude questions.. and already many little boys calling me beautiful and pretty.  I bet i have some little boy fan clubs.

  The last class was with Ms. Choi, and she really knows what she is doing, and is really helpful and understanding.  She is also young, so she knows how I feel.

  Then i did some prep-work for the other teachers.... sat around until i could get my passport back before i went home.  ms. Lee needed it for some paper work.. but i was not going to leave it with her :)

   Then i walked home and made it safely :)  It was a nice cool day yesterday, because it was supposed to rain, but its raining today (day 3).  

   THE GOOD NEWS: I ate supper last night! And I slept NORMALLY.. i went to bed at 9 and slept well until 6!!! 

   There is a chance that I could be normal by the end of the week!!!!!

The first day of classes

So maybe everyone is awaiting to hear how my first day of clases went.
Well here it is.
The first day was pretty interesting, at least GETTING to the school was. I had the hardest time getting a cab (no tears though).. so i started walking in a general way that was pointed out to me. Little did i know that it was a LONG way. I walked to another school, and then there was a round-about ahead of me, and I did not know where to go. So i was finally able to get a taxi.. and showed him where i was supposed to go.. I was about 4 min away from the school, so the taxi ride cost me 1,900 won.. or $1.90.. But i made it to school in the end.
When i got to the school, the first thing we did was meet the principal. I was sorta sweaty from walking.. and very nervous. We had coffee.. they drink it black, but i did notice that the beans that were ground were STARBUCKS beans :). So i meet with her, and then headed up to my office where i work on stuff that i am teaching.. or sit and blogg.. or talk to people on MSN, since you guys have your evening right now, and its my day..
The first class i was in, i just came to introduce myself, and then after some questions from the class, i left.
My second class is behind, so i dont have to be involved in it until the 10 of October. bit of a break. YAY
We then had lunch period. This was interesting because i was to go for a special lunch with the principal, as well as 2 members of what we would call the PTA. They are students moms. Anyways, we went for a traditional Korean meal. There was SO MUCH FOOD. And all of it was very overwhelming. They wanted me to try pretty much everything, and were so kind to me. It sorta made me tear up, because it had been a long day already, and they were so very kind. The tears made the PTA ladies tear up too.
They were very surprized to hear that I was 21. I said that it explains why i look so little and scared. I guess they are not used to such young people.. I also didnt tell them that i turn 22 in November.
They talk so quickly in Korea.. so i just sit there and smile at them, because i can tell when they are talking about me, and smiling makes it look like I sorta know what is going on.
So those few tears that came out at lunch got everyone pretty worried about me.. more kindness. On the way back to the school, we stopped so that one mom could buy me some sandwhiches for home.. and then when i was leaving the other mom sent up some popcorn, Coke, and some meat patty thing. The principal made sure that someone was to walk home with me, and take me for more grocery shopping.. and just to answer my questions. That was really nice, and now i know how to get to the school a lot shorter ( I walked this morning, and if i leave early enough, i can follow students.. but be at the school at 8.. intead of 8:20.. give me more time for working).
After lunch I had a seond year class.. so i just read some stuff. that was the first semi-teaching experience.. it went fine.
Then there was the afternoon where i finished working on some stuff for the teachers.
The evening was filled with grocery shopping
and sleeping
I was so tired by the end of the day

my apartment

i have photos up of my apartment in my Picasa account.  I believe if you look up melanie.rowaan@gmail.com  you will find it.

Its also in a slideshow on the side.

In korea

Here is the long awaited post... I AM IN KOREA!
I guess the best place to start would be with my flight.
I left Toronto at 10:30 Canadian time. That flight was delayed in getting to Chicago because of fog in Chicago. But the flight went smoothly and was really easy. The stress started when I got to Chicago. I got SO lost in that air port. I was very thankful for the amount of time that I had, because I checked into my flight at about 12 noon Chicago time (which is an hour later the Hamilton area), and the flight left at 1 pm. So after a lot of tears and just stressing... i got on my flight and settled down for a 14 hour flight. I ate the lunch that they served, and watched a movie. This was all in the United States still. The flight took a very interesting path. We went up through the states, and then crossed over in to Manitoba, and then into Saskatchewan. From there we kept going up into the Northwest Territories. Then into Alaska, right a long th coast of it. From there we crossed the Ocean and then flew over Russia and downwards, towards Seoul. I didn't look out the window much because they darkened the cabin to encourage sleep. I think i got about 5 hours of sleep through out the flight. And got really sick feeling over Alaska, because we had been flying for so long. I only ate one meal on the plane because of that.. and all the smells were getting to me.
On the flight I had a very cute Korean baby sitting beside me, and she did really well for flying for so long.
Arriving was very easy as well. I went through customs without trouble, it may have been the fact that they sent me through one where the guy didn't speak english, so he said nothing to me. American customs in Toronto was harder, because I had just said good-bye to my family, and was an emotional wreck.. plus some of the things on my card were not filled out properly.. and i couldnt focus on what he was saying... but i got through.. and its a good thing not wearing pockets, because then with security nothing went off.
So i have my own stuido apartment. Its small, but it will be home for a year. My bedroom is a loft, and i am for once thankful that i am short, becuase I have to bend down even up there. I will put up pictures soon. I went shopping with my co-teacher yesterday, and got some things.. but forgot to get a lot of stuff. So i need to go shopping tonight, so that i can get some more things. I bought orange jucie last night, and i am very happy to say, it tastes normal.. the only little off thing i have had so far is the bread, but i will get used to that.
The bathroom is another interesting thing. I have an American-style toilet, which is a good thing. But i do not have a seperate shower. Its part of my sink. The sink is in an enclosed area, and on my tap, there is a shower control. So i have a very strange shower. I took a shower at like 4 am this morning because I could not sleep. It was a very different experience.
My kitchen is tiny, and i have a washing machine in my kitchen too.
Pictures will definatly help explain things.
I have internet in my house, and have a computer here at the school, so contacting me is very very simple, and i am very thankful for that.
Right now I am at the school. It is Tuesday at 9:33. I have my first class at 9:55. Today i am just watching, but i will be meeting the students and such. They are cute, they bow to you when you walk in, because I am a teacher, and they respect me. makes you go wow. I have met the principle today, and she was wonderful. She is very kind. They were discussing my name, and there is a Melanie in "Gone with the Wind", and she told me that i looked like how she would imagine the character Melanie to look. So, as you can see, she is very sweet. I get to go somewhere special with them today for lunch, which is a very special thing as usally the teacher eats with the students.
I got pretty lost this morning. I was supposed to take a taxi, but i was having NO LUCK with getting one, so i began walking, and was walking in the right direction, and was pretty close when i felt very lost. when i felt very lost, i did get a taxi, and he drove me the way that i need to go, and it did not take very long. It is a 20 min walk. I may take a taxi home tonight just so that i can get that path right, but i don't remember how to say my address. I will have to ask my co-teacher that before I go home. Or maybe be confident enough to walk home.
The weather here is very humid, and very cloudy. I havent seen the sun yet, but it hasn't rained either. I was very sweaty when i arrived at the school, and then right away had to meet the principle... she was kind enough to let me borrow her fan, and to do much to make sure i was comfortable, like turn on a fan. I am also very thankful that i CAN drink coffee black, because thats all they do here, no sugar or cream offered.
Well, i should be going now. I have a class at second period, which is at 9:55, and I believe it is in the English zone.. which is on the first floor.. but thats all i know right now... my co-teacher is a little busy all the time.
Oh, funny news, I am wearing socks in flip-flops because they all wear slippers in the school, so i will have really sore feet by the end of the day, and i will have to get used to wearing socks in sandels... DANG

FINAL INFORMATION

Ok. So a crazy week has passed. I finally got my VISA back on Friday September 12. That was the day that we also got my flight ticket finalized. I spent the week getting info from my Korean co-teacher, as well as from my contacts here in Canada. I was at first flying out on the 19th, and that was from my contacts, on the day they told me that, my co-teacher told me that they could not pick me up on the weekend, and that I would then need to stay in a hotel.. yikes. So we figured it out in the end.
I am now flying out of Toronto on September 21, 2008 at 10 am. That sends me to Chicago by 11, and then I get to hang out at the airport from 11 till 1 when I am going to be flying out to Korea. I should be landing in Korea by 3 pm on the 22nd. I get to go over the time date line, so thats why I am a day ahead of you all.. its a 17 hour flight or so..
South Korea is a 13 hour time difference... so I will do my best to write on my blog when I can't find time to call on Skype (add me if you want to talk to me)...
Hope you all will read this... and keep me in your prayers.. we are getting close to the date... 6 more days :)

*edit*

So, edit to previous post.  I was able to email my Korean co-teacher, and she asked that I do not come during the Korean Thanksgiving, which was occurring on the 16-19th.  We are now aiming for leaving on the 20th, or some time after that.  Yeah, its crazy how things are so up in the air.. but it happens

Closer still

Well, who would have thought that I would be writing what I am going to write.  I may be leaving sooner then we anticipated.

  The current news is that when I receive my passport back from the Korean consulate (stamped with my VISA hopefully),  that I will be heading out as soon as possible.  That means that I can be out of Canada before September 18th.  SHOCK!

  This news is pretty exciting for me, and nerve wracking, because part of me was very prepared to be leaving on the 18th, it was a good date.  But now if everything is pushed ahead, then I may feel a little rushed.  Yet, I am ready.  All of my bags are packed, I have maybe 2 or 3 little things to do yet, and then I will be totally ready to go.  Its pretty amazing how much peace I feel about going...

  Thats the strangest thing.  I am done school! I worked at the school when all the students were coming in, and it wasn't that strange feeling to not be going to classes or having to do things related to school.  I just felt like staff at the school, and normal to see everyone leaving.  I think everyone coming back to school just added a little stress to me.  There was more people around, more people to say good-bye to, and more people that had to see me cry.  That was something that got me.  We have regulars at work, and on Tuesday, EVERYTHING was making me cry (i left on wednesday, so I didn't have anymore crying to do.. i got it all out. So if I didn't cry around you on wednesday, that is why).

  So I am ready to go!

PLEASE send me an email with SKYPE contact information if you want to talk to me while I am gone... or your email address, and phone number and mailing address if that is the way you would like me to contact you!