Lately

After two months of stealing wireless internet from my apartment, my most reliable connection died.  I had to bite the bullet and pay for my own internet. I'm finally connected once again.  Here are some pictures since my last post.  

This is the view from Seoul Tower.  I assume it's the tallest tower in Seoul.  The view is really breathtaking.  There are lights as far as the eye can see.

This is the scene from bar golf.  The rules are quite simple.  Teams of two. Each gulp counts as a stroke.  One gulp= hole in one. Three gulps= par. Each bar is a different hole.  We played nine holes.  I missed a crucial putt to put our team out of contention.  The winners shot perfect rounds of 9, all holes in one.  Not everyone finished.  

Here are some of my co-teachers and the principal who took us out for some sushi.  I've never been served so many courses of food in my life.  Delicious octopus, salmon, eel, tuna, and God knows what else.  It just kept coming.  Oh yeah, we got a little tipsy too.  Every time the principal drinks, we're supposed to follow suit.  I like the idea.  The principal is awesome. Everything he says sounds really wise and deep when translated.  

Clockwise from the left:  Me, the Prince, Padrica, Terry, and Tim

Bupyeong Underground Market:  

I decided to look for a nice heavy coat to get me through the winter when I first arrived.  My one from home wasn't cutting it.  The Bupyeong market has hundreds of clothing stores next to the Bupyeong subway station for very cheap prices.  The only problem was that nothing fit.  Apparently I am an extra large in Korea.  Every coat I tried on, I couldn't move my arms easily.  I must've gone to ten different stores, all of which were too small in the same area.  I needed more "stretchy."  I had to settle for one from outside the Market.  It turned out to be a great purchase.  

I got lost many times trying to get back to the subway.  Every direction I tried to go looked the same.  The exit signs were misleading too.  They did not lead to an exit.  I think this place was designed for people to get lost, so they are forced to walk around long enough to see something they want to buy.

Chukhyun English Center

Chukhyun Public Elementary School:

My school is about a 10 minute bus ride from my apartment.  Regular school has been on winter break since December.  I have been teaching kids who registered with the brand new English Center that opened about a week before I arrived.  Supposedly it's the most funded public school in Incheon.  I don't doubt it.

 

      The School

The English Center (CHEC)

There are three small classrooms and one large one in the English center, distinguished by colors.  This is the purple bang (room) and one of my favorite classes.  Notice the boys don't mind having their picture taken.  The girls hate it.  I don't know why.

After I pleaded for a while though, they gave in.  The little one on the right with glasses, Julia, is one of the smartest kids you'll find.  She destroyed me at math problems on the whiteboard after class one day.  She's like 10 years old American age (12 years old Korean age).

I like the Heineken can in the top right corner.

                   Flat screen

Outside of the three classrooms, CHEC is designed to represent real life situations.  At the end is the cafeteria, where we role play ordering food and such.  There is also a supermarket and immigration office.  

The teacher's office.  That's Jung Bokshin, (Jenny) my coteacher and head of CHEC.  That's a peace sign she's giving me, not the finger.

A view of the playground outside the teacher office window.  What does the slide look like to you?

This is the main classroom.  When the new semester starts in March, Jenny, Paddy our new teacher from Florida, and I will team teach in here with all three classes together, and then break down into our separate smaller classrooms.  That's a touch screen tv you see in the middle.  What's the weird looking thing on the ceiling? Oh, just a projection screen for the back wall... For 3-D presentations.  The whole back wall behind me here becomes a huge movie screen.  Each kid gets a pair of glasses and we throw on an animated film in English.  I would pay to watch these movies at a theater.  Get at me.

I don't understand what these are for.  They don't translate very well either.

Birds, hamsters, squirrels, and other animals live here.

Welcome to Incheon

Annyeong haseyo.  First of all, I am sorry for taking so long getting this blog business started.  I waited until I bought a camera so I could post some pictures for all you visual learners out there. I didn't want to bore you with stories only.  Lets begin with my humble abode, my apartment in the Doosan Mecca complex.  

MY APARTMENT:

My apartment is one room, one bathroom, but quite spacious for a single person.  The best part about Korean residences is the heated floor system called ondol.  It's very comforting to come home from work, take off my shoes at and sit at my desk barefoot.

Actually, my wallpaper might be the best part of my apartment.  Perfect for a bachelor pad.

               My loft.  The ceiling is very low.  I'm not able to stand all the way up

View from my window.  Yes that's snow.  Yes that's a Mcdonalds at the bottom.  I've been known to stumble in there at 6am after getting smashed at my favorite bar.  Yeah, that's right, 6am.  The bars don't really have a set closing time here.
Incheon, my new hometown, has a population around 2.5 million.  It is the 3rd largest city in South Korea.  Incheon is located in the northwest part of South Korea.  Seoul is about an hour to an hour and a half on the subway, and is regarded as part of the greater Seoul Metropolitan area, even though Incheon is a separate jurisdiction from Seoul.  The city will host the 2014 Asian games,  and a global fair and festival this summer.  Well, that's about it for now.  I have many more pictures to upload soon so keep tuned.