The Good Stuff Recently I had to end one of my grade one classes early to tell them I was disappointed in their behavior. The next day I had to hold 4 students back after a grade two class to tell them that their lack of effort was disrespectful. Doing that in terms that…
So close to one year! At this very moment in time I'm 26 days away from my trip back to the US, and even fewer from my last day at school for the year. This month, and to be fair basically the past 3 months, at school have been pretty much a joke. It's been…
Continue reading ➞ Korea Month 11: School Festival and Even More Snow
One would think that after having the same conversation with 700 students, about the same topic from the same script, I would have pretty much heard every answer there is to hear. And while yes, there is not much by the way of variety, still out of the blue some of them surprise me. There…
Continue reading ➞ Korean Middle School English Speaking Tests
Yesterday afternoon during one of my free periods I was sitting in the office working on some lessons for today and going over the grade one speaking test grades. It was a very hot day so we had the windows open to let in any breeze that might be passing through and everyone's little desk…
As of March 12th I have officially been in Korea for 1 month. And as of two days ago I have been at my job for three weeks. In the grand scheme of my Korean experience this is almost nothing. But you know how they say that a persons first 5 years are the most…
I often have to remind myself that my life isn't a one man mission to rid the world of American stereotypes. There are many, I realize this. And many of them are deserved. "Wow you're skinner than I expected!" "You're a lot nicer than I thought Americans were!" "Do you need a fork?" "커피 주세요.…
Continue reading ➞ Walk Humbly – Traveling With Something to Prove
Korean is hard. I'm sure that doesn't come as a surprise to anyone, especially native English speakers. I've studied Spanish for a long time now and am plateauing comfortably at my high-intermediate level of being able to express everything at a very basic level but communicate almost nothing on a deeper level. Spanish is easy enough because…
July 4th was three days ago. I generally consider myself a very patriotic person but objectively speaking it's a weird time to be an American. Things happen, almost everyday now, that I'm not proud of. Leaders, or future leaders, of our country say things that I'm not proud of. But I will always be proud to be…
Nothing is certain but death and taxes, and I think maybe saying goodbye to the people you love. Every time you meet someone new, one of two things happens. You either meet and your lives intersect for a moment, maybe a bit longer than a moment, but eventually you continue in your own directions. Other people…
One of the best thing you can do for yourself is to be friends with people who have vastly different stories than you. It makes your conversations more interesting, your connection more real, and opens your mind to worlds of possibilities that you have no means of reaching on your own. This realization came to me…
Continue reading ➞ On The Importance of Having Friends That are Very Different from You
Hours and Miles 