In Search of Cherry Blossoms

Yesterday I decided that it was high time I dusted off my poor camera who has been waiting patiently to be used since I moved to this city. I realized that I hadn't used it once since I'd been in Korea and so Saturday became, "get some good pictures of this city" day. Which turned into a…

Newton’s Third Law of Teaching

  Newton's third law of motion states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. And it occurred to me tonight, as I sit here at 10:00pm utterly exhausted from a long Monday with an hour or two of lesson planning still ahead of me, that the same principle applies to teaching.…

First Class Without A Korean Co-Teacher

    So the protocol here is that all of the native English teachers have another Korean English teacher from the school in the room when we are doing our lessons. Their degree of involvement from any point after that completely depends on your situation. I feel incredibly lucky to have the co-teachers that I have,…

Work, Culture, and Workplace Culture

  Breaking into a new culture in the workplace is not an easy task. Every job, and office, and company, or any group for that matter always operates under different social expectations even in our home countries. If I started a new teaching job in America it would be much of the same, but easier…

First Day of Teaching Middle School in South Korea

I did it. I officially survived my first week of teaching middle school in South Korea. Luckily for me that week was only two full days, but regardless I survived. I’m sitting here on Friday night writing this, thoroughly exhausted, and feeling very happy. I’m not on a mountain top, and I’m not in a…

Jeonju Hanok Village

전주한옥마을 Today was the "Field Trip" day of orientation. (Yes it was actually called a field trip. We are all adults with at least a bachelor's degree, and we now have a curfew. Everyone feels like they're at summer camp. And are kind of ready to leave.) That's a bit harsh I suppose. We have all…

Thoughts From EPIK Orientation

  Well, we are about a week into orientation and about a week away from my first day of teaching. Which is both terrifying and exciting all at the same time. The biggest news I have is that I found out I will be teaching middle school! This is, in the same way, both terrifying…