I love John's Hair Salon!!!

This weekend was great. I went to Cheonan for my friend Lindsey's Birthday and had a blast. Lindsey met me at the KTX on Saturday morning and we went to John's Hair Salon to get our hair done. John goes to Lindsey's church and came highly reccomended. Well he is fantastic and my hair looks amazing and have gotten a ton of compliments . I will defintely be going back to him.
He looked at my hair and the red dyes he had and said he thought he should mix the colors or they may come out too bright. In Korean Lindsey told him to do whatever he thought was best. He speaks some English and Lindsey speaks good Korean so communication worked out well. While he was putting the color on my hair Lindsey's eyes got so big. I said you looked worried and she said surely you hair will not come out that color. John said not to worry so I trusted him and relaxed. After putting the color on my hair he wrapped my head in saran wrap and then put a black cap on my head that he plugged in to an electric outlet and it got nice and warm and toasty. He then worked on Lindsey's hair and then rinsed the color out and my hair was a beautiful red color-very close to the color I have been using at home.
I was highly impressed and then John flatironed my hair and it looked even better and I was even more impressed. Then I went to pay and it was super cheap and I just could not believe it.
John was so nice and talented and prices were great and he has a very cute salon. I am so glad I went to get my hair done there. I love John's Hair Salon.
TTFN

Test

My Elementary class took a test on Friday over everything we have studied in July and August. They did not have to take the test in July so this is the first one they have taken for me. The test was 100 questions and over 6 area-Phonics,Reading ,Language Arts, Journal, 100 words you need to know to read and P.B.L(which is theme activites)-currently on Clothes.

I spent hours making the test and was really worried about it. I think it turned out ok and the kids did ok on it. The kids scores range from like 50 to 83. Here in Korea if a kid gets a high score on the test then they move them up to the next class because they want them to have a bit of a challenge. If the kids are in the right class they should score around a 70 or so. I think some parts of my test may have been too hard as all the kids did badly on certain parts and some parts of the test were too easy. This was only my first level test and next month I will have to make another and will use what I learned about this test to make an even better one.
TTFN

We Love Jellybeans

Well today I decided to do some activities with the jellybeans my friend sent me. We counted the jellybeans and separated them by color and then made a tally chart of how many jellybeans of each color we had. The kids were so excited and had so much fun.
As soon as I showed them the bag they got all excited and said-Wow-Jellybeans. Thanks to the Alligator's All Around story by Maurice Sendak my kids know exactly what a jellybean is. We have been talking about using our senses so the kids also investigated the jellbeans by using their senses such as touch,taste and smell. Thanks to my friend who sent them to me-they now know exactly what one looks like, smells like, feels like and taste like.
Then the kids finally got to taste them. They liked them and wanted more. They said they taste fruity and were chewy and not like anything they had ever had.
Some of the kids thought they were too sweet and some thought they were not sweet enough. One of my kids thought they were the best thing she ever tasted. When I asked the kids what they thought they said We Love Jellybeans.
Jellybeans are great teaching tools and my friend rocks for sending them to me-YAY!!!!

Rainy Thursday Morning

I woke up before the alarm to the sound of rain storms. It has not rained at all so far this week and that has been nice. When it rains it usually last most of the day and can be very hard and intense for long periods at a time. It is currently hailing which I am not looking forward to going out in to wait for the school bus I catch to work. It is a very gray, dark, gloomy Thursday morning. I did not go running this am as I really don't like running in hail and thunder storms. I was hoping it might let up or slow down so I could get a quick run in but don't think it will.
The weather has been so nice the past few days. Just a tad cool in the am-perfect for running and it starts to cool down a bit as the sun goes down. So it is perfect to take a nice walk or run after dinner when the weather is like it has been this week. Last night after dinner I took a nice, long leisurely walk and then went to Home Plus to pick up a few items it was very nice.
The hail is really picking up and getting really heavy now. I am hoping it stops or slows down just a bit while I am out waiting for the bus. Thank goodness I brought my raincoat and umbrella from the states with me. They will both come in very handy this morning.
Well need to eat some breakfast and finish getting ready to go to work.
TTFN

Care Packages from the US Rock!!!!

A really good friend of mine sent me a care package full of lots of goodies. I received it today and my friend mailed it about a week ago so it got here pretty fast. I was so excited to open the big box of stuff-it was like Christmas.
There were several Sharpies (which you can not find in Korea at all). Even a retracable sharpie-which totally rocks!!!!! I don't know why I love retractable sharpies so much but I do-I love them. I had several that I bought to bring with me to Korea but somehow they did nor make it here. I am not sure what happened to them but was so happy to see the retractable sharpie today.
There was a ton of glitter(which is almost impossible to find in Korea) in every color imagineable. Some very cool foam letters and numbers that stick to paper etc. The kids can make words and just have a blast.
There were a few health and beauty items that I needed such as Intution razors (which are one of the best inventions ever!!!!).
There were also jellybeans(which my kids have never tried) and wanted to after I read them a story that mentioned jelly beans.
My friend had told me that they were going to send me a Dvd but I couldn't think of anything I wanted to see. My friend said that they would pick something out and surprise me. I was a little scared as we don't always have the same taste in movies.
Well when I pulled the Dvd out of the box I started to get misty-eyed. The dvd my friend sent was A River Runs Through it. Which was one of my Dad's all time favorite movies and that movie always makes me think of him fondly. It is an amazing and wonderful movie and believe it or not I did not own it on dvd but now I do. It was such a nice and thoughtful choice.
The best thing in the box was a sweet and funny note from my friend.
I am truely blessed to have great friends who care so much about me.
E-hugs to all.
TTFN

Olives!!!! Olives!!!! Everywhere!!!!

I went to Home Plus tonight-the huge, three floor store that has everything. I needed to buy some more olives and had no trouble finding them tonight. I actually found them in 3 different places. I also found green olives, black olives, olives stuffed with almonds, olives stuffed with peppers, olives stuffed with anchovys. I found almost any kind of olive you could imagine.
I think this is very funny as several weeks ago I looked and looked for olives at this same store and couldn't find them. I also had a Korean friend with me that day and she asked several people who worked there about olives and we still never found them.
Now I know exactly where to look and know I can find almost any kind of olive you can imagine.
This makes me very happy and tomorrow night I will be having tuna salad with olives for dinner. It is so simple yet so yummy-YAY!!!
TTFN

Music

I love listening to music. It motivates me when I am running, it can improve my mood etc. I am a big fan of a wide variety of music. A few weeks ago I was watching Korean TV and they showed a commerical for the singer Craig David. He was going to be performing in Seoul. I would have like to seen him in concert but the concert was on a week night so it was not possible. So I decided to check out itunes and see what Craig David music I could fine. I did not currently have any Craig David songs in my itunes library. Well I downloaded The best of Craig David and have been jamming to it ever since.
I forgot how much I really like his music and have been enjoying rediscovering it.
I follow some of the members of the group New Edition on twitter and the guys were also in Bell Biv Devoe better known as BBD.
Well BBD was in Chicago a few days ago for a concert. Hello Chicago-I got some awesome friends who live in Chicago and nearby there. Anyways that made me want to hear some BBD so I downloaded some off of itunes.
I love itunes. I have been jamming to Poison, Do Me, Thought it was me and more the last few days and really enjoying it-YAY!!!
Also I sent a twitter to one of the members of BBD about wishing I could see their show but being so faraway in Korea. Guess what he sent me a twitter back and told me to be safe over there-too cool.
TTFN

Quiet Weekend

I have had a nice and quiet weekend. No exciting trips etc. I stayed home and rested and worked on a test I am making for my Elementary Class. I talked to several friends and my family on the phone. I got to talk to my friend Marci and her sons Ryan and Chris. I had not talked to her except by email since I had come to Korea.
It was so nice to talk to her. I had a Skype Video Chat with my friend Allison and also skyped with one of my New Kids buddies that was in my VIP group in Chicago.
I also chatting on messenger with several NK friends.
Ofcourse I talked to Ryan-my nephew and my sister. Ryan misses me and wants to know when I am coming home. Ofcourse he also said I couldn't come home without a present for him-LOL.
Today I went and had coffee with my friend Maria at Cafe Ti-amo and a Korean Lesson too. While we were there I ran into the Pastor and his wife from the Church I have been going to here in Daejeon. Then a few minutes later the other two American teachers from my school whom are married came in to get some gelato.
Well I need to get back to working on making the test.
TTFN

Happy Monkeys!!!!!

I just love the reading series we have for my Kinder Class. There are different themes that go together , with CDs that read the story, have song and chants and great work books that have very cool activities.
The books are so cute and fun and the kids look forward to Reading time twice a week.
Their favorite story so far is called Happy Monkeys!!! The kids make a cute, little mini-book of each story to take home and read to their parents.The kids have read Happy Monkeys so many times they have memorized all the words. I have too.
We started a new story this week called Beach Colors and the kids were like we want to read Happy Monkeys again-please.
After we finished working with Beach Colors we had a few extra minutes so I let them read Happy Monkeys again.
They were all so happy and it was so great to hear them all read in perfect unison.
Happy Monkeys Rock!!!!
TTFN

I finished Intenstives on Monday. I enjoyed teaching the phonics class and the kids in the class were great but was getting very tired and worn out. I was having to be at work over an hour earlier than normal. Then teach my regular classes as well. Some days I had to go to training workshops after school or stay after to prepare lesson plans and materials which I usually did in the mornings but couldn't do with teaching the extra class.
It has been a good week so far my Kinder kids just amaze me sometimes. They are so smart!!! My new little girl was telling me all about her trip to Disneyland when she lived in the states. She was very detailed and spoke in complete sentences-that is just amazing for a 4 year old-let alone one who is not speaking in their native language.
We have been working on the sentence I have this week. I give the kids flashcards of items such as a dog, cat, car etc. They then go up to the board and write I have a and whatever word is on their flashcard. Well after phonics yesterday we had a few minutes before the class period was to be over and I decided to write some I have sentences on the board and see if the kids could read them.
They were reading them almost before I finished writing. I decided to make the sentences a bit harder and add some describing words. I wrote-I have a green frog. As soon as I wrote the g I heard I have a green frog. Then I wrote I have a black dog. Again they got it.
I was so proud of my class.
TTFN

My nephew goes back to school

School just started for my nephew back home in the states a few days ago. He is in First Grade this year and was so excited about it. Last year I was the person that picked him up from the busstop after school most days. On his first day of school he was really on my mind. I was thinking about him a lot and wishing I could be there to pick him up from the bus. My sister said on the way to school that day he asked if I would be home from Korea in time that day to pick him up from the bus.
My sister was like no-she is halfway across the world. I just thought that was the cutest thing ever. On Friday night I talked to Ryan on the phone and he said he really liked First Grade. He said his teacher is very nice and pretty too. Also he has some friends in his class.
He was so great to talk to him and hear about his first day of school.
He was also excited to play an Audio greeting card on the phone to me that I had sent to him. Hallmark has the coolest thing now where you can personalize a card online and then they print it and mail it for you-very cool. I loved making it for him and it was great to hear how excited he was to play it for me.
He is such a wonderful little boy and I can't believe he is already in First Grade as it seems like only yesterday he was a baby.
I miss him very much.
TTFN

Tired

I had a great visit in Cheonan and then this afternoon decided to take the bus home instead of train as I have a long trek back to my apartment from KTX station and thought the bus might get me closer. Also the bus ticket was half the price of a KTX ticket.
The bus ride was quick and only took about an hour but when we arrived in Daejeon-we were in an area I did not know and not where I thought it would end up.
I thought we would be close to the metro but we were probably 20 minutes or more walk away from the subway. I literally had no idea where I was and decided to get a cab as there were a ton outside bus terminal. I got in the cab and said Chungham University chuseyo and soon realized the area where the bus stopped was a long way from my apartment-probably about 30 minutes.
When I got to my apartment my door would not open and the lights on the keypad did not even come on.
I went downstairs to see if the matience man was there and he was not. So I called my boss and it took me awhile to get a hold of her. She called a locksmith and called me back and said he would be there soon.
I was sitting outside my apartment door waiting for the locksmith to come when one of my neighbors who is also American and speaks very good Korean came out. He asked what was wrong and I told him. He informed me that on the inside of my door there was a panel I could take off and change the batteries but would have to get in first.
The locksmith then came and used a 9volt battery to get in my door and charged me $2o for that . My neighbor translated for me to the Locksmith which was a big help and showed me how to change the batteries on the lock once I got in which was very helpful.
I feel like such a stupid girl right now. I had no idea that the batteries were on the inside of the door or that I would have to change them.
I assumed that it was taken care of by the matiene man and was on the front of the door. I was wrong. I wished my boss or the other teachers at my school would have told me about this.
I am so tired and worn out and think I will be heading to bed early tonight.
TTFN

Olives

I really like olives-especially green ones in my tuna salad instead of pickles-so yummy. Tuna is really popular here and very easy to find good quality canned tuna at a very cheap price. A few weeks ago I went to the huge Home Plus store with a Korean friend and tried to find olives with no success. She even asked 3 different people who worked at the store where to find olives and they sent us to several areas in the store to look but we never found any. At that point I then figured they were just not available in Korea.
The theme for this coming week in Kinder is Ocean and Sea and we decided to make tuna salad as our cooking activity. I told my boss about my quest for olives and she told me she had bought them before and that she thought they were with peppers and hotsauce etc. So on Saturday morning I headed to the Home Plus to find olives so i could make tuna salad for lunch. I got to Home Plus 9am and they were not open yet. I had never been there at that time before so was not sure if that was typical or if it was because it was a holiday-Korean Independence Day. Korean Independence Day celebrates Korea's independence from Japan.
I was sad and a disappointed and returned home not a very happy camper.
A few hours later my friend Trina called to tell me she had found a new teaching job in a different town starting on August 25th. Her current job ends on the 24th and just found out about this a week ago and was really worried she would have to go home to the states but she found another job. I was so happy and excited. She said she was going to have some friends over for dinner to celebrate and she wanted me to come too.
So I got a few things together and headed to the Metro station and was very surprised to find out it was free to ride the Metro due to the holiday.I then went to the KTX station and got a ticket to go to Cheonan.
Trina met me at the KTX station and then we headed towards her apartment to get things ready for the Dinner Party. I had bought a box of nice sweet breads at the KTX station to bring as a gift for being invited to dinner. Trina was very excited about the sweet breads and could not wait to try them.
Right by Trina's apartment there is a very cute boutique that I have been wanting to check out but had not yet. Trina said we should go in there as their clothes were very cute and a good price.
They had the adorable tank tops and shrugs and I decided to buy a cute black shrug. Trina bought a beautiful light pink tank with lace and ruffles as a gift for me. I was so happy-it is so cute!!!! It was so sweet of her to do that. I also bought a cute little dress that would be good for going to dinner with friends,wearing to church or school functions.
We then went back to Trina's apartment and started getting things ready for the Dinner Party. I asked Trina if there was anything I could do to help and she said I could go across the street to the store and buy some paper plates and plastic cups. So I headed across the street to the Lotte Mart and decided while I was there I would look for olives. I easily found them and was so very happy. It is funny how happy the simplest things can make you sometimes especially when you are far from home.I found the rest of the things Trina needed and then headed back to her apartment to help her prepare for the party.
The Dinner Party was wonderful. Trina had 6 really nice friends show up-most who I had met before. She made Chicken Alfredo, stuffed mushrooms, and pan-fried garlic bread. Dinner was excellent and the night was filled with lots of fun and laughs. All the other guest had brought gifts to Trina too-such as coffee and chocolate truffles.
After dinner we went for a nice walk and then stopped at cute little coffee house and then went to the Singing Room.
It was a very pleasant and enjoyable evening and I was so glad I had decided to come.
I hope everyone is having a great weekend.
TTFN

Busy Week

It has been a very busy but good week. I got a new student in Kinder who is doing wonderful. One of my Kinder students had her birthday this week and we had a lovely party that was great fun. Our theme this week was Camping and we made a pretend campfire out of newspaper and construction paper. It turned out very well. We made what they call a Japanese Lunchbox-rice with vinegar and spices stuffed into tofu pockets for cooking. The kids ate those in-front of our pretend campfire and we used flashlights and told stories-it was a blast!!!
Today we did a cool Science Experiment with flashlights and animnal shaped picture cards. The kids put the picture cards behind a piece of white paper and then flashed their light behind that. Their partner would then guess what animal the card was by it's shadow. It was very cool and the kids loved it.
Intenstives are almost over just two more sessions and we are finished. I have had some training and workshops after school this week.
I have had a lot of planning and paperwork etc. to do this week and had to go to the bank twice this week during lunch break which takes almost my whole break to go there.
TTFN

New student in Kinder

On Monday I got a new student in my Kinder Class. She went to preschool in the states and her English is very good. She is a very sweet and smart little girl. She ofcourse was very shy at first but quickly and easily got comfortable and fits very well in my class. My other two little girls really like her and she likes them so I think it is going to workout great.
My boss said 10 kids took the test to get into the 2nd semster of 6year old Kinder but only two passed the test. The rest will have to wait until we start beginner classes over in the Winter as right now they are only letting new kids in who are at about or close to the same level as our current students.
Each Kinder class has a name-Flamingo, Yum Yum and Angel. My class is called the Angels and I think that name suits my class perfectly. They are three, sweet,smart, wonderful, little girls and they fill my days with learning, fun and laughter.
TTFN

Another Great Weekend in Cheonan

I went to Cheonan to visit my friend Trin this weekend. I had not seen her in a month as she went home for a few weeks to visit her family. I was so excited to see her again. On Friday night Trina,Lindsey and I went for what Trina calls the Triple S-Saypypsa(pork you grill at your table), Soju(very strong Korean liquor that I only drink a sip or two of) and Singing.
I love going to the Norbu with Trina and Lindsey. It is a Karoke room where just you and your friends are in there-it is great. I ofcourse sang some NKOTB and Joey McIntyre Stay the Same.
We then went back to Trina's apartment and she got me the cutest Tink bracelet and earrings while she was in the states.
On Saturday we went and had coffee and buns and then went to a Dvd room to watch Twilight. It was my first visit to a Dvd and I loved it. You pick the movie you want to watch, then go pay for it and it is fairly cheap too. Then you and your friends go into a nice room with leather couches and a movie theatre type screen(just a bit smaller) and you have your own private viewing.
Twilight was awesome. I really had no desire to see it but knew Trina wanted to see it . Well I loved it and now I am hooked and want to read the books-Wow!!!!!
Then we went and had lunch at the Yawoori Food court and had some cool sticker photos made and did some shopping.
We went to dinner at Outback to celebrate Trina's friend Grace's Bday and had a blast-it was so nice!!!!
We went to Trina's church today which I love and then went for a nice lunch at a pasta place with a bunch of cool people from Trina's church.
Then I headed for the KTX station and home.
TTFN

Blast Off

I have been trying to teach my Kinder kids to count backwards this week and they have been having a little trouble with the concept. I thought about how they count down Space Shuttle Launches so came up with an idea that has been so fun and worked wonders. We hunch down on the floor and start counting backwards from 20 to 0 and slowing start rising and then when we get to 0 we jump up in the air and yell Blast Off. The kids have loved it and can now count backwards and anytime we get done early with a project and have a spare minute or two-they say Let's do Blast Off!!!
Truth is I think I like doing it as much as they do and love that they enjoy it so much!!!!
TTFN

Kinder Classes back in session and more

Kinder Classes started back on Wednesday and I was so happy to see my kids. We talked all about their vacations and had a very fun cooking activity-making fruit smoothies-very yummy.The day went by very quickly. I can't believe it is already Thursday and actually closer to being Friday at this point.
Today we worked on making our August Calendars, phonics, Math, Writing time, working on speaking English in Complete Sentences etc.
I had a long talk with the teacher of the little boy I had in Kinder Intenstives today and she said he is doing wonderful. He is doing great with understanding directions-such as go get your pencil or open your book. He is doing amazing with phonics and is working very hard to speak in Complete Sentences and has not used Korean once the last few days-YAY!!!! I was so glad to hear that he is doing well. Everytime he sees me he smiles and runs up and hugs me-it is great!!
Tomorrow will be a very long day so am planning on going to bed soon. I have my extra phonics class, my Kinder class, Elementary Class, After-Kinder Class and the a 2 hour workshop training at school and then am heading to the KTX station to go see my friend Trina in Cheonan.
She has been in the states and I have not seen her for about a month-I can't wait to see her.
TTFN

Last day of Kinder Intenstives

Today was the last day of Kinder Intenstive and I am very proud of the progress my students made in such a short time especially the little boy that was struggling with English. He now knows all his intial and ending sounds and a and i long and short sounds. He is attempting simple sentnces like I am hot and May I got to the bathroom? He has come a long way in a short time. He can look at pictures of items such as a wagon or pot and says that is a wagon and you spell it w-a-g-o-n. His Mom has been working very hard with him at home and it shows.
My Level 1 Elementary Class started meeting again today and also my After-Kinder Class.
My Level 1 students enjoyed their break and were rested and ready to be back and learn some more English. Time flew by and we worked on reading which the kids love as we have a great reading book series we are working with.
My After Kinder kids were tired and did not look too happy to be back. After awhile they started doing better but we took the pace kind of slow and easy today. We spent some time listening to stories and songs so we could kind of ease back into our routine. One of my students made a story about his vacation at the Beach complete with photos and also brought in some shells to show the class. It was very cool and the other kids loved looking at it.
It was a good last day for Kinder Intenstives and good first day back for Elementary and After-Kinder.
Tomorrow Regular Kinder starts back.
TTFN

NKOTB Goodies

A few weeks ago I searched the Nkotb online forum for fans in Korea. I found a bunch and sent them friend request. A few accepted the friend request. I then wrote on their walls thanks for the add and that I was new to Korea etc. One fan-Miya sent me a message back and we started emailing. She is very cool and went to see the guys VIP in Frankfurt,Germany. She also is a very talented artist and has drawn some awesome pictures of the guys.
She informed me that a bunch of the Korean fans (about 5,000) had been campaigning to get NKOTB to Korea and had made some buttons, stickers, cell phone charms etc. So Miya said she would send me some of the stuff if I gave her my address.
She sent me an email a few days ago to let me know that the package was on it's way and that she was moving to the Holy land to go on a pilgrimage. I am really glad we got to start emailing before she left and hope we will be able to email while she is on her pilgrimage.
The package arrived today-I was so excited!!!! There were stickers, buttons, a cell phone charm-really cool stuff. Cellphone charms are really big here and I have been wanting to get one and now I have the perfect one-YAY!!! My other favorite thing that was in the package ws a button with a pic of the guys in black suits with sunglasses on and it says New Kids on the Block-Korea is Ready!!!
Trying to figure out where to put the button like on my purse or backpack where it can always been seen. Yay for getting packages and Yay for cool New Kids stuff.
TTFN

My Weekend-Korean Lesson and more

On Saturday I met with my friend Maria for brunch and a Korean lesson at a near-by Coffe House called Caffe Ti-amo. We decided to get a waffle with gelato to share as the waffle comes with two scoops of gelato. I picked green tea gelato and Maria chose blueberry. We went and sat down and started our lesson and a few minutes later our waffle and gelato was brought over. It was covered in Chocolate Syrup-Oh No. I am allegric to Chocolate . Maria knew I was allegric but did not realize it was going to have chocolate syrup. She felt really bad and went and got some more green tea gelato with caramel syrup. The gelato was so yummy.
We had a great Korean lesson and I learned some important phrases I am allegric to chocolate. After awhile Maria said she wanted a glass of water and thought I should go and ask for in Korean for her-kind of like a popquiz.
I went up to the counter and said Sil le hab nida mul hanchan chuseyo? Which means excuse me can I please have a glass of water. The server went and quickly got me a glass of water and I carried it back to Maria. She was so proud of me and I was so proud too.
We then went shopping so Maria could buy some presents for the kids at school because
she has decided not to work there anymore and wanted to get the kids goodbye presents.
She found some really cute erasers for the kids and sent them with me to take to the kids this week.
I am sad Maria will no longer be working at my school but glad we became friends and will keep in touch and continue to have Korean lessons.
On Sunday I set out to find a church that has English Services. I found one online that was to be near the Costco. When I asked about it at work-they said Oh that is so far but there was metro instructions and it was only about 15 to 20 minutes on the metro and then five minutes from the metro station . I thought that is not bad and will be easy to find. Indeed it was very easy to find.
The people at the church were very nice and welcoming and I enjoyed the service and will probably go back. I also learned where the costco was on this journey as well.
It has been a great weekend and hope everyone had a great weekend as well.
TTFN