You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance.

For those of you who don't know... children are the most amazing and emotionally draining beings on the planet. I can't count the number of times I have said "No running!" "Stop kicking." "Did you bite him?" "Listen!" "Krista Teacher has a personal bubble you can't pop." "No head butting!" However, if I had 1000won for every time I heard "I'm sorry teacher" "Its OK teacher, no angry face." "Teacher you're pretty." "I lobe (love) you teacher." "Me happy because teacher happy." I would be a Korean millionaire! Here are a few pictures of my special kids:

Peach Class

Mike, Alber, Sally - Peach Class

There are two types of schools foreign teachers can teach English at in Korea: a public school or a Hagwon. I am teaching at the latter. A Hagwon is essentially a private school that specializes in a concentration. There are English hagwons, math hagwons, piano hagwons, etc. Elementary students attend public school during the day and hagwons during the afternoon and evening. However, for kindergarten students, hagwons are their primary school.

I am a kindergarten teacher with two classes. Peach Class is made up of ten cute, bright and sassy 7 year olds. Pear class has ten sweet, adorable and freakishly smart 6 year olds. I teach these kids everyday until 2:40. In the afternoon, I teach a few elementary classes, but I don't spend the same amount of time with my elementary students as I do with my kindergartners.

I was hired on in December because they were opening these two new kindergarten classes. So my first day was also my kids' first day. Believe me, we have learned together! It is amazing the progress they have made. They literally didn't know ANY English the first day I met them. They kept talking to me in Korean and were shocked when I couldn't understand them. There were also a few students who were afraid of me because I didn't look or sound like anything they were use to. James in my Pear class cried for three days straight. I would sit him down in his chair and slowly move away. As I got further and further away, he would ever so slowly move out of his chair and when I turned my back to him he would book it out of the room as fast as he could while looking back at me with this look of pure freedom on his face. James is now the happiest and sweetest little boy in class. I am also happy to report that they speak solely English to me and full sentences are becoming more and more prevalent!

It looks like we are torturing every single one of them.

Kelly my co teacher!!

Everyday is a fun adventure! I have so many stories. However, those are for another day and another post. The one thing I have come to realize is that while I try to teach my kids all about life, they teach me what life is all about.

Pear Class- Field Trip to Energy Company

Korea Doesn't Change Everything

So... it has been close to two months since my last post and if I have any faithful followers still out there.... I would like to apologize. Even though my diet, surrounding language and time zone have all changed, my astounding skill of procrastination has stuck with me. Old faithful. That's what twelve years of private education will give you. Thanks Dad.

I have been in Korea for three months and it gets better everyday because everyday is literally an adventure. I have had escapades of all types. Some good, some bad, some funny, some (in retrospect) quite sad, but all memorable. Here is a little taste:

Even back home, I am not a great grocery shopper. There is something about 74 different brands of cereal, 40 flavors of yogurt and the endless aisle of spices that really seems to unnerve me. The problem has only escalated since my arrival here. Now, I can't even read what flavor of yogurt I am buying. I have no idea if the rice I picked up is actually rice or some sort of wheat grain. I just go with what I think rice is supposed to look like and hope for the best. Just as long as it doesn't turn out to be octopus, I can deal. The only time I thought I hit rock bottom was when I was trying to act out sliced deli meat and got something that tasted like old spam. Even if it tasted like fresh spam, I don't think I would have liked it.

I miss being able to freely communicate with waiters, waitresses, check out tellers at the grocery store, sales people and bus drivers. I was almost stuck on a bus because the bus driver didn't open the door at my stop and I didn't know how to say "please open the door" in Korean. So I just ended up making some sort of startling noise until someone noticed and told the bus driver to open the door. A few weeks ago (ok... a month...I KNOW I am behind!)I was grocery shopping with my friends at E-Mart and we were checking out our groceries when my friend Sam pulled out shaving cream she had bought from a different store from her purse in order to grab her wallet. Well... the cashier thought she was trying to shoplift said cream. Ten minutes, fifty hand gestures and one shaving cream receipt later, we limped out of E-Mart.

But this is where I really lucked out. Korean people are some of the most welcoming, kind, friendly and helpful people I have met. They put up with my foreign nonsense everyday. If they speak English they want to talk and find out where you are from and how you like Korea. They go out of their way to make things easier for you. Korean people really are what make Korea special.

Happy New Year!!!

Happy (late) New Year to everyone!! The first 17 days of 2009 have been a blur... however, it won't take me long to get you all up to speed: I celebrated the New Year in Seoul where I was surrounded by thousands and thousands of excited Koreans and millions and millions of hand held fireworks (the words "fire" and "hazard" don't seem to translate into Korean), I have successfully placed a food order without using wild hand gestures or pictionary type skills a grand total of 0 times, I welcomed twenty, korean speaking, 6/7 year olds to their first day of school (ever!!), I caught my first of many colds from those 20 walking, somewhat English talking, incubi of germs, I have made at least 10 children cry just by saying hello and a hot water pipe exploded in my apartment at 7 in the morning a few weeks ago. It is going to be a good year!!

This is the temple at the NY celebration.

I managed to take some videos at the New Years celebration in Seoul. The videos are great but like all amazing experiences, you just had to be there!! The celebration was similar to the one in Times Sqaure. They had performances by the WILDLY popular korean groups The Wondergirls and Big Bang (however, I didn't know who they were until after when my kids freaked out) and instead of a ball dropping, a huge, historic bell rang 33 times (don't know why). You really can't hear the bell in the video, but it was there!

Count Down:

Listen closely.... you will hear my friend Chelsea trying to give me a crash course in Korean numbers... and you will hear my giving up at the end and just using the standard 5-4-3-2-1!!!

Here is a video of lanterns being lit and let go. Really cool

Here is a picture of my friend Chelsea and I waiting (in the cold!! Don't worry... not MN cold) for the celebration to begin!!

Food- The Essence of Life

I've eaten Korean food only once before this little adventure began. However, I'm arguing that it doesn't count because it was "Korean Barbecue" at a franchised chain restaurant. Hardly genuine.


I am here to report that traditional Korean food is fairly yummy! Galbi, which is marinated meat you cook at your table, is my favorite thus far!! I love the rice and vegetable side dishes you get with every meal. And it is cheap! I can eat comfortably for less than 6USD! Fusion restaurants, which are a combination of two types of ethnic foods, (i.e. Japanese and Korean foods) are becoming more popular in Korea and are delicious!


Kimchi, which is a fermented, spicy vegetable dish that is usually served at every meal, is something I am not as thrilled with. Below is a picture of me eating my first kimchi....



And here is my reaction to that first taste.

I guess it is something I will learn to love! Also, you may have noticed that I am not using a fork to eat my new love. If I want to eat any food while I am here I will have to perfect the art of using chopsticks. Korean chopsticks are especially difficult because they are metal. Metal chopsticks don't have an even distribution of weight, so holding them is difficult. Also, the food slips through the chopsticks easily!! Believe me... I know. Everything is eaten with chopsticks. Thus far, the most unusual and entertaining thing I have eaten with my new utensils has been ice cream. Oh... that was interesting.


I will be forced to learn how to maneuver chopsticks because here is a picture of the fork (singular) that is in my apartment...
And here are my new best friends....

Happy Eating!!

My Home

My new home for the year is in Dongbaek, which is a neighborhood in the city of Yongin, which is a suburb of Seoul. Confused? Join the club. Dongbaek is a nice, quite and quickly developing family neighborhood. On my days off (which are the weekends), as I am walking around town, I frequently hear "Krista Teacher, Krista Teacher" being shouted across the street by some of my very cute and friendly students. Here, I am ALWAYS Krista Teacher!


The Seoul subway line doesn't reach Dongbaek...yet! Fortunately, Korea has a great bus system in place so I am only a 40 minute bus ride away from Seoul city!



My apartment is about a 20-25minute walk from school or a 5 minute bus ride. It all depends on how late I sleep in! My apartment building is just around the corner from three other foreign teachers at the school. Soon, a new teacher will be moving into the apartment right next door!



Here are a few pictures of my apartment- before the makeover overhaul!








Yes... the shower is over the sink. However there is a drain on the floor so it isn't like I am literally showering OVER the sink. A little bit of a shock when I first walked in but it really isn't THAT big of a deal. Annette and my friends back home are having a harder time with in than I am! You just have to go with it!!

I am here!!! Just in case you were wondering!!

I am sorry it has taken me so long to update this! I literally got here and started working! I now have a break so I can finally fill you in on my travels.



Murphy's law is an adage in Western culture that broadly states, "if anything can go wrong, it will." This law governed, ruled and dictated my long trip to the eastern side of the world. However, another popular western saying must also be represented: it could always be worse. Let me start at the beginning....


Tuesday morning I awoke to a very typical Minnesota morning. Below freezing temperatures, a couple feet of snow... you know... the usual. However, I was flying to Korea today so the temperature needed to cooperate. I woke up early to put the finishing touches on my suitcases and was nearly finished when I realised I couldn't find my driver's license. Even though my passport is my main form of identification while I am abroad, they recommend having a second form just in case. Well.... I couldn't find it anywhere. The next hour was spent ripping apart my house searching everywhere for it. It was useless.... it was gone. Now... we are running late and we need to race up to the cities. However, we did manage to snap this photograph before we left. It is my leaving for Korea picture!! (Similar to the first day of school picture.)
We got to the airport in the nick of time. However, it will turn out not to matter. The gorgeous and always reliable Minnesota weather was about to reek havoc with my travel plans. The plane's engines were not working well with the cold weather, so they announced a 30minute delay. Then the plan was too cold on the inside for us to board. Another 30 minute delay. Then the plane had to be deiced. Oh yes... another 30 minutes. We are now on the plane. (Oh by the way.... 5 rows from the back) And the pilot announces that there seems to be some sort of mechanical problem (of course there is). He said it should be just a few more minutes. 3 hours later, with 2 Northwest flight vouchers and 2 free in-flight drink coupons in hand, we pull away from the gate and take off on our 13hour flight to Tokyo. Here is a picture of all the people waiting patiently (sarcasm).

We arrived in Tokyo 5 hours behind schedule. My connecting flight to Seoul was long gone. More than 100 people missed their connecting flights. On the bright side, if I had flow into, let's say Italy,this would have been a complete disaster. The Japanese are amazing! They had everything taken care of. They booked me on a new flight to Seoul and put me up in a VERY nice hotel where I had dinner and breakfast.

I arrived in Seoul on Thursday afternoon, only 15 hours behind schedule. Eddie, the school manager, picked up me and my two HUGE (overweight) suitcases. See… it could always be worse… I could have lost my luggage!

Packing a whole year into two suitcases... yeah...

So.... I finally admitted I am in over my head.

Going to a foreign country where they speak a language I have personally only heard spoken 3 times in my life, where canine meat is considered a delicacy that is misunderstood in other parts of the world and going to this place knowing a grand total of 2 other people is an absolute drop in the hat in comparison to shoving ten pairs of shoes, 4 seasons of The Office and 5 jars of peanut butter into a packed to the brink suitcase! I mean COME ON!!! How are you suppose to fit an entire twelve months of your life into 2, fifty pound bags? I am drowning here!!

Here is my travel itinerary:
-Leave Minneapolis, MN at 1pm on Tuesday December 16th
-Fly to Tokyo, Japan (14hr flight) Reminder to self, pop 2 extra strength Tylenol PMs before take off
- 2hr lay-over in Tokyo
- Depart Tokyo at 6:15pm on Wednesday December 17th
-Fly to Seoul, South Korea (3 hr flight)
-Arrive in Seoul on Wednesday December 17th at 9:10pm

**Needless to say I will be a bit off my usual schedule!

Thank you to everyone who came to my going away party at Figlio's last Sunday. I am really blessed to have amazing friends and family. I already miss you all! Here are a few pics I snapped at the party!