Dongbu Jeli Hospital

Whatever you do, don't go for your medical test at the above hospital! Seriously me and my friend both went here and we both had problems. I won't go in to their problem as it is not mine to share. But I will tell you about how they treated me.

I went to collect my results last Thursday without a co-teacher as all I had to do was collect them. As if it would be that easy..... When I arrived the big-scary-Miss-Trucebull-from-Matilda-look-alike seemed to be angry. She made said someone to one of the younger nurses who then turned to me and signalled a phone and she muttered 'Korean'. So I called my co-worker (who is not my co-teacher but was kind enough to take me for my medical) and the scary woman started shouting at her down the phone. She told my co-worker that there was a problem with my urine results and that was all she said and she gave me a small piece of paper to show my co-worker. Of course, I naturally was upset as I just took a medical for a bunch of diseases and was told there was a problem. So when my friend asked me what was wrong my eyes teared up. At this point, scary man nurse, started shouting 'Why? why'. Prehaps because your a bitch.....

When my co-worker saw the piece of paper in was in doctor terms with no explation for normal folk. She couldn't even read the handwriting. So we called the hospital up and all they said was it was a simple problem with a few treatments it could be treated. We asked for more information as I thought I could get it sorted when I go back to the UK but they wouldn't tell us nothing.

Anyways today I went to the hospital with my kind co-worker and I saw a really nice doctor. She told me that my urine contains something that means I was either dehydrated at the time of the test or I have diabetes. She seemed confused why the other hospital had not re-tested me. And considering on the day of the test I wasn't allowed to drink all day they should of realised I was dehydrated. The test took 2 minutes literally and they told me I was fine. The doctor was so nice and I think she sensed how worried I was after a week of trying to get information off Dongbu hospital.

End of rant ><

Christmas and medical test.

Last weekend was Christmas! (yay!!) My friend I was going to meet on Christmas eve had to cancel, so I spent most of the weekend eating and enjoying my wine ^^ Just as Christmas should be. On the actual day I ate a 3 course meal! Oh man! I could not move all day and I was still full today I swear!

I got a some dresses and a new watch off my mum and dad. I also got a cool cat hat ^^. It was nice watching my family opening presents back in the UK.

Anyways back to reality sadly today. Winter camp started today plus I had to go for my medical test for next year. Thankfully, one of the teachers at my school took me otherwise I would be clueless... But on the downside I couldn't eat or drink today ><

The medical test were the same as orientation except they took less blood and did a weird heart rate test where I had things all over me. It only took 20 minutes and cost 80,000 won. I will get my test results soon hopefully ^^

Least I have new years to look forward too :D

Pointless SMOE trip.

On Friday, all teachers resigning with SMOE had to go on a day trip with SMOE. I heard there was left over budget or something so they decided to take us native English teachers on a trip. But seriously the trip was around Seoul to all the places we had aleady been. Korea is not that big so it would off been better to take us even a bit out of Seoul. It was also one of the coldest days so far in Korea (-10 degrees that morning!). Other teachers in my school were off or just cooking in the nice warm office!! :(

So needless to say I was grumpy in the morning! It didn't help that they made us go to meeting point at 9am but we didn't leave until 9.40!!! The first place was Changdeokgung palace. Due to already the fact most of us had already been there, we were not the most happy bunch. Thankfully, I brought some handwarmers to keep me warm.

Next on the list was (I forgot the name!). I hadn't been there before so it was nice to see somewhere new but my feet were bloody freezing even through my boots and bedsocks! It was so cold that the lake had frozen over! Some crazy adjusshi decided to show off for us waygooks and ended up falling over the rope on the way out. He left rather red faced with his mates laughing haha!

Crazy adjusshi

kimchi fridge

The rest of the tour went quickly thankfully! 2 people escaped around this point but I think they were called back later on haha.

We then went to a tradtional resturant. I heard of a co-worker that this place is quite expensive so we were luckly to go there. The bibimbap there was delicious. It was the highlight of the trip. Plus, I spoke to 2 guys who have been here 2 years and were made to go on this trip. It made me feel less sorry for myself and also worry for next year ><.


After lunch we went to the teddy bear museum which was bizarre. It had 2 sections, old Korea and new Korea.

Namsam tower was the same as always. We were set free after where me and a friend went for some Christmas drinks and cake. I am eating too much this month!

One more year in Seoul!

I've just re-signed my contract for one more year in South korea. So far the process has been easy. My school just got me to sign the application last month and today my contract came. They are now sending it off to get stamped. I have to get my medical checks next month and then get my visa. There are a group of us who need medical checks so we will probably go together.

Goodbye Orientation, Hello School!

Today is the day we left our bubble and went into the big wide world. Breakfast was empty because a lot of people went out drinking the night before and had hangovers (I know this because I heard them running and shouting until 1pm). We loaded our suitcases etc. on to the coaches. Then went to a lecture on Korean food customs, which wasn’t as useful as it may sound. I think they were just trying to burn time. We then had the closing ceremony which was a video with videos and pictures that the staff had filmed throughout the week. It was really good and we all got a copy on a cd (I have no cd drive but I’ll try and figure a way to put it on here). We had our last lunch which was packed due to 50 more teachers arriving (they couldn’t come to the main orientation due to lack of space). Finally we all said our goodbyes and got on separate buses L

After a short ride we arrived at a building where our teachers were waiting for us. At this point everyone’s faces were white and nervous looking. It was like the first day of school over again. Not all the co-teachers were there yet including my teacher, so we waited. I was waiting when I heard someone say roura cooper (r’s and l’s are difficult to pronounce for Koreans so my name is really hard to say). I turned around and there were two young women. At this point I calmed down a bit because previously I was worried I was going to get a man, a much older woman or even worse an older man. We greeted each other and got into the school bus. During the drive, I learned only one of the ladies was going to be my co-teacher. Her name was Mina and she was really friendly. I also discovered the area of the school is not well off but the government invest a lot of money in to the school. But most importantly I learnt I wasn’t going to my apartment first but to my school.

When we arrived at the school the van drove off with my suitcase etc. (I didn’t know where it was taking my things! In fact I didn’t know anything and I felt like a lost little lamb). We went to go greet the teachers and my principal. I gave them the gifts I prepared and got a shock when there was not just one but two vice-principals. I’m not joking when I say the school is big, in fact it’s huge. The teachers told me from the mountains it looks like a university. I was also told it was supposed to be a joint elementary and middle school but the middle school backed out. There are also 2 more English speaking teachers and they are getting one more in the summer (if you’re thinking of applying for SMOE August 2011 you might be at my school!).

After meeting the principal we had to go to the first teachers meeting of the year. I wasn’t the only new teacher; there were around 10 new members of staff. I was told I needed to introduce myself to everyone but luckily I had prepared for this during Korean classes at orientation. I said in Korean ‘Hello, It’s very nice to meet you. My name is Laura. I come from the UK. Thank you. Please take care of me’.  My principal gave me the thumbs up afterJ. The meeting went on for so long (Maybe 30 minutes to an hour) and because it was in Korean I was just staring in to space.

At 5pm my co-teacher and the head of the English department then took me to my apartment. The apartment was really nice but there were a few problems or should I say a few missing items. These items included a bed, curtains, a TV and a microwave. Fear not my UK readers, I had a kettle ;). My co-teacher and boss made a few phone calls to find out what had happened. From what I can gather the last teacher left and the bed disappeared??? They told me maybe tomorrow or Friday I will get a bed and curtains. My boss asked me to stay at her house but I had been living out of a suitcase for a week and a half and just wanted my space. I told them if I could get a comforter (goes between you sheet and bed to keep you warm in the winter) and blanket I would be ok. They were both worried still but at the end they agreed.

My lifesaver

My boss told me she would take me out for some dinner so we went to a boiled pork restaurant (I don’t know the Korean names yet so forgive me!). The food was really good. It was a Korean style restaurant i.e. no shoes/sit on the floor. I discovered my boss had lived in Singapore as an English teacher and her best friend is British. Her English is of a top level and my co-teacher informed me that my boss has the highest level English certificate. My co-teacher speaks good English too. During the meal my co-teacher told me she had told her boyfriend about what had happened and he was going to pick us all up and take us to Homeplus (Tesco/Samsung shopping centre that sells everything). My co-teachers boyfriend drove us to Homeplus and I got a blanket/comforter/pillow. I also got some rice and breakfast for the next day. My boss brought me some thick tights as she was worried I would be cold at school (I told you everyone at my school is soooo nice!).

After helping me bring my things to my apartment, everyone said goodbye. By this time it was 9.30pm! Such a long day! O I forgot to mention that I was told I would start work the next day…..

Day 8 Orientation – Presentation day!

Today we presented our lesson plan and got feedback. Today of all days, I had to lose my voice! Typical! My ears are also blocked! The presentation went ok, we forgot our lines at the beginning but 5 minutes in we got a lot better. I was told to speak louder during the feedback (I know what you’re thinking! Laura quiet? Crazy!).

After all the presentations were finished we got told where we were going and what grade. We got a piece of paper in Korean, so we still had no idea where we were going. Our teacher pointed to the map of Seoul but just said around this area (she pointed to a section that was about 1/5 of Seoul). So after all that, all I knew was that I was on bus 1 and going to teach elementary.  We got our bank cards and medical checks during the last lesson. I am healthy! Yay!! I think 2 people got sent home for having drugs in there system. Remember kids! Don’t do drugs!

We had our farewell dinner at an ‘all you can eat Japanese sushi restaurant’. It was so busy and everyone was spread out so it didn’t feel like a group farewell meal but the food was so good! Two thumbs up. After the meal (we were only there for thirty minutes as it was so busy), we went to a bar for a few drinks then back to the orientation site to take our suitcases downstairs. We then went to karaoke. I actually sang! I am tone deaf so I apologise to everyone who was there.

Day 7 Orientation

Today was just lessons, lessons and lessons! I also tried kimchi soup for the first time. Sooo spicy (and I was told it was mild compared to normal kimchi soup)!! Everyone was so tired by this point I doubt anyone remembered anything in the lectures.  After lectures we had to prepare for our lesson presentation. Me and my partner stayed up to 9.30pm finishing the lesson plan and PowerPoint slideshow. After that I packed my large suitcase, keeping out what was needed for the following two days, and practiced my part in the lesson presentation.

Day 4 and 5 of Orientation

The last two days I have had lecture after lecture after lecture…. They have been useful but some contradict each other. I’m not going to bore you with details about my lecture so I’ll keep this entry short and sweet.  In fact, it might be very short as I went out for a ‘few’ drinks last night and can’t remember much. Friday and Saturday were packed, so much so, I forgot which day it was a few times.

Anyways….Friday – Start at 9pm and have 4 lectures and Korean class until 8.15pm.  I went out with some people from my class and class 4 for a few drinks. The bar had the best drinks ever!! 5,500 won and it was like a strawberry vodka slush puppy!!  Amazing!! Some of the guys had an arm wrestling match with a Korean girl. Guess who won???? The Korean girl kicked everyone’s butt!

Saturday – Same as Friday L After classes I went out with some really cool people from my class. I was talking to them through lunch and I’ve never laughed so hard!  The drinks menu was in Korean so I just pointed at any drink and ended up with a double vodka with a splash of coke! Don’t worry mum I ordered more cola to put into it. Then I had the best cocktail ever (I pointed at some other girls drink at the end!) See the picture!! It was like a fruit drink with sugar on top! Yummy! Needless to say, I got a bit tipsy…

End of blog fact – American cookies at the convenience store – 6,500 won. Korean cookies – 1,000 won. It’s crazy!! Glad I’m sending myself a food package.

Day 6 Orientation

Woke up at 5.30 (I blame the sugar on my cocktails last night!) and couldn’t get back to sleep L Ended up going to breakfast instead of eating my 1,000 won cookies. Our cultural trip got cancelled due to the weather so we spent the day inside. We first dressed in traditional Korean clothes and then learnt how to do a Korean bow. I ended taking mine off early, due to nearly breaking my neck in it about 5 times. There were these two Korean children in traditional clothes. They were sooooo cute! ^-^ We got to try traditional Korean sweets during the break which included rice water. After the break we had to watch these longgggg videos about Korea. Some of them went on about Korean construction abroad, which had no relevance to anything.

 For lunch we went to a traditional Korean restaurant which was Jjimdak (boiled chicken in Soya sauce with glass noodles). It tasted soooo good but it was so hard to eat. The chopsticks were a more heavy metal than we have at the orientation cafeteria and you try eating chicken on the bone with chopsticks, impossible! >-<  We also had this guy at our table just staring at us while we ate and even asked for the bill whilst I was still eating!

In the afternoon we prepared our lesson plan then went to go watch Nanta . It was fantastic! We all laughed at the way through and the actors are so talented. I would watch it again in an instant. Plus, ladies, the men have 4994754948 packs! I have never seen so many muscles!

Lesson presentation in 1 day!! Arghhh

Day 2 at Orientation

Woke up at 5.30 due to jet lag and banging doors (seems I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t used to the time difference). Had breakfast which consisted of chicken salad and wedges….So weird. I then went for a walk outside the building with my roommate Kao. It was 9am so it was dead as nothing opens until 10am! First lesson at 10am covered what we will be doing for the next 10 days. Lunch was a mixture of Korean foods and we had our first taste of Kimchi. We also used those metal Korean chopsticks for the first time >-< And my hands all swollen so it makes it even harder! In fact my whole right arm and hand is swollen. Plus a finger on my left hand!

After lunch we had the opening ceremony with some high school boys playing the traditional drums (I don’t know the proper name for this…..). We had 2 lectures about Korean life and working for SMOE. We opened a bank account in between all this but all we had to do is write our name and sign. As Alexander the meerkat would say ‘Simples’.

Dongdaemun gate

Dongdaemun gate

Hyehwa

Hyehwa

Tonight, we walked around then caught the subway to somewhere else (I don’t know!! I’m new here!!). It was great seeing Seoul at night as it is much busier and brighter. I’m sure Seoul comes alive at night. Maybe they are all vampires?!?!

6 meals, 9 bites and 24+ hours later...It's orientation day 1!!

I've finally arrived in Korea. Forgive me if this blog is messy but the room is spinning from the lack of sleep.

So my journey started at 8:00 yesterday morning. I woke up quite easily, which was surprising. I had breakfast (meal #1) and got ready to leave at 9am for Manchester airport. At the airport they wanted to know why I didn't have a return and then they didn't trust my visa!!! After all the drama I made it though to departures and waited and waited and waited. There was only 4 flights that day I swear! The place was dead. I had lunch (pizza #2) as they won't serve lunch on the plane as it was leaving at 2pm (I thought!)

Flight went on time (It must of been a quiet day) and I booked super seats for my flights. You know, the seats before the exit where you can put your seat back without worrying who is behide you. I shouldn't have bothered booking seats as the plane was as dead as the airport and only 1/4 of the seats were taken. I sat myself down and straight away I spotted it. The mosquito!! And it had it's eyes on me!! I thought I killed it about 5 times but I didn't as I started itiching and keep finding bites. This would be bad enough but my arm or leg sometimes swell up from the poison and I can't have tablets because I have a drug test on Thursday!! I had lunch and a sandwhich, why I don't know. (meals #3 & #4).


On a different note, Qatar has crap movies- FACT! I ended up watching a Chinese movie and a Korean movie as the western movies were so blooming rubbish.

Anyways...I got on to my second flight okay. DOHA airport is one big duty free shop and I had no Doha dollars or whatever the currency is.  Second flight had creepy old man who turned out to be creepy snoring old man as he snored for 90% of the flight. Now there is snoring and then there is whatever tht man was doing. Blowing a fog horn? I don't know but I could hear his piggy noises though my ear plus and he was 3 seats away from me!! By the way this flight was as dead as the last. I think I managed 1 hour of sleep but I don't remember...

Meals #5 & #6 eaten. How come all my starters taste like coleslaw?? :s

I finally made it to the airport alive and 1 stone heavier than when I left. I swear I'm not as young as I used to be. This journey took it out of me and I got a few more white hairs to prove it.

So here I am in Korea. I've just had my first shower... its a seat with a hose and there is fosted glass in between the showers. O yeah, and no where to put your clothes but the out side the showers and I am not getting naked in front of anyone!!!

My spell check isn't working with this internet so excuse me for the poor spelling but I'm tired!!

It's 8.30pm and I want my bed.... :( Night!

4 weeks....

Today, I received my contract from EPIK, after what feels like a lifetime of running around like a headless chicken. I practically ran to the post office before the day's last post collection (a whole extra day of waiting would feel like a lifetime!!). I had to spend even more money on this process for the special delivery envelopes...I'm going to be bankrupt after all the money I've spent on documents etc.

I came home and the first thing I did was book my flights, but not before my bank phoned to check I wasn't some dodgy person trying to steal my money....! My flights were quite cheap considering it's a good airline. It is costing me £363 with Qatar from Manchester to Seoul via Doha. I will only be in Doha for 1.5 hours, so the stopover is not that bad and I read they transfer your baggage all the way through so that will be one less thing to worry about.

On other news I had my final trip to the dentist for a checkup before my trip and my teeth are fine...thank goodness as I really can't afford the dentist at the moment!

Now to wait for my visa.....

Korea be scared! Laura is coming!!!!

Well you don't have to be scared but I would but a good pair of ear plugs haha!

Below is what my agency emailed me yesterday:-

"Arrival date - February 17th at Incheon International Airport (ICN) - Incheon, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Daejeon, Gwangju, Ulsan, Chungbuk, Gyeongbuk, Gyeongnam, and Jeonbuk

Orientation will be held at Jeonju University

Arrival date - February 17th at Gimhae International Airport (PUS) in Busan

- Busan, Daegu, Jeju

Orientation will be held at Pukyong National University

Arrival date - February 22nd at Incheon International Airport (ICN)          

- Seoul

Orientation site to be determined

At both locations, EPIK will provide a free pick up service on February 17th from 7:30am-10:00pm on this day only.  You can arrive any time during these hours, and a shuttle will take you to the orientation site. 

They will also provide a free pick up service for SMOE teachers arriving on February 22nd from 7:30am-10:00pm on this day only.  You can arrive any time during these hours, and a shuttle will take you to the orientation site."

I'm so excited!! I can't wait for my NOA to come through my letter box so I can skip all the way to the Korean Embassy (well the post office at the end of my street who will send my papers to the embassy..) and send off for my visa!! Fingers crossed the visa process goes well!

Tomorrow is my last day at work. I'm half happy (no waking up in the dark!) and half sad as I love all the people I work with and will definitely be keeping in contact with them. In fact they are making me take a teddy from work around with me so I can send them pictures of it in various countries!

 

SCC bear!

I'm going to Seoul!!

Just had an email off my agency confirming that the Seoul MOE have accepted me for the February intake. Yay!! :) So excited and happy!! Now all I have to do is wait for my NOA, apply for my E-2 then book flights.....

Where is my contract???

First of all I would like to say Merry Christmas (yes, I know I'm 3 days late..:p) and a happy new year to everyone who reads my blogs!! We decided to get a real Christmas tree this year and within a week it look like something from a Tim Burton film. My parents have already got a plastic tree in the sale for next year haha.

I've got a week off work, so I have nothing to keep my mind off waiting for my NOA or even a email to say I am 100% going to Korea. I've been quite good so far and haven't been thinking about EPIK or Korea but now I'm off work it's a different story....... On the EPIK February 2011 Facebook group people are writing they have received an email off their POE!!! I finish my job in 2 weeks and will be jobless so I really need something in concrete! I'm also nervous about obtaining my E-2 visa in time for the middle of February.

I don't think it's helped that Seoul as cut the number of positions from 200 to 100 so it's made me even more nervous as I really want to live in a city.

Rant over! Back to waiting...... Fingers crossed!

EPIK Interview

08.10.10

I've just had a email from footprints saying I've got an interview on Monday at 2.50am!! I've so nervous!! This weekend I'm going to prepare possible interview questions and practice speaking clearly. Fingers crossed ^-^

11.10.10
Had my interview last night at 2.50am! I thought they might ring late but the phone rang not one second past 2.50am!! After a quick dash to the phone, I heard a kind sounding Korean lady on the other end. I was so nervous throughout the whole interview and couldn't stop shaking >-< She asked me a few questions about my application (be prepared to say yes and no a lot!). Here are a few examples of the questions:

What do you know about the Korean Culture?
Why do you want to teach in Korea?
What do you know about EPIK?
Would you be happy co-teaching?
Why did you submit a lesson plan for this grade (I applied for SMOE)?
Questions about my private teaching in Japan (I made sure they knew it was legal!)
Cultural differences I had experienced in the past.
Cultural differences between Korea and the UK.

Some of the questions I had prepared, but for some of the questions my mind went blank. I did my best 'Queen's English' accent but one or two times my Midlands accent came through, but there is nothing I can do now. If I don't get hired because I'm not American there is nothing I can do but go to a hag-won. Be positive!!! :)

EPIK Application

I finally finished my application form for SMOE/EPIK and got it approved by my agency, footprints recruiting. It took me 7-8 hours without lunch to complete as I kept changing my lesson plan for the SMOE application and then my agency sent it back 3 times, as I forgot some details. I don't know if I'll get an interview or get accepted as I heard Korea prefers the North American accent and my accent is a mixture of Stoke/Wolverhampton dialect. When I went to Japan they expected me to speak the Queens English but only 5% of the population of England speak the Queens English!! I can only speak clearly on the phone, if I get an interview, and pray! Fingers Crossed!! If I don't get a job with EPIK I will apply for private schools so I am not worrying too much but I would prefer to work for EPIK.

At the moment I am trying to learn some Korean so I can communicate with the locals when I go to Korea. I am not a great language learner, nothing seems to go into my head and I get bored easy, but I will try my best. I have just ordered Pimsleurs Korean beginner 1 so I am waiting for that to arrive. At the moment I am sticking post-its to everything and reading a book about Korean Grammar (I am on page 3 and my head already hurts!).

Fighting!!!