Her Name Was Lola

Happy Friday! *crawling towards the light* I've made it through my first week of teaching all by my self with very few injuries (see Korean fight club entry). The students were all ready to help me work out the schedules of each class and I think I have made connections with a lot of them! One big thing I have learned is that all students will work for prizes; pencils, erasers, candy, and the prospect of ice-cream with whole class 100% on a spelling test...Sorry to every Hood professor who discouraged bribery and tangible rewards...I will answer to my sins later! I'm working through the survival phase of the first year teacher here!

Not looking forward to the next phase actually...Maybe there will be a translation error over here that skips Disillusionment and goes from "Survival" straight to "Rejuvenation"?

I've begun teaching my kindergarten class "If I were a were a rich man" which is one of my favorite parts of the day. The students love the nonsense word sections where they can just be goofy, which they do very well might I add. I am going to leave you in suspense about what they sound like however. Video to come later in September when they perform the completed song! I will have to start coming up with dance moves to accompany the words soon...any suggestions should be left in the comments section! Obviously anyone who has seen Fiddler on the Roof knows that vigorous shimmying will be involved.


Time for me to share an epiphany I experienced yesterday! While I was jogging through the park, receiving my usual strange looks from passing Koreans, I go to thinking about what a nervous wreck I was prior to this trip. Those of you who thought I was cool, calm, and collected- those acting skills of mine must have come in handy because on the inside I had butterflies the size of Seoul attacking my innards (sorry for the graphic mental picture there...). Anyways- I'm still running at this point and I realize that I have now been here for a little over a week...and I feel fine!
1. I finally know where I live and how to get to key locations nearby. Now take me outside the 5-10 block radius and that's a different story, but hey baby steps right? I'm still Bambi remember?
2. I have made some great friends already with the other western teachers and Korean teachers at the school.
3. I have successfully taught some students English for a week.
4. I went grocery shopping...kinda...
5. I bought a travel card tonight so that I can go to Seoul and Muuido in the next few weekends too!


And would you look at that- an excellent segue into the next section- This weekend I am tagging along with some of the other western teachers to see Rockdo- a Korean Rock concert in Seoul! Not only will it be fun to listen to some Korean Rock but it will also be my first time in one of the largest cities in the world (oh dear). I might need one of those backpack leashes so that the other teachers don't lose me on the subways or in the crowds! The concert is an all day event and should be a great way to spend a Saturday :)
The next weekend after that we will all be traveling to Muuido which is an island right outside of Incheon near the airport. This link has some great photos of the beach (http://exploresouthkorea.blogspot.kr/2010/09/incheon-islands-part-one-muuido.html). We can rent out the huts to stay in or we can sleep on the beach- depends how adventurous we are feeling I suppose! There will be photos of both of these trips don't worry.

And now time for the title explanation? Not a very deep or complicated one I'm afraid, but I figured you should all be aware that I will not be answering to Laura anymore. You may call me Lorla, Lola, or Rora. I think they all are much more sophisticated than Laura anyways!

Picture Time:

Thanks for reading! xoxo

Korean word of the post. I think you guys have reached level two. Time for some more complicated yet still useful phrases: 내 호버크라프트는 장어로 가득 (Nae ho-baw-keuh-rah-peuh-teuh-neun chang-aw-ro ka-deuk: 'My hovercraft is full of eels."