Day 2

Photo Dump!

Today was good! Tired more today than yesterday surprisingly.

I went to this market area called Triple Street. It had a bunch of stores, kind of like a mall, but it also had a store with necessities. That was the main goal today lol

Got a cute little fan for the heat if some of the classrooms don’t have AC.

Had our first Korean class today. Went over vowels and consonants so it was mostly review. Our teacher is hilarious! Kim Jinwan (김진완) is a great teacher. He told us how he felt so nervous about today that he woke up this morning and wanted to “give up” on doing the class but after he met us he was glad he did this program with us. We’re going to have a fun 6 weeks with him!

Tomorrow is a break day, sort of. We have no Korean tomorrow so it’s a bit of a break to study.

Signed up for some excursions. Going to Incheaon Chinatown and 심포 Market on Saturday and sunday the 27th-28th. Also, going to do a Temple Stay! We can stay at a Buddhist temple for an evening and do some activities there. It is so different that I am not sure what to expect but it’ll be an experience for sure!

Going to do some hw then watch a movie or something before bed. Ready for tomorrow!

Date: July 9th, Monday

Time: 8:44pm (Kor)

1st Day!!

The day has finally arrived! I am officially in South Korea!

The whole group of ETAs are staying at Yonsei University’s international campus for the next 6 weeks. We will be taking korean language classes, culture classes, and teaching workshops. Along with this we will have some extracurricular outings we can do over the next few weeks.

Getting used to all the different things they do here. One thing is the slippers around the room, leaving shoes at the door, and bowing to people when I greet them. It’s kind of fun the differences so I hope that feeling stays.

We got out shirts! I kind of like the color. It’s growing on me. Sort of UCF colors. Tomorrow we get out language books for class. Apparently, these books won’t be published till next year so we are testing them for the professors here. I won’t complain about any free books so that’s fine with me!

It’s been a really long, exhausting day so I’m super ready to go to sleep. I’m so tired I had to rewrite that last sentence a few times because or spelling errors.

Excited for tomorrow!

Date: July 7th, 2019

Time: 7:43pm(Kor)

2 days to go!

So, I have packed all my stuff up except for the things I’ll need over the next 2 days and the clothes I want to wear on the plane. I feel like I’ve got WAY TOO MUCH stuff but I can’t narrow it down any further without feeling like I am under prepared.

I have stuff in here that will eventually be given to my coworkers and host family as presents. I also have a good part of my winter suitcase full of just my winter jacket and my boots. If I didn’t have those it would look less crowded. However, I didn’t want them shipped to me cause it would have been a lot of money.

I have 6 books that I am bringing with me that are not related to teaching but they’re all pocket sized editions so don’t take up much space. I just couldn’t see myself going the whole year without having SOME book books on me and not just my Kindle Oasis.

I feel comfortable with what I am bringing but I also wish it wasn’t so much. I already know I’ll need more space for the things I buy while I am in Korea but those might end up being put in a third suitcase or shipped home. I’ll worry about that when the time comes.

I just keep reminding myself that it is for a year, so eventually I will want/need everything I am bringing with me.

One Month to Go!!

I’ve got one more month till I leave for South Korea!

I’m not sure I’ll be back in Orlando before I leave for good so I am at EPCOT for my last Disney day 😭

No one was able to go so I’m doing it solo for the first time! I’ll have to do this again when I come back because it wasn’t that bad of a day! I did a lot in 3 hours 😁

Going to miss this place but I’m even more excited to start exploring Seoul and the other cities!!! 🥰

Test Running Packing

So I am trying to figure out my packing situation. I decided to test run packing my books, bags, shoes, and miscellaneous items. I also tried to see how my coat would fit in my suitcase.

Overall, I think I have plenty of space! I don’t anticipate needing to shove anything else in my big suitcases except for clothes. I also think I am going to have my big coat brought to me by a friend later in the year. That way it doesn’t take up needed space since I won’t need it for a while. I can still get rid of a few things if needed, like books or a bag. So I am not struggling with bringing all of this stuff with me.

I also have compiled a list of items I want to take with me so I can check them off as I go. The nice thing is I can buy a lot of stuff while I am there, but I want to try to limit the amount I have to re-buy as much as possible.

I will be going to buy some nice jeans and shirts for work/daily life. I am so relieved that I can wear jeans because it limits the amount of clothes I will need to bring. I don’t want to hold out too much of them having a lot of clothes or shoes in my size so I am trying to bring enough to survive but too much.

If anyone has any recommendations for packing tips, let me know! I have some of those ziploc bags that you push all the air out of them to save space, but that is about it.

Countdown: 43 Days

Hello, Everyone!! My name is Paige Timmerman. 🙂

I hope everyone is well.

I am starting this blog as a way to record my time in South Korea. I will be an English Teaching Assistant (or ETA) for an Elementary school in South Korea July 5th 2019~ July 15th 2020.

Now, I have 43 days till I fly out! I don’t plan to post too much leading up to the flight, but just want to record some odds and ends things that have been happening.

Paperwork has been the only struggle so far, luckily. I have attained my suitcases for the trip and plan to start preparing my packing list once we hit June. I have slowly been attaining my attire I may need for both work and social life. Hopefully I will be able to purchase some clothes in the country but I am not holding out for that hope! So I think it is best to be prepared.

Over the coming few weeks, I will be sending in the needed documents, acquiring my Visa and getting my background check sorted. I am really really hoping that nothing goes wrong with those documents being acquired!

Really that is about all that has happened so far?? Not much going on here except the planning stage of things. Once I get to the week of the flight I should have more to say about things.

Until then, I hope everyone is having a happy day! 🙂