My Cup of Tea

My Daily Chuckles and a "Happy New Year"

2009-01-24T18:05:00.000-08:00

Hello!
I know that it has been awhile! So many things to update you on. However, I am about to head on out and visit a palace on this leisurely Sunday. So, here are a few gems that keep me laughing in the classroom every day.

Harry: Teacher! I want to change my English name.
kp: Oh! Um, why do you want to change your name, Harry? Harry Potter! Prince Harry!
Harry: I would like to sound more American, so when I go to USA, I will have American English name!
kp: Well, what are you hoping to change it to?
Harry: Teacher, I want to be Barack Obama

After reading a storybook about a little boy who shrinks to the size of a flea and explores his dog, his bathroom and the plumbing system in his house, we have a somewhat Oedipal class discussion.
kp: Oh wow, boys and girls! Isn't Andrew a lucky little boy?! If you could shrink down very very small and explore something, where would you go?
Matthew: Teacher! I would like to visit a very big cookie so that I could eat it and it would seem like and even bigger cookie for me to eat!
kp: Wooooow! That sounds delicious! Anyone else? Come on....Angie, sweetheart, how about you? Where would you explore?
Angie: ............My father's body.
kp: uh..ooooh?
Angie: ...because he has a MAN'S PARTS!!!
kp: ???

Seriously, how many jobs are there where you get to laugh at moments like these every single day? It is amazing to stop and remember that this is the second language of these eight-year-olds. Whenever they hear a new word, they are so anxious to know it's meaning. I see them furrowing their brows, moving their lips around the word's unfamiliarity, whispering it softly to themselves. When they have the confidence, they jump up and ask it's meaning.

Zorro: Teacher? What is this boogie word?
(Yes, that is the name he chose for himself.)
kp: haha, that's a great word, Zorro! Boogie means to dance! You know! To party!
Teacher waves her hands above her head while smiling and wiggling her bottom.
Zorro: Ooooooh. Yes. Boogie.
Zorro thinks for a bit.
Zorro: Oh! Yes! Teacher! My cousin! Birthday! Ten boys! Ice Cream! Eeeeeeeeverybodyyyyy booooogie!!!!!! Yes?

However, while my students have mastered the use of the word boogie, they are unable to speak it without waving their hands above their heads while smiling and wiggling their bottoms like teacher.

Needless to say, I am having a great time here in Seoul. My days are busy and pass quickly, and my evenings and weekends are filled with relaxation, video-chats home, great food, and great outings with some very welcoming new friends.

Today is Lunar New Year's Eve, one of the most important holidays in Korea. As soon as my Bob Marley playlist reaches it's end, I will drink up the last of my morning coffee, put on some warm clothes and head downtown to explore and take photos of a thousand-year-old palace.

Tonight I will ring in the new year with some coworkers, and I am on holidays from school until Wednesday. We will be ushering in the year of the Ox, my year. It is my hope that this will be a year of strength, growth and discovery. I wish you all a (second) "Happy New Yeeeear!" and advise you to keep your shoes in the bedroom and not at the entrance to your home---it is believed that ghosts roam on the eve of lunar new year and steal shoes that are their size.

kp

p.s. On Friday I met the lovely, talented and dynamic Danielle of Chubbo Chubbington (http://tuesdaysborrower.blogspot.com/). *swoon* .....She's awesome.

Excerpts From a Letter Home

2009-01-12T04:45:00.000-08:00

While this blog has been somewhat useless for my immediate family---they're usually updated prior to me posting---I thought I would leave a quick update in the form of a "snippet" from an email to my Mom.

"I have two days off attached to next weekend for lunar new year, so I've been sending emails trying to arrange a temple stay in one of the Buddhist temples up in the mountains surrounding Seoul. Should be really cool! You get to attend tea ceremonies, morning meditation, yoga, hiking and eat delicious vegetarian food.

Also, I just spent $4 on the most soul-satisfying restaurant meal of my life! Another teacher was heading to his favourite soup place after school and I tagged along. I couldn't believe that 4000 won bought me a bubbling little cauldron of tender beef in savory broth with leeks, potato, cabbage (but not like we know it) and a big bowl of rice to spoon into it at will. While it was a world away and full of flavours I had never tasted, it gave me the comfort, nutrition and warmth of a soup simmering all day in a familiar kitchen in Hamilton.
kp
xoxox"

The Good (Expat) Life

2009-01-11T02:21:00.000-08:00

My very first weekend in Seoul was a smashing success!

I spent my Saturday morning relaxing, reading the news, listening to music and chatting with friends from home.

Agata and I had a great (and chilly!) afternoon exploring Itaewon. I finally got my hands on a Korean cell phone (security at last!), and ate a great big falafel lunch in a tiny restaurant filled with people from all over the world. I snapped over two albums of photos, which are now posted on facebook.

Last night led me to a great party with great company, great food and great wine. Two lovely co teachers at the school just moved into a new place, and to celebrate their new surroundings (and the fact that they have an oven) they generously served up endless amounts of nachos, bruschetta and stuffed mushrooms.

The end of the night found us at a noraebang (a private karaoke room) downtown singing my heart out with three other teachers. An essential Korean experience, I feel!

Today I spent a leisurely Sunday cleaning the apartment, making breakfast and uploading photos. Around two, I met some other teachers for a crisp walk in the afternoon sunlight to a cute little coffeshop where we sipped delicious lattes, gossiped and discussed future adventures.

All in all, my first weekend in Seoul was the perfect mix of rest and fun. I hope that your weekend was the same!

kp

Exploring the Weekend.

2009-01-09T07:30:00.000-08:00

This weekend will be my first in Seoul!
Tomorrow morning I plan to explore the market I've discovered in my neighbourhood. At noon, I will meet up with another teacher to explore Itaewon, a neighbourhood that my guide book describes as an "ill-reputed den of iniquity". Can't wait!
Tomorrow night, some co-teachers are having a housewarming party in a part of the city that I haven't seen yet.
Sunday, I hope, will involve rest, a little more exploration, and perhaps a hike!
I wish you all an equally exciting and restful weekend!
kp

Like the first day of my life.

2009-01-05T23:08:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends!
I figured teachers' prep time was the best time to fill you all in on the past week.

My E-2 work Visa arrived (finally!!) on Wednesday, January 31st. This was a great relief, as my recruiter had already booked my flight, and the New Year holiday would have delayed the mail until after my departure date.

Late, late,late on Saturday night, after 24 hours of airplane travel and changeovers, I arrived in Seoul. After retrieving my luggage--two bulging suitcases meticulously packed to get me through the next year, I looked out into the crowd of smiling, anxious people waiting in arrivals for a sign with my name on it. My recruiter, the amazing Anna, was supposed to meet me at the airport. However, when the crowds parted, I did not see the perky young Korean woman that I expected. A worried elderly gentleman holding a sign with my name on it was arguing with a young American woman. It turns out that this woman, also a brand new English teacher in Korea, was named Kristin Parsons, and believed that the gentleman's sign was just an error. After insisting that I was, in fact, the real Kristen Pearson, he called my recruiter and extended his cellphone to me. Anna explained that this gentleman, a chauffeur who often drives for the school, would be taking me to the apartment. My principal, Mrs. Kwan, would be waiting there to welcome me and show me around.

During the 70-minute drive into the heart of the city, I watched the neon lights, skyscrapers and unfamiliar street signs passing by with tired eyes. As we left the highway and moved through a maze of inner city streets I noticed the hundreds of restaurants, bars and street-food stands that create Seoul's electric landscape.

When we finally reached my building, my principal and her husband were waiting outside. They brought me up to my apartment, welcomed me to Korea, and did their best to make me feel at home. They left wishing me rest and promising to pick me up at ten the next morning for my first Korean breakfast...at Dunkin' Donuts.

After they left, I wept. I don't know if it was hunger, jetlag, or just the realization that I was thousands of miles away from the people I love, but I could not imagine staying in this place for a year. As I sat in my new living quarters, alone, surrounded by linoleum and fluorescent lighting, I began to question my decision for the first time. A phone call home left me with the suggestion that maybe all would look better in the morning, after a shower and a long, long, sleep.

My mother was right---throwing back my curtains the next morning, I saw my tiny apartment flooded with sunlight. I opened the window and leaned out over my new neighbourhood. Motorbikes, and giant, honking SUVs battled for the narrow roads between buildings, while bicycle couriers brought oranges and eggs to the shop at the corner. People shouted and greeted each other in a strange and magical language that I don't yet understand. Signs were marked with characters in a mysterious and beautiful script over shops selling fruit and sea creatures I had never seen before.

That first morning in Seoul was that of my 24th birthday. In so many ways, I experienced that day as I did the very first of my life---scared, seeking comfort, curious and alert, breathing deeply, and feeling very, very alive.

I am ready to start this new life in Seoul, South Korea.
kp

***Coming soon: I will update you on my first galbi dinner, my wonderful students and school and how I got lost on the way home to my apartment. Twice. kp

Quick Dispatch

2009-01-04T03:39:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends!
After another winter storm, delays in the mail, and a lot of running around, I am now in South Korea. I'm a little too exhausted to give you a worthwhile post, but I promise that more updates are coming!
kp

That's.....it?! Interviewed and Approved

2008-12-25T19:22:00.000-08:00

After my initial interview appointment in Toronto was cancelled due to an early Winter storm, I finally made it to the consulate last Monday. It was short. Really short. FIVE MINUTES short.

Upon arrival, I found about 10 other twenty-somethings awaiting their interviews. Looking down at my very best jeans (with long undies underneath) tweed coat and boots, I began to worry that my warmest-is-best philosophy for making the bus-train-subway journey to Toronto was not the wisest. The other kids were in business attire. Actually, not really business attire. They were dressed the way that I do when attending weddings and other formal gatherings. I felt pretty scrappy.

However, the gorgeous Korean administrative assistant called my name first, and led me through the immaculate conference room to the gentleman conducting the interviews. Luckily my jeans and snow/ice/sidewalk-salt-encrusted boots were hidden under the boat-sized mahogany desk. The gentleman was kind, pleasant, and asked me a few questions about my reasons for coming to SK and my experience in the public school system in Ontario. In less than five minutes, the interview was over.

Knowing that I was approved, finished and ready-to-go, I smiled a "payce-out-suckaaaaahs" smile at my more fashionable counterparts in the waiting room and headed out into the snow again. At last! I had jumped through the final hoop!

However, my Canada Post tracking number informs me that my Visa and Passport were not mailed to me by Wednesday as promised. With Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year's Day all being business holidays falling within the next week, I am skeptical of the possibility that I will leave for SK on January 2nd as planned. BAH!

I'll get back to you soon with a departure date.

Merry Christmas/Winter Solstice/Hanukka/Kwanzaa to all! And to all a goodnight!

kp

An Idiot's Guide to Teaching Abroad (Korean Edition)

2008-12-18T07:13:00.000-08:00

For a very long while, I have be meaning to create a step-by-step list of instructions for attaining a job and a Visa in South Korea. To be honest, I've found the entire process quite confusing and frustrating, and I really wish that I had access to something like this.

While my recruiter has been amazing, informative, and helpful, each city's consulate determines it's own set of rules, and the key to Korea's heart (and wealth!) is through your local consulate. That being said, this information will be most helpful to Canadian candidates living in Ontario.

1)Before you even begin, I would recommend contacting your university for the following:
-4 sealed transcripts
-a copy of your diploma (You may use your original if you like, however, you must send it overseas. You can either have another copy printed and stamped, or have a lawyer make a copy and put her/his seal on it. This is called having your document "notarized". It should cost you around $20)

...Also, ensure that your passport is up-to-date and valid for at least another year. It is good to have extra passport-regulation photos taken, as you will need to send them to your school and to the consulate.

2)Have an updated criminal records check and vulnerable sector screening.
While these documents are usually valid for 2 years in Ontario, the Korean government will only accept documents that are dated within the six months before your teaching contract commences. Also I was surprised to find (after travelling from out-of-town to Toronto) that this document also needs to be notarized by a lawyer. This is not mentioned on the website, and I thought that the Hamilton Police seal would be familiar enough an hour away in Toronto. I ran around, found a lawyer and brought my documents back to the consulate. This will cost you $40 for the police check, $20 for a lawyer to notarize it, and $2.50 from the consulate.

3)Now that all of your documents are ready, it is time to begin looking for a job. Instead of replying to individual job postings, I decided to register with a recruiter. I registered with Korea Global Connections, and they have been fantastic! They will call you the next day to learn a little more about you, your education, qualifications and what you are looking for from this experience.

4)The recruiter will send you any job offers that fit your profile. Remember, teachers are in demand in Korea. You don't have to accept the first job that you are offered. Really look through the postings and find one that you love.

5)Do some interviews. Remember, Korea is 13 hours ahead of Ontario, so your interviews will be over the phone and very late at night. While you are the one being evaluated, it is also important for you to evaluate the school and the interviewer.
My first interview consisted of a clueless American (he had only moved to Korea 2 weeks earlier) reading me some information about the school, and the process of coming to Korea. I was not asked any questions about my teaching qualifications, experience or skills, and he was unable to answer any of my questions. I quickly refused this offer.
If the school does not have the owner, principal or head teacher conduct the interview, then the hiring of quality teachers is not important to them. A good school will ask you (even badger you) all about your experience teaching and they will ask you questions that require you to talk, talk talk! They will want to make sure that you have a sophisticated use of language, and have a nice, clear voice. As a certified teacher, I was very critical of the questions asked. This led me to find a job at a wonderful school that has very strict requirements for its students and teachers, and appreciates my credentials.

6)Accept a position. Once you have been offered a job, your recruiter will notify you. Then, s/he will email you a contract and a list of documents that are required. Hopefully, you will already have these organized, notarized and ready to go.
**Don't be afraid to negotiate your contract. I was able to push for higher pay, and the removal of several items on the contract that I thought were contradictory. The school was actually thankful that I had pointed out those items.

7)Mail your diploma, police check, completed contract and all other requested documents to your recruiter via FedEx. This will cost you about $80 from Toronto. Eeek!
After two weeks, your recruiter will inform you of your Visa Issuance Number. You will need this number to submit your application in Toronto and book your interview.

8)Submit your visa application to the Korean Consulate in Toronto. This includes:
-Your (actual) passport (this made me slightly uneasy, as you will be without it for about a week)
-A photocopy of the information page of your passport
-A passport-sized photo
-$55 Visa processing fee (must be in cash if you apply in person or a money order for applications sent by mail)
-A completed application form, with your VIN clearly stated at the top and bottom
-A sealed university transcript from all undergraduate/graduate institutions attended
**If sending by mail, they will ONLY accept Xpresspost from Canada Post. This cost me about $19 from Hamilton for next-day delivery.

9)Once the consulate receives your package, they will contact you to book an interview. The interview is the final step in acquiring your Visa. You should either get your passport back the day of the interview, or can pick it up several days later.

10).........dunno. This is as far as I have gotten. Your agent will confirm your flight details, and you will be on your way!

I'll keep you posted on what happens next. Please leave any questions that you may have about the Visa process in the comments box, and I'll be more than happy to reply.

kp

Chop it to me!

2008-11-16T11:46:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQV0nj9Cl5o&feature=related

Check it out. An interesting way of demonstrating how to hold those elegant (and clumsy!) sticks. Korean chopsticks are actually a bit different, though. They are long, stainless steel or silver, and are flat. The tops are carved with beautiful patterns, and I've found them to be much more difficult to use! My contract promises me a full, sit down (on the floor) lunch for each full day of work. While my World-traveller Mom trained me on these babies from a very young age, I have never managed to survive one meal without dropping food into my lap, onto the table, or shooting a shitake across the restaurant after attempting a sneaky spearing method.

This is why, friends, I have been scouring YouTube for instruction vids. This one caught my eye. However, I'm not too sure what the "spirit" is, and why I should make a purchase. Any clues?

kp

...umm...sorry.....am I, uh...late?

2008-11-11T16:26:00.001-08:00

Wow!

As a devout and obsessive reader of blogs, I get furious and frustrated when "Gill", "Adam", "Meg" or "Petite" fail to keep me posted. However, upon making the decision to blog about the preparation for and experience of my new, wonderful adventure, I realized that I had already registered with blogger.......two years ago. This is my first update since registering "My Cup of Tea".

At the time, I was finishing up uni, writing a show as one-third of a dynamic team, and agonizing about what I would do after my dreaded and impending graduation. I decided to start a blog as an outlet for venting frustrations, test-driving ideas and promoting my most favourite things. However, whenever I sat down to write, I was met with the sad realization that (just maybe) I had absolutely nothing worthwhile to say.

Seeing that expat blogging is gosh-darn near-mandatory for all living out of a suitcase, I've decided to give it another go. I will document the work Visa process, packing, preparing and saying "goodbye". On the morning of January 4th, 2009, my 24th birthday, I will be arriving to begin a new life in Seoul, South Korea.

This time, I promise to keep you posted.

kp

Tea Anyone?

2007-01-15T20:01:00.000-08:00

Well...here it is: my first foray into blogging. After (creepily) indulging in the blogs of friends and strangers for over a year, I figured it was time to finally get on board...and figure out how to be a bit more internet savvy. Be patient with me!