The Start of my second year in Korea

This is the last week of my first contract. I can't even believe it. One year has come and gone. Time flies when you are busy and having a good time. My first year in Korea  has been quite memorable, except when I had too much soju. My new contract starts next Tuesday. Since I have decided to re-sign for another year, they are paying me a 2000$ bonus and increasing my monthly pay. I am excited to stay another year and save a bunch more money and hopefully get a chance to travel to a few more places in Korea and abroad. Everyone at my school is really nice to me and I get along with everyone. No bad vibes here! Thank god! I've heard some horror stories about work places. It would make it hard to stay for another year if the work atmosphere was not amazing. For most foreign teachers I know, their work atmosphere is pretty good. The horror stories I here come mostly from forums like Waygook. I don't think this is the best representation of people who enjoy their jobs here because it would seem logical that the people that don't like their jobs would complain much more.

After my first year, I think the second year should be even better. I know a lot more Korean and I can communicate many of my ideas and get around quite well. I am also familiar with the city near by and know where all the spas and jimjilbangs are. I also know where many of the best restaurants are. I also made it through my firs tyear without a cellphone, which is unheard of in Korea. I have skype and do not need a phone at all. I can communicate with all the people I know without any problems. There does have to be some thought and preplaning when meeting them, though it is not difficult at all. I really enjoy not having a phone. I'm perhaps one of the only people in Korea that does not have one. Next year will be a breeze without one again.

Spring in Geoje is in full effect. It's an amazing time in Geoje because all the spring flowers are starting to bloom. It's really warm and I'm loving this weather. Unfortunately, spring does not last very long here. Summer comes soon and it gets really hot and humid. I was told that there used to be four equal seasons, but with global warming, srping and fall have been cut short. I believe Korea is one of those places were global warming has become more aparent. Summer is so beautiful here, especially where I live in Geoje. The vegetation is so lush and everything is green. Soon the rice will be planted and those brown patches everywhere will be filled with green. Ah!!! I love this time of year. To an amazing second year!

 

The Badminton Challenge

A couple of weeks ago, a new vice principal joined our school. He bearly speaks English but we do make an effort to talk to each other with my low level Korean and his low level English. He challenged me a a badminton match and the winner would have to buy the other a korean BBQ meal and a few bottles of soju. He was telling the other teachers how he would easily win since he was a gym teacher before being promoted to vice princiapal. I only have one year of real badminton training but I feel confident in my skills. The match was 3 sets of 21 points. I won the first set, lost the second and in the 3rd was down 14-19. I kicked in my mental game and brainwashed myself to believe I could come back. In the mean time, I did notice that my racket was broken and gave me an explanation why I was not doing as well in this set. Once I changed rackets, I came back and score 7 consecutive points to win the match 2 sets to 1. I was so happy since he was telling me that I needed to practice more before facing him in a match. I told him I was ready and that's why we played the match right away. This week, either on Wednesday or Thursday, I he will be taking me out with the gym teacher. I have to give so many thanks to the gym teacher for literally putting hours upon hours of time into training me this year. Without his help and skill training, I would have been destroyed in the match.