I’m coming
up on 9 months here, and to celebrate I thought I’d write down what my weekly routine over here has developed into.
Probably not that exciting to read, but it’s always nice to take a
moment and reflect on everything going on in one’s life. I’ve really come to appreciate the lifestyle
I have over here, and I guess I hope that by posting this I’ll always be able
to come back and remember the day-to-day life I created for myself halfway
around the world.
Let’s begin
with Monday…
7:00 A.M
wake up, drink coffee, have breakfast, get ready for work, walk out the door at
8:00.
This
semester I only have 4 classes on Monday’s, although they are all 2nd
grade middle schoolers, which means sometimes they can be a bit of a
struggle. 2 classes before lunch, 2
after lunch. When I’m not teaching on
Monday’s I’ll usually spend time at my desk studying Korean if I’m productive,
or trying my best to look busy while exploring the infinite rabbit holes of the
internet…lately it’s been more of the latter.
After work
on Monday I’ll come home around 4:40 and take a nap until 5:10 (I know, how
lucky am I to be able to schedule naps into my day?!). For a while I was volunteering at a local
English-speaking theatre program for kids from 6:00 to 7:00, but that ended
recently so now Monday evenings are usually my gaming nights at the PC room. In bed by 11:00 (hopefully).
And on to
Tuesday…
7:00 A.M
wake up, drink coffee, have breakfast, get ready for work, walk out the door at
8:00.
Again 4
classes on Tuesday. Two 1st
grade and two 2nd grade. Three
in the morning and one in the afternoon.
If there’s lesson planning to do, I’ll start it on Tuesday when I’m not
teaching, otherwise it’s pretty much the same as Monday.
Tuesdays
after work are a little busy, but I’m still able to get my daily after-school
nap in! From 6:00 to 7:00 I volunteer at
the local English-speaking theatre and then from 8:00 to 10:00 I go to a
language exchange for some Korean speaking practice. In bed by 11:00 (hopefully)
And
Wednesday…
7:00 A.M
wake up, drink coffee, have breakfast, get ready for work, walk out the door at
8:00.
Wednesday
is truly hump day this semester. I have
6 classes, all three grades, three in the morning and three in the
afternoon. I don’t have much down time
on Wednesday’s, so any time I do spend at my desk is usually spent trying to
figure out the most inconspicuous way to nap while sitting up.
During the
summer after work I’d usually go downtown to the city park for skate night with
the Ulsan longboarding crew, but it’s been a bit too cold for that lately. These days I usually just chill at home and
study or read. In bed by 11:00
(hopefully)
And
Thursday…
7:00 A.M
wake up, drink coffee, have breakfast, get ready for work, walk out the door at
8:00.
Another
four-class day. 3 in the morning, 1 in
the afternoon, all grades. I’ll usually
finish up whatever lesson planning there is during my downtime on this day (if
there is any) and then study Korean/browse the web.
Thursday
after school is definitely one of my favorite times of the week. First, I head down to city hall for a Korean
language class from 6:00 to 7:00 and then head out to Ulsan university around
8:00 for TTT! TTT is Thursday, Throwing,
Trivia. This is where a few of us get together
and practice Frisbee throwing for a while, and then head to a convenience
store/bar (it’s exactly what it sounds like) for drinks and phone trivia
games. This little Thursday ritual is probably
one of the things I’ve come to love most about my time here.
And FFFFFFFFFFFRRRRRRIIIIIIIDDDDDDAAAAAAYYYYYYY
7:00 A.M
wake up, drink coffee, have breakfast, get ready for work, walk out the door at
8:00.
Fridays are
my favorite days for teaching. Four classes again, two in the morning, two in
the afternoon, but they’re all 3rd grade students! I really enjoy teaching the 3rd
graders at my school because, despite all the constant studying and tests they
have, they still show up to my class excited and well-behaved – much more than
I can say for myself at that age. I’m
very grateful for this. It’s pretty hard
to do much of anything productive at my desk on Friday’s, but I have been
practicing a Latin dance routine in the afternoons with the other 3rd
grade teachers for a performance we’ll be doing at the end of the semester… that
should be interesting!
Friday
after school varies. During the Frisbee season,
I try to stay in since Saturday and Sunday tend to be filled with lots of
partying and running around. Otherwise I
might go into town for some drinks with friends.
Saturday is
always different, but generally consists of either Frisbee tournaments or
hiking…and sometimes beer and soju.
Sunday is
well, Sunday – usually a day of chilling at home. If I’m feeling motivated I’ll do another
Korean lesson, otherwise I miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight be nursing a wee-bit of a
hangover. Oh yeah, there’s also trivia
night every other Sunday, which is always a nice way to cap off the weekend.
So… yeah,
that’s it. Again, not that exciting, but
I’ve really come to enjoy what I’m doing here.
I have copious amounts of free time to focus on things that I want to do
over here, and I really appreciate that.
If you made
it this far, congrats and thanks for reading!
I wish I could give you a cookie or something…
Much love,
Gnardaddy
