For Blogs' Sake
Hi everyone!
Welcome back to our blogosphere. The other blog started requiring me to pay them to post photos which is ridiculous since Facebook and Instagram are free so... bye bye WordPress... I am so sad that I haven't had or made the time to blog in months. Weekdays after school I'm too tired to do much of anything and the weekends are spent playing catch-up from the week. I have been completely consumed with work.
December was a whirlwind of crazy responsibilities and expectations. The Christmas Concert production (and organizing parts of the staff Christmas party) fell on the shoulders of the Christmas Committee (which I was on) to make sure everything was executed well. Each class was in charge of their own contribution of the concert but all the behind the scenes and making sure all moving parts were aligned was left up to us... the majority being new people who had no idea what to expect or how to manage all of this. And in the midst of the chaos we also had parent teacher conferences the last week of school and Lucy went to the hospital because her arm got pulled out of it's socket... again... I was also under harsh scrutiny from the headmaster due to some not so great lessons she had observed which led to me being just stretched the max to the point that I even looked up flights home.
Yeah. I don't think I have been ready to admit to myself and especially the general public that this time around was more challenging than anticipated. But not even because we have children. Obviously that has it's own challenges but the kids have been doing alright. Lucy's terrible two's stage definitely kicked in around Christmas time too so needless to say, Christmas did not have the same joy surrounding it that I look forward to or very much needed this year.
The first week of Christmas break was spent indoors as Lucy had the flu and the air quality was horrible. We were all just so exhausted from the previous 11 weeks of school that we just decompressed most of break-not really the way we wanted to celebrate first term being over. We did go to a party on Christmas Eve with some co-workers and then went skiing a couple of days which was definitely the highlight of break... at least for Finn and I. Finn learned to ski very quickly and I loved watching him take to the slopes like a natural. It was awesome. Unfortunately it was a bit too cold for Lucy and the timing of everything didn't pan out in Brett's favor for him to ski as much but he was able to get out for a couple runs. It's hard balancing everything... that's for sure.
I came back from break not really rested or in a new frame of mind because I was still under a probation of sorts with my teaching. Three more observations were scheduled but luckily, since I didn't have the impending concert or as much on my plate, I was actually able to focus more on my teaching therefore proving I actually could do what I came here to do.
This school has been a very interesting experience. There are many decisions that have not made sense but that is just par for the course for hagwons. I'd say better than the first year for sure in many aspects but definitely still very challenging.
If you have followed me on Instagram, you have seen that we have managed to do some more fun things-but that is the norm for social media: it's never the full story. Which is why I finally want to be able to verbally express what has been going on behind the scenes.
Ok, now for some positive updates.
The kids have been doing great and have been adjusting much better. Lucy's terrible two stage actually only lasted about a month and a half and she has been such a little doll. Definitely has her moments, what two year old doesn't, right? But to give you an example, we went to a co-workers place for the Super Bowl-an hour bus ride AND we got off a stop early. The kids didn't complain, they were super polite at the house, they played nicely, and Lucy even took a nap. Brett and I were able to play a 4 hour board game with the hosts which hasn't happened in maybe ever... Finn did have a minor freak out when the dog ripped his paper airplane but to be that well behaved in someone else's home for like 6 hours what slightly miraculous.
We also went to Nami Island and took a train which was very exciting but not as exciting as the trays that pulled out of the seat arms... It was pretty cold and not super exciting for the kids since all the trees and flowers were in winter mode but it was nice to get out of the city.
Dan and Mandi are here! Still seems surreal and we don't live super close by but the fact that we could see some familiar faces at pretty much any time is pretty cool. Mandi and I have also tried all the soju flavors between the two of us so basically we are experts on soju. I will also say that I will probably never drink the blueberry kind again... we got a bit excited about trying all the flavors and may have gone a tad overboard one night. Oops!
We still frequent our "kitty shop", the cafe down the street with the cats. The orange one named "Cheddar" remains a constant while some of the others come and go. Most recently has been "Leo" and now a cute new gray kitten named "Rockfish" (translated from Korean). It's a nice alternative to stay inside when the air isn't great.
Finn also won an award in February which he was so excited and so proud of as were we!
Work continues to be stressful and overwhelming at times but I am doing by best to stay positive and stay afloat. We have a much needed three day weekend in which I have literally done nothing all Friday... kids are both sick so we've played lots of video games, taken baths, and done some painting.
Welcome back to our blogosphere. The other blog started requiring me to pay them to post photos which is ridiculous since Facebook and Instagram are free so... bye bye WordPress... I am so sad that I haven't had or made the time to blog in months. Weekdays after school I'm too tired to do much of anything and the weekends are spent playing catch-up from the week. I have been completely consumed with work.
December was a whirlwind of crazy responsibilities and expectations. The Christmas Concert production (and organizing parts of the staff Christmas party) fell on the shoulders of the Christmas Committee (which I was on) to make sure everything was executed well. Each class was in charge of their own contribution of the concert but all the behind the scenes and making sure all moving parts were aligned was left up to us... the majority being new people who had no idea what to expect or how to manage all of this. And in the midst of the chaos we also had parent teacher conferences the last week of school and Lucy went to the hospital because her arm got pulled out of it's socket... again... I was also under harsh scrutiny from the headmaster due to some not so great lessons she had observed which led to me being just stretched the max to the point that I even looked up flights home.
Yeah. I don't think I have been ready to admit to myself and especially the general public that this time around was more challenging than anticipated. But not even because we have children. Obviously that has it's own challenges but the kids have been doing alright. Lucy's terrible two's stage definitely kicked in around Christmas time too so needless to say, Christmas did not have the same joy surrounding it that I look forward to or very much needed this year.
The first week of Christmas break was spent indoors as Lucy had the flu and the air quality was horrible. We were all just so exhausted from the previous 11 weeks of school that we just decompressed most of break-not really the way we wanted to celebrate first term being over. We did go to a party on Christmas Eve with some co-workers and then went skiing a couple of days which was definitely the highlight of break... at least for Finn and I. Finn learned to ski very quickly and I loved watching him take to the slopes like a natural. It was awesome. Unfortunately it was a bit too cold for Lucy and the timing of everything didn't pan out in Brett's favor for him to ski as much but he was able to get out for a couple runs. It's hard balancing everything... that's for sure.
I came back from break not really rested or in a new frame of mind because I was still under a probation of sorts with my teaching. Three more observations were scheduled but luckily, since I didn't have the impending concert or as much on my plate, I was actually able to focus more on my teaching therefore proving I actually could do what I came here to do.
This school has been a very interesting experience. There are many decisions that have not made sense but that is just par for the course for hagwons. I'd say better than the first year for sure in many aspects but definitely still very challenging.
If you have followed me on Instagram, you have seen that we have managed to do some more fun things-but that is the norm for social media: it's never the full story. Which is why I finally want to be able to verbally express what has been going on behind the scenes.
Ok, now for some positive updates.
The kids have been doing great and have been adjusting much better. Lucy's terrible two stage actually only lasted about a month and a half and she has been such a little doll. Definitely has her moments, what two year old doesn't, right? But to give you an example, we went to a co-workers place for the Super Bowl-an hour bus ride AND we got off a stop early. The kids didn't complain, they were super polite at the house, they played nicely, and Lucy even took a nap. Brett and I were able to play a 4 hour board game with the hosts which hasn't happened in maybe ever... Finn did have a minor freak out when the dog ripped his paper airplane but to be that well behaved in someone else's home for like 6 hours what slightly miraculous.
We also went to Nami Island and took a train which was very exciting but not as exciting as the trays that pulled out of the seat arms... It was pretty cold and not super exciting for the kids since all the trees and flowers were in winter mode but it was nice to get out of the city.
Dan and Mandi are here! Still seems surreal and we don't live super close by but the fact that we could see some familiar faces at pretty much any time is pretty cool. Mandi and I have also tried all the soju flavors between the two of us so basically we are experts on soju. I will also say that I will probably never drink the blueberry kind again... we got a bit excited about trying all the flavors and may have gone a tad overboard one night. Oops!
We still frequent our "kitty shop", the cafe down the street with the cats. The orange one named "Cheddar" remains a constant while some of the others come and go. Most recently has been "Leo" and now a cute new gray kitten named "Rockfish" (translated from Korean). It's a nice alternative to stay inside when the air isn't great.
Finn also won an award in February which he was so excited and so proud of as were we!
Work continues to be stressful and overwhelming at times but I am doing by best to stay positive and stay afloat. We have a much needed three day weekend in which I have literally done nothing all Friday... kids are both sick so we've played lots of video games, taken baths, and done some painting.
Charity Football event:
Finn's presentation on bears at school:
One of the places where I've played tennis:
Finn after his Christmas concert:
Doing some artwork with Cheddar; he was a very good model:
Christmas morning! First time ever waking up in our own house as a family:
My favourites:
My 2 and 5 year old looking like 4 and 10...
Finn's first time skiing. Killing it fo sho:
Big coffee fan:
Napping at the Super Bowl party:
Train to Nami Island (fewer zombies than on the way to Busan...):
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