The End Approaches

July 25, 2011 - Education, Teaching in Korea, Thoughts, Video, YouTube - Tagged: Intensives, Korea, medicine, Sick, South Korea, Teaching in Korea, Vlog, YouTube - 4 comments

It’s Monday morning and I sit here sipping my coffee contemplating the day before me. Rather than being able to leisurely tackle it, I must make a move and prepare for classes sooner, rather than later. For you see it is that time again.

INTENSIVES.

Thankfully, that doesn’t mean I will be teaching any this time. In fact, many at my school opted not to teach this summer. But what it does mean, is that rather than going in at 3pm, I start my day teaching at 9am. Well at least the prep work. The upside of going in early, is that we’re done at 7:30pm and have an hour or two in the afternoon for lunch to get things done.

For those teachers in Korea accustomed to working afternoons, the switch to days can cause several problems, so in this post, I’d like to share some tips on getting through the days a little easier.

1) Go to be early. This makes getting up easier and you’ll have more energy for the longer days ahead.

2) Do your grocery shopping on the way home from school. Most shops will be open until 10p or a little later. This way, you’ll have your food at home, when you needed. While it is more expensive, I find that eating out at Korean restaurants during this time, the best way to address the issue.

3) Do your banking during the lunch break. Hopefully you have a branch near your school.

4) Enjoy the weekends, but don’t over stress your body. It’s time like these that you can end up getting sick.

Speaking of getting sick…

Any other tips for getting through intensives?

http://www.jasonteale.com JT

I think that you are right on all accounts. I usually get up a lot earlier than I need to so that I am in no rush to get to work. It allows me time to wake up and gather my thoughts. With all my prep work done, I can relax before my classes and produce a better lesson. The biggest help:

COFFEE

part of my daily routine and one that I particularly enjoy in the morning.
- Steve
  
  Coffee is the secret to making every day great!
  
  Yes, I’m thankful that I only have two days of the altered schedule. I much prefer to get out and have the day free. I’m not too sure what the new work schedule will entail once I return in the fall. A little nervous about that.
http://scroozle.blogspot.com Scroozle

In Daegu, I’d go in at 1:00 and leave at some point after 9:30 (one time I didn’t finish teaching until 11:30!). That was my life for three years and I grew accustomed to it. I’d go to bed at 3 AM and wake up at 11 AM.

Here in Gangneung, I go in at 8:15-8:30 and leave at 4:30 (unless it’s a special day and I get off early). At first, I was unsure if I could adapt to waking up at 6:50, but getting off the plane and doing the orientation in Seoul helped that.

Now that I’m a few months into my “new” job, I greatly prefer starting in the morning to starting in the afternoon. I tend to be happier and less grumpy (maybe because I’m getting more sunlight? haha).

As for your points:

1) I’m usually in bed by 10:00 and drift asleep by 11:00. If I’m really tired, I’ll go to sleep at 9:30. My body needs 8 hours of sleep!

2) I always do my shopping for the entire week on Sunday. Always thought it was easier to do that. Maybe if I lived next to a Home Plus or E-mart, I’d buy my meals on a day-to-day basis.

3) I thought banking would be an issue too! But then I remembered I can do online banking with my Daegu account, and my reading Korean is good enough to take care of any banking needs I have.

4) My philosophy exactly!
- Steve
  
  I just read your entry. Great points. Jo and I try to shop once a week or so, but with our travel schedule, it makes it hard sometimes. I know when I was single, I would only keep a few days or meals worth of food in the apartment since I would often eat out with coworkers. I would love to be able to do more Internet Banking… hopefully once the country moves off ActiveX, it will be easier!