Last Days in Busan

Well... it had to happen... I had to leave Busan.

(Mina, for her birthday outing. Saya was cut off, lol.)

This makes me sad, for in the 2 weeks I was there, I decided I really liked Busan. It was a cool town. I felt really comfortable there. Apart from when the older women just touched my hair out of nowhere. That was weird, but I'll get used to it.

Before I commence with the sad farewell to my dream city in S. Korea, I'll tell you about my last few days. On Friday we had just a few more classes, and we had some on Saturday as well. One class on Friday was based on feedback from our practicums, and it was very much appreciated. it showed us the major holes in our lesson plans. But then the lecturers were sure to tell us we'd get better at lesson planning throughout the year if we're dedicated. I certainly am, or else I wouldn't be here.

A side-note: we keep being told we were the best generation so far. And we keep asking each other "How bad were the previous generations?" Really, we weren't monsters, but I can't say that all of us were angels either. I think it's because we took practicums so seriously. I mean, why half-ass something like that? It is a great way to gauge how good we'd be as teachers and get great feedback on our teaching methods.

Moving on. We also had some cool classes now that practicum was over, such as English magic, where we learned magic tricks and used stories in English along with them to keep the children entertained. We also had a Korean History lesson which in my opinion was a little... different from what I expected. It was a good lecture, though. I think the lesson we all agreed was least involved was the psychology lesson. It was a good lesson, but I think it would have helped to tie it to childhood education. Then it would be perfect. For me, I learned most of it in my Psych 1 class. It wasn't really new material. However, the lecturer's enthusiasm was extremely endearing. It's always heart-warming to see someone, especially this cute old man, excited about something like that. I hope he does well in future TaLK lectures, because I do think there is high value in his lecture. He just needs to bring it out!

On both Friday and Saturday, I pretty much stayed in. If I went out, I don't remember. Really, it feels like I was in Busan for 2 years rather than 2 weeks, with all the studied we accomplished in that short amount of time. However, I do remember that the talent show was on Saturday. Unfortunately, there are no pictures or videos. I sang "Timeless" by Kelly Clarkson, but I mixed it with the Korean version. If I do it again, I'll definitely get it on video. It's a good thing it wasn't caught on camera though, I cracked really bad at a key point in the song. Thanks to Lu-Lu for not posting it on Facebook.

(Me, Mina, and CPT)

Sunday, however, was a different matter altogether. My friend Mina's birthday was on Wednesday, but we weren't going to see each other because we would all be in our provinces by then. So we went out in Busan. We went to the Busan National University area and went shopping in the area. I finally had the chance to pick up a sweater that I had been wanting since I saw a Korea student wearing it in New York. You cana get it at a men's store. Saya and I both got one. We found the hip-hop style stores, they were our priority. Korean hip-hop is different from the American style. But that's okay, I still like it. The guys there treated us like superstars though. We were all black and we were all looking around. Whenever we walked into a store, you could sense they were happy to see us. I almost felt famous. But I'm not. I have to keep in mind that they don't get a lot of black people there.

(At a cafe)

We went back to the BUFS dorm for dinner. If it's free, don't deny it. Dinner was good, but Chef wasn't there, so it wasn't as good as usual. After dinner. we gathered again to go hit up the Noraebang. This is my first time singing at the noraebang in S. Korea. Most of the others had done it at least once since arriving. It was really fun, everyone had a good time. There were 5 of us and we sang for about 2 hours. The echo was a bit annoying, but it can make anyone sound like a superstar.

The next day was Monday, which meant the the end of the national orientation. People were getting rather teary, actually. Tanya was worried because she would be away from us, but we promised to go visit her. Also, Amariah and Ryanne were both going to a different province, but at least they'll be together because they applied through their school. Saya and I were both placed in the same province and the same county, so we had our regional orientation together. And Leo and Sebastian. They're with us too. And Gretchen. Go team Damyang. Anyway, after the ceremony, people went out, and some people stayed in for last-minute laundry and packing. Once again, that night was a blur.

(Class C, bro.)

On Tuesday was the last day, we all departed for our provincial orientations. Except for the three Incheon TaLK-ers. They didn't have an orientation. I think. Or as that another group? Mollayo. We left in groups and in waves, but it was still emotional. 2 weeks was more than enough to get attached to our new friends. Probably because we saw each other every day, ate the same meals, had classes together, spent time in the lounge or out on the time together... we were almost like Siamese twins. That's all I'll say for now. Info on Jeonnam will be reserved for the next post!

(waiting to be shipped off to provincial orientation)

Cheers~!

K-Vocab:
Mollayo: I don't know (semi-formal)