Class with native teachers.

Many native teachers from English speaking countries teach in Korea. They are from Canada, United States, England, or New Zealand. Every native teacher has class with a Korean English teacher. I had co-teaching with native teachers more than four years. In addition to monthly salary, they are given place to stay and airfares from and to their countries. They usually have 22 classes in a week. The classes are focused on communicative activites. The Korean government intends to allow students to meet native speakers and to have interactions in English. Korean English teachers also have opportunites to practice English speaking skills in the school. I think native speakers play meaningful role to shift grammar focused teaching to communicative teaching. Sometimes, native teachers have hard time to control the class because Korean classes are croweded, over 40 students. I enjoyed co-teaching with Linsay who is from Ohio, last year. If I back to my position after MA program, I will enjoy teaching with native teachers more.

Bali, Indonesia

Bali is my favorite place to travel. People in Bali was friendly and kind. I traveled Bali December 2006. Bali has a lot of attractions. It has beautiful beaches, unique religious heritage related to Hinduism, gorgeous mountains, and stunning resorts. I stayed there for 5 days. I enjoyed every moment in Bali. If you have an opportunity to visit Bali, Mozaic restaurant in Ubud is highly recommended. I had the best dinner in my life at Mozaic. As soon as I get back to Korea, maybe I will plan to travel Bali.

Playing golf? Is it possible?

Korea is a small country with many people. Because of limited land and lots of people, buying a house or an apartment costs a great deal. Like buying a house, playing golf in Korea is costly. Korea has many mountains, so it is hard to find place to build golf courses. Many people want to play golf, but there are small number of courses in Korea. It means rising price that the demand exceeds the supply. If I play 18 holes in Korea, it cost me approximately 250 dollars. Frankly speaking, I never griped a golf club in Korea and played golf in Korea because I am not affordable to play golf. Only rich people could play golf and go golfing stands for being wealthy in Korea even though golf is getting popular. In contrast, playing golf is an affordable sport in United States. It costs around 20 bucks to play 18 holes. Sometimes, I go golfing even though my ball is nowhere to be seen all the time. I am pleased to have an opportunity to play golf. Generally, grocery price is almost same or cheaper than Korea. However, the cost of eating out and of getting service like haircuts are relatively higher than Korea. Most prominent difference between United States and Korea is in tagged price. In Korea, tax is included in tagged price. What I see in the price tag is what I should pay. I don't need to give tips to servers, hairdressers, or taxi drivers in Korea. Until now, I am not accustomed to giving tips in United States. Maybe learning cultural differeces like mentioned above is the reason why I am here.

I love Chicago.

At the beginning of April, I have been to Chicago. Before going there, I thought I would meet a city bustled with people and cars like New York. I traveled New York 6 years ago. I walked through New York and tried to experience every feature of the city. New York is definitely a good place to visit, but for me Chicago is better than New York. Chicago has good public transportation. Whenever I took a subway or a bus in New York, I couldn't feel comfortable, a little nervous like being on pins and needles. I don't know the reasons exactly, but New York was too crowded and busy. In contrast, Chicago is clean and in order. I visited several museums and observatories of skyscrapers. I like every place that I visited in Chicago. Observatories of Sears Tower and John Hancock Center was stunning. The places commanded a fine view, especially at night. Chicago is terrific place for children. My children enjoyed seeing all kinds of animals and plants in Museum of Natural History. I was surprised at the collection of almost every animal and plant in United States. In Museum of Science and Industry, we boarded mine train and experienced what miners did more than several decades ago. U 505 submarine was anther attraction in the museum. Chicago children's Museum at the navy pier were very pedagogical and educational. Children could learn safty guidelines and play with creative toys. The museum is absoultely a place you should not miss if you have children. Incredible creatures of sea could be seen in Shedd Aquarium, but go early to avoid the long line of getting tickets. Maybe I will visit Chicago again sooner or later. I would like to drink coffee walking down the magificient miles in Chicago.

Spring is around the corner.

A lot of friends and colleagues in Korea said to me that Michigan would be colder when I told them that I planned to take MA TESOL at MSU. I think that is partially true, but the weather in Michigan has been bearable to me. Except for heavy snow entailing bad road condition, the winter weather in Michigan is similar to weather in Korea. I will have one more winter in Michigan. Even though there are some inconvenience due to the cold weather, I like living in Michigan. In general, roads in the big cities of Korea are very narrow and always crowded with lots of cars. If it snowed hard and fast like Michigan, the snow would tie up all traffic in the most of roads in Korea. However, Korea has the excellent public transportation system. Whenever the condition of roads is bad due to heavy snow, Korean use public transportation such as subway and bus. In Korea, even though living without a car is inconvenient, I can live without a car. There are a lot of grocery stores around, and public transportation are easy to take. Because many people live in small space, the service sectors in Korea are well developed. I was at my wits end when I tried to find a grocery store on the first day in Michigan. I was helpless because I didn't have a car. I like living in Michigan with beautiful environment and bigger space. However, I miss my country which is bustled with people and cars. Everything has merits and demerits.

Health insurance difference between Korea and United States

Before leaving Korea, I got health insurance for my family's stay in United States. The total amount was around 2,500 dollars for a year, but the insurance have deductible of 100 dollars, which means I should pay almost 100 dollars whenever I meet a doctor. 100 dollars for going to see a doctor is too much for me, a student with limited budget. In Korea, I didn't worry about medical expenses because Korea has good health insurance system. Each month, I paid around 100 dollars for my family's health insurance. The health insurance of Korea is managed by government, and everyone should be joined. According to the level of income, everyone has different rates of payment. Compared with others, I am charged relatively high rates. Generally when I go to see a doctor, I pay about 3 dollars including medicine. If I feel sick, I go to see a doctor without hesitation. I feel somewhat secured in Korea. For example, it costs about 2,000 dollars to have an appendix surgery in Korea, but over 20,000 dollars are needed to have it in United States. More often than not, I want to go back to Korea whenever my children say I am sick. In addition to the national health insurance, I had private health insurance in Korea that covers medical expenses that are not covered by the national health insurance. I paid 100 dollars for the private insurance of my family. Because I have two medical insurances, I paid only 5 dollar deductable on any visit to clinics or hospitals in Korea. I am able to meet a doctor whenever I want to without concerning about money problem. In addition to affordable cost, I can find a lot of clinics and hospitals in Korea, namely numerous. Last week, my son went to emergency because of acute abdomen pain. I lost my head and didn't know what I should do for him. It was not pleasant experience for me. Frankly speaking, I don't know the health insurance system of United States exactly. However, I think people should have a right to go to see a doctor whenever they need to, irrespective of their financial conditions.