GEPIK Orientation



My room at orientation



The orientation took place in this building about
 55 minutes or so into a more rural area of Korea.

   
Hi Friends!  I am finally catching you up on all that I have done thus far in Korea. Well, one thing at a time.  My first few weeks here were busy, actually they have not slowed down too much yet.  My first week it was holiday and I had my two friends visit, then I went to orientation for my new job and would then start my job shortly after. That leads me to this post.  I need to tell you all about the orientation! 

For starters I should let you know there are three English programs I know of in Korea, SMOE (? not sure if that is right but it is for Seoul area) GEPIK and EPIK.
Gyeonggi English Program In Korea
English Program In Korea
 My two friends are teaching through EPIK whereas I am through GEPIK.  The main difference is that GEPIK covers one huge province , Gyeonggi.  EPIK is the general program and you could end up anywhere in Korea. Both are neat, I just wanted to give you a little info.  ;)



Adrienne was my first friend at orientation
We met on the bus and chatted the whole way there!

 

This was my roommate Ashley

  As for orientation.  It was great!  Those who know me, know, I love learning.  I was thankful to actually have my orientation right before I started work.  Turns out I was the only one there who had yet to teach as well as the "newest arrival".  I met fellow teachers right away which was great. I met a girl who also lives in the same building as I do, how great is that?  We have plans to meet for dinner since we live so close to each other!  I also met a nice friend named Sarah, turns out we both had the same recruiter, which made it fun remembering our process getting here and finding similarities.  I loved meeting people but also enjoyed a little down time to read and focus on what I would be doing for my new job ;)
The orientation began with a opening ceremony of traditional Korean dance and drummers.  I enjoyed the performance.  We then went into our sessions.  I learned about teaching in Korea, got a few ideas for teaching with the curriculum, created and taught a small group lesson to my fellow peers, took a beginner lever Korean language class, and ended the orientation with a closing "fun" ceremony where we played group games and laughed a lot!  That sums it up, stay tuned for the next adventure!