What is Patbingsu 팥빙수 & Korean Sharing Etiquette

Teach in Korea: EPIK Fears!!!

EPIK vs Hagwon | http://grrrltraveler.com/countries/as... 

* UPDATE* SMOE- Seoul has merged with EPIK: You can now apply to Seoul through the EPIK site under EPIK (it will have

Teach in Korea: Choosing EPIK vs a Hagwon

Teach in Korea:  Choosing EPIK vs a Hagwon

Ever wanted to know the difference between EPIK and a hagwon?  Watch this video!

Full article: EPIK vs Hagwon | http://grrrltraveler.com/countries/asia/korea/teaching-english/teaching-korea-epik/

Things you'll want to buy in Korea (Part II)

Things you'll want to buy in Korea (Part II)

As promised, here's part 2 of the two-part series of 'What to Buy in Korea'.  What are some things you've brought back or want to bring back from Korea?

Do you need to know the language of the country you're moving to? (Trave...

Do you need to know the language of the country you're moving to? by Christine Kaaloa

Sometimes I find myself making more excuses not to do something, than to do it. It's all unconscious, of course... a combination of worry, self-doubt, fear and/or anxiety. I usually start with "WHAT IF" and end with either, "...I'm not enough" or "...I can't."

Mock Teaching Interviews & How to Teach English in Korea & Japan

It's been a while since I've posted anything on this site. But I'm starting to entertain teaching abroad again, so we'll see...

VIDEO: My Korean Apartment Tour ( Korean apt tics & my hell in Korea)

More about Korean lifestyle & apartments: http://grrrltraveler.com/countries/as...

GRRRL Goes Whimpery in Korea & Survival Tips when things go bad in Korea
http://grrrltraveler.com/countries/as...

What to buy in Korea (Part I)

Related post:  Top 5 gifts to buy in Korea

What souvenirs should you buy on your trip to Korea? What should you get at Namdaemun or Myeongdong?  Korea has a lot of cool things to buy. But sometimes it's hard telling the difference between what's Korean and what's just "Asian".

Teaching at a Musical Summer Camp in Korea

When I came back to Korea for the summer, I volunteered at an English Musical Summer camp! This camp was the equivalent of English village with kids sleeping over. There were no standard "classes", where students were expected to "learn"; instead, everything needed to be spoken and in English.

 We had the kids from 9A-9P and camp had to be fun!

Swimming, sports, role-playing rooms, noraebang room and lots of games in-between to bribe the kids with if they ever got bored. The only stipulation was the end project being a staged "musical".

And it had to be good enough to match the high expectations of high-level corporate Korean parents who work in Seoul!

 Role playing in the hospital room

How to decide where to live abroad? (Travel Q &A: Exchange Programs)

Interested in living abroad or doing an exchange program?

Classroom Tip #6: Deliver Entertainment

I don't like being bored. I dread it.  I want to be entertained.


Not much has changed in this confession of who I am now and who I was at virtually all stages of my life!

Nothing hurts more than experiencing boredom-- in a job, at a party, a phone conversation or a movie I'm watching.  Boring is downright painful, so please don't ask me to sit through it.

5 Games to Kill Time

Working at an English Summer Camp where we had to create lessons on the spur of the moment, I occasionally needed to find fun games to kill time, while waiting for the next session to begin.

Word haiku

Teacher writes a word on the white board (i.e. United States)

You can create teams or pass out a blank sheet of paper and have the students do this individually. Have them create as many words as they can with the word given.  The team or person with the most words wins.

*  The great thing about this game is that it will keep them quiet and busy on their own for a while.

2 Free Software programs to use in place of MS Word

Photo: Jeremy Brooks

These days, computer software costs a lot. Why buy them if you can find free alternatives online?

Summer Musical Camp Rehearsal (video)

This video is a bit post-mortem, but I thought I'd share it anyways. It's from my summer camp experience last summer and it's our first run-through of our 4 minute Peter Pan musical play.  My third graders did surprisingly good and I'm proud to have worked at that camp.

Read ... Teaching at a Musical Summer Camp in Korea( click here)

Culture Clash, Korean Dramas and the Korean love of English

From the Korean Drama, "Sweet  Spy".

I know I have a lot of fans of KOREA and this was too funny, not to share here.

Korea has a weird obsession with the U.S. and using ENGLISH. It's a weird status symbol for them and in K-DRAMAS, only wealthy & successful people travel or study in America.

So, I caught this scene glitch in a K-drama show. It's NOT meant to be a joke. For those who aren't AMERICAN, they make a reference to SEARS, like it's a high class store.

For Americans, Sears is known as a department store with cheap non-brand clothes and accessories.