A Job on Halloween

So I am taking the job!
I can always remember that I took my first job on Halloween. What a memory!

I just wanted to let you all know that! I will be returning to live here for up to two years in January!

Ok, that's all for now. I will write more soon.

love,
Kristyn

Job Offer

So today I met with this woman who is starting this Arts school here in Korea. She basically offered me the theater position at her school. I would be starting a school from the ground up with this woman and two other Visual art teachers. I am seriously considering it!

She is willing to match/ go over the base pay I would get as a starting teacher in Minnesota which is were I would be moving to anyway if I were to not take this job. And the company that conceived these schools would pay the holding fee on my apartment, a round-trip ticket home once a year and one month vacation.

The school sounds amazing! I would be able to teach all age groups theatre and dance! This is on paper my dream job. I would have to sign a two year contract of course but I think my soul is ok with that. I really do enjoy Korea. So just wanted to let you all know the news. I will be thinking about this for awhile but I need to get an answer to her in two weeks so I hope I can make it soon.

This means I will potentially be returning to Korea after christmas and starting this program with her in middle january. Wow what a day!

Love you all and I will write more soon.
Kristyn

PS: School is going really well were I am by the way! The kids are amazing as always!

Also I went to Crique Du Soleil and Karma ( a Korean Martial Arts Dance show) and those were great! Especially Crique! Yeah I don't think I have words for that one, it was spectacular!!!!!

A Video or two

This is a video of the pictures that I took of the girls that created a modern piece with me for the Elephant Man transitions. I tried to make the pictures go fast so it looks like a video.


This video was created by one of the stage managers as a promo video for The Elephant Man. It was shown in all of the English classrooms and also on a TV in the lobby of the High school.

Enjoy
I will write more later
love
Kristyn

The Elephant Man

Well last week was quite the week. I have now successfully assistant directed/choreographed my first show as a real teacher!

The high school play, The Elephant Man was this last Friday and Saturday! It went so well. I am so proud of all the students involved. We also managed to get wonderful responses from the audience. Many people that I talked to were genuinely effected by the intense themes raised in this play. They all thought that the cast did a wonderful job and even thought that the modern dance transitions that we decided to add were a very cohesive addition. My role in this process was assisting Edie, the director and my host teacher, with directing and created dance pieces with a group of 9 girls with little previous dance experience. We were able to take some of the 21 titles that are provided in the script and transform these simple sentences into beautiful movement phrases. I am putting some of my favorite pictures with this blog so you can see. I will also be getting a DVD of the production if anyone is interested in watching it once I get back!

Even though the show is done my production work is far from done here. I now delve into Music Man full force with the middle school. Today I did a crash course in marching band to teach them a dance for 76 Trombones. I think the dances will look pretty awesome by the time we make it to performance time.

Other than that I have managed to make it to the electronics market to take a look at external hard drives for cheap, to Insadong to buy "korean" things for people back home, tried on a hanbok, korean traditional dress and plenty of fun nights with the friends I have made here. Tomorrow I am planning on going shopping in the trendy district that all my high school say is "so awesome, Ms. Art you need to go there!" We will see if they really know my style.

I really love it here in Korea. I am actually even looking into eventually getting a job at this school. Nothing is set in stone of course but the option is in my mind now. Well until next time... I love and miss you all!

Kristyn

Many Good Days!

So I haven't written in awhile and I am sorry. I have been very busy here with both shows! I am pretty much teaching full time now which was been stressful but also very rewarding. I am also quite busy with rehearsals everyday after school and even a few Saturdays. Last week my host teacher was gone for a few days singing in a wedding in L.A. so I was teaching on my own. I turned out to be very nice because the students were able to ease into my teaching style and really start to become comfortable with my leadership style. I am making great progress in both the high school and middle school classes!
I have also doing my fair share of moving around. Do to a few changes I am now living with another teacher in a different building. This has worked out pretty well so far so no complaints here. I have also been around Seoul a bit more and explored Insadong, where I went to a tea house with live birds flying around. I was also able to peak in on a Korean wedding with a western groom which was a bit comical at first.
This last week my professor has been here from St. Olaf observing my teaching. At first I was very worried about this visit because I wanted to make sure everything was perfect. I soon figured out that we felt I was doing a wonderful job with the students and really understood where I was coming from with my teaching style. We have a had a great couple of days. We went to a modern dance performance last night with a korean company and a irish company dancing together. It was an amazing performance, I was literally in tears. It really made me miss being in modern class though, I think I am going to have to remedy that when I get home. Tonight we went to an indian resturant downtown in a very swank building. It has been nice to get out and John has been nice enough to treat most of the time so I have saved a bit of money. :)
Besides that, life is going well here in Seoul. I can already tell that I will be very sad to have to say goodbye to this wonderful place but I don't want to think about that now becuase I still have a month and a half! The first show that I have been working on it coming up on the 10th and 11th so I am pretty excited about getting the kids ready. It will be a very busy couple of weeks but I know it will all be worth it in the end.
I hope the situation in America gets better and I am thinking of all of you who have money wrapped up in the stock market. I have faith that it will all work itself out somehow. Well until next time....

much love,
Kristyn