Student Stories

Anyways.

I will be completing my student teaching internship on Jeju Island; an island located south of South Korea. I will be there from now up until the middle of April. My top goal, first and foremost, is to pass my edTPA on the first try. The edTPA, for those who may not know, is a teacher performance assessment, which gauges the skill level of a pre-service teacher and how prepared they (theoretically) would be for their first day in this own classroom. That test alone is the most nerve-wracking part of my experience, since 1) it is expensive ($300 for 3 sections), and 2) if you don’t pass the first time, you have to pay the full amount per section to retake it. So far, I feel generally prepared to tackle it, due to the preparation that I’ve had in my coursework, but even still, it’s like a giant storm looming over my head.

Another goal that I have is to open up and get out more. For anyone who doesn’t know me, I’m a hermit at heart – I prefer to spend time with one or two people at my home and not go anywhere. I’m hoping that being in a new environment and meeting so many new people at once will help me come out of my shell and enjoy my experience to the fullest.

When I found out that I would be going to South Korea, I began to do as much research of the culture as I possibly could. I watched YouTubers who lived there, as well as researched tips and tricks to navigate their very efficient transportation system. Along with that, I have been teaching myself how to read Korean and some key phrases in order to get around smoothly. Even with that, what I’m most nervous about is the language barrier that I’ll be experiencing, and even more so since I’ve heard that the Jeju dialect is completely different than what is normally shown in movies and TV shoes. To help overcome that, I have found a few language translator apps that could help assist me in any communication misunderstandings, as well as helping me read signs as I go through my journey.

I’m very excited to meet all of the students that I will be working with, as well as my mentor teacher. I’m also excited to spend some time hiking and exploring everything that the island has to offer. I’m most looking forward to going to a theme park that’s less than 5km away from where I’m staying, as well as an “erotic love”park that resides in Jeju City.

Even though I feel as through I am prepared to experience a new culture and a new place, I don’t believe I will ever actually be prepared until I arrive there and experience it firsthand. However, I am very excited that I have the opportunity to travel and complete my internship abroad, gaining a whole different experience on teaching than if I were to complete my internship back home in Washington.

I hope to update this blog weekly (though knowing how much I procrastinate and how forgetful I am, that won’t happen) – but one can dream! Later, I plan to add pictures of my time there as well. Until next time~!