March 23, 2010

Marchtastic

That’s the word I’ve coined to describe this month so far. Lately I’ve been busy getting all caught up in my new life over here and haven’t had the time or patience to sit down and write in my blog! But I wanted to give an update so that you know how everything is going.

I did get sick about a week after arriving in Seoul (as did all the other new teachers), but this past weekend I was finally feeling well enough to get out and enjoy the weekend. I had a great time hanging out with an old friend from the U.S. and a bunch of new friends. I did some more exploring, went to a basketball game, watched a movie at the theater, went to church, joined a small group and participated in a bible study. Pretty much a fabulous weekend as far as I’m concerned! The church I’m going to here is called Jubilee. So far I’ve found the teaching to be very sound and biblical. The church is also growing and has a heart for service and outreach. I basically felt right at home the moment I got here.

March 07, 2010

Annyeoung Haseyo!

Annyeoung Haseyo (Hello) from Korea!

I can hardly believe I’ve only been here in Seoul for a little over a week. It feels like it’s been much longer than that. Looking back over my first week of teaching, I’ll try to sum up what’s been going on.

Kid’s College
That’s the name of the school I’m teaching it. It is the main branch of a large chain of private, English language immersion schools for kindergarten and elementary kids. As I said before, Tuesday was orientation day at the school for the parents and kids to get to know the school and the new teachers. It was a bit intimidating to stand in front of a room full of Korean parents and tell them about myself and why I was excited to be teaching their kids English. But I managed to get through the formalities and then in the afternoon, all of the new teachers were taken to a hospital to have our physicals done. If everything looks good we’ll be getting our alien cards shortly, which we need to open a bank account, pay our utilities, etc.
Somehow I survived my first 3 full days of teaching – Wednesday through Friday. The days are very long, lasting from 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM nearly everyday. The kids are really great though and already I can tell how they will make it all worthwhile. I love all my kids, even if some are crazy, violent or straight up nut jobs! Well, there is one kid who kicked another girl in the head and told me to shut up, so I foresee a multitude of problems with him. But all the others are loving, friendly, bright and enthusiastic. I also have another student who literally doesn’t say a word, and hasn’t done so since August. He participates well in all the activities except for the speaking part. I really hope I can have a breakthrough with him and get him talking before the end of the year! I know there will be many stories to come about my kids and all the crazy things they do, but that will have to come in a later post.

Here’s my classroom minus the little kiddies – doesn’t it look fun?
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And here are a few of my kids acting silly:
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As far as the teaching part goes, I pretty much feel like I’ve been dumped in white water rapids raging
through a gorge – it’s all I can do to keep my head above water! Education in Korea is very demanding. I can hardly believe how much work my 6 year-olds are required to do! They have homework and spelling tests, worksheets, art projects, reading, phonics, language arts, etc. It feels like I’m teaching them a curriculum fit for 2nd grade back in the U.S. The teacher who taught my class before me designed a lesson plan for the entire month of March, so it has been up to me to track down the various materials I need and figure out what exactly she had planned for the kids to do. Since the parents already have a copy of the monthly lesson plan I am required to complete every page of every assignment and there isn’t even 1 day of flexibility built into the schedule. It’s been a real challenge getting my feet under me, but I’m thankful to have survived the first few days!

My Apartment
I am so excited to have a place to call my own! Even though it is quite small, it is very nice to have a quiet space all to myself to relax after a long day of teaching. I also really love the neighborhood my apartment is in; it is very modern, upscale, clean and organized. There is a tiny convenience store very close by and it only takes me about 10 minutes to walk to the school. Here are some pictures of my Korean pad taken from both ends of the room:
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As you can see, it is not very large – pretty much just one room with everything in it and then a bathroom with a sink/shower combo. In the second picture you can see another little space behind the bed which is where the washing machine is and a closet for my clothes. I actually have more than enough room to store all my things and overall I really like my new home!
There is so much more I’d like to share so I’ll try to post again soon, hopefully mid-week if I have some time.

March 01, 2010

Seoul - First Impressions

I was originally planning to write about just about everything else that has happened since I flew out of Charlotte, but the details are so numerous they'd spill off the screen. So I'll try to give you an overview of my first three days here without overdoing it. Fortunately, today, March 1st, is a national holiday, so I did not have to show up at the school to teach. I've been instructed to be at the school tomorrow morning, dressed "formally", ready for the school to "present" us and their program to our future students and their parents. As far as I can tell it should only last a couple of hours and then I should have the remainder of the day off again. Wednesday we start full blast.

Ok, where to begin. I'm not going to lie, the trip over here seemed to be never ending. By the time I crashed in my bed at the motel the first night I had been up for 28 hours. (Not counting the restless naps I managed to steal on the planes). I tried to stay awake on the hour long drive from the airport into downtown Seoul but I kept falling asleep. All I remember seeing were all the red neon crosses perched atop numerous churches, together with lots of colorful lights and looming skyscrapers. 

The last couple of days have not been all sugar and spice. As with all transitions, there have been some hurdles and moments of panicking, but also bright glimpses into the future. I finally was moved into my new place late Sunday afternoon. The teacher who had formerly occupied it moved out in a hurry and left quite a mess behind. A lady was hired to clean it out before I got there, but even so I have spent hours scrubbing things down and wiping out cabinets. I spent most of today unpacking and getting settled. There were still a few more things to put away, but I decided around 4 p.m. to take a break and go out exploring in the city.

The city, oh the city!!! Seoul is truly amazing - a ridiculously huge city full of character. And I'm slowly but surely learning my way around my neck of the woods. I decided to head out in search of a big mall called Coex that I'd heard some of the other teachers talking about. I really enjoyed my brisk walk throw the cold, lightly snowy air through block after block of fascinatingly designed buildings, wide open streets, glitzy store fronts and crazy lights. Seoul is very much westernized, with Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts on every other corner.

The large Coex Mall reminded me very much of a huge shopping center back in Caracas, called Sambil, with it's modern design and dizzy flurry of activity and shoppers. Seoul must be the city where love happens, as literally everywhere you look you see couples arm in arm, talking, laughing or sharing a kiss. I could hardly believe it as I watched couple after couple of smartly dressed young Koreans pass me by in the mall. It's something you have to see to understand. Even the few foreigners (like myself) that I saw were hanging on someone's arm...

All in all I have to say I am doing just fine. I only wish I had internet at my apartment so that I could be in better contact with people back home but internet cafes like the one I'm at now will have to do for the moment. I am going to head on home now, as the air is thick with cigarette smoke and I can't bear it anymore. One thing you notice quickly about Koreans - they smoke, A LOT! Everywhere you look you see people lighting up. At least my room is smoke free! I'll write more later about how everything goes at the school. I'm so grateful for all the prayers and support from the friends and family back home.

Until next time,

Heather