It's been so long since I've written anything on this blog that I hardly know how to start again. I have plenty of excuses - I have no stable internet at my apartment, I'm really busy with lesson planning, I'd rather spend most of my free time hanging out with my boyfriend than sitting in front of a computer, and the rest of the non-hang-out free time I don't feel like thinking. So there.
But part of me still likes to think this blog exists for a reason, so here I am again. Where to start?
I've been in Korea for a little over a month now, and I've been teaching for about four weeks. It's all been wacky, but I think Shawn and I are finally getting the hang of things and working out a routine.
Let me go way, way back. All the way to Feb. 26, when we left the EPIK orientation and actually got to Daejeon (that is, the city where I live, in case anyone missed it). All the new teachers were gathered into an auditorium where, one by one, we stepped up to meet our co-teachers - the people who act as liaisons (read: translators) between the native English teachers and school administration. My co-teacher was a very nice lady named Jin-Young, who took me to my school, my apartment, and then grocery store. I say "was" because as soon as I met Jin-Young, I also found out that she was about to leave town to attend a six-month training program, so in fact, she would not actually be my co-teacher.
I met my new co-teacher four days later, on the first day of school. But not until the end of the day, when we rushed out of school and across the city to go apply for my Alien Registration Card (green card). The rest of the day, I spent sitting by myself in the "Fun, Fun English" room, because A) they did not have a desk ready for me in the teachers' office and B) they didn't have my class schedule ready, so I didn't have anything to do. All of this is well and good, except for the fact that everyone neglected to inform me that I would actually have to teach classes the next day.
Really, I should have been expecting this the whole time, because one of the first things that was pounded into our heads at orientation was DYNAMIC KOREA. Sounds pretty romantic and exciting, right? Sure, until your class schedule changes 3 times in a month, your co-teachers don't show up for class, and you find out you're attending a dinner about 10 minutes before it happens. Okay, so the dinner part really isn't that bad, but the point is that "Dynamic Korea" basically means that something could be switched or dropped or sprung on you at any moment (usually the last possible moment), even though other people have known about it for several days.
Needless to say, the first couple of weeks were pretty hectic and stressful. Added to this is the fact that, despite all our optimistic hopes, Shawn and I were not placed in adjacent apartments. Not even walking distance apartments. We have to travel about 20 minutes by bus and/or subway to reach each other's neck of the woods. And since both places are far, far too small to store all of our collective necessities, our dreams of keeping one place for living and one place for storage went up in smoke. Of course, we probably should have expected this too, but it's hard not to be idealistic when you're setting off on a new adventure.
Anyway, this blog isn't for complaining. Because after all the initial insanity and frustration, we're getting the hang of things. I'm starting to develop better lesson-planning skills (although my time management skills will always be lacking) and figuring out enough basic language to get by. The teachers at my school have been incredibly helpful, and Shawn and I have adjusted to this back and forth situation. I'm sure there will be up and down days in the future, but I think the most difficult part of this relocation is behind me now (thank God).
So that's my incredibly abbreviated "first month in Korea" update. Someone should remind me about this blog before month two is over.
3.29.2010
3.05.2010
First Day of School
6:45 am - Get up and start getting ready.
7:35 am - Head out the door and walk to school.
8:00 am - Arrive at school. Take off my sneakers and put on my Birkenstocks (school shoes), then carry my sneakers because I don't know where to put them. Stand and look lost.
8:05 am - Seon-hui (Sunny), a Korean English teachers walks in, sees me, and takes me to the first floor teachers' office where I was originally supposed to be (I think). Find out instead I'm supposed to be in the third floor teachers' office, but I don't have a desk prepared for me yet.
8:10 am - Go to third floor teachers' office with Seon-hui and sit at a table.
8:15 am - Seon-hui tells me I can sit in the English Lab room (where I can use the internet) until I have a desk in the teachers' office.
8:16 am - Move to English Lab and use the internet.
Several Times - Between classes, groups of girls walk past the doors, see me sitting in the lab, and either giggle and wave, or giggle and run away. A couple brave souls stick their heads in and say hello.
11:45 am - A teacher and several boys come to put chairs in the English Lab. When I say thank you, the last boy bows and scurries away.
12:45 pm - Seon-hui comes in to take me to lunch, since I still have no idea where anything is in the school. Lunch consists of rice, kimchi, some kind of spicy beef mixture, some kind of bean-jelly stir fry mixture, and some kind of tofu and greens soup. It all actually tastes pretty good. I sit at a table with Korean teachers and then Seon-hui joins us.
1:30 pm - Finish lunch and walk with Seon-hui back to the third floor. Finally she explains that she is helping me out with things for now, because my actual co-teacher is very very busy. I ask her if she knows anything about me getting an Alien Registration Card (things my co-teacher is supposed to help with), and she says she will ask for me. She also tells me that students are not supposed to be in the language lab, except for class (because there's a lot of expensive equipment in there), so if I see students in there, I should tell them to leave.
1:35 pm - Grab some tea from the teachers' office. Come back to the English lab to find two girls sitting on the tables and talking. I ask them if they're supposed to be here, but I don't think they understand me, so then I point to the door and ask them to leave. Gotta put my teacher foot down.
1:45 pm - My actual co-teacher comes to see me (I'm not sure how to write her name). She asks if I can go with her to get my ARC after school today
2:47 pm - Four girls come into the room and ask me where I'm from, how old I am, and if I have a boyfriend. They also ask me if I know Robert Pattison and Apolo Ohno.
3:20 pm - Bell rings for end of classes. But teachers work until 4:30.
4:12 pm - My co-teacher rushes in and says it's time to go get my ARC card, and away we go!
P.S. - I know this is late, but my internet is still limited, so I forgot to post it earlier. Deal with it!
7:35 am - Head out the door and walk to school.
8:00 am - Arrive at school. Take off my sneakers and put on my Birkenstocks (school shoes), then carry my sneakers because I don't know where to put them. Stand and look lost.
8:05 am - Seon-hui (Sunny), a Korean English teachers walks in, sees me, and takes me to the first floor teachers' office where I was originally supposed to be (I think). Find out instead I'm supposed to be in the third floor teachers' office, but I don't have a desk prepared for me yet.
8:10 am - Go to third floor teachers' office with Seon-hui and sit at a table.
8:15 am - Seon-hui tells me I can sit in the English Lab room (where I can use the internet) until I have a desk in the teachers' office.
8:16 am - Move to English Lab and use the internet.
Several Times - Between classes, groups of girls walk past the doors, see me sitting in the lab, and either giggle and wave, or giggle and run away. A couple brave souls stick their heads in and say hello.
11:45 am - A teacher and several boys come to put chairs in the English Lab. When I say thank you, the last boy bows and scurries away.
12:45 pm - Seon-hui comes in to take me to lunch, since I still have no idea where anything is in the school. Lunch consists of rice, kimchi, some kind of spicy beef mixture, some kind of bean-jelly stir fry mixture, and some kind of tofu and greens soup. It all actually tastes pretty good. I sit at a table with Korean teachers and then Seon-hui joins us.
1:30 pm - Finish lunch and walk with Seon-hui back to the third floor. Finally she explains that she is helping me out with things for now, because my actual co-teacher is very very busy. I ask her if she knows anything about me getting an Alien Registration Card (things my co-teacher is supposed to help with), and she says she will ask for me. She also tells me that students are not supposed to be in the language lab, except for class (because there's a lot of expensive equipment in there), so if I see students in there, I should tell them to leave.
1:35 pm - Grab some tea from the teachers' office. Come back to the English lab to find two girls sitting on the tables and talking. I ask them if they're supposed to be here, but I don't think they understand me, so then I point to the door and ask them to leave. Gotta put my teacher foot down.
1:45 pm - My actual co-teacher comes to see me (I'm not sure how to write her name). She asks if I can go with her to get my ARC after school today
2:47 pm - Four girls come into the room and ask me where I'm from, how old I am, and if I have a boyfriend. They also ask me if I know Robert Pattison and Apolo Ohno.
3:20 pm - Bell rings for end of classes. But teachers work until 4:30.
4:12 pm - My co-teacher rushes in and says it's time to go get my ARC card, and away we go!
P.S. - I know this is late, but my internet is still limited, so I forgot to post it earlier. Deal with it!
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