One Week Down...A Lot To Go!!

I have officially been in Korea one whole week. It seems like longer, but I'm afraid for you at home, I've only just begun.

Ok, so this week, which has only consisted of two days thus far has been pretty interesting. I've been completely exhausted, but I've managed to stay awake, mostly because I don't have a choice. So, Sunday night I was lucky enough to talk to my family for about half an hour give or take the time spent hoping the internet didn't crash and burn in the middle of the conversation. It felt really nice to talk to my parents and sister. Anyways, I hardly slept Sunday night because I was scared of oversleeping the alarm clock and my bed is rock hard. Anyways, I had to take the bus to school for the first time since being here, so I got up extra early to make sure I made it to school on time. Well, Monday morning sucked because that was the day I had to lay my $150 hair straightner to rest. I pretty much freaked out and threw the cord against the wall because sometimes tough love works, well not with the hair straightner. Once, I realized it was hopeless and I was wasting time I went to school with very unruly hair and already in a bad mood.

Today and Monday, were spent observing the 4th and 5th grade classes with the 4th and 5th grade english teacher. I basically introduced myself for the first 5 minutes of each class, which consisted of the students gawking at me and a couple asking me questions; the one's who weren't afraid to speak to the intimidating "foreign white girl english teacher lady". In each class I got starred at by students who would look from close and afar just to get a glimpse of me. I really felt like a celebrity. The grade 5's are my favorites so far, because they were so curious and asked me the most questions during my introduction period.

Anyways, the students follow a curriculum very closely. Basically, they watch CD's that play in english and then they repeat the dialogue from the CD, talk about boring. Now, think about how much fun learning english was in school while trying to learn it properly, now imagine watching CD's of an english lesson with cheesy acting and lame 80's clothes. Not only that, but the teachers give most instruction in Korean, which is very unhelpful in learning english. Not only is the Korean teaching in an english lesson bad, but the translation from Korean to english is also very mixed up and makes no sense at times.

Ok, now most class sizes are 30-35 students and last 40 minutes, with an hour for lunch. If you think Canadian students are misbehaved, Korean students are so hyper and talk the entire lesson, which to me seems unreasonable. How are they learning if they are talking? Plus, the teachers didn't seem to control them very well, which is why I'm guessing there are bells on every desk, to maintain some order. All you have to do is ring the bell and the students are silent...interesting! If the students ask a question or are answering a question they have to stand up every time. Lastly, every classroom has a big screen TV that hooks up to the computer, so the teachers can do anything they want from their computer to the TV. That means lessons can be on CD's or saved to hard drives on the computer and projected onto the TV. It really is quite amazing and when I say big screen, I literally mean big screen, 52" or so.

Aside from the classroom, the students I see in the hallways are very friendly and always say HI or smile at me. The teachers are very friendly as well and seem happy that I'm here to teach english. After all, I am the crazy foreigner. There is always coffee or tea in every teachers lounge and in the 6th grade office where my desk is, there is always snacks and food. A common thing I've noticed with the students and teachers is that they over their mouths a lot of the time whenever they laugh or smile. I'm guessing it is just a Korean custom that has to do with not letting people see their mouth.

I got a history lesson on the Korean flag from Mrs. Kim. The red and blue circle in the center means light (red) over darkness (blue) and the black lnes on the four corners of the flag are the elements. The flag is basically, nature harmonized together. Pretty neat if you ask me that the flag is so significant. Also, Mrs. Kim offered to drive me to school every morning because it was on her way and she didn't want me getting up early and being tired, how sweet is she. Monday, I also brought gifts from home for my co-teacher, Jiny, Mrs. Kim, the vice-principal and the principal. They were all very honored to receive them and really appreciated them.

Jiny and I left school early today to go to the bank, so I could get a new 4-digit number for my bank card, since I forgot mine when I went to the bank yesterday. Then I transferred my American money into won, which is the same amount with the exchange. Then we set off to the Incheon Immigration Office to get my Alien Registration Card. It took longer than expected because I was very indecisive about a few things and I had to make a phone call to Mary to check on something. Anyways, over $60 and one hour later I was done, now I just wait for the card to mailed to my school and then I'm officially a resident of Korea. That means I can own internet, cable, a cell phone, etc. Once we left the Immigration Office, Jiny was nice enough to drive me to the E-mart in Guwol-dong, so I could do some serious grocery shopping. I was at the E-mart for nearly 2 hours and I wanted to kill everyone in there. Koreans/Asians are a very pushy kind of people. Plus, there are sample girls in every aisle trying to get you try or buy something. The younger girls who sample cosmetics and such wear very short skirts and high socks. The food samplers are men and older women who wear aprons and just yell really loud as you pass them buy. It really is an experience like no other. F.Y.I. shopping carts are only $0.10 and you get that back of course when you return the cart. Anyways, I thought I spent so much money because I bought a lot of stuff and my total wasn't even $50. I was so impressed. Below I have added a picture of the two new additions to my apartment that I hope make it cozier, prettier and more feminine.

After my tiring grocery shopping experience I decided to bus it home because it only costs $1. Well, that took me an hour and half because I didn't realize the #6 bus that stops right in front of building was driving around the entire city before stopping at my apartment. At least, I know most of the city now. I was a little scared thinking it would end along its route leaving me stranded, but it didn't so I was good. When I finally got home I unpacked the groceries, put on my pajamas, made a salad and watched House. Now, it's bedtime. Ok, so I couldn't go to bed without putting the song that the grade 5's sang today on this blog. It's called Simple Simon: "Simple Simon met a pie man going to the fair. Said Simple Simon to the pie man, "Let me taste your wares". Said the man to Simple Simon, "Do you mean to pay?" Said Simon, "Yes of course I do". And then he ran away." Now imagine a class full of 5th graders trying to sing this song in unison out loud twice...It really is that funny :)