Newness

Where to even start - Friday morning I had to pack up my things in the hotel before school so I was up earlier than normal. The rest of the day was the same as before, just sitting in on different classes, the students knew by this point that I would be their new teacher though. I didn't mention before, but at school all of the teachers are called by their name + teacher, so I'm Ashley Teacher. It's a respect thing, but takes some getting used to - especially when you have to use that when referring to the other teachers.

By the end of the day things started to get more interesting. I had another sit down with one of the Korean staff to discuss a few more things about the school and I was supposed to get my schedule but no surprise here - I didn't. This was really frustrating for me because I'm an organized person and I do believe it's important to have a work schedule in advance but I will be getting my schedule the day I start teaching instead. I can hear Tom telling me to not let the little things get to me, and I do really take that to heart - he does know me well. So I tried to shake that off.

I was also given the keys to my apartment on Friday, so by the end of the day (7pm) it was time for me to move - although my suitcases were already moved for me from the hotel (apparently something they didn't do for the other teachers). I went back into the staff room to collect my belongings and noticed that most of the teachers had gone already. I also knew that none of them knew where the apartment was. But no one had addressed how I would get to the unknown apartment so I asked "Is someone going to show me where the apartment is?" Response: "oh" - Not sure how that is something that is overlooked but it worked out. Melanie, the director walked me to the apartment and Chris tagged along. It took a good 5 minutes to get the keys and locks to cooperate though which was a little unsettling. Then the big reveal - to be honest I felt disappointed and I realize now that maybe it's partly founded but one of the biggest things was that I walked into a room that had cardboard over the windows - great first impression. But now that I've slept on it (and in it) I'm feeling okay and know that I can make it into something that is nice and mine. My apartment is not the nicest compared to some teachers, but also not the worst in comparison to some. As the recent Vegas clan would say - GWTF and I keep that in mind always. Chris showed me how to use the air conditioner, gas range and water which was super helpful. If you run any of the taps, only cold water comes out. To get warm/hot water you need to press a button by the door. Gas ranges also make me a little nervous but I know they are better than electric so I might as well get used to them! I always tried to avoid them at home. Here are some shots of the place in the process of things being put away and decorated. I did try to record a video but I'm having problems with the camera and uploading content from the camera onto my laptop so pictures for now!

 

 

 So there it is! That night Jess and I went to Lotte Mart to pick up a few things and we were met by Megan. I did not bring sheets with me (regret that - very expensive here and not good quality and its more of a single blanket than sheet set). But Megan kindly gave me a flat sheet and two pillow cases to use for now. The supplied dishes are few and a little sad but I'll make do. I do need a kettle though, I've been dying to make some tea! I also unlocked my phone from home so that the Korean sim card would work in my phone as I couldn't stand the old school phone I was given by the school. It's prepaid though so I can only text and call for now (unless on wifi).

Now I leave you with the view from my window - the best view in my opinion compared to the other apartments I've seen. (I am not near the other teachers, but I have this awesome view, I'm closer to the school, and super close to the YMCA).

 

Little Less Watch and A Lot More Action

My title is what I need right now - I'm so done with watching people teach. I understand the value of it and completely understand why it's needed, especially for those without any teaching experience but I'm done. Unfortunately I have one more day of it tomorrow, but fortunately I did not agree to come earlier in order to have one more day of orientation. I'm ready to jump into the swing of things already.

Today was my first day of walking to school alone and I made it just fine :) I actually was quite a bit early so I found the Starbucks that's nearby and bought a tumbler so I can enjoy tea whenever I want it. They gave me a free drink coupon with it too!

Today was kind of a sad day because they school went on a field trip to a car museum in the morning but I had to stay behind for orientation. I sat with Lucy who is a Korean staff member who will be my supervisor for most of the classes I teach. We went over policies and textbooks etc. Then I had 'prep' time which was a little odd considering I haven't started to teach yet, so I read through papers she gave me and looked through the textbooks. She was very surprised how calm I was about everything and said because of that she is not worried. According to her, whenever a new teacher comes, they are freaking out. Another teacher commented on how calm I seemed to be the other day as well. Everything at the school is as I expected it to be though, it will be mostly just getting in the swing of the routine of the class.

I expected to join the teachers who eat out for lunch today but they were going for Korean food, and surprise surprise, it's my second day and I'm not in the mood for Korean food! Everyone keeps commenting on how tough I'm going to find eating here, but I knew that and am fully aware and prepared for that. I just can't wait to cook for myself! I'm also tired of eating out already. Jess was going to Subway for lunch though so I joined her. After Tomas and I had a terrible experience at the Subway in Miami, I never thought I'd try another Subway outside of Canada but figured I'd give it a shot for a taste of something familiar. I had a chicken teriyaki sandwich which was alright. The chicken wasn't as bad as in Miami, but I probably would only order veggie sandwiches in the future. Their white macadamia nut cookies tasted the same as ever - delish! I thought it was funny that Jess called a combo/meal a "set".

After lunch was more of yesterday, watching how the different classes are run. Nothing much to say about it, the kids seem to be taking a liking me to and I was given more stickers. Some of them are absolutely adorable and the oldest kid in the school is 15 (remember we do elementary in the afternoon, kindergarten in the morning), but what I don't understand is that the oldest kids 13-15 are in what LCI (my school) calls grade 6 ... ?

I was done by 7pm again today and wasn't sure what I was going to do. I wanted to check out Lotte Mart and that was the entirety of my plan. As I headed out, Elliot was just finishing and I asked him where I can use my Canadian debit card (as he is a Vancouverite as well), so he said he'd show me. Jess left at the same time with us so followed along. The bank that my card should work at is right by the school, so that's nice. I probably should have tried actually using it there, but I didn't. From there Elliot was heading into Seoul to see a friend, so Jess joined me at Lotte Mart which is just a big everything store. I just wanted to see what they had for products and prices. From there we decided to continue our American food day and ate at TGIF - it was decent but pricey for what it was and more expensive than at home.

Here is a picture of what a typical Korean building looks like - just chaos. (Also you are able to click on any of the pictures I post to make them bigger.)

 

After eating, we headed our separate ways and I walked home alone. As we crossed the street after leaving TGIF, an old Korean women started staring and speaking to me in Korean and laughing. I wonder what she was saying!

 

There is also a river with a walkway nearby that I saw on the way to Lotte Mart that I want to check out soon too, a little bit of nature is always welcome. Also in terms of animals/insects, the only thing that seems to be really common is dragonflies.

 

I will be getting my official teaching schedule tomorrow, but from the sounds of it, I will be teaching kindergarten from 10-230 (that time includes the one hour lunch and also as part of that time I will go to another class to teach science), then Monday/Wednesday afternoon I will teach ILP (Intensive Learning Program) where the kids learn and preform a play, Tuesday/Thursday/Friday afternoon I will teach phonics and Tuesday/Thursday at 5:55 - 6:45pm I will teach EIC which I don't remember what that stands for but the class follows a history textbook and discusses articles from an English newspaper. There is also a possibility that I may be teaching an afternoon kindergarten class as well. But like I said I will learn more tomorrow.

 

Tomorrow is also a big day because I move into my apartment!!! Super excited to make it a home and cook my own food and to be able to just relax in my own space. I am such a homebody and even though I'm in a new and exciting country I still enjoy being "home". So I'm looking forward to that very much. I will move in after school and it sounds like my suitcases will be moved for me during the day tomorrow. I should also hopefully have a phone tomorrow as well which will be nice in order to contact the other teachers to hopefully hang out during the break next week.

 

 

<3 Goodnight! 

Orientation Day 1

Let's just say that it's been a long, long day and I'm exhausted! If it weren't for Skype plans, I'd likely be asleep already.

It was a hot night last night, but I managed to sleep okay. There are two blue lights that cannot be shut off at night in my room and those irritated me so much! I cannot stand any light when I'm sleeping, so I did toss and turn a bit, and struggled to keep the blanket above my head to keep out the light. I woke up bright and early at 7am ready to go for the day. I will also have to remember to keep my phone on silent while I sleep (which I normally do) because it is your daytime while I sleep and my phone wouldn't stop vibrating because of notifications, though I do feel the love :)

My shower was interesting. I knew before coming here that the bathroom is literally just one big room, the shower isn't sectioned off like the bathrooms at home. I knew that the whole bathroom would get wet as well. But what a weird experience. The shower in the hotel at least has a tub underneath it, instead of just tile with a drain, but still weird. I don't understand why they don't just install shower curtains and save everything from getting wet - cause everything does get wet. It's also a bit weird to be showering in such a big, open, exposed area.

 

I was pleasantly surprised with the hotel's shampoo and conditioner though. Normally if I stray from my brand of conditioner my hair doesn't do well and stays completely knotted, but these ones were just as good!

 

I ended up getting ready faster than expected and had about an hour to kill before someone was supposed to show up to take me to school. So I ate a banana and some almonds that I picked up the night before then checked all of my phone notifications and got to Skype with Claudia and Bruno aka my second parents as well which was so wonderful. I am definitely missing the weather they were enjoying and missing spending time with them as well. Unfortunately I had to cut the conversation short as my doorbell rang - time to go to school!

 

Chris walked me to school and I got to meet all of the staff and the other teachers - so in addition to those mentioned last time, there is also Sarah (who I had been e-mailing), Jessica (who prefers to be called Jess), Rachel and Grace. And of course the Korean staff, who I am still putting names to faces. It was nice because most of the teachers already have plans for the week break next week, which is fine, but means I would be figuring out a lot on my own. What was nice was that Jess immediately asked what my plans were for the break and offered to hang out and explore with me since she is not going anywhere. She is from Pennsylvania and has been here for 10 months (I think that's what she said).

 

My day basically consisted of observing different teachers in their classrooms and me taking notes on how they do things and how they interact with the students. Honestly it just felt like I was doing my practicum all over again. By the afternoon, I was ready to crash. However the students are very cute and there is a lot to learn in terms of their lessons plans and how things are supposed to be done in the classroom. I can say for sure that the students are expected to cover a lot of material and quickly - in my opinion, too much material too quickly - not necessarily an approach I agree with, but I know this is common in Korea. I was given a drawing and lots of stickers from the students today.

 

 

Although I'm still not really sure what my schedule will be like, it seems most of the teachers work more than the contracted hours (getting paid overtime of course) and it seems as if everyone is at the school from 10-7 Monday to Friday. But I'm sure I will learn more about my schedule in the next two days. We do get an hour break for lunch, so I joined Grace, Rachel, Elliot, Nate and Ben to a place they called the Big Tomato (although everything was in Korean, so who knows if it's actually called that) and had some Bibimbap. The portions are huge, so I couldn't finish it, but it wasn't bad ... some weird stick looking things in it that I tried to avoid as well.

 

Once school was finally done at 7, I went back to the staff room and those who were still there were busy doing prep for tomorrow. I wasn't really sure what I was going to do, but knew I was starving. Luckily, Jess asked if I had plans on her way out and invited me out to get food with her. She took me to a place she goes to often and we had what I like to call cracker crumb pork chops = fried and breaded pork. I really liked it, a taste of home that's for sure.

 

 



We went to the bottom restaurant which is right beside the school. You also can't really tell that the school is where it is.. here are pictures of outside the school from the street:

Pretty generic looking if you ask me! After eating, Jess and I walked around the block where the school is. There is a very big Starbucks near by as well as a Cheesecake Factory and numerous other shops. We also stopped in a small grocery store so I could take a better look at what they had and bought some Pringles. Also, it's a good thing Jess invited me to dinner because I did not know I was going to be left alone to find my way home! And I would have totally gotten lost had I not been with her! She offered to walk me part way and I thought I was heading the right way and I wasn't! We eventually figured it out and she walked me the whole way despite the fact that she isn't good with finding her way around either. She also lent me her phone (she has two) in case I get lost getting to school tomorrow, but I think I'll be okay. We are also both Pisces and she was born two days before me and we seem to have a fair amount in common.

 

So that was day 1. Tomorrow will be another long day of orientation. I thought I would get to go on the fieldtrip with them tomorrow but sadly I do not :( Instead while they are gone, I have orientation with the Korean staff and then prep time. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing in my prep time, but I suppose I'll figure that out tomorrow!

 

Lastly, I will leave you with pictures of the outside of my hotel - which they call "love hotels" because a lot of Korean couples escape here for private time since they generally live with their parents along with their own kids. It is so private - they cover the cars' license plates so no one can truly know who is staying at the hotel. Also, I'm on the fourth floor, but there is no 4 button, only F. Not sure why, that was interesting to figure out too.

 

 

Goodnight!

PS - the cleaning people emptied all of my garbage cans, but left the bag of garbage sitting on the floor in my room ... ?



The First Night

I have arrived! It is currently 10:40pm and I wanted to write a quick blurb about the night before heading to bed.

The flight was long. By the five hour mark, I was so ready to be off the plane. The recycled air was getting to me and really drying out my throat and nose. There were a handful of other white people on the plane, I did not sit by one - nothing too note worthy there. I tried to sleep as soon as I got on the plane since it was still early morning Korean time to help combat the jetlag. I slept until 9:30am Korean time (now being referred to as KST), so I got a solid two and a half hours in. I was trying so hard to stay awake but by 2pm kst I was out again and slept until 430pm kst. I'm hoping I won't feel too bad tomorrow. I watched Oz (wouldn't recommend it), The Guilt Trip and Les Mis on the plane. They had a surprisingly good selection of movies and we each had our own screens to watch whatever we wanted to on. They also gave us more food on the plane than I anticipated, but didn't each much of it.

I thought I was supposed to meet my driver at the baggage claim, but after double checking my phone, it said "just as you exit the baggage claim" - so that worked out. I definitely felt a little confused when didn't see anyone at the baggage claim. But as soon as I exited, he was there with my name on a sign. Didn't speak any English. It was actually a "deluxe cab" that picked me up. It's odd and a little worrisome seeing the driver on his phone while driving and sorting through papers. I was handed the phone a few times and said hello to a few people I will be meeting tomorrow.

After arriving at the hotel, some teachers came by to take me out for food - Megan, Nate and Elliot showed up at my door, and we later met with Chris (girl) and Ben. We had Korean BBQ - the meat is not lean at all so I think I had about two pieces and then a few bean sprouts and a lot of lettuce. They are all very nice, and all from Minnesota, except for Elliot who is from Vancouver, who I'm replacing. We chatted, ate, then Megan and Elliot took me to the store and I bought some almonds and bananas to have for breakfast, then they walked me home. One of them will get me tomorrow morning and bring me to the school.

Apparently, the school is close to a YMCA which sounds awesome, and Chris takes Korean lessons every Sunday, so that is something I hope to look into soon.

It is very muggy and I miss seeing the sun already. I also don't have any pictures from anything from today as the camera that was plugged in last night apparently didn't actually charge :(