Sunday 31st October 2010

Ok… where was I?? It has been another hectic weekend and I am starting to feel a little concerned by the number of brain cells that are ceasing to function due to lack of sleep! So, the night before the Seoul tour I caught up with a friend who had clearance for the US air force base that is in Osan – about 15 mins drive from where I am, and I was escorted onto the base past all the armed soldiers…lol. Was very exciting – technically it’s US soil so I left the country for dinner… It really was like stepping into another country as well – they had a big mall with a huge supermarket, taco bell and subway etc, a chilli’s restaurant – not to mention the schools, library, sports facilities. It’s very fancy – and huge! There are apparently about 25,000 people living on the base so I guess it would have to be pretty big, and silly to say, but it has to be said, it was so weird being surrounded by Americans and not seeing any Koreans!

Amazing how quickly you adapt really! So then the next day was the Seoul tour which was a really fun way to meet some of the other foreign teachers, and then they day after was the school sports day. Now , school sports days over here is a little bit different to school sports in Australia – the only even I recognized was the relay race they did first thing! The students were all dressed in different costumes, each home group had chosen something, and they ranged from full camel costumes, to big Minnie mouse style bows, and cat ears. Walking into the school that morning was quite surreal! I had no idea what I was supposed to do for the day, but they were quite happy to let me watch and just wander around and talk to the students which was a lot of fun, a really good way to get to know them – with 1200 students to get to know every opportunity counts! The principal and vice principal gave a speech to start the day off, and then they played the national anthem, with everybody turned toward the flag with their hand on their heart… again not really something you see in Australia!

Then the events began, the one that had me laughing the most was the event where one student is helped up by two other students and they run along the backs of their team, who frantically rearranges themselves into a continuous line all the way to the end of the field, where the one on top gets down – and then back up again as they run in the other direction. Just after lunch they ran an event for the teachers and parents – 1 team of each – against a team of students. The event was running across the field and back while trying to continuously keep a hula hoop going around your waist – needless to say I was asked to participate – and you haven’t lived until you have run swinging your hips like an idiot in front of 1200 cheering students…


 The next day was the school carnival / festival – another day where I had no idea what to expect! The morning was a series of plays etc, that the students had put together to demonstrate what they were learning and doing in their classes. I had been asked to participate in one – demonstrating this e-class where the kids study English by webcam with a teacher from the Philippines – wasn’t too much of a stretch for me – I played the English teacher… I had prepared a script for the students where we spoke about their favourite bands – the kids were so nervous – I had a moment of nervousness, mostly I think because there were so many kids, teachers and parents watching – none of whom I know particularly well yet.

Then I remembered that most of them don’t speak English so the chances were that they weren’t going to understand a word I said anyway, so really all I had to do was smile and look confident and they would be impressed! It went off without a hitch and then I was done with my responsibilities for the day. After lunch the principal called me up onto the stage to introduce me to everyone, this had already happened with the teachers, but there were still a few students I hadn’t taught yet, and there were all the parents. Another few moments of nervousness there as the principal read out a brief version of my life history and then handed me the microphone and asked me to say a few words – and then massive embarrassment when the boys started to call out “I love you!” I also got to help judge the English Pop-song contest which was a lot of fun – the kids had to pick an English song and sing it – then they were marked on how comfortable they were with the lyrics, singing ability and presentation. Some of them were great and others were not too bad… A lot of fun to be involved in though, just added to the day, and that all the teachers want me to be involved in everything is really flattering!

Then in the afternoon the students ran a “Miss Wonil” pageant, where all the boys dressed up as girls and danced to the music of the girl pop bands, followed by a talent show which was really amazing. There were boy bands, martial arts displays, guitarists, singing and dancing – was pretty incredible what some of these students can do! Not to mention hilariously funny! So that catches me up till Friday afternoon – and I knew some of the people I have made friends with in Osan were heading out to someone’s birthday so I started getting organized to go out – one of my Korean friends said he was going to the party and was driving – which I was thrilled with because it meant I didn’t have to catch public transport by myself at night, in heels… Turned out it was a completely different party and I didn’t know anyone there!

Was a great night though, started with a little karaoke at one of the singing rooms, those of you that know me well know how I feel about Karaoke… I love it! After that we headed into a nightclub, in Suwon, it was my first time in Suwon and my first time in a Korean nightclub so I was keen to check it out. We went in and headed straight to the bar, shots of Jager and midori cocktail’s are really cheap which is possibly both a blessing and a curse! Then we took to the dancefloor! The music seemed to get better as the night wore on but that may have been due to the drinking… There were quite a few of us (foreigners that is) and we all ended up dancing on this stage to the side of the DJ which was a bit of fun! Again for those of you who know me well, dancing is definitely my bag, so I had a blast! Interestingly it seemed to get really busy in there around 1am – quite late to start clubbing in my mind – but in the last week I have learned that partying here is all about going all night…lol. So around 5am the next morning I hit the hay to get some sleep!

 The next day I met up with a friend and we headed out to the largest underground shopping mall in Asia, and I can’t for the life of me remember the name of it, but it was truly massive and we got lost a few times. We wandered round for a while before grabbing dinner and a movie, “Eat, Pray, Love”, and then proceeded to get really lost again looking for the aquarium to see if it was still open… missed it by an hour – even the aquarium is open till 10pm – a far cry from sleepy little Perth and even the majority of places in Melbourne! The next day we headed out to Seoul to grab some lunch and visit some snow-boarding shops – I am planning on learning this year – and all the equipment is very exciting…I’m thinking a baby pink jacket – but we’ll see! Then back to school on Monday, followed by a visit to the immigration department to get things organized for my alien registration card, in the next week I will officially be an alien…hehe. It just means I will be able to get a bank account and do things like register for a phone – which means I can upgrade from the stone age gadget I am using at the moment – going backwards from predictive text messaging is really not easy!

On Thursday I attended an open class at the high-school just down the road, which is a class run by another foreign teacher and their co-teacher, after which there is a seminar where you give feedback. That was a really interesting experience, I always really enjoy observing other teachers because you can pick up so many little things that are useful, and sometimes things that you want to avoid doing. It was a great class to watch, the foreign teacher and the Korean co-teacher worked really well together, and after the seminar the school took us out for lunch which is not normal apparently, but fantastic all the same! The rest of the week went by pretty quietly, on Friday I called through the supermarket to buy myself a jug (so I can boil water…easier than using a pot!) and some of this Korean style coffee I have developed a liking for. I had a bit of a wander around and decided that I would go and check out what was on the third floor, thinking that it really was unadventurous of me that I had been here 3 weeks and not yet checked out the third floor of my local e-mart. Didn’t stay up there for too long, it was mostly clothes and shoes etc, and given I haven’t been paid yet the temptation is really not worth it! I was about to head back down when the students I mentioned in my previous post spotted me… I am kind of torn between thinking it’s really lovely that they want to talk to me even outside of school, and between this desire to be left alone when I am grocery shopping! I also figured out how to use the washing machine!!

This was a fairly momentous occasion – for those of you that have seen the picture of the front of the washing machine you will understand why – the only English on the whole thing is where it says “12kgs” and there are about 15 different buttons and setting etc – so figuring it out is quite an accomplishment! Friday night was a fairly quiet night, coffee, quiz games, car racing games, and poker till about 3 or 4am…quiet compared to last night anyway! Last night it was Halloween and the final of the Currie cup – Rugby in South Africa… Rugby union, just to be clear for the heathens among my friends! So we got all dressed up in team colours, white and blue just like every other team I support, and headed out to a pub in Itaewon.

The team I was supporting is called Western Province, and I spent considerable time practicing the phrase in Afrikaans, “WP jou lekker ding” – which means something along the lines of (aussie translation) “go you good thing!” haha. We made it to the pub around 11pm, and the game was due to start at 12:30pm, and the boys stared applying face-paint, which was actually canvass paint… The result was a bit disappointing but I love watching the rugby so I had a fantastic time, and got really stuck into the wine which I clearly remember being atrocious when I got there but seemed to get to the point where it was quite drinkable by the end of the night! I also had a shot which I am told is called a “lemon yum yum”, if anyone knows what this is can you please tell me because it was delicious!

 It was a little bit surreal in the pub, because it was Halloween everyone was seriously dressed up, and there were so many foreigners in there you could have sworn you were in the US, aside from the pocket of South Africans in the corner yelling at the big screen in Afrikaans and passing around Biltong… The pub seemed to die down a bit after the rugby had finished and at about 2am when they called last drinks we headed on to another suburb where we went to a nightclub and danced till around 6:30am. The music was hilarious, ranging from “build me up buttercup” and “Dancing Queen”, to “Empire state of mind” – quite a bizarre mix and I feel fairly certain that if a DJ played that playlist in a club in Melbourne they would be fired! Made for a fun night though! At this point I would like to give honourable mentions to Emily and Stefan (sorry if I spelled that wrong) for sticking it out till 6am – to Karel who danced with me till 6:30 and was still cheerful (and gave me his jacket so I would freeze to death on the way home!) and a dishonourable mention to Dee for being dragged home early! Hehe.

The night ended in traditional style with breakfast at McDonalds at 8am and then home to coffee, a hot shower, and some much needed sleep! So I think that’s probably a fairly brief and concise version of events in the last week and a half – I am certain I have missed out on heaps, and will probably remember the things I have missed in the next few days, and I will do my best to post more often so I don’t have to sit down and try and remember it all! Needless to say, I am still absolutely loving my time in Korea, I don’t think I have ever been this happy!

Friday 29th October 2010

Alright so it’s been roughly a week and a half since I last wrote – feels more like its been a month! So before I fill you all in on what’s been happening and what I have been up to I have to say something about right now… It’s the end of another week of teaching and I left school a little late today to make sure I had everything ready to go for next week – So all I have to do is walk into class Monday morning and teach – based on my last few Monday’s this is important. It seems that late Sunday nights have become my thing – and there is nothing worse than getting to school on Monday morning with a hangover and having to work out what I am doing or stand over the photocopier!

The other teachers at the school are wonderful, they all make time to stop and greet me, and smile, even if they don’t speak English. The ones that do like to have a chat about the weather etc. The kids are funny, there are big bunches that stop me in the halls anytime I go anywhere, they are always so happy to see me and want to tell me about their lives. It does mean that I can’t go anywhere quietly though! I have a couple of students that stop in my classroom every day to have a chat – the other afternoon we were in there playing music on the projector and they were dancing and singing – my classroom is a little like a party room!

They love it though, and its nice that they always want to share, even about some more personal stuff. I had a student in tears the other day who just needed to talk about some trouble at home, I was really touched that she came to me, even though it was harder to tell me what was going on because of the language barrier. But back to today! I left the school and came home to put on some washing and grab my e-mart bag, you have to buy a bag to carry your groceries, they don’t come with the purchases. I wandered down to the e-mart again having decided that I was going to buy myself a jug (I had nothing to boil water in other than a pot) and some of this Korean style coffee that I have figured out I loved. I had also translated “condensed milk” with the help of my students, given how partial I am to it, and so I was hoping they would have some.

I decided to have a bit of a wander around while I was there and on the third floor I heard my name – I turned around and there were about 10 of my students racing over to me to say hello. The shop assistants looked a little shocked! We chatted for a few minutes and then I extricated myself and headed back downstairs where I asked someone about the condensed milk, or yun yoo, adding please and looking confused because that always seems to work! It did, the shop assistants are so helpful they either ask you to wait while they ask someone else or they take you straight to it, trying to help in English if they can.

The ladies at the register are starting to recognize me too and one of them today told me that my Korean is improving which made me happy! So I headed home with my jug, keen as mustard to have a cup of coffee before I start getting ready to go out, and I am proud to say that I have figured out the washing machine! Nothing had shrunk so I must have worked out the temperature! So I am sitting by my window at the moment, waiting for my dinner to cook and the water to heat up so I can have a shower, it heats up pretty quickly but I like it steaming hot! I have been putting off writing this till I get the last 3 essays out the way, but everything today just made me smile, I feel so at home here which is so surprising after only 3 weeks.

Everything just seems to be working and I really feel like I am living my dream! I have never been happier and I think I made the best decision I have ever made in coming here. I told the vice-principal this today and I wasn’t sure if he was going to hug me or cry (and he’s quite a strict looking man – a little scary) he settled for bowing 5 or 6 times and telling me that it was the highest compliment I could pay the Korean people and the school and that they were so pleased to always have my smiling face around the school. So sweet!! He obviously didn’t see me the Monday morning before last when I was so hung over I thought I was going to die… I have been too scared to touch soju since!! So much has happened in the last week and a half I don’t really know where to start!

Obviously I am thrilled by the discovery of this awesome coffee stuff – its in a little packet and has milk powder and sugar all in there too – quite sweet – and not sure you could really call it coffee in all fairness – but delicious and hot – which is a bonus because it was minus one the other night. I am feeling a lot more comfortable with the Korean chopsticks now too, I had always felt pretty confident with chopsticks, but these are metal and tiny and take a little practice to get used to, and the things they eat with chopsticks are incredible.

I am getting to the point now where I can manage to separate the fish with the chopsticks with one hand… and without looking like a monkey trying to work a chainsaw…lol. Hotdogs with chopsticks was a bit of a challenge though! I have been trying heaps of different things in terms of food and I have been out for dinner more than I have been at home for the last 2 weeks, but apparently this is normal, and it’s ridiculously cheap to eat out – you really don’t save much by staying at home, and of course it is more social to eat out! So… thinking back now.

The Seoul Tour, run by the government people who bring all the foreign teachers out here, was last Wednesday. By then I knew at least 2 people going on the tour, which was great because we could all catch the bus together to the meeting point, I hadn’t actually caught the bus or the train yet, and I have been perpetually lost since I got here, general direction is as good as it gets! So I met them nice and early and we piled onto a bus, and then another bus when we got to the meeting point, though all the people I knew were on a different bus. There were 3 bus loads of foreign teachers, just from our area, and they are only the public school teachers and only the ones that registered to go – so there are heaps and heaps of foreigners here!

We visited a load of tourist destinations in Seoul, had a traditional lunch, and finished the day at the Seoul tower – which was amazing. We just happened to be there for a martial arts display which was pretty incredible – a really nice way to get a taste of the culture. Really though the whole trip was more about meeting other foreign teachers and networking…I met some really great people! Shall I name and shame? Why not! Michael and Ana I already knew, then there was Adam and Troy from Canada, Rhoda and Mary from South Africa, Andrew from the states and if I have missed you I am sorry – not mentioned but still loved! Oops… life getting in the way again – will continue this catch up very soon!

Saturday October 16th & Sunday October 17th 2010

Definitely feeling a little seedy after the weekend... Sunday night writing of my blog was not an option given that I was struggling to see when I stumbled in the door, I actually don't remember pressing the combination into my door...but I obviously managed! The weekend started off pretty quietly, I went for a really long walk around town on the Saturday, and bought an umbrella...given that we are heading into winter I thought this was a smart thing to have - it has it's own little bag and all! It cost me about 5,000 won which is around $3-4 Australian...so I really am the last of the big spenders! It was fun though to walk into the shop and conduct the whole purchase in Korean - I feel like I am starting to get somewhere with the language!

It's really strange wandering around town because everybody stares, at that point I still hadn't seen a single westerner - so I guess I stand out a bit! I had a bunch of school girls come up to me in the street and start a conversation - they weren't from my school, but I am guessing they have a native English teacher at their school as well so they just assumed I would be the same. You really would be in hot water if you looked like a westerner but didn't speak English! Then I decided to treat myself to MacDonalds...I hadn't had it since I got here and I do like to try it every tie I go to a different country because it always tastes different and there are different things on the menu - like the Shanghai Sizzling Chicken burger...which actually looks really good so I might have to try it!

It definitely tasted different though - the bread and buns etc over here are a lot more dry than they are at home - but still good! (This morning I would kill for some macca's fries...lol). When I was in MacDonalds I was approached by a Korean girl, who said she had many foreign friends and obviously wanted to practice her English, we talked for a while and then I made an excuse to leave - it wasnt that I didnt want to make friends - I was just really hungry and tired and I wanted to get home while my food was still hot! I did giver her my number - then when I got home I got a messge from her welcoming me to Korea...and then telling me that she would pray for me...didn't really know how to take that...did she think perhaps that I am morally in trouble?

After my little drinkies session last night she may be right! Anyway, my MacDonalds and I went home for an appointment with tvstreamz, which allows me to watch complete seasons of TV shows online - this was an exciting discovery for me! Especially since I pay $10 per month for unlimited internet download! It was really nice just to have a night to sack out and do nothing...It had been a really big week after all! I was messing around on facebook when I discovered a group called something along the lines of "Osan foreign teachers", very exciting, there is a whole community of people here and I had access to them! I read through the message boards etc and noticed a message from an Aussie guy who arrived the week before me - so I sent a message just to say hello, you know...Aussie unity overseas and all that!

I got a response almost right away and ended up catching up with him and an English girl on Sunday afternoon for a late lunch / dinner. We sat for hours talking, and eating, and things gradually disintegrated into drinking games with Soju...which I might not have again for a while. It tasted quite nice - but even thinking of it this morning is making my stomach churn a little...I am definitely out of practice when it comes to big nights! This morning when I had to get up early and come to school to finish my preparations for classes I remembered that it was a bad idea to drink on a Sunday night! But it was a fun night, lots of people ended up coming to join us, and I will actually know people on the trip to Seoul on Wednesday!

 So, I think it was about 9:30 when I realised that I had definitely had more than my fair share and that it was time to go home... I snuck off quite quietly, not wanting to get roped into another round of the drinking game that had put me in that state, and began the walk home. I was quite glad of the walk home in the end... think I must have been in a pretty bad state to feel the way I did when I got home, the walk is supposed to help, so I can only imagine how much worse I would have been had I not walked! The others apparently parted on until 5:40am this morning...completely mad when they had to teach today as well! I am very excited to have found the other "foreigners" though - it bodes well for future adventures!

Friday October 15th 2010

Getting up this morning was hard - was feeling a little drained by how big the week had been - but still looking forward to getting to school and working on a plan for next week. Not that I am going to need much of a plan! Wednesday I am off up to Seoul, Thursday is the school sports day, and Friday is the school Carnival / Festival... so I am actually only teaching 2 days! I think Tuesday after school they are running the Korean Popstar competition as well so it should be a pretty action packed week - and Yun mentioned I should bring my camera... as if I would forget!

 Classes went by in a bit of a blur - definitely bored with teaching the same lesson 20 something times in a week - I'll have to remember that, to keep my activities different, so I am not burnt out by the end of it. Lunch time is always interesting, the food is different each day, and each day I am trying something new that I have never seen before... except today there was kimchi, and some kind of eggplant thing, and chicken nuggets with ketchup! I nearly laughed when I saw them - it was the last thing I was expecting for lunch! Nice for a bit of a change though! In the afternoon I met with some of the students that I am helping out for their performance next Friday, went through the script and made sure they were comfortable with the English phrases, they'll do a great job next week I'm sure!

Then the teacher asked me if I would help her with a bit of translation... I was momentarily confused...given that I don't speak Korean, translation would be a little difficult for me. Then I worked out that what she was asking for was for me to explain the document in more basic english so that she could work it out - it was a one page conclusion of some kind of history book that dealt with the economic control women had in the middle ages - some fairly complex language - and some fairly complex themes - and she had to have it done by 9am Saturday morning, and I had to meet Yun to sort out my phone within about 40 minutes...it would have been much easier had she bought it to me 2 days before when she was asked to do it! But we got it done, and she was so grateful for the help.

 So, I met Yun and we went down to the second floor staff room where we were to collect one of the other teachers, Ja Young, who was going to drive us to the phone shop - it's not that far from the school, but again with poor Yun's leg driving was the best option. While we were in the staffroom the teacher who is in charge of the after school program approached me, and through Yun, asked me to write down the name for my dance class, and my full name so that they could add it into the program. They want me to start next week, running the class two afternoons during the week, and I get paid overtime for doing it - so it's a win-win situation...and it's only an extra hour two days a week so it should be fun! I hadnt thought about a name for the class, and given the english level I wasnt worried about callig it something clever, given the students know me as Mia (pronounciation is easier...) the class will be known as "Mia's dance class" - not very original but it gets the message across! We then jumped in the car and headed down to the phone shop - you cant even get a prepaid sim card over here without having Korean Identification, so I was ridiculously grateful that Yun was happy to organize all that for me, otherwise it would have been another week or so till I got it all sorted...until I got my alien registration card.

I paid 20,000won which is about $20 Australian, but text messages only cost 20 won - which is roughly 2 cents, international text messages are about 40won which is roughly 4 cents, and it is 40won per 30 seconds on the phone - which apparently is really expensive for calls over here... I told them what the costs were in Australia and their jaws dropped! The credit will last me for 2 months and I would doubt that I would have to recharge it before then unless I start making international phone calls and spending hours on the phone... but that is why I spend the quality time that I do with my skype! I was really excited to finally have it all working - I still havent really figured the phone out though - I dont know how to get the caps lock off when I am sending texts and I havent figured out how to put in the international codes for sending texts overseas - but I'll work it out in time!

From the phone shop the girls asked me if I would like to join them for coffee, they wanted to have coffee and cake before they went back to school, and their favourite coffee shop was just around the corner. It was a great little place, they had real coffee and hot chocolate etc, and home made cakes that were to die for! It was decorated like a little english coffee shop and the music playing in the background was a selection of Norah Jones, Billie Holiday and some other Jazz greats. We sat there and talked for a while until one of the other teachers joined us and then headed on to dinner. The other teacher who joined us didnt speak a word of English, she teaches Korean at the school, and teaches it in the way that we do English and Literature in schools in Australia, but she smiles at me a lot and didnt seem to mind me tagging along.

For dinner we went to a restaurant in the heart of Osan, it was on the second floor and we were sitting right next to the window looking out over a busy street. The tables were very low to the ground, you sat on cushions on the floor to eat, and shoes had to be removed at the door. Sitting on the floor is definitely not a hardship when the in-floor heating is on! We had a dish called BuDae JJiGae, also known as "Army Stew", on the way up to the restaurant Ja Young explained to me the history behind the dish. It orginated during / after the Korean war in the 50's. Meat was scarce and the people were hungry, so they used to take the left over meat from the American Army bases, but it made them sick because the meat was old so they began to take the meat and boil it, adding chilli and vegetables to the mix.

Now it has become a favourite dish, though obviously the meat is fresh, and they sometimes add noodles and cheese and ground beef into the mix. It tasted absolutely fantastic! Like most Korean food it is pretty spicy, porbably spicier than some of the other food I have had thus far, and you can see the flecks of chilli on the meat - so at least you know what you are getting yourself in for! I ate a ridiculous amount and felt thouroughly stuffed afterwards, but my nose was clear, from all the chilli, and I discovered something else here that I like to eat! To feed four people on BuDae JJiGae cost about 16,000 won which is a little under $15 Australian. Ja Young was lovely enough to drop me home after dinner, fortunately it was on her way back to school, otherwise I would have quite happily walked - it's amazing how safe I feel here - I am sure it has something to do with the fact that there are more people walking around on the street and driving past at night than there are during the day. I was also really happy to get back to my apartment (especially now I have rearranged all the furniture!), by 9pm I was struggling to keep my eyes open! I can't quite believe that the week is over - so much has happened!

Thursday October 14th 2010

This morning was definitely eventful and I am glad I decided to go into the school a bit early! I wanted to get some photocopying done before most of the other teachers arrived so I could get out of their way and set up for class - turned out we had a whole school staff meeting from 8:30 am where I was to be introduced to all the other teachers - and give a short speech. For some reason standing in front of 40 kids per class is not a problem, but standing up in front of 40 teachers made me nervous as anything! I did manage to get my photocopying done before I was collected by some of the other teachers! My little speech was very, very, short - I just said my name, where I was from, that I was happy to be here - and I thanked them all for welcoming me into their school.

Short and to the point because Yun had to translate for me - and there was the nervousness - even though they couldn't understand me! The other thing that happened this morning that really surprised me was that the school cleaning lady, who I say hello to every day, came up to me and gave me a gift! I was so touched - she was talking to me in Korean (which I didnt understand even though the hand gestures made a bit of sense!) and she gave me a little thing to hang off my phone and a pen that is wrapped in ribbon and has a flower and feathers at the top - if I can get the pictures in I will! When she left one of the other English teachers explained to me that he didnt know what the gift was for but that she just liked me!

I was so surprised! I have had no real interaction with her other than that every time I walk past I smile and say hello in Korean. So sweet! At lunch time I went down to the bank to see what I needed to do about withdrawing money from my Australian bank card after I had been so cruelly rejected the afternoon before! (I might add here that I was rejected by an ATM not a human - the people here are far too nice to do that!) Turns out it really was just me being a moron because right next to the ATM that rejected me was the ATM that had a sign on it saying "Global Services"... very slow sometimes... Can I claim that the bright lights and all the pretty writing distracted me?? I do have to say that I really love Korean money... I took out 200,000 won which is about $180 Australian and the machine spits it out in 10,000 won notes, then there are also 5,000 won notes, 1,000 won notes and a bunch of coins - but it makes me feel rich! That and everything is really cheap - like it's 80 cents Australian for a 600ml bottle of coke!

 So after getting back to the school, feeling like I had a really fat wallet, I went down with the other teachers for lunch, and had another selection of food items I had never seen before! The teachers cafeteria is really big and just like at schools in Australia the departments seem to sit together. Makes it handy that the school prepares all the food as well, one less thing to think about when getting ready for work in the morning. Oooh - the other thing I had been trying to remember to mention was the sound of the school bell - it's not like any school bell I have heard before - its like a tune that could have been a ringtone on a phone back when the bricks (e.g. Nokia 5210) were popular! Everytime I hear it I start to smile!

 Had another two classes in the afternoon, one was reasonably tame, and then the last class of the day was a little crazy! The students were so full of energy and love to interact - they are one of Yun's groups which makes it even more fun because she is such a pleasure to teach with. The students in this class either had really advanced English skills compared to the rest of the students at the school or they are just a lost less shy about giving it a go! Either way they were a really positive way to end the day! Then it was just more work to get me through till home time at 4:30 - Ive been rethinking a few of my idea's since I read the last teachers letter - and since I am almost through the first week of teaching - I feel like I know the students abilities a bit better now so it will be easier to plan.

I have also noticed that I am speaking a lot more slowly and really thinking about the way I phrase things and which words I use - I had a class today where the English teacher with me didnt really say anything - so there was no translation - so I found I was explaining a lot of things more carefully and using some of the words and gestures that Yun used to reinforce my lessons. While I was sitting there working away (in the classroom) a few of my students came in to ask if they could use the room - one of them I can already tell will be a favourite - he was one of the boys that met me at the gate on my first day, and he is so polite and willing to help, and genuinely working at using his English.

The school carnival is next week - and from what I could figure out from watching them out of the corner of my eye the kids are preparing some kind of performance that involves a fight with what looks like samurai swords. These kids are like little Ju Jitsu / Tae Kwon Do trained killers! What I mean to say is that the flips they do through the air etc. are really impressive... quite ninja! One of the teachers I have been working with for a different performance for the carnival next week, stopped in to see me ad we chatted for about half an hour about all sorts of things, I think I am going to end up spending a fair bit of time with her - she's so lovely!

 I called through the E-mart on the way home, since I had cash again, and E-mart is the biggest convenience store / supermarket chain in Korea - there are four floors and the place is massive! Picked up a few things, some more soy sauce, some lollies for a bit of an experimentation session, and then I asked one of the ladys about seafood dumplings (Yun had written it in Korean on a slip of paper for me) she told me that they didnt have any, and then handed me a bag of something that I think she said had a bit of seafood in it - its really hard to tell when they only speak to you in Korean! I think I mentioned how many things they put together as part of a special - well this had two bags of whatever these things were and then another packet strapped to the front with some kind of pancake thing in it - all frozen, which generally means its easy to cook! I bought those too - feeling a bit adventurous - and I got a bath mat which I was ridiculously excited about. The small things that please me now! Packed all the stuff into my bag - thinking how glad I was I had bought the big handbag - they dont give you shopping bags here, you have to have your own - and lugged it the 5 mins to my apartment. The only downside is that I live on the fourth floor and there is no elevator...I am going to get so fit!

 Once I had put everything away I turned to cooking dinner - more of a challenge than you may think given the instructions are in Korean too. The pancake things had a picture of a frying pan and the flat dumpling thingy's had a picture of a pot with a steamer in it so I thought I'd just give it a go! I still have no idea what was in them, but they tasted pretty good! I think the pancake may have had some kind of octopus in it, and the flat dumpling things had the taste of seafood...but who knows?! So, I had dinner, some quality time with my skype, and then decided I needed to rearrange the furiture in my apartment - make it feel a litt more like it was mine.

The cupboard, desk, and fridge are the heavy things to move... and I should have measured the cupboard first - as it was i had to move it twice because I didnt realise that it wouldnt fit under the air conditioner. There was a fair amount of sweating and a few breaks taken... and a little swearing, and then it was all done. I rearanged all the insides of the cupboards and then found some more creative ways to store my jewelery - I really need to get a litte shelf to put just outside the bathroom - that might be the mission for this weekend! There were also some little computer speakers in the apartment already - and with my new set-up I can hook these up to the laptop...surround sound! But after such an eventful day I am now exhausted...and going to get some sleep! Goodnight!

Wednesday October 13th 2010

Day 4 Reaching new levels of tiredness...may have something to do with the late nights, or the fact that I seem to wake up at 4am every morning and cant get back to sleep, or it could just be that I've moved countries and changed timezones and is taking a while to adjust (still the one hour ahead I went from Perth still wouldnt explain why its 4am...). Whatever it is I hope it goes away because I am stuffed! Had 4 classes today, one at 9am and then a short break, and then 3 in a row - which is tiring. The kids are great and I spend a lot of my time laughing - but I think it will start to get very monotonous very quickly teaching the same thing to 22 different classes.

I think it will be a bit different next week when I have a little more variation - I will hav slightly different lesson for each of the grades - so I will oly have to teach the exact same lesson 7 times...lol. I think I will still keep the smae topic for all three groups and just teach to a different ability level. I was going through the previous teacher's resources today (Adam the Canadian...lol) and I found a letter that he had written entitled "to my sucessor". I opened it up and started to read - its a fantastic letter containing all the pearls of wisdom he gathered in the two years he worked here - from info about the kids and the way the school works, to things about Osan and Korea in general - things to bear in mind - things that I shouldnt let get to me and all the things I have to look forward to.

On the strength of reading that letter and feeling like I got to know him through his words I told Yun that in a few weeks when I had settled into a routine that I would like to send him an e-mail (which she said would be fine) I can tell by the tone of the letter that he was really going to miss being here and miss all the kids - I was also thinking that I might suggest to the 3rd graders who knew him for two years that they put together some letters to him in Enlgish before the end of the year (which I think is Jan / Feb) when they leave middle school. He strikes me as the kind of guy who would actually really appreciate that.

So after my classes I worked in the classroom - where I have this massive desk and huge screen - and silence! Not to mention all of Adam's resources to play with! The thing that surprised me was how many students would knock quietly on the door and poke their head in just to say hello or stop for a quick chat. These are kids that really struggle with english too - so it makes them brave and incredily friendly! Anyway the night was relatively quiet - a little more quality time spent bonding with my internet - and discovering a site where I could watch episodes of tv shows for free. Its amazing how quickly you miss the little things - like people speaking really quickly and confidently in English! Thoroughly enjoyed my dumplings though I certainly think its time for a new flavour - its starting to get dull!

Tuesday 12th October 2010

Day 3 Another big day - I'm absolutely exhausted! They say the first week of any new job is tiring, which is true, and add to that how every interaction is a battle to understand what the other person is saying and speak slowly enough that they can understand me...its no wonder I'm wrecked! Tired...but happy! I woke up this morning and had less to do than usual - I was booked in to have my medical at 9am so I wasnt allowed to eat anything after midnight - a water only diet...something I am definitely not used to! So I pottered around the apartment, cleaned up a few bits, and spent some quality time with my internet... yes I am a facebook and skype addict and I am happy to admit this - do you think they will start setting up self help groups like facebook anonymous?

 Eventually i wandered down to the school and was again greeted by a chorus of hello's and a few students rushed over to talk to me. They really are very sweet and very welcoming! I wandered up to my office and got stuck into some lesson planning - the bonus with my classes is that because I see 22 different groups at three levels (grade 1, grade 2 and grade 3) I really only have to write 3 lesson plans per week! This will really cut down on my workload and allow me to make sure that I am giving 100% in every lesson - not to mention the extra-curricular stuff I am planning, and the stuff I have already been asked to do!

When Yun came in we went to collect one of the other teachers who had a car and headed for the hospital, its only a 10 minute walk but Yun has a broken bone in her leg so driving was the best option. The hospital was amazing, really clean, and the uniforms the nurses wore were so cute! Like white scrubs with pink all around the edges! We waited for a while while Yun sorted everything out on my behalf and then I was left to go through the process with a nurse who spoke enough English that we could manage. I was weighed and had my measurements taken, including height, bust, waist an hips (god only knows what they need that for... wonder if I could get them to fit me for a nurses uniform??) I had my eyesight checked, and my hearing, blood etc taken and then I was sent off for an x-ray. I am convinced the guy that did the x-ray didnt like me... he didnt speak a word of English and was very impatient with my lack of understanding... maybe it was more that it took so long to get all my jewelery off! It was difficult with gestures to understand what he wanted me to do...but having been x-rayed before I assumed the underwire in my bra would pose a problem so I got on with it and put one of these little fabric hospital shirt-things on - which seemed to be what I was supposed to do.

I came out from behind the curtain and he grabbed me by the arm and led me toward the x-ray - I am assuming he had given up on gestures by that point and figured it was easier just to push me around! Dressed again and all but pushed out the door I went back to the room I had started in to find the nurse - trying to get all of my jewelery back on as I went - when I found her she ushered me into another room to see a doctor...who spoke English! She asked me a few questions - more about whether or not I was enjoying Korea and liked the food than any medical questions! But she was really lovely and after that I was out of there! I knew my first class wasn't till 1:30 (the half day thing...Im making the most of it!) so I asked Yun if it would be alright if I went home quickly to get a bite to eat, which she said was fine, so I got home threw on some lunch and chilled out in front of some youtube clips of Carl Barron which had me in fits of laughter. Have I mentioned I really love having the internet?!

I had three classes this afternoon, for kids who are all between the ages of 14 and 16 they are so unbelievably different! I had two groups of 3rd graders (the 16 year olds) followed by a group of second graders - the second and third graders are definietly more fun to teach than the first graders because they speak up more and are less afraid of using their English. In the first class there were a couple of kids that were very noisy - and when one of the boys asked me my age the whole class started cheering and clapping - I looked at the other teacher a little confused - and she explained that I was close enough in age to them to be fun - they consider me young whereas anyone over 30 is old...lol. It also apparently means the boys can think of me the way they do the band "Girls Generation" - a korean band made up of about 9 of the most gorgeous Korean girls...lol - I didnt know whether to be horrified or flattered.

Shortly after that I realised that this reactionw as nothing compared to what was coming...lol. One of the boys got on his knees in front of me and said "You are so beautiful. I love you!" haha...how exactly are you supposed to respond to that?! I had also set a task where I asked them to fold a little name card to sit on their tables and write their name on it - in my explanation I said it could be their Korean name or their English name but it had to be written in English characters rather than Hangul - the Korean alphabet. I said (and here was my mistake) your Korean or English name, whatever you want me to call you. A few of the boys (6 or 7) wrote things like "honey", "baby" and "darling"... which is what they wanted me to call them... as if I would!! Still you have to give them credit for trying!!


In my powerpoint slideshow I also have a photo of mum and I - taken fairly recently - for those of you that have facebook its the one in Fremantle with mum wearing sunnies. The photo comes up with a few others and I walk over and point to it and say this is my mum. Family is very important in the Korean culture so I thought it would be a nice way for the kids to get to know me. Everytime I show the photo - 6 times so far (I have to repeat the same lesson 22 times...lol...I am getting good at it now!) the kids are shocked - they keep saying it can't be my mum because she is so young - and double checking that I don't mean my sister. Then they tell me that my mum is also very beautiful and I tell them that I will tell her that - which gets them laughing. I figure mum is not a bad advertisement for what I am going to look like in 20 years... (Love you mum!) I start the slideshow with a few picci's of me when I was little - younger than they are now - which always gets their attention - I figure its my way of saying I was your age too once! But its the photo's of me feeding the wallabies that seems to get the most attention and the one of the kangaroo looking directly into the camera - Kangaroo is a word they all know!

After school I went back up to the staff room and worked on my lesson plans for a bit - put together a game called "people bingo" with things that would be relavent to them - the idea is they have to find other people in the class who fit the descriptions on the bingo card, like "Can do 10 push ups", or "likes music", or "wears glasses" - and they have to do it in English. When they get a line full they yell out Bingo. A bit of a fun game that will get them moving around the classroom and using English for question and answer. I had just finished putting it together when Yun came to tell me that we were meeting the other teachers in the carpark in 5 minutes - they had arranged to take me out for a welcome dinner! So we bundled into a couple of cars - four women, one man and me - and went down to a restaurant close to the school for a Korean Barbeque!

Oh wow...so much food, so many different things to try, so many things I had never seen before - and sooooo good! They did all the ordering and then explained a few of the dishes and the way things were cooked - the meat was cooked on a little BBQ set in the middle of the table - a table desinged for it because there was a big circle that dropped away to allow for it. Then there were all the side dishes and sauces - something that was like Kimchi but made with mung beans, an onion salad in some kind of sweet vinegar, tofu covered with a sweet and very spicy chili sauce...and Korean pancakes which are very green - and absolutely delicious! I said how much I liked them and they said the idea was that if you had a favourite side dish you just asked for more - it was included with the meal - so they taught me how to order it in Korean and told me to puch a button on the end of the table which rang a bell and sent a server to us.

The server was so impressed that I was doing the ordering she bought two back and explained that if I cooked one on the BBQ it was a different taste.
I tried everything, and loved it all, Korean food is such a unique blend of spicy, salty and sweet, but it all fits together so well! They also ordered Korean beer (I never drink beer so this was probably the only time I hesitated to try anything!) and they poured us all a glass and made a traditional Korean toast and officially welcomed me to the country, to the school, and into their lives as a friend. The whole thing was so touching - I have been here only 4 days and I feel so welcome and so at home already! Two of the girls disappeared at one point and came back with grape and berry flavoured ice-cream which was also delicious and they asked if I had enjoyed my meal - at which point one of the older teachers commented proudly that I had said "yummy" so many times she had lost count. It was yummy!

They were all smiling and I think they really enjoyed that I was so excited to try new things and that I enjoyed their food and exploring their culture. Since I have been making such an effort to learn the language they have also started to make a concerted effort to teach me things - one of the teachers even dropped by my classroom today with some text books she said she would help me work through so it would be easier to learn!

Yun said that next time, one of the teachers who's name I can't remember but is possibly one of the nicest people I have ever met, her and I would go to the American Army base for dinner because we could get food drom all over the world - where everything in Osan is "korean style". So thats another thing to look forward to! After the meal they offered to drop me home but it was only 10 minutes so I said I was happy to walk...porbably needed to walk off all that food anyway! There was a man standing near the corner of my street that greeted me as I walked past, and I automatically responded, and then spent the rest of the walk home thinking about the fact that my automatic response had been in Korean - it just seemed to come so naturally - like I had been speaking it all my life. Crazy to think that in four days there are a few phrases that just come without me having to think about it - I even find myself thinking the phrase "thank you" in Korean. I am looking forward to adding to my vocabulary!

So...up and coming events that I have been invited to or that I am participating in; The school 'korean popstar' competition, the school carnival and sports day (2 days), the native english speaking teachers association trip to Seoul, dinner at the American Army base, dinner with the teacher from the phillipines (the one with the textbooks), possibly running dance classes as part of the after school program (which I get paid extra for) and all of this outside of my teaching hours! I promise I will pull the camera out for some of these events - and the kids and teachers love being in photo's so there will be lots to put up on facebook - and maybe even a few on here!

Monday October 11th 2010

Day 2 What a day! I am completely exhausted and really should be in bed going to sleep… but a lovely guy just came around to set up my internet and I needed to have a play before I went to sleep – it’s a little like an addiction and I’m finally getting my fix! So I should start at the beginning… I remembered to turn the hot water on before I got in the shower which was a good start, and I was ever so grateful for the toaster they bought especially for me – even if bread is so expensive it can really only be considered a luxury item! I noticed out the window, for the third day in a row the older Korean woman ferreting around in the bushes on the embankment on the other side of the street from my window – she’s obviously looking for something, and from the way every now and then she puts something in her pocket I can only assume it’s some kind of nut – she seems to be out there most of the day. Quite bizarre!

 I left a little early and wandered over to the school, where I was met at the front gate by two boys who had been told I would be arriving, who escorted me up to the staffroom on the fourth floor so that I wouldn’t get lost. I was greeted by almost every student I walked past, they seemed to be excited to be able to greet me in English, and they were so polite! I was shown to my desk where a big laptop had already been set up with internet access and Yun told me that she had a class to teach that would take about 20 minutes and then she would be back to show me around and introduce me to everyone – she mentioned that I was welcome to join her but that she thought I would like a chance to check my e-mails… by that point I was dying for some contact with the outside world so I thanked her profusely and sat down to catch up on my facebook gossip.

After the class she came back to get me and took me to meet the school principal, who didn’t speak a word of English, though we had a long conversation with Yun acting as translator. The principal is a short happy sort of fellow, he’s so cute in an old tiny man sort of way, you just want to give him a cuddle and pinch his cheeks…haha. Not that I think that would be a good idea! After that we went to my classroom…and oh wow! My classroom is incredible – the technology is amazing and it is set out in such a nice way – I’ll put pictures up at some point! All the other English teachers came down to meet me, they are all Korean and their English ranges from Excellent, in Yun’s case, to a little frightening.

Each of them will work with me to assist with translating in my classes. They decided during the meeting that they wanted to take me out so they could spend a little time with me outside of school – so Tuesday after school we are all doing something – there are 5 women and a man that teach English so it will be quite a big bunch of us! I thought it was really lovely that they were so willing to give up their time to make me feel so welcome!

After that I got to spend a bit more time in preparation for my classes, I put together a word search with all things Australian, I had put together a slide show with some pictures of me and Australia to introduce myself, at the suggestion of Yun – so I figured it all tied in quite nicely. I also googled a few images of Australian animals – including a picture of the cutest little baby dingo which I knew they would like – and just had the pictures waiting there as an addition. While I was in the classroom I had a number of students stop in to say hello, most of the time it was “hello” and then they would run away giggling, the students are very shy about using their English.

I had been back in the office less than 10 minutes when one of the teachers came in to take me down to the teacher’s cafeteria for lunch. Lunch is provided by the school and they take a small amount from your pay to cover it. I followed the teacher in and then copied what she did, I didn’t recognize any of the food other than the kimchi (which they were surprised I could pronounce correctly) so I took the chopsticks and spoon and took what she took – other than the dish that looked a little like a cross between grey slimy worms and some kind of stiff grass – just couldn’t stomach the thought of it! The fish soup also looked and smelled interesting but I took a little anyway – gotta try everything right?!

We sat down and I tried a bit of everything, deciding the red curry looking thing was the best, and within a minute the other teachers were complimenting me on my ability to use chopsticks. I have been using them for years (thanks mum!) so I didn’t think about the fact that they might be surprised a little white girl knew how to use them! Then I had my first two classes… I still didn’t really know what to expect, the other teachers had been telling me that the students were very naughty and very loud, which is really quite amusing when you compare them to Australian students! They do talk a bit but the second you give them work the whole class goes silent as they work on the task – it’s quite incredible!

I started with the slideshow and the reactions were really great – especially when I showed them the pictures of me feeding the wallabies – and the baby dingo was definitely a hit! The word search I gave them seemed to become a bit of a competition with the older kids to see who could finish it the fastest! What surprised me most about the classes was when I realized that the 22 classes I will be teaching every week are 22 different groups of students – I only see every class once a week which means I have over a thousand students! Given how much trouble I have even pronouncing their names at the moment, remembering over a thousand names might be a bit of a struggle! I gave them all a slip of paper and showed them how to fold it so it would stay upright on the desks and asked them to write their names on them and bring them to the next class – I will try to learn them… I’ve got 12 months… oh dear! 

After the classes were finished I stayed behind to help one of the other teachers work on a drama performance the principal asked her to do with her English group for the school carnival next week. Basically I am going to write a script and play the role of the English teacher in the performance – shouldn’t be too much of a stretch really! It’s kind of fun that on my first day I am already being asked to get involved in the fun things that happen at the school. I am looking forward to the carnival too – it runs for two days – the first day is like a sports day and then the second day is for fun, with different food and performances throughout the day. The teacher was so grateful I was happy to help we ended up chatting for ages, she also offered to help teach me Korean – an offer which I accepted instantly – being able to speak it would be fantastic – but my primary focus is getting to the point where I can read the labels on things at the supermarket! I would really like some prawn dumplings to go with my pork dumplings…but there’s no pictures of prawns on any of the bags so I’m stuffed at the moment!

 So I finally got home and changed into my comfy Winnie the pooh pjs, was on the phone to mum, and there was a knock at the door. Now I live on the fourth floor and my door is second from the end, at first I thought it was a mistake, but then I reasoned you would have to be pretty confused to pick my door out of all of the others. I opened the door and there was this tall Korean man standing there – I was so surprised there was someone there I greeted him in English (I am getting quite good at hello and thank you in Korean) at which point he rattled off a long sentence in Korean – I must have looked confused because he stopped and said “internet” – like he was speaking to someone a little slow. My first thought at that point was that it was payback for all those aussies who seem to think that speaking more slowly and louder is going to make someone understand you…then I opened the door and let him in.

Note to all psycho killers out there – move country and learn the word internet in their language! He came in and set it all up – and then tried to explain something to me…right… coz with him speaking no English and me speaking no Korean that was going to be a really easy thing to do! In the end he said the name of my school and the word teacher and after a series of hand gestures I figured out what he wanted was for me to call the school teacher – easier said than done when you have no phone – which I also tried to explain (hand smacking against head moment). I found her number and he called her from his phone. Whatever he needed to explain he did, I tried to apologise for the pjs and tell him I hadn’t known he was coming…but gave up. As if that was going to be an easier conversation than “I don’t have a phone”. He left and I did a momentary happy dance around my tiny apartment before giggling at myself and settling down to get my fix of internet. Another huge day – but definitely a successful day – and I can’t wait for tomorrow!

Sunday October 10th 2010

Day 1 I am counting this as day one because it is the first time I have woken up in Korea – I have the basics in my apartment…the very basics, but it’s a start and today the adventure really begins. My apartment is tiny, but more than enough space for me to rattle around in, and I like that if I poke my head out over the edge of the bed I can see the front door. There is a little glass door I can pull over to shut off the kitchen and the front door from the rest of the apartment but I get the feeling that in the winter I am going to want the extra heat that comes from the gas cooker. Though the in-floor heating certainly warms the place up really quickly!

I am in a really great location, on the side of the building that the apartments are on there is a road and then a big park behind it, so you can only see the tops of the big apartment buildings behind the trees. I am on the fourth floor so it means I can leave my window open all the time – though again when it starts to get really cold there is another door that seals off the laundry area and window to keep the heat in, and its mostly opaque which means the light will still come through. I have a stand-alone cupboard which is just big enough for the clothes that I have brought and a massive fridge that is almost as big as the cupboard – if I filled it I would be eating for a few months! The bed is a bit hard but I think if I put a blanket under the sheet it will be a bit more comfortable and its big enough to be comfortable. The biggest challenge is that all the stuff in the apartment is written in Korean, like all the buttons on the washing machine and microwave, I have no idea how to use them! I also have a rice cooker which is very exciting except I don’t know how to use that either! I am going to have to get someone to teach me about it and which buttons to push.

 Doing a bit of shopping yesterday was also an experience, but I think I was so tired I wasn’t taking it all in, there are a few bits and pieces I have to get today so I’ll give it another shot now I’m not so tired! I got up this morning, feeling a little blue, the lack of internet and phone are getting to me a bit because I am completely cut off from everyone and I am not used to that. Everything feels like it’s so much more of a challenge than it was at home, or in any English speaking country for that matter. But I have to keep thinking about the positives and how much better it will all be once I have the internet sorted and once I get into a rhythm.

At least I know I won’t starve, I bought a bag of frozen dumplings yesterday, they had a taste test spot and they tasted great so I bought them, they are super easy to cook and I feel like I have eaten too much after I’ve had 6…and they are super cheap! I think it’s just going to be a matter of getting used to everything, and everything being so completely different means it might take more than 24 hours to get a handle on things, but I am sure I will manage. This is the adventure I wanted after all!

 Anyway I am meeting the school teacher this evening, at the Dunkin’ Donut, which I have yet to find, so today I am on a mission. I need to find an internet café, get a tea towel and some dish liquid, maybe some other interesting food items, and visit a phone shop because I am certain that if I ask enough people about a pre-paid sim card that eventually someone will give me something I can use! Other than that I am going to explore my immediate area, there was a little fruit market down the road I wanted to have a look at and I feel the need to do a bit of exploring! I have the address of my apartment with me and I can find my way from the school so I figure I can’t get too lost! I also have to code to my apartment with me – get this – no keys! There is a door handle and a keypad below it, you enter the pass-code and the door unlocks after a few beeps to let you know you have entered the right combination. So handy not having to carry keys! As long as I never forget to take the pass-code with me, coz I could be locked out, and I have a feeling that the company you call if you have a problem won’t have too many English speakers to help out! Anyway, I best keep getting ready, it’s almost mid-day already!

  Later the same day… Went for a walk…a 2-3 hour adventure really, I walked from my apartment all the way down past the main street in the city, and I found Osan Jeoung Market – a huge indoor / outdoor market that had everything from clothes and music, to food (alive and dead), fresh meat and vegetables. A very cool place to have found – I just kept thinking that I wished I had a bicycle, the city is flat so that’s the way a lot of people get around, and I could have put things in the basket of a bicycle to get the stuff home. I may have to look into that as an investment! So after wandering around till my feet hurt I decided to go to the “E-mart” which is the biggest department store / supermarket chain in Korea – and conveniently located about 5 minutes walk from my apartment and right next to my school. It’s a little like stepping into the future and definitely liking walking into another world at this store. Instead of little plastic signs hanging off the shelf to advertise certain items there are little screens that play advertising and sound, some of which only activate when you get close to them.

There are people cooking up things for taste testing everywhere and they all talk to you as you walk past in an effort to entice you to buy the product. Everything is colourful, bright and busy. Everyone has a smile for you, and most of them will try to help, even if that means they just keep speaking in Korean and try out different hand gestures until it looks like you might have understood! The one thing that I noticed most about today was that I didn’t see a single westerner, which explains a little why everyone was staring at me, I guess I look a little out of place! But anyone that noticed I saw them staring would smile and say hello. I’ve gotten very good at hello, thank you, and the one I used the most today – “no thank you”… I had one girl take me by the arm and try to lead me into a shop (a shop I couldn’t have afforded to breathe the air in I suspect…) but once I responded in Korean she seemed more surprised than anything and stopped for a chat instead. So I bought a few things that I needed, the tea towels (which are really tiny!), facecloths, and soap.

The soap smells delicious, apricot scented, which was the best of an intere
sting selection, but the one that had me laughing was the dish liquid. I could have orange scented, or I could go for something more exotic, like sunflower or wheat scented… maybe I’m not too smart but I couldn’t tell you what sunflowers or wheat actually smelled like! There were a few other options but I couldn’t decipher the labels, or figure out what the picture was, and there was no way to smell them. I opted for orange – my dishes now smell like orange juice. I had a bit of fun trying to find something that resembled spray and wipe too – though I think I was more successful with that, I managed to find a lemon scented one, came with a refill and all, they are very into packaging things together and discounting… It does sort of smell like lemon… but it definitely smells clean which is a good thing! So I came home and cleaned the bathroom, washed every dish in the place and washed all the floors, its always nicer when you’ve cleaned it yourself and it wasn’t really dirty – but the best part… took me 15 minutes to scrub the entire apartment from top to bottom! I also bought a few fun things – I really have no idea what they are, but I guess it will be trial an error until I figure out what I like and what I don’t!

I bought what I think is a bag of chips…and from what I can tell on the label they might be spicy – I have no idea what they’ll taste like but there is a cartoon of a little dude on the front and he looks quite happy to be eating them so I’m hoping they taste good! I also got something that looks a little like a fat pikelet, there is a picture on the front of a honey comb so I am guessing they either taste like honey or there is honey in the middle and from what I can tell you put them in the toaster before you eat them…but I could be wrong! I love the little taste testing stands, I tried this drinking yoghurt today and it was so yummy I bought some, guess they know how well it works – you really don’t need to eat lunch before you go! The one thing I am looking forward to trying is what looks like KFC chicken – but all the packs were way too big for me to manage and from the pictures on the walls of the shop on the corner of the street where I live I saw the same food so I am guessing I can get a single sere from there.

Oh…the coolest thing? Everything can be delivered… from Korean food, to Pizza to…wait for it…McDonalds! You can call McDonalds and they will deliver it to your apartment! Most places will also deliver alcohol and cigarettes. I just keeping thinking about the number of nights I had had a few too many drinkies to drive and I would have killed to have Macca’s delivered! I walked past my school today and couldn’t help but smile when I saw what I am guessing are my students playing baseball on the field to the side of the school. They were having a great time, I thought about stopping to watch, and then I thought I might look a bit creepy watching them through the fence! It’s so different to the schools in Australia in that it’s right in the middle of the city next to big shopping centre’s etc. There are no real “school grounds” surrounding it – it’s just a building like any other aside from the fenced park to the side.

 Walking through the backstreets the other thing that really struck me was that almost every shop had music playing. There were always lights and sounds and people. The music varied a lot as well, most of it was Korean pop music and nice to listen to even if I don’t know what the words mean, but there was a fair amount of western music as well. I laughed aloud when I walked past a shop and recognized the music as “Air Supply”! A few general observations… there is no such thing as a parking space, as long as it’s not on one of the really busy main roads, apparently you can park anywhere you want! This includes; on pedestrian crossings, facing either way on a side street wherever you can find one, and double parking if you are in a hurry. There is also no such thing as J-walking, walking down the middle of the street is perfectly acceptable, again providing it’s not a main road, and cars will just beep to let you know they are approaching, even if you are not right in the middle of the road. I realized this beeping rule when I jumped the first time it happened and a couple of older Korean men started laughing at me.

Generally if you’re a pedestrian they will just drive around you, or if you’re really in the way they beep and you move…when you feel like it…no hurry! They drive on the other side of the road and the steering wheel is on the other side of the car, like in the US, and I think the rule is that you don’t look when you pull out of a parking space, you just go and if there is anyone coming they will beep. For pedestrians there is no keep to the left rule, you walk where you want, and on an escalator you stand right in the middle – everyone expects this so they are a lot more patient. It does surprise me how few people speak English, and maybe it’s different because I am living in Osan which is a little further out, maybe in Seoul it is more common. Most people will still try to help – I asked a question of a girl in a shop yesterday and I ended up with six people around me trying to make sense of my question and figure out how to answer it… very helpful – but I think I am going to need to learn Korean as soon as possible!

The one thing that’s super nice over here is that people keep stopping me in the street to tell me I’m beautiful…I am going to have to work to make sure I don’t get a big head! It’s a little bit random though, it comes from the women more often than the men, and they will literally stop you by putting a hand on your arm and then come out with a compliment, very flattering but I spend half my life blushing! The other thing of interest I saw today, which could have been part of the Suwon cultural festival that’s on this weekend, was a fly over by what looked like fighter jets. They flew past and almost a minute later the sound hit – really incredible, these things were fast and super maneuverable! Given that I don’t have TV at the moment I am hoping that it was a demonstration and not that North Korea have declared war… I would love to have access to news… but even if I did I am picking it would all be in Korean so not much good to me at this point! Anyway, relying on the understanding that peace continues I am going to go make myself some dumplings and have a rest before I head out to meet the school teacher, Yun. (I found the Dunkin’ Donut…also about a 5 minute walk!) Ciao!


Later Still… I have just come home and had a shower, made sure I had the powerpoint I put together ready to show the students tomorrow, and got my folder and bits together so I am all organized. I had coffee with Yun, I ended up going about 30 minutes early and to my delight I could access the free wi-fi from the adidas store that was next to Dunkin’ Donut! It was great to talk to her, I had loads of questions about the school, how the classes would be run, and about the students themselves. I told her a few of the ideas I had and she was very excited about them so I am filled with excitement about tomorrow and I am feeling very positive about the whole thing. She said the students are very excited to meet me and have lots of questions which is also a good thing. Tomorrow I am only teaching two classes, the school decided it would be best if I didn’t have too much on during my first two days so I am only teaching after lunch, the morning tomorrow will be used to meet everyone, the other English teachers and the Principal and vice-Principal.

Tomorrow night Yun will collect me and take me up to the hospital to have my medical done so I can begin to get sorted for my Alien registration card. As soon as I have that then I can open a bank account – and get a drivers’ license if I want one – I think I am going to steer clear of driving at this point! I asked her about what the students call the teachers and she said most of the time they refer to them as “teacher” but that the last native English speaking teacher they had was from Canada and he let the kids call him Adam. Apparently the kids formed a real bond with him and he stayed for two years. I was also excited to learn about the upcoming events, I missed the teacher conference on the 6th of October, but there is a day out organized where they take all the native English teachers on a tour of Seoul and I have apparently already been booked in for that on the 20th of October. Then next month there is a conference where we have either 1 or 2 nights away and there are about 200 native English teachers from the province that all get together. This will be such a fantastic experience, not to mention a great resource, a lot of the teachers have been teaching here for over a year so they will share things I haven’t yet figured out! Apparently they come from all over the English speaking world as well, from Australia, England, Ireland, South Africa, New Zealand etc. I am really looking forward to the trip to Seoul though! I should go to sleep now – tomorrow is going to be a big day – I can’t believe how big today was! And to think I was feeling blue this morning!