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 K
orean 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 teach
ing 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!
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