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!