Korea: Week 1

I arrived in Korea on Sunday. So much has happened in the last week, I don’t know where to start. I’ve been so busy, I haven’t had the time to record the many thoughts I’ve endured, however I will attempt to relive them here without boring you. I should warn you right away, however, there’s much to be said, to this entry will not be brief.

I arrived in Seoul Sunday evening. I was picked up at the airport with Dan, a fellow teacher who is also from Ottawa. I was fortunate enough to meet Dan in Ottawa before we left. I really like him. When we got here only one room was ready, so Dan and I shared a very small bachelor for the first few nights, and I slept on the sofa. This was slightly frustrating only because they pressured us so much to at a certain date, but when we do finally arrive, they’re not ready for us. I eventually moved into a very nice loft that could make any young professional jealous. I am very fortunate to have such a nice place, as Dan’s place is not nearly as nice. I also think I may have a crush on my door. When I am lonely I talk with her. I don’t understand what she is saying, but she sounds very sexy.

After arriving Sunday evening I spoke with my boss on the phone and she informed me I would not be starting work till Tuesday. She wanted me to come to school on Monday just so she could meet me, which is completely understandable. I was anxious to get to school for the same reason. When I got to school in the morning though, they told me I would be subbing for a class. No prep, nothing, just thrown into a pit of lions. This is considerably more difficult than you might think. I’d rather swim with piranhas then have to do that again.

So immediately after landing, I worked my day off. This means six straight days of work without a chance to deal with jetlag, cultural differences, and not having a bed.… Welcome to Korea. The job itself is the most challenging job I’ve ever had. The children lack anything that could even resemble discipline. I teach children anywhere from 4 to 8 years old. Preparation is the key to success, however, everything I seemed to have prepared has failed, and I have struggled to control many of my classes. I’ve already had to yell at one of my classes. I scared the shit out of them, but it was the only way they would listen, though they continued to kick, scream, throw, hit each other and disrupt the class with obnoxious noises.

I’ve been very fortunate with a light teaching schedule, however all the other teachers get Korean Teaching Assistants (TAs). For the most part, I don’t get to benefit from their hard work. The TAs are all fantastic people, great with the children and like most Koreans they work extremely hard. I do have the help from a TA for my young Saturday classes though. My TA, Dawn is fantastic. She’s like that cute girl in the Japanese movies with the annoying high pitch voice. I find the combination of the high pitch voices with the silly language kind of endearing. I love Dawn though. She is very smart, helpful and incredible with the kids. When it comes to teaching 4 year olds who don’t speak a word of English, Dawn is the Ying to my Yang. I wouldn’t trade her for the world.

Adjusting to life in Korea has not been very difficult so far. I am very indifferent about being here. I’m not nearly as excited as I was about Europe, though I’m not regretting coming here. I haven’t had the time to see much of Seoul yet. Today was my first day off and I spent it unpacking, cleaning and preparing for class. I feel like the city is difficult to love. There’s tall buildings and concrete everywhere, combined with colourful lights. There is very little grass, trees or anything green. Even when it’s sunny here there’s never any need for sunglasses as the smog provides shade for even the most sensitive eyes. In general though, the city lacks the character or charm that I experienced everywhere in Europe, and I’ve come to appreciate in Ottawa. Hopefully after seeing more of the city I will be convinced otherwise.

Conveniences make the city easy to live in. There are small stores everywhere and many are open quite late. Though most people in the stores do not speak English, they are usually very helpful and pleasant. In addition to stores, in the evening the streets become littered with vendors offering great deals on fresh fish, clothes, shoes and Korean street food, among many other things. I haven’t tried any of the street food yet, because I’m trying to avoid grease right now, but Korean food is delicious. Advice for anyone who plans to come to Korea: Learn to eat spicy food and learn to use chopsticks. The food is spicy even for me, and I generally enjoy a lot of spicy food. Though forks do exist here, you’re not often given the option. They give you one or the other. I suppose you could survive on McCrap or fried chicken as they can easily be found. Though most places are Korean, it’s not difficult to find corporate America. There’s even a Roots store (Canadian clothing company) in the mall close to me. There’s a very big mix of Korean and Western culture which is probably why all the teachers are finding it quite easy to adapt to living here.

A few random things I’ve noticed while here:
Though drivers pass on the right, pedestrians typically pass on the left.
Drivers do not yield to pedestrians, even at crosswalks.
Churches are in normal tall buildings indicated by red glowing crosses. Do not try to use these crosses as reference points. You will get even more lost.
Appearance is everything. Even cars are polished regularly. Every single car looks shiny and new.
Unlike China or Europe, cars are large like in North America, maybe even larger. SUVs are common, though minivans are not.
Kids are easily frightened by me as I do not look like everyone else. Sometimes I’m the first time they’ve seen someone that isn’t “black hair, and ….” It’s funny how they trail off after that. I do have black hair too!
Bowing is important, but often a head nod passes as a bow.

Note: In the interest of posting something for you to read as quickly as possible, I did not properly edit this publication. As a result you may find this to be long winded and/or poorly written. I do apologies for that.