Week two I was spirited away to the outskirts of Suwon for a 5 day training. It was a nice hotel in a tranquil place, but it felt a bit like being transplanted into summer camp, just when my officetel started to feel more like home. The large "resort" near a lake boasted a garden terrace and a well groomed golf course. Good, if one golfed.
They placed us four to a room to accomodate our large group of approx. 190 "Native speaker"English elementary school teachers from all over the province. I arrived last and slept on a small twin bed between a Canadian teacher and a Scottish teacher. Thus my sleep was often interrupted and I felt a bit like the inside parts of a sausage, or "sausag-ee" as the Koreans call it! :)
The training was mostly positive. The timing was a bit annoying, though. I promised Steve I would book plans for the upcoming 4 day Chuseok break, but this proved too difficult to do while at the conference. The resort offered only TWO computers for a 600 person resort. Apparently the hotel assumed that you'd bring your own laptop, but we teachers all assumed more would be provided. I was also deluged with e-mails and text messages from hiking club about a weekend long trip Steve and I are taking with in October. Their requests for documents and deposit payments were hard to cover as I had difficulty just getting on the computers in my time off.
Within the five days of payed training, there were some endkless lectures, BUT, there were also three days of very helpful information on class activities and inter-cultural communication. And lots of great web resouces, which are crucial because the textbooks here are pretty DULLLLLLL... Many of the best ideas came from my fellow new teachers. We shared silly stories and confusing situations in our new nieghborhoods. I realized how sheltered I'd been in the "faux Korea" of my relatively Westernized area of Seoul last year!! There were three abrasive American men there on their first travels abroad, so there were definitely two public moments when one could see all the Americans who weren't speaking (including me) blush and sink lower in their seats. Oye. Then there was the American guy who traveled there with all of his moneey in Korea AND his credit cards in one wallet, no money belt, no bank account yet, no back up funds. Of course the poor idiot got his wallet stolen by someone at the hotel. I felt bad for him, but he was openly mocked by some for his total lack of common sense. Poor loser.
It as a big group of mostly twenty-something Canadians and I felt a bit shy, believe it or not. There was a lot of small talk, which is sometimes interesting and sometimes boring. I forces myself to sit with different groups, and di click with a few folks.There was way more diversity than I'd seen at Poly School conventions, though. I was pleased to meet light-skinned blacks from the UK , Korean-Americans, and a bi-racial man with an Indian last name. It's a credit to our province that they don't see all "Native English Speakers" as blue-eyed blondes like some schools in Korea do. In the end my more mellow roomates turned out to be cool, I went out to the local bar once or twice and I met four cool people from my city. One grew up right near my cousin Missy; small world. All the folks in my area exchanged emails and I plan to invite them to a little brunch that I am planning when I get myself organized in October.
By Friday we were all tired but a few friendships were budding and we'd started a website for ourselves which wil be great for sharing lesson plans and connecting with folks once the winter hits and it's harder to meet people outside whether hiking mountains or going to local events.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Officetel Life
Week one I tried to unpack and improve upon my modest Officetel. The former occupant's belongings were my first problem. He moved on the subway and couldn't carry all his stuff, which stinks for him, but then he left a pile of stuff and a fridge full of food and made it stink for me. :( Hanging the curtain rod also became unrgent as the sun blasted in through the window at 5:30am. Good morning sleepy teacher! I tried to hang it with nails, it fell down. I went to the store and asked gfor screws and the clerk just shrugged at me, uncomprehending. I jerry-rigged it with duck tape; down it crashed. In streamed the early morning sun. Finally, I drew a diagram and marched back to the E-mart for the gosh darned screws.
It was a confusing week, but I tried to take it with a sense of humor. The shelves in my apartment are much too high for me, and they were designed and built by Koreans for Koreans. Hmm. I decided that they must have a sense if humor, as well. :) Steve wasd planning a business trip, then he wasn't, and then he was again. School rushed by, a stream of connections and miscommunications. Mrs. L. asked sweetly, "Did the students at Poly School UNDERSTAND your American accent?" Meaning, what, exactly? (My "American" accent? There's only one?)
I struggled with the CD rom system (which I am supposd to use in most lessons) at school, and with getting my internet set up at home. It seemed like right after my warm reunion with Steve he was off again, leaving me alone in my white bathrobe in his exectutive apartment. Then ther monsoons returned in earnest. The 80 or so Korean words that I know didn't fit into enough correct sentences to get around well in my neighborhood. One night as it poured rain, I couldn't have my favorite fried chicken delivered from the local Kochon Chicken, because I couldn't correctly pronounce the name of my street in Korean. Such is life in the Korean suburbs without the buffer of Korean helpers.
Then, thankfully I did have a fun night out on the town with my hillarious pal Angi. She has had her own joys and misadventures, and just laughing over a beer and stories, IN ENGLISH, restored me. School tires me out but socializing with fellow foreigners is key to defeating isolation.
It was a confusing week, but I tried to take it with a sense of humor. The shelves in my apartment are much too high for me, and they were designed and built by Koreans for Koreans. Hmm. I decided that they must have a sense if humor, as well. :) Steve wasd planning a business trip, then he wasn't, and then he was again. School rushed by, a stream of connections and miscommunications. Mrs. L. asked sweetly, "Did the students at Poly School UNDERSTAND your American accent?" Meaning, what, exactly? (My "American" accent? There's only one?)
I struggled with the CD rom system (which I am supposd to use in most lessons) at school, and with getting my internet set up at home. It seemed like right after my warm reunion with Steve he was off again, leaving me alone in my white bathrobe in his exectutive apartment. Then ther monsoons returned in earnest. The 80 or so Korean words that I know didn't fit into enough correct sentences to get around well in my neighborhood. One night as it poured rain, I couldn't have my favorite fried chicken delivered from the local Kochon Chicken, because I couldn't correctly pronounce the name of my street in Korean. Such is life in the Korean suburbs without the buffer of Korean helpers.
Then, thankfully I did have a fun night out on the town with my hillarious pal Angi. She has had her own joys and misadventures, and just laughing over a beer and stories, IN ENGLISH, restored me. School tires me out but socializing with fellow foreigners is key to defeating isolation.
The First Day of School
I arrived early, in my snazzy outfit, full of eager zest. Excited students smiled and waved- "Hello! Hi! Sunsangiiimmmmm! Hi!." :) Rumors spread quickly through the school that I was a lady and small girl after small girl peeked into my shared office to confirm these reports.
Mrs. L, my sweet and very pregnant co-teacher smiled at me over her great expanse of belly. She let me into my office and tried to explain my schedule, and the change that had already been made since she's printed out my schedule fifteen minutes earlier. I had a little post-flight cold and she spoke in a quiet, low voice, out of habit or shyness, I wasn't sure which. I strained to hear her. She alluded to lesson formats that I must already know, having spoken to the former foreign teacher. I wondered if he's told me enough. I had to ask her to repeat herself, louder, please, twice. She smiled, and tried to explain it to me in different words in the same quiet tone. I couldn't quite hear her, but I believe that she apologized that her English was not better. I complimented her English. Ah, inter-cultural communication...
The day was a blur of smiling children. Another surprise: I will not, in fact get my own unshared classroom and I will be roaming to other rooms most of the time. So much for the seating plan ideas I'd prepared! Every classroom was different, and had a different vibe. In class, we mostly met each other and played name games. I stuck to basics like the date and the weather. English and shyness levels varied widely, to understate it! Being chosen as teacher's helper for the day was either their biggest honor or worst nightmare! Giving stickers to the best participants was a big hit, though. Darn it, hardly any of them had chosen English names, so I have at least 12 Jun or Jin based names!! What can I do? Bless the Soyoung's because at least that's a unique name of a former high school classmate who I'll be able to remember.
Most of my fellow teachers seemed caring and supportive. Two are young and fun and really tried to help. One used good English to back me up. And, one guy left the room entirely for half my lesson, without telling me where he was going. Um,.er, that's not supposed to happen. Then there was the scary old school guy with the hitting baton. I had heard that corporal punishment still happens in some schools, but that didn't prepare me for the "Whack!" sound of his baton hitting a boys thigh durinmg English class! Scary! I was glad I only had to be in that classroom two hours a week.
Mrs. L, my sweet and very pregnant co-teacher smiled at me over her great expanse of belly. She let me into my office and tried to explain my schedule, and the change that had already been made since she's printed out my schedule fifteen minutes earlier. I had a little post-flight cold and she spoke in a quiet, low voice, out of habit or shyness, I wasn't sure which. I strained to hear her. She alluded to lesson formats that I must already know, having spoken to the former foreign teacher. I wondered if he's told me enough. I had to ask her to repeat herself, louder, please, twice. She smiled, and tried to explain it to me in different words in the same quiet tone. I couldn't quite hear her, but I believe that she apologized that her English was not better. I complimented her English. Ah, inter-cultural communication...
The day was a blur of smiling children. Another surprise: I will not, in fact get my own unshared classroom and I will be roaming to other rooms most of the time. So much for the seating plan ideas I'd prepared! Every classroom was different, and had a different vibe. In class, we mostly met each other and played name games. I stuck to basics like the date and the weather. English and shyness levels varied widely, to understate it! Being chosen as teacher's helper for the day was either their biggest honor or worst nightmare! Giving stickers to the best participants was a big hit, though. Darn it, hardly any of them had chosen English names, so I have at least 12 Jun or Jin based names!! What can I do? Bless the Soyoung's because at least that's a unique name of a former high school classmate who I'll be able to remember.
Most of my fellow teachers seemed caring and supportive. Two are young and fun and really tried to help. One used good English to back me up. And, one guy left the room entirely for half my lesson, without telling me where he was going. Um,.er, that's not supposed to happen. Then there was the scary old school guy with the hitting baton. I had heard that corporal punishment still happens in some schools, but that didn't prepare me for the "Whack!" sound of his baton hitting a boys thigh durinmg English class! Scary! I was glad I only had to be in that classroom two hours a week.
Setting In
After an endless flight and unexpected delays...I finally arrived in Seoul late Friday night. Steve was there to meet me at the airport, which was sweet and practical as my delay had annulled my plans to meet him. My nice driver helped with my huge bags and drove us South of the city. We did not turn into exactly the neighborhood I had been told about and was thus expecting, but drove further away from the Hofs (bars) and excitement of Sanbon station to the quieter Gunpo station area. Hmm, interesting...We fumbled with the electronic lock (no keys to misplace! :)) and peered in. Yay! I was relieved at the size of my officetel. Not palatial, by any means, but a few feet larger, and cleaner, than I had expected. One wrinkle was that the former tenant Phil, left a big pile of stuff in the corner of the Officetel. A large chair, an excercise machine, and heavy dumbells. He left a note saying that he would be back fior them. Hmm again. I crumpled into bed and slept for many hours...
by P
by P
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