Thursday 2-21
Get in and take a bus to Mok-dong station. Picked up by
Louise and Stephen. Taken by YBM, given brief tour. Walk down the street and
meet Ronnie, the owner.
Driven to my apartment located in the building Bobo county.
Small, slight disappointment… Louise and Stephen were surprised too. There was
a funky odor and no bedding (sheets or comforter). They leave to buy my a
comforter. When they get back, they introduce me to Fiona. Fiona and I meet up with Rob. We walk to the
supermarket, then we walk to an E-Mart by the school. I buy a pillow and some
supplies. Walk back to bobo. We buy some
Soju. Fiona departs, so Rob and I go to his room. We drink some Soju. Ama comes
by, and we drink Soju with Ama. 3am-
bed
Friday 2-22
Training. Fiona and I walk to YBM. Stop for coffee. They do not have straight
black coffee. Closest is an Americano. At school, I get taken to each classroom
and introduced as Eric Teacher…That is how the kids not their teachers. I then
observed several classes and met the other teachers. After observation, Louise
took me and Rachel (another new teacher) along with Ronnies Daughter (DiDi) to
get some Udon.
Walk home with Ama and Sarah. Get changed, then head back
over by the school and eat Korean BBQ with several other teachers and some of
Ama’s friends. We then head down to Hongdae (the bar district) and go to
Shamaracks. It is an Irish Pub bar owned by a Korean girl in her 20s. She lived
in Ireland for
a while. It felt just like a pub back in the US .
Take a cab home.
Saturday 2-23
Explore Seoul . I
walk around my neighborhood, walk to school, take a train to where my teachers
training will be. Since I have no communication devices working, planning is
difficult. I had 3 choices. Casino with Ama. Dinner with Rob and friends. Bonfire
with Sarah. If I was to do the Casino, I
had to meet with Ama at 6. Bonfire and Dinner were both at 6:30 . Sarah was not going to go out, but Rob was. I got
back to Bobo at 615, so I missed Ama. I then chose dinner with rob and friends,
as I am not ready to start spending Saturday nights in my apartment.
We leave to Hongdae. We see them filiming for some Korea
show… We watch for a few minutes. We get Korean Fried Chicken. We meet up with
his friends. We walk past Ride’em Cowboy… it has potential for OSU. We go to
Beer Market, a bar with a decent selection of beer. We then head to B2, a club.
It was okay, but some US
military people came in and embarrassed us all. They were loud, obnoxious,
rude, and did things you are not supposed to do in Korea
(like punch the bar). When they got on the dancefloor, all of the Koreans got
off. We were not on the dance floor yet, but it totally killed the vibe of the
bar. They left, but we were no longer feeling that bar. We left and went to
GoGo2. Another club. We meet up with Ama and his people. More fun. We danced.
There was even an elevated dance area, and we go up, and were even brought to
the front. In clubs that are clubby, white people are kind of like street
credit, and we get in for free, and I am told will even be given free drinks to
stay. Not all clubs, but some. But, in order to get treatment, we cannot act
like animals… which is what happened at B2, and the whites were associated with
that behavior.
We left that place and went to a Karaoke place. Fantastically fun. After there we got some
dukbokki (rice cake in spicy sauce) and Rob and I cabbed it home at 5:30am .
Sunday 2-24
Simple day. I woke up far too early after going to bed so
late. My jetlag was definitely still messing with me. I showered and went to Jubilee
Church Korea
(and it was also her birthday). We ate Indian food, which was pretty good, but
rather expensive I feel for what it was. Taste was fantastic, but the portion
was too small for me (though that is one thing I am going to have to get used
to). Got back to my apartment, and did the work I needed to do to prepare for
training.
Monday 2-25
Training day. Takes a little over an hour to get to my
training facility. So left early to do that. Got there early and got some
coffee from a Korean chain. They too only had Americano. So I am still in
search for a good coffee shop that can drip me some coffee. Training was okay.
Only 5 people are being trained. For lunch we went to some restaurant. Not the
one we intended on going to. They had soup that had veggies and a whole fish.
One of the teachers that was training with us put some of the appetizers in the
soup, thinking that is what they were there for. One of the things he put in
was some little thing that had a ton of fish bones… Who got that in his bowl…? Me.
And I had a ton of little bones… Oh well. The fish was pretty awesome though…
the lady cut off the head, and used tongs to pull all of the meat off the
skeleton. Tasty. It was more expensive that anyone thought, but it still was
only 17 a person.
After work, I got off 1 stop away from my subway transfer
point. So, instead of waiting, I decided to explore the neighborhood. So, I
walked through part of Gangam (yes, the place from the song). I would have
stayed and explored more… but I wanted to get home. I figure I will go there
sometime when I can really explore.
I was hoping to get dinner from a street vendor that sells
chicken filled with rice. He was not out. So I went by a bakery and got a
sandwich and a pastery. I went to my supermarket to try to find laundry
detergent… They had many kinds, but all was written in Hangul… so I did not buy
any cause with my luck I’d buy some with bleach in it.
Tuesday 2-26
Training all day. Not much to say other than training.
During lunch we went to a place that had a soup that consisted of veggies (bean
sprouts mostly) and very small pieces of squid or octopus. I am not at the
point where I can tell the difference. I know I have had both… but taste wise…
same.
After training me and fellow trainers Erika, Lauren, Lo, and
Erika’s co teacher Stephen all went to Hongdae. Our other trainer Tom, did not
join us. We went to Hongdae. We had Korean BBQ, but nowhere near as good as my
first time out here. I think part of it was that none of us spoke any Korean,
so we were not treated with the highest priority. They did get one of the
workers to come back and try to communicate with us. The bar was right under the bar Ride’em
Cowboy. After the bbq, we walked through Hongdae, and eventually found a bar
some of the teachers knew, and it was an LP bar. Not exactly sure what it was
called… But you could request music and they would wither play the LP or find
it online. I looked at the menu that was written entirely in Hangul… The first
thing under the beer menu I could interpret was Miller.. I ordered a miller.
Not because I like miller, but because I was able to order something knowing
what I was ordering. It made me feel good. We stayed there until we all went
our separate directions to head home…
Wednesday 2-27
Training, final day. It was the same old same old. At the
end of the day we were to teach our own mock lesson. It went pretty smoothly
for me. I definitely noticed things I could work on… but I didn’t do bad. I
rolled with the punches. Well when the only other guy got up to teach… I was a
horrid student. I did not set out to be that way… but his reactions and the
reactions of the others pushed me to be worse and worse. I probably acted like
the worst kid he would ever encounter. Instead of pulling back, as I saw the
frustration in his eye… I kept pushing and pushing (I knew how to as a child).
He was ready to snap. So it went okay for him… but I could see him getting uber
frustrated with a class of 10 kids that act like I was. Oh, and most of the
things I did, I saw students do while I was observing.
For lunch we went to a place, though no idea of the name.
Food was pretty good. I had a spicy squid and pork dish. I do not know what I
orederd. I think I am going to start to have to write down or take pictures of
what I order….
After training was complete, I had to find out what time I
was supposed to go to school the next day. I just sat in the waiting room and
played on the internet. Even after I found out what time I was supposed to be
there, I stayed on the net. It is so horrible how addicted to the internet and
communication I am. It is my only real source to talk/facebook people back in
the US . I never
really noticed how much simple communication I did on a daily basis. The no
cell phone is still killing me.
After I got home, I drank a little soju, and finished
watching a movie on my computer.
I hate the feeling that I have on a night like this. I had
it in NY too. I am in my apartment and not experiencing anything. I know I
could go out… but my logic is that I do not have the extra money to spend… and
without having any ability to communicate, if I go out and get lost… I am
screwed. Not that I fear anything bad would happen… I just do not like having
absolutely no idea where I am or how to get home.
THOUGHT: So I am here… I have almost no clue about anything
and I love it. Seoul is
intimidating… it is huge and I do not understand anything. Where I am, what I
eat, where to go… I am in a constant state of confusion… but I need it. I
wanted something that would throw a wrench in my life, and this is that.
I know I am in the honeymoon stage, but I already feel that
I love this place. This is the kind of place I would want to raise a family… I
feel safe 99.9% of the time. NY I felt safe, but there were sketchy areas.
Here. No so far. I love the level of respect Korean culture has. I love the
focus on education and others… Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely things I
would change… but compared to what I have seen in NY, Seoul
slaughters it (at least education wise and respect wise). Though the one thing
I am not a fan of is how superficial so many things are. I know image is a lot…
but almost every other poster in the subway is for plastic surgery.
But that pressure by far… I just can’t imagine how it
affects youth growing up… the feeling that they need to do these things to be
pretty… NY was bad, but this is worse.
Thursday 2-28
Went to school. I waited around and did nothing most of the
time because all of the teachers were busy finishing up their old stuff and
they were not ready to start the new. I did receive my schedule, and I am
pretty content with it. I do not start until 11:15 ,
and I work until 7:30 . Since I am
not a morning person… or well it may be better to say I take a while longer to
start to function in the mornings…
I have no idea what to think about any of it… other than for
the first week I will be a little crazy trying to figure out what I am doing
and getting into the groove of teaching.
Thursday night I went out with Ama. He was going out with
his girlfriend in Gangnam but they were going to meet up with friends
afterwards. Since I am phoneless, I had to go at the beginning. Ama took me to Woodstock ,
a cool little dive type of bar. So I sat
and drank till they got back from their date. We met up with his GFs friend
Bella there. I had not eaten since lunch, so by the time they got there, I was
a little tipsy (I did not drink much as they were away, since I knew I had not
eaten). They were also. So we stayed and kept drinking.
End of the night, picking up a cab was insanely difficult.
Cabs in Gangnam did not want to pick us up. The Koreans were not having a
problem… the two big white guys… yup. We finally got a cab driver to take us
back for 20000 won. He did it off meter so we payed a little more (4000).
Normally staying and waiting would not have been as bad… but it was pouring
outside. Finally got back to BoBo, I got 2 microwave burgers, and was content.
Friday 3-1
National Holiday ! No idea which one,
but we had off. I did nothing of value today. I walked along the Seoul
trail most of the way to the Han river . It was literally
freezing out. I then stopped in a coffee shop to warm up and get on the
internet. After that I continued to walk to the Han, but I just took surface
streets instead of the Seoul trail.
Got to the Han… freezing wind blowing hard. I looked and went back. I played a
crane game and won… but the prize got stuck in the shoot… so ba-humbug. I am
great at these crane games. I would have told the store people where the game
was infront of… but I do not speak Korean… I figured it was a bigger hassle
than it was worth. Took a train back to my apartment. I looked for some food.
There was a small little place set up. Almost looked like the ajumma ran it out
of her kitchen. Walked in the tent thing. We could not communicate… but we
tried. There was a guy there that helped. Anyway I got fried squid, breaded and
fried blood sasuage, and dukbokki. Got back to my apartment to eat. Delicious
and spicy. The dukbokki, while good, I just never can eat much of it. It
tastes good, but almost has no flavor. I cant describe it. I am probably doing
it wrong. If the little rice cakes were smaller it would be better…
Rob said he was going to be home incase I wanted to do
something. Part of me did, but part of me didn’t. Instead of going out, I
walked to emart hoping to buy a dvd or something. I didn’t see any, but I
bought a coffee maker, coffee, and a coffee mug. The cheapest maker was nearly
20000 won. The cheapest coffee (that was not instant) was 9000 won. It was
Maxwell house.
Koreans seem to love instant coffee. Instant super sweet
coffee. No stores that I have been to have had drip coffee. Only Americanos.
Weak ones at that. I figured a coffee maker was a good investment… I spend 4000
won on an unsatisfying cup of coffee. Being able to brew my own will make life
nice. I can wake up and drink my joe.
Getting back it was after 11. So I am just listening to some
music and will go to bed soon.
Saturday 3-2
Lazy Day. I woke up far too early in the morning. I made myself some coffee with my new coffee maker… it worked fine, but the Maxwell house coffee was instant L. The only thing I could read one the container were Maxwell House Fine. I thought it meant finely ground coffee. I was wrong. Still freezing outside, but I have nothing to do in my apartment. So I went out. I kept exploring my neighborhood. It is an interesting mix. There are slummy areas next to brand new electronics corporations. Apartments are everywhere. I found an unsecured wi-fi hotspot, and Skyped with my parents. It worked pretty well, but sitting in one location in the freezing weather is not the best thing to do. I continued walking. I stopped in a coffee shop by my apartment to warm up, drink and eat, and get on the internet. I stayed there for a while, but catching up on a few emails was a good thing to do. Rob sent me a facebook message about going out with them tonight.
Lazy Day. I woke up far too early in the morning. I made myself some coffee with my new coffee maker… it worked fine, but the Maxwell house coffee was instant L. The only thing I could read one the container were Maxwell House Fine. I thought it meant finely ground coffee. I was wrong. Still freezing outside, but I have nothing to do in my apartment. So I went out. I kept exploring my neighborhood. It is an interesting mix. There are slummy areas next to brand new electronics corporations. Apartments are everywhere. I found an unsecured wi-fi hotspot, and Skyped with my parents. It worked pretty well, but sitting in one location in the freezing weather is not the best thing to do. I continued walking. I stopped in a coffee shop by my apartment to warm up, drink and eat, and get on the internet. I stayed there for a while, but catching up on a few emails was a good thing to do. Rob sent me a facebook message about going out with them tonight.
So… the night was interesting. There was 6 white guys. First
we went to a Chinese/Korean place where we had lamb on skewers. Delicious. Then
we went to an underground bar in Hongdae called Joons. The owner Joon, was awesome.
We drank and played beer pong. Then we went to a huge expat bar called Thursday
Party. Just like a bar in the states. We followed up by going to a club called
Zen.There was a girl that was sweet on me. She got me a drink and I got her
one. She spoke almost no English. We danced. Then our crew was going to another
bar, Zen 3, and she and her friend followed. Same thing, we drank and we
danced. Then we were all leaving. We tried to exchange info… but since I have
no communication, and she spoke almost no English… well, we were not
successful. Her and her friend got in a cab and drove off. I went to meet up
with the other guys at Taco Bell. Not something that I want to do much of in Korea …
but after many drinks, Taco Bell in Korea
is just like Taco Bell in the US …
Delicious.
The night was fun, but I spent way too much money. The
Chinese/Korean dinner was expensive. Then buying drinks for me, and later for
the girl. Then taco bell, then a cab. I was not planning on it being an
expensive night… Oh well. And, I almost got a girls number… so my record in Korea
is catching up to my record in NY, and I have only been here for 10 days.
THOUGHT. People get a kick out of my hairy arms. Women and
men. Very interesting… I guess it is because I am more hairy than the average
person, and most Koreans do not have much body hair (or if they do, they shave
their arms). Korea
is a very touchy feely place, with people of either gender holding hands or
playing around. There is not the same taboo that there is in the US .
My record continues with the I should have kissed her,
instead of the regrets of it. I am always in a constant debate with my self on
who I am and why I am like that. There are arguments both ways, and I just do
not know what way I feel. I just know how I act. I say this not only from last night. The girl
was not anything special (super model type thing). If I had kissed her, that
would have been okay (and I think she was expecting it) but not kissing a
person always makes me wonder and look into myself and my motives. Kissing is
not bad, but for whatever reason, I always tell my self it is in the moment.
Sunday 3-3
I woke up and decided to go to New
Philadelphia Church
Monday 3-4
First day of school. Crazy, hectic, confusing, chaotic,
exciting, interesting… wow. Even though I did training… nothing actually
trained me for what class was and was going to be like. Also the training did
not prepare me for the material. I was going to teach. The training did an
overview of what we were going to teach… but during training, we only seriously
focused on one of my classes.
The other teachers were great and helped me out. I needed
it. All of the classes went well. There are going to be a few trouble makers.
There are some that are smart, some that do not want to be there. It is an
interesting mix and all of them have huge personalities. Learning all of their
names is going to be a tough thing for me. I am fairly bad with names as it is,
and to me all kids look the same. I mean, I know there are differences, but
still, they are all small. Throw into the mix they are all little Korean kids… yikes.
From the angle I see kids, I see black hair. It is either long or short. There
are two styles. The style girls wear, and the style boys wear. In class though
it is fairly easy and I will start getting their names. But when I am walking
through the halls and little kids run up to me and shout “Eric Teacher! Eric
Teacher” I just hear a high pitched voice and see a kid with black hair
barreling toward me.
What I really need is a picture of a kid holding their name.
I am a visual person. Seeing a face with a name is the best way for me to
memorize something. Just hearing a name does nothing for me.
This is going to be an exciting ride. I can’t believe I am
going to be with theses kids for the next year. It’s scary though. I will see
their progress, but their shortcomings I will be responsible for.
My biggest problem (at least starting off is going to be
time management.
Also, I moved out of my old room, and I moved into a new
room. So I spent half of the night moving stuff down from 1121 to the 6th
floor. Even though I wasn’t completely unpacked, I was unpacked enough, and had
to pack back all of my stuff that it was still a pain in the rear. The bed in
my new apartment is good. Not anywhere near great, but good. My old bed should
be thrown to the gutters. This one, the mattress is a firm comfortable. Instead
of a full, this is a twin. So needless to say I do not fit very well. Though
I’d much rather have a bed that is comfortable and small then uncomfortable and
big.
Tuesday 3-5
I had to get to work early because I had to get the hospital
to get my medical exam. Now, generally I am not a fan of hospitals. Never have
been. Well going to a hospital on very little sleep where you have no idea what
anyone is saying is rather stressful. Some of the nurses were cute, which
should have eased some of the tension… all that was going through my mind was I
hope they were not in for the physical. I got xrayed, had to pee in to a paper
cup, got my blood drawn, then off to my least favorite thing in the world. Some
people hate shots and giving blood, others taking medicine… me? I hate hate
hate having my blood pressure taken. I get more nervous before that than
anything else. I have no idea why. I just feel my heart start pumping and I
tense up. So, needless to say my BP was high. I normally explain my predicament
to the person taking it, they give me a minute to compose myself, and I’m good.
Though the language barrier did not allow that. I was directed around the
hospital with waves and points, saying I hate having my blood pressure taken
was out of the question.
Got back to school, and felt a little more comfortable. I
knew roughly what was going on and what I would do. I am nervous. The teachers
told me to start off kind of mean and not nice, because if you are nice, the
students wont listen when you get strict. I am not good at being not nice. I am
a pushover. We are supposed to discipline the students. I am working on it,
I’ll just have to learn. Its funny. Once one kid gets loud, the next does and
it cascades. I knew it would. I have one class, getting them to be quite is
tough. 2 boys keep talking and walking around and throwing their books all over
the classroom. I had to put them in chairs at the front of the classroom. The
class gets quiet and gets loud again. I tried raising my voice, clapping,
raising my hand… finally a slammed my book shut… in a second they were quiet.
Then I told them they all need to behave. They listened. They want to play a
game… next time I am thinking of brining prizes for the game… then when the
students do not act well, I will just throw the prizes away. I spoke to several
other teachers and they thought that would work.
Afterwork, I got the rice filled chicken. Delicious. In NY I
could pay 6.99 for a rotisserie chicken. This was 6000 won, and was filled with
rice and had something else with it in a plastic container. It looks like fruit.
I have not eaten it yet, because that chicken filled with rice filled me up.
But I will definitely stop by that vendor again.
Not having internet is tough. I cannot watch anything
online. Not movies or anything. I also did not bring any movies with me from
the US . And I
did not bring fun reading books with me either. So my nights right now are kind
of boring. I could go out and explore… but the weather is not quite nice enough
for me to do that yet. I hate being a home person… but on a limited income, in
the cold weather, and not having the ways to communicate with people to try to
do something with them… well my options are limited (especially if I wanted to
do something socially).
Wednesday March 6th
School. I made a girl cry. I did not know that I did until
the end of the day. There is a girl in my 7.2 Kindy (kindergarten) class. Our
project today was the students writing down what I say. “Yesterday, I made
glasses in Denmark
class. It was really fun!” was the line. She asked to be excused. I thought
this was an excuse for the bathroom, because literally every 5 minutes a kid
has to go to the bathroom. I was told to let kids go to the bathroom, because
there have been many instances of kids going to the bathroom on themselves if
not allowed (mainly kindy kids). This girl had been gone a while, so I sent one
of the other kids to go check on her (I figured if she was getting sick or had
diarrhea an administrator needed to know). She was not in the bathroom. I
figured one of the other teachers stopped her… because that happens. A few
minutes later one of the desk teachers (receptionist/secretaries) brought her
back into the classroom and explained to me that this girl was not able to
listen and write. At the end of the day, I was talking to the Korean teacher,
and she told me that this girl was crying. She was upset that she was not able
to do as good as the other students…. It is this girls first year at YBM and
she is in with students that have been going for a year. She is far behind. She
can comprehend and read, but she can not do any of those and write. We may have
to send her to 7.1. It is sad because I know she gets it and is a good student.
Many of her skills are above her classmates. A 7.2 is a student that is 7 years
old and is on their second year at our school. A 7.1 is a student that is 7
years oldand is on their first year at our school. She is above many of the
7.1’s and would be a great 7.2, but the writing/listening is so far below her
fellow classmates level, it will be increasingly tough.
My class where I hit the book yesterday… they were fantastic
today. No problems at all and we got through the material. I was speaking with
one of my Korean teachers, and she told me that most of the kids will test me
and that every once in a while I will need to get upset with them… it keeps
them on their toes. I am having a hard time with some of my afternoon classes.
The worst is a class that starts around 6:40
and lasts till 7:30 . These kids have
been in school all day, and are now in a program afterschool. If I were a
student I would be having a hard time. I just don’t know how to relate to them
to get them excited and to pay attention.
I spoke to several of my Korean co-teachers after work and
discussed issues. I got back to Bobo and Ama, Rob and I sat outside drinking Makgeolli (no idea spelling) and talking. Makgeolli is a Korean fermented alcohol.
It is kind of like a sweet malt liquor in the states. It taste like a cheap
wine and has a slight yogurt flavor. It is really tough to describe. It is not
good, nor is it bad.
This week has been extremely long. The experienced teachers
are all saying it is tough… I feel it even more so. All of them say they can
empathize with me, and feel bad for me. My schedule is crazy… throw that on to
the first week of school, and it being a tough week for everyone… well… c’est
la vie.
Thursday, March 07th
Long day… this week is going so fast but so slow, if that
makes any sense at all. I cant believe it is already pretty much Friday. I was
a few seconds late to a class today, and the head of the Hagwon was waiting
there. I was talking to a fellow teacher about how to teach something… he
didn’t say anything, but it made me nervous. I do not want to give a bad
impression.
Some of my classes are progressing very well, and others I
am not able to get through all of the material in the 40 minute time spot. I
need to tweek my schedules and teaching focuses.
The one girl I spoke about did get moved to a 7.1 class. I
spoke to her new teacher, and he said her language skills are above the other
students, but she is on par everywhere else. Also the girls in her new class
are very welcoming to her. In my class she was sitting away from the girls.
Here, she was accepted as a new friend and the girls made a fuss over her. So
that made me happy!!! She was still excited to show me, and when I asked her
what class she was in, she grabbed and held my hand and too me there.
Teachers are expected to have a lot of physical contact with
their students. Hugs, picking them up, holding hands… things that I think in
the US would
get you arrested. Here, parents complain if one of the teachers does not, and
they ask why the teacher doesn’t like their kid. Its something I have to get
used to.
After school a few of us teachers walked over to Hyundai
mall and surrounding area and got dinner. It was fried pork cutlets. I am not
sure of the name. It was delicious. Then we walked around to the malls second
food court and got gelato. We headed back to Bobo, and that was that.
I am going to try to organize a dinner for all of the
teachers for next Tuesday. Everyone says the English teachers and Korean
teachers do not do stuff together. I am not sure if it is lack of trying, lack
of enthusiasm, or just something nobody is interested in. I am going to try it…
we’ll see.
Friday, March 8th
One week. One week done. Wow… school is tough. Not
completely different that what I imagined… But it is tough. I am getting decent
at some of the kids names. I am at the point where I can take attendance, and
then at the beginning of class I know who is sitting where. I know it will get
better as time goes on. I already have some concerns about some of my students.
Some are above the level that I teach, and others I know are blow… Its tough to
figure out how to focus and teach. I cant spend enough time with the slow ones,
but I cant teach up to the fast ones. For my 2 different kindy classes… there
is one that is the more advanced one. There are a few kids I don’t think should
be in it. The other is the more regular one. There are 2 in that that should definitely be in
the advanced… but they were put in the slow one to be anchors…
Also the teaching is so ridged… for most of my classes I am
given instructions of what to teach each day… I have to accomplish that. But that is the problem. Some things take
longer and some things the kids get… I cant move forward… The schedule is so
tight and the parents know it. I am stuck. I guess I have to come to accept and
learn to balance.
In one of my classes… my very last class of the day, I lost
it. They were being typical middleschoolers, being loud and obnoxious on the
end of the first week of school. I warned them. Sit in your chairs. Be quiet.
Listen… The weren’t able to. Then all of them had to go to the bathroom… So, I
went into the mode where I teach my kindy kids. I mad them all line up. Went
over the rules of walking in the hallway, and I walked them to the bathroom
like I do my kindys. It shocked all of them. Then I warned two that were
playing around. The didn’t listen, so I made them stand up at the back of the
classroom for the rest of class. Normally that class is loud and fun. At the
end of it they were all like inmates. I may have been too tough on them… I know
how I was as a student, and what these kids go through is far worse. But I had
to set boundires…
I talked with one of my co-teachers about the same thing. I
am going to work with her and work some time into the schedule to let some of
our kids be kids for a few minutes each week. These kids are in school from
before 8am and some of them go till
after 9. They do regular school, and then hagwons for more learing (English,
piano, art...). Then homework. Then the process repeats. Me and my co-teacher
want to give them time to unwind, relax, and develop their imagination and
other skills.
Oh, it was the one girls birthday that we moved from my
class. Well she was wearing a birthday dress… In my class after lunch… She came
by to say hello… and stayed, then left to change out of it and came back to my
class. She was in my class for most of my lesson. I did not send her out… I
should have. I didn’t because I was not sure of the procedure. I thought maybe
kids walk and each class is supposed to sing to them… nope. She just wanted to
come and say hi to us. Eventually one of the teachers came and got her and
apologized to me.
I can easily see how this job has the potential to really
stress me out. I need to learn to compartmentalize.
After work I was not really feeling like going out. I did. I
went with Rob and Callum. We walked through Hondae, ate some chicken, then went
to Joons. This bar could become a hangout. Prices are reasonable. The owner and
bartender are cool. We met Ama and his GF and his GF’s best friend there (they
came by after we had been there). Bella was there. I am not sure what I think
or am supposed to think with her. Her and I talked a lot. I am not sure if Ama
or his GF is trying to set us up. Sometimes I think so, others not (Ama tells
me about her at work sometimes). Ama’s GF and Bella got into an argument at the
end of the night… and I came to comfort…
They left. Rob and I walked to a park that was supposed to be happening
but was dead, got Taco Bell, then cabbed it.
Saturday March 9th.
Nice day. Weather was fantastic. High 60’s. One of the
Korean teachers asked me Friday what I was planning to do on Saturday. I said I
wanted to go to a market. She gave me directions to one. I mentioned it to Rob
on Friday and he said he would like to go too. We went. Wow. The market was
awesome. Confusing, but awesome. Rob and I got into a conversation about the
markets. So many of the shops sell the same materials… clothes and what not. We
though that this really is not the best business model. We just walked all over
the area. Then all over that part of Seoul .
I had my first real, Oh Shit… This is Korea Moment. We were walking by a
restored palace (Ill get the
name). It had statues and was fantastically awesome. Then we walked passed the US Embassy. That
moment was my real… damn moment. Studying Political Science… Knowing history,
and walking passed the Embassy. The Palace was awesome- but could be the same
as any tourist trap in the US .
But walking by the Embassy… it is like that is American soil… It was a very
beautiful and humbling moment. I will go back there and check it out sometime.
We also walked by the YBM Headquarters and several neighborhoods around there.
Very nice day of exploring. We ate some Meat Pies from a little bakery, then
topped off with milkshakes. We got back to Bobo. I read then went out. I wanted
to get some pizza from a place that Rob and Sarah had told me about. I get
there. It is closed. So I just continue to walk and explore. Then low and
behold there is a pizza place called New York Pizza. I got happy. Pizza for
whatever reason is really expensive in Korea .
But I was craving it. I went in and got a menu. I went back outside. I was
working on reading the menu. Eventually one of the workers came out to inform
me they were getting ready to close. So… I went in. I even showed them my NY
Drivers License. They were more expensive then the place Rob and Sarah told me
about… but still pizza… and potentially NY style. It was by far the worst NY
style pizza I have ever had. NY Style pizza in Oklahoma
runs laps around this stuff. But that doesn’t mean it was bad. It was actually
delicious. The crust was sweet. The slices were small. The mozzarella did not
taste fresh… but wow. I would go back. So…
I was misled by the name, but I enjoyed the results. It was 12000 won
for a za, and not a very big one. I will
try the Pizza School
Sunday, March 10
I read. I finished the book I was reading. Then went off to
try Jubilee again. Better this time, and there was no welcome meeting. I don’t
know if it is a sign or I am just unlucky. After I decide to walk. So I do. I
walk up to the Han river , walk across a bridge and then
just wander around Seoul . I end up
at Itaewon. People warned me about there. It is a place you either love or hate.
It is the foreign district. I saw more white and black people in my short
period walking through it than I had in the last 2 weeks combined. It felt like
the edges of Korea Town Korea
feeling to it. I will go out there some night… but it is not a place I think I will
visit too often. But everyone says that for a person my size, Itaewon might be
the best place for me to find clothes. There is also supposed to be some really
good Mexican food restaurants there.
Finally got back home, but had a killer headache. I had some
coffee and slowly it went away. It was the first caffeine I had… I needed it.
Then I just spent the rest of the evening in my apartment
relaxing. No TV, no Movies… and the weather is literally freezing,
so being outside wandering around is the thing for me to do right now.
Found a rogue internet connection!!! So I dont know how long it will last... but it is something!
Found a rogue internet connection!!! So I dont know how long it will last... but it is something!
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