A Day in the life... Of an English Teacher in South Korea

So as the title of this post says I will talk about a day in my life here in South Korea. I want to do a fairly typical day, nothing too special for this post. Maybe later I will write one about the weekend or going on a trip.

7:00 am
I wake up and check my phone because there are a bunch of notifications from everyone home. Next I get dressed and make tea. I'm lazy in the morning and have time at work so I grab a yogurt cup to take to work (also there are snacks in my office so I just steal some of those).

8:05 am - 8:10 am
Depending which school I'm at that week I either leave right around 8 or a bit after. I walk to work, it's not to far to walk to Bansong, but Bongrim is further away, I might start busing there instead it's practically a half hour walk. The weather is good most days, I think there have been less than a handful of rainy days here so far, and it's warmer than I'm used to at home so walking is nice. I also like that I can walk to work again, I missed walking when I moved out my apartment in Victoria.

8:30 am - 8:35 am
I arrive at work a few minutes before I'm supposed to be there (8:40) and I start up my computer, check my schedule to see what class I have first and check the textbook or lesson plan to see what lesson we're teaching that day and what materials I will need for it (although the co-teacher takes care of getting materials, it's still useful to know what's going to happen and what I have to work with). Then I just go on the computer, talk to my co-workers and eat my yogurt.

9:00 am/10:00 am - 12:30/1:20pm
When I work at Bongrim I start class at 9 am everyday, but at Bansong I start a little bit later and it changes depending on the schedule. I either go to class with my Korean teacher or meet them in their classroom (again depends on the class). There are many students in the halls at Bansong so they often test out their English on me. I start teaching class, greet the students, go through our lesson for the day and then maybe do an activity or game. I have class right up to lunchtime with ten minutes in between each class. I have three or four classes before lunch depending on the day and school. Most days I teach 3-5 classes.

12:30/1:20 pm - 1:00/1:50 pm
Lunch time! This is my favourite, maybe because I'm lazy in the morning and don't eat very much breakfast or maybe because I never know what we are having for lunch. The teachers eat in the cafeteria with students. At Bansong teachers line up with the students and the cafeteria ladies serve us. Lunch always has rice, soup and some kind of kimchi usually radish or cabbage, then some other vegetable dish and a main dish, but the rice, soup and kimchi never change they are staples of the Korean meal. The other day my co-worker told me that the school has a nutritionist who plans the meals of the month and the cafeteria ladies make and serve it. There are in fact actual cafeteria ladies. They wear little white outfits with caps, rainboots, and aprons. At bongrim the teachers serve themselves lunch, I always take a little too much. Lunch is a time for teachers to relax. They chat in Korean and sometimes English, lots of the other teachers like to ask me how I like the food and why I can eat kimchi, Koreans are surprised that I eat it so easily and I am so good at using the chopsticks.

1/1:50 - 2:50/3 pm - 4:40pm
When I have an after lunch class it is right away. If I don't have an after lunch class I go to my office and spend the rest of the afternoon sitting at the computer, working on lesson plans, thinking of ideas for classes, talking to other teachers and generally desk warming. Usually if my co-teacher at Bansong needs me to go do anything this is the time we do it, Korean's call it a business trip. On Wednesday's the teachers play volleyball or go do something together off campus as teacher bonding time. This week we had dinner at a Korean BBQ restaurant, it was delicious and there was tons of food. I hadn't been that full in a long time.

4:40 pm
Home time! I also walk home. I stop at either Top Mart (a korean grocery store that seems to be popular and is near my house) or a smaller grocery or convenience store on the way home. I buy dinner ingredients if I don't have anything, and sometimes if I do as well. I often end up with random food or snack items that look interesting, but I'm not sure what they, in all honesty I buy candy or those ice cream bars I keep posting. If I have plans with friends I won't stop to buy groceries so I can spend some time at home before going to meet them.

5:15 - 5:30 pm
Sometimes I'm home a bit closer, but it usually falls within the range of 5 pm. I change out of my work clothes right away, have a glass of water, and check my facebook to see if Jon is still awake (sometimes he waits up to talk to me after work, but it's like 2 am Victoria time by the time I'm home). I then figure out what I will make for dinner, maybe watch a cooking video or two, put on my favourite show of the moment, clean dishes or just make dinner. If I'm going out again to do something I will change, sometimes have a quick snack, check to see if my friend(s) still want to meet up and then leave to meet them

6-7 pm
The time varies a lot more than that, but roughly I will make dinner plans around 6-6:30. Often I find myself eating at City 7. It is a mall near my house. I realize it sounds weird to go to the mall for dinner, but unlike western style malls the food is much better and not just fast food. In Korea, there are restaurants everywhere, so there are quite a few good restaurants throughout the mall. The number of restaurants in the mall surprised me the first time I went there. If I am meeting someone else for dinner. I will go downtown to meet them and if it is a Korean friend I let them decide what we should eat, if it is a foreigner we pick something together.

7 pm on wards
Pretty much do what I'm doing right now. Write, watch tv, clean, work on lesson materials, facebook, exercise normal evening activities, then go to bed and get ready for the next day.
If I was out after dinner I we will wander around and look at stuff, if I'm with a group of friends we might go to a bar or if I'm downtown. Mostly I just walk or bus home then spend time watch tv, surfing the internet and getting ready for bed.

So that is a typical weekday for me. I will write another post about the weekend soon. On another note, I can't believe I'm already been here for almost a month! It does not feel like that long at all. Time has flown by, still I miss everyone at home and my moms yummy home cooking.

Things that are different in South Korea (from Canada)

Okay, first I want to state that these are generalized differences that do not apply to all of South Korea or to all of Canada. They are just things I've noticed that are different or intrigued me. I also want to say I know some of them may seem really obvious and you'll be like well duh, but it's just nice to write about them for you because it is very different talking about something and experiencing it.

I don't even know what the first thing I noticed that was different. The airport I arrived in felt pretty much the same as any other airport I'd been in. There were lots of people though, everywhere. Since the airport is the main one near Seoul this wasn't surprising. It just felt like there were people everywhere all of the time.

I also noticed the heat when I stepped outside, it was surprisingly warm. I wasn't expecting that for some reason, even though I knew it would be warmer. Maybe the air felt different? I can't even explain if it was drier or heavier or something? It was just different.

There are cars everywhere in Korea and from what I can tell none of them look older than 10-15 years (although don't quote me on that, my car knowledge is limited). People also don't really give a shit where they park, we that's not entirely true. They don't seem to part on the main roads, but if you go down any side road, especially somewhere suburban (with houses, not apartments) there are literally cars lining the streets. The houses don't have driveways so people don't really have another option.

Also, unlike Canada where there are rules about parking in front of, say, someone's door, Koreans do not care. I have seen cars on the sidewalk, cars parked partially on the street. Cars parked on corners, cars parked directly in front of stores. People also save their parking spots in a funny way, there are buckets with ropes tied to the handle and the other end tied to someone's fence sitting on the street. Sometimes you see giant yellow traffic sign or cone, this mostly happens on residential streets, not so much downtown, although I've seen some there too.

Buses do not usually pull up to the side walk. You must go out into the bus lane (which it pulls up beside) and hope onto the bus. Also, they do not have very many seats, just one row along the front part and a few in the back. The buses are also pretty bumpy and fast, so you must hold on tight.

Another thing about side walk, you will often see elderly people sitting on the side walk selling random vegetables. Usually they are right downtown too (although I've seen them on the side of busy roads as well). Some people sell other things too. I saw a man selling little wooden tables the other day). They don't even usually say anything (to me anyway), they just have all there veggies or fruit spread out in front of them waiting for someone to buy.

There are also lots of little street food stalls in the downtown area. There are a couple near my house too. One is a cute little cart that sells those fish shaped fried cake things that are usually full of red bean paste, I've yet to try one but they are so cute. I want to get a picture next time I go by.

Everyone I've talked to in Korea seems to online shop (at least the girls), they all seem to know about these mysterious Korean clothing sites I've never heard of full of decently or cheaply priced Korean clothing. Also, most of the girls wear heels and invisible makeup. I swear, some of my coworkers aren't wearing makeup, but then at lunch I will see them touching it up. Also, everyone bushes there teeth at the office after lunch. People seem to keep an extra tooth brush at there work.

The way people talk to you is also a lot more forward, but I think that could have more to do with the language difference than anything. Also, people often ask your age shortly after meeting you and they constantly seem worried this is rude. Maybe some people would be offended, but I know it is the cultural difference. People who are older are treated slightly different than people the same age so Koreans need to know if someone is their peer or not. Although, I haven't really experienced that myself some Koreans told me it is sometimes harder to be friends with someone who is older than you.

Of course there are many other interesting cultural differences in Korea, but I don't want to get into everything right now. Those are just some things I've noticed. Please take this list with a grain of salt, I'm no expert and I've only been to one city in Korea, I have no idea what somewhere like, say, Seoul is like. I will make another list when I think of more things because I'm sure I missed stuff. 

Making Friends.

It's actually pretty weird to go away to another country and start a life there for a year then and leave again. Making friends and having a support group is different when you leave somewhere where most people do not speak English or their English is pretty limited. I've been lucky so far and my fellow English teachers English is very good.

The other teachers I've met here have also been very helpful and friendly so far. People have definitely gone out of their way to show me the city and help me figure out how to live here. I met one teacher, who I feel very lucky to know because he knows so much about Korea and Korean culture. He also has been teacher in Korea off and on for awhile and managed to land a college teaching job which is pretty good. He showed me how to take the bus, where a bunch of cool places were and some yummy Korean food. He also speaks pretty good Korean which is handy when you speak little to no Korean.

The other girl I met who I'm happy to know is a Canadian girl who has a bunch of stuff in common with me! (Yay). We're also about the same age and both have two younger sisters (what a coincidence!). She has shown me a few places and has invited me to come out and do stuff with her, she also has other English teachers at her school so she knows other expats which is always nice. We also spent Canadian Thanksgiving together because we were the only other Canadian each of us knew. I feel like it could go like that for other holidays too. And we've already talked about going on a few trips together, which should be fun.

The teachers at my school have also been incredibly awesome, especially my fellow English teachers. One of the teacher's I've been working with is 26 so we are very close in age (Korean age 26, so 25 western I think). She is so friendly and has helped me out so much. I'm glad she's so patient with me and has offered so much good advice for teaching. Most of the Korean teachers are older, including my co-teacher (not the one I mentioned above). I work with about 7 or 8 English teachers between my two schools so there isn't a lack of company for me at work. I really enjoy how inclusive they have been. All the English teachers go to lunch together and after lunch we spend the rest of the afternoon in our office (which I share with my other teachers). The only thing that is hard is not knowing any Korean so someone often has to translate for me, or I get left out of the conversation.

Overall, I do recommend learning some Korean because it will be easier to meet people, easier to interact with coworkers and definitely easier to get around. But it is not necessary for surviving, only very very helpful. So far I've figured out my way around the city, bus and where things are (sort of) with out any or very very basic Korean. Hopefully I will learn more soon, but more about that later. Wishing everyone back home a happy thanksgiving! 

Making Friends and Exploring Changwon.

So, to explain Changwon is a bit confusing. Basically, it is three cities that in the recent past were combined into one. So it's huge, but not really. The cities are still fairly spread out from each other and the locals still refer to them as their original names. I live in the Changwon part of Changwon in a residential neighbourhood called Bansong-dong, I sort live on the edge so I'm near Banji-dong another neighbourhood. My school is in walking distance from my house.

My first night after school was sort of lonely and stressful. I really wanted to go out and explore the city, but I was also nervous about getting lost again in the unfamiliar place. I finally mustered up some courage to go out and explore when my landlords showed up and invited me for dinner. They were like concerned parents, asking whether I had eaten or bought food and when I said I was going out to buy food they were like come eat with us. So I did.

There was a lot of food and it was all pretty good. I think it was a fairly traditional Korean meal. There were lots of side dishes, soup, meat and of course, Kimchi. I was a little frightened when I saw the soup because it was full of mussels and clams which I don't really like, but I ate it and it was actually pretty good. The main meat dish was Samgyeopsal which is a traditional Korean meat which means three layered meat. It is pork with a layer of fat, meat, then more fat. You usually bbq it and then eat it wrapped in lettuce with whatever side dishes you like.

Besides the kimchi there were other side dishes. Some lettuce leaves to wrap the meat in, spicy onions and lettuce, dried anchovies (which I didn't try), some sort of plant top that was pickled(?), rice with beans, a salty bean paste, garlic, and some chili's which Koreans just eat raw (also didn't try that) . The food was amazing, i even got sent home with Korean style bread which was basically western cake and a promise of persimmons (which I now have and are delicious).

Basically, all the korean food I've had so far has been amazingly good. My landlord and his wife and so kind. They showed up at my apartment last night and started cleaning things like a couple of worried parents (it really wasn't messy, I just hadn't washed the dishes yet). The landlady said that to me 'Telli, Telli I'm a Mom!" as she was washing dishes. It seems strange by western standards that they would come over and start cleaning or invite me to dinner, but from what I've seen Korean people are very friendly and they like to make you feel welcome.

First Day of Teaching!

I need to write about this before I forget everything.

I moved into my apartment on the first day in Changwon too, but I guess I didn't talk about that in my last post. I think everyone has seen my apartment pictures now so I don't need to explain too much. My landlord and his wife are extremely friendly and kind. They got me bedding and were fixing and cleaning my place when I got there. I think they like having me visit because they like practicing their English. The husband's English is pretty good, but the wife speaks very little English. She just gets the husband to translate everything for me, besides very basic things.

The houses are very different here, as you saw from you facebook posts. Many of the houses are made of brick and have these beautiful details around the roofs and fences. They have like two stories, but the second story is only on the back part of the house. My landlord told me that poorer people live in houses and richer people live in apartments. I'm not sure how true this is for all over South Korea, but I thought it was interesting.

My landlords also keep feeding me. I think it's a Korean thing, they are obsessed with food here, there are a million different restaurants just in my neighbourhood. The first day of work the wife invited me over for breakfast, which you can imagine was awkward due to the language barrier. Still, I enjoyed it. She is sooo friendly and kind. She had steamed chestnuts, a potato, kimchi and an egg. She kept cutting chestnuts in half for me to until I finally had to say that I was full or I was going to be late for work!

Still, despite leaving half an hour early for work (I had to be there at 8:40) I still ended up being about 10 minutes late. It's not my fault though, I got lost walking to work. The main landmark to look for when heading to my school is a Catholic Church, which is brick, of course. So I was walking along in the direction of school and I saw a church further up the road to my left, the side of the street the school is on. I assumed it was the same church and headed towards it. Unfortunately when I got over there I couldn't figure out where the school was! I attempted to go up a different street near the church, but still no school! I was starting to panic at this point and began attempting to google it, which is very hard in Korea because usually the name's are all in Korean.

Finally, I noticed a few kids heading in the direction of school, I didn't know that but it was as good a bet as any that they were heading towards my elementary school so I followed and there it was another block down, by a different red brick church! As soon as I saw the church I realized my mistake and felt pretty silly. I went to the office where my desk was (I knew where to go because I visited the day before) and met up with my co-English teacher (not the same as my co teacher). She was very nice and helpful.

We started class around 9:10 am and the students were all so excited to have me there. They had a million questions. I introduced myself and talked about where I was from. Unfortunately, although everyone speaks fairly good English, students usually ask more complicated or difficult questions in Korean. I spent a lot of time the first day just smiling at them and waiting patiently for my co-english teacher to translate stuff.

It's not absolutely necessary, but it would definitely make my life easier if I knew some Korean. The rest of the day was classes, then lunch then another class. In the middle of my last class I had to leave early to go get another blood test, which was lame because I finally felt like I was getting the hang of it!

I teach two different grades right now grades 5 and 6, but I will change to teaching different grades later in a the year. The week after next I will teach at a different elementary school. So I will have lots of students. Did I mention how cute they all are? And friendly? My favourite moment was when a boy in the 6th grade class came up with a riddle he had translated from Korean to English and he wanted me to answer it. He also showed me his cursive (which was very good) and asked if I could write in cursive. My co-english teacher said that he was very good at English. He was so smart and friendly!

In one of the grade 5 classes the students wanted to dance for me. Their lesson had a video clip with dance children who sing in English and the students repeat after them. Four Korean boys did the dance and I had to chose the best dancer. I felt bad choosing just one student so my co-English teacher said to chose the cutest dancer. I finally chose the most enthusiastic dancer and he was very excited.

Oh, and yes the students think I'm very pretty and they all love my hair. They also asked if I had a boyfriend and how tall I was, as well as my age. These all seem to be common questions for the students. The other teachers seemed to worry that these questions would offend me, but I said it was fine and everyone relaxed a little. The students also stop you in the halls to say hi all the time. They love practicing their English.

Arrival in Korea and first day.

Don't tease me about the name, I'm still running off no sleep.

Well, I guess I'll give you all a quick update on South Korea so far.
It is an interesting place, not wholly unexpected, but definitely wonderful and new. I still keep pinching myself to make sure I'm not dreaming.

When I arrived at the airport the line to go into Korea was so long I missed my bus to Changwon, which I was supposed to catch at 7:50. I just missed it because I got through everything just after that time. So I waited in the airport and finally caught the bus. It was a nicer bus because it was for a longer trip (about 5 hours). It was pretty dark out by the time I got on so unfortunately I couldn't see the passing country.

When I arrived in Changwon I had to pee so bad I practically ran for the washroom, so embarrassing since I think the bus driver was watching. I caught a cab immediately after this to my motel which was in what appeared to be a sketchy part of town (but I honestly don't know). It was right beside the technical college my orientation was at so that was good. The couple who ran it were very nice and helpful. The Inn manager drove me to the school in the morning. When I arrived there was another English teacher waiting as well. I was pretty happy to see someone else who spoke fluent English. We talked while waiting and I discovered she was from Vancouver, no way!

Finally a bunch of other students arrived and everyone mingled. Next, the people from the school board in gyeongnam province arrived and the guy that interviewed everyone was there. He was much friendlier in person and very excited to have us all there. After, we went into a classroom to go over our documents and meet our co-teachers. Daniel (the interviewer) called everyone's name and the name of the co-teacher, but when he called my name no co-teacher came forward! Turns out the school I was supposed to work at did not need an English teacher and they failed to tell anyone.

After a frightening morning and afternoon where I did not know what was going on I finally got an place at an Elementary school and met my co-teacher who took me around the city to fill out forms and get medical tests. I had Korean McDonalds for dinner, and because I was hungry at the time it tasted way better than North American McDonalds.  It wasn't the most exciting way to spend my first day here but I got all the important stuff out of the way. The next day it was off to work then (lucky for me) there is a long weekend and I won't have to work till Monday, yay!