So I spent my first day at school yesterday. And first of all, the kids are soooo cute! And funny! I spent the morning with the preschoolers, who I might be teaching. There were only 4 kids in one class and 3 in the other!! Talk about one on one! The one question that most people asked me was how do you teach kids English when they speak Korean!?? Well the answer to that is that they are not allowed to speak Korean at English school!! And most of them speak very good English. Alot of them have lived overseas, from New Zealand to Africa, to America and Panama!! Some of them are more travelled than me!!!
So here's how the day goes....
I have to be there at 9:20 to prep, then class starts at 9:50am, there are 2 40 minutes sessions in the morning, with a 10 minute break between, then lunch for 40 minutes. One more 40 minute session with the same kids, then morning classes are over and I have prep time from 1:30 to 3:00. Afternoon classes start, and are 40 minutes long. On Mon, Wed, Fri, there are 6 40min classes, with 5 min breaks. And on Tue, and Thur, there are 5 40 minutes classes. All of the work is all planned for you and there are lots of work books, and supplies. It is all very organized. So you just have to decide on some strategies to use, but basically its all done for you. You can change it a bit, depending on how your class is going, but basically you just follow what they have planned for you. Easy.
There are 3 teachers who are leaving the school and their last day is on Friday, so it's a bit busy at the school right now with all the old and new teachers around. Three of us are there now, and the last new teacher comes late tonight. Tomorrow we are all going for a staff lunch. Oh and there are also some Korea teachers there to help with the kids, all very nice. They feed them, herd them around, make sure they are behaving, get stuff ready for you, etc. But they are not in the class when you teach. All of the teaching staff is from Canada! So much for meeting new people from other countries! Ha ha. But there are lots of English Language schools in the area, so lots of foreigners running around! The school is in the main down town area, with lots of restaurants and bars, and even NA food chains.
Anyways, I gotta go to the school. Will write more later!! Much cooler weather today which is nice. The other day was very hot and humid. Cloudy and only 21 today!!
August 30, 2007
August 28, 2007
The Korean Adventure Begins!!
OK, so here I am, on the plane heading to Seoul. It's 8:32pm. I got up at 3:30am this morning and I still have about 5 more hours on this plane to go. Yikes. And there's still all the customs and baggage claim, and getting to the hotel. The biggest problem I have is that I CANNOT sleep when traveling, no matter how tired I am.What a long day!
Oh! And it seems I look like a bit of a potential terrorist. I like to wait until the end to board a plan...don't like wating in a big line. There was a young guy who got pulled aside and had all his bags searched and got patted down. Felt kinda bad for him, a little embarrasing to be taken aside like that. So almost everyone is on the plane, and I hand the woman my boarding pass, and she tells me to go see the security guys. Well, doesn't really tell, but points me over to them. It seems someone wasn't doing their job, and I was supposed to be searched earlier! So they go through all my bags and then I have to wait until they send a women so she can pat me down! Meanwhile all the ticket agents are watching as well as about 5 security people!! They were very nice and it was kinda funny. So there I am standing there with no shoes on,and my jacket off, and the women tells me to hurry because the plane is waiting for me!!Apparently the other guy that got searched was moving to Korea to teach too. We must look like a dodgy lot! Ha ha!
It still hasn't reallly hit me that I'm going to be living in Korea for the next year. But I am really looking forward to living in a new and very different place. I'm excited to meet new people and do some more traveling. And to actually be committed to a job for a full year!! That's a new one for me. Feeling a bit anxious to get there and get settled. It's been a very long goodbye. But worth it. But it is definalty time to start making some money again! It cost me $200 to send an extra suitcase with me!
So I've finished my book I was reading, and my battery on my computer is going to die soon. The first movie was terrible(The Last Mimsy) and the second was a subtitled Korean movie(too tired for that, plus on this budget flight the screen is too far away! no personal entertainment unit for each person on this plane!!) And I still have about 4.5 hours to go. Hmm, might have to start drinking.....
Ok, so I'm saving this and will add to it when I get to Seoul. Until then....
So here I am in Seoul, Korea!! Arrived last night at about 5:30pm Korean time. After going through customs and getting my luggage, I was met by one of the Korean teachers from the school, a very nice young woman named Meg! She had a sign that said "Lindsay Collins, Welcome to Korea!! So she put me on a bus and sent me on my way, because she lived far away from where I was going. She told me to get off at the third stop, and the director of the school would meet me there. About an hour and a half later, one of the other passangers tells me this is my stop. The bus driver forgot! Thank god for nice people! I get off the bus and it is getting dark, and there is no director! I knew he would be coming but I must admit I was a little nervous. It was a very busy street, bit lights and buildings, and I had no idea where to go if he didnt come! Another man at the bus stop, who was on my bus, gave me his phone number in case the director didn't come, and said he would help me!! Nice people so far!!! The director, John, came about 10 minutes later. Phew.
He seems very nice. He brought me to my hotel, which is also a "love hotel". Haha. I have purple wallpaper with pink hearts on my walls!! A very basic room, but home for a few days until I can move into my apartment on Saturday. Today I wandered around for about an hour. It is very hot and humid here right now, so I came back to my room to enjoy the a/c and rest. Still pretty tired. Yesterday was a very long day, about 24 hours with only about 3 hours of sleep before that! Tonight two more of the new teachers will be here. Tomorrow I start my observation in the classroom. It will be a full day, for the next three days. Then Saturday I move into my place and get settled. And I start officially on Monday!! Yikes!
Looking forward to it all and happy to be here. Will post pics when I am settled in my place. Thanks to everyone for the good wishes and messages! It is greatly appreciated!!
Oh! And it seems I look like a bit of a potential terrorist. I like to wait until the end to board a plan...don't like wating in a big line. There was a young guy who got pulled aside and had all his bags searched and got patted down. Felt kinda bad for him, a little embarrasing to be taken aside like that. So almost everyone is on the plane, and I hand the woman my boarding pass, and she tells me to go see the security guys. Well, doesn't really tell, but points me over to them. It seems someone wasn't doing their job, and I was supposed to be searched earlier! So they go through all my bags and then I have to wait until they send a women so she can pat me down! Meanwhile all the ticket agents are watching as well as about 5 security people!! They were very nice and it was kinda funny. So there I am standing there with no shoes on,and my jacket off, and the women tells me to hurry because the plane is waiting for me!!Apparently the other guy that got searched was moving to Korea to teach too. We must look like a dodgy lot! Ha ha!
It still hasn't reallly hit me that I'm going to be living in Korea for the next year. But I am really looking forward to living in a new and very different place. I'm excited to meet new people and do some more traveling. And to actually be committed to a job for a full year!! That's a new one for me. Feeling a bit anxious to get there and get settled. It's been a very long goodbye. But worth it. But it is definalty time to start making some money again! It cost me $200 to send an extra suitcase with me!
So I've finished my book I was reading, and my battery on my computer is going to die soon. The first movie was terrible(The Last Mimsy) and the second was a subtitled Korean movie(too tired for that, plus on this budget flight the screen is too far away! no personal entertainment unit for each person on this plane!!) And I still have about 4.5 hours to go. Hmm, might have to start drinking.....
Ok, so I'm saving this and will add to it when I get to Seoul. Until then....
So here I am in Seoul, Korea!! Arrived last night at about 5:30pm Korean time. After going through customs and getting my luggage, I was met by one of the Korean teachers from the school, a very nice young woman named Meg! She had a sign that said "Lindsay Collins, Welcome to Korea!! So she put me on a bus and sent me on my way, because she lived far away from where I was going. She told me to get off at the third stop, and the director of the school would meet me there. About an hour and a half later, one of the other passangers tells me this is my stop. The bus driver forgot! Thank god for nice people! I get off the bus and it is getting dark, and there is no director! I knew he would be coming but I must admit I was a little nervous. It was a very busy street, bit lights and buildings, and I had no idea where to go if he didnt come! Another man at the bus stop, who was on my bus, gave me his phone number in case the director didn't come, and said he would help me!! Nice people so far!!! The director, John, came about 10 minutes later. Phew.
He seems very nice. He brought me to my hotel, which is also a "love hotel". Haha. I have purple wallpaper with pink hearts on my walls!! A very basic room, but home for a few days until I can move into my apartment on Saturday. Today I wandered around for about an hour. It is very hot and humid here right now, so I came back to my room to enjoy the a/c and rest. Still pretty tired. Yesterday was a very long day, about 24 hours with only about 3 hours of sleep before that! Tonight two more of the new teachers will be here. Tomorrow I start my observation in the classroom. It will be a full day, for the next three days. Then Saturday I move into my place and get settled. And I start officially on Monday!! Yikes!
Looking forward to it all and happy to be here. Will post pics when I am settled in my place. Thanks to everyone for the good wishes and messages! It is greatly appreciated!!
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