first update - Sept 6, 2005

Hey all! I am in Korea!

So, I have been in Yongam city since last Friday (August 26th). Jessie and I have both got teaching jobs here, which is really exciting, and this is our second day at school. I have yet to actually teach... but I think that is coming! I've just had quick question and answer periods. Mostly, they know how to tell me I am handsome, apparently. haha!

The town is really amazing. It is about 60 000 people, but it is a lot smaller in size than North Bay. There are a few high rises, but mostly small apartments. The people are super nice. I can't believe it! The head of the PTA, Kang Kyong-Hee has been helping us so much. Mostly, we call her "Shemon Mahdar", or Simon's mother. Simon is in my class. She has helped us go grocery shopping and taught us how to live in Korea. She's an authority, as she picked out most of our stuff. She checks on us about twice a day, and insists that I call her twice a day... once I figure out how to tell her that I don't think it's necessary, I'll stop.

It is beautiful here. We can walk to the foot of mountains in about half an hour. There is a national park here, and everyone seems pretty excited to go hiking with us. Sure, the conversation isn't great, but what we can't say, we can make up for by eating their food with great appreciation. It's a farming town, which isn't as rural as it sounds. Within 100 feet of all the shops and supermarkets, there are red peppers being dried on unused stretches of paved street, and rice patties (paddies? I don't know... rice fields!) in vacant lots. There are huge fields nearby, but I am literally blown away by how much city space is used for agriculutre.

On Sunday, Jessie and I took a walk to explore the town. We passed this very old woman, and she smiled and laughed, which was really nice. Anways, on the way back home, she passed us again, and hugged both of us. Then, she took our hands and led us back to her little house, where she sat us on the porch, and went in to get us each some water. Then she sat with us and talked, while we shrugged and smiled, because we understood nothing. Then, she started cleaning, so we figured it was time to go. We said "Kamsa Hamneida" (Thank you), and she laughed, and we bowed our way out of there. It was really nice. She seemed very very friendly, so much so I didn't even mind the cats and dogs that were caged with the chickens and other meat livestock. (Trust me, it's not that bad, no worse than eating a cow!)

The food here is amazing, but it can be spicy. Basically, it is rude to wipe your nose at the table, so I am in trouble. That, combined with the humidity, which is nearly unbearable here, have made me the grossest, sweatiest, snottiest man you will ever eat with in Korea. We've eaten out a few times, which is always an adventure. But, it's a very small town, so everybody knows the white people don't know Korean, and they are pretty patient with us.

So, I started this last week, and now I am going to finish it by updating with all fo the juicy details and turns of events that have happened. (September 6, 2005)

Kang Kyong-Hee turned out to not be such a blessing. She was over every day, and sometimes we would not be able to do anything for ourselves because she would do everything for us! It was super annoying, and Jessie and I both really started to resent her. So, we wrote a letter to her (which my coteacher translated) explaining that we were really grateful, but that we needed more time to ourselves! WAY more time to ourselves! Anyways, we think she took it the wrong way, but now we're going out to dinner on Friday, so I guess we are friends again now. But we're definitely going to try to define some boudnaries this time around!

Also, although I didn't mention it in the first e-mail, our apartment when we got here was AMAZING. It was seriously, a dream home, and we were very very happy with it. It had nice laminate flooring that actually looked like wood, two enclosed balconies, three bedrooms and two bathrooms. We lived there for four days.

On Monday, we were informed that we would have to move. The owner was apparently going bankrupt, and the school stood to lose money on the apartment if we stayed. So, we would have to move. Jessie had a long commute to where she worked, so moving there didn't seem like a bad idea, since we would be closer to the bus station, and the commute would be easier for me. BUT, Mrs. Kang stepped in again. Apparently, we were very valuable to Yongam, so she wanted us to stay, and she fought tooth and nail to make sure that Jessie and I would be staying in Yongam. Now, we live in a much less magnificent apartment, and we are a LOT farther from the bus staion, which means very early mornings for Jessie. Also, when Mrs Kang started to get on our nerves, Yongam seemed a lot less inviting.

But, we're here now, and we have to get used to it. We're trying to stay on the good side of Mrs Kang, because she is the head of the PTA here. Also, the new apartment isn't exactly a dump, it is only bad in comparison to our other options. It's actually pretty nice. We have a spare room, and a decent sized living area. We don't have a western style shower, or Korean-style shower... but some weird mix of both. Basically, it's a shower without a curtain, which is SUPER annoying.
So, this is my first week of actual teaching. Last week I introduced myself to a few classes at the boy's school, but no actual teaching, just a lot of planning time. This week, I start my real job. That means teaching at a girl's middle school on Monday and Tuesday, the boy's middle school on Wednesday and Thursday, and an elemantary school on Friday. The girl's school is very very interesting, because I am basically the biggest celebrity ever here. They follow me around in the halls, and laugh every time they speak to me, and every time I speak to them. Yesterday, I was in my office (the school's AV room, of all places) and about thirty 13 year old Korean girls all piled in around me, hanging on my every word, and occasionally getting brave enough to ask me a question about Canada, about myself, or to tell me that I am handsome. So, that was alright.

But now it's getting a little weird. In class today, as they left, my first years (think grade seven) all tried to grab/touch me as they left the classroom. That was a little much. I don't mean grab/touch THERE... but it still wasn't the most comfortable thing. And they mob me in the hallway, and just generally are annoying. Hopefully the new guy thing will wear off soon, and they will remember that teachers shouldn't be treated like this...

The teaching thing is also weird. I have no teaching experience or training, but I am expected to run two seminars a week for English Teachers. I am teaching teachers how to teach english. My qualifications? I speak english. That's it. It's a little surreal. Lesson planning needs some work for me, but I'm doing alright. I'm basically planning classes the same way I planned floor events as a don. Only this time, people are coming.

Anyways, I should go get warmed up for class, which starts in about twenty minutes. It's the first class, so it's basically introductions, then a little "do you like" which is a game Jessie made up... kids get points for guessing things that I like! Then, for a bonus round, it becomes "do you hate?" and... well, you can probably guess how that goes.

I hope that everyone is doing well. I promise that future e-mails will be shorter, this is just the first two weeks of ups and downs! It has been eventful! Let me know what's going on with you, and how life is treating you.