Lessons 1-14

This blog is dedicated to the daily lessons I learn during my year teaching English in Suwon, South Korea. I have gotten off to a rather delayed start on this project, so I have two weeks of lessons to catch up on. I promise this will be the only abysmally long entry. (I'll keep the rest short and sweet and updated daily).

(8/26) Lesson 1: Fly Korean Air.

I was dreading my flight to South Korea for several reasons. I was afraid I would not have a window seat, that I would be too cramped, that my feet would balloon to the size of a football, that I'd be eating kimchi the whole flight over, and that I'd be stuck watching stupid romantic comedy movies for 13 hours. Thank God I was wrong.

Korean Air is awesome. I was lucky enough to get a window seat in an emergency exit (hello, leg-room!) and on top of that I could watch Star Trek as many times as I wanted. I had a choice between Korean food and regular Western cuisine (I opted for the latter). The beef and mashed potatoes were probably the best airplane food I've ever encountered. The flight attendants came around several times with these delicious meat-filled dumpling-like pastries which I didn't refuse and absolutely loved.

When the plane started its descent into Incheon Airport, I looked out the window to see lots of beautiful little islands scattered about the coast. I was briefly reminded of Lost, and then realized that I'll be watching the new episodes by myself online, far away from my fellow Losties. The landing was smooth and the ride to the terminal took no time at all. I was through customs, bags in hand within 30 minutes of landing. Talk about efficient. More airlines should operate this way.

(8/27) Lesson 2: Whenever you're going some place new, don't forget to bring a towel.

My first night in South Korea was not quite what I had expected. After 13 hours on a plane all I wanted to do was pass out on a nice, comfy bed. My boss, David, picked me and another new teacher up at the airport and drove us two hours from Incheon to our apartment in Suwon.

The first thing I noticed was how the kitchen was in the "foyer" and the apartment was really tiny - much smaller than the photos of the apartment I saw online. Naturally, I was a little disappointed, but not as disappointed as I was five seconds later. Why? I open the sliding glass door to the main (and only) room to find that there is no bed; only a padded mattress covering with a dirty-looking, sad excuse for a quilt covering it. No bed, desk, chair, kitchen supplies, sheets, or internet in sight. My contract stated that I would be getting a "mostly-furnished" apartment - this was not what one would consider "mostly-furnished." At least I had air conditioning and a TV. David said I would get a bed "soon" and left without saying good-bye.

I was exhausted, angry, and needed a shower. I found the shower head sticking out of the wall near the mirror (a familiar sight, having been in India), and turn on the water. No hot water. I let it run, hoping it just needed to warm up. No hot water. Cue first nervous breakdown in South Korea. I turn the water back on and brace myself for a "refreshing" shower. Once clean I realize - there's no goddamn towel. Thank God I listen to my dad and come prepared. Now all I needed was a toothbrush.

(8/28) Lesson 3: If you want delicious Mexican food in Korea, go to Songtan.

My first full day in South Korea began at 5:30AM when I woke up and couldn't fall asleep again. I had to be in the lobby three hours later to learn how to get to school, so there was no point in going back to bed. I wrote a few emails after discovering someone's wireless (it worked once and once only), then watched Korean music videos on FashionN. Holly, a fellow teacher, showed me how to get to our school via taxi, since the bus we would normally take directly to the school doesn't run anymore. I sat in on one class for the day. The kids seemed nice and well-behaved enough so I wasn't too worried.

Holly and a few other teachers planned for everyone to go to dinner at La Casa del Mexicano in Songtan near Osan Air Force Base where her husband works. Anyone who knows me knows that I try to avoid eating Mexican food if there are other options available, so I wasn't too excited about it. It took a little while to get there; we had to take a taxi to a train and another taxi and finally reached our destination. We walked up to the second floor to the restaurant and we were greeted with the sight (and sound) of Chuey, decked out in Mariachi gear, belting out a tune in Spanish and strumming away at his guitar. This guy was just too much.

It took a while for our massive dinner group to get seated, but we ordered and had our food served in no time. The chips and dip that are free with the meal were delicious and the chicken fajita I ordered (one of the hottest on the menu) was amazing. All the while, people were buying Chuey shots and shouting songs for him to sing - he was already acquainted with half of our group. I thought I was in the States for the entire dinner. Excellent Mexican food in South Korea... who'd have known?

(8/29) Lesson 4: If you want spicy dak galbi, be prepared.

Saturday was a lazy day and I tried to catch up on sleep and unpack my things. Nothing of great interest occurred until the evening when we met up at Suwon Station for dinner with Jeremy and Allison (the two teachers who were leaving). We had dak galbi, my first real experience with Korean food. Dak galbi is marinated chicken stir-fried with a bunch of different vegetables. Ours was grilled in the middle of our table with whole cloves of garlic, sliced onions, peppers, and some type of rice cake with cheese in it. We ordered the spicy dak galbi- they really don't mess around with spiciness here.

We were drinking soju, basically the Korean version of vodka (only 20% alcohol), and "cider" (Sprite, pretty much). I didn't really want to drink much, but Holly put soju in my cider and I couldn't even taste it. It is pretty much undetectable unless you mix it half and half. Everyone else was taking shots, while I slowly sipped at my drink. As I was starting on my second little cup, I heard someone say, "Canadian hip-hop artists" and if I had had cider in my mouth, it would have been sprayed all over the table. Everyone else found my reaction far more amusing than what caused it. Upon hearing "Canadian hip-hop artists" I pictured a mounty with a hockey stick in an igloo rapping "aboot moose, eh?" I have trouble taking Canada seriously sometimes.

After our delicious dinner, we went to Lao Bar, where we enjoyed tasty drinks and a fire show. I stupidly forgot to take a video, but this is almost exactly what I saw (same bartenders and everything). They have a drink there called P.S. I Love You and it tastes like a White Russian mixed with Bailey's with a splash of Dr. Pepper. Amazing, strong, and I have no idea what's really in it. Lao Bar was followed by noraebong, Korean karaoke, only a half a block away. I had never experienced karaoke before (and thus never done it), but I didn't sing that night; I was sober and tired and totally lost interest after a while. It may have been fun if I'd had more soju and sleep. I could have tried my hand at Canadian rapping.

(8/30) Lesson 5: When you don't know Korean or own a map, Sundays can be very boring.

I spent Sunday in my apartment. Having only been in the area for two full days, not owning a map, a cell phone, or any knowledge of Korean, I wasn't too fond of the idea of wandering around Suwon. I did want to find out how long it took for me to walk all the way to the school, but then I realized that I hadn't the slightest idea how to get there.

Sunday was spent writing emails (I had to borrow Kelsey's internet), watching Korean TV, and doing Rosetta Stone. It was amazing how a lack of internet also impaired my ability to do several things: I couldn't Google information about South Korea to educate myself further, I couldn't Skype, I couldn't read the New York Times, and I couldn't access the school's website in order to read up on the things I would be teaching.

My resolution that day: Get internet, learn Korean, and start memorizing landmarks between my apartment and school.

(8/31) Lesson 6: There are certain things one must not do.

1. Don't write someone's name in red. Jeremy told me that one teacher at the school learned this the hard way after writing a child's name on the board in red. The child told his/her parents and the parents demanded to know what happened. In Korea, if someone's name is written in red it is considered unlucky. I'm sure there's more history or superstition attached to it, but that's all Jeremy told me.

2. Don't say "crazy". In Korean, "crazy" means mentally deranged. It means the same thing in English, but we say it casually and can tell which meaning someone intends when we hear it being used.

3. Don't signal "come here" with your palm up; that's for animals. Instead, signal with your palm down, fingers straight. Flap your hand a bit. That's the polite way to tell someone to "come here" or to flag down a taxi or bus.

(9/1) Lesson 7: Black Boy ice cream is yummy and slightly offensive.

September 1st was the first day I taught completely on my own. Jeremy stopped by just to watch and make sure I was doing O.K. It could have gone better, but it could have also gone much, much worse. I was proud of myself, despite having only one day of shadowing a teacher and being given very little information about what I was supposed to teach and how. Thank God I at least was able to shadow the teacher I replaced - some new teachers weren't as fortunate.

For Allison and Jeremy's last night in Suwon, we went to Oasis, a galbi restaurant around the corner from the apartment building. Galbi is yet another Korean food that I find to be most delicious: beef short-rib. The meat is cooked in the middle of the table, then each person takes a piece with their chopsticks, dips it in the sauce provided, places it in a leaf of lettuce, wraps it up and eats it. (Lettuce is optional for the die-hard carnivore like myself.)

When we were finishing up our galbi, someone mentioned that they "really want some black boy." Others agreed. I was confused. "Oh!" they exclaim, "you've never had black boy?" Not so sure how to respond to that question, we set out on a hunt for "black boy", which apparently is an ice cream. We located a nice stash of Black Boy at Family Mart.

Yummy, tasty, and not-PC. Try some Black Boy today!

(9/2) Lesson 8: Sometimes even cute children can't cheer you up.

Ever had a day when you are so frustrated that you could punch a kitten? Wednesday was one of those days. My internet was finally installed and I got a bed, a table, and chairs. The bed is nearly half the size of my room and, when I went to move it back to the position it was in before, I found that the bed frame was completely snapped in half on the right side. Awesome. So much for the bed. Then the table is half the size of my massive bed and there are FOUR chairs that came along with it. Yes, I need four chairs because I live by myself.

On top of having an unnecessarily cramped living space, I have major frustrations at work that, with the exception of Khai, even the cutest child in the world could not make me happy. The pointless two-hour meeting at school (which we're not getting paid for) was the least of my frustrations. I have two teaching partners: one for the morning and afternoon kindergarten (she's amazingly helpful), and one for my math and science (I really think she hates me). The other day I asked the math/science TP how Jeremy had taught the class: what was his schedule with the children? Did he have any routines with them? Did he mostly teach out of the book? Questions like that. Her response: "I don't know." She worked with him for at least half a year, so of course she knows. Since I couldn't get any guidance, I came up with a plan for yesterday's class about 3D shapes without knowing what was expected of me - I made 3D shapes out of clay with the students. The second I begin, she tells me that "this is not an arts and crafts class, so don't do this again."

Today I was frantically trying to gather more information so that I can plan ahead and get some idea of what I'm supposed to teach. I'm expected to teach science as well, and I have yet to find out a single thing about that class. I feel as though I'm blind and I'm expected to know what the color green looks like. All day I just felt completely overwhelmed, helpless, and frustrated. If I could find out the information I needed on my own, I wouldn't be freaking out so much, but there's literally nothing I can do but pester people until I get the curriculum, book, teacher's guide, and other materials and information about my classes.

(9/3) Lesson 9: Laminating is FUN.

My morning class is reading The Mitten by Jan Brett and I had to come up with a writing activity for the book. Everyone drew one animal on a mitten-shaped page and wrote what animal went into the mitten and how it went it (crawled, burrowed, slid, climbed, etc.). I collected everyone's mitten and they asked why they weren't taking them home or hanging them up. I told them it would be a surprise.

I decided to laminate each page and turn it into a book. Laminating is my new favorite activity. I think it stems from my childhood fascination with it. I could never figure out how teachers laminated and thought it must be some secret that teachers will never share with the rest of the world. I would "laminate" small items from time to time by covering them in clear packing tape.

Now I know the secret.

(9/4) Lesson 10: The proper way for me to direct a taxi to my apartment is:

"Gokban jeong-dong chook san mool You Tong Center ga juseyo."

I went food and apartment shopping after class with Kristen at Home Plus (Korean Walmart, pretty much) and got all sorts of stuff. While wandering the food aisle, I found a typo.

Yes, tard. On a slightly related note, our taxi driver who drove us back from Home Plus got "lost". Some Korean cab drivers will pretend to not know how to get some place or will intentionally go in the slow lane to rack up more money on the meter. We clearly told him where to take us, he went directly to that area, and when I signaled for him to turn right, he went straight, turned right later and claimed to not know where he was going. Then he took us straight to our apartment.

We were originally told by some of the teachers and administration to say, "Gokban jeong-dong. Hyundai aparta." But (as we found out) it's a little vague. So the proper, fail-safe way to get home is: "Gokban jeong-dong, chook san mool You Tong Center ro ga juseyo." That takes us two blocks from our apartment. I will never get lost in a taxi again.

(9/5) Lesson 11: Unless you're in Seoul, don't go out to a bar on a Saturday.

Kristen and I share a birthday which happens to be on a Monday. Since we teach Tuesday morning, we wanted to celebrate early and go out Saturday night (since some teachers teach on Saturday morning). Our plan was to buy a some Soju (only about 1,100 won per bottle, so 90¢ for one person to get moderately tipsy), pre-drink, go to Now Bar (lots of Westerners go there), have another drink or two, then go dancing at Crazy Duck (another Western-ish bar).

When we got to Now Bar, there were all of about 5 people there. Oddly enough, we recognized one person, Raj, who teaches at a public school in the area. He decided to tag along and we headed to Crazy Duck in Ingyedong. Our cab driver pulled the "I don't know where I'm going" card, so we got pissed at him and refused to pay full fare - Ingyedong is a well-known place. 10,000 won and what seemed like a half hour later, we got to Crazy Duck.

This bar was also relatively empty. Raj explained to me and Kristen that most people go to Seoul on Saturdays, so the bars in Suwon tend to be dead. Remember that, kids. Not only was Crazy Duck a little empty, but we got hit on by a bunch of random Jamaicans and two really creepy old British guys who said they'd been in Korea for 10 years. We retreated to the other end of the bar to dance. Kristen attempted to learn a line dance by watching and dancing along with three Korean girls. One of them noticed her having trouble, so she grabbed Kristen by the wrist and tried to teach her the steps. Despite the strange people and the slow night, we still had a great time.

(9/6) Lesson 12: I really need to start doing things on Sundays.

I think the title of the lesson says it all. Although the only good thing about doing nothing is the ability to sleep in until noon. Time to start planning day trips for Sundays.

(9/7) Lesson 13: Even God does not care it's your birthday when you're trying to navigate through Suwon on a bus.

Happy Birthday to me! I woke up to not one, but three facebook videos from back home: one from my awesome little brother, Adam, and two from representatives of my three families. Of course they had to eat a Whole Foods chocolate cake in front of me while I'm thousands of miles away, unable to do anything about it, but it was wonderful to see everyone when I woke up.

I went to school feeling blue. I wished Kristen happy birthday as well and we all hopped in the taxi to school. When I walked in the classroom, my kids wished me "happy birthday Cally Teacher!" and jumped on me to give me hugs. When it was snack time Jeena (my TP) ducked out of the room "to get some water" and came back with a birthday cake with candles. I was totally surprised! Jeena was really stealthy and had the kids sign a card for me without me even having a clue, and she bought me a mug for my tea. I got to wear a party hat with monkey ears too.

Jeena offered to have me over to her apartment for dinner. I thanked her, but told her that Kristen was getting dinner with her sister and had invited me a few days ago. After a few obstacles including Kristen forgetting her phone at the school after we were already on the bus, me stupidly wearing heels, and then us not knowing where to meet her sister, we ended up at Suwon Station at Kraze Burger for some good old American food. It was nice to spend time with family, even if it wasn't my family.

After we said our goodbyes, Kristen and I headed to the bus station to catch the 92 bus home. That's when our night went downhill. "I'm pretty sure we get on the 92" she tells me. Just to be sure, we ask the bus driver and he starts shouting at us in Korean and waving his arms at us. We figure he knows what he's talking about, so we get off and look for another bus. The 83-1 rings a bell. "Gokban jeong-dong? Yes? O.K." We sit on the 83-1 for literally an hour and a half wondering where in the Nine Hells we were going. Kristen kept saying, "It's our birthday... can't we get it right on our birthday of all days? Why do we always get lost?" We couldn't take it anymore and hopped off to flag down a taxi. We were really short on cash, but luckily the cab ride was inexpensive and we were there in minutes. I've traveled on buses in several different countries and I'll tell you now: I can't stand that form of transportation.

P.S. Thank you to everyone who sent me birthday wishes via facebook, messaging, email, or video! It was so nice to hear from everyone and it really made my day! I miss you all.

(9/8) Lesson 14: I'm better at teaching math to kids than I thought.

I just found out today that this one teacher has taught my math and science program before for eight months. For an entire week, I have been repeatedly asking every teacher in the school for suggestions for teaching these classes or for feedback on my ideas (since I had no idea what to expect) and today she tells me: "Well, I didn't say anything because my contract's almost up and I don't want to do any more work." After all the frustrations I've been through, I wanted to scream. Her contract's up in six months and all she had to do was open her mouth - no work involved.

Holly and Kristen gave me a little pep-talk and said my lesson plans seemed pretty good. I was dreading this class because it seems to be a mystery at my school and everyone says it's annoying to teach. I went into that classroom and I rocked it! My TP left the room for nearly the entire class (though she's supposed to stick around in case I need her to translate or discipline) and didn't get to see just how awesome I am at teaching kids about 3D solids. I even played a math game at the end of class to make sure my class knew their stuff. I finally have a class I can call a complete success.