The Beginning

After flying out almost two weeks ago, I'm already immersed in my work and a community. I received my visa on a Saturday, and by Tuesday, I was on a plane over the Pacific.


Sitting at school, I'm actually beginning the much-awaited blog. I have officially completed one week of teaching and into the morning of my Tuesday class. When I first got here, I did observations of a few classes, which were not the best to sit in on because they it was the last day of the semester. Also known as, "party and movie day". It was also the day that I decided I'd try to fit in with a classy look - heels. Ya, that may have not been such a good idea. My ride was coming at 10:15 and I was sitting in my Internet-less apartment longing for coffee. Thus, I headed out of the building, (also a bad idea since all the buildings look the same and I can't read Korean symbols!) to look for some caffeine. After meandering for about 20 minutes, I realized I didn't know quite how to get back. Not to mention that this country lives at night. All the 'coffee' places, are actually 'coffee and beer bars'. What a combo!? Lost. Heels. No coffee. Awesome. I found a card I had in my bag that had the supervisor's number on it, so I went to a saloon and gave it to them, making a signal of a phone. Little did I know, I was a block away. Ugh...teehee?


Back at the apartment for nearly two minutes and a knock on the door, Mr. Lee - the driver. Monday morning our schedule was to meet the parents. We all had new classes and I was looking at my books for the first time. I have a team teacher who comes and takes the students to the bathroom between each class, her English name is Bonnie. She's sweet and new too! Not much of an English speaker, but a doll. No coffee, new class and blisters already on my feet. Monday = Madness.


As a morning person myself - this night culture is a rough adjustment. To explain mean by this "NIGHT culture of Korea" I will elaborate. Upon getting off of work and heading to dinner at 9, they go drink with their full bellies until about 12, wander over to a karaoke bar for a few hours (those are BIG here), and end the night with a few hours at the saunas...you know, sweat out the alcohol. Then, hop into a cab and find the home around 4/5am. There is a "cab smell" that my foreign teachers and I label the squid-sweating-smoking-drunk aroma that fills the seats of the cabs.

As far as my school and the kids go - I love it. The school I'm at is KoreaPoly. In the morning, I teach Kindergartners. They are 7 years old, in Korean years. But in the State's years, they are 6 years old. Once a person is born, they are already a year old. (Ya, that makes me 24!) The kids are awfully cute and smart. Their families pay good money to go to this school and I keep hearing that I'm so lucky to get here as a first year teacher. Most foreign teachers are in their second year of teaching in Korea and have transferred here. There's a lot of Canadians. However, there are a few from the States. These students here have either been abroad (overseas) for at least a year in an English speaking country, or they are considered "GT" for the Gifted and Talented English speakers. With the Kinders, I teach Phonics, Reading, Art, Immersion, Computer, Writing, and Gym. In the afternoon, I have 3rd, 4th and 7th graders. I teach Vocab, Science, Reading, Grammar, Writing and Debate with them. (I like the Debate! Right now I have them 'debating' if Ping-Pong is a good sport.)

Since coffee is too expensive, unless I get a coffee pot (an investment I can't make till I get a paycheck!), I've been trying to do the GREEN Tea thing. I heard that it has caffeine in it. But really? I think my hearing must be off; I need more caffeine! By noon, I'm exhausted. Ground coffee is SO uncommon here...it's all about the lattes. OR - the dry coffee in packets that are 90% sugar (p.s. I drink BLACK coffee).

On Tuesday nights, I have Korean lessons. This will be my second week here - and my second class tonight! The Korean language doesn't have R's though, so my name sounds like CHLISTEE.

Before arriving, I realized that a friend I went to high school with, Brenna, is living in the same city. Her husband teaches at Taejeon Christian International School (TCIS). I went to the church the first weekend and attended their service. I was welcomed by other English teachers from the city. Brenna wasn't there because it was the last day of their vacation. I even got a big hug from a girl, Lauren, after I told her that it was my 3rd day in Korea. We went to lunch, a coffee shop, a walk with some others, a friends' house, and then out to dinner. It was just what I needed after a the day of getting lost in my own neighborhood ("dong") and about 5 lost games of solitaire on the computer that doesn't get Internet yet. I've since met many people at the church and gotten more involved with the foreigner teachers from my school. And, in an answer to my prayers, I feel like I'm going to build a community here.

Living Quarters - The apartment I'm in is two rooms...well, one big room split with a sliding glass door (that is opaque with Asian flowers on it). That sliding door separates the bedroom from the table/eating/kitchen area. My fridge kind of smells like squid. Which is not the sweetest smell. Their beds are quite hard, but I actually have come to like it. The mornings and evenings are peaceful as I turn on my 'ol iTunes to think of home with Mr. Jack Johnson or Gavin Degraw.

Dining out? Or in? Here, it costs the same to eat out or buy groceries and cook myself. I've been adventurous a few times and often, I find myself eating many things I cannot pronounce. Every corner and street has at least one if not more food joints. Pickled cabbage w/red pepper on it (kimchi) is served with EVERYTHING. It's not that it's necessarily popular and loved, as much as it is a staple side dish. Oh...SO many side dishes. You could have a meal out of just the side dishes.

This weekend was my first experience with the night culture. One of my fellow teachers and I went to the 'local bar'. They call it "Santa's" because the owner's name is Mr. Ho. (haha). Saturday, I went with the same friend to play Frisbee. Yep - joined a disc team. It's HUGE here! Bigger than at PLU; the team practicing next to us was the advanced team - the traveling team that is going to Japan next week. A hours of disc later, we went back to change and get ready for night out at "Brickhouse Bar". Almost all the Frisbee team went there; it was full of foreigners, smoke, and loud music. I played a couple rounds of pool and at the end of the night, I had ringing in my ears from the music. No karaoke or a sauna for me, but the night ended "early" at 2am. Many people were still out for a couple more hours!

As far as the city, Daejeon, it's size is perfect for me. Not as big as Seoul, but not small either! The city structure is way different from the States. Since it's such little land mass, all the buildings are built up instead of wide. Little land, lots of people, BUILD UP!

Overall, in sum, this has been quite an adventure. I had a lot to write for this first blog, but soon I will put up pictures! Thanks for your support friends; I'll keep you all posted on my heel-less adventures!