My first week at school:

I got a very bad cold the day before I started my new job, talk about bad timing! I just had to suck it up and try to get into a routine.  I had to teach 16 periods of 40 minutes each, but going forward I am teaching 22 periods of 40 minutes each a week.  So it leaves me with loads of time to do lesson plans.  I teach the 22 classes in 4 days and have Fridays as my deskwarming day.  We use this term – deskwarming – for days when you do not have kids and don’t have any work to do and need to keep yourself busy and most importantly you must look busy.  I have to be at school 8 hours a day according to my contract.  I can facebook, watch movies, learn Korean or do whatever I’d like. 

Working at my desk

Today, I heard children playing the violin and so I decided to follow the sound with my co-teacher (who I only teach with twice a week) right behind me. 

My co-teacher, Min-Jong and I in my apartment.

It was so beautiful; I just sat down and listened.  I then asked my co-teacher (Min-Jong), to ask the lady if she will teach me and she said yes! I then got permission from my main co-teacher (Ms. Moon) and she said she had to get permission from the school, if I am allowed to go for lessons or not.  The school said yes and I will start with my lessons on Monday during deskwarming.  I will have lessons twice a week , 8 times a month and this for only R300 a month!! I thought this is a bargain! 

The violin teacher(on the left) with one of her students.

Because I don’t teach on Fridays, I will mainly use Fridays as my lesson planning day.   The kids are really sweet and I am enjoying teaching them.   I had to do an introduction lesson with each class, introducing South Africa, myself, my family and my interests.  They really enjoyed it.   The animated movie Frozen is really big here and because I have quite a difficult name, my co-teacher suggested that I use the main character, Elsa, for my introduction as my name sound similar to hers and it will make it easier for the kids to remember my name! It paid off...  This meant that I had to listen to the song “Let it go” quite a lot of times!  

My classroom, with my Co-Teacher Ms. Moon

Some of my 6th graders.

It is quite a challenge to make lesson plans on a computer that is in Korean.  You are probably thinking what do you mean? I mean that every single program is in Korean, so if you open a word document at the top everywhere where you see English imagine another language... That is how my computer functions and it isn't that easy to just quickly use it for something.  It takes time.

The Powerpoint Presentation.  Look at the headings of the programme in this photo and you will see it is in Hongul.

My washing machine is also in Hongul.  As well as my microwave.

While waiting in the queue at the cafeteria to get lunch, I got asked by my co-teachers what my blood type is.  I said A+ and then my main co-teacher said that she heard that South Africa only has O blood types.  I only found out after that in korea your blood type is very important and they read it like the west reads the horoscope.  Blood type is very important to them, and it is also here where the west got their belief in what food is right for you according to your blood type.  I never knew this until I read up about it, because I was curious why my co-teachers so desperately wanted to know what blood type I have.   They also analyse your personality by your blood type.  According to the website Koreans are very superstitious about blood types.   “The concept of blood types determining personal traits has a dark history. It was allegedly used by Nazis and Japanese Imperialists to promote ideas of supremacy over different races and countries in the 1920s and 1930s. However, some decades later, the idea was resurrected by Japanese author Masahiko Nomi in a much more positive and innocent way that holds much more in common with the ideas of the Zodiac than the ideas of racial dominance it once connoted. There is now a plethora of media that surround the idea including songs, books and films. This new, positive linking spread from Japan to Taiwan and South Korea. In today’s South Korea you’d be hard-pressed to find any native who doesn’t know their blood type.

The linking of blood types and personalities is prominent with the basic blood types: A, B, AB and O. The descriptions given are not a full and absolute list – much like the horoscope superstition, the blood type superstition can have adjectives that replace each other and sometimes contradict each other. It has also been suggested that people possessing certain blood types should stick to certain dietary choices. However there is no scientific evidence to back this up.” Read more at: http://beyondhallyu.com/culture/its-in-your-blood-the-link-between-blood-types-and-personalities/

The cafeteria at my school.

Min-Jong getting food.

I get lunch at school every day.  I need to pay for it at the end of the month and it works out to be about R27 per meal, which is much cheaper than what I would be able to get elsewhere.  Even if I made my own sandwiches at home, it is still cheaper to just eat at school.  The food is as I describe it interesting.  Definitely very Korean.  They eat rice with every meal.  I thought that after my African trek I am done with rice.  Well, not quite as some days I only eat rice as the flavours of the food is still very foreign to me. Other days the food is so good that I don’t touch my rice! And I end up going for seconds or even thirds!  Today was an interesting day again.  We got fish that tasted like “stink gogga” which is a stinky bug for those that don’t understand Afrikaans.  I gave it a skip after I ate all the potato in the stew and one small fishy.   I only ate the rice and a banana, my very first banana in Korea.  Fruit is so expensive here I cannot afford it.  I saw oranges the other day for R180 for 6! And strawberries for a very small tub are on average R50! And that is the cheapest fruit you can get here.

Min-jong and I with a typical meal at school.  I still dish selectively and you will see I dont have seaweed soup nor Kimchi.  They eat soup with every meal.

Ms. Moon at lunch..  The very red dish on the right is Kimchi.

When I arrived at my school the very first day, I asked my main co-teacher -Ms Moon - about the previous teacher that was teaching in my position.  She gave me vague answers, but never his surname etc.  I thought that if I had his surname I could track him down using facebook.  I got the feeling that they don’t want me to contact him.  But because she never gave me his surname I couldn't do that.  On Thursday last week one of the boys that is in a younger grade than what I teach, was playing in my class.  I was busy with a lesson plan and the next moment he gave me his phone and pointed to it saying ‘Tim’, I didn’t understand, but the next moment I was speaking to the former teacher! The little boy had phoned the teacher! I was so surprised and I immediately asked for his details.  I met up with him that evening and it was so nice to chat about the school and life in Korea.  He happened to be leaving Korea and because I had nothing in my flat he said that I should come by on Saturday and choose what I would like.  When I got to him the Saturday he gave me everything that I need! Blinds that fit perfectly in my flat and that are exactly the size that I need! (My school’s handy man came to fit them this afternoon) He gave me an oven, toaster, microwave, coffee machine, iron, plates, cups, cutlery, cups, glasses, you name it for free! I really couldn’t believe it and was so surprised! 

My blinds going up!!

View from my Apartment window.  I can see the sun set.  Unfortunately they are building and I won't be seeing the beautiful mountains for much longer... :(

I had no idea that Koreans have bleach in their normal tile cleaners.  

I used the tile cleaner for cleaning everything including my grey blinds!   Luckily I noticed just in time and had to wash it off quickly and spread the runny grey over the rest of the blind

 and hope that what I did will not be too visible! I did that to my other blind too, but I am in luck as when the handy man from school installed them he put the back side in the front so it is perfect as I don’t see the bleached side and I am so proud of my flat now! It feels like home, if you want to come visit, just let me know! It is small, but I am quite lucky as I have been in two other Epik flats and mine is easily two or three times bigger than theirs! I am really happy with my new little studio apartment.

On Saturday night my class at the orientation had a little reunion and we went to a Noribang (Nori  means singing and bang means room, so we went to a karaoke lounge).  A South African girl came to sleep over as she lives on the other side of Busan an hour and a half from me by subway.  

Susie and I having supper at my regular Kimbab restaurant.  It is like Korean sushi.  I always eat the tuna Kimbab.

We had so much fun and I made a new friend – Nathan.  Nathan lives in my area and he is also teaching here.  He took me to a Korean bbq restaurant on Monday night and I have to admit it is the nicest Korean food I have had so far!  In the middle of the table is a braai(bbq) with coals underneath.  You order your meat and side dishes.  They bring you leaves that look like mulberry leaves and salad like leaves.  You then braai(bbq) your meat and fry your garlic and kimchi if you’d like.  Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish which I haven’t managed to get in my body so far, although I tried it fried and it wasn’t so bad.   Kimchi is an acquired taste and is basically made out of cabbage leaves that are fermented in fish paste, chilli and garlic. Yummy right?  They serve kimchi with every meal!  So sooner or later you either have to get used to it or you have a problem for life.   When your meat is braaied (bbq) you then take a leave place the meat inside with other things like a whole garlic clove that is fried with different sauces and some other side dishes.  You wrap the leave like a parcel and eat it! I loved it, it was really yummy!!

My first Korean BBQ.

Nathan at our table.

Tomorrow I am off to the beach and Nathan is going to show me a path that links the area where I live with the area with the school.  So I am considering hiking back home some days after school.  I have two days at school where I start early and this means that I end earlier.  So I only work until 4 and I am thinking that in summer this would be perfect for going to the beach and then hiking back home.  It is still very cold here! It rained a lot this week and the rain made it just a lot colder.  We had a couple of days that was zero degrees and one day that was thirteen degrees.   I am guessing that it should start warming up soon because April is spring and we all know what spring brings:  CHERRYBLOSSOMS!!

Arriving in South Korea

After months of planning, I am finally in South Korea.  It all happened so fast.  I emailed a recruiter at the end of September last year and since then it was a snow ball effect. 

South Korea is the size of the western cape in South Africa.  They have a population of 50 million people and because the country is 70percent mountains, only 30 percent of the country is used.  Just take a moment to imagine that!! 50 million people in 30% of the western cape...

South Korea Map

When I arrived at Incheon Airport, EPIK was waiting for us and brought us to an university in Daejeon (in the middle of South Korea) where we had an 8 day orientation with about 400 others from all around the world.   Orientation was a bit overwhelming as we were so many and meeting so many people at once with the basic conversation starter “hi, I am Ilze from South Africa, how about you?” - when you get to the 50^th person, you lose track of who  fits in where.  EPIK is so organised, and I must say I have never in my life been at such a big event with so many new people that always ran on time.  I almost felt like in grade 1 again, just without the chaos.

                     

We had loads of classes at the orientation; some days were 17 hours long.   But it was so worth it and very informative.  They divided the new teachers into 6 classes of more or less 50 in a class and we all just rotated lectures.  My class was mainly all with teachers that will be placed in Busan.  

I was in Class 3.. My class at Jeonju Hanok Village..

There were lectures on everything that we need to start a life as an English teacher in Korea, from Korean language classes to co-teaching and what to expect your very first day.  We also had lesson planning, Taekwondo and many more classes.  I really enjoyed it, but I did feel like I had a complete information overload at the end of it.

The compulsory Teakwondo class, I am ducking as im scared of being hit as Samantha tries to break the plank with her hand. (Which she did)

Singing at a nori-bang(karaoke room).  Karaoke is massive in South Korea

The 9 days flew by and I didn't find any of the lectures boring.  Each lecture was  about two and a half hours long and we had 5 a day. With  breakfast, lunch  and supper breaks in between.

I arrived in Busan on Friday.  I met my co-teacher, Mrs. Moon.  The first question she asked me was “what is your age? “ and “what is your height?”  I said, “I am 177cm tall” she went all quiet and then eventually she said“the reason I ask is because, your bed......mmm.....it is just enough”.  I think she was worried that my bed would be too short for me. I found it quite funny, but she did make me worry.  She took me to my flat and I LOVE it. I live on the 5th floor and I can definitely call it home! 

The school bought me a new LG  LED flat screen tv(which I will probably never use as I don’t speak Korean).  I am planning on going for basic Korean lessons. They also bought me a super shocking bright pink duvet set.  They got me that when they heard that I am a girl.

My room and my kitchen. My brand new tv still in its box.

I actually have a proper shower! This is a rare sight in Korea! Most showers are directly linked to the basin.  I also have a glass door which helps to prevent the water from going every where.  This is also rare.  If you look carefully you will see that i am showering directly onto the floor of my bathroom and the floor stays wet for hours that's why you need special bathroom shoes.

Photo taken from my front door.  on the left is my bathroom and on the right my cupboard.

My kitchen.  This photo is taken from my bed.  The long cupboard is actually my fridge, i got the biggest fridge ever.

She parked her car in the basement in a machine that I have never seen before.  It is like a lift system but only for cars.  You park your car in it, get out and it takes your car to the 21^st floor or so and stores it there till you return.  I will need to get a photo of that. 

I used google to find some images. You drive onto this circle, which turns your car into the right direction.  Then you drive into that garage.

The car lift then takes your car to an open space and parks it there.

Mrs. Moon went with me to my school with the bus so that I can easily find my way.  I am a 10 minute bus ride from my school.  My school is a 5 minute walk from the beach so I am really lucky as it is a beautiful beach.

Songjeon beach.  It is a really cold day.

On Saturday I met up with a South African girl, Sarah,  as I brought her South African ID for her, so that she could vote in May or April as we have to vote a week before the official South African election vote.  Because I didn’t know my address yet, it was quite a mission to explain where I was living. We ended up meeting at my school as that was easiest for both of us.  I was told that I live in quite a prime spot.  I felt bad when Mrs. Moon told me that she lives far away from school as she couldn't afford to live in this area.  I am right by a subway station which is very convenient to get around.  

I live at the last stop of the green line in Jeongsan.  It is on the righhand side of this picture.

Mrs. Moon is also new at the school and so we will both be new.  I will be teaching four grades.  From grade 3 to grade 6 elementary levels.  I am placed in a very small school in Songjeon Elementary school, which only has about 150 students.  Each class will have 20-25 kids, so I think that is ideal.  Mrs. Moon will teach all the English grammar in Korean and I will be responsible for speaking and listening lessons.  We also have a Communication English teacher that is Korean, so basically we will all be working as a team, but Mrs. Moon is my co-teacher so she will be with me all the time.  She is 39 in Korean years.  37 international age.  When Koreans are born, they are automatically 1 year old. 

Through Sarah I managed to find a great church near me and I loved the service.  It really feels like a family.  They also had a table with a whole bunch of free stuff and because I have literally have nothing I managed to get a couple of helpful free things. I was also told to keep an eye on the dumpster at my apartment as when Koreans move they don’t move their furniture, they throw them out instead and buy new ones.  So I could easily get a couch, bookshelf, fridge or even a bed for free if I am lucky!! How amazing is that!!  

I did my washing today and I had to wash my clothes three times as every time the cycle finished the machine won't open.  I must have changed the settings and the cycle wasn't finished although the timer was.  My washing machine is in Korean, so I have to guess what setting it is on.  Luckily after  the third wash my machine opened, so i have really clean clothes!! It is really hard when everything is in Korean.  From my floor heating, air-con to my washing machine.  Even the menu's in basically all the restaurants! 

This menu have pictures on them, but a lot of them don't. I am still getting the hang of it.