Chapter One

Saturday, 28 August

So much has been going on over the last two weeks. Every minute has been busy, but I've finally arrived in my new town and had some time to put my thoughts onto paper. It's a Saturday morning and, as usual, it is very humid and steamy outside. Rain stared early this morning and little down pours happen every now and then, which provide some relief from the incessant heat.

I arrived in my new town, called Namwon, the day before yesterday (Thursday). A teacher fetched me from the University in Jeonju, (which is the biggest city in the province – called Jeollabuk-do), where we were having our orientation program, and brought me to my new town and straight into my new school. Now to explain the high level of anxiety I was experiencing, I need to fill you in.

For one whole week, we (by we I mean myself and 300 teachers from all over the English speaking world), had been through fairly intense training, about teaching mostly, but also about the cultural behavior and gestures that we would be expected to know and conform to upon arrival at our new school.

Koreans value formality, and they have a hierarchical status system, a result of their Confucian philosophy of life, where the younger respect the older. We were taught to greet older people with a deep bow, and were also taught a few Korean greetings, all for the important moment when we would meet the Head of the Provincial Office of Education, or POE, and of course most important to our everyday success, our school principal. Sounds very simple, but at the time it felt like a minefield of cultural taboos just waiting to be stepped on.

The first meeting was with our POE's, and it was to be the pivotal moment when every one found out exactly where they would be teaching, and which level or grade. Most people didn't know what school they were going to teach, or where exactly they would be posted. I was super lucky - someone from the school contacted me on Facebook and I knew which town I was going to before I arrived. But I still didn't know for sure, and I was eager to hear about the age group I would be teaching. And of course, the other teachers were understandably nervous.

So we all got dressed up in the smartest clothes we had in our suitcases, and prepared ourselves for the big meeting. (I had my overly smart and sassy secretary's outfit on. For a country I heard values appearances, I was going to give it my best shot). I was rehearsing my bows and greetings (now is it Aneyong hi Kaseyo, or Aneyong hi Keseyo?), But, Alas, just before the meeting, I was told that my POE would not be coming, and I was to meet him the next day, when he would pick me up and personally drive me to my town. I was disappointed, relieved, and nervous at the same time. On the one hand I was overjoyed to have missed the intimidating meeting, but on the other hand I was nervous about sharing a whole car ride with this man the next day. On my way out, I crossed some mean looking men in black business suits and it gave me a little shudder.. soon it would be my turn.

After all this build up, I was feeling nervous, but I needn’t have worried. The next day, as I was waiting in the mess of people milling around the university lobby, a young, mousy looking lady approached me. With broken  English and hand signals, she ushered me outside and into a cab. I found out later that she was a teacher from my school (her name is Alecia) and she was the same age as me. Not quite the man in the black suit I was expecting.

She managed to get me to a cab. Unfortunately my bag broke practically as I landed in Korea (that's what you get when you buy a R200 bag from a Chinese store...). So we had to drag around my ridiculously heavy bag (it weighed 30kgs), sweating and puffing (now in the rain) into a taxi, and then into the very smart and new Office of  English Education to meet the big guy. Sweaty and frizzy haired was not quite the entrance I had planned, but hey that's life when you're traveling I guess.

I was led into a big open plan office, and after a clumsy bow in the vague direction of the people in the office, I was greeted by a smarty dressed woman, who saw me instead of the big man (it soon became apparent that she was the POE's Deputy). She was formal, but nice at the same time, and after a few minutes I was feeling a lot more at ease. While we signed my contract and looked over some paperwork, a friendly guy walked into the office, and began to ask me questions about South Africa, which I quicly realised was for no reason other than to practice or brag about his English. Needless to say, the experience wasn't half as dreadful as I imagined, sweaty-faced and rumpled as I was. Looking back at the experience, I would say that even if I had met the big guy, it wouldn't have been so bad. I’ve realised that although Koreans value formality, they are very good natured and kind hearted. They are genuinely interested in foreigners, and like to talk to them.

In the end, some people were posted in rural places, and some had to teach in two, or three and even four different schools a week. In relation to their situations, I think I have been very lucky. I was placed in an English Experience Center, which is a kind of field trip experience for students, who leave their ordinary schools and come to us for two to three days of total immersion in the English language. It happens every six months for them, and so they are excited to be at our center, which gives them a nice break from their ordinary school routines. Our job is mostly to entertain, and inspire kids to learn English. So the challenge is to make it as fun as possible.

The 'school' is very different to the average school as a result. For example, this month I am teaching 'storytelling', and 'movies'. Storytelling is held in a lovely, bright, colorful library.  I have a whole movie room in which I teach movies, equipped with the proper red movie chairs and surround sound. . We have a kitchen for cooking class, a culture and history room, (which looks like a mock museum), a computer lab, and a gym for PT class. Then there is a 'situation' room, where we have a mock airport, hospital, post office, fast food shop, restaurant, etc. I have been told that we have the best facilities in the province, and it is not hard to believe.

As far as teaching goes, every few months we swop classes and get a chance to teach the other subjects. It is very fun place to teach, given the abundant resources, and mostly, we have free reign to do what we like in our lessons, which is awesome. The only down side is that it gets repetitive, you can teach the same class five times a week, and do it for three months! But I like to change my lessons, or to do one or two back up lessons, to prevent the boredom that inevitably comes from so much repetition. I also have free periods, which I can use to research lesson ideas, and I have been enjoying the teaching experience so far.

For the first week I stayed with a Canadian couple, who are also teaching at my school. They are very nice, and I find most Canadians friendly and down to earth.. not to stereotype, but its true! I have six English teachers in my school. Normally you would be the only English teacher and you would be surrounded by Koreans, which can be a bad thing because you can get lazy and not talk to your Korean teachers. There are about 30 English teachers in Namwon, many of them stay in my new building. And there are plenty of people to visit in neighboring cities, including new friends I met at orientation, and my friend Amber in the city nearby (I visited her last weekend). So it is a busy social environment too.

There is plenty to do and to explore. Namwon is surrounded by mountains, covered with dark green pine trees. There is a small mountain near to my apartment which I can run up everyday. That is, if I'm not tempted by art class, tae-kwondo or yoga (so much to do and choose from!). You know how we Capetonians need a mountain and a beach.  I am not very close to the beach, but it is only an hour away. I can reach other cities with beaches very easily, and the bus system is easy to use. I have heard that in Winter when it snows, you can go sking, and they have one or two large ski resorts here.

 Another option available is to take a ferry to Japan, which can be done in four hours and very inexpensively (although i hear it is very expensive to eat and stay there). And despite the built-up cityness of korea in some areas, I am pleasantly suprised by beautiful scenery, temples and rivers and green rice padies, which surround the cities and creep into the towns. I even have a vegetable patch outside my window! (they use every available space here for growing things, as high population and limited space create a strong demand for fresh fruit and vegetables).

There seems to be a great respect for public space, and for nature, even in the cities. There are good sidewalks and pretty gardens , and beautifully carved wooden pagodas that you can go and relax under to escape the heat. The trees and plants look exactly like they do in Chinese watercolors. The trees are bonsai-like, and there are many soft, fluffy pine trees. There are big butterflies, and although there are not many birds, suddenly you will spot a large black bird flittering around the treetops. There are also bugs in the trees that make a loud rattling symphony when it gets very hot. Kind of like crickets, but more of them, and louder. 

In my next post, I will update you more about my new apartment, and life in Korea.

Anyonghi Keseyo! (I think!)