Teach-uh are you mixed race?

Huh?
first of all, it took some getting used to, being called teacher. At first i was like, why don't the kids call you by your name, first or last doesn't matter. turns out its a korean (maybe asian but i'm not going to make generalizations i'm unsure about) thing. Teacher is a sign of respect. I think it Confucianism based, but I could just be b-sing out my derriere... Except it doesn't sound like teacher, it sounds like teach-uh.... Yeah...


My first class was what I figured it would be. Bad. Well for me anyways. In my reviews I was told that first time teachers have been seen to do a lot worse, so I should have been proud of myself. But I'm a perfectionist. So meeting my first class for memory english was nerve-racking. I prepped the material but the kids walked in and suddenly I was nervous as f*ck. I totally couldn't remember how to do the h/w check and I did the one sin, run out the room to find out how. I got back in and started out going ok, but then it went downhill when the kids starting telling me about all the things their old teacher used to do. I'm a big wimp and softie at heart so I wanted them to have some continuity. Boy did they play me. I ended up not finishing all the material. And the worst part is it's all saved on tape for the head instructors to watch. Holy Shitake!!!When I leave I am not a happy camper, but it was only a half day, so that was sweet.

Next day, I'm teaching reading (previous was memory). this i am more prepared for as it is what we prepped for in training all week. my H.I meets with me before and tell me to throw everything I learned in training out the window. great! 30 mins before class now what the freak do I do. So my first class was elementary. This time I was more in control but there were probably somethings I could have done better. The kids wouldn't really talk at first so I was doing all the work, I hope it's just that they are getting used to me because they know the stuff. The middle school was even tougher I had 2 rowdy boys who I had to separate and they tested my authority a bit, but I held firm... Right in the middle of their review test he decides to ask me if I am mixed. What? why does that have to do with the test... anyways I get through day two and stumble home to bed...

Day 3 went much better, I am more comfortable in front of the kids now, I got my memory class back under control and they even all said goodbye to me as they were leaving. There are still things I can improve on, but it guess while I wasn't the worst first teacher ever, I wasn't the best either. I'm working on it....I had my little flirty boys, we gotta check that.
I think my H.I thought I was weird freaking out that I wasn't amazing. Everyone is so chill here... my boss gave me his old cellie till I can get one. sweet. i hate being uncontactable.

On to other things: So when I was in the subway some guy came up to me and went hello. I was suprised since I have desensitized myself from expecting to hear english. we talked about his visit to the U.S when I said I was american, and he gave me a thumbs up for Barack Obama. Sweet.

I opened a bank account. I asked if one of the korean staff would take me and this nice guy did. his english wasn't so great and he would get frustrated when he could express something but i kept telling him to imagine if i could speak korean as well as he spoke english. he asked to take a pic of my passport cover to which i said why and he said, because it's american. wow. if only they knew. then he took a pic of me. when we got there I was confused because he also handed them his I.D. I think he had to vouch for me, but when I asked him he said too hard to explain in English so I don't know what happened.

The next day I went to get my Alien registration Card (ARC) you cant do jack w/o it legally so i needed to take care of it. technically it's easier to open a bank acct with it too, but I needed one ASAP and they take the passport away when they create your card, and then the card takes 10 days. its actually a fast process, fill out form, show visa, give him stamps you bought downstairs and you're out. I was mad I had to make 1.5 hr trip just for that. Always how it is...

I also have housing now. Since I work in northeastern seoul, i decided I wanted to live close to home ( i work from 4-10) and I don't want to ride the train an hr to get home. So I rolled up to meet the real estate agent, wondering how I was going to find a korean lady in a sea of well, koreans. luckily she knew to be looking for a foreigner and came up to me. she is gorgeous, married to one of the aussie head teachers at the company (Click on link for more on Chung Dahm as a whole)

She was a nice lady, once we warmed up and started chatting. She showed me a couple of places, but in the end I picked the cheapest one, not only because it was cheaper, but because it wasn't that much smaller for the price diff, in korea maintenance is paid by apartment size, and you could tell the landlady was absolutely enamored by me, she keep asking me all these questions to tell her the answer, told me I was pretty etc. It turned out to be a pretty sweet deal all in all, I pay rent at the end of the month instaed of before which often isn't found in korea, so i will have enough money to live for sure... and I have a most amazing view of mountains from my window. plus there's washer in the room, what more do I need?

I can ride the train to hit the clubs and stay out till they start running again if i need to... and cabs here are so cheap. I take $2 cab rides from the train station to my work all the time. the bus would be 10 cents. riding the train is $1-1.50 based on distance... I could have lived in Itaewon but then I might party too hard, and the days when I just want to relax I would have an hr commute home. And there is a group of teachers that live in my area and hang out as well so it all works. Plus its safer because there are fewer drunken foreigners, more quiet... Should be nice. I haven't moved in yet. I will tomorrow

so now its all about settling in. I'm getting to know the teachers better, and they seem like a kick-ass group. we are going skiing for the lunar new year. i'm also planning a Buddhist temple stay trip. should be fun nice ways to bond. I still can't get over how sweet my life is. I earn the same working on 24 hours a week, that I did working 40 hours a week in boston because my pay is so great, plus i don't have to work until 4, get off at 10, and I work tues-fri... I can add on more hours if I want and I may latter but we are off to a good start, and the cost of living is so cheap... my rent so cheap... sweet!!! I love my Life