The end of my time in Korea has come. More than ever this year has made me realize how time flies. This year has gone by faster than any other year of my life. I remember before I went to college someone told me to take it slow because those years would be the best years of my life. College flew by and yes, they were good years, but I think life gets better after college.
Coming to Korea was one of the best decisions I have made. It was an experience that challenged me, helped me to grow as a person, taught me a lot about myself and the world, and it has opened more doors for me.
Korea was a challenge because I had no idea what to expect when I came here. I knew nothing about the culture, the language, or even teaching. Living in Seoul made it easier to deal with the culture because it is such a modern city. There are parts of the city that are not modern, but for the most part it was almost like living in a North American city. The culture didn't even hit me right away either. It slowly seeped into my life. Even today, I am realizing more things about this culture. The language has been interesting. At first it seemed very difficult and almost impossible to pick up. Because Korea is trying so hard to be like the Western world though, a decent amount of people in Seoul can speak some English. There is also a lot of English on signs and places like the subway. This made my transition to living in Korea much easier. Then, slowly I began to pick up the language. Hearing the same words everyday helped me to pick them up. I still don't know the language, but I know enough to successfully get around. I can also understand a lot more of it than I can speak. Teaching has probably been the most interesting aspect of living in Korea. The majority of my day is spent at school and teaching, so of course it is a huge part of my life. Not only have I learned about teaching though, but I have learned about how the hagwon (private academy) is run, how administration works, how to deal with people, and all the nasty details in between. It all comes down to the fact that Korean hogwans are much more of a business than a school. The administration cares more about the money that parents want to pay, than the student's actual education. This is has been the most frustrating thing for me to deal with in Korea.
I have grown as a person in Korea because I have been taken out of my comfort zone. I have also had more time to myself to think and process my life up until this point. I came to Korea for adventure and to do something different. I did not come here to 'find myself' or even think about myself for that matter. Having an experience like this though, makes you think about yourself and how life has been and how you fit into the world. All of this processing came so naturally that I didn't even realize I was processing all of this until a few months ago. It has been good though because now I am more aware of things in myself that I wasn't aware of before.
Living in Korea has helped me learn things about myself. Yes, I wanted to come here for the adventure, but I also thought I would be making a difference. For all of my life I have felt a strong pull to help people, to help the world. I have always known that I was ment for bigger things. Things like working in a foreign country to help the people there. I never knew what I would be doing to help those people though. Through teaching English here, I have realized that is what I am ment to do. I am a good teacher. I love working with children and teenagers. I have the ability to relate to them and understand them. Teaching is such an important job because the generation that I am teaching is the next generation. They will grow up into the people who will lead our world. As a teacher I have such a great influence over this generation. I see this as a wonderful privelage. Teaching in Korea has been hard though, especially at a hogwan. Here I am just used for my foreign face. A foreign face brings more money into the hogwan. Other than that, they don't care about what or how I teach. This has made it hard for me to think that I am doing something good and useful for this country. It has been a good first place to teach, but I don't feel like I am making a difference in teaching here. I hope to one day be able to teach somewhere that I am truly wanted and needed.
Korea has opened doors for me because of my realization that teaching is what I want to do. Until coming here I couldn't see myself doing anything specific for the next 10 years. Now, I am for sure though, that I could teach for the next 10 years and never be bored of it. My hope is to go back to the states and get my teaching license. I don't know how long it will take, but I am ready for this next step. Once I get my teaching license I would like to teach at an inner city school. I know this will be a huge challenge, but I also know that I can make a difference doing that. Eventually I would like to try teaching in a foreign country again. This time I would like to go to a country where I am more appreciated and needed.
So this has been my year and two months in Korea. It is an experience that I will never forget. I have laughed a lot, cried a lot, moved a lot, adventured, tried new things, met new people, had new ideas, grown closer to my best friend Heather, had some weird illnesses, taught some strange children, was very angry, was very happy...and now I am finished with this chapter in my life. The next chapter awaits!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
April feels like spring!
Ahh April! I am much happier these days. :) Not that I have been extremely unhappy, but changes at school were stressing me out and I guess cold dreary days of winter don't always make me feel like the peppiest person. Now that it's April though I officially have two months left in Korea. Spring is also here, yay! The cherry blossoms and other flowers/sprouts have begun to make an appearance. I guess this time of year always feels fresh and new. Seriously like a breath of fresh air...which is somewhat hard to come by in Seoul.
Last April I was boarding a plane to come to Korea. I think it was April 7th to be exact. I had no idea what was in store for me. I was scared, nervous, excited, anxious...I probably felt a little bit of everything. Moving your life to the other side of the world is a big thing. Luckily for me, it never hit all at once just how big of a thing that it is. In life I tend to have sudden passionate ideas and then I just go for it. I don't think about it, I just do it. Some may think this is irrational, but I would never have had these great experiences unless I'd have been the spontaneous person that I am. Korea was one of those spontaneous things, and I have proved to myself once again that it was worth it.
I have had my ups and downs living as a foreigner in Korea, but it was all worth it. I don't think you can ever have a perfect experience. In fact, no experience is even worth it without the pitfalls. Those pitfalls just show us that the better times are a great gift to be remembered and treasured. Plus, when you look back on the past you only ever seem to remember the good times anyway...or at least I do. :)
So now that I've looked on the past, I'll come back to the present. (Somewhere I need to constantly remind myself to be.) Things in all areas of life are going well these days. I just moved into a new apartment in Jamsil and love it. It's just one big room with a kitchen at one end and my bed at the other, but really it's all the space that I need. I am now close to lots of coffee shops, my school and a lake with a great walking path around it. Now that it's warming up I'm hoping to spend my evenings walking around the lake.
School is going much better these days as well. My crying kindergarten class has stopped crying. I can now look at them and think that they are darling little children...instead of blubbering babies that I don't want in my classroom. :) It's a relief really. I feel like class time is now somewhat productive. We are working on colors, shapes, numbers and the ABC's, wow! I am amazed every day at how their minds are like sponges. They are such smart little kids. A month ago I couldn't wait to get out of my hour and half class everyday. Now though, I am sad to leave these kiddos. Some are so cute that I could just pocket them and take em home! It's funny to think about the impact little kids have on you. I think they are like pets. It's been proven that people who own pets live longer and have healthier lives. Maybe it's the same for teachers and people with children. Yes, I will admit that they take a lot of work and can piss me off and stress me out at times, but overall they make me happy. :) I truly believe that in coming to Korea to be an English teacher I have found my calling in life. I am to be a teacher, and a darn good one at that!
...although, side note: I'd prefer to teach highschool.
Among other things, the missile testing for North Korea should happen sometime next week. Either we'll get nuked and you won't hear from me, or it'll all just be another one of North Korea's empty threats. I am very curious to see what will happen.
Last April I was boarding a plane to come to Korea. I think it was April 7th to be exact. I had no idea what was in store for me. I was scared, nervous, excited, anxious...I probably felt a little bit of everything. Moving your life to the other side of the world is a big thing. Luckily for me, it never hit all at once just how big of a thing that it is. In life I tend to have sudden passionate ideas and then I just go for it. I don't think about it, I just do it. Some may think this is irrational, but I would never have had these great experiences unless I'd have been the spontaneous person that I am. Korea was one of those spontaneous things, and I have proved to myself once again that it was worth it.
I have had my ups and downs living as a foreigner in Korea, but it was all worth it. I don't think you can ever have a perfect experience. In fact, no experience is even worth it without the pitfalls. Those pitfalls just show us that the better times are a great gift to be remembered and treasured. Plus, when you look back on the past you only ever seem to remember the good times anyway...or at least I do. :)
So now that I've looked on the past, I'll come back to the present. (Somewhere I need to constantly remind myself to be.) Things in all areas of life are going well these days. I just moved into a new apartment in Jamsil and love it. It's just one big room with a kitchen at one end and my bed at the other, but really it's all the space that I need. I am now close to lots of coffee shops, my school and a lake with a great walking path around it. Now that it's warming up I'm hoping to spend my evenings walking around the lake.
School is going much better these days as well. My crying kindergarten class has stopped crying. I can now look at them and think that they are darling little children...instead of blubbering babies that I don't want in my classroom. :) It's a relief really. I feel like class time is now somewhat productive. We are working on colors, shapes, numbers and the ABC's, wow! I am amazed every day at how their minds are like sponges. They are such smart little kids. A month ago I couldn't wait to get out of my hour and half class everyday. Now though, I am sad to leave these kiddos. Some are so cute that I could just pocket them and take em home! It's funny to think about the impact little kids have on you. I think they are like pets. It's been proven that people who own pets live longer and have healthier lives. Maybe it's the same for teachers and people with children. Yes, I will admit that they take a lot of work and can piss me off and stress me out at times, but overall they make me happy. :) I truly believe that in coming to Korea to be an English teacher I have found my calling in life. I am to be a teacher, and a darn good one at that!
...although, side note: I'd prefer to teach highschool.
Among other things, the missile testing for North Korea should happen sometime next week. Either we'll get nuked and you won't hear from me, or it'll all just be another one of North Korea's empty threats. I am very curious to see what will happen.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Missiles and things...
The air in Korea is quite interesting these days. Both in a figurative and literal way. First of all, we just had a bout of 'yellow dust' from China. This dust actually blows over from the Golbi desert in Mongolia, but for some reason they blame it on China. (Korea hates China) When this yellow dust comes a few times every spring the Korean's freak out, with fair reasoning actually. The yellow dust colors the air yellow giving Seoul a very eerie glow to it. It can also get into your lungs and nasal passage and cause all sorts of problems. Because of that people usually wear masks. Last year I didn't wear a mask and lost my voice for two weeks because of this dust. This year I have a mask, but I forgot to wear it on one of the dust days. Luckily I only got a cold combined with allergies...making my head feel huge and my nose just as snotty as ever. Better than losing my voice though.
The air has been interesting in a figurative sense because North Korea is about to launch a rocket satellite, which is actually believed to be a missile. Seoul has been running it's emergency sirens on tests just incase we are to be attacked. It's kinda scary though to hear those sirens and see all of the cars stopping in the streets. Who knows now when they run the sires if it's the real thing or just some more tests. I think North Korea is planning on launching this rocket thing on the 7th of April. According to South Korean sattelites, they set it up on Wednesday, but apparently it will take a while to fuel it. Otherwise, it's ready to go anytime. Luckily Korea, Japan and the states are monitering this situation very carefully. I will be very curious to see what happens though. I personally think that North Korea would think this is the perfect time to launch war on South Korea with Obama being president. North Korea probably didn't want to do anything like this with Bush as president because they knew he would just declare war on them, now with Obama though, I can see how North Korea would want to test the waters a bit. Let's just hope it's all a hoax on North Korea's part...otherwise, I could be toast (quite literaly). I must say though, it is a bit exciting to be in the middle of all this. Guess thats the journalist coming out in me. :)
Among lighter subjects I am moving again! Haha, yes...life is always a suitcase for me. My school is moving me to Jamsil, a nice neighborhood closer to the center of Seoul. The apartment is smaller, but it's only 2 minutes from school, within walking distance from Olympic Park, close to a lake with a great walking path, and so many other things. I am thrilled about this move...even if it's only for my last two months.
Which brings me to my next topic...going home! Yay! I never thought I would be so excited to go home, but I am. :) This year has been a wonderful and definitely growing experience for me, but I am ready to finish it up. I need some down time, some vacation time, some time to get my head together after this whirl wind of a year. I booked my plane ticket for the 31st of May. I'll be flying into Charlottesville where I will stay with my Dad and Doro... and apparently my big brother too, for two weeks. Then I'm heading off to Panama with Heather for a three week vacation. It will be interesting to go from living in Korea, to the States, to Panama. Talk about some weird culture shock. Then I'll head back to Charlottesville, Hburg, DC for the next few months. I am more than thrilled to see people, hang with my family, visit friends, sleep in, eat American food...etc.
Until then though, I will teach Kindergarten for two more months and try to learn as much as I can from these crazy kids. Life is a wonderful adventure! :)
The air has been interesting in a figurative sense because North Korea is about to launch a rocket satellite, which is actually believed to be a missile. Seoul has been running it's emergency sirens on tests just incase we are to be attacked. It's kinda scary though to hear those sirens and see all of the cars stopping in the streets. Who knows now when they run the sires if it's the real thing or just some more tests. I think North Korea is planning on launching this rocket thing on the 7th of April. According to South Korean sattelites, they set it up on Wednesday, but apparently it will take a while to fuel it. Otherwise, it's ready to go anytime. Luckily Korea, Japan and the states are monitering this situation very carefully. I will be very curious to see what happens though. I personally think that North Korea would think this is the perfect time to launch war on South Korea with Obama being president. North Korea probably didn't want to do anything like this with Bush as president because they knew he would just declare war on them, now with Obama though, I can see how North Korea would want to test the waters a bit. Let's just hope it's all a hoax on North Korea's part...otherwise, I could be toast (quite literaly). I must say though, it is a bit exciting to be in the middle of all this. Guess thats the journalist coming out in me. :)
Among lighter subjects I am moving again! Haha, yes...life is always a suitcase for me. My school is moving me to Jamsil, a nice neighborhood closer to the center of Seoul. The apartment is smaller, but it's only 2 minutes from school, within walking distance from Olympic Park, close to a lake with a great walking path, and so many other things. I am thrilled about this move...even if it's only for my last two months.
Which brings me to my next topic...going home! Yay! I never thought I would be so excited to go home, but I am. :) This year has been a wonderful and definitely growing experience for me, but I am ready to finish it up. I need some down time, some vacation time, some time to get my head together after this whirl wind of a year. I booked my plane ticket for the 31st of May. I'll be flying into Charlottesville where I will stay with my Dad and Doro... and apparently my big brother too, for two weeks. Then I'm heading off to Panama with Heather for a three week vacation. It will be interesting to go from living in Korea, to the States, to Panama. Talk about some weird culture shock. Then I'll head back to Charlottesville, Hburg, DC for the next few months. I am more than thrilled to see people, hang with my family, visit friends, sleep in, eat American food...etc.
Until then though, I will teach Kindergarten for two more months and try to learn as much as I can from these crazy kids. Life is a wonderful adventure! :)
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Kindergarten
Wow, I can't believe it has been a year since I started the whole process to come to Korea. Since then I have gotten to Korea and have been teaching for 11 months. Wow! Time really does fly. So much has happened in the last year as well. Lately there have been more changes at school as well.
This time the changes at school have been for the better. Ha, for once! The school just hired two new foreign teachers. One guy is from the States, and the girl is from Australia. It's been fun to introduce them to Korea so far. I also have a new schedule. I am mainly a Kindergarten teacher now. I teach Kindergarten from 9am-12:30pm. Then I have a two hour lunch break and come back to teach elementary kids from 2:30pm-6pm. It's a long day but I was given a raise so that makes it a bit better. I may also move apartments again. (Yes, that will be my fifth time moving.) I enjoy my apartment now but I am commuting to school. Because I commute, my school is offering to move me to a closer location so that I can just walk to school. That would be nice because where I live now is at the very edge of the city. When I move I will be slightly closer to things. We'll see when that happens though...
My first kindergarten class is a 6 year old class. They are wonderful students. I'm pretty sure they're all geniuses. Everyone in that class learns really fast, they participate, speak English, and have good attitudes. Seriously, an angel class. My other kindergarten class though, is a different story. They are 4 and 5 years old. A bit young if you ask me. They have never spoken English before, never been around a foreigner before, and are used to spending their days with Mom. So on the first two days of this new class of mine all they did was cry. And I'm not talking about a little bit of pouting. I'm talking about full out wailing, tears flying, body convulsions...the works! Of course I don't have my own children and I'm not trained to teach first timers, or any children in fact, so I had no idea what to do. All the crying actually made me feel like I was going to cry too. It was an odd sensation to have. I'm glad I didn't cry though, otherwise the class truly would have been a mess. Instead, I just stood there with my hands up in the air. What do I do?!, I thought. So I tried singing, dancing, drawing pictures on the board, making faces...really I tried everything I could think of. Nothing worked! So I spend the rest of class going from student to student hugging them and saying nice things in hopes they would stop crying. Wow!
Kindergarten is getting better now though. My younger class has stopped crying and their personalities are beginning to show. I'm having a hard time controlling and teaching them though because first of all I just have no idea what I'm doing. Second of all, these kids have no experience with school, or teachers, or learning. Everything is brand new to them. So just getting them to sit down is a challenge for me. Teaching them English is a whole different ball park. I have no idea where to start. I guess I should start with the ABC's. Even that is hard though. We've spend all week on 'A' and they still don't understand it. I seriously need training for this job because I'm completely in the dark here. First year kindergartners are far more challenging than I could have ever guessed!
I only have three more months of this though, thankfully. I love teaching, but I am in serious need of a break. I just need to relax for a few months before I can even think about coming back here to teach some more.
This time the changes at school have been for the better. Ha, for once! The school just hired two new foreign teachers. One guy is from the States, and the girl is from Australia. It's been fun to introduce them to Korea so far. I also have a new schedule. I am mainly a Kindergarten teacher now. I teach Kindergarten from 9am-12:30pm. Then I have a two hour lunch break and come back to teach elementary kids from 2:30pm-6pm. It's a long day but I was given a raise so that makes it a bit better. I may also move apartments again. (Yes, that will be my fifth time moving.) I enjoy my apartment now but I am commuting to school. Because I commute, my school is offering to move me to a closer location so that I can just walk to school. That would be nice because where I live now is at the very edge of the city. When I move I will be slightly closer to things. We'll see when that happens though...
My first kindergarten class is a 6 year old class. They are wonderful students. I'm pretty sure they're all geniuses. Everyone in that class learns really fast, they participate, speak English, and have good attitudes. Seriously, an angel class. My other kindergarten class though, is a different story. They are 4 and 5 years old. A bit young if you ask me. They have never spoken English before, never been around a foreigner before, and are used to spending their days with Mom. So on the first two days of this new class of mine all they did was cry. And I'm not talking about a little bit of pouting. I'm talking about full out wailing, tears flying, body convulsions...the works! Of course I don't have my own children and I'm not trained to teach first timers, or any children in fact, so I had no idea what to do. All the crying actually made me feel like I was going to cry too. It was an odd sensation to have. I'm glad I didn't cry though, otherwise the class truly would have been a mess. Instead, I just stood there with my hands up in the air. What do I do?!, I thought. So I tried singing, dancing, drawing pictures on the board, making faces...really I tried everything I could think of. Nothing worked! So I spend the rest of class going from student to student hugging them and saying nice things in hopes they would stop crying. Wow!
Kindergarten is getting better now though. My younger class has stopped crying and their personalities are beginning to show. I'm having a hard time controlling and teaching them though because first of all I just have no idea what I'm doing. Second of all, these kids have no experience with school, or teachers, or learning. Everything is brand new to them. So just getting them to sit down is a challenge for me. Teaching them English is a whole different ball park. I have no idea where to start. I guess I should start with the ABC's. Even that is hard though. We've spend all week on 'A' and they still don't understand it. I seriously need training for this job because I'm completely in the dark here. First year kindergartners are far more challenging than I could have ever guessed!
I only have three more months of this though, thankfully. I love teaching, but I am in serious need of a break. I just need to relax for a few months before I can even think about coming back here to teach some more.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
So Vain
Korean's are some of the most vain people that I have met. I should stop being so shocked by it but I just can't. It's ridiculous!
I am currently sitting in a coffee shop and across from me is a table of three girls maybe college age. They all have compact mirrors out and are working on their make-up. This is a normal thing to see everywhere...the subway, the coffee shop, the park, the beach, the grocery store. They are always fixing and applying more make-up. They are always looking at themselves. Even if there isn't a mirror nearby they will use windows or anything else reflective. They seem to care and worry about their looks so much! Sometimes it makes me sick because everyone looks the same...plastic. There is no individuality.
So the girls who are sitting close to me have just begun taking pictures of themselves. They each have their cell phones aimed at themselves and proceed to take picture after picture of the same thing...their face. I'm sure they've each taken at least a hundred pictures by now. I wonder, what can they do with a hundred pictures of their face in the same setting with the same expression. Oh and expression, that's another thing. They never smile in their pictures, and if they do it's just a small little awkward smile. So weird! The girls here are so beautiful, but they never smile or show their teeth in pictures. And they're always worrying about their head size. Maybe they think if they smile with their mouth open it will make their heads look bigger, haha! Some Korean's won't be in pictures with me because I have a small head. How crazy is that?? They say that my small head will make their head look bigger, so they refuse to be in a picture with me.
The girls at the table across from me have now produced a large camera. They are each taking turns standing up and posing while the other girls take pictures. They are posing with their purses, with coffee mugs and with other things in the coffee shop like chairs and tables. What a scene! But no one else notices because this is so normal to them. People taking a million pictures of themselves or of the same object is normal in Korea! Everyone does it. Now the girls are changing their outfits. As if one outfit wasn't enough. They'll proceed to do the same thing in the next outfit and then probably change their outfits 3-5 more times. They'll take all these pictures of themselves, drink their fancy latte with gobs of whipped cream on top, and then leave. I have witnessed this happening with different people in this same coffee shop three times in the last month now.
My astonishment with the things they do in this culture is never ending. It's constant entertainment for me, I just hope it doesn't rub off on me after living here for too long!
I am currently sitting in a coffee shop and across from me is a table of three girls maybe college age. They all have compact mirrors out and are working on their make-up. This is a normal thing to see everywhere...the subway, the coffee shop, the park, the beach, the grocery store. They are always fixing and applying more make-up. They are always looking at themselves. Even if there isn't a mirror nearby they will use windows or anything else reflective. They seem to care and worry about their looks so much! Sometimes it makes me sick because everyone looks the same...plastic. There is no individuality.
So the girls who are sitting close to me have just begun taking pictures of themselves. They each have their cell phones aimed at themselves and proceed to take picture after picture of the same thing...their face. I'm sure they've each taken at least a hundred pictures by now. I wonder, what can they do with a hundred pictures of their face in the same setting with the same expression. Oh and expression, that's another thing. They never smile in their pictures, and if they do it's just a small little awkward smile. So weird! The girls here are so beautiful, but they never smile or show their teeth in pictures. And they're always worrying about their head size. Maybe they think if they smile with their mouth open it will make their heads look bigger, haha! Some Korean's won't be in pictures with me because I have a small head. How crazy is that?? They say that my small head will make their head look bigger, so they refuse to be in a picture with me.
The girls at the table across from me have now produced a large camera. They are each taking turns standing up and posing while the other girls take pictures. They are posing with their purses, with coffee mugs and with other things in the coffee shop like chairs and tables. What a scene! But no one else notices because this is so normal to them. People taking a million pictures of themselves or of the same object is normal in Korea! Everyone does it. Now the girls are changing their outfits. As if one outfit wasn't enough. They'll proceed to do the same thing in the next outfit and then probably change their outfits 3-5 more times. They'll take all these pictures of themselves, drink their fancy latte with gobs of whipped cream on top, and then leave. I have witnessed this happening with different people in this same coffee shop three times in the last month now.
My astonishment with the things they do in this culture is never ending. It's constant entertainment for me, I just hope it doesn't rub off on me after living here for too long!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
The gym
My latest thing has been exercising in a little gym behind my school. I've exercised in many gyms in my life, but it's a different experience to work out in a gym here in Korea.
The gym is on the second floor of the building directly behind my school. In fact, from the teachers office at my school I can see into the gym. It's very small, just one middle sized room stuffed full of workout equipment. It has everything that that a normal gym would have, just in smaller amounts and all squished into one tight space. I love it though.
When I enter the gym I take off my shoes, place them on a shoe shelf and put on some slippers. Then I walk to the 'front desk' which is actually in the back of the gym and get my locker key. When I enter the small locker room area, I take off my slippers, change, and then put on my inside gym shoes. Oh the process!
Koreans are very particular about the inside of buildings being clean. So in most buildings, houses, restaurants, gyms, schools...etc you have to take off your shoes when you enter and either just wear your socks or wear the complementary slippers that are provided. In the gym you can wear shoes, but they can't be shoes that have touched the ground outside, therefore 'inside shoes'. I learned this all through a rather long process of mistakenly wearing my shoes inside, then taking them off, then putting them back on. I was yelled at, pointed at, lectured to in Korean, lectured in mime...and finally I figured it all out. All of that happened at another gym that I paid a full month membership to and then never went back because I was so embarrassed about the whole shoe incident. Since then I have purchased some shoes that have only been worn indoors. Now I'm a pro at shoe etiquette.
So this new gym that I have started exercising at is great. I think it's owned by a family. A father, his son and his daughter work there. The son and daughter appear to be my age, but who knows since Korean's never look the age you think them to be. They are always so excited when I come in though. Always wanting to say hi and practice a bit of English. I think I am the only foreigner who has ever worked out in this gym, so I am a bit of a celebrity there. Sometimes it's fun, and other times I feel awkward because they watch how I do things...like lifting weights. And I'm no professional at weight lifting, I just do what the picture shows, or what I think I should do. I'm sure I'm doing it wrong half of the time.
So this Korean gym is a bit different than gyms in the states. First of all, they give you clothes to wear. How awesome is that! At first it was weird because I could never find a size that fit me right. But now that I know which pile is which size it's great and I save on doing so much laundry at home. Also, then everyone looks the same while they are working out. This makes working out less intimidating some how. Another different thing is that some people just prefer to work out barefoot rather than purchasing and wearing indoor shoes. This weirds me out a bit. Almost every time I go to the gym one or two people are exercising or lifting weights barefoot, without even a sock on. Something like that is strictly prohibited in the states, but here it's just what people do...strange.
Locker room.
The locker room is a whole story in itself. I could go on and on about the locker room. Usually when I enter the locker room there is at least one or two other people just hanging out naked. Korean's have no shame about being naked. They are either sitting (sitting?!!) in the shower naked, or sitting on a locker room bench naked, or doing their hair naked...it goes on. So usually I quickly change into the gym clothes provided for me and head out of the locker room. After my workout though, it's back to the locker room. Since I exercise near my work I still have to commute home by bus afterward though. Which means I like to shower first. My first time showering at the gym was a bit awkward.
The shower room is just that, a room with a few shower heads. Everyone showers together, they use the communal cloths, the communal soap, and even help to soap each other up. So in I went! It was me and three older Korean woman who were all soaping each other up. So I quickly soaped up, rinsed off and jumped out. Then I used the teeny tiny little towel provided to partially dry myself off, then proceeded to dress quickly while still being fairly wet. Wow, I felt awkward! Things have changed though. I've been going to this gym for a month now and it feels like my second home...almost. I now take my time dressing, showering, and just like the Koreans I prance around naked with all the other ladies. I even dry my hair naked on occasion. :) The other day I met two nice girls in the shower and now we are friends. Maybe they'll help me soap up next time.
All in all, things may be awkward and different the first time I try them, but after a while, no matter how strange it may seem, I find myself adapting. Tis the beauty of living in another culture!
The gym is on the second floor of the building directly behind my school. In fact, from the teachers office at my school I can see into the gym. It's very small, just one middle sized room stuffed full of workout equipment. It has everything that that a normal gym would have, just in smaller amounts and all squished into one tight space. I love it though.
When I enter the gym I take off my shoes, place them on a shoe shelf and put on some slippers. Then I walk to the 'front desk' which is actually in the back of the gym and get my locker key. When I enter the small locker room area, I take off my slippers, change, and then put on my inside gym shoes. Oh the process!
Koreans are very particular about the inside of buildings being clean. So in most buildings, houses, restaurants, gyms, schools...etc you have to take off your shoes when you enter and either just wear your socks or wear the complementary slippers that are provided. In the gym you can wear shoes, but they can't be shoes that have touched the ground outside, therefore 'inside shoes'. I learned this all through a rather long process of mistakenly wearing my shoes inside, then taking them off, then putting them back on. I was yelled at, pointed at, lectured to in Korean, lectured in mime...and finally I figured it all out. All of that happened at another gym that I paid a full month membership to and then never went back because I was so embarrassed about the whole shoe incident. Since then I have purchased some shoes that have only been worn indoors. Now I'm a pro at shoe etiquette.
So this new gym that I have started exercising at is great. I think it's owned by a family. A father, his son and his daughter work there. The son and daughter appear to be my age, but who knows since Korean's never look the age you think them to be. They are always so excited when I come in though. Always wanting to say hi and practice a bit of English. I think I am the only foreigner who has ever worked out in this gym, so I am a bit of a celebrity there. Sometimes it's fun, and other times I feel awkward because they watch how I do things...like lifting weights. And I'm no professional at weight lifting, I just do what the picture shows, or what I think I should do. I'm sure I'm doing it wrong half of the time.
So this Korean gym is a bit different than gyms in the states. First of all, they give you clothes to wear. How awesome is that! At first it was weird because I could never find a size that fit me right. But now that I know which pile is which size it's great and I save on doing so much laundry at home. Also, then everyone looks the same while they are working out. This makes working out less intimidating some how. Another different thing is that some people just prefer to work out barefoot rather than purchasing and wearing indoor shoes. This weirds me out a bit. Almost every time I go to the gym one or two people are exercising or lifting weights barefoot, without even a sock on. Something like that is strictly prohibited in the states, but here it's just what people do...strange.
Locker room.
The locker room is a whole story in itself. I could go on and on about the locker room. Usually when I enter the locker room there is at least one or two other people just hanging out naked. Korean's have no shame about being naked. They are either sitting (sitting?!!) in the shower naked, or sitting on a locker room bench naked, or doing their hair naked...it goes on. So usually I quickly change into the gym clothes provided for me and head out of the locker room. After my workout though, it's back to the locker room. Since I exercise near my work I still have to commute home by bus afterward though. Which means I like to shower first. My first time showering at the gym was a bit awkward.
The shower room is just that, a room with a few shower heads. Everyone showers together, they use the communal cloths, the communal soap, and even help to soap each other up. So in I went! It was me and three older Korean woman who were all soaping each other up. So I quickly soaped up, rinsed off and jumped out. Then I used the teeny tiny little towel provided to partially dry myself off, then proceeded to dress quickly while still being fairly wet. Wow, I felt awkward! Things have changed though. I've been going to this gym for a month now and it feels like my second home...almost. I now take my time dressing, showering, and just like the Koreans I prance around naked with all the other ladies. I even dry my hair naked on occasion. :) The other day I met two nice girls in the shower and now we are friends. Maybe they'll help me soap up next time.
All in all, things may be awkward and different the first time I try them, but after a while, no matter how strange it may seem, I find myself adapting. Tis the beauty of living in another culture!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Oh the humor...
So much has happened that I hardly know where to start. Really most of it is work related, but I'm going to talk about it anyway. I have been in Korea teaching English for 10 months now and numerous things are beginning to get to me. Lately I have been quite annoyed and frustrated, so I am trying to remember humor and see things in a more positive light.
I am currently sitting in a coffee shop next to my school. There are a bunch of little Korean boys running around acting like power-rangers. I have just finished a morning of teaching Kindergarten so normally I would be annoyed that these kids keep coming up to me. They are so cute though, that I can only love them. :) They run circles around my table, then stop and stare. All so normally I begin to make faces at them. I stick out my tongue, puff up my cheeks, pull out my ears... Their mothers watch me from a distance probably thinking I'm a crazy waeguk (foreigner). But the rise that I get out of these kids is wonderful! They are so happy and full of life.
So work....Oh my! In the last 10 months this has been the most stressful job as well as the least stressful job that I have ever worked. Things are one day great and consistent, and the next day everything is pure chaos with on one knowing what to do or what is going on. August was a particularly bad/chaotic month. But I think January may rival it.
In January Heather and I came back from our Thailand Vacation only to start a hectic new year in a new school as well. Our school moved and with the move brought new students, new schedules, new classes, new classrooms, new and chaotic everything. I also started a split-shift day with Kindergarten class in the morning and elementary/middle-school classes in the afternoon/evening. My school day has gotten way longer now because of the split-shift as well as the fact that I can no longer just walk home during my breaks. (I take a bus to and from work now.) Kindergarten has been fun, but it brings an all new set of challenges. I love the kids though, they are adorable and always full of energy. Somedays it's hard to make them work because I just want to play and have fun.
So long story short, aside from the new classes and schedules our school decided to fire one of the foreign teachers two weeks into the new year. He was a great guy, good teacher, but a parent claimed that he was sexually touching their child. He's an honest guy, but the school and the parents didn't believe him so he was fired. That left the rest of us teachers to take over his classes. Then, the newest foreign teacher decided that she didn't like our school and quit. Luckily she is now staying on until some more teachers arrive from the States and then she will leave. All of this on top of the new school craziness though, is causing tons of tension at work. Some days I am so frustrated I just want to scream! I love the kids, and I love teaching, but I hate how hogwans are run. I hate the politics of the hogwan, the unstableness, and all the fakness that I get from some of the Koreans who work there. Bah-humbug!
So to add a bit of humor, I somehow managed to get a piece of my earring lodged in my ear canal. HAHA! It took me a whole day to figure out what on earth was stuck in my ear. Then I finally realized it. Now I just need to figure out how to tell the doctor what is wrong. I tried to get it out on my own, but in the process just lodged it further, ahh! I contemplated going to the ER to get it out, but I went to the ER once before and they just stared at me like I was an alien. I'm pretty sure they'll think I'm a crazy person if I go back there claiming that something is stuck in my ear. Oh my! So I guess tomorrow I'll venture on over to the doctor who enjoys speaking his English far too much, and see if he can help me. How do these things happen to me??
Oh, I also happened to get a doggie. :) She's a teacup terrier. I'll tell her story later.
I am currently sitting in a coffee shop next to my school. There are a bunch of little Korean boys running around acting like power-rangers. I have just finished a morning of teaching Kindergarten so normally I would be annoyed that these kids keep coming up to me. They are so cute though, that I can only love them. :) They run circles around my table, then stop and stare. All so normally I begin to make faces at them. I stick out my tongue, puff up my cheeks, pull out my ears... Their mothers watch me from a distance probably thinking I'm a crazy waeguk (foreigner). But the rise that I get out of these kids is wonderful! They are so happy and full of life.
So work....Oh my! In the last 10 months this has been the most stressful job as well as the least stressful job that I have ever worked. Things are one day great and consistent, and the next day everything is pure chaos with on one knowing what to do or what is going on. August was a particularly bad/chaotic month. But I think January may rival it.
In January Heather and I came back from our Thailand Vacation only to start a hectic new year in a new school as well. Our school moved and with the move brought new students, new schedules, new classes, new classrooms, new and chaotic everything. I also started a split-shift day with Kindergarten class in the morning and elementary/middle-school classes in the afternoon/evening. My school day has gotten way longer now because of the split-shift as well as the fact that I can no longer just walk home during my breaks. (I take a bus to and from work now.) Kindergarten has been fun, but it brings an all new set of challenges. I love the kids though, they are adorable and always full of energy. Somedays it's hard to make them work because I just want to play and have fun.
So long story short, aside from the new classes and schedules our school decided to fire one of the foreign teachers two weeks into the new year. He was a great guy, good teacher, but a parent claimed that he was sexually touching their child. He's an honest guy, but the school and the parents didn't believe him so he was fired. That left the rest of us teachers to take over his classes. Then, the newest foreign teacher decided that she didn't like our school and quit. Luckily she is now staying on until some more teachers arrive from the States and then she will leave. All of this on top of the new school craziness though, is causing tons of tension at work. Some days I am so frustrated I just want to scream! I love the kids, and I love teaching, but I hate how hogwans are run. I hate the politics of the hogwan, the unstableness, and all the fakness that I get from some of the Koreans who work there. Bah-humbug!
So to add a bit of humor, I somehow managed to get a piece of my earring lodged in my ear canal. HAHA! It took me a whole day to figure out what on earth was stuck in my ear. Then I finally realized it. Now I just need to figure out how to tell the doctor what is wrong. I tried to get it out on my own, but in the process just lodged it further, ahh! I contemplated going to the ER to get it out, but I went to the ER once before and they just stared at me like I was an alien. I'm pretty sure they'll think I'm a crazy person if I go back there claiming that something is stuck in my ear. Oh my! So I guess tomorrow I'll venture on over to the doctor who enjoys speaking his English far too much, and see if he can help me. How do these things happen to me??
Oh, I also happened to get a doggie. :) She's a teacup terrier. I'll tell her story later.
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