Videos from Class

Here are some videos of my kids playing some of the games I came up with. The first video is 1st grade and the 2nd video is 5th grade.
Enjoy!

School and Birthday!

I just finished teaching my first week of classes here at Bonggang Elementary School. So far, it's going great. My first day was Monday, and I had three afterschool classes, starting at 1:30 and going 40 minutes each. I get 1st through 6th grade, but I only teach one at a time, either 2 or 3 times per week depending on the grade. For my fist class, I made a powerpoint introducing myself to the students. The kids here are super interested in your personal life, and if you show them a few things, they won't forget it. So, I showed them my family, some pictures of life back in the U.S., and some things that I enjoy doing. After that, I would say that I want to know about them, so ranging in difficult according to the grade, I would have the students write their names and some information. First grade wrote, "My name is", and sixth grade wrote that, along with a few things they enjoy doing and where exactly they are from. I originally was just going to use their Korean names, but the previous TaLK scholars gave them English names which they all knew very well, so I let them use those.

The kids are really great. I have between 6 and 10 students per grade, so it's not that bad to manage the classroom. I have a few really crazy ones, but with the help of my co-teacher, nothing has really gotten out of hand yet. I've taken pictures of everyone so that I can remember their name, and that seems to help. 46 students shouldn't be hard to remember within a couple of weeks. Today, I played soccer with the kids during their lunch break, which was a lot of fun. They are surprisingly organized for elementary students. In the U.S., I feel like it would just be an all out brawl. Here, they play outs, corners, and they balance the teams. Then, when I came to play, after they put me with a team, they said, "Teacher, no shoot, only pass", which is fair.  Some of the kids are actually pretty good, and they will play right up until the bell.

This week was great all around. It was Chusseok, which is the Korean thanksgiving holiday. So, from Friday until Wednesday there was no school. I went out to visit my friends in Boseung, which is about an hour from here. We had a great time. We went to the Tea Fields in Boseung, which are some of the best tea fields in the country. After two nights there, I came back to Gwangyang and a few friends came with me. My birthday was Monday, the actual day of Chusseok. Well, I get a call from my friends from the group (Group 6) saying that they are all (15 of them) on the train to my place, so to meet them at the train station. Sure enough, everyone showed up, and we had a great time walking around Suncheon and just hanging out.

On Sunday night, Gio and I made it to a Chunnam Dragons game. They are the pro soccer team in my city of Gwangyang. They play K-league, which is the highest level of soccer here in Korea. We actually got in free because someone we went with knew a guy that worked at the stadium. So, even though it was sort of raining, we went to the game and watched the dragons win 2 - 0! Great times. O, and because they don't really sell concessions at the games, you just bring in whatever you can carry. So people are brining in buckets of chicken, beer, whatever they can carry and just setting up. Overall, an awesome environment! On the 24th we are planning on making it to a baseball game in Gwangju, and we are expecting that to be a great time as well.

I've also gotten to know some of the foreigners in my area that have lived here a while. Some have been here for months, some for nearly a decade. They get together at local places and hang out some evening, and i've been lucky enough to be invited. They are a great group, and really informative about stuff here in the area. I look forward to spending time with them during my stay.

I'll try to keep up with the blog as much as I can. I've got some great stories I need to get up here. I'm going to take an afternoon soon and catch up with the stories, they just pile up on me. Until next time!

The City of Gwangyang at night

On top of the mountain at the green tea fields in Boseong

This is the view from my bus ride to school

My bus stop in front of the school

3rd Grade

2nd Grade

Students waiting for the bus home

Green Tea ice cream! So good.

A bunch of the original group 6 reunited!

The Chunnam Dragons

Pictures!

Just a few shots from the end of orientation and my place here in Gwangyang. Next week I will be posting a ton!

How to get into karaoke 101

At the Eco Park in Suncheon

The birthplace of a "fictional" Korean comic book character

Just outside of the Bamboo Forrest

Gio showing his respect

Me sweating on a rock

Traditional Korean meal

Noraebang the last night of orientation!

My room, before I organized

The Start of my New Life in Korea

Since I last posted, quite a lot has happened. Let me quickly review what has happened, tell you where I am now, then fill you in with the in-between.  Ok, so, on Tuesday, we all got dressed up, dragged our heavy luggage downstairs, and prepared to meet our school staff, who would then drive us to our apartments and then our schools. That last hour where we were all waiting to go into the closing ceremony, we got a chance to finally say our goodbyes and realize that our orientation was completely over. We did have an amazing time the night before. Our coordinators got a Noraebang setup in our building and bought us cake, chicken, and pizza. It was a goodbye party and simaltaneously a welcome back party for our friend, Dan, who had to leave early the week prior due to an issue in the states. We sang, ate, and even watched the head of the provincial office of education (older lady) sing her heart out! It was a great time, really. So ya, we all walk into the closing ceremony, really nervous to be honest. Our name is called, we give a quick speach about ourselves, and then our school staff stands and we walk off stage to sit with them. Then, we ate a quick lunch, and headed off to our cities.

We were told a lot of things beforehand. Mostly things to make sure to do, and to be respectful and that sort of thing. Well, it all came in handy, sure. However, I wasn't prepared to be called, "handsome" so many times by male colleagues in one day. It was fine the first few times, but then you add detail and it gets a little strange. I got over it, though. My mentor teacher, So, is really nice. He is in his 20s and has only been teaching three years. His english is fairly good, and he tries really hard. On the way to our town, he was able to ask me some basic questions and tell me some of the things to expect. Our vice principal was driving, and he sure is a character. He didn't say much from the start, but there will be more on him later.

When we get to my apartment, I am given two options. We walk into the first apartment, and in that same step almost ran into the back wall. I looked around and was like, "Is the other one bigger?" He said no, but I wanted to see anyway. We went to the other building, and he was right. I still chose this building because it was cleaner. So, I am in a very small room. I mean, really small. My dorm at school was at least twice as big, and that is not an exaggeration. In that space I have a bathroom, a kitchen, and a washer. It has all the things you need, like AC, heat, a shower, a window, etc... All except a bed. I spent the first night flopped on the floor, but the second day they brought a matress in. It is about the same hardness as the floor, but it works for now. I'm getting a futon with my first paycheck, so that will definitely brighten my day. The shower is just an extension off of the faucet, and there is no curtain or anything. So, make sure everything is put away before showering because everything is getting soaked, not just you. The kitchen has a sink, a fridge, and a small stove. It does lack one thing, that is, a counter. I'm going to buy a table to actually put things on, which will come in handy. The washer is nice, but I have no dryer (most Koreans dont), so that means using my entire space to dry a load of clothes. These are mostly negative things, I know, but in reality it isn't that bad. I am DOWNTOWN. The city around me is pretty large, and just outside my door are bars, restaurants, and the bus stop to go to school. I figured the further downtown you are, the smaller the apartments. I've already done some major organizing and decorations, so it is feeling somewhat homely, but until I get some essentials, like a desk, table, couch, etc, it still feels like a box. I was planning on getting a kitten while I'm here, and take it home with me, but now i'm reconsidering thinking about how the cat would have no where to do anything.

My school is about half an hour from me by bus. The ride, once you get out of the city, is beautiful. We go around a lake with mountains in the background, and it looks like a scene from the Sound of Music. The school itself is small, very small. When I first arrived, I did what no man should do, I walked into the school with my shoes on. I was immediately stopped after maybe half a step, and I remember to take my shoes off. They gave me my own pair of slippers and I was on my way. I walked into the administration office, where many of the teachers were waiting to meet me. My mentor teacher is ok at english, which is great, but he cant translate a lot of conversation quickly.  So, I basically sat down and they talked about me, for a long time. Then, the awkward moment of the day, maybe month: First, know that the majority of the female teachers are young, maybe 20s, early 30s. My vice principal comes up to me and looks at all of the ladies in front of me and very loudly says, "Pick most pretty!". I look at him and say, "excuse me?" He repeats, "You pick most pretty". "Well, they are all beautiful." He says, "No, pick only one." The girls are looking at me like I could make or break their day. For the next minute or so I pretended I didn't understand his broken english, and he eventually gave up and laughed it off. I sat down, thanking God that I didn't have to answer that question. The extent of my conversation with anyone other than my mentor teacher on that first day was basically name, age, and "you are very handsome". Quick side note: That is totally common here. Today, I bought my cell phone, and the lady behind the desk told me at least three times that I am very handsome. Everyone says it, even same genders. Ok, so there was one moment where they got passed that, that was, when they realized I could read and write Korean. I wrote the correct pronunciation (or closest thing) of my name on the board in Korean, and they were really excited.

That night, my mentor teacher took me out to dinner, which was really great. We had some traditional korean food, and just talked about the school. Before leaving, he told me, "Tomorrow is the day before school. It is a sports day. We all play volleyball, dress for sports." So, I got really excited and said, "no problem!" Well, the next day, I catch the 10am bus to school. I arrive, take my shoes off, walk inside, and find everyone at their desks, dressed completely formal. Here I am, in shorts, tall socks, and a workout shirt. Then, the mentor teacher says, "Hey, Seth, today you meet the principal!". He walks me over to the next office, where the older principal is sitting at her desk. I bow, say my hellos, and we talk for a brief moment. I walk away, completely embarrassed that it happened that way. I feel like we had been training for a month on how to meet and greet the principal of our school, and then I walk in like I stopped by on my way back from the gym. It gets better...

So, he then says, "today, you make lesson plans". I was like, "wait, what about volleyball?". "Tonight", he says. So, I sit down, and for some reason have to write a lesson plan for the entire year, and then choose a subject for each month. Ya, one subject per month. We talked for a little while, and I explained, "I can choose a subject, but I'm going to be as vague as possible and probably change it up, a month is a long time to cover one topic." It ended up working out, as I selected topics such as, Identity, cultures, foods of the world, etc. We then all took off for a formal lunch at the parent of one of my student's restaurant. So, again, everyone sits down for the nice meal, completely dressed up, and I walk in, looking like I was just at the gym. It was a great meal, and I saw two things I've never seen before. First, my vice principal takes a wooden chopstick, james it under the cap of a beer bottle, and pops it open. Then, a fellow teacher takes two bottles, puts one upside down so that the two caps are wedged together, and quickly prys them downwards, popping the cap off of both. I must say, I was impressed. We finished out meal, and drove back to the school. Finally, at 3pm, we go to play volleyball.

Now, I knew that Koreans like volleyball, but I wasn't expecting this. I'm in the gym hitting the ball around, and everyone starts coming in. They all have sports bags, nice ones. Then, one by one, everyone, from my vice principal to the 1st grade teacher, men and women, start putting on knee pads, wrapping their fingers in athletic tape, and stretching. That's when I got nervous. Sure, i've played volleyball, but this wasn't playing, this was serious. We had a "pregame assessment of new teacher's skills", and luckily, they were impressed and were happy that I was there to play. Then, a really great thing happens. Now, in volleyball, you normally rotate position after each possession swap. Well, not here. So, mentor teacher looks at me and says, "you play front, always. You tall." That is when I laughed, for a solid ten seconds or so. I'm not really short, but never have I been called tall. The games went on, and I did pretty well. Everyone was very impressive, and the games were intense. But, there was one major flaw to this whole event... After the first game, we all come off to the side to get some drinks. I walk over, expecting a lot of water bottles. There were a couple, yes. But, no one went for the water. Instead, they broke open the 12 packs of beer, and filled their cups. I looked, confused as to why someone would ever drink beer while playing sports. They offered me some, and I did drink like two drops to be nice, then I went and got a watter bottle. We played for 3 hours straight, and the whole time, between games, this was the routine. That was definitely a first for me, and I even grew up in the south.

The next day, which was today, I went to school early to be introduced to the school during the opening ceremony. I got to give my short speech to all of the students (super cute students!) and then worked on lesson plans the whole day. At 2pm, my co-teacher, Sa Saan Mi, came over to meet me. She was really nice, and together we went to the cell phone store to get a phone. I ended up buying a nice little phone for $50 and I pay, ummm, $13 a month. It will probably come out to about $20 a month because the amount of texts I get isn't much, but the overage charge on texts is $1.50 per 100 texts, so even then it's quite a deal. After that, we stopped at a sports store and I looked at the prices on a set of weights. Well, they wanted about $400 for three sets of dumbbells. I quickly walked out, totally surprised by that. I have yet to find a gym here, but I'm sure there is one around here somewhere.

Tonight, I made pasta to feel a little bit at home. It wasn't bad, and it was nice to change it up. In Korea, other than alcohol, is isn't normal to have water at meals. Well, considering everything is really spicy, this makes meals painful for me. Today, at lunch, I couldn't wait to finish my food so I could get some water. It's just something i'll have to get used to.

The next post will be some pictures I have taken. I haven't taken many at school yet because I want to get to know everyone before I start just snapping photos everywhere. Don't worry, those are coming soon.

Thanks for reading!

End of Orientation, Awards, Frustration, New Beginning

This was an ongoing post... The first few paragraphs were written last week, with the final paragraphs written today.

Well, orientation in Jochiwon has now officially ended. I am currently in Gwangju, the capital of the province i'll be living in, Jeollanam-do. The last few days of orientation were actually really great, and also kind of sad as a lot of good friends got scattered throughout the country. On Monday, our group got to do a challenge in the town of Jochiwon. We were given 10,000 korean won, roughly $10, and our challenge was to buy the best and most amount of items for kids that we could within that budget. We were able to buy things like playdo, coloring books, some random toys, and a few games. Not too bad, completely on budget. Wednesday, we go to actually go to an "English Camp" that is setup for korean kids to attend during their summer break. We paired up and got to teach in actual classrooms. I did a lesson on music using my guitar, which went really well. That was an encouragement, that's for sure.

Also on monday and tuesday, we, and by we I mean group 6, began filming for our sequel to our ever popular and successful video. The sequel revolved around the story of the lost kimchi and its recovery back to South Korea. Filming was great, and our coordinators were awesome. Check out the video in the post before this.

Now for the really interesting part...  On Wednesday, the TaLK talent show was hosted at 7pm. The show went really well, and the talents were actually really entertaining. However, the highlight was that our video, the G6 sequel, got to actually be the finale for the entire show. And although we didn't win an award, the laughs and shoutouts to our coordinators made it well worth the effort, and the video made quite a splash amongst the scholars. It was definitely a proud moment for Gio and I as well, as we had put a lot of effort into it the night before.

Also, on Wednesday, I was approached by Dave, the Irishman over the entire TaLK orientation. He asked if I would be willing to give a speech as the final farewell to the scholars before leaving for their provinces. I gladly accepted, excited about the offer, but a bit nervous about what to say. Well, I spent most of the night up, writing and re-writing this pretty good speech , if I don't say so myself. The next day, during rehersal, I had to give a practice run of my speach. Half way through the speach, a korean lady stands up, and states that, "My speach could be offensive", and that I shouldn't say those things. From stage, I politely asked why, and if she had something written for me to say. I spent the next two hours deciding how to go about approaching the situation. The original speach was not offensive in any way, from my point of view. It mentioned hanging out at the noraebangs (karaoke basically) and even drinking together at the benches, but nothing over the top, and not by any means offensive. Then, she asked me to stay still, and not to make to many expressions, which really got to me. After speaking with Dave and some of the other coordinators, I decided to go ahead and re-write my speach. The more tame, less funny version of my speach was still good, but it lacked a lot of the flair of the previous version. The reasoning was that the minister of education was at this event, and he was going to be listening. So, for one visitor, I had to completely change my approach, even though the speach was for my fellow scholars. This was my first clash with the culture here, and it ended up just fine. However, it was definitely an eye-opener to be flexible when you are really put into a different situation.

After the ceremony, we loaded up on busses and headed for our provinces. We spent about half an hour saying goodbye to everyone, which was actually pretty sad. We will be seeing eachother in the future, for sure, but having everyone together in the same place is always great. The bus trip down was about 2.5 hours. After we arrived in Gwangju, the capital of our province of Jeollanam-do, we realized that we weren't technicallly "in" Gwangju, but instead about 20 minutes outside of the city. We are in a training facility which feels more like a nursing home. Let me explain. It's very quiet, and if you make much noise, the security guard goes nuts. We still have a curfew, which isn't too bad. But, we are in a very isolated spot outside of the city, so there isn't anywhere to go. Overall, though, it's not too bad, and our coordinator, Joo, is amazing. She just finished her TaLK program a few months ago, so she can relate to us really well. On top of that, she lines up some great meals for us and she helps us out with whatever questions we have, so in that aspect we are a lucky group.

We have been doing lectures during the morning and afternoon, but it has been equally balanced with outings and free time. We had one day when we went to visit a Eco Park, which is like a themepark that is ecologically based? Not rides, but instead paths that go through fields, near rivers, etc... It was actually very pretty, even though the temperature was crazy. It was all the way down in Suncheon, which is right next door to where i'll be living. Then, we went to a folk village, and to finish, we spent a couple of hours in a bamboo forest. For dinner, they fed us meat, lots of meat. We would get plates of meat to wrap in lettuce and mix with all kinds of small sides. It was delicious!

Then, on Sunday, we had some free time. We spent most of the day in downtown Gwangju, exploring the streets and shops. We met a few foreigners, which was great because they have lived here a while and are well connected. We explored some of the different bars around town and those who needed to buy formal clothes and other items were able to get some shopping done. A little bit about Gwangju: Gwangju is the 6th largest city in Korea, and that is fairly big. It was surprising just how big the city was when we arrived. There is a subway system, although it isn't very extensive. The city has a soccer team, the Gwangju Dragons, and we definitely plan to attend a few games while we are here. For more information on Gwangju, check out this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwangju

Tommorrow, we officially finish orientation. We get to meet our principals and school staff, who will then drive us to our apartments. Some of us start school on Wednesday, and some will start later. Overall, i'm pretty excited to get settled into my apartment and see where i'll be working. I will miss my group, that is for sure, but we are all fairly close to eachother, so Group 6 reunions will be happening. I may not have access to internet for a while, but when I am at school I can post and keep everyone updated. Real Korea starts tomorrow!

G6 Sequel

For the talent show at the end of orientation, we, Group 6, released our sequel as the finale for the competition. Directing and editing done by Gio and I. Special appearances by our two awesome coordinators, Marcelle and Bryan.
Enjoy!

This Week in Review

Ok, where to start... I guess this is what happens when you delay posting for a few days. Let's backtrack a little bit and then i'll work my way up to today.

This previous week was intense. We had class every day along with some adventures thrown in the mix. For starters, we had a Taekwondo on Tuesday, which was a lot of fun. The instructors were all very knowledgeable and could perform some amazing stunts. We began instruction on different styles of kicks mostly and were kicking pads before we knew it. Then, we had some instruction that included a quick wrestling match between two members of our group. Well, one of the guys rolled over on top of the other while he was in a very strange position and actually broke his arm. Being a tight-knit group, we were all really worried. This break wasn't any small thing, it was just below his shoulder and was a "spiral fracture", not a hairline. So imagine being in a foreign country with only friends you've known two weeks and then going to a hospital not knowing anything of what's going on? After a day of surgery and a few days of bedrest, he just came back yesterday. We are relieved he's back and ok, and even more impressed that he has decided to stay and fulfill his contract, even with one good arm. So, that was quite an event, and definitely shook up the group a bit.

The next day, we got to meet our Province Coordinators or P.O.E. (Provincial Office of Education). We learned about our schools and also about what to expect upon arrival. Here is what I know of where I am living and working. On Thursday we are heading down to Gwangju, the capital of Jeollanam-do. We will be there for 6 days where we will basically familiarize ourselves with the province and undergo some lecture about specifics of our area. Then, we are off to our different towns to start work. I will be working in a school just outside the city of Gwangyang called Bonggang Elementary School. From 1st to 6th grade is just 46 students, but I am lucky enough to even have a Korean university student as my co-teacher. She will work with me three days a week, but I will be teaching five days a week. I will be mostly teaching in the afternoons, but my schedule is subject to change if needed. The city i'm living in has about 150,000 people, but I'm trying to see if I can stay in the town just west of there, which has nearly 300,000 people. More on that later. If you want to check out my school website, check out the link at the bottom. It is in Korean, so if you have Google Chrome get it translated. If not, look at the pictures.

The city of Gwangyang actually is a fairly notable place. It is the largest steel manufacturing area in South Korea and has it's own professional soccer team. The capital, Gwangju, has a profession baseball team. So, I plan to be busy visiting games as often as I can. Baseball here is insanely popular, and the atmosphere at the stadium is supossed to be top notch. My pal, Jon (Gio), lives just under an hour away, so we will probably see a lot of eachother. Overall, I'm really looking forward to seeing my area and where i'll be living for the next year.

Back to Seoul, then soccer.

On wednesday, we are out playing soccer on the fields here at the university, and one of the group coordinators approaches a few of us and asks if we would be interested in playing for his league team in Seoul on sunday. So, of course we said yes, and he explained when and where to meet him. We would be playing with his division 1 Seoul team, which is pretty decent, and they would pay for our fees and everything if we came on Sunday. More on this later...

We got a group together for another weekend out in Seoul. We got a free ride into Seoul because on Saturday, our program had a field trip to Seoul to take us to the palace there. Then, we could choose to stay in Seoul if we wanted to. This time, we stayed at a different spot in Seoul, and the hostel was quality. We had a room of six bunks to ourselves and the kitchen space and showers were great. After dinner, Gio and I needed to do some shopping for some soccer equipment for the game the next day. We walked around the area, without even realizing that the area we were in was one of the largest shopping areas in Seoul. The shopping centers went straight up and were organized by floor. So the first five floors would be clothing, then a couple floors of sporting goods, then electronics, etc.

That night, we went to a dance club in Gungnam. The club was very expensive, but because of someone in our group with a friend there, we were able to get in for free. We got back to the hostel around 1:30 after some good dancing with a group of 11 or so scholars.

The next day, Gio and I got up and left for Itaweon to meet up with one of our coordinators who lives there. From there, we got a taxi to Seoul University, where we would be playing that day. We were introduced to the team, and they handed us jerseys. This league is a league for foreigners that is made up of three divisions, with division three being the lowest and division one being the highest. Most of the players from the teams were teachers or military personnel that were living there in Seoul. The team we were playing for, the "Harriers", was made up of Americans, British, Australians, South Africans, Canadians, and then one German. Gio and I were a bit nervous playing with people we didn't really know at the highest level around. However, once the game got going we realized we could compete just fine. The game ended with us losing 2 - 1, but it was a very close and very good game. The best part was what came afterwards. Because the team is sponsored by an english bar in town, we all went to the pub for drinks and food after the game. Free beer and fish and chips was the perfect after-game meal. Not only that, but they told us that whenever we like, we can come up on the weekends and play along with free food and a place to stay. So, that being said, we will probably be making trips to Seoul every other weekend or so.

This week is the last week of orientation here in Jochiwon. Thursday, we will be heading out to our different provinces. For me, i'll be heading to Gwangju, the capital of Jeonnam. There are about 37 people in my group. We will be there for a few days before being transferred to our different cities. This week we have to do lesson plans, teach at an english camp for a day, and pack for our departure. This month has felt very similar to the first month of college. There are 300 or so young people with the same general goal and mindset, so we are all getting along very well and making good friends. Now that we are leaving, most of us are excited to see our locations and our apartments, but at the same time we will be away from everyone we know here in the country, and those who speak our language. So, as much as I will enjoy my province, I will definitely miss my time here in orientation. I'm sure, however, that everyone will do plenty of traveling to see eachother during the school year.

As soon as I am in my province, I will make sure to take plenty of photos and post as much as possible to update everyone. Then, once i'm placed in my apartment and school, you can be expecting even more as i'm sure I'll have plenty of stories to share.

Thanks for reading!

Drawing Hero Show in Seoul - Basically an intense display of live drawing mixed with comedy and special effects.

At the Palace in Seoul.

This is what it would have look like years ago.

It is interesting to see the ancient palace in the heart of the growing city.

This is where the emperor would have sat.

Playing with the Harriers. I'm number 6.

After the game, we couldn't get seats on the train to Jochiwon. But luckily the arcade car had some seats available.