School life

Left to right: Male and Female Vice Principal, myself, Mrs Lee (head teacher) and DeAnthony (fellow English teacher).

We opened the new staff room with some Korean folk songs and an Elvis cover.

My afterschool class, cute kids but they can be a handful!

One of my 5th Grade classes.

I am teaching at 금호 (Guemho) Elementary School and with only 3 weeks left of the term before the summer camps and then summer holidays begin I don't know where the time has gone. Monday - Friday I've gotten into a routine, I have the commute perfected, and every morning I get a wave/bow and 안녕하세요! from the station master. I teach 4th and 5th grade classes (aged 11-12). It's not really what I was expecting as I had indicated that my preference was to teach high school level. However, I am really enjoying the challenge that elementary level provides. Lot's of singing and dancing, the activities are well thought out and you have to really try and make the lessons as interesting and relevant as possible to maintain their attention.

No matter how much I eat for breakfast, I am always starving by lunch, and it is so hit or miss. Mostly hit and sometimes delicious and occasionally disappointing. In general I love Korean food and nearly all my meals are Korean with the exceptions of breakfast and the odd western dinner or pasta dish (I make a mean puttanesca sauce btw).

There have been loads of school events and dinners over the semester. One day we were all given the afternoon off and we made our way to Olympic Park and exercised/walked/cycled in groups before reconvening and enjoying a seafood meal together. The funny thing about most of these events is you are given no warning whatsoever. On this occasion I had my football gear with me so I went running. A couple of weeks ago we were told that we would be having a staff photo together so dress smart. The temperature was 30+ and I wore a full suit with a tie,. waited all day for the photo - nothing. Maybe they just didn't invite me :)

Reflections on Orientation

Alastair and myselftrying on the Korean traditional clothes (Hanbok).

One of the days it was raining, and I captured this incredibly bleak image from the classroom window.Not really related to orientation at all, I just really like this shot.

The last night we ate together in a sushi restaurant, it was great., I ate so much.

There was a lift in the orientation building and I used it all the time even to go up one floor. There were mirrors on all the sides and depending on where you stood you could see 20+ reflections of yourself - pretty trippy first thing in the morning. When you went into the lift at night it would always be empty,. it was hardly ever used. So one night a bunch of us went in and waited till someone pressed the button,. so we could jump out. We did this a few times and it really didn't get old!

We didn't find out until the last day where we were placed. So no one knew where they would be. When they told us what district we were in, it was incredibly exciting., we were all huddled round maps or trying to get the translation through google. Finding out where our mates were placed. I was placed in Seongsu-Dong, which I'm very happy with.

So everything I post here for the next wee while is going to be catch-up type stuff. So where better to start than the orientation. It lasted 10 days, a mix of lectures on teaching and korean culture, class based activities, basic korean lessons and also a chance to get to know some of the other foreign teachers who will be working in Seoul. I met a lot of interesting people, from very different backgrounds - I was glad to meet people with a similar outook. It felt great to be thrown into such a social melting pot after the almost solitary trans-siberian experience. Almost every meal, lecture I sat next to someone different and most nights we went out for a drink or watched a movie. A couple of nights we even got an impromtu jam on the go.

Seoul from the start

Korean couples come to Namsan and leave messages or a padlock to symbolise their commitment, makes for a nice photo anyway.

View from Namsan tower, the sun's going down and the lights of Seoul are coming on.

So I arrived in Seoul at the end of February after spending 3 weeks travelling through Siberia. Arriving from Vladivostok I was tired, disorientated and weighed down by my massive bags. But I remember the feeling of touching down at Incheon airport, and getting through customs. All those months of anticipationg were fading into reality, I was met at the arrivals gate by a familiar face: Alasdair who helped me settle into the city I now call home. I met Alasdair back in September '10 whilst on my CELTA training course in Edinburgh. He was so enthusiastic about Korea, even though I was almost sure I was going, he definitley cemented the notion of teaching in Korea.

So I had two days until the mandatory orientation for new EPIK teachers started, so I stayed with Alasdair, met his flatmates and friends, indulged in lots of Korean food and saw some sights. The experience was made all the more amazing after experiencing harsh Siberian winter temperatures  and very average food for the past 3 weeks. Korea hit me full force from the moment I landed.