Jessica Teacher

Monday held my first day in the ECC world of english school. I followed Isaac around for the first two days. I was replacing my New Zealand colleague so he could travel to China, Spain, and finally settle in London. (ENVY!) On Tuesday I was a one man show. The hardest part was learning how to communicate with the Korean students and to what extend they understood my English. I am the english teacher in the England kindy class. They are the youngest in the school, and in their first year of english. They are korean age 6, western age 5. The class loves dodge ball fridays, hiding from me in the playhouse in the dark, and when I ask them “How are you?” the standard response is “I'm fine, thank you. Oh-la-la!

Zeki is the main character of the class. His favorite words are “monkey” and “monster” which he can never say without his impression of the noun. His art work is amazing, yet never on task. He cannot be guided, and his work is too amazing to make him stop. I think he is the next Kandinsky.

He is also the first that I made cry. It broke my heart and made him pinky swear that he would behave. You can imagine how long he kept up his end of the bargain

Lucy is the smartest of the class. She usually leads the class in the songs, which she knows better than Teacher. With my tone deaf ears I'm okay with giving her free rein of singing time. She is always wearing a princess crown and tutu dress. When we play freeze in PE she pirouettes and plies with grace.

Julia is cute as can be with her sweet voice and curling pigtails. She has taken a liking to Jack, and spends most of the time following him around trying to hold his hand. If Jack gets out in a game, Julia will dance in my face until she is out also. Clever moves at age 6, yet I don't think Jack has picked up on it yet. Typical?

Ian never ceases to amazing me. He wiggles his bum around the room, curtsy when you ask him questions, and would prefer to stand on his chair all day than ever sit in it.

Jessica Teacher is also the Science Teacher at ECC Pyeongchon. I'm pretty sure they got the memo that I studied art and design in school and not organic chemistry. But I suppose I can make a paper airplane just as well as my pre-med counterparts!

These nine raging kindy students fill my morning with surprise and excitement. In the afternoon they get a bit older and its a whole different ball game.

My afternoons are spent saying “Are you speaking Korean?” and “Repeat after me.” I start with 7 year old boys that cry and climb on one another, and finish with a hellish class of 13 year old boys that spend most of the class throwing papers, screaming Korean curse words, and using their cell phones. On my first week I was given the opportunity to teacher the class with all six students eyelids folded up. Luckily in the middle I have classes of students that will play games and compare bits of culture against my American ones. Their english is quite good and with a bit of hand motion and cell phone translations we can hold discussions various topics.

Overall, I think I have found success with my students. They are still coming to class and I receive a cookies and yogurt drinks as gifts on a regular basis. Whenever I see the kids outside of school there is always a screaming korean accented version of “Jessica Teacher!”   

Off to a Random Start

After a full week of running after kids, its time to relax and explore more of Korea. So what do we do – head to a South African Braai of course! My colleague, companion, and partner in crime, Malcolm is from Jo-Berg. With Malcolm and his South African school friend Sandilli (?) we 'cruised' our way an hour north of Seoul. Starting in Seoul Station a group began to form, South Africans linking together, soon we were large enough to fill our own carriage on the train and national anthems were being sung throughout the journey.

 We arrived in a sparse suburb of Korea to 'chow' South African meat. Malcolm claims its not as good as the Braais he is accustom too, but we spent the afternoon in front of the grill, cooking meat and sausage amongst 100+ South Africans. I'm not sure how the American girl slipped into the crowd but the South Africans were friendly and I spent an afternoon hearing Afrikaans and meeting interesting people teaching alongside me in Korea.

That night we danced our way through Hyundai University area in Seoul til 5 AM when we crashed in a jimjil bang, a Korean Bath House. This jimjil bang offered us hot baths, saunas, showers, steam rooms, and a place to sleep for a mere 12,000 Won. It is very common in Korea, on Sunday afternoon when we were leaving Silloam Sauna House the Koreans of all ages were lining up to have their soak and rejuvenate.  I asked my students about it and they all have been to a jimjil bang with their family before, half the class goes on a regular basis, some every week.  This particular place has five floors of services spanning from a hot baths and sauna rooms, to internet, movies, games, snacks, a gym, and more. I did some research after the fact and apparently once you pay you can stay for as long as you'd like. Maybe Silloam will be my new place of residence?

    

It was a bit bazaar when we were walking around at 6AM figuring out where the room was for sleeping. Koreans were passed out everywhere in the provided uniforms, sleeping sprawled on the floors with wood blocks as pillows.  There is even a “Snorers Room” for those who might disrupt others rest.   Delia and I found the women's sleeping room, it had the atmosphere of an incubator, and wooden bunks with a mat similar to a yoga mat and block for a pillow.  

[photos from Silloam website]

Landing in Korea

I landed in Korea three weeks ago. It has been a random whirlwind of new experiences since my first step on Korean soil.

Life seemed easy compared to the beginning of my stay in London. I had an apartment and a job set up and ready for me. But the asian culture offered more surprises than the transition to Europe. The biggest hurdle is the language. I cannot read, or even begin to speak the words I see. This makes life difficult, but even more surprising is how easy it is to get by with the five Korean words I have picked up. You get the usual charades or walking away when you cannot communicate, but I have also been meet with perfect American accented English, or American mockery. All adding to the adventure.

The second bit that ceases to amaze me is the food Koreans eat. I have eaten most meals amongst the Koreans. Shoes off, sitting in the floor with your meal cooking in front of you and side dishes that cover the entire surface of the table. It is always a feast, and a guessing game.

My first meal in Korea, and as a non-vegetarian, was at Beomgye with six complete strangers that soon would be my colleagues. The pedestrian strip filled with neon lights, bars, restaurants, and shops is just 10 minutes from my apartment. Jason ordered the dish, I was going with it, until the server brought out a tray piled high with obscure meat, lettuce, and pigs feet. I tried it, and then confessed to Malcolm that this was my first bit of meat in a while and I wasn't quite ready for the pigs feet. A dish of spicy noodles was on its way...

I graced my new territory with jet lag and enthusiasm. We headed into Seoul on Saturday night for a DJ Festival. Two stages with acts on til 5 AM, tents with korean food and drink, neon lights, techno dancing koreans, and a full moon in the background. The energy was amazing and everyone was having a good time. The music was great, and when Dasha took the stage the Koreans enthusiasm offset his horrible taste in pop music.

My first weekend in South Korea was filled with the unexpected. The people I have meet so far are very cool and always up for adventure. It also seems customary when passing another foreigner, whether you know them or not, to smile and acknowledge our bond because we are living in this homogenous society.