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So on to part 3 of my blog and what have I been up to since my last installment???
Well quite a bit as it happens…. It was Friday 26th August, and we were taken by bus to the Incheon Education Office (IEO) to meet our co-teachers; basically the most important people in our lives for the next 12 months, and people who we needed to impress!
Before that when we arrived to the IEO, somehow me and Lee got roped into moving suitcases from the coach in the midday summer sun in our smart clothes which wasn't too pleasant! Then we were whisked away up a lift all rather flustered, only then to be thrown into a room where lo and behold, all of our new co teachers were sat in the room already at individual desks staring keenly at us at the front of the room…it was rather intense and unexpected to say the least!!! Our names were called and we had to go and sit next to our co teachers and make introductions. This is where I met my main co teacher, Miss Jeon.
From there we all went our separate ways off with our teachers for some food at a traditional Korean restaurant, and I met the American Korean co-teacher I was replacing. Her name was Mykung Lee and she was very nice, and she gave me invaluable advice on what to expect from the school. She also spoke fluent Korean so she was able to act as an interpreter between me and the other teachers. From the restaurant we then went to my apartment to drop my suitcases off and see my apartment….
…well what can I say about the apartment???
Firstly the….
Bad points
1. After recently living in a huge house in Manchester, it was a bit of a culture shock to be presented with an apartment that is the size of my old bedroom…that is the kitchen, living area, lounge, shower room all together, roughly the same size as my old bedroom in Manchester!!!! It doesn't help as well when the teacher you're replacing says, "My place was bigger than this!" ;-)
2. Again when you've been used to a double bed for years, it doesn't help that much when you are presented with a 'kinda single' bed. I say a 'kinda single' bed as it seems to be ever so slightly bigger than a UK single but it'd definitely not a UK double. Either way it's fine for one person but if I'm ever to get lucky with a lady, then I'll need to make sure that I lose some weight first, or make sure she has the typical Korean figure at least! ;-)
3. Shower is part of the world's smallest bathroom, not a separate cubicle, so in essence it is like if someone stuck a shower nozzle into a broom cupboard along with a toilet and sink!
Good Points
Don't worry there are more of these than bad points.
- apartment is brand new so everything is new inside it to, so new shower, cupboards, kitchen, new air con, new under floor heating, new bed, new mattress, washing machine, fridge freezer, microwave, rice cooker, vacuum cleaner
- Apartment has TV with cable channels so I can watch all of the premiership and European footy. It also has American channels so can watch loads of films and American TV shows too, in English and not dubbed!
- Shower is more powerful than I've ever had in Cheshire or Manchester
- A small apartment means less cleaning and less accruement of clutter.
- Electricity bills should be quite low.
- General maintenance, water, cable TV and Internet all comes already set up and to about 25 English pounds a month payable to landlord. Internet is very fast and council tax doesn't exist!
- I'm on the 4th floor. Number 4 is unlucky in Korea, I don't believe in all that hokum but I'm happy as it means I have no neighbors on my floor so I can make as much noise as I like with music and my TV, and also I don't get interrupted by other people making noise next door!
- Location is great as I am 2 minute walk from Ganseogogeori subway stop on Incheon Line 1 and only 5 minute walk from Dongam station which is on the Seoul to Incheon subway line.
- Loads of shops and eateries and bars etc nearby
- large park nearby perfect for running or just relaxing in on sunny days
- 15 minute bus journey or 30 minute walks from my school.
So all in all not too bad if I'm being honest.
Right, after sweating in my shirt and trousers in the midday heat, it was time to go and visit my school, and the rest of the teachers.
As it was after 2.30pm then the majority of classes have ended by this point so mainly it was teachers I met and a few students doing after school activities like soccer practice. One thing I've learnt about Korea recently is that Korean people are very good at just throwing you in at the deep end, or nonchalantly advising you last minute that you are to do something. This was no more perfectly evidenced than after walking the route to my school in a shirt and trousers, absolutely sweating my back out, the first thing my co teachers do is throw me straight away, unexpectedly into a room with my principle and vice principle and I have to exchange some formalities while in a sweaty, and rather disheveled state!!!
My first impressions of the school were good though. The area the school is in is a little rough around the edges, but the teachers and students I met were all friendly and happy to see me.
From the school, I was taken to buy some stuff for my apartment, as I still needed bedding, iron, kettle, cleaning stuff etc. I was taken by my co teacher to Home Plus which I discovered was actually owned by Tesco. You could tell this as soon as you walked in as they had the same colour scheme, and branding as they had a Value range and a Finest range too, and the carrier bags were all emblazoned with the Tesco logo too! Here I bought some bedding (very expensive compared to the UK and all very feminine colours!) and some bits and pieces for my place. I showed my co teacher my Tesco Clubcard to indicate that Home Plus is basically Tescos and the checkout lady took me card trying to swipe it to give me loyalty points...I tried to advise her that I'd doubt it would work in Korea, but she didn't understand a word I said so I let her try it any way!
That evening I stayed in and spent about 4 hours rearranging my room and sorting stuff out, before having an early night as I was well and truly shattered.
On the Saturday (27th August 2011) I met up with Lee and I looked at the area Lee lived in and also his place which was very nice, and then in the evening we went to Bupyeong to check out the famous western area in Incheon. Bupyeong is probably the most bustling area in Incheon (along with near the Arts Centre) and is 3 subway stops north of where I live. The area has many restaurants and bars, and loads of shops and so you can get almost anything you want here such as traditional Korean food, Italian, American, fast food chains, Indian, Chinese etc. There are also a couple of western bars round here such as Goose Goose, Underground, Who's bar etc that cater more for the ex pat community.
Me and Lee headed to Goose Goose first and met up with a couple of guys from our orientation and got introduced to a load of westerners who had been teaching in Korea for a while. The drinks were incredibly cheap as it is about 1 pound 30p for a pint of beer!!! There were people from North America, South Africa, etc and they were all really cool. We then proceeded to get merry and moved to 2 other bars in the area, Underground and Who's Bar. Underground was okay, the best bit is a Sir Matt Busby Way sign in the bar! Who's Bar was better though it does have a door that opens out on to the street 15 feet into the air, so you have to make sure that you are leaving through the right door when you're feeling a little worse for wear!
The next day (Sunday 28th August) was spent with a bit of a sore head and not much being achieved other than feeling sorry for myself, and eating junk food. Also as I had no internet in my apartment at this point, and as I hadn't yet discovered I could steal a wi-fi signal from the motel opposite at this point, I proceeded to run up a huge bill making a 30 minute call to my parents on my UK phone…massive error but it was good to talk to the folks and fill them in on all that I had done so far.
On the Monday (29th August), it was time for my first day at school and so it was quite nerve wracking. The first thing that struck me about the school though was how respectful the students are at the school. They always bow to the teachers and say (Anyoung Hashminika) when they see you which is the politest way of saying hello in Korea. I was obviously a bit of a celebrity as I look so different and so there were lots of startled looks at the students first saw me, followed by the girls giggling behind their hands as is the customer in Asia it seems when a girl laughs. I suppose when someone walks in who is so much taller, and hairier than any one else, and generally looks different, then you become a bit of a curiosity and a minor celebrity about school.
I had to do short 10 minute introductions in all my classes that first week, and then observe for the rest of the class. I discovered that I would have 20 classes a week for the 1st half of the semester and 24 classes for the 2nd half and that would make up my designated 22 classes a week. Each class is 40 minutes long, and all of the main classes will be completed by 2.30pm everyday. My working day is 8.40am until 4.40pm Monday to Friday, and so the remainder of time when I'm not teaching is designated for preparing for lessons with my co-teachers and trying to come up with interesting and fun things to do in classes on a daily basis (maybe with a bit of Facebook time thrown in too!) :-p
I was advised I would have my main co teacher Miss Jeon, and another teacher Miss Hong. I would be teaching Elementary grade 5 and 6 which is age 10 - 12 for grade 5 and 11-13 for Grade 6 in Korean terms but more like 10 and 11 in UK terms.
The reason for this discrepancy is that in Korea (and other East Asian counties), they employ a system whereby newborns start at one year old they day they're born, and each passing of a Lunar New Year, rather than the birthday, adds one year to the person's age. In other words, the first year of life is counted as one instead of zero, so that a person is two years old in their second year, three years old in their third, and so on. Since age is incremented on the lunar new year rather than on the actual birthday, people may be 1 or 2 years older in Asian reckoning than in the Western system. So if you were born 2 days before the lunar New Year for example, then you would already be 2 years old after being only 2 days old. No wonder Koreans always look younger than their age!
They don't really have a zero in Korea and this is evidenced in lifts to building whereby there is no ground floor. The ground floor is in essence the first floor, so even though I live on the "unlucky" 4th floor, in Korean terms, in flat 402, I'm actually on the 3rd floor in UK terms, so hopefully it's not going to be unlucky for me.
Any way so that first week was good fun. I did my introductions to the students at the start of each lesson for about 10 minutes. The first one or two were a bit short and nervy but after I got into my stride, I couldn't shut up as I started telling them about my family, friends and general life back in England…the soccer team (these students always where their school soccer kit in class as there's no uniform at the school) loved that fact that I was from Manchester and liked Manchester United. Towards the end of the first week I composed a PowerPoint of my life in Manchester, of which a few of you became famous through photos some 5,500 miles away from England in a small corner of Korea…I'll be sure to show you all the presentation at some point!!!
Generally the first week went brilliantly and I enjoyed every day more than the last even though it was a week whereby I was being eased in and I didn't have to do any proper teaching. So I was fully aware it would get more taxing for me.
One thing I realised though is that I'd have to ideally get some sandals for school, as Koreans have a big thing about not wearing outdoor footwear indoors at school. So really I need some sandals that I would wear with my socks and trousers and shirt. By English standards they look a bit daft, but better this than offending people at my school…my only problem was I couldn't find a pair of sandals big enough for my gigantic size 12 feet…the search for these still goes on.
School meals are taken out of my salary but they're very cheap and actually very nice and healthy, not like school meals used to be like in England. You also can't leave the school at all during the school day, so it makes sense to have school meals every day as it's cheaper, healthier and convenient. Though Koreans have a lot of the same types of foods every day (Koreans will have kimchi*, rice and soup for every meal of the day). Least the types of soups, types of rice, and types of kimchi do alter on a daily basis so I eat different things every day. I eat more vegetables, and more fish than I've ever eaten before in my life.
At school dinners I am a bit of a celebrity again with the students and staff, and it is difficult sometimes to acknowledge the countless times that you are said hello to, as you barely get chance to eat, but I find if you approach everything in Korea with an open mind, and a smile, then it goes a really long way.
My main issue with school dinners is that I am terrible at using Korean chopsticks. Korean chopsticks are metal and are not square shaped as the wood, plastic or bamboo ones you get a Chinese restaurant for example. Therefore they slip in your hand a lot more. Thankfully I anticipated this potential pitfall by bringing my own fork to school and whipping it out (the fork I mean!) at the cafeteria after my obligatory 5 minutes of trying to use chopsticks! This provides much amusement to the other members of staff, but I see it as do this or starve! ;-) Thankfully Koreans eat rice with a spoon so that bit is always easier. In most restaurants you can be presented with a fork as well if you're struggling with chop sticks (like some special needs child!), so fear not those of you that are planning a visit to see me!
So that was my first week, the evenings were spent purchasing things for my apartment from Tesco, meeting up with Lee and others in the evening, going to a quiz night (we finished 5th after being 2nd for most of the rounds, thankfully we didn't win as though you get the money from the pot, you do also have to set the questions for the following week as well!). I did also have one of the greatest Chinese meals I've ever had in Chinatown in Incheon one evening this week…the black bean noodles were amazing and less than 3 quid for a huge bowl that a lesser man could've shared…not me and Lee though! Anyone from the UK who visits will be going there I promise ;-)
So that takes us up to finishing my 1st week of school on the afternoon of Friday 2nd September, and so at this point it's a good time to stop as I have whittered on for some time now, and the weekend of the 2nd - 4th September was quite busy so I'll save all that for part 3 of the blog.
I hope you're all happy and speak to you all soon.
Jonny
P.S. Please excuse any Americanisms creeping in. Basically the influence of the USA is everywhere here, and so I have to call football "soccer", say the letter "Zee" instead of "Zed", put Z's where S's should go, and miss-spell worlds like colour and favorite, as American English is what the students have to learn. Please forgive me when I return to the UK if I start sounding like I should be called Chad, Randy, or Troy…and I keep saying "Awesome" a lot!
* Kimchi is the national dish of Korea and is basically spicy fermented cabbage. There are countless subtly different varieties but mainly they are always spicy, always fermented, and always cabbage of some sort. It sounds pretty horrible and to be honest the first few times I tried I hated it, mainly for its texture rather than taste. The crazy thing is though the more I eat at school, the more I start to get used to it, and it really is with every Korean meal you get, so it kinda pays to get used to its taste and texture. I can console myself in the fact that it is full of vitamins, and is one of the healthiest foods in the world!
- comments
Kat Great update Chad! xx
Leon Brilliant update mate and hopefully speak to you at the weekend
Craig Hulme Enjoyed reading the Blog dude. Keep the updates coming
Matt Gerat read - glad its all going so well for you. Matt, Nessa and Siofra xxx
Allan If there's one thing you should be banned for life from eating, its spicy fermented cabbage! I'll keep an eye out on the news for poison gas clouds in Incheon. ;)
hannah Awesome blog jonny!! Can't wait to try all the different foods!!! X
sarah I must say you had me crying with laughter and I was reading snippets to Tony and he was chuckling too, can't wait for the next installment xxx
Russ Brilliant blog mate!
Pri Hahahah. I genuinely LOLled. Do you want sandals from the UK for your gigantic feet?!!! Good work Jonny boy. Sounds like you are having lots of fun. Cant wait to see more pics and read more of this american style blog entries! xx
Greg This is such an uplifting read Jonnypops, you really are the top man, the head honcho etc, etc. Honestly though, it reads like a really well constructed piece of literature and its so wonderful when its written by somebody you know and care about. Have a great time, I can't wait for the next update. Peace out.
Jonny When I finally get my laptop, then I will get my photos on to Facebook and on my blog too. I'll get my next chapter sorted in a couple of weeks as I am still 2 weeks behind!
Leigh hahaha Troy, sounds brilliant!!!!!! Speak soon xxx
Petergaskell Great read, like a chip off the old block? Sarah has had many interviews jobs galore now being offered much to relief of Mum. Great stuff Jonjo keep it coming
RichJerv What a great read Jon! Keep up the good work & enjoy every minute! X
Fat Allan Good stuff Chav. Glad to hear booze is cheap, food is plentiful and the women are hot. Will bring you some fat American sandals. Japan next week; Korea in two! Cannot wait. Fat Allan PS - nothing wrong with saying awesome a lot!
Renata I used to be a part of the message bodars for his site. It consisted mostly of me and soccer moms (who talked about wanting to bone him, a lot). I was a 16 year old becoming re-acquainted with an evolved, mature version of my childhood friend. A role model then, and a role model now. He's a very intellectually stimulating, clever, passionate person. I miss his web page. He had daily affirmations you could download to boost your morale (like telling you the dinner you made was great).