Settling in

So I've been here just over a week, and had two full days at school.

I have to say so far it's been awesome.

I live in a great area. Though it's the 10th most expensive area in the world, there's affordable alternatives, such as 24 kimbop shops, and enough 7-11's that you'd think Korea invented them. I'm right next to a subway station that's pretty central, and a ton of bus stops that will take me anywhere the subway won't.

A mosaic in Apgujeong Station

I've had things to do every night for the past week. I've been able to see several of my friends that I hadn't seen in ages, mostly because they'd all moved to Seoul and were now quite a trek away.

My apartment could be better, but it's not bad. It's the smallest and least furnished of any place I've lived or seen in Korea. I was given a bed, table, two chairs, a tv, and a fridge. You'd be surprised at how much more "stuff" you need beyond this. I've been living without a lot of "stuff" for a year, but I didn't realize how much of it had simply been handed to me. I used it, but it didn't really belong to me, so I didn't consider it as part of my stock of "things", like dishes, pots and pans; horizontal space (like a desk for my computer), or even garbage cans!

My living area - just about everything you need within arms reach!

My kitchen - I covered some old mis-matched wallpaper that had been taped up with the checkerboard.

The job itself so far seems to be pretty straightforward. I have a decent amount of downtime during the day to grade papers or do lesson plans, and most of the lessons are supplied for me. Some things I'll have to do on my own, and this will probably end up taking more time than I'm spending now, but I expect that as par for the course.

Me introducing myself to the 7-year-old classes at Spirit Day on Friday.

My kids are good for the most part. I've only had them for two days, and they already know my three rules by heart, and are excited about the rewards program that I started (just a sticker chart with the promise of a treasure box dive for anyone that fills in their board). I've got some kids that always know the answer, so getting the quiet ones to answer is probably going to be the trickiest part. I've got one boy that's, well, quite verbal. He managed to earn three stickers today, and then subsequently lose not only all of the stickers but his sticker board as well. Luckily he had an after-school class, so I was able to sit down one-on-one and talk to him about what happened, and what he can do tomorrow and in the future so he doesn't lose anymore stickers. We shall see if he remembers.

Tonight I headed out straight from work into the heart of Gangnam. I've been on the hunt for sheets for a week. My school said they would supply me with sheets, but it seems as though the Korean definition of sheets does not equal the western one (i.e. there are no top sheets, only fitted sheets - if the store even sells them at all). I thought I'd try the COEX mall, thinking it was a possibility albeit a slim one. I didn't find any stores that might possibly sell bedding supplies, but I did happen upon a great water/light/music show as I was leaving the mall.

A light and water show set to music at Samsung Station in Gangnam.

I enjoyed watching the show, taking pictures, watching people watch the show, and just being there in general. I couldn't help but think that this was the sort of thing I'd been missing out on by living so far out of the city - things you just can't see during the day or on a weekend.

Just before bed

So I'm back in Korea, and have been for almost a week. I've settled into my apartment for the time being, though I still need to do some shopping to get things set up. You'd be amazed at how much things like drawers, dishes, sheets, or horizontal space are taken for granted.

My kids don't start until tomorrow, so even though I've been working since Monday, I haven't been teaching. I was a bit worried at first about tomorrow, since I wasn't left with any lesson plans for the week or the month (both of which were due today). I've managed to trip over a step and bruise both knees as well as cut up my toe rather nicely, and today I sliced my finger while stupidly trying to clean some gunk off some scissors.

I'm pretty sure I'm all set for tomorrow, but I'll know for sure in less than 24 hours. I found out today that I won't have afternoon classes - I'll be doing R&D instead. (Which stands for Research and Development, which basically means I'll be doing lesson plans for classes and lessons that I'll never teach.) I suppose for now I'd rather do that than plan the lessons and teach them as well.

My co-teacher and I are on the same page, which is wonderful. She seems really nice, and though she's only been at the school for a month, we both agree that some changes need to be made to the way the classroom is run - i.e. set up a Standard Operating Procedure for the kids, so they know what's expected of them. There's no school wide reward/consequences system, so I'm gonna start with a sticker board and treasure box and go from there. I like my three rules, though I've pretty much just stolen them from my parents:
1. When the teacher is talking you are silent and listening
2. Never hurt anyone physically or emotionally
3. Leave things better than the way you found them
(The last one is because the classroom was an absolute mess when I got there, and I spent more than a full day cleaning, re-organizing, and re-arranging. Re-decorating comes next, plus the kids need to take responsibility for the room - it's their classroom, too.)

We're doing a theme unit on animals, and the kids are going to meet the author of a children's book about the endangered Korean moon bear, talk about endangered species the unfair treatment of animals for use in traditional Chinese medicine, and then write about it. They were supposed to write a letter to the president of Korea to try to convince him to make the whole set up illegal. I think I'm just going to stick with a pen pal letter describing what it was like to meet an author and what they learned. And we're doing a KWL chart about Florida, since I'd like it to be a cultural exchange as well.

And now I should be off to bed, as I want to go in early tomorrow and finish setting up some things. (I left on time today because I had dinner plans with friends). I'm surprised at how quickly I became busy when I got back - I've had something to do every night this week, and I've got plans for the next three weekends as well.

So. I shall update again when time and energy become available. Ta for now.

It's countdown time

In 48 hours, I will be in an airport, on my way back home after my first year in Korea. I've spent the last few days trying to pack my things and clean my apartment. Most of my belongings are being stored by my generous friends, and just bits and pieces are coming home with me; stuff to give to people, books to add to my collection, and clothes to get me through a week. I've been saying goodbye to friends, most of whom I will see again, but some of whom I won't. I've been doing lots of lasts at school and at home, and most of them sadly sans camera, as I lost mine two weeks ago (though I have SCOURED my apartment and work looking for it). I've even said goodbye already to one of my students whom I only see three times a week and who will be absent on Friday.
It's hard to leave Uijeongbu, the strange city that has become my home over the past year. It's strange to say goodbye to a boss who has been helpful, understanding, seemingly incomprehensible at times, but most of all a guide to a country that has (for the most part) taken me in and allowed me to feel at home. But most of all it's hard to say goodbye to my students, some of whom I have seen five days a week for the past 13 months. My morning students, whom I've only had for 4 months, but who rocketed from no English at all, to learning, playing, speaking, and listening an entire day in English, I will miss the most. They've taught me how to teach ESL, and how to listen to children.
And now, it's time to come home.

Don't count your octopi before they've spawned

I don't even know if what octopi do is called spawning, but I thought it more appropriate than chickens.

I have a job. And I am UBER excited about it. But I haven't actually signed the contract yet. I do that tomorrow.

I've been wresting over this whole job things for about two months now. I thought I had found the perfect company to work for (Poly School), and that was going to pay me loads of money. And then I found myself playing the waiting game with them. And THEN they said two positions had opened, but they were .4 million less than what was originally offered, and they were night classes. So I kept looking for another job, kept taking phone interviews and going to interviews in person, always turning down offers because they didn't feel right. I thought they didn't feel right because I was just waiting for this high-end school to tell me they had a position open.

And then, as I was searching the job offers on an ESL board, I came across an ad for a gifted and talented school for 2.7million won per month in Apgujeong, which is part of Seoul. And my heart skipped a beat. I LOVE teaching gifted. I started my Masters in gifted, and if it hadn't been for the less than ideal circumstances, I may have even completed it. I was in the gifted program as long as I was allowed, until I entered IB. My mother has been teaching it for most or all of her career. The funny thing about this posting was that I had already sent an e-mail to the same address asking about another position within the company, and had never heard anything back. So I didn't really have high hopes for this one.

But then I got phone call from the school, asking me to come in for an in-person interview around 5 or 6pm. I told them that I was pretty far away, and since my school ended late I wouldn't be able to get to the school until 8pm. She told me she didn't mind waiting at all, and was eager to meet me. And then. And THEN I got the pictures.

Pictures of the school.





Work samples.


The kids.



And then I allowed myself a little bit more excitement. This was exactly kind of environment I had wanted to teach in back home.

So last week I asked my director if I could leave after my last class today (3:45) instead of at 6pm for an interview, and she nicely said yes. And as I am ever tied to my computer, I checked my e-mail at 3:50 as I was walking out the door.






I hadn't heard from the Poly School in almost three weeks. And there, just as I was about to leave for an interview, was an e-mail, offering me a job in a good area in Seoul for 3.0million per month for morning/afternoon classes.

I felt like I was being tried or tested by someone. Here I was, ready to discount the Poly School altogether and try to decide between the public school position (which still hasn't contacted me with a decision) and this gifted school which so far seemed to be right up my ally, and they send me an offer that was, on the surface, much better than this gifted school I was going for. I was quite frustrated at having yet another school to add to my decision list, but I sent a quick response to the e-mail saying I was interested and asking a question about the location before heading off to the interview.

I got to the school around 6, and was asked to wait in a small room outside the office since the principal was on the phone when I arrived. The walls were covered in both student work and certificates that the principal had received, as well as research papers (in English) on how to work with gifted students, differentiated curriculum, and other terms that had almost completely left my vocabulary since I stopped teaching back in the states. There were even certificates of attendance for the past 4 years to the CAG (California Association for the Gifted) conference, the last of which was attended in Feb 2009. After staring at this wall, I realized that this school was where I wanted to be, and I knew with certain peace that not only would I love the job here, but that they would offer it to me and I would accept it without thought of the other positions I had as a possibility.

The interview lasted almost an hour. It was more of us talking than an actual interview. She explained a lot about the school, and the more she talked, the bigger my smile got. Everything struck a chord with me, even down to the names of the classrooms (I'll be teaching Sapphire class). The school feels that each child is a gem, and when they enter the school, they have been mined from the earth, and that each day spent in the school is a cutting and polishing of a rare stone. (I'm sorry - how awesome is that??). I'll get to do science experiments, theme units, current events, and I'll get to continue my penpals for another year. Shortly before I left, she asked me officially if I wanted the job, and I replied absolutely that I did. She asked me twice if I promised I would accept, as she would stop looking for a teacher for the position now that she had interviewed me.

The teacher that's leaving's contract ends the third of August. She wanted me to come a few weeks before that so I could shadow and train, but I told her it was impossible because of my family reunion at the end of July. So at this point, she wants me to start the first week in August, which means it'll be crunch time getting all my documents ready and sent as soon as I get back home so I can get a visa number before my position is supposed to start. This also means I'll only be in Florida for a little over two weeks total before I go back to Korea.

So... this also means that all the blogging I've been meaning to do (I've had a draft blog up for two weeks of the second leg of my weekend trip that I've uploaded all the pictures for but haven't finished writing about) is probably not going to get done. I'll do my best, but it seems that the longer I stay here, the busier I get, and I have less time to actually write about all the stuff I spend my time doing.

And seeing as how it's 1:22am and I have work tomorrow, I will now say goodnight. 잘자요