The Post-St.Pat's Post

Been a while. The new semester is in full swing. This is my first full week of classes since December, so it's a bit of an adjustment getting into the pattern. Still a little confused and out of the loop with some things, and the days seem to go up and down with me knowing exactly what is happening. An example of this: I have afterschool classes with 20 higher level students on Tuesdays and Thursdays. What I wasn't told was that I also have one on Mondays. I found that one out by one of the students in the class who came to my desk and told me that they've been waiting to start class. My co-teacher forgot to tell me about this little bit of info. So walk into this 2-hour class with nothing. Nadda. I scramble, and manage a terrible lesson while the projector warms up. Awful. But luckily a few games are up my sleeve, so finish the last 40 mins off on a solid note. I've got the grade 1s on a great start, at least I think so. They hang onto my every word, which is way different than the other grades. I like this fresh start.

Also new are the divisions between higher level and lower level students. A great choice on the school. It's more class (nearly double), more work, way less prep time (almost zero) but I think it will pay off. So far the different goals set in the classes have been working. Plus, for the lower level students there is a new English teacher that I work with who speaks English incredibly well and she's my age so it's nice to finally have someone to talk to. I also got a replacement main co-teacher, but since she had back surgery in January she is out of commission for a few months. In her place, another young co-teacher around my age who studied in B.C. So the communication level has gone up this semester. Downside is how nervous she gets when she speaks English, so she doesn't seem to like speaking English too much. But it's still good. Found a bond over music, so now I've got a few ideas how to have fun lessons together. I'm also looking forward to the international afterschool classes I'll be having. My country school has gotten a little bigger with internationally-learned students. There's the one student who lived in Canada, one who studied in France (she is fluent in French, English and Korean, she's 15!), one from...I always mix it up, Philippines or Malaysia (I think Philippines), and I'm sure I'm missing another one. Should make for some good discussions.

My travels from the first three months have settled down. I have taken to more local outings. Suncheon and surrounding areas have been where I've stayed. Plus Seoul, but that's becoming my home away from home away from home. That being said, meeting new people is never out of the question. While waiting for a bus the other day a black car pulled over. At first I thought it was a taxi, so I said what the heck and jumped in. Turns out it isn't a taxi. So some stranger has decided to pick me up and I just went with it. As it turns out, it was a zen master from one of the Buddhist temples in Gurye. So it was incredibly nice of him to drive me home, and we had a nice conversation on the way. It's these little things that I love and will miss about Korea. You don't really get that back home, and it really never ceases to amaze me. Even the slight gesture of someone picking me up at the end of the long driveway to my apartment in spitting rain, still amazes me.

Also new, I spontaneously made a little purchase. While visiting Suncheon one weekend, I was about to leave, and found I had an hour to kill before my train arrived. So I'm in E-Mart, which is like a Zellers or WalMart, and I'm staring at the pet section. After three minutes of physical deliberation while my mind was made up, I walk out with a little hamster. I named him "DwuiDa" which means "jump/lunge" because he jumps from everything. Yep. Little apartment is a little more crowded. Not to mention all the plant life I've been given.

Well I hope everyone enjoyed their St. Pat's!

The Slow Process of Adjusting

Well the honeymoon is officially over. It's four months in now, so no longer a fresh face to Korea. Vacation is over and the new semester has started. The rest of deskwarming was better than expected, managed to go for some lunches and talk with teachers I didn't get the chance to talk with before so it was nice getting a Korean perspective on some things. Plus tried some new dishes.

My cooking is getting better over here. Now that the travels have settled down and I have put a bit of a hold of my lack of stasis I have finally settled into my apartment. Took a long time but I am no longer using the bare minimum as a result of my lack of shopping and stocking the new apartment. Which means I actually have food int he fridge that doesn't simply consist of pasta or prepackaged curries and other similar foods. Now I am actually experimenting with my Korean foods. So far I think it's a win, although I'm sure the locals would disagree. Successes have been inari sushi, kimchi fried rice wrapped in egg, bibimbap (the legit kind), ddeok beokki. Not to mention I've officially stocked up on my barista necessities. I've made homemade syrups and have an ample stock of espresso. I didn't think I could drink more espresso than I did back home but somehow I'm managing it.

But, with the settling in came the realization that I am officially in Korea. With all the travelling and lack of actual teaching (November and December almost felt like a breeze since it was all post-exam and I had free-reign on everything, not to mention the amount of classes that were cancelled, then two months of vacay) it felt like I was on an extended vacation. But not it's finally starting to settle in and I think I'm getting my first actual dose of culture shock. I think that mixed with the mostly downer weather we've been having has been a little bit of an adjustment. Once I get past this middle period of the contract I'm sure everything will be golden again. Always some humps right?

I think I might start growing a garden. Since I live on a farm and am one of the few people actually living on my property, I might try growing some vegetables outside and get some herb pots. Might make for some good foods. Hopefully I can get in on some of the persimmon, lettuce and rice batches that the local farmers are growing in the fields around my house. With all that combined, might make for some delish homegrown meals.

Still confused with the start of the new semester though. Not entirely sure what's going on. It was a holiday on March 1, then class on the 2nd (well, they said there were classes, I didn't have any and it didn't look like anybody else did either, and there were the entrance ceremonies which somehow I missed) and then Monday the 5th was another holiday (why they couldn't just make it a 5-day, I have no freaking clue). And now it's the 6th and I'm still royally confused. My main co-teacher was at the end of her contract so she switched schools. I had another co-teacher who would act as my main, so I met her for about twenty minutes on the Friday before March, but then I find out she's taking time off (which is definitely understandable, she had back surgery in January) but as to who my other co-teacher would be, I was confused. Met one replacement English teacher, but I have no idea if she's taking over the duties or what is going on. Plus no classes again, keep getting a "Maybe" response.

Ahh the change of seasons, never smooth sailing is it? I'm hoping that with the combination of the coming warmer weather, the settling of the schedules, the delivery of my piano, St. Patty's Day, Seoul and some other trips everything will fall back into place again. It's all about adjustment right?