I came across an interesting article/piece that was written by someone who is doing his PhD. in Korean studies. He spoke of a syndrome that occurs to Koreans when they meet foreigners. They suddenly fail to be able to speak English. He calls it Foreigner Shock Meltdown. (It's worth reading, a bit long, but quite interesting).
We have definitely encountered this. Jeff especially has a hard time as Koreans truly believe that he MUST speak Korean, so despite his gestures indicating that he doesn't understand what has been said, people CONTINUE to talk to him in Korean, hoping that eventually he'll understand.
Last Sunday Jeff and I met a random guy (Richard) on the street (we asked him how to get to the subway station from Costco) and told him that we were quite surprised to hear that he spoke such good English. Most Koreans that we have met (at least 85% if not more) speak no English, making transactions difficult. Richard told us that most Koreans can actually speak English, but that it gets caught inside of them, making it difficult for them to respond to what we are saying. He said that most Koreans understand what we say but are unable to respond.
I find this all to be quite interesting. I think that's all I'll say about it for now. My brain is kind of dead (it's Friday...) and I'm a bit tired from the relay race that I ran this morning with the other teachers (we came in 2nd!). I haven't run a relay race since 8th grade! (I won a bar of soap wrapped in a box... the parents we raced against won boxes of Kleenex (facial tissue...) as consolation prizes, random, but they were happy with these prizes.
~Jen
Seoul is such a huge city. There are always interesting events occurring every day. We've also met a lot of new people too. The first training week was a really nice way to build a social network, especially for those of us who didn't come with anyone else (which is the majority). At all of our respective schools, we are the only foreign teachers so it would be easy to feel isolated from home.
Two weekends ago, to celebrate the completion of our first weeks at school, Jen and I went out to dinner with a group of our friends on Friday. It was a good time to reconnect after our first weeks at our schools and to share our stories. We went to Marrakech Nights, which, if you check out the link, you will see is a restaurant that was opened by a former chef of the Morrocan Ambassador. The food was some of the best that I have ever had. I will certainly be returning there for another meal. We then wandered around Itaewon a little and stopped by a couple of different bars/clubs. Itaewon is known as the foreigner hang out and some people think of it as a rather seedy place, though I would not describe our experiences as such. There is no doubt, however, that there are far more foreigners in this part of town than there are anywhere else in Seoul (or all of Korea, for that matter).
Saturday, we then took a bike ride (Jen) / run (me) down the Bulgwangchun river. It runs from Eungam station, where we live, down to World Cup Park / Stadium, where Korea and Japan jointly hosted the World Cup in 2002. Jen wanted to test the route to her school, which is close to World Cup Stadium since she wants to ride her new bike to work rather than taking the subway, weather permitting. The mountains in the middle of the city are truly breathtaking and the Bulgwangchun is a perfect place to get away from the bustle of the city, even if the paths can be a little busy at times.
Jen on her bike on the Bulgwangchun river. This is the view on the way home from Jen's school.
A couple more pictures of the Bulgwanchun.
Later that day, we then took a trip to Insadong market, where there were a TON of crafts to browse and purchase. The place was packed, and again, there were a fair number of foreigners there, but still many locals too. Jen got some fabric (of course!) and is slowly making a wall hanging for our apartment. It's really cool and I'm looking forward to its completion.
People everywhere!
It was really interesting that there was a protest being put on by the locals the day we visited Insadong. These people were protesting China's human rights record and, as you can see from the sign, wanted to ban Beijing from hosting the 2008 Olympics unless they cleaned up their act.
Last weekend was a little quieter, but still busy enough. We went to an Indian restaurant called Everest. It was pretty good, but I like Namaste better. More importantly, Jen and I ventured to our local branch of Costco. Yep, you heard it, we have Costco here. I think that there's three of them in Seoul and one or two more throughout the rest of Korea. We spent so much money there, but it was definitely worth it! We certainly can't get everything that we would find in a Costco back in Canada, but it definitely improves our eating situation!
- Jeff
Our first haul from Costco. Look at all the good stuff! Mmmmm, cheese!!
Today was my first day of real teaching (ps. I had problems posting yesterday, so most of this was written yesterday, with a few additions today). It's taken a couple of weeks to finally get here, but after a week of training and then a week of introducing myself to the students, it's nice to actually do something productive.
Since I mentioned the week of introductions, I'll start there and then work my way to my first lessons. Last week was very easy and straight forward, which is certainly a very different experience from the first week of teaching back home. I teach 20 different classes each week, plus a couple of extra conversation classes for students and teachers after school. Each class is a different set of students, so I will only get to see any given student once a week. I have 10 classes of grade 1 (grade 1 middle school is like grade 7 at home) and another 10 classes of grade 3 (grade 9 at home).
Most of the students enjoyed the pictures, though I wish I had had more on my computer from which to choose. A lot of the students really liked the wedding picture of Jen and myself on the beach, and of me making crazy faces. One of their favourites was of me zip lining in Costa Rica. They really got a good laugh out of that one.
A lot of the students asked if I had babies, how many babies, when I was going to have babies!! It was pretty funny. I got a couple of really random questions too, like what do I think of the Taleban, or if a student could have my cell phone number, or come over and visit me at my home. But some of my other friends here received questions that were way out there and probably inappropriate.
My students, for the most part, seem well behaved. Many of them are very chatty, making teaching somewhat of a challenge, especially when I do not speak the language. Then there are others who do nothing but give me blank stares all class or who fall asleep from the moment class begins! It's a little discouraging, but I'm doing my best to reach as many students as possible and so far I've had good feedback from my co-teachers.
At any rate, my first lessons for both the grade 1s and the grade 3s went well. I was a little nervous, never having taught English before, and never having been in this kind of environment where I didn't really know the culture or the language, but I was happy with the outcomes of all of my classes. All my co-teachers and I also worked well together and I'm looking forward to the rest of the year with them. So after a slow week (it can get a little dry doing the same introduction presentation 20 times in the same week), it was nice to be somewhat productive with some real lessons.
In other news, I've been missing my CBC Radio in the mornings, so I'm presently listening (online) to Anna Maria Tremonti on The Current. The big issue today is the funding of Catholic and other religious schools, and also on the related issue of how this is playing out in the upcoming Ontario provincial election. It's nice to be listening to the news again and to be feeling a little more connected with home.
And in a sort of sad ironic twist, I've also just realized that half-way across the world in Seoul, as I continue to listen to the CBC Radio, I will likely be more informed on the issues of Canada than many Canadians who are living at home...
However, on a brighter note, I'm happy to think that, as I so often did at home in the past, I will soon be able to start many of my conversations and stories with my friends here, with the phrase "Oh, I heard on the CBC the other day..." Ah, how it brings a smile to my face!!
- Jeff
Apparently my singing garbage truck is actually a doorbell... but I'm still not too sure about that... who rings the doorbell that early in the morning? And who would choose to have such an annoying doorbell?
A few more things I've noticed in Korea:
*All Korean teachers brush their teeth after lunch to get rid of the hot and spicy Kim Chi taste/smell that is left in their mouths. I've started doing the same thing.
*Koreans don't mind pushing. I'm really not used to this - at least not pushing without apologizing profusely! It will be a cultural adjustment that I'll have to make - hopefully I won't start pushing people like crazy when I get home.
*Korean teachers do not take their work home. We're still working on that one... it's a habit that's hard to break.
*There are random exercise machines around the city of Seoul that are free for people to use. Upon riding my bike to school I pass many of these exercise areas and am surprised to find that they are usually all full.
*Korean women only get 3 months maternity leave. We are lucky in Canada!
That's it for now. I'm heading home - hopefully by the end of the week we'll have the internet at our apartment.
Check out some pics I've posted at: www.dawseng.shutterfly.com
~Jen
Soo, Haewon and Jeong - Soo and Jeong are my co-teachers (we teach English together). Haewon used to be the Korean English teacher, but she is heading off to take some more courses at school. This was our first night in Seoul. We're at a restaurant just 2 minutes from our apartment. Yum!
Every morning since we've moved into our apartment I've woken up earlier than my alarm to the sound of Fur Elise. The electronic sounding version is coming from the garbage trucks which seem to pick up garbage or recycling or compost on a daily basis. I'm hoping that someday soon I'll learn to sleep through this early morning wake-up, but as of right now I'm awake at 6:15am listening to the single phrase of Fur Elise being repeated over and over again.
Other interesting things I've found:
*Public restrooms have toilet paper outside of the stalls. You must remember to take some toilet paper before you enter otherwise you're in trouble! This is to keep consumption down.
*The subway toilets are nicer than the toilets I use at school. I make a point to stop at the subway toilets before I head to school. That doesn't say much for the school toilets.
*I have not met a lot of people in Seoul who speak English. Unless we head to Itaewon (the foreigner hangout spot) we struggle to communicate with people. It can be VERY frustrating when we're searching through 6 floors of E-Mart (like Walmart) looking for tofu or salt.
*Eating out at Korean restaurants is very difficult for vegetarians.
*The students clean our school. In the morning, at lunch, and after school I see students on the stairs with hand brooms, mopping the hallways, and dusting my office. Quite strange
I think that's all I'll leave you with for now. I'm at school and I can't seem to think of anything else that strikes me as odd (and I should be working!!!) I'll try to download some pics onto my memory stick tonight and upload them tomorrow. There will be apartment pictures and other random pics too. So sorry for the delay. When we get internet at our apartment things will be much easier!
~Jen
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