Having completely neglected this thing called a blog for weeks upon weeks, I thought it might do some good to let everyone know that we're still alive.
So much has happened since our last post. That was us on our way home. And now we've returned from the cozy comforts of our childhood homes, back to a land so foreign from our own... yet still somehow familiar.
Is it crazy that we've grown accustomed to such quirky customs that makes this land so strange? Not that I've necessarily missed these things, but they just feel normal now - optional stop lights, cars driving along the sidewalks, getting packages of pickles alongside your pizza order, seeing old men gather for soju and cards in the middle of the subway station during the midafternoon bustle, and watching old grandmothers text away madly on their cell phones, while sitting next to a young couple who are not holding hands, but rather huddling together so that they can both see the screen of their cell phone-sized TV, which is broadcasting their favourite Korean romance. Yes, this is our home.
There's a lot to catch up on. I'll try to be brief, though we all know that this is a fight I can never win. Our time at home was awesome. We did the requisite family and friends stuff - it was awesome seeing as many people as we did, though of course, we would have loved to have seen more. Our schedule was so busy seeing people that even though Jen and I did virtually everything together, I still felt like I didn't see her at all.
Let me elaborate. Jen and I had lived together before we arrived in Korea, but there was always lots of other people around too. Though we have lots of great friends here in Korea, they are all so far flung from us that it is relatively uncommon for us to see them outside of weekends. As a result, Jen and I are stuck with each other. We see each other and no one but each other all week long. And being surrounded at work all day by people who rarely speak to us because so few of our colleagues can speak English... well, we've grown quite close together to stave off the isolation of our schools!
So, while back in Canada, we were both so busy catching up with our friends and families, we had little time for ourselves. It wasn't until we got back on the plane to Korea that I had a chance to slow down and realize how much I felt I had missed Jen. To go from having hours together every day to the bustle of our visit home was a bit of a shock. It was such an odd feeling having spent so much time together and yet still having missed her. Weird.
Anyway, I digress.
This thing's getting too long though. We'll provide some details of Erica's wedding when I'm not too lazy to post some pretty pictures to go along with a post. Suffice it to say it was a great trip home and an even better wedding - jetlagged and all, we still managed to shut down the party!!
Today the computer technician in our school came and asked me to come to her office to help her with something. I had no idea what to expect, but I decided to see if I could help her out.
I arrived at her office and she sat me down at her desk. She then presented me with a single spaced, one page English essay that she had written. She is applying for a working holiday in Canada. I pulled up the paper and began the task of gently correcting poor English. It's not that this woman has bad English, she has very good English, but it's hard to write in a language that is not your own. She usually had the gist of what she wanted to say but just needed me to help clean it up.
What I found most interesting was the fact that she spent four weeks in January taking a TESOL course when she was visiting Canada. I knew that she had been in Vancouver but I didn't realise that she had spent that time studying English. I did notice that her English was better, but had just attributed that to her having spent four weeks in an English speaking country.
At one point in her essay she talks about her experience in the Canadian school system (she spent one week doing a practicum). She was amazed that the other teachers spoke to her and didn't make her feel like an outsider just because she was Korean. She spoke about how great it was that Canada was a multi-racial society. The other point that she made was how different the school systems in Korea and Canada are. She said that Canadians focus on process, whilst Koreans focus on the product. She loved the Canadian system because it doesn't focus as much on tests... it focuses on students learning at their own pace. Although this may not be entirely the case, it is a pretty fair assessment of the two education systems, at least from my limited exposure to both.
My current situation gives me 40 minutes twice a week with each of my ten classes. My classes have at least 32 students, sometimes 35. All of my students are at different levels. Some of them can speak amazing English, others struggle to answer the question "How are you?" I find this to be a challenging job. I long to spend more time with my students, whatever level they're at, to help them along the process of learning English. For now, I will have to work with what I've got, to try my best to help my students become excited about learning English. I am excited to hear a Korean teacher talk about how much she enjoys the process education system. It gives me hope that one day Koreans will put less stress on getting good grades, and more stress on the process of learning.
No, there is no earthquake, do not worry! It is just the title of the Carol King song that I am currently listening to - I felt it was somewhat appropriate for some reason....
As I sit here in my office thinking about what I am going to post about this time I cannot help but think about the fact that our time in Korea has almost hit the six month point. We have almost spent six months living here, working here, and exploring here. We have spent six months as a married couple. During this time I have had the opportunity to learn more about myself (I always find that this happens when I travel because I become so much more aware of my own culture when I am faced with things that do not always mesh with my own culture). Jeff and I have discussed our future (and by future I mean what we will be doing in September) and we have talked about where we will end up (when we finish traveling).
Our next adventure will take place during the week of the Lunar New Year (also known as Chinese New Year or Tet if you are Vietnamese! - February 2nd - 9th) We are heading off to China - Beijing. A three day tour begins our adventure followed by 3 days of us staying in a hostel (very close to Tiennamen Square) and exploring the city on our own. I am very exited.
A week after we return from China we are heading home to Canada. As the 16th approaches I am getting more and more excited about going home for a short visit. I am looking forward to eating some foods that I miss and seeing friends and family. It will be an EXTREMELY busy and hectic trip, but I am excited. I am also quite excited that we get to fly into the Waterloo airport!
February is a travel month for us, it is also the month that marks our halfway point in Korea. I cannot believe that the time has passed by so quickly!!
~Jen
P.S. For some reason whenever I try to put an apostrophe in this post the website directs me to a find box. You will notice that there are no apostrophes in this blog - it was quite a feat!
I was supposed to keep it under wraps until all the family had been told, but now I can shout it loud and clear.
ERICA AND TERRY ARE GETTING MARRIED!!!
Congratulations you two! (Though I'm not sure either of them read the blog... ) We're so excited for you both. Terry - welcome to the family. I can't wait to have you as a brother-in-law!
Jeff and I are coming home for a week (from the 16th til the 25th) in February to make sure that we're around for the wedding. We're sad that we're going to miss all the pre-wedding stuff, but VERY excited that Erica and Terry were willing to swing a winter wedding so that we could be there.
Congrats lil sis, you picked a great guy!
~Jen
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
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