I know I’ve been MIA on here for a few weeks but I’m finally settled into my apartment and should have some free time!!
I’ll attempt a recap of orientation since my visit to Seoul:
During the week we had lectures from 9:00 to 5:40 with an hour break in the middle for lunch. It seems like that should be a long day of just doing lectures but they were always so interesting and useful that the days seemed to fly by. At night we would eat dinner in the cafeteria and then meet up in the girls lobby and head out into Jochiwon to find a place to hangout. We had an 11:00 curfew so we usually left around 10:30 and then spent an hour or so in the basement connecting the guy and girl dorms. Then we would all pass out from exhaustion and start over the next day.
The second weekend we had a field trip to a Korean farm on Saturday morning. It was freezing but really interesting, I learned how to make tofu (and tried it for the first time…and the last). We also flew some traditional Korean kites and wandered around the farm. When we got back to Jochiwon in the afternoon about 25 of us went to a smaller version of Seoul called Daejeon. We ate at a fried chicken place and made friends with a table of Korean university students and a table of Korean army guys and then headed to a club called Cocoon. After the club we split up into groups, half went to motels and the other half went to a Jimjilbong (Korean spa/place where you sleep on the floor). I stayed in the Jimjilbong and for $6 a night you get what you pay for. You find a mat and a place on the floor and pass out with about 50 other people. It was a cool experience but I will probably spend a little extra and get a motel next time.
Then we started our last week of lectures, which consisted of reading, writing, listening, speaking, games, and teach-a-skill workshops. That Thursday was my birthday and I’ve never had a birthday celebrated SO much! I think I was sung happy birthday at least 4 times by over 50 people each time. I got 3 cakes, some balloon animals, and a chicken/pizza party at the second orientation. Since I turned 23 on the 23rd it was my “golden” birthday and I don’t think I could explain it any other way.
Finally came Friday, our closing ceremony. For lectures we had been split up into 6 groups divided by what province you were being placed in. Each group had to choose 2 people to be awarded at the closing ceremony, one for Excellence and one for Congeniality. My group and coordinator choose me for our Excellence award so during the ceremony the president of the Ministry of Education awarded me with a certificate and a $50 gift voucher. I was really an honor to be recognized for this award and probably the highlight of my orientation.
After the ceremony it was really sad because everyone had to go to their own provincial orientation and all but a few of my friends were split up. We’ve already started planning trips to meet up but without cell phones or steady internet it’s been hard the past few days to keep in touch.
I got really lucky because my provincial coordinator was a 6th gen and remembers what it was like to go from the big orientation to provincial so she made it as easy for us as possible. My province is Jeollanam-do or Jeonnam and it was about a 3-hour bus ride from Jochiwon. That night we had a pizza/fried chicken/birthday cake party and all got settled into our rooms. This orientation was only 6 days and 5 nights so it flew by. Saturday we had a lesson-planning lecture but I had a really bad cold and ended up staying in bed most of the day. I knew the lesson-planning workshop would be useful but I didn’t want to meet my principle and mentor teacher a sick mess.
Saturday night we met some of the previous TaLK scholars still in the province. It was really reassuring to see that there were so many other foreigners in our area that are just from our program. Like I said, Joo (our coordinator), is awesome. She knew how important meeting each other and networking will be to staying sane in a foreign country.
Sunday we had a free day and so most of us went into the city to explore. We ate at an English breakfast place, which was amazing. I had bacon, eggs, toast, and hash browns. I don’t even like breakfast foods but after eating enough kimchi and rice even the foods I don’t normally like, I love. Then we went back to the dorms and I slept the rest of the day, still trying to get over my cold.
Monday we had mock classes where we presented the lesson plans we made on Saturday. One of the kids in my class had a Korean co-scholar who couldn’t make it that day so I just jumped in on his lesson and we won third place. Monday night we had another chicken and pizza party with noraebong (Korean Karaoke) added. I sang a few songs with what little of my voice I had left and then went to bed.
Tuesday we had a field trip day! We went to tour one of the scholar’s schools to see what to expect and then we went to a museum-like place dedicated to traditional Korean dyes. They gave us white scarves and we got to choose between pink (bug guts) and yellow (onion peel) to dye them in. I chose pink and ended up with a pretty awesome scarf. Then we went to dinner at a vegetarian buffet, which was interesting, not bad though.
Wednesday was like dooms day for us. Sure, we’re excited to meet people from our schools and start teaching but this month of orientation was way too much fun for any of us to want it to end. We all brought all of our luggage down to the lecture hall before breakfast and said our goodbye’s and then had another closing ceremony. We each had to go up on stage and say our names, what school we’re teaching at, and a little about us. Then representatives from our school stood up and we joined them. From that point we were theirs, no more talking to other scholars it was all about the schools. We ate lunch with them and then packed our bags into our school’s car and went to our town.
My principle and mentor teacher came to pick me up and on our way to the school we picked up the principle’s wife in Gwangju (the big city we were outside of). Then we went straight to the school and they started figuring out my schedule and apartment. Originally I was supposed to live in an apartment right next to the school but during our provincial orientation I learned that most people in my county were living in a city called Mokpo. Since I’m the first TaLK scholar at my school we’re figuring out the kinks as we go along. I sent Rosemarie a message on Sunday asking if they could move my housing to Mokpo to be closer to other scholars and when they picked me up on Wednesday my principle talked to some other principles to find out where everyone in Mokpo was living and literally got me an apartment by that afternoon. Koreans are amazing, they do everything quickly and decisively.
While they were figuring out my housing and when I was going to teach, Rosemarie gave me a tour of the school. It was huge for only 127 kids! The main classrooms all have touch screen white boards, which apparently is common in Korea. My room is probably going to be in the music room, which hasn’t been renovated yet but they still have a TV where I think I can show powerpoints.
After they figured out my housing (around 3:00, we got there at 2:00) my principle, his wife, Rosemarie, and an administrative guy, and I all went to Mokpo to register for my Alien Registration Card (ARC). The ARC is pretty much necessary for everything like getting internet, phone, ect. I think Joo told my school that they had to use their business ID to get my internet since I’m the first scholar and she can lie to them though so hopefully I’ll have that soon. Then finally we went to my apartment! It’s called Shin La and there are a total of 5 8th gen scholars, 1 7th gen, and 1 6th gen (Joo) living here. The apartment itself is really nice and huge! It’s about an hour and 2 busses from my school but living with other foreigners is definitely worth it. I want to learn about Korean culture and I really want to learn the language but living in a small town with no other foreigners would have been too much culture shock even for me. After they showed me my apartment we went shopping for some essentials (blanket, pillow…my mattress is supposed to arrive today, Thursday). We get a settlement allowance of $300 at the end of March but they gave it to me to buy stuff for my apartment, which was nice. After we dropped my stuff off we went to dinner and ate boiled eel soup. That’s right, boiled eel. It was super spicy so I didn’t really taste the eel and I ate as much as I could. The whole time we were at dinner they were telling me that I looked like a doll because I was so beautiful and my face was so small. The administrative guy was really funny, Rosemarie had to translate everything for me. He kept asking if my eyelashes were real. Apparently fake eyelashes are a big thing in Korea. My principle also told me as soon as I met him that he got the most beautiful TaLK scholar. Koreans are very complimentary haha.
Anyways, they finally dropped me off at my apartment and I got settled in. I immediately posted photographs and the paintings I did at orientation on the walls, might as well make it my own!
Right now it’s Thursday and I’m waiting to go grocery shopping with the other scholars. Joo is going to show us how to use the bus system and help us carry back some of the essentials we need for our apartment. Then maybe go out for dinner after that. Tomorrow I’m going to the school in the morning just to meet the other teachers and get to know the kids a little and then I start actually teaching on Monday!
I’ll post the links to the albums I have on facebook below:
Hopefully from now on I’ll have more free time to update this! Until then …
xox
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