And They're Off!

Saturday morning was simply fantastic as I woke up without having to worry about what time we needed to catch a cab to work and whether or not I was doing lesson 1 or lesson 2 all evening! Though I still woke up early, mainly due to the watermelon truck (which has speakers blaring Korean non-stop from its bed) and kids in the park next door, I managed to stay in bed until noon!

When I had fully arisen I ventured over Nate's way to check out the delivery he had been brought early in the a.m.! The box, which I guess was hand delivered at 10:00 in the morning, contained a number of different articles of what can only be described as 'junk.' The 'junk' consisted of some small wooden fold out stools (which actually are pretty cool though sized for a large squirrel), two chia-pet like figures, barnyard animal statuettes with alligator clips, pop-out balsa wood furniture and some Christmas-tree-ornament-like wooden figures of different transportation methods. Quite the surprise. . .especially early in the morning!! What can be done with all this junk other than left in the room when we leave!? Most likely nothing. . .so in the meantime I'll take a mini chia-man and let you know how his hair turns out!!

We made it down to the local Chinese restaurant, Chia-Wok, just as the lunch crowd was leaving! Mmmmm breakfast at noon, kinda sounds like college all over again! Over lunch we skimmed through our two LP Bibles (one for Korea and a city guide of just Seoul) trying to determine what adventures would guide our day. This is not as easy as it seems in that Seoul is not nor has even tried to be a tourist city. There is in fact very little to do and see from a tourist's point of view. No 'must see' temples, though some are given greater distinction that others, no world renowned monuments, and no well defined tourist routes! (**If you disagree or have any suggestions please a) let us know, there is a comments section below and b) tell LP to improve the quality and direction of their Korea volumes. Thank You**)

It was eventually determined that we would visit Inwangsan, a shamanist compound, in the middle of the city. By the time we returned to our apartments however to collect cameras and other tourist gear I noticed that it was already growing late, Inwangsan was not close, and pictures weren't allowed there anyways (what type of tourist attraction is that!). So rather than try to determine the 'must sees,' as LP really suggests few, I decided to pick someplace on the map that looked close and interesting. That turned out to be the Seoul Racecourse Park, a horse racing track that just so happened to be open on Saturdays!


We raced down to Hanti Station, headed North on the Bundang Line to Seolleung. Changed trains and transferred to the Green Line on which we rode six stops to Sadang. Again changed trains and transferred to Line 4, headed South. Three stops down and only 45 minutes later we exited the metro at the Seoul Racecouse Park Station!

Seoul Racecourse Park Station

No guesswork was necessary in finding our way to the track as our path was lined by a horseshoe shaped canopy at which two bronze stallions stood guard. We walked the quarter mile or so to the track and paid the 800W entrance fee. Again, this equates to about 80 cents; guess they must make most of their money inside the gates!

Entrance to the park was not through the Grandstands so we made our way to the massive eight or so story building that stood in front of us. Pushing through the throngs of people waiting to place their bets we made it out to the viewing area (the cheap seats on the ground of course)! The track was beautiful and surrounded by a backdrop of lush green mountains!
Arriving at around 4:30pm we were just able to catch the 10th race and have two more to wait around for. We found a program strewn aside and attempted to make out the information presented. Knowing zero Korean and only slightly more horse racing we were able to decipher nothing more than the race numbers and length.

However, after watching the 11th race and checking out others' bets we felt confident enough to try and check off a few of the boxes on a betting slip. Pretending like we knew what we were doing, we made it out front to the stables where they were showing the horses to be running in the upcoming 12th and final race.

Pre-Race Show Track

I decided that Number 9 was certain to take the race while Nate settled on Number 5. We actually managed to place our bets with little trouble other than that I had intended to bet 1000W (a single dollar's equivalent) but instead marked the box indicating 100W! Oops! While seemingly foolish the bets are preceded only by a 1 through 5 while the hundreds/thousands/millions place is written out in Korean. . . .can't be held too accountable! I'm just glad I didn't screw up and bet the other way!!

Racecourse Sculpture Garden

Having placed our bets we headed out to the track to await the start of our big money race! Watching horse number 12 begin bucking at the starting line set Nate off. He had considered betting on the outside lane earlier and was now convinced that doing so was a money ticket. I quickly helped him fill out a second slip and he raced inside, only to return disappointed that they had closed betting for the race (no kidding, the horses were already in the gates)!

Well wouldn't you guess who won the race. . .Horse 12 beat the field by a full length!! And Nate said he knew nothing about betting on horses! Oh well, our combined 1,100W bets fell through and our imaginary 1000W one won (say that three times fast)!

As that was the final race (horse twelve in race twelve!?) we headed out with the throngs of people towards the metro station. We originally considered waiting for the crowd to die down until glancing back and realizing that the crowd was honestly a non-stop never ending sea of people. Might as well tough it out we figured, ducked down into the station and actually managed to catch the first train; as we were full out shoved into the darn thing with no other option but to oblige!

Climbing out of Hanti Station we stopped in Lotte Department Store to try and find shin guards as Martin, a fellow DYB teacher, had invited me to play in his Seoul Sunday Football Leauge (SSFL) game that took place today! We entered Lotte downstairs at the food court where we had searched for one of our first meals only a week before. Except this time something was different. . . there stood an entire grocery store next to the food court where a week ago, nothing had been!! As Nate recalled reading somewhere, Seoul completely reinvents itself every 24 hours, and what an example of that! We browsed the new store for a while collecting samples and picking out some interesting drinks to dry including a blueberry smoothie and pomegranate juice in a can!

We finally made it up to the Jeans/Sports Floor and slowly went browsing through the immaculate displays. Having been to Lotte before we were well aware that showing interest in anything would immediately call attention to one of the attendants who are positioned no more than every 15 feet! I attempted to browse the soccer section myself but no such luck! I was quickly approached by a Lotte employee asking if he could help. I told him what I was looking for but felt rather doubtful as Koreans seem more interested in shoes than the equipment itself. I realize this is obviously not the case but it certainly appeared so at Lotte!

I was eventually directed to the Adidas section of the store (silly me asking a Nike representative) where I was shown a selection of shin guards. By selection I mean only in sizes and more so only children's sizes! No straps or sleeves to keep them in place, just a small bent piece of plastic, but hey, they look cool, and that's the Korean way! So I picked up a pair of the large and managed to use a credit card which, so we've heard, are not widely accepted in town!

We headed back to our apartments to call it at night but not after challenging the local youth at a game or two of Tekken Tag Tournament; a video game on which we wasted countless hours in middle school playing in Andrew Hobey's basement! Out side of a small eatery on our way home there is a small arcade machine set at about half height with a little bench in front of it. Here kids can be seen playing Tekken all night, challenging each other for dominance of the machine as many adults do in pool!

Having put in a good number of hours at the game back in the day. . .and I do mean a good number, Nate and I figured we might stand a chance against the little guys. No such luck. . . Having played probably a dozen or so games against others neither Nate nor I have been able to successfully beat a Korea student . . .though we've both come close. . .kinda!

Either way it's great fun and they clearly enjoy practicing their English and making fun of two huge white kids crouched over a tiny video game, putting up dimes to challenge them again only to lose all our day's change!

Oh well!! Video games are simply not the activity for Americans to excel at in Korea!

Soccer might be another story however as almost 50% of our team today, at SSFL, were Americans. In fact, there were two other kids there, one watching and one playing, from Michigan (both from Grand Rapids)! Nate and I met up with Martin outside of Apgujeong Station, yes the same Apgujeong, and walked the five minutes or so to the Han River Spitfires' home pitch, set just behind a middle school!

I was introduced to Sun, the team's 50 year old co-manager who also plays defense for at least 45 min a game and simply does not falter! Ammar, the other co-manager was kind enough to lend me his jersey for the game as he had been ejected the previous game and therefore left ineligible to compete in today's match!

It was explained to me that they are really looking for people to commit to the team as many players enjoy only showing up sporadically. With not a thing else to do and excited to find an activity, both extracurricular and physical, I happily obliged! The only requirement is my showing up on time, a $100 league fee (a steal for a 20 game season) and $35 for a fully jersey! Which, I might add, is hot teal with neon green trim! What's even better is I get my name on the back of the jersey and can have it in English or Korean . . .no choice there as I don't get to play on a Korean soccer team more than once in my life!

The match went well as our team seems pretty decent and I got to play a good junk of the game. I think I actually surprised our 'coach' when I finally gained possession of the ball, versus just clearing it back on defense, and wound up taking a rocket shot at the goal from about 30 yards out that ended up sailing just a bit high! Oh well, it was acknowledged as a great shot and really my only productive opportunity of the game!

Despite going down early then leading 2-1 until late in the second half, two last minute haphazard goals allowed the other team, Loko, to just squeak out a 3-2 victory. I still had a great time a met a couple guys that were very knowledgeable and friendly, not to mention from Michigan! Sun (manager/coach/defense all-star) kindly treated us all to chicken and beer afterwards at the all noticeable Two Two Fried Chicken! The meal felt great, even after a loss!

That did it for Sunday as we decided to pass on Tekken tonight. . . .not out of choice but because there was already a crowd around the little machine! Maybe tomorrow!

Pictures to come, I promise, more have been put up below on previous posts! Enjoy and thanks for your comments!!

'So Hot Right Now!'

Having gotten to bed at a reasonable hour and not consumed 16 gallons of soju the night before, Friday went rather well at work. As I again conducted the two lessons that I had been performing all week one might say that I had settled into a groove by the fifth day! Too bad tomorrow will only bring a change of plans. . .no worries, I should have it down by Friday I'm sure!

Despite being exhausted after our first week of work Nate and I decided to treat ourselves to an adventure Friday evening, exploring a bit more of the city. Hungry from working all night we took to the streets of Nowon, in our Junggyedon neighborhood, only to a find a number of restaurants closed. This upset us at first until we realized how unconventional it is to be searching for dinner at 11:00pm!

We managed to grab a hot sandwich from a store front that we hoped would be a 'burger' but ended up being again some combination of egg (sweet due to the corn) and meat! Wandering further along we grabbed an equally delicious and healthy snack of a battered and deep fried hot dog. . . differing only from your typical corn dog in that the deep frying takes place after the corn dog has already been cooked! Mmmmmmmm!

Running low on the initial cash that I brought with me (as we have been eating out every night, no reason to buy groceries if you're just going to be moving soon) we turned our attention to finding an open bank or working ATM. While I realize this sounds foolish to do at 11:00pm on a Friday, the corner that we work on is called 'four bank corner' or something like that due to the prevalence of such institutions. I know this only from what Harry, the New York-Korean, has told me. . . .mm hmm!

While we did find ATM's on the first floor of a few banks, none of them accepted foreign cards and only a few had an English button. . .which translated some, but definitely not all the writing! We eventually decided to give up in that we both remember LP talking about using the ATM's in convenience stores. . .though translating was mentioned as an important issue.

Found a taxi and headed back south to our temporary home in Dechidong, which, as it turns out, is a very posh and well known residential area. . . .we assumed this much however when we first encountered the Rolls Royce dealership around the corner from Dunkin' Doughnuts!

Dropping our school bags off we decided to head out to Apgujeong, as was recommended by our friendly tour guide in the metro station the other day. He suggested we visit the area because it is 'very expensive' with 'nice cars' and 'pretty girls.' Sounds like just the place for two rookie teachers fresh off the plane!

Thought we could catch the subway as Apgujeong was only a few stops up however entering our local Hanti Station we were greeted by lights turning off and gates closing up!! No subways after midnight it appears!

Jumped back out in the street and managed to hail a taxi. . . .after being passed by at least a dozen, already full with young Seoulites just starting their night (the next morning). Slightly surprised that the taxi prices jump substantially after a certain hour we still managed to make it to the "Beverly Hills" of Seoul for less than $10. . . oh yeah, we're living the life!

Pulling into the area the driver asked if we wanted to be dropped at "Rodeo Drive," which yes, is what they call the main strip in this little slice of California East. The naming is not in vain however as the streets are lined with the cream of the crop designer stores and cars. . . .and ooooohhh the cars!

For those that care. . . within minutes we heard, before we spotted, an Aston Martin Vanquish pulling out of a club, on the sidewalk as all Seoulites do of course. The next few steps brought with them an onslaught of Porsche Twin Turbos, the drivers of which could not have been older than 15. . .okay maybe 18, but no older! Gliding up hill (yes, it is possible to do) past us we just barely caught a glimpse of a black Ferrari Modena, riding batman style of course with all of its lights off! Looking back down hill Nate sent my heart flipping when he claimed to have spotted the Bugatti Veyron, my ultimate prize! Alas, I still must wait for the day when I will spot a live one as the car in question turned out to be an Audi R8. . . .not a bad piece of machinery! Finally, crossing the street we glanced up into a lit window to see a silver McLaren-Benz SLR, a steal at only a half-a-million dollars!

Of course the riff raff had their Lotus', AMG's and other high end European babies, but the ones mentioned above certainly sealed the deal. . .this is Rodeo East!

Having wandered no more than a few blocks we were approached by a Korean-American (just my luck, another New Yorker) with his friend from Fresno (obviously finding fitting in a bit easier to do in L.A. East than L.A. Standard where speaking English is a hardly a notable quality). The pair asked what we had planned for the night and we quickly briefed them on our only very recent arrival and lack of plans other than pure observation.

Alex, the New Yawker, suggested that we come with them to the Circle Club because they 'have a table' and it's obviously the 'hottest club in Seoul' right now! We told him thanks for the offer and that we'd think about it. They said no problem and wandered just down to the corner to what looked like the entrance to Circle. After recognizing that this club was connected to a parking garage we had wandered by earlier that housed Lamborghinis, we figured we'd give Circle a shot!

Not sure if we'd get stuck paying an exorbitant cover or not we hesitantly meandered towards the big bouncer wearing all black an adorning a flak vest (which can only be for show as Seoul is notoriously safe)! As we walked towards the door, past a number of people seemingly waiting in line, the bouncer shot a mouthful of Korean towards us to which Nate responded "oh it's okay, we're with Alex." Somehow this worked. . .

At the end of the long black stairwell filled with smoke and laser beams (ooooo retro) we were again stopped by a woman at a cash register. Undoubtedly she was telling us to pay whatever the cover was to which Nate again responded "oh it's okay, we're with Alex." Again this line was bought as we were given wristbands and entry into the club with no further questions. This Alex guy must be a big deal!?!

Once inside we found our 'friends' Alex and Jason(?) who introduced us to their partner in crime, Brad, from Canada. I asked him if he too was a teacher to which he replied, "I'm white without a buzzcut. . .yes." Makes pretty good sense as the only non-military foreigners we've seen/met/heard of are teachers!

Brad seemed much more collected than everyone around and by this I mean no enthralled by blaring techno music, flashing lasers and overpriced (essentially unaffordable) drinks. I asked him what the deal was with the table and what not, meaning who's the one in charge and who's feet are we stepping on by sneaking ourselves in!

I was told that Alex had taken a slight liberty in describing it as 'his' table in that they were in fact guests of a few Korean girls, one of whom was Sunny (not from our school)! Having paid at least $300 for the table Brad figured the girls like being seen with Caucasian men. It was explained to me that Sunny was trying out to be a flight attendant. . . .to which I responded "trying out?!"

Apparently, flight attending in Korea, especially for Korean Area is a big, big deal! The girls go through a five step selection process that includes beauty, brains and ability to speak English! Sounds kind of like flight attendants during mid-century in the US (though I only say this from movie references such as Catch Me if You Can). Brad explained however that Sunny was certain she will be cut as she is too fat. Oh the degree to which appearance matters in this country!! Los Angelinians could only hope to be this vain and be so darn good at it!

We stayed for a while but only to get our fill of watching, and trying, to dance to Korean techno. Deciding that it was wholly ridiculous and simply not possible to feel comfortable we took off for the streets of Apgujeong.

Having heard of a great jazz venue in the area we went out searching for the Blue something. . .Always happy to talk to a foreigner we found a young Korean man (who could have been anywhere from 12 to 60 as these people do not age) who directed us to Once in a Blue Moon. By directed I mean not pointed us in the right direction but rather took our hand and lead us to the front door. In doing so I felt obliged to offer him something and while it would be impossible to pass of a monetary gift I decided to share the gift of experience, informing our friend that Nate is a minor league baseball player; a status akin to Prince in Korea! Now this information is kind of true in that when Nate was a minor he played baseball in a league with other minors. . . .a Minor League Baseball Player! Unfortunately the venue was closed to we thanked our friend and headed off.

Having started our night at 12:00pm it was already growing late by this point so Nate and I turned our attention to food rather than further entertainment. As the majority of restaurants were closed by this late hour, we made our way to an alley of street vendors. We patronized two of such vendors for foods that I only wish I could explain. All but the sloppy meat sticks and noodles in red sauce were deep fried. One was clearly octopus as Nate, who is allergic, pointed out after taking the first bite!

As our hunger subsided and exhaustion set in, we hailed a passing cab to take us back to Dechidong. . . realizing that we really had no clue how to direct a taxi to our place. He managed to get in the general vicinity and we jumped out at our favorite landmark, which really isn't all that close, the Lotte Department store!

Unfortunately we both forgot cameras so none of this Hollywood evening was captured on film, of memory card! Oh well. . .we'll have the memories and you'll have the story! Just remember, if you're in Seoul anytime soon, check out the Circle Club, its the hottest thing around. . . .for the next 15 minutes if it's anything like L.A!!

Oh What a Night

I'd like to apologize to my most avid of readers for skipping a day of posting although I believe you will find my excuse a bit more than valid!

Wednesday night as I previously mentioned was the night of the big 'meeting' with Mr. Song, the owner of DYB Choisun Academy. After finishing work at 10:30pm we waited around school for another hour or so crammed into one of the classrooms with a dozen or so other teachers, waiting for the Big Guy. Song finally arrived, late due to traffic, and made a brief presentation to everyone in both Korean and English!

All the Korean teachers admire the guy with an absurd level of fascination while the native teachers seemed a bit less impressed. I was most captivated by his billionaire jet setter sense of fashion wherein he paired blue jeans with a turtleneck covered in a neon green polo! Only in Korea does the boss dress like a clown!

Mr. Song and Nathan Teacher

Song had the Native teachers share in reading a passage he had printed out about choosing how to live your life. While the message is obviously beneficial it felt like I was sitting in the middle of one of those black bordered corporate motivational posters people buy in SkyMall. The joke about the passage was that life is composed of B.C.D. The 'B' standing for Birth, 'D' representing Death and the 'C,' obviously meaning Choisun, the name of the institute where we work! I found this joke substantially less than funny however as we have been putting in almost 12 hour days this week including transportation time. . . .

The 'meeting' wrapped up very quickly albeit late and we were ushered outside and into taxis, three foreigners for one Korean teacher, headed to a restaurant. No clue what the restaurant was called but we had the whole upstairs private room for the 25 or so teachers and Mr. Song. Food was brought almost immediately after we sat down at the 'fake-traditional' tables (where it looks like you're sitting on the floor but thank God that the floor is cut away and you're in fact sitting upright)!

While a plethora of side dishes, mostly kimchi, pickled cabbage, were brought out first, it was the main course that just blew me away. For every four people there was a large wooden tray brought out, ornately garnished and covered with a dozen different cuts of raw tuna! Not having eaten since noon almost twelve hours before I dug in immediately! Although some of the cuts proved to be fatty and tough to chew, other pieces of tuna melted in your mouth like I have never had before.

Just in case the tuna platter wasn't enough, food continued to arrive at everyone's table almost non-stop throughout the night. Tempura was brought out and passed around as were a number of other different fishes, some smoked, some grilled and others deep fried. We also had a small plate of 'salad' that simply sat there as a distraction.

Before we were too far along in our dinner, Mr. Song came over to the table at which the foreign teachers had convened to tell us a) that no one gets hired with out his direct approval (so Nate and I are to expect a personal interview at some point) and b) he his happy to have everyone get together for drinks. Song then pours everyone a glass of beer with a shot of soju (local firewater) and prompts, 'bottoms up.'

A-Young (Anna) Teacher Toasting to DYB's High Enrollment

After everyone has gotten some food in the stomach and the madness subsides a bit (as all teachers had been at least 9 hours without having eating) Mr. Song stood up and suggested that we go around the room doing introductions. Harry, a relatively large Korean American from New York (oh this guy's great) volunteered to go first, putting me in second. Introducing oneself draws a round of chants from everyone who say your name and clap loudly three times. . . I just wish that someone would have told me it stops after three the first time, oops!

Michelle, Chris, Moon Young, Harry, Cleo and Myself. . .a Bit Surprised!

We finally made it around all the tables and resumed dinner. At this point our little Korean teachers, the largest of which couldn't possibly exceed 120 pounds had started to grow a bit tipsy and gradually opened up to us white folk, venturing ever closer. Finally they had decided that all hesitations were to be thrown out the window and that their primary goal was getting us to consume as much soju as they could pour down our throats. . . .no thank you!

Julia, Moon Young, the Ever Bright Sunny and Nathan Teacher

Dinner lasted until around 2:30am at which point I thought we were headed home. . . .not so lucky! Joseph, our school's administrative guy and as good of a friend as we have here, took the foreign teachers out looking for a bar while Mr. Song retired to a norebong (karaoke lounge) with the women.

Joseph and the FT's (Foreign Teachers)

After wandering around Nowon Station area for half an hour with out luck finding the next big party, Joseph and Chris (the teacher that I'm essentially replacing) decided we should wander back to the norebong. We came into yet another entirely private party at which long tables were filled again with food, primarily food, and again, with dozens of bottles of soju and beer.

Joseph and the Out-going Chris 'the Almighty' Teacher

While Mr. Song was having a fantastic time with the ladies he asked us foreigners if we wouldn't mind waiting outside so that he could talk to all the Korean teachers in private. . .mmm hmmmm. . . .He eventually let us back into the big private room where Karaoke was sung for the next few hours and the tambourine beats never stopped!

Sometime during the course of the evening Mr. Lee, our interviewer and school director arrived on the scene. Around 4:30am he decided that is was time for the foreign teachers to leave, and once again I was mistaken by believing that we were headed home.

Outside the norebong we were simply redirected down the street to yet another restaurant. Brynn, one of the English bloakes had been smart enough to sneak off by then and was certainly at home in the comfort of his own bed. Unfortunately for Chris, Martin, Harry, Nate and I we were seated at an open air restaurant for yet a second dinner of the night.

This time raw meat was brought right out to the table and Joseph kindly grilled it for us in the bbq rack that sat smoldering in the center of our table. As would be expected, little room was left on the table for the soju Mr. Lee ordered as side dishes took up the majority of prime real estate.

Though Mr. Lee spent the better part of dinner lecturing us on this that and the other thing I was fighting just to stay awake and paid little to no attention to what he was saying. Finally, around 6:30 am, with the sun almost fully up, we were dismissed and Mr. Lee offered to take a taxi with Nate and I home to make sure we found it, as we still had a 45 minute drive ahead of us at this point!

As we pulled on to the highway, the inevitable happened. . . .rush hour! We were stuck in morning rush hour traffic coming home from our evening meeting!

Dropping us off a few block from our buildings at 7:30am Mr. Lee reminded us that this evening was not to affect our professional life and we were expected at school in the afternoon. . .which we made it to. . .but just barely! The scene around the school was rather hilarious however as one of the teachers conceded to Nate that the Korean teachers had 'many times during the night they they do not remember.'

Thanks for the outing Mr. Song, everyone had a great time. . .but next time can we do it on a Friday and be home before dawn!?

Getting ready for my first Friday! No plans for the weekend as of now, I'll see what the LP Bible suggests so we can get our touristy itches out of the way early!

Same Same, but Different

Well yesterday's lesson was certainly less than original as I again taught the same material from Monday to two different classes. Tuesday was a bit different however in that I only had two classes, each of which were three hours long instead of two.

The nicest part of the day was that for the last hour of the first class and the first hour of the second class I was scheduled to grade essays rather than teach. I think they give this responsibility to the Native teachers as we are more familiar with grammar and sentence structure than the Korean teachers. . . if only they knew!

'Essays,' as it says on my scheduled was a great break that allowed me to get off my feet and out from under the pressure of teaching! I simply retreated to the Native Room where I had some quiet time to myself to think and grade.

The topic of this week's essay was, wouldn't you know, Qualities of a Good Teacher! At first I was excited as I expected to gain some valuable insight into what Korean students look for in a good teacher. . .little did I know what was coming!

Two qualities in particular showed up in just about every essay and more so in the less complex ones. The students asked for 'no homework,' as they already have enough homework from public school and academy. They also requested 'no tests' as they are very stressful and do not get much, if any sleep when there are tests.

While perhaps not quite as prevalent, two more salient topics were brought up, primarily by the more mature/developed essay writers. These students showed a trend of asking that their teachers not smell like bad cigarettes and more notably that they not hit them. Now this differs a bit, or so it sounds, from the canning that I witnessed in Ghana, often the result of a direct violation of rules or misconduct. The essays suggested that children are routinely beaten with "thick rods" for a number of reasons including not doing well on a test or, more often, because the teacher is drunk.

One student in particular wrote an extremely pertinent essay about how teachers show up smelling bad from cigarettes and crazy drunk from the soju and beer. They then in turn take our their craziness on the students by hitting them unfairly, to the point where one student was made deaf and another young girl had multiple open wounds. . . .

As heart wrenching as these essays were, it did offer some hope! It sounds like I might just posses the qualities that these kids are looking for in a good teacher! Especially since another frequently mentioned quality was humorous and a good personality! So it looks like all I have to do is lay of the cigarettes and soju from now on before coming to class if I really want to do my best!!

Not really sure what today holds as I'll be with a new teacher, Jun Jin Young, in a new class today. Perhaps a change of material?! But just when I was getting so good at the other lesson, darn!

Tonight should be a big night however as it has been talked about since the day we arrived. If I understand correctly, the boss, Mr. Song, will be taking everyone out for a 'meeting' after work. Now this doesn't sound like your typical corporate meeting as Moon Young was telling me about the meeting yesterday and asked if I could drink a lot because I would need to if we are to stay out with Mr. Song until 2 am as expected. . . .considering we are still just about dead at 10:30pm following work we'll see how this late night 'meeting' goes. . . and don't we all still have to show up for class the next day!?!

Should be an interesting day to say the least. . .everything is the same same, but different. . .as they say in Thailand!

What's What is What

Whoa. . . .now that was exhausting! Nate was kind enough to bring over breakfast yesterday morning, I think mostly because he could not stand sitting around his little apartment anymore after waking up ridiculously early. But anyways we started the day off with breakfast sandwiches of egg, cheese, corn and maybe some sort of meat. Not bad all in all, most likely will go get another one to start today off in a few minutes here.

Got ready for my first day of work by showering in my little bathroom, and by in the bathroom I mean just that. There is no separate shower door or stall and only a hand held shower head stuck to the wall just to the side of my sink. This would be a lot stranger if Stef and I didn't have to put up with the same thing just a few months ago in Thailand! It's really a pretty funny concept but can actually save some time as I can shave right in front of the mirror while showering and don't have to splash water all over to rinse my face!

The most difficult part is drying off which I do with the single 8x8in washcloth I brought from home. As for a towel I just simply did not have space in my suitcase for one and have not really had an opportunity to buy one yet as they are not available at the local 7/11. Might just end up doing this for the week and figuring it out once we move in to our more 'permanent' housing.

Not long before we planned on headed out, Yumi sent us an e-mail asking if we could stop by the DYB headquarters so she could copy our passports. Rather than just suggest to her that they could have infinite copies if I just sent a digital picture of it to her we figured we would make the stop as she could help us hail a taxi up to Nowon-gu where our branch is.

At headquarters we were privileged enough to meet the head boss, Mr. Song, in the hallway! While our interaction was extremely brief and uneventful Yumi was simply fascinated/anxious/awe-struck that we had already met the Big Guy. Funny thing these Asian hierarchies are. . .funny thing.

We got our passports copied, again, and filled out some brief paper work that looked like a release of our academic information. Who knows how or why but I'm sure they have some pretty interesting ways to double verify the information we provided them as Yumi asked for our student numbers and entered them into some computer program that I'm sure helped her verify, if not retrieve, our academic history. . .interesting.

On the way in we also ran into Anna, one of the most intimidating teachers at our Nowon branch. While she seems to be kind, the way she phrases everything and her body language is just terrible frightening, no other way to describe it! She offered us a ride up to school however which saved us from having to hire a cab.

Only slightly worth mention is how long it took the poor woman to get out of the extremely tight parking space she had been wedged in to. Nate and I both almost wanted to help as when she hit the curb and the car wouldn't roll backwards she was so confused she had to exit the car and inspect the issue personally rather than just pull out! With a decent deal of effort we made it out and onto the open road, after picking up Julie, another teacher who is mockingly called Princess; which I believe comes from the fact that as far as I can tell she is the only one that wears make up. . . but this is clearly not my area of expertise! The giant white and red sticker on Ana's window was too prominent for me to avoid not mentioning and, as I had imagined, was a warning for parking in the wrong place! Some things really are cross cultural!!

At school we settled in to the Native (speaker, not resident as I at first believed) Office to wait for our 2:00pm 'meetings' with the teachers we are to be working with. Our lessons were explained to us to some degree and we were given sparse instruction as how to carry them out. This is where everything starts to get stressful. We really received very little instruction but were looked at as though everything in the world had been explained to us in great detail and to misunderstand would be idiotic at best! This made for a very anxious period between our 'meetings' and the start of our first class at 4:30pm.

As for our schedules, we have three classes on Mon, Wed, and Fri, each for 2 hours with a five minute break between and in the middle of classes. For each day we are with the same teacher the whole time and, at least from yesterday, each class receives the same material. So, yesterday I thought the same two hour lesson, three different times.

Still rather jet-lagged and struggling to stay up past dark, you could imagine the different level of instruction that the 4:30 class receives versus the 8:30 class! Sorry! I'll try, honestly, but it's going to be tough for at least the first week!

After my first class, Teacher Young, (I'm not really sure how they address teachers or how we should address teachers and my inquiring in to the topic yielded nothing, so for now, it's Teacher _____) commended me on my 'enthusiasm,' which was nice. I still felt ridiculous as I was trying to drag out a simple book lesson to last two hours. To break it down I spent 15-20 minutes on introducing myself and meeting the students (I am told that addressing them by name is not necessary nor relevant really).

The first part of the real lesson then was speaking, as greater focus is given to communicative English. I was told to make copies of a Dear Abbey article before class and to 'do Abbey' to start. This was made easier by the fact that we watched Chris, an outgoing and supposedly 'best foreign teacher,' do Abbey the other day for a class. I introduced the title of the article 'chaos' and then we jumped right in, reading together around the room. We would stop after each paragraph to discuss the problem that is developing, the solutions that Abbey proposes, the benefits of each and key vocabulary words that might be unfamiliar or new to non-native speakers. Abbey concludes when it seems that everyone has a good grasp of what is going on, which, yes, demands an absurd amount of repetition.

We then go on to the day's lesson in the pink Speaking book. First we define the six vocabulary words at the chapter's start. I feel it to be pathetic and wholly unproductive to simply read the words on the paper and the brief definitions that follow so of course I ramble on for five minutes about each word trying to make sure each kid understands. Who knows if this is seen as tenacious or just a waste of time but at least I feel like I'm doing something other than regurgitating text.

The students then listened to a recorded passage and answer six multiple choice questions about the conversation. We go over the answers, of which the focus is primarily problem, solution and benefit oriented so that everybody understands. The conversation is played again as the children are looking at a print out of it with eight or so phrases left blank that they are to fill in. This too is gone over with the whole class.

Finally, we discuss the conversation as a whole and create an 'outline' for the speeches that they are expected to give. The outline consists of a Problem, two Solutions, a Benefit for each and then the students' Preferred Solution and benefit.

While they are completing these 'outlines' I get to take a five minute break, during which my only option is to walk down the hall to the Native Room, turn on the wall mounted a/c and stare out the window at the bustling street set against a beautiful mountain! There's a chance Nate will be on break at the same time but as of now, this is unlikely.

Returning to class we began 'speeches,' for which a student is chosen at random by drawing a cassette tape with their name on it. I then place a hand held recorded in front of them and prompt them to address the issue we have been discussing by asking about the P, S and B. This grows extremely dull in a class of six or more as the kids begin to just copy one another and have time to write out and actual 'script' so there is little thinking, only regurgitating (my least favorite of all academic methods) involved.

At this point there was usually about 30 minutes left in the class for Writing, the lessons for which are conducted out of the blue book. This section consisted only of group brainstorming on the topic at hand for the week. Yesterday's question was something about what qualities would you look for in a good Souvenir to buy while traveling. I felt like the students actually did very well in this as they came up with such things as cheap, small, durable, relevant, symbolic, and safe all on their own.

Young would then tell me to conclude class and leave, to which my only retreat is the Native Room once again. From the first class I realized that the exit is rather awkward, in that I just said goodbye to the class and told them it was nice to meet them (I would say 'see you next _____ but I have no idea with what frequency these classes are conducted). I was not aware of how awkward it was until the end of the day with Teacher Young told me that I had embarrassed the students by simply leaving and not assigning homework for next week! While I was unaware that I was ever supposed to do so, or even what assigning homework means, Young seemed to imply that it was okay, just don't do it again or they'll start to lose respect for me. . . .very comforting on my first day.

So. . . .sorry for the long winded documentary but I feel like all I can do right now is be objective about the situation and see how in unfolds as I (hopefully) settle in to a groove. If you really want to know anything else more opinion or less factually based, please feel free to leave a comment and I'll fill ya in, but for now, what's what is what. . . what?

Oh, and today, we only have two classes, each three hours long. . . .and I'll be covering the same material! Can't wait!

Mallrats

Having a day off before beginning work today allowed Nate and I to do a little exploring yesterday. Still not quite sure where exactly we are located, or what exactly we wanted to see, we decided to wander towards the Hanti metro stop that we passed while searching for our school the other day.

With the primary mission of finding breakfast we headed into the Lotte Department Store. Why does one head into a department store for breakfast you might ask? Well because the bottom floor of Asian (I say this based on my experience in Tokyo alone) department stores (which but anything you've ever seen in the US to shame) is always a wild food court of sorts selling the most interesting and ornate snacks of indecipherable ingredients. After wandering the top eight floors of the store we made it to the basement food court as expected.

While there was certainly a wide array of food options, few to none were recognizable! We were kindly offered a sample of delectable fruit jelly that was essentially a fresh made jello put back into the rind of the fruit; Nate's being an orange, mine a grapefruit. Not sure what food was for immediate consumption, was was to bring home, and what still needed to be cooked, we spent a great deal of time just walking in circles around the basement admiring the immaculate displays.

For my main course I settled on what looked like a friend sushi roll for 2,000 won. Nate chose a hot dog baked into a French looking pastry that he used a pair of golden tongs to retrieve and place on his gold plated platter to bring to the cash register! Feel less than satisfied but at least putting something in our stomachs we headed back out to street to find another bite to eat!

Not able to wait much longer we plopped down at a restaurant just outside the department store. Unable to read the small menu, a waiter with a handful of English words helped us choose a beef rib soup and a cold noodle dish. Both were rather tasty and once again accompanied by an array of side dishes. Perhaps the best part of the meal was watching Nate struggle with chopsticks as his noodles continued to evade his mouth! I'm sure he'll figure it out soon, for if not. . .he will certainly be one hungry traveler!!

Down in the ticketing area of the metro we stopped to check out the city map and see if Lonely Planet: Seoul offered any interesting day trips near by. We settled on the walking tour around City Hall and were about to head out until approached by a metro employee asking if we needed help getting tickets. We confessed that we in fact were new arrivals and needed help deciding where to go more so than getting a ticket!

Speaking broken but very understandable English he suggested that City Hall offers little to see other than just wandering around the outside of it and perhaps we should go where there are 'many people.' This sounded like a great idea so he pointed us in the direction of the COEX Mall in Jamsil. Having to travel only two stops with a transfer in the middle made it a much shorter trip than the one to CH would have been anyways!

Our metro employee friend helped us buy a ticket, or did so for us, and sent us on our way, making sure we went down to the correct train. We arrived in a mass of people at the Samseong station off of Metro Line 2. Following the signs we made it to the COEX Mall which is almost impossible to describe. There must have been a quarter of a million people in this single complex which had easily hundreds of stores, everything from electronics to fashion to books to restaurants and in between.

Fascinated by the crowds and easily entertained by window shopping we spent the next few hours just wandering COEX. One of our more notable stops was in a bustling arcade that was literally filled to the brim with people of all ages. Now arcades are fun but arcades that draw crowds because the players are so incredible are really fun! For example, we watched a kid play drums on Rock Band, along with a dozen or so other observers, who somehow managed to bang out streaks of 100+ perfect notes that flew by literally faster than I could register what was showing up on the screen! One 'game' that we certainly do not have back at home are personal Karaoke booths in which you can even record your performance straight onto a cassette tape!

After wandering the mall for hours it was time to grab dinner so we headed towards the food court, stopping to see if any of the menus posted outside other restaurants were decipherable. Ironically we stopped at one of the few restaurants that had not a word of English displayed as we walked by and notice that they were showing the gold medal men's basketball game live! We sat ourselves and were prompted to order by pointing to one of the half dozen pictures plastered around on the wall. I settled for an udon type soup while Nate tried the bibimbap that we had been looking so hard for during the past few days.

Managed to drag the meal out to an hour or so making sure that we stayed until the end of the game, which of course the U.S. won!! From there we had little to do but drag ourselves back to our apartments and crash for the night, after hotly discussing George Washington's brilliance and unobtainable status as a human being.

The only issue with being in bed by 10 or so is that today, our first day of work, we are expected to be teaching from 4:00pm until 10:00pm. No clue how that's going to work as we were both almost asleep by eight last night! It'll be tough but isn't any first day of work!?!

Let you know how it goes either tonight or tomorrow, depending on if I make it through!

Our First Day!

Oh and what a day it was! After being dropped off at our apartments last night we were instructed to show up to work today at 12:00 noon. Now this almost seemed possible last night as we were told that the school was 'straight down' from where we are staying. Unfortunately, arriving at night after 40 or so hours of traveling makes it rather difficult to remember the final route you were driven the night before!

Anyways, we set out at 11:00am to find the DYB headquarters, located a mere 10 min. walk from our apartments. Headed 'straight down' we managed to conquer one small hill before running into a dead end, indicating to us that we were clearly headed in the wrong direction. From our starting point we figured we could either have gone straight, left, or right so having given up on the first option we set out for the second.

Coming to a bridge that neither of us remembered suggested that left might not be correct either; so we turned to the right. We walked another 15 minutes or so, the majority of which was spent making up ground we had already covered, in the opposite direction. Finally, at 12:15pm, a quarter of an hour after we were supposed to show up for our work orientation, we concluded that there was no way we could possibly find the school on foot; so we returned home!

Logging on to the magical world wide web we immediately made contact with my parents, for the first time, via Skype. Explaining our situation we figured out that they could contact Scot, our recruiter and Korea Oracle, and let him know our trouble. My mom put in a call to Scot (thanks Nellen!) who immediately logged onto Skype to reassure us that we'd be okay!

Within minutes he had contacted the school, informed them of our situation and let us know that a car was on the way! As promised, we were picked up five minutes later outside my door. As embarrassed as we were it was funny to see Mr. Lee's (the school's director) concern. It sounded as though he was worried that he had bought us a ticket over here only to have us bail out the next day!

At the DYB headquarters we went over our contract again and signed a final copy (my first employment agreement other than shaking hands with Randy in St. Thomas and promising him that I would try to learn how to wait tables)! It was explained to us that the school we are to be working at is a ways away but that they would cover cab fare to and fro for the first week, until we are relocated to our 'permanent' residences closer by.

Yumi, Mr. Lee's secretary, showed us to a taxi and sent us off in the right direction. At our branch of DYB, a middle school, we met with Joseph and his secretary, Sunny. The second Sunny that we were introduced to in fact as last night we bought a fried corn dog on the street from a Sunny who refused to let us pay as it was our first Korean meal!

We observed a few classes and were given schedules on which our name and classes are written in Korean! Watching a class actually relieved some of my initial anxiety as we learned we will be co-teaching with a Korean teacher and not simply thrown into a classroom alone come Monday!We met two English blokes, one of whom finished his contract today and the other who is only a month in. We were also introduced to a good majority of the 14 female Korean teachers we will be working with. While I remember a portion of their names, connecting them to faces come Monday will be quite entertaining!

I would tell more about the school except that I'm exhausted and really don't know all that much! The facilities look immaculate and the children seem extremely polite, albeit rather shy! Time to go find dinner. . .no idea how, where, or what but worst comes to worst there's a Subway down the street; I think we'll be able to avoid it though!

While our contract doesn't actually start until Monday, today's 8+ hour adventure clearly counts as Day 1; can't wait to see what Day 2, our first day off, holds!

A Long Day. . .

Well. . .despite being offered a position by DYB late Tuesday night, we did not receive a final contract until almost the same time Wednesday evening. Before ever receiving or accepting a final contract however Nate and I were both e-mailed an itinerary for our outbound flights to Korea; the first of which left at 6:00am Thursday morning from Detroit!

Wednesday was rather hectic as I really still wasn't too sure if we were actually going or not, though the odds looked good. I began laying out clothing early, as I am expected to pack for a years worth of work and travel across four different seasons. I managed to spend the better part of Wednesday doing nothing but fretting about actually going and napping while watching the Olympics. I started the actual packing process around 10pm, after stopping at Grandma and Poppa's to say goodbye and borrowing a suitcase.

I finally finished jamming a years worth of life into two suitcases, that weighed in at just below 50 lbs. each, at around 2:15am. . . .just enough time to hop in the shower before the Kochanski's picked me up at three to drive us down to DTW. Check in went fine but of course we were tagged for an added security check as we were flying on international tickets, booked within the day and paid for by a third party! Oh well. . . .we both passed!

From DTW we flew to Chicago O'Hare and attempted, unknowingly, to board the incorrect flight out to San Fransisco. . . .oops! Having to wait an extra hour we managed to catch our scheduled flight, both jammed into the middle seat of different rows. In San Fransisco we grabbed perhaps our last 'American' meal for a good while at a Mexican restaurant, Aribe. . . .this time I managed to hold it down, unlike in Scottsdale!

After a few hour layover and a mean game of cutthroat euchre we boarded flight UA 893 from San Fransisco to Seoul, S. Korea. Almost thirteen hours later we landed safe 'n sound in a middle of a disgusting downpour, blocking out any view we might have had of the city. Passed through immigration and customs with little trouble as they bought out story about 'looking for a job.' Long story short, we were hired on such short notice that we did not have time to apply for the proper work visa so our employer, DYB, will be sending us to Osaka, Japan within the month for a 'visa run' to get the proper paperwork completed so that we might work legally. . .as opposed to whatever we are expected to do in the meantime!

An extremely kind S. Korean, Pep, picked us up at the airport and drove us, through horrendous traffic, to the academy we will be working at. It would impossible to describe how uncomfortable this three hour ride was as the car was literally stuffed to the brim with luggage and we had already been traveling for at least a day at this point.

We met Yumi, the school's secretary outside DYB who directed us to transfer our bags to another van driven by two men, somehow affiliated with the school. They took us first to the 'nicer' of our temporary apartments at which point Nate and I had to rock paper scissors for the room. Showing an unusual scissors I was able to win the room by beating out Nate's paper on the first throw!

My (First) Building!

Settling in consisted of being given a set of keys and the password to the front door. Our two escorts made sure that my lights and TV (on which I cannot find an English channel) were working. The four of us then set off to find Nate's apartment just around the corner. To be more precise. . . and more so, if I forget, it's actually a left around the corner, down past the big intersection and a left off the third alley way. . .second building on the right, room 402! Phew. . .


Mr. Lee gave us a call on one of the men's phones before the left informing us that we are to report to school by 12:00 noon tomorrow. My guess is we will be taking the 'grand tour' and given scheduling. . . Work most certainly begins on Monday!

Time to catch up on some sleep after a long. . .long day!

On our way!?

After fussing around with MSN Messenger for a while last night trying to initiate a video interview we concluded that the program does not have a video option enabled for personal accounts on Mac's. However we were finally able to contact the Director of DYB using my Skype account (Sapeoblast) within an hour or so!

Although talking to a total stranger half-way across the world using a webcam was a little bit awkward and a lotta bit silly I felt pretty comfortable with the whole thing by the end of the interview. Mr. Lee, the DYB Director, was introduced to me by his very kind and giggly secretary, Yumi. Following introductions I was asked a few relatively informal questions about my time at Tulane and volunteering in New Orleans' schools. Almost immediately Mr. Lee noted that I had a very nice voice (which is second most important he claims) that would help keep the children's' attention very well! Although flattered, it hardly eases the nerves of being in a classroom by Monday!

My 'teaching skills' were then put to the test as I was asked to read a passage about sand dunes from the children's' text and explain it as though I was in a room of 14 Korean children. As easy as this doesn't sound. . . it's harder to actually do!! Put nervousness and ridiculousness aside, how does one describe a sand dune as anything other than a big pile of sand. If you can't get that you're not gonna understand a sand dune, too bad! While I passed the 'teaching test' with flying colors, again partially due to my 'very nice' voice, I didn't do so hot the subsequent section. . . .Vocabulary testing!

For the final test, Mr. Lee would ask me a word and have me define or explain it back to him. I managed to do okay in describing quotidian, resonance, and ripple. Unfortunately I fell short on achronism and placate only earning me the 'silver medal, not gold.' Oh well, I can deal, it's an honor just to have competed in the Olympics Mr. Lee. . .wait, huh, never mind!

Anyways. . . .both Nate and I were offered a job at DYB though under slightly different circumstances than what we were told before the interview. While the pay is slightly less, so is the number of days we are expected to work each week which is nice as it leaves more time for travel and exploring S. Korea. Really the only downside of this contract is that we are expected to be in S. Korea at school by Friday, which means. . . .we're leaving tomorrow!

We were just sent flight information for a 6:00am departure from DTW meaning our journey would actually start around 3:00am, less than 20 hours from now! In the meantime we will try to either bump the flight back just a little or change it to a Lansing departure which, as of now, appears to be no more expensive (although it is not us who is buying the tickets) than leaving from Detroit!

With less than a day to go it looks like I'd better get packing!!!

WEBCAM!?!?!

Well I figured that walking up at 6:30am should provide me with more than enough time to have a bowl of cereal, check my e-mail and write down a couple prep questions for my 7:00am interview. . . .That was before I received the following e-mail at 6:55am...

Hello guys,

My name is Dok-Hoon. And, I'm an assistant manager of Adventure Teaching. I hope not it's too short notice. The interview will be the webcam interviews. And, the interviewer will ask you to show some of your teaching skill. When they ask you to do, I hope not you're embarrassed. Please find the attachment as references.

At the interview time, please invite her as a friend in MSN messanger, and start the webcam chatting for the interview.

I hope you guys could have a good time with them, and look forward to talking to you after the interview.

Talk to you soon,

Dok Hoon

Now a webcam interview does not seem like that big of a deal right? Well it is if your only knowledge of it comes five minutes before you are supposed to be conducting one! Beside the fact that I do not have MSN Messenger (and do not think it is compatible with my mac) as Nate suggested "I would need to shave, shower, get a hair cut and not have it be at 7:00am" in order to be fully prepared!

I'm not really that upset as the webcam interview is simply not an option right now! I almost find the situation funny in a ridiculous sort of way. . . .though I hope this does not mean a lost opportunity. Although if it does. . . .who knows, perhaps it will be for the better!

For now I'll wait to hear back from Dok Hoon who has promised to contact DYB and see what we can work out in terms of conducting a, oh, normal, interview!?! Update to follow. . .

Final Interview?!

So. . . . after a month or so of communicating with our recruiter, Adventure Teaching, and numerous S. Korean schools, I have what I hope will be my last interview planned for tomorrow morning at 7:00am! I say hopefully because I have already talked to a number of different schools and received offers from each, only to have them all revoked as the positions were quickly filled by someone currently in the country, ugh!

Tomorrow both Nate (a friend from late elementary school on, EL!) and I will speak with a representative from Do Your Best, a S. Korean "after school academy for learning English." Supposedly five of the six teachers that have been placed there "really enjoyed it," the sixth dropped out of the program for visa related reasons. With only a month+ of research into S. Korean schools it is still hard to really differentiate between different schools based on anything other than working hours, pay and proximity to Seoul.

As DYB seems to do well in these three categories I'd like to give it a shot and get over there as soon as possible! Nate and I had originally hoped to be in S. Korea by early September, which is a deadline that, if DYB accepts us, we might be able to meet as they want us there by the end of the week (scary/exciting)!!

So. . . as I said. . . .fingers crossed for tomorrow. . . .the longer we spend waiting around here the later we delay our eventual return to the States, which yes, I do plan on doing, for a number of reasons ;-). More to come soon I guess!!

Thanks to everyone that checks in on me!! Any and all of your support/advice/suggestions/comments/information/feedback is extremely appreciated!!

Have a great year, 'cause Adam's Going to Asia!! (maybe. . . .)