Sunday, September 27, 2009

Weeks 6 & 7

The past two weeks have been pretty busy at work. We got our first pay checks on the 14th (we get paid on this day every month) and had to go open bank accounts. Our pay was about 1/4 of what it will normally be since we were only paid for our two weeks of training and training is paid at half rate.

We were given a piece of paper at work with a map to the bank (Woori Bank) and some instructions written in Korean for the teller. We made our way over there and took a number, this seems to be the way to wait here. After about fifteen or twenty minutes it was our turn and we went up to the teller and handed her our paper. She didn't speak English but she took out an application and we showed her that we needed two using our fingers. She got out another one and we handed her our alien cards. We had to fill in our names and the address and phone number for the school, a few signatures, input a 6 and 4 digit pin number and we were done. It was pretty quick and easy. Since the forms were all in Korean we didn't really know what we were signing, but what are you gonna do. The spaces for signing were pretty small since they are for Korean names which when written in Korean take up two small boxes of space so our signatures look pretty squished.


Having Korean accounts makes it a lot easier to pay at stores, since we can now just pay with our cards instead of always having to get cash from an ATM that accepts international cards. The cards are Check cards, that's right not Cheque cards, it actually says Check Card on the card. However, it does not help at Costco, they only take Samsung cards or cash. Once we got paid we decided to find the closest Costco and get some food that we recognize. We did a little research online to find the one that was closest to us (it is in Yeongdeungpo-gu) and made our way there by subway. The store was about a ten minute walk from the station. This Costco location was actually the first Costco in Korea. We grabbed a cart and made our way in (we brought our membership cards from home which work all over the world, how awesome is that!). The first floor was all the non-food stuff that you can get at Costco like furniture, small appliances, electronics, clothes, books, cleaning supplies and more. Then in the basement there is the food. The basement is a lot bigger than the first floor and you can find pretty much everything that you need down there, that is if you can get through the crowds.

The same massive muffins that you can get at Costco at home.

I forgot my camera so I found some pictures of the same Costco online.

We picked up spaghetti sauce, Parmesan cheese, a case of big bottles of water, cinnamon, chicken breasts, ground beef (the first that we had seen since arriving), cream cheese, sausages, hot dogs salsa (the same price for a massive jug as it is for a small jar at the local grocery store), and more. It was nice to see brand names that were familiar and food that we know how to prepare. There was also stuff that you wouldn't see in the Costco back home like kimchi, squid and copious amounts of ice coffee. We also noticed a big difference in the size of the meat portions. The chicken breasts are much smaller as well as the pork tenderloins. It really shows how farming in North America is obviously done very differently, probably due to the use of growth hormones and what they feed the animals.

Don has also been hiking for a second time. The experience was pretty similar. They were supposed to find a fresh water spring but the tour leader took the wrong path so they never found it. This time another teacher, Maggie joined Don and Brian. Maggie is a foreign teacher also but she is from China. She is teaching Mandarin at the school, a new program. Here are some pictures from that hike.


Brian and Maggie, teachers from our school.

Where's Waldo, I mean Donald

Ok, now just hold onto that for a minute, I'll be right back...



So now that we have taught a whole monthly session we thought that we would explain how it works. At the beginning of every month we have to have all of our lesson plans done for the month. There are templates for the different types of classes that we fill in. We have one set of classes for Monday, Wednesday and Friday and another set for Tuesday Thursday. Some kids come three times and week and others only two. I have two classes of kids that come all five days, but most classes don't work that way. So we have to prepare twelve lesson plans for each Monday, Wednesday, Friday class and eight for the Tuesday, Thursday classes. Anyways, at the beginning of the session we have to have these done and have three copies, one for each of the teachers and one that goes in a folder on a shelf for the administrators use.

Then we can start our classes for the month. The different types of classes require different preparation. The classes for beginners require a lot of drilling with flash cards. The students learn simple expressions and how to respond to specific questions. These classes also have daily testing, a basic quiz with around five questions. As the teacher we have to prepare these tests and provide the students with an answer key. The lesson runs pretty much the same way every day: do attendance, check and assign homework, do the daily test (this is done only by the second teacher) and review the previous lesson, and the second teacher is also responsible for doing a phonics lesson and getting the students to read from a set storybook.

Other class level run a bit different because drilling is no longer the focus. The focus turns to writing and listening and reading comprehension. The student books are really straight forward and guide each lesson. We also have specialized classes that are free to existing students such as a class to prepare students to take the TOSEL test (I teach one of these classes) and a cinema club class that teaches English with movies. Don teaches cinema club and last month they watched Finding Nemo and this month they will be watching The Incredibles.

My two classes that run every day are for students that have gone through the kindergarten program and therefore have a good English foundation. These students are very advanced and a lot is expected of them. They have five textbooks and one of them changes every month and the others either once or twice a year. The parents purchase all of these books so these classes are a big investment. These classes cover reading, writing, spelling, phonics, speaking (including public speaking) and comprehension. Last month our main focus for comprehension was understanding inferences in stories that they were reading, this month they are focusing on classifying and categorizing information.

In the third week of every session the Korean teachers have to do phone counselling. They have to call and speak to the parents of all the children. Since we have between 10 and 14 classes each and each class could have a maximum of ten students this could mean making 100 calls. Before they can make these call the foreign teachers (us) have to write up comment reports to help them on their calls. So the whole week the teachers are on the phone every chance they get.

The fourth or last week of the session is testing week, depending on the class the tests can be any day from Tuesday to Friday. The tests are usually prepared but they have to be photocopied for each class. Most of the tests have a speaking component which is the responsibility of the foreign teacher. So during the test we have to pull one student at a time out into the hall to test their speaking.

Once all of the tests are done we have to write up monthly report cards using a program that is all in Korean. We have to add the test scores and marks for participation, homework and behaviour. We also have to add a short comment for each student, this does not have to be extensive because most of the parents cannot read them anyways and the Korean teachers already covered this in their phone counselling. These report cards have to be finished by the second or third day of the start of the next session so that they can be handed out on a preset day given to the parents via the monthly newsletter. So we are usually doing report cards, tests and new lessons all in the same week which makes that week a lot busier than others.

We start a new session tomorrow so all the hectic preparations are done for now, but will commence again in around three weeks.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Week 5: 63 building and RENT!

So another week and more adventures to talk about. While Don went off hiking again this past Sunday, I went out with one of the other teachers (Erin) and a couple of her friends. I had heard a few weeks ago that Erin had tickets to see RENT, my favourite musical and was excited to find out, with her help and the help of a Korean teacher (THANKSSS Lauren) that there were still tickets available. So of course I had to go! And for some reason Don didn't want to join me...

We left home shortly after 2 to make the trek via Subway to the area where the theater is. We decided to make a day of it (the show didn't start until 7) so we met up with one of Erin's friends Christine and walked to the 63 building, which is the tallest building in Seoul. From the name, you can guess that it has 63 floors, but only 60 are above ground. We had a smoothie in a ground level cafe and then found the ticket area and bought our tickets (for about 12000 won, kinda pricy) to go up to the "Sky Art" exhibit. There is an art gallery on the top floor. After a little bit of confusion we found the elevator we had to take to get to the top and headed up. The Elevator is on the outside of the building so that you can watch your ascent and decent and it rises pretty fast.

Once on the top floor the views were beautiful. You could see a lot of the city, except for the parts covered with smog. It made it much more apparent that there wasn't really a plan when the city came together. The building is on the river, so we could see all along the river and the many bridges that cross it. It was nice to see the views and the art on display.

Erin, Christine and I at the top of 63 building,
we were given these headbands with our tickets.

Erin

Christine

We didn't have a lot of time to enjoy the art work because we were meeting another friend (Amanda) for supper before the show. We made our way through the exhibit and back to the elevators and made our descent. We found some time to take some shots outside the building then we hailed a cab.
63 Building



We somehow were able to explain to the driver where we wanted to go and he got us there. Once at the theater we made our way to the main entrance where we were to meet Amanda and took some pictures of the huge RENT poster that they had up. Then we went for a walk to a strip of cafe's and restaurants that they had nearby. We found a great Italian restaurant and ordered some salad, pasta and traditional pizza that we all kinda shared. It was delish!


KBS Theater

After our satisfying meal we made our way back to the theater and got into line to pick up our tickets. With a little confusion since our tickets were ordered under our friend's Korean name we were eventually given our tickets and we decided to find our seats. The other three girls all had seats together since they had bought their tickets a lot earlier and had seats close to the stage. I sat alone which was alright, I had a great seat further up and to the right, my seat was part of 2 seats together by themselves so I was able to enjoy the show without having to fight for the arm rest. Once the show started I did miss having the company of Laurie and Danny who were with me in Toronto when I saw RENT last. I may have shed a tear or two...

Amanda and Erin



The performances were amazing and will not be forgotten. It is my favourite musical and I was not disappointed. Being able to see three of the original cast members before RENT is taken off Broadway was something I did not think I would experience, let alone in Seoul.

Afterward I rushed out to meet the others and said my goodbyes (they wanted to stay back to try to catch some of the cast leaving) and made my way home via subway. It took me about an hour and I got home just in time to catch the church service at home via Skype for the first time. I was very excited! I have missed church sooooo much since we have been here. I miss the people and the messages, I miss the music and the feeling of joy that comes from everyone. Although there was a glitch and the video froze I was still able to hear the whole service and some greetings from members of the congregation as they left. :)

Don and I are looking forward to many more Skyped services!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Apartment

So we have officially been in Korea for a month (we arrived on August 10th and it is now September 10th) and we have been in our permanent apartment for a little less than two weeks. We finally got organized enough to take some pictures so that we could post them on the blog.


Our front door from inside our apartment


View from the front door, you can see the beds and fridge

The "kitchen"



Entrance to the bathroom, good for extra seating if you have guests over...

Sink and shower


Office/Dinning room

Home theater

Our "balcony"/walk in closet/laundry room

Washing machine

Some views from our many windows

A meal that we make often with either chicken or pork. Wrap the meat, onions, peppers and toppings in lettuce and eat up!

A Sprite/ginger ale and Fanta (known as Quanta here). Notice the different can size.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Week 4: Teaching, hiking and the museum

So we have finished our first week of teaching and it went really well. The kids have been pretty good for the most part and we are getting used to the routine and the programs that we are teaching. The days can be pretty hectic with cramming so much into a 40 minute class and then rushing off to the next one. Don and I have both been evaluated by our supervisor and the feedback has been good for both of us. It was a busy week and we were definitely happy when Friday came around!


Grocery store close to our building


These stairs and escalators take you about halfway to ground level


Gusan Subway station platform


On Saturday, Don was invited to go hiking, so he met up with a hiking group and ended up climbing one of the tallest mountain in the Seoul area! I will let him tell you about how it went.



So a friend from work (Brian) asked me if I wanted to go hiking with him on Saturday and being the adventurous person I am I partook. I asked him on Friday how long it was going to be and he said maybe 4 hours, 2 on the way up and 2 on the way down. Apparently it was supposed to be a beginner hike, at least that’s what it said in the email. However, it wasn’t a beginner hike and it ended up lasting 8 hours. A full day of “hiking”, really it was more like mountain climbing.

So Brian and I headed to Mangwolsa Station on the subway at 10 am. We arrived there at about 11:15 and met up with the others from the Facebook hiking group. After letting the organizer know that we were there, we went across the street to get some money and snacks at the local 7 Eleven. As I was paying for my goods and Brian was getting some cash from the ATM, I lost sight of the group, which was across the street. Brian quickly popped his head out to see if he could see where they went and they were about 300m down the street. We then followed in quick pursuit because we didn’t want to get lost before we even started!

Mangwolsa Temple


Buddhist bell


Along the first few kilometres and throughout the rest of the hike we chatted and met new friends who shared in our experiences. We all seemed to fit into one of three groups: English teachers, friends visiting English teachers or Korean Foreigners who have returned to be with family or work. The incline began as sloped pavement and brick, then changed to wooden and rock steps, and finally to steep rocks with metal and rope railings once we reached the top. The climb to the final peak of 740m with the route we took (as there are many) was definitely not a beginner hike but none the less it was a great time. It was a high of about 35oC with moderate humidity and everyone was sweating and constantly wiping their brow, but the vistas were worth it.


Apartment buildings pop up really quickly around here


Taking a break


Brian


We made it to the top, finally, after about 4 hours of climbing and continued to skirt the ridgeline, up and down, until we reached the 740m summit. Along the whole hike we were surrounded by other Korean hikers that were decked out way more than us novice hikers. They had sweat towels, hiking poles, full lunches, etc. I was definitely envious of there preparedness as I was now without water and rationing my few snacks. However, being in a big friendly group we all shared our food and water.


Some well prepared hikers having a picnic


Helicopter pad


A bunker on the top of the mountain

Surprisingly, on the decent, those who braved the entire hike and stayed with the main body were treated to a special homage to Mike, the organizer of these events. This was his last hike, as he was heading to China, and a fellow friend opened up his pack to unveil a fine spread. Wine, champagne, crackers, and hard to find cheeses, feta, goat, and brie all kept cool. It was quite a treat and I and others contributed what we had to share and we all had a nice break.


Mike's going away party


Soon after we were on an easy decline to the bottom, reminiscing of the hike and sharing in who we were and where we were from. I soon left the pack as they headed for supper since I wanted to get home to Nat as she would probably be worried about me, since it wasn’t supposed to take as long as it did. An hour and a half later I was home and with one hell of a story to tell.



On Sunday we decided to head over to the National Museum of Korea. We figured this is a good time since they have free admission and pay day isn’t until next week. We had driven past it on our bus tour but didn’t get a very good look at it. It is huge and the architecture is pretty nice. We took a few pictures both inside and out of the building.


First, we walked around the first floor of the museum which showcases archaeological finds. We found it pretty interesting how some things seem to turn up in many parts of the world and are pretty similar, such as tools and weapons.

After exploring the first floor we were getting hungry so we decided to go in search of the food court. There is a nice cafeteria type food court with very decent prices (total cost with drinks was about $12) close to the entrance of the museum. I ordered rice and curry and Don had pork cutlet, both meals were very yummy.


After lunch we explored the second and third floors of the museum, where there were exhibits of Buddhist paintings and sculpture, life in Vietnam, Japanese and Chinese art, and Calligraphy. There were some really interesting pieces that gave us some insight into Korea and the rest of South East Asia’s history.



Vietnamese fishing traps on a bicycle


Other than our tourist explorations we have also found a couple department stores (E-mart and Kim’s Club), both of which are massive. They are both multi-storied, with between 6 and 9 floors. You can get everything from groceries to clothes to house wares and more.


On the way to E-mart


Don eating his new favourite snack