Here I Am

Well, well, well here I am in Seoul, South Korea! I left Factoryville, PA at 2:30am Friday morning (big thanks to UD for the ride to Newark!) and arrived in Seoul, SK at 3:30pm Saturday afternoon. What a trip!

As I waited in Chicago for the Seoul plane to board I looked around the waiting area and realized that I was the only white person, which made me feel inferior. Since I did not fit in, I felt that all the Asian folks around me were better because there were more of them; they looked similar, spoke the same language and probably had similar backgrounds. And this as a privileged white American woman! I can only imagine what former refugees feel when they come to America for the first time.

The plane ride to Seoul was 14 hours, but I was lucky enough to sit next to a Korean family. Well, it was lucky at first when the father filled me in about Seoul, but not so lucky when exhaustion hit and his 7-year-old son started asking me a million questions. Though I was psyched because his English was great and he thought I was cool because I had seen a hawk and a chipmunk.

When I arrived in Seoul I looked forward to finding the driver holding a sign with my name on it, slightly hoping to make a dramatic airport scene. As it turned out, I came out of the wrong gate and he ended up finding me, which was very anticlimactic. Se la vi. The organization on the part of the school, Canada International School (CIS), was amazing, and there were two fellow English speaking teachers waiting for me at my apartment. The two women who met me were Canadian and helped me move in, told me a little about CIS, and showed me the ropes. I am so thankful for their help!

I thought I would have a couple of days of training before teaching, but apparently I am just going to jump right in. This is halfway through the second semester, which is not the most ideal time to start teaching but the teacher I am taking over for, Mr. G, left before his contract was done for 'personal reasons.' The girls told me he was not the best teacher (he was one of those teachers who enjoyed being a 'bud', which equaled not a lot of work getting done) but all the kids loved him. Oh, and guess what? They just had a week break and don't know that Mr. G is not coming back. Surprise! Luckily another girl in my building took over the class (my class they kept saying, which made me tingle with happiness and anticipation) for a week and we're going to meet today so she can give me the low-down. Needless to say, Monday will be a roller coaster ride. But like the anticipation I felt before riding the Phoenix at Knobles for the first time, I am nervous excited and ready to rock it.

I have not yet seen too much of Seoul, just some blocks around my new apartment. Said apartment is interesting and reminds me of a dorm with a little kitchen area. The bathroom is a decent size, however there is no shower stall. Yep. The shower head attaches above the sink and there is a drain on the floor. I guess if I want to have shower parties I'll have plenty of room, though there is no living room to hang out in afterward.

I found a grocery store today, which was a big victory. I am not too sure of everything I bought, case in point being the cereal I thought was Special K like and ended up being Frosted Flakes like. Good thing I like sugar. It definitely feels weird not to speak the language, but I am pretty committed to taking a class and learning it because I hate feeling like a stupid American.

It's raining here now, but my apartment is pretty much all set up so I feel good/excited/weird/confused/happy. Wide range. I'm thankful I have a cell phone all set up and internet so I'm not totally out of touch.

That's all for now.

Kam-sa-ham-ni-da (thank you) for reading.