So this is how it feels to be a rock star...
My co-teacher picked me up at 7:50 this morning because as of that time I still didn't know exactly where to catch the bus to go to my school. They said it was 20 minutes by bus, but it was only 10 by car so that's encouraging. If I can ever get over this damn foot thing I've got I may just start walking to class, except on rainy days, when I'm running late or when I just don't feel like it. In other words, hardly ever.
At school I had a short meeting with the principal. He asked if I spoke some Korean and I said "chokum-yo." Then he said that I was here to teach English, not to learn Korean, which was either a mere observation (as in, "I can understand why you haven't learned more Korean"), or an admonition (as in, "Stick to English, Dough Boy.") I choose to believe the former, but it's hard to say for sure. Next I was shown to my desk in the teacher's room. I've been given the place of pride right next to the vice-principal. They had a quick staff meeting and asked me to get up and say a few words. Specifically, they wanted to know what to call me in the teacher's room. I said they could call me Brian or Mr. Bouchard, whatever they felt most comfortable with. So far they've all opted for the more formal appellation. I never think of myself as a Mister anything, but whatever, I'll get used to it.
I didn't do any actual teaching today. Mostly I sat in the teacher's room and alternated between preparing a lesson for Monday, and checking the news for the latest on Katrina. All morning long students filtered in a few at a time to see the new teacher. They mostly got as far as "Hi" and then giggled and got shy. Some actually hid behind their friends. A couple of groups actually said hi and ran away, sort of like drive-by English. Whole classes seemed to swoon if I walked past the opened door. I can only imagine what it must have been like for the teachers who are actually pleasant to look at.
Mr. Lee, the math teacher, and another staffer showed me to the smoking room, which is in a maintenance shed a few meters from the main building. They invited me to join the Man Teachers Club for which I'll have to pay 20,000 a month. God only knows that entails, but I'm willing to bet there's a lot of pork and soju involved. We have our first meeting on the 7th.
Although we had been planning to do the immigration thing on Friday, there was a sudden change of plans after lunch and they decided to take me there today. Three other SMOE teachers were there also ) Hi Jeremy! Hi Mars! Hi Irish Guy (Sorry I forgot your name)). Did anyone find out what that protest was all about? I think it was about rights for foreign workers, but I never found out for sure.
So that was my first day, in potentially excruciating detail. I hope your day was good too.
Oh yeah, my apartment is great. I'm in Libretel Office-tel number 1004. It's right next to E-mart at Chang-dong station. At least two other teachers are in the same building. Drop by and say hey anytime you want.
Brian
My co-teacher picked me up at 7:50 this morning because as of that time I still didn't know exactly where to catch the bus to go to my school. They said it was 20 minutes by bus, but it was only 10 by car so that's encouraging. If I can ever get over this damn foot thing I've got I may just start walking to class, except on rainy days, when I'm running late or when I just don't feel like it. In other words, hardly ever.
At school I had a short meeting with the principal. He asked if I spoke some Korean and I said "chokum-yo." Then he said that I was here to teach English, not to learn Korean, which was either a mere observation (as in, "I can understand why you haven't learned more Korean"), or an admonition (as in, "Stick to English, Dough Boy.") I choose to believe the former, but it's hard to say for sure. Next I was shown to my desk in the teacher's room. I've been given the place of pride right next to the vice-principal. They had a quick staff meeting and asked me to get up and say a few words. Specifically, they wanted to know what to call me in the teacher's room. I said they could call me Brian or Mr. Bouchard, whatever they felt most comfortable with. So far they've all opted for the more formal appellation. I never think of myself as a Mister anything, but whatever, I'll get used to it.
I didn't do any actual teaching today. Mostly I sat in the teacher's room and alternated between preparing a lesson for Monday, and checking the news for the latest on Katrina. All morning long students filtered in a few at a time to see the new teacher. They mostly got as far as "Hi" and then giggled and got shy. Some actually hid behind their friends. A couple of groups actually said hi and ran away, sort of like drive-by English. Whole classes seemed to swoon if I walked past the opened door. I can only imagine what it must have been like for the teachers who are actually pleasant to look at.
Mr. Lee, the math teacher, and another staffer showed me to the smoking room, which is in a maintenance shed a few meters from the main building. They invited me to join the Man Teachers Club for which I'll have to pay 20,000 a month. God only knows that entails, but I'm willing to bet there's a lot of pork and soju involved. We have our first meeting on the 7th.
Although we had been planning to do the immigration thing on Friday, there was a sudden change of plans after lunch and they decided to take me there today. Three other SMOE teachers were there also ) Hi Jeremy! Hi Mars! Hi Irish Guy (Sorry I forgot your name)). Did anyone find out what that protest was all about? I think it was about rights for foreign workers, but I never found out for sure.
So that was my first day, in potentially excruciating detail. I hope your day was good too.
Oh yeah, my apartment is great. I'm in Libretel Office-tel number 1004. It's right next to E-mart at Chang-dong station. At least two other teachers are in the same building. Drop by and say hey anytime you want.
Brian
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