Date: 7/10/2008
Most of the Korean children attend private classes after school. Like in Taiwan, each kid would sign up to learn 3 or 4 different things, so they often have after-school programs/classes back to back. They even have to go to school every other Saturdays and during breaks. Some kids get really intense and seemed tired especially towards the end of the class because they are worries that they would be late for their next class. Unlike American children, most of them go to school, and after school curriculum is normally sports or some sort of activities. The difference, in my opinion, is because of the competitive Asian culture. Asian people do not like to loose face or be ashamed, so parents compare their kids with others and do not want to be left behind; at the same time, kids compare with each other as well. American parents, in the contrary, tell the kids to do well and give their best effort according to their abilities. In other words, Asian kids bear a lot more pressure to get good grades and to be better than their peers. American kids are more focused on finding the interest and the talent of the individual and do well in his/her own field of interest/study. I have to admit that I agree with the American culture a lot more because not everyone is good at studying. Each kid has his/her different interest, talent, and different ways of learning. Asian parents sometimes think a kid is “less” smart just because he/she doesn’t get good grades and/or feel ashamed because their kids didn’t go to a good college; it could really create a dent and a feeling of inferiority in the kids.
Couple friends and family have warned me about Korean guys being violent and controlling; they would even hit their women sometimes [I’m not sure how true that is, because so far most of the Korean men I know are pretty nice]; however, it reflects differently among children. A lot of Korean girls in my classes are very controlling and would bully the boys. I see often, the girls “beat up” the boys, and some boys would just take it and still be nice about it. Of there are exceptions, but in most cases, I see more little girls being violent and controlling towards the boys.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
My “troubled” kids!
Date: 6/22/2008
It’s true that kids are heavily influenced by their caretakers and/or people they live with. I realized that a lot of times you can really tell what kind of parents/caretakers a kid have by looking at their behaviors and interactions in class.
*Sam (1st grade)-Attachment issues.
Sam has a very interesting family, his mom and grandmother are always around in school waiting and/or watching him. Sometimes, they take his little brother along too; therefore, Sam has serious attachment issues. He knows his mom is around and always wants to go find her and have difficulties being away from her. Sam’s mom would often watch through the window during class to check on him. I haven’t seen his dad around ever; my Korean co-teacher said she heard the dad is sick. In addition, the mom is always around and watching through the window during class. My Korean co-teacher communicated with the mom and told her not to do that because Sam would want to go find her constantly and could not concentrate in class. She agreed, stopped doing it for a day or two, and went back to normal. Sam’s grandma would always look for him in school as well. Because of such behaviors from his mother and grandma, Sam does not know how to take responsibilities for himself. Moreover, he’s extremely dependable, he doesn’t seem to be able to do anything by himself without asking help from others. He normally doesn’t pay attention in class, likes to play around with others, and does not know any of the materials that we just taught. He never brings pencil to the class and always asking for one and would also purposely break them because he does not want to do work. He’s considered to be one of our number 1 “troubled kids”, not very smart, very dependable, would not listen; thus after 2 months of class, he still only knows the alphabets. However, when my Korean co-teacher communicated such concerns with his mother; his mother seemed offended and did not agree with her on Sam’s behaviors.
*James (3rd grade)-Super naughty!!
James is super naughty and active, and likes to challenge authorities and be his own person. He likes to bother almost everyone in the class either by taking their stuff and/or hitting them. He seems to love monsters; he would make anybody as monster every time he draws. There was one incident happened that I had to discipline him big time, and he seemed to listen a little better after that, still super naughty though. One time, he tried to use his backpack to hit another girl in the class; I tried to stop him by telling him “NO!” (they all understand NO by now) and tried pulling him away to separate the two of them. After that, I told James to move to another seat, but he would not listen to me. He struggled and tried to pull out from my grip and kept yelling "No! No! No!" Finally, I told him I would cont till 3 and I would cross out one of his stamps if he doesn’t move. Although he probably didn’t fully understand what I said, but I’m pretty sure he was smart enough to figure the situation out by my gestures, tone of voice, and just some common sense. Plus, I’m sure he knew he’s at fault; otherwise, he would not struggle so much to try to fight back. After a bit of pulling and struggling, I ended up crossing out one of his stamps; unexpectedly, he started crying, took his backpack, and stormed out of the classroom. I then went over to talk to my Korean co-teacher to let her know what just happened (because he needs to call parents when kids are absent), and when I came back, I saw James standing outside of my classroom. So I went over and tried talking to him on his level and told him what he did was wrong and also when I say move, he needs to move. He still was yelling “No! No!” and stormed downstairs. About a minute after, my Korean co-teacher came to talk to me, and saw him outside of my classroom again, so she pulled him in my class and told him she would call his parents if he leaves now. So he stayed in, but just stood by the door. All the kids were asking me what’s going on because they came later, but I didn’t really answer them because I know it would be really hard to communicate.
At this point, I just went on to start the class normally and just let him be because sometimes kids need sometime to cool themselves down and I do not want to draw any more attention to him in front of the whole class. James eventually sat down by himself and joined the class, and he was fine at the end. Kids are so dramatic, they are impulsive, emotional, but also get over things quickly.
*Daniel (1st grade)-Super Shy!
Daniel is very small (physically) compare to other kids his age. He’s very shy and always cries. He cried at least 3 times in my class in the past 2 months of classes. He always tries to tell me or ask me something, but I could not understand him. Sometimes, I would bring him over to the Korean co-teacher so they could communicate, but most of the times in class, I would not bother the Korean co-teacher with every little issues except when necessary. My Korean co-teacher also told me, after talking to his mom, that Daniel is scared of English now because he doesn’t understand what I say in class. I know it’s not my fault, but it’s still a little sad that he’s scared of English because he doesn’t understand me. I hope and pray that he’ll break through his fear soon someday.
*Andrew (3rd grade)- Anger issues.
Andrew seems to get angry very easily and is violent. He’s naughty as well, and whenever I try to discipline him, he would get all stirred up, get all red, holding his fists, and stares at you. He hits his classmates sometimes too. When it happens, I tried to give him sometimes to cool down or just talk to him as normal. Unless he hits others, I would make him say sorry and make it serious it’s WRONG. My Korean co-teacher realized the anger issues with Andrew as well, and she spoke with him, and he’s gotten a little better now.
*Thomas (6th grade)- Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)?
I think Thomas has ADHD. It’s a very common diagnose among kids in the U.S. and a lot of them take medicine for it. Thomas could never stop talking, fidgeting, and never really pay attention. He seriously talks non-stop either with himself and/or with others. Even when he writes his mouth could never be shut. One time, I yelled at him and told him that he has to stop, and he looked at me but still at the same time, his mouth is still open and saying stuff. If it’s truly a disorder, I guess sometimes it’s even hard for him to control himself. However, I’ve seen him being quiet when he does not feel well and/or when he does work by himself without other students being there.
It’s true that kids are heavily influenced by their caretakers and/or people they live with. I realized that a lot of times you can really tell what kind of parents/caretakers a kid have by looking at their behaviors and interactions in class.
*Sam (1st grade)-Attachment issues.
Sam has a very interesting family, his mom and grandmother are always around in school waiting and/or watching him. Sometimes, they take his little brother along too; therefore, Sam has serious attachment issues. He knows his mom is around and always wants to go find her and have difficulties being away from her. Sam’s mom would often watch through the window during class to check on him. I haven’t seen his dad around ever; my Korean co-teacher said she heard the dad is sick. In addition, the mom is always around and watching through the window during class. My Korean co-teacher communicated with the mom and told her not to do that because Sam would want to go find her constantly and could not concentrate in class. She agreed, stopped doing it for a day or two, and went back to normal. Sam’s grandma would always look for him in school as well. Because of such behaviors from his mother and grandma, Sam does not know how to take responsibilities for himself. Moreover, he’s extremely dependable, he doesn’t seem to be able to do anything by himself without asking help from others. He normally doesn’t pay attention in class, likes to play around with others, and does not know any of the materials that we just taught. He never brings pencil to the class and always asking for one and would also purposely break them because he does not want to do work. He’s considered to be one of our number 1 “troubled kids”, not very smart, very dependable, would not listen; thus after 2 months of class, he still only knows the alphabets. However, when my Korean co-teacher communicated such concerns with his mother; his mother seemed offended and did not agree with her on Sam’s behaviors.
*James (3rd grade)-Super naughty!!
James is super naughty and active, and likes to challenge authorities and be his own person. He likes to bother almost everyone in the class either by taking their stuff and/or hitting them. He seems to love monsters; he would make anybody as monster every time he draws. There was one incident happened that I had to discipline him big time, and he seemed to listen a little better after that, still super naughty though. One time, he tried to use his backpack to hit another girl in the class; I tried to stop him by telling him “NO!” (they all understand NO by now) and tried pulling him away to separate the two of them. After that, I told James to move to another seat, but he would not listen to me. He struggled and tried to pull out from my grip and kept yelling "No! No! No!" Finally, I told him I would cont till 3 and I would cross out one of his stamps if he doesn’t move. Although he probably didn’t fully understand what I said, but I’m pretty sure he was smart enough to figure the situation out by my gestures, tone of voice, and just some common sense. Plus, I’m sure he knew he’s at fault; otherwise, he would not struggle so much to try to fight back. After a bit of pulling and struggling, I ended up crossing out one of his stamps; unexpectedly, he started crying, took his backpack, and stormed out of the classroom. I then went over to talk to my Korean co-teacher to let her know what just happened (because he needs to call parents when kids are absent), and when I came back, I saw James standing outside of my classroom. So I went over and tried talking to him on his level and told him what he did was wrong and also when I say move, he needs to move. He still was yelling “No! No!” and stormed downstairs. About a minute after, my Korean co-teacher came to talk to me, and saw him outside of my classroom again, so she pulled him in my class and told him she would call his parents if he leaves now. So he stayed in, but just stood by the door. All the kids were asking me what’s going on because they came later, but I didn’t really answer them because I know it would be really hard to communicate.
At this point, I just went on to start the class normally and just let him be because sometimes kids need sometime to cool themselves down and I do not want to draw any more attention to him in front of the whole class. James eventually sat down by himself and joined the class, and he was fine at the end. Kids are so dramatic, they are impulsive, emotional, but also get over things quickly.
*Daniel (1st grade)-Super Shy!
Daniel is very small (physically) compare to other kids his age. He’s very shy and always cries. He cried at least 3 times in my class in the past 2 months of classes. He always tries to tell me or ask me something, but I could not understand him. Sometimes, I would bring him over to the Korean co-teacher so they could communicate, but most of the times in class, I would not bother the Korean co-teacher with every little issues except when necessary. My Korean co-teacher also told me, after talking to his mom, that Daniel is scared of English now because he doesn’t understand what I say in class. I know it’s not my fault, but it’s still a little sad that he’s scared of English because he doesn’t understand me. I hope and pray that he’ll break through his fear soon someday.
*Andrew (3rd grade)- Anger issues.
Andrew seems to get angry very easily and is violent. He’s naughty as well, and whenever I try to discipline him, he would get all stirred up, get all red, holding his fists, and stares at you. He hits his classmates sometimes too. When it happens, I tried to give him sometimes to cool down or just talk to him as normal. Unless he hits others, I would make him say sorry and make it serious it’s WRONG. My Korean co-teacher realized the anger issues with Andrew as well, and she spoke with him, and he’s gotten a little better now.
*Thomas (6th grade)- Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)?
I think Thomas has ADHD. It’s a very common diagnose among kids in the U.S. and a lot of them take medicine for it. Thomas could never stop talking, fidgeting, and never really pay attention. He seriously talks non-stop either with himself and/or with others. Even when he writes his mouth could never be shut. One time, I yelled at him and told him that he has to stop, and he looked at me but still at the same time, his mouth is still open and saying stuff. If it’s truly a disorder, I guess sometimes it’s even hard for him to control himself. However, I’ve seen him being quiet when he does not feel well and/or when he does work by himself without other students being there.
A Stressful Week!!
Date: 6/21/2008
**Congratulations to my dear friends, Crystal and Max, for the adorable addition to their family--Mackenzie Chor!!! <3***
It's Saturday today, just got up from taking a nap. Man! I’m really a person who “dreams" a lot - literally. I have dreams every night, and I guess it's true about what they say; dreams are often closely related to our daily living and what’s going on in our minds. I've been dreaming a lot lately about my Korean kids, and interestingly, they talk to me in the several limited Korean words I know. Also, since I interact with my Korean co-teacher everyday, last night, I even heard her talking to me with her Korean-accent English in my dream. Honestly, I think because I hear so much "Korean-styled" English since I’ve been here, my English has been influenced by it big time. The so-called “Korean-styled” English is basically simple vocabularies used in incomplete sentences with incorrect grammar. I also realized that sometimes when I speak the “American” English, they do not necessarily understand, but they understand me better when I do the “Korean-style” English.
This week was a stressful week. Monday was the first time I wanted to QUIT since I started teaching in Korea. My throat still hurt, still coughing a lot, and still have running nose. Sometimes I get dizzy because of blowing my nose too often. I haven’t been feeling well since I lost my voice the 2nd week I was here. I thought it was a cold, but since it has continued for so long, I started to think it might be more adjustment related issues (i.e. adjusting to the new environment, diet and lifestyle).
Monday, the kids were so out of control (even my normally good classes were bad). They wouldn't listen, just kept talking among themselves, and being naughty, silly and playful. Classroom-management has been a big challenge for me because of the language barrier. The kids don't understand me and I don't understand them, so they take advantage of that sometimes and talk/chat in Korean in front of me. I tried different ways to discipline and manage the classes such as having them stand on the sides/or sometimes outside of the classroom and/or put their hands on their heads and/or raise them arms high. It worked for couple times for some classes, but it always turned out to be a big fun play for them. The point was to punish them and to feel ashamed to be called out from their classmates; however, when they thought it was funny, they actually thought it was cool to be stand out. I stopped using those methods because they no longer work.
So on Monday, I finally burst out with frustration in one of my classes and said "Guys! I can't do it like this! I can't spend most of the time doing classroom management! I have materials to cover!!!" Of course, they all starred at me with blank looks; I’m sure they had NO IDEA what I just said. Although it’s expected that I will have communication problems, but it’s getting more frustrating to me that I can’t understand them when they try to communicate with me.
Also, because of the age group I teach, there are often lots of drama going on in the classes. For instances, I already had at least 5 kids cried my classes in the past 2 weeks and some of them I had no idea what was going on. Sometimes I could sort of figure it out by looking at their interactions with other classmates; most of time was because of friends teasing, joking, or taking their stuff. However, because I had no idea what the other person said, I couldn’t really be 100% sure if what I assumed was correct. Sometimes, other kids in the class would attempt to explain the situation to me, but it’s hard because their English is very limited and my Korean is very limited. They would try to draw, but the drawings don’t really help in most of the situations.
I also had kids who would say something and suddenly ran out of the classroom and came back couple minutes later. Sometimes I realized they went to go get their books or something else from other classrooms, or needed to find something, but they couldn’t be communicated. After Monday, I had a talk with my Korean co-teacher since we alternate students. The kids normally behave better in her classes because there’s no communication issues and they see her as a “normal/regular” Korean teacher [sometimes I wonder how the kids see me and/or other native/foreign teachers in their heads], and we also discovered some kids act totally DIFFERENT in my classes and in her classes. For example, there were couple kids I could not shut them up in my class; however, they seem to be extremely shy and quiet in hers. We both were shocked to find out the differences; and once again proofed that kids are smart and real sneaky sometimes.
In conclusion, the method/system we agreed on was to take away one of their stamps as punishment for mis-behaving in classes. Each student has a stamp sheet, they get a stamp when they complete their homework on time or do well in class, and they can get rewarded for every 15th and 30th stamps. Therefore, kids love counting and collecting their stamps because they can get presents. By taking away the stamps would be taking away something they truly value; thus, it’s a good punishment. Although some kids don’t really care about the stamps; but it works on most of the students on most days. Also I realized they really hated when I write their names on the board, I guess they see that as a shame in their culture. I normally give them 3 warnings by writing their names on the board first before crossing out a stamp.
I also started being more strict and firm with them. For example, they would always ask me to let them go to the bathroom during classes, in the past, I would always let them go because I heard stories from other teachers that kids peed their pants during classes. However, I realized that sometimes they just wanted to go out and avoid doing work or being in class, so I started saying NO to every request. A lot of times, they would just forget about it and be fine till class ends; however, if a kid keeps bugging me to go, I would allow depending on situations because that might mean they REALLY need to go. It’s not easy being a teacher; especially sometimes you have to play “mind games” with the kids.
**Congratulations to my dear friends, Crystal and Max, for the adorable addition to their family--Mackenzie Chor!!! <3***
It's Saturday today, just got up from taking a nap. Man! I’m really a person who “dreams" a lot - literally. I have dreams every night, and I guess it's true about what they say; dreams are often closely related to our daily living and what’s going on in our minds. I've been dreaming a lot lately about my Korean kids, and interestingly, they talk to me in the several limited Korean words I know. Also, since I interact with my Korean co-teacher everyday, last night, I even heard her talking to me with her Korean-accent English in my dream. Honestly, I think because I hear so much "Korean-styled" English since I’ve been here, my English has been influenced by it big time. The so-called “Korean-styled” English is basically simple vocabularies used in incomplete sentences with incorrect grammar. I also realized that sometimes when I speak the “American” English, they do not necessarily understand, but they understand me better when I do the “Korean-style” English.
This week was a stressful week. Monday was the first time I wanted to QUIT since I started teaching in Korea. My throat still hurt, still coughing a lot, and still have running nose. Sometimes I get dizzy because of blowing my nose too often. I haven’t been feeling well since I lost my voice the 2nd week I was here. I thought it was a cold, but since it has continued for so long, I started to think it might be more adjustment related issues (i.e. adjusting to the new environment, diet and lifestyle).
Monday, the kids were so out of control (even my normally good classes were bad). They wouldn't listen, just kept talking among themselves, and being naughty, silly and playful. Classroom-management has been a big challenge for me because of the language barrier. The kids don't understand me and I don't understand them, so they take advantage of that sometimes and talk/chat in Korean in front of me. I tried different ways to discipline and manage the classes such as having them stand on the sides/or sometimes outside of the classroom and/or put their hands on their heads and/or raise them arms high. It worked for couple times for some classes, but it always turned out to be a big fun play for them. The point was to punish them and to feel ashamed to be called out from their classmates; however, when they thought it was funny, they actually thought it was cool to be stand out. I stopped using those methods because they no longer work.
So on Monday, I finally burst out with frustration in one of my classes and said "Guys! I can't do it like this! I can't spend most of the time doing classroom management! I have materials to cover!!!" Of course, they all starred at me with blank looks; I’m sure they had NO IDEA what I just said. Although it’s expected that I will have communication problems, but it’s getting more frustrating to me that I can’t understand them when they try to communicate with me.
Also, because of the age group I teach, there are often lots of drama going on in the classes. For instances, I already had at least 5 kids cried my classes in the past 2 weeks and some of them I had no idea what was going on. Sometimes I could sort of figure it out by looking at their interactions with other classmates; most of time was because of friends teasing, joking, or taking their stuff. However, because I had no idea what the other person said, I couldn’t really be 100% sure if what I assumed was correct. Sometimes, other kids in the class would attempt to explain the situation to me, but it’s hard because their English is very limited and my Korean is very limited. They would try to draw, but the drawings don’t really help in most of the situations.
I also had kids who would say something and suddenly ran out of the classroom and came back couple minutes later. Sometimes I realized they went to go get their books or something else from other classrooms, or needed to find something, but they couldn’t be communicated. After Monday, I had a talk with my Korean co-teacher since we alternate students. The kids normally behave better in her classes because there’s no communication issues and they see her as a “normal/regular” Korean teacher [sometimes I wonder how the kids see me and/or other native/foreign teachers in their heads], and we also discovered some kids act totally DIFFERENT in my classes and in her classes. For example, there were couple kids I could not shut them up in my class; however, they seem to be extremely shy and quiet in hers. We both were shocked to find out the differences; and once again proofed that kids are smart and real sneaky sometimes.
In conclusion, the method/system we agreed on was to take away one of their stamps as punishment for mis-behaving in classes. Each student has a stamp sheet, they get a stamp when they complete their homework on time or do well in class, and they can get rewarded for every 15th and 30th stamps. Therefore, kids love counting and collecting their stamps because they can get presents. By taking away the stamps would be taking away something they truly value; thus, it’s a good punishment. Although some kids don’t really care about the stamps; but it works on most of the students on most days. Also I realized they really hated when I write their names on the board, I guess they see that as a shame in their culture. I normally give them 3 warnings by writing their names on the board first before crossing out a stamp.
I also started being more strict and firm with them. For example, they would always ask me to let them go to the bathroom during classes, in the past, I would always let them go because I heard stories from other teachers that kids peed their pants during classes. However, I realized that sometimes they just wanted to go out and avoid doing work or being in class, so I started saying NO to every request. A lot of times, they would just forget about it and be fine till class ends; however, if a kid keeps bugging me to go, I would allow depending on situations because that might mean they REALLY need to go. It’s not easy being a teacher; especially sometimes you have to play “mind games” with the kids.
Another Weekend Adventure - Suwon
Date: 6/08/2008 (3rd week in Korea)
Since I got my internet service set up yesterday, I spent the whole evening looking online for a close by church with an English; however, most churches I found where at least an hour subway ride away. On Sunday morning, I came across a message board that an American pastor posted in 2005 regarding English Service at Suwon Full Gospel church. I tried searching for the church on google but couldn't really find any further info. All the info I had was it's about 10min away from the Seryu subway station, and there was the pastor's phone number. Suwon is on the opposite direction than Seoul city hall, but it's a lot closer, only about 4-5 subway stops from Gunpo, so I decided to just go and see what happens.
After i got off at the Seryu station; I had no idea which direction to go, because all it said was it’s about 10 minutes away from the station. So, I tried to look up the bus maps, but couldn’t really figure anything out because most of the writings were in Korean. Therefore, I said a prayer and just started walking. About 5-minute walk down the road, I saw a building right across the street with English writing, and it says “ Dream Presbyterian Church”, so I thought I’d ask some church people for directions. When I got closer to the building, it didn’t really look like a church, it’s more like a residential housing with clotheslines hanging outside. I saw a middle-aged, mom-like lady outside, so I asked her if she knew where the church is, and showed her the paper with the name of the church (in English).
The lady didn’t speak English, so she called out her 3 kids from the house to help me. There were 2 boys and 1 girl; they look like they’re either older elementary school students or junior high. They were all very shy and embarrassed to speak to me in English, so they talked among themselves in Korean and were trying really hard to figure it out. They even tried calling the pastor’s number I wrote on the paper, but it was invalid. In the next hour or so, the whole thing had a dramatic turn. The mom came out with a baby in her hand, and she said something to the kids, and they gestured me to follow them. Suwon is more of a countryside compare to Seoul, and people seem to be more simple and pure than those from the city. In addition, people seem to have a stronger sense of community. All the neighbors seem to have good relationships. The kids took me to one of their neighbor’s place and asked if they knew about the church. Since I only had the English name of the church, they were all having trouble with the word “Gospel”; they tried to ask me what the word means, but I had no idea how to explain to them. Soon, the whole neighborhood came out- moms, dads, kids, aunts, uncles, and even family dogs. Everybody was trying to help me out and one guy even took out his cell phone and tried to find the word on his dictionary, and some of them called their friends to see if they knew about the church. The whole time I was there, I was just totally AMAZED!!! Although those people do not speak the same language as me, but they were to eager to help and willing to go the extra miles for me; it’s truly touching. I thank God for sending me those angels to lead my way. Finally, I got into a neighbor’s car with the kids; he decided to drive me around and try to find the church. On the way, they continued speaking/discussing each other about where to go. It turned out the neighbor is Japanese who lives in Korea; he spoke good Korean though, but he called one of his Japanese friends on the phone to see if she would know. So we had 3 languages, Korean, Japanese, and English, going in the car. They found the church at the end (of course I had no idea how), the kids took me in and asked a person inside for the English service. They made sure I got into the room before leaving. The kids were so sweet and so cute, I would really love to visit that family again when my Korean is better to thank them for their help. I also realized that they could understand a lot of what I was saying, but they were just embarrassed to speak English. What an experience though!
The English service at Suwon Full Gospel church was very small, and the 2 girls i prayed with were very charismatic. Although I attended a charismatic church in VA and enjoyed it, but it was a little uncomfortable to me at Suwon. At one point, one of the sisters pressed really hard on my stomach and said she felt something was coming and told me just let go and let it flow, but I don’t think I felt that “thing” she was talking about. I did ask them about the pastor whose name I saw on the message board, and they said he went back to the states and didn’t know much about him. The new pastor just started the English service about 2 months ago.
Even though I don’t think I’m going back to that church, but the message today was really practical to me. It was talking about ‘God will make a way even when things do not seem possible”. Overall, it was a cool experience. God blessed me with bunch of people who helped me to find the church and also blessed me with time of fellowship and worship with others. I guess I will continue to look for and pray for my English service.
Since I got my internet service set up yesterday, I spent the whole evening looking online for a close by church with an English; however, most churches I found where at least an hour subway ride away. On Sunday morning, I came across a message board that an American pastor posted in 2005 regarding English Service at Suwon Full Gospel church. I tried searching for the church on google but couldn't really find any further info. All the info I had was it's about 10min away from the Seryu subway station, and there was the pastor's phone number. Suwon is on the opposite direction than Seoul city hall, but it's a lot closer, only about 4-5 subway stops from Gunpo, so I decided to just go and see what happens.
After i got off at the Seryu station; I had no idea which direction to go, because all it said was it’s about 10 minutes away from the station. So, I tried to look up the bus maps, but couldn’t really figure anything out because most of the writings were in Korean. Therefore, I said a prayer and just started walking. About 5-minute walk down the road, I saw a building right across the street with English writing, and it says “ Dream Presbyterian Church”, so I thought I’d ask some church people for directions. When I got closer to the building, it didn’t really look like a church, it’s more like a residential housing with clotheslines hanging outside. I saw a middle-aged, mom-like lady outside, so I asked her if she knew where the church is, and showed her the paper with the name of the church (in English).
The lady didn’t speak English, so she called out her 3 kids from the house to help me. There were 2 boys and 1 girl; they look like they’re either older elementary school students or junior high. They were all very shy and embarrassed to speak to me in English, so they talked among themselves in Korean and were trying really hard to figure it out. They even tried calling the pastor’s number I wrote on the paper, but it was invalid. In the next hour or so, the whole thing had a dramatic turn. The mom came out with a baby in her hand, and she said something to the kids, and they gestured me to follow them. Suwon is more of a countryside compare to Seoul, and people seem to be more simple and pure than those from the city. In addition, people seem to have a stronger sense of community. All the neighbors seem to have good relationships. The kids took me to one of their neighbor’s place and asked if they knew about the church. Since I only had the English name of the church, they were all having trouble with the word “Gospel”; they tried to ask me what the word means, but I had no idea how to explain to them. Soon, the whole neighborhood came out- moms, dads, kids, aunts, uncles, and even family dogs. Everybody was trying to help me out and one guy even took out his cell phone and tried to find the word on his dictionary, and some of them called their friends to see if they knew about the church. The whole time I was there, I was just totally AMAZED!!! Although those people do not speak the same language as me, but they were to eager to help and willing to go the extra miles for me; it’s truly touching. I thank God for sending me those angels to lead my way. Finally, I got into a neighbor’s car with the kids; he decided to drive me around and try to find the church. On the way, they continued speaking/discussing each other about where to go. It turned out the neighbor is Japanese who lives in Korea; he spoke good Korean though, but he called one of his Japanese friends on the phone to see if she would know. So we had 3 languages, Korean, Japanese, and English, going in the car. They found the church at the end (of course I had no idea how), the kids took me in and asked a person inside for the English service. They made sure I got into the room before leaving. The kids were so sweet and so cute, I would really love to visit that family again when my Korean is better to thank them for their help. I also realized that they could understand a lot of what I was saying, but they were just embarrassed to speak English. What an experience though!
The English service at Suwon Full Gospel church was very small, and the 2 girls i prayed with were very charismatic. Although I attended a charismatic church in VA and enjoyed it, but it was a little uncomfortable to me at Suwon. At one point, one of the sisters pressed really hard on my stomach and said she felt something was coming and told me just let go and let it flow, but I don’t think I felt that “thing” she was talking about. I did ask them about the pastor whose name I saw on the message board, and they said he went back to the states and didn’t know much about him. The new pastor just started the English service about 2 months ago.
Even though I don’t think I’m going back to that church, but the message today was really practical to me. It was talking about ‘God will make a way even when things do not seem possible”. Overall, it was a cool experience. God blessed me with bunch of people who helped me to find the church and also blessed me with time of fellowship and worship with others. I guess I will continue to look for and pray for my English service.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Bank Account, Cell phone, Internet, TV, Bills, and Paycheck
* Bank Account (IBK, 6/3/08)
Documents required: alien registration card and passport
Just like many other different countries; Korea has many banks you can choose from. I decided to go with IBK (Industrial Bank of Korea) simply because it's the closest one to my place. To open an account is fairly easy even for foreigners. You just need your alien registration card and your passport, and of course fill out some paperwork. Although, I think it would be difficult if you don't speak Korean or don't have somebody who speaks with you. I was fortunate that my Korean co-teacher went with me, so she played the translator, which made it a lot easier.
So I opened a bank account and also get a check card (different than credit card, it directly draws money from your bank account). In general, foreigners are not allowed to have a credit card in Korea because they're afraid that you might run back to your country and not pay the debt. Although another native teacher at my school, Vanessa (who has been in Korea for 5 years), said that it is actually illegal for banks to discriminate foreigners to receive a credit card, but most banks just don't want to go through the trouble of having to do credit check from another country and also the fear of not having the credits pay off. Vanessa said therefore, it's possible to get one, but you have to fight for it. And of course, most foreigners probably wouldn't do that cuz of the communication barrier.
* Cell Phone (activated, 6/13/08)
Documents required: alien registration card & copy of bank acct info
Cell phone plans are extremely expensive for foreigners. The selections are limited and the base fee and the charge per minute are at least twice as much as if you were a Korean native. The cell phone plans here work different than back in the U.S. In the U.S., you can select a plan that includes certain number of minutes allowed in a month with a fixed monthly charge, plus most of the plans have unlimited weekends. If you select a more expensive plan, you also get unlimited nights and/or unlimited mobile to mobile. Here, you pick a plan according to its base charge. For example, you pay a base fee per month (whether you use the phone or not) and additional charge for every minute you call out. That's another difference comparing to the U.S. Back home, the number of minutes allowed per month include INCOMING and OUTGOING phone calls; here, INCOMING calls are FREE, you are charged only when you dial out. In conclusion, cell phone services/plans are fairly cheap for Koreans, so if a foreigner wants to get a cheap deal on cell phone plans, he/she would either have to ask a trusted friend to buy the phone and service or (it's a joke among our native teachers) marry a Korean person:)
Due to the high price of cell phone plans for foreigners (the plans are expensive and also very limited, you are not allowed to dial out of the country and the charge per minute is fairly high too), most foreigners buy a phone and purchase a chip (but i heard that's kinda pricy too). I was fortunate that my Korean co-teacher agreed to buy the phone for me under her name, so I get the korean native deals (the base fee is only about $12 US per month, and i'm able to call out of the country with additional charges). So, the phone/service is under her name and it's linked to my bank account, so the money will be drawn out of my account every month. A lot of Koreans would not want to be in this situation though because if the foreigner decided to run away, then the Korean person would have to take care of the bill. (I told my Kate that I would never do that to her^^)
* Internet (KT, 6/7/08)
Documents required: alien registration card & home address
There are also several options for internet service provider. One of the biggest one is called Korea Telecom (KT), which is the one I signed up for. KT has really good service for foreigners and also offers discounts. The procedure is simple, you can do this on your own even if you don't speak Korean ( that's what i did). You first dial "100" on any phone and then press "81" for the English service (it is the case in my area, not sure if it would differ in another region). The lady speaks pretty good English, and then you would need to fax a copy of your alien registration card with your home address on it. I signed a year contract and received a 5% discount for the monthly charge and also installation free. (so, at the end, it's about $37 U.S. per month). The billing statement is sent to the home address every month. You could also have it set up so it automatically draws the $$ from your account on a monthly basis.
* TV (Anyang Broadcast, 6/28/2008) Happy 1st B-day Isabella Hope!! <3<3<3
Documents required: alien registration card & bank account info
I was surprised at how cheap the cable service is. The one I signed up is the very basic one, you get about 30-40 channels for just $8 U.S. per month with one-time installation fee about $44 US. If you would like to upgrade the service, you can get about 90 channels for about $12 U.S. per month. (That's such a blow up deal to me, probably would never happen in the U.S.). I was also surprised at how many eng. programs they have (so far i've seen a channel which plays American movies, also, there's the FOX channel and several popular American shows). In addition, there's a Chinese channel, which has news from china, Chinese/Taiwanese dramas, and other entertainment programs.
The little downside is since my educational company provided the TV and it's old, so i can only get about 10-20 channels out of the 30-40 channels i'm suppose to get. So a lot of my channels are fuzzy. I told Sam about it, and he hasn't get back to me on a solution yet... [it's actually simple, they just need to get me a new or newer TV! =P]
*Paying bills (6/26/2008)
As mentioned before, there are 2 ways to pay your bills. One is to have it set up so it automatically comes out of your bank account every month. Another way is to bring the payment slip (billing statement) to a bank and pay it there. Normally, when you get a payment slip, it'll have the account number you would to wire it to, and then just make a wire transfer from your account to the designated account. At my bank (IBK), the one closest to my house, i just go up to the counter and hand my bank book and payment slip to the teller, and she/he does the job. I've also heard, at some banks, they have the special ATM machine where you can put in your payment slip, the machine will read it, and you can make a payment with your check card. Also regarding the ATM machines, i was worried that i wouldn't be able to use it because i don't know Korean; however, most of them have options in English and Chinese, so I'm able to operate the machine.
* Paycheck (6/18/2008)
Finally got my first paycheck today. Well, I didn't actually get a "paycheck", the school wires the money directly to my account every month, and then i get the pay stub. Since I didn't bring much $$ with me from the U.S. my first month, so by the time I got paid, i only had about $20 U.S. dollars left. One thing worth mentioning, I thought i would get paid for a full month, but then i was told that it only covers till the end of the previous month. For example, when i get paid in July, the pay period would cover from June 1st to June 30th. The system is weird to me, I'm used to the system that each pay period covers till the pay day (for example, if my pay day is on the 15th, then in July, i would get paid for the period from June 15th to July 15th). According to the system of my education company in Korea, it would always be 15 days late. They told me it was stated in the contract, I guess I just didn't really understand it that way when i read the contract.
Weekend Adventure-Seoul City Hall
Date: June 1, 2008 (2nd week in Korea)
Today I decided to take an adventure and see if i can find a church with an English service. So I decided to go to Seoul, since i have no internet at home and no phone, i couldn't look up the info or directions, so i just told God the things i wanted to accomplish and basically just went in faith.
I knew i needed to take a subway to go to Seoul, and i've heard the Gunpo subway station is not too far from my place but i don't know where exactly it was, so i just started walking, and went into a 7-11, fortunately, the store clerk was able to POINT to the direction i should go when i asked him "where's the Gunpo subway station." The station was pretty easy to find after I followed the direction he pointed, so I got to the station, and the ticket clerk was pretty nice, he spoke moderate English, so i was able to get a subway/bus card and a map. The subway/bus card here is called "T-Money Card", there's a very cheap application fee when you first get the card (around 3,000 Won) and then you can just recharge it after that. Places you can recharge the card are subway stations and/or any convience stores with the T-Money logo on it. The T-Money card can be used for subway, and also buses in Seoul and around Seoul areas.
It took about 45 min from the Gunpo Station to the Seoul city hall station, and i now know where the US Embassy is. Since i had no idea where i was going, so i just kept walking and saw an inter-racial couple along the way, so i asked them if they knew a church around there. They didn't give me distinct directions, just said keep walking that way, you should see it on your left. So i kept walking, and walked into a Presbyterian church. they didn't have an English service, just the translation. The kind that you put on the head set and listen to the translation, but i think i only understood about half what the translator was saying b/c of the accent and also it's just hard to translate live. It's a very formal Presbyterian church, with the elders wearing the white robes, and the choir wears the long choir gowns, def. not the kind of church i was looking for, but that's the first church i happened to run into.
After church, i started walking again, i wanted to get some DVDs since i have no TV and internet at home, so the donut place girls were able to tell me where the bookstore is. It was a HUGE and famous bookstore in Seoul and it's called "Kyobo". The stuff were a little pricy there; I managed to get couple Korean DVD movies with Eng. subtitles. later on, I saw bunch of DVD vendors along the streets for much cheaper prices, and of course it's because those were the "copied/burnt" ones instead of the copyrighted original ones at Kyobo.
Seoul City Hall area reminded me of NYC a little bit, but not as modern and glamorous. There were lots of street vendors for food, clothes, just all different kinds of items, very crowded. Subway/buses were very crowded as well, i stood all the way from my station there and back, and people were like fishes in a jar, the air was definitely not pleasant. Also, because recently, there are a lot of protests going on against importing the US beef into Korea due to the concerns with Mad-Cow Disease. The Korean new president (President Lee Myung-Bak) signed a treaty with the U.S. to promote the Korea economy, which includes allowing the imports of the U.S. beef; therefore, the Korean people are very concerned and angry with him and the whole situation. Lots of people were gathered around the city hall and near the U.S. Embassy; also, there were tons of military guys surrounded the Embassy and on every corner, many roads were blocked as well (Quite a different view).
It was a fun adventure, God was totally with me the whole way and helped me accoomplishing the things I went for. I have to say I'm glad that I don't live in Seoul, becuase I wouldn't want to face the crowd and the stuffy air on a daily basis. It's nice to be back to Gunpo!
Today I decided to take an adventure and see if i can find a church with an English service. So I decided to go to Seoul, since i have no internet at home and no phone, i couldn't look up the info or directions, so i just told God the things i wanted to accomplish and basically just went in faith.
I knew i needed to take a subway to go to Seoul, and i've heard the Gunpo subway station is not too far from my place but i don't know where exactly it was, so i just started walking, and went into a 7-11, fortunately, the store clerk was able to POINT to the direction i should go when i asked him "where's the Gunpo subway station." The station was pretty easy to find after I followed the direction he pointed, so I got to the station, and the ticket clerk was pretty nice, he spoke moderate English, so i was able to get a subway/bus card and a map. The subway/bus card here is called "T-Money Card", there's a very cheap application fee when you first get the card (around 3,000 Won) and then you can just recharge it after that. Places you can recharge the card are subway stations and/or any convience stores with the T-Money logo on it. The T-Money card can be used for subway, and also buses in Seoul and around Seoul areas.
It took about 45 min from the Gunpo Station to the Seoul city hall station, and i now know where the US Embassy is. Since i had no idea where i was going, so i just kept walking and saw an inter-racial couple along the way, so i asked them if they knew a church around there. They didn't give me distinct directions, just said keep walking that way, you should see it on your left. So i kept walking, and walked into a Presbyterian church. they didn't have an English service, just the translation. The kind that you put on the head set and listen to the translation, but i think i only understood about half what the translator was saying b/c of the accent and also it's just hard to translate live. It's a very formal Presbyterian church, with the elders wearing the white robes, and the choir wears the long choir gowns, def. not the kind of church i was looking for, but that's the first church i happened to run into.
After church, i started walking again, i wanted to get some DVDs since i have no TV and internet at home, so the donut place girls were able to tell me where the bookstore is. It was a HUGE and famous bookstore in Seoul and it's called "Kyobo". The stuff were a little pricy there; I managed to get couple Korean DVD movies with Eng. subtitles. later on, I saw bunch of DVD vendors along the streets for much cheaper prices, and of course it's because those were the "copied/burnt" ones instead of the copyrighted original ones at Kyobo.
Seoul City Hall area reminded me of NYC a little bit, but not as modern and glamorous. There were lots of street vendors for food, clothes, just all different kinds of items, very crowded. Subway/buses were very crowded as well, i stood all the way from my station there and back, and people were like fishes in a jar, the air was definitely not pleasant. Also, because recently, there are a lot of protests going on against importing the US beef into Korea due to the concerns with Mad-Cow Disease. The Korean new president (President Lee Myung-Bak) signed a treaty with the U.S. to promote the Korea economy, which includes allowing the imports of the U.S. beef; therefore, the Korean people are very concerned and angry with him and the whole situation. Lots of people were gathered around the city hall and near the U.S. Embassy; also, there were tons of military guys surrounded the Embassy and on every corner, many roads were blocked as well (Quite a different view).
It was a fun adventure, God was totally with me the whole way and helped me accoomplishing the things I went for. I have to say I'm glad that I don't live in Seoul, becuase I wouldn't want to face the crowd and the stuffy air on a daily basis. It's nice to be back to Gunpo!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Miscellaneous (Dust, Trash, Shops/Market)
Date: May 31, 2008
**Congratulations Peggy and "C" for your beautiful new addition-- Elim Song!^=^
Dust Dust Dust!! so much dust here!! They are everywhere in my apt. and my classroom; in addition, they multiply FAST! It's better on rainy days b/c it's wet and sticky, but on a nice sunny day, you literally have to clean every min no kidding! Back in the U.S. I can just clean every week, sometimes, even 2 weeks if i'm really busy or lazy, but here, you seriously have to clean everyday (sweep, mop, or vacuum and wipe) if you do not wish to be devoured by dust (btw, that's my fear). It's a little better these days cuz I know a little better how to "fight" them and plus i've been turning on the AC in my classroom, so the windows are closed. So, the way to defeat dust is just "H2O" Yup! water! wet the entire cloth, not just "damp" but wet the entire thing but not too wet that it's dripping. Then wipe off the dust. Most places have floors, it's very rare that you see carpets, so normally you either sweep or vacuum the floor first, and then use a wet mop for the floor. This should be done everyday to keep the environment clean (but sometimes, if i'm too tired after classes, I just sweep ). Especially in my classroom, kids come in and out and they bring in a lot of dust and also other stuff (u know, messy kids stuff).
The garbage management here is different as well. You have to buy the desginated trash bags in a city (for exmaple, the trash bags i get says "Gunpo" on it) and put the recycled stuff in a different bag (any bag) and there's also a different designated bag for left over foods. When the trash gets full, you just take it to a designated area by your place (any day any time) and somebody will pick them up. The garbage bags come in 3 different sizes: 10, 15, and 20 L, and they are fairly cheap. There's a designated garbage pick-up area at the back of my building, so it's pretty convenient. Garbage bags can be purchased pretty much at any convenience stores (such as Family Mart, GS-25, 7-eleven, Buy the way).
There are couple shops/market I normally go to; they are all fairly close to the school and to my place. One is called "Kim's Club". It's like the grocery stores in the States (such as Vons, Safeway, Albertsons, Food Lion, and Farm Fresh). The other one smaller and is more of a traditional market. One interesting phenomenon I discovered is that there's always a like "sales" person speaking through a mic non-stop repeating the sale items and good deals (I don't understand what they're saying, but i think this guess is fairly accurate).There were times I saw people line up with their shopping baskets wrap around an entire aisle; i always wondered what they were doing. Yesterday, when I watched a korean drama and something similar happened, and it was because there were special deals offered to the first 30 or 50 customers. I think that's what they were doing. Also, in markets, they normally have like a small "food court" area where you can buy already cooked/made stuff. The most common stuff they have are tak-bok-ee (it's 3-D rectangle shaped rice cakes with round edges in spicy sauce, it's actually pretty good) and they normally have other fried stuff on the side (like fried yams, veggie cakes) some have corn dogs, boiled fish cakes and some boiled intestine stuff (not sure what it is exactly, but looks gross). Also, there's a bakery i often visit, it's called "Tous Les Jours" (the name is French). I heard it's a famous chain stores in S. Korea. It's close, so I go there when I crave good tasting breads.
[As most of you probably already knew, Koreans like spicy food, so almost EVERYTHING and ANYTHING is made to be spicy. They also eat their meals with lots of small side dishes. If you go out to eat, the small dishes are normally refillable w/out charge. In addition, there are couple dishes I found interesting. One is the "cold soup"; it's just normal soup with ice cubes in it ( I didn't like it too much, i'm used to hot soups; it seems more normal). Another is "cold noodles", same idea, cold nooodles in cold soup with the spices.]
The above 3 places are great for me since it does not require much conversation. I just go in and grab the stuff I want, and pay at the cashier. Of course a lot of times, the cashier would ask me something, but i would normally just smile and either nod or shake my head. I prefer those check out lines have the cashier screen face out (toward the customers) so i can see the amount, but sometimes, they are not, so i have to listen really carefully for the amount. I know numbers in Korean, but sometimes it's still hard to catch. Oh! also, here, you would actually have to pay for the plastic bags for your groceries if you want a bag. It's really cheap, but still you have to pay for it. Unlike in the U.S., it's free. So sometimes people bring their own shopping bags or i sometimes bring my backpack or a bigger purse so i wouldn't have to pay for a bag every time.
**Congratulations Peggy and "C" for your beautiful new addition-- Elim Song!^=^
Dust Dust Dust!! so much dust here!! They are everywhere in my apt. and my classroom; in addition, they multiply FAST! It's better on rainy days b/c it's wet and sticky, but on a nice sunny day, you literally have to clean every min no kidding! Back in the U.S. I can just clean every week, sometimes, even 2 weeks if i'm really busy or lazy, but here, you seriously have to clean everyday (sweep, mop, or vacuum and wipe) if you do not wish to be devoured by dust (btw, that's my fear). It's a little better these days cuz I know a little better how to "fight" them and plus i've been turning on the AC in my classroom, so the windows are closed. So, the way to defeat dust is just "H2O" Yup! water! wet the entire cloth, not just "damp" but wet the entire thing but not too wet that it's dripping. Then wipe off the dust. Most places have floors, it's very rare that you see carpets, so normally you either sweep or vacuum the floor first, and then use a wet mop for the floor. This should be done everyday to keep the environment clean (but sometimes, if i'm too tired after classes, I just sweep ). Especially in my classroom, kids come in and out and they bring in a lot of dust and also other stuff (u know, messy kids stuff).
The garbage management here is different as well. You have to buy the desginated trash bags in a city (for exmaple, the trash bags i get says "Gunpo" on it) and put the recycled stuff in a different bag (any bag) and there's also a different designated bag for left over foods. When the trash gets full, you just take it to a designated area by your place (any day any time) and somebody will pick them up. The garbage bags come in 3 different sizes: 10, 15, and 20 L, and they are fairly cheap. There's a designated garbage pick-up area at the back of my building, so it's pretty convenient. Garbage bags can be purchased pretty much at any convenience stores (such as Family Mart, GS-25, 7-eleven, Buy the way).
There are couple shops/market I normally go to; they are all fairly close to the school and to my place. One is called "Kim's Club". It's like the grocery stores in the States (such as Vons, Safeway, Albertsons, Food Lion, and Farm Fresh). The other one smaller and is more of a traditional market. One interesting phenomenon I discovered is that there's always a like "sales" person speaking through a mic non-stop repeating the sale items and good deals (I don't understand what they're saying, but i think this guess is fairly accurate).There were times I saw people line up with their shopping baskets wrap around an entire aisle; i always wondered what they were doing. Yesterday, when I watched a korean drama and something similar happened, and it was because there were special deals offered to the first 30 or 50 customers. I think that's what they were doing. Also, in markets, they normally have like a small "food court" area where you can buy already cooked/made stuff. The most common stuff they have are tak-bok-ee (it's 3-D rectangle shaped rice cakes with round edges in spicy sauce, it's actually pretty good) and they normally have other fried stuff on the side (like fried yams, veggie cakes) some have corn dogs, boiled fish cakes and some boiled intestine stuff (not sure what it is exactly, but looks gross). Also, there's a bakery i often visit, it's called "Tous Les Jours" (the name is French). I heard it's a famous chain stores in S. Korea. It's close, so I go there when I crave good tasting breads.
[As most of you probably already knew, Koreans like spicy food, so almost EVERYTHING and ANYTHING is made to be spicy. They also eat their meals with lots of small side dishes. If you go out to eat, the small dishes are normally refillable w/out charge. In addition, there are couple dishes I found interesting. One is the "cold soup"; it's just normal soup with ice cubes in it ( I didn't like it too much, i'm used to hot soups; it seems more normal). Another is "cold noodles", same idea, cold nooodles in cold soup with the spices.]
The above 3 places are great for me since it does not require much conversation. I just go in and grab the stuff I want, and pay at the cashier. Of course a lot of times, the cashier would ask me something, but i would normally just smile and either nod or shake my head. I prefer those check out lines have the cashier screen face out (toward the customers) so i can see the amount, but sometimes, they are not, so i have to listen really carefully for the amount. I know numbers in Korean, but sometimes it's still hard to catch. Oh! also, here, you would actually have to pay for the plastic bags for your groceries if you want a bag. It's really cheap, but still you have to pay for it. Unlike in the U.S., it's free. So sometimes people bring their own shopping bags or i sometimes bring my backpack or a bigger purse so i wouldn't have to pay for a bag every time.
First Weekend
Date: May 25, 2008
Today is Sunday, I thought I would go check around my surrounding areas and also possibly find a church with English service. Sam told me about a church close to my place (walking distance) and he said they might have Eng. service. So I decided to check it out. Since I have no idea what time the service starts (Sam didn't know either), I just went at a random like, like 10 AM.
The service already started, however, it's in Korean. The usher guy didn't really speak English, but I guess he got that I was looking for an Eng. service, so he had a girl take me to a little house (looks like a residential area), and i met some Vietnamese people. Turned out, it's a Vietnamese church, they have a main church somewhere else away from here, but they just started this branch in Gunpo not too long ago. However, most people were Vietnamese and they spoke Vietnamese. The pastor and couple other people speak English. It's a really small congregation. Today, the message was given by a guest speaker who spoke mostly Vietnamese. There was a lady tried to translate for me, but it's hard to translate live.
Although I didn't feel real comfortable there, but it was nice to sing some worship songs in English ( especially in a foreign country), also i've learned a lot of people moved here to make $$. Apparently, because the wages back in Vietnam is very low, so a lot of them came to Korea to get a job/to work and then mail the $$ back home for their families. Most of them came alone without their families because their main purpose is to work and to make money so no time to take care of a family. A lady who sat in front of me who just had a baby, and she had to leave her back in Vietnam and get a job here. It didn't really make sense to me especially she had to leave her baby behind; I asked why she couldn't bring the baby along with her, and they said because if she has the baby, she won't be able to work. Also, I think b/c the expanses are pretty high here as well.
[After being here for couple months, I realized that the stuff here are not cheap, it's about the same as in the U.S. sometimes even more. I was surprised how expensive some stuff are. However, going out to eat is cheap, no tips and don't have to pay taxes. That's another different thing here, you pay for the labeled prices, don't have to worry about adding taxes/tips]
Korea probably offers one of the highest income levels among Asian countries, but as mentioned before, in Seoul areas, expanses are high as well. In addition to the Vietnamese people, there are lots of people from China are here for work as well. I think people from China and Vietnam are probably in similar situations, so they come here to earn more $$ and send it back for their families so the families can use the money in a country where the expanses are much lower. Someone told me most of them are doing jobs that are labor related, so the pay is not real high, but higher than what they can get back home. When I went to the immagration office for my alien registration card, I saw TONS of Chinese people there; they even have like 3 counters designated just to serve Chinese immagrants, and only one window for other foeigners.
I'm thankful and am fortunate that I'm not in their shoes. Life must be very difficult physically, mentally, and emotionally for them. Definitely a completely different lifestyle and a different world.
Today is Sunday, I thought I would go check around my surrounding areas and also possibly find a church with English service. Sam told me about a church close to my place (walking distance) and he said they might have Eng. service. So I decided to check it out. Since I have no idea what time the service starts (Sam didn't know either), I just went at a random like, like 10 AM.
The service already started, however, it's in Korean. The usher guy didn't really speak English, but I guess he got that I was looking for an Eng. service, so he had a girl take me to a little house (looks like a residential area), and i met some Vietnamese people. Turned out, it's a Vietnamese church, they have a main church somewhere else away from here, but they just started this branch in Gunpo not too long ago. However, most people were Vietnamese and they spoke Vietnamese. The pastor and couple other people speak English. It's a really small congregation. Today, the message was given by a guest speaker who spoke mostly Vietnamese. There was a lady tried to translate for me, but it's hard to translate live.
Although I didn't feel real comfortable there, but it was nice to sing some worship songs in English ( especially in a foreign country), also i've learned a lot of people moved here to make $$. Apparently, because the wages back in Vietnam is very low, so a lot of them came to Korea to get a job/to work and then mail the $$ back home for their families. Most of them came alone without their families because their main purpose is to work and to make money so no time to take care of a family. A lady who sat in front of me who just had a baby, and she had to leave her back in Vietnam and get a job here. It didn't really make sense to me especially she had to leave her baby behind; I asked why she couldn't bring the baby along with her, and they said because if she has the baby, she won't be able to work. Also, I think b/c the expanses are pretty high here as well.
[After being here for couple months, I realized that the stuff here are not cheap, it's about the same as in the U.S. sometimes even more. I was surprised how expensive some stuff are. However, going out to eat is cheap, no tips and don't have to pay taxes. That's another different thing here, you pay for the labeled prices, don't have to worry about adding taxes/tips]
Korea probably offers one of the highest income levels among Asian countries, but as mentioned before, in Seoul areas, expanses are high as well. In addition to the Vietnamese people, there are lots of people from China are here for work as well. I think people from China and Vietnam are probably in similar situations, so they come here to earn more $$ and send it back for their families so the families can use the money in a country where the expanses are much lower. Someone told me most of them are doing jobs that are labor related, so the pay is not real high, but higher than what they can get back home. When I went to the immagration office for my alien registration card, I saw TONS of Chinese people there; they even have like 3 counters designated just to serve Chinese immagrants, and only one window for other foeigners.
I'm thankful and am fortunate that I'm not in their shoes. Life must be very difficult physically, mentally, and emotionally for them. Definitely a completely different lifestyle and a different world.
First Day Teaching
Date: May 19, 2008
Sam came to my apt this morning around 10 Am and walked me to the school. The school I work at is called "Gunpo Elementary School" in the city of Gunpo (link). Gunpo city has an interesting slogan "When you click Gunpo, you will see hope."I like that, I think we all need Hope! Gunpo is in Gyeonggi-Do (Gyeonggi Province), which is the area outskirt of Seoul (the "Do" or Province is smiliar to what we call a "county" in the U.S.)
The school is really close to my place, only a bridge away. it's about 20 steps/stairs away and takes about 2 min. walking distance. Sam took me to my classroom and introduced me to my Korean co-teacher, Kate, and also a supervisor from the education company, Tina. They talked to me a little bit, and then the principal came in so I met him right there. Although he didn't really talk to me, just spoke something to Kate, Tina, and Sam (the people who understood Korean of course). They then took me to meet the vice principal, school manager, and the after-school program manager. This is the very first time the school establishes the after-school English program, so hopefully we (kate and myself) will do well and keep it going. The after-school English program a partnership program including Woongin (my educational company), the school (Gunpo Elementary School) and the Primary Education Board (government). The purpose is to offer an opportunity for students/families ,who are unable (or struggling) to afford the high-tuition fee at private institutes, to study English.
We have about a little over 100 students, around 10-12 students per class. There are 2 categories for a set of 5 classes. They are "Sea Animals" and "Wild Animals". Each class is given a name under each category. "Sea Animal" classes include Dolphin, Sea Turtle, Shark, Whale, and Starfish. "Wild Animal" classes include Kangaroo, Tiger, Panda, Elephant, and Hippo. Kate and I alternate classes. For example, if I have the Sea Animal classes and she has the Wild Animal classes today, then we'll switch the next day, so I'll have the Wild Animal classes and she'll have the Sea Animal classes so on and so forth. The classes are pretty much back to back w/out breaks in between. The materials we use are "Phonics" and "English Star". Kids are put into different levels according to their English abilities. The classes have mixed age range but all within the "elementary" age brackets (ranging from 6 yrs old to about 12). My youngest classes are mostly 1st and 2nd graders, and the oldest are about 5th and 6th graders.
We have a syllabus we have to follow for each class, in other words, we have assigned schedules for the portions of materials to cover, HW to give, and scheduled mid-terms and tests. Today was the first day, and since the books are not here yet (ordered, but haven't been delivered) we were to give English names to kids who did not already have one. I picked out about 20 girl names and 20 boy names to let each student choose one which "sounded" the best to them.
It's exhausting to teach 5 classes in a row per day and it takes a lot of energy working with bunch of elementary school kids. Hopefully, I'll get used to the schedule and the pace soon. i'm loving it so far, they are so adorable! i love those kids!
I've exposed to some cultural differences, and of course, i have people come up to me and start speaking korean, cuz apparently they think i look like Korean, but i think it's just cuz i'm Asian. People are pretty nice to me, but i really would like to learn more Korean so i can understand what's being said around me and to me so I can get around a lot easier.
I had to go to the hospital for a physical check up, and after i get the results back, i can apply for my registration/alien card, and then i will be able to apply for a phone,internet, and bank account, that'll probably take another 2 weeks. As of now, i just check my email at the school. I eat lunch with other teachers at the school, and of course we have kim-chi for every meal, it's about $3 US dollars a meal, and it's the standard/traditional korean food.
Oh! and check out how cool is this, when you come in to the school, you'll have to take off your shoes and put slippers on...Yup! i get to wear slippers in the school! i thought that's pretty neat!
So, anywaz, i'm about to head back home now...later!
Sam came to my apt this morning around 10 Am and walked me to the school. The school I work at is called "Gunpo Elementary School" in the city of Gunpo (link). Gunpo city has an interesting slogan "When you click Gunpo, you will see hope."I like that, I think we all need Hope! Gunpo is in Gyeonggi-Do (Gyeonggi Province), which is the area outskirt of Seoul (the "Do" or Province is smiliar to what we call a "county" in the U.S.)
The school is really close to my place, only a bridge away. it's about 20 steps/stairs away and takes about 2 min. walking distance. Sam took me to my classroom and introduced me to my Korean co-teacher, Kate, and also a supervisor from the education company, Tina. They talked to me a little bit, and then the principal came in so I met him right there. Although he didn't really talk to me, just spoke something to Kate, Tina, and Sam (the people who understood Korean of course). They then took me to meet the vice principal, school manager, and the after-school program manager. This is the very first time the school establishes the after-school English program, so hopefully we (kate and myself) will do well and keep it going. The after-school English program a partnership program including Woongin (my educational company), the school (Gunpo Elementary School) and the Primary Education Board (government). The purpose is to offer an opportunity for students/families ,who are unable (or struggling) to afford the high-tuition fee at private institutes, to study English.
We have about a little over 100 students, around 10-12 students per class. There are 2 categories for a set of 5 classes. They are "Sea Animals" and "Wild Animals". Each class is given a name under each category. "Sea Animal" classes include Dolphin, Sea Turtle, Shark, Whale, and Starfish. "Wild Animal" classes include Kangaroo, Tiger, Panda, Elephant, and Hippo. Kate and I alternate classes. For example, if I have the Sea Animal classes and she has the Wild Animal classes today, then we'll switch the next day, so I'll have the Wild Animal classes and she'll have the Sea Animal classes so on and so forth. The classes are pretty much back to back w/out breaks in between. The materials we use are "Phonics" and "English Star". Kids are put into different levels according to their English abilities. The classes have mixed age range but all within the "elementary" age brackets (ranging from 6 yrs old to about 12). My youngest classes are mostly 1st and 2nd graders, and the oldest are about 5th and 6th graders.
We have a syllabus we have to follow for each class, in other words, we have assigned schedules for the portions of materials to cover, HW to give, and scheduled mid-terms and tests. Today was the first day, and since the books are not here yet (ordered, but haven't been delivered) we were to give English names to kids who did not already have one. I picked out about 20 girl names and 20 boy names to let each student choose one which "sounded" the best to them.
It's exhausting to teach 5 classes in a row per day and it takes a lot of energy working with bunch of elementary school kids. Hopefully, I'll get used to the schedule and the pace soon. i'm loving it so far, they are so adorable! i love those kids!
I've exposed to some cultural differences, and of course, i have people come up to me and start speaking korean, cuz apparently they think i look like Korean, but i think it's just cuz i'm Asian. People are pretty nice to me, but i really would like to learn more Korean so i can understand what's being said around me and to me so I can get around a lot easier.
I had to go to the hospital for a physical check up, and after i get the results back, i can apply for my registration/alien card, and then i will be able to apply for a phone,internet, and bank account, that'll probably take another 2 weeks. As of now, i just check my email at the school. I eat lunch with other teachers at the school, and of course we have kim-chi for every meal, it's about $3 US dollars a meal, and it's the standard/traditional korean food.
Oh! and check out how cool is this, when you come in to the school, you'll have to take off your shoes and put slippers on...Yup! i get to wear slippers in the school! i thought that's pretty neat!
So, anywaz, i'm about to head back home now...later!
Arrival (My First Night)
Date: May 18, 2008
After being in the air for about 12 hours, I finally arrived the Incheon airport in Seoul on Sunday night (May 18, 2008). It was raining hard that night, after going through the custom and getting my baggage, I came out of the doors expecting to see my name on a big piece of paper; however I could not find it.
I went over to the Information desk and asked to make a phone call to the person (Sam) who is in charge of arranging my ride and apartment. He told me the driver is already on his way and asked me to wait by the info desk. After waiting about 20 min, I saw a little old man holding a piece of paper pacing through the waiting area and finally walked to the info desk. I saw my name written on that piece of paper, so I went up to meet him. Once he saw me, he started speaking Korean to me, and of course, I didn't understand what he was saying, so I told him that I don't speak Korean, so we got quiet for a bit.
It was about an hour drive from the airport to my apartment, and it was a little awkward that we couldn't really converse/communicate. I tried to say something simple (with gestures) to him at first, and he would always just smile or nod cuz his English is very limited. There were couple times when we drove by some (i assume) famous spots/landmarks in South Korean, and he would say something and point. But I guess we both got tired of "trying to" speak (and i was just physically tired), so it got quiet. One thing I did remember though was that he smoked a lot. Although he tried to open the windows to let the smokes out and turn on the fan, but I could still smell it just cuz he was sitting right next to me.
[It's interesting, now i've been in Korea for couple months, I realized that most korean men smoke, from young to old. Perhaps that's their way of relieving stress, and I think they are partially responsible for the polluted air here. I'm not kidding, walking on the streets, waiting for the bus, you see smoking men everywhere, and i normally hold my breath or cover my nose when i have to pass by them or get stuck walking behind them. Don't mean to sound all "critical", but I wish they know how much smoking hurt their health and also the health of people around them. Or maybe they know, and it's just too hard to quit!]
My apt is in a 8 or 9-floor tall building, and I'm on the 4th floor, room 407. After we got to my apartment, we waited for another 30 min. or so outside of the door for Sam to get there and for the landlord to deliver the key (it was nice for the driver to wait with me although he said he had to b/c Sam told him to). By the time Sam and the landlord came; it was about 8:30pm. My first impression of the apt (or they call it one-room apt) was :"wow, it's bigger than i thought". I totally was thinking since they're providing the place, it must be really tiny, but the size is actually quite nice. The ceiling especially is really high, which makes the room seem even bigger.
[A little text tour for now, i'll post some pix later. When you walk in the door, there's like a storage closet on the right, and then immediately follows a small kitchen area. The area includes cupboards, 2 electric stoves, sink, fridge, microwave, and a small washing machine (it's normal here not to have dryers in the house, people hang their clothes to dry). On the left, there's the bathroom (which is also bigger than i imagined, especially with the cool double shower heads: one is like a dish like, the other one is just the regular sprinkler kind- pix later). After the kitchen area, then it's my "room", all connected. There's a big window in the room, which i like, a desk and a desk chair, another closet, a bed, a tv (no service yet), a small dinning table with 2 chairs, and 3 wooden cubes for storing stuff. ]
Sam helped me re-arranging the furniture to the spots I like, and he also brought some stuff ( 2 bowls, 2 pots, 2 plates, 2 cups, 2 forks, 2 spoons, and a basic bedding set as stated on the contract), and then he took me to E-Mart (famous Korean warehouse similar to Costco, Sam's club and/or wal-mart) to get some necessities to get me started at least for the week since I were to start teaching the next day. He also treated me dinner at E-Mart as a welcoming gift. [The closest E-mart to me is the one in the city of Sabon. It takes about 15 min. bus ride. My Korean co-teacher and I go there for supplies for the kids]
By the time I got back to the apt, it was close to 11pm and i was exhausted. I took my first shower in Korea with the cool double shower heads and went straight to bed.
Everything till now has been so rushed ( i didn't know my actual departure date till about 2-3 days before i had to leave), so i haven't really had time to think. I just know tomorrow will be a new day and it'll be a brand new experience whatever comes my way...for now....I just want to SLEEEEPPPPP...cuz I'm EXHAUSTED! night! =D
After being in the air for about 12 hours, I finally arrived the Incheon airport in Seoul on Sunday night (May 18, 2008). It was raining hard that night, after going through the custom and getting my baggage, I came out of the doors expecting to see my name on a big piece of paper; however I could not find it.
I went over to the Information desk and asked to make a phone call to the person (Sam) who is in charge of arranging my ride and apartment. He told me the driver is already on his way and asked me to wait by the info desk. After waiting about 20 min, I saw a little old man holding a piece of paper pacing through the waiting area and finally walked to the info desk. I saw my name written on that piece of paper, so I went up to meet him. Once he saw me, he started speaking Korean to me, and of course, I didn't understand what he was saying, so I told him that I don't speak Korean, so we got quiet for a bit.
It was about an hour drive from the airport to my apartment, and it was a little awkward that we couldn't really converse/communicate. I tried to say something simple (with gestures) to him at first, and he would always just smile or nod cuz his English is very limited. There were couple times when we drove by some (i assume) famous spots/landmarks in South Korean, and he would say something and point. But I guess we both got tired of "trying to" speak (and i was just physically tired), so it got quiet. One thing I did remember though was that he smoked a lot. Although he tried to open the windows to let the smokes out and turn on the fan, but I could still smell it just cuz he was sitting right next to me.
[It's interesting, now i've been in Korea for couple months, I realized that most korean men smoke, from young to old. Perhaps that's their way of relieving stress, and I think they are partially responsible for the polluted air here. I'm not kidding, walking on the streets, waiting for the bus, you see smoking men everywhere, and i normally hold my breath or cover my nose when i have to pass by them or get stuck walking behind them. Don't mean to sound all "critical", but I wish they know how much smoking hurt their health and also the health of people around them. Or maybe they know, and it's just too hard to quit!]
My apt is in a 8 or 9-floor tall building, and I'm on the 4th floor, room 407. After we got to my apartment, we waited for another 30 min. or so outside of the door for Sam to get there and for the landlord to deliver the key (it was nice for the driver to wait with me although he said he had to b/c Sam told him to). By the time Sam and the landlord came; it was about 8:30pm. My first impression of the apt (or they call it one-room apt) was :"wow, it's bigger than i thought". I totally was thinking since they're providing the place, it must be really tiny, but the size is actually quite nice. The ceiling especially is really high, which makes the room seem even bigger.
[A little text tour for now, i'll post some pix later. When you walk in the door, there's like a storage closet on the right, and then immediately follows a small kitchen area. The area includes cupboards, 2 electric stoves, sink, fridge, microwave, and a small washing machine (it's normal here not to have dryers in the house, people hang their clothes to dry). On the left, there's the bathroom (which is also bigger than i imagined, especially with the cool double shower heads: one is like a dish like, the other one is just the regular sprinkler kind- pix later). After the kitchen area, then it's my "room", all connected. There's a big window in the room, which i like, a desk and a desk chair, another closet, a bed, a tv (no service yet), a small dinning table with 2 chairs, and 3 wooden cubes for storing stuff. ]
Sam helped me re-arranging the furniture to the spots I like, and he also brought some stuff ( 2 bowls, 2 pots, 2 plates, 2 cups, 2 forks, 2 spoons, and a basic bedding set as stated on the contract), and then he took me to E-Mart (famous Korean warehouse similar to Costco, Sam's club and/or wal-mart) to get some necessities to get me started at least for the week since I were to start teaching the next day. He also treated me dinner at E-Mart as a welcoming gift. [The closest E-mart to me is the one in the city of Sabon. It takes about 15 min. bus ride. My Korean co-teacher and I go there for supplies for the kids]
By the time I got back to the apt, it was close to 11pm and i was exhausted. I took my first shower in Korea with the cool double shower heads and went straight to bed.
Everything till now has been so rushed ( i didn't know my actual departure date till about 2-3 days before i had to leave), so i haven't really had time to think. I just know tomorrow will be a new day and it'll be a brand new experience whatever comes my way...for now....I just want to SLEEEEPPPPP...cuz I'm EXHAUSTED! night! =D
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