First day in Seoul

(Friday, 11/14/08 9:45pm GMT +09:00)
I am completely, thoroughly exhausted. Last night, when I arrived in Seoul, it was 7:40pm on Thursday evening….after traveling for 20+ hours by car and plane, and having nearly three whole hours of sleep before my flight, and having only a two-hour nap on the flight (surprising! My nerves wouldn’t let me sleep…), the cab ride to the school from Incheon was very soporific. I really tried to look around to get a sense of where I was and where we were going, but I couldn’t even keep my eyes open, and I was too embarrassed by my limited Korean to ask the driver anything.

Arriving here has left me with a dazed feeling of bewilderment and disbelief. Did I actually travel 6,000 miles yesterday? I flew along the southern coast of Alaska and across a desolate, permafrost stretch of eastern Russia (that looked like soft white peaks of meringue). Flying over the ocean at 39,000 feet is very bizarre because the texture of the waves does not appear to be in constant motion, and believe me, I watched for any signs. All I could see was the skin-like quality of the blue and golden sea surface. Not to mention, it was sunset for at least five hours; the sun even set a few times! The horizon was pink and lovely, with the sun just below, and then it would pop up and gleam brightly, only to sink back down again with a hinting rosy glow. I considered the metaphoric significance of this strange event, but have so far come up with nothing.

Then, when I got out of the taxi, there were two extremely happy Korean women waiting to hug me! These are my bosses, but not the only ones. They brought me up to my new apartment, which was shockingly larger than I anticipated. They told me I had to go to work the next morning, since I came a few days later than planned (not my fault).

And then I was unconscious, finally, in a real, warm bed. I did not have the mental capacity to unpack anything, I simply moved around my new space a few times before going to bed. This morning, I woke up without the aid of an alarm clock (partly because I did not have one I could plug in…long story…and partly because my cell phone decided to die before the prescribed alarm time), but it was no big deal because I woke up on time and relatively rested.

I found some appliances left behind by the former English teacher (for whom I am the replacement), including an iron and a blow dryer. There are a lot of strongly perfumed things all over the place in cabinets and shelves, covered in Hangul, that I think will probably give me a headache if I use them. So, that aside, it’s a nice little space, but actually the biggest place I’ve ever lived in alone.

Then, I decided I ought to look outside during the daytime! (You see, the windows have translucent screens on a second track that can be moved away to see outside)

Turns out it’s yellow and orange and cement and cars out there. There are Korean kids walking all over in coats and scarves, because we live in a suburb clustered around a school area. There are a surprising number of trees, but not the leaf litter that must be expected in a few weeks.

I went to the school and had an orientation with my coordinator, who is such a lovely woman, Jane Park. She walked me through my first day with classes, just four until I’m acclimated, and gave me a thorough schedule for the next week. I met the some other employees in the school (which is called YumKwang CEC, part of APIS, or Asia Pacific International School, all stacked on top of each other), and then the elder who founded YumKwang 45 years ago, Dr. Kim. I’m glad I practiced three Korean phrases, “Good Morning (annyong aseyo),” “Pleased to meet you (mannaso pangapsumnida),” and “Thank you (gamsa hamnida),” because I was able to be more respectful. My being a Christian was an important topic, as well, since this is a Christian school, although I believe he is probably Confucian. He was a very nice man, and our meeting was brief.

Then I had classes. My first class, with 6 kindergarteners, was okay, but half the time a few of them draped themselves across their desks and looked very tired and bored. I found out later they had been on a field trip already that day. We did our lesson, and then I taught them the Hokey-Pokey. I had an hour break, where I met the other teachers in the lounge. They were so nice to me! Everyone introduced themselves and laughed at every single thing I said and gave me 100% of their attention until they had to run off to class. Then I prepared for my next three classes, the first two classes being probably 7-9 year olds, the third being junior high. My younger students wouldn’t shut up, although they did use English pretty well, and the older kids sat there and didn’t say a word even when I asked them! Thank God for the one boy who actually answered all the questions. Getting the hang of the material is probably going to be my biggest challenge, but that won’t even be terribly difficult. I feel pretty confident.

Then I was invited to hang out with some of the other teachers after work ended at 7pm, since it was my coworker Jin’s birthday and she invited several people to her place for dinner. It was very nice and they were really lovely. The other English teachers, Laurie and Alex, who are married, were with us, but Alex was the only man there. The other husbands were all still working for at least the next two hours. The food was amazing, and the children who joined the dinner were so shockingly well-behaved (and adorable)!

Laurie and I walked home from the dinner party, and she explained that we live in a suburb of Seoul, called Wolgye, in a district called Nowon-gu. I’ll have to find that on a map. Our area is very nice, and as teachers we have a pretty sweet deal. The school treats us like gold and our accommodations are pretty snazzy. In other areas, it would be possible for English teachers to be exploited by the school or at the mercy of fate if the school were to close mid-school year. I didn’t need to know that to be grateful for my situation. But it helps. I feel pretty fortunate and blessed to be here, surrounded by these people, with this opportunity not many others get to appreciate.