Sorry it's been a long time since we blogged, last week was very busy.
Last Friday we had our first full day of teaching. We were both observed by the other NSTs (native speaking teachers) at our schools and given some pointers and advice.
Friday evening we went out to dinner with the entire staff of our school--bosses, Korean teachers, and NSTs--went out to a traditional Korean meal where they serve you raw steak and bacon and you cook it on a little grill that is on your table.
Then, you combine/dip the meat with one of the dozen of side dishes on the table and eat it. Also, the meal was eaten sitting on cushions on the floor. There was also a lot of Korean beer and Soju (a type of Korean liquor similar to but not as strong as vodka).
After dinner some of us went to a "nori bang," where your party gets a private room with a karaoke machine. The entire evening was a fascinating cultural experience to say the least.
We had a relaxing weekend going hiking on Saturday and taking a day trip to Hyunduae beach in Busan on Sunday, a city that is about an hour train ride from Ulsan. Busan beach is very similar to beaches in Southern CA--sandy beaches and children playing in the water. The only difference is that the building next to the beach are high rise buildings rather than expensive beach homes.
Our first work week was exhausting but we both felt that we learned a lot about our jobs and the kids we will be working with.
We are excited to build relationships with the kids we are teaching and hopefully make a positive impact on their lives.
On Wednesday we finally were able to move into our own apartment. It is much smaller than Rochelle's, but also much newer. It was difficult moving in the middle of the work week because we did not have the time or energy to get properly settled.
This weekend we spent most of our time shopping at "Home Plus" (the equivalent of Wal-Mart in America but much bigger and better quality) for some necessities, cleaning, organizing, and trying to resolve some issues in the apartment. As of now both our sink and toilet are broken, and probably won't get fixed until late this next week (apparently in Korea a broken bathroom is not a big deal).
Korean bathrooms are VERY different from America. The bathroom is literally the size of a half bath (room for a toilet and sink) and there is a shower head right above the sink that you take off and rinse with standing right by the sink and toilet. There is a drain in the middle of the bathroom that all the water runs down to. It's lucky for us that the bathroom has a drain, because other wise our bathroom would be flooding right now from our leaking toilet.
On Sunday we took a break from cleaning and took a bus to Ilsan beach (the beach in Ulsan) that is about 45 minutes away. This beach is rocky and very similar to beaches in Oregon--more people hike and exercise rather than sun bathe or swim. We hiked for about 2 hours, then got some Korean food at a local restaurant. It was nice to get away from the city, get some exercise, and feel the cool ocean breeze, a nice break from the still, humid air in our area.
We will update more later!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
First Day at the Hagwan
Yesterday, we parted for the first time since arriving in Korea and went to our separate hagwans (Korean after-school tutoring centers). Scott's is within walking distance of Rochelle's apartment, and Amy took a bus to get to hers (the situation will be reversed when we move into our own apartment). We both spent the day observing the Korean teachers and NSTs (native speaking teachers). Class sizes range from 3 to 16, and ages range from kindergarden to middle school.
These hagwans are owned by the same people and have very similar curriculum. The curriculum is very focused on rote memorization, which does little good in helping the students truly learn to speak English conversationally. Because it is a business for privileged families in Korea, the hagwan is very focused on keeping the business of the parents, so they have the students memorize speeches and conversations to display to their parents. If the student does not perform up to the parent's expectations, the parent will simply pull the child from the hagwan and send them to another one next door (there is literally a hagwan on EVERY corner here). Thus, it is a very big deal at the hagwan to make sure the students are well-prepared to "show off" their knowledge to their parents.
The Korean teachers are very strict with their students and many use corporal punishment (slap on the back, flick on the head, slap on the hand with a ruler) to punish them for bad behavior and even for incorrect answers. This kind of punishment is the norm in Korea and the children seem very used to it. It causes the students to be very attentive and well behaved, but also quite terrified of their Korean teachers.
The students' time with the foreign teacher is thus viewed as a break from the intensity of their Korean teacher, which is why many of the students either act out with pent-up energy or feel comfortable putting their heads down and showing how tired they really are. It is a very heartbreaking experience to see these children (many of them are very sweet, kind, and truly want to learn) spend their entire days in such a strict environment with little room for fun or recovery.
It is going to be a great challenge for us to find a balance of getting through the curriculum to the owner's and parent's satisfaction, getting them to have a little fun, plus actually doing our own thing that will help them speak better conversationally. All in 30-40 minutes sessions.
We went out to dinner with all the other foreign teachers after work, and had a good time getting to know them all. Other than Rochelle, we are the only other Americans. There are teachers from England and South Africa. Amy is hoping to come home with a British accent since the only proper English she will hear around work other than her own will be with spoken with a British accent. :)
Please pray that we can find small ways to get through to these kids, and find volunteer opportunities to help out in other areas. There is a weekend orphanage trip that we are interested in getting involved in, and Amy would also like to find poorer Korean families who can't afford hagwans looking for English education and tutor the children for free (or perhaps for a home-cooked meal and some Korean lessons).
Please also keep in your prayers our health. We are both struggling with the spiciness and fishiness of the food, and are eating considerably less than normal. Amy is also struggling with stomach aches and head aches. We are hoping not to get sick as we adjust to our new environment.
Today we will be doing some more observation, and tomorrow we will be teaching most of our classes. We are looking forward to the weekend, exploring the city, and hopefully going to church on Sunday.
Thank you all for your support, and we will write again soon.
These hagwans are owned by the same people and have very similar curriculum. The curriculum is very focused on rote memorization, which does little good in helping the students truly learn to speak English conversationally. Because it is a business for privileged families in Korea, the hagwan is very focused on keeping the business of the parents, so they have the students memorize speeches and conversations to display to their parents. If the student does not perform up to the parent's expectations, the parent will simply pull the child from the hagwan and send them to another one next door (there is literally a hagwan on EVERY corner here). Thus, it is a very big deal at the hagwan to make sure the students are well-prepared to "show off" their knowledge to their parents.
The Korean teachers are very strict with their students and many use corporal punishment (slap on the back, flick on the head, slap on the hand with a ruler) to punish them for bad behavior and even for incorrect answers. This kind of punishment is the norm in Korea and the children seem very used to it. It causes the students to be very attentive and well behaved, but also quite terrified of their Korean teachers.
The students' time with the foreign teacher is thus viewed as a break from the intensity of their Korean teacher, which is why many of the students either act out with pent-up energy or feel comfortable putting their heads down and showing how tired they really are. It is a very heartbreaking experience to see these children (many of them are very sweet, kind, and truly want to learn) spend their entire days in such a strict environment with little room for fun or recovery.
It is going to be a great challenge for us to find a balance of getting through the curriculum to the owner's and parent's satisfaction, getting them to have a little fun, plus actually doing our own thing that will help them speak better conversationally. All in 30-40 minutes sessions.
We went out to dinner with all the other foreign teachers after work, and had a good time getting to know them all. Other than Rochelle, we are the only other Americans. There are teachers from England and South Africa. Amy is hoping to come home with a British accent since the only proper English she will hear around work other than her own will be with spoken with a British accent. :)
Please pray that we can find small ways to get through to these kids, and find volunteer opportunities to help out in other areas. There is a weekend orphanage trip that we are interested in getting involved in, and Amy would also like to find poorer Korean families who can't afford hagwans looking for English education and tutor the children for free (or perhaps for a home-cooked meal and some Korean lessons).
Please also keep in your prayers our health. We are both struggling with the spiciness and fishiness of the food, and are eating considerably less than normal. Amy is also struggling with stomach aches and head aches. We are hoping not to get sick as we adjust to our new environment.
Today we will be doing some more observation, and tomorrow we will be teaching most of our classes. We are looking forward to the weekend, exploring the city, and hopefully going to church on Sunday.
Thank you all for your support, and we will write again soon.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
We made it to Korea safe and sound. We arrived at our friend Rochelle's apartment around 11:30 pm last night. However the trip to get to Ulsan was a little more involved than we expected. After the 12 hour flight from LAX to Seoul, we went through customs, grabbed our four suitcases in addition to our 4 carry-on bags, took a 30 minute bus ride from Incheon Airport to Gimpo Airport to catch a flight to Busan. Once we got to Busan we got our bags again and boarded another bus and an hour later we arrived in Ulsan. All in all we were quite exhausted by the whole trip. Unfortunately Amy was jet-lagged and did not sleep very well.
In the morning, we got up and had some breakfast and coffee with Rochelle and relaxed. Once we showered and got ready we went with Rochelle to a little restaurant she eats at often and had lunch. Amy had bibimbop, a standard Korean dish of rice, egg and vegetables mixed together. Scott had gogi mandu, Korean beef potstickers. After lunch Rochelle had to leave for work so we walked down to a nearby park and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. On the way back we stopped by a cafe and got a mocha for Amy.
Tonight Rochelle is going to cook us a meal at her apartment. Tomorrow, we will try and do some more exploring. We'll write again soon.
In the morning, we got up and had some breakfast and coffee with Rochelle and relaxed. Once we showered and got ready we went with Rochelle to a little restaurant she eats at often and had lunch. Amy had bibimbop, a standard Korean dish of rice, egg and vegetables mixed together. Scott had gogi mandu, Korean beef potstickers. After lunch Rochelle had to leave for work so we walked down to a nearby park and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. On the way back we stopped by a cafe and got a mocha for Amy.
Tonight Rochelle is going to cook us a meal at her apartment. Tomorrow, we will try and do some more exploring. We'll write again soon.
Friday, June 4, 2010
So it's 11:45 pm and we're still trying to pack and make everything that we will need for a year fit into four suitcases and carry-on bags. Tomorrow we will depart from LAX at 12:30 pm for South Korea to teach English at a hagwon (private school) called Blue Ocean English School in the city of Ulsan. For those of you that are not up on your geography Ulsan is located in the south east part of Korea just north of Busan, the second largest city in South Korea. We will try to keep this blog updated of our adventures teaching, leaving and traveling in the land of kimchi.
Well, I need to get back to packing. Amy and I would love to what's going in your lives as well so hit us up on Facebook or send us an email. We also appreciate your prayers as we travel to Ulsan. I hope all of you have a great year ahead.
Well, I need to get back to packing. Amy and I would love to what's going in your lives as well so hit us up on Facebook or send us an email. We also appreciate your prayers as we travel to Ulsan. I hope all of you have a great year ahead.
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