Through Children's Eyes

Today I walked into work and was greeted by one of my students who grabbed my arm and stared up at my face. He looked very intently and then smiled. He then grabbed two of his classmates who both curiously studied my face.

I immediately thought I had toothpaste on my mouth or something, and was going to go to the bathroom to find out what it was and clean it. Before I could get to the bathroom a whole crowd of kindergarteners was staring up at me preventing me from moving forward.

My coteacher walked by and said it was my eyes they were looking at. She had just taught a lesson about people from different countries, and how people from other parts of the world look different. I have brown eyes, but they are not as dark as the pairs of Korean eyes that were staring up at me.

The smile on my Kindergartener’s face makes sense when you realize (after a quick wiki check) that this boy is growing up in a country where more than 99% of the population is of Korean descent. Korean people actually call their society “the single race society” and rightly so. The list of countries more homogenous than South Korea is pretty short. It’s not even a list actually. The only country more homogenous than South Korea is North Korea.

Needless to say I stand out when I walk down the street in Gunsan (not as much as my coworker who has blonde hair though). The biggest culture shock I have experienced is coming from the melting pot of America to a pot filled to the brim with Koreans. I am an anomaly here for sure.

I don’t know what Koreans think of me when I walk past them on the street. I have had some people occasionally say hello or wave, but it is rare. People mainly keep to themselves when they see me, with one exception, children. Children ALWAYS react in some way when they see me on the street.

While I was running the other day, a car passed by and a child rolled down his window and yelled hello with a big grin on his face. One child hid behind her mother’s legs when she noticed me.  Some children show off their English to me buy shouting hello, while others just stare.

Late at night I was walking alone when a group of motorcycles rode by. They were teenagers riding recklessly down the street. A few of them did wheelies through an intersection. A kid was sitting on the back of his friend's motorcycle and turned to me as they passed. I almost hit the deck. He waved, yelled hello, and rode off.

It is entertaining to see children’s reactions, but the steady stream of poker faces I receive from adults reminds me I am the foreigner and that Korea doesn’t have to adjust to me. I have to adjust to Korea.

Teaching

I work at a private English school called Sogang Language Program (SLP). SLP employs 4 other foreign teachers (2 from Canada and 2 from the U.S.) and 5 Korean teachers. I teach kindergarten in the morning from 11-2, and then teach 4 classes in the afternoon until 7 PM consisting of older children. (Speaking of age, Korean children will tell you their "Korean age" when asked how old they are. This is based off the lunar calendar, which inflates someone's age when compared to their western age.)


Teaching has gone as smoothly as possible considering I have absolutely no teaching background. Kindergarten is definitely the most challenging part of my day. My classroom is named "Friendship," which is ironic considering my class has the most drama out of the 5 kindergarten classes.

I would equate trying to maintain discipline in a classroom full of 10 kindergarteners to conducting an 80-piece orchestra. I have never been a good multitasker and this job has definitely exposed this fact. Once I get one student in line and focused on my flashcards I turn back to the rest of the class only to find two girls braiding each others hair and another girl crouching under the table. Needless to say I have had to use my voice A LOT. I have always been an unusually loud snapper, and this skill has never come in handy more than when I've been at the helm of a kindergarten class.

 (This is a picture I took of my kindergarten class, "Friendship", on a field trip to the local fire station.)

Teaching Kindergarten is pretty structured with a curriculum. A typical day would be: showing them flashcards of that week's vocabulary and asking questions on the topic, showing them phonics cards, supervising a phonics activity in their activity books, then reading them a story (some of the books are one's I grew up on, like The Very Quiet Cricket, which Mom definitely remembers reading to Heather, Ben and I).

I am also responsible for dishing out snack and lunch. These can be an adventure. The children have managed to spill something every single lunch but one, when I spilled a glass of milk while trying to maintain order and pour out 11 cups as fast as I could. No use crying though.

My afternoon classes range from 8-14 year olds, and are much easier to conduct than kindergarten. Afternoon classes are less structured. I have had to improvise a lot to say the least. I am enjoying getting to know the students. They refer to me as "Andy Teacher." Some of my students give me little gifts, such as a piece of gum or chocolate. One student gave me a bouncy ball, and I told him he might have more fun with it than I would, but he insisted I take it.

One day Isaballe, one of my favorite kindergarteners (as hard as I try to be democratic I can't help but have favorites) asked me what color my hair and eyes were and then she asked me my favorite color. 20 minutes later she came running in the teacher's lounge with a card that said "Isabelle form, I love you Andy Teacher." It had hearts and decorations on it. I opened it up; Inside was a picture of me with brown eyes, brown hair, and a blue shirt.

It is definitely a challenge to work with the children at times, but it is also one of the most rewarding things I have ever done.

Arrival in Korea

I arrived in South Korea at Incheon international airport, which is near Seoul, on September 12th. After saying goodbye to all of my American greenbacks at the foreign exchange bank (the exchange rate is roughly 1000 Korean Won to 1 USD) I grabbed my luggage and headed for the airport exit. I was greeted by one of my coworkers who kindly made the 3 hour bus trip up that morning to see me safely back to Gunsan. After introducing ourselves, we bought our bus tickets and waited about 40 minutes for the bus to arrive. The scenery was beautiful on the drive down, as we crossed several bridges and drove into some beautiful forested areas. I fought jet lag and just stared out the window in excitement that I had finally made it to Korea. My coworker, Suzanne, informed me that I had arrived on one of the busiest travel days of the year, Korea's version of thanksgiving, Chuseok. She said the bus trip back might take closer to 3 1/2 hours down to Gunsan due to all the holiday traffic. Turns out our bus broke down and we waited on the side of the road for the next bus along the same route.  6 hours later, we were nearing the city I would call home for the next 12 months, wondering if we were almost there. Right around that time I noticed a full moon hiding behind the hills we were driving past. Suzanne told me that it was a tradition to make a wish when you see the full moon rise over the horizon on Chuseok (the holiday coincides with the full moon). I'm not superstitious (just a little stitious), but I've always heard it's bad luck to reveal one's wish. It didn't take long for me to come up with it, but I will let your imagination decide what I was hoping for. I will tell you in a year if it came true.

Ten minutes later we got off the bus and I was in Gunsan, South Korea.

Hello!

This will be a place where I hope to tell friends and family about my experiences in Korea. I am currently living in Korea teaching English for a year, and I plan on chronicling my adventures here. I hope you enjoy!