Korean Faux Pas

Well we made another culture faux pas in Korea and it had to do with a bar. But let’s sum up the past few days first. We finished our orientation successfully. I am healthy now, so it made the last few days of orientation pleasant. We had to work with a group and deliver a mock lesson. Jayson was a little nervous, but we both did very good. The group work reminded me of American Idol, we were all running around late the night before collecting materials and props to create the best lesson. It was funny seeing people totally stressed out and running on little sleep.

On friday we packed up our bags and took a 4 hour bus ride to Ulsan. On the bus ride we found out that we have to stay in a Motel for a few days until our apartment is ready. A local informed us that we are put up in a “Love Motel.” I am very disgusted and can’t wait to get out. There are no sheets and the place smells like cigarettes. The ceiling is neon purple and there are supplies laying around. I will not go into anymore detail. We try to stay out of our little “Love Motel” as much as possible.

So, my Co Teacher picked us up at the district office and took us to the “Love Motel” and said, “see ya Monday”. She also advised us to go to Bars. So, we took her advise and located a nice looking bar the first night. I guess we should have been a little more careful. Luckily the bar owner speaks English. He shook his head and laughed at us. He said “You English Teacher.” I guess we had it written on our face. There were no other customers in the bar. So, he poured us some coffee and started chatting with us. He reminded me of Rev. Mau. Very friendly, knows everybody and is willing to help a stupid foreigner. He explained to us that he had once lived in Japan and remembered being so lonely because he didn’t know the language or had any friends. After 30 minutes we hopped in his car and he took us to his foreigner bar. We had a lot of fun there and we met some other English teachers. Once the night was over he walked us to a Taxi and he explained to the Taxi driver where our motel was and we got there safely.

The next day Mr. Kim picked us up and gave us a royal tour of Ulsan. He took us up country and we saw an amazing view of the whole city. He took us around the Hyundai factory and ship yard. He took us to one of the 12 wonders of Ulsan and we saw amazing views of the ocean. We are so lucky we ran into Mr. Kim. It’s almost like someone is watching over us. Hmmmm???

Today is Sunday and we have been very American. We went to Starbucks for breakfast, fast food for lunch and Outback for dinner. We even watch “Percy Jackson and the lightning Thief.” It was in English with Korean sub titles. We had a fun day. Tomorrow we will move into our apartment. We need to do laundry (no dryers), go shopping and prepare for our first day of school. Wish us luck!

Orientation and Field Trip

We are on day 5 of orientation and we have 5 more days to go. They threw us a great Welcoming Ceremony and Dinner. The Ceremony consisted of traditional Korean dancing and inspirational speeches. It was very motivating and confirmed our decision on moving here. The dinner was amazing. The tables were dressed as if we were at a wedding. Beverages galore and the buffet was beautiful and delicious. We were able to relax and enjoy ourselves as well as converse with our new friends from all of over the world.

The next day we had our medical checks. They checked our height, weight, eyes, hearing, blood pressure, 3 viles of blood, urine test and a chest x ray. In the evening we had a guest speaker and survival Korean class. Our Korean class is very entertaining because our teacher speaks very little English and she is teaching us Korean. She gets embarrassed easily, but in reality she knows more English then we know Korean. We will have 4 lessons in Korean and then it is up to us to learn the rest. Wish us luck:)

The rest of our time here we have classes all day. Each class in 1 1/2 hour and we learn about Korean culture, possible classroom scenarios, lesson planning and how to adjust to daily Korean life. They are all very interesting and helpful. Yesterday we had a field trip day. It was the first time we felt like we were in Korea. We went to Jeonju village witch is a couple hundred years old. We toured the area and saw some street venders and locals walking around. A lot of kids stopped and starred at us. They made us feel like we were movie stars. They would say "Hello" and smile and stare at us. It was funny.

We also saw a mock Old Traditional Korean Wedding. There was a lot of bowing and beautiful clothes. On our field trip we learned how to make a paper picture frame and korean knotting. We also learned a drum dance. That was pretty funny because the instructor talked only in Korean and he would just laugh at all of us. We were horrible.

For the next 5 days we will continue our classes, deliver our practice lesson and then meet our co teacher. On Friday we will be off to our new home. We are very excited!

We Made it!

We made it to Korea safe and sound. Everything has gone so smoothly. Our luggage was a little over the weight limit, but we told the guy we were leaving for a year and he let it go. Our 13 hour flight was really nice. The guy next to me moved to another seat, so Jayson and I got 3 seats to ourselves. We had our own movie screen in front of us. I watched about 4 movies, played a few games and learned some Korean on it. The airport in Incheon was very nice. We just followed people off the plane to find our luggage and our way out. Once we got to the main area everything was in Korean and English. A lot of people speak English too. By the time we got to the Hotel, we were exhausted. We checked in, but we wanted a bite to eat. We stayed at the Hyatt and they had a restaurant that had food from all over the world. So, we had a Caesar Salad and a Margherita Pizza. Yum!

The next day we woke up from a good night rest and had some nice showers. We got some coffee, and guess what, there is a Casino in the Hyatt. Yes Jayson could not refuse the urge. He played a little bit. I almost went to jail. Apparently you are not allowed to take pictures in there. 6 people swarmed me when the flash went and started to speak Korean to me. I quickly showed them the picture and I erased it in front of them. We didn’t stay much longer after that. “Stupid American”

We got back to the airport and met Jessa from Teach Away. What a sense of relief, finally the traveling is out of or hands and we just follow EPIK. We took a 4 hour bus ride to Jeonju University. At first, I was excited to be able to see a big stretch of Korea, but there wasn’t much to see. The highway sights were full of dirt land, no buildings or amazing greenery.

The University is pretty funny. We checked in, got some welcoming goodies and a sweatshirt. Got our temperature check, we passed! The funny part is the elevators and our luggage. One elevator goes to even floors and the elevator goes to odd floors. Nobody knew that at first. Jayson and I took the wrong one. We went all the way up to nine and was very confused why the 14 button wasn’t working. We went all the way down and found more people confused. So we took out all of the luggage and waited for the “even elevator.” We also have a couples dorm, so we don’t have to share with anyone. Which is good because the dorm room is small and the bathroom is all in one. The shower is right next to the toilet. So, when we take a shower the whole floor gets wet. Everyone says, “That’s asian life, everything is small.”

There are a lot of interesting people at the orientation. We have met someone form, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and New York. When we say we’re from California, their eyes get big. Jessa even couldn’t believe that I owned a heavy coat. So, we are all teaching each other about our home countries. It is very exciting.