My Dogs are Barking!

Part of Korean culture is to remove your shoes before entering someone’s home.  This is the case at some restaurants as well, along with my school.  I’ve never been a fan of having my feet confined to shoes, so I was very excited about all this bare foot time.  My excitement has dwindled though. 

Anyone who has a job that involves standing all day can attest it can be challenging at times.  Well try doing it barefooted!  There are some flimsy “guest slippers” that I’ve been wearing, but today I really need to make a trip to Home Plus (aka Korean Wal-Mart) to buy some slippers with more support. 

Other than this minor discomfort, I’d say my first week here has been a success.  Still getting settled into the teaching routine at school, but I love my kids already.  I have 8 students in my homeroom; 7 rambunctious boys and 1 sweet little girl!  Even though we’ve only spent 3 days together so far, their little personalities are already starting to shine through and I’m really looking forward to our year together. 

Red class, which is my homeroom, are all 6 or 7 year old students.  That is in Korean age though…there is a difference!  Koreans start counting your age from conception, so the time you spend in the womb is a year.  Basically a new born baby is 1 years old.  Then on the Lunar New Year, which is in February, everyone turns a year older.  Complicated huh?  Most Korean are a year or two younger than their age, so my students’ Western ages would be 4 or 5.  And I’m 27…not happy about that!

Along with completing my first week of teaching, this weekend has been filled with a lot of other firsts.  Friday night I went to my first foreigner bar here with the other teacher from my school.  It was like a little slice of America being surrounded by so many English speakers!  Most people at the bar were teachers as well, so it was nice to chat with them and learn about their experiences.  While I was definitely one of the greenest people there, I did meet a guy who had just got off the plane at 4:30 that morning.  Holy jet lag!

Saturday I made my first trip into Seoul.  One of the Korean teachers at my school had invited me to go on a city tour that was being sponsored by a bike show in town.   Three of her other friends came with us too – all teachers; 1 from Ireland and 2 from California.  We rode a bus around the city, making a stop to tour Gyeongbok Palace.  We saw the changing of the guards, where the King slept, had meetings, ect and walked through the South Korean Folk Museum.  This was the first “touristy” thing I’ve done since arriving, so it was nice to learn a little something about Korean culture and history…other than what I observe day to day!  After the palace, we had lunch.  So far I’ve liked all the Korean food I’ve tried, even if I’m not always sure what I’m eating.  Following lunch we had some time to wondering around a shopping area and then had some tea.  After the city tour, the five of us went bowling.  While I failed to break 100 both rounds (I scored 99 once though) it was still a good time.     

I still have so much to learn here, but it is nice have one week under my belt.  Only 51 more to go…haha!  Thanks so much for reading.  I hope you enjoy my ramblings.  I always love to hear what is going on back in the States, so shoot me an email or facebook message sometimeJ  Jodi.Hasekamp@gmail.com  

My tour group at Gyeongbok Palace