I started this post a long time ago, saved it, and then haven't come back to it until now...
My job is good. They have given me 0 training, absolutely none. Which is weird, but I've picked it up well enough. When I don't do something they want me to, the boss's wife (because the boss doesn't know English) tells me the problem... and if I'm really lucky, an idea of how I might be able to fix it. Her English is so-so, but enough for me to take action. I typically work from 2:30-8:30 or 3:20-9:20, but the last two weeks I've been getting done occasionally at 7:40, which is great because I can go to a 8:00 workout!
My job is good. They have given me 0 training, absolutely none. Which is weird, but I've picked it up well enough. When I don't do something they want me to, the boss's wife (because the boss doesn't know English) tells me the problem... and if I'm really lucky, an idea of how I might be able to fix it. Her English is so-so, but enough for me to take action. I typically work from 2:30-8:30 or 3:20-9:20, but the last two weeks I've been getting done occasionally at 7:40, which is great because I can go to a 8:00 workout!
Teaching is going good. My friends and fellow English teachers (though at different schools) have told me to relax, you're not going to make any kid fluent in a year. Have low expectations for them, and always do what you enjoy doing. With that advice, I sneak in some Korean studying in the middle of my English classes: "Ju-Yang, what's the difference between this pattern in English and... How do you say it in Korean?" or a pair of kids will be chatting in class, I'll listen for 5 seconds and then, like a tape recorder, say what I just heard back to them. They are startled and nonplussed, and then I ask "what does that mean, I don't understand." They are usually just talking about video games though.
When I am not teaching, I like to travel (but that's really only ever done on weekends). During the week days, I work out, at two kendo schools. And of course, I like to cook :-) I also enjoy trying to chat with people, which has been very tricky thus far here... mostly because in the city I live, there are no colleges and almost everyone in korea goes to college, so nearly all of the 20-30 years old's have moved to a larger city to get a degree; many stay there because the big city is flashy. I'm in the country-side so there isn't much that attracts the recent grads back. There's a huge language barrier to making good friends, but that's to be expected.
One interesting thing I've noticed is, there are moments where I'll be doing nothing, like eating, walking to work, reading a book, listening to music, sitting in a chair, waiting for the train/bus to arrive, etc. and I'll be a little bored. My favorite part of being here is that when those moments happen, I always remember, "right now, I'm a little bored, IN KOREA!!! With all kinds of crazy, weird, odd, foreign things EVERYWHERE!" It's pretty cool to have that double-take and think, "oh yeah, really life is dynamic."
The American community is rather small (2 girls and 1 guy), but the international community also has an Englishman, 2 South Africans, a New Zealander, a brand new Puerto Rican, and even a Spaniard. Lockie and Greg an Englishman and South African have become my new best friends.
