Korea: week one

So it’s about time I update this.. I left for Korea on Saturday afternoon and arrived Sunday night local time. The flight went by remarkably quickly, especially considering how long it was (14 hrs.) I had the best airplane food of my life btw, Asiana air.. I slept through most
the flight, as well as the bus ride from Seoul to Daejeon where we’ll be teaching. I haven’t really felt any jet lag which is fortunate since I started working pretty much right after I arrived.

For this week its just me here. Pedro arrives next Tues. I’m super excited for him to get here, but at the same time it’s not nearly as scary as I thought it would be being here by myself. All the teachers at the school are super helpful, and in general Koreans are very friendly to foreigners. My apartment is right across the street from school, a Starbucks, and “No 1 Sexy Dress Bar.” Kinda can’t wait to check that place out..

So far I’ve been observing other teachers, but tomorrow I have my own classes. The kids range from ages 3-8 (US age) and are all adorable. To most of them I’m “Jacqui Teacher” except for one of the younger classes which calls me “Zucchini Teacher.” Apparently they liked the way I said zucchini in their vegetable lesson, and that’s become my nickname. I don’t mind if it sticks, I kinda like it.

I’ve had ups and downs each day so far, but little things really make me think this experience is going to be great. Like when I got my passport pictures taken today, and as part of the package they gave me a little Asian cell phone doodad which my picture on it. In the shape of a heart. That I really didnt want, of course, but that was the cheapest package i could get. (Spoiler alert: I’m giving it to Pedro as a gift when he arrives.) Or the other night, when I went to a PC Zone because I still don’t have Internet. It’s basically a giant room where Korean teenagers sit in leather chairs and do online gaming. Just being there, clearly the odd man out with everyone looking at me made me laugh. It’s stuff like this that’s so different, that I could never have expected, that makes me happy to be here. I’m sure my honeymoon period with this new culture will end in a number of weeks, but for now I’m trying to relish these moments where I really enjoy all the quirky cultural differences.

Tonight I went out for Korean barbecue with the teachers from school as a welcome to me and a goodbye to the teacher who’s leaving. Its a really great group and maybe its just the soju speaking, but I’m really looking forward to spending the year here. Until next time I find Internet….