Yay I'm able to be online more meaning more updates. Yi Sul, my Korean friend who translates everything for me has her laptop here and is connected to the internet, meaning I don't have to bother the guy living in the next room over especially if he's asleep to use the computer in his room. It's also an old PC and hard to type on so yeah its nicer to use Yi Sul's laptop.
Okay so for more of an update on what exactly I will be doing here since I know more now that I am here. I will be teaching english/american culture to a class of middle school students, two groups of elementary school students, and then once a week going to the middle school in town and teaching an English class during the day. I have seen two of the classes at the after school program im in, and they are very informal. We are allowed to use the internet, show them movies, play games, etc. anything to get them actively using English, hearing English, etc. The classes seem to be about an hour long... and its hard especially in the elementary school age to get them to use English and learn it for an hour. Games end up being played a lot.
They also barely know any English. It's going to be a real challenge. Yi Sul is very good at getting the kids who are rambunctious at best to sit down and pay attention. She also broke up a fight amongst two of the older kids. I asked her about it, and she said it is because in the Korean culture you automatically have respect for those that are older than you, and since they all speak Korean, they have even more respect for her and will listen to what she says. This is VERY useful. She's going to be of great help in teaching the kids English.
The thing I am most nervous about is teaching English at the actual middle school. It's a more formal environment but the good thing about that is that they will pay attention in the class. At the after school program they really just want to get out their energy and I don't blame them. They were just in school for many hours... and the last thing that you want to do after school is sit through more classes. I don't know when exactly I start teaching at the middle school. They said that the schedule has not been planned out yet, but that they will tell me this coming week. Yi Sul and I are going to make a test for the middle school students to take when we first start so that we can see exactly what level we are at. Then we can go from there to see what to teach them.
There are a lot of cultural differences that I have noticed between Korea and America. A few of them I knew, a lot of them that I didn't. From going to high school with a lot of Korean students, I knew that they bow to everyone when you see them. Whenever I walk into a room with anyone (besides Yi Sul) I bow to them and say hello. I am starting to feel more comfortable saying it in Korean, so I think next week I will start saying that (ahn young ha se oh) or just ahn young to the kids.
Also, shoes come off before you enter anywhere. Even if its raining you stop before you walk through a door, take off your shoes, and walk in. The house where my host parents live as soon as you walk into the door they actually have this little cement square that you can stop and take off your shoes at and leave them there. then the actual flooring of the room starts and you are in the family room.
Showers are also really interesting at least where I am. I asked Yi Sul and she said that this is not how it is everywhere in Korea. Pretty much in the bathroom is just a shower head (you hold it with your hands). No tub or curtain or anything. There is a drain behind the sink so yeah you just kinda shower in the middle of the bathroom. The floor of the bathroom is constantly wet, so there are actually shoes in every bathroom made for being in the bathroom.
Food is also very different. Rice and soup is served with absolutely every meal. Breakfast is usually fish of some kind, kimchi, and sometimes leftovers from previous meals. The soup today was too spicey for me, and the host mother actually warned Yi Sul that it would be too hot for me. It was very kind of her to warn me. I tried it just to see, but indeed it was far too spicy.
Tomorrow we are going to Jindo Island which is the third largest island in Korea. It apparently has some really beautiful sights. I will definitely take a lot of pictures. A week from tomorrow (Saturday) is Mattius (the other volunteers)'s last day of volunteering, and we are all going to go up to Seoul (his parents are actually flying out for a week to South Korea when he is done and exploring it themselves) where Yi Sul actually goes to school and she is going to show us around.
That is it for now. I'm happy to be able to update more so that you guys can hear what is going on, although not much is happening just a lot of observing for now before the actual work begins. I'm really happy to be doing this. It is SUCH an experience and one that I will probably never have again. The people are all really nice here and friendly and inviting.
-me
