First week of teaching

I just finished my first week of teaching. OK, I'll be honest. Because of a Korean holiday I didn't have to teach on Monday so my first week was only 4 days long. In my defense, I did teach 18 classes and worked roughly 8am to 4:30pm. I teach middle school and the level of English speaking proficiency varies dramatically. I teach at 2 schools: the first is a school in my neighborhood where I work Monday-Thursday. The second is a sports training academy for Korea's future Olympic hopefuls where I go on Fridays.

The first day of school was a bit of a rush for me. In case I haven't made this clear, I am the lone white guy in my neighborhood. I stick out. People stare. People aren't being rude, they are just curious. Classes are hushed when I walk in. Oh, also there are teenage girls in my classes. They aren't hushed...they are teenage girls. During my introduction to the school I felt like a rock star standing on the stage in front of a screaming audience (it wasn't like Led Zeppelin, I think more like Hanna Montana).

Despite buying new dress shoes before I came to Korea, I have taught all of my classes in Adidas soccer sandals. In Korean schools everyone wears "slippers" and leaves their shoes in darling little shoe lockers by the door. No slipper fits my gargantuan American foot and I squeeze in the largest thing Korea has to offer. Thankfully the other men do the same thing and the suit/soccer sandal combo no longer looks strange to me.

My first classes were brief intros about me, making name tags, hilarious mispronunciations of Korean names by me and some simple English-level assessment game playing. Part of the games included asking about music and I now know the names of several Korean pop bands (k-pop from here on out). A word to the wise: "Big Bang" is the latest hot boy band and "Bang Bang" is a brand of jeans. If you mix these up or even fail to properly annunciate the words you will be ridiculed and lose all credibility in the k-pop arena. Don't mix them up.

This stuff is serious. If you don't believe me, check it out:

Other highlights from my school include:

• Lunches. I ate octopus twice last week at my school lunch. All the teachers eat together the lunch room. Because I don't fumble with my chopsticks I am considered impressive. A big thank you to all the teachers who came here before me for setting the eating bar so low.
• Cleaning. There are no janitors in my school, or at any school. One hour a day the kids clean the school. And they take it seriously. Let that sink in for a minute...middle schoolers cleaning and doing a good job the whole time. It still looks weird to me.
• Fan clubs. In the teachers office I have two couches that face each other near my desk. As we speak there are currently 8 girls sitting on them. I don't know what they want but they have 10 minutes between classes and the couches see lots of attentive visitors during those times. If I turn around they all giggle. I hope they don't have actual English questions because I haven't said a word to any of them all week.
• Teachers dinner. After my first day we all went out for dinner. It was Korean style, where we all sat on the floor at low tables and shared dishes. We drank soju and raspberry wine. My principal thinks I am incredibly qualified to teach at his school because I look like Jewel Low (Jude Law).
• Weddings. I got married last week. Not really. Last week a teacher told me about a wedding that he was going to. It took about 10 minutes of conversation to understand that he wasn't just going to the wedding, he was in the wedding...as the groom. I think he invited me to it. Thankfully we know that the groom spot has been filled so I won't be in for any surprises.
• Oral hygiene. After lunch all the teachers brush their teeth in the teachers office. Together. We are Korea's gleaming white teeth.
• Lessons. It's not all fan clubs and teeth brushing. I do teach here, and my lessons are flexible. I can make a powerpoint based on what I want to teach. There is a framework that I need to follow but I have the freedom to choose what goes into each lesson.
• Technology. My classrooms have insanely fast internet, a/v hookups and plasma TV's. I will repeat that: my classes have plasmas. Big ones. 50" televisions that we turn on sometimes. The kids know how to connect my computer to it and don't seem to think it is special. God bless you, Samsung.

That is a cross section of my week. There was a lot that happened, and a lot of it was a blur. I will continue to post highlights. For now I am happy, optimistic and enthusiastic about the future. I teach with 4 different teachers and they are all great so far. I am still in love with this place and it only gets better...