I am perpetually amazed by the kindness and helpfulness of the Koreans I have met in my first 11 days abroad. I know we all fear being ostracized and abused while traveling in a country whose language we don't speak, but Korea never fails to floor me with their kindness. The following is one of latest examples of how Koreans go above and beyond for others:
As with many mornings so far I found myself at Hongcheon bus terminal. I was fumbling through the anglicized Korean the former EPIK teacher had left behind to get me where I needed go. I had arrived around 7:30am, having heard that the bus ride to Samsaeng Elementary School takes about 50 minutes. I managed to get the correct ticket and even find the right platform to wait for the bus. After asking 3 bus drivers in broken Korean whether or not they were going to "Sehn-Gohk" (where my Friday school, Samseang Elementary is located) I was informed by a nearby Korean that the next bus to Sehn-Gohk was leaving at 8am. So I tweedled my thumbs and waited. At 10 minutes to 8am, two buses came by, but both drivers stepped out of their buses for a coffee and a smoke. I was patient and waited for another Korean to get on one of the buses, I asked hopefully "Sehn-Gohk?" gesturing to the indecipherable Hanguel spelling of Sehn-Gohk. The boy waved his arms in a manner I took as "no" so I stepped off the bus and waited for the other driver to finish his cigarette before asking if his was the right bus. While waiting, the bus I had inquired about left. I was assured I had found the right bus, but I inquired anyway.
The driver gave me a funny look, and shook his arms in a manner that indicated "no!"
At this point I was reasonably certain I may need to learn Korean in the near future.
The driver got ready to leave with his bus, but several other bus drivers and workers discovered my gaffe. I was briefly the subject of a much animated discussion (to which I have no clue what was said, again with the needing to learn Korean). But I was placed on the bus I had been assured was not going to Sehn-Gohk. The driver kept me nearby, trying to explain something to me about the bus system as he began his route (having refused to take my ticket). Needless to say, I think he tried to tell me he wasn't going to Sehn-Gohk, and that I need to check the Hanguel names on the front of the buses. I smiled nervously and nodded in an empathetic manner. The driver took us out to the highway and began to fly down the road, I still wasn't sure if I would be making it to Samsaeng Elementary or if I would be hopelessly lost in one of the largest of Gangwon-Do's remote districts.
We were not on the road more than 10 minutes, when the driver veered off the road and pulled up next to an identical bus, the bus that I had missed earlier this morning.
The bus officials had called ahead and had them hold the bus for me in mid route.
I could hardly believe it! I quickly hopped off the bus, stammering a "Gaam-sam-hida" to the driver as I hopped onto the correct bus. The new driver looked at me nonchalantly and took my ticket like it was nothing. I sat and we were on our way to Sehn-Gohk!
I have never heard of any bus system holding a bus mid-route for a mixed up foreigner. That would NEVER have happened in the United States. We even made it to Samsaeng Elementary with 10 minutes to spare! Unbelievable! I've been impressed by Korea's bus system so far, impeccably efficient, but today's experience is a complete surprise!
Though I hope I never miss the bus like this again, I just have to say that I am so pleasantly surprised by the character of the Koreans I have met. They are wonderful!
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Finally a few moments to stand still
Nine days... I've been in South Korea for nice days....
It's still a little surreal to be living in a foreign country, it almost escapes me that I'm far from my homeland until I realize I have no idea what people around me are saying. But for those back home I suppose I should give a brief synopsis of my adventures so far:
Orientation: So much happened over Orientation week, I can hardly describe it! I met a hoard of incredible people from all over the world coming to Korea to participate in the EPIK program. I can honestly say it was a fantastic experience that has provided me with more friends than I could have hoped for. I'd love to write more about the things that went on at orientation, but alas, I do not have the energy to post it here. Those stories will have to arrive at another time.
Orientation ended with me FINALLY discovering the details of my position. I am teaching at three schools for the next year. Seoseok Middle School is my main school, and I will also do one day a week at Jubong, and Samseang Elementary. So far I have only been to Seoseok to do planning, but from the few students I met they seem like good kids. I have no idea why they find me so fascinating, Mr. Shin (my co-teacher) says it is because I am so tall.... I am curious to experience them in the classroom. As well as meeting my other schools, for which I am more or less unprepared to tackle (but honestly, who's ever ready for kids?)
However, at the present moment. I am huddled inside my new apartment! And when I say new, I mean the apartment that I am taking over from the previous EPIK teacher. It is located above a few little shops, in fact the complex is owned by the woman who runs the galbi restaurant below. (Galbi, for those of you who don't know. Is a type of Korean BBQ that allows you to cook the meat yourself. Neat stuff). I haven't tried it yet, but it looks rather promising.
My apartment is almost impossibly small. If I had to gauge it myself, I'd say my bedroom is at most a 15' x 15' square room. I also have a tiny kitchen and bathroom attached to the bedroom. In total, I say I live in a 15' x 25' box. Pics below, and believe me it's smaller than it looks:
However, on the plus side. If my former resident here is right, it will cost very little to keep this place heated and cool. In addition, I have a full sized bed! Kinda silly in such a small apartment, but hell, you've got to enjoy a silver lining. Especially when you don't have an oven!
More to come as time emerges to tell!
It's still a little surreal to be living in a foreign country, it almost escapes me that I'm far from my homeland until I realize I have no idea what people around me are saying. But for those back home I suppose I should give a brief synopsis of my adventures so far:
Orientation: So much happened over Orientation week, I can hardly describe it! I met a hoard of incredible people from all over the world coming to Korea to participate in the EPIK program. I can honestly say it was a fantastic experience that has provided me with more friends than I could have hoped for. I'd love to write more about the things that went on at orientation, but alas, I do not have the energy to post it here. Those stories will have to arrive at another time.
Orientation ended with me FINALLY discovering the details of my position. I am teaching at three schools for the next year. Seoseok Middle School is my main school, and I will also do one day a week at Jubong, and Samseang Elementary. So far I have only been to Seoseok to do planning, but from the few students I met they seem like good kids. I have no idea why they find me so fascinating, Mr. Shin (my co-teacher) says it is because I am so tall.... I am curious to experience them in the classroom. As well as meeting my other schools, for which I am more or less unprepared to tackle (but honestly, who's ever ready for kids?)
However, at the present moment. I am huddled inside my new apartment! And when I say new, I mean the apartment that I am taking over from the previous EPIK teacher. It is located above a few little shops, in fact the complex is owned by the woman who runs the galbi restaurant below. (Galbi, for those of you who don't know. Is a type of Korean BBQ that allows you to cook the meat yourself. Neat stuff). I haven't tried it yet, but it looks rather promising.
My apartment is almost impossibly small. If I had to gauge it myself, I'd say my bedroom is at most a 15' x 15' square room. I also have a tiny kitchen and bathroom attached to the bedroom. In total, I say I live in a 15' x 25' box. Pics below, and believe me it's smaller than it looks:
However, on the plus side. If my former resident here is right, it will cost very little to keep this place heated and cool. In addition, I have a full sized bed! Kinda silly in such a small apartment, but hell, you've got to enjoy a silver lining. Especially when you don't have an oven!
More to come as time emerges to tell!
Friday, August 10, 2012
a journey begins... soon
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
Traveling may have been more simple in his time because in my experience, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a hoard of paperwork. However, paperwork (though painful, tedious, and often infuriating) has proved it's worth and in nine days from this present moment, I will begin my journey to the far side of the world.
Said side of the world happens to be South Korea. Where I have accepted a teaching position with EPIK (English Program in Korea) a reputable English teaching program that finds foreigners jobs in Korean government schools. I was delighted to take this job last week, when after months of applications, background checks, government stamps, approvals, letters, etc. etc. ad nausium I finally received an official job offer to teach in Gangwon Province, South Korea.
Though I have been filling my spare time with research about my destination, a great many things remain a complete mystery. My appointment is through the Provincial Office of Education and I have yet to learn which city in Gangwon will be my home for the next year, or even the age range of my future students. I find myself beset with a curious collaboration of feelings, of excitement, and anxiety (like the kind a child feels on Christmas Eve!) I can't wait for time to pass so I can start my adventure, but in the same right I have much to do before I leave. Places to go, items to pack, people to see, all that. And yet I find myself consumed with a peculiar form of procrastination. Stacks of clothes and supplies litter my bedroom floor as I write, and I tell myself I could stow them away now... but I don't. On the one hand I can't until it's time to have all my clothes washed, all items accounted for, and all matters settled. On the other hand I don't want to, I'm not ready. Packing my bags means it's time to leave. There is much too much left to do before that happens, and only nine days before I'm winging my way across the world.
(Eccentric Aside) Isn't it marvelous? That in nine days I will participate in one of the greatest marvels of the modern world, I'll traverse the globe! I'll travel to Korea! And all the land and sea I'll cross to get there will take less than a day! A hundred years ago, this same journey would have been near impossible, only fifty years ago it might have taken months to arrive on South Korea's shores.
I will do it in less than a day
Marvelous!
We live in a world of many conveniences, cell phones, and wi-fi, tablets, etc. Though I find it's easy to forget how quickly everything happens. We have a kind of cognitive dissonance with the past that seems to rob us of most the marvel of what we experience today.... but that's the subject of some other rant.
What matters is that I am nine days away from an adventure unlike any I have previously encountered. A long stay in a faraway land is an intimidating prospect, but in the same right it's exhilarating! Where will I live? What will I see? How will I feel? Who will I meet? Wonderful, wild, and whimsical prospects pound my brain as I continue to procrastinate on packing.
An adventure unlike any other,
and it's only nine days away....
-Lao-Tzu
Traveling may have been more simple in his time because in my experience, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a hoard of paperwork. However, paperwork (though painful, tedious, and often infuriating) has proved it's worth and in nine days from this present moment, I will begin my journey to the far side of the world.
Said side of the world happens to be South Korea. Where I have accepted a teaching position with EPIK (English Program in Korea) a reputable English teaching program that finds foreigners jobs in Korean government schools. I was delighted to take this job last week, when after months of applications, background checks, government stamps, approvals, letters, etc. etc. ad nausium I finally received an official job offer to teach in Gangwon Province, South Korea.
Though I have been filling my spare time with research about my destination, a great many things remain a complete mystery. My appointment is through the Provincial Office of Education and I have yet to learn which city in Gangwon will be my home for the next year, or even the age range of my future students. I find myself beset with a curious collaboration of feelings, of excitement, and anxiety (like the kind a child feels on Christmas Eve!) I can't wait for time to pass so I can start my adventure, but in the same right I have much to do before I leave. Places to go, items to pack, people to see, all that. And yet I find myself consumed with a peculiar form of procrastination. Stacks of clothes and supplies litter my bedroom floor as I write, and I tell myself I could stow them away now... but I don't. On the one hand I can't until it's time to have all my clothes washed, all items accounted for, and all matters settled. On the other hand I don't want to, I'm not ready. Packing my bags means it's time to leave. There is much too much left to do before that happens, and only nine days before I'm winging my way across the world.
(Eccentric Aside) Isn't it marvelous? That in nine days I will participate in one of the greatest marvels of the modern world, I'll traverse the globe! I'll travel to Korea! And all the land and sea I'll cross to get there will take less than a day! A hundred years ago, this same journey would have been near impossible, only fifty years ago it might have taken months to arrive on South Korea's shores.
I will do it in less than a day
Marvelous!
We live in a world of many conveniences, cell phones, and wi-fi, tablets, etc. Though I find it's easy to forget how quickly everything happens. We have a kind of cognitive dissonance with the past that seems to rob us of most the marvel of what we experience today.... but that's the subject of some other rant.
What matters is that I am nine days away from an adventure unlike any I have previously encountered. A long stay in a faraway land is an intimidating prospect, but in the same right it's exhilarating! Where will I live? What will I see? How will I feel? Who will I meet? Wonderful, wild, and whimsical prospects pound my brain as I continue to procrastinate on packing.
An adventure unlike any other,
and it's only nine days away....
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