Doriannicole in Korea, Vol 3

I almost cannot believe the week is already half way over. I have been so busy this week; I haven’t had much time to take pictures. I’ll work on that for next time! Basically, this week has just been working. I had a couple of really long days and then normal ones. I teach from 4pm -10pm. The students come to me after school. So, they are in school from 9am till 10pm (poor things)! Korean children have no life until college, where ironically, they can relax a bit.

I have been teaching all grade levels this week, as I am covering someone else’s schedule until the fall term starts on the 28th. In the meantime, I will be staying in the hotel because the campus where I am helping out is closer to the hotel than where I will be living. I will be living in Bundang, a semi suburb of Seoul (like New Tampa to Tampa, or Arlington/Alexandria to DC, Cary to Raleigh, etc.) Seoul is the largest city I have ever seen! It looks like downtown from one side to the next. Every building is a high rise! But where I will be has the pretty plush parks, the beautiful scenery, the river, plenty of outdoor activities, and a beautiful lake!! In the winter, people ice skate on the lake!

I am loving the classroom. It’s not difficult, per se, but it is challenging to get all of the material covered in the time allotted. I ran behind 5 min the first day, which may not seem like much but when one class ends at 7pm and the next starts at 7pm, it is imperative that you finish and begin on time. I got it down by the second day. The students seem to like me a lot. They laugh and enjoy class which for them is a treat! They call me ‘teacher’ and I now refer to myself as such. ‘Teacher loves it when you do that!” It’s kind of odd. I mix it with first person, too, but it separates me from my job. You see, in Korea, teachers are held in high regards, so saying ‘I love it...’ would be just some brown woman saying she likes it. So what? But when ‘Teacher loves it...’ it is really something special!

This past weekend, I went to a district of Seoul (the name eludes me right now), where there are lots of universities. Many expats (expatriates) go there and have a blast with the university students. Here, the university students are a bit older than those in the States, ranging from 23-35. At 23, many are just starting their university careers. Anyway, we had a BLAST. I got home around 7:30-8:00 am!! We did some of everything. Koreans know how to have a good time! Wholesome fun! We went to a bar, mingled for a while (took advantage of the fact that men here (both Korean and non-Korean) LOVE my brown skin!!). Then we danced at a club across the street. I got my workout on! And it is true, they think I can dance!! HAHAHA! Anyone who knows me knows that I have rhythm issues! They are worse so I look WONDERFUL! Later, we went to a 24 hour spa to drop off the alcoholics (some of the people in our group) who couldn’t hang anymore. You pay 7,000 won (about $7) and they have a place to sleep, shower, sauna, hot tub, etc. We went back out and did some karaoke. Yes, I did get up on that stage and sing! I sang Whitney Houston “Queen of the Night,” (you know, from her pre-crack days J ) By that time, it was like 4:30am. We waited for the train to start running at 5:30am (mind you, we were lying outside on patches of grass...people were knocked out everywhere waiting on the train! AND no one bothered anyone! ) Took the train back to Chungdahm (where I am staying) and went to breakfast. It was a wonderful night!!! Can’t wait till this weekend! I met lots of people who are going to help me celebrate my birthday! Whooo hooo!!! PARTAY!

On a more mature note, I went to the immigration office (found it myself!), applied for my Alien Registration Card/Korean ID, and took the driving test to get a license. I did it because it was free. I passed the driving part but I failed the eye exam. Vision has to be damn near perfect and my contact prescription is old. So, I went down the street to the optometrist, got an eye exam (free with purchase of glasses/contacts), bought a $20 pair of glasses (only took 20 min to get!), and went back and passed the test!!! I have to wait one week for the license so they can put it with my ARC number. I don’t plan to drive here, though. They drive like maniacs... NYC drivers/ LA drivers have NOTHING on these drivers! I am sending pictures of me in my new glasses!

For those of you in Baltimore who know what I am talking about... Remember we called the lady at the ‘Chinese corner store’ A-Jee-Ma? Well she was Korean! And that means ‘Korean lady I don’t know well’ HAHA! I have been speaking Korean for years!! Let me find out! Anyway, I am still studying my Korean. I am glad to report that I have more than 48 million Korean teachers! Everyone here helps if they see you trying. When I have my Korean book and I am doing the exercises, they randomly come, look over my shoulder, and help me/make corrections/comment on my script. But they are always encouraging. I am really happy here.

I do, however, miss you all sooo much. I just wish you could all come here and experience this with me. This is definitely a place to visit. Forget plans to Paris. Come to Seoul! I love it. I can’t believe how great it is, more modern than the US by far. If ever you want to visit, come on!

Until next time,

Doriannicole