Big Brother is Watching

My new and improved bedroom!

My living room and private back balcony

My much more spacious kitchen

My friend Ally took all of us out for a delicious authentic lunch in the middle of a beautiful forest

"Bondeggi" or better known as Silk Worms which each of them had a taste of

It's hard to believe my brother has already come and gone. The 4 days they spent in Gwangju were filled with traditional Korean meals, touring in and around the city, drinking Korean soju and mekju (beer) as well as a short visit to my workplace. It's almost ironic how my brother and his friends were tourists in such an unfamiliar place, yet they were able to live and act like locals. Whether it be through taking the busy subway in Seoul, driving around the city with my Korean friends, or trying a Korean delicacy known as silk worms all 3 of them had quite the unique experience.

I think they figured out quickly how different Korean mentality is than our Western outlook... on virtually everything! For example, the boys short visit to my school involved having students either stare obtrusively at them or say "hello" with a wave and immediately run in the opposite direction (fade out laugh). It was a great day for the boys to show up at work because instead of teaching classes, we had our monthly contest where each class performed their favorite American pop song. It was enough for my brother and his friends to fall in love with the little ones. Their brief encounter with my boss was started and concluded with how handsome each of them are. I believe they left my school with a higher ego and a new appreciation for Justin Bieber.

A couple of situations this past week were blatant reminders of how endearing it can be to live and work in Korea. First I should start with my adorable yet boisterous students. This year I'm teaching grades 2 to grade 10 which is a huge gap but helps to break up the mundane effect schooling can have. Since I've never taught in Canada or North America for that matter, I have nothing to compare my experiences as a teacher in South Korea with. However I am quite certain that back home in Toronto, students wouldn't be attending class in fully equipped taekwondo uniforms, holding metal swords or walking into class with t-shirts that read, "Sexy bunny", "Playboy" or "Bitches" on them. Last week was Easter and I was teaching a class about various religious holidays. That eventually lead to a brief conversation about religion and I tried my best to explain that I was Jewish and what exactly Judaism entails. My students asked me a couple of questions and I thought I was really making an impact... that was until later that day when I was marking the same student's diaries and read, "Jew teacher, Happy Easter!" Oh well, I tried.

The other day I asked a student of mine to make a photo copy of his workbook for another classmate who had forgotten his book at home. The student I asked seemed concerned by my request so I repeated myself hoping he would suddenly have a revelation and intrinsically follow my command. "C-O-P-Y", I said again and the student smiled and left the room. About 12 minutes later this poor little boy walked back into the classroom holding the same workbook in one hand and a coffee he happily offered to me in the other. "Copy"..."Coffee"... close enough.

Being an English teacher also means delving into ancient grammatical rules that I have grown to completely ignore and solely depend on Microsoft Word to correct. In the classroom, however, I am the one teaching these impressionable students right from wrong, verb from adverb and adjective from noun. Today in class I was attempting to teach a lesson on adjectives and thought it would be a creative and fun idea to have the students pull 3 objects out of their bags and describe them to the class. My North American mind assumed the standard objects carried around by 11 year olds would consist of pencil cases, erasers, crayons and maybe even scissors or a glue stick. I was horribly mistaken. I had students pull out a hamster (locked in a small plastic cube with only a hole at the top for air), a fish in a plastic bag (like what you would win at a fair) and some sort of 8 legged creature locked in a tube. It was probably the most bizarre class I have taught yet and will ever teach. Just another reminder that I am NOT in Canada anymore. Very far from it!

Last on the list is my apartment and living conditions. My new place is great - much bigger than my last apartment I so lovingly referred to as the "shoebox". I have not only a spare bedroom which allows me to be extra accommodating, but I also have a real shower and bathtub. If you can recall pictures I posted of my last makeshift bathroom, you might remember me complaining about the limited space I would tolerate, showering in between my toilet and my sink. It was far from ideal but I made it work.

This time around I also have a private balcony in the back of my apartment, a kitchen table and a 32 inch flat screen television. Things are looking up. However, this wonderful space doesn't come without its charms. And by 'charms' I mean a painfully loud Korean voice bellowing through my kitchen speakers at 8am almost every morning!!! Unfortunately I was not warned about this intercom so when I first woke up to a Korean man's voice yelling into my apartment on my second morning here, I thought I had personally done something wrong and was being lectured over a loud speaker! Thoughts of uncertainty ran through my head, "could this man see me?? Is he watching me RIGHT NOW?? Who is this man?? and most importantly, "What in the world is he saying???"

I thought your apartment was supposed to be your safe haven, a place where you can get away from the harsh realities of life. When living in a foreign country, it's sometimes nice to go home and not have to worry about the obvious language barrier you deal with at work everyday trying to teach Korean students English who can't even tell you what day of the week it is. Well, I still have no idea what "the voice" is saying to me over the speaker in my apartment, but all I can hope is that it's not very important because god forbid he orders everyone to vacate the premises, I will still be lying in bed with a pillow over my face and ipod speakers in my ear trying desperately to ignore the conspicuous voice in my kitchen.

“Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey.” 

Signing off,

Gillian Teacha