First Day of School

Today was first day of school! So-yoon, my co-teacher who picked me up from the buses the day before, told me to take the bus to school and to be there by 8:30 to meet the other co-teachers. I woke up super early and left my house at around 7:30. I wasn’t sure how long the walk to the bus stop was going to be, or how long the wait and ride would be so I gave myself an hour just in case. Turns out the bus stop is a 3 minute walk, the wait is about 10 minutes, and the ride is another 10 minutes, so I got to school before 8am! I knew where I was supposed to go so I went up there and assumed I could just sit on the computer and wait until 8:30. Well I got there, and no one else was there yet! I went into our office and the A/C was off, and my computer required a password that I didn’t know. So I just walked around the hallway looking at things until Kristen showed up. Kristen is another English teacher that works at my school. They have three now that I am here. Its very different than what we had heard during orientation, because they always told us we would be the only English speakers in the school. It was definitely nice to see another English speaker! So after meeting a few other teachers, I sat in with one that was teaching 2nd graders. Since my school is a private school (not a hogwan, but more like a private school in the US) the class sizes are much smaller so there were about 8 students in the English classes. I introduced myself to each class of students and they would all giggle a little or say something to their friends in Korean. Apparently my name is what they call a teacher when they talk amongst themselves. Sam is the nickname for teacher, so they were all very amused by this!

This is Jigok Elementary (my school)!

After two periods, I met the vice principal who was really nice, and happy to meet me! He is going to be the new Principle of the school in a few days because the current Principal is leaving. After two more periods, I had lunch with all the other teachers, and then Mr. Che (he works in administration) took me to city hall to get my Alien Registration Card. Everything went smoothly and only took about 30 minutes. When we got back, Kristen and I walked to Lotte Mart (grocery store near the school) and she let me watch while she paid one of her bills at a machine inside. Then we just walked around the Lotte Mart for about 30 minutes. She pointed out to me certain things that she liked, so that was really nice. We got back at around 4:15 which gave me only enough time to quickly respond to Courtney’s email. We haven’t seen or talked to each other since we parted at the bus stop the day before. I’m sure we are both really eager to find out where we both live, but for now neither of us have phones and we can’t get internet until we get our ARCs, so the only time we can email is during school or if we find a PC bang. Courtney said she was staying with her co-teachers family for a bit so maybe she’s been able to use their computer, but I’m not sure.

So around 4:30 I went with So-yoon and some other teachers to a banquet hall. They were having a farewell dinner for the current Principal who is leaving, and I was invited!! I met the music teacher who speaks English really well and is close to my age, so that was nice because she helped translate for me during the dinner. The dinner was so fantastic!! I sat at a table with So-yoon, the music teacher Joanna, and about 6 other teachers. The first part of the dinner was when they did all the speeches. I obviously didn’t know what was being said, but I clapped at the end like everyone else. I was really nervous in the beginning of the dinner because I was brand new, and didn’t speak the language. On top of that, I’m still new to all of the Korean customs, so I was afraid of doing something wrong and offending someone. Everyone at my table was really friendly, but after the beer and soju were served, everything was a lot less stressful for me. One of the guys at the table was extremely nice to me, and joking around with me. The vice principal came over to our table and poured us all drinks and we did a cheer for him! It was such a great dinner, and I was so happy that I got to be a part of it. They even gave me a bouquet of flowers! I got the most beautiful bouquet, and I was completely thrown off guard because I wasn’t expecting anything at all. It was by far, the best first day of school I’ve ever had!

My big cereal tea cup became a vase for the flowers.

So-yoon had to leave the dinner a bit early, so the school nurse took me home because she lives close to me. It was really nice of her to do that. When I got home I did some laundry for the first time since I’ve been in Korea. Another awesome thing about my apartment is that I have a drying rack built in to my ceiling! Now I an really exhausted and I’ll probably go to sleep soon. Today was fantastic; I can’t wait to see what tomorrow will look like!

The "front yard" of my building.