Another full week of teaching. I have a couple classes full of nice, quiet girls. I also have a couple classes full of boys who are desperately in need of an ADHD diagnosis. This makes my day quite the roller coaster ride. They way classes work is there are 3 or four blocks in a day. Each block is designated to a grade, and depending on how the student does on a test, they are separated into one of 8 classes. Once placed in a class, the students may level up, but they never level down. The most advanced students end up in the Magnet program.
American Thanksgiving was the focus of the week. On Thursday, which is apparently the official thanksgiving day, I went out for Indian food to pay tribute to the country that Christopher Columbus thought he had discovered. Friday night we went out for something I though seemed similar to Chinese hot pot. There was a large pot of boiling vegetable broth in the middle of the table, and we were given a giant tray of vegetables and mushrooms to cook, as well as thinly shaved meat.
Saturday morning I went into Seoul for the first time all by myself. I met a few friends, and we explored Namdaemun market, looking for Christmas gifts. Namdaemun is a few large square block crisscrossed by narrow alleys filled with small booths and restaurants. There are several big buildings that seem like multifloor department stores, but also contain small booths. On the second floor of one of these buildings we found the Korean Folk art section. There was also a large house wares section on the 3rd floor, and a nearby fabric section. There were other buildings filled with accessories which you could buy by the giant box, seemingly straight from the manufacturers. There are other, nicer shopping areas in Seoul, but I think I would head back to Namdaemun if I want to buy fabric or random black market brand name stuff.
On the weekend I was invited to two Thanksgiving dinners. One was a big event with a lot of the current and past teachers from my Poly school, plus a few other teacher friends. I met a few of the other Canadians who used to teach at my school. The dinner itself was potluck, but I just brought Juice and cups. A few people put much more effort into their cooking, and there wasn’t turkey, but 3 roast chickens proved more affordable and similar enough. The next night I went to another, smaller dinner with a few couples who I’ve met since I’ve been here. For this dinner I brought mashed potatoes, which were barely touched due to the amount of other food there was. Once again, we had chicken, but also a cheese plate, salad, bread, stuffing and stove top, Egyptian carrots, chocolate cake and pumpkin pie for dessert.
Monday mornings are no longer filled with the dread that a 8-5 workweek often provides. Knowing that I can sleep in until 11:45 and still make it to work on time relieves a lot of stress. Mostly I have been using these mornings for visiting a café with free internet, cleaning the apartment, and doing laundry. Or sleeping. And watching Dr. Oz on television.
Tuesday was Korean language class again. Our weekly lesson at Papa Johns Pizza is pretty casual, but I’m learning to read Hangeul! I don’t know what the words mean yet, but at least I can sound things out. Also, Tuesday I got my official registered Alien Card. I am now legit to live and work in Korea. I also got a multiple entry visa for my passport, so I’m set to come and go from Korea as I desire.
Wednesday night we went out for what was supposed to be Fish and Beer. We ended up eating Sashimi, spicy octopus, and drinking Soju. Note to self: no more Soju on school nights.
Friday I got food poisoning. I used one of my unpaid sick days and called in. The ‘calling in’ part was a bit of a worry for me. For one, I don’t have a phone yet, or internet in my apartment. Second, I was having trouble staying on my feet for more than a minute, and I wouldn’t be able to make it to a pay phone. Luckily, I was able to drag myself to the apartment of another teacher in our building, and they were able to get a hold of someone at the school. My biggest concern with being sick was that I was having trouble keeping down any water, and I knew I was quickly becoming dehydrated. By 3 pm I managed to make it downstairs and got some PowerAde, and after drinking that I started feeling better. In fact, I was thinking about getting ready to head into work for the last few classes. But then I tried standing up, and was still too light-headed to last 2 minutes on my feet. And back to the bed for me.
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