Another New Year Begins...

Well I started work for CIS (Canadian International School) on March 2nd. The new school had to put me up in a motel for three nights and I must say it was an interesting motel in a Red Light district. The motel room literally had a red light above the bed. A lot of tacky novelties - such as the main door into the motel having women's breasts you have to push to open, and a first for me - "a vibrator vending maching." Still it was inexpensive and clean. (Ahem the room - get your mind out of the gutter)

My new place is smaller as I expected. Accomodations in Seoul are very expensive. Studio flats can go for over 1/4 million dollars in some area and some 2 bedroom apartments 3/4 million. My place is clean and has a nice big queen bed, a half fridge and a washer (no dryer). I have two windows which is nice and my shower is above the toilet - so it is cramped in the washroom. Still it is not as bad as it sounds and you'd be surprised what you can get used to in this country.

My new school is much bigger and my classroom is more than double the size of my old one. I teach Kindergarten students from 10:00am to 12:00 and I get a 1 hour lunch. Then I teach from 1:00 to 2:00. At 2:00 the kids get a snack and they pack up to go home at 2:30. This school is organized by 1/2 hour sections with circle time from 10:00 to 10:30 every morning to get the kids into a routine. We talk about the date and weather and then sing some songs. The kids love B-I-N-G-O. Granted it's not the most exciting for this teacher but again it's fun to see them actually remember the words. Afte Circle Time I teach them printing practice, Math, science and phonics in various orders. We have P.E. once per week for half hour. Music for 1/2 hour a week (They go to a special music teacher so I get a prep block) and they get a one hour art class (also a prep block for me). Oh these kids are 5 years old. Some of them cried for the first week but now they seem not to be afraid of the Giant White man talking to them in some strange tongue.

At 2:30 I get a 1/2 hour break. Then I teach the 9-10 year olds. This class is called BC Grade 2 and used the British Columbia curriculum along with the performance standards. I teach these kids from 3pm until 6pm every day. I teach Reading, Vocabulary, Spelling, Conversation, P.E., Science, Math (English word problems mainly as the math itself is simple for them). There is a 10 minute break in the middle.

Man do these kids work hard. They went to their normal school all day and then come for a full load with me for 3 hours every day. I give them a fair bit of homework because it is impossible to cover all the material the school wants covered. Then on top of my homework the Korean Supervisor gives them a bunch of daily homework and weekend homework. Every three months they get a massive 30 page exam and they write the exam for 3 hours. After it is marked the parents come in and I am supposed to discuss the results with them.

One girl goes from 8am until 2 and then from 3 until 6 with me. Then she either has math or Piano from 7-10 and then does all her homework until 1:00am - 5 days a week. That's nuts but Korea is all about work.

I will be going to Japan in the next week or two. They will be sending me to Fukouka. They will send me on a Thursday and I will get my Visa processed. Then On Friday I pick it up. I will stay an extra 2 days on my on my dime and get a mini-vacation. Later in the year I plan to fly to Koh Samui in Thailand http://samui.sawadee.com/

Though I am entertaining the idea of going to Italy which may be significantly less money from Korea if the timing is right.

Oh and since I am staying here for another year - I bought myself a fish tank. A nice big tank with all the filters and lights. The whole set-up was under $100.00 and they have weird looking goldfish. It's nice to come home to something. When I come in the fish actually move to the front to see me. I didn't think fish could be this enjoyable.

Lastly, My new address: (Thankfully much smaller)

Kwanak-gu,
Bongchun - Sa Dong
914-5ho, 401ho
Seoul, South Korea
151-841

Phone Number is 02-886-2405

Hope all is well with you. Here are some pictures

My new classroom from the board to the entrance. My desk is a mess and it's only been a week.

My class from the entrance. Circle time is the green and blue mat. This school is still using chalk and chalk boards. I prefer the chalk - I find it easier than white boards to print clearly.

Sometimes I feel like Arnold Shwartzenegger in Kindergarten Cop. And some days I think "I have a tumor."

This is a neat building. Up close it looks like their is a massive cutout near the top which is angled in like a triangle. I hope to get a higher shot sometime. The Gangnam area where I work is Seoul's Wall Street. I have seena few Rolls Royce and Ferarri type cars going by.

This is a criss cross crosswalk. This I have not seen before and it is very close to my school. When the walk lights are on pedestrians can go in 6 directions. The motorcycles of course drive on the side walks in Korea. They are not allowed on the freeways. So if you buy a motorcycle you are only allowed to drive it in the city. All the Pizza chains and delivery restaurants have their own fleet of motorcycles. Luckily all the sidewalks in Korea are about the size of a full lane.