The Korean Alphabet

My goal for the week has been to memorize the Korean alphabet. There are 10 vowels and 14 consonants in the Korean language. This does not include various vowel and consonant combinations.

Korean Traffic

After work tonight I decided to get some shopping done and look around the local E-Mart to try and further familiarize myself with the grocery store. It's about a five minute walk to the store. However, I take more precautions to cross the street than I would back home in the states. The simple rule of yielding to pedestrians has no meaning to the impatient Korean driver. So I take extra care when using crosswalks even when the little green LED man is lit up. Korean cab drivers are especially dangerous to an unaware pedestrian, especially if that pedestrian is a foreigner. So running red lights, cutting people off, speeding and even driving on sidewalks should be no surprise; I have seen them all now. In Korea, the pedestrian yields to the driver. Even though the law probably states otherwise.
It was in this system where I found myself tonight, about halfway to my destination. I had already braved the crosswalks. About a hundred yards ahead little delivery motorcycle, a common sight. Quickly approaching behind him, a maniacal driver in an SUV. Here are the next sequence of events:

• Motorcycle isn't fast enough for maniacal SUV driver
• SUV driver blares his horn
• Motorcycle gets out of the way too slow
• Result: motorcyclist gets layed out by SUV

I run to cover the distance between me and the poor biker who is lying still by his bike. There are a handful of Koreans around the biker but they aren't really doing much. Me and two other guys try and help the biker get off the asphalt and move his bike. I of course, speak no Korean. Therefore my ability to help was somewhat hindered. I realized I could do little more. I made sure he was in good hands and proceeded to my destination. I am preparing to see a lot more of this...

A Walk to Peace Park

1. Looking towards New Mokpo from Gatbawi
2. Walking back from Gatbawi
3. Gatbawi Rocks
4. Looking towards boats and Gatbawi
5. Peace Park
6. Konglish
   

Sunday Afternoon: I slipped on my warm attire for the journey into the shop filled streets beyond my familiar neighborhood. Out into the great unknown of little Mokpo, South Korea. My journey takes me south towards the sea. The more you get out the more you feel you own the streets. That was the main purpose of this particular adventure.

The first thing you notice when you walk down a busy street in Korean or any Oriental city is that it is packed with shops and restaurants. You can probably picture it in your head, neon signs and bright colors everywhere, that’s what it is really like. In Mokpo and many other cities you sea this interesting blend of cultures. It’s a colorful mixture of East and West. For example you may find a Dunkin’ Donuts next to the local Korean restaurant. The blend between Western and Eastern is often quite comical. This often culminates in Konglish, the often confusing and grammatically insane Korean form of English. ON my first big journey into the streets of Mokpo I had to take a double take at a business with a bright orange sign reading Hot Dog Coffee. My first reaction was a reaction in my stomach just imagining the crazy combination. After looking inside I realized it was a little café that specialized in gourmet hot dogs and coffee, (still a strange business venture). Other forms of Konglish may include the following: The men’s restrooms reading man rather than men. A coffee place claiming World Best Coffee!

Not long after taking off from my apartment I realized the weather forecast for the day was bogus. The weather was at marvelous fifty degrees, at least. The prior week and been freezing cold, so the ability to shed layers was a blessing. The destination for my walk was Peace Park. Along the way I felt more comfortable with the sights, sounds and inescapable secondhand smoke. Thirty minutes later I arrived to Peace Park and the oceanfront.

Peace Park is jam packed with screaming children and hordes of Koreans out for walks or family outings. It’s more of a carnival atmosphere with game, food vendors and armies of children on bikes and little electric cars. The full length of the waterline at the park is flanked by a boardwalk which is also packed full of people. Among this mass of people I am the one that sticks out the most. The only other foreigners I saw were from Southeast Asia and India. I walked the length of the boardwalk taking everything in while avoiding obstacles like children and zigzagging bicyclists. My next step was at the end of the boardwalk, the Gatbawi Rocks.

Gatbawi Rocks isn’t much, merely some sandstone that has been eroded by the ocean. The Koreans think of it as more of a big deal, a natural Korean War memorial so to speak. The rocks somewhat resemble Korean War era helmets. At Gatwabi you could say this is a point where Old Mokpo and New Mokpo connect. They are very distinct places, I haven’t ventured to Old Mokpo yet. This is where I got my first distant look at the other half of Mokpo. All in all it was a good feeling to go out and explore on my own. I recommend getting out to all other ESL teachers or prospective teachers.

A Day in the Life

Today will be my fifth day of teaching at Kim’s Academy in Mokpo, South Korea. The week has gone by fast and my brain has been in absolute overload. Something that every prospective ESL teacher should know is that this is a serious business and that you have to be responsible and treat it like a job. Every week of school at Kim’s basically follows the same format. On Monday you administer the Word Tests to most or all of your classes. Tuesday through Friday it is a whole different format. At Kim’s each class is broken up into three primary types of classes: The Phonics, The Basics and the Levels.

For Phonics classes I deal with the youngest or most novice of the children. I teach them primarily how to say different types of words, constantly having them repeat until they can pronounce, read and write the words correctly. I teach primarily out of the Phonics lesson book and usually occupy the entire fifty-minute class period.

The Basics are broken up into six different levels and six more different sublevels. With these classes I teach out of one of two different types of lesson plans. I follow along in the book and have each student read. Afterwards we do activities and hopefully take up the entire class period, simple.

The Levels classes are the challenge of the teaching day. I use a textbook and workbook but usually the curriculum is very short and will only occupy the students for a short amount of time leaving me with twenty minutes to kill more often than not. The solution is me supplementing material from the vast array of teaching supplies and worksheets within the academy. So preparation is a huge key!

The other class I have is an Essay class, I have this twice a week and we read out of some selected readings. It’s pretty straightforward; the key is to take your time so you don’t have too much time left over. Everyday our classes rotate amongst the four teachers so we have different classes each day. It’s down to clockwork and precision, six classes in a day with five or ten minute breaks. Just like that the day is over and it goes by in a hurry!

I can’t wait to see what my next blog is about!

First Impressions: Korea and Teaching

My first glance at Korea was walking down the jet way of Incheon International Airport half-asleep and feeling like a shell of a person rather than a fully-functioning human. One of my first thoughts walking down the long terminals was that for the first time in my life I felt taller. For the most part I felt like I was taller than at least 4/5 of all the Korean men.

The bus ride from the airport to Mokpo was even greater experience. In fact it was both humorous and eye-opening. The bus drive was quite the character. Whether it was his belching, picking his teeth, impromptu stretches that looked like dance moves or his chatter into his Bluetooth. I was half-awake for the majority of the drive down but marveled at the scale of the infrastructure. We drove across one of the longest bridges I had ever seen and every once and a while you would see towering columns of apartment buildings clumped together in the middle of nowhere. Planning and zoning takes on a whole new meaning here.

The simple things impressed too. The tollbooths are all automated; there is no stopping to pay. The tollbooth senses the car and charges it to the driver as they drive by, I have no clue how this works. At each city you drive through a checkpoint and are disinfected by a spray, I’m guessing that Koreans hate germs. One of the funnier things I witnessed was in relation to Korean traffic workers. They are mechanical men dressed up in orange and waving a fluorescent stick, warning of the inevitable roadwork or spray things.

The Swastika: Many people don’t know this but the Swastika is an ancient Hindu and Buddhist symbol. So it should come as no surprise to see a swastika every once and a while in Korea or other Asian countries. My first one happened to be on the way down to Mokpo. It was on a traffic sign of all places, a big white swastika on a brown sign. Westerners should not take offense to such a sight. It’s all a matter of context. Though I do hear that “Hitler themed bars” are very popular in Korea. That’s another story though.

My first experience in trying to communicate to a Korean went alright. I was trying to order some Korean food by myself before work. Somehow I ended up with a double order of food. The nice thing is that Korean food is cheap and good!

Now for the big topic, teaching. Being thrown into teaching with little or no experience in a foreign country is what you would expect it to be, overwhelming. At my school I teach six classes, fifty minutes each and in not in the particular same order from day to day from what I understand. So I basically had a half hour training for today’s agenda. Five of my six classes were basically the same sequence of events with me at the center of it all trying haphazardly trying to coordinate a class full of restless, hyper, sleepy Korean children.

Each private language school, or hagwon, is different. They choose the manner of how things are taught and what is taught and who is in control. In my particular case I am given subject material and work a tight schedule. Today being Monday was “Word Test Day”. So in five of my six classes I gave a word test, I am given a list of the previous weeks vocabulary and I give the students a word test sheet to fill out. Before doing so I naturally take attendance and try to say their Korean names, mostly to the sounds of laughter. As for the tests I say a random word and they have to spell it in English and Korean. Following the test that I hand out the new vocabulary sheet and the free-for-all begins, figuring out to keep kids occupied for a full fifty minutes is a challenge.

The kids that I teach are all different. Of my six classes I enjoyed about 4 of the classes. The children were relatively easy to communicate and worked diligently. The other two classes were full of hyper Korean kids that were difficult to keep under control and speak English. They weren’t terrible though. My first day I naturally had no idea what I was doing, It will probably be the same for a good while. Day one is complete, with many more to come.

Prelude to a Year Pt. 2: The Sentimental Journey

Boise to Seattle: It’s flight that never ceases to amaze. The whitewashed mountains jutting out from the brown hue of the treasure valley is always the dramatic contrast. Flying over Seattle I got the sensation of all those memories flooding into my head from all the times I had spent in the Emerald City. Most recently with my dad, I had begged him to go to the 49ers opening game of the 2010 season. It was sure to be a blowout showcasing the juggernaut defense and blistering offense of San Francisco. Not so, but the memory is a lasting one that I will cherish.

Seattle to L.A.: I’m not a fan of L.A. But the stories that my dad told me of growing up in Orange County went through my mind. The memories of Disneyland and clinging to my mom before the terrifying plunge of a simple Disneyland ride. I really don’t like LAX, it’s depressing and lacks the charm of the little Boise Airport. It was awkward waiting an hour to get onto the plane to Seoul. The whole gate was probably 90 percent Koreans. I sat across from a cranky looking Green Bay fan in the terminal during the wait. What on earth did have to be so cranky looking about!?!?

L.A. to Seoul: I sat in the very middle of the plane for 13 hours. Every seat was full and it was very uncomfortable. It was not a special experience to say the least. The service was great though!

Arriving at the Incheon airport wasn’t all that bad. I navigated my way through customs and baggage claim and finally met the person who would guide me to my next leg of the journey, the 4 ½ hour bus ride to Mokpo. I met a fellow ESL teacher waiting for the same bus. He was the same age, same city to work in, same circumstances of why they were going and almost the same college degree. It was a real comfort to not feel alone for at least the next 5 hours or so.

The next post will be about my first impressions and my first day at my job.

Mokpo?

Here is some info on the great city of Mokpo where I will be teaching very very soon. When I say info I mean links.

Your typical cheesy Korean city website: http://eng.mokpo.go.kr/home/eng/
Wikipedia for the unrefined (like myself): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mokpo
A very thorough blog: http://jellomando.blogspot.com/

And finally a colorful tourist map to hang on your wall:

http://eng.mokpo.go.kr/images/content/touristmap-e.jpg