The Korean Shuffle

So much to catch up on...

Today is Christmas Eve in Korea, although it doesn't feel like that at all. I can't believe tomorrow is Christmas! Jinju has offered nothing but sunny, blue skies since my arrival, and I love it. Although, until yesterday it was FREEZING cold and I was about ready to march into one of the many outdoor stores that line the streets here and buy one of the puffy jackets that nine out of ten Koreans wear every day. I'm starting to understand this trend... So far, though, I've managed with my fleece and multiple layers underneath.

This past week and a half, as I expect my remaining 50.5 weeks will resemble, was full of surprises. I feel as though I'm constantly shuffled around from here to there, summoned to go do this, or directed to go do that. I do what I'm told and go where I'm told to go, and it all seems to work out. I just don't ever know what's going on until I'm in the middle of it! (Actually, there are a few things I've done that I'm still not sure of).

I showed up to school Monday morning and my co-teacher H, who is a beautiful, young and very sweet Korean woman, came over to my desk and asked with her pretty smile "Where did you go yesterday?" I thought she wanted to know about my first weekend in Korea--what I did, if I enjoyed myself, that sort of thing. Nope. Before I could answer she followed up by informing me that she knew I wasn't home because a man had come to my apartment Sunday to connect my internet and cable. WHAT?! Nobody had told me that this was going to happen. In fact, I had been informed that I'd have to wait until after I got my alien registration card (which would be about a three week process), so I had succumbed to the disappointment of having to stay disconnected from my familiar world back home for quite a while. But, she then set up another appointment for that day, and now I am happily connected :) What a pleasant surprise.

Tuesday afternoon after the bell rang I headed to my assigned classroom (teachers always wait until after the bell rings to leave the teacher's office for their classes) only to find that it was not my co-teacher in the classroom but instead a teacher I'd never seen before. Confused, I went back to my desk to make sure I went to the right room, walked down there again just to double check that I didn't make a mistake, and then went back to my desk and took a seat. None of my English-speaking co-teachers were around so I just assumed this was an acceptable reaction. After the class period was over my main co-teacher came back to the office and I asked him about it. He just laughed out loud at me and said "This is the way of Korean School. We must be flexible."

Ain't that the truth.

Wednesday morning, before my first class was to begin at 9:10, I hurriedly changed the game that I had been playing in class to a Christmas theme. (Given the fact that I will be teaching the exact same lesson to 20 classes every week, I need to figure out how to keep things interesting for myself). The bell rang, I headed to class. The same thing that happened to me on Tuesday happened to me on this day. My co-teacher was nowhere to be found in my classroom. I returned to my desk and took a seat. When the period was over I found the co-teacher I was supposed to teach with and ask her about our next class together. She proceeded to inform me that I would teach no classes the entire day because students are taking national exams, and then ran off. I only found out that I also don't have to teach any classes today when I asked my main co-teacher about it later that day. Glad somebody told me this in advance... But hey, I got two days off from teaching!

On top of this, my main co-teacher came up to me in the afternoon and said "Stephanie, we will go to Immigration office now." Oh, okay then. As usual, I just grabbed my things and followed. In Jinju one can only apply for their alien registration cards on Wednesdays (this isn't as bad as applying for your driver's license here, which apparently can only happen once every three weeks, but only every other time is there somebody there who can work with an English-speaking individual--of course, we are in Korea).

And today, I wouldn't have expected anything different. Turns out we had a half day, a "teacher's lunch" and a third grade boy's soccer semi-final match to watch that I was completely unaware of until it was happening (middle school kids here are referred to as 1st, 2nd or 3rd grade, the equivalent of 7th, 8th and 9th graders back home).

This seems to be the norm here, finding things out as they happen. Suffice it to say, they keep me on my toes here in Korea.

The soccer match was great--and smell of sun-warmed turf made me happy and feel right at home. (Oh! Many times I am introduced by co-teachers as having been a soccer coach, even though it was one season for 10-year old girls. The boys are always so surprised when I tell them I play soccer. I've been invited by my co-teacher on the weekends to play with him and his all-male squad. And now, thanks to a kind male teacher at my school, I have my own pair of soccer shoes. Used and worn down they may be, but they're still soccer shoes!). This game was a big deal, as the principal and vice principal were there, along with a handful of other teachers. Team uniforms were pretty fancy and the refs looked sharp in theirs. We got to the game late and I didn't know the score, so you can imagine my surprise when at the end of the game the teams went into a shoot-out! The boys of Jinju Jeil lost :( There was a substantial amount of bowing that occurred after the game--each team to the other, each team to the other school's principal and vice principal, each team to their own principal and vice principal, and each team to the tent at the middle of the field that housed the people in charge of the games. (Don't be shocked if, when I come back home after my time here, I bow my head to you every time I see you! It's a habit I've already picked up).

I am kind of enjoying these surprises that occur on a daily basis, and am full of anticipation for the many more to come...

Happy holidays!