So I feel that aside from posting tons of pictures and videos (which I will continue to do), I haven't really taken the chance to truly reflect on this whole experience. I've had quite some time here in Korea... just about three months... and yet, I haven't really made any dedications to sharing my feelings with the whole thing... so I will attempt to do that here on my break at work.
Where do I start? How about my employers? You know.... I've read tons of horror stories about Korean employers and what they can do to the foreigners they bring over to work for them. I've heard of employers terminating contracts right before they're supposed to end just so they don't have to pay anything with regards to the foreigners plane ticket home. I've heard all about mistreatments... the lack of help, etc. After being here for three months and sort of breaking through the 'honeymoon phase,' I feel pretty confident that I'm not getting screwed over here. My employers are very nice people. From everyone I've talked to, they don't screw you over on pay. They've been very helpful to Dawna and I with regards to helping clean out our apartment when we got here, helping/paying for apartment repairs and really going the extra mile to help please us. They pay for our dinner at work every night which I find pretty awesome. If we come to work even 30 minutes early for a scheduled teacher meeting, they usually pay for lunch... or just hand over the cash equivalent. If we're sick and need to visit a doctor or anything, our employers are
very understanding and also extremely helpful. They also randomly join us on bar/restaurant/karaoke expeditions and usually have a good time with us. A thumbs up goes to that.
I like our apartment. It's cozy. If you haven't seen it, go
here. We've got a nice view. Our heating works. Each room is a fairly good size. My only complaints would be the ragged, old wallpaper and how easily the dust accumulates... but these are things I can live with for the time being.
I also do like the country itself. The people here are usually kind and warm and if I can't understand somebody or vice versa, I find that Koreans usually make the effort to figure out a way to break the barrier. I remember our flight 3 months ago... when Dawna and I were in Seoul and waiting to catch our transfer flight. We were sitting there... tired... hungry... but yea, very tired. About eight Korean children (about 10 years old) kept laughing and pointing at me. They were very obvious too. When I got up to stretch, they'd laugh at me. When I coughed, it was the most hilarious thing in the world. When I got up to go to the washroom and pee, they'd follow me... and to my surprise, the sight of me peeing in a urinal was equally hilarious. I was thinking... "Great! A year of this... How will I handle it?" Well, luckily... it hasn't been like that since. For the most part, I never feel like I stand out or that I'm different. If people do stare at me for not being Korean, I never feel it... and that's something I do enjoy. The fact that I'm physically different but am not made to feel that way.
What else can I say in a few words? The food is great for the most part. I do miss Western meals, but if I dig/search hard enough (and usually this includes digging extra deep into my wallet), I can usually find whatever it is I miss. It may not be as good, but it usually does the job. I didn't fall in love with most Korean food at first but that's all changed. I know I'll miss it when I'm back in Canada.
I am grateful for this experience. I'm not necessarily in love with the job. There are days where I do like it... where I can see my kids are actually learning something and I feel happy because I'm partly responsible. However, on most days I just have to remind myself that this is not my career. It's a learning experience. It gives me a chance to get better at something else. To experience another interesting part of the world. To help out. The job is not a breeze as most people have pointed out, however. We do have to write two sets of tests (for 14 classes) each month. We do have to test nearly 110 students.... twice each month. That means marking 220 tests monthly, nearly 100 essays... and bi-monthly, we need to write report cards for each student as well. It's different for each private English school and from what I understand, we work at one of the most legit/reputable ones... so we do need to put in our time. Most days, the times just flys by. We also have great co-workers from top-to-bottom so the experience is definately a positive one most times.
I miss my family and friends. There isn't a day where I don't think about mine or Dawna's family back home, my three brothers (plus Sasha and Matt) in Waterloo, or Dave out in Saskatchewan. I also miss a few of the guys out in Thornhill... mostly the ones I've kept in touch with over the last year or so. I also miss Global and
all the friends I've made through that organization. The hardest part about being in Korea for me is not the experience (I think I've travelled enough over the last few years to have to truly get culture shocked), but that I don't have my friends around to share it with. There are nice people out here in Korea as I've said... some that Dawna and I have made really good friends with.. but I think it's almost impossible to make friends I would ever love more than the ones I already have... or friends that understand me as well as the ones from Canada. This isn't a knock against the people here... it's just a giant compliment to any Canadians I can call my good friends.
Also, Dawna and I have been discussing extending our contracts with this company. As it stands, we're meant to finish up our contracts in August 2008. By that time, Dawna would still have not paid off her debt and I'd be returning home with close to or no money. Although we would have been here for a year and I would have paid off my debt, we feel that it'd be senseless to leave if both of us haven't finished paying off our debt. It'd also be nice to come home with a bit of money saved up to be able to get back into the groove of things. So, we might extend our contract for an additional three months... having us come home for November 2008. It's still a long ways away... so who knows.
And finally, I'll discuss my daily routine. Most (all) days, I get up at 8:30-9:00am. I'll brush my teeth, check my e-mail, have a quick bowl of cereal and head to the gym. I'm back two hours later usually... which is just around 11:30-12pm. This gives me a bit of time to change, eat lunch (that Dawna usually throws together) and get out the door for work. Most days I work from 1-9pm... and on average, I teach 8 40-minute classes. One day of the week I teach 7... another I teach 6. Dinner is at 7:25pm during our 10 minute break. By 9pm, I'm done... head home on the school bus with some of the kids, watch either Lost/Prison Break with Dawna over the Internet and get to bed anywhere from 11:30pm-1am. Then I repeat the cycle. Of course, there are random coffee/bar/restaurant/Ice Cream/grocery run outings injected in the middle of that. On weekends, if Dawna and I aren't exploring some part of this country, we usually just head out to a bar/restaurant/shops with some of our friends or
really appreciate the time we have off by just relaxing in our apartment. I like the routine. The week is a grind. From the minute I'm awake to the time I get home, I'm doing something. On my breaks at work I'm usually marking or writing tests... so I'm constantly kept busy. I'm also very happy with my gym routine... I'd say I go 5 days a week 90% of the time... and if not, it's never less than 4. I do feel like I'm in the best shape of my life and it's a good, hard-earned feeling.
Anyway, if you've made it this far, thanks for reading. I've been babbling on for a bit. It's weird when I write. I find that I usually have a lot more to talk about, but when it comes down to sitting in front of a computer and getting it all out, I usually fail at doing that. Ah well. I still have many more months to get my thoughts across.
Also, Alex Dimita (a good friend from Waterloo) will be here in a few hours and she'll be living in this city/working at our school for 5 and a half months. If that's not reason to celebrate this weekend, I don't know what is!
- Gilad
