I’m definitely getting more comfortable in this environment! Today I went to my school to meet my principal and some of the other teachers and a few students! When I arrived there was 1 boy brave enough to jump right in and start asking me questions. He asked me my name and where I was from. I said Kansas City and he said, Oh, I’m from Korea (like I couldn’t figure that out… ha!). This is going to be so great!
My head teacher took me to meet the principal. His office was as big as a classroom and he had all the chairs sitting in a circle! I said ‘Onyonghasayo. Chonan Becky, immeda.’ (Translation, hello, my name is Becky. FYI: that spelling is totally wrong, I wrote it out phonetically b/c that is the only way I can get the pronunciation correct!) He bowed and I bowed (b/c that’s what you do here!) We sat down and he began talking Korean to me (he does not speak any English and he has a very serious face!!). He talked for about 3 or 4 minutes and of course I was just smiling and nodding b/c I had no idea what he was saying!! Then I looked to my teacher for translation and she said, “He hopes you like Bongseo (the school) and will be happy here. Welcome to our school!” Wow… I’m assuming quite a bit got lost in translation there! I also met the Vice Principal. He seems very nice. He smiled a lot and knows a little English. He seemed a lot more open to me!
We then went up to her classroom so I could see where I would be teaching. We walked in to her room and there was a room of about 30 or 40 6th graders who were unsupervised! She just left her class ALONE to come and get me and meet the principal and what not. She introduced me to the class and of course they had lots of questions! They were so cute and enthusiastic! She then took me to meet another teacher I will be working with and left her class alone AGAIN… she was away for at least 45 minutes! Oh my word… this place is crazy!!
It was time again for lunch and I was anxious to see what our next adventure would be! We ate at ‘Ashley’s American Grille’ (I think that’s the name). It was totally NOT American food! That must totally be how Chinese people feel about Chinese restaurants in the States… it’s really nothing like our authentic food! And, they had the most random things! It was so great!
This afternoon we took a fieldtrip to the City Hall! (This is an important place for us, b/c this is how we are funded… gotta keep it good with them!) They have this project that they want all of the apartments here in Korea to be a certain way by at least 5 or 10 years from now. You will not have a key, you will walk up to the door and it’ll scan your face/pupils and open the door. All of your lights and electronic items will be activated by your voice. You will have a closet that puts outfits for you together and runs them across a mirror so you can decide what to wear. You can punch a screen on the outside of your fridge to see what you have on the inside (you don’t have to open the doors). You can control the temperature of your house from you cell phone if you’re away! There were tons of other things like this too! It was so sweet! I said I’d so live here if that’s what my apartment would be like!
We walked around the city hall and then we were taken upstairs where there was a memorial. I’m not sure of all the details, but the former President of So. Korea (2002-2007 I believe), committed suicide last Saturday. He went up on a hill and decided to end it all. He had been being investigated for things that he had done while he was in office. I think about 2 weeks ago, he made a formal apology to the country for his actions. It was sad b/c I guess he was loved by the people b/c he was so generous, caring, and giving! It’s tradition in Korean culture to mourn for 7 days, so that is why the memorial is still there. It was pretty intense being in that environment. People were weeping and were so upset! It was definitely a surreal moment.
After that, we were taken to figure out our routes to school. This was kind of crazy b/c he drove the bus route. Where I have to get off, it doesn’t have any major landmarks! He was like, you got it… okay?!? So, I just said yes and figured I’d practice taking the bus this weekend a couple times to get familiar! I’ll just ride it in a big circle! This should be fun!!
Tonight, we went to a concert here on campus. It was pretty fun, even though everything was in Korean and we had no idea what they were saying! It was really cool to experience their culture though! It was very hip and modern! They had a couple boy bands, who were actually pretty amazing (and I’m not just saying that!!) We also experienced a couple doing a somewhat interpretive dancing… now that’s something you wouldn’t see at a Nazarene University campus in the states! I loved it!!
Oh, and I forgot to share the fact that at meals, not all restaurants serve regular water. Some places serve this stuff that looks like water, but it’s actually called corn water… it takes like corn chips without the salt, but in liquid form! Not a huge fan!! And, Koreans really don’t drink with their meals. They’ll drink a small cup of water after their meals! I’m learning a lot!!
So, tomorrow is my last day of orientation and then my real schedule starts! It’s a little nerve racking, but I’m excited and ready! It’s going to be so great!!
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