First day of School

07.12.10

I got up at 5:30am, again, and I probably will be doing that from now on. Talked with Phill around 6am for a while, then got ready for my first day as an English Teacher! I got to school later than expected (8:40am), I left for school at 8:25am because Sang-hyun was late to pick me up. ☹ The school is very nice; it just opened in March 2010. Then I briefly met the Principal and I was whisked away to the Teacher’s Lounge so Sang-hyun could print something out for the Principal. Quickly, I was taken to the Media Room for the morning announcements as the Principal introduced me to the school. No one told me this was going to happen, and I was not prepared to give any introduction, so I totally pulled it out of my (pardon the French) ass, a total wtf moment. It went well enough, I thought. I was very surprised to find that they had a small Control Booth and Studio, completely ran by the students, but supervised by another Teacher. (They were doing the stuff I learned in High School: audio, camera, and technical director.)


(My Empty Classroom)

(My Class Schedule)
As soon as that was over I was finally introduced to my English co-teacher, Oh Eun Chu. All the kids I see are bowing and saying “hello” to me in both English and Korean. They are like little Coffees and Ooyoos. I felt very awkward and exposed.
I browsed the lesson books, the books mainly focused on hygiene, friendship, family, sharing, weather, sports, numbers, and animals. They were structured into sections such as: look and listen, listen and repeat, role-playing, reading, and simple conversations.


The first class was the 3rd grade class. As soon as we got there my co-teacher broke up a fight between two boys and they were sent to the Principal’s office. It was made clear that the students respect him. I introduced myself and helped the co-teacher read questions for their exam. Simple reading, “I’m Tony; What is that; It’s an orange; Wow; It’s a ruler; and What is that”. Then I was done and went back to our English room. My second class was one of the 4th grade classes. The students had an exam so all I did was introduce myself. I said, “Hello, I’m Ms. Theresa Erkfitz, I’m from the United States and the state I live in is Minnesota. It gets very cold in the winter, the lakes freeze over and everyone goes ice-skating. At home, I have a cat and her name is Peach. Her full name is Princess Peach. Thank you”. Then I went to the English room, so they could take their exam. The third class was the other 4th grade class; I gave the same introduction as the other class. In this class I got a question from one of the students, he asked if I was married. Lol. I said, “No, I’m promised” and proceeded to point to my ring finger with my engagement ring. Then I said thank you and left as they also had an exam. Back in the English room I continued with my crossword puzzles until lunch.

(The Busy Cafeteria)
At lunch, all the students said hello to me, again, as if I was a celebrity or something. It seemed like throughout the day I got three main questions: where are you from, do you like Korean food, and where is your husband. I ate lunch with the English co-teacher; he was amazed how well I used chopsticks. Lunch was steamed fish, kimchi, rice, Korean pears, steamed vegetables, and a mild seaweed soup. After lunch, the next class had another exam so I stayed in the English room and finished my crossword puzzles and waited until I could leave. All teachers have the same schedule be there at 8:40am and leave at 4:40pm. After school I finally signed my contract and this journey is real. I took the bus with Sang-hyun to the Osan hospital to get tested for good health and HIV. We went to the WOORIBANK bank first, I got an account and deposited 10,000 Won. The process took a long time to get set up. ☹ Then we proceed to the hospital, to make sure I was healthy which cost me 57,000 Won (to know I’m fine, which I already knew). The tests consisted of: height/weight, blood pressure, eyesight test, hearing test, a test that involved small suction cups and wires on my chest, blood test, urine test, chest x-ray, HIV interview, and dental check. The only thing I learn was I had some tooth decay, which I deferred to another time, I had enough for one day. Sang-hyun took me back to my apartment and I collapsed after the long day, plus I got blisters on my feet, due to walking all over in ‘fancy’ shoes, bad idea.
(Worst Idea Ever! :( Now I'll wear Flip-flops at School!)
So for today: spent 57,000 Won= $47.15, acted like an English Teacher, and gained blisters.