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| Hi Friends
I've made a new weblog. The reason is that Xanga wasn't very photo friendly.
please visit (frequently) www.benjaminauger.spaces.live.com
Take Care
Ben
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| I named a kid "Harley" at school yesterday.
You see, the kids all need to have English-sounding names in class, mostly so they can get a grasp for western names and so I don't have to memorize their hard-to-pronounce Korean names.
Jen and I brainstormed our top names for new kids who don't have names yet. Names are chosen based on hilarity and absolute cool-ness.
Girls:
- Marzipan
- Mildred
- Dorcas
- Agnes
- Shakira
- LaFawnda
- Phyllis
- Wilma
- Fifi
- Selma
- Gertrude
Boys
- Napoleon
- Kareem
- Biff
- Pedro
- Jerome
- Prince
- Kramer
- Gilbert
- Boris
- Kip
- MacGyver
- Thor
- D’Artagnan
- LeBron
- Hakeem
- Augustine
- Barnabas
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| I taught my first two classes Friday, and two more Saturday. They went well. My main goal in those classes were teaching them phonics, which has to do with the pronunciation and intonation of words. They have trouble with these:
"Rice" is not the same as "Lice."
"Vase" and "Base" are different words.
"Go" is read differently than "Go!"
When you see a comma, you stop for a moment.
C, K, sound different than Q.
Hopefully they will give me my full schedule soon (6-7 classes/day instead of 2) because I'm getting pretty tired of observing classes. I'm confident and I think I get the jist of it.
My schedule looks like this:
Monday-Friday: Teach classes from 3-9pm. Come in at no later than 1pm to prepare.
Saturday: Classes at 11am and 11:40am. Then classes from 2-5.
Check out some photos: www.flickr.com/photos/benjaminoj
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| Things that are different about Korea:
1. There is a speaker in every apartment, for apartment announcements.
2. Apartment caretakers bang on the door. If you don't answer, they may walk in.
3. Few Koreans own dryers
4. Birth control is cheap and over the counter.
5. I am advised not to drink the water, but do anyway.
6. Milk's expiration date is a mere four or five days.
7. It is common for somebody to ask you your age, religion, and how much money you make.
8. I work 10 hour shifts and Saturdays.
9. Most kids go to school 6 days a week and in evenings.
10. Kids' summer vacation consists of going to English camp.
11. Most people live in apartment buildings
12. Many shops, even hair salons, are open all evening.
13. Even when it's at its coolest in August, you're sweating.
14. I may get one day off for Christmas, but 6 for Thanksgiving.
15. Light switches are horizontal, so are street lights.
16. Everything is served with Kim-chi, sweet pickles, or dried baby fish.
17. Korean food is delivered to your door in proper dishes and picked up later in the evening.
18. Koreans eat the same foods for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
19. Pizza is delivered and includes baby pickles.
20. Churches have red, glowing, neon crosses on top. They are everywhere.
21. My neighborhood looks like Las Vegas, with all the neon lights.
22. When you rent a movie, they keep the case and give you the tape.
23. Rice is served with everything.
24. Most Korean food is spicy.
25. Koreans brush their teeth a lot.
26. Cab rides are uber cheap.
27. It is often cheaper to eat out than buy groceries.
28. Everyone owns a cell phone.
29. Some kids have cell phones.
30. Most western women can't find clothes here. They're too small.
31. Bathtubs are small.
32. Red lights seem optional.
33. Cars honk a lot.
34. You always take your shoes off in somebody's home, sometimes at school too.
35. Prostitution is basically legal.
36. Helmets and insurance are seemingly optional and not strictly enforced.
37. You can smoke in more places.
38. Ashtrays have wet napkins in them.
39. You can party every night if you are looking for one.
40. You often sit on floors at restaurants.
41. You can purchase whitening cream everywhere, but there are no tanning beds.
42. Nightclubs are open until 7am or later.
43. Street lights take forever.
44. Spitting anywhere in front of someone is acceptable.
45. Men don't like women to smoke publicly.
46. Dried fish is as popular as chocolate in America.
47. 10,000 won is worth little more than $10US and it's the largest bill in currency.
48. They drink aloe juice.
49. There are few street signs, and they are too small to read.
50. When I go to the grocery store, there is somebody standing at the entrance bowing to me.
51. There are buttons on tables to call the waitress.
52. Only girls can teach Kindergarten at my school.
53. They don't use sheets.
54. They don't use deodorant.
55. There isn't any toilet paper in public restrooms.
56. Cell phone numbers are 11 digits long.
57. Drinking and smoking are very common.
58. Most everything is cheaper than in America and especially Canada.
59. Blowing your nose in public is akin to farting in public.
60. Servers in restaurants will not accept tips.
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| Starting at 3am (12am PST) Monday morning we left Hanover for Toronto. The Air Canada check in counter was the worst part of our trip. They made me weigh everything including my carry ons. My big carry on was almost 40lbs, and they said I could only have 20lbs max. So I had to tear the thing open and hand stuff to Jen's dad and put stuff in other suitcases that were already full of stuff and overweight. Then they were huffing and puffing over our tickets, passports and visas. They said if I was only temporarily working in Korea then I should have a return ticket, and they were getting ready to force me to purchase return tickets. It was frustrating because on the trip to Toronto, they didn't weigh my carry on or ever ask to, and the AC ticket counter was acting like they were Korean Customs and Immigration. They shouldn't be questioning my visas, they should let Immigration to that. Jerks. They sent me to a different counter to pay the $35 overweight fee, but the lady at that counter just gave me my boarding pass without charging me. Thank God. Then we went around the corner and put all the stuff back in my carry-on, so the lady wouldn't see, and I ended up being able to take everything I wanted. It was just a hassle.
We had a 4 1/2 hour flight to Vancouver, then a 11 hour flight to Seoul. We got into Seoul at 3:30pm Tuesday (2:30am Eastern Time). Then we had to get our bags, all 300+ pounds worth, convert money into Korean Won, then switch airports. We had to catch a shuttle bus, cost 4,500 won each, to Gimpo airport, about a 30 minute ride. The International Airport was chaos. People everywhere, and people trying to solicit us. I guess when you have white skin, people try to get money out of you; it's the same everywhere in the world. I was approached by about 5 different supposed "taxi cab drivers" wanting to give me a ride to Gimpo, but I wasn't about to jump into a car with a stranger (thanks for teaching me mom). The bus ticket counter printed 6,000 won luxury bus tickets, but I told her I just wanted the standard bus for 4,500. Good thing I read signs, or else people would be selling me things I don't want.
We got to Gimpo Airport, and had to take our 300lbs+ up an escalator, because there was no elevator (under construction). We thanked God that Korean Airlines didn't charge us for the overweight bag, and didn't enforce their 1 carry-on bag policy. They were really nice actually.
We caught a 7:30pm plane (3:30am PST) to Gwang-ju, landed at 8:30pm, met Woo-Sung, our manager at the school and he drove us to where we are now. We are staying in a studio apartment on the 12th floor of a tall building until our permanent apartment is available on the 10th. The studio belongs to a teacher who is on vacation, so all the stuff in here is not ours. We got to bed at about 10pm Tuesday (6am PST). | | |
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