The Hills Are Alive With the Sound Of F-16's At 250 mph

Been a busy few days, but the time has come for another update!

Having had a very enjoyable weekend (though I wasn't able to remember much of it) I was back on the game on Monday with my first visit to the second school I would be teaching at. It was an elementary (primary school), and it turned out I would be teaching Years 5 and 6, which was something of a relief because I reckon trying to teach kids that are any younger a completely foreign language without knowing any of the native language yourself would be horri interesting.

In any case, I ran my 'introduction' PP presentaion in front of 8 different groups over Monday and Tuesday, which coupled with the amount of times I had run it at the middle school too meant that I was seeing said PP slides when I closed my eyes. Having Stonehenge, Buckingham Palace, Sunday Lunch and David Beckham seared onto the rear of your eyeballs is not the most pleasant of experiences, even if I deliberately chose the funny Beckham picture of him just after Rob Green's error against the USA...

That said, all the groups have liked the presentation, and most of them now have a much better idea about my home country including some essential information, such as who our ruler is, what kind of plays the Curve Theatre actually stages, and exactly who Martyn Waghorn is. :-) Unfortunately I've now 'introduced' myself to every group I'll be teaching, so I now actually have to TEACH them English from this point forth. 

As another interesting addition, at both schools there are some interruptions in the form of F-16's from the nearby airbase who seem to delight in low flyovers that result in me not being able to hear or indeed say anything for around 30 seconds every time. This usually happens at least 5 times a day. This is irritating, but I guess it's a reminder that technically this is a country still at war, even though a shot hasn't been fired in anger since the 1950's.

Though I live in the city, it's a fair commute by bus to both of my schools which are both out in the countryside somewhat. The horizon scenery is awe-inspiring (pictures to come soon) - green fields stretching away to forested kills and eventually massive mountains which (weather perimitting) have peaks lost in swathes of cloud. It's amazing to see - like something out of a movie.

The kids are amazing. Whether elementary or middle school, when they come across you in the corridoor they bow (or at least incline their heads) or say an incredibly enthusiastic greeting in Korean or (more usually) decent English. Whe in the classroom they are attentive and as long as they understand what you are asking them to do (sometimes language barrier is an issue here but thankfully not often) they will do it - without question. All students even stay and CLEAN THE SCHOOL AFTER THE END OF THE DAY. Can you seriously imagine that happening in Blighty? Totally different.

However, the amount of 14-year old girls saying that I'm handsome is deeply disconcerting. As is the small group of students from my last group today asking me to SIGN their textbook. Yes, I know I'm different but...good grief. Still, the amount of interested conversation and greetings is nice for the confidence.

Getting along well with the staff too - at both schools they've been very welcoming and understanding. Of course my main liason at both has been my English co-teacher (they both speak English well and can translate for me) but everyone I've met wants to make me feel at home, which is really nice. I was invited for coffee at lunchtime on Monday by the kindergarten teacher at the elementary school (who now wants to cook for see me again) and today at the middle school I did the same with a few of the male teachers who wanted to know more about the English Premier League and particularly that bit of it containing Park Ji-Sung. It's nice to meet some fellow football nuts (trying my hardest to convince the kids that it is FOOTBALL, not SOCCER) even though none of them have a clue who Leicester City are. They will soon, believe me.

I actually want to get on with learning more than the most basic Korean as quickly as possible so I can communicate better with everyone, because they are a really good, genuine and helpful bunch of people, at both schools. My coteacher at the elementary school has offered to help me out on that score too.

I've also tried my very hardest to be deferent to the people in charge at each school (in the classic Korean way) and it seems to be paying off in that they seem to like me, but I'm still scared shi stiff of making some kind of cockup without meaning to and pissing them off permanently. Up to now however, I've not made any gaffes - arriving 15 minutes late this morning because of waiting for a bus that never came notwithstanding. My inability to use chopsticks is proving to be something of a laugh too - I'm practicing but I can't seem to get the hang of it at the moment.

Speaking of eating, I'm trying whatever's put on my plate at the canteen at school every day. Some of it I'm enjoying, some of it not (today had shredded octopus tentacles) but I'm trying everything. The kimchee is still a hit with me, but as it's usually served cold you need something hot to go with it to balance out the flavour. Usually there is rice and a different kind of spicy soup served every day, which I can only have a bit of before it makes my mouth violently explode. I'm used to medium/hot curries back home, but this is on a whole other level - Koreans like their food hot. Very hot.

Speaking of heat, today actually seemed about 10 degrees colder than yesterday. I don't know whether such abrupt changes in heat and humidity are normal here but it's certainly a bloody relief.

Anyway - only got two lessons tomorrow, then off to the hospital to have my checkup so I can apply for my Alien Registration Card. You need one of those around here to do anything - get a bank account, phone or personal Internet, so it's important I get it sorted ASAP. Probably will have time to update after I get back from the hospital, so watch out for it then!

In the meantime, read, review and comment please! Peace out.