Week One

After an entire day in transit, I landed at Incheon Airport at 5:30pm on Tuesday, the 28th. My trip was mostly painless, aside from having to wake up at 3:45am on Monday morning. My first flight to LA was fine, I fell asleep for about 30 minutes and listened to music the remaining time. I didn't really get to appreciate my layover time of two hours, as most of it was spent walking from the main terminal of LAX to the International Terminal.

At 10:55am, I boarded a Korean Air Airbus 380. Prior to my trip, I had google image searched for pictures of the A380, only to be presented with photos of plane crashes. I was a little anxious about flying on the Beluga whale vessel, but I was pleasantly surprise. Despite the two Korean men with bad breath and poor manners, my flight was incredibly smooth. Thankfully, I slept for nearly half of the flight, only waking occasionally to use the bathroom, eat meals, and watch the first 30 minutes of several movies (I took a lot of dramamine). I don't particularly like being on a plane for 13 hours, but hopefully my next flight of such distance will be on another 380.

Upon my arrival, I came to realize that my school wasn't the least bit prepared for my arrival or quick to remedy this particular problem. There were a lot of phone calls back and forth via pay phone, before I was able to board a bus to Seoul. Being that I didn't have a working cell on me, or any other way to reach them, the stress was building up. I got off the bus, with all of my luggage, only to find myself standing for about 30 minutes on the bustling streets of the Kangnam district. I flagged a woman down, and asked her if she spoke English. She did, so I told her my dilemma, and she let me use her cell phone. The principal of my school told me that someone was on their way to greet me. I waited and waited. Finally, an admin staff member named Kris met me, and helped me haul all of my shit to my apartment.

Korean apartments are interesting. Sometimes they are amazingly nice, but very rarely do teachers get to actually enjoy a stunning space. I'm going to try to make the most of my little shoebox, but it will likely involve some very trying moments. I will post pictures once I grind through the cleaning process and put up some of my own decorations. For now, you'll have to settle for a written description. Basically, I live in a medium sized, square room. It's not nuts to butts, but it isn't gigantic. Behind some accordion doors is my "kitchen," which consists of a sink, a two burner, gas stove, and some cupboards. To the right is a refrigerator and my small closet. There is a massive, old school Daewoo TV on a shitty, mobile TV stand, and a desk that I'm hoping the school will just get rid of. On the wall near my only window is my twin size bed. The bathroom is behind a door and, by Korean standards, is quite large. In my opinion, it could be double the size and I would be content.

Now, when I first arrived, I was incredibly worried, upset, and unimpressed. I was actually looking at flights leaving the next day, because I was so concerned about what I got myself into. I'm glad that I can look back a few days and laugh at myself for being so irrational. Things have improved 100%. My only current complaint is still in regard to my apartment. The school itself is absolutely amazing, and I'm really looking forward to teaching again.

My first day at the school was a bit intimidating at first, but now I'm mostly at ease. My Korean co-teacher, Ms Jina, is absolutely lovely. She had spent a week or two decorating my classroom prior to my arrival, and it looks great. The students are going to love it. My principal, Ms Carrie, and Vice Principal, along with the rest of the Korean staff members are really interesting and welcoming. This is something I'm not really familiar with as my last school was full of negative admin staff, who would blame teachers every time they made a mistake. So, it's really nice to be surrounded by people that smile, and laugh when they make a mistake, and tell you that it's okay when you do the same.

So, not only am I impressed with the fact that most people at the school seem genuinely happy, but I am also really fascinated by everyone's background and interests. Though I haven't gotten to know many of the other foreign teachers, I can already tell that they are really good people. Everyone is laid back, with a great sense of humor, and a willingness to help each other out. I couldn't have asked for a better school.

I think I'm in for a really good year. My first day of teaching is on Monday, and I'm looking forward to meeting my little 5 year olds. The principal's son is in my class, which I felt a little intimidated by, but it will be fine. Here's to having another good week!