Compared to the first semester this second semester has been much more successful. Challenges in the first and second semester summed up to mis-planning, mistrust, and miscommunication. Ultimately I was caught in between the miscommunication between my native coworker and my Korean coworkers. Looking back on it now I think that some things could have been handled a lot better but because of the cultures and personalities involved there was not much that could be fixed.

Looking back at these two semesters I am pleased with the results that we received. I think that the students had many opportunities to practice their speaking and writing. They had many chances to interact and learn about Western culture and for the most part have enjoyed the experience. I wish that I could have been able to interact more with my co-teachers and plan lessons together but due to their limited time schedules it was never feasible. They did provide some commentary after lessons finished but were not able to be part of the planning stage. We could teach anything that we would have liked but having a book might have brought some stability to the lessons that we planned.

The students have always been good and I’ve rarely had any discipline problems. I find it difficult to be hard on some of these students. Sleeping in class is the worst that tends to happen and for the most part I just feel sorry how tired these students are. Some areas where I would have liked to explore learning might have involved using some computer based lessons but coordinating anything is very difficult. Everything is planned at the last minute and making a plan is fruitless.

I have enjoyed my time here in South Korea, specifically, Suncheon. However, I am ready to move on to other endeavors. I would like to use my Masters’ of Arts in Library Information Science for some other purposes. I think that user experience, interaction design, and traditional librarianship are areas that I would be comfortable working with.

The Fall semester has begun! A month in and a writing test is already completed. Soon we’ll prepare for our speaking test at the Girls’ High School. Last semester was a mess in several ways. The coteachers were new, the native speakers were new, and the format was new for students. So it was quite a struggle to adapt to each other and complete our tests in a fair and just way. So some mistakes were made and we spent extra time making sure that everyone had a fair grade and fair chance.

You may not be aware if you’re not in South Korea but high school is an extremely stressful time for students. Being accepted into a good university is essential and a small grade percentage can have a huge affect on a students future. This weekend I traveled with my girlfriend to the buddhist temple and saw many people praying for their children to do well on the national University entrance exam or Korean SAT.

For the most part my inclination to write has been tamped because there are quite a bit of Western teachers in Korea. It’s not such a unique position to be in and writing about how unique my situation is is a little difficult. There are many other better blogs that explain what living in South Korea is like. It’s a nice place and I am enjoying my time. If I am going to write about anything especially here it is going to be about my experience and not about retreading the same topics.

Overall I am glad to be teaching and I feel like it is a good experience for me and my future career. My masters’ degree is in Library Information Sciences and a big part of that is instruction. Librarians or information professionals have to be instructors at times and teaching information literacy or any other topic is not a simple task. This trial by fire in teaching is pushing me to adapt my skills and abilities to a varied audience. Hopefully I can incorporate that into a path in the future.

Suncheon is a good place to be and the food is enjoyable. It is a small town though compared to Coalinga it has more entertainment and shopping to offer. Nature is close by and hiking is a favorite activity for many people.

I’m trying to learn Korean but it is quite hard. Until I can find a someone to tutor me it is going to be slow going teaching myself. However, I am quite interested in learning and the little I do know helps me greatly in this town. In the next blog post there will be more pictures.

Suncheon overall is pretty great for a city of its size. I am always surprised at some of the new things that I find in this city. There is a plethora of cafes some featuring gelato and waffles. One excellent find was a microbrewery that features various wheat beers. Overall I’ve been pretty disappointed with the Korean beers available. Most taste just like budweiser and the only ones that stand out are a brand called Stout Black Beer. Though its only passable as a stout. However, the beer at Song’s Beer here is amazing for Korea. It would be really great if it were bottled. The coffee shops are fun to go to though they do feature some mangled English at times. For some reason mangled English comes out rather poetic here.

During the middle of January I met my now girlfriend Ah Leum while attending a going away event at San Antonio’s Latin Bistro. It was a bitterly cold night and very few people were attending the event. Luckily it gave me the opportunity to speak to her and we ended up getting along very well. We arranged to meet up the next day to grab some dinner. The next week we ended up going hiking with a friend of hers. I was impressed how popular hiking and various mountaineering clothing brands are popular here. I cannot go anywhere without seeing some North Face products.

My life has flip flopped since moving to the new job. I have moved apartment buildings and my working hours have changed as well. I had worked from 2:00 PM to 9:00 PM but now I work from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM. I don’t have thirty classes a week anymore I now have nine classes each two hours long and a teachers workshop each week. Instead of classes of one to eight students I now have classes ranging from thirty-two to forty-two students. I have adjusted to these changes rather well. There are benefits to each schedule but my job satisfaction has increased tremendously. I now work with another native English teacher and he has been helpful in many instances. I also have some great Korean co-teachers that I work with in my classes and discipline is not too much of an issue.

I’m not much of a disciplinarian but having the Korean co-teachers makes handling students much easier. Working at an all girls school there isn’t any ridiculous behavior. Most of the time students are too exhausted to stay awake during the class. I enjoyed my private academy kids tremendously but the varying ages and attitudes was pretty difficult to manage. I don’t say, “Stop, stop, stop that, no, no, no hands to yourself” anymore. High School is a tough place here in South Korea. Students wake up early in the morning and are in school until ten o’clock most nights. Comparatively my high school days were a breeze.

As I transitioned from my old job to the new job I had to go through some bureaucratic requirements. Since my visa is sponsored by my employer I had to cancel my visa and leave the country and apply for a new visa. While it was a hassle it basically comes down to a paid vacation for myself by my new employers. I was able to see Fukokua, Japan the closest Korean Consulate is located there. I was planning to visit Japan in the future but I would not have chosen Fukokua to visit first. It was a fun trip but many other parts of Japan have much more to see and experience than Fukokua. Unfortunately I spent the time sick to my stomach because I ate something bad probably a 7/11 bento box.

Hawks at Ohori-Koen park.

Ohori-Koen park.

Canal City Mall.

One of the canals.

A market in Japan.

I spent a lot of time walking through Hakata station trying to get from one place to another throughout Fukokua.

During my visit to Japan the Cherry Blossoms were blooming and everyone was spending time at the park relaxing and barbecuing. There was a big festival at Ohori-Koen park and I walked around it with a fellow traveler I met at the Khaosan International Hostel. I didn’t take as many photos as I would have liked but I had a fun time none-the-less. I was able to see the Yahoo Dome baseball stadium near the Korean consulate and I rode the subway train a lot. Japan is a lot more expensive than Korea and getting around is expensive even by bus and subway.

After returning with no problem I finally started working at Gungnam Girls’ Private High School. The school is nice though its under a lot of construction. Two weeks ago the entire school went on a field trip to Namwon. We visited a folk village that tells the story of Changhyang and Yi Mongryong’s love. The couple fall in love and are illegally married. As Mongryong goes to Seoul to work for the government a corrupt local ruler tries to make Chunhyang his concubine. She continues to refuse his advances and is faced with execution when at the last moment Mongryong returns in his new role as the secret royal inspector.

It was a fun trip and I managed to eat a lot of Gimbap that I sampled from the girls. There were reports of rain so I brought an umbrella. No rain but the umbrella saved me from the sun. We walked from the train station to the folk village. Once we finished at the folk village the teachers had lunch and everyone met at a public amphitheater for the students’ dance performance. It was a fun yet tiring trip.

It was a lot of fun and the family is amazingly kind. Recently Chris passed his examination to join an International school on Jeju Island. His mother purchased rice cakes for the entire school.

As I left for Seoul for New Years Eve the weather had worsened. Suncheon was experiencing snow and from reports from the natives that it is a rare occurrence. This area is close to the sea and warmer than the rest of Korea but we received a fair amount of snow.

I was invited to join my friend Heather in Seoul for New Year’s Eve. She was going to visit a friend from college there and her previous partner had bailed. I did not have anything planned and transportation within South Korea is incredibly inexpensive so I packed my bags and joined her without any hesitance.

As we arrived in Seoul at the express bus terminal we decided that shopping was the first order of business. We found the subway and traveled a short distance to Myeong-dong one of the premier fashion areas of Seoul. We found some excellent shops and in time Heather’s friend from college, Chang, joined us. He suggested we visit Gungnam instead as it was closer to his residence and there were excellent shops there as well.

We spent some time walking to many different shops and taking in the expansive cityscape. Suncheon is but a burg compared to the metropolis of Seoul. As we finished shopping we decided that we should find a bar or club to enjoy ringing in the new year. New Year’s Eve is more of a couple’s holiday in South Korea and we were faced with many venues either being completely packed or empty.

We didn’t find the perfect place or any fireworks. We found a comfortable place to count down the New Year and take photos with some quite inebriated celebrators. Afterwards we went to Noraebang (Karaoke) and sang a few songs together before retiring to Chang’s.

The next morning we made our way to Insadong to shop for souvenirs. We waited at a nice coffee shop for another of Heather’s friends from college to join us and enjoyed people watching from a loft and exploring the comfortable cubby while drinking coffee.

Insadong was an excellent place to shop for souvenirs from home. We enjoyed our time with Chang, Jongjin, and his girlfriend.

Afterwards Heather and I left to visit other sites within the city. We were waiting for some other friends of hers and during that time visited Itaewon a district that attracts many foreigners to South Korea. It was nice to see some familiar brands and faces but we cut our trip short. As we met her friends from the TALK program we decided that staying another night would not be practical and we took the train home back to Suncheon.

During the Korean Thanksgiving I was invited to attend a local church’s Sports day. It was fun to watch many parents play dodgeball and foot volleyball with their friends. I especially enjoyed eating Bulgogi afterwards outside the sports complex.

Another food here that I have been enjoy is Topokki. Many street vendors have it and it is a tasty combination of rice noodles, fish cake, and a spicy sauce. It definitely warms you up on a cold day.

The Korean “corndog” and hot dogs are pretty ok. Definitely not the same taste and way too much batter on the “corndog.” I’m not clear what type of batter they are using. The french fries are a nice touch.

I’ve never eaten at this VIPS restaurant but it made me laugh because I’ve only seen VIPS as a brand in Mexico. I don’t think they are related.

Inside the school.

The view outside.

The Latin Bistro I take Spanish classes at.

A Korean church service I’ve been visiting. Gungnam Joonan church.

Jinju Castle with my college roommate Kiho.

In Busan celebrating Christmas.

Kiho’s shot of the sea next to the fish market.

A child’s second birthday party in which Kiho won a prize for most passionate and I won Soju cups for having travelled the farthest.

These last few photos are of my students during our Christmas Eve party. We had a carol singing contest and decorated cookies.

]]> http://www.alanmbarr.com/2010/12/25/tis-the-season/feed/ 0 http://www.alanmbarr.com/2010/11/14/starting-the-trip/ http://www.alanmbarr.com/2010/11/14/starting-the-trip/#comments Sun, 14 Nov 2010 08:23:26 +0000 alan http://www.alanmbarr.com/?p=20

I started off this trip at a very early hour. My parents dropped me off at the Fresno Airport and I checked in around 4am. I grabbed a quick bite and a coffee before my flight departed for San Francisco. The flight to San Francisco was quick and I met a nice woman with some incredible vacation plans. During my time at SFO I spent it working on homework and for the flight to board. While the flight began boarding I noticed that an acclaimed Starcraft 2 professional gamer was on my flight and it was a little exciting. The flight was 12 hours long and I was lucky to have a seat mate that I was able to talk to. This woman was visiting her boyfriend that worked at one of the American military bases. We discussed living in California and what South Korea is like. The majority of the flight was spent sleeping and listening to music.

When we arrived in Seoul the process was rather simple. We boarded a train to reach customs and it was quickly completed. Once I obtained my bags we were sent through another checkpoint due to heightened precautions for the G20 meeting. After that I went to the ATM and picked up some cash and ate at a Kentucky Fried Chicken. There were performances in the airport in honor of the G20 summit. I purchased a ticket for a Limousine Bus to Suncheon and waited a couple hours. I fell asleep for the entirety of the five hour drive to Suncheon. Once there I exited the bus and went to grab my things. A Korean gentleman had grabbed my bag and once I pointed it out he apologized profusely in English. My boss Ms. Song and her boyfriend picked me up from the bus station and she gave me a short tour of where I would be working and the path to arrive at my apartment. At that point I wanted to pass out immediately.

This is the view from my apartment balcony. It is a little area to wash and dry clothes.

This is a view of the mountain next to my apartment.

The apartments across from mine.

Hallway.

My Kitchen.

Bed, couch, and view of balcony area.

On Saturday I situated all my things and went to take care of essential business. There is a department store and many markets near where I live so finding things has been simple without a car. I have been walking a lot and it will not take much for me to lose any weight at all if this keeps up. Around 2pm Ms. Song and her boyfriend picked me up and took me out to eat lunch at a Gamjatang restaurant. I neglected to take a photo but the meal was good. I am still getting used to using metal chopsticks for meals. Later on in the night we went to see a music performance by a few of Ms. Songs music customers. It was a nice event and I enjoyed the opportunity to experience hearing such talented musicians. Afterwards we went out to a Chinese restaurant and I had a delicious seafood noodle soup. I will be taking more photos and hopefully will have more to write about fairly soon.