경넘과학고등학교

As a student, the first day of school was always overwhelming. You have to get used to new teachers, a new schedule, new routines, the occasional new school, and the pressures of assuming additional responsibilities as an older student. Along with this nervousness comes a feeling of inherent excitement. A new school year brings with it new possibilities and opportunities for growth and change. Today marks the beginning of my first year as a full-time teacher and the myriad of complex emotions continues to hold true.

I thought teacher’s meetings at Norton High School were difficult to sit through but at least I could understand the language used to go through the agenda! This morning, I sat through a meeting with the rest of Gyeongnam Science High School’s teachers with absolutely no idea what was being talked about. This is after I was asked to introduce myself to the entire staff using my broken but endearing Korean skills. I received a round of applause at the end of this embarrassing speech so I must have done something right. Afterwards, I received an even warmer welcome from the student body. Primarily male, they were cracking up when I said “hello” in Korean and were hanging on my every word as I proceeded to introduce myself. They seem like a fun-loving bunch if nothing else.

I’ve already identified what will be my most common classroom management issue – sleeping students. I caught at least 10 dozing off during the principal’s speech and I occupy the opposite rung of the hierarchical totem pole in terms of seniority and respect. Hopefully I’ll be able to consistently capture my students’ attention to keep them from passing out. The students here work incredibly hard and one of my primary duties during this semester will be to help the 2^nd year students prepare for university interviews. Many will apply to prestigious Korean universities in the next few months and almost all university interviews have an English language component.

Life in the homestay continues to be bittersweet. The family is very nice and accommodating but there isn't much that's really exciting about them. The kids both go to prestigious schools and will spend hours every day studying once they are in school while Mom and Dad are committed to their respective jobs (housewife and government employee) and God...yes. They are a very religious family which intimidates me / makes me feel mildly uncomfortable but it hasn't become an issue yet. Mom is nagging me to come to church with them on Sundays but I have much more important things to be doing with that time (i.e. catching up on sleep). At one point last week, trying to figure out if I am religious or not, she simply asked, in broken English, "Jesus Christ?" to which I quickly replied "아니오".

I hadn't really gotten a real chance to explore Jinju too much until tonight because: A) It feels like a 95 degree sauna every time I step outside. B) The city is very spread out. C) The bus system is very foreign to me and doesn't seem to have any rhyme or reason. Nonetheless, I hopped on a bus tonight on a journey to E-Mart - a well known Korean department store located downtown. Some might call it the Costco of Korea. I got to see a good amount of the downtown area and I'd say I have an elementary grasp of the city layout. It took me over 2 months to figure out Vienna and I don't expect this to be any different.

Lastly, during "20 Questions" today in class, I was asked how much my watch costs, what my favorite cookie is, what America's perception of Japan is, and when I had my first kiss. Korean kids have zero filter...