The final week has ended. Overall the lessons went very well, and the final mission was accomplished - vvv nice girl seems to like me rather more than I thought she might.
There was a day off during the final week - a Korean national holiday to mark independence from Japan (the Koreans, along with the Chinese, seem to dislike this nation quite a lot). On Monday I got talking to vvv nice girl, and asked her what she will do on her day off. She said she had no plan....and then asked me if I wanted to visit her hometown and she could show me around. I accepted her offer even before she had finished offering it to me - and I think in hindsight I may have come across as a bit desperate. Never mind. She also gave me a coffee drink that she had bought for me that morning (it's in a pot...with a straw. They sell it in Korea and she had noticed I often drink it). So, things were definitely looking up.
The lessons were going well. I had quite a few 'Post Office' venues, and many 'Games and Quizzes' classes to do. Just as I was about to start class E's 'Games and Quizzes' lesson, one of the teachers asked me 'Who was your first love?' Now, I didn't mind this, as it proved that I had successfully created a good rapport with them, and they were now comfortable enough to ask me a personal question. After I had told them, (which took about 1 minute - the same reply would also have answered the question 'Can you tell us about your love life over the past 34 years?) I jokingly said 'Now what about you?!' to the whole class, thinking they would laugh, not want to tell me, and then I would start the lesson. However, they didn't, and over the next 1 hour and ten minutes all but 2 of them opened up completely about their 'first love'. They were far more interested in this topic than anything I was planning on teaching...and so I changed the title of the lesson (which was on the big plasma screen) from 'Games and Quizzes' to 'Group Discussion - 'My First Love''. I could justify the change as they were all speaking and listening in English...so it was oral English practice. One lady, who I thought quite shy, really talked a lot and was incredibly sincere. Everyone was listening intensely to her every word...and it was a really sad story! One part I remember is where she went to the river and floated a paper boat down the river towards the town where this chap she loved lived. She wrote a message on it, and hoped he would find it. But he didn't cause he had no idea she liked him, and the chances of him even being near the river were pretty remote. But she did it anyway. Years later she met him again, and they both confessed that they had really liked each other ...but neither of them knew the others feelings. By the time they met, they were both married to someone else. This story got one member of the class openly crying her eyes out...and others were not far off doing the same. There were a lot of sad stories actually...and they were all so keen to tell them!
The only male in the class told us about a girl he really liked, and he had a 'special place' where he would confess his feelings. This seemed to work, as they got together. The class thought that very romantic. He then said it's a really good place...and has worked many times since with a variety of different girls. After that it seemed the class didn't think this place was quite as romantic as they first thought. I decided I would ask him later where this 'special place' is, as it never seemed to fail. But I forgot.
For the last 10 minutes I quickly told them about what I was planning on teaching them had they not decided to tell everyone about their love lives. At the end of the course they have to grade my teaching for each lesson. I wonder what I will get for this?
I went to visit vvv nice girls city on the free day, and she had everything planned out very well. We went to a kind of memorial/museum park type place...where I learned about many bad things the Japanese did during the war. At the end of the day when we were having dinner she said a few things to me that gave me the feeling that, from this moment on, we are a couple. It was a tad hasty, I thought.
On Thursday the teachers did their skit performances on stage. Many were afraid of this, and I feared it might be an embarrassing disaster. In actual fact, every performance was excellent, and D class came up with the best of them. They all put our own 'Smellarella' skit to shame. Thankfully the foreigners did not perform...so few people know how bad we are.
After the performances someone from Class A whispered to me that they wanted to invite Crazy Korean/American, Paul (from upstairs), and myself to dinner...but not the others. We all snuck out early and went to the restaurant. On the way I was in car with vvv nice girl (who wanted to keep our 'relationship' top secret)and another teacher, and I warned them that if Crazy Korean/American girl drinks alcohol, she will be loud and obnoxious (I thought it best to be blunt). They said I should not worry and that everything will be fine. Fools.
The meal was in a traditional Korean restaurant where everyone sits on the floor and the tables are very low. Men should sit crossed legged with their knees under the table, and ladies sit....like ladies who sit on the floor sit. As I can't get my knees under the table, I always have to sit like a lady. It's frustrating as anyone who sees me thinks I choose to sit like a lady. They don't realize I can't sit the 'man' way.
I had to sit next to Crazy Korean/American...and things went well for around 25 minutes. Then, once the Sodue (Korean alcohol) had taken effect, everyone fell silent as Crazy K/A banged the table to make an announcement. This is what she said (in a loud, drunk Korean/American type way):
'I would just like to say something. I wanna say that when I first came to Korea I didn't like it. I didn't like the Korean culture, and I didn't like the people. I'm from LA in the US, and I really wanted to go back. I just didn't like it here. But now, after meeting you guys, I feel I like it much more.' Nice one. Koreans are very polite, and so smiled and gave her a clap once she had finished slagging off their country. I tried to make my knees, and the rest of my body go under the table, but I couldn't.
Quite a lot of alcohol was being consumed, and Paul was making his way around to every female in an effort to chat them up. He also tried to chat up vvv nice girl, which proved to be a mistake. When he moved on to the next female, Crazy/Korean American went to speak to vvv nice girl and, as I later found out, told her to stay away from Paul, as he was hers (Paul didn't know this). Vvv nice girl was shocked at this, and told Crazy K/A that actually she liked me (so as to calm the nutcase down). From that moment on the evening became a nightmare.
We all moved on to a karaoke bar, and had a few more drinks. Crazy K/A saw this as good chance for her to match make, and loudly and embarrassingly tried to get vvv nice girl and me to talk to each other, or hold hands....thinking we were too shy to speak to each other. It was like being back in the school playground. The rest of Class A couldn't fail to notice this...and so the secret was pretty much out. Vvv nice girl couldn't bare any more of it...and left the room we were in. I explained to Crazy K/A that we already know we like each other, but we want to keep it private right now. She responded by telling me to hold her hand. The alcohol was deep-rooted in her system, and would stay there for a long time.
I chose a song to sing and some beer to drink, and was just going to get started when vvv nice girl returned and told me to go outside. I then got into trouble. Apparently I should have followed her out when she left the room. Oh well. We talked for a while, and she said Crazy K/A is....crazy. I did warn her before, but to be fair nobody could possibly guess what that girl is like when she drinks. I asked her why she wanted so desperately to keep it a secret that we liked each other. She explained that her father is a high ranking official in the education department of the local government, and he would not be happy if he found out. I asked why, and she said it's because I am a foreigner, and her father doesn't think Koreans should be with foreigners. That's a nice explanation. A short time later I made another error, by uttering the work 'sh*t' when I thought Crazy K/A had seen us. Vvv nice girl said she was 'very disappointed' in me for saying such a bad word. Hmm.
Soon everyone came out of the karaoke and took a bus back to their city. Vvv nice girl got a lift back with them. Faced with the possibility of staying out longer with Crazy KA, I went home too. Half an hour later I sent a text message to vvv nice girl - and she replied saying I was late sending her a text, but she forgives me. I decided to remove all of her ' v's ', so now she is just 'nice girl'.
Friday was the last day, and all the Elementary School Teachers were asked to write assessments on each of the foreign teachers and their lessons. I would love to read what they wrote about BFA Pete...but I think we will only be given feedback on our own lessons. And so, after many photos and a farewell speech, they all went away. The next teacher 'training' course will be in January. From now on it's back to travelling freak shows and kids camps. Joy.
Sunday, 19 August 2007
Sunday, 12 August 2007
Elementary Training Course - Week 3
The third week didn't get off to the best of starts. One of my first classes was class A - which I was looking forward to very much. The very very nice girl in this class is now very very very nice, I have decided, but I show no favouritism...cause I am very professional. The topic of their lesson was 'Daily life', and I was hoping vvv nice girl would ask me some off the record question in the 'Find someone who...' activity (like 'I really like you...do you like me?). Instead she chose to ask me some of the questions on her sheet of paper:
'Do you often leave the washing-up until the next day?'
'Umm...yes'
'Do you do any exercise?'
'Umm, well...not at the moment, but I am planning on...' (she cuts me off and continues...)
'Do you ever read a book in the evenings?'
'Well, I used to...but, umm...I try to read many online articles and...'
'That's a 'no' then. Thanks - I can put your name in these boxes.'
The next thing she said was devastating...
'Oh...umm...what's your name? Sorry. I forgot.'
So the vvv nice girl now knows that whatsizname here is a really lazy bastrd and probably lives like a rat in a sewer. Forgetting my name is a bit of a sucker-punch. That was not meant to happen. Maybe she was just a bit flustered.
I had to get though 10 hours of talking about the 'Post Office' venue this week. This is the hardest venue to make interesting, as there is not much inside to keep students active. To talk about it for 2 hours with each class is a bit tough, so I spent many hours trying to think of ways to make it interesting. I finally came up with something that might work. One of the activities I asked them to do was to (in groups of 3) make up their own dialogues based on what we had talked about in the lesson and also on some situation cards I gave them (such as 'It's your first day at work, and you have 2 difficult customers', or 'the Post Office worker is a complete arse and two customers who are rude bstrds walk in'). They seemed very keen to do this, and got about planning their skits. I explained that when the young kids come they are asked to just read the same dialogue one by one, which is pretty boring and they learn nothing. The teachers English is of a higher level, and it will be more challenging. When I said this to the class one of the students voiced her agreement, and then said that that is exactly what the other teachers here make them do in the other venues - repeat the same dialogues the kids used to read when they came! Luckily the lessons went well, with just one more next week.
The above may explain why two students in one class fell asleep in one of the other teachers' lessons. The teacher was not happy, and told them to be more interested in future. Later he complained about the students to all the other foreign teachers. Mr. Yang's daughter (who is on this course, along with his wife) got angry with the same teacher and yelled at him for not explaining an activity clearly before asking them to do it. He complained about her too. Of course, Gerrald, my friend, it's all their fault. But whatever you do, don't ask yourself why they fall asleep and get angry in your class.
On Thursday evening I went out for a drink with one of the students from class D...as she was the class leader and I would be with them on the Seoul trip the next day. As the beer flowed, she began opening up a bit about one of the teachers (which is pretty rare...the Koreans always keep criticism of others to themselves). She said (without naming any names) that one of the teachers in particular doesn’t come across very well, and has been very rude to the students in class. The rest of her group haven’t complained...she thinks its because most of them couldn’t understand what was being said to them anyway (which is probably true - this group is the weakest). The person in question asked for an opinion on something, but gave his own first. Then when an opinion that disagreed with his own was given, he poured scorn on it in a patronizing and humiliating way. He also yelled at one of the students (who are adult teachers!), and she told me, in another class he used a water gun on a woman who looked like she wasn't listening. It went all over her glasses and into her eyes...and after being humiliated in front of everyone, she cried. There could only be one person here who would do something like that....The Big Friendly American, Pete. What an arse. He just doesn't get it at all. He's big trouble and it's going to be impossible for me to keep my mouth closed for the next 6 months to keep the peace. But I know once I have said what needs to be said, he will explode, and will hate me with a passion forever. Oh well. The experience will do me good.
Unfortunately the more we talked the more we drank, and after 6 hours we realised we had to be on the bus to Seoul quite soon. The plan , when we got to Seoul was to take Group D to lunch at an Indian Restaurant, for a truly British experience. The foreign teachers in charge of each group all intended to visit a restaurant serving their own countries food, to give the Korean teachers a new experience. I told group D about English food...and they agreed not to eat it. The Indian was the closest safe alternative...although it is from India. They didn't quite understand, but I changed the topic before anyone could ask a question (which is easy to do with this group - they have a short attention span). BFA Pete told his group he was taking them all to visit an American restaurant where they can eat hamburger and fries. I heard several of them complaining...and 3 of them came to ask me if they could got to the Indian restaurant instead. Pete, being the diplomat he us, responded to the complaints by saying they must all go with him to eat hamburgers...and experience good American food....or rather, eat junk food and get fat (which the weight concious Korean women just love).
The Seoul trip didn't quite pan out the way I had planned. Being very tired and a bit hung over, I discovered that the vvv nice girl in group A was on a different coach to me. By the time our coach arrived, she had disappeared. So I decided not to try and lose Group D, and separate vvv nice girl from group A...as I had no idea where they had gone, and I prob. smelled of beer.
Actually, group D and I had a really good time. I think they enjoyed trying Indian (British) food...except the sweet corn soup, which seemed unusual to most of them. I only had to explain one thing - that usually people don't put the whole naan bread onto their plate and use a knife and fork on it. One chap still insisted on stuffing his naan with his main dish and rolling it up as if it were a pancake, but each to their own.
After the restaurant was the main treat of the day - a trip to the American Embassy. Oh what joy...and so many people were looking forward to it. The coach was full of excited Koreans and foreign teachers. The day before we had been reminded to take our passports or ID cards, otherwise we wouldn't be allowed in. As we got nearer, I realised I had done something terrible - I had left my passport and foreign ID card in my room...and so would not be allowed in. I told the Korean teachers around me on coach what I had done. I couldn't hide my bitter disappointment...and I almost cried. So I would have to take myself off somewhere else I said. I might go to a few shops and look around for the 3 hour duration of their Embassy visit. But, within seconds, someone else said they had forgotten their ID card too. Then there was another, and another. Quite a lot of people, it seemed, had suddenly discovered they had left their ID cards on their kitchen table, or near the door, on top of the TV, or 'somewhere in a different place...but not here' (that person panicked). The trip leader seemed a tad worried, and got off the bus first. We were just deciding where we could go when the organiser returned and said we should try to get in anyway. We were led through a side door where there was a metal detector and two guards. We were asked to walk through the detector and into a large conference room, where the 3 hour lecture about the USA was to take place. When I walked through the metal detector and alarm went off...but I was told to continue. I said to the guard the alarm went off, but he just said 'it's ok'. Many of the Korean teachers also set the alarm off and told him...but he didn't care. The first 5 said they don't have any ID on them - they had forgotten/lost it...but he again said 'it's ok'. They really tried to explain that it was not secure to let people in without ID and who also set off the alarm, but everyone was allowed in, and the door was closed. Bugger.
A big American lady started talking to us. One of the first things she wanted to discuss was the cultural differences between the USA and Korea. To do this, she brought up a picture of the Virginia Tech massacre in the US where a Korean American student shot lots of people. That set a good tone for the next 2 hours and 50 minutes. She wanted to look at the differences between the 2 countries reaction to this event (in Korea everyone felt guilty, in the US they just put the blame a mad man with a gun). Before she could make her point, the Crazy Korean/American teacher started yelling at her from the top of her loud voice...asking why she is showing the Korean shooting rather than any of the other gun massacres in America? The Crazy Korean/American continued to shout and yell throughout the 3 hours, and was usually completely missing the point. It was funny, but embarrassing all the same. Why did she do this? Because at lunch time she was drinking alcohol. This is what happens whenever she drinks alcohol. The fact that she was making a fool of herself infront of a lot of people didn’t matter to her. She would also shout out the answers to questions aimed at the Korean teachers (who this talk was for), and in doing so let her feelings about Korean culture be known. On a question about how parents look after their children, she yelled out again before anyone else could answer-
'Well in the US we look after our kids and take make sure they learn how to behave, but the Koreans don't...they just let them do whatever they want'. (There were 72 Korean teachers sitting listening to this...and Crazy girl is going to have to teach them all again next week). When she wasn’t shouting out, it was one of the Dingle brothers from Canada who was shouting out answers and opinions. BFA Pete only had a few things to say, and for once was completely out-yelled by these other two. It was an amazing scene, and an amazing experience. I will find out on Monday what the Korean teachers thought about it all. The message of the talk was basically - you do things like this in Korea and behave in this way...BUT IN AMERICA WE DO IT LIKE THIS!!!
One happy note to end on that I didn't mention. On Thursday the vvv nice girl in class A came to look for me for help. She wanted to know if I could help her pronounce some French words as she was going to have to do a talk which included some...and so asked me if I can speak it. I lied and said 'oui' so that she would sit with me for a while. I helped her with the pronunciation, guessing where I was not sure, and she seemed happy and grateful, although it was difficult for her. Ahh...she is nice.
Later she said she failed in her talk. That's a pity...but I said I can help her more next week...and she agreed. Sometimes failure is a good thing.
'Do you often leave the washing-up until the next day?'
'Umm...yes'
'Do you do any exercise?'
'Umm, well...not at the moment, but I am planning on...' (she cuts me off and continues...)
'Do you ever read a book in the evenings?'
'Well, I used to...but, umm...I try to read many online articles and...'
'That's a 'no' then. Thanks - I can put your name in these boxes.'
The next thing she said was devastating...
'Oh...umm...what's your name? Sorry. I forgot.'
So the vvv nice girl now knows that whatsizname here is a really lazy bastrd and probably lives like a rat in a sewer. Forgetting my name is a bit of a sucker-punch. That was not meant to happen. Maybe she was just a bit flustered.
I had to get though 10 hours of talking about the 'Post Office' venue this week. This is the hardest venue to make interesting, as there is not much inside to keep students active. To talk about it for 2 hours with each class is a bit tough, so I spent many hours trying to think of ways to make it interesting. I finally came up with something that might work. One of the activities I asked them to do was to (in groups of 3) make up their own dialogues based on what we had talked about in the lesson and also on some situation cards I gave them (such as 'It's your first day at work, and you have 2 difficult customers', or 'the Post Office worker is a complete arse and two customers who are rude bstrds walk in'). They seemed very keen to do this, and got about planning their skits. I explained that when the young kids come they are asked to just read the same dialogue one by one, which is pretty boring and they learn nothing. The teachers English is of a higher level, and it will be more challenging. When I said this to the class one of the students voiced her agreement, and then said that that is exactly what the other teachers here make them do in the other venues - repeat the same dialogues the kids used to read when they came! Luckily the lessons went well, with just one more next week.
The above may explain why two students in one class fell asleep in one of the other teachers' lessons. The teacher was not happy, and told them to be more interested in future. Later he complained about the students to all the other foreign teachers. Mr. Yang's daughter (who is on this course, along with his wife) got angry with the same teacher and yelled at him for not explaining an activity clearly before asking them to do it. He complained about her too. Of course, Gerrald, my friend, it's all their fault. But whatever you do, don't ask yourself why they fall asleep and get angry in your class.
On Thursday evening I went out for a drink with one of the students from class D...as she was the class leader and I would be with them on the Seoul trip the next day. As the beer flowed, she began opening up a bit about one of the teachers (which is pretty rare...the Koreans always keep criticism of others to themselves). She said (without naming any names) that one of the teachers in particular doesn’t come across very well, and has been very rude to the students in class. The rest of her group haven’t complained...she thinks its because most of them couldn’t understand what was being said to them anyway (which is probably true - this group is the weakest). The person in question asked for an opinion on something, but gave his own first. Then when an opinion that disagreed with his own was given, he poured scorn on it in a patronizing and humiliating way. He also yelled at one of the students (who are adult teachers!), and she told me, in another class he used a water gun on a woman who looked like she wasn't listening. It went all over her glasses and into her eyes...and after being humiliated in front of everyone, she cried. There could only be one person here who would do something like that....The Big Friendly American, Pete. What an arse. He just doesn't get it at all. He's big trouble and it's going to be impossible for me to keep my mouth closed for the next 6 months to keep the peace. But I know once I have said what needs to be said, he will explode, and will hate me with a passion forever. Oh well. The experience will do me good.
Unfortunately the more we talked the more we drank, and after 6 hours we realised we had to be on the bus to Seoul quite soon. The plan , when we got to Seoul was to take Group D to lunch at an Indian Restaurant, for a truly British experience. The foreign teachers in charge of each group all intended to visit a restaurant serving their own countries food, to give the Korean teachers a new experience. I told group D about English food...and they agreed not to eat it. The Indian was the closest safe alternative...although it is from India. They didn't quite understand, but I changed the topic before anyone could ask a question (which is easy to do with this group - they have a short attention span). BFA Pete told his group he was taking them all to visit an American restaurant where they can eat hamburger and fries. I heard several of them complaining...and 3 of them came to ask me if they could got to the Indian restaurant instead. Pete, being the diplomat he us, responded to the complaints by saying they must all go with him to eat hamburgers...and experience good American food....or rather, eat junk food and get fat (which the weight concious Korean women just love).
The Seoul trip didn't quite pan out the way I had planned. Being very tired and a bit hung over, I discovered that the vvv nice girl in group A was on a different coach to me. By the time our coach arrived, she had disappeared. So I decided not to try and lose Group D, and separate vvv nice girl from group A...as I had no idea where they had gone, and I prob. smelled of beer.
Actually, group D and I had a really good time. I think they enjoyed trying Indian (British) food...except the sweet corn soup, which seemed unusual to most of them. I only had to explain one thing - that usually people don't put the whole naan bread onto their plate and use a knife and fork on it. One chap still insisted on stuffing his naan with his main dish and rolling it up as if it were a pancake, but each to their own.
After the restaurant was the main treat of the day - a trip to the American Embassy. Oh what joy...and so many people were looking forward to it. The coach was full of excited Koreans and foreign teachers. The day before we had been reminded to take our passports or ID cards, otherwise we wouldn't be allowed in. As we got nearer, I realised I had done something terrible - I had left my passport and foreign ID card in my room...and so would not be allowed in. I told the Korean teachers around me on coach what I had done. I couldn't hide my bitter disappointment...and I almost cried. So I would have to take myself off somewhere else I said. I might go to a few shops and look around for the 3 hour duration of their Embassy visit. But, within seconds, someone else said they had forgotten their ID card too. Then there was another, and another. Quite a lot of people, it seemed, had suddenly discovered they had left their ID cards on their kitchen table, or near the door, on top of the TV, or 'somewhere in a different place...but not here' (that person panicked). The trip leader seemed a tad worried, and got off the bus first. We were just deciding where we could go when the organiser returned and said we should try to get in anyway. We were led through a side door where there was a metal detector and two guards. We were asked to walk through the detector and into a large conference room, where the 3 hour lecture about the USA was to take place. When I walked through the metal detector and alarm went off...but I was told to continue. I said to the guard the alarm went off, but he just said 'it's ok'. Many of the Korean teachers also set the alarm off and told him...but he didn't care. The first 5 said they don't have any ID on them - they had forgotten/lost it...but he again said 'it's ok'. They really tried to explain that it was not secure to let people in without ID and who also set off the alarm, but everyone was allowed in, and the door was closed. Bugger.
A big American lady started talking to us. One of the first things she wanted to discuss was the cultural differences between the USA and Korea. To do this, she brought up a picture of the Virginia Tech massacre in the US where a Korean American student shot lots of people. That set a good tone for the next 2 hours and 50 minutes. She wanted to look at the differences between the 2 countries reaction to this event (in Korea everyone felt guilty, in the US they just put the blame a mad man with a gun). Before she could make her point, the Crazy Korean/American teacher started yelling at her from the top of her loud voice...asking why she is showing the Korean shooting rather than any of the other gun massacres in America? The Crazy Korean/American continued to shout and yell throughout the 3 hours, and was usually completely missing the point. It was funny, but embarrassing all the same. Why did she do this? Because at lunch time she was drinking alcohol. This is what happens whenever she drinks alcohol. The fact that she was making a fool of herself infront of a lot of people didn’t matter to her. She would also shout out the answers to questions aimed at the Korean teachers (who this talk was for), and in doing so let her feelings about Korean culture be known. On a question about how parents look after their children, she yelled out again before anyone else could answer-
'Well in the US we look after our kids and take make sure they learn how to behave, but the Koreans don't...they just let them do whatever they want'. (There were 72 Korean teachers sitting listening to this...and Crazy girl is going to have to teach them all again next week). When she wasn’t shouting out, it was one of the Dingle brothers from Canada who was shouting out answers and opinions. BFA Pete only had a few things to say, and for once was completely out-yelled by these other two. It was an amazing scene, and an amazing experience. I will find out on Monday what the Korean teachers thought about it all. The message of the talk was basically - you do things like this in Korea and behave in this way...BUT IN AMERICA WE DO IT LIKE THIS!!!
One happy note to end on that I didn't mention. On Thursday the vvv nice girl in class A came to look for me for help. She wanted to know if I could help her pronounce some French words as she was going to have to do a talk which included some...and so asked me if I can speak it. I lied and said 'oui' so that she would sit with me for a while. I helped her with the pronunciation, guessing where I was not sure, and she seemed happy and grateful, although it was difficult for her. Ahh...she is nice.
Later she said she failed in her talk. That's a pity...but I said I can help her more next week...and she agreed. Sometimes failure is a good thing.
Sunday, 5 August 2007
Week 2 of the 72 mostly female teachers training course
The second week of the Teacher 'Training' Course has gone very well.
So far, no one has made an official complaint, and my classes have gone as well as I could have hoped. I seem to have formed a good rapport with the students, and a somewhat unintentionally strong rapport with some individuals. The chap who's kid delighted in watching me get stabbed with a needle last week still brings me lunch everyday. His wife even called him one lunchtime to ask if I liked what she had made. I take in some ice-coffee in return...which he seemed to like until Friday, when he asked me not to bring him any more of it. I'll invite them all round for dinner next weekend (except the daughter) - I have managed to cook something this week that I would, for the first time, give to someone else to eat.
Of the 59 female teachers, there are now around 7 who are very nice, but there is one who is very, very nice. She is in class A - the one who asked me about why I am vegetarian last week. This week in a lesson with the teacher next door (the Crazy Korean/American), they all had to write their own restaurant menus (not sure why). They were all put on display in the corridor, and there was one that stood out a mile (to me anyway), as on one of the menus were the words 'vegetarian restaurant'. I looked to see who had made it, and...it was the very very nice teacher in class A! That's got to be a good sign, hasn't it??
Later in the week, Mrs. Cho (who is running this course, and has had to put up with most of the foreign teachers here shouting and yelling at her) stopped me in the corridor and told me that in a meeting with all the teachers, some of them asked her if I was single! She said she told them she thinks I am. Just at that moment the very very nice teacher was walking by, and, tactfully, Mrs. Cho stopped her and said to me 'what about her - she is very beautiful?' The very very nice teacher was embarrassed, but smiling....so I think Mrs. Cho did me a favour there. There are two weeks left, so still time to find out where she lives, if she likes me, and if she might like to meet up sometime. But I am gutless in these situations and I expect I will fudge it up and nothing happens.
There are, it seems, many other opportunities here...but I am now wishing there were more men here (I'm not gay). I think I have worked out who asked if I am single - a lady in class E. During a warm-up activity in the 'Daily Life' class I gave them an activity called 'Find someone who...' and there were a list of certain things, such as get up before 7am, leave the washing-up until the next day, etc. that they had to ask each other about. One teacher asked me some of these questions, and to one of them I answered 'no'. She asked me to say 'yes' so she could write my name in that box...but I said she would have to pay me first (as a joke of course). She said to me she didn't have any money, but what about a kiss? This was in the middle of a class - and she looked serious! I don't think anyone else heard her though. She then asked me questions that were not on the paper...my age, and what kind of girl I like. I answered 'female' - but now wish I had been a bit more specific. Her English is very good. The last class on Friday was awkward to say the least. She turned her chair to face me, and just stared at me. She is from Seoul - so is the complete opposite to any female living in this city. I asked her a question...to stop her staring - and she didn't know the answer because she hadn't been listening. It is flattering to have some attention...but she scares me - a lot. Paul the Canadian later told me that her and another teacher (who is very nice) are staying in a hotel here...and seem to like to party hard. They both missed most of the day on Wednesday cause they had been out drinking the night before. Then, on Thursday, they went out drinking with Paul and John (who is also Canadian, both from upstairs). Paul, who already said he is targeting any and all of the females, says he likes this crazy one a lot. I hope he gets a bloody move on.
A male Korean teacher from the same class said he really doesn't know why, but I seem to be popular with many of the teachers - a lot of whom are older women. I really don't know why either...but then again, the competition here comprises of 3 Canadians who walk around with their tongues hanging out, a 60 odd year old American who is overly friendly, and Gerrud the New-Zealander who, although looking like John Travolta, is going out with Erica (the 'leader' of us foreigners...and who's car is too small).
Next Friday there is a trip to Seoul that everyone will go on. The foreign teachers will be responsible for one class each - and it seems I have been allotted class D. If I had known about this I would have requested class A. But I've got the class with the weakest English level, with an old chap who doesn't seem to like being a student again after 19 years teaching. He always has an expression on his face that lets it be known he is either confused or angry, or both. In the 'find someone who...' activity I asked the class to stand up and move around the room, and to talk to different people. So he sat down, and spoke to one person. Three others in the class (of 12) can speak between very little and no English, and there is no bubbly personality here as there is in all the other classes, and it's pretty hard to lift them. The one lady who can speak good English (who entered into the top 7 females here...but is married with 2 kids, and so dropped out of it) said to me that for their class performance (they all must do one near the end of the course - on stage) nobody is interested in it, or cares. And I have to look after them in Seoul. Great. Could be worse I suppose...could have got given class E...with that nutter. I think, in reality, group D will be taking me around, as I have no idea where to go or do in Seoul. I will suggest we follow class A. Then my plan is to merge the two groups, causing confusion and disorganisation. In the melee, I will then attempt to part the very very nice teacher from the group. Those evenings in watching 'One Man and His Dog' will come in very handy here. Finally, we will become lost. I will then suggest going to a nice restaurant. Then, in a rather swarve maneuver, I will then whip out my book of 'Cheap Hotels in Seoul'. She will be impressed with me I think. I just hope the nutter in class E has not been watching One Man and His Dog as well. I don't want to be left alone with her at any time.
So far, no one has made an official complaint, and my classes have gone as well as I could have hoped. I seem to have formed a good rapport with the students, and a somewhat unintentionally strong rapport with some individuals. The chap who's kid delighted in watching me get stabbed with a needle last week still brings me lunch everyday. His wife even called him one lunchtime to ask if I liked what she had made. I take in some ice-coffee in return...which he seemed to like until Friday, when he asked me not to bring him any more of it. I'll invite them all round for dinner next weekend (except the daughter) - I have managed to cook something this week that I would, for the first time, give to someone else to eat.
Of the 59 female teachers, there are now around 7 who are very nice, but there is one who is very, very nice. She is in class A - the one who asked me about why I am vegetarian last week. This week in a lesson with the teacher next door (the Crazy Korean/American), they all had to write their own restaurant menus (not sure why). They were all put on display in the corridor, and there was one that stood out a mile (to me anyway), as on one of the menus were the words 'vegetarian restaurant'. I looked to see who had made it, and...it was the very very nice teacher in class A! That's got to be a good sign, hasn't it??
Later in the week, Mrs. Cho (who is running this course, and has had to put up with most of the foreign teachers here shouting and yelling at her) stopped me in the corridor and told me that in a meeting with all the teachers, some of them asked her if I was single! She said she told them she thinks I am. Just at that moment the very very nice teacher was walking by, and, tactfully, Mrs. Cho stopped her and said to me 'what about her - she is very beautiful?' The very very nice teacher was embarrassed, but smiling....so I think Mrs. Cho did me a favour there. There are two weeks left, so still time to find out where she lives, if she likes me, and if she might like to meet up sometime. But I am gutless in these situations and I expect I will fudge it up and nothing happens.
There are, it seems, many other opportunities here...but I am now wishing there were more men here (I'm not gay). I think I have worked out who asked if I am single - a lady in class E. During a warm-up activity in the 'Daily Life' class I gave them an activity called 'Find someone who...' and there were a list of certain things, such as get up before 7am, leave the washing-up until the next day, etc. that they had to ask each other about. One teacher asked me some of these questions, and to one of them I answered 'no'. She asked me to say 'yes' so she could write my name in that box...but I said she would have to pay me first (as a joke of course). She said to me she didn't have any money, but what about a kiss? This was in the middle of a class - and she looked serious! I don't think anyone else heard her though. She then asked me questions that were not on the paper...my age, and what kind of girl I like. I answered 'female' - but now wish I had been a bit more specific. Her English is very good. The last class on Friday was awkward to say the least. She turned her chair to face me, and just stared at me. She is from Seoul - so is the complete opposite to any female living in this city. I asked her a question...to stop her staring - and she didn't know the answer because she hadn't been listening. It is flattering to have some attention...but she scares me - a lot. Paul the Canadian later told me that her and another teacher (who is very nice) are staying in a hotel here...and seem to like to party hard. They both missed most of the day on Wednesday cause they had been out drinking the night before. Then, on Thursday, they went out drinking with Paul and John (who is also Canadian, both from upstairs). Paul, who already said he is targeting any and all of the females, says he likes this crazy one a lot. I hope he gets a bloody move on.
A male Korean teacher from the same class said he really doesn't know why, but I seem to be popular with many of the teachers - a lot of whom are older women. I really don't know why either...but then again, the competition here comprises of 3 Canadians who walk around with their tongues hanging out, a 60 odd year old American who is overly friendly, and Gerrud the New-Zealander who, although looking like John Travolta, is going out with Erica (the 'leader' of us foreigners...and who's car is too small).
Next Friday there is a trip to Seoul that everyone will go on. The foreign teachers will be responsible for one class each - and it seems I have been allotted class D. If I had known about this I would have requested class A. But I've got the class with the weakest English level, with an old chap who doesn't seem to like being a student again after 19 years teaching. He always has an expression on his face that lets it be known he is either confused or angry, or both. In the 'find someone who...' activity I asked the class to stand up and move around the room, and to talk to different people. So he sat down, and spoke to one person. Three others in the class (of 12) can speak between very little and no English, and there is no bubbly personality here as there is in all the other classes, and it's pretty hard to lift them. The one lady who can speak good English (who entered into the top 7 females here...but is married with 2 kids, and so dropped out of it) said to me that for their class performance (they all must do one near the end of the course - on stage) nobody is interested in it, or cares. And I have to look after them in Seoul. Great. Could be worse I suppose...could have got given class E...with that nutter. I think, in reality, group D will be taking me around, as I have no idea where to go or do in Seoul. I will suggest we follow class A. Then my plan is to merge the two groups, causing confusion and disorganisation. In the melee, I will then attempt to part the very very nice teacher from the group. Those evenings in watching 'One Man and His Dog' will come in very handy here. Finally, we will become lost. I will then suggest going to a nice restaurant. Then, in a rather swarve maneuver, I will then whip out my book of 'Cheap Hotels in Seoul'. She will be impressed with me I think. I just hope the nutter in class E has not been watching One Man and His Dog as well. I don't want to be left alone with her at any time.
Saturday, 4 August 2007
Photos - some of the teachers
One half of 'Group A'. There are some very nice people on this course...see centre right of this photo for example. Ahh...a lovely smile.
Group E - bottom left of photo - speaks excellent English...and is very direct. Am a little bit afraid...yeah.
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