I have a loyalty card at the local coffee shop. That means I officially live here right??

It's something like minus 10 degrees outside and to me, that's pretty bloody cold!!  I have never felt cold like it before but while it's very, erm, cold, it's not entirely unpleasant.  Although in saying that, I'm pretty sure my boogers froze while I was walking to work today... well, maybe not quite, but the disgusting globules of spit that dot the streets of Youngtong have certainly frozen.  I learnt this as one crunched under my feet on my walk home. Gross.

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I haven't even been here a full week and yet it feels like forever... and I mean that in the best way possible.  Somehow it just feels right.  I'm surprised at how easy it's been to slot in here so far, and while I am sure there will be a reasonable period of adjustment ahead, it feels like everything is as it should be. That I am where I should be at this point in time.  

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This week has been filled with a million new experiences - new country, new language, new apartment, new job, new friends, new food, new money, new rules, new weather...  Granted, everything is new and exciting right now, but sometimes new is not always exciting... sometimes it is just plain scary.  Surprisingly, this really hasn't been scary at all - it's just been really, really fun! I'm having an awesome time!

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I woke up for my first day at work to a city that was covered in a blanket of snow. It was beautiful...  What wasn't beautiful was that the front steps to my apartment building had morphed into an invisible back-breaking ice-slide that required the skill of a figure skater and the agility of a monkey to descend (why anyone would think that shiny granite is a suitable material for step-building in a country that rains and snows is really beyond me). Thankfully I was forewarned about the step issue and was able to not-so-graciously make my way to the bottom without serious injury. 

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The following photos were taken on the way to work, in the winter wonderland (aka: a park) 

right near my apartment.

Not the pyramids of Suwon, but the centerpiece of a fountain in the middle of the park.

Above is the bridge I walk across to get to work (which is located in the building on the right).  Very Korean-y no??

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As I walked into the school I saw a bunch of cute kindy kids running around. Then they saw me. Suddenly I was surrounded by a dozen little faces all expressing various degrees of excitement, bewilderment, shock and curiosity.  "What's your name? What's your name?" they yelled out.  "My name is Amy", I replied. "Oooohhhhhh Amy Teacher, Amy Teacher!" they chorused, and in a babble of Korean they ran away. Hmmm... interesting.

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Considering I'm new to the school and that I've never taught before, I was pretty sure that my first day, if not my first week, would be spent observing classes and learning the ropes.  Wrong!  After observing only 2 kinder classes I was handed a stack of text books and left to teach the next 5 classes on my own (and with most of my students being kids from about 7 - 13 years old, the kinder observations weren't exactly relevant)! At least I didn't have time to get too nervous, but talk about being thrown in the deep end!!!

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The first 10 minutes of my first class felt a little weird, but after evoking some tricks of the trade learnt in my TESOL training, I began to relax into it a little more.  Apparently the kids did too...  They were told to be on their best behaviour for the new teacher - a piece of information that eluded some of the boys about 20 minutes into the class.  As I was doing my very teacherly duty of writing a sentence on the whiteboard an almighty crack rang out across the classroom.  I turned around to see two boys lunging at each other fighting over a pencil.  The crack, as it turns out, was the sound of one boy slapping the other across the face.  TESOL did NOT cover this.  After separating them, reorganising the seating arrangements and inspecting a perfect, scarlet, hand-shaped welt on the poor kids cheek, I gave them my best cross face (whilst really trying to hold back a laugh) and was able to complete the rest of the class incident-free.  Phew. I guess it could've been much worse... and at least there were no tears (from me or the victim of pencil-stealing rage). 

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My work hours are laughable really... especially compared to what I was expecting. At the moment I'm working 25 hours per week including class preparation time -and because I'm on contract, I get paid the same amount as I would if I were working the maximum 35 hours a week! The longest day I have is a whopping 6.5 hours and the shortest is 1.5 hours.  My work day begins at 2 or 3pm and ends at either 5.00, 6.30 or 8.30pm depending on the day. New timetables will begin in March, so this dream schedule may not last beyond that, but for now I'm considering myself very lucky!!

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Currently, I have 7 different classes of various ages and English levels that I teach 2 or 3 times per week. I like them all for different reasons, but the most entertaining would have to be the class of just three 8 year old girls that I teach three afternoons a week. My physical appearance seems to be a constant source of fascination and amusement for most of the students (the kinder kids love my hair for some reason and stroke or relieve me of strands of it every chance they get), but these three girls are definitely the most vocal about it.  

Here are some of the questions and comments I've fielded from them over the last 4 days;

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Monday.

Candy/Sally/Sabrina : Amy Teacher, your nose is very pointy.

Amy Teacher : Really? O.K. Thanks.  Anyway, let's keep correcting your homework...

C/S/S : Yes, but Amy Teacher... Your neck is very long. Long like a Giraffe.

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Wednesday.

Amy Teacher : OK, so let's open your workbook to page 23.

Candy/Sally/Sabrina : Amy Teacher... your neck is still very long.

Amy Teacher : Well, yes... it would still be long.

C/S/S : But why?

Amy Teacher : Well guess that's just how I am... Maybe my mother has a long neck. I dunno... let's keep working.

C/S/S : But Amy Teacher! Wait!... Is your mother pretty?

Amy Teacher: Of course she is!

C/S/S : Is SHE a giraffe??

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Later Wednesday afternoon

Candy/Sally/Sabrina : Amy Teacher. Take of your glasses!

Amy Teacher : Why?

C/S/S : Oooh! Puuurrreeeessseee!!!!

Amy Teacher : OK (**take off my glasses**)

C/S/S : (**fits of laughter followed by intense staring into my eyes**) Amy Teacher, look up... look down... look this way... look that way.  Oooh. Your eyes are very blue... very beautiful!

Amy Teacher : Erm, thank you... 

C/S/S : Yes Amy Teacher... They are very blue and beautiful... and big... like a fish.

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Great. I'm a pointy nosed giraffe fish.  I'm told it's a compliment.  Whatever it is I don't care.  It's hilarious and I can't wait to see what next week brings!