the door ain't closin'
so i've been teaching english to kids in Korea for 11 months, give or take (actually, it's give, but i'll take it). here's where i'm at, where i've been, and a maybe we're i'm going.
- arrived September and started working in a private school southwest of Seoul. met a crazy group of foreigners and made friends very quickly in this town of 20 english speaking non-Koreans and the Korean english teachers at school. here's a pic from our bar street, which is populated very well most nights in summer, and a little less in winter (-10 celsius will do that to a place).
- lived with Andy (Canada/Hong Kong) and Brian (Ireland) for around 8 months. fantastic couple of guys. we had a great laugh, relaxed and had few issues, and those mainly occurred when the chicken delivery guys wouldn't answer the phone at 3am.
- had to learn to cycle on the right side of the road, going for 90 minute splurges south, but soon gave up when i realised just how lucky i am to survive. Koreans drive very fast and use all the road.
- visited many a temple and attraction, and a quiet place to chill out.
- took up screen golf. extremely frustrating, especially when i think i've hit the ball well but the screen says, 'you! off my planet'. Brian being a child prodigy also liked to visit the Royal Shihwa golf links, and we found ourselves to be a highly competitive and well-matched pair. i dominated our matches for a while, but by the time the Shihwa Invitational Players Matchplay Championship rolled around this July, Brian was on top, considerably. He took the trophy home without much fanfare, mainly cos he doesn't have any fans.
- life became a little difficult a while back due to a new teacher arriving in April, as i have blogged about here, here and here, but having moved apartment, i'm feeling much more positive about life, and myself. all of a sudden, i hated someone for the first time in 2 years. now it's not so immediate (i only have to work with him) i am not feeling the same venom anymore. i wrote to my father saying this is the first person i've wanted to hit more and more each day since i was at high school. its great to feel that dissipate now. now, i pity myself much less.
- work is interesting. the times i work are often pretty difficult, and the demands made on the teachers at our school are mixed. in many ways, it's a fun, interesting, involving and greatly motivating position. yet, for some reason, it can feel horrible. i enjoy most of my classes, and i hardly ever fulfill my contracted hours. yet i always feel like i'm at work. it could be the Korean holiday system. there's never a 2 week block together. it's always a day here, 3 days there. it's really hard to get away from work. there's always something i'm preparing in my head.
i feel i've connected with some great kids here. i care about many of them (i won't lie about caring for any of the devil's spawn intent on world destruction) and really get attached to them succeeding and having a good time. i'm okay when the tears come these days, but it's still tough when it's one of my faves who's crying (yes, i have favourites, i'm not embarrassed, even if i should be). Sylvia, a teacher at school, told me that Andy and i treat the girls like princesses. probably not wrong. they get away with all sorts with me, compared to the boys. as my time here is coming to an end, i'm quite sad at the prospect of saying goodbye (if 'quite sad' means i'm expecting to become a blubbering mess).
- what the future holds, i'm unsure. i've been offered a good job in a good area starting in September, but it's been a long time since i had a real holiday, and August is a big month at work. i'm really keen to have a holiday and get traveling. i'm looking at options, and they're all looking good. one of those times where, whatever course i take, life rocks.
- now Andy and Brian are leaving, along with Jo and Jackie (NZ), two more friends with whom i've spent the bulk of my time. i'm sad. it's all changing. it never stays the same. just like every time something ended before. there's one or two more special people leaving too.
y'know those people you reserve a place in your heart for, should they ever want it? sometimes, i wonder why they don't say they want it. then i remember, i never let them know.
- arrived September and started working in a private school southwest of Seoul. met a crazy group of foreigners and made friends very quickly in this town of 20 english speaking non-Koreans and the Korean english teachers at school. here's a pic from our bar street, which is populated very well most nights in summer, and a little less in winter (-10 celsius will do that to a place).
- lived with Andy (Canada/Hong Kong) and Brian (Ireland) for around 8 months. fantastic couple of guys. we had a great laugh, relaxed and had few issues, and those mainly occurred when the chicken delivery guys wouldn't answer the phone at 3am.
- had to learn to cycle on the right side of the road, going for 90 minute splurges south, but soon gave up when i realised just how lucky i am to survive. Koreans drive very fast and use all the road.
- visited many a temple and attraction, and a quiet place to chill out.
- took up screen golf. extremely frustrating, especially when i think i've hit the ball well but the screen says, 'you! off my planet'. Brian being a child prodigy also liked to visit the Royal Shihwa golf links, and we found ourselves to be a highly competitive and well-matched pair. i dominated our matches for a while, but by the time the Shihwa Invitational Players Matchplay Championship rolled around this July, Brian was on top, considerably. He took the trophy home without much fanfare, mainly cos he doesn't have any fans.
- life became a little difficult a while back due to a new teacher arriving in April, as i have blogged about here, here and here, but having moved apartment, i'm feeling much more positive about life, and myself. all of a sudden, i hated someone for the first time in 2 years. now it's not so immediate (i only have to work with him) i am not feeling the same venom anymore. i wrote to my father saying this is the first person i've wanted to hit more and more each day since i was at high school. its great to feel that dissipate now. now, i pity myself much less.
- work is interesting. the times i work are often pretty difficult, and the demands made on the teachers at our school are mixed. in many ways, it's a fun, interesting, involving and greatly motivating position. yet, for some reason, it can feel horrible. i enjoy most of my classes, and i hardly ever fulfill my contracted hours. yet i always feel like i'm at work. it could be the Korean holiday system. there's never a 2 week block together. it's always a day here, 3 days there. it's really hard to get away from work. there's always something i'm preparing in my head.
i feel i've connected with some great kids here. i care about many of them (i won't lie about caring for any of the devil's spawn intent on world destruction) and really get attached to them succeeding and having a good time. i'm okay when the tears come these days, but it's still tough when it's one of my faves who's crying (yes, i have favourites, i'm not embarrassed, even if i should be). Sylvia, a teacher at school, told me that Andy and i treat the girls like princesses. probably not wrong. they get away with all sorts with me, compared to the boys. as my time here is coming to an end, i'm quite sad at the prospect of saying goodbye (if 'quite sad' means i'm expecting to become a blubbering mess).
- what the future holds, i'm unsure. i've been offered a good job in a good area starting in September, but it's been a long time since i had a real holiday, and August is a big month at work. i'm really keen to have a holiday and get traveling. i'm looking at options, and they're all looking good. one of those times where, whatever course i take, life rocks.
- now Andy and Brian are leaving, along with Jo and Jackie (NZ), two more friends with whom i've spent the bulk of my time. i'm sad. it's all changing. it never stays the same. just like every time something ended before. there's one or two more special people leaving too.
y'know those people you reserve a place in your heart for, should they ever want it? sometimes, i wonder why they don't say they want it. then i remember, i never let them know.
posted by the Emperor Fabulous at 8:38 AM
2 Comments:
Hey Chris, I love that last paragraph, it rang so true with me!
Can I reproduce it as a quote?
darlin', go for it. might want to say it's from Shaw or Disraeli. people may take you more seriously, (unless they know shaw and disraeli ;)
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