Howdy! Howzit! Hi! Hello! Good morning!
Hope everyone doing well. My side...the past 2 weeks have been very difficult. I'm DEFINITELY out of the honeymoon phase. Culture shock has set in. According to Geoff - the loud American - culture shock is what I'm experiencing every time I get mad, angry, upset and irrational. As much as Korea is technologically advanced, in other areas, they can be somewhat 'vertraag'. The Korean English teacher 'in charge' of me, is a lazy, absentminded so-and-so, with whom I have been the picture of patience and understanding for my first 6 weeks here. I have now had it with him. Thanks to his poor planning, communication, laziness and absentmindedness, I am the last person in my foreign teachers' orientation group of almost 200 people, to get my cellphone and Alien Registration Card.......but...
So due to my American ways with him, I now finally have international tv programmes again...internet TV (like cable - but supposed to be better and more hi-tech, who knows?), internet phone, internet connection for the computer...for which I am still waiting...he was supposed to bring it round to me Friday evening....but of course....I'm still waiting. Don't worry...I'm on his case again today! (Sjoe! It's exhausting!).
Right got that out of my system...see, it's pointless throwing a bitch fit here. No one's gonna understand! They'll think I'm crazy.
On to better Korean things....Now here's something that SA can learn from Korea....TEACHERS' DAY!
As you may or may not remember, I go to the high school on Wed and Fri. So, when I arrived at school Fri morning, I discovered that there were no classes due to Teachers' Day. Now, I knew it was Teachers' Day...but coming from SA...it's usually a normal day, with nothing special. Not so in Korea. Teachers are honoured and appreciated here. There's an old Korean saying / belief that goes: King / President, Parent and Teacher are the same. Basically, you give the teacher the same respect you would the King. So Friday morning was a wonderful eye-opener....Students had decorated their homerooms with balloons etc. They (or their parents most probably) had spent money on buying cakes, floral bouquets and gifts for their teachers. Students kept coming into the staffroom to fetch their teachers, sometimes by force! They would present their gifts in the classroom, sing for the teacher, etc. Things quickly progressed to a general air of chaos and frivolity. But all good fun - nothing scary like in SA (razor blades, etc). Here, the naughty boys started smearing teachers with fresh cream. Just imagine...big teenage high school boys chasing tiny little Korean female teachers around the staffroom with cream! (I just gave them my sternest look...and they looked too uncertain re tackling me! LOL!) Oh.. it was lovely! I just wished I could also get my hands on a cream pie and smash someone's face in it! One of my co-teachers had to change his clothing cos he ended up with a shirt doused in red wine! After that...more frivolity was in store. It was now time for the Teacher Appreciation Ceremony in the hall. The students had organised everything. each teacher was presented with a floral pin, the principal gave a very long-winded speech that had me dozing while standing up! Then the fun and games! Teachers vs students in badminton and volleyball. Then teacher-and-student teams competed in relay races, then there was a general knowledge quiz (they even included a question about me!). And then the inevitable...karaoke. Finally...it was time for lunch.
I went back to my middle school (where the food is better!). My high school colleagues were all coming to middle school a bit later anyway, cos there was to be a big volleyball tournament for the schools in the surrounding area. Once again...teachers and vice-principal competing. So...a very enjoyable day, all in all.
One of my middle school students sang the special Teachers' Song just for me. Called me out of the staffroom into a secluded little corner cos she's so shy but wanted to honour me by singing to me. The cutest thing! She sang in Korean - obviously - with lots of actions to demonstrate meaning! (Poenantjies!) I only a had a sweet to give her, but she was soooo grateful. She couldn't believe that I was giving her something to thank her.
After the fun and games at school, the technician came round to my place to install the latest fancy gadgets...(see 2nd paragraph).
The weekend news is far too much to include in this email....So you should get another email tomorrow....
Lots of love, as always
Andrea
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