So far I am enjoying this new year in Korea much more than last year. I know more of what I am doing this year so that is probably part of the reason.
This year, again, I work at an after school school called a hagwon. The name of my hagwon is ENI. I don't think that stands for anything but I could be wrong. I have not asked. Nevertheless, this school seems amazing. It is a mom and pop operation. The owner, Sylvia, is really nice. When she took me to dinner last week she said to think of her as my big sister. She made sure my apartment was clean before I moved in and bought me some fruit and bread as house warming gifts.
My schedule at work goes like this: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 2 to 8:40 with my first class starting at 3. Tuesday 3 to 9:10 with my first class starting at 4. Thursday 3 to 8 with my first class starting at 4. The elementary classes are 50 minutes long. The middle school classes are 45 minutes long. We get a 10 minute break in between each class. The day begins with 6 year olds. Some know great English and some are just starting with the alphabet. I never thought it was possible to teach people right from the beginning with the alphabet without knowing their language. This school proved me wrong. I don't have a class like that right now but I may soon. As the day progresses the students get older with middle school students coming in at 7. Last year I hated my middle school classes. This year my middle school classes are amazing. There are 4 American teachers in total and 4 Korean teachers. When the bells rings there seems not to be a big hurry to get to class. Everyone just sits for another minute or two. At my last school with 11 American teachers and 15 Korean teachers it was alway choas. No relaxed there. Everyone was always running somewhere. Here there work enviornment seems very relaxed. Every Friday the owner buys us dinner. We write down what we want and she will order it with it being ready at at our desks for one of the breaks.
My apartment is huge, relativly speaking - it is still small when compared to standards in the USA. It is three times the size as my apartment from last year, which was dorm size. I don't feel crowed. It feels like an actual home. The neighborhood is good too. It is an actual neighborhood and not office buildings like last year. Everyone is very friendly. It is nice seeing family out playing in the many parks around this area. There is a huge grocery store called Home Plus in my apartment complex. I would compare this store to Super Walmart. I am kind of a celebrity walking through there. A lot of people want to try to help me out. Today I even had two kids follow me for a bit. When I picked something off a shelf they took the same thing. Their mother got after them real fast, haha. I experienced a bit of culture shock while shopping there. I guess a toddler need to pee so his mother took his pants down right in the middle of the isle and had him pee in a cup. She then put the top back on the cup and put the cup full of urine in her bag. I am a very tolerant person but that is just gross.
If I know you and you are not my facebook friend you should be. I update that many times a week with pictures and descriptions.
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