Well, its so far been three days total at my new school, and I've certainly learned quite a bit, even though I haven't actually taught anything. The first day that I arrived, I met my co-teacher, and she informed me that their were even three teachers who were so excited by my coming to Korea, that they wanted to pick me up at the airport. Bizarre? Yes. But you see, I'm the first official teacher at my middle school, ever. My school's principal is almost into retirement, and so is the vice-principal, and neither of them has had a foreign teacher before. Many of the staff (over 60) have never "worked" with a foreign teacher, even though I'll be only teaching with four of them. Its been quite the experience so far, that's for sure.
One, my poor co-teacher is roughly five years older than myself, so everyone who sees me following behind her thinks that I'm her boyfriend, which embarrasses her to no end; she volunteered for the part of being my official co-teacher, however, I do not think that she knew she was getting herself into. So far, she's had to sign up my internet in her name, and she will also have to do for my cable television; I've only been here for less than a week and I'm already indebted - seems typical for me:)
As for the middle school experience, there's a common similarity; the girls seem to like me quite well, and the guys are either intimidated by me, or think I'm there for comic relief. For those who know me, you would know that I'm shy, so all of this sudden popularity is slightly embarrassing; its middle school . I wish I'd experienced middle school myself, but only so that I could remember what it was like. I went into one class to observe, and it was a little worrisome - not to toot my own horn, but I'm somewhat worried that the guys will do nothing but goof off, and the girls will do nothing but stare. The guys are as sharp as marbles, and the girls are too shy to speak. Its a lethal combination when they speak English; more of a struggle when they're Korean.
So far, the staff have been really nice. I have my own desk in the teachers room, with a monolithic desktop pc, which is a greater help than I thought it would be. Other than the steady stream of students coming in and out of the teachers room, its usually pretty quiet. This situation is a stark contrast from my last position, where I was surrounded by so many English speaking staff; I don't know yet if its a good change or not.
Well, I finally got my internet set up tonight, and I'm blazing. I was signed up for the fastest package, and I'm liking being able to use communication tools again:)
take care all, and I'll post more soon
God bless,
me