This week I started actually teaching some! The first class I have with them, I was just introducing myself with a powerpoint (pics of me and the fam, of Pinawa, of winter, of Canadian foods) so that's easy enough. They are so cute and enthusiastic.
The curriculum is easy enough, but I am definitely playing catch-up as I'm just starting to get a feel for what the classes will look like. I'll get a grasp of it soon, but in the meantime, it does seem to get easier every day.
Oh! And one of my grade seven classes helped me get a Korean name! So some of them call me Shannon (or "Shannon-teacher") or now...!
*drumroll*
Cho Eunji! (Cho or Jo is the family name, Eunji is the first name.) Some of the other teachers (the not-English teachers) have trouble with pronouncing my name, so having a Korean name is helpful.
Also they would say "Cho Eunji sun-sang-nim" which means... Cho Eunji-teacher, haha.
I can also write it in Korean, but I don't know how to... hold on, let me try Google translate....
조 은 지
Cho/Jo Eun Ji
So that's exciting!
I don't know, today was just a good day. I had good classes, I've been having little conversations with the other not-English teachers over lunch - which continue to be
delicious, by the way!
Today there was a spicy chicken soup, white rice, fish, fruit salad (mostly apples and yogurt), and of course kimchi!
Two days ago was my first experience with something I found a little spicy. (The kimchi has been fine, actually, just spicy enough.) I don't even know what the food was, it was... ham? and pineapple? and other vegetables and also really spicy. I communicated as such to the other teachers, and they kind of giggled, and were like "we don't think this is spicy". So we laughed, and I said I would have to eat more spicy things! I did finish it, but I had to take breaks. That was a good moment, it was one of the first times me and the not-English teachers had a conversation beyond hello and goodbye. :)
The English teachers can speak very well! So far things have gone well, and they are easy to get along with. One in particular, her English name is Hayley, speaks very well. She spent some time in Canada, actually, in or around Toronto. She even says it "tarannuh" like a native Torontonian, haha. Anyway, she has been especially kind and has been so so helpful in my adjustment here. She's a very cheery person, not afraid to let herself be a little silly, I think impossible not to like.
What else!
Honestly it doesn't feel like a lot has happened, but I guess altogether it adds up to a lot!
There are a lot of small differences...
Like... white shoes with dark pants. All the students wear that. It's not weird. Or socks in sandals or slippers - that's what my fellow teachers wear! There's this thing with outdoor shoes vs indoor shoes, so you might wear sneakers or boots outside, but when you come into the school, you change into indoor shoes, which are actually pretty casual. I've been wearing open sandals myself. All shoes, outside or inside, are made to be slipped on and off very easily.
Or coffee!
See those? Those little cups are what most people use. I have a stack from the initial supplies I was given my very first night. They are as small as you might guess. So in that first picture, you see the little packets? That's coffee. So you open a packet, put it in a cup, and add boiling water... Instant coffee! This style is ubiquitous.
So in the second picture is my trusty kettle, and a little coffeemaker I ordered online and just received yesterday! This morning was my first cup of "real" coffee, made possible by Lenny - thank you!
Things I've found in Korea! Some imported things are completely in English. Like, Lipton has Korean branding, but it seems that Betty Crocker is totally in English... and I found those butter cookies! Such a nice comfort to have. :)
There's my school in the background! And also this yard, which, I realize you can't see very well, but this little yard has PUPPIES. They are SOOOO CUUUUUTE, it's so painful to say goodbye to them on my walk home. I wish I could have three, they are adorable. (I'll try to take better pictures of them later.)
And this was my haul today! Dumplings for supper (so good!), oreos (which taste exactly the same as in Canada, thank goodness, another comfort food), and white sugar, because I have no plans to get used to the bitter taste of regular coffee and tea. I did it a few times now, but no more!
I just had sugar in my peppermint tea and it's so much better. Tastes like home again!
P.S. - Oh, also, I saw my first other foreigner two days ago, on Tuesday! I was walking down the street and saw a black guy approaching! We were both a little surprised, I think, but we said hello and continued on. In hindsight, I wish I had stopped and said hello properly (because it felt like a really big deal!) but at the time, I think my surprise got the better of me.
