just another American teacher in SK

Today was the first day of school.  No one told me that I was expected to address the students at Opening Ceremony!  I managed to squeak out a few sentences in Korean, a few sentences in English, and then to wave like a parade queen to the gathering of about 800 adolescent boys.   Not a brilliant performance, I’m afraid.  Quite intimidating, actually.

I spent most of the day “prepping” ~ lesson plans, introductions, more paperwork and Q&A.  I will actually start teaching tomorrow (5 sessions).  It’s my undestanding that the average class size is 40, the grade/age is Class 1/age 14, Class 2/15, Class 3/16, all boys.  And they are reportedly a mischevious bunch.  One of my co-teachers is prepared with a baton to discipline the unruly ones and  a portable microphone (so the students will listen to her).

This evening we had  a welcome dinner for all the new teachers.  It was a fantastic celebration.  We went to a traditional (sit-on-the-floor) seafood restaurant where they were literally bringing sea creatures from the boat to the table.  Most of it was raw (obviously), but a few things were tossed into pots of boiling water or added to stew.  I tried almost everything, with two exceptions ~ the fish stew (which looked a lot like hairbrushes floating in tomato soup) and the octopus. 
The octopus really creeped me out – the servers bring the live octopus to the table, chop it up with an enormous cleaver, throw it in a bowl, and …  that’s it.  Eager diners picked out chunks and chowed down, but I couldn’t participate.  Something about the tentacles flapping about and the suction cups glomming onto everything … blecch.  I was particularly fascinated by the progress of one particularly determined tentacle that flopped its way over the edge of the bowl, slithered across the table towards me, and finally flopped over the table edge to the floor.  

I’d noticed that the men were consuming remarkable quantities of alcohol ~ at this point I desperately wanted an intoxicative beverage, but all the women were drinking only tea and water.  Then the Principal, accompanied by his associates, sat down across from me with a bottle of soju and invited me to drink.  Mindful of Korean custom, I alllowed him to pour a glass and followed his lead by swallowing the equivalent of Everclear in a toast to “the success of English teachers in Korea”.  The  sensation was comparable to having a fiery sword thrust down my throat, but I suggested it was delicious and immediately sought an exit from the premises.  Thankfully, Ct2 was preparing for departure, relieving me from further consumption of drink and eats. 

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