One month and still going strong. (per Jenns request)

I have been here almost a month. tomorrow I get my first paycheck.  Everything is going well. I have been teaching three weeks.  I am picking up the language slowly. I can almost read their alphabet (Hanguel). reading isn't the hard part. I still can't understand it.  

The people here are very different. They are always in a rush. Rush here rush there. Don't take it personally when they rush right into you. They need to be somewhere and you are only in their way. The weird thing is they will not say a thing when they run you over. However, they will walk out of their way to get you where you are going when you are lost. I think that they must be the most considerate people I have ever met. Other than the whole rushing thing.

  

Its funny the People in South Korea have been studying English since the forties.  They don't speak English but most people know it.  At least written English.  If I can't understand one of my students I have them write down what they are saying.  If I don't think they can understand me I write it down. My students are very smart. Or should I say they memerize things very well. They are a very prideful people and think it is shameful to be corrected.  There for they don't speak the language. Korean sounds are very different from English. That makes it very hard for them to speak clearly with confidence.  

Grocery shopping can be very difficult. They add sugar to everything and eat way more meat then I would have imagined.  They eat tons of pork. I do not.  It is in everything and I am getting good at asking for chicken. Kind of. I mostly buy my fruits and vegetables at the street vendors. 

There are over 70 teachers in my district of the city.  There are plenty of foreigners around me.  We get together on a regular basis. We share ideas so it is pretty cool.  It is good to have that support system.  Teaching middle school kids is hard anywhere in the world.  Teaching them when you don't know their language makes it that much harder.  My students are nuts in my class but in the hall ways they are very respectful.  In the classroom too but it seems sometimes they are more willing to talk English in between classes. 

if anyone has questions e-mail me.  I don't have that much time to blog but i want to keep you all updated.