Children, confusion and cake

After getting to bed around 2am, I woke at 7am ready to start my day.  Boiled water in the electric water kettle for my barley tea and tube of coffee.  I unpacked my suitcases and sorted my clothes according to casual, dressy, short sleeve, long sleeve, pants, etc.  They're all sealed and ready for my move on Monday.  It will be great to meet my host family and to have a more permanent place to call home.  I will be living with them for the next 3 months while I am teaching.  I was surprised to find out they are only 4 years younger than me as I envisioned living with an older couple, say 50s-60s.  I think it will be fun to live with people of my own age who are a young family.  It will be nice to have a little one around too.

Went down the street to the good ol' 7-11 to grab some more spicy ramen to make a quick lunch.  Noticed some sour cream and onion Pringles and couldn't resist.  Cannot believe I've been here for 4 days and have not eaten any Korean food other than on the airplane.  No worries though, there are plenty meals to enjoy in the coming months.

Meeting Mrs. Seol in 15 minutes to go to the Mapo-gu office to sign my contract for work and then we will visit the 3 childcare centers where I'll be teaching.  Looking forward to seeing the children and getting my assignment.  From what I've been told, the children do not understand any English.  Some of the other participants said that most of the teachers at the centers do not speak English either.

Meeting up with Keren tonight for dinner in the Hongdae area.  Shout out to my FTH peeps I'll be thinking of you when I go there.

Mrs. Seol and I set out on foot to the Mapo-gu office as it was a warmer day (mid 50s) today.  The sun was shining and it was a nice half hour walk to our destination.  Along the way, we saw small children, between 7 years old and 10 years just walking alone with their backpacks.  It really is quite amazing how safe it is here.  We passed a McDonald's and all the delivery scooters were parked out front.  That's right people, McD's delivers in Korea (for larger orders).  We met with Mr. Lee and Mr. Lee to sign my contract for teaching here.  The Mapo-gu office in collaboration with HOLT run this program for adoptees.  When we arrived, young Mr. Lee gave us mini bottles of tomato juice and handed me my contract to review and sign.  We waited and waited for older Mr. Lee to arrive, I think we must have waited for 30 minutes or longer.  Young Mr. Lee showed me his cell phone which was a touch screen phone with a stylus that could be detached and inserted into the side as an antenna.  When the antenna was attached, the phone was a TV.  It was really cool.  There are tons of cell phone stores here with tons of different models to choose from.  Everywhere you go, you see people watching TV on their phones, especially on the subway.

Finally, older Mr. Lee arrived.  He had just had a physical exam and he informed us that he was very healthy and strong while flexing his arm like Popeye the sailor man.  He only spoke Korean, so Mrs. Seol translated for me.  Keren had warned me that he asked her many questions such as:  Why did you want to come to Korea?  Have you ever studied about the country?  Do you know the GDP? (seriously!?)  How did you learn about it?  Instead, he asked me what my blood type was.  You see, in Korea, blood type is very telling about ones personality traits and it is common to ask people when you meet them.  I believe this actually originated in Japan, but the Koreans also believe in it.  He thought I was A, but he was wrong...I am O+.  After Mrs. Seol told him I was O+, they all were talking in Korean to each other, laughing as I sat wondering what was so funny.  It turned out that all four of us were O+ blood type.  Type O's are outgoing and very social. They are initiators, although they don't always finish what they start. They are creative and popular and they love to be the center of attention and appear very self confident.  Interestingly enough, I'd say that does describe me pretty well.

He was fixated on my watch.  He kept staring at it.  I also felt like he was staring at me in general.  I thought, do I have something on my face?  He asked me how long I have had my watch.  He said it looked modern, but wearing a watch in Korea is very old fashioned.  Practically no one wears a watch, they just use their cell phone to tell time.  He said only 10% of Koreans wear a watch.  So there's a random fact of the day.  I was waiting for the big questions Keren prepared me for, but they never came.

After chatting, we went downstairs to the first childcare center where I will be teaching.  It was a really nice facility, very whimsical.  As you know, Koreans remove their shoes inside, so the children are barefoot and their shoes were so bright and colorful lined up in the cubbies.  We sat with the director of the center and shared a plate of cherry tomatoes, kiwi slices, strawberries, oranges and short soft rolls filled with sweet cream butter.  To drink we had carrot apple juice, which Mrs. Seol called capple juice.  The staff English teacher who is a Korean national came in to speak with me about the curriculum.  They use a teaching unit which is Scandinavian.  We went to the two classrooms where I will be teaching.  I will teach two days per week, from 3:30-5.  Time is broken down in 30 minute increments, so I will teach 30 minutes in one room and two 30 minute sessions to the other room, as the kids are split into two groups in that class.  We met Celine who is the current adoptee teaching them.  We had hoped to have time to chat with her in detail about what she does with the kids, but we were late to meet her and she was working.  I will meet with her on Monday at 2:30 to receive her teaching materials and get some guidance on what to do.

Next we hopped on the subway to the area of my other two schools.  By this time it was 4:00, so some of the children had already left for the day.  The center we went to next was a bit older and a few stories high.  We met with someone in the office to determine my schedule.  I will be teaching 2 days per week to two classrooms in 30 minute increments, from 10:30-12:00.  This center was nice, but not as nice and new as the first.  I got to say hi to one class of children and they were sooo cute, with their tiny voices yelling "HI!" giggle, giggle...

And on to the next school we went.  I will be teaching at this school only one hour.  I am forgetting what time and which day, but I will get everything written on Monday.  This center was old and not as nice as the two before it.  It was like a regression from very nice to not so nice.  In one of the rooms, the kids were glued to the TV watching Word World.  We love that show at home!  The show was dubbed in Korean, which I thought was strange since it is about learning to spell English words.  We went downstairs to see another group of children who were in the playroom/gym.  One little girl ran over to me and embraced my legs and didn't let go.  A boy approached me holding a ball cocked back and ready to throw at close range.  I was ready for it to go off at any minute, but he didn't release, phew!  I learned that those two children are special needs.  The rest of the kids huddled around me and gave me Hi's and one little guy said "Nice to meet you".  He must be the teacher's pet. :)  The director was sweet to offer me to join the kids for lunch on the days I work.

We walked so much from point A to B to C and back that I'm a little worried about my directional skills.  I am so bad with directions!  Mrs. Seol promises detailed maps from the subway to each school. Thank goodness! 

I took this photo of a cherry blossom tree along the way.  During our walk, I asked her about her family.  She has one 4 year old son and lives south of the river, just two subway stops away.  Her husband is an IT engineer and works until 1am often.  Her son loves Thomas the Tank engine and loves to ride the subway.  She said it is difficult to ride the subway with a small child, so they do not do it often.  Her son is in a private daycare center during the workday.  She said the centers I am teaching at are run by the government.  They are all free, but you have to qualify to get in.  If you are low income, unwed mother or if the child has special needs, you are prioritized.

On our walk to the last school, the travel agent for HOLT called.  Mrs. Seol was on the phone for awhile and by the tone of her Korean, I could tell something was up and it wasn't good.  They are the ones who handle the room reservations for the guesthouse.  Apparently, a husband and wife were arriving to the guesthouse within the hour to check into room 502.  That was the room I was occupying!  They needed to use that room because that is the only one with two beds and a crib.  They are here to adopt their child.  Last night, I heard someone in the hall on the computer and coming in and out of their room which was 501.  Usually adoptees in the HOLT program stay in 501. As you might remember Mrs. Seol thought I was in 501 yesterday.  She informed me that they needed to move all of my things into 501 immediately so they could prepare 502 for the soon to be parents.  I asked who would be moving my things and she said the cleaning ladies.  I was not comfortable with this as I had my stuff unpacked with various things around the room.  I wouldn't be able to reenter 502 and what if they forgot something in there?  I asked her how can I move into 501, someone is staying there.  She said that person had checked out, so it was vacant.  I didn't have a choice in the matter, so I just hoped all my stuff made it over to the new room.  When we got back, the doorman informed her that the gentleman who stayed here last night took the key, so they didn't have a key for me.  I am really not cool with someone having my room key.  I have a lot of stuff with me and if anything came up missing I'd be pretty upset to say the least.  I briefly came up to my new room to check things out and freshen up as I was meeting Keren at Hongdae for dinner and exploring.  Room is smaller with a single bed, bathroom is smaller.  Everything seemed to be fine, so I went on my way, a 15 minute walk to Hongdae. 

I had mentioned to Keren that I remembered a few restaurants in that area where we could eat, but as we were walking we smelled deliciousness from a little gyro shop.  We decided to have dinner there, lamb and chicken gyros.  Delish!  We enjoyed nice conversation and decided to hit the streets to explore.  This is such a fun, lively area with tons of young people, shops, bars, clubs and restaurants.  In the rush to meet Keren, I forgot my jacket and it was quite chilly walking around.  I considered buying a scarf but ended up toughing it out.  We stopped into a few shops, Keren eyeing some pink Converse and I was looking for a little gift for my homestay son.  We went to a cozy little coffee and cupcake shop and shared a tiramisu and raspberry dessert.  The sweet treats are becoming a habit with the two of us.

Keren needed to pick up some lotion at the drugstore and while she was checking out I wandered around finding these nose clips that claim to make your nose bigger and pointier, like a western nose.  Who knew?  The skincare section was filled with facial products with whiteners, as many girls in Korea want their faces to be bleached paper white.  The hair dye section was interesting.  Every box had a Korean woman on the front and color choices were every shade of black and nothing else.

At 9:30 we headed back to the subway and noticed a shop that seemed to have lots of kid items.  I was happy to find a little Thomas the Tank Towel and washcloth that would make a cute gift for my homestay son.  When we reached the subway we said our goodnight and I headed down to catch the train and holy cannoli!!!  There was a mob of people waiting at the platform.  It dawned on me that the train stops at 10pm, so everyone was trying to catch the last trains home.  Although the platform was packed, everyone was formed into lines where the doors would be opening.  The train approached and like cattle, we packed ourselves into the subway car.  Next stop was mine, so I squirmed my way through to get out before the doors closed.  Its just a short walk back to the guesthouse.  This is a photo of the street near the home.

Back home now and feeling tired.  It was good to spend the evening out.  It forced me to stay awake, so I can go to sleep during normal sleeping hours tonight.  Meeting Keren and some expat friends of hers for the cherry blossom festival at 11am tomorrow.  Tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful, sunny mid 50s to 60s day.  Looking forward to it.

Tyler, Brody, Sarah and my mother in law spent the day at the Reston Zoo.  From the photos Sarah shared, it looks like they had a great time there.  Hope there was lots of hand sanitizer and sunscreen involved. :p  Glad to hear they took a really good nap for them afterwards.  Big kisses and hugs from Mommy. I love you and miss you!