The kids are alright

Yo yo yo

So, after having Monday off for a Korean national holiday, I finally got into the classroom on Tuesday. I was pretty nervous when I got there because as it was the start of a new term,nobody seemed to know what the hell was going on! I felt woefully unprepared for my first class but I think that’s kind of expected when you first start. My fears were eased once I started teaching though because you’re told what to teach and it’s all on a computer for you. The main bulk of the job is simply keeping the kids interested and involved. The kids themselves are adorable as well. All of my kids are between like 8 and 12 years old and they’re really inquisitive. It’s tiring work keeping the kids involved because you’ve got to be really active but it beats sitting in an office all day! My schedule is pretty cushy as well. I work from half 2 until half 8 everyday but some days are busier than others. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I have 8 classes so by the end of the day your absolutely knackered but Tuesdays and Thursdays are easier as I only have 5 classes. By the end of the week I felt as though I’d been doing it for years! I’ve already got my favourite classes as well. I have one class 3 times a week that’s just 6 lads and they’re all little dudes. There’s two in particular called Rex and Rafael and they’re the coolest little kids. Rex wears these sweet shades and he’s absolutely mental, Rafael is tiny but has this huge head of hair, he’s going to be a right heartbreaker when he get’s older! So all in all the teaching has started off well. It can be pretty stressful but is really rewarding, I’m sure it will get easier the more I do it. The other teachers I work with are all really sound as well.

What else have I been up to i hear you shout? Well, just chilled out Monday and Tuesday as didn’t want to tire myself out for the teaching. On Wednesday, Mark decided to have a little get together at his apartment. Me, Mark and a few friends went out for some food and then went to the supermarket to stock up on beer and soju for the gathering. About 10 of us went back to Mark’s flat and proceeded to get shit faced! It’s really weird drinking with Americans, they can’t just sit and drink. In England, everybody just chills out, drinks and talks. Americans constantly play drinking games to get as hammered as quickly as possible! I haven’t got a clue why this is but I reckon it’s something to do with the whole frat thing they have going at university. Also, because the legal age is 21 in America and they’re really strict on it, I reckon they’re all trying to make up for lost time! Anyway, so we played a few drinking games and a bit of Fifa (Stu you’ll be pleased to know I’m still hammering everybody out here as well!), then decided to play a traditional Korean game called Yute (spelling?). This is kind of like Ludo but with sticks instead of dice. You throw the sticks in the air and depending on how they land, you move your piece round the board. The aim is to get all four pieces round the board first. It’s very confusing but is a lot of fun. After drinking lot’s more, everybody left about 3am, well, apart from me! Me and Mark then decided it would be a really good idea to work our way through another big bottle of Soju……eurgh! I think the Brit in us just didn’t know when to stop drinking, with school the next day that was a very bad idea. I cannot stress enough how lethal Soju is when drank in large quantities. It’s ok at first, it just makes you a bit giddy but then it slowwwwllly creeps up on you. Before you know it, you’re absolutely paralytic and can’t see properly! I think I left Mark’s about 5am but have know idea walking home or getting to bed. Another thing about Soju, it gives you the mother of all hangovers! When teaching the next day, I honestly felt as though something had eaten my brain. Thursday, I did absolutely nothing after classes and just got an early night.

Then we come onto Friday…….yep you guessed it, lot’s more booze! Before that though, I had the delightful task of going to the Korean immigration office to apply for my alien registration card. This card basically says that you are working legally in the country and you need it to get a phone, internet, etc. Mr Hwang (my boss) picked me up at 9 am to drive to Suwon to apply. I thought this would be a very simple task, taking all of an hour, but oh no, Koreans really know how to make things difficult. As I’ve mentioned, it’s the start of term so there’s been a massive influx of foreign teachers, and I think they all decided to go and apply on the same day! There was close to 100 people waiting when we got there, and only one counter open. It felt like being in a giant Argos, you take a ticket with a number and wait, and wait, and wait, and wait. We were sat there for nearly 4 hours and I still wasn’t close to being served. As i had to teach, Mr Hwang had to drive me back to the school and then go back and wait for me. I think he was there for another 2 hours but got it sorted in the end.

After school, I went for some food with a guy I work with called Ben ( why do I always become good friends with people called Ben??!!!), and it was by far and away the best meal I’ve had since being in Korea. We had this thing called Bulgolgi, a giant Beef stew with onions, peppers, chilli’s etc. They bring it out in this huge bowl and it cooks over the stove in the centre of the table. You then eat it with rice and all the obligatory free side dishes. The Kimchi was the best I’ve had as well. I don’t think I’ve mentioned Kimchi yet but it will be hard not to. Kimchi is the Korean staple, they eat it with absolutely everything. It’s basically veg that has been left to pickle in red pepper paste. Definitely an acquired taste but if you want to survive in Korea, you’ve got to get used to it! At first I was a little put out by it but know I can’t get enough of it, it’s well nice! I’ve got to mention again how cheap food is, all of the above plus a couple of beers came 20000 won, that’s a fiver each!

When Mark finished work at 10, a few of us went a bar to have a couple of beers. I was convinced i was going to have a quiet night because i wanted to go into Seoul on Saturday, but that couldn’t be further from the truth! After a couple of beers and some Soju, we decided to move on to another bar. None of us had ever been to this bar before and it’s safe to say that it was one hell of an experience! It was full of smashed Koreans, nothing new there, but the strangest thing happened. We were just sat drinking when all of a sudden, the lights went off and this Korean dude got on the mic and started singing congratulations! This random guy was then dragged onto this stage and was made to dance. We guessed that it was his birthday but then out of nowhere, two guys jumped up on stage with him, one dressed in a full cow suit, the other as some pig type animal! They then proceeded to gyrate around him and dance on all of the tables, this was all accompanied by flashing lights and techno music! Finally, as if it was some bad dream, the lights came back on, the music stopped and the animal men disappeared, everything back to normal. We all just looked at each other in disbelief……..mental, absolutely mental. As it’s my birthday next Saturday, I’ve already stated that I am not going to that bar, there’s no way I’m dancing with a pig man!

After lot’s more booze, I had my first experience of a noraebang. A noraebang is a glorified Karaoke house, but you have your own little room instead of singing in front of strangers. When you go in, they make you take your shoes off and put on these sweet slippers , and then lead you to your own room. The room comes equipped with couches, a giant screen, two mics, song books and tambourines. You then order booze and sing to your heart’s content! Over the course of 2 hours I managed to murder such delights as Say a Little prayer, under pressure, hotel california and my personal favourite, Gangsters Paradise (it was definitely sang better in Europe boys!). I’m sure I sang lot’s more but that’s all I can remember! The video’s on the screen are hilarious as well. They’re like a 1980’s eastern european tourism video, all slow mo shot’s of trams and tower blocks! Noraebangs are awesome, it’s a great way to end a night. The best way to describe it is that it’s like the bit in Lost In Translation when they get that Karaoke room, sadly no Scarlett Johansen though. I finally got to bed about 5am.

After waking up at 2.30pm, and not wanting to waste my weekend, I decided to get the subway to Insadong, Seoul’s tourist hub. Insadong is right in the centre of Seoul, and is as traditional as you can imagine. It’s a tight lattice of winding streets and alleyways filled with traditional Korean tea houses, art galleries and snack stalls. It’s a world away from my experiences of Korea so far, very quiet and chilled out. I think I needed it after 14 days of neon drenched debauchery! After wondering round for a couple of hours, I got a coffee and a bite to eat and headed home. Last night I just chilled out, got a pizza and watched Bolton v West Ham on TV.

Oh, and I’ve been speaking to a guy from one of the local Sunday League football teams, Anyang FC, and they want me to go and train with them! I’ve got training on Thursday but am a little bit worried about my fitness, the standard seems quite high!

And that about wraps up my first couple of weeks in South Korea. I realise that my first two posts have mostly been about me getting hammered, but that was always going to be the case wasn’t it! I’m sure the novelty of cheap booze will wear off soon and I’ll actually go out and experience something else, in fact I’m determined to. Think I’m going to try and visit one of Seoul’s palaces next weekend, I feel like I need to get to know a little more about the history and culture.

So for know, peace out. x