So... I've got a couple days under my belt. :) It was definitely a rocky start, though. I was visiting my new school for the first time. We were going to be picked up by my two co-teachers... and I went to the wrong pickup spot! I made everyone 40 minutes late for when they wanted to arrive. Luckily, we didn't miss any classes, and I had enough time to meet the teachers and administration as well as prepare for my lessons.
Unfortunately, I forgot to save my powerpoint for 2003, so I wasn't able to use it for the first two classes! I basically had to wing it, which was not pretty. The first lesson for almost every grade from middle to high school is "All About Me," which is perfect for me to introduce myself to everyone. I had a great powerpoint with pictures of my family, Minnesota, and my favorite things. Instead, I had to start by drawing random aspects of my powerpoint, and basically moving right into the activity. Now, my classes were High School grade 1 and High School grade 3, the first of which didn't know or care about what I was saying, and the second of which was just bored with the whole thing, I think.
Anyway, over lunch I was able to figure my powerpoint out, and every class after that was very enjoyable. My class ages rang over 6 grades, and the sizes range from 7-30. Most of them are under 12 though, only 2 over 20, and the smaller classes are a lot of fun. I think I will actually be able to help the students in the smaller classes a significant amount.
Tomorrow I'm going to try to chat with a dell representative to get our computer fixed. We have pictures we want to upload, but we don't want to try at pc clubs in case of viruses. Also, obviously, we really can't stand not being able to skype right now.
Anyway, today we went to the city center. Apparently, when I say we live in Downtown Daegu, it's not exactly true. We're in a section of the city called Seongseo, which is still Daegu, but not technically downtown. The city center consists of a few buildings reminiscent of Minneapolis, and then as far as we can tell about 20 blocks of outdoor shopping center. It was pretty impressive actually. There was KFC, Burger King, Nike, Starbucks, Addidas, Puma, Baskin Robbins, and Dunkin Donuts, just to name a few familiar brands. It really was something, actually. Under the street, there was another shopping mall that basically seemed to span the entire city.
Our apartment is finally acceptably clean, which is a very satisfying feeling. We still haven't figured out the garbage situation yet, and apparently our landlord called our co-teachers to complain that we weren't doing things right. :P Oh well.
Anyway, Anna is writing more right now, so I don't want to step on her toes.
The garbage situation here IS daunting. Koreans recycle almost everything, as I'm sure you have - or will - figured out. Maybe this post will help: http://korea4expats.com/article-recycling.html
ReplyDeletePretty much the only thing we throw in the actual garbage are dirty diapers. Food waste is usually thrown in garbage-looking bins out by the dumpster. Our recycling is in our apartment's parking garage/basement.
In Seoul, we have to purchase special garbage bags for the garbage that actually goes in the dumpster (you're not allowed to just use any old bag) and we buy them at our nearest Family Mart (you might be able to get them at a 7-11 or GS25, too). They are called 쓸레기 봉투(sslegi bongtoo), and you can get them in 10-Liter size. Disclaimer: I'm not sure if this is how it works in Daegu or not.
Hope that helps a little!
Are you really going to get internet so soon? That would be terrific. We weren't allowed to get it until we had our Alien Registration Cards. It was about a month before I had internet at home.
Best of luck to you!