I survived another week of class and cold. Teaching with a cold is miserable, especially with long days and no chance to catch up on rest. I probably should have taken a day off work, but it seems like a hassle.
I am trying to decide where I will live. I have homestay, key money, and location questions. My Korean father has given me a huge dilemma. He is strongly suggesting that I live with his friend, Mr. Han, because he lives near the Kangnam office. I don't really want to trade homestays and have the same problems/inconveniences. I am still unsure if Pagoda will give me "key money" (like a deposit). If I take the key money, it means that I have more obligations to Pagoda, but it also shows that they have a little longer outlook for me teaching. If I don't use key money, my monthly rent will be a substantial amount higher and it will also mean that I will have a lot smaller place. I will most likely get an "officetel" (office/hotel) or read as studio, but I don't know what location. Kangnam is a very expensive location, so I might be better off finding a place a few subway stops away. I really need to make a decision quickly because the current commute is wearing me out and probably the reason that I get sick every month.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Long and busy week
Another week of classes has passed. My daily commute is starting to take an effect on me. I leave too early in the morning and arrive at home too late to get an adequate amount of rest. I am starting to check my options of moving, but all of them are resting on if I can get "key money" from Pagoda. Key money is necessary for most housing to either pay the whole cost up front or reduce the monthly payment. Housing in Seoul is very expensive. I am not sure how soon, but I can't take commuting forever, when it takes 45-70 minutes to work or socialize.
On Friday, Pagoda had an anniversary party at the Grand Inter-Continental Hotel. It was a day off from teaching, but a mandatory luncheon and conference for foreign SLE/PIP teachers. Fortunately, I am a PBA (business) teacher, so I didn't have to sit through an extra two hour speech. The party started with a religious prayer and sermon and followed with an update on Pagoda's future. They also had some music after that and finally lunch was served. They served a nice three course meal. For attending, everyone received a 1 Gb USB flash drive. It was interesting to see how much effort was put into the party when it seemed that no managers knew what was happening. Overall, it was an interesting day, but probably boring for anyone that has been to prior year parties.
On Saturday, I taught another session and had plans to meet my father. The plans were to meet at a subway station near Gyeongbokgung, which is a famous palace during the Joeson Dynasty. Initially, I figured that we would visit the palace and maybe find a place to eat afterwards. I was a little off on my assumption. My father planned to take a side trip before seeing the palace. First, we needed to climb Inwangsan, a small mountain. I came straight from teaching to meet my father, so I was really prepared for a trek. I was wearing a shirt, khakis, sport coat, and dress shoes. My father was wearing similar clothing. We started the journey, which was uncountable amounts of steps, granite footholes, and dirt trails. It take too long, but it wasn't an easy walk. Many sections had a railing or rope to hold onto while climbing. Now, I understand why so many people in the subway are dressed like they are on a trekking expedition with their walking sticks. My father thought that this is an easy 2 km climb, so it didn't matter what I was wearing or the fact that I hadn't eaten since 9AM. We reached the summit in about an hour and from the top, you could see most of Seoul. Later, I found out that he would climb this mountain with his mother, so it meant a lot for me to climb with him.
After climbing down, we went to Gyeongbokgung. This is an old palace location that has been rebuilt a few times due to Japanese invasions. It was interesting to see there was some Japanese and Chinese influences on certain buildings. They also have guards dressed in traditional clothing.
For dinner, we went to Itaewon, which is very close to a US military base and has many foreign people. Mr. Han, my father's friend, joined us. He can speak a little better English, so he did some translating. He has been friends with my father for many years and told me a few stories, but also told me that as my father's friend he couldn't tell me everything. He has some knowledge about my mother and father's relationship, but I will have to wait until my father is more comfortable dealing with the past. Mr. Han knew my grandfather, while the two were both working in Tokyo. I guess that my grandfather lived apart from my father and grandmother for most of his working life. I am not sure why, but I think that it had a great effect on my father and how he feels about my twin and me. In time, I will learn more, but I will need to learn Korean for easier telling of stories. It was an enjoyable meal of bulgoggi, side dishes, rice, and mandu guk. They worried about me eating dinner at a traditional table after challenging hike up the mountain. My body isn't accustomed to sitting for long periods of time and my legs and hips give me problems. Lately, my back has been feeling worse than usual, so sitting for a Korean meal can be a challenge.
On Friday, Pagoda had an anniversary party at the Grand Inter-Continental Hotel. It was a day off from teaching, but a mandatory luncheon and conference for foreign SLE/PIP teachers. Fortunately, I am a PBA (business) teacher, so I didn't have to sit through an extra two hour speech. The party started with a religious prayer and sermon and followed with an update on Pagoda's future. They also had some music after that and finally lunch was served. They served a nice three course meal. For attending, everyone received a 1 Gb USB flash drive. It was interesting to see how much effort was put into the party when it seemed that no managers knew what was happening. Overall, it was an interesting day, but probably boring for anyone that has been to prior year parties.
On Saturday, I taught another session and had plans to meet my father. The plans were to meet at a subway station near Gyeongbokgung, which is a famous palace during the Joeson Dynasty. Initially, I figured that we would visit the palace and maybe find a place to eat afterwards. I was a little off on my assumption. My father planned to take a side trip before seeing the palace. First, we needed to climb Inwangsan, a small mountain. I came straight from teaching to meet my father, so I was really prepared for a trek. I was wearing a shirt, khakis, sport coat, and dress shoes. My father was wearing similar clothing. We started the journey, which was uncountable amounts of steps, granite footholes, and dirt trails. It take too long, but it wasn't an easy walk. Many sections had a railing or rope to hold onto while climbing. Now, I understand why so many people in the subway are dressed like they are on a trekking expedition with their walking sticks. My father thought that this is an easy 2 km climb, so it didn't matter what I was wearing or the fact that I hadn't eaten since 9AM. We reached the summit in about an hour and from the top, you could see most of Seoul. Later, I found out that he would climb this mountain with his mother, so it meant a lot for me to climb with him.
After climbing down, we went to Gyeongbokgung. This is an old palace location that has been rebuilt a few times due to Japanese invasions. It was interesting to see there was some Japanese and Chinese influences on certain buildings. They also have guards dressed in traditional clothing.
For dinner, we went to Itaewon, which is very close to a US military base and has many foreign people. Mr. Han, my father's friend, joined us. He can speak a little better English, so he did some translating. He has been friends with my father for many years and told me a few stories, but also told me that as my father's friend he couldn't tell me everything. He has some knowledge about my mother and father's relationship, but I will have to wait until my father is more comfortable dealing with the past. Mr. Han knew my grandfather, while the two were both working in Tokyo. I guess that my grandfather lived apart from my father and grandmother for most of his working life. I am not sure why, but I think that it had a great effect on my father and how he feels about my twin and me. In time, I will learn more, but I will need to learn Korean for easier telling of stories. It was an enjoyable meal of bulgoggi, side dishes, rice, and mandu guk. They worried about me eating dinner at a traditional table after challenging hike up the mountain. My body isn't accustomed to sitting for long periods of time and my legs and hips give me problems. Lately, my back has been feeling worse than usual, so sitting for a Korean meal can be a challenge.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Chairman Go
On Saturday, I had another weekend class. It was the usual lesson with students arriving late and some students being more enthusiastic and active in the class. After class, I went to the faculty lounge to get my things. I didn't realize at first, but Chairman Go was there talking to some of the teachers. Chairman Go is the owner of the institute that I work, so he is very rich and respected. We talked for a little while and then he asked if we had lunch. He invited two other teachers and me for lunch. Peter, who has been with Pagoda for five years, said that this is quite rare. At first, we were at a Chinese restaurant nearby, but the other teacher is vegetarian, so Chairman Go decided that we had to leave the first restaurant and go to one that specializes in healthy vegetarian food. The food was good and I did have fish in my soup. Chairman Go said that I probably didn't get the best food since I am bigger and probably expected a meal with meat. After lunch, he took us to Starbucks for coffee, which is very popular and it is normal to go for coffee after lunch at another location. We walked across the street back to the Pagoda building and his car was waiting. He has a Korean car, but it is a limo. It isn't that long, but the back seat is definitely made to have more room. The "B" pillar is about 6" wide. Considering how wealthy he is, he rides in a fairly affordable car. I was a little surprised that he didn't have a foreign car like most other super rich Koreans.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
First week work and workout
Well, my first couple days have been quite challenging. I have been trying to determine exactly what I am supposed to be teaching and the difference between classes. Some students are expecting writing and other things, while some are here since it is a Speaking/Listening/Expression class. The managers really never told me what the difference is or what I should use for teaching. Right now, I use a lot of my 9 hour break between morning and night classes to figure out what I should teach. I am still not used to waking up a 5AM and teaching at 7AM.
During my break, I have been trying to exercise. The good part of my gym is that there are trainers. The bad part is that there are trainers. I was given a body composition test. I was weighed and they calculated my muscle and fat mass. The numbers weren't good and my leg muscles are lacking compared to my upper body. They have me stretching, lifting weights, ab exercises, and cardio. I definitely not very flexible anymore. Obviously, I am out-of-shape, so all of the exercises are challenging. Hopefully, I can last long enough, so that it becomes a little more enjoyable.
This week, I finally managed to sign up for health insurance. The national health insurance is pretty cheap, but I am in no hurry to see how much it covers in medical expenses. I will pay about 55 dollars a month, but the bad part is that they are making me pay for all of the time that I have been a registered alien. It means that I have to pay for an extra month of coverage that I didn't use.
My classes are going. I am still learning the ropes on what to teach and making classes interesting. My students are ultra-demanding and I have had a few quit on me. Either I have really large classes or really small classes. I had one class cancelled by management, so they filled in the time with a tutoring clinic. I won't have a complete loss of payment, but not the full pay for the hour of tutoring.
During my break, I have been trying to exercise. The good part of my gym is that there are trainers. The bad part is that there are trainers. I was given a body composition test. I was weighed and they calculated my muscle and fat mass. The numbers weren't good and my leg muscles are lacking compared to my upper body. They have me stretching, lifting weights, ab exercises, and cardio. I definitely not very flexible anymore. Obviously, I am out-of-shape, so all of the exercises are challenging. Hopefully, I can last long enough, so that it becomes a little more enjoyable.
This week, I finally managed to sign up for health insurance. The national health insurance is pretty cheap, but I am in no hurry to see how much it covers in medical expenses. I will pay about 55 dollars a month, but the bad part is that they are making me pay for all of the time that I have been a registered alien. It means that I have to pay for an extra month of coverage that I didn't use.
My classes are going. I am still learning the ropes on what to teach and making classes interesting. My students are ultra-demanding and I have had a few quit on me. Either I have really large classes or really small classes. I had one class cancelled by management, so they filled in the time with a tutoring clinic. I won't have a complete loss of payment, but not the full pay for the hour of tutoring.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Teaching in Kangnam
Last week, I changed locations and my teaching subject. On March 2nd, I started working at the Kangnam branch of Pagoda Academy. This location is the main branch of Pagoda, so there are many more teachers and students. This month, I will be teaching 6 classes from M-F and one class on Saturday. I have the dreaded split shift, which means I teach from 7-10AM and 7-10PM. Since most of my students have business jobs, they have to attend class before or after work. I am not excited about waking up at 5AM every morning and not getting home until 10:30 or 11 PM, but I will get adjusted eventually. I do have a nine hour break in the middle of the day. I will use this time to prepare for the next day, eat lunch, workout, and eat dinner.
My morning classes have about 5-10 students and my evening courses have 10-15 with 15 being the maximum in a class. This is quite different and challenging for me because my previous classes were 1-10 students in size. The students' English skills are better, so communicating is a little easier. Some students are disappointed that classes are too big because they want to have more opportunities to speak. At least, I can have small group discussions and it will allow me to speak less in class. Surprisingly, many of my students are fairly close in age to me with a few exceptions.
I was asked to teach a Saturday course, so I decided it would be a good idea for my teaching review. I teach from 10:30AM-1PM and have 15 students. It is definitely different have such a long class and trying to keep discussions interesting. My other classes are 50 or 100 minutes. It is only four weeks unless I sign up for another month. Pagoda does try to make it worth my time to work on the weekend. I get a percentage of the class tuition. Since the class is full, I should about 2-3 times more per hour for the Saturday class than my normal hourly wage.
Earlier, I mentioned that I will workout during my break. I found a fairly nice gym to workout that is located across the street from where I work. Hopefully, I will have enough drive to workout a few days a week. I need to start losing some weight because I have had enough physical problems with my body.
My Korean is still poor. Pagoda decided to start offering Korean, but they only offering intermediate and advanced classes, so next month, I will have to find another "hagwon" to take a class. There are some organizations/universities that offer scholarships to Korean adoptees, but my schedule unfortunately doesn't allow me to travel across the city for the classes. Starting in April, I will start taking classes because I am starting to get frustrated and embarrassed that I can speak simple phrases and words.
My morning classes have about 5-10 students and my evening courses have 10-15 with 15 being the maximum in a class. This is quite different and challenging for me because my previous classes were 1-10 students in size. The students' English skills are better, so communicating is a little easier. Some students are disappointed that classes are too big because they want to have more opportunities to speak. At least, I can have small group discussions and it will allow me to speak less in class. Surprisingly, many of my students are fairly close in age to me with a few exceptions.
I was asked to teach a Saturday course, so I decided it would be a good idea for my teaching review. I teach from 10:30AM-1PM and have 15 students. It is definitely different have such a long class and trying to keep discussions interesting. My other classes are 50 or 100 minutes. It is only four weeks unless I sign up for another month. Pagoda does try to make it worth my time to work on the weekend. I get a percentage of the class tuition. Since the class is full, I should about 2-3 times more per hour for the Saturday class than my normal hourly wage.
Earlier, I mentioned that I will workout during my break. I found a fairly nice gym to workout that is located across the street from where I work. Hopefully, I will have enough drive to workout a few days a week. I need to start losing some weight because I have had enough physical problems with my body.
My Korean is still poor. Pagoda decided to start offering Korean, but they only offering intermediate and advanced classes, so next month, I will have to find another "hagwon" to take a class. There are some organizations/universities that offer scholarships to Korean adoptees, but my schedule unfortunately doesn't allow me to travel across the city for the classes. Starting in April, I will start taking classes because I am starting to get frustrated and embarrassed that I can speak simple phrases and words.
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