Updates for all those non-Facebook cool/underground/hipster types.

Here is the lastest info!

Day-to day
This is my third week in Yongtong, working at EIEL. The school teaches Kindergarten and Elementary children English. The days are pretty long, it’s no holiday, it’s about a 50 hour week. I hear some teachers have it pretty easy and literally work 30 hours (or less) teaching and that’s it. At EIEL you are responsible for creating the class timetable, marking work, and putting together collateral for the classes. This means when I finish at 2.45pm on Tuesday and Thursday, when the kindergartens go home, I stay at school until 7pm doing prep. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I teach Elementary from 2.45-6.45pm. I find that the hardest part of the job. Some of the children (aged 8-11) are really hard work. I much prefer kindergarten as you have much more fun with the kids and they speak less Korean to each other. I send kids out the class a fair bit and I’m learning to bellow. I’m so glad I’m not working in a public school with a class of 30! I reckon I would go insane! So as you can guess I’m knackered at the end of the day, so Monday to Friday I don’t go out much-maybe for dinner, which is very cheap. I’m not sure I could handle mid-week drinking. Teaching elementary without a hangover is hard enough!

St Patricks Day
Who knew Koreans loved St Patrick’s day! It’s not even like there are many Irish teachers out here. Me and a group of about 20 other teachers made our way to Seoul to see the parade. It was a pretty strange affair. There were majorettes, men riding Harley Davidsons, bagpipe playing, people promoting a hash bar …all those quintessentially Irish things… It rained all day pretty much and they sky was a weird dark yellow colour the whole day. It felt like there was going to be a typhoon. Sacking off the parade when we could no longer take the crap weather we started drinking at 5pm and I think I got through my door at 5.30am on Sunday after spending 80,000won…that’s about £40. Not much considering..

No Tv. No Phone. No Internet.
So, despite my contract stating I would have a TV, internet, cooking utensils. I was greeting by the monstrosity that is the 70s porn dungeon. I eat off plastic Mickey Mouse plates the school kindly donated from the children’s kitchen and I also have a half-melted spatula. Useful. I have one saucepan and a frying pan that I fear is riddled with E coli. I was supposed to move into a nicer flat but another teacher decided to nab it before I came as she could no longer take living within the 4 walls of the dungeon, where no natural light strays.. The window is about 7 inches from a brick wall. Belgians would love it.

On the upside, another teacher is leaving after 2 years and I’ve already said I’m moving into his nice, light, spacious and non dungeon-like flat. By that point I should also have an alien card, allowing me to get internet and hopefully in 2 weeks the school can manage to scrape together some money to get me a tv and furniture (as the new flat’s furniture all belongs to the resident)…Watch this space. If I don’t get a bed, tv and table during this time I’m going to have to put the smack down. Hard! I want cable goddamnit!!






Soju….
Makes you crazy!! I never learn. I either end up having it because it’s a third of the price of vodka or it somehow works it’s way to me in the form of shots, which nice Koreans eagerly feed to you. I think the reason why it’s so famous for inducing horrendous hangovers is the fact it’s laced with sweetener to make it taste “nice”. However, the taste is still not so sweet. I may complain, but I know next Saturday I’ll do it all over again.

Galbi

Is the equivalent of our Sunday Roast…or that’s the impression I get. This is a special meal that Koreans love. I’ve had it about 3 times now and they vary in quality. Your waitress brings hot coals to your table, these are put under the barbecue rack, which is set in the middle of the table. You are then bought various dishes ( I find the quality really varies from place to place). I had a really good one with about 14 dishes including spicy octopus, fish cakes, potato noodles, kimchi, corn etc, salad, beansprouts, rice etc…These are eaten with the meat (pork or beef) which is bought to your table raw, in a marinade. You cook your meat and many eat it rolled up in lettuce leaves. It’s really tasty. I’m really picky about meat so I found some of the pork ones too fatty, but the Galbi place near Now Bar in YongTong has been my favourite so far. It’s kind of like Korean tapas.