Sky Park...

Trip Start Dec 11, 2008

Trip End Dec 13, 2009

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Flag of Korea Rep. Seoul, Korea Rep.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009

The model teaching issue had been on my mind over the weekend, and being honest, I felt like I'd unnecessarily backed myself into a corner over it. However, I wasn't surprised as I often find myself rebelling against authority, particularly when I feel like there is inequality in the air. It's a fine line between standing up for yourself and creating unnecessary friction, so I'm thankful that everything worked out well in the end...

Despite rants like in my previous entry, I definitely enjoy my work and I feel like I've landed on my feet in Korea, although to be fair I did do my research beforehand, unlike a lot of others who I've met over here. So I was more than happy to have a private 'clear-the-air' meeting with one of my head teachers to discuss the issue. I felt as though she was slightly patronising towards me, but I let her know that the last model teaching was entirely unhelpful, and downright embarrassing. She duely apologised for it, then explained the reasons for doing it this time, ahead of the new semester. She made some valid points, so I agreed to do it and felt much better afterwards...

Thursday night turned out to be something of a marathon, as we prepared for Friday's model teaching in addition to all the marking that was due for completion. My initial objection of having it on our busiest day (by far) fell on deaf ears, but I felt validated when Julianna told me she'd only slept for three hours! Sometimes I wish she would stand up for us a bit more, but it's simply not in her nature. The only positive about having precious little sleep and a hectic Friday was that the weekend would be a relaxing affair as a result...

The actual teaching went pretty well, mainly because most of the Korean teachers were not in attendance - just the three who also teach the nokjiwon students. Again, I felt I'd achieved a moral victory here - if i wouldn't have objected, the whole department would have been present like last time, and they'd have been told to embarrass us again. My rebellious streak may be at odds with Julianna's personality, but if it wasn't for me then I'm sure we'd be a lot worse off...

My preparation for the model teaching had been affected on Wednesday, when it emerged that somebody had hacked into my paypal account and paid themselves �400! Thankfully my Mum had emailed me after receiving a suspicious call about authorising a transaction, so I was able to frantically contact my bank, who immediately ceased any dealings with paypal. A lucky escape...

With the model teaching over, I was able to spend a lovely weekend with Eun ju, initially getting some much-needed fresh air at Sky Park. It was nice being outdoors and we strolled around for a couple of hours, stopping occasionally to admire the view across Seoul. As I've said before, I prefer having more local friends, not least because they can provide useful information, e.g. Eun ju introduced me to the terms "ajumma" and "ajoshi" - basically Koreans who suddenly turn a bit mental after getting married!

We went back to Nowon afterwards and ate at my old haunt, namely TGI Fridays. I'd actually been in the previous day to give Chester (the barman) some CDs that I'd made for him - anything to help a fellow Teenage Fanclub fan! Anyway, we then retired to my apartment and ate strawberries and popcorn, admittedly a strange mix, whilst watching The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Unfortunately I didn't check the download beforehand, and I was rather embarrassed that the latter half of the movie didn't have any sound! Still, it didn't spoil what had been a really nice day...

We met up again on Sunday as we'd planned to go up Seoul Tower, more for Eun ju's benefit than mine. It was her first experience in a cable car, but she took it in her stride and didn't seem too nervous! The view wasn't that great due to the smog, but we chatted for ages in the observation deck cafe, and suddenly it was dark outside - a much more attractive proposition! The neon lights added some much-needed colour to the concrete jungle, and it created a wonderful spectacle.

Even on a Sunday night, Myeong-dong is pure chaos - just swathes of people everywhere! Still, I like that kind of atmosphere, so we had a mooch around after descending the tower, then retired to Pizza Hut as we were both starving. Finally, we went and had a coffee and chatted some more - Eun ju has a similar sense of humour to me, and often pretends to be a mind reader, whereas I wound her up about what the lines on her palms meant...it was fun!

I was looking forward to the week ahead at this point, as it was the last week of semester. I planned on having some fun with the students, particularly during their presentation classes. I'd already had an email from one of them expressing their newfound love of Oasis, thanks to me showing some video clips during lessons. I felt proud to be introducing the Koreans to some classic British rock n roll!

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