First Week of Classes

It's quite daunting to realize it's been a mere week since the last post. To call it a whirlwind doesn't do the days justice. Actually, this initial week was quite light, with only 22 classes as my after-school classes won't start until next week AND Thursday was a holiday for my school. So, I only had 17 classes when my normal load will be 26.

The Teachers
I was walked to my first class on Monday by that hour's co-teacher. I was assured many times that the first week would just be observing and settling into my environment. However, upon reaching the classroom, that co-teacher just introduced me to the students and then said 'Bye!' This is technically illegal and all of the teachers know they are supposed to stay with me and c o - t e a c h. Of my five co-teachers, only two have stayed with me in classes. My main co-teacher Lee and Ms. Park, whose English is near perfect and I have the most classes with (7).
Lee is now my hyung nim (big brother) and Mr. Gyeong is my hyung (brother). The discrepancy is because of age and closeness, since Lee is older and my main co-teacher. Mr. Gyeong isn't one of my co-teachers, but a friend and drinking buddy of Lee who shares the upstairs teaching lounge with us.
On Wednesday, feeling comfortable and complacent in the teacher's lounge between classes, I was reminded that I was in a foreign country. The teachers were all rapidly talking to one another and in unision, their heads swiveled to me. "Fuck You, Fuck You," they said. "What does it mean?"
In the instant between sentences, I was afraid I had done something wrong. It turns out they thought it meant roughly, 'you're crazy' and were using it in response to students incorrect answers. I hadn't laughed that hard since being here and it was an awkward couple of minutes as I sat here tearing up with laughter as they waited for me to regain composure. The dawning realization on their faces as I described it as the highest insult and sexual in nature, was priceless.
As I finish writing this, yet another anecdote evolves... Apparently Friday is Ask-Out-The-Foreign-Teacher Day. First the math teacher, then the social studies teacher, then the science teacher. I have three lunches booked next week now. Are they all aware of each others' invitations? Or did I just committ a social no-no? They all came in such rapid succession, I feel like the staff was given a memo on Monday on when they could approach me about these things and have been waiting since.

The Apartment
My landlady has scolded me twice now for using my air conditioner, which I pay for, too much. So I went and bought an electric fan yesterday in the hopes of keeping her satisfied. I'm in a small apartment building unlike the popular high-rise block apartments that define the skyline here. I've explored my immediate area and have the essentials down now. The supermarket, the internet cafe, a couple restaurants where I know the menu, etc.

The Students
My fellow teachers have been sharing horror stories on Facebook this week of their student encounters. So far I have nothing but positive experiences to share. I'm teaching all three grade levels here and the students are grouped by boys/girls and low/high language levels. This week was the same lesson plan for every single class, designed to introduce me using content that allowed me to gague their ability.
Each class has been impressive in their willingness to talk and try. We were all warned repeatedly of how shy Korean students can be with uncertain material. The educational atmosphere here rewards perfection and regurgitation, not retention and creativity. If students can't be totally correct here, they know not to speak in front of the class -- that's a difficult environment to reshape.
As a native speaker I'm here specifically to strengthen their speaking and listenting skills while Korean teachers work on reading and writing. I don't plan on letting this week's momentum dissipate though, and will expect the same level of participation from here on out.
The boys classes are all great and their enthusiam is obvious. Sharing my small repetoire of Korean with them gained me instant credibility and attention. The girls classes however, are a little more awkward. For the time being, I've resorted to just ignoring the 'handsome teachere' comments and giggling. I've never been asked so many times if I'm married or have a girlfriend in one week. It's a little depressing to be reminded I'm single 87 times in 5 days :). Today, Friday, has been the first day where students aren't gathered at the window into the teacher's lounge, all clammering for a peek inside. It's a very welcome respite.

On a final note, I was asked today to be a judge in the semi-finals of the National English Competition held later this month. I of course agreed and will be conducting interviews with students and helping to decide the outcome. It's supposed to be hush-hush, so as to avoid favortism. This is exactly the kind of extracurricular I'm dying to get involved in and gain some TEFL experience outside of the classroom and on a grander scale.