My flight over from the States wasn't bad. Although I had a stop-over in Minneapolis and Tokyo, it was good to break up the 24 hour trip and actually get off the plane a few times. I got to Seoul at 10pm. Thank goodness for CDI having a cab waiting for me. Some of the trainees told me they paid upwards of $100 for a cab. I am staying at the Coatel Hotel, in the Gangnam District (the Manhattan of Seoul). I have the best roommates a girl could ask for. My Khan is from Seattle, Jenn is from Palm Springs, CA, and Christie is from Pittsburgh. CDI heavily recruits Americans and Canadians I guess because of our accents? Apparently, this is the largest recruiting class CDI has ever had. I trained with about 80 other people. I have met some of the coolest people. Everyone seems to be so well-traveled and of course adventurous. It really takes a certain kind of person to leave his or her own country to do this.
Training this week felt like finals in college. It was literally grammar and teaching boot camp from hell. On the first day we had bizarre medical exams that included blood work for TB, urine tests for drugs, height, weight, hearing, sight, and bust/torso size. We then had a grammar lesson on parts of speech that I hadn't thought about in a long time such as gerunds, adverb clauses, and participle phrases. I mean who goes around saying, "That's a great participle phrase." The following day, we took the grammar test. The passing grade was a 70. For our class, the average grade was a 70.2. Just about half and half passed/failed. It was very sad that we, as college graduates, could not pass a grammar test. The rest of week was filled with 2 training sessions a day for almost 3 hours each. My group would leave the hotel at 7:50am and not get back till 8pm! Too bad training isn't paid for. This week we averaged maybe 5 hours of sleep a night and working on grammar and teaching techniques for 12. Not to mention building jet lag. Oy! Nevertheless, I can't say I hated it because I really learned a lot for being an inexperienced teacher. Imagine being a student in a Korean language class and the teacher asks you to circle the transition words and identify the main idea. I would just look at the Korean characters and blank. We did go over the same material all week such as essays about natural regions of the US and burping and sweating. I'm so over soil and the burping and sweating. At least these are the essays we are teaching in our first week of classes so we know them backwards and forewards. Our final exam was on Friday which included a written test of the 3 hour breakdown of a class and mock teaching. Did I mention I teach 2 three hour classes each evening from 4-10pm? It blows my mind how intense these children are and what their parents expect. Our trainers assured us that this is normal for the kids. I know most college kids can't get through a 3 hour class! After a long week of intense training, retaking the grammar test, and having our written test and final mock evaluations, we were glad to finally sign our contracts and get started on celebrating.
Training this week felt like finals in college. It was literally grammar and teaching boot camp from hell. On the first day we had bizarre medical exams that included blood work for TB, urine tests for drugs, height, weight, hearing, sight, and bust/torso size. We then had a grammar lesson on parts of speech that I hadn't thought about in a long time such as gerunds, adverb clauses, and participle phrases. I mean who goes around saying, "That's a great participle phrase." The following day, we took the grammar test. The passing grade was a 70. For our class, the average grade was a 70.2. Just about half and half passed/failed. It was very sad that we, as college graduates, could not pass a grammar test. The rest of week was filled with 2 training sessions a day for almost 3 hours each. My group would leave the hotel at 7:50am and not get back till 8pm! Too bad training isn't paid for. This week we averaged maybe 5 hours of sleep a night and working on grammar and teaching techniques for 12. Not to mention building jet lag. Oy! Nevertheless, I can't say I hated it because I really learned a lot for being an inexperienced teacher. Imagine being a student in a Korean language class and the teacher asks you to circle the transition words and identify the main idea. I would just look at the Korean characters and blank. We did go over the same material all week such as essays about natural regions of the US and burping and sweating. I'm so over soil and the burping and sweating. At least these are the essays we are teaching in our first week of classes so we know them backwards and forewards. Our final exam was on Friday which included a written test of the 3 hour breakdown of a class and mock teaching. Did I mention I teach 2 three hour classes each evening from 4-10pm? It blows my mind how intense these children are and what their parents expect. Our trainers assured us that this is normal for the kids. I know most college kids can't get through a 3 hour class! After a long week of intense training, retaking the grammar test, and having our written test and final mock evaluations, we were glad to finally sign our contracts and get started on celebrating.
Thanks Michelle for the pic! It's sad that I've been here a week and have seen nothing of Seoul except for my hotel and the CDI Center. On Friday night after signing contracts, everyone was ready to get crazy. Since we had the largest recruiting class, I met some amazing people not only in my training sessions, but in the hotel, in the CDI lobby, and on the shuttle ride. We finally got to show our true colors on the dance floor! Clubs here are insanely packed. I'm talking like hundreds of people and they have 20,000 won cover charge ($20). After Friday, more than half of the recruits left to go to their schools around Korea. The rest of us are spread out around Seoul. I'm really going to miss Jen (Busan) and My Khan (Daejeon). At least I know I have people to visit and places to stay when I go to these cities. Luckily, Christie and I will be in the same area of Seoul in Junggye (NE Seoul). Also, I have a ton of friends in and around Seoul who are just a subway ride away.
Me, Tolani, & Jen
Thanks Tolani for the pic!
I can't believe it's only Week 1 of my year in South Korea. I think I'm really going to like it. I've met some great people and the Seoul lifestyle is a lot like New York...perhaps even crazier. People stay out till 8am! I've already spent $100 and I'm losing weight because I only eat at mini marts, which have great sushi and noodle bowls for a 1000 won, or about a dollar. Tomorrow I am going to my branch in Junggye for the first time and teaching my first two classes. Eek!
2 comments:
i know i've said this a million times, but i cannot believe you are in SEOUL! awesome! good luck teaching the kiddies english, i know you will do great. look forward to reading your blog! miss you
hi shadiyah! seems like you're off to a great start. Good luck with your first classes... and try to upgrade from meals at mini-marts once in a while ;)drj
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