My First Two Days - Dan

Well after I was dropped off at my school, Baekbong Elementary, I was greeted by an assistant of the English program. Her name is Heather. She was the same one who met us at our hotel. She proceeded to bring me inside. I was nervous to a certain extent but surprisingly I was calm and cool. We first stepped inside and I had a little cube with my name on it and inside there were a pair of sandals. I slipped them on and we went up to the teacher's lounge. The school was filled with excited students, for it was the first day of there new school year. The teachers on the other hand were running around trying to prepare themselves for a hectic day. We walked into the lounge and I met some teachers and the faculty. I was then taken up stairs to the fifth floor and met my two co-teachers. They gave themselves English nicknames to make it easier for me to address them. One was Grace who I would be assisting most of the time. The other was Kate and it was her first day at the school as well as mine. She was as nervous as I was. After we met we went back down to the teacher's lounge and I met the Principal and Vice Principal. Just like Latanya, my Principal did not speak any English, so I had a translator. He asked me the same questions that Latanya was asked. It just so happened to be his first day as well at this school. After meeting them I was introduced to the rest of the faculty and stood up and bowed. A few minutes later the Vice Principal introduced all the new faces on there T.V. broadcasting show held in the next room. I got up on a podium and said a few words and introduced myself on the air. I was extremely calm for some reason. I know back home I dread public speaking but for some reason here I don't mind.
Next I was given a tour of the grounds and met some more people. Everyone was so inviting and pleasant. I was shown to my new desk and computer. Once lunch time came around my co-teachers and I went to the cafeteria and ate. That was an experience. Only the first and second graders eat there, as well as the teachers. All the other grades eat in there classrooms. Basically we grabbed a metal tray with five separate indentions in them. We picked up our silverware, which consisted of a metal spoon and metal chopsticks (good thing I am already a pro at using chopsticks). We then followed down the line and received our food one scoop at a time. Traditional Korean meals consist of three basic foods and then added courses like rice and noodles etc. The three main dishes are Kimchi, Soup and some sort of Meat. That day we had, cold Kimchi, a seaweed soup, white rice, a beef mixture with vegetables and an egg quiche, I think. It was all delish. It is also customary not to drink while eating. So once we were all done we poured out our unfinished food into a metal container, which looked like they recycle for compost or something. Then we put our trays and soup bowls away as well as the silverware. After that we proceeded to what looked to be a soft served ice cream dispenser but in reality was only a water cooler, hot and cold. The cups were right next to the despenser in a refrigerated shelving unit. After washing our meals down we whiped our faces with a napkin which were located next to the water.
After lunch Grace, Kate and I met with the P.E. teacher and the Art teacher and had coffee and tea. We chatted a little bit. They asked me some questions about myself and I to them. It was a nice relaxing time. Once our lunch period ended we all went back to our offices. Not too long after that I was summoned by Heather telling me that Latanya and Michelle were waiting down stairs for me to go to the hospital.
I greated both my wife and Michelle and we drove into Seoul for our physicals. The hospital was small. I think it was just a small clinic. We literally went in and out, no waiting at all. With the exception of me not filling my urine sample up enough, oops. The nurse called me back to try again so I had to drink a ton of water to get the urge again. The first time I had to go really bad so I had brilliant idea of peeing into the toilet and then moving the cup into the stream at about half way so I wouldn't over flow it. Well before I knew it I was almost done and only got a sprinkle. Well seven cups full of water later they got there sample. I know too much information, but a funny story none the less. They basically did a normal physical including a blood sample, the nurse was really good. I hardly felt a thing. After that Michelle drove us home and we went to get some munchies and watch some movies.
Today we were picked up at 8:00am again. Michelle dropped me off and I said goodbye to my lovely wife. I got to school, put my sandals on and went up to my fifth floor office. Grace and Kate soon followed in and we were soon going to our first class. Grace gave me a quick run down of our lesson for the day. She showed me our worksheet and let me know to basically follow her lead and help out where I could. The children soon flowed in and we were on our way. Grace sat them down boy girl boy girl. She introduced herself and then me. We asked the children if they had any questions. The most popular one of the day was how old I was. I don't know if they were shocked of how young I was or that I look much older than I am. Either way they all gasped at the notion. Other questions were, am I married, where do I come from, do I speak Korean and what's my favorite food? I was not surprised that when I said that Mexican food was my favorite, they all scratched there heads and had no idea what I was talking about. We had four different classes come in. We basically did a dialogue and gave them some vocabulary. There was a lot of speaking and repeating. In the later classes we started to ask questions about the dialogue. I was certainly impressed with some quick and accurate answers.
After the classes we went to lunch in the cafeteria. Ate similar food from the day before with a different soup and some paddies of some sort with ketchup. It was all really good. We all met for coffee and tea again, and discussed many different subjects. The P.E. teacher was telling me how he must enlist into the Army next year. It is mandatory for every male able to enlist for two years either after high school or college. He delayed his an extra year to start teaching.
Now I am just sitting at my desk writing on the blog. There is a after school staff party later. It sounds like it will be fun. Well I hope my first two days read as exciting as they have been.
Dan