It's been about one month since I've been in Korea. In a week, it will have been one month since I've been in Bucheon. How would I describe my experience? Well, being outside of my comfort zone: the familiar, I would have to say that its been a bit of a rollercoaster. I am a very stable person, but being abroad takes its toll on me and my personality whether its in Trier, Germany or Bucheon, Korea. I can be extremely happy at times and without warning, hit an all-time low.
I live in an Officetel in the Sangdong part of Bucheon. I am located in the redlight district, so I definitely can't say my neighborhood is boring!
Although there are fights about everynight between drunken businessmen, Korea is pretty tame and as a man I feel overall very safe at night walking alone by myself (I'm not sure how it would be for a woman, since I'm a man and therefore benefit from male privilege). So what is my day like? I usually wake up in the morning at around 11 AM. When I first got to Korea, I would wake up at 7 or 8. Mornings are the hardest part of the day. Homesickness usually hits me the worst there and there have been times when I had absolutely no desire to get up. I would miss home like crazy and my emotions would reach rocky levels not seen since my adolescence. I drag myself out of bed, shower in my lovely bathroom, get dressed, walk down the street to work and make a stop at the convenience store for my daily cherry coke, rice-filled seaweed cakes or sandwich. Then I go up to the 5th floor into my classroom and prep for my classes. If I haven't already, I correct tests, grade online homework and look over my books at the material I will be teaching. Then, classes begin! Once my students get there, I usually have a positive outlook on life. My kids are ages 8-12. I have an average of 7 classes, each running about 40 minutes. I work from 2-8 PM. My kids are all good kids and a lot of fun. They seriously make me smile both inside and outside. We read each chapter per lesson and I will either teach a reading section or a speaking/conversation section. It's really quite simple and I have finally gotten the hang of it down. I've come a long ways from the scared-to-death newbie I was on my first day. I feel much more comfortable interacting with kids and a lot of my parental instincts have begun to kick in. Afterwards, I usually like to correct my tests and other homework. I could go home, but I prefer to do it right there. Once work is finished I get something to eat. There have been times when I've gone out with my coworkers. So far I've gone out to eat, I've been to the bar a few times, I've sang karaoke to the point where my voice didn't work right for two days, and I've gone bowling.
I work just five days a week, as opposed to the six days a week I've heard that others have to work. On the weekends I usually go to Seoul. It takes about an hour. I have to take a 20 minute busride to Bucheon Station. From there I take the subway to Shindorim Station, where I transfer to Shillim Station. Once I get off, I have to hop on a bus to get to my friend's house, where I usually stay on the weekends. Me and her, her boyfriend and her sister usually hang out, go shopping, go to the park, the PC Bang (Internet Cafe) or simply hang out and watch tv. To be honest, I haven't been keeping up in this diary because I've simply been writing about what I've been doing in my letters home and because I've been so fucking homesick. But, things are starting to look up. A few of my Korean coworkers have asked me to go out with them next week. I may be able to get out of this shitty Officetel and I may have a new "Sprachpartner". Thing I would like to do: Get involved with the Korean Adoptee Community in Korea, find a good church, find a Korean class where I can learn about the culture, language and history, find volunteer opportunities where I can meet like-minded people, keep up with my piano lessons.
I live in an Officetel in the Sangdong part of Bucheon. I am located in the redlight district, so I definitely can't say my neighborhood is boring!
Although there are fights about everynight between drunken businessmen, Korea is pretty tame and as a man I feel overall very safe at night walking alone by myself (I'm not sure how it would be for a woman, since I'm a man and therefore benefit from male privilege). So what is my day like? I usually wake up in the morning at around 11 AM. When I first got to Korea, I would wake up at 7 or 8. Mornings are the hardest part of the day. Homesickness usually hits me the worst there and there have been times when I had absolutely no desire to get up. I would miss home like crazy and my emotions would reach rocky levels not seen since my adolescence. I drag myself out of bed, shower in my lovely bathroom, get dressed, walk down the street to work and make a stop at the convenience store for my daily cherry coke, rice-filled seaweed cakes or sandwich. Then I go up to the 5th floor into my classroom and prep for my classes. If I haven't already, I correct tests, grade online homework and look over my books at the material I will be teaching. Then, classes begin! Once my students get there, I usually have a positive outlook on life. My kids are ages 8-12. I have an average of 7 classes, each running about 40 minutes. I work from 2-8 PM. My kids are all good kids and a lot of fun. They seriously make me smile both inside and outside. We read each chapter per lesson and I will either teach a reading section or a speaking/conversation section. It's really quite simple and I have finally gotten the hang of it down. I've come a long ways from the scared-to-death newbie I was on my first day. I feel much more comfortable interacting with kids and a lot of my parental instincts have begun to kick in. Afterwards, I usually like to correct my tests and other homework. I could go home, but I prefer to do it right there. Once work is finished I get something to eat. There have been times when I've gone out with my coworkers. So far I've gone out to eat, I've been to the bar a few times, I've sang karaoke to the point where my voice didn't work right for two days, and I've gone bowling. I work just five days a week, as opposed to the six days a week I've heard that others have to work. On the weekends I usually go to Seoul. It takes about an hour. I have to take a 20 minute busride to Bucheon Station. From there I take the subway to Shindorim Station, where I transfer to Shillim Station. Once I get off, I have to hop on a bus to get to my friend's house, where I usually stay on the weekends. Me and her, her boyfriend and her sister usually hang out, go shopping, go to the park, the PC Bang (Internet Cafe) or simply hang out and watch tv. To be honest, I haven't been keeping up in this diary because I've simply been writing about what I've been doing in my letters home and because I've been so fucking homesick. But, things are starting to look up. A few of my Korean coworkers have asked me to go out with them next week. I may be able to get out of this shitty Officetel and I may have a new "Sprachpartner". Thing I would like to do: Get involved with the Korean Adoptee Community in Korea, find a good church, find a Korean class where I can learn about the culture, language and history, find volunteer opportunities where I can meet like-minded people, keep up with my piano lessons.
1 comment:
Hey Andrew,
Sorry that homesickness is still hitting you hard!!! (That's something I'm worried about too if things work out. ahah :-P) I'm sure that for you it'll continually gradually subside with time.
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