Why do my first days at work always turn out the same?

My first day of my Teaching Practicum last year was probably the worst day of my "professional" career. Without going into details, everything that could go wrong in the first two hours did go wrong, and I was pretty close to turning around and not coming back. Luckily things improved, but when you start as badly as I did, you would have to turn up in a pirates costume to do any worse.



With this in mind, I started off for my first day of work by getting on the bus. I was early and had directions to get to a particular school where I would get off and meet my co-teacher in her car and then we would drive to our school, 15 minutes out of town. She said to listen to the voice over as she would tell me when we had arrived at the school. I thought I had everything under control, however I could see the bus was getting to the end of the city and still I hadnt heard my stop. I listened as hard as I could but nothing sounded remotely close to what I was looking for. I eventually got off on the last stop before the bus heads up into the hills and out of the view of the city. I asked some school kids what the name of there school was, which wasnt what I was looking for, then I asked about my school and they just laughed. So, starting to stress now, I start pacing for a phone to call her. I walked to 5 different petrol stations and none had one. I decided to walk back to the city. On the way back I realised it would take 20 minutes before I got anywhere near the end of the city so I flagged a taxi. The taxi could understand where I was going and it wasnt too far. I got to the school and Namu was there, waiting in her car. She wasnt very impressed. Once we got to school she asked for the only thing she requested I bring and I realised I had forgotten it. Flashbacks of Prac were rushing back to me, however this was were the dramas ended.



Highlights of the first day were;

- After my first lesson I asked Namu for a class list so I could possibly remember and learn the students names. She came back to my desk with a cold sweet potato. I still dont know what I am/was supposed to do with it. I remember the night before saying I really like sweet potato, that it was my favourite vegetable, and she mentioned it to the other teachers in the staff room, but to say I was perplexed when she handed it to me is an understatement. I think its still sitting on my desk because I honestly dont know what to do with it.

- For lunch we went to the mess hall and had a typical Korean lunch; rice, kimchi, veges, soup, and this time some acutal pieces of meat. I couldnt tell what meat it was, but I know it was a welcome change from the typical overload of veges. Tasted a bit like chicken and a bit like fish, so going by what Mark and Alexa told me before I left, I may well have been crocodile. The most interesting part of the meal had to be the soup, which was seaweed. I think they sourced this stuff directly from Flynn's beach. I honestly tasted like taking a cup of water from the beach and shredding some seaweed in it. So unbelievably salty.

- I went to get some water from the kitchen and remember to not take it from the tap because you cant drink the tap water in Korea so I went to the fridge. In it was massive tubs of a dirty brown liquid, and it looked disgusting. Like the water at Lake Cathie when its closed off from the ocean. Suprisingly, this is in fact safe to drink and the brown colour is to distinguish it as drinkable. After the tap water is boiled, corn syrup or starch or whatever the hell it is is added to it to say it isnt straight tap water. I declined from drinking it.

- I was called handsome by about 10 different students, male and female. I can only come to 2 conclusions from this; either their english is so good that they are already cracking jokes on me, or it doesnt take much to be considered handsome in Korea.

- All the teachers went to dinner after school and what a feast it was. We all sat on the ground around 4 tables with big frying pans/pots in the middle. In the pots progressively went these massive platters of veges, about 10 different kinds of mushies, and thin strips of beef. It was delicious. Around the frying pots were the customary side dishes and the older men drank soju, the local spirit. I wasnt offered any, which is probably a good thing, and had beer instead. Overall, an increadible meal, so social and varied. Need to brush up on the chopstick skills though, I feel like a bit of a tool when the people im eating with ask the waitress to get me a fork.

- The kids are so well behaved, talkative but behaved. Age dictates that the must show respect to their elders (as I have to as well) so they will stop and bow to you as you walk down the halls. Imagine that happening in Australia! Most kids dont leave school until after 4;30 and some stay at school until 9 o'clock in the evening, and also go to school on a Saturday, so pretty much their whole life is spent at school.

So that was my first day at Daegok Middle School. Quite the day. I went over the top with the intro but mum and dad I know you will have got a kick out of it!

Til next time