Today I went to my second school, Sowan Elementary School. I taught three classes and worked on the internet the rest of the day. Two of the classes had less than ten students, which made our discussions go quickly. I just introduced myself and showed them on a map where I am from, being careful to distinguish between Washington State and D.C. I asked them what their names were, and tried to pronounce them, which was very funny to them. They mostly said that they liked computer games and chicken. When they ask questions, they always want to know if you are single, how old you are, why you are in Korea and do you like kimchi. I made them guess my age, which is a fun game. When we are asking names we throw a ball around the class to keep it interesting. Well, for the first class, we only had a basketball with a group of 4th graders. It was OK until, to my shudder, one kid threw it across the room at an unsuspecting kid and it smashed into his head. He had a quick angry look but didn't cry. So next class I made sure I had something softer at hand. One girl in the back spoke English better so I approached her with a question. She got nervous and started pounding the inside of her arm with her fist, which I hear is common.
Another thing I enjoy are the lunches, which are a nice mix of Korean dishes. The best part is that the teachers eat in a group at tables with the students, like a community. I love that feeling. And Koreans like to eat quietly so you don't worry about any awkward silence. I rode home in a school bus full of young sweet chatterbox voices, which made me smile inside in some undefinable way. At the stop before mine I saw a child try and cross a busy street and half-carelessly almost get hit by a car. Cringe! A teacher on the bus helped him cross thankfully. On my way home I stopped at the E-Mart (grocery, clothes, household items) and then unintentionally wandered home. For some reason I haven't gotten my bearings with this place yet, but I always somehow find my apartment.
Tonight I cooked up some rice with fried garlic, mushrooms, peppers and spices, together with some mystery-meat patty the former tenant left in the freezer. Grub. Then my neighbor invited me to taekwondo practice and I went. The class is designed specially for the Westerners in Namwon, but they speak little English. Fortunately, they are patient and have a good sense of humor, but there is a lot of shouting and guttural "EEEIIIII"s. I did well with the stretching and kicking and I may start going, but it is a big decision. They meet every weekday at 7:30 PM and it costs about $70/month plus the uniform cost, but they don't charge for testing at least. This school also promotes very quickly, but the goal is ability and character, not rank anyways.
That's awsome that nobody expects you to talk while you eat. What is equally awsome is the fact that you can purchase many ameneties all in the same store--clothes, food, other items. The martial arts participation you wrote of sounds like an excellent opportunity to socially bond with these people given your extensive background in this field from Eastern. I fully comprehend the magnitude of the decision to join up as a regular member of the course--that is able to rise in rank, rather than being a more loosely attached, distanced observer. This probably revolves around your already busy schedule and not the $70 uniform. On finding your way home, couldn't you use a notebook to write down landmarks that will serve as a strong hold to know whether to turn right or left on a given street to navigate your way home. If it wasn't dark, you could find your way home and then back track so you remember the most quickest/efficient route? The food sounds fantastic and the fact that there is meat in the fridge that you remain unaware of the origin of the meat you ate, or what kind of meat it was, and still came out tasting good is even more evidence of a good experience.
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