Coteacher

After obtaining Korean currency, I rented a phone to call my only contact in South Korea - waking him up at about 6:30 to 7 in the morning. He reminded me that there are internet kiosks that I could use, so I went to one, checked my email, and sent out a help email telling my recruiter that I'm in South Korea now - please pick me up. She replied a moment later, thankfully, which means that the friend I phoned originally would not have to pick me up after work. It turns out that my recruiters basically forgot about me. So then there was nothing to do but sit and wait.

Meanwhile, I ate the food that I procured in order to get change to use the internet kiosks - a Japanese styled rice ball and some coconut juice. People came and went. I managed to calm down, since I had called my friend because I plugged in my laptop to try to find an internet connection and send out an email that way, but my laptop died a total of three times. In a panic, I had asked to use the laptop of some Cantonese people from Hong Kong nearby, effectively mooching off of them for a few minutes. They were kind enough not to completely mind. Three hours later, Daniel the recruiter arrived.

He quickly piled me and my luggage into his car, and drove forth. I talked a lot during this time, because I thought he was my coteacher, and also, it was a concerted effort to relax more. We got to Daenam Elementary School within a few hours. He picked my luggage up and settled me into my room, and then introduced me to everyone relevant, including my coteacher, Mr. Jeong. At that time, I was a bit tired, and couldn't absorb any of it. Anyhow, that day I didn't need to teach anything but the afterschool class for the first to third graders.

While settling in, I received a phone call from whoever asking for Daniel. I thought that Mr. Jeong was Daniel, and so asked him to answer, interrupting his class. For some reason, I also jumped to the conclusion that it was his wife on the phone. This greatly displeased him. I can't really explain this behavior, except to say that my travels had left me disoriented. Anyhow, Mr. Jeong had a talk with me later, and we had that sorted out.

I had no idea what to do with the kids during that afterschool time. It was a source of stress for me, so I overprepared. I had them read a dialogue about McDonald's, whereupon they agreed, but also protesting that it was an afterschool program and so wanted a game. I took away their distractions - cell phones, stuffed animals, caps - only giving them back at the end of the day. The morning English periods were a source of stress for me too, so the first morning, I had them sing "Good Morning", which struck me as very awkward. It will take me another evening and a half to get used to these proceedings.