Teaching at the Hagwon

I am teaching at a private academy, or hagwon in Songpa, Seoul. Hagwons are not like private schools in the States or in the West. Hagwons may specialize in subjects such as math, science, writing skills, music, sports and English (enter: me!). In Korea, there is a great push for English-learning (just as in many other countries) and therefore, there are many English hagwons throughout the country.

My school building (yes, same building as the Mercedes-Benz dealership):

I am teaching at Seoul English Academy in Songpa, Seoul. It is a fairly new school that opened in 2008. It is a private academy (or Hagwon) that specializes in teaching English to little children. There are 24 students total in the school. There are three different levels in my school and the school hours are from 9:30 until 2:30.
The Koala Group: age 4-5: Youngest and first introduction to English
The Panda Group: ages 5-6: Middle Group and can have basic conversations in English
The Giraffe Group: ages 6-7: Oldest group and they are reading and writing

Yes, these kids are THAT small:

This age group is very new to me as I'm used to teaching middle schoolers. I am missing my middle schoolers because I love working with that age group but these little kids are cute, too. It's definitely an adjustment but I'm learning a lot as I go. I definitely have a new admiration for early childhood educators  (all the prep time involved and all that clapping and singing!). Also, it's so different having students that constantly say, "Help me zip up my pants," or "Help me blow my nose." :)

These kids are very hard-working! This is not the usual preschool or kindergarten schooling that most of us have in the West. Not only are they learning a second language, but these kids are reading short books and writing stories by the time they enter the "Giraffe" group (I know you love the names;)). Now, I'm not saying that all I did in preschool and kindergarten was sing and nap, but I don't remember working as hard as these little kiddos.

The kindergarten kids leave at 2:30 and then I have elementary students from 3:00pm until 5:00pm. Many of my students are graduates of SEA so they are familiar with the school. These kids have been in regular school during the day and then they come to SEA for English practice. After they leave SEA, many of them go to Korean writing hagwon, violin hagwon, Taekwondo hagwon, etc. So, needless to say, these kids are very hardworking.

Korea is a country that is very obsessed with education and this is evident already in the lives of my little kindergartners.  Many people complain about this manic pursuit, but to get into top Korean universities, high schoolers go through a very difficult examination process, studying about 14 hours a day for an annual shot at a college entrance exam! Their parents are probably just instilling that high work ethic from a young age.

I was telling some of my after-school kids about my schedule as an elementary student. I told them that I was usually done with school by 3pm and then I would go home, do my homework and watch TV (Saved by the Bell reruns on TBS). :) They were so surprised that I didn't go to various schools after regular school. :)

A few interesting comments/stories from my students:

My first day, one of the kids' first question was: "How old are you and are you married?" (Did Liberty send him???) :)

Alex: "Miss Ellie, may I go to the restroom?"
Me: "No, but you may go later."
Alex: "But Miss Ellie, POOP!"  ----> I laughed and told him to hurry up (again, very different from middle schoolers!)

(Alex is also the little boy that wears Burberry outfits).

"Miss Ellie, look" (shows me his used kleenex)

"Miss Ellie, you look like a grandma and you are big." (Gee, thanks)

"Miss Ellie, say _______ in Korean." (And then I say it and they laugh).

I've also had some of the boys in the Koala class try to look up my skirt/dress. Awkward.

I'm sure I'll have lots and lots of stories....

The world's largest church...

My first Sunday here, I went to visit Yoido Full Gospel Tabernacle. My mom watches the services at home and I had actually watched a few with her and she suggested that I visit the church.

Yoido Full Gosspel Church is a Protestant church in Yeouido in Seoul. It has about 1 million members and it's the largest Protestant Christian church in South Korea and the world. It was founded in 1958 by Pastor David Yonggi Cho.

They have various services throughout Sunday and I went to the 1pm service (when they have translators). The sermon is translated into Japanese, English, Spanish, Chinese, French and many others.

I looked up the information online and headed to church. The greeters were very nice and directed me to the foreigner section. I listened to the sermon in Spanish.

And I thought Thomas Road Baptist in Lynchburg was huge!

What I've been up to...

Well I've been here a little over a month already. I can't believe it.
A few updates since I didn't start this blog until just a few days ago:

I landed here on September 8th. My flight was long, to say the least, but not as bad as I thought it would be. I love flying but after a few hours, I want OFF the plane so my 13 hour flight from Detroit to Seoul was not something I was looking forward to doing. Like I said though, it wasn't too bad. I had an aisle seat and I was seated in one of the emergency areas so I had a little bit of extra space. As soon as I found my seat, I got comfortable. I had my comfy, fuzzy socks with me (haha), my LU sweater (of course) and one of those funky airplane pillows (because it's always awkward when your head is going all over the place when you fall asleep on planes). I slept a lot, read the Lonely Planet Seoul book that I bought at Dulles Airport, watched random movies and then talked to the nice couple that was seated next to me. Every now and then, I would wake up confused because I was still in an airplane and thinking "What have I done?!?! I am going to be SO FAR AWAY." And then I'd fall asleep again.:)

My luggage:

Because I landed on a workday, no one was able to go pick me up at the airport. Great. I was nervous that I was going to have find my way through the airport, not knowing the language, and carrying two huge suitcases, a carry one and a gigantic purse. I made it, though! Thankfully, my director had given me very specific instructions on what to do. After going through immigration and security, I picked up my bags, called my director to tell him that I had landed and went to the Korean Air Limousine station to buy my bus ticket. I waited for about 10 minutes and the bus came and picked me up. There were only about 5 other passengers on the bus and it was a nice, comfortable bus. It took about an hour or so to get to my stop, Jamsil/Lotte (which is in the district where I work). It was a nice drive because I was able to see a lot of the city (the airport where I landed, Incheon International, is on a small island west of the city).
My director then picked me up and said that my coworkers wanted to meet me, so we headed off to my school. I quickly introduced myself to everyone and toured the school. Then, my director, took me to my apartment. He showed me how to find the subway station (it's only two blocks from my apartment) and then he took me to a little convenience store (which happens to be on the bottom floor of my apartment building) and he bought cereal, milk and bananas for me(very thoughtful!). I then went to bed because I was so exhausted.



The next day, my director met me at my apartment so he could show me the way to get to work. My first day, I observed the other teachers and talked to the kids a bit. It was a pretty laid back day but I did start teaching right away! I was nervous but it wasn't too bad.



My first weekend here, I went to a Korean Language class, met up with other foreign teachers and basically toured the downtown area of the city.


My first time in Myeondong, one of Seoul's main shopping and tourism districts.

Then, my first full week was full of exploring my neighborhood. There's is just so much to see!

So...Korea...tell me a little bit more about it...

Just a little info on this neat country:

South Korea (officially the Republic of Korea) is a county in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by China to the west, Japan to the east and North Korea to the north. The capital is Seoul (which is where I live currently).

As of July 2010, there are approximately 48 million people in Korea. Korea is a developed nation with a rich history.

Some facts about South Korea:

• Myth has it that Korea was founded by the god-king Dangun, in 2333 B.C. 

• Roughly half its people call themselves Christians, the other half Buddhists.

 • Its culture is imbued with traditional Confucian values and beliefs ( Confucianism: human beings are teachable, improvable and perfectible through personal and communal endeavor,  including self-cultivation and self-creation. A main idea of Confucianism is the cultivation of virtue and the development of moral perfection).

• The peninsula's division at the 38th parallel dates to 1945.

 • The war that ensued left more than three million Koreans dead or wounded. 

• South Korea today boasts a thriving democracy and surging economy (This is evident in everything I have seen so far!)

Here are  few pictures, courtesy of The World Factbook, so you know where I am.

                                        

As mentioned before, I am living in Seoul (pronounced like Soul). Seoul is a beautiful city with over 12 million people (and I thought NYC was huge!). Seoul is considered a global city and is one of the world's top ten financial and commercial centers. Seoul is also home to large corporations such as Samsung and LG. The Seoul Subway is the third largest in the world (which makes my commute very interesting!). 

Seoul is divided into 25 districts districts (gu).Each district (gu) is then divided into neighborhoods. So in my school address, which most of you have, Samjeon-dong is the neighborhood and Songpa-Gu is the district.

Here is where I live:

Info from National Geographic and The World Factbook, 2010