So Far Second Year Is Good

All has been well since landing in Incheon for my second year. I'm very happy with my new school, as well as my fellow teachers and administrators.

At Hambak, the setup for me is very similar for last year, as far as other native speaking teachers goes. There is a guy named Geoff who is from Wisconsin and a girl named Katie who is from Ottawa. Last year I also worked with an American guy from Wisconsin and a Canadian girl.

The setup is interesting. Katie is working through the Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education. Her boss (Julie) is the head of the school's English program. Geoff and I are working directly through the school at the school's English Center. Our boss (and the head of the English Center) is Grace.

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, we have three morning classes that are part of school, and three afternoon classes that are like an academy. On Tuesday and Thursday, we have the three morning school classes, and our afternoons are free for lesson prep time.

For the morning classes, we make up the entire lesson. It can be about anything we want. We have use of a wide variety of equipment including huge TVs with computers for Powerpoint presentations, as well as an interactive video board.

In the afternoon, we have books to use. The books are similar to the ones I used at the academy. So I'm already familiar with that.

I'm almost ashamed to say that I've never done Powerpoint before. But today, I made my first Powerpoint and lesson plan. It's about exercise.

Right now, we have NO classes. This entire week will be preparation for the next few weeks.

I observed/assisted with Geoff's morning classes on Monday. As we were waiting for lunch, Grace told us that students wouldn't come in for the rest of the week due to H1N1. Apparently, 20 of our students tested positive for it.

We're still going in for the week for prep time. That's just fine with me. It's giving me a chance to get to know everyone and understand how to make a decent lesson plan. I also got to go to the hospital today for my foreigner checkup. Of course, it took forever because every Korean who has a sniffle is in there checking for H1N1. What a bunch of babies.

With no students today, the cafeteria staff did not prepare lunch. Principal Kim generously took the staff out to lunch. I got a beef soup know as Galbi Tang.

The school's remodeling process which left it with a beautiful turf field means we will have an awesome place to play around. Principal Kim told Katy today that we can use the field any time.

At lunch, I got to sit next to Principal Kim. It's always nice to get a bit of face time with the boss. My studying is paying off as well. I can actually talk with the staff about my past experiences in Korea. It's really nice to be able to connect right away.

The weekend was a typical Korea weekend. We stayed close to home both Friday and Saturday nights. On Saturday, I went to Yongsan to meet with Soo Ryung. We saw a movie and got lunch together. She told me she is going to UC Irvine in a couple of months. It's sad she's leaving for a year, but I'm happy she's getting the opportunity.

On Saturday, two guys from Franklin got here. Dan Schwabenbauer has been a friend of mine forever. He'll be working at Dan Sadly's sister school and living a few blocks away in Yeonsu-dong. Josh Casonguay is a couple years older than me but also a Franklin High grad. Oddly enough, he actually replaced me at my old school, and is living in my old apartment.

On Saturday evening, Sadly (from here on out known as Popper) and I took Schwaby to a local bar and met a bunch of new people. Josh was beat and also in a different neighborhood, making it tough to meet that night.

I went to Josh's/my old house on Sunday afternoon to see how he was doing. He seems to be settling in nicely. We found him an adapter for his computer and took a walk around town. He already posted some nice pics up on facebook. I'm sure he and I will be hanging out a lot once he gets settled in.

This weekend is Halloween (obviously). A group of us are planning to go to Hongdae in Seoul on Saturday. In a crazy twist, I may also be going there on Friday with a group of my former Junghcul co-workers. It'll be a busy weekend, but worth it to see all my friends.

Quick note: I found out a little late last year that it's nice to present your bosses with a little gift from your hometown. So this year, I brought back Franklin honey bears for my new bosses/co-teachers as well as my old bosses. They LOVED it.

That's the scoop so far. I'm very pleased with my school, apartment, neighborhood and friends. MY studying has paid off big time and my confidence using the language has increased dramatically during my time at home.

It's going to be a really wonderful year. I'll post pics as soon as I get a steady Internet connection. Right now I'm borrowing until I can get Alien Registration Card. Anyway, keep checking back for more updates.