I started my last English camp for the winter break today, and it was pretty straightforward. I didn’t realize how much my last camp spoiled me. The kids at my last camp were much more responsive than this group, but then still aren’t bad. The younger kids are still the more fun ones because they don’t have inhibitions. The older ones are apathetic and humorous even when I want to ring their necks.
Still, the start of this camp did not go well for me. For starters, I was about 15 minutes late due to odd directions I received. Instead of being able to map quest a place and drive there ( Map Quest I miss you!!!!), I had to get directions from the Teachers at the school. So I was giving a tiny map to the school. . . . . . In KOREAN. Now, consider the fact that during the school year, my trip from my school to my apartment is 5 minutes. This English camp’s location is remotely close to the next to the last stop on the Eastern subway line. . . . . roughly 10-12 stops from me. . who lives on the West line. Now the kicker of this whole debacle is that when I got off the train, I suddenly realized two things
A) I didn’t have a copy of the map and had to go by memory.
B) I also forgot the paper with the name of the school written in Korean: no taking a cab for me.
I took what I assumed would be the right path; going the opposite way of the train because that’s what it looked like on the map when I got it. This guess turned out to be totally wrong. As I realized I was going the wrong way (roughly 10 blocks later), I mentally turned the shoddy map around in my head and went. . . “Oh.”
So I trudged back in the opposite direction knowing that if I ran into another train station that I totally went too far. I trotted along, looking up for some sort of landmark. . that was when I realized something. .
The map only had three: the train stations, the mart where the corner was and the school itself.
Let me also give you a little in-site on Korean directions. No one actually uses street names here. Streets are marked with names or some sort of system, I’ve seen the signs. But No one uses them. I haven’t figured out if this is the norm or not; I have this strange feeling that we westerners are considered too dumb to read Korean street signs and thus never given the street directions. Regardless, I ended up going down another wrong street before being called by the teachers at the school.
Did I mention that said forgotten slip of paper with the school name also had the school phone number? FUN!!!
I finally found the right street with the right mart on the corner, but I was dog tired by then. No matter the fact that I have been in this country for about five months now; you can’t match Koreans and walking because they have done it their whole lives. Me and my fat, lazy American self was more than a little tired by the time the one of the teachers found me on the street. I’m sure it was a humorous site to see me walking in the door softly trying to catch my breath.
Korean walking 1, Me 0. . . . curse you, walking around as transportation!!!!
I taught my first lesson shortly after, which wasn’t bad, but wasn’t terribly interesting. . . even to me. I tried with my power points and pictures but it only work so much. I was talking about hobbies: how much can you talk about hobbies when you have a limited understanding of language. It’s fine, doing the Time lesson is always better and more fun for me. . last time the kids like it as well. I’ll have to take some pictures and post them.
1 comment:
It's the norm. They go entirely by landmarks here.
I asked my co-teacher why during my first week, and he had no answer for me. Just couldn't understand how it wasn't the same everywhere.
It's a bizarre mix of an ancient culture that forced itself to learn how to drive awkwardly. So you end up with one lane streets that are two ways, and street signs with no purpose.
I would be surprised if Urban Planning existed at Korean Universities.
After 11 months I just find it all amusing though.
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