Long Days Get Longer in Gumi, Korea

My days in Gumi, South Korea were long and before the day was over they were to get a lot longer. It all started when a girl from my school who I'll call "Maureen" got a job offer from a university here in Korea. It is the same or better pay and at least 2 months of vacation time vs. the 10 days we get from our school. She somehow negotiated with the school to release her from her contract. So we have a going away party for her. I am happy for her but sad that she is leaving. Gumi just won't be the same without her. She is sort of an inspiration to me as she is from a small town in Eastern Canada and yet she has a Korean Driver's Licence and having bought a cheap car and she drives everywhere. She is fearless!

Right now my schedule sucks and it's about to get worse. My timetable goes like this:

• Leave my apartment at 6:00 a.m. to walk to the school.
• I teach a 6:20 a.m. class at the school.
• At 7:10 a.m. one of my student's picks me up at the school and drives me to LG TV where I teach from 7:30 a.m. [or whatever time we get there - sometimes it's later if traffic is bad] until 8:20 a.m.
• At 8:30 a.m. Mr. Kim [if he shows up - If Mr. Kim doesn't show up then I either get a drive with Jin Teacher or take a taxi] picks me up and drives me to LG Learning Center.
• At 9:00 am I start teaching at LG Learning Center and teach until noon.
• Then I have a lunch break but I am required to eat with my students in the cafeteria. They [wanting free time as much as I do] don't dawdle over lunch so usually they have finished eating at 12:15 or 12:20.
• After eating until 1:00 p.m. I am free to do what I want like go for a walk or check my e-mail on one of the many free computers.
• At 1:00 p.m. I start and teach again until 4:00 p.m.
• At 4:00 p.m. there are staff meetings and forms and papers to fill out.
• Then I get a drive back to the school in the school van and walk home to my apartment and my day is over.
• So I am usually home by 5:30 p.m. at the latest.

It makes for a long day but it's do-able and I love the students I teach especially the students at LG Learning Center.

Now, however, since "Maureen" is leaving they need to get someone to teach her 5:00 p.m. class at LG-Phillips. So on Monday, February 10th, 2003 I am informed at 4:20 p.m. as I am about to head out to the school van for my drive home that "Maureen" will be picking me up in her car and taking me to LG-Phillips where she will introduce me as the new teacher. "Julie" the manager of our school comes with us and I think it is to make sure that the company likes me and has no concerns with me taking over as their teacher. Soon, however, it becomes clear that although the school is letting "Maureen" go to take a better job they have no intention of telling the students this. "Julie" tells "Maureen" in the car to tell the students that someone in her family - like her mother - is ill and that she has to go home to be with her. "Maureen" doesn't want to lie but "Julie" tells her if she doesn't they won't release her from her contract and that she will then not be able to take the new job nor will she will be unable to work in Korea until her Visa expires. They argue over this in the car and eventually they decide that "Julie" will lie to the students about the "illness of a family member" and that all "Maureen" has to do is agree if asked about it or minimally - JUST KEEP HER MOUTH SHUT.

Well that's what happens. The students like me cause I can speak a little Korean and cause I joke around with them and so they don't ask too many questions. "Julie" and "Maureen" leave before anyone can think of any questions to ask about "Maureen's" mom and I am left to try and teach a class for which I have no book for and for which I had zero time to prepare. Boy those ice-breaker games I have in my repertoire from teaching Life Guarding back home sure came in handy.

In a way I am happy cause now I will be getting overtime pay as I will be teaching so many more hours than are in my contract. Moreover, I am happy for "Maureen" as she had become sort of my role-model. I look at her doing things like driving around in Korea in her own car or getting a job teaching at a university and I say to myself "Hey, I could do that, too."

But now my long day is even longer stretching out for more than 12 hours and 90 % of that is either teaching or lesson planning or filling out some kind of paperwork for the school. Now I will leave my apartment before dawn and get back after dark. I wonder if everyone teaching in Korea is working such long hours?

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But I am reminded of the yin and the yang [normally shown in black and while but in Korea it is pictured in red and blue on Tae-guk-i or the Korean flag] that represents the balance in life. According to information I have read "the circle in the center, red upper half and blue lower half, represents absolute, or the essential unity of all being. The Yang (positive) and the Yin (negative) divisions within the circle represent duality. Examples of duality are heaven and hell, fire and water, life and death, good and evil, or night and day".

I found a link that explains more about this.

Korean Flag

I guess the positive and the negative, as almost everything in life, sort of balance out. I am able to find some more positives from having to teach this new extra class. Well, true to the title of my web blog, I am a little guy crazy. And, my new class has some cute young guys in it. Below are photos of two of my new students.

[Nuke, Daegu Train station, Daegu, South Korea, February 2oo3]

This is Nuke. He is so cool. He spent somewhere between 6 months and a year in Vancouver, Canada and as a result he loves Canada and Canadians. Even in this picture he is wearing sports clothing with the Canadian flag. His English is excellent and he gives me his e-mail and cell phone number and declares himself to be my official interpreter. I am so fortunate to have met him!

[Rok, Gumi, South Korea, February 2003]

This is a picture of my student Rok. He is a little more conservative than Nuke and more worried about his ability to speak English but once we get joking around he forgets to be nervous and his English really flows. He has a great sense of humor and I must admit I do have sort of a crush on him. Wonder where he is now......