english name: james (제임스)
...and so it begins!
Okay, I’ve already been in Seoul ten days, so I guess it probably would’ve been a smart idea to start one of these up sooner, but I figured better late than never! So here it goes!
So, what am I doing here? Well, I’m teaching English at a school called MIKI’s British School, which has campuses at Gangnam and Yangjae. I’ve been asked to write a “diary” to be posted on their website about my time in Seoul, so I’ll nab the intro from that…! It explains everything pretty clearly!:
First off – who am I? Well, my name’s James and I’m a student from London, who, despite having travelled around Europe and dipping into Africa, was – ten days ago, at least – still a stranger to Asia and, perhaps more importantly, to the scary world of travelling alone (*GAP YEAR FAIL*). So how I end up at MIKI’s school? (EDIT: hahaha, that was a typo, but it's suitably Asian, so it stays!) Well, bored one afternoon and wondering what I was going to spend my summer doing, I stumbled upon my university’s volunteering website. At first, I found nothing interesting listed for summer 2009, but I kept on ploughing through, silently hoping I’d stumble upon a diamond in the rough...
And there I saw it (*dramatic music*): MIKI’s listing! Finally, one that actually sounds interesting, amazing, like it could really... but wait? What's that? (*dramatic music cut*)... it was for 200
8? 2008?! But, that's like... IN THE PAST. Okay, breathe... just send them an email asking them if they're still taking applicants on...
So, that's what I did. I can remember sitting on my bed writing out the message at midnight, knowing it was desperate, but hoping that someone would answer my prayers! And, the next morning, God himself, in the form of a slightly squat Asian lady named MIKI, flashed up on my Windows Mail: yes, desperate little English boy, we're taking on teachers for the Summer. We'll let you know.
WIN! Even then, just hearing from the school, I was stupidly excited …but then the days and weeks passed, until eventually it had been well over a month and I’d heard nothing. It's like in the films when the days of the month flash up on the screen and the clock runs at 100mph... while nothing changes. My head was saying that I was chasing a chimera, get real and give up, but I knew that I had to persist – so I sent the school another email "politely reminding" them of my original request, and was astonished when the clock stopped ticking and I got an ACTUAL REPLY! But not just a reply - a call for interview! :D
But, you curious people are surely crying out in dismay, what drew me to MIKI's School in the first place? Well, I could say it was fate, destiny, meant to be... but in reality it was just the free flights and my own mild case of Asiaphilia (if symptoms persist, consult your GP... unfortunately, my case was deemed "incurable"). Yes, growing up as a teenager, I’d always been interested in contemporary Asian culture (i.e. FAR EASTERN STUFF), entering secondary school as a rabid Dragonball Z fan (note: not a good way to make friends, only the "really sad" (i.e. "really cool") kids liked Dragonball Z), my interest expanded into other types of anime and manga, then bloomed lusciously into Hayao Miyazaki and Satoshi Kon films, peppered with a bit of J and K-pop for good measure (which still unashamedly makes up a good quarter of my iTunes library…:P)). So, what I'm trying to say is that it was the chance to live the life of someone to whom all those kind of things were everyday that got me hooked. And they ARE everyday here: Dragonball Z's ALL OVER the tele (well, all over CHAMP, the kids' channel, at least), and I even heard Super Junior playing in Dunkin' Donuts the other day! (Yes, even I couldn't resist the delicious Westernised win of donuts on a hot day).
And then, like I said, it was made all the more enticing by the fact that I wasn’t going to have to pay for the privilege (*SHAMELESS CHEAPSKATE ALERT*)... but that MIKI was actually going to be paying ME! Yes, I know it's too good to be true, but I checked the smallprint like a BAJILLION times and didn't find any catches! I'm just hoping I haven't somewhere sold my soul to the Asian sex slave industry, which is actually where my Mum thought I'd been shipped off to when I didn't email her for the first few days of being here (but then again, this is the woman that didn't understand the concept of North Korea and South Korea being TWO DIFFERENT COUNTRIES... *GEOGRAPHY FAIL*)... I think I'm safe for now! XD
... so that’s how I got here! Travelling three hours for a ten minute interview (eager beaver, yes) seems to have paid off, considering I’m now well over 5,000 miles away from home in Nakeseongdae in the heart of Seoul, sitting here writing this blog!
So, that's me in a post! It seems to be like an unwritten code of bloggers to express their fears in their first post that nobody's going to read what they write, but let me just say this: I DON'T CARE. This is just a side-project for me to document my two months here, share my discoveries and give myself something to look back on when it's all done! So, I'll leave you with my favourite picture from the past 10 days (taken at Gyeongbokgung; yes, I know, I know, I AM an amazing photographer)...and here's to a happy blog...! :D
So, what am I doing here? Well, I’m teaching English at a school called MIKI’s British School, which has campuses at Gangnam and Yangjae. I’ve been asked to write a “diary” to be posted on their website about my time in Seoul, so I’ll nab the intro from that…! It explains everything pretty clearly!:
First off – who am I? Well, my name’s James and I’m a student from London, who, despite having travelled around Europe and dipping into Africa, was – ten days ago, at least – still a stranger to Asia and, perhaps more importantly, to the scary world of travelling alone (*GAP YEAR FAIL*). So how I end up at MIKI’s school? (EDIT: hahaha, that was a typo, but it's suitably Asian, so it stays!) Well, bored one afternoon and wondering what I was going to spend my summer doing, I stumbled upon my university’s volunteering website. At first, I found nothing interesting listed for summer 2009, but I kept on ploughing through, silently hoping I’d stumble upon a diamond in the rough...
And there I saw it (*dramatic music*): MIKI’s listing! Finally, one that actually sounds interesting, amazing, like it could really... but wait? What's that? (*dramatic music cut*)... it was for 200
8? 2008?! But, that's like... IN THE PAST. Okay, breathe... just send them an email asking them if they're still taking applicants on...So, that's what I did. I can remember sitting on my bed writing out the message at midnight, knowing it was desperate, but hoping that someone would answer my prayers! And, the next morning, God himself, in the form of a slightly squat Asian lady named MIKI, flashed up on my Windows Mail: yes, desperate little English boy, we're taking on teachers for the Summer. We'll let you know.
WIN! Even then, just hearing from the school, I was stupidly excited …but then the days and weeks passed, until eventually it had been well over a month and I’d heard nothing. It's like in the films when the days of the month flash up on the screen and the clock runs at 100mph... while nothing changes. My head was saying that I was chasing a chimera, get real and give up, but I knew that I had to persist – so I sent the school another email "politely reminding" them of my original request, and was astonished when the clock stopped ticking and I got an ACTUAL REPLY! But not just a reply - a call for interview! :D
But, you curious people are surely crying out in dismay, what drew me to MIKI's School in the first place? Well, I could say it was fate, destiny, meant to be... but in reality it was just the free flights and my own mild case of Asiaphilia (if symptoms persist, consult your GP... unfortunately, my case was deemed "incurable"). Yes, growing up as a teenager, I’d always been interested in contemporary Asian culture (i.e. FAR EASTERN STUFF), entering secondary school as a rabid Dragonball Z fan (note: not a good way to make friends, only the "really sad" (i.e. "really cool") kids liked Dragonball Z), my interest expanded into other types of anime and manga, then bloomed lusciously into Hayao Miyazaki and Satoshi Kon films, peppered with a bit of J and K-pop for good measure (which still unashamedly makes up a good quarter of my iTunes library…:P)). So, what I'm trying to say is that it was the chance to live the life of someone to whom all those kind of things were everyday that got me hooked. And they ARE everyday here: Dragonball Z's ALL OVER the tele (well, all over CHAMP, the kids' channel, at least), and I even heard Super Junior playing in Dunkin' Donuts the other day! (Yes, even I couldn't resist the delicious Westernised win of donuts on a hot day).
And then, like I said, it was made all the more enticing by the fact that I wasn’t going to have to pay for the privilege (*SHAMELESS CHEAPSKATE ALERT*)... but that MIKI was actually going to be paying ME! Yes, I know it's too good to be true, but I checked the smallprint like a BAJILLION times and didn't find any catches! I'm just hoping I haven't somewhere sold my soul to the Asian sex slave industry, which is actually where my Mum thought I'd been shipped off to when I didn't email her for the first few days of being here (but then again, this is the woman that didn't understand the concept of North Korea and South Korea being TWO DIFFERENT COUNTRIES... *GEOGRAPHY FAIL*)... I think I'm safe for now! XD
... so that’s how I got here! Travelling three hours for a ten minute interview (eager beaver, yes) seems to have paid off, considering I’m now well over 5,000 miles away from home in Nakeseongdae in the heart of Seoul, sitting here writing this blog!
So, that's my story so far - I'm teaching English to three different classes (ranging from Y6 to Y11) 30 hours a week, which leaves evenings and weekends free to explore! Already in my first week I've managed to visit four of five of Seoul's "Grand Palaces" (don't worry, Gyeonghuigung, I'm coming for you next week, bitch!), which are all ACTUALLY PROPER GOOD (more to come on that one in a later post!). But that's not all, I've been shopping at Namdaemun and Myeong-dong (W60,000 that I don't have on a hoody? I think so!), managed to impress my boss with my exquisite use of chopsticks (...all the practice and YouTube videos paid off!), developed an addiction both to kimchi and Delimanjoo (YUMMM), experienced my first Korean Monsoon (...even being from England, that's some SERIOUS RAIN) and got lost wandering around Seoul and the subway network more times than I care to count! XD
So, that's me in a post! It seems to be like an unwritten code of bloggers to express their fears in their first post that nobody's going to read what they write, but let me just say this: I DON'T CARE. This is just a side-project for me to document my two months here, share my discoveries and give myself something to look back on when it's all done! So, I'll leave you with my favourite picture from the past 10 days (taken at Gyeongbokgung; yes, I know, I know, I AM an amazing photographer)...and here's to a happy blog...! :D
posted by stranger-in-seoul at 2:05 AM
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