Yongin-Shi. 40 miles south of Seoul at Joy Academy. 
October, 2005.
I'm working on reorganizing the school curriculum right now. For those who don't already know, Asian English schools rely on translation, instead of learning the actual English. All the textbooks written for Koreans by Koreans have more Korean in them than English. So...I'm researching and restructuring. I hope to make a difference in my little corner, at least. This is my beginner class. They are adorable. Many Korean children go to an English kindergarten, so some know quite a bit before they come to us.
When eating in Korea, be prepared to find squid (which tastes pretty good depending on what dish you find it in), sweet pickles as a side dish, and corn in everything (even on pizza!) I'd always thought Koreans were mainly vegetarians because the ubiquitous side dishes are mostly veggies of some sort. But they like meat more than any place I've ever been. I had some sweet and sour pork the other night to absolutely die for. Barbecue (not at all like American BBQ) and fried chicken restaurants are rampant.
The people I've met here are wonderful. Thoughtful and generous. I received a present from one of my students called a 'pooneh' mask. It's supposed to bring women good luck. Someone is always trying to feed me, so it's a good thing I've joined the gym at my apartment (a whopping $140/year!)
I'm afraid I'm something of a novelty here. You see many Americans up in Seoul due to the American military base being situated there. Even though Yongin isn't really very far away, it's an entirely different world. Non-Asians are not so prevalent here. Adults try not to stare. Children, however, stare, point and laugh. When I try to talk to them, they scream and run away. It's hilarious. I was at Wal-Mart (the cheapest place to buy groceries, I'm afraid) the other day and caused a cart collision. I guess you can't guide your cart and stare at the same time.
Most people know a word or two (or more) of English and want to try them out on me. They get really tickled with my few words (I'm learning more every day) of Korean and my pronunciation. Many of their consonants are hard to imitate. "B" is somewhere between "B" and "P," similarly are "T" and "D," "S" and "Sh," and they have no "F" or "Z." "L" and "R" in Korean are sounded differently depending on the following vowel, so we have to practice them a lot. My biggest problem is the fact that most Korean words end in a vowel, so they add a vowel to the end of a lot of English words; ie. lunchee, essa (for "S"), etc. We get quite a giggle out of it in class.
October, 2005.I'm working on reorganizing the school curriculum right now. For those who don't already know, Asian English schools rely on translation, instead of learning the actual English. All the textbooks written for Koreans by Koreans have more Korean in them than English. So...I'm researching and restructuring. I hope to make a difference in my little corner, at least. This is my beginner class. They are adorable. Many Korean children go to an English kindergarten, so some know quite a bit before they come to us.
When eating in Korea, be prepared to find squid (which tastes pretty good depending on what dish you find it in), sweet pickles as a side dish, and corn in everything (even on pizza!) I'd always thought Koreans were mainly vegetarians because the ubiquitous side dishes are mostly veggies of some sort. But they like meat more than any place I've ever been. I had some sweet and sour pork the other night to absolutely die for. Barbecue (not at all like American BBQ) and fried chicken restaurants are rampant.
The people I've met here are wonderful. Thoughtful and generous. I received a present from one of my students called a 'pooneh' mask. It's supposed to bring women good luck. Someone is always trying to feed me, so it's a good thing I've joined the gym at my apartment (a whopping $140/year!)
I'm afraid I'm something of a novelty here. You see many Americans up in Seoul due to the American military base being situated there. Even though Yongin isn't really very far away, it's an entirely different world. Non-Asians are not so prevalent here. Adults try not to stare. Children, however, stare, point and laugh. When I try to talk to them, they scream and run away. It's hilarious. I was at Wal-Mart (the cheapest place to buy groceries, I'm afraid) the other day and caused a cart collision. I guess you can't guide your cart and stare at the same time.
Most people know a word or two (or more) of English and want to try them out on me. They get really tickled with my few words (I'm learning more every day) of Korean and my pronunciation. Many of their consonants are hard to imitate. "B" is somewhere between "B" and "P," similarly are "T" and "D," "S" and "Sh," and they have no "F" or "Z." "L" and "R" in Korean are sounded differently depending on the following vowel, so we have to practice them a lot. My biggest problem is the fact that most Korean words end in a vowel, so they add a vowel to the end of a lot of English words; ie. lunchee, essa (for "S"), etc. We get quite a giggle out of it in class.
1 comment:
I found your post while looking for references to "Joy Acadamy" - can you please provide more information as to where you were recruited? Also any information about the company would be greatly appreciated.
Post a Comment