Last Days in Korea


I was hoping to post this earlier, but haven't had Internet access at the places I've been staying.  Here is what I wrote almost two weeks ago:

I am sitting at a Starbucks in Seoul with a bit of time on my hands before I head out to the Philippines, so it seems like a good time to write a blog.  Unfortunately I can't get Internet access so this might not be posted for awhile.  The last week has been hectic to say the least.  Last Wednesday my replacement arrived and I showed her the ropes for three days.  My coworker, Matt, is also leaving so there were two new teachers to train.  My schedule was broken up between the two, with one getting the bulk of my morning classes and the other most of the afternoon ones.

Both the new teachers are women from England.  I don't know if I feel good or bad for James, the only remaining male!  All of the Korean teachers are female too, and the school will also have no Americans on staff (simply because of the size of the US it tends to be the most represented nationality for foreign teachers here, although on relative terms I have met many more Canadians and Brits).

Robyn (can you guess which one!?) with my former Yale class

From Wednesday through Friday the new teachers observed many of my classes and I tried to explain the details of the job without overwhelming them too much.  I can remember how much new information there was when I first arrived.  Not just at school - add in moving to a very different country, your new apartment, health checks at the hospital, etc - and it is a lot to take in!

On Friday night I went to a Casino with a Canadian friend of mine.  Unfortunately there weren't cheap poker or blackjack tables.  The minimum for the poker buy-in was $200 and the cheapest blackjack table was $100 a game!  There was a more reasonably priced Roulette table, but it was packed.  I tried out the slots only to lose $40 in short order and swear that slots suck.  I've never been a fan of them but it was my first time in a casino and I wanted to play something.  A few pushes of the buttons at a machine to try your luck is okay, but I can't understand how or why people spend hours at a time staring at a slot screen, pushing a button, and (more often than not) losing money.

The Seven Luck Casino in Seoul

On Saturday morning I taught the extra class at the university, although only two of the five students were there.  We had class for less than an hour and a half, then grabbed lunch.  Not bad for two hours pay!  Saturday night I met up with my language buddies to play poker and celebrate the last time we would meet before I left.  I've gotten to know a those guys well over the past few months and hope we can stay in touch and meet up again.  One of them is heading to Thailand in February and we will try and cross paths if I'm in the area.  Not surprisingly Saturday turned into a long night, and I got the subway back home in the morning.  I slept away most of Sunday and started packing preparations in the evening.

Gold Bar in Sincheon, one of our popular spots

From Monday to Wednesday the new teachers had training at the head office, so it was nice to have a break from the observations.  One of the Korean teachers ended up in the hospital (I'm still not sure why exactly), so the others had to sub for her during our breaks.  She still hasn't come back but luckily they found a temporary replacement who will also come on full time at the start of the new school year in March.  Monday night I went to the gym for my last workout in Korea, and Tuesday evening I met my university students for one last *class*.  Well if you call going out for dinner and drinks class!  They wanted to celebrate and have a good sendoff, which it was.  They also bought me a Korean football jersey, which was an awesome gift.  I had a bit too much soju, but made it home by a reasonable hour (1 am is early here!).

Representing Korea with my jersey in the Philippines

By Wednesday it still hadn't really sunk in that I was leaving so soon; to tell you the
truth it still hasn't totally hit me.  Maybe it won't till I'm on the plane or in the Philippines.  I said my goodbyes to all of the students and took pictures (I'll put some on the blog).  I packed and cleaned more Wednesday evening, skyped with my mom, and got some needed rest.  Today has been eventful too; I'm certainly glad I had an extra day.  I couldn't have fit a trip to the post office (to mail a package back home), to the bank (transferring money to the States), and to the national pension office (for pension reimbursement) into my schedule this past week.

Now that all those chores are out of the way I can relax here for another hour or so.  I'll meet a friend for dinner, after which I will catch a bus to the airport.  My flight leaves at 7:30 am tomorrow, so maybe I will find a good place to sleep, or maybe just wait to pass out on the plane!  I'll certainly be tired but may not be able to sleep with the excitement - adventure awaits!

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