Stranger in a Strange Land: Welcome to Korea

I landed in Seoul on August 22nd. 11 months ago from this day. I instantly noticed the differences from Thailand. Seoul being much more developed seemed almost futuristic compared the the cities of Bangkok or Chiang Mai.  All newbies who were here to teach English had to spend 1 week in Suwon, South Korea for orientation. This is where I made some good friends including my orientation roommate Evan Thompson.  After a week of  orientation /quarantine we were shipped off  to go to our respective schools and districts.  Seoul has a population of 10 million people in the city limits; the metropolitan area holds about  25 million people. According to some sources Seoul is the 2nd largest metropolitan area in the world.  Therefor on August 28th  we all piled into 11 different buses and were sprinkled throughout the masses of Koreans

I arrived at my district and was met by Sue (one of my Korean co-teachers) and the Vice Principal. They drove me to my  apartment where I dropped off my bags.  We then headed to my school. After thinking I hit the jackpot with an apartment that exceeded my expectations  (much larger then what I expected for Asian standards) I arrived at my school. It was there that I realized that coming to Korea was the right choice.

I work at Yangmyung Elementary School.  You can check out the school's website here.  My classroom is brand new complete with an interactive electronic smart board, drama stage, mini library and a computer area designed to look like the inside of an airplane.  Here are some pictures.

Teaching the 6th graders with Hanna (my other co-teacher)

Everyone passes through immigration upon
entering the English room. 

I work for the S.M.O.E which stands for  the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education.  They are apart of the Ministry of Education which is the educational branch affiliated with the Korean Government.  Check them out here. 

My classroom

I love my school, my co-workers and the students I teach....(most of the time).  I'm the only foreign teacher at my school. There are about 40 other people on staff (and they are all Korean). We have about 500 students at my school. Being the only native English teacher among 540ish Koreans is a challenge that makes each day an adventure.