First Impressions

It's impossible to be at a different school and city in Korea without comparing the two. So far, I am really loving my new apartment, school and lifestyle, with no regrets about moving from Suncheon (yet... I mean, we're talking about first impressions here). Suncheon was a great place to be for the first year in Korea. There were enough foreigners around that you never felt super homesick - want to chat with someone in English, make plans for the weekend or just hang out? Walk down a few floors in Shidae Apartments, and you are there. That is certainly not the case here - although I've been able to hang out with JP, Jen and Alex, it means calling back and forth and making firm plans, then either scootering or cabbing it to their place. The "do drop in" aspect is non-existant here.

I do miss Suncheon (and I am so glad that I am going there on Friday to see a few people and pick up the last of my things).

But, for me, the biggest difference - and the most positive one - is my school. All last year, any conversation with me inevitably led to me complaining about my school, my co-teacher, my head teacher. I sometimes wondered if I was being difficult, if I was being a "whiny waygook" or if it was some problem between me and Korean culture. My friends would listen to me, but there wasn't much that anyone could do, and I know that they grew tired of my griping and moaning after a while (who wouldn't??). When they met Melissa, my colleague, they would ask her, "Is it really that bad?" as if I were exaggerating.

It was simply a case of attitude and atmosphere. The high school in Suncheon was probably a difficult place to work, for Korean teachers too. They put in overly long hours, and dealt with an administration (speaking from someone on the outside, looking in) that seemed less than supportive. This new school has more of a "family" feet to it. With only 120 little kids and maybe a dozen or so teachers, there is just a better vibe. But there are concrete things too: Last year, I finally had to demand to be taken to the Immigration Office to get my "Alien Registration card" - a necessity for any foreigner here - after having been in the country for over 2 weeks. This year, on my first day of school, my head teacher told me to go home and get my documents, we were going to the Immigration Office *now*. At my old school, I was a "burden" and "difficult". Here, I am a "good teacher" and "nice" and the principal (a woman) likes me.

On one hand, it is a matter of perception.... And probably a result of my own acclimatization to Korean culture... but this is what I think it boils down to. At my other school, foreigners (me or any other teacher) WERE difficult burdens - the Head Teacher even told Melissa that she didn't really like us being there, meaning that anything we asked about or needed was seen as an imposition. At this new school, that is certainly not the case.

As Nicola pointed out to me, though, "It takes two to tango, honey!". I know that if I'd started out here, I probably would not have had the same first impressions (small apartment, smelly streets, strange food....), but it feels good to know that, last year, it wasn't just me, it was them too.