Round 2 - Fight!

No fighting involved.

I've been back in Korea for a little over a month now. So far things are going well. Long story short: it's nice to be in a workplace that isn't comically fucked up. Now I'll give a rundown of my general situation:

Where I Work:

I'm working at another hagwon. It's called Mokdong SLP. Mokdong is the neighborhood, and SLP stands for Sogang Language Program. Sogang is a university in Korea, and this hagwon chain is affiliated with it. It's a larger school with around 14 foreign teachers and 25+ Koreans on the teaching/education-related staff (librarians, assistants, managers, etc). I'm not sure on the exact enrollment numbers, but I'd guess around 750 students total, ranging in age from 4 to 13-14.

As most of you know, I had a pretty awful experience with a hagwon last time around. Little kids are still annoying at times, but the majority of my troubles last year were the result of awful management and a hostile work environment where communication was extremely poor. In that respect, things are much, much better now. My current work environment is pretty friendly and supportive, and the educational side of things are pretty organized. The curriculum is surprisingly good for most classes, and there are very clear expectations of what you need to do. If you need help, you know exactly who to talk to.

Is it my dream job? No. Like I said, little kids are annoying at times. Also, 6 full hours in the classroom each day is a bit of a grind. There's not really time to make the curriculum your own or devote equal attention to all your classes when it comes to adding new activities.A lot of people don't realize that teaching has a performance aspect to it... it might be comparable to giving a sales pitch non-stop for 6 hours, or leading a tour group, or something else people intensive that requires a clear message to be communicated and engaging activities. All of that said, so far it's turned out pretty good. The days go by fast and I work with some really great people.

Where I Live

I made the move to the big city this year- Seoul, the capital of South Korea, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world. I wanted to have more opportunities to study Korean (more on that later) and give big-city life a shot (I was young in San Diego and Phoenix is awful at being a big city... 'manpile of suburbs' is a better descriptor). I've also got friends in and very close to Seoul, so that's another reason.

The particular part of town I live in is called Yeongdeungpo-gu, Yangpyeong-dong. I live right around the corner from Seonyudo Station (Line 9) in a medium-sized apartment building. It's about a 15 minute walk from my workplace. I've got a nice spread this year and lucked out in drawing one of the school's larger studios. Being this close to the subway is great, and I'm also really close to the very convenient and central Line 2. There's lots to do nearby- Yeoido Park, Seonyudo Park, Hongdae (area near Hongik University with loads going on), etc. Overall I'm really happy with my location this year, but at times the crowds in Seoul can be a little much.

My Studies

First off, I've completed my TESL Certificate from NAU and have recently been admitted to the MA TESL program there. In the spring I plan to get some practicum credits done and hopefully conduct a study related to accent/dialect perceptions of young EFL learners. I'm really happy with how my graduate studies have gone so far. I plan to be back at NAU for the Fall '11 semester after I finish my year here. Also, a couple weeks ago I met up with one of my professors at a conference here in Seoul- oddly, it was our first in-person meeting as I took his online course in the summer.

Secondly, I'm trying to ramp up my Korean study. I'm taking classes on Tuesday and Thursday nights after work in the previously mentioned Hongdae area. There's a Korean language school called Ganada (translates to roughly "ABC" in English) that offers evening classes. The location is really convenient; I can get there in about 20-30 minutes after work. It's a bit heavy on the lecture side and a bit light on speaking activities, but it's certainly helping with vocabulary and grammar. I try to read and study vocab in my free time, and I do hear a good bit of Korean everyday. I need to focus more on actually speaking Korean myself; I feel that I'm not taking full advantage of the opportunities I have.

I'm considering signing up for one of the university evening programs in the winter, which would be 3 nights a week. I'll have to see how things are going at that time.