Do you remember that feeling you got on the first day at a new school? You don't know any of the faces you see in the hall, you wonder if people are already judging your every move, you have no idea where to sit at lunch and you'd honestly prefer to sit in a bathroom stall like they do in the movies. You're the puzzle piece that just doesn't quite fit. It's a feeling most of us would love to readily forget.
Now take that feeling and stir in a dash of language barrier, a sprinkling of profession you weren't trained to do, and a dollop of good old fashioned culture shock. You've just made one terrifying casserole. I knew my first week as an EPIK teacher would be a like this, so I was somewhat mentally prepared when I walked into school for the first time last week. But there were a few things all my googling couldn't prepare me for.
1. Formalities ain't just formalities here. Korean culture places a lot of importance on status and hierarchy. I knew coming into Korea that age was everything. Age = wisdom = power = respect. I'm all for that. I was prepared to bow extra low and use the "yo's" at the end of my Korean sentences (if you know you know). I wasn't prepared to learn the extra formal way to say hello, 안녕하십니까 (annyeonghasimnikka), which I sorely regret. Tbh I still don't know exactly when I'm suppose to use this as opposed to the standard formal hello (there are so many layers to this stuff, guys). I wasn't prepared for the mass amount of decorative plants gifted to the principle and vice principal. Was I suppose to gift a fern? Who's to say. I did hand out little pastries as gifts, but maybe they're sitting in their offices bemoaning my lack of ficus delivery.
2. School lunches hit different. I might dedicate a whole other post to this, because it's genuinely
mind boggling how good these school lunches are. You hear "school lunch" and you think bland pizza, soggy steamed veggies, and a fruit cup. Not here, no siree. We get kimchi, bulgogi, crab soup, fried squid rings, plum tea, the list goes on and on. I will get fat here, and I'm not mad about it.
3. Milk? When I was about to walk home at the end of one particularly confusing and stressful day at
school, one of the teachers suddenly stopped me and exclaimed, "Oh, do you want to buy milk?" Milk? Um, what? Seeing the confused look on my face, he began to try to explain that every teacher was
presented with the option of buying milk each semester for about 40,000 won ($40 USD). At one point I asked him if the milk was a gift for the students, and I'm almost certain he said yes. In which case, I already messed up with the lack of plant gifting, so I had to buy this milk gift, right? I even asked him if he was opting to buy said milk to gauge the significance of this decision, but he said no. My co-teacher, who had been listening in on this conversation, was eyeing me the whole time with a look I thought to mean, "You better buy this dang milk." But something must have been lost in translation. After tentatively accepting the milk proposition, the next day I was presented with one small carton of milk after classes were over. I got another one the next day. And the day after that. I've gotten a single carton of milk to take home every day. I think I just bought myself a lifetime supply of milk.
4. Overwhelming cuteness. We all know kids are cute. But man oh man, these kids are unbearably adorable. Most of them have never met a foreigner before, and so they act like I'm a celebrity. They gasp when they see me in the halls and yell, "HI TEACHER!" They are fascinated with what music I like, what shows I watch, and they lose their minds when they hear me say a word in Korean. I better watch out or it'll go to my head. Also, they are all obsessed with mint chocolate chip (A.K.A "mint choco"). Hands down every class has asked if I like mint choco. It's a crowd favorite here, apparently.
Notice a trend? The unexpected parts of my first week were mostly positive, and the things that weren't were at least very comical. Sure, there was one night I cried in my apartment for a few hours because I had to plan six lesson plans and didn't even know what lessons the plans needed to be about. But almost every day of my very first week as foreign English teacher, I've come home smiling. I like teaching. I like learning all the tidbits of another culture. I like saying a new word in Korean and having my Korean coworkers gasp in surprise and delight.
I still feel like a fish out of water. I'm still the brand new 9th grader navigating high school for the first time. But I'm not scared of that feeling. I think that feeling will stretch my comfort zone and make me more confident when facing the unfamiliar, the unknown. My puzzle piece is slowly starting to fit into place. I'm excited to see the picture I'm apart of.
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