The School for Athletics

My first week was a bit tiring but exciting as well because you introduce yourself to the students. I was little surprised when my co-teacher at Seongam Elementary told me that I’m teaching at a middle school on Thursdays. But the problem was how to get there. My co-teacher drew me a map and told me which bus to take and I would have to walk a little bit to find the school. Thursday came I took the bus but it took me twenty minutes to figure which bus to take. My co-teachers told me a bus but not specifically which bus could take me to the school. I asked someone which bus will take me to a specific place and he was nice enough to show me. Of course I asked him in Korean which was lucky for me I could ask a question. I got on the bus but it was packed with middle school and high school students, which was not all that comfortable. The bus was nice but too crowded. I thought to myself, should I really take a bus every week? It was ok but such a hassle. I got to school and I was greeted by what I assumed was my co-teacher. It turned out it was m co-teacher. She could speak English which was nice. Her name was Young Soo. She said I would be teaching one class of seventh, eighth and nine grades. I didn’t know what to expect from my first class but I was sure it would be interesting.

First, my co-teacher introduced me to the staff of the school including the vice principal and principal. There was a teacher for several sports including a cycling, track and field, fencing, wrestling, weight lifting, taekwondo, judo, swimming, and many more. They were impressed that I was a swim coach back in the states. They said I should coach the swim team at this school. I laughed because I think they were serious. After meeting the staff, I was shown to my office desk and I was given a rice cake and coffee. They treat you very well here. I’m so grateful to everyone for everything they have done to make my time here as enjoyable as possible. My first class was seventh grade class 1. I was greeted by many students in the hallways but in the classroom it was different. Lol Since it was a physical middle school, there were no textbooks or curriculum they had to complete. It was interesting and a little difficult to comprehend. The school was specifically for athletics which made my job harder as an English teacher.

However, I showed them a presentation of myself and they were very interested in me their teacher. I told them where I was from and what my likes were and then I asked them to answer similar questions with their classmates. Some participated but others either slept, didn’t pay attention or just creating trouble. Lol it was fun though learning that this school was not a normal school. So seeing students unmotivated to learn was a given. They did however like my presentation very much. And I got all kinds of question. First it was my age they were asking me about and then if I was single or not. Then they asked me how tall I was and finally if I could sing in Korean. I thought that was hilarious. After the first class it was similar with eighth and nine grades. However, almost every class I was greeted with an, “oh very handsome.” Lol even guys said it.

Some of the older yeohaksaeng, girl students, said I have a beautiful nose. I’m not really sure what that means but they made me laugh. These aren’t your average students. These are serious athletes that withstand intense training and some in my classes are national recognized athletes. Kind of crazy if you ask me but they really like that I was an athlete as well. Some of the swimmers at the school challenged me to a race. But when they heard how fast I was in the past they changed their minds. These are middle school kids. Another student asked to arm wrestle with me. Now that was interesting. The guy was big and strong so he won. I had lost a lot of muscle since my college days. I used to weigh around 215 lbs but not anymore.

This school is very nice. The facilities are great. I mean the track looks like a national level one and the swimming pool is Olympic size, 50 meters. So Anderson is nothing compared this facility, lol. I want to swim in it sometime this year. They said I might be able to swim there. The food is amazing at this school. I mean you have so many choices. You get to help yourself to the food. In other words, teachers can have as much food as they want. I never go hungry at this school. After lunch, there is always some sort of snack, like decorative rice cakes. All I know is that they gave me lots of food. I would say I made a great first impression at this school as well. After my first day, my co-teacher offered me a ride to and from the school so I don’t have to take a bus anymore. It’s great. And with classes, I have the freedom to teach whatever in English so it’s interesting.