OMG I LIVE IN KOREA NOW!!!! Part 2: It's wonderful!

The training has begun. Chungdahm is doing everything it can to emphasize how freaking sweet they are compared to the other Hagwons in Korea. So far, I’m buying it. I like the methodology and the basic principles we’ve addressed so far. My Master’s seems to be helping. I passed the grammar test!! I also feel like most of the stuff we’ve covered so far is either review or a concept that is closely related to something I already know. One thing that’s crazy to consider is the business aspect of the company. It’s different to look at student retention as a business issue, but it’s definitely the case here.

The best part about training is meeting the other teachers that are here doing the same thing. The variety of backgrounds is really impressive. There are about 17 of us; we are mostly Americans, with a South African, an Irishman, and my Kiwi roommate. We had our first few hours of training, followed by our medical exam. It was insane. We all went into the Korean Medical Institute. We were handed keys to lockers, told to put on these crazy Asian style scrubs and ushered around by women with clipboards. I got a chest xray, a blood draw, a blood pressure test, a hearing test, an ekg and a bunch of other tests. It was so confusing and insane. I never really knew what was happening or what was about to happen, just that another woman with a clipboard was calling my name. It was hilarious and awesome.

After the medical test, a bunch of us went and had Korean BBQ. I had soju for the first time. It was great to bond with a bunch of others, as well as check out Korean BBQ. There are several Korean Americans in our group and few that have been here for a while learning Korean. It's great to have people who know what they are doing. Everyone is really cool and interesting, so I'm excited to continue to hang out. 

Moral of the story, I am so happy to be here. I love Korea so far, I think work is going to be great and the people are awesome. It's so great to feel like I made the right decision by coming here. You all have to come visit. It's great. Unfortunately, I'm not at the top of my game. I promise to be way more clever and interesting in the near future. And I'll post pictures.