Teaching ESL, A Shorthand Guide

I wrote a "teaching guide" for the next native English teacher that will be at my elementary schools containing some general and some specific information about teaching in my corner of South Korea. I was so grateful for the letter I received from the previous teacher at Doam and I thought it could also be a helpful blog post.

Contents:
1. Classroom Set-up
2. Class Curriculum Notes
3. Games & Activities
4. Know Your Contract
5. Teacher Dinners
6. Happy Teaching

Welcome to Korea, A Shorthand Guide

More 'Type A' than ever before, I thoroughly enjoyed writing this "shorthand guide" to living in South Korea so much that I couldn't just give it to the new native English teacher - it needed to be blogged (parts of it anyway ^^). Geared towards prospective or new native English teachers, welcome to South Korea!

Contents:
1. Your Apartment
2. Helpful Technology
3. Official Business - Getting your ARC, Korean bank account, tax benefits, etc.
4. Contact Me

Thank You, Bus Drivers

The bus drivers here in Korea are cool, fearless, sometimes easily irritable, lay-on-the-horn type, and have a "I'm bigger than you" mentaility when driving. One of the city bus drivers I see more regularly has shocking white hair, wears aviators, and changes gears like he's flying a fighter jet. 

Red lights are optional and the bus drivers are, if possible, more anxious and impatient than the riders themselves to get where they need to go. Express buses to Seoul from my city, where seats are reserved (see below for online-iPhone reservation how to), leave the second the scheduled departure time rolls by. Leaving from Seoul, there's a great stand-by system that let people pay for seats of people who miscalculated their timing and don't get to the bus on time. When arrived at the destination, the express bus drivers stand outside the bus door and bow as each of us passengers get off. 

On the longer trips I've taken (to Busan and Seoraksan National Park), the bus driver has had a set of indoor driving shoes, driving gloves, and a suit and tie hanging behind his seat, you know, just in case. The level of professionalism and pride of ownership - I drive this bus - is so right. I've noticed in other places - taxis and public places like bathrooms and elevators - head shots of those in charge (the drivers, cleaners, operators and maintenance workers). It seems like a good system to me, one that says, "Hey, I'm here working and making life that much nicer for you." 

Spa Day: Visiting Icheon's German-Style Spa + Jjimjibang

The cold winter Saturday was a great day to spend at the spa. I'm definitely adding spas and jjimjibangs to my list of favorite winter activities, right next to drinking hot cocoa.

The Termeden Spa and Resort in Icheon is pretty impressive. A newer facility, it was like walking into a really rich person's house. The price reflected that - it cost 36,000 won (about 36.00 USD) to get in, mind you on a Saturday. But being 15 minutes away via free shuttle bus from downtown Icheon and the quality of the services, I would easily spend another Saturday there to rejuvenate.

 The free shuttle bus from downtown Icheon, near the Icheon Bus Terminal, took some digging to find. My friend was the one who knew about it, but it took searching through several travel blogs/unofficial spa sites to find out exactly where it picked up and what time. See below for timetables and details!

I wasn't positive I had the right bus stop, but I was feeling adventurous and decided to wait and see. I was 45 minutes early, but I had my iPod and a willingness to wait. Plus, there was and odang and fish pastry stand right next to the bus stop. Odang is a Japanese snack; I've heard it best described as a fish hot dog. Yum. Odang soup is one of my favorite soups we have at school. In the end, my patience paid off as a well-marked Termeden shuttle bus pulled up right on time and drove us to the Termeden.

Truly a resort, the Termeden includes a Korean-style spa (jjimjibang), a German-style spa (swimsuits please), an indoor swimming pool that extends into an outside one (complete with fountains, small waterfalls, caves, and water slides), a Korean-style sauna, Dr. Fish foot treatments, and places to eat, buy snacks, and go shopping. It was a lovely day. One of my favorite parts was lying in a pomegranate hot bath, outside, with snowflakes falling on my face. 

The Dr. Fish foot treatment was really cool. It cost 5,000 won for 20 minutes of having two different varieties of fish eat the dead skin off my feet and lower legs. It felt... slightly electrifying. It was like having gentle shocks or something all up and down my skin -- little vibrations. It was completely awesome. I was sitting next to a guy reading a newspaper whose son was squealing with delight at the fish tickling his skin. 

The whole spa-jjimjibang culture in Korea is something I know I'm going to miss a lot when I go back home. It is a family affair that the Koreans are just so chill about. Grandmas, grandpas, moms, dads, kids, old friends, new friends - the spa and jjimjibang are a place to relax, talk, and "cleanse your body and mind." The atmosphere is so comfortable with itself. Fun times and Vietnamese food afterwards!

Directions to the Termeden

A: Icheon to the Termeden:

1. Free shuttle bus (15 minutes; free): picks up at the city bus stop (the one in front of SC First Bank, or SC Foreign Exchange Bank) located across the street from the Icheon Bus Terminal

---> Timetable (to the Termeden): 8:20 / 9:20 / 11:20 / 13:00 / 15:00

---> Timetable (back downtown): 13:30 / 15:30 / 17:30 / 18:30 / 19:30 

2. Taxi (15 minutes from downtown; about 12,000 won one way): taxis situated everywhere around the Icheon Bus Terminal

B: Seoul to the Termeden:

1. Basic express bus to Icheon (1 hour; 4,100 won per ticket), then use the free shuttle bus or taxi service (see above): 

--> Timetable (from the Dong Seoul Bus Terminal; Subway Line 2, Gangbyeon Station): first bus 6:10AM, last bus 10:00PM (bus departs every 30-40 minutes)

--> Timetable (from the Express Bus Terminal; Subway Line 3 & 7, Express Bus Terminal Station): first bus 6:10AM, last bus 10:00PM (bus departs every 30-40 minutes)

2. Non-stop bus from Seoul to the Termeden, from the Dong Seoul Bus Terminal in Seoul (75 minutes; 5,100 won per ticket): I believe the bus leaves from Gate 26 

--> Timetable (to the Termeden): 9:20AM / 10:40AM

--> Timetable (back to Dong Seoul Bus Terminal): 4:00PM / 5:10PM

Traveling in Japan: The JR Pass + Other Transportation Options

I really enjoyed Japan. I was there for three full days, two days in Kyoto and one day in Tokyo. I believe in "passes" of every kind, having been spoiled in Madison with the Student Bus Pass, taking pride in my Paris Metro Pass, and refilling my t-money card every two weeks in Korea. Hence, getting and using the Japan Rail Pass was automatically a smart and exciting feature of my trip. 

Costing about 269 USD, the ordinary 7-day Japan Rail or JR Pass, paid for itself traveling to Kyoto alone.

Getting the JR Pass, Preliminary:

If you decide it is worth the money to buy a JR Pass, buy it online at least a week in advance to your trip, keeping in mind that a "JR Pass Voucher" will be Fed Ex-ed to you within two business days (watch out for holidays). Choose a reliable address to have the voucher sent to, as you will need to sign for it and will need it in order to get the actual pass once you land in Japan. 

Coming from Korea, I read that you may be able to get the actual JR Pass from various locations within Korea before traveling to Japan, the Busan International Ferry Terminal for one. I didn't research past that name-drop however. Also, if you prefer to pick up the voucher in person, checking with Japan Airline Travel agencies in Seoul is an option my friends took and were happy with. 

When landed in Japan, take your voucher to the nearest JR Pass Office (look for green) to exchange it for your very own JR Pass (hooray!). 

Getting to Kyoto with the JR Pass:

We flew into Narita International Airport; the JR Pass Office was easy enough to find and the personal there were excellent. I was really impressed with how pleasant public transportation in Japan was with a huge language barrier. There were bi-tri-perhaps-quad-lingual workers stationed everywhere to help guide in the right direction. I traveled through some pretty popular stations, Narita Intn'l Airport, Tokyo-Shinagawa, Kyoto Station, and Shinjuku Station. 

At the Office, I was asked for my voucher and passport. I filled out a small information card that was then sealed onto my JR Pass. The worker asked my destination and after printing out the tickets for my trip to Kyoto, she handed it all - pass and tickets - to me. So much power in one hand! I was really grateful and a bit surprised at how smoothly it all went. Explaining using the "manned ticket gates," where an actual JR worker okays your passage when entering or transferring stations, and small tips for the trains, I could have kissed the woman she was so nice. 

Going from Narita Airport to Kyoto required two trains and two tickets. First, we took the Narita Express Train (N'EX) from the Narita Airport to Tokyo-Shinagawa (55 minutes). From Shinagawa, we took the Shinkansen-Hikari train directly to Kyoto Station (161 minutes). 

Getting to Tokyo and then "Home" with the JR Pass: 

From Kyoto Station to Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, we stopped by the Kyoto Station JR Pass Office and again got our tickets for Shinjuku directly from the JR Pass worker. I also asked to reserve a seat on the N'EX from Shinjuku Station to Narita Airport for my flight the next day (70 minutes). Narita Airport has two terminals, Terminal 1 and 2. I just checked online for the terminal number of my flight. 

Other Transportation in Kyoto & Tokyo:

The All Day Subway Pass in Kyoto cost around 7 USD and came in handy; you all know how I feel about passes but money really well spent. We did a lot of walking, too, which was fantastic. Kyoto is an excellent city to walk around in and stumble upon the many parks and temples (it was stumbling for me following the more directionally gifted members of our party). BUT, totally accessible city by foot. 

The sheer number of bikes available for rent (around 1,000 yen or about 10 USD a day) was something I loved about Kyoto. People biking everywhere on really great-looking bicycles with baskets attached to the fronts. My dad, mobility manager and biker extraordinaire, would have been rightfully geeking out. We talked about renting some bikes, but the cold got the better of us. 

We took a taxi to our traditional Japanese dinner at Kodaiji Doi, which is near the Kodaiji Temple. The amazing staff at our inn Ohanabo Ryokan set up everything. They called and made arrangements for our pick up and return home. It cost around 10 USD one way.

I was only in Tokyo for a day and bought two single-ride subway tickets for 190 yen each, or about 1.90 USD. The One-Day Subway Pass would have cost around 6 USD. The JR Pass would be valid only on trains operated by Japan Rail (there are several railway companies), so definitely check if your JR Pass can get you where you want to go. There are different types of single-ride and transfer tickets (varying prices), which depend on how far you need to go. We ended up going to the Ginza area from Shinjuku.

--

Perhaps my dad is rubbing off on me or perhaps it's just the fact that all this was continuously running through my head as I checked maps and train schedules; either way, "respect," good public transportation. You're wonderful. More personal accounts of Japan to follow ::

Some helpful sites:

Japan Rail Pass via Japan Guide 
Hyperdia: searching Japan's train & aviation timetable