Chapter 4. Baby Steps: A Fresh Start Abroad in Korea

2015 visit to Korea where I met with my former co-teacher Gloria. Old pictures have poor pixel quality

With my first experience at the school behind me and a better night’s sleep, I woke up ready for my first real day of school.

I was still uncertain about what I was going to be doing. I knew I had a desk and a computer, but that’s about all I knew. What would the kids be like? How does this co-teaching thing actually work? All of these thoughts were swirling around in my head that morning, but based on the grumbling of my stomach, the more important question was, what was I going to eat?

There was the sudden sound of the doorbell chime, which meant my co-teacher Jin Hee had arrived to take me to school. I opened the door and said hello, to which she responded “Richi Seonsaengnim, Anyong”. I had learned at least a few words so I knew that the word Seonsaengnim was the Korean word for “teacher”, while “anyong” was the less formal way to say “hello” or “goodbye”.

She asked me was I ready, to which I responded, “yes” as I grabbed my bag, put on my shoes and we headed towards the elevators. She asked me how I slept and I told her I slept ok and then she asked, “have you had your breakfast” to which I replied that I hadn’t.

As we left the building and turned right towards the subway station I could feel the warm, crisp air of the morning. smack my face. Oh right, it’s summertime. It was June and the weather in Korea is quite warm… much warmer than June in San Francisco. As we walked I could feel the eyes on me. There were so many stares. People literally stopped to look at me. Children pointed at me. It was so awkward.

We arrived at a corner just about 50 meters from the entrance to the subway station where there was sort of a central plaza. There were shops and restaurants all around the plaza and people were hurrying in and out of the station.

Jin Hee grabbed my elbow and guided me towards one of the shops that sold food and we walked in.