Placement Ceremony

Photo by Alex Suryapranata

It happened. The moment I have been waiting for since I was notified about being a Fulbright Finalist. I now know where I will be for my grant year here in South Korea. We had the placement ceremony today, and it was a lengthy process. First off, we had no idea when we were going to be called up, so all of us were waiting, wearing our professional clothes, so we can go up to the stage. I know I was sweating. As the weight got longer there just seemed to be a buzz of anxiety in the room. It was an odd feeling. It reminded me of junior year when my classmates and I were waiting to find out our student teaching placements, except on a much larger scale. Once our names were said, we had to collect our slips of paper, bow to Director Shim as a show of gratitude, and then place a flag note on a big map of Korea where our placement it. Luckily there were OCTs there to help us. I don't know Korea's geography very well.

So as the fourth group that got called up, I am proud to say that I have been placed in Hwacheon (화천군) in the Gangwon (화천군) Provance at Hwacheon Elementary School (화천초등학교). I don't know yet what grades I will be teaching, but I know that I could be teaching anywhere 3rd-6th grade. There is also another ETA that has been placed at the school with me, so I'm assuming we're going to split two and two. That would be really nice. There are also three other ETAs that have been placed in the same area. In the picture to the left, we are the little collection of color at the top of the map in the green portion.
From what I have heard about from two previous ETAs that were placed in that area, it is really lovely, and they both had a delightful and gratifying experience. I'm excited to get in contact with my Co-op and start planning!

Hwacheon is a small military town, really close to the DMZ. Less than 100 students per grade, so that is really nice. It's also a rural area with lots of farmland and mountains, and there is a river that goes right by my school. I can't wait to see the land and to meet all of the people there. Now I just need to improve my Korean skills, and I can do just that. I am really excited to experience the next year of my life. When am I ever going to be able to do this again in my lifetime? I'm going to take it one day at a time, experience South Korea as much as I can and try and get as much as I can possibly get out it.

Korean Learning

One thing about orientation that I was both super excited about and terrified of was Korean Classes. The first day we were here, fresh off the plane, we had to take our Korean Placement Exam. I felt so lost. I aced the hangul (한늘 Korean writing system) part, but I had a lot of trouble with the rest of the test. Somehow, I was placed in low intermediate, however, and that is where the fun began. I love the class because it is challenging, but it is tough when the 선생님 (Teacher) is speaking so fast to us in Korean. It's the first week down though, and I feel good. I have a massive support system here and lots of people to help me. My roommate is even in the same class, so it's super convenient. So far, we have learned about greetings (we had to record a video of it!), numbers and money, as well as some grammar points that are more important. We even got to play a traditional Korean game where you roll these sticks. It was off but a lot of fun.


We have also been spending a lot of time learning about the Korean culture. We had one workshop that was titled Korean spirit and culture. The speaker introduced us to a bunch of Korean history and about King Sejong. We even were taught the correct way to bow during the holidays when the younger members of the family bow to their elders. I also got to try on a hanbok. It was oddly comfy. I am having so much fun learning all about the culture and the language. I am really excited to teach.

First Days of Orientation

It's hard to gather into words the feelings that I am having right now. Excitement, nervousness, anxiousness, happiness, sadness, thrilled. It is the end of day two, and I feel like I've been here for a week at least. I think not sleeping for over 24 hours, and the 14-hour flight has something to do with that feeling, but the Orientation Coordinators really like keeping us busy. I've already attended several Korean culture and language workshops as well as had my Korean language placement test. I managed to get placed in the intermediate level class. I'm still not entirely sure how I pulled that one off.

The Korean food here has been impressive. I had not had any experience with Korean food before, so it has been really cool trying different things, even if I have no idea what it is. Even more fun is trying to pick it up with the chopsticks. I have tried so many different foods since getting here, and despite the spiciness of some dishes (a lot more than I want), I have really enjoyed it. The picture is of my first breakfast here.

Regardless, it has still been awesome to be here. As soon as I get past the jetlag, I can begin experiencing South Korea. I can't wait to see what orientation and my grant year has to offer me.