I have finally gotten a camera, and though they are not the most interesting of pictures, I have taken some of the things that I see on a daily basis. Just for a bit of a change, you know!
My apartment building. They call it "The White House", which I couldn't help but snicker at the first time I heard it.
This is my street. I still have no idea what it's called because they don't really seem to go by street names here. I know that it is in the Yong-am dong province, but I have no idea beyond that. I have written the address outside in Korean so that I can give it to taxi drivers though, which is pretty useful since I no longer have to tell them to take me to my school and then direct them from there, leading to confusion and annoyance.
This is the main street that I walk along everyday to get to school. This was taken from the top of the street and my road is at the bottom. As I have said before, it is not the prettiest of streets, but it is certainly a lot prettier at night when everything is lit up. Picture all those signs in neon lights.
This is the road that the school is on. I mostly took it to show you the apartment buildings in the background. These are the kinds of apartment buildings that most Guest English Teachers (or GETs, as we are referred to), stay. They are scattered throughout the city and all have numbers and signs on them, these being their only distinguishing features. Also, try to picture all of those trees covered in snow. Gorgeous.
This is the best picture that I could take of the school. It still didn'y fit into the frame. WonBong Middle School has around 1350 students spanning grades seven through 9. I only teach the grade 7's and 8's, but this is more than the other teachers do. Most of the teachers focus on one grade and one level. Cindy, the teacher who sits next to me, only teaches high level English to the grade 7's for example. Whenever the other teachers hear that I am having to teach for 22 hours a week, they all look concerned for my health (though this seems to be their general state of being) and announce that it's far too much.
This is a rock that sits at the entrance to the school. To be honest, I have no idea what it says. But I thought that it was pretty anyway.
And finally, these are two of my co-teachers, who have been absolute saints. Cindy has been especially nice, and I am thinking of buying her a gift as well as buying one for Kim (it is traditional to buy your main co-teacher a gift at the end of the first month, and I feel that Cindy has helped me almost as much as Kim has.)
My apartment building. They call it "The White House", which I couldn't help but snicker at the first time I heard it.
This is my street. I still have no idea what it's called because they don't really seem to go by street names here. I know that it is in the Yong-am dong province, but I have no idea beyond that. I have written the address outside in Korean so that I can give it to taxi drivers though, which is pretty useful since I no longer have to tell them to take me to my school and then direct them from there, leading to confusion and annoyance.
This is the main street that I walk along everyday to get to school. This was taken from the top of the street and my road is at the bottom. As I have said before, it is not the prettiest of streets, but it is certainly a lot prettier at night when everything is lit up. Picture all those signs in neon lights.
This is the road that the school is on. I mostly took it to show you the apartment buildings in the background. These are the kinds of apartment buildings that most Guest English Teachers (or GETs, as we are referred to), stay. They are scattered throughout the city and all have numbers and signs on them, these being their only distinguishing features. Also, try to picture all of those trees covered in snow. Gorgeous.
This is the best picture that I could take of the school. It still didn'y fit into the frame. WonBong Middle School has around 1350 students spanning grades seven through 9. I only teach the grade 7's and 8's, but this is more than the other teachers do. Most of the teachers focus on one grade and one level. Cindy, the teacher who sits next to me, only teaches high level English to the grade 7's for example. Whenever the other teachers hear that I am having to teach for 22 hours a week, they all look concerned for my health (though this seems to be their general state of being) and announce that it's far too much.
This is a rock that sits at the entrance to the school. To be honest, I have no idea what it says. But I thought that it was pretty anyway.
And finally, these are two of my co-teachers, who have been absolute saints. Cindy has been especially nice, and I am thinking of buying her a gift as well as buying one for Kim (it is traditional to buy your main co-teacher a gift at the end of the first month, and I feel that Cindy has helped me almost as much as Kim has.)
lovely
Nice! now lets see what your place looks like from the inside! No spring clean necessary, al natural!
Hahahahaha! Though my room is hardly the disaster area that my room back home was (what with far less stuff to throw around) it is nowhere near photoshoot ready. I will take pics of the apartment tomorrow - two of the teachers are coming over for a Korean lesson, so I will need to make the place presentable.