First Week

Well, I finished my first week here in Daejeon. I'm REALLY going to like it here.

First, let me address work. My hours in class each day are from 4:30 - 10:30pm, with a requirement to clock in by 4:10. Yes, that's only a little over 6 hours/day of teaching. I do have to do prep as well, but I can do that whenever I'd like. Usually, I come in an hour or so early everyday to get everything ready. I'll talk more about teaching in a separate post.

Now, as to fun... I've found that I live about halfway between two of the "best" areas of town. A few blocks to the front of my apartment is Dunsan-dong, which is one of the more affluent areas of Daejeon. This is where the school is located. About 4 blocks behind my apartment building is Time World. This is the section of town that contains the majority of the trendy clubs and restaurants-- including the "western" (meaning non-Korean, not "country and western") clubs.

One thing about the Korean culture that I've mentioned before is that it is VERY communal in nature. It's normal for people to go out for dinner and drinks and sit at the restaurant for several (3 or 4) hours talking. Restaurants and clubs are open until dawn, as those who go out for the night often spend the entire night chatting with their friends. Since classes at the school don't begin until 4:30, and other english schools starting at similar times, it's common to see various teachers sitting in a bar or restaurant until 4 or 5 am, particulary on the weekends.

This past weekend there was a group of about a dozen teachers that spent most of the weekend together at various restaurants/clubs--usually about 8 of us at a time. At one restaurant we ate "shabu shabu". Shabu Shabu is basically a large pot of boiling broth into which you add fresh vegetables (onion, bok choy, mushrooms) and beef to cook. When you're finished with the meat and veg, you're brought homemade noodles that are then added into the pot to cook.