Where I've Been and Where I'm Going

So this time last month, I arrived in a foreign land, feeling incredibly apprehensive and uneasy about the upcoming year.  I left behind a cushy routine in exchange for uncertain circumstances outside my control and comfort zone.  One month in, I can't say that I'm an expert in Korean culture or language.  But I feel that I've regained a sense of direction and clarity amidst these strange surroundings.  No longer do I feel overwhelmed by the daunting duties that await me or the vast unknowns that I have yet to explore.  More and more each day, I feel confident that I can steer my life in the direction of my choosing.  I can only imagine what these next 11 months have in store for me.  But I'm ready to take on whatever challenges come my way.  아자아자 (Fighting! I can do it!)

More about where I'm going.  So as you regular followers know, last Thursday I received my placement for the year.  Since then, I've learned quite about about my future stomping ground.  I will be teaching at Daejeon Dunsan Girls' High School, which is located in the heart of the metropolitan city.  With 1700+ students, the school is extremely large by Korean standards.  However, I will only be teaching 300-500 of them a semester, so there's a good chance that I'll be able to remember all my students names (at least, I hope so).  According to the school website, Dunsan was named one of the top three high schools in Daejeon for 2010 and has a mentoring program with KAIST University, a.k.a. the M.I.T. of Korea.

Since the classes are separated into distinct levels, I'll be able to create lessons to meet the students' ability level and interests.  But of course, that means that lesson planning will consume much of my time, as I may not be able to reuse lessons for different classes.  Unlike most of my friends, I have a wealth of information about my school, as Dara (fellow Smithie and ETA) lived in Daejeon and some of my peers went to my school during the second week of Orientation for a site visit.  I have heard nothing but positive things about my placement.  According to Dara, my school is in an awesome neighborhood and according to my peers, the co-teachers are helpful, the students are sweet, and there's an English Cafe, where students can spend cafe dollars that they earned for good behavior.  Needless to say, I don't think I could've asked for a better placement.  Here's a photo of my school!

Home to many research institutes and science universities, Daejeon is known as the Silicon Valley of Korea.  It also is the center of transportation, where the main expressways and railways conjoin.  Riding on the KTX bullet train, I can be in Seoul in 55 minutes and there is no where in mainland Korea that I can't reach in two hours.  Simply, the location cannot be beat!  Perhaps the only thing more exciting about my placement, other than the geographical location, are the people that I'll be spending the year with.  Aside from myself, there are 4 other baby Fulbrights placed in Daejeon, some of whom are my closest friends here.  In addition, there are 6 renewees (people who decided to stay in Korea for a second year) in my city.  The fact that all these veterans chose Daejeon as their home, speaks wonders the awesomeness this city.  Take a look at this map of the KTX lines.  You can visibly see that Daejeon is the most interconnected city in Korea.

 

Slowly but surely, Orientation is coming to an end.  In exactly 15 days, I will be packing up my bags and leaving for Daejeon.  I can't wait until stressful language classes are over and I'm able to get a routine going in my new city.  But it's going to be tough to leave all the amazing people that I've come to know during Orientation.  It's such blessing to be surrounded by 86 other Americans who share many of the same interests and passions that I do.  It has surely made my adjustment to Korea much easier.  However, the real test will come when we are distributed amongst our respective cities and we can no longer rely on each other to get by.

Up until now, our actions have been carefully calculated and watched by the Orientation team.  Yet in two weeks, we will go out on our own, like little birds that leave the nest for the first time.  The purpose of this brutal Orientation program is to set us up for success and ensure that our untried wings will carry us through.  At this point, it's tough to swallow the fact that our days as a unified group are limited.  But as they say, birds of a feather flock together, and distance can hardly stand in the way of lasting friendships.