FIRST FEW DAYS

It is thursday night. The last two days I have practically lived at school. I have spent over 12 hours a day there. They say it gets better in a few weeks to a month. Sam, the trainer came wed. my first day of teaching. that was good, because I did not have a good time teaching 5 (canadian age 4 and one 3) year olds. I teach this class at least twice a day. Monday I will teach them five classes (40 min each) in a row (includes lunch) because my Korean co-teacher can't make her classes. Wed I taught eight classes. Sam was there for three classes. I am learning the students, but not very good yet. Once I get to know them I will do better. Sam says I am like a teacher who has been there for a month or so. I really hope that is true. Because I missed orientation, and I have no idea how the system works.
I am slowly learning it, and tonight I started to read the book that explains it. Everything makes more sense. I know why I have to do certain things. The hard thing is knowing the age for each group I teach because I just have the books I need for each class at each time and I do not know the kids that go with the books or time yet. There are some kids who are there everyday, and some only Mon, Wed and Friday and some Thurs and Tues.
I love planning and teaching, it is just so time consuming. Tuesday night I went for supper with the teachers as a goodbye for the girl I replaced. There are six korean teachers and five foreign teachers. I haven't finished unpacking because I have to clean everything, so hopefully this weekend I will finish. Sat I am going to korean class at a church with another foreign teacher.Yesterday I did my first grocery shopping. Have you ever tried to buy food you don't recognize and is packaged in a different language? not easy though I managed to find cereal!!!!!!!!!!!!! and milk and there is a bakery on the corner of my apartment, just across the street where I got some buns (korean buns are sweater and not so heavy and smaller. really good). Today I only taught three classes, but I was at school from 8:45am-8:45pm except around lunch because I needed to go to the medical center for tests for my alien card. So I took a bus and subway here by myself. the subway is easy. i got lost trying to get out of the station on the way back to find my bus stop. i had to phone the school and eventually figured it out. Subway signs are in english, buses have no english so that was tricky.
I went to a better grocery store on the way home from work (I got lost! I need to pay attention to where i am going still). I bought a salad and banana's and crackers. I also bought bathroom cleaner. Our showers are movable taps that are just sitting in the bathroom. they do not believe in stalls (except for on occasion and even then you do not have a shower curtain). My whole bathroom is a shower. I am not sure how it works completely yet. I have to squeege down the whole bathroom after every shower, at least the bathroom is not to big.
Well, that is my life right now. It is a bit overwhelming, but i love it. my co workers are so nice and i am sleeping really good. no jet lag. Probably because i did not have time for it, and i barely slept the 48 before i arrived.I take my umbrella everyday because you have no idea when it will rain. it does smell different, part of that is the fish and food, part is the sewer. the bathrooms smell like outhouses because they do not flush their paper. well that is about it. hope it is not too scattered, i am going to bed now. i left work because my brain was not working. but i need to be up at 7 again.