Chuseok

Chuseok is the Korean thanksgiving holiday and it provides a nice little break in the middle of September. I got three weekdays off. So with the weekend, it was five days free from work.

COVID-19 cases were elevated at the start of Chuseok but the government loosened social distancing restrictions during this holiday time to allow for more family gatherings and to relieve some of the financial pressure on businesses.

With about 80% of the COVID-19 cases centred in the Seoul area, residents of other parts of Korea requested that those from Seoul not travel for fear of spreading the virus around the country.

As for me, once again I decided to stay close to home and forgo any travel. Just about every day of the holiday, I walked to Dadaepo beach, enjoyed a latte in a cafe, and relished my free time. I prepared a few of my lessons for the coming weeks to get ahead of the work. After Chuseok, most of my classes will be in-person so I won't have as much time for lesson planning during the workday.

While visiting the beach, I spotted a heron in an adjacent wetland and spent a few minutes observing him pluck fish from the water. 

We had a few severe rainstorms during the holiday and got caught in a windstorm on my way home. My umbrella was blown inside-out.

The holiday flew by and before I knew it, I was back at work finishing off the week. I had only 3 classes on Thursday and Friday, so my return to work wasn't too painful.

Predictably, there was a spike in COVID-19 cases due to the movement around the country during Chuseok. We actually saw a record high for the daily COVID-19 count on Friday. Then, the new record was shattered the next day on Saturday with over 3000 cases for the first time in the pandemic. The previous record was 2200 in one day. 

Pfizer Vaccine #2

The day had finally arrived for my second covid-19 vaccination. Originally scheduled for three weeks after the initial shot, a two-week delay pushed my vaccination to September 11th. Once again, I received the Pfizer version.

I had plans to meet my Korean co-teacher and we would walk together to the clinic. The meeting time was 9:50am. At around that time, I get a text saying she'll be there at 9:55am. She had slept through her alarm. Our appointment is at 10am. Again, shortly after that, she sent another text saying that she forgot her identification card and that she was running home to get it. I was to meet her at the clinic instead, even though I wasn't exactly sure where it was located. I ended up walking past the building but found it after some backtracking.

At 10:15am, we were signed in, temperature checked, and seated in the waiting room, which was much more crowded than during our previous visit. My worries of having missed my chance at a vaccine because of my Korean coworker's tardiness were unwarranted.

I was helped to fill out the required forms, and our identifications cards were not requested. Eventually, we were called into the doctor's office for a brief interview before the vaccination. The doctor remembered me from last time. Although I didn't understand much of the interview, I believe the doctor asked about allergies, reactions to the previous injection, and other such questions.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the injection room. A nurse was shouting, calling for the doctor. Nurses and the doctor rushed into the room. I saw a woman go down and then laid flat on a bed. They applied an oxygen mask and raised her legs. The nosy people in the waiting room gathered around until the nurses pushed them back. A young woman in her 20s had apparently fainted.

The mood instantly changed in the waiting room. People were concerned, and quiet. My Korean co-worker, who was already nervous about the vaccine, had a look of extreme consternation. If she could've bolted, I'm sure she would have dashed for the door and not looked back.

When calm had been restored, we were called into the injection room. The woman who had fainted was still there, lying on the bed, her eyes closed. I received my injection without incident. We were required to wait in the room for 10 minutes before leaving. It was awkward sitting so close to this semi-conscious woman laying on the bed. There were several others in the room waiting for their 10 minutes to expire.

I was observing another woman who had received her injection just before me. Her back was turned, but she started to sway back and forth on her stool. Just as I expected her to faint, the nurse came by and spoke with the woman. She said she was having trouble breathing and then she went down. After reviving her, the nurse and doctors helped her to the bed. All this happened right in front of me. There were now two women, who were injected within moments of my shot, laying on beds recovering from their fainting spells. This certainly doesn't help with vaccine confidence, but I had seen plenty of people become faint after donating blood in Canada, so this was nothing new for me.

We left the clinic and my Korean co-teacher insisted that I buy some Tylenol in case I experienced any symptoms after the injection, even though I initially refused. The Tylenol cost 2500 won but I didn't use it. I was completely fine. I even felt better than after the first vaccine.

My Korean co-teacher on the other hand told me that she was feverish for three days after receiving the vaccine and her arm was in great pain and she struggled to move it. I had heard that other people had difficult symptoms, especially after the second vaccine, but I was lucky, I guess.

After about 2 more weeks, the vaccine should take full effect and I will be as protected as possible from COVID-19. It's a great relief because I have waited a very long time for these vaccinations. COVID-19 cases in Korea are up, but the city of Busan remains relatively unaffected with only 49 confirmed cases today.

This week in Korea

Monday:

Two seconds after I arrived at the boys' school in the morning, a cellphone is placed in my hands. It's a call from the first-grade teacher with whom I have five classes today. She took the covid-19 vaccine and her entire body is in pain. She won't be able to come to school today, and is it alright if I teach the classes alone? Five classes of middle school boys? Alone? Sure, why not? But I wouldn't be alone because this school, unlike my school last year, takes seriously the policy that foreign teachers must have a Korean co-teacher in the classroom. So, throughout the day, various English teachers and one non-English teacher give up their free period to join my class on Jack and the Beanstalk for the first graders. Having the Korean teacher in the classroom helps keep the students' behaviour in check, so while exhausted, I didn't have too much trouble teaching today. Several boys refused to read during the assigned reading time, but that is nothing new.

Tuesday:

I had received a month-long schedule from the boys' school indicating which classes were to be online and which were to be in-person. I was fully expecting my third-grade classes today to be online. When I was leaving school yesterday, I chatted with a student who casually said that he would see me tomorrow. I thought our class would be online tomorrow. 'No', he said, 'all students were to come to school from now on.' So, none of my teacher colleagues had bothered to tell me about the change. If I hadn't heard about it from the student, I would've shown up with an online lesson. Online classes and in-person classes are very different. For one, I need to have more material and more activities for in-person classes. If I hadn't spent my evening revising my lesson, I would've been short during my classes. It goes without saying that it is completely unacceptable not to tell me about this change in advance, but this is Korea, and this is how it goes.

The staff washroom is next to the faculty office. The men's room has two stalls and six urinals. When exiting the washroom, one must open the door, then visit the common sinks/mirrors in the hallway that are shared with the women's washroom. Just after the first period, as I was opening the door to the men's room, a student came out. He was carrying two hefty, overflowing handfuls of used toilet paper. He walked past me and deposited his waste in the garbage bin in the hallway beside the sinks. He did this, but not before he accidentally dropped some soiled toilet paper on the floor. He walked away without noticing the shitty wad of toilet paper he left in the hallway. I don't know what the hell was going on with that student. We can flush toilet paper down the toilet here. I was disgusted and taken aback, but at least he washed his hands in the sink, which is more than I can say for some of the teachers at the school.

Wednesday:

Today, I taught in-person classes at my main school for the first time since mid-July. I had a first-period class with grade three students. They were tired, sleepy, and sluggish. I was in front of the class, not getting a reaction. Students stared at me in silence. I felt my body get hot and sweaty. When there is no cooperation from the students, things are very awkward in the classroom. When I asked students directly to answer a question, they knew the answer, for the most part. But they chose to avoid participating unless I pressed them. Second-period was slightly better as the students started to wake up from their sleep-deprived stupor.

Well, maybe it wasn't a time-of-day thing. My sixth-period class of second-graders was not engaged in the lesson at all, either. The Korean co-teacher interrupted my lesson to chew out the class and try to get them to participate. I poured my energy into the class, and without getting anything in return, I am left depleted and sore. My day is finished.

Thursday:

Thursday was pretty uneventful, thankfully. I did have four classes spread evenly throughout the day, so I didn't get much work done for next week's lessons. Teaching is so exhausting that I just like to relax after a class, but unless I have a few free periods, I don't get much work done. Friday is usually a shorter day, so I should be able to finish up my lesson prep before the weekend. 

Thursday evening, I had a Zoom online call with friends from Japan. There were four of us on the call this week. We usually chat every Thursday and it's a nice opportunity to catch up, and for the Japanese folks to speak English. It works out well because we are in the same time zone, they in Japan and I in Korea.

Friday:

I taught three classes today. Again, the first-period class was challenging because the students were barely awake. The Korean co-teacher stopped the class to give a pep talk. The students weren't responding to my simple yes-no questions, like "Are you ready?" After the talk, they pepped up a little, but it was still awkward. My other classes were pretty good. My third-grade class on Friday has one student, a smallish boy who is very fluent in English and his good attitude is infectious. He actively participates and encourages the others to try as well. It's amazing the effect one student can have on the class. 

One of the teachers had a death in the family. When this happens to someone, they often provide a small edible gift for the teachers as thanks for the support they've received. I received this box of traditional Korean desserts on Friday, which were delicious and filling like a meal. 

"Usually it is illegal to go out during working hours"

This week, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, I am working at my main school. It's an unusual week because all of the students are studying online for these three days. Since May 2020, at least one of the three grades has come to school for in-person lessons, but not this week.

Many of the teachers at this school have their second COVID-19 vaccination appointment scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. Originally the second vaccination was set for two weeks prior but was delayed due to supply issues. It was decided that since teachers are being vaccinated on Wednesday and there are potential side effects from the vaccine, all lessons will be held online. Also, all teachers (except for me) can work from home this week.

About 5% of the faculty came to school on Wednesday. Naturally, without students and teachers, lunch was not served in the cafeteria. When this happened before, either because of holidays, inclement weather, or COVID-19 issues, staff were free to do what they like for lunch. Some teachers pack a lunch, while others go out to one of the nearby restaurants. I would typically go home and make my lunch there. It's only one minute away.

I received a text message from my co-teacher at 7:20am this morning explaining that lunch will not be provided for these three days and I should bring a lunch from home. She would bring milk, bread, eggs, and apples. She wrote, "usually it is illegal to go out during working hours." 

Of course, this was very surprising to me because I didn't know all those times I went home for lunch, and the faculty who had gone out for lunch, were doing something illegal. Not to mention that 7:20am before school was an unreasonable notice for something like this. I bought an egg sandwich and cookie at the convenience store on the way to work.

Come lunchtime, and just as my co-teacher was asking me what I brought for lunch, another teacher approached and asked if we wanted to go out for lunch together. I also saw several teachers grab their umbrellas and leave the faculty room. On a rainy day, it doesn't take a detective to conclude that they were going out for lunch. I guess going out for lunch was not so illegal after all.

While in a bad mood, I ate my cold sandwich alone at my desk, and then later walked throughout the school just to verify that teachers weren't eating together in the cafeteria or library. Some teachers had stayed at school while most others had gone out.

It was then I decided that I'm going home for lunch tomorrow, "illegal" or not.

I'm sure it was some kind of misunderstanding or more likely the natural neuroticism of my co-teacher, but I will not be stuck at the school while other teachers are allowed to go out to eat. Not going to happen. This is a hill I will die on.

After losing a night's sleep being angry and anticipating a confrontation the next day, I went to school and worked all morning. I did not pack a lunch.

I worked at my desk throughout the morning, waiting until lunch to assert by right to leave the school with the other teachers for lunch (when lunch is not served at school). About 30 minutes before lunch, my co-teacher left her desk beside me to work in the English room. As lunch approached, I supposed that I would have to have the confrontation after lunch if my co-teacher wasn't around when I left to eat.

Two minutes before lunch, I received a message from my co-teacher saying that she was in the English room. I was welcomed to eat with her there or I could eat at my desk. This is where I made my stand. In my return message I thanked her and said I was going home for lunch. 

Only a day ago, she wrote to me that going home was "illegal" and I had to stay at school during work hours. Yet, there was no confrontation. She merely said, "have a good lunch and be back by 1:20pm (when the lunch period ends)."

I suppose she realized that she was incorrect about the "illegality" of leaving school when many teachers left school grounds the day before. End of story, problem solved, victory for me.

I went to a restaurant beside my home for takeout. The restaurant was full, so I stood outside and waited for my food. In the fifteen minutes that I was waiting, I counted 12 teachers and staff leave the school for lunch. How in the world did she get the idea in her head that we weren't allowed to leave the school for lunch? 

She had previously given me other weird and wrong advice throughout the year, such as the bogus requirement to avoid showering after a vaccine, wrongly saying I couldn't join a gym, etc. I'm not sure, but I think she is so hyper-afraid of getting into trouble that she interprets anything and everything as a potential violation and tries to stay on the safe side of school policy. Naturally, she tries to prevent me from this imagined trouble, even if it is totally unnecessary and inconvenient for me. Never have I regretted disobeying or disregarding her wacky directives.

Tutoring for a Speech Contest

I got a text one day from my friend, the former math teacher at my school to meet for coffee. He has a student at his new school that is preparing for a speech contest and hoped that I could help in the preparations. I wasn't sure what he was expecting me to do, but I agreed to meet.

The student was a first-grade middle school girl who was involved in the 4-H Club, which the math teacher was leading at their school. They were a little short on the details, but I understood this to be a speaking contest for 4-H Club members across South Korea, and the speech was to be about the student's experiences with the club. Of course, the speech was in English, and video recorded from their home because of COVID-19 restrictions.

The math teacher ordered and paid for our drinks while I chatted with the student. She was a very impressive student with exceptional English skills. I'm sure she does well in all of her classes because she is very dedicated, organized, and driven. She's also a really nice person and it was easy to communicate with her. She explained that she had been studying English since she was in kindergarten and she wants to be an interpreter when she grows up. In the evenings, she attends a language academy for further English study, and her teacher there happens to be another Canadian. Needless to say, this student was quite advance and spoke English with skill and not a hint of the Newfoundland accent of her academy teacher.

Immediately, it was clear that the student wanted to record me reading her speech so she could listen to my pronunciation and then practice herself. Instead, I thought I should first review her speech and correct any obvious errors. She had the speech typed out and it was seriously long. It needed to be under five minutes, and I'm sure it was well over that mark.

I corrected a few sentences that were clearly weird Frankenstein constructions made from Korean being forced through an online translation tool. But really, the speech was very well written. I don't think any of my students, even from higher grades, could write so well. She spoke about the fun activities the 4-H Club does at her school and the many new things about nature that she has learned this year. The student and her club members take care of potted plants at the entrance of their school as well as a vegetable garden. Guest speakers discussed insects with their club and they learned about natural Korean foods and how to make tofu.

After making and explaining my corrections and giving lots of praise for her work (I was really impressed), she recorded me reading the speech with her cell phone. Even in my native language and using natural speed, the speech was too long. The math teacher recommended some cuts to ensure that it was below the 5-minute maximum. 

Minor editing aside, I think my main contribution was to encourage her to speak with excitement and to use various gestures. I had coached speech contests in Japan once before and the kids that did well were animated and excited. Most of the kids strain and struggle to remember their lines, so anyone who can speak more naturally and looks like they are having fun will do well. When I saw the video later, it was clear this Korean student took my advice to heart.

Our tutoring session ended with a series of "thank yous" and "good luck". The math teacher drove the student away, but not before he asked a former student who happened to be in the cafe to take our picture. I guess when you've been teaching for a long time, you run into your former students everywhere.

My visa does not permit me to tutor students for payment outside of school, so any help that I provide is strictly as a volunteer and more for the social outing.

A few weeks later, I was invited to dinner with the math teacher. Again, short on details, when I arrived, I saw the student was to have dinner with us as well. In fact, it was a celebration dinner because her video entry to the speech contest had won her 1st prize amongst middle schoolers in South Korea (4-H Club members) and 2nd place in the combined middle school / high school competition. She truly is exceptional to achieve such a high honour in a national contest.

I watched her video and it was amazing. She spoke clearly and enthusiastically. She used gestures, facial expressions, and expressed emotion really well. All in all, it was an outstanding effort.

We went to an authentic Japanese restaurant near her school. They served Japanese-style ramen, Okonomiyaki, fried pork cutlet, and potato croquette. I hadn't realized how much I missed this food until I ate the real deal. Most of the Japanese restaurants near my home serve sushi and aren't really Japanese.

It was a nice dinner that the math teacher paid for, but it was a little rushed because of the COVID-19 restrictions. After 6pm, people can eat only in groups of 2, so we three needed to finish by 6pm. Afterwards, we went to a small cafe and the student bought me a coffee to thank me for helping her with her speech. I'm sure she would've won even if I hadn't helped, but it was a sweet gesture.

There are a handful of students I've met here in Korea that are truly remarkable. Remember, they are middle school level and can speak English near-fluently, have an interest in learning as much as they can about western culture, and have big dreams for the future. Sometimes, I feel sorry that their lives revolve around so much schoolwork, but somehow, they find a way to excel and be really inspiring kids.

A Doctor's Visit

When packing for my new life in South Korea, I brought as many skin creams and ointments that I could fit into my suitcase. I have medicated creams prescribed by my doctor in Toronto and I didn't know if they'd be available in Korea. Any extras that I had, my mom sent in the mail last year. After a year and a half, I finally ran out of my prescription. I needed to visit the doctor in Korea for a refill. On the off chance that I couldn't get my medication or an alternative, I'd be in for an uncomfortable few months until I could return to Canada.

My Korean co-teacher had located a skin clinic across town and we arranged to meet on Thursday morning during summer vacation. I waited at the designated bus stop, but when she arrived, she said there was a new skin clinic in our neighbourhood, only a ten-minute walk, and we would try there first.

We arrived at the skin clinic as it was opening. Dr. Lam's Skin Clinic, read the sign in a very modern clinic on the third floor of a standard office building. We entered my name and information onto the sign-in sheet, and the nurse punched it into the computer. My name was added to the waiting list on the tv screen about her desk. After only 10 minutes, we were called into the doctor's office. My Korean co-teacher did all of the talking.

My Korean co-teacher spoke with the doctor for all of 2 minutes. He looked over my empty skin cream containers and wrote a prescription. One cream was not available in Korea, he said, but prescribed an alternative. We bowed to the doctor and left his office. At the front desk, I paid about $5 for the consultation with the doctor, which was remarkably cheap even though he didn't look at me, let alone examine my skin.

We went to the pharmacy in the same building to fill the prescription. They looked at the doctor's form, shoved it back at my Korean co-teacher and said, "We don't have that." We tried to get more information on where we could find the medications, but they were unhelpful. There were several other pharmacies in the area, and we set out to find one that would help us.

We found ourselves at a new and small pharmacy occupied by a very young female pharmacist who was assisted by an older lady, who we would later learn was the pharmacist's mother who sometimes helps out at the shop.

This pharmacist was incredibly helpful. She spent considerable time researching and searching on her computer for my medication. She told us that the prescription that the doctor had provided for one cream wasn't comparable to what I had from Canada, and probably wouldn't help me. She recommended another cream. We would have to go back to the doctor and ask that he change the prescription.

I was worried that the doctor wouldn't be receptive to having his prescription questioned by a pharmacist, especially such a young pharmacist. I was expecting him to be offended and angry. My co-teacher asked that I wait in the lobby while she spoke privately with the doctor. After a few minutes, she came out with a new form for the new prescription.

I asked her what she said to the doctor to convince him to change the prescription. She told the doctor that his original prescription hadn't worked for me before, so I'd like to try what the pharmacist had recommended. Not exactly the truth, but this is how things are done in Korea. I admire my co-teacher for her gumption and ingenuity.

We returned to the helpful pharmacist with the new prescription. I learned that nowhere in Busan was my prescription available, but it could be ordered from a nearby city and expressed delivered by the next day. 

The whole adventure including the repeat visits to the doctor and multiple pharmacists took about 2 hours. The skin creams were quite expensive, totalling about $140 dollars, but with the employer-based health insurance,  I paid only $20.

I returned to the pharmacist the next day and was greeted warmly by her and her mother and collected my skin creams. 

It's always an ordeal visiting the doctor in Korea, but this time it was successful with the invaluable help of my Korean co-teacher. Without a doubt, I couldn't've communicated with the doctor and pharmacist on my own.

Pfizer Vaccine #1

After months of worry and waiting, I finally received my first COVID-19 vaccine, the Pfizer version.

For some time now, the elder population of South Korea along with medical personnel and other key professionals have been eligible for the vaccine. This phase in late July and early August was the time for teachers to receive the vaccine, and I was at the tail-end of the phase. Appointments for my age group started a few days after I received the shot, so basically, I got the vaccine a few days earlier as a teacher than I would've in my age bracket.

The appointments were made online and foreigners across the country had trouble setting their appointments due to technical problems and other factors. Luckily, my Korean co-teacher made the appointment for me, so I didn't even have to worry about it. She went above and beyond. Since it was a first-come, first-serve system, she stayed up until 2am to make the online appointment. She made our appointments for Saturday, August 7th during summer vacation.

The vaccination site was at a small clinic only a 10-minute walk from our school. My co-teacher asked me to meet her at the grocery store at 9:30am and we'd go together to the clinic. As I waited outside the grocery store at 9:30am I got a text message, "Let's meet at 9:40am."  

At 9:42am I saw my co-teacher approaching. On the short walk to the clinic, she explained that I wouldn't be able to take a shower for a few days after the vaccine because it could cause a skin rash. I guess this happened to her friend or she heard it on the news or something. I simply responded "uh-huh." She also explained that I wouldn't be permitted to use my topical skin cream for a while because it "interferes" with the vaccine. Again, I responded, "uh-huh, sure." She said she'd verify with the doctor. 

We arrived at the clinic, removed our shoes and placed them in the shoe cupboard and put on a pair of incredibly small guest slippers. We filled in some forms that my co-teacher helped me with, took our temperature and had a seat. Quickly, I was called back to the desk. Something about being a foreigner. Changes were made to my form, then we sat again and waited. 

After only a few minutes, we're called into a consultation room with a doctor. My co-teacher and the doctor proceeded to have a conversation that included showing the doctor a bottle of my skin cream. I didn't understand much but knew that I was asked about any allergies that I might have. 

Next, we moved into another room. There are already four people in the room who had received their shot and were waiting the required 20 minutes before they could leave. Without much to do, my co-teacher and I were called in turn to sit behind a curtain where a nurse administered the vaccine. I barely felt the needle go in. A small bandage was put on my shoulder. Easy-peezy. My co-teacher immediately looked sick and pale.

During our wait, my neighbour came into the room and got her vaccine immediately after us. It was a strange coincidence that she was there. She works and lives in my building and helped me sort out a water leak once. She and my co-teacher spoke for a while in Korean.

When it was time to leave, I asked my co-teacher to explain what she learned from the doctor about "showering" and "using skin creams that interfere with the vaccine". The doctor had told her that showering was "fine" and using skin cream was "unrelated" to the vaccine. Good thing we checked with the doctor or else my co-worker's wackadoo opinions would have prevailed. 

My co-teacher and I had plans for after the injection but she said she felt like vomiting, so we postponed our plans.

I checked on my co-teacher the next day. She was feeling better but had some arm soreness. I was basically fine. I felt tired and had a slight headache at first, but I recovered quickly.

Our appointment for the second shot was automatically set upon making the first appointment. We were to report to the same clinic at the same time exactly 3 weeks from the first appointment. Well, that was the plan anyway. We just received word that because of a short supply of vaccines, our second appointments have been pushed back by another two weeks. Instead of August 28th, our second injection will be on September 11th unless there are further delays. I just want to get it over with and have the peace of mind of being fully vaccinated.