Greetings from South Korea!

Welcome to my blog and greetings from South Korea! For the next 12 months, I will be teaching English to secondary school students as part of the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship program. My official title is Fulbright ETA.

The William J. Fulbright Scholar Program was founded in 1946 by Senator William Fulbright with the intent to foster diplomatic relations between the United States and the international community. The program is run by a Presidentially appointed 12 member board responsible for candidate selection and policies. The funds are appropriated annually from the US Congress and in the case of South Korea, funding is shared between the each country. According to the Fulbright website, there are approximately 30,000 Fulbright alumni who have participated in the program since its inception 60 years ago. This year, approximately 270 people applied to for my program, and 73 were accepted.

ABOUT MY PROGRAM

My year in Korea consists of a six week orientation program followed by a home stay placement that will be determined at a later date. Orientation is held at Jungwon University, a private college three hours south of Seoul:

The official Fulbright Banner that greeted us upon our arrival to Jungwon University

During orientation, I will be attending intensive Korean language classes for four hours a day, seminars on teaching pedagogy and cultural electives such as taekwondo and calligraphy.
Orientation is led by 6 Orientation Coordinators, who are former ETAs themselves. They lead the ESL teaching workshops, organize team building exercises between the ETA’s, and plan educational field trips. We also have a Resident Assistant who is a student that attends Jungwon. He is here to assist us with any problems we may have during our stay on campus. Since Jungwon is a private, more conservative school, men and women are housed in separate dorms. Interestingly, Jungwon just completed its third semester as a college, making it approximately a year and a half old. Nonetheless, the campus is breathtaking, with its majestic scenery and manicured grounds.

The main administrative building. The soccer field is in the foreground.

The soccer field!

The view from inside the Administrative building towards the front lawn. Although the floor looks wet, it is actually polished marble.

A cool structure on the campus

A random picture of godzilla eating a fish.

Landscaping at Jungwon

The administration building

We are also required to write about our adjustment to Korean culture, and discuss these thoughts and concerns with one of our Orientation Coordinators. For example, it is customary to remove your shoes before entering rooms, which is a lot different that custom in the United States. Although that might be an engaging topic to write about, I might choose to write about the ergonomic design of the bathrooms:

The shower head is connected to the sink, and the floor has a drain. There is no designated shower stall- you are expected to shower in the bathroom

While the shower situation may be interesting, I really enjoy my roommate. His name is Clint Fluker, and he is 24 years old. He is from Atlanta, Georgia, and attended Morehouse college. I look forward to getting to know him a lot better over the next 6 weeks.

Clint and I striking a pose

In our room, there is a dividing wall between my bed and my roommate's, which adds an element of privacy.

The dividing wall features moveable windows!

On the weekends, we will be visiting numerous sights around the province, including Seoul and the Demilitarized Zone. Overall, the program is very organized. It is very apparent that Fulbright will take very good care of us during the next year. To be honest, it feels a lot like summer camp for adults- we have counselors, name tags, itineraries, roommates, and curfews!
The program also consists of arranged meetings with important US Embassy officials throughout the year. One of the highlights includes a Thanksgiving dinner provided by the Official US diplomat to Korea for all the ETAs on my program. Other perks include access to the military APO shipping service at a reduced rate , quarterly stipends, a salary, and a subsidized cell phone service plan.

I am really excited to embark on my adventure during the next year in Korea. Thanks for reading and look out for the next post!