Expat Community

Bucheon is a city of about 900,000 people. As best as I can tell there are roughly 200 expats living here. Though that does not represent a significant portion of the population, the group seems both active and tight knit. Being a foreigner, especially one that does not speak the local language can be very intimidating. Over the summer I read Exile and The Kingdom by Camus which is a series of short stories about various people facing a variety of exiles and the subsequent effect that this has on them. After three days of not having any significant lingual contact with anyone, I cannot say that I did not start to feel a sort of kinship to the characters that Camus created.

On Saturday I decided to explore Bucheon in hopes of finding some other native English speakers. They all seem to congregate in the shopping center of the city which happens to be just three or four blocks from my apartments building. My experience in the states is that people usually make bonds and friendships based on comminalities. As an expat, there is an instant shared experience with all other expats. I have met about 10 expats here so far and have plans to meet up with another 4 this week. I have found, to borrow from a tagline from Radiohead, meeting people is easy. My experience with expats this weekend has extinguished my greatest fear about coming here and I feel much more at home.

I also had my first full day at school today. It feels good to be working again and I am getting excited about teaching English to my students. I had a nice conversation with the school principal today who has asked me to start an after school English club. They are the last public school in the city that does not have one and from what I gather the different clubs compete for the honor of being the best in the city. Much like in the states, some students are very enthusiastic about learning while others express little to no interest. This club should be a good opportunity to spend time with those who are truly excited about learning the English language as it is completely voluntary.

I have a million more things to say, but, through a miraculous facebook find, I am headed out to watch the Giants game now and don't want to miss kickoff. I know I have promised photos but have been very preoccupied and have yet had a chance to take many. I will do so in the near future. Until then, no that I miss you all but am well and in very high spirits.

Mike