about your feuding room-mates. It sounds horrible. We all seem to be having trouble with accommodation. What about you Olga?’
‘I’m tempted to go back home.’ Olga said. ‘Marilyn told me about the letters you’ve written. I think Amos and I should do the same.’ She turned to Amos and explained that Marilyn and I had written letters of complaint to the Education Ministry and the Australian and American embassies complaining that our contracts were not being adhered to.
‘Would you really think of going home?’ I asked. Olga shrugged and grinned but didn’t give any further explanation.
Marilyn pointed at the three of us with the menu. ‘I’m telling you it is absolutely essential that we make formal complaints. As soon as there is an answer we need to go to Seoul and discuss this personally. I’m so angry at the way we’ve been treated.’
We were interrupted by the waitress. Amos then tried to change the subject.
‘Aren’t we supposed to be all happy and excited about Chuseok? You know, blue horse skies and all that.’
‘Wide horse sky,’ I corrected him.
‘You know about that, do you?’
‘You bet! Myong-Ai likes to clue me up on Korean culture. It comes from the saying The sky is high and the horse is fat.’
‘Which explains everything,’ said Amos, rolling his eyes at me.
‘Well it does explain why we are sometimes getting blue, cloudless skies instead of grey all the time, now that we’re getting close to Chuseok.’
‘What about the fat horses. Seen any lately?’
‘You idiot,’ I laughed. ‘It’s an ancient saying from the days when it was a sign of prosperity that the animals were well fed. Also the blue skies meant that travelling to reunite with family would be easier. So Chuseok is the time when everything changes for the better.’
‘Let’s hope it works for our accommodation problems,’ said Olga.
‘There’ll be another big change for us anyway,’ I said. ‘After Chuseok we start at the Teacher Training Institute. I’m looking forward to that. We’ll find out what it’s like this Wednesday, when we start our orientation at the institute. I think it will be all of us. Is that right?’
The others nodded, with mouths full of Friday’s’ ‘buffalo wings’ and salad. Olga held up a finger to show she wanted to say something when she finished swallowing.
‘I’m so looking forward to three days without being at the school with Jun ignoring me. It is three days isn’t it … Wednesday through Friday?’
We nodded.
‘It’s such a relief. I’ll be leaving early in the mornings, too, before Jun is up, and then coming back late.’ She laughed in her husky voice. ‘It might be enough to save my sanity.’
I was quite excited when Wednesday came around. I had a three kilometre walk to join the chartered bus, so I left home early.
During the hour it took the bus to reach the institute, high in the mountains around Daegu, I was plied with questions by the Korean teachers. There would be other western teachers, my friends among them, coming from other directions, but I was the only one with this group.
My first sight of the Teacher Training Institute filled me with awe. It was the only sign of civilization in an immense landscape ringed with mountains. Long flights of marble steps led to the building itself, with a covered pavilion half-way up, which reminded me of a Greek temple. The walk from the bus parking area left me breathless. A few others among the group felt the same. While the younger ones continued on, a few of us rested on the stone benches of the pavilion and got to know each other. One of the Korean teachers that I had spoken to briefly on the bus, introduced herself as Yu Un-Kyong, and we discovered that we lived near each other.
‘I’ll be driving here tomorrow. I have a trainee teacher observing my classes these days. She’ll be doing the intensive training course here so she’s included in tomorrow’s orientation – and Friday, of course. Today is only for graduate teachers as you know. So, since you don’t live far from me, you could come with me to save such a long walk and leaving home so early. I’d like you to meet Sun-Hi.’
I thanked Kyonga, as she had asked me to call her, and made plans to meet her in the morning.
As we started to walk further I heard Marilyn call my name and waited while she caught up to us. I introduced her to Kyonga and we found seats together in the great hall. There was a lot to take in, with several lecturers giving information on the purpose and aims of the program. I took masses of notes so I could digest it all later. It was all well organised, and I was confident that I would feel relaxed and enjoy working here.
At morning-tea break I sat with Kyonga and three of her friends. I’d already caught sight of Robert, who, it seemed, had not been sent to Seoul. Olga and Amos were listening to his usual complaints with glazed eyes and I decided to stay where I was.
‘Tell me about your trainee, Kyonga. What was she doing before? Was she teaching?’ I asked.
Kyonga included the group around us as she filled me in.
‘No, Sun-Hi is an English-language graduate but until recently she was working in the head office of a group of factories. She was unhappy with the way the factory workers are treated and this new program is giving her an opportunity to change careers. The retraining will be intensive but short. I think she’ll make a good teacher. She cares about people very much.’
‘What was happening with the factory workers that made her so unhappy?’ I was curious and couldn’t resist asking.
‘She will tell you herself if you ask her tomorrow. She won’t mind. The workers are brought in from other countries, very poor countries, and they work for very little pay. In the factory where Sun-Hi was working they are all women from the Philippines and they are exploited shamefully.’
‘She’s told you a lot about this?’ One of the Korean teachers asked Kyonga.
‘I already knew. I used to do the same job, working in the office of a different company. I also left and retrained as a teacher, myself. I had to do the regular college course, though. This opportunity wasn’t available then.’
Sessions were recommencing and we were called back to the main hall.
Next morning I was waiting at the arranged place when Kyonga pulled into the kerb. Sun-Hi introduced herself and was keen to talk about the problems involving the migrant factory workers.
‘I was so glad when I was accepted into this program. It gave me the chance to get away from all of that,’ she said.
‘It must have been awkward, trying to help when it would be going against your boss,’ I said.
‘Well, no. I didn’t do anything to help, I was afraid of losing my job.’ She looked embarrassed. ‘I pretended not to notice that anything was wrong. Locking away their passports was one of my jobs. I used to lie awake at night wondering how I would feel.’ She was quiet for a moment and then said, ‘The conditions they live under – something has to be done …’
She
