Korazy Korea

Highlights of the morning:

*Took about an hour to figure out where I and my school are on Korean google maps (only accepts Korean characters) but I did it and drew little maps and it really helped since I didn't have anyone to show me around. Very proud of myself!

*Woke up at 5 am for no freaking reason. So I watched the movie Miss Potter. It was cute and kind of sad. Not to self: don't start off day with a sad movie.

*Moving day is Korazy! Photos below. Guess that's what makes sense when you live on the _ _th floor and the elevator is the size of a coffin... ok I'm exaggerating but too small for furniture.

*I bought a succulent plant. I think its a Aeonium ciliatum but I'm not sure... It's precisely the plant I wanted to start off with for my balcony. It reminds me of Val's garden in Huntington and mine in Philly. Emily brought me 3 there but the groundhog ate at least 2 if not all of them? So this one is my new baby.

*Shopped at 2 very small grocers and 1... I dunno what. Bought wall hooks.

*Bought some awesome pastries and bread at "Paris Baguette". They are all over the place here.

*The soy milk brand I've tried so far is delicious!

*Signed up for a DVD rental place without a phone number and the guy didn't speak English. (apparently I lucked out, the other teacher tried a couple times and they wouldn't let her rent) So now I can obsessively watch movies in Korean (like finding Nemo) like I did with French!

*I was warned of the rudeness of Koreans to foreigners and "the stare" they give to foreigners but so far I think it's a bunch of hogwash. Sure they look at me but I would too. It's natural to look at someone that is different. And as far as rude... perhaps the people who say that have never been to a big city. People here are no different than Philly, New York, LA, Orlando, etc, etc. Some are very nice, and some aren't. Whatever! I don't need shop keepers to kiss my butt.



















School:

Well they told me I would be shadowing a sub teacher since the one that sort of trained me yesterday is now gone. But no. I was basically on my own the whole day though I only had to teach 4 out of 8 class periods because of PE and some being canceled. The teachers did help show me where the classes were and gave me quick instructions before going and some a couple minutes into the class but I pretty much have to dive in head first to this whole teaching thing. Though I was left a month's worth of lesson plans which is more than most get from what I've heard so I'm thankful. I think I'll get the hang of it. I think I can be a very good teacher. :)

Some kind of sad news for me is that I might have to move in a month or 2. Since there is a taxi commute after the school merger, when before it used to be walking distance, my boss is looking into selling mine and the other 2 teacher's apartments and getting us places closer to the school.

This concerns me because
A. I don't want a place worse than this one.
B. Now I feel like I can't really settle or get too bonded with this place. Which is what I was planning on doing in the next few days.
C. I don't want to be further from the mountains. I haven't gone yet but I'm a 10 minute walk away from hiking in the mountains. There are mountains near the school area but it kind of depends on what side of the school they are going to find a place for me. I could be too far for a comfortable walk if I'm too far west.

But I'm going to try and float and... let things happen and make the best of whatever comes my way.

In conclusion. So far, I am really enjoying Korea. And that is surprising because I'm not a fan of cities. But I think the city/not knowing the language combo is something really fun for me while for others it would be distressing... (well at least today since I had good luck and was in good spirits). Every day just going outside is going to be an adventure for a while until I get used to everything... and then I shall have to go further for more!

Flight and Apartment photos!

Nothing much cus I've been tired but here we go. I'll figure out how to do photos on here right eventually:




Somewhere over California.











Korean food on the flight. Ehh... bad choice.











Bad photo of me on the plane soon before landing.














The gloomy ride home. I think that guy was watching TV while he was driving. Combination TV GPS?










Bathroom. Note the shower head on the back wall. The drain for it is in the furthest corner under the sink. I don't know why.










Kitchen. Took me forever to figure out the gas stove procedure. It gets testy if you light it too slow and shuts off.










Living room. Bless that fan. No AC. Might rearrange things. I dunno.














Back balcony view.












Front door view.












little bedroom. It's right across from the kitchen. Kind of hard to tell where the room comes from.

Nice to meet you, here is my pee.

So today was a whirlwind. If its one thing I've learned about Korea, or at least Seoul is that things go fast. I get to school, meet everyone, and the school director, a very nice woman, takes me to get my medical exams right away.

It went like this:

1. Height/weight/blood pressure
2. Eye chart
3. "Consulation" (doctor asking me if I had diseases)
4. "Dentist"(dentist looking at my teeth and asking if I have problems)
5. Pee! I have a shy bladder. This part took the longest. My boss came back in to check on me and remind me "only pee".
6. 3-4 viles of blood stolen. I didn't cry but I'm sure I made some horrible and pitiful faces
7. Change my clothes to scrub-like thing and do an x-ray, change back

The whole thing, even with having to go take a photo at a subway station probably took maybe an hour or so. Can you believe that? I did not have to wait in one line. Glorious.


So some highlights from the medical center trip:

- "My's Chicken Taste Good" sign
- "Have a nike day" smiley t-shirt
- Woman wandering around in her hospital gown, pushing her fluid cart (including a rather full bag of pee) on the street
- Many motorcycles have bars around the outside of where your arms are and sometimes a top bar... maybe kind of like a roll bar for a jeep? I dunno. And big back parts for putting crates of stuff.

Then to school. Well with the medical exam I didn't get any down time with the teacher I'm replacing for training before the classes started. I am definitely overwhelmed and she is not going to be back at the school. I am in a different classroom with different kids every period. Different books for all of them, different ages I think. On class has 11 students but the rest have 3-5.

Drivers in Seoul are... oh my god. Basically it seems to me if there is "space" you can go anywhere as fast as you want. The taxi drivers and other seem to have no qualms whatsoever about occupying more than one lane, blocking intersections, and then honking at people trying to get through the intersection they just blocked.

Oh man. And trying to look at people without making eye contact is harder than I thought. I feel so awkward.

What have I gotten myself into! :)

Strange Arrival

Well the trip was pretty good. Got to see Val on my layover in LAX. Expecting some photos from that soon! The flight to Korea was actually better than the flight to LA because I had a window seat, plenty of food and drink, and some good movie selections. I watched... 4 I think. The guy next to me and I didn't start talking until the last 20 minutes of the 11 hour flight but he seemed really nice and said people would love me here. They served 2 full meals and also a half sub in between.

Waiting in the immigration line the guy in front of me was super annoying. It was a long wait and our line was going to slowest. I was so glad to get away from him until I realized the guy holding up a sign with my name was also holding up a sign with his name. I had momentary panic going... OH NO! A year with this guy! But then he got taken somewhere else. The drive from the airport was an hour and a half. I wanted to look at everything but by the time we really got into the city I got narcoleptic-like tiredness and kept clonking out every few minutes and then bringing myself back to life. I only slept about 3 hours on the LA flight and maybe 1 on the Korea flight. But that's good because its about 10 pm here so I'll def be on their schedule now.

The guy that picked me up hustled me up to my apartment and once everything was in just closed the door on me with a half wave. And here I am. Plugged into this internet I'm not sure I'm even supposed to be using. Guess I'll find out soon enough. Hopefully if it's canceled it just wouldn't work and I'm not wracking up and silly charges.

I picked up the wall phone just to see if there was a dial tone and this funny little song played and then a man said hello in Korean and I got confused and hung up. Probably pretty rude of me...

The apartment is pretty similar to the ones I saw in photos only there is a small room where the bed and closet is and then the living room has another fold out bed in it. Maybe it is the same apartment layout and the guy just put his bed in the big room. Ceilings are lower than I thought so I'm not sure about doing poi in here. I'll just have to use them short. There is a washer on the balcony and a drying rack. Yay, no laundry mat.

The apartment kind of feels like a submarine. I don't know why.

There are odd remnants of teachers past. I wonder if the girl that just moved out is going to come back for anything. There is tons of alcohol and a few DVDs, some art, magazines, etc.

There are no drapes on the bedroom windows. And only 2 bamboo covers for the sliding glass door that don't cover it all. I am a weirdo about privacy so this has to change asap. Wish I had brought the wonderful beach blanket (piece of fabric from Philly) or the Brazilian flag sarong I was eying in my old closet but I literally was exactly 50 pounds on each suitcase after taking many things out I didn't want to so...

I was told playing my instruments would be no problem as far as sound but I can hear pots and pans clanging in the apartment next to mine... or maybe upstairs? I can't tell. Anyhow, I'm sure they will hear me belting it... Oh well.

Ok I can't make this entry very exciting I'm too delirious. But good news is I don't have to work tomorrow I think... My boss said he's going to pick me up around 1. To do what I'm not quite sure. I'll just dress appropriately just in case. Babbling incoherently.

Atlanta

Don't have much time to write but Atlanta was awesome.

Highlights:

Couch surfing on the Big Red at Rebecca's.


















Candlelight Vigil for Iran



Travel Around Town, Little 5 points, went shopping and got an awesome blazer and shiny dress and earings.

Interviewed at the consulate where the guy, very unenthused, asked each of us 2 questions and then at the end sarcastically said "Alllright. Evvverybody goes to Korea."







All for now... flight is boarding.