Departure and arrival, among other things

DAY ONE

ahhhh ..... I'm here. And what an adventure it has been. After 16 hours on a plane (should have been 15, but we had to detour around a storm) in business class (gotta love standby), I arrived in South Korea. I somehow managed my way through the airport, had my temperature checked twice before getting to customs, and received several handouts about the risk of swine flu.They take it very seriously here. When I finally managed to get to baggage claim, I received one of my 50 lb bags and waited and waited for the next one. When the carousel had been cleared of luggage I realized my bag wasn't there. I panicked, then went to the lost and found desk. The very nice lady had my name on a list because apparently they already knew my bag wasn't there. It got left in Atlanta and was arriving later that night and would be delivered to the school the next day. I somehow knew this would happen. I worked my way towards the exit, with all my luggage, by following the crowd and that's where I found a nice man named Kang (pronounced like kong), who I have come to love, holding a sign with my name on it. We met one other teacher, Rodney, and then headed to Maple Bear school to meet the owner and director. The drive from the airport was just over an hour because we were in rush hour. Rush hour here is a little later than back home. It gets heaviest around 7, I think this is because most Koreans work way more hours than we are used to and get off work later than us.

When we finally arrived at Maple Bear, it was so late and the owner and director had left for the day, so Kang took Rodney to a hotel where most of the new teachers would be staying, but I went to my apartment. It was ready for me! I was dropped off my apartment and felt completely overwhelmed. Kang showed me how to work the A / C and then left. I was alone in a foreign place with no phone or internet or anyway to contact anyone. My apartment is small, but it's nice. I'll post pictures instead of trying to describe it.

I set my luggage down and I passed out on my bed. About an hour later I hear a pounding on my door and it was Mike, one of my fellow teachers who lives in the building across the street. He took me to dinner with he and his girlfriend and even took me to the grocery store to get few basics. When I got back home, I went to sleep because I had to be at school the next morning.

DAY TWO

I met Mike in the morning because he was going to show me how to use the bus to get to school. wow! what a bus system. You need to be standing on the curb when the bus gets close or they won't stop. Also, when you signal for the bus to stop, you better be standing at the door ready to get off or the driver will close the door and keep going! I got to school, met lots of teachers and was told we were all going the hospital and bank. Yikes, I knew nothing about going to a hospital. Let me tell you also, that walking around town in a group of foreigners will elicit many looks. Some good, some bad, and even some children yelling "hello".

Four other new teachers and myself are taken to the hospital with Kang and are subject to a series of tests. They measure our height, give an eye test, take our blood pressure, give a hearing test, take a chest x-ray, take blood, and even make us pee in a cup. Afterwards, we go to the bank and get our checking account set up. Too bad there won't be a deposit until the end of September!

Sooo, back to the school where they ordered pizza for us for lunch. YUM! Then we were set free to explore. We basically just walked around and explored the area. I can't remember exactly at this point. For dinner, we found a small restaurant and I ordered ramen soup. I don't think I have eaten anything so spicy in my life. My lips and entire mouth were on fire. I had to take the bus home by myself for the first time that night and it was scary. I stood at the bus stop for about 20 minutes wondering why none of the ones I needed were stopping, mind you, my bus comes about every 3 minutes, sometimes less than that. I was on the curb and everything, I even stood in the street thinking they didn't see me. They have TV screens at every stop to show when the buses are coming. My bus was on the screen, but apparently that doesn't really mean it is going to stop. I finally pointed to my bus number and a nice lady pointed down the street. I walked a block down to the next stop and saw my bus on the screen and sure enough, the next one stopped. I felt stupid, but that feeling happens a lot right now. When I signaled the bus to stop, I wasn't waiting by the door. So when he stopped the bus, I stood up, but that was too late. He stopped for a half a second, slammed the door shut and peeled out towards the next stop. I got off at the next stop instead and walked the extra distance.

DAY THREE

Back to school for a meeting with the director. She gave us lots of reading to do to get familiar with Maple Bear. Then, we were treated to lunch at Sizzler. I have never been to one in the US, but the Korean version was pretty good. We did the buffet and it definitely had lots of Korean food, but i had some spaghetti and salad and my stomach was soo happy. They also had bread, peanut butter, and jelly (although I didn't eat that)!! It costs about $ 25 to eat there, so I guess I won't be going very often on my own. The new teachers then walked to another park and walked around for a bit. Dinner was interesting as usually. The menu is in Korean and most people do not speak English. One of the new teachers has taught in Korea before, so he could help us pick out a few words. But in the end, we basically just ordered five things randomly on the menu and crossed our fingers. After that, it was back to the apartment for me. There was a party hosted by one of the teachers, but I was so exhausted, I couldn't do it. I fell asleep by 9pm Friday night.

DAY FOUR

I had to be to school early today to observe a Saturday class. We aren't actually supposed to be in the classrooms yet because of the threat of swine flu. We need to wait a few days to make sure we aren't going to get sick. But the Saturday program is much smaller, so they figured less parents to make complaints! The children I observed are called 5 year olds, but we know them as four year olds. Koreans count the time in the womb, so you are born as 1 year old. But I think the new year has something to do with it too because someone told me one of them was actually only 3, but still called 5 years old. It's a bit confusing and when I get it figured out, I'll explain it better. But the kids are soooo stinking cute, and amazingly smart. For being 5, or 4, or even really 3, they can do so much. The kids were writing the month and days already with perfect letter formation. Remember, it is a completely different letter system too. Few 4 year olds that I have seen in the U.S. can do that. They could say so much in English and are still learning their native language. I'll get video and pictures as soon as I can.

So, basically everything is crazy right now. I don't have a phone or internet at my apartment right now. Until I get my alien registration card I can't sign up for internet. And when the teacher I'm replacing leaves, I take his cell phone. So for now, I am relying on the internet at my school and finding random wifi spots on my ipod. The people are nice, although they stare at us, and don't try to hide it. It's very difficult to communicate because I don't know Korean and most people don't speak English. I went to the store to buy a hairdryer and the cashier was saying something to me, probably the price, but I just looked at the screen with the total and gave her my money. I have no idea what she said, and there is no point in asking her to repeat it. The food is proving to be the hardest thing to get used to, but I'm trying my best. It's very spicy and lots of fish. I am now wishing I had brought more food with me. There is Dunkin Donuts, Baskin Robbins, Pizza Hut, KFC, McDonalds, etc here, but I have not eaten at them yet. I observe the class I am taking over this next week and then I get to do it myself on the Aug. 30, I think. Oh, and did I mention that I wear slippers at work?! Korean do not wear shoes inside. So slippers all day long. It's nice.

I think this is enough reading for now, I will post more next time I can get on the internet. I miss home already, but I'm having fun.

thank you ladies for taking me to the airport.

I am Korea bound.
My dinner on the plane. Soup, salad, bread, and a crab meat salad. One meal of many I was served.

a view of the shops near my school.

stone path through some water. all the cool kids give a peace sign in pictures.

Recycling in the park. Korea is serious about recycling. I can be fined for throwing something in my trash if it is compostable.

MY APARTMENT:



That's my front door. Just inside is a pantry, my mini fridge (although they told me today they could get me a full size fridge!!!! I am sooo happy about that), my sink. That's my washing machine just next to the sink. There is no dryer. Just across from the sink is my bathroom.

This is my bathroom. Please note the shower head above the sink. I have to sort of lean over the sink to take a shower. I am going to try to get a hook and hang it on the adjacent wall. The entire bathroom gets soaked. There is a cover for the toilet paper, but i have to take my towel out when I shower and set it next to the door. No hope for a bathroom rug in there.

Sorry for the mess, I haven't unpacked yet. This view is from the far wall of my apartment, facing the front door still. Those tall white doors are closets. You can barely see a staircase on the right. That goes up to a loft. The ceiling up there is only about 4 feet tall, so I am going to move my bed up there to open up my living area.


I am standing near my washer, facing the far wall. My window looks out to a beautiful cement wall of the next building, but it opens, so I can let some air in anyway. I also have a table and two chairs there to eat or work at. My bed is double size, but my fitted sheet is about 5 inches too short to cover the mattress, so I think their sizes are different.



That is my dresser. Once I move my bed, I will move this to another wall and put some different kind of storage here I think.

I am still getting used to Blogspot, so please excuse me. Also, I will post more pictures on facebook, and I think in the future that's where most pictures will be becasue it is easier.

ENJOY!!