DAY 4, MEETING MY CO-TEACHER:
Monday. Found out I start school on Wednesday but I wouldn't have to actually teach until the following Monday, which sounded like a good plan to me! Of course Mr. Jun stopped by in the morning & wanted to show me where the school bus would pick me up every morning. We make a quick trip then I assure him I don't need anything else and he leaves. Back to bed I go!!
Until I hear the door buzzer again. I answer it and to my surprise it's my co-teacher Mr. Bahn. He tells me that he wants to take me somewhere, so I get dressed in a hurry & meet him downstairs. First impression is that he looks way younger than 41, and he's dressed casual and smoking a cigarette. He instantly introduces himself and we make small talk. Then he says, let's go get you a cell phone & we hop in his car. At this point I know in my head that I cannot get a cell phone without my "Alien Registration Card," so I just get in his car anyways. Before we start driving I explain the ARC card to him. He's new to the whole co-teacher thing so he was unaware of this, which was understandable. I liked his enthusiasm tho! haha :)
Seeing as we weren't able to get a cell phone, he says we will just drive around and chat. He shows me a few different areas of Gumi and we end up in the small area of town that everyone from orientation ate lunch at the day we were separated. He then insists that I must be hungry and stops at a restaurant...Jo Little...lol. The same place the head teacher had taken me to already. I want to be polite so I don't mention anything & we sat down to eat. This time I ordered pork cutlet, which was just as good as the beef I had last time.
During conversation at lunch I instantly realize that I'm going to love my job a little more for the pure fact that his English was amazing. I even complimented him on it, but he was shocked by this and insisted that he wasn't that great.
So, I finally get back to my apartment and he says that he would like to make dinner plans with me, Willem (the previous GET), and Willem's girlfriend. At lunch he explained that he worked with Willem at the school and considered him a really good friend. He also mentioned that he'd like to consider me a good friend as well. :) We plan to meet on Tuesday night, they day before the start of school. I thank him for lunch & he leaves. Much less intrusive than the first teacher I dealt with!
A NIGHT DOWNTOWN:
I relax while in my apartment & chat with some friends who live in Gumi. They wanted to meet up for dinner & drinks that night...so of course I had to join! Paul, Ali, Alex, Rita, Slosh, and I meet up at the train station. Paul and Ali have been in Korea for a year, but were new to the EPIK program. Since they have the most knowledge on the food in Korea, we make them our leaders, lol. They take us to a restaurant where you sit on the floor around a table with a burner in the middle of it. We order chicken as the main course & they serve about ten side dishes around the big pot of chicken. I forget the exact name of this type of meal, but it was delicious! The flavor of the sauce, the potatoes, and other vegetables and rice noodles mixed with the chicken was amazing. The rest of our group partakes in Soju & beer, but I made the choice to not drink that night.
After dinner we headed to a bar where we ate some amazing fruit as a snack, and I drank the Korean equivalent to Sprite. "Sigh-e-duh ju seyo" is how you order Sprite, lol. By this point my friends have had quite a bit to drink so the entertainment was hilarious. We then decide at midnight to venture to a "noraebang" for some karaoke. Going to a noraebang for the first time as the only sober person, probably not the best idea, but still alot of fun! We call it a night around 1 in the morning and I walk back to my apartment, which is about 10 minutes from the train station/downtown area.
DAY 5:
I wake up Tuesday morning, expecting Mr. Jun to come over. The previous day he had told me that he would be at my apartment after 10AM. I made him give me a time so that I could be awake and ready. He wanted to once again show me where the school bus would pick me up because according to him, "practice makes perfect." lol. So, I'm just ready to get this out of the way so I can go walk around the downtown area by myself to get familiar with it. An hour passes and I'm still waiting. I had wanted to shower, but I didn't want to be in the shower when he showed up. Then three hours go by and I get frustrated. I take a super quick shower, get dressed, then decide to leave my apartment. I had already wasted half of my day waiting on him. This is where a cell phone would have been super helpful!
I ventured downtown, browsed the market, bought a tea pitcher for my kitchen, and a scarf to replace one that I had lost at orientation. I also ran into some orientation friends, chatted with them, then headed back to my apartment to get ready for dinner with Mr. Bahn, Willem, and his girlfriend Robin.
Mr. Bahn, and a teacher friend of his, pick me up at 5pm and we head to the station to pick up Willem and Robin. The five of us head to a restaurant located in Mr. Bahn's neighborhood. Another amazing dinner to say the least! We had "samgyapsal," or better known as pork belly. It's basically thick bacon. It was the same style of dinner we had downtown, where you sit on the floor, but this time we actually cooked the meat ourselves. I've come to really like these style of restaurants, it just sucks that you have to go with a group of people because the portions are fairly large. By the end of the dinner, Willem & Mr. Bahn are pretty happy from Soju. Mr. Bahn apologizes for being a little drunk and recommends we take a taxi home, lol.
I share a taxi back to the train station with Willem & Robin, where we decide to go to Dunkin' Donuts for dessert/coffee. At dinner we had discussed a little about the school and teachers, but now it was time for the "real talk" about working at DoGae Middle High School, lol. After a few humorous stories about the things he experienced while working there, Willem basically tells me that it's a more laid back school and that I will love it. Obviously he enjoyed it somewhat because he worked there for 2 years.
During our chat we get a phone call from Mr. Bahn saying that he found a white magnetic card in his vehicle. This of course is my card to get inside my apartment building!! I'm guessing it fell out of my purse on the ride to dinner. This meant I had to dial the landlords apartment number and try my best to tell him who I was so that I could enter the apartment. Turns out I just said, "sun sang neem" which is teacher, and he knew who I was...thank goodness!!
As I got ready for bed I made sure I had everything ready for my "first day of work." Then low and behold, I'm relaxing in my pajamas and I hear the door buzz. It's of course Mr. Jun. He insists on showing me where he would pick me up in the morning since I would be riding with him on the first day. I point at my pajamas and try to explain that I wasn't planning on going outside again and ask him to simply tell me where to wait in the morning. After much insisting on his part, he stands outside the door while I throw on my jeans. At this point I'm not very happy, but I was still trying to be polite. We quickly walk to the corner, which he could of OBVIOUSLY just told me, "I will pick you up on the corner of the street," and I return back inside to my pajamas.
Stories about school will continue on the next post!
XOXO,
Amanda
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
exploring my new city...
DAY TWO:
My second day was once again, busy! Mr. Jun stopped by in the morning & wanted to take me shopping again. He browsed my apartment & insisted that I get a mirror, which was fine with me. I also attempted to explain to him that I need a converter for my Chi hair straightener. This is a time when it would have been nice to have a female assistant teacher to maybe understand my needs a little better. I also needed an adapter for my hair dryer because my roommate accidently took mine from our dorm room at orientation. Trying to explain all of this was a hassle, but I'm happy to say I'm finally able to wash, dry, & straighten my hair in Korea lol.
MEETING THE PREVIOUS "GET":
In order to get in my apartment complex front door I needed a magnetic card to swipe in front to make the door open. This was of course, not on hand, so we had to retrieve the card from the previous teacher who lived in my apartment. Mr. Jun asks me to type a text message in English for him to Willem to see if we can meet up. We sit at my dining room table & wait for a response....time goes by & Mr. Jun then calls Willem and says, "I sent you a text message and I am awaiting your reply." He then hangs up. It took all I had to not laugh. Why the hell did he not just tell Willem what the text message said?! I guess he thought since we sent one, we had to receive a reply back in the same format. Of course Willem calls back & we pick a time to meet up.
I briefly meet Willem and learn he is from South Africa. Turns out he's staying in Korea for a 3rd year, just at a different school. Along with the magnetic card I need, he also gives me an extra adapter that his girlfriend had on hand at their apartment! He also gave me his e-mail and telephone number incase I needed any help or had questions. It's good to know people who have been here awhile!
THE SHOPPING CONTINUES:
Afterwards we head to Lotte Mart once again! Upon entering Mr. Jun recognizes two people. Turns out his wife and daughter were also doing some shopping that day. Which was perfect because I needed some female company, regardless if they could speak English or not. They decide to help me with my list. However this took awhile because they insisted I get the best quality, no matter if it was a bed sheet or a water bottle. At this point I was still unaware of where this money they were using on me was coming from. So, I let them pick out the more expensive things. They kept saying..."it is better quality!"
After shopping we go out for a late lunch at a restaurant named Jo Little. Seeing how it had an "americanized" name I figured the food would be somewhat familiar. I was correct...I had rib beef which turned out to be two beef patties in a sauce. Finally decent food in Korea lol. After lunch they took me for a walk to the lake reservoir on the mountain. The area we were eating lunch in is known as "Geomo Mountain Provincial Park." The scenery was beautiful and I look forward to going back soon to hike. It's about a 20 minute walk from my house, so that would be an excellent workout!
DC MART:
I finally return to my apartment & once again, organize my newly aquired belongings. While I appreciated Mr. Jun's assistance in getting me situated in my apartment, I was looking forward to doing things on my own. So I decided to head out to the streets to wander. I checked out the streets for a 1/2 hour then headed to DC Mart, the grocery store near my apartment, to buy more food. As I'm walking through the aisle I recognize the song they are playing...it's Britney Spears, lol. This entertains me as I walk around staring at the grocery products with great confustion. It's a little tricky to make sure you are getting what you had in mind because of the labeling. I tried to stick to packages that looked familiar to me, meaning name brands from America that were slighly changed into Korean writing. But, like I said before, even if it looks familiar, it always has a slight "off' taste to it. I end up with about 55,000 WON worth of groceries, which is about $50 USD.
PIZZA BINGO:
As I'm leaving DC Mart I notice a pizza place beside of it. Even though I had just bought groceries I wasn't even sure if I could make a meal with anything I had bought, lol. Mainly I had gotten breakfast things, snacks, and drinks. So I decide to grab a pizza. I had some cheese pizza at one of the bars during orientation & determined that Korean pizza is close enough to the real thing for me! I walk in, look at the menu, and the names of the pizzas are written in English, perfect! I order a cheese pizza to be safe because I'm not sure what's all on the other ones by looking at the pictures. I pay my 6,000 WON, super cheap, and head home with my arms full of groceries & a pizza. At this point I figure I'm doing pretty well for myself in Korea! :)
DAY 3:
Sunday, time to sleep in, yay!! But, nope not really. I wake up to the sound of buzzing and realize someone is calling me from the front door. It's Mr.Jun...of course! He's there to yet again offer to take me shopping. I instantly show to him that I bought more groceries yesterday and didn't need anything. He sits around in my apartment for awhile with a confused look on his face. Then I tell him that not only did I walk across the street, I also wandered around the city looking at different places. At this point he is baffled and says, "You are very brave girl." haha. I think he thought I would be scared, but I was trying to make a point that I did not need his assistance with everything. So he then says he has a wedding to attend & leaves.
I spent the rest of the day just hanging out at my apartment & came across a message on Facebook that said people were meeting up in Gumi to go to Outback Steak house. After finding the address online, I write it down, then ask my friend if he wants to meet at the train station & go with me. I meet Alex at the station, it's raining & cold by this point, and we catch a taxi. Luckily the taxi driver understood where we wanted to go & we made it. As far as Outback is concerned, it's not that amazing. I never really went when I lived in Texas. The prices were well over 20,000 WON for a steak and Alex and I realized we didn't bring alot of cash. So we split an appetizer that was decent, then headed home.
To be continued on the next post...
XOXO,
Amanda
My second day was once again, busy! Mr. Jun stopped by in the morning & wanted to take me shopping again. He browsed my apartment & insisted that I get a mirror, which was fine with me. I also attempted to explain to him that I need a converter for my Chi hair straightener. This is a time when it would have been nice to have a female assistant teacher to maybe understand my needs a little better. I also needed an adapter for my hair dryer because my roommate accidently took mine from our dorm room at orientation. Trying to explain all of this was a hassle, but I'm happy to say I'm finally able to wash, dry, & straighten my hair in Korea lol.
MEETING THE PREVIOUS "GET":
In order to get in my apartment complex front door I needed a magnetic card to swipe in front to make the door open. This was of course, not on hand, so we had to retrieve the card from the previous teacher who lived in my apartment. Mr. Jun asks me to type a text message in English for him to Willem to see if we can meet up. We sit at my dining room table & wait for a response....time goes by & Mr. Jun then calls Willem and says, "I sent you a text message and I am awaiting your reply." He then hangs up. It took all I had to not laugh. Why the hell did he not just tell Willem what the text message said?! I guess he thought since we sent one, we had to receive a reply back in the same format. Of course Willem calls back & we pick a time to meet up.
I briefly meet Willem and learn he is from South Africa. Turns out he's staying in Korea for a 3rd year, just at a different school. Along with the magnetic card I need, he also gives me an extra adapter that his girlfriend had on hand at their apartment! He also gave me his e-mail and telephone number incase I needed any help or had questions. It's good to know people who have been here awhile!
THE SHOPPING CONTINUES:
Afterwards we head to Lotte Mart once again! Upon entering Mr. Jun recognizes two people. Turns out his wife and daughter were also doing some shopping that day. Which was perfect because I needed some female company, regardless if they could speak English or not. They decide to help me with my list. However this took awhile because they insisted I get the best quality, no matter if it was a bed sheet or a water bottle. At this point I was still unaware of where this money they were using on me was coming from. So, I let them pick out the more expensive things. They kept saying..."it is better quality!"
After shopping we go out for a late lunch at a restaurant named Jo Little. Seeing how it had an "americanized" name I figured the food would be somewhat familiar. I was correct...I had rib beef which turned out to be two beef patties in a sauce. Finally decent food in Korea lol. After lunch they took me for a walk to the lake reservoir on the mountain. The area we were eating lunch in is known as "Geomo Mountain Provincial Park." The scenery was beautiful and I look forward to going back soon to hike. It's about a 20 minute walk from my house, so that would be an excellent workout!
DC MART:
I finally return to my apartment & once again, organize my newly aquired belongings. While I appreciated Mr. Jun's assistance in getting me situated in my apartment, I was looking forward to doing things on my own. So I decided to head out to the streets to wander. I checked out the streets for a 1/2 hour then headed to DC Mart, the grocery store near my apartment, to buy more food. As I'm walking through the aisle I recognize the song they are playing...it's Britney Spears, lol. This entertains me as I walk around staring at the grocery products with great confustion. It's a little tricky to make sure you are getting what you had in mind because of the labeling. I tried to stick to packages that looked familiar to me, meaning name brands from America that were slighly changed into Korean writing. But, like I said before, even if it looks familiar, it always has a slight "off' taste to it. I end up with about 55,000 WON worth of groceries, which is about $50 USD.
PIZZA BINGO:
As I'm leaving DC Mart I notice a pizza place beside of it. Even though I had just bought groceries I wasn't even sure if I could make a meal with anything I had bought, lol. Mainly I had gotten breakfast things, snacks, and drinks. So I decide to grab a pizza. I had some cheese pizza at one of the bars during orientation & determined that Korean pizza is close enough to the real thing for me! I walk in, look at the menu, and the names of the pizzas are written in English, perfect! I order a cheese pizza to be safe because I'm not sure what's all on the other ones by looking at the pictures. I pay my 6,000 WON, super cheap, and head home with my arms full of groceries & a pizza. At this point I figure I'm doing pretty well for myself in Korea! :)
DAY 3:
Sunday, time to sleep in, yay!! But, nope not really. I wake up to the sound of buzzing and realize someone is calling me from the front door. It's Mr.Jun...of course! He's there to yet again offer to take me shopping. I instantly show to him that I bought more groceries yesterday and didn't need anything. He sits around in my apartment for awhile with a confused look on his face. Then I tell him that not only did I walk across the street, I also wandered around the city looking at different places. At this point he is baffled and says, "You are very brave girl." haha. I think he thought I would be scared, but I was trying to make a point that I did not need his assistance with everything. So he then says he has a wedding to attend & leaves.
I spent the rest of the day just hanging out at my apartment & came across a message on Facebook that said people were meeting up in Gumi to go to Outback Steak house. After finding the address online, I write it down, then ask my friend if he wants to meet at the train station & go with me. I meet Alex at the station, it's raining & cold by this point, and we catch a taxi. Luckily the taxi driver understood where we wanted to go & we made it. As far as Outback is concerned, it's not that amazing. I never really went when I lived in Texas. The prices were well over 20,000 WON for a steak and Alex and I realized we didn't bring alot of cash. So we split an appetizer that was decent, then headed home.
To be continued on the next post...
XOXO,
Amanda
culture shock...
NOT WHAT I EXPECTED:
To my surprise, it was an older male teacher. Either I'm sexist or orientation put it in my mind that I would have a female co-teacher, but it never crossed my mind that I might be working with a guy. So this guy shakes my hand quickly and says "luggage!" Actually I had to get him to repeat it because I didn't understand what he said. In my mind I'm thinking, "Great, I'm screwed! I can't even understand his English, how am I supposed to work with him every day?!" After going to the wrong truck of luggage, we find the right one and take my things to his Kia SUV. Not much conversation has taken place at this time.
APARTMENT OR NO APARTMENT?:
We start driving in the car, and I had so many questions for him, but I didn't want to rush him. My main concern was whether or not I had a place to live ready for me yet. Finally, after "pulling teeth" to get answers, he says "first we go to your apartment to drop off luggage." THANK GOODNESS! My next hope was that it was clean lol. We are only in the car for about 10 minutes before we arrive to the place I will call home for a year. I notice it's in a smaller building, which meant I didn't have to hassle with elevators. We walk to the 3rd floor, enter the room, and I breathe a big sigh of relief! It was clean & had everything I needed in it (kitchen, bed, wardrobe, washing machine, tv, dining room table, desk, and even a computer). I never even had a dining room table in my previous apartment in Texas.
TO SCHOOL WE GO:
After looking around for a bit, he says, "Okay, now we go to school. Principal is waiting for us. Then we go shopping." We get back into his car and he tells me the school is in the "country side" so the commute is pretty far. I tell him a few things about myself & he tells me about his family, how old he is (55), food preferences, etc. So, all this time I'm thinking this is my co-teacher, the guy in charge of me for the next year. About 5 minutes before we arrive at the school, which really is out in the middle of nowhere, he says, "For past 2 years...for past 2 years...2 years, yes? (I nod and say yes to make him stop repeating it) for past 2 years...I was co-teacher...BUT...(insert super long pause) but now this year....this year...I get promotion. Promotion, yes? I am head teacher. I have new sidejob."
NOTE:
This is how pretty much every conversation went and has been going with this guy, who's name is Mr. Jun (pronounced Chun). I wrote out that conversation as an example of the struggle I go through every time he speaks to me or I ask him a question.
So, I finally get him to finish his explanation and he says that my actual co-teacher is on vacation and will return Monday. He also explains that he will be helping me until he, meaning Mr. Bahn, returns. At this point I am thankful to have someone help me, but silently I was praying that my co-teacher's English was somewhat better than his. Not in a rude way at all, it would just be more beneficial to my lesson planning and life in general! Moving to a new country, you have alot of questions and you want answers as soon as you can get them!
MEETING THE PRINCIPAL & VICE PRINCIPAL:
We enter the school & Mr. Jun stops to comb his hair, using a "mirror" type sign on the wall. I thought he was doing this to look nice for the principal but it turns out he does this everywhere we go lol. He takes me into the principal's office and I shake his hand, and he offers me a seat, and some tea or coffee. Mr. Jun makes tea while I sit in this big black chair, which I had sunken into because of it's softness, and the principal is staring at me. We awkwardly smile at each other until Mr. Jun sits down.
We then have a simple conversation about where I'm from, where I went to school, my teaching certifications, etc. All of this is done by the principal asking me something in Korean, me looking at Mr. Jun to translate, then answering the principal in English & the principal looking to Mr. Jun for Korean translation. Big process for a small conversation! Mr. Jun tells me that the principal says "my looks are familiar to him" although I'm not quite sure what that means, lol. Mr. Jun had previously told me I was "very beautiful" in the car, which I learned in orientation is told to every foreigner in Korea because the Koreans are just not used to seeing our distinct facial features. If someone tells you this, it is not them hitting on you, they just want to compliment you.
Back to the story, the vice principal enters the room to briefly shake my hand and explains in Korean that he is busy. Both of them are rather short guys, which made me feel like a giant lol. We make a brief stop in the "administration office" where we are handed orange juice (I don't think I will ever be dehydrated here lol) and we hop into the car once again & head back to the city.
SHOPPING:
At orientation some people told me about this place called "Lotte Mart" which was supposed to be kind of like a Costco or Sam's Club. Turns out it's more than that, it has 4 levels! He had me make a basic list of stuff I would need for my apartment, and at this time I assume that this is coming out of my pocket, so I write a few basic things: bedding, shower shoes, & slippers for work (you can't wear your outide shoes in the classrooms in order to prevent dirty floors). We spent most of the time looking for shoes because I have a big foot, size 10 in America, and I don't know what size in Korea because it doesn't exist, atleast not in women's shoes. To top it off he insists, "You are girl. You need cute shoes." I don't think he was aware that "cute" goes out the window once you get to about an American size 9 lol. So I ended up with "cute" shower shoes & regular black "slipper shoes" for school. For shower shoes, size wasn't a big deal, but for the others I had to get ones that looked a bit more for men. However in Korea, the guys sometimes dress better than the girls, lol.
After the shoe ordeal, we head to bedding. I figure since I'm in Korea I may as well get ridiculously "cute" things since my apartment already had non-removable random flowers on the wall. I find a comforter with purple and pink circles on it. I figured I had enough flowers on the wall. He kept asking if I needed a sheet, but I kept telling him I brought one from home. Then he kept asking about a pillow. Take in mind, I was holding my pillow when I met him! lol. So I re-assured him that I had one at the apartment & we finally left with comforter and shoes in hand.
However our shopping did not end here. He then insisted that he take me to DC Mart, which was like a grocery store across the street from my apt, to buy toilet paper, paper towels, food, etc. While I thought this was very nice of him, I would have liked to go grocery shopping on my own. So to not waste his time, yet still take his offer, I picked out a couple cereals, milk, bread, etc. He then says he is going to get some bread for us to share. We get in his car, and he stops outside of my apartment and gets out the bread. I politely take one and bite into it. Turns out there is no such thing as "normal bread" in Korea. They all have something inside of it, whether it's meats, fruits, or sweet filling. The first one I eat is sweet, which I really enjoyed. He then says, have another one. I pick a different one and bite into it....GROSS! It had onions and I don't know what else in it....maybe even seafood. I force down a couple more bites, then tell him I am going to "save" it for later. LOL. It stayed in my refrigerator for quite while because it took me a long time to figure out what to do with my trash.
SETTING UP MY APARTMENT:
Finally, after a crazy filled day, I return to my apartment to unpack. Mr. Jun tells me that he is going to a meeting & that I should unpack while he is gone & he will return later to "check" on me. It is at this point that I make the realization...this is it...this is my new life...and I'm all alone in this apartment, without a cell phone, and no internet.
I try to push that thought into the back of my mind while I set my bed up. I pull out my twin sheets to put on the bed and immediately see that they are not going to fit. Turns out my bed is a "twin plus" size. Almost what a full would be in America. While I'm happy the bed is a bit bigger, I still find myself upset because I wanted sheets but would have to wait until the next day. My mind then switches to the computer that's on the desk. I turn it on in hope of internet, but the computer doesn't even turn on...it just beeps at me over and over. Next I turn my laptop on & think maybe I can connect to a wireless network...another fail. I start looking around at my washer, heater, & microwave, which are all labeled in Korean. At this point I throw myself on my bed in tears and wonder what the hell I'm doing in this strange world. I believe that the culture shock & busy day caught up with me at that point and this needed to happen.
After my dramatic episode, I re-group my thoughts and notice an ethernet cord. Without much hope I plug it into my laptop and...SUCCESS!! I immediately stop what I'm doing and start talking to my friends from orientation who also discovered they had internet at their apartments. After feeling much better (isn't it crazy how we are comforted by technology), I resume the process of making my apartment presentable. I honestly don't think I could have moved over here without the recent development of Facebook and Skype. I still have awhile before I get my cell phone.
I will now switch to a new post to discuss my first week of living in Gumi.
XOXO,
Amanda
To my surprise, it was an older male teacher. Either I'm sexist or orientation put it in my mind that I would have a female co-teacher, but it never crossed my mind that I might be working with a guy. So this guy shakes my hand quickly and says "luggage!" Actually I had to get him to repeat it because I didn't understand what he said. In my mind I'm thinking, "Great, I'm screwed! I can't even understand his English, how am I supposed to work with him every day?!" After going to the wrong truck of luggage, we find the right one and take my things to his Kia SUV. Not much conversation has taken place at this time.
APARTMENT OR NO APARTMENT?:
We start driving in the car, and I had so many questions for him, but I didn't want to rush him. My main concern was whether or not I had a place to live ready for me yet. Finally, after "pulling teeth" to get answers, he says "first we go to your apartment to drop off luggage." THANK GOODNESS! My next hope was that it was clean lol. We are only in the car for about 10 minutes before we arrive to the place I will call home for a year. I notice it's in a smaller building, which meant I didn't have to hassle with elevators. We walk to the 3rd floor, enter the room, and I breathe a big sigh of relief! It was clean & had everything I needed in it (kitchen, bed, wardrobe, washing machine, tv, dining room table, desk, and even a computer). I never even had a dining room table in my previous apartment in Texas.
TO SCHOOL WE GO:
After looking around for a bit, he says, "Okay, now we go to school. Principal is waiting for us. Then we go shopping." We get back into his car and he tells me the school is in the "country side" so the commute is pretty far. I tell him a few things about myself & he tells me about his family, how old he is (55), food preferences, etc. So, all this time I'm thinking this is my co-teacher, the guy in charge of me for the next year. About 5 minutes before we arrive at the school, which really is out in the middle of nowhere, he says, "For past 2 years...for past 2 years...2 years, yes? (I nod and say yes to make him stop repeating it) for past 2 years...I was co-teacher...BUT...(insert super long pause) but now this year....this year...I get promotion. Promotion, yes? I am head teacher. I have new sidejob."
NOTE:
This is how pretty much every conversation went and has been going with this guy, who's name is Mr. Jun (pronounced Chun). I wrote out that conversation as an example of the struggle I go through every time he speaks to me or I ask him a question.
So, I finally get him to finish his explanation and he says that my actual co-teacher is on vacation and will return Monday. He also explains that he will be helping me until he, meaning Mr. Bahn, returns. At this point I am thankful to have someone help me, but silently I was praying that my co-teacher's English was somewhat better than his. Not in a rude way at all, it would just be more beneficial to my lesson planning and life in general! Moving to a new country, you have alot of questions and you want answers as soon as you can get them!
MEETING THE PRINCIPAL & VICE PRINCIPAL:
We enter the school & Mr. Jun stops to comb his hair, using a "mirror" type sign on the wall. I thought he was doing this to look nice for the principal but it turns out he does this everywhere we go lol. He takes me into the principal's office and I shake his hand, and he offers me a seat, and some tea or coffee. Mr. Jun makes tea while I sit in this big black chair, which I had sunken into because of it's softness, and the principal is staring at me. We awkwardly smile at each other until Mr. Jun sits down.
We then have a simple conversation about where I'm from, where I went to school, my teaching certifications, etc. All of this is done by the principal asking me something in Korean, me looking at Mr. Jun to translate, then answering the principal in English & the principal looking to Mr. Jun for Korean translation. Big process for a small conversation! Mr. Jun tells me that the principal says "my looks are familiar to him" although I'm not quite sure what that means, lol. Mr. Jun had previously told me I was "very beautiful" in the car, which I learned in orientation is told to every foreigner in Korea because the Koreans are just not used to seeing our distinct facial features. If someone tells you this, it is not them hitting on you, they just want to compliment you.
Back to the story, the vice principal enters the room to briefly shake my hand and explains in Korean that he is busy. Both of them are rather short guys, which made me feel like a giant lol. We make a brief stop in the "administration office" where we are handed orange juice (I don't think I will ever be dehydrated here lol) and we hop into the car once again & head back to the city.
SHOPPING:
At orientation some people told me about this place called "Lotte Mart" which was supposed to be kind of like a Costco or Sam's Club. Turns out it's more than that, it has 4 levels! He had me make a basic list of stuff I would need for my apartment, and at this time I assume that this is coming out of my pocket, so I write a few basic things: bedding, shower shoes, & slippers for work (you can't wear your outide shoes in the classrooms in order to prevent dirty floors). We spent most of the time looking for shoes because I have a big foot, size 10 in America, and I don't know what size in Korea because it doesn't exist, atleast not in women's shoes. To top it off he insists, "You are girl. You need cute shoes." I don't think he was aware that "cute" goes out the window once you get to about an American size 9 lol. So I ended up with "cute" shower shoes & regular black "slipper shoes" for school. For shower shoes, size wasn't a big deal, but for the others I had to get ones that looked a bit more for men. However in Korea, the guys sometimes dress better than the girls, lol.
After the shoe ordeal, we head to bedding. I figure since I'm in Korea I may as well get ridiculously "cute" things since my apartment already had non-removable random flowers on the wall. I find a comforter with purple and pink circles on it. I figured I had enough flowers on the wall. He kept asking if I needed a sheet, but I kept telling him I brought one from home. Then he kept asking about a pillow. Take in mind, I was holding my pillow when I met him! lol. So I re-assured him that I had one at the apartment & we finally left with comforter and shoes in hand.
However our shopping did not end here. He then insisted that he take me to DC Mart, which was like a grocery store across the street from my apt, to buy toilet paper, paper towels, food, etc. While I thought this was very nice of him, I would have liked to go grocery shopping on my own. So to not waste his time, yet still take his offer, I picked out a couple cereals, milk, bread, etc. He then says he is going to get some bread for us to share. We get in his car, and he stops outside of my apartment and gets out the bread. I politely take one and bite into it. Turns out there is no such thing as "normal bread" in Korea. They all have something inside of it, whether it's meats, fruits, or sweet filling. The first one I eat is sweet, which I really enjoyed. He then says, have another one. I pick a different one and bite into it....GROSS! It had onions and I don't know what else in it....maybe even seafood. I force down a couple more bites, then tell him I am going to "save" it for later. LOL. It stayed in my refrigerator for quite while because it took me a long time to figure out what to do with my trash.
SETTING UP MY APARTMENT:
Finally, after a crazy filled day, I return to my apartment to unpack. Mr. Jun tells me that he is going to a meeting & that I should unpack while he is gone & he will return later to "check" on me. It is at this point that I make the realization...this is it...this is my new life...and I'm all alone in this apartment, without a cell phone, and no internet.
I try to push that thought into the back of my mind while I set my bed up. I pull out my twin sheets to put on the bed and immediately see that they are not going to fit. Turns out my bed is a "twin plus" size. Almost what a full would be in America. While I'm happy the bed is a bit bigger, I still find myself upset because I wanted sheets but would have to wait until the next day. My mind then switches to the computer that's on the desk. I turn it on in hope of internet, but the computer doesn't even turn on...it just beeps at me over and over. Next I turn my laptop on & think maybe I can connect to a wireless network...another fail. I start looking around at my washer, heater, & microwave, which are all labeled in Korean. At this point I throw myself on my bed in tears and wonder what the hell I'm doing in this strange world. I believe that the culture shock & busy day caught up with me at that point and this needed to happen.
After my dramatic episode, I re-group my thoughts and notice an ethernet cord. Without much hope I plug it into my laptop and...SUCCESS!! I immediately stop what I'm doing and start talking to my friends from orientation who also discovered they had internet at their apartments. After feeling much better (isn't it crazy how we are comforted by technology), I resume the process of making my apartment presentable. I honestly don't think I could have moved over here without the recent development of Facebook and Skype. I still have awhile before I get my cell phone.
I will now switch to a new post to discuss my first week of living in Gumi.
XOXO,
Amanda
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
almost there...
PRESENTING A PLAN:
The day before orientation ended we were required to give a group lesson presentation to our peers. This was EPIK's way of making sure our lectures weren't a waste of time. My partners & I weren't stressing about it like everyone else was (probably because 2 of 3 in our group had teaching experience), so we quickly put something together on Wednesday night. On Thursday morning we presented & ended up being voted "best presenation" in our class! Our prize for winning was a calling card. :) I have to give a special thanks to my brother Dustin for unknowingly agreeing to be edited into a girl for the sake of my example picture, haha! Our lesson was on family, and I used a personal family photo as an example, but seeing as I don't have a sister...we decided to be creative! The result was as follows...
I was so anxious to figure out which part of the province I would be in and where my friends would be, that I brought the big map of Korea that they had given us. Turns out everyone wanted to use it as well, so it got slightly torn lol. I highlighted my friends' cities on the map & set out to enjoy my last night with everyone...in the city of Jeonju atleast. We kept it simple & had a couple drinks down the street from our dorm. Being hungover on the day you meet your co-teacher didn't sound like the best idea to us lol.
SAYING "GOODBYE":
The morning of leaving was bittersweet. My roommate had to leave earlier than I did, so we said goodbye in the dorm room. My other friends were in the same province group as I was so we knew we would see each other before boarding the buses. The funny part was, EPIK did not inform everyone that all the buses were going to stop for a break together, as well as eat lunch in the same city. So after saying goodbye in the morning, we said goodbye at the rest stop, then finally again after lunch haha! I think everyone got enough "see ya later's" in to last for awhile. Most of us are no longer than a short bus or train ride away from each other, so we made many plans to visit each other.
TIME FOR PICK-UP:
I was lucky enough to not have to travel any further after lunch because all of the co-teachers picked us up in my awesome city of GumI! Awesome is "ah-sah" in Korean by the way! :)
So our buses pulled into a parking lot full of Korean teachers holding signs with our names written on them. People on the bus were straining their necks trying to find their name before we got off the bus. I wanted mine to be a surprise so I just sat back and waited. Upon immediately getting off the bus, I spotted my name...
See my next post for more!
XOXO,
Amanda
The day before orientation ended we were required to give a group lesson presentation to our peers. This was EPIK's way of making sure our lectures weren't a waste of time. My partners & I weren't stressing about it like everyone else was (probably because 2 of 3 in our group had teaching experience), so we quickly put something together on Wednesday night. On Thursday morning we presented & ended up being voted "best presenation" in our class! Our prize for winning was a calling card. :) I have to give a special thanks to my brother Dustin for unknowingly agreeing to be edited into a girl for the sake of my example picture, haha! Our lesson was on family, and I used a personal family photo as an example, but seeing as I don't have a sister...we decided to be creative! The result was as follows...
REALITY SETS IN:
Afer all the hustle & bustle of orientation, we quickly came to an abrupt realization. We were going to have to leave what we had just become comfortable with (friends, dorm room, Jeonju city, classes, provided meals, etc.) and venture out on our own! Thursday afternoon was the moment we had all been waiting for...the name of our city & school grade levels were given to us!I was so anxious to figure out which part of the province I would be in and where my friends would be, that I brought the big map of Korea that they had given us. Turns out everyone wanted to use it as well, so it got slightly torn lol. I highlighted my friends' cities on the map & set out to enjoy my last night with everyone...in the city of Jeonju atleast. We kept it simple & had a couple drinks down the street from our dorm. Being hungover on the day you meet your co-teacher didn't sound like the best idea to us lol.
SAYING "GOODBYE":
The morning of leaving was bittersweet. My roommate had to leave earlier than I did, so we said goodbye in the dorm room. My other friends were in the same province group as I was so we knew we would see each other before boarding the buses. The funny part was, EPIK did not inform everyone that all the buses were going to stop for a break together, as well as eat lunch in the same city. So after saying goodbye in the morning, we said goodbye at the rest stop, then finally again after lunch haha! I think everyone got enough "see ya later's" in to last for awhile. Most of us are no longer than a short bus or train ride away from each other, so we made many plans to visit each other.
TIME FOR PICK-UP:
I was lucky enough to not have to travel any further after lunch because all of the co-teachers picked us up in my awesome city of GumI! Awesome is "ah-sah" in Korean by the way! :)
So our buses pulled into a parking lot full of Korean teachers holding signs with our names written on them. People on the bus were straining their necks trying to find their name before we got off the bus. I wanted mine to be a surprise so I just sat back and waited. Upon immediately getting off the bus, I spotted my name...
See my next post for more!
XOXO,
Amanda
nightlife adventures in Jeonju!
So, with the busy schedule of orientation it felt as if we had little free time. We had to be up for breakfast by 8AM, go to 2 lectures, eat lunch, go to 2 more lectures, eat dinner, go to Korean language class, and then finally we were free, around 9pm. Not to mention I volunteered to participate in the talent show for the closing ceremony, so any small chunk of free time was consumed with practicing for that.
QUICK NOTE:
For the talent show we choreographed a dance routine to the song "Buttercup" lol. It was meant to be funny, and we even included the traditional Korean dance form into our routine. However, we performed directly after a girl who did an L.E.D. light hula-hoop performance, so the audience was still awed by her amazing talent. Then we show up on stage in masks and arm cloths (like the ones they used in the dance we learned) dancing around like fools, and the audience was super quiet, which made it slightly awkward for us. But, oh well, we had fun!! :)
So back to orientation. They also offered an opportunity to watch a Korean film, as I previously mentioned, which was shown after Korean language class, but I never made it in time. Which was fine because most people were ready to go out around 9 or 10 due to our 1AM curfew at the dormitory. The curfew was kind of lame, but I believe it was helpful in making sure you got a decent amount of sleep, and didn't drink too much. Although I heard some people enjoyed a little too much Soju and beer lol.
So, the first two nights I was responsible and stayed in haha. But the third night I was talked into going to a different university campus to experience the club scene in Korea. It was about a 10 minute taxi ride, and we squeezed 6 people into the cab in order to save money, and because only one girl knew how to tell the driver in Korean where we wanted to go lol. Once we got there we of course had a little trouble finding the club, M2, but we eventually made it.
KOREAN BIEBER FEVER:
As we walked into the club we were greeted with a chorus of, "baby, baby, baby!" (they were singing Justin Bieber's song to us haha). Two of the guys I was with loved dancing, so shortly after entering they made their appearance on the dance floor. We were a little confused as to why no Korean people were dancing, but we later discovered that they take mandatory dancing breaks, lol. So we happened to enter during that time that they were sitting at the tables. Once the D.J. said something in Korean, they all joined us on the floor.
The other few times I went out, we stayed near our dormitory in order to stay out a little later. Everyone at orientation who went out managed to find 3 different bars who were welcoming of the foreigners, lol. I actually only went to one of the three bars, but had a blast! It was a little annoying in the fact that they played the same 3 or 4 "western" songs over and over, but once you started drinking and talking the songs faded out lol. I enjoyed talking to alot of people from different countries, especially South Africa. I love their accents!! And they have 11 or 12 different languages there so they tried to teach us a couple of them. They were surprised that I didn't have a Texan accent until I said the word "y'all" haha :)
QUICK NOTE:
For the talent show we choreographed a dance routine to the song "Buttercup" lol. It was meant to be funny, and we even included the traditional Korean dance form into our routine. However, we performed directly after a girl who did an L.E.D. light hula-hoop performance, so the audience was still awed by her amazing talent. Then we show up on stage in masks and arm cloths (like the ones they used in the dance we learned) dancing around like fools, and the audience was super quiet, which made it slightly awkward for us. But, oh well, we had fun!! :)
So back to orientation. They also offered an opportunity to watch a Korean film, as I previously mentioned, which was shown after Korean language class, but I never made it in time. Which was fine because most people were ready to go out around 9 or 10 due to our 1AM curfew at the dormitory. The curfew was kind of lame, but I believe it was helpful in making sure you got a decent amount of sleep, and didn't drink too much. Although I heard some people enjoyed a little too much Soju and beer lol.
So, the first two nights I was responsible and stayed in haha. But the third night I was talked into going to a different university campus to experience the club scene in Korea. It was about a 10 minute taxi ride, and we squeezed 6 people into the cab in order to save money, and because only one girl knew how to tell the driver in Korean where we wanted to go lol. Once we got there we of course had a little trouble finding the club, M2, but we eventually made it.
KOREAN BIEBER FEVER:
As we walked into the club we were greeted with a chorus of, "baby, baby, baby!" (they were singing Justin Bieber's song to us haha). Two of the guys I was with loved dancing, so shortly after entering they made their appearance on the dance floor. We were a little confused as to why no Korean people were dancing, but we later discovered that they take mandatory dancing breaks, lol. So we happened to enter during that time that they were sitting at the tables. Once the D.J. said something in Korean, they all joined us on the floor.
trying to find our way
the ladies of the night
the boys of the nights
gotta love the New Balance sweater!
Overall, the experience was highly entertaining, but cut short due to having to hurry & take a taxi back to the dorm before curfew.
The other few times I went out, we stayed near our dormitory in order to stay out a little later. Everyone at orientation who went out managed to find 3 different bars who were welcoming of the foreigners, lol. I actually only went to one of the three bars, but had a blast! It was a little annoying in the fact that they played the same 3 or 4 "western" songs over and over, but once you started drinking and talking the songs faded out lol. I enjoyed talking to alot of people from different countries, especially South Africa. I love their accents!! And they have 11 or 12 different languages there so they tried to teach us a couple of them. They were surprised that I didn't have a Texan accent until I said the word "y'all" haha :)
As far as drinks go, their beer, called Hite, pretty much tastes like Miller Lite or Bud Light, which is great to me! "Meckchu" is the Korean word for beer. And of course they always have Soju, the trademark drink of Korea. I like the flavored Soju better than regular, but it's easier to take shots of Soju. Most people buy a big pitcher of flavored Soju, which is kinda frozen/icy and just add in a bottle of regular Soju to make it stronger. I haven't experienced a hangover from Soju yet, but I hear it's pretty bad. I'll just stick to "meckchu" for awhile then haha! And of course it's important to drink lots of "mool" or water :)
lots of meckchu!
flavored soju & meckchu :)
Meckchu ju seyo...means "I'd like more beer." Knowing the phrase "ju seyo" is helpful for ordering pretty much anything. You don't sound like a completely dumb foreigner atleast lol.
I guess that about sums up my adventures during orientation on Jeonju University. Now on to my experience in the city that I will call home for the next year....Gumi!
XOXO,
Amanda
Monday, March 7, 2011
hanok village field trip
After arriving and having a medical check and two days of lectures, we were taken on a field trip. We of course were divided into our classes, so I spent most of the day with my "clique" from Class 6.
Before the actual village tour, we participated in 3 traditional Korean activities at the Traditional Culture Center. The first activity we participated in was a drum lesson. All of the drums filled up pretty quick so I ended up "playing" the gong. I was probably better at that than the drums anyways lol. The pan that I had to hold up was rather heavy, so I had to take a few breaks.
Before the actual village tour, we participated in 3 traditional Korean activities at the Traditional Culture Center. The first activity we participated in was a drum lesson. All of the drums filled up pretty quick so I ended up "playing" the gong. I was probably better at that than the drums anyways lol. The pan that I had to hold up was rather heavy, so I had to take a few breaks.
The next stop was to a traditional ink painting class. We learned how to use the tools & ink to create bamboo trees. We were also able to practice writing our names in Korean symbols. Mine's fairly easy since I have three a's.
The last activity was the most entertaining. I ended up sitting in the front row and was the first to get called up to put on a mask. They then brought up my friend Dave to put on an old man's mask. After calling up another girl to put on the last mask, they asked us who we thought the old man was married to. We chose the girl in the older looking mask, and they said we were correct. They then asked who they thought I was supposed to be since I was wearing a younger looking mask. Some people guessed daughter, but then the guy in charge pulled Dave over to me and said no, this is his second wife, haha! After talking about that they taught us a dance. We decided that it must be some sort of polygamy dance lol. And since we were still in the front row, we were the first to put on these arm clothing pieces and perform the dance in front of everyone. It turned out they made each line of people perform also, so we weren't as embarrassed anymore. The last part of the dance was a dance where two people got inside of a dragon/horse looking costume. That was highly entertaining as well, and afterwards we were able to take a picture inside of the costume.
After eating "bibimbap" for lunch (not a fan by the way due to the lack of meat & majority of random veggies), we were taken to tour the village. We first stopped in a part of the village to make a traditional craft. The boys weren't very excited to make a heart-shaped picture frame, lol. The good part was that when we were finished we went outside for a snack, which was a grilled chunk of sweet potato. It was delicious and they told us that you can find sweet potato stands all over the place.
On the tour we saw a few interesting things, but for the most part we just wandered around aimlessly. I felt sorry for the people who lived in the homes of the village, because tourists wander through there all day long, even other Koreans who are visiting the city. The next pic is of me with a 400 year old tree.
The best part of the tour was when they let us wander around the town's market. They had everything you could imagine up and down the streets. Ajumas, older Korean ladies, are in charge of most of the selling in the market. From fish, to blankets, to vegetables, they had it all.
I'm pretty sure most stuff is cheaper to buy in the open markets, than in an actual mart or "grocery store." The smell of raw seafood wasn't very pleasant though...bleh! Nor was the site of pig heads! However, I did manage to come across a penguin neck pillow! :) Also, around parts of the town you also see lots of ajushi, older Korean men, playing board games.
Towards the end of the day everyone seemed a bit tired from walking .Since we had to wait awhile for our bus, we found a nice spot to sit down, talk, & relax. On the short bus ride home I was almost able to fall asleep from being so tired lol. Of course we all still ended up going out later that night! :) Which will be my next post...the nightlife adventures in Jeonju during orientation!
XOXO,
Amanda
Thursday, March 3, 2011
yummy...or not?!
Ok, so one of the biggest challenges since arriving in Korea has been...THE FOOD! As most of you may know I am a rather "picky eater" in that I don't care for many out of the ordinary vegetables. I was raised on chicken fried steak & mashed potatoes, what can I say?! lol. Of course the main dish in Korea is kimchi, which is served with literally EVERY meal. Fermented cabbage..turns out it's not for me, go figure! I like the spicy taste, but the texture of the cabbage throws me off a bit.
So, during orientation we were served three meals a day, and snacks inbetween lectures. Breakfast usually looked more like lunch, so I stuck to Korean style Kellog's Corn Flakes...which got a little old after the 4th morning, but you have to take what you can get right?! I learned that at each meal, it was more like just filling my stomach enough to be satisfied.
Some days I would enjoy one or two choices, and some days they had no meat. On those days I usually ventured to the convenient store downstairs from the dorm & found something familiar looking to eat. That was also a hit or a miss. It seems that no matter what you eat in Korea...there's some smell or taste to it that's just "a little off" (if that makes any sense). So here are a few random pictures of what food & drinks are like in Korea:
tangerines are now my daily snack, chocolate is amazing here, apple juice tastes like perfume, & water tastes the same no matter what the brand is
pepsi, and any other sodas, are similar yet taste watered down a bit, and this meal was from the welcoming dinner...mainly ate the meat & rice
vending machines...good lemonade & orange juice...sodas are called "sigh-e-duh" or cider lol
chicken wings, yay! the teriyaki sauce was amazing! and the round balls in the back are supposed to be like dessert...with honey inside them but the texture of the outside is chewy, bleh!
two favorites i discovered...Twix & Lipton Tea! Oreos are fairly good, but the filling is lacking...guess they don't double stuff in Korea!
it's custom to order food when you are out drinking at different places...so this is the chicken we ordered..ended up costing more than the drinks lol lesson learned...order cheaper food!
Koreans are big on having lots of side dishes...there were more to the left of the bowl
and of course, the infamous "bibimbap" meal...not enough meat for me & too many odd vegetables. i never thought i'd be happy to eat carrots & spinach, but when you can atleast identify the food, you feel less frightened to eat it lol
this was actually my first meal for lunch at orientation...some sort of beef, rice, soup, and tangerines...not bad! the flavored tea they served was delicious as well :)
the above picture is from the farewell dinner...i told me friend Dave to eat the "baby octopus," which he did, and i put one on my plate just for show lol
definately did not eat that...heard it was pretty chewy though & not horrible...i'll take their word for it :)
and finally...eating on my own resulted in hunting down a pizza place...which turned out to be right across the street from me! "Pizza Bingo!" got the beer at DC Mart (my grocery store) lol
tastes pretty much the same as American pizza, but like i said, there's always that small "off" taste
and this assortment is everything i was able to find at DC Mart that either looked somewhat familiar or had enough English words on it to figure out what it was :)
Overall, even though it can be a struggle at times, I think I will survive in Korea. Either I will lose weight from not eating as often, or gain wait from eating all the "westernized" version of Korean food. We shall see!! As of right now I'm working on memorizing the Korean alphabet in order to read the signs & menus at the restaurants. I've also hung out with a couple from England a couple times, Paul and Ali, who are showing me the good places to eat and how to say it in Korean. They've been here for a year already, so they know quite a bit of Korean. Slowly but surely this will all be natural to me as well! :)
XOXO,
Amanda
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