[Back-dated] 08/30/13 Busy, Busy Week!

Yesterday, we caved.

It was a long, long day.

And there was McDonalds. Right across the street from our hotel—beckoning us in with promises of fast, delicious food.

Okay, so McDonalds is rarely what I would describe as delicious but whenever I’ve given in to temptation while traveling and succumbed to this delightful reminder of home it’s always tasted like the best thing ever…

This time was no exception.

Ordering was fun…because my Korean is limited to food items (Korean food items) and drama-lingo—which  I’ve noticed is basically useless when trying to get around. And so fingers, smiles, and head bobs were used as a translator. To my surprise I actually ended up with what I ordered!

But really…I feel pretty ridiculous not knowing any Korean. Sure you can get by fairly well with English and hand-gestures but I just don’t like going to another country and expecting everyone to cater to my English-only needs, you know? I feel like I’m being rude but really, with the EXTREMELY LIMITED AMOUNT OF KOREAN I KNOW (and I’m not kidding here) I am trying. And I will try harder, I promise. A phrase book is in my near future.

Our indulgence of American-style fast food aside, today was an especially exciting day. We headed out bright and early (the 6:30am kind of early) so that we could visit the Seoul Immigration Office and apply for our Ailen Registration Cards.  It was a looong series train rides that we only barely managed to navigate by ourselves (seriously….”Oh, you’ve never been to Korea before? Here find this place—have fun!”) but we ended arriving on time only to get lost because we couldn’t find the actual office.

Then, when we arrived (yup it was packed with a bunch of new teachers because it’s the end of August) we were notified we needed one more document from our school that we never received so we had to use the PAY PHONE because our phones don’t have any service to call the school and then have them fax the document over to us. Uge, it was such a hassle. But luckily we managed to get through it and even arrived back at school around when we had planned on returning.

I’m beginning to sense a routine that crops up whenever we have important stuff to get done and a limited time to do it. 

Anyway, we finished out our day drafting lesson plans and actually doing some teaching (which didn’t go that great….practice makes perfect?) then finished off work with a goodbye/welcome party with all the teachers. It was a nice event but boy were we already so tired…and our day wasn’t even over yet.

Our apartment

When we got off of work it was time to move in to our new apartment! Yey! Actually, this wasn’t very stressful. And we had the two teachers who previously occupied our apartment with us so they were able to go over all the stuff. I’m pretty sure I’ll never use the stove ever because…it’s gas. And you have to turn the GAS on/off...which is scary. 

But other than that the apartment is as we expected...small but equipped with all the necessary facilities and enough room for all of our stuff (thank goodness).  Hopefully we'll be able to pick up some stuff soon to make it feel more home-y. I'm really looking forward to the weekened! 

[Back-dated] 08/28/13 - We're in South Korea!!

Because I didn't have internet for awhile I wrote my entries out in word and am now able to post them.

8/28/13

Sunset on the way home from work

It has been four days since we arrived in South Korea and I’ve only finally found some time to breathe since we’ve been slammed with a super packed schedule and some awesome jet lag that I wasn’t really expecting. My day has basically been like this:

Wake up.

Get ready.

Go to work.

Grab something to eat or pick up some necessities from the store.

Go back to the hotel.

Sleep.

There has been no sightseeing, no time off, no opportunity to even realize that—ohmigosh—I’m in South Korea. In other words, it basically sucks right now.

But I’m sure that it will be better when I’m out of this shifty (wait for it) Love Motel, into our apartment and find my routine.

The good news is that, despite the rough schedule our school has thrust upon us, everyone is so friendly and helpful. It was a huge relief to me since you just never know what to expect when you start a new job…especially in a foreign country.

Today was actually the first day that I felt like I was getting a grasp on the hectic schedule and (somehow organized) chaos at the school. It’s nice because I’m beginning to recognize the kids and I’m finally starting to feel like I’m a teacher (yey)! The environment at our school is pretty laid back too, despite being a “business” (as is the case with hagwons). We even got some pizza today because a class won a reading competition and someone ordered extra pizza for all the teachers. Pizza Hut still rocks. Huzzah!

There is also one teacher at our school (who’s classes I’m actually taking over) from Britain and he has this nifty accent that I just adore (if you are reading this—please don’t think I’m creepy).  Today he was asking all the foreign teachers if we wanted to hit the restaurant on the first floor for lunch and he asked me:

“Do you fancy going downstairs for lunch?”

…Can I just have a moment to giggle? I’ve kinda always wanted to be asked if I fancy something, okay? Give a girl a break.

But anyway…so my days have had moments like these and this is pretty much as exciting as it gets other than a few painful blisters and some awkward I-can’t-communicate-because-I-don’t-know-Korean moments.

I think I need to start learning Korean…

Visas are in and the Beach Adventure Begins!

After months of paperwork, hair-pulling, and frantic fedex-ing we have finally received our E2 Visas for teaching abroad in South Korea. 

With the arrival of our precious passports (Visa stickers intact) we have also been sent our flight itinerary and will be leaving the country on Saturday, August 24th. That's less than a week away, folks! I can't believe it. 

What makes this all especially exciting is that I'm getting to enjoy a wonderful beach vacation with my bestie and her family right before we leave! Yey! It's so lovely to see the beach and to do some relaxing, non-stressful things (for once)! 

(view of the steps leading down from the beach house) 

This is all very fun and new for me! It's been years since I've visited the ocean in my home country and I've never had the amazing opportunity to stay in a house literally steps from the beach before.

We've even been lucky enough to have some rare nice weather (for the Northern Pacific Coast area) so the wind has been minimal, the sun has been shining, and the clouds have kept their distance. I wish I could get me some hot California beach time but at least it's warm enough that we don't have to bundle up to walk along the beach. Still planning on fixing my horrible farmers tan though. 

Well, we are going to give ourselves until Friday to enjoy our vacation before we have to crack down on re-packing everything (joy) and getting all our stuff loaded for our early morning domestic flight (our flight to Seoul doesn't leave until later on in the afternoon on Saturday). It's weird to think that my next post will probably be from South Korea! Woo hoo~!!