Super Update

I've finally settled down into my apartment, so I think it's about time for a legitimate update. I arrived in South Korea a little over a week ago. Here is a brief overview of what's been going on.

- I left San Angelo, TX on February 18th.

Here is a view of the outskirts of my lovely hometown.





- I arrived at Incheon International Airport on February 20th. As it was my first time on an airplane, I was a little nervous about the luggage situation. So, of course, they lost my bags. Well, they weren't really lost. Just misplaced. I got them a few days later. Driving through South Korea was amazing despite the fact that every Korean driver is certifiably insane. Coming from West Texas, I've become accustomed to flat stretches of dirt. It was exciting to see SNOW and MOUNTAINS. Yeah, I took pictures of a lot of mountains.

- I went to the EPIK (English Program in Korea) orientation in Yangyang, South Korea. We were really out in the middle of nowhere, but it was a lot of fun and surprisingly informative. As it is also my very first time teaching, I had asked myself a few questions, such as, "What the hell is a lesson plan, and how do I make one?" Well, they told me. Also, they put us up in a fancy hotel with a badass jim-jim-bang (basically a mini-bathhouse with saunas, hot tubs filled with pine needles and shit, and showers).

View from the hotel:



We went out to a fish market and a mountain too.













- I got placed in Chuncheon, which was one of my top picks. It's the capital of Gangwon Province, and it has a population of around 300,000. The city is famous for its beautiful lakes and its dakgalbi (translates to "chicken ribs," but it's actually just regular chicken meat and veggies; really tasty, though!).







- They put me in a "love motel" for a few days because the old EPIK teacher was still living in MY apartment. There was a vending machine right by my room with vibrators and condoms and I think some other things. I didn't look too closely. Mostly, though, it was just like a regular hotel, and the owners were very nice. In fact, their daughter called me up one day and invited me to lunch. She was in high school, and I think she mostly just wanted to practice her English, but it was still nice to make a friend. How come girls don't randomly call me up to invite me to lunch in America?

Notice the curtain over the parking garage. That keeps women from recognizing their cheating husbands' cars:



- I spent most of my first days in Chuncheon just wandering around the city. Somehow, despite my notoriously bad sense of direction, I never once got lost. I even managed to bump into a few other EPIK teachers (the only other palefaces I've seen since I've been here). It's strange how exciting it can be just to find someone who speaks your language and to hold a normal conversation.

- Today, I moved into my apartment. I had heard horror stories from some of the other teachers about their apartments (no bed, no microwave, no closet, etc.), so I was a little worried, but things have worked out wonderfully. It's a huge complex, and I live on the 12th floor, but the actual apartment is just fine. Also, it came with almost everything I could need (furniture, microwave, TV, dishes, etc.), and the ex-teacher left behind a ton of great stuff too, like a brand new cell phone! My place is a five minute walk from my school, a ten minute walk from E-Mart (like the Korean Walmart, but better), a 30 minute walk from the lake, and I think about a 45 minute walk from downtown.





The guy who lived here before me was, like, a Alexander Supertramp style poet, dude. But isn't the view from my apartment great?



- Everyone here has been so incredibly nice to me since I've been here. Restaurant owners are sometimes so glad or surprised to see foreigners in their restaurants that they bring out free drinks. Also, some Koreans are really excited about the chance to use English, so people are always saying "hello" to me on the streets or in the grocery store. It's mostly either little kids or crazy, toothless old men, for some reason. And, today, my co-teacher's husband bought me a pizza for lunch for no damn reason. The Korean people have been nothing but wonderful to me so far.

- I had planned out a grand dinner for tonight, but I couldn't figure out how to use my goddamn gas stove, so I just ate brown rice (I bought a rice cooker) and raw carrots. I've only used electric stoves before, so I wasn't really sure what to do. It's the kind where you push a button, and it makes a little spark. So, I turned on the gas and pushed the button, and the spark came, but no flame. Also, everything on it is in Korean, to make things doubly difficult for me. I think I know how it should work, but I'm not having any luck.

- Tomorrow is my first day of school. Fortunately, I will only be observing classes for the first week or two.

- There is a crying baby next door. I hope this will not be a problem.

View more photos and become my friend on Flickr here.