I’m updating my blog from an internet café not far from my apartment, uploading what I'd written earlier but wasn't able to share. I don’t yet have Wifi at my place, so any internet access I’ve had since I arrived was only for a moment or two when I had down time (which is not often) and when I can manage to steal a signal (which is also not often.)
There are so many details I want to get into about the trip thusfar. I spent about an hour trying to write something cohesive, but with every sentence came countless details I wanted to include, and working them in became exhausting.
So I’m starting over. This time, I’m going to paint the experience with broad strokes, using minimal adjectives to provide you with a basic timeline of what I’ve been up to so far. For supplemental information, you can refer to the footnotes for the meaty details. (Sooooo meaty!) Basically I’m organizing my thoughts with what is, in essence, another list. I’m such a chronic lister.
Day 1: I flew out of Oakland on Monday morning, to fly to Seattle for my connecting flight to Seoul[i]. After landing in Seoul, I went to straight to my hotel, and then straight to bed.
Day 2: I awoke early[ii] to take a shuttle back to Incheon airport, and then catch a bus from there to Gimpo, where we would meet the rest of the teachers at 6:45 in front of the Dunkin’ Donuts[iii]. At eight o’clock, we caught a plane down to Yeosu, and began orientation classes[iv] immediately. Around three o’clock, orientation wrapped up early and we paired up with our co-teachers who took us to our new homes, as well as various other places[v]. After my co-teacher left me, I basically took the time to enjoy my own space, so I stayed in to watch a movie and be in bed by 9 o’clock.
Day 3: Once again I woke up early, then walked the five minutes to orientation[vi]. After orientation ended, I walked to Lotte Mart with another teacher to buy more apartment necessities I’d forgotten to pick up[vii]. Shortly after that, several of us teachers met up for dinner and drinks in Yeosu-Dong[viii]. I took a taxi back to my place and got to bed around midnight.
Day 4: Got up, and had my first hand-held shower in my place[ix]. Walked to orientation again, running into my landlord’s wife along the way[x]. Directly after orientation, a majority of the teachers got on a bus down to Yeosu-Dong and had another dinner and some drinks[xi]. After dinner, me and three other teachers called it a night and split a cab back to our respective neighborhoods. Which brings me to now…. Where I lay on my bed typing, half drunk, about this incredible experience.
[i] My plane landed in Seoul at 6 pm on Tuesday after a twelve-hour flight. Since I had been flying west, the sun never set, and outside it was like a mere five hours had passed. With crossing the international dateline, it was as though 29 hours had passed too. Time was thrown in a blender.
[ii] Like, 4 o’clock early. I’ve beaten my alarm clock to the punch every day.
[iii] I was relieved when I came down to the lobby to meet my first Yeosu teachers; two guys, Calvin and Joe, from the northern UK. We talked and got to know each other a little bit while we traveled to Gimpo; Joe is 23, recently finished his ‘duty’ (I’m assuming this meant army service), and has a sister who it 13. Calvin is 33, studied Japanese abroad in college, and finished his duty about a year ago. Around 6:30 we met the others in front of the Dunkin’ Donuts on the second floor of the airport – there were about 20 of us. Most were from Britain or the UK, but there were also a few from South Africa. We all mingled with each other, eager to feel each other out, and find common ground.
[iv] Orientation is four days, 9am to 5pm (-1 hour for lunch), of classes meant to prepare us for life and teaching here in Korea. We’ve had a class on Korean life, reading Korean (which, I’m proud to say, I’m already getting the hang of. I’m already finding myself sounding out simple words.), Korean culture, lesson planning, music and dance, computer resources, elementary school activities and management, and a fair share of language practice. I look forward to orientation every day; I feel more and more confident and adventurous with every class. After our fourth day of classroom orientation, we will take a three-day trip to [I don’t remember where], where it sounds like we will be experiencing the culture in a more casual, hands-on way. This will also be a great chance to spend a lot of bonding time with the other teachers.
[v] My co-teacher’s name is Alison, and she is very sweet. Her English is great, and she was very helpful in getting me through the first day. As a gift to me, she gave me a calendar of Monet’s paintings for my apartment. She then introduced me to my landlord, who lives on the top floor of my building with his wife. He invited us both in for tea and fruit. I loved this; a genuine slice of Korean entertaining, and a chance to spend time with the people who will be taking care of me for the next year. After the tea, my co-teacher took me shopping at Lotte Mart for some basic amenities. Lotte Mart is the second largest store in Yeosu (think Super Target.) It was a tremendous help to have Alison there with me to translate and make sure I did everything right.
[vi] Seriously, I LOVE the location of my apartment. It’s on the edge of town, but I can easily walk to orientation, my elementary school, and (the closest) Lotte Mart. Also, the buses and cabs are dirt cheap out here, so getting to other parts of the city is fairly simple and affordable.
[vii] Like toilet paper. I was not happy to realize I’d forgotten to buy toilet paper the day before.
[viii] We ate eel, which was cooked on a grill in the middle of our table. Cooking your food at the table and eating family-style is how it’s done. We also drank plenty of beer and Soju (which just tastes like watered down vodka.) It was the first time I had the chance to spend time with the other teachers outside of orientation, and I had a blast. By the end of the night we were all feeling giggly and happy.
[ix] Not bad. I’m still going to try and rig something up so I can attach the shower head to the towel rack and enjoy a hands-free cleansing.
[x] Anneyeong haseo!
[xi] More cook-at-your-table fun., and a table top fully cluttered with dozens of small side dishes.
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Coming soon: a short video tour of my apartment!
