All on my own in Gangdong-gu!

I've been on my own now since last Thursday and it's been exciting and overwhelming all at the same time. I was dropped off at the education office in my district of Seoul called Gangdong-gu.  There I was met by my Korean teachers Kate (Head Teacher), and Susan & Nicky (Korean English teachers).  They all know English quite well and I wish I could tell you their Korean names but they didn't even mention them. I'll figure that out later on.  I was greeted with such kindness and they were all soooooo helpful. They took me to lunch, helped me buy bedding, ... and they even cleaned my apartment for me before I moved in:)  This I was surprised at because I was told that the apartment would be quite dirty because Koreans believed it was bad luck to clean after a move...or something like this lol.  They even helped me to get my T-money card (transportation card) and are now going to get my internet hooked up for me...sometime soon:)

My apartment is awesome as well. I remember being told the worst of the worst apartment stories at orientation but when Kate opened the door to my new place I was ecstatic!! It was bigger and cozier than I had thought! I ran in with such excitment and then halted quickly as I heard three large gasps behind me. I had committed a Korean faux pas...ran into my apartment with my SHOES on!!! This is a big no-no. OOPSY!!! Sure to not make that mistake again haha. Also, the previous teacher Gus who I am replacing and lived in the same apartment, left me a letter regarding "Things to know". OMG this was soooo helpful!

I also received the Friday off from school in order to get settled in...my VP is sooooooo nice:):) So I had a three day weekend and enjoyed every hot and humid minute of it. I just explored my neighborhood in search of cheap grocery shopping, hot yoga and a gym.  I did get lost a few times...found an awesome farmer's market and discovered it is a BAD idea to travel an entire BLUE bus route from start to finish...unless you enjoy 3 1/2 hour long bus rides in bumper to bumper traffic lol. But I did find Olympic Park, COEX shopping center, A huge MAC makeup store (Holly, you would be so pumped!) and a few hot yoga studios very far, far away from my neighborhood of Gangdong.

Today was my first day at my school, Jamhyun Elementary School, and all I did was plan for lessons. I did find the day overwhelming with computer troubles and it was difficult to communicate with every one...but obviously this would be an issue lol.  I'm planning a lesson using Pop music for my grade 5 class...hoping it goes well. Fingers crossed!

Life at Kyung Hee University

So far so GOOD!!! The orientation that EPIK has put on for us here is awesome! It has been so informative and helpful...so far I recommend EPIK to those who are contemplating coming to Korea to teach. We have been taken care of here: our dorm rooms are small but quite comfortable, laundry is provided, 3 meals and snacks daily, instruction on lesson planning, Korean history, daily life, and culture, language lessons! And not to mention that our EPIK Coordinators have been so welcoming and really a pleasure to be around. We even get a 12 a.m. curfew after classes we can go it and experience a bit of Seoul's night life. LOVE IT!!!!!!

I am enjoying this orientation immensely...but we have been pretty sheltered here.  As I mentioned before, this part of the stay is easiest because we have been taken care of.  On Thursday we leave the university and all the friends we have met, and are dispersed throughout the different districts of Seoul to live on our own and start our teaching jobs.   SCARY!!!    Reality is really going to set in.  The main message our lecturers and coordinators have made to us at orientation has been "be patient, accommodating, flexible and accepting".  Koreans don't stick to schedules and things always change last minute.  I'm going in with no expectations and a "go with the flow" type of attitude.  Kinda excited for some craziness to be honest!

I've met some really great people here as well. Lots of Canadians and Americans of course, but also people from the UK, South Africa, Ireland, Australia...everywhere! I could listen to my friends Charlotte and Lloyd from the UK talk all day long...I'm even thinking of dropping the word 'pants' from my vocab and using the word 'trousers' more often lol, sounds waaaaaay cooler for sure.

Sunday we went to this Korean Folk Village to catch a glimpse of the old rural life and it was pretty cool!!  I have attached a mini video of the traditional drumming show we watched. The elder in the middle (drum leader) is 70 years old and is drumming with his son and grandson...he was so proud when telling us about it.

Hope you enjoy this...AWESOME!
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haha I can't download the video for some reason...not surprising lol. I will figure this out and post it later.

Flight and Orientation

Hey All!!

Well the flight in wasn't too bad. Seventeen hours altogether with one layover in San Francisco. The exciting part...pretty sure I saw the San Fran bridge waaaaaaaay off in the distance when we were landing. Pretty cool seeing the 'Full House' bridge lol (yup...I'm a dork).
The downfall about long flights....pretty sure I have a mild case of "Cankles".  Mmmhmm, my feet are a little swelled and the heat here isn't helping the situation either. I've been told the temperature here is in the 80s...minus air for breathing, which makes it extra hot. Anyhow, seems hotter than at home for sure.

This week has been pretty tame. We've been staying at Kyung Hee University in Seoul completing orientation, but we haven't really ventured into the city yet.  We are here until the 25th and to be honest, I haven't felt culture shocked yet because we've been secluded to basically our English teacher colleagues and a few Korean coordinators. The big shock will come once out on our own...I can;t wait for this!

Tonight we had a Korean language class and WOW!!! This is going to be quite a challenge learning the language here.  I'll be lucky to master 'hello' before I leave...but I plan to continue taking language classes throughout my stay.  Every time I tried talking in Korean, my teacher laughed at me. Maybe I wasn't saying 'hello' after all...ha

And the food....YUMMY!!!! Seriously, I'm loving the Kimchi (hot pickled cabbage).  It's super spicy and eaten at EVERY meal.  Most of us are loving the food here. It's great and healthy too! Very little processed garbage. A nice change for sure. Oh, I almost forgot...the greatest cafe exists just downstairs. This dude who works there makes the greatest vanilla/caramel latte EVER...seriously in LOVE... ...with the latte of course!

And now I'm tired...not as jet lagged as yesterday, but seriously, I opted for going to bed rather than going out with people for drinks. Kinda regretting that decision...really, really thirsty!!!

Hey Everyone!

Well I did it...I copied what every other traveling teacher does and started my own blog.  I figured this would be easiest to keep those who care up-to-date on my teaching and travel experiences this year. I know these types of things usually start out strong (you know, with me writing every few days and having all these interesting things to say...ha), and eventually fizzle out as the blogger begins to have more of a social life once settled in their new country, but I will try to keep everyone updated on a regular basis. Who knows, maybe I will enjoy being a blogger.

This post is going to be pretty boring. Today is my second day in Seoul and I'm feeling jet lagged, so I'm kind of finding it hard to concentrate at the moment.  I guess I just wanted to get this thing started and get the word out.

Anyhow, off to bed...have a long day ahead at orientation, but looking forward to it!