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!
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