The first few days...

http://picasaweb.google.com/travelingchris/200707Apartment - Link to pics of my new crib!


I arrived at Incheon International Airport about 5:00pm local time on Saturday, July 14th. The flight was very long- about 20 hours in total, including a 2 hour layover in San Fransisco - but it didn't really bother me. Actually, I was fairly comfortable on both planes and I spent most of the time sleeping. I was glad to have a bit of time to myself after the whirlwind of the previous few weeks, and to be off my feet having broken my toe the day prior. The vegetarian food was pretty decent and looked far fresher than what the guy sitting next to me was eating. I would recommend requesting a special meal to anyone flying.

After claiming my bags -are they always the last?- and going through customs -no problems- and changing my money, I found my way out the gate and into a see of people holding signs. I searched and searched but didn't see mine anywhere. I found several other American English teachers also waiting for someone to claim them and we stood together and talked for a while. One at a time, they all left and I was there wonder what to do. I walked to the payphones to try to make a call, but I couldn't figure out how to use my calling card and I wasn't sure I had the right number anyway. I waited a little longer, pacing back and forth. I wasn't worried; I knew that someone would come eventually, but after a long flight, standing around was the last thing I wanted to do.

Finally, a little woman practically knocked me down. She was holding a hot pink sign with my name on it. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she kept apologizing. "Traffic, traffic." "No problem," I told her. "It's OK." I didn't know it at the time, but she was the director of the school that I would be teaching at. Her name is Ji Won Park and in the short time I've been here, we've become friends.

My first impression of Korea is that it is very beautiful. From the plane, I could see tiny mountainous islands popping out of the Yellow Sea. There are mountains everywhere in Korea. Everything is very green - greener than you can imagine. I'm dying to go hiking.

It is about 30 minutes to the city of Ansan -my new home- from the airport, but we stopped first at a friend's restaurant for some sushi. Let's suffice it to say that my first meal in Korea wasn't the most enjoyable one of my life. I choked it down as politely as possible and was eternally grateful when they finally brought me some fried shrimp.

Afterwards, we finally got to my apartment. I was so tired at that point I could hardly hide it. I was ready to fall asleep. I didn't even really care what it looked like, but Ji Won started cleaning it up. It was a little dirty, some things needed to be wiped down, but nothing too bad. I assured her that it was OK and I would do it tomorrow. I said goodnight and we made plans to go shopping the following day.

My apartment is old and small, but it is a nice enough space, though a bit quirky. For starters, and this is probably the craziest thing of all, there is no shower per se. Rather, in the bathroom, above the sink is a shower head. You lift up a knob on the sink and the water switches from the faucet to the shower head and the entire bathroom becomes the shower! It's weird, no doubt, especially since there is a full size mirror staring me right in the face. I have to be careful not to get my towels or toilet paper wet. At least I can sit on the bowl to shave my legs, could even take a poop if I wanted to! As if the shower weren't crazy enough, the hot water doesn't come out automatically when you turn on the faucet. There is a thermostat for the hot water heater in the bedroom which needs to be turned on a few minutes before showering to ensure hot water. It must be turned off and on every time I want to shower or do the dishes. Also, the controls for the thermostat, air conditioner, washing machine, gas stove and pretty much everything are in Korean, so I never really know what I'm doing. Just hope I don't burn the place down!

I've only ventured out once on my own so far. It was a very hot day and I didn't have any water with me. Also, my foot with the broken toe was really starting to bother me. I ended up only walking around for about an hour and a half before I came back to my apartment. Ansan does not have a lot of foreigners here like Seoul does. There is not much written in English. It's hard to figure out how to get around because I don't have a good map. I heard I can get one from City Hall, so I might try to get Ji Won to take me there tomorrow. I have gone out a few times with Ji Won and my other new friend Mi Hee a few times. Ji Won and I eat out together at least once a day. No meal was quite as horrible as the first. I have yet to find anything that I love, but there is usually something on the table that I can fill up on. It's just a matter of getting used to new flavors, I think. Korean food is so much healthier than American food. What little there is that is fried is somehow not as greasy, the sweets not so sugary and nothing is nearly as salty. And yet, there are so many flavors! At least on dish served at a meal is very spicy and then there is usually something very mild to counterbalance the heat - like rice or noodles. They often have pickled vegetables on the table - cucumbers, garlic, radishes and ginger are the most popular one's I've seen so far. There are usually some different kinds of soups, some hot and some cold. Today I had cucumber water. Not what we drink at home, but it was a cold soup with shredded cucumbers, hot peppers and radishes. It was really tasty - a little sweet and a little spicy- served iced cold, it was very refreshing.

Everyone here who has seen me eat says that I am very good at using chopsticks, though I still feel very clumsy with them. They are used to eat everything. All you get when you go to a restaurant are chopsticks and a spoon. To make matters worse, you don't really get your own plate of food, you just share everything off the same plate in the middle of the table. So it's rather embarrassing when drop a piece of something multiple times. It's particularly hard to pick up shredded vegetables, sprouts and the like. I tried so hard the other day to get some sprouts and, after many tries, could only manage to get one. My fingers were twisted like a pretzel and when I tried to get it to my mouth, it fell! Lucky for me, Ji Won puts things on a little plate for me and I can raise it most of the way to my mouth before attempting to grab it with my chopsticks. I am getting better quickly though.

I started teaching on my own the first day in the classroom. The material I am teaching is not difficult, but teaching it is a bit of a challenge. For one thing, even within a class, the students are at so many different levels. Some are very good and others just stare at me with blank looks on their faces. I don't have any prior teaching experience to be able to draw from, so every day it's an adventure. I'm kind of just winging it for now. Over the weekend I will take some time to make lesson plans for the week.

Well, that is more than enough information for one blog. I am having a very good time here so far. I am able to easily keep in touch with everyone through e-mail and with my Skype phone, so homesickness isn't a problem (yet). I am really enjoying getting to learn about a new culture.