Grocery Shopping

     Grocery shopping has been interesting.  I have avoided it, due to fear.  I went by myself, thinking that it wouldn't be that hard.  Seven items and 1 hour later, I learned just how hard shopping in a foreign country can be.
     First, I needed grocery bags.  In the states, its easy.  But here, you have to get the correct color bags.  The yellow bag is for "wet" items.  For example, food, bones, banana peels.  The blue bag is for plastics and the pink bag for everything else.  If you do not seperate the garbage correctly, you will receive a large fine.  And yes, the managers of the buildings are known to go through your garbage.  Gross.  Come to find out there are also different sizes.  I didn't realize this until I got home (with the smallest bag I have ever seen). lol.
     Second, you can manage to get by with looking at the pictures on the items.  This was fine, until I needed laundry deteregent and all the pictures looked the same.  There are two types of detergents.  I needed the detergent that will work for a front load washing machine.  I knew this word was drum.  So, I proceeded to find an employee that could assist me.  I went up with a bottle of laundry detergent and said drum.  He just stared.  I pointed to my clothes, said wash, drum.  This was unsuccessful.  After the second attempt and a clerk who spoke broken english, we got it straightened out.  Good thing, because I was going to buy the wrong detergent.
     Third, the music of choice is all american.  Which is quite funny, becuase there is not any american food.  It is all Korean.  The only had kind of spaghetti sauce, which kind of scared me.  Also, they do not have bread.  Instead, you need to go the bakery.  Which is amazing.  They have fresh loaves and is similar to panera, except they don't have a big menu.  Also, the items are also printed in English, making it quite easy to purchase. 
     I also found a great italian restaurante right around the block from me.  It is contemperary and a little pricey, but worth it.  I got a pizza and coke for $15.00.  Best of all, the menu is in English.  I think that I better start learning Korean.  It will make things a lot easier.

**Note: It is very hard to carry groceries home, when you do not have a car!!

Where To Go When You Get Homesick

     Itaewon-dong, Seoul.  It is a home away from home.  It takes about 30 minutes on a bus from bundang to Seoul.  From there, you can either transfer buses or take a taxi.  It is usaully about the same price, as long as you do not take the black taxis.  They will say for foreigners, english speaking driver and really rip you off.  Once in Itaewon, you feel right at home. 
    Itaewon-dong is an area filled with foreigners and the restaurants and shops really cater to them.  With the U.S. army base near by, it is a hub for americans and american restaurants.  They have a Burger King, Quiznos, and Taco Bell.  All of the menus and shops are in English.  They even have an english book store! 
     My first stop was Gecko's.  It is a bar/restaurant.  Kelly and I met up with all the teachers from school there.  It was a farewell party for Jennifer, the teacher that I am replacing.  From there, we went for my first korean barbeque.  It was amazing.  They have this mini grill built into the center of the table.  Above the grill is this odd exhaust pipe, that moves up and down.  The waiter brings out your meat on a plate and your responsible for cooking it.  After the meat is cooked (I had pork), you place it on a lettuce leaf, add rice, chili sauce, and sauted garlic.  Wrap it up and presto.  The best korean food I have had yet.  They also made me try soju (korean vodka), peer pressure (lol).  It actually wasn't quite bad.  Just don't let it hit your tongue!
     From there, we visited a small, whole in the wall country bar.  It was full of american soldiers and was a lot of fun.  Be warned, the in order to get there you need to walk up a hill (named by expats) as, "hooker hill."  The store fronts up the hill are filled with hookers in the doorway.  There is also another hill, dubbed "hobo alley."
     The main street has tons of street meat, bars, and clubs.  Minus the dirt and stench (it is really hot and humid here), it reminds everyone of home.  Here, do you not have to sign what food you want or worry about being the only white person in the room.  You can be yourself.  And when you say, "hello" you get a response back.
    
   

PC Bang

     I apologize if I haven't called, emailed, or skyped in a while.  I do not have internet connection in my room yet!  I am able to post my blog and email through the internet at a PC Bang.  Bryan and Luke, this is a gamers heaven!  They are rooms (usually in the basement of a building) filled with computer stations.  They give you a headset and microphone and you connect to play video games.  The best part, its only $1 an hour!  They have snacks, coffe and chips here too.  I feel like a dork, because I am the only American here and I am not playing a game. 
     The PC Bangs are easy to find, because they have the sign PC on the side of buildings.  They are usually in the basement, so you just walk on in.  It is funny though, tring to communicate.  I usually use a lot of hand signals.
     The only thing bad, is that I havn't found one yet that has skype and I am blocked from downloading it onto their computers, so I apologize if I haven't called anyone.  The best way to communicate at this time is to email me. 
     Tonight I am going out with all the teachers to say farewell to Jennifer.  They are all really welcoming.  I am really looking forward to this.

Internet and Doctors

     Today, I went to visit the hospital for the clearance for my residency card.  To declare residency in Korea, Aliens are required to go through an application and health screening process.  I was driven by a representative from the school who translated the information for me.  The hospital was really nice and modern.  The wait for assistance was very brief.  They had a great system.  All of the doctors and nurses that I saw spoke english as well.  I know your dying to know what they did, so here is the list:
height
weght
hearing test
eye exam
checked breathing
few past health history questions
urine test
chest xray
blood test

     They are really concerned with AIDs and asthma here.  What I found odd is that they do not want you to live here if you have AIDS, yet when the nurse took my blood, she wasn't wearing gloves.  You just walk up to these ladies sitting a desk and they take your blood.  Don't worry, I made sure I watched them unpackage a new needle. lol.
     The processing of the residency card takes about 10 days.  After this, I can connect internet and cable in my apartment.

Apartment Woes

 

    Korean apartments are interesting!  I live in a studio apartment, in a nice little subarb, right near the city.  It has great security.  I have to enter a code to get into the building and another to get into my apartment.I actually have a brand new apartment. My apartment is one the top floor. No elevator. It is about 4 flights of stairs, so I am definetly getting my excersize. It is very modern, according to Korean standards.  The kitchen is a pretty good size, with a washing machine (lol), a one range stove (no oven), and a minature refridgerator and freezer (pictures will be posted soon).  The freezer/refridgerator is so small, that they come up to about the middle of my chest.  At least I have no problem reaching the top!

     Currently, I just have a minuture futon for a bed.  That's it!  The other furniture (including a real bed) will arrive on Sept 2, when the other teacher that I am replacing leaves.  I guess in Korea they do not plan ahead very well.  At least I got brand new dishes, pots and pans, a pink bedspread (new)

     The bathroom is another story.  At first glance, it is really modern.  Then, you wonder where the shower is.  Yes, there is no shower stall.  Just a shower head.  Surprisingly the water sprays on just the bathroom door.  However, the entire floor gets soaked.  At least I don't have to worry about washing the bathroom floor. lol. One of the teachers came over to put together my closet and show me around the area.  I showed him the bathroom and he laughed.  He statted that this is an average Korean bathroom.  Most single apartments do not have a shower stall.  He then statted, "At least yours is not in front of the toilet, like mine."  

     I do not live in the same apartment as the other teachers.  Actually, we all over the city.  Some of the teachers live in a really nice building in the school.  They joked, and said that I live in the ghetto, with the other teachers.  Three of the teachers live 2 blocks away from me.  We walked to school together this morning (8 minutes) and they showed me around. 

     There is a mini market for groceries right near my apartment and a pizza restaurant with an english menu!  Also, quiznos and starbucks is right near the school.  To top it all, the school provides organic korean food for lunch and its free!

Korean Food

     I arrived today in Incheon at 6:05 p.m (an 11 1/2 hour flight).  The weather is humid, hot, and wet.  I was greeted my a korean gentleman,  named Eddy.  He transported me to temporary apartment for the evening, and advised that I will be picked up tomorrow morning and driven to my campus and permanent apartment.  After placing my luggage in my apartment, Eddy invited me to dinner.  I didn't want to be rude, so I politely accepted his offer.
    I must tell you, that Eddy speaks broken english.  So, when deciding on a location, he asked if I had ever had korean cuisine.  I politely statted no.  Then he pointed to a dodgy looking restaurant and asked if I like tog.  tog?  I could not decipher what he was asking.  He repeated tog, tog....like bark, bark.  I almost died.  He was asking if I liked dog!  I said no thank you and he started laughing.  He stated that there are restaruants that serve it and that only the elderly will eat it.  The younger generation does not.  What did I get myself into?
     So, he asked if I liked fish.  How bad could fish be?  We walked to a restaurant with tanks full of live squid, crabs, and some unknown fish.  I didn't want to be rude, so we went in.  He asked if I liked rice and fish or sushi.  I opted for the fish.  The restaurant was Japanese.  We had to take our shoes off and sit on cushions (crossed legged) at the table.  There was a wet cloth on the table that was used to wash our hands before we ate.  Not so bad....
     Then the food came.  The fish came out head, bones, and everything.  There were two on my plate.  Don't ask what kind of fish it was.  I had no clue.  There was a bowl of rice, seaweed soup, kimshaw, and spicy beans.  There was nothing I could do, but close my eyes and try. 
     After fumbling with the chopsticks and making a mess, the waitress laughed and brought over a fork.  It was very hard to eat the fish and not get a mouthful of bones. lol.  But it was pretty good, a little salty. 
 I think that I expierenced a little bit of culture shock today.

Seattle

     Seattle, Washington is a breathtaking city.  It is full of evergreen trees and fascinating people.  This area is preserved by an interesting law.  The state owns the trees.  You are not able to cut a tree down on your property, unless the permission is granted by the gov.  I was fortunate to see a small portion of the city, with a brief driving tour by my HR representative.  Although the tour was brief, it sparked enough interest to visit on my own. 
     When I arrived, I was fortunate to meet three young teachers in my program.  Although they were not going to be on the same campus as myself, we were going to be flying overseas together.  We were able to share our anxiety, fears, and excitement over meals.  They shared bits of important information, such as there is not deoderant in South Korea (to be determined later), and that the apartments did not have fitted sheets. 
     While in Seattle, I attended my training session from 9-7.  A lot of information was shared, concerning the schools policy on grading, scheduling, and testing.  It was a great opportunity to review the curriculum books and tls.  After the mock lesson, I felt very comfortable with the curriculum and presenting it to my future students. 
     Tomorrow, I leave for South Korea.  I have no idea what to expect.

Tears Shed

     The alarm rang at 4:00 A.M.  This was it.  The start of an adventure that would take me to Bundang, South Korea for one year.  There was no turning back.  I had made the choice. 
     Sean dropped me off at the airport at 5:30 A.M. and thats when everything hit me.  I started questioning everything.  Did I pack enough essentials? Will I be able to access internet?  What am I going to eat (I can't read Korean)?  Sean assured me that it was all going to ok.  So, after $260.00 later (luggage fees), we said our good byes and I was off.
     I don't know if I was tired, because I only got 4 hours of sleep as a result of a going away party, or my nerves.  But I will be honest, there were a few tears shed.  So I figured why not look at this as a celebation.  A celebration for a new life style and cultural expierence.  I bought a mimosa, well two, and enjoyed the flight.  My first stop: Seattle, Washington for training.

Prior to departure

     Preparing to live abroad for one year is exhausting.  It involves contacting credit card companies to notify of overseas usage, placing vehicles on storage plans, authorizing individuals on banking accounts, updating addresses, enrolling accounts in paperless statements, and advancing credit card expiration dates.  It is funny how many details can be overlooked, and I soon learned to make a list of everything that I use from sunrise to sunset.  I had practiced this proceedure for several days and realized that I was in good shape.  However, packing was a different story.
     After I reviewed the list, I realized that my packing list doubled.  I used an alarm clock, towel, wash cloth, soap, shampoo, conditioner, razor, face wash, blow dryer, brush, round brush, hair gel, hair spray.  And that was just the first half hour!  I knew I was going to be in trouble.  So, I did a little research. 
     My school provides me with a furnished apartment and provides the rent.  Thats great.  I do not need towels, bedding, cookery, but what about soap.  I like a specific kind.  Do they sell it in Korea?  couldn't take the chance.  So I packed 5 bars.  Excessive, I know; but I really like my soap and shampoo and lotion and hairs spray.  Soon,  I figured that if I need it, someone can mail it.  This philosophy helps to keep the luggage and packing to a minimum. 
     Well, 2 huge red suitcases later (one a little overweight 65 lbs), one briefcase later (exploding at the seams), and a carry-on that has a few extra clothes (that I couldn't leave without), I am ready to embark on an adventure of a life time.