Alright, finally got a chance to get online! I haven't been to a PC Bong (Computer Room) yet, but I did find a wireless connection in my apartment that I am mooching off of someone- it's slow, but it's free! So, here's what's happened so far... I flew to Tokyo, then flew to Busan. I arrived feeling totally gross and ready for a shower! Scott Kim was waiting outside of baggage claim, and so all of us teachers met up very easily and waited for our busses. We were all bussed to Ulsan and then picked up by our co-teachers; My co-teacher's name is Nam Seona (her first name is Seona (pronounced "sone- ah")- traditionally, Koreans put their family name first), and she is very very very very sweet! She brought me to my apartment last night and got me settled in a bit.
At the same time, I met my landlord and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Jung (Chung?) They are so nice and welcoming- a quick story about Mr. Jung must be told... When I first arrived and we were getting me settled into my apartment, Seona was translating between Mr. & Mrs. Jung and me. (Nam says her English isn't very good, but I have not had any troubles understanding her, and I keep telling her that her English is much much much better than my Korean! This seems to make her feel better and makes her laugh.) So anyways, Mr. Jung was explaining my appliances through Seona, and at one point during the explanation of my thermostat, he looked at me and said, "You must push this button". I said alright and nodded my head and he smiled a HUGE smile and grabbed his heart- he was so ecstatic that I had understood him!!! Ever since then, he has been using all the English he can muster! Mrs. Jung suffers a bit more with English, but she is very dear.
So, right now, I am staying in an apartment on the 3rd floor- However, I will be moving up to the 4th floor by the end of tonight, right next to Mr. and Mrs. Jung. That apartment is slightly bigger, but it's not quite finished yet. The apartment building is very very nice... I am so happy with it. All of the appliances are brand new- washing machine, fridge, stove top, etc. The whole place looks like it has gone up within the last few months- it's very beautiful. When you get to my apartment building, you face two sliding glass doors. You have to enter your code to get them to open, or you can call up to the apartment that you are visiting. When you do this, there is an intercom that beeps in the apartment and you can let people in through this. Sounds pretty standard for an apartment, right? Wrong. These intercoms are video intercoms! There is a camera on each panel, so when someone beeps, you see who it is, and if you answer it, they see you downstairs! Also, my doorbell has this same feature, so if someone beeps my doorbell outside my front door, I see who it is before I have to open the door! Pretty fancy.
Today, Seona picked me up at 10 am and we ran some errands. She showed me how to get to the nearest bus stop and she told me which bus numbers will take me to school, she showed me how to get to the bank and the post office, we got a bus card for me (They're really cute- they go on your key chain or cell phone and you tap them against this electronic box when you get on the bus- you pre-load money on them at convenience stores).
(My bus card)
Then we went to my school! The bus stop drops me off about two blocks from the school and then I walk in through some more narrow streets. On the way in today, there were kids walking up and down the street and Seona would stop them and say the equivalent of "This is your new English teacher" in Korean and ask them to say hello... etc. Once we got into the school, I was introduced to the administrative staff who had organized my living arrangements, so I said a huuuuge thank you, because I LOVE my apartment! I was also introduced to the Principal and the Gym teacher/Head teacher. When I met the principal, we all sat down at a board-room style table and were served green tea. The principal doesn't speak English (Or at least wouldn't to me), so Seona translated. He said he was worried about me getting lonely and that he knew that I would have difficulties. I told him that right now I am just so excited to be here, so he shouldn't worry too much!
In the school, Seona took me to what would be our room- I found out that I will be teaching 4-6th grade with Seona, and then I will be teaching 3rd grade with a homeroom teacher. Then, in addition, I also will have work on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays; I will be doing a class from 6-8 p.m. for 15 students with Seona, and Fridays I will do one class for teachers in our school. (It might be kind of akward to teach my co-workers, but I'm sure it will work out!) So, once we were back from the school, Seona helped me bring my two heavy bags up to my new apartment so that they will be there when Mrs. Jung finishes putting in the appliances today. I am getting a brand new fridge, washing machine, stovetop, sink, and then they are supplying me with a microwave, rice cooker, electric hot water pitcher, and a toaster! Also, my bed is like, a queen size bed!!! Definately bigger than my one at home- who woulda thought?? They are pretty hard (just a mattress on wood), but when I woke up today, my back felt surprisingly nice!
Soooooo, now I'm sitting in my temporary-apartment listening to the street outside and typing away. My goal is to walk to the convenience store down the street that I got breakfast at, and try to find a second meal. After dinner, maybe I will go upstairs and start to unpack to keep Mrs. Jung company while she installs things. Tomorrow, Seona is picking me up at 11 a.m. and we are going to go shopping for groceries/apartment goods... so there's the sitch, take care all, and keep in touch!
