so, in a little bit i'll be heading to day 2 of work. work this week pretty much entails me hanging out and watching other teachers teach, reviewing materials, etc. the hours are nice, only 7-10p. and if my schedule stays the same i'll only have 3 classes each day, for about 5 hours of teaching, two of prep. not a bad schedule.
out of the three classes i've met so far, two are pretty decent. the third one is a bit younger, so i think i'll struggle some at first as i figure out how to best get information across. but nothing feels like it'll be completely out of my hands so far.
every day follows the same rough schedule, which i haven't exactly figured out yet, but i don't think it'll be too troublesome. the other staff i've hung out with so far seems like a cool bunch, there seems to be a decent foreigner community where they house us all. so that'll be reassuring. the weird thing though is at my school, all of the teacher except for me and one other will be moving on within the next three or so months. that should be an interesting transition.
today i should ideally be heading to the hospital to get my checkup for my alien registration card (lets me get internet, phone, bank account). gotta get some passport photos before that. so i should probably head out soon, haha. tried to go yesterday but someone was blocking in like three cars in the building's garage, including the one we needed.
looks like i'll be moving into my permanent place on saturday, as the previous teacher is leaving early then. living in a hotel has benefits, don't need to clean, free juice, good tv, but i want to actually settle in somewhere. apparently it's decent because at least one other teacher was jealous that he wasn't able to take it, haha.
so yeah, things are finally getting going now that i've met some other teachers. i was getting a little bored all by myself, so hopefully this is a good precedent for what's to come.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
milkis pt2
okay. so maybe i should have TRIED the milkis before posting about it. that was... very difficult to describe. at first it almost tastes like milk flavored candy that sparkles a bit in your mouth. then it fades away and leaves this chalky/medicine flavor, and a filmy type stuff on your lips. i will finish the bottle, but this might be it for me and milk soda.
milk soda? weird. i'm scared to try it. but it was only two bucks!
unfortunately i can't post pictures til i get to my apartment! but trust me, it's weird. here's one i found on google for the time being.
"New feeling of soda beverage." Fair enough, Milkis.
power adapter, get
so, after a few days of deciding i'd like to use my laptop, i finally decided to track down EMART. EMART is like a Korean WalMart, I suppose, but much fancier, and apparently the only reliable place to find adapters outside of Seoul. Step 1 involved being positive of where I was starting, which seems simple, but was surprisingly challenging. It involved no less than three or four websites, and satellite pictures from google maps. There was probably an easier way to find out, but that's not how I roll.
Part two was finding out where EMART was, much easier, just typed in "Yongin EMART" and there were 5 within not-unreasonable distance from me. One was a straight shot south then few streets over for about 3-4 miles, so I opted for that one. The only reason I think this was easy to find walking, without a map, was that it was right past a bridge, probably would have not been as lucky without that sort of landmark.
So, not bothering to check the weather or bringing a drink, hat, or sunglasses with me, I set out.
It was very hot, all of those decisions were terrible choices, haha. Good exercise though, which was one of my goals, so I can't complain. It probably would have been easier to get a bus or taxi, but taxis feel like cheating, and I haven't gotten a bus card yet, that's today's (Saturday's) goal. I think I can buy them at 7-11, we'll see.
Anyways, after awhile, I eventually found my bridge, which also had this cool little park thing running along it, awesome. I wish I knew how long it took but without a cellphone, which has doubled as my watch for years, no clue.
After the bridged I just took a random left hoping it would lead me there, and it did, hooray. It was broken into different floors, and you need to checkout with everything you get on each, which was different. So while exploring for adapters, I also found some amazingly cheap razors which I forgot to pack, bought those and headed up to the next floor. Walked up to the electronics counter, motioned to a American plug that I had brought with me for reference, hoping it would be enough to get my point across, nope. After me speaking in English and her speaking in Korean for a minute or two, I give up and just break out my English-Korean dictionary and point at 'adapter'. This still was not successful, she understood the adapter part but I'm not positive she got what I was adapting to, so she called over someone else who also unfortunately spoke no English. But this lady was on the ball, took me right to the outlet/plug section.
She spoke to me non-stop for about 3 minutes in Korean, combined with long gazes at the shelves, haha. There was only one thing there that could potentially work for me, but when I grabbed it, she made an X sign with her arms. I think she was trying to communicate a voltage difference to me, and that my electronics would explode if they didn't support the Korean 220v system. I'm not sure. But the alternative is a converter which they didn't carry, and I believe she thought I needed. So I waited her out and eventually she wandered off, I grabbed my prize and checked out. The only remaining challenge was a bag, but luckily an employee who spoke English walked by checkout as I was beginning to have difficulty communicating this with the cashier.
After all that I had some extra 500 won coins to buy some refreshing Gatorade from a machine. 500 Won = ~42 cents. Not bad for a serving size drink. Normally I drink a lot in one setting, but I'm already getting in the habit of smaller servings, which I hope is a good thing. The minicans of juice/tea/soda are everywhere and very cheap. So I'm going to try to further get into this habit.
Things are very unventful still, I spend more time in my hotel room than I probably should. If it weren't sweat-through-my-clothes hot most days I'd explore more. But once I start work next week I'll be spending more time with the other foreign teachers and hopefully this will lead to more active things.
Part two was finding out where EMART was, much easier, just typed in "Yongin EMART" and there were 5 within not-unreasonable distance from me. One was a straight shot south then few streets over for about 3-4 miles, so I opted for that one. The only reason I think this was easy to find walking, without a map, was that it was right past a bridge, probably would have not been as lucky without that sort of landmark.
So, not bothering to check the weather or bringing a drink, hat, or sunglasses with me, I set out.
It was very hot, all of those decisions were terrible choices, haha. Good exercise though, which was one of my goals, so I can't complain. It probably would have been easier to get a bus or taxi, but taxis feel like cheating, and I haven't gotten a bus card yet, that's today's (Saturday's) goal. I think I can buy them at 7-11, we'll see.
Anyways, after awhile, I eventually found my bridge, which also had this cool little park thing running along it, awesome. I wish I knew how long it took but without a cellphone, which has doubled as my watch for years, no clue.
After the bridged I just took a random left hoping it would lead me there, and it did, hooray. It was broken into different floors, and you need to checkout with everything you get on each, which was different. So while exploring for adapters, I also found some amazingly cheap razors which I forgot to pack, bought those and headed up to the next floor. Walked up to the electronics counter, motioned to a American plug that I had brought with me for reference, hoping it would be enough to get my point across, nope. After me speaking in English and her speaking in Korean for a minute or two, I give up and just break out my English-Korean dictionary and point at 'adapter'. This still was not successful, she understood the adapter part but I'm not positive she got what I was adapting to, so she called over someone else who also unfortunately spoke no English. But this lady was on the ball, took me right to the outlet/plug section.
She spoke to me non-stop for about 3 minutes in Korean, combined with long gazes at the shelves, haha. There was only one thing there that could potentially work for me, but when I grabbed it, she made an X sign with her arms. I think she was trying to communicate a voltage difference to me, and that my electronics would explode if they didn't support the Korean 220v system. I'm not sure. But the alternative is a converter which they didn't carry, and I believe she thought I needed. So I waited her out and eventually she wandered off, I grabbed my prize and checked out. The only remaining challenge was a bag, but luckily an employee who spoke English walked by checkout as I was beginning to have difficulty communicating this with the cashier.
After all that I had some extra 500 won coins to buy some refreshing Gatorade from a machine. 500 Won = ~42 cents. Not bad for a serving size drink. Normally I drink a lot in one setting, but I'm already getting in the habit of smaller servings, which I hope is a good thing. The minicans of juice/tea/soda are everywhere and very cheap. So I'm going to try to further get into this habit.
Things are very unventful still, I spend more time in my hotel room than I probably should. If it weren't sweat-through-my-clothes hot most days I'd explore more. But once I start work next week I'll be spending more time with the other foreign teachers and hopefully this will lead to more active things.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
switcheroo
so, they did what often avalon does, and switched my position from anyang to yongin. it's not a huge difference, only about 20 minutes from seoul, but it means i won't be nearly as close to my friend heather, and it's a slightly less affluent city.
but on the upside, the people i work with seem pretty cool. i hung out at the campus for a little over an hour today. two of them took me out to lunch and i had an amazing pork cutlet (mayo on pork, crazy delicious). my attempt to find a power adapter is still unsuccessful. stopped by a samsung and an LG store today with no luck. i've been told e-mart is the best chance, but i have not the slightest idea on how to find one. this weekend's goal i guess.
it looks like i'll be living in the hotel through at least monday, probably longer. stocked up on some supplies that will keep me alive through tomorrow. unfortunately without a cellphone or any sort of address, it will be quite difficult for me to make any plans with people. so this might be a solo-adventure weekend.
language barriers are proving to be challenging, but not impossible.
but on the upside, the people i work with seem pretty cool. i hung out at the campus for a little over an hour today. two of them took me out to lunch and i had an amazing pork cutlet (mayo on pork, crazy delicious). my attempt to find a power adapter is still unsuccessful. stopped by a samsung and an LG store today with no luck. i've been told e-mart is the best chance, but i have not the slightest idea on how to find one. this weekend's goal i guess.
it looks like i'll be living in the hotel through at least monday, probably longer. stocked up on some supplies that will keep me alive through tomorrow. unfortunately without a cellphone or any sort of address, it will be quite difficult for me to make any plans with people. so this might be a solo-adventure weekend.
language barriers are proving to be challenging, but not impossible.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
so
i'm in korea. ahh. despite me supposed to be teaching in anyang, i find myself in suwon, further south, or it might be yongsin, i don't even know. so i'm hoping they didn't pull a switcheroo on me, and i still get to go to pyeongchon/anyang.
also, anyang is pronounced very similar to 'anyeong' which is how you say hello. this proved quite troublesome for the staff checking travel documents, as he thought i was just responding to his question over and over again with 'hello!' eventually a guy behind me helped translate, gotta be careful for that one in the future.
randomly ended up on the same plane as abby, who i met at the korean consulate last week, pretty cool. also had a seat next to another american girl who was returning for another year, so i had someone to chat with at least. slowly building up my korean facebook friends, haha.
anyways, more updates soon hopefully. someone from the school is supposed to be meeting me today between 2 and 3 pm. not sure if this will be to move to my apartment, get work-related things in order, or just say hi. so i'll have another update soon.
also, anyang is pronounced very similar to 'anyeong' which is how you say hello. this proved quite troublesome for the staff checking travel documents, as he thought i was just responding to his question over and over again with 'hello!' eventually a guy behind me helped translate, gotta be careful for that one in the future.
randomly ended up on the same plane as abby, who i met at the korean consulate last week, pretty cool. also had a seat next to another american girl who was returning for another year, so i had someone to chat with at least. slowly building up my korean facebook friends, haha.
anyways, more updates soon hopefully. someone from the school is supposed to be meeting me today between 2 and 3 pm. not sure if this will be to move to my apartment, get work-related things in order, or just say hi. so i'll have another update soon.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
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two hours early and theres already a ton of people here. the other teacher i met at security disappeared. sad. i am the only nonasian here.
waiting in line at korean air check-in. wonder how long thisll take. apparently they havent opened yet.
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Monday, August 24, 2009
hm. i head to the airport in 7 hours.
i'm positive i forgot to pass something, but i have no idea what.
i'm positive i forgot to pass something, but i have no idea what.
final consulate trip (hopefully!)
so in about 90 minutes i'll be making my final trip down to boston to the korean consulate to pick up my completed visa. after that i'm getting some last minute paperwork done, then more packing. all my clothes and toiletries are set, but gotta pack my carry-on bag and whatever else i realize i need last minute.
i'm not sure i can entertain myself for 25 hours straight, if i can't sleep on the plane, things may get tricky. i did just get the new professor layton game for my DS, so hopefully that sucks up a few hours at chicago while i wait for my second flight (4 hour wait, bah).
i think i'm excited.
i'm not sure i can entertain myself for 25 hours straight, if i can't sleep on the plane, things may get tricky. i did just get the new professor layton game for my DS, so hopefully that sucks up a few hours at chicago while i wait for my second flight (4 hour wait, bah).
i think i'm excited.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
visa update 2
so. not the best outcome, but not the worst.
visa won't be ready til 2pm on monday. which means my departure will be delayed til late monday evening or early tuesday. other than that, pretty standard interview. more like a general 'you know what you're getting into, right?' checked to make sure no one was taking advantage of me, that i knew that i was going to a place that is not america. only one question really relating to teaching.
so yeah, countdown resets, and starts over. hopefully i hear from my recruiter tonight or tomorrow about a finalized departure date.
visa won't be ready til 2pm on monday. which means my departure will be delayed til late monday evening or early tuesday. other than that, pretty standard interview. more like a general 'you know what you're getting into, right?' checked to make sure no one was taking advantage of me, that i knew that i was going to a place that is not america. only one question really relating to teaching.
so yeah, countdown resets, and starts over. hopefully i hear from my recruiter tonight or tomorrow about a finalized departure date.
speed consulate update
went to consulate yesterday
no time for an interview
they said monday was earlier.
that's bad, because i'm supposed to leave sunday.
i convince them to do it today at 10 (2 hours from now)
i leave shorty
hopefully i get final document by friday afternoon
maybe monday morning
trip delayed one day? two days?
shouldn't be longer than that
i am surprisingly nervous about an interview most say is not worth worrying about.
no time for an interview
they said monday was earlier.
that's bad, because i'm supposed to leave sunday.
i convince them to do it today at 10 (2 hours from now)
i leave shorty
hopefully i get final document by friday afternoon
maybe monday morning
trip delayed one day? two days?
shouldn't be longer than that
i am surprisingly nervous about an interview most say is not worth worrying about.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
do a barrel roll
okay, so the last couple days have been super nuts, and today and tomorrow are going to be keeping that pace.
i leave sunday, hooray. but i still need to do my korean consulate interview first. very early tuesday morning i got my email with my visa issuance number, but through a slight error, it omitted my actual number! that is not good. so i spent the rest of the day trying to track down the guy to get it sent to me, at 5am this morning (wednesday), i finally got it. i felt bad for pestering so much, but sometimes you have to look out for your own best interests above some politeness. it was to the point where i had my email setup to text message me as soon as the number came in.
so the number is now in my hands, as are all the other pertinent documents and here comes gambit #2. i'm going to be running down to the korean consulate with my mom (i'm cool), and hoping i can convince them to let me interview today, then if all goes according to plan and i get a little lucky, i can get my visa at the end of today or pick it up tomorrow. once that's in my hand, finally finished with the red tape, paperworky, stuff.
it still hasn't completely hit me yet that i'm leaving in.... 4 days. but i expect that it will soon. even though i'm not freaking out yet, i am pretty excited at this point. i can actually start packing my bags now, that's a weird feeling.
hopefully i'll have another post by the end of the day talking about how successful everything went, or maybe not, haha.
i leave sunday, hooray. but i still need to do my korean consulate interview first. very early tuesday morning i got my email with my visa issuance number, but through a slight error, it omitted my actual number! that is not good. so i spent the rest of the day trying to track down the guy to get it sent to me, at 5am this morning (wednesday), i finally got it. i felt bad for pestering so much, but sometimes you have to look out for your own best interests above some politeness. it was to the point where i had my email setup to text message me as soon as the number came in.
so the number is now in my hands, as are all the other pertinent documents and here comes gambit #2. i'm going to be running down to the korean consulate with my mom (i'm cool), and hoping i can convince them to let me interview today, then if all goes according to plan and i get a little lucky, i can get my visa at the end of today or pick it up tomorrow. once that's in my hand, finally finished with the red tape, paperworky, stuff.
it still hasn't completely hit me yet that i'm leaving in.... 4 days. but i expect that it will soon. even though i'm not freaking out yet, i am pretty excited at this point. i can actually start packing my bags now, that's a weird feeling.
hopefully i'll have another post by the end of the day talking about how successful everything went, or maybe not, haha.
Monday, August 10, 2009
alright, more info
so yeah. accepted a position, starting the 26th, hooray. everything is out of my hands now as my visa gets processed. if i start the 26th, which is a wednesday, i'll probably be getting there a day or two before that. which means i could be leaving in as little as 10-14 days. that is insane.
i think for the most part i'm pretty prepared. i got myself a whole new wardrobe, that was weird. i'd been wearing the clothes i'd had for years without many changes, so i figured why not switch that up as well with the other big changes. now i literally have fancy pants. i'm not planning on bringing that much with me. clothes, a towel (the towels over there are weird, i hear), some fitted sheets (they just tuck them in, crazy! i am way too lazy to do that all the time), my laptop, my camera, some gifts for my boss and teachers (it's customary to give gifts when you arrive), various toiletries, mr. moose, some mementos from various places and people, and i'm not exactly sure what else, hopefully not much. packing light is my goal. i still need to get some good bags though, ones that will carry everything, but still be easily transportable, just in case i need to book it between planes at airports.
other than saying my farewells to a few people, and spending time with my parents before i go, i don't really have a lot to do. in a way i wish i could just leave now and get all this waiting over with.
on the upside, i think i found another blog that has a teacher who's working at the school where i'm supposed to be stationed. he had a few pictures posted, posted some information about the teachers and school, so that was interesting. they play frisbee behind the school, i hope they're still doing that when i get there.
i've also been trying to find some hobbies to take up once i'm there. at the moment i'm leaning towards Hapkido, a korean martial art that does throws and locks and some striking. or Kumdo, which is korean sword techniques. i want to be a black belt (or equivilant) in something. it would be really cool to say i genuinely know how to use a sword, haha.
there probably won't be a real update until after i visit the korean embassy in boston to get my visa settled, so stay tuned til then. hopefully that happens late this week or next week!
i think for the most part i'm pretty prepared. i got myself a whole new wardrobe, that was weird. i'd been wearing the clothes i'd had for years without many changes, so i figured why not switch that up as well with the other big changes. now i literally have fancy pants. i'm not planning on bringing that much with me. clothes, a towel (the towels over there are weird, i hear), some fitted sheets (they just tuck them in, crazy! i am way too lazy to do that all the time), my laptop, my camera, some gifts for my boss and teachers (it's customary to give gifts when you arrive), various toiletries, mr. moose, some mementos from various places and people, and i'm not exactly sure what else, hopefully not much. packing light is my goal. i still need to get some good bags though, ones that will carry everything, but still be easily transportable, just in case i need to book it between planes at airports.
other than saying my farewells to a few people, and spending time with my parents before i go, i don't really have a lot to do. in a way i wish i could just leave now and get all this waiting over with.
on the upside, i think i found another blog that has a teacher who's working at the school where i'm supposed to be stationed. he had a few pictures posted, posted some information about the teachers and school, so that was interesting. they play frisbee behind the school, i hope they're still doing that when i get there.
i've also been trying to find some hobbies to take up once i'm there. at the moment i'm leaning towards Hapkido, a korean martial art that does throws and locks and some striking. or Kumdo, which is korean sword techniques. i want to be a black belt (or equivilant) in something. it would be really cool to say i genuinely know how to use a sword, haha.
there probably won't be a real update until after i visit the korean embassy in boston to get my visa settled, so stay tuned til then. hopefully that happens late this week or next week!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
OMG.
so. i may be going to korea. i was offered, and accepted a position at a school this evening. it's located in an area called 'pyeongchon' it's south/southwest of seoul. it's not originally where i was planning to be, but from my research it might even be a bit better. it looks like i'll be teaching middle school and advanced classes, but that might change, who knows! i'm honestly too excited right now to really get into depth with this, so i'll update tomorrow.
andrew invades korea. late august. 2009. hooray.
andrew invades korea. late august. 2009. hooray.
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