Well the weekend plans of Hongdae were an absolute success. After a stressful week of school and working 60 hours in 5 days, it was time for a fun night out! We came home from work at about 8pm and began getting ready for Hongdae. My roommates, Alida and Karen, had me so pumped for Hongdae that I wanted to leave immediately. They told me that if we got there too early no one would be at the clubs and we would have to wait in an empty club. In Korean bars, there is no closing time. The club/bar will be open until the sun comes up and thereafter. People don't show up then until about midnight. So I compromised with the roommates and we left our apartment at 9:30. No one told me, but we had an hour train ride to Hongdae. I thought it was only going to be about 20 or 30 minutes, so I sat on the train like a little kid just bouncing around and asking "Are we there yet!?"
When we finally arrived, a group of us 6 foreign teachers, walked off the train and onto the streets of Hongdae. It was like walking onto a red carpet. Everyone was dressed to the nine's with their high heels, hot outfits, perfect hair, and the attitudes to match. I must have looked ridiculous with my flipflops (I had heels to change into at the club) and my mouth hanging open. It was still early when we arrived so we went to a "quiet" bar (Alida's word, not mine) to have a drink before the club. We walk into a foreigner haven. Everyone was white and only the staff and a few others were Korean. We ended up ordering a drink and watching these two Korean guys have a dance off. Before I continue, I have to say that Koreans have the most incredible style of dancing that I haven't seen anywhere else. They somehow combine the robot with fluid, hip-hop movements and add these crazy head bops in. It is so cool!
After our drink, I informed the other teachers that I can't wait any longer and we must get to the club asap. I was so excited because Alida had been talking about Hongdae and the dance clubs all week and I was just ready to see it for myself and dance my heart out! We arrive at this club called Tin Pan and from the outside it looked so boring and I thought I was going to be let down. When we walked down the stairs and I layed my eyes on the dance floor, I could not have been more wrong. This place was pumping! There were people (men and women) dancing on the bar, dancing on the tables, dancing everywhere! And it's not the ridiculous side to side motion like back at home. People were full-out dancing like they had choreographed their moves prior to coming out. I was so ready to get out there, but we had to check our bags first. Another thing I love about Korea is that there are lockers everywhere. I hate going somewhere like a dance club and have to hold my purse the entire time.
Once I got out on the dance floor the time just flew. We got to the club at 11:30 and before I knew it, it was 3am. I told Alida and Karen, that I was ready to go whenever they were and they looked at me like I was crazy. First of all, the club was apparently just starting to get really busy and second of all, the subway was closed and we would have to wait until 6am to leave! I was stunned and unprepared for this adventure so I decided to take a break from the dancing and sit by myself at a table. Big MISTAKE! The Korean boys just flocked to me from every direction. Mind you, I was looking hagard at this point from dancing and sweating, but apparently that didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was that I was a foreigner. Some of them spoke decent English, others could only say about 5 words, yet they still attempted a conversation :)
Finally, it was time to get on the train, but first we stopped at a street vendor and I devoured the most delicious ham, cheese, egg, and sprouts sandwich ever made. We got onto the train and I just passed out on my roommates shoulder. I woke up to a Korean family snickering at us and turned over and went back to sleep. My roommate then shakes me awake and goes "hurry, this is our stop!" We leap off the train, walk back home, and fall into our beds at 7:30am.
As exhausted as I was the next day, I loved Hongdae and just dancing away any stress from work. I loved it so much that I already have plans to go back this coming weekend! This past week of work was horrible with the parents coming to the school. The students were difficult to get focused because we had spent the past week practicing and preparing for the presentations for the parents. I am just so ready for this Chuseok Holiday (6 day vacation!), siteseeing with my supervisor and his family, and some more Hongdae please!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Friday, September 10, 2010
"Ee She She" aka ECC in Korean
Well it is a rainy Saturday morning and I am at ECC waiting for school to start. Yes, school on Saturday. The reason is we have Monday-Thursday off in two weeks for the Chuseok holiday. Chuseok is the Korean version of Thanksgiving. It's a time to celebrate the harvest and family. Many people will most likely travel around Korea and visit with their loved ones. My supervisor's family is coming into town from Canada and he asked if I'd like to join them for all the touristy things around Seoul. I am very excited about that because I still feel like a tourist here! It hasn't sunk in yet that I am actually living here!
As for the rain, it has been raining for 48 hours straight. I enjoy a good thunderstorm now and then. Perhaps falling asleep to the rain and enjoying the pitter-patter on my window. But this is a different type of rain. It's the "someone-is-throwing-rocks-at-my-window-and-I-can't-sleep" rain. Or the "there-is-a-massive-waterfall-outside-my-apartment-and-I-have-to-pee-every-ten-minutes" rain. Not very enjoyable to say the least.
"Ee She She" is just a funny joke with the foreign teachers. Whenever we get into a cab or tell Koreans where we work, we pronounce it as "ee she she." If we say ECC, they have no idea what we are talking about. I've found that the more you imitate them, perhaps even mock their accent, you communicate better with the Koreans. Some people can really surprise you though and speak amazing English. We went to this new restaurant last night and everyone there spoke English very well! They were very excited to have foreigners in their restaurant. Many members of the staff came and talked to us in order to practice their English. They also gave us a bunch of freebies, which is just a perk of being a foreigner in an extremely hospitable country.
I do not have any great stories about new adventures as of now. I have been working 12 hour days all week and getting ready for a very important parents day at ECC. The entire school depends on impressing the parents so my lessons and teaching have taken a backseat in order to prepare for next week Monday and Wednesday. Tonight, we are going into Hongdae which is considered a "college town" of Seoul. I am sure that I will have a story or two to share after tonight! And after the week we've had, us teachers could use a night on the town!
As for the rain, it has been raining for 48 hours straight. I enjoy a good thunderstorm now and then. Perhaps falling asleep to the rain and enjoying the pitter-patter on my window. But this is a different type of rain. It's the "someone-is-throwing-rocks-at-my-window-and-I-can't-sleep" rain. Or the "there-is-a-massive-waterfall-outside-my-apartment-and-I-have-to-pee-every-ten-minutes" rain. Not very enjoyable to say the least.
"Ee She She" is just a funny joke with the foreign teachers. Whenever we get into a cab or tell Koreans where we work, we pronounce it as "ee she she." If we say ECC, they have no idea what we are talking about. I've found that the more you imitate them, perhaps even mock their accent, you communicate better with the Koreans. Some people can really surprise you though and speak amazing English. We went to this new restaurant last night and everyone there spoke English very well! They were very excited to have foreigners in their restaurant. Many members of the staff came and talked to us in order to practice their English. They also gave us a bunch of freebies, which is just a perk of being a foreigner in an extremely hospitable country.
I do not have any great stories about new adventures as of now. I have been working 12 hour days all week and getting ready for a very important parents day at ECC. The entire school depends on impressing the parents so my lessons and teaching have taken a backseat in order to prepare for next week Monday and Wednesday. Tonight, we are going into Hongdae which is considered a "college town" of Seoul. I am sure that I will have a story or two to share after tonight! And after the week we've had, us teachers could use a night on the town!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Experience the Norebang (Nor-a-bong)
I had my first full week of teaching and finished the week feeling exhausted, yet so happy with this job. I feel so much joy, excitment, and fulfillment working with these kids. I wake up everyday and can't wait to get to work! On Friday, I was a little worried of where the weekend might take me because my first weekend in Korea was very boring. I was so secluded from everyone at the temporary apartment. However, during the week I had moved into my official apartment with two other girls (both very cool) and set up my room and made this place my home for the next year.
Friday after work, we went and had Galbi again (still delicious) and then went to a quiet bar and drank and talked for a bit. We then decided to go the Norebang. I had no idea what this was but everyone seemed estatic about it so I tagged along. Apparently, the Norebang translates to "song room" and it is a place where you go and rent a private room for you and your friends and you sing Karaoke. You can sing any song you wish, whether it is Korean, Japanaese, or English. A fellow teacher who is a skinny, white boy from Canada got up and sang Eminem's "The Real Slim Shady." It was very hilarious, but I was honestly quite impressed with his rapping skills. I wanted to just watch and observe the Norebang festivities, but that was just unacceptable with the other teachers. So I got up and sang my go-to song "Sweet Child O'Mine" by Guns N Roses :) It really was a ton of fun. Once you get over the fact that you are in a room with your friends and singing to yourselves, it's not so bad haha :). The Norebang was pretty busy because Koreans love Karaoke!
After the Norebang, we wondered home and I drifted off into dreamland very quickly. It was a tiring week and the weekend was off to a great start!
Friday after work, we went and had Galbi again (still delicious) and then went to a quiet bar and drank and talked for a bit. We then decided to go the Norebang. I had no idea what this was but everyone seemed estatic about it so I tagged along. Apparently, the Norebang translates to "song room" and it is a place where you go and rent a private room for you and your friends and you sing Karaoke. You can sing any song you wish, whether it is Korean, Japanaese, or English. A fellow teacher who is a skinny, white boy from Canada got up and sang Eminem's "The Real Slim Shady." It was very hilarious, but I was honestly quite impressed with his rapping skills. I wanted to just watch and observe the Norebang festivities, but that was just unacceptable with the other teachers. So I got up and sang my go-to song "Sweet Child O'Mine" by Guns N Roses :) It really was a ton of fun. Once you get over the fact that you are in a room with your friends and singing to yourselves, it's not so bad haha :). The Norebang was pretty busy because Koreans love Karaoke!
After the Norebang, we wondered home and I drifted off into dreamland very quickly. It was a tiring week and the weekend was off to a great start!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Home Plus a.k.a. Walmart on Steroids
On my first Saturday (or second day) in Korea, I went to Home Plus with Vince. He is my neighbor and fellow teacher at ECC. He has a car because he's been living in Korea for so long, which is good because Home Plus was a 15 minute drive. Home Plus is this overwhelming store that has anything you could possibly want. It is 5 stories tall and carries toys, shoes, dress clothes, perfume, food, electronics, car accessories, furniture, etc. Not only was the place overwhelming, but it was just packed with people! I have to first say before I continue, that this was my first experience out in public like this. I had yet to go to a store or any place with a lot of people. No matter where I went in Home Plus or what I did, people would completely stop and stare at me. Children were pointing at me and asking their parents about me and people would attempt to speak English to me. I was looking at a bag of Korean Sun Chips and this older man walks by and goes "Sun! Sun!" I just smiled and nodded my head. Korean people love showing Westerners their English skills even if it is just one word. Sometimes they are shy, but it has become a typical thing to have random English words yelled at you as you walk by.
When I was checking out at the register, I had my first true celebrity moment haha! This is what all the Westerners call it when Korean people gawk at you. I was at the register and Vince taps my shoulder and points to my right. I look down and this little girl about 8 or 9 year old is just staring at me with her mouth wide open. I smile and say "Hello" and she jumps and runs away. She starts saying in Korean "Mom, mom, look! Amerian girl!" Her mom just laughs and bows to me and they walk away. It was very weird, but Vince said that she was just fascinated with my blonde hair and big eyes. He said I better get used to that because it'll happen everytime I go out in public. I'm not offended or creeped out by that attention. For many Korean children who don't attend English school, they rarely see Westerners in person. They are just shocked by anyone who doesn't have black hair and Asian eyes. I find that I am somewhat of an educational piece haha :)
After Home Plus, I returned to my apartment with my new pillow (it's an herb pillow! Whatever that means. It was on sale!) and took the most fulfilling nap. I then ate my Korean Sun Chips and sat on the roof and overlooked Uijeongbu for hours.
When I was checking out at the register, I had my first true celebrity moment haha! This is what all the Westerners call it when Korean people gawk at you. I was at the register and Vince taps my shoulder and points to my right. I look down and this little girl about 8 or 9 year old is just staring at me with her mouth wide open. I smile and say "Hello" and she jumps and runs away. She starts saying in Korean "Mom, mom, look! Amerian girl!" Her mom just laughs and bows to me and they walk away. It was very weird, but Vince said that she was just fascinated with my blonde hair and big eyes. He said I better get used to that because it'll happen everytime I go out in public. I'm not offended or creeped out by that attention. For many Korean children who don't attend English school, they rarely see Westerners in person. They are just shocked by anyone who doesn't have black hair and Asian eyes. I find that I am somewhat of an educational piece haha :)
After Home Plus, I returned to my apartment with my new pillow (it's an herb pillow! Whatever that means. It was on sale!) and took the most fulfilling nap. I then ate my Korean Sun Chips and sat on the roof and overlooked Uijeongbu for hours.
Ahhh the Night Life
After school, a big group of foreign teachers were meeting at the Galbi house to celebrate a teacher's birthday. They really wanted me to come to get to know everyone and despite my jetlag, I joined them. This restaurant looked like a fish market where everything was open and you could see them preparing and cutting up your food before they brought it to your table. We sat on the floor (again haha) and in the middle of the table is a grill that they get started once you sit down and are ready to eat. They brought out raw meat, which we placed on the grill, vegetables, rice, salad, and soup. It was so amazing and I have a new love for meat (ahhhh!) I met so many teachers from all over the world who have been here anywhere from 4 months to 2 years.
After our meal, which included all the beer and Soju you could drink for only $15 a person, we went to the party strip in Uijeongbu. Lets just say that in Uijeongbu the bars are typical American bars. Loud music, smokey atmosphere, dirty guys, and expensive drinks. In spite of that, we ended up laughing, dancing, drinking, and walking around unitl 3am. I met some American G.I.'s and we high-fived about America (haha so random) and also met some Koreans who wanted to practice their English skills. Then it was time for me to go home to my one room apartment and pass out. Even though I was beyond tired, I am so happy I went out with everyone. I met some really cool people and had an absolute blast!
After our meal, which included all the beer and Soju you could drink for only $15 a person, we went to the party strip in Uijeongbu. Lets just say that in Uijeongbu the bars are typical American bars. Loud music, smokey atmosphere, dirty guys, and expensive drinks. In spite of that, we ended up laughing, dancing, drinking, and walking around unitl 3am. I met some American G.I.'s and we high-fived about America (haha so random) and also met some Koreans who wanted to practice their English skills. Then it was time for me to go home to my one room apartment and pass out. Even though I was beyond tired, I am so happy I went out with everyone. I met some really cool people and had an absolute blast!
Back to School, Back to School...:)
Mr. Chung (one of Mr. Yu's many workers) picked me up from my temporary apartment and took me to school on my first official day in Korea. When I arrived at school, Mr. Yu warmly greeted me and took me into ECC or English Children's Center. ECC is a prominent, private school in Uijeongbu where only English is spoken, but all subjects are taught. Parents pay a boat load of money for their children to go here. The ability to speak English fluently is kind of like getting a college degree in America. You must be able to speak/get a degree to get a good job.
When I walked into the school, I was blown away. First, it is a building that sits on a busy road in Uijeonbu and has 3 floors. The classrooms are small because there are only 8-10 students per class. The rooms are made up of only English material. The school is referred to as an "English only zone" and if we hear any of the students speaking Korean we must reprimand them. I met the foreign teacher supervisor and began my three days of training. I can honestly say that within the first 10 minutes of observing a class with these adorable 5 year olds, I was estatic! I knew that all the saddness of leaving home and the long hours of travelling was worth the joy of getting to work with these kids. They automatically love you, talk to you, show affection towards you, and respect you. There are too many stories of my first school day to share, but here are my two favorite:
It was a break time in between periods (there are 7 periods for kindergarten) and the students were lined up at the bathroom. A little boy, about 6 or 7 years old says "Where you from!?" I say "I'm from America." His entire face lights up like a kid at Toys R Us. He starts yelling "You from America! We love America!" I laughed at that one all day :)
This other story is embarassing but very memorable. I was watching this class and the teacher goes "Everyone we have a new teacher and we are going to let her tell us her name and where she's from." This adorable girl in pigtails goes "Her name is pretty teacher!" And all the kids start going "Yeah! yeah! Pretty teacher!" After they calmed down and I told them my name was Mallory Teacher they laughed even harder because they couldn't say "Mallory." It comes out Mary, Money, or Malbery. The students must say "teacher" at the end of your name . It shows respect and if they don't say teacher you must punish them. We have foreign teachers and Korean teachers at ECC. The Korean teachers are very strict and all the students are scared of them haha. If a Korean teacher hears a student say just your name and not teacher at the end, they will be severly punished by the Korean teacher. The would pull them out of class, yell at them in Korean, call their parents and let them deal with the disrespect issue. It is that severe!
Aside from having an amazing first day at ECC with the students, the other foreign teachers are all awesome as well. They are mostly from Cananda, one from South Africa, a couple from the UK and two of us from America. They are all so welcoming, nice and helpful. They all have opened there arms to me and immediately took me into the group. It is so wonderful to have an expat community to turn to in difficult times!
When I walked into the school, I was blown away. First, it is a building that sits on a busy road in Uijeonbu and has 3 floors. The classrooms are small because there are only 8-10 students per class. The rooms are made up of only English material. The school is referred to as an "English only zone" and if we hear any of the students speaking Korean we must reprimand them. I met the foreign teacher supervisor and began my three days of training. I can honestly say that within the first 10 minutes of observing a class with these adorable 5 year olds, I was estatic! I knew that all the saddness of leaving home and the long hours of travelling was worth the joy of getting to work with these kids. They automatically love you, talk to you, show affection towards you, and respect you. There are too many stories of my first school day to share, but here are my two favorite:
It was a break time in between periods (there are 7 periods for kindergarten) and the students were lined up at the bathroom. A little boy, about 6 or 7 years old says "Where you from!?" I say "I'm from America." His entire face lights up like a kid at Toys R Us. He starts yelling "You from America! We love America!" I laughed at that one all day :)
This other story is embarassing but very memorable. I was watching this class and the teacher goes "Everyone we have a new teacher and we are going to let her tell us her name and where she's from." This adorable girl in pigtails goes "Her name is pretty teacher!" And all the kids start going "Yeah! yeah! Pretty teacher!" After they calmed down and I told them my name was Mallory Teacher they laughed even harder because they couldn't say "Mallory." It comes out Mary, Money, or Malbery. The students must say "teacher" at the end of your name . It shows respect and if they don't say teacher you must punish them. We have foreign teachers and Korean teachers at ECC. The Korean teachers are very strict and all the students are scared of them haha. If a Korean teacher hears a student say just your name and not teacher at the end, they will be severly punished by the Korean teacher. The would pull them out of class, yell at them in Korean, call their parents and let them deal with the disrespect issue. It is that severe!
Aside from having an amazing first day at ECC with the students, the other foreign teachers are all awesome as well. They are mostly from Cananda, one from South Africa, a couple from the UK and two of us from America. They are all so welcoming, nice and helpful. They all have opened there arms to me and immediately took me into the group. It is so wonderful to have an expat community to turn to in difficult times!
My First Night in Korea
After being picked up by Mr. Yu, the director of my school, we started the drive from Seoul to Uijeongbu. A side not for all, never drive in Korea! It is comparable to driving in New York City rush hour, with New York City cab drivers going down the highway at 80 mph. But anyway, on the 40 minute death ride, Mr. Yu informed me that I was going to a temporary apartment. The real apartment that I was suppose to move into right away was still being lived in by the teacher I was replacing. Her contract ended on Aug. 31 and mine started on Sept. 1. So there was an overlap of living situations. He takes me to this building that he owns in the Uijeongbu. Aside from being the director of 2 Academys, Mr, Yu owns several buildings and offices in Uijeongbu. He is a very prominent figure in this city. If he says jump, they say how high sort of thing :) The building I lived in for the first week was 6 floors. The top two floors were apartments and the other floors were offices and restaurants.
Before going to my temporary apartment, Mr. Yu took me to a restaurant on the first floor of the building. We walked in and had to remove our shoes at the door and then sit on the floor to eat at this small table with a burner in the middle of it. I just loved this because it is so Korean and that is why I came here, for the cultural experience :)! Anyway, the server brought us this big pot of broth and placed it on the burner. Then they brought out an array of vegetables (most I couldn't recognize) and thinly sliced rolls of beef. All this was placed into the boiling broth. This type of meal is called "Shabu Shabu." While we waited for this to cook, we ate our rice, soup, and the most delicious salad ever! It wasn't lettuce, but cabbage and sprouts with cherry tomatoes and this amazing spicy ginger dressing. We started to eat the broth stew and Mr. Yu kept feeding me and refilling my bowl. It is very important in Korea to make sure that other people are fed and do not go hungry. I wanted to tell Mr. Yu to stop, but that would have been extremely rude and he would have been greatly offended. I just kept eating and even though I was miserable with fullness, Mr. Yu didn't notice because he was so occupied eating like I have never seen anyone eat in my life! He kept stuffing his mouth and slurping so loudly. Apparently, this is good to do in Korea. Loud eating shows the host that you are enjoying the food. It is impolite to not slurp, so I joined in with Mr. Yu :). I'll have to remember to not do that when I go back to the States haha! While we were eating, the server was curious about me so she came and talked to Mr. Yu for a while. They were speaking Korean, but they kept looking at me and pointing at me. They laughed when he told her that the only words I know in Korean are "hello" and "thank you." I wanted to say that I can actually understand enough Korean to know when someone is talking about me, but talk about being rude! It is always best to be polite as a foreigner in Korea. It could make or break your stay :).
After dinner, which by the way only cost $14 or 14,000 won (pronounced WAHN) and Mr. Yu paid, we went to my temporaryy apartment. Lets just say that my first impression of my apartment can be compared to my first impression of my dorm room at Western. The thought "I have to sleep here!" crossed my mind haha. But after I unpacked, made up my bed and got used to the place, it started to grow on me. Before Mr. Yu left at around 11pm, he introduced me to another teacher who works at the other ECC school, not my school. He lived on the floor above me and his name was Vince. He is a "bloke" from England who has been teaching in Korea for 10 years. He was so nice and helpful for my first week in Korea. He showed me how to use the shower (aaahhh!), washer, and air conditioning (it didn't work anyway!). Then he showed me the roof of the building which had the most amazing view of Uijeongbu. I sat up there for a while just thinking of how lucky I am to be doing this. I can't believe how my life and all my journeys have taken me here. I count my blessings everyday for my parents who have supported me in everything I do and for providing me with such courage and opportunities to see the world. Thanks Mom and Dad!
The first night I actually slept for about four hours. It was about 85 degrees and 90% humidity, but I made it work! I woke up the next morning, still exhausted and got ready for my first day of school in the unusual bathroom (pics to come)!
Before going to my temporary apartment, Mr. Yu took me to a restaurant on the first floor of the building. We walked in and had to remove our shoes at the door and then sit on the floor to eat at this small table with a burner in the middle of it. I just loved this because it is so Korean and that is why I came here, for the cultural experience :)! Anyway, the server brought us this big pot of broth and placed it on the burner. Then they brought out an array of vegetables (most I couldn't recognize) and thinly sliced rolls of beef. All this was placed into the boiling broth. This type of meal is called "Shabu Shabu." While we waited for this to cook, we ate our rice, soup, and the most delicious salad ever! It wasn't lettuce, but cabbage and sprouts with cherry tomatoes and this amazing spicy ginger dressing. We started to eat the broth stew and Mr. Yu kept feeding me and refilling my bowl. It is very important in Korea to make sure that other people are fed and do not go hungry. I wanted to tell Mr. Yu to stop, but that would have been extremely rude and he would have been greatly offended. I just kept eating and even though I was miserable with fullness, Mr. Yu didn't notice because he was so occupied eating like I have never seen anyone eat in my life! He kept stuffing his mouth and slurping so loudly. Apparently, this is good to do in Korea. Loud eating shows the host that you are enjoying the food. It is impolite to not slurp, so I joined in with Mr. Yu :). I'll have to remember to not do that when I go back to the States haha! While we were eating, the server was curious about me so she came and talked to Mr. Yu for a while. They were speaking Korean, but they kept looking at me and pointing at me. They laughed when he told her that the only words I know in Korean are "hello" and "thank you." I wanted to say that I can actually understand enough Korean to know when someone is talking about me, but talk about being rude! It is always best to be polite as a foreigner in Korea. It could make or break your stay :).
After dinner, which by the way only cost $14 or 14,000 won (pronounced WAHN) and Mr. Yu paid, we went to my temporaryy apartment. Lets just say that my first impression of my apartment can be compared to my first impression of my dorm room at Western. The thought "I have to sleep here!" crossed my mind haha. But after I unpacked, made up my bed and got used to the place, it started to grow on me. Before Mr. Yu left at around 11pm, he introduced me to another teacher who works at the other ECC school, not my school. He lived on the floor above me and his name was Vince. He is a "bloke" from England who has been teaching in Korea for 10 years. He was so nice and helpful for my first week in Korea. He showed me how to use the shower (aaahhh!), washer, and air conditioning (it didn't work anyway!). Then he showed me the roof of the building which had the most amazing view of Uijeongbu. I sat up there for a while just thinking of how lucky I am to be doing this. I can't believe how my life and all my journeys have taken me here. I count my blessings everyday for my parents who have supported me in everything I do and for providing me with such courage and opportunities to see the world. Thanks Mom and Dad!
The first night I actually slept for about four hours. It was about 85 degrees and 90% humidity, but I made it work! I woke up the next morning, still exhausted and got ready for my first day of school in the unusual bathroom (pics to come)!
The Trip to Korea
Well ladies and gentlemen, I am finally here! This experience has already been unforgettable! I apologize for such a delay in postings, but I do not have a reliable source of internet and will not have my own internet connection until the end of the month. I will start from the beginning of my adventure and try to catch up to this point!
The trip started out on a very sad note. I had to say goodbye to my parents at the airport. Walking away from them was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. My mom tried to bribe me to stay by offering to pay for Grad School. Thanks Mom! That information would have probably worked a month or a week before I left. Not an hour before :) I cried on the entire plane ride from Grand Rapids to Chicago. Poor woman sitting next to me! She started humming to drown out my sobbing! When I landed in Chicago and was waiting to board the plane to LA, it truly hit me that this was actually happening. I began crying again in O'Hare and cried off and on from Chicago to LAX. When I arrived in LA, I met an American from South Carolina who was on all of my previous flights and she was going to Korea to teach too! She helped calm me down because this was her second time teaching in Korea. She just loved it so much! She also told me the horror stories of how she got stranded at the airport and had to find a hotel by herself in Seoul. I was so nervous about that, but I'll get to that in a minute. The flight from LAX to Incheon Airport was so long! I would fall asleep, wake up, think 3 hours had past and then find out it was only 20 minutes! I did that over and over so the flight felt like 2days, not 12 hours. The good news is, despite my new friends horror stories, I got my bags with no problem, went through customs with no problem, and found my director who was picking me up with no problem. I could not have asked for a better transition to Korea!
The trip started out on a very sad note. I had to say goodbye to my parents at the airport. Walking away from them was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. My mom tried to bribe me to stay by offering to pay for Grad School. Thanks Mom! That information would have probably worked a month or a week before I left. Not an hour before :) I cried on the entire plane ride from Grand Rapids to Chicago. Poor woman sitting next to me! She started humming to drown out my sobbing! When I landed in Chicago and was waiting to board the plane to LA, it truly hit me that this was actually happening. I began crying again in O'Hare and cried off and on from Chicago to LAX. When I arrived in LA, I met an American from South Carolina who was on all of my previous flights and she was going to Korea to teach too! She helped calm me down because this was her second time teaching in Korea. She just loved it so much! She also told me the horror stories of how she got stranded at the airport and had to find a hotel by herself in Seoul. I was so nervous about that, but I'll get to that in a minute. The flight from LAX to Incheon Airport was so long! I would fall asleep, wake up, think 3 hours had past and then find out it was only 20 minutes! I did that over and over so the flight felt like 2days, not 12 hours. The good news is, despite my new friends horror stories, I got my bags with no problem, went through customs with no problem, and found my director who was picking me up with no problem. I could not have asked for a better transition to Korea!
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