Ok, so this blog's title is "Life in South Korea". And so far, it has been nothing but my adventures in Hong Kong. Well, that is now over and I've finally made my leap into Ulsan, South Korea. Lets just shortly explain the flight. Korean Air is not the best airline. The food was worst than other airlines, but they were on time. Upon arrival, I did not see anyone at the "meeting point". Which scared me a little. After wondering around for half an hour, I saw a few "Lost" faces and I asked whether they were with the program. Luckily, they were and we got lost together. Another 15 minutes went by, I finally had to call the coordinator and found out they have changed the "meeting point" and failed to tell us. Anyway, we got to meet some of the other teachers as they showed us the way to the bus stop. It was about an hour bus ride to Ulsan from Busan. We got to the Office of Education at around 8pm. The building was all closed and they had to re-open the building for us to go inside. Once we got inside, we waited.....As we were waiting, I realize that that this program seems a bit un-organized. Finally, the co-teachers came and picked us up. Each teacher went their seperate ways.
My co-teacher is a middle-age lady with very broken english. But communication is still possible and that is all that is important. We got into her little geo-metro looking vehicle and cruised away. Three minutes into the ride, I thought I would never get the chance to teach in Korea. People know Asian drivers are horrible, but you never really know how bad until you ride with one. With that said, I've been riding with her for two days now and I am still here to blog about it so I guess she knows what she is doing (in her own way). I got to my apartment and I liked it right away.
A code to at the main door opens a sliding glass door. Third floor up is where my room is. Another code unlikes the door and we entered. I liked it right away because there is no key involved. And with my habits of alcohol consumption, keys are very important in my case when there are no roommates to let you in. The apartment is also brand new. The school had bought brand new appliances such as rice cooker (of course), toaster, air conditioner, tv, washing machine, and fridge. They also bought new furniture like tv stand, dinning table, chairs, and a bed. The bathroom is nice, but one weird thing about it is the shower head. It is connected to the sink's faucet head and with a push of a button, you can change the flow of water from the faucet to the shower head and vice versa. This is the traditional Korean way of a bathroom. NO curtains, and you shower right there in front of the sink and toliet with a drain right in the middle. Weird, but efficient I guess.
So far, it seems as though there is not much I can do. My co-teacher did take me shopping for certain items that I needed and was not provided. I went grocery shopping for some drinks and intant noodles. I want to go venture out to downtown and maybe to a few bars but I am afraid I won't be able to get back. It is very difficult to say where I live so even if I got into a taxi, I would think I will have a hard time finding out. I think the best way is to have my co-teacher write it down on paper tomorrow. Taxi is relatively cheap, probably $2-3 dollars for a 15 minute ride (which takes me to downtown and to my school).
And a little cultural lesson for you today. As you know, Asians love their video games. But what I (an Asian) didn't know, was how much Koreans are into their "PC cafes". I think there are 8 PC cafes within a 5 minute walking radius from my house. Each with probably 50 computers and are packed pretty much from 4pm till close (if they even close, I am not sure). It is $1 per hour to use a computer and they are all just hacking video games. I am getting a few bad looks as I am typing this blog. I think they think I am a waste of space for taking up a computer to type and not be hacking vids. OH well, thats all I have for my first two days/nights here. I hope I get all my essential set up soon (phone, cable, internet) so I can hide away in my pad and not come to a PC cafe.
More after the weekend and school starts Monday!
My co-teacher is a middle-age lady with very broken english. But communication is still possible and that is all that is important. We got into her little geo-metro looking vehicle and cruised away. Three minutes into the ride, I thought I would never get the chance to teach in Korea. People know Asian drivers are horrible, but you never really know how bad until you ride with one. With that said, I've been riding with her for two days now and I am still here to blog about it so I guess she knows what she is doing (in her own way). I got to my apartment and I liked it right away.
A code to at the main door opens a sliding glass door. Third floor up is where my room is. Another code unlikes the door and we entered. I liked it right away because there is no key involved. And with my habits of alcohol consumption, keys are very important in my case when there are no roommates to let you in. The apartment is also brand new. The school had bought brand new appliances such as rice cooker (of course), toaster, air conditioner, tv, washing machine, and fridge. They also bought new furniture like tv stand, dinning table, chairs, and a bed. The bathroom is nice, but one weird thing about it is the shower head. It is connected to the sink's faucet head and with a push of a button, you can change the flow of water from the faucet to the shower head and vice versa. This is the traditional Korean way of a bathroom. NO curtains, and you shower right there in front of the sink and toliet with a drain right in the middle. Weird, but efficient I guess.
So far, it seems as though there is not much I can do. My co-teacher did take me shopping for certain items that I needed and was not provided. I went grocery shopping for some drinks and intant noodles. I want to go venture out to downtown and maybe to a few bars but I am afraid I won't be able to get back. It is very difficult to say where I live so even if I got into a taxi, I would think I will have a hard time finding out. I think the best way is to have my co-teacher write it down on paper tomorrow. Taxi is relatively cheap, probably $2-3 dollars for a 15 minute ride (which takes me to downtown and to my school).
And a little cultural lesson for you today. As you know, Asians love their video games. But what I (an Asian) didn't know, was how much Koreans are into their "PC cafes". I think there are 8 PC cafes within a 5 minute walking radius from my house. Each with probably 50 computers and are packed pretty much from 4pm till close (if they even close, I am not sure). It is $1 per hour to use a computer and they are all just hacking video games. I am getting a few bad looks as I am typing this blog. I think they think I am a waste of space for taking up a computer to type and not be hacking vids. OH well, thats all I have for my first two days/nights here. I hope I get all my essential set up soon (phone, cable, internet) so I can hide away in my pad and not come to a PC cafe.
More after the weekend and school starts Monday!
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