TRAVELING SOLO TO SEOUL!

So, this past beautiful Saturday morning, I set out to explore Seoul! After hurriedly buying my ticket not knowing exactly where I was going to end up, I raced up the steps to catch the subway just in the nick of time! No cell phone or internet service. Just me, a foreigner in a new land, and my adventuresome spirit thrown in to a culture that I am still learning and on to a subway system that I was determined to figure out.

 

After studying the subway map a bit, making several subway transfers, and passing time with lots of "people watching" during the time it took me to get to Seoul, I finally arrived at the Itaewon station. My first stop was the tourist center to get some city information. There are so many wonderful things to do in Itaewon! Then, after talking with some helpful ambassador people on the street to get a restaurant recommendation, I had a wonderful lunch at La Bocca, a really nice Italian restaurant on the World Food Street, and a bit more of people watching. There are so many more Americans in this town than I have seen in the other cities. Hearing so many people speaking English was a welcome change and kind of made me feel not so far away. Originally, my intentions were to see the Seoul Central Mosque, the Leeum, Samsung Art Museum, shop a bit, and just explore this beautiful city. That will have to be my next trip. I did, however, find a quaint little nail shop to get a manicure and enjoyed a nice stroll to the flea market where I ended up purchasing a painting from one of the local women. She was so excited that I was admiring her painting, she came up to me and told me it was the first painting she had ever done and she was so happy that someone was interested in her painting. I think I really made her day! So of course, I bought it from her, and it's hanging in my apartment as an "original, first edition" masterpiece. Ha!

 

KOREAN CULTURE!

A breath of fresh air

So, this past week, we've really had some junk in the air! I've never really had a problem with allergies, but something in the air has really gotten to me. I keep dusting my new apartment hoping that will help, but I hear that it's the pollution from the factories in East China that has blown in and caused so many of my students, including myself, to have this annoying upper respiratory cough! You can see a bit of haze this morning from the 14th floor balcony of my apartments. They call it "yellow dust" season, but it doesn't last too much longer. Thank goodness! I've had several students miss class this week too. Ugh! I'm told some of my students had to go to the hospital. Well, the hospital in Korea doesn't mean what it means in America. I learned that going to the hospital here just means they had to go to the doctor.

Government red tape

Last week, we waited in line for three hours at the Korean government office to apply for our ID card. We had to take our "sealed" health exam results from the hospital that took us over a week to get back and give it to the government employee to open and inspect. They are making sure that we are not bringing in any diseases to their country. It takes two weeks to process, and then I'll be able to pick up my alien registration ID card so that I can open my bank account and finally get "unlimited data" cell phone data service! It's crazy that in order to come and work in Korea, there are so many hoops that you have to jump through in order to be able to work here. If it wasn't enough to have to wait 16 weeks for our background checks to be completed by the FBI, we then had to have several of our documents apostilled by not only the State of Texas but also the US Department of State office in DC and the Korean consulates office in Dallas before we could get our Visa. All this had to be completed before we could even get on a plane to come here! Funny how easy it is to come to America to work or get benefits or vote for that matter. Don't get me started.... Lol. We are the land of the free, right? :)

       

Cleaning those pearly whites

There's another cultural thing I'm really digging! Do you remember your dentist always saying to "brush your teeth after every meal"? Well, in Korea, they do! I've joined in and take my tooth brush with me to lunch so that I can stop off to freshen up after eating. It's not unusual to be standing next to the other Korean teachers in the bathroom brushing away too! However, I don't enjoy seeing the high school students walking around the halls with the brush sticking out of their mouths, though, especially when they try to carry on a conversation while brushing. Ha!  How do you say, "No brushing while talking" in Korean?

Teacher talk

I'm struggling a bit teaching a few of my students that have limited English speaking abilities. It's so cool though to see their faces light up when the "lightbulb" turns on and they finally understand what I am trying to say. Those are the rewarding moments that teachers just love to see and I'm no exception! Sometimes, it takes me several different ways of saying something for them to understand, but then there are other times when I succumb to asking another student to help me explain it to them in Korean and make the connection that way. My kiddo's are just the sweetest little ones! You can see their bright shining faces here! And just as we do in schools in America, we also have those lovely students with vibrant personalities who want to cut up and play a bit in class instead of learning. So for those moments, I have another wonderful Korean elementary teacher who has had a little "talk" with a couple of my students to "remind" them of what is expected in the classroom. These talks always end with a bow and an apology to me. She sure seems to have a great way of getting through to these kiddo's in the way of backing me up. Having two teachers scolding you are always better than one, right! :) If you're a teacher, you know what I mean though..... Can you say "Principal's office"? Lol.

     

Sofie, Rosey, and Shannon
(These are their English names)

Just a few of my little 5th graders!

         











Pancakes and more!

Not sure what you call them, but they look like pancakes.... They are soooo goood! She cooks these right there on the street, and I'm turning in to a "regular" customer for this nice treat after school. Cafeteria lunches will sometimes have fruit, but not very often. I get that fresh from the market and for a whole bag of mandarin oranges and a whole basket of large strawberries, I'll pay 5000 won (equivalent to about $4.50 for each). I have had the pleasure of enjoying the biggest, juiciest apple and pear ever. So good! And, since I've been here, I've eaten more vegetables and/or roots (especially ones that I have no idea what they are) and am loving it! It's been interesting though getting used to the family style eating! Dining is such great entertainment these days. Chopsticks are my way of life now! Who needs a fork?

Family style dining!

The dumplings were delicious!
                                             

Chapel time

It's been such a great three weeks and to top off the end of the week at school, on Friday's, we always end the day with a school wide Chapel service with lots of wonderful singing and praying. It's really a beautiful service and the pastor gives a sermon to leave everyone with a special message before the start of the weekend.

SUBWAY TRIP TO UIJEONGBU!

Learning the ways of Korean Life!

Ok. So, I had to learn (and have translated) how to work my washer/dryer, intercom system, and most importantly.... how to handle the trash this week. The Koreans are very specific as to what trash goes in what bags and where we take it. There is a place for the recycling to be placed, and a place where food scraps are placed, and another bag and place where normal trash is taken. I even took a taxi to EMart all by myself one day.  I had to download an app called GenieTalk when I had wifi and type in the location and any sentences I thought I would need for my trip to EMart and Walla! I easily got there and back. I learned this week that along with some feeble attempts at using hand gestures to explain what I mean, I could pretty much get by with at least these two words, Annyanghaseo and Gamsamnida, Hello and Thank you, especially while shopping the street shops. One of the street vendors took a liking to me after I said Gamsamnida that she put extra fruit in my bag! Our late night Friday night excursion included learning how to take the subway to Uijeongbu, dining at an Indian cuisine restaurant, and trying out some new Korean beer! It's been a whirlwind first ten days!

SCHOOL TIME!

My first day at the school, we were greeted with welcome arms by all the Korean teachers and our wonderful Principal. Breakfast treats, cappuccino, and even a "Welcome to Korea" tree for my apartment! After decorating my classroom, I anxiously awaited meeting my students for the first time. I'm teaching English, Science, Social Studies, Math, and ESL to a total of 19 students in four grade levels and they are just so sweet! We spent our first day getting to know each other and my trying to learn their names. Wow! It's too cute, they call me "teacher" and cannot get used to the idea yet of calling me "Ms. Julie". I tease them back and call them "student", they laugh and then remember to call me Ms. Julie. My next door teacher Ms. Kaye is from the Philippines and she has been a delight to have as one of my elementary team teachers. The students wear special slipper shoes in the school and when I took them outside for a surprise science project, they had to sneak quietly in to their homeroom teacher's room to get their outside shoes! I love it! The cafeteria serves kimchi and rice at every meal and lots of vegetables. I love the chicken and have gotten really good at using my chopsticks (Koreans use metal ones, btw)

SOUTH KOREA BOUND!

I'm Here!

Well, we made it! After a 15 hour flight, we landed at Inchon Airport in Seoul and our first stop was dinner at McDonald's and then on to do some shopping at EMart (the Korean Walmart) to buy essentials needed.... pillow, blankets, food, etc. I'm so excited to be here! The high rise apartment I will be living in is brand new and is right across the street from the subway station. There's a grocery market right next door and the school bus picks me up right across the street every day. The view from my window are the beautiful mountains of Bukhansan National Park. I see a hiking trip in my near future! Lol. My refrigerator and washer/dryer provided by the school were not delivered till the middle of the week, but I hung my bananas in a bag outside the window and they were perfectly chilled! And, the floors are heated, too! So cool! We ate dinner out every day this week and on the days ending in 2 and 7, the street markets are open with all kinds of produce and fresh meat/fish. Internet has been limited for me this past week since I haven't been able to get a phone yet. I will have to first get my health physical which includes xrays, blood work, radiology etc. Then, I can apply for my Korean ID. The ID is needed to get cell phone service and open a bank account.