The First Post

Well, it took some finagling, but they finally decided to let us in. And after a mad dash to San Francisco to pick up my (Nicole's) visa/passport, we were finally off to our new home. We flew out from San Francisco on Saturday, March 6th at 12:00pm and arrived Sunday, March 7th at 10:00pm (local time).

Warning: This blog is made possible by the over use of parenthesis, asterisks, and run-on sentences. Things might improve with time.

Things worth mentioning so far:

* We live in a "myeon" (neighborhood) called Jangyu of a "si" (city) called Gimhae, in a "do" (province) called Gyeongsangnam, in a country called the Republic of Korea.

* We're 15 hours ahead of Colorado. So, for a small fee, we're able to tell you what happens in your very near future.



* Korean Air food was better than any other airplane food we've had in recent history, most notably, serving Bibimbap (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibimbap).



* Our apartment is smaller than we were told it would be ("Um, so like, I am sorry, but I could not get couples housing yet. Maybe in a few weeks."). For now we are in a one room apartment and it is quite literally one room (what we would call a studio). We aren't really able to unpack, but are making the best of it. We do have a beautiful view and we got some practice living in very close quarters before we left. Here is a link to a video of our little home: Right here.

* After arriving late Sunday night, Scott had to begin teaching on Monday at his hagwon (private academy) which is called the Herald Institute. His school gave him zero instruction, just sort of pointed at the books, and told him to go teach. He is learning how to be a teacher, how to teach Korean kids, how to make lesson plans, how to keep control of unruly students, etc. etc. - all at once. Needless to say, the first day, the first week, and most likely the first month, were and will be very difficult. However, each day is slowly getting better... so eventually things will be easier.

Scott had this to say today (originally on his facebook status),

Had a girl run out of the school in tears last night where, when after multiple warnings, I took away her cell phone and told her to leave the classroom. She and her mother claimed that I was too aggressive and had pinched her cheek as punishment (easy to confuse that and with when I had actually reached for her cell phone). School finished shortly thereafter. I took the elevator down to the first floor, walked across the street into a small empty Hanjik restaurant and managed to order takeout in broken Korean (no small feat) for our supper. In silence a young woman prepared for me a full meal, from scratch, of bibimbap (Nicole), kimchii jiggae (me), and accompanying banchan (sides). With a smile she prepared everything in it's own small dish, securing it with saran wrap, and carefully placed them in a bag so as not to tip over. Seven dollars. On my cold walk home Andrew Bird was telling me something about life. I thought of Nicole and looked forward to seeing her. Then I saw her, and I think I can do this.

* This past weekend we traveled to the neighboring city of Changwon (about 20 minutes by car). This is where Scott's cousin, Jason, and his family live. Jason is from Scott's dad's side of the family (so, not Korean). He has been living here for 10 plus years, has a Korean wife (Jung Mi), and two very cute kids (Max and Malcom). We spent Friday night at their very nice apartment (something to look forward to!) and spent a lot of quality time catching up, learning about Korea, and eating. They were INCREDIBLY hospitable and we feel very fortunate to have family so near. Here is their living room (with the kids watching tv) and the street view from 29 floors up:

* I began work yesterday (Monday) at a hagwon called TGL. I was prepared for the worst, but ended up being pleasantly surprised. My director is very organized and really concerned about my well-being. They are easing me into the schedule, so this week I only teach a few classes per day. This has been reeeeeeeally helpful. Also, my students are really well-behaved, so I don't have to lay down the law like Scott does. They mostly just want to know about my eye brow ring and how tall Scott is (both are novelties here).

My director is a very well-spoken woman who goes by the English name of Jackie. Most people here, if they speak any English, pick an English name for foreigners to call them. Her husband, Minki (LOL), is the manager. His English is very basic, but he is SO kind to me. And not in a creepy way - more like a dad kind of way. He just wants to make sure I am happy and taken care of. So far, they've provided my cell phone (which I'll make the monthly payment for), bought me my own herb tea for work, bought me a thermos ("because you drink tea and this will keep it hot"), gave me a card saying how thankful they are to have me, and when we were all in the car together, they stopped to get Scott coffee because he mentioned he was feeling tired. I feel really fortunate to be working for them... not all hagwon directors/managers are so caring and organized.

* In two weekends we are going to go to Busan, which is the 2nd biggest city, to visit Scott's grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I am anticipating quite the experience... haha. It is such a change because I have no family here and Scott has lots, whereas in the States, I have lots of family, and Scott only has a few family members (that we keep in touch with anyhow).

* Scott has two other foreign teachers at his school, who we have spent some time with, but by the time work is over (about 9:00pm), we are tired and don't feel much like going out. They're both nice guys and have introduced us to some of the other foreigners in the area (some of which seem like great people). The foreigner crowd parties pretty hard, but at this point, we just don't have the energy!

So, basically right now our lives consist of going to work during the week (from 2:00pm-9:00pm-ish), visiting family on the weekends, finding food, trying to learn Korean, and hanging out with each other.

* Funny things that I can remember right now:

- The Lotte Mart (sort of like a Super Target with a Korean twist) is two stories tall, so they have escalator like things (minus the steps) that you and your grocery cart ride up and down on.

- My hospital visit: no worries, they just do a physical for all foreign teachers. Minki and the brain (this is what I lovingly call my bosses) brought me to the hospital and I made Scott come along because I had to give blood (which freaks me out). The physical was pretty comical... a dentist glanced at my teeth ("if a foreign teacher has too many cavities they will not be able to pronounce words correctly"), they measured my height and weight, took a urine sample (to check for drugs), took a blood sample (to check for AIDS and some other disease), and did a chest x-ray. Then what I am assuming was a doctor asked me if I had hepatitis and some other diseases. Then we were done. They basically want to know if you are diseased, on drugs, have something in your chest (?), or have too many cavities to be able to speak clearly (hahaha). On the drive back Minki stopped to get Scott coffee (which turns out they have, but it is yuck-o).

- Free garment bag with Frosted Flakes: yes, you read that correctly. A garment bag, albeit a cheap one, with a box of Frosted Flakes.


- Pocari Sweat: a highly prized beverage, served cold. Harvested from the small, round Pocari (an animal endemic to Korea). The Pocari are made to exercise (the exercise is similar to what we call jumping jacks) in the hot sun. Their sweat is carefully collected, bottled, and refrigerated for human consumption. It supposedly gives you a boost of energy. Okay, that was all a lie, but Scott and I like to think this is what Pocari Sweat is. In reality it is a sports drink that tastes like a lemon Propel with crushed up Smarties in it.




- This is the visual on the back of a bag of shrimp chips (Scott loves them and they almost make me gag - they smell like that flake fish food):

- The very high tech way of keeping the toilet paper dry in a bathroom that is also a shower:


- Green Tea sweet bread roll from Paris Baguette Bakery (Koreans LOVE their bakeries):

And Scott doing his best impression of a Korean (not too shabby) with the bread:



Alright, so there is a lot more, but I'm tired. Feel free to ask us about anything... it is hard to remember all the new things we experience (because everything is a new experience).