Arrival and all that jazz

Well, after 25 hours of travel I finally made it to my apartment.  The flight, although the smoothest I have been on, was a little tiring as I was seated next to a little girl that liked to randomly screech—needless to say I didn’t get much sleep on the flight.  

I was picked up by a driver at the airport.  I knew I was in for the ride of my life when he put on the gloves.  In Korea, I have learned that when taxi drivers put on the fingerless “racecar gloves” as I like to call them, that they take driving seriously and that I was about to be in for the ride of my life.  He didn’t disappoint.  We weaved in and out of traffic and went about 40km faster than the cars around us.  I probably would have been more concerned with how many close calls we had but at this point I was just so exhausted I sat back and enjoyed the ride.

Finally, we made it to the apartment! I live in an officetell which is just an apartment inside of an office building.  I also live in the heart of Yatap so right outside of my door are two huge grocery stores (I’m talking floors here…), a movie theater, McDonalds/Burger King, Starbucks and a million other coffee shops, and some really delicious Korean restaurants as well. The convenience of it all is a little overwhelming. 

My apartment is beyond adorable.  Exactly what I was hoping for.  I was placed in a loft apartment which is amazing for space.  I’ll post a video of it soon.  I also actually have counter space this year although as a whole my kitchen may be a little smaller.  The previous English teacher left my cupboards well stock with food and a lot of pans to cook with.  This has saved me a LOT of money.  The bathroom is more of a western bathroom—I actually have a shower stall this year! This will help keep down mold, I think.  Down the entry hallway, I have ample closet space for all of my clothes with room to spare—motivation to go shopping! ;)

My bedroom is in the loft.  I don’t actually have a bed.  The room is set up as a melding of the eastern and western culture.  Instead of just a pad on the floor (eastern culture) I have a mattress on the floor.  Perfectly ok with me.  I also have a couch and a bench up there that I have to figure out what to do with.  Downstairs I have a really nice couch and coffee table.  I am not even quite sure what I am supposed to do with all of the space that I have, but I am fairly certain I will be motivated to host at my apartment to share the space!

I can only speak well about my new school, as well.  So far it seems everything is just slightly different from what my school was like last year.  I am also teaching more grades.  Last year I taught 3^rd and 6^th grades while this year I will be teaching 3^rd-6^th.  More lesson planning but that’s fine.  My co-teacher is absolutely lovely as well.  The students also have a huge court yard here.  If you recall any videos or pictures of it last it was just a fenced in place with dirt.  This year they have a track, football field, along with various other nice things.  It’s pretty impressive.

I haven’t gotten lost yet, although I also haven’t ventured too far from my apartment.  Tomorrow I will attempt walking to school for the first time…we’ll see how that goes.  While it doesn’t seem terribly difficult, it’s also not the straight path that I had last year so hopefully I remember all of the turns.  

I think that’s all I have to update with for now.  I don’t technically have internet in my apartment yet, although sometimes I am able to pick up a signal. I probably won’t have internet until next month some time. Once I have internet I can post the video of what my apartment looks like.