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Published: March 14th 2010
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First day of training
with my training roommate, Amber I haven't blogged in a really long time...sorry folks!
Some of you have seen me, some of you haven't, but in any case, I'm back with the blogging! I decided to just keep this original blog so that everything is stored in one place instead of scattered around.
The big news? I got a new job as an English teacher in Korea! No, not North Korea...
SOUTH Korea. I still get people who ask me which Korea I'm at...I don't know if people realize that it's pretty hard to go to North Korea and, why would I want to move
there?! Also, this time around I'm working for a private school, not a public school. I figured I needed a change after my experience in Japan.
It's been a roller-coaster ride just getting here, I spent a week in the Chicago area because I had to get my visa sorted out. I was actually delayed a week because of some paperwork that had to be sent to Korea. Anyway...thank goodness for friends who let me stay at their places while I sorted things out at the Korean Consulate.
After I got my visa and flight itinerary set, I
went to Seoul for a week of intense training. I'm talking grammar tests, mock teaching practice, mock teaching evaluations, and then some. Even though we were staying in Seoul, I rarely went out. The only time was to see Alice in Wonderland at the 3D IMAX because I didn't know if it would be out in the city where I would live. I also took my training roommate to the Dongdaemun area for shopping on our one free day before training started. Our hotel in Seoul was pretty much like an apartment. A small family could live there comfortably and we had the whole room to ourselves! I could definitely get used to living in a place like that.
I passed training...woo hoo!! So last Friday, we got the results and then at 3:30pm sharp I was taken to the East Seoul Bus Terminal and put on a bus to Pohang. Po-what?, you ask? Yes, Pohang is the name of the city where I live now. It's not mentioned often because most people only know Seoul and Busan, but Pohang is an actual city! It's mostly known for POSCO, the Pohang Steel Company. It's about a 5-5.5 hour bus
Our first night of prep
Doing our Prep before mock teaching practice the next day ride south of Seoul and an hour/an hour and a half bus ride from Busan. Close to the sea and mountains are nearby, too.
I arrived in Pohang around 10pm Friday night, was taken straight to work to meet the directors and other co-workers, and had to sit in on a meeting about the carnival that was going on the next day. I was finally taken to my apartment around 11pm and I had just enough time to make it to the E-Mart (like Target) to get a towel and some toilet paper before they closed at midnight.
Saturday...got up early and took a walk around the area just to get myself oriented. Had to be at work by 11am to talk to the Head Instructor at school so she could give me my schedule and textbooks. We met up with the others later to help set up the carnival which would start at 1:30pm and finish at 3:30. It was madness! I helped out at the arts and crafts area and we were really busy making origami flowers. The purpose of the carnival is to give the kids a chance to use the stickers and coupons they've
accumulated over the months as part of the reward system so some of the activities they had to pay for like the Wii and pie throwing and karaoke. Arts and crafts was free! So lots of kids took advantage of that. It was really fun, but exhausting. After the carnival was done, we got some time to rest before going out to a buffet dinner at a convention center type place. Post dinner, I didn't really feel like going out so another co-worker and I decided to just browse around E-Mart and try some samples too (reminded me of Costco).
Today was spent in the downtown area of Pohang and I did some shopping for household stuff! I got a drying rack, a kettle, and a new pillow. In the late afternoon, I went to the open market nearby and got some fruits and had odeng and meat on a stick for dinner. I'm trying to stay up a little bit later today because I woke up at 6am this morning! I don't have to be at work until noon tomorrow, I don't want to be up at 6am again....booo. I do want to get to a bank before
going to work so I can exchange some money cause I'm down to my last 5,000won (roughly $5). Wish me luck on my first day of classes tomorrow!!
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Heather
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Yay Korea!
I'm really enjoying reading about your travels! What amazing experiences you're having! Thanks for sharing, and keep up the great posting! Last year I visited my friend who was teaching in Gwanju and I had such a great time! I loved my time in Korea and am excited for you! dirty-hippies.blogspot.com