We're in Korea!

Hi, everyone! I've decided to create a blog to keep everyone updated about our Korean adventure! I hope you enjoy reading this.

As most of you know, Justin and I decided back in October that we wanted to move to Korea to teach English. We went through Park English recruitment agency, which I highly recommend. We were placed at Changnyeong English Village. It's a government-run program with two parts: an English Camp and Cyber School. The English Camp is a weeklong program, where students from various schools come for a week of English immersion. The Cyber School consists of online classes, with each class having between one to six students. Changnyeong English Village is located on the outskirts of Changnyeong, which is a rural traditional town with a population of about 50,000. Changnyeong is located about an hour from Busan or forty minutes from Daegu. It was a long process getting all the paperwork done for our visa. But alas, we finally got our visas and plane tickets a few weeks ago, and we're here now!

Justiin and I left for Korea at 4:30 PM on Saturday afternoon. We had a long journey, with layovers in Montreal, Chicago, and Seoul. Finally, after 29 hours of flying and layovers, we arrived in Busan on Monday at 9 AM (Korean time). A driver who hardly knew any English picked us up from the airport and drove us to Changnyeong. It was exciting, but at the same time, very nerve-wracking. The next couple hours were a whirlwind. We went to the school, met the director Richard, and went to our apartment. We were told that we'd be in a new apartment, but it wasn't ready yet, so for the next couple weeks we'll be living in the old apartments that are very close to the school. Right after putting our suitcases in the apartment, we had to go back to the school to meet all the English teachers. It was nice meeting the other teachers and being around people who are in the same boat as you. The other English teachers here are Meghan and Jeremy, Caley and Preston, Chelsea, Lily and Randy, Layla, and Christine. However, within the next month and a half quite a few of the teachers will be leaving. All that will be left are Lily and Randy, Layla, Christine, and us. Anyway, then Justin and I had a meeting with Richard, Christine, and Jeremy. Christine arrived here a couple days before we did, and Jeremy acted as Richard's interpreter. The meeting was a little overwhelming. Thankfully, after it ended we were able to go to our apartment and have the afternoon off.

Justin and I went back to our apartment and tried to get settled in there. Lily and Randy came by to welcome us. They brought us food, toilet paper, and a card. That was so sweet of them! After they left, Justin napped while I cleaned the apartment. Our apartment was supposedly clean, but if that was clean, I'd hate to see dirty! I spent the next four hours cleaning it. I hate that we have to live out of suitcases for another two weeks, but at least we have our own apartment. After I cleaned the floors and every surface in our bedroom and living room and got a shower, I felt a lot better about the whole situation.

Then Justin and I went into Changnyeong with Meghan and Christine. We went to the market that's in town about every five days (on dates that end on 3 and 8). We explored around there, but didn't buy anything since we didn't have any Korean cash on us. The market sells everything! They sell shoes, purses, clothing, blankets, pots and pans, fruits and vegetables, poultry and seafood. Oh boy do they sell seafood! There was dried seafood, fish on ice, smoked fish, and live fish. It was crazy. Some of the produce looked really nice, as well as the blankets and dishes. We went to a store called Top Mart, where we bought some food and dishes. It was quite the experience shopping at a store where almost everything is in Korean and many items are unidentifiable! But we got some great deals, which made me happy. We came back to our apartment and I cleaned the kitchen and put away our purchases. We went to bed at 9:30, completely and totally exhausted.

Today, Justin and I woke up early, called our parents, and got ready for the day. We went to school at 9 and immediately went with Richard, So Hee (one of the Koreans on staff), and Christine to the hospital to get a complete physical. Then we toured the new apartments, which are studio apartments. They're much smaller than the old apartments that we're currently living in, but at least they're new, not moldy, and hopefully clean. The apartment we're currently living in has an entryway area, kitchen, bathroom, living room, bedroom, sunroom, and laundry room. On the other hand, our new apartment has a small bathroom, a small kitchen, a balcony, and a small room (about the size of our current bedroom) to be used as a living room and bedroom. I have no idea how they're going to fit the bed, couch, fridge, desk, and washing machine all in that apartment. But we'll make it work. After that, we went to the bank so I could convert my Canadian cash into Korean won.

We came back to school and talked with Jeremy, who has been working at the Cyber School the past couple months. He told us a little about the Cyber School, since we'll be teaching here for the next two and a half months before teaching at the English Camp. But then he had to leave for Masan with Meghan to do some paperwork regarding them leaving in a week. We had a lunch break at our apartment, then came back to the school. We spent all afternoon our cubicles in the Cyber School, getting familiar with the curriculum. There's not too much we can do until Jeremy comes back and teaches us the ropes these next three days.

Overall, I'm glad we're here. It's a lot to get used to, though. As Justin said, Korea has a distinct smell...like kimchi, I think. I hate not knowing much of the language, and really need to learn more. It's quite the culture shock, but I think I'll adjust. The other teachers seem very nice and the students are cute. It should be an interesting and fun year, I hope!