SQUATERS!@*&#^

I was supposed to start orientation at my school today but they pushed it back another day. According to my director the government says people need to wait seven days after travelling to make sure they are not sick. Whatever...one more day to relax and watch movies in my motel room. I've already watched The Parent Trap, Titanic, The Nanny Diaries, Matilda, Hook, and Mission Impossible 1 and 3. I will say the Koreans have pretty good taste in American movies.

I went to the hospital today for the infamous urine, blood, and the like tests that all foreign teachers have to take. The hospital seemed pretty clean and organized and nice...and then they handed me the pee cup and pointed me to the bathroom. In my 23 years on this planet I am perfectly proud to say I have avoided squating...that was until today. As if peeing in a cup isn't akward enough, I open up the stall door and its a squater toilet. I don't know if there is proper name for it but its basically a porcelain hole in the ground you squat over. I've been confronted with this situation before, whether it was at the bar in Hungary or while drinking by the bonfire, however, I've always been able to hold it until I found a place more comfortable to releave myself. If you think I'm being ridiculous, and squating is the norm for you then I applaud you. For me, well I've just always felt more comfortable sitting and relaxing. I didn't have a choice today though. I sucked it up and squated. I guess I can check that one off my list now. It's under the category "Things I Haven't Done that I Don't Really Care that I Haven't Done But was Kinda Forced Into Doing Them So Now I Can Say I've Done Them But Don't Really Care If I Ever Do Them Again".

I've forgotten to mention one of the things I love about this place. THE MOUNTAINS. I knew that a lot of Korea was covered in mountains but they basically surround the city. You can see them in basically any direction you look (as long as there is a break in the high rises). They aren't huge mountains but awesome none the less. Koreans are really big into hiking and I can't wait to go. And I'm sure it will be beautiful(does anyone else always think of Bruce Almighty whenever they have to spell that word) in the fall when the leaves are changing.

My director told me I would be moving into my apartment on Friday!!!!! I really hope so. It will be nice to be able to unpack and start to get settled a bit more. And it will be nice to be able to use my computer instead of always having to go to the PC Bang. I feel like I've smoked a pack of cigarettes every time I leave this place. O'well, at least I have a place I can use the internet.

Hope things are going well for everyone:)

Laters.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT pun intended

What is it about food that just fills you up with a warm fuzzy feeling? I know there are those quintessential (i have no idea how to spell that and when I click spell check it just comes up in Korean so you will just have to go with it) comfort foods, ie. macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, honey nut cheerios, etc, etc, but it seems to me as though people automatically loosen up when food is involved. Just think about it...whenever you have guests over more often that not food is served, first dates often include going out to dinner, the best part about grocery shopping on a Sunday are the samples- unless you make the mistake of scarfing down a fish stick you thought was a mozzorella stick, not a fun suprise.

The most comfortable I have felt here has been when I have been enjoying a delicious meal. And believe me the meals here are DELICIOUS. Maybe its just me, and maybe that is why I never seem to be able to shed a few unwanted pounds, but it seems like the best way to become comfortable in an uncomfortable situation is to eat. Bon Apetite!

Anyways...I met up with Krista yesturday, which was great. She treated me to lunch and then took me into Seoul via the subway. She showed me where to buy a subway transit card thing that you just put money on and scan at the entrance instead of buying a ticket for each ride. So now I feel like somewhat of a legit foreigner instead of a helpless foreigner. I think I somewhat figured out how to use the subway, atleast enough to get myself back to my motel. We went to a part of Seoul called Insadong which has a bunch of little shops selling knick-knacks and such. I bought a scarf, my first Korean purchase, and then saw on the label that it was made in China. O'well. We had a few drinks and then ate dinner at Pizza Hut. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah criticize all you want but I was craving pizza and it hit the spot. It was great to be able to see Krista and actually have someone to talk to who understood what I was saying.

I start orientation at my school tomorrow. I'm very excited to meet the other teachers at my school, and I'm also very excited to have something to do to keep me busy. But I'm nervous about the whole teaching thing. I'm sure everything will go fine. Everyone says you just have to get through the first month and then things will be great. I look forward to that time, but right now I'm just a tad bit nervous.

Not much else to report here. The computers at the PC bang are no longer opening up my email so if you have sent an email in the last few days sorry. I haven't been ignoring you I promise. I will be moving into my apartment in about a week and will have internet there. Can't wait!

I hope things are going well for everyone back home.

Talk to ya later.

Day 2

I walked around a little bit yesturday. I didn't go too far from my motel for fear of getting lost, but I managed to see a little of the neighborhood. Probably the thing that sticks out the most about this place is the constant activity. There are lots of people, lots of activity, and lots of bright lights. The streets are just full of different little shops. I walked by a few places yesturday with tons of fish swimming around in tanks on the sidewalk. Not something you see everyday in good old A-Town. But that is the best part about travelling to new places...seeing things and experiencing things you never have before. There is something about putting yourself in difficult and awkward situations that I just love. I think I probably just love the story I have to tell later. I love telling stories I think are funny even if no one else finds them funny...

Anyways, my director Mr Nam took me to dinner last night. We had Korean BBQ. It was delicious. I was a little nervous for the dinner but I knew it was going to be great when the first thing Mr Nam did was buy me a beer and serve me a shot of soju, which is a very popular liquor here that is similar to vodka. We had pork which you cook up yourself at your table. You usually then take a piece of lettuce, put a piece of pork on it, then add some bean paste and garlic, wrap it up and eat it. So so so good! I also tried some kimchi and it was pretty good. Kimchi is a very popular dish in Korea. It's fermented cabage or other veggies with some chili type sauce on it. They eat it with about every meal. Not too bad. We also had some bean paste soup with rice. Mr Nam said if you like bean paste soup you will like most every food in Korea so I guess I'm in luck becuase the soup was pretty good. The pork was definitely my favorite part of the meal though. Can't wait to have it again. We polished off the meal by finishing up the beer and soju...they serve soju in about a 12oz bottle and it's 20% alcohol...because as Mr Nam said, "leaving alcohol on the table in Korea is a sin". He then hailed a cab to take me back to my motel and him back to his apartment because he didn't want to drive since he drank. He is a very nice man, and both of my directors are very apologetic about me having to stay in a motel and not being able meet anyone from the school to make sure I don't have "the flu". They feel very bad but it hasn't been too big of a deal.

My sleep is still a bit off. I woke up at 5am this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. I went to the convience store down the street for some breakfast and came back with Denish Pastries(I think they might have meant Danish) and some sour cream and onion Pringles. It's been raining most of the day so I haven't been able to explore much today. I am meeting up with my friend Krista, whose been here since December, on Saturday so hopefully she will be able to show me around a bit more.

So far things are going well. I start orientation at the school on Monday so I'm pretty excited/nervous for that. Hopefully things go well. I know I'll be overwhelmed at first, but I'm sure it will be quite the experience. I'm also looking forward to meeting the other teachers at my school! It kinda sucks being stuck in my motel by myself but only a few more days....

Laters

I MADE IT!!!

After about 24 hours of traveling I have made it to Korea! It really wasn't too bad. I actually slept off and on for the whole 14 hour flight from Chicago to Seoul so it went pretty fast. I sat next to a lady from the Philipines who was very nice. Within the first few questions she had asked me how old I was, and whether or not I was single...I guess they don't care about getting personal at all:)

I was picked up at the airport by a van driver who didn't speak English, which was fine, except to say "banana" and then point to the pocket on the back of the seat. So that was nice...I didn't expect to get a banana from the van driver. Anyways he drove me to my director place who then took me to the hotel I will be staying in until about August 30. The rooms are alot smaller than in the states but it has a TV with some English channels...I've already watched The Parent Trap and House...and it has an airconditioner so I'm set. Unfortunately it does not have internet so I am typing this at something called a PC bang which is a room full of computers you pay to use. So I'm surrounded by a bunch of guys smoking and playing video games...my first Korean adventure!

My director showed me around the neighborhood a bit and then said he would meet me later for dinner. I'm very glad my directors are so helpful. I've heard some bad stories about school directors but mine seem very nice so far. I'm a little nervous so go eat just because I'm not real good with chopsticks yet, and I have no idea what I'll be eating....but that is just part of the experience!

Well my time may be running out on the computer so I'll wrap it up. This place is very different from anywhere I've travelled. All the buildings are highrises. There is no such thing as a strip mall. Businesses are not side by side but rather stacked on top of eachother. The people have been very nice so far. I guess I've only really interacted with the two young girls working at this PC bang, but they were very nice. It is somewhat cloudy today but still prettty warm. I think it may be even more humid here than at home.

As far as this blog goes...I probably won't do much proofreading so sorry about the gramatical/spelling errors. I never proofread a paper in college and I probably won't proofread my blog posts either. Follow this blog closely if you want, read it occasionally if you want but don't forget I want to hear from all of you too...I know I will miss everyone but I also know this is exactly where I'm supposed to be.

Until next time...

P.S. If anyone goes to the fair please eat a pork burger from the pork tent for me. I didn't get to eat one before I left.