So, I'm finally here. I've been looking forward to moving here for the year ever since I started in January. It's a bit surreal really.
First impressions of the place? Well, it's been up and down so far, to be honest! Everyone kept telling me I was so brave to come over here on my own- all I could ever muster as a reply was “really?” Well, without much further a-do, I take it back.
24 hours after setting off, I arrived in Seoul Incheon Airport (not a wink of shut-eye during this time- I don't do sleep on planes...) I was knackered. Completely out of it. All I wanted to do was hit the mattress and have a chat with the Sandman... Alas! I spent an hour trying to find 'John Lee' at the airport (the guy responsible for giving me a lift to my flat). By the way, this was my fault- I came out of baggage handling at the wrong gate and wandered round like a numpty for an hour. Good start.
So, the first thing I did when I arrived? Sleep, right? No. Straight to the school to have a meeting with the school's director. Fun, fun, fun. Nonetheless, they nattered away in Korean (barely speaking to me), while I sat there focussing all of my energy on keeping my eyes open. Then I was whisked away to my apartment- 'apartment' must be Korean for 'bomb-site' Seriously, the place was/is a mess! I get to indulge in luxuries such as: a light switch in my bedroom dangling off the wall, last years chicken noodle soup dried on the cooking hob, cupboards that have lost the will to close. At this point, I was most definitely not on a high. More on a “what the fuck have I let myself in for?!?!” (Things get better, don't worry...)
The next day I got to 'shadow' Jess, the girl who I'm replacing as a teacher, come Monday. She's probably the first Irish person who's accent I can actually understand- no offence Fitzy ;-) My experiences of the day? Well, Korean kids are NOT what you'd think. The expectation- they are all quiet and respectful. The reality- nuh-uh. The kids are hyper (think ADHD hyper), and verge on violent- the better students have a habit of getting up, shouting at and clouting the less-fluent kids who struggle with an exercise. I think there'll be some changes come next week. Just a hunch...
The most amusing thing about that day was meeting the kids for the first time- I'm basically Gigantor to them. When they were measuring me on their height chart (I was off the chart :D), a young kid said to me 'You. Are. Very... Handsome.” And then he ran off. Yes... 'he'. When I asked my flatmate, Paul, about this, he said that's normal. Homosexuality is non-existent over here apparently. People are just very straight and honest. Modesty doesn't exist either. Apparently.
The place I live is called Dunjeonri, in Yongin City (about an hour's bus ride from Seoul). One of the schools I teach in is a two minute walk from the bomb-site; the other a ten minute bus ride. So no need to get up early for work, then. Well, given that I start around 1 or 2pm every day, no. How many of you reading this get to do that? Students, you don't count.
I've been to the supermarket a few times now, and even that's become daunting. Tesco, it ain't. Every little does NOT help. I now have to figure out what foods are from a cheesy little picture on the front of the packet. And the price is hard to work out too- I usually guess based on what I think it's worth. Varied results so far. The diet here is totally different to the UK too. They don't even have porridge. I have a bit of a dilemma here. What the hell to replace it with? Cereal barely exists here- I bought some 'Granola' that turned out to be cornflakes. Where the hell was the cockerel on the front of the packet, eh?!
However, once I get used to what's what, I'm sure I'll be fine- Kim-chi (vegetables in a really spicy chilli sauce) is massive over here, and is already growing on me. The craziest thing I've found so far, food-wise, is meal-worm pupae... in a can. I'm not on 'I'm a Celebrity, get me out of here' am I!?
Today has been the most exciting day by far! I got to ride the subway (I feel like a kid again, saying that) all over Seoul, to explore. Paul took me into Seoul on the bus first and them promptly ditched me to do his own thing (a reoccurring habit I've noticed- Jess did it to me on my first night at the supermarket!) So, I promptly hit a coffee house to re-coup and plan out where to go. This resulted in me being none-the-wiser about what to do. I aimlessly mooched the local streets in a place called Itaewon- it's the most American place in Korea. Reminded me of Seattle. A thing I noticed, too is that 95% of shops sell either clothes or mobile phones. I needed a water filter, having been informed that tap water isn't safe to drink here. I did a lot of research before coming here, obviously. Clothes shops sell them, right?
In the end, I found one water filter in a mall in the whole of Seoul. It took me about 2 hours to find- most of this was spent trying to explain what a water filter is to bewildered-looking Korean shop assistants. Today I've discovered that, not only is my Korean shit (I can say 'hello' and 'thank you'), but my sign-language is equally shit. After this acquisition, I then visited the World Cup Stadium where Seoul FC were playing a match (would've watched, if I'd had the time). Here, I had my first taste of Summer rain, here. You soon learn that when it rains here, it pours.
This then leads me to when I was waiting for the bus home at the end of the day. Now, after a whole day of being stared at on the Subway, my first Korean talked to me, voluntarily! Hurrah! The first part of her name was Kim; the rest of her name I can't pronounce/remember. She proceeded to cover me with her umbrella and make conversation while we waited for the bus. It ended up that she was getting a different bus, to Pusan. But, when her bus came, she actually gave me her umbrella to keep! Ridiculously kind. This lifted my spirits immensely. Now, I think there's hope for Korea after all- that the staring might actually stop once in a while.
So, as I sit and write this, I am now the proud owner of a white, spotty 'Crocodile Ladies' umbrella. I've called it Kim, in honour of the kind bus stop girl. Can't wait till it rains again ;-)
P.S. Unrelated note- I won't credit the name of this blog to the guy who came up with it as I know he'll get all smarmy and feel the urge to celebrate. With alcohol. You've got a dissertation to do, mate...
