My First Week!

I have officially been here for a week as of Tuesday night around 10. This week has flown by and I have been so busy that it's hard to put into details everything that I have already seen and experienced. I'll start out with my flight here and my arrival to South Korea..

Arrival - My flight was scheduled to leave Pittsburgh early at 7:35 a.m. and arrive in San Francisco at 10:10 a.m. and then depart to Seoul at 11:02 a.m. to arrive at 3:20 p.m. Now 1 hour is not ideal for an international layover at all and the fact that it was a little less than an hour was not good however, I did not book the flight and I did not pay for it so beggars can't be choosers! The problem with this is that my flight from Pittsburgh was delayed almost an hour! There was some type of mechanical check that was going on and our flight was delayed by at least 40 minutes. I checked to see what other flights were going to Seoul that day and the next and only flight was through Narita in Japan and to Seoul at 1:00 arriving at 9:30 in Seoul. The flight to San Fran was a solid 5 1/2 hours, they said they would try to make up time in the air but I don't think that  happened. I was deplaning at 10:45-50 when we arrived in San Francisco. I was told that there would be someone out front at the gate to deal with rebooked flights and gate numbers for connecting flights however, the guy that was there was taking his time to talk to some couple and the line was long and I didn't have that kind of time to wait. I tried to find my flight on the monitor board but SURPRISE, it wasn't there! I panicked and tried to find a United crew member to help me but no one was in site. This pissed me off even more, I headed towards the international terminal, more like ran, finally found someone and she told me the gate and then told me to run, as I was running I saw the gate and some woman waving me down asking my name. She also told me to run that they were closing the doors. When I got down to the boarding area I asked about my bags and tried to explain to this woman that I didn't want to get on this flight if my bags weren't going to make it because I didn't know the address to send them to if I got there and they didn't! She could barely speak English which fustrated me even more, I just said whatever and got on the plane. I wanted to explore San Fran's airport, this is the second time this has happened to me at this airport, I'm sure it's nice but I've never been there long enough to find out! Then after I got on the plane I couldn't get my 60lb. carryon in the overhead bin because it was so tall that I could barely reach it! Some guy came up and wanted to know what I was doing, I explained myself and then he just looked at me and "Well, we don't offer baggage assistance." At this point, I could have knocked this guy out. FUCK united, these are my thoughts. I hate them, I flew with them once before and had a bad experience and decided that I would not fly with them again, I had kept my promise thus far but, I didn't get any choice in my airline carrier so I just had to deal with it. Then after getting settled into my seat while we were backing out of the gate I realized that they didn't have the TV screens in the seats in front of you! I almost died at this point, I was planning on that serving as my entertainment. I mean come on United, they need to get with the program DELTA has TV screens on 3-4 hour flights! Their business class is really nice but the difference between business and economy is too drastic. I was pissed. The food the served was ok, just airplane food and I tried to sleep most of the flight but the Korean woman that was sitting next to me decided that she wanted to get up every 15 minutes to do who knows what. Not ideal. Needless to say I was pretty excited to get off this plane. Incheon's airpot is really nice, very modern and high tech. I had to wait a looong time at passport control and then I went to get my bags. Luckily they made it! I was pretty surprised. I'm not sure how that happened! After getting my bags and going through customs, which was a piece of cake, they didn't check anything, I exchanged money and tried to work the payphone to call Justin to let him know that I had made it, I gave up eventually and went to the information desk to find out how to use the phone and the lady just asked for the number, dialed it up for me, and then I was talking to Justin! She was really nice and then she helped me find my bus. The bus ride to Daegu was long but it was probably one of the nicest buses that I have ever been on! It had huge seats that reclined and a big TV, it was perfect for sleeping, I was awake until we were out of Incheon and into the desolate countryside. I woke up just as we were getting to Daegu, the bus pulled up to this parking lot and just dropped me off! Justin was supposed to be there to meet me and after standing there for 20 minutes this taxi driver let me use his cell phone. He called justin for me, told him where I was and before I knew it there he was! I guess he was at the actual station but sometimes the bus drops people off in this parking lot nearby. So we caught a cab and he showed me the apartment where I am going to live for the next two weeks. It's small but it's nice, it has everything I need and it's pretty modern. Next we went to walk around the area and he showed me around and then I met some of my co-workers as they were getting out of work. Later I just went back and went to sleep because I was so tired and Justin said he would be by around 3 to pick me up to go to work the next day.

First day on the job, and my birthday - This was an eventful day, I had to ask my neighbor how to turn on the hot water, he is also another teacher that I work with. I got ready and Justin picked me up and showed me how to take the bus to work, once we got there I met everyone that I would be working with, we tried to get my bank account set up but the bank was closed because it was a holiday here in Korea, Children's Day. On holiday's that I have to work I get paid an extra 50,000 Won or 50 dollars, so it's pretty sweet that I'll get paid an extra 50 bucks to work on my birthday! The first day at work seemed to drag on endlessly, I haven't had a job for so long and I think I just need to get back into the swing of things. I watched a bunch of instructional videos and met my two classes that I will teach on Wednesday and learned about how the school is set up. After work I got to meet all the other English teachers that I will be working with and we went out for my birthday/welcome party. We had galbi or Korean BBQ, which was really good, and I learned how to use chopsticks! I also had my first experience with soju here, not very good, it tastes like watered down vodka. After getting pretty drunk we headed over to a "Nori Bong" which is a place where you can go to karaoke. You get your own little private room with your friends and you can sing your heart out while they bring you pitchers of beer and other drinks and it's pretty affordable! We didn't stay long because we all had to work the next day but, I had a great time and overall it was a fabulous birthday.

Thursday - I met justin a little early to get my bank account set up, I am now officially a member of KB Bank and no this doesn't stand for Korea Bank it stands for something else that I can't remember but, they are everywhere and my cash card is pretty cool and I also got a special book that I have to take in anytime I want to transfer money or anything. It's pretty easy so I've heard. After getting my account set up, the school went ahead and gave me 300,000 Won or 300 for my visa and relocation fees. 1 dollar is equal to about 1,150 Won, however this changes a little bit day to day. After the bank we stopped to pick up some food, today we had bonjuk, which is amazing, it's traditional Korean porridge and it's extremely healthy for you and after Wednesday night, it was just what I needed. It's a little pricey at 8,000 but it's enough for almost two meals! I have a feeling it will be my guilty pleasure since it's not spicy and I really like it! We worked at the other branch today, this one is located in Susung. It's on the 7th floor and it's much more modern and new compared to the other branch, it's also a little bigger with more students so it has more of a school atmosphere. Here there are also 3 other English teachers while at the other branch that I work at there is only 1. Again, I met all my classes that I will teach on Monday/Thursdays and watched Justin teach. After getting home from work I pretty much went to bed, I was exhausted.

Friday - Last day of the work week! We worked at the other branch and it is located in Beommul. This is the one I have to take a bus to because the subway doesn't go in that direction. I met all of my students for Tuesday/Friday classes and watched Justin teach again. Everyone wanted me to go out on friday night and two of the English teachers stopped at my apartment to try to convince me but, I declined, I was tired and just needed some alone time. I have pretty much been surrounded by everyone since I got here, they all want to help me do everything which is really nice but, at the same time I need to learn how to do things on my own because I'm going to have to soon! But, they really are great people. I like all of my co-workers.

Saturday - Free day! I made it my goal this day to go to the store. It's called E-Mart and it's a lot like a Walmart but much bigger and much nicer! I walked there because it's really not that far and decided that I would take a cab back. I probably spent 3 hours in there easy! I just wondered around looking at everything. On the grocery store level they have a sample stand at the end of every row and come to find out, it's not just on Saturday's it's everyday they have that! So, if I'm ever starving I can just go to Emart for a variety of bite sized snacks! I've learned not to eat anything that is red because that is the spicy stuff, anything without red is ok. lol I tried as many things as I could, all of the teas they had that day were awesome! After getting some basic nessacities like dish soap, laundry soap, some hand towels, groceries, and a mirror I ventured over to the hair dryers and straighteners and picked up a MATCHING Hello Kitty blow dryer and straightener! Ahh, they are soo cute! They are pearly pink with white trim and they really work well. I love them! Together they were about 40-50 dollars but it was well worth it because I can use them here for a year and I can also take them to Europe now when I go because they have the same outlets and voltage here so it was a wise investment plus, they are so freaking cute. I'm not a "to die for" hello kitty fan but I couldn't resist. Everything they have here in Korea is very "cute." I love it! My friend Stephanie would love it here too for this reason. After buying all this crap, the exact total ended up being the exact amount of cash I had on me so I gave them all my cash and when I got outside I realized that I didn't have any money for a taxi home!! I was so mad at myself, so I had to walk home carrying all this stuff. It took me probably 15 mins. to get there but probably an 1 hour to get back because I had to keep stopping and taking breaks because my arms were going to fall off! Later I found out that I can also use my debit card in taxi's and I can use my transport card in some taxi's! I learned my lesson. After I got home i put away all of my stuff and cleaned my apartment and finished posting pictures and blog posts from my trip in Europe so that i could get started on this new chapter. lol Please don't even ask why I am just getting some of that stuff up! Everyone wanted me to go out again but I just wasn't feeling it.

Sunday - Justin emailed me early and wanted to know if I wanted him to show me around downtown. I agreed and we took the subway downtown and explored all day. We met up with Karissa, another teacher, and had brunch at this western style restaurant. It was really good and then afterwards they showed me the bookstore that I can buy English books at and all the good places to shop. ATTENTION EVERYONE - they have a Gap here and a ZARA so I'm going to be okay! haha Downtown is great, they have so many different western restaurants and bars. I've been told that this is where everyone hangs out so I don't think I'll have trouble meeting people if I want too. Plus, it's only a 10 minute subway ride to the center from where I am located. The shopping is equally great and Karissa tells me that I will be able to find shoes my size because she wears 7-8's too. We also ventured over to the black market area which was interesting and after that we headed to the Novatel, a hotel, and had happy hour drinks on their 8th story patio, it was a nice day out and you could see almost all of Daegu from up there. It's very interesting because it's this big city with skyscrapers surrounded by HUGE mountains on every side. It's a beautiful view. We spent some time there and then I left with Karissa to go back home.

Monday - This was my first day of teaching! I taught one of Justin's classes and he taught the other two. I also got to watch the teaching styles of the other English teachers which was helpful. I was so nervous to teach my first class but it went really well and the students were great. It's hard to learn all of their names!! I taught a listening class because those are easiest, the computer does the majority of the work for you. We have a pretty good software system at our school however, I've been told that it gets updated often and can become a nuisance. Justin gave me some great feedback and work was pretty enjoyable. I had an omelette filled with rice and vegetables for lunch, it was ok. I also tried this pastry with what looked liked chocolate in the middle but turned out to be MUSHY bean paste or something, Ewwww! I don't like anything mushy so now I know, like Caroline said... stay away from anything mushy! lol It was actually pretty chilly when we came out of work on Monday night, the weather has been really nice, it the mid to upper 70's during the day but recently it has been getting gown into the mid to low 50's at night. I'm not a fan of that because when I leave for work at 3:00 I don't think to take a jacket but, when i get out at 10:30 it's cold!

Tuesday - I met up with Justin at his apartment on Tuesday so that he could show me his place and so that he could show me around the neighborhood. The difference between the two areas is that the place where Justin lives feels more like a neighborhood with more living areas and high rise apartment buildings then where I currently live, right now I'm surrounded by more businesses. It's more of a community feel where Justin lives. We ate at this great little Italian place. I'm not gonna lie, it's a little weird to see Korean people cooking your Italian food in an Italian theme restaurant but, it was great! I had some pasta with a cream sauce and shrimp and it only cost 5,000! After that we headed to work, I taught one of Justin's classes and observed some other ones. It was a pretty so-so day.

Wednesday - Yesterday I met Justin at the hospital to get the results of my medical check, after that we headed to immigration to get my Alien Registration Card. Supposedly it will come in the mail in a week or two, then I can get a cell phone. At school, I taught a full day of classes! I was all on my own. It went great though. The students that I teach on Wednesday are higher level and it was a fun class. I discovered that I really love teaching writing! I had my first rewarding experience yesterday while teaching them how to write a conclusion. It was a good day and after work I went out with everyone for Karissa's birthday. We ate at the same place that we ate at the other day downtown, it's called Helvetica and it's western style food. It was really good and afterwards we went to a popular bar and I had one drink. I met some other foreign people that are here teaching and then I left with two of the other girls that live next to me.

Today - I will be teaching all of the classes by myself again, today is also Justin's last official day so I will be completely on my own on Friday! Ahh, I'm so nervous but at the same time, I'm kind of excited!
Friday - Will be a party for Justin's going away and for my welcoming and then Saturday the majority of us are going down to Busan for the day/night/Sunday morning because almost all of the English teachers here have a birthday in May, how weird is that!? Mine was the 5th, another on the 12th, one on the 14th, and 3 more towards the end of the month, so we are just going to go hang out on the beach this weekend to celebrate everyone's bday! It should be fun and plus I'm excited to already be traveling somewhere! AH!! I love it!

Below is an outline of how my school works or what my schedule is like and all the great benefits to this job! I'll keep you updated!



 It's sorta confusing but I will teach the same classes on Monday and Thursday and then I will teach another set of students on both Tuesday and Friday and then the kids that I teach on Wednesday only come to the academy once a week. I teach mainly middle school students and most of them are very smart. I have some classes that are lower level and then others that are higher level. I work with a Korean co-teacher who teaches them Grammar and Reading and then I teach them listening skills, speaking skills, and sometimes writing. Our main goal at this academy is to prepare them for the TOEFL entrance exam which any student that is not from a country that speaks English must take in order to attend an International University. Since education is the highest priority here, getting into University is a big deal and they spend pretty much all their time preparing for it so, this test is really important. All of the books are provided for me with the lessons and I am also allowed to put my own spin on things as long as I am improving their English skills.  I also get my own classroom, computer, and work area in the staff room which is pretty cool. This job comes with many benefits, free housing, free airfare, and a reasonable salary at 2.1 million Won a month which is equivalent to about 2000  a month U.S. Dollars. I do have to pay for things like water, electric, gas, internet, and cell phone but after talking to my coworkers these are pretty reasonable and will vary from season to season for example, my gas bill will be more in the winter and my electric will be more in the summer because of air conditioning. The nice thing about all these bills is that, when they come in my mail all I have to do is just take them into work and drop them off at the front desk! I don't have to worry about paying them myself, they pay them for me and then deduct what I owe out of my paycheck! Also, when I'm at work and get hungry I can just ask the front desk to order me food, I tell them what I want and then 20 minutes later it's delivered, I also don't have to pay for it right then, they keep a running tally of what I owe and after we get paid, we have 3 days to pay our bill. So, if I'm really broke at the end of the month and have no food, I can just eat at work and then pay them after I get paid! I really like this set up. I also get health insurance through my job they pay 50% and I pay 50% which is about 50 dollars a month. However, one of my coworkers went to the dermatologist the other day for a bug bite and she forgot to bring her health card and the whole visit only cost 33 dollars and her prescription cost 2 dollars! The other day I had to have a physical when I got here and it only cost 50 dollars without health insurance and I will get reimbursed from my school. So, the health care here is pretty cheap even if you forget your health card. Korea is a big country for medical tourism, all of their facilities here are just amazing, full of high tech machines and very friendly staff, going to the doctor really isn't all that bad, much nicer than in America. Many people also come here for plastic surgery, it's cheaper and some say it's better! Aside from all these benefits I also get a pension, something like a 401K, they take a certain amount out of my paycheck every month and they then match what the take out. For example, if I pay in 90 Won a month they also pay 90 Won a month and then at the end of my contract I get all of that money along with an additional month's pay. It's a pretty sweet deal. According to all my coworkers, and from what I have experienced so far, the cost of living here is considerably cheaper than America, even in a big city like daegu. You can live a very comfortable life while still being able to afford to pay all those student loans back home. There aren't many negative factors that come with this job, I only have to work 7 hours a day and I'm not really doing anything physically exhausting, just mentally, and during those 7 hours I get the first hour for planning and another 40 minute break for lunch. So typically I can have up to 7 classes a day I currently only have about 2-3 each day at each school and I still get paid the same! Pretty soon once I get in the swing of things though I will have more classes each day but still, I will only really be working about 5 1/2 hours everyday! In case you haven't caught on yet, this is a pretty sweet deal!
Two other things about my job, they send us gift baskets twice a year with all the hygiene products you could ever need, tons of toothpaste, soap, shampoo, etc. and also anytime teacher comes or goes from our branch the whole branch goes out to a dinner. For example, this friday they are having a dinner for Justin and I. So the whole company is going to go out to dinner and get really drunk and then go sing karaoke. I am pretty much taking over Justin's life, I'm taking his job and I'm moving into his current apartment when he moves out this coming Tuesday.