better

much better. am adjusting to the time a little bit more and feeling better. and realized that the peeps loving cheers had just spent over 14 months living in a small town in the middle of the country and hadn't had much western food, so that makes sense.

i don't know if i'm making sense now. am at the school, preparing for my first class on monday. i'm a bit crazy. the senior level classes have a reading book, reading workbook, grammar book, vocab book, quiz book, student notebook, and essay sheets. the beginning classes have a reading book, tape, reading workbook, vocab & grammar book, vocab & grammar workbook, student notebook, & quiz book. i need to send thank you notes to all of my teachers since kindergarten. don't know how they kept all of this straight.

back to prep. happy new year, everyone!

IRONY

The irony is killing me, folks. Surrounded by asians and can barely communicate with any of them. I've spent more time with white people in the last two days than I have in the past year and half, not counting time with my family. This is bizarre. Am calling an adoptee organization tomorrow. :) Had dinner with fellow teachers from another branch today, they took us to a korean bar called Cheers with tons of awful fried food and a literal mid-sized plastic barrel of beer. It was just like being in Wisconsin. ~lol~

Missing the theater folks, too. Missing you all. Super jet lagged. Going to sleep.

the first night

So. Last night. After emailing from the p'ishibang (PC cafe), I went back to my apartment and did some unpacking. In the process, my computer broke down, a cockroach scuttled around my room, and I set off some kind of alarm trying to set the clock in the bathroom. ~lol~ It was an eventful night.

Today spent the morning at the immigration office applying for the Alien Registration Card, and spent the afternoon in orientation at one branch of the school, visiting the branch where I'll be teaching, and learning how to take the subway. Most of the day was spent in cabs driving around Seoul. ~grin~ This evening Noah and Sandy and I went out for dinner and went shopping at the Emart for food and supplies. Emart is like a SuperWalmart spread out over 5 or 6 floors.

The staff at the school has been fabulous. They're taking really good care of us. I'm very happy thus far. Except for the computer breaking down. I hope it's fixable. I hope I haven't lost everything, though I suspect all of my files are gone. Am glad I'd backed up the photos from Australia, at least. At any rate, I may not be able to post photos for a while. :( Regardless, I won't have a phone, cell phone, internet, or cable in my apartment until after the Alien Registration card comes in, around a week.

Super, super, super, super tired. Hope you are all well. This is a rather dry blog entry, will be more interesting with more sleep. Maybe. ~lol~

p.s. Korean words I've learned thus far:
anio = no
ne = yes
annyong hasaeyo = hello/goodbye
kamsahamnida = thank you
komapsumnida = thank you
mianhamnida = i'm sorry (pol.)
mianayo = i'm sorry (informal)
namen hanguk-mal motayo = i don't speak korean

Working on:
hajangshil, odi issoyo? = where's the bathroom?
igo olma-eyo? = how much is this?

Also, the building I live in is called We're. We're! It's in giant letters lit on top of the building. That made my day.

here

i'm here! living in cheongo. lots of neon. lots of people. lots of jet lag. lots of kalbi. lots of people speaking to me in korean (must! learn! hangul!). lots of cold weather. lots of sleep in store for tonight.

photos soon.

=)

p.s. shout out to my folks for getting up at 4 am to take me to the airport, and to dad for helping me pack. thank you much, mom and dad!

moving out.

Thank you to Mel, Jeany, Geoff, Kay, and Adam for all of your help moving me over the last week. Especially Mel. The woman took three loads out to Hudson on three different days. Dude. I've moved 3 times in the past 14 months and she carried my crap around each time. I may buy a place when I return just so Mel doesn't have to move me again. ~lol~ Kudos and giant busloads of thanks to Kay as well for her help cleaning and moving as I lost my mind when the defrosting refrigerator flooded half my kitchen two hours before inspection time.

Lessons From the Last Few Weeks:
I. Place a HUGE bucket in the 'frige when defrosting, even if it doesn't look like there's much ice in the freezer. Also, place the HUGE bucket under the correct spout in the 'frige.* gak.
II. I have wonderful friends. They love me unconditionally and listen to me vent and help me move and make me laugh 'til I cry. Or hum, when they really crack me up. Thanks, guys.
III. Kay makes awesome apple bread.
IV. Pack for one move at a time. Do not concurrently organize christmas presents, pack for moving things to friends, moving things to my parents' house, and moving things to korea. Multi-tasking is not your friend. And start sooner. ~lol~
V. It's just stuff. Sans function or sentimental value, throw it away. If everything has sentimental value, which usually happens with me gaaaaaaah, I dunno. Buy a house.

Last days. Bittersweet. Said goodbye to my three best friends on Friday. Sad. Went to see Brokeback Mountain, a gritty, real, beautiful, heartbreaking film. Lovely. Had lunches and dinners and drinks and visits galore with friends. Superfun. Filled up the gas tank in my car for the last time 'til I return. Weird.

Segue-less, here are Several Random Goals for the coming year. They've been kicking around the hollow spots in my brain for a bit; will be good to have them down in writing.
-- Travel every available opportunity.
-- Meet lots of adoptees.
-- Learn as much of the language as possible.
-- Take taekwando or traditional dance or drumming or something lessons of some kind.
-- See King Kong before it leaves the big screen.
-- Eat kimchee every day.
-- Avoid most things I can get back at home - Costco, McDonalds, etc. If I have to go, get things that are unique to Korea.
-- Stop being afraid of karoke.
-- Do whatever it takes to avoid eating live baby squid. eeeee. Nothankyou.

Am getting sleepy. Will post a few photos of last day activities when I'm back on my laptop, am using my folks' computer now. I think the next time I'll post will likely be from Korea. Holy cow. I've said thank you, but I really can't say it enough. I've been so touched by your support and generosity, and I look forward to reflecting it in the future. Everyone should feel this loved all the time.

Hope your holidays are lovely. Happy Christmas and a Merry Year to you all.



*I thought a spout in the back of the 'frige with these clever little drainage channels was for freezer drainage. Oh, so mistaken. The correct spout in the top-center was cleverly hidden from casual view by the ginormous light fixture. Water, water, everywhere. I felt like one of those people for whom the "WARNING: Coffee is Hot~May Burn" labels are written. yeeps.

A fabulotastic weekend

I've had such a lovely weekend. Theater Mu threw a Hi and Bye party to welcome Sun Mee back to town and send me off to Korea on Friday, and then several folks braved the cold for air hockey and drinks on Saturday.*

You are so generous, my friends. Saying "thank you" feels completely inadequate. I can't thank you enough for your generosity and good wishes and support. I am going to miss you all very, very much. Good thing I'm only leaving for a year. ~grin~

7 days left.

I'll leave you with several photos from the weekend. More here on flickr. Good night!

p.s. If I ever post a photo you'd prefer I remove, would prefer I not post your photo or use your name, etc., please pop me and e-mail and let me know. :)



*I adore air hockey, and am proud to say I won all of my games except two against Random Guy with Braids. Nice work to him. I'll get you next time, RGwB. ~lol~

eep

I have too much stuff.

Late night musings after lots of beer and the longest dart game ever

Visa. Check.
Passport. Check.
Airline tickets. Check.
Fluoride-in-a-tube. Check.

The essentials are in place. I'm ready to go. Except for, of course, that whole packing thing. And my second Hepatitis B shot. whoops.

13 days and counting. Can you believe it? Time is moving so quickly. Soon the child who didn't want to leave home even to spend one night at Camp St. C. will be moving halfway across the world.* The teen who wanted nothing to do with her Korean heritage will be moving back to the country of her birth. The adult who spent the last 6+ years giving in to her fears will finally be moving on.

I have so much hope for the next year. I don't expect things to be easy; if they are I'll be disappointed. Regardless of what happens, the experience overall is going to be incredible.

Uh-oh, killer yawn. More on this later, perhaps. It's time to sleep. In parting, Random Lessons of the Day:

~ Chicken adobo is ridiculously easy to make. Recipe here at my favorite food blog. This is seriously delicious stuff, people. Must look up vinegar in my soon-arriving Korean/English dictionary so I can find vinegar at the store and make this during the next year. yum.

~ If you're going to play darts, don't select Team Cricket and then put all of the newbie players on one team. You may win the game, but you'll play for a good hour. Or two.

~ Standing a foot away from the dart board does not actually improve accuracy. What's up with that?! rats.


*In the child's defense, we had to eat grape nuts in tang for breakfast. Bleeeaaaaaaaaaaargh, you say? My thoughts exactly.

A few FAQs

As promised, the WhatWhy&How FAQs:

"What? You're going to Korea? What are you going to do?!"
I will be teaching english to children and teens in Seoul at a hagwon. From my understanding, hagwons are private schools offering courses outside of normal public school hours. Students may attend a music hagwon, sports hagwon, english hagwon, etc. during the week or even weekends in addition to their regular schooling. I have no idea when they have time to do homework.

"What?! Have you taught before?"
I have a whopping 4+ months of experience as a volunteer ESL teacher for adults.

"How long will you be there?/Are you ever coming back?"
At this point, the plan is to be back in the Twin Cities by February 2007 at the latest. I'm hoping to travel through SE Asia after my contract is up, depending on savings. We'll see. My goal is to make it through six months, first. ~grin~

"How'd you find your job?"
I applied online to hagwons and a recruiter through a few different sources. Dave's ESL Cafe and EFL-Law were invaluable resources.

"Why Korea? Why so far away?"
I could write a two-page single spaced essay on this. yeeps. Basically, Korea is the logical choice, as it offers the chance to explore a few personal goals combined with practicality.* I want to live somewhere besides the Midwest, USA before I die. I want exposure to other cultures. I want to become a better risk taker. I want to eat good kimchee every day. I want to see someone I look like -- not in the harharallasianslookalike way, but someone I truly look like. I want to be able to save some of my salary, and many english hagwons in Korea provide housing and round-trip airfare if teachers complete their contracts. So. Korea it is.


Sleepy. Moscow on the Hill in St. Paul has wonderful martinis. But they make you sleepy. In parting, a lovely panoramic shot of downtown Seoul by someone named David Hasenick. Find more of his photos here. G'night.



*Is practicality a Midwestern characteristic, middle class characteristic, both, or neither? Discuss. ~lol~ See. I'm practicing. Preparing my teaching skills, right?

25 days...

...until my flight to Seoul, South Korea and the beginning of a year teaching english with grades 3 through 11. Am I ready to leave? Nope. But I will be soon, won't I.

In 25 days I'll be spending a little over 17 hours in the air, flying from Minneapolis to Atlanta to Seoul. The flight time doesn't bother me as long as I can sleep. And on that note, please keep your fingers crossed that I've not cursed myself by mentioning this and actually will sleep most of the trip. Thank you.*

So where is Seoul, South Korea? Here's a handy map:


Seoul is the capital of South Korea. Depending on the source, there are from 9 to over 10 million people in Seoul, not including suburbs and urban sprawl. In comparison, New York City has over 8 million people, again not including suburbs and urban sprawl.

The current temperature in Seoul is 39° F/4° C. South Korea has four distinct seasons, like the Twin Cities. Though perhaps with less snow. Unless you're in the mountains.

Oh yes. Seoul has mountains. Mountains! My hiking boots are in the number three spot on the Need to Pack list, just below camera & fluoride-in-a-tube. More on that later.

In the meantime, for all things Seoul, click here. For the unofficial and hugely abridged version, click here.

It's late. Time to stop writing. Next segment: FAQs ~ The WhatWhy&Hows. You've already read the WhoWhere&Whens if you've made it this far. Thanks for making it this far, by the way. :)

Happy December, readers. All zero of you 'til I distribute the blog link. ~lol~

p.s. Shout out to the uber-clever Mel for the blog sub-title. Sample her sense of humor and love of dork word play here.

*TangentAlert ~ The only time I've not been able to sleep during a lengthy flight was on the way to Beijing, when a family with crying children continually walked over me in a series of vain attempts to Comfort and Desist. I remember feeling a bit sorry for the parents... until we arrived in Beijing and I experienced THE WORST JET LAG EVER. A jet lag, in my memory, fully deserving of the all-caps treatment. Lesson learned: Screw the aisle - Request a window seat. Do I have one for the flight to Seoul? Not yet. A call to Delta is on the to-do list. You know the drill. Fingers crossed. Thank you.