Korea. Ok. So, first impressions at the end of my first week:
I am like an illiterate child! The positive side of this is my other senses are so heightened… looking, listening, trying desperately to soak up, remember and regurgitate everything around me. It's pretty thrilling to be here without any of my comforts… I can't even brush my teeth the way I normally do (no bathroom sink!). I have yet to find laundry detergent… I accidentally used OxyClean--at least i think i did. I also have yet to find unflavored milk… my coffee was a little bizarre this morning :)
Cooking, laundry, showering… all of it is different: no oven, so I'll be relearning everything stovetop. A mini fridge and freezer, so I'll need to buy things as I go when I attempt to cook. No dryer, so only a small amount of laundry (all the time, i'm assuming) so I have somewhere to hang it to dry! Turning on the hot water switch each time I shower, and showering up against the washing machine. No squishy pillows… no typical pillowcases (more like shams with zippers), no western fitted sheets, and a perfectly proportionate comforter that fits the top of the bed exactly. I have to admit, however, that the mattress is nice. Sort of hard.. like the pillows--I think it'll do my back some good! The bed is full sized, and once I get it dressed up, I think it will be just fine! One of the other teachers just donated a western set of sheets to me, so I'm looking forward to the time when they will be dry from laundering them.
Drying sheets... interesting.
I'm still waiting for my alien card so I can get internet in the new apartment… that's just KILLING me… I heard there's an internet cafe nearby, so I will hunt it down asap. It's been a few days now, and it gets a little unnerving knowing that I can't catch up on emails or skype with family. I was under the impression that Seoul was very wifi friendly, but I haven't found that to be the case… maybe it's the area I'm in, which by the way is Cheongdam.
I love my apartment! It's very small--actually a little smaller than many of the other teachers, but it's arranged really well, so there's no wasted space, and it's aesthetically pleasing… very feng shui! What it lacks in space, it makes up for in small details. Firstly, I get a lot of light in here. One whole wall is a large, frosted glass window with sliding panes. I'm on the quiet side of the building, and I have sliding, asian-screen-style doors between the kitchen and the main room--which are also frosted glass panes. Light does really great things in here. The frosted, textured glass makes lights turn into "X's" of color and everything is very soft and glowy. It's a peaceful little space, and I like it more than any of the larger apartments I've seen so far. The hall is full of plants and windows. They line the stairs all the way up to the top floor.
Inside my apartment.
I went on a house decorating extravaganza all around Seoul to TechnoMart, E-Mart, and the dollar store buying everything I needed in the past two days. I am still searching for a lamp, an iron/ironing board, and maybe a small shelf or table for my "studio", but other than that, things are pretty complete. There was a lonely little plant in here when I arrived that had been left behind, so I adopted it, and am trying to nurse it to health. It's not dying, but I think it needs repotted. The dirt is very sandy, though, so I'm not sure what I need to buy to fill in around it in a larger pot. My apartment is officially asian-ified: I have a wooden mat at the door, a shoe rack, and several pairs of indoor shoes and bath shoes. It really will be nice to keep the city dirt outside.
Things I can't find: western sheets, bedding, and pillows (which I mentioned), good magnets, non-flourescent light bulbs, regular milk, a grocery store, nails, napkins at restaurants, full-size clothes hangers, paper towels, exacto blades, clothes that fit me, adaptors that fit in the plugs here, an alarm clock with a cord instead of batteries, and decently priced shoes.
Things I found: FREE Korean classes--with a textbook and everything, FREE ladies nights in Itaewon--the area is a little military, but the drinks are FREE, no tipping for anything, hot glue wall hooks that are intensely strong, English Breakfast Latte at the Coffee Bean, Febreze for your clothes after eating BBQ at a restaurant, floor heating, stores GALORE down in all the subway stations (each one is practically like a mall), the dollar store, sweet potato bread, sweet potato pizza, a guy who knows where all the art stuff is, the Seoul Art Collective, little robot wall hooks for a dollar, a place to put my luggage in this tiny apartment, street food that's very very good, and lots of cool people that work with me :)
The city is very hilly once you leave the main drags. My apartment is one of the only ones that isn't on a mountain top (thank God). It's quaint up there, but it's quaint down here too, and those hills are nearly worse than Pittsburgh--no joke! The streets are extremely clean, as are the subways and buses. People don't walk around eating and littering here. If they order street food, they stand at the kiosk and finish it before walking away. The trash and recycling is very stringent, and I must admit, I still don't know how or where to dispose of mine. All in due time, but my recycling is through the roof, so I need to figure it out soon.
My first victim: bye, moth.
Everything is such an adventure… even the simplest task becomes a hunt for a needle in a haystack (mostly because I can't read anything). Luckily, it's sort of fun, and there are about 7 people here with me who are in the same boat. Not that it really depends on it, but it's nice to know nothing with someone else! Just today, I went to E-Mart, which is a twenty minute drive from my house. On the way, I took a subway, but on the way home, I had loaded myself up with so much stuff, I could just barely carry it out the door (after living in New York, I know better than to do that, but I couldn't resist getting my apartment set up before school started!!). So off I go out to the street, and this sweet girl with GREAT English asks if I need some help carrying my things. Then, she helps me get a cab, and THEN she helps me explain to the driver where we're headed (he didn't speak a lick of English, and all I could say was "annyeung haseyo, Cheong dam station metro.. Gamsa Hamnida…" (Hi, cheongdam subway station, thanks). Ps: when you're that far away from your destination, it's probably a good idea to know a teensy bit more than your final destination. Whoops! hahaha…
So much kindness and assistance around me… other teachers, old friends, random strangers, neighbors… it's great! Although, I suppose it's coming back around to me, as I used to go well out of my way to guide a lost soul through New York at least once a month. Teachers orientation meeting tomorrow, and then class prep days on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday is the first day of school, and I'm feeling good about it. I have a great Korean co-teacher and we see eye-to-eye on everything so far! She's been at the school for three years, so I really lucked out. And even if I wasn't feeling confident, I think the best plan is to fake it.
Well, off to bed! Wish me luck finding the school from the other direction tomorrow with no street names or addresses… all I know is, go up the hill to the blue coffee shop, wait for Jessica, turn right, wind through the hilly streets, walk up the street with all the chopped up trees, look for a park with a gate, and find the school around the corner! HA! fun :) I'll let people know the second I have a steady internet connection.
