Miriam, my director, met us when our bus arrived in Bundang. As we approached our area where we would be living, the scenery greatly improved. The buildings melted away, to reveal big, beautiful mountains surrounding us. I tried to look for street names, but like parking spaces, they don't really exist. "Parking" here means stopping your car anywhere, and just leaving it there, whether it be completely on the road, halfway around a turn at an intersection, on the sidewalk, or directly across our front door, which has been the case every day so far.
Finally, we arrived at our new apartment/closet, whichever way you look at it. It was everything they had said it would be. A fully furnished apartment. What they forgot to mention was that we could stand in the middle of the room and ALMOST touch all four walls. After south east Asia, the fact that we had our own bathroom (which is nearly half of our apartment), running hot water, and an actual washing machine was enough to make us barely notice the things that were lacking. ie. space. In fact, we were pleased to discover that we didn't even have to get out of bed to reach anything we needed from inside the fridge. However, I might say I was a bit surprised when in the bathroom I turned on the tap to brush my teeth, and had the shower head above the sink erupt to life and attack me with freezing water. You're probably wondering who in their right mind would install a shower head above a bathroom sink. We are still asking that question. Another surprise was our computer table which is really just a tray that slides out from under the television on the T.V. stand. So while I work on the computer, Ian can watch the top two inches of the T.V. screen. It's perfect. We spent the weekend unpacking and trying to rearrange furniture to create a bit more space. We ended up rotating it around the room until everything ended up exactly where it started. We'll get used to it right?
We also explored our area and I soon decided Bundang is one of the most beautiful places I have lived. It has a very European feel, with tree lined streets and tall thin apartments. Also, We're in a valley surrounded by beautiful mountains and forest. We can't really ask for much more.
Monday morning we were woken by what sounded like an announcement echoing through the streets. We understood nothing except for a man's urgent voice booming from a loud speaker. Omigosh, we were being attacked by North Korea! What else could it be? Bleary-eyed, we stumbled to the window to find out what the emergency was. A man in a truck full of tomatoes was cruising down the street, obviously DESPERATE to sell them. Yeesh! So if North Korea actually does attack, what will THAT announcement be like? It didn't take us long to realize Koreans LOVE megaphones. Our first shopping experience was...an experience. As we walked through the isles of dried squid and pickled pigs feet we were serenaded by a man with a megaphone, who seemed to be following us. Maybe it's that phenomenon where he knew we didn't understand, and thought it would help to speak louder. Not sure. Either way he took it too far. The longer we stayed, the louder it seemed to get, until, with grocery bags flying, we were running for the door. Yes, shopping, as it turns out is an excruciating experience, especially for the eardrums. I've decided the next time I go to the grocery store, I'm bringing my own megaphone so I can follow him around, and at full volume, ask for his help.
My first day of school went well....for me anyway. I don't know about my kids. I was nervous as anything since I've never stood in front of a classroom before. I have eight different classes teaching listening, speaking and writing to children ages 5-16. In general the kids are good. My school is called a Hagwon which is actually an after-school English school. Education is taken very seriously here, so by the time the kids come to our school in the afternoon, they've already been in school all day. When some of them finish up at 9pm at night, the majority go on to yet, ANOTHER school for something else. It actually seems cruel, but I guess that's one of the many cultural things we'll have to get used to.
During our first week, we discovered the forest across the street has about 50 different hiking trails, so we've been going on hikes every other day. What we discovered on the second day blew our minds. About a half hour down one of the trails we came across a clearing, and in it was a bunch of outdoor gym equipment! Free outdoor gym equipment under a canopy of trees, and it is very secluded. Imagine doing sit-ups, while birds fly around you. Its even better when I can get a squirrel to spot me.
I think we're gonna like it here. : )
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