WEEKEND!

Teaching is lovely and fun and all of those other things but

ITS THE WEEKEND

so as an EPIK teacher with my own English room that is far away from the other teachers and has its own sound system...this is happening right now

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEJSgR8eeCo

Happy Weekend Everyone! x

My lovely school

This is my lovely English room. It finally has heating after a month so it is a lovely place to be now. I normally spend a lot of my time in the teachers room but it is a nice place to teach.

The years mission

My years mission:

.Use my time better

.Join in more

.Be healthy

.Stay in touch

.Pay debts

How I will achieve these:

Use my time better

.Schedule my week

.Less T.V

.Set myself mini projects

.Force myself once then it will be easier

.remember how much I hated all of the wasted time.

.Use all free time to learn

Join in:

.Join groups

.Organize outings with friends

.Don’t be afraid to ask people to do things.

.Do voluntary work

.SAY YES

Be healthy:

.Join a gym

.Go to dance classes

.Go to Yoga

. eat mostly Korean food.

.Fruits instead of sweets

.Small coffees once a week

.Sleep 8 hours

.Vitamins

.No salt (apart from popcorn.. let’s not be too crazy)

.Water instead of fizzy drinks

Travel:

Set money aside

Plan, plan, plan

Research

Small trips are just as good as big ones

If can’t travel far then always be exploring home.

Create a wish list

Stay in touch:

Skype once a week

Email all the time

Blog

Get a phone!

Pay debts:

.Strict budget

.Strict saving

.Send money home, no Q’s asked

.Save what’s left after debt

.Make charts to check progress and feel I’m getting close

.Be watchful of spending.

To summaries…JUST SAY YES…(and save)

Korea in Pictures

So one of my cheeky purchases before leaving the uk was a new camera. i've wanted a SLR my whole life so finally getting one and then being on the other side of the world to use it was a happy moment.
I am still struggling and being rubbish with it. Auto mode is getting its fair use but I will get better. Editing is yet another skill I hope to aquire through out the year.

Discovery of the week: Heated toilet seats

Discovery of the week: Heated toilet seats

There isn’t many things in Korea that show you how quickly the economy has expanded as their toilets.

Korea seems to have the two extremes. Fancy Samsung heated toilets with all the bells and whistles and then its ugly cousin, the squatter.

These two pieces of equipment are so far from each other in technology and looks that it is weird to see them in the same room.

The first time I found the elusive heated seats was during a snowy day at orientation. The toilets in the dorms were your average British/American throne but inside the lecture halls….oh my goodness….heated seats. I cannot tell you how heavenly they are.

I have never had the cahoonies to press any of the thousands of buttons that accompany it, but I hear they are fun.

As each person in orientation discovered this new sensation it was decided they were a fabulous invention. It was also decided that none of us had ever met so many new people and discussed toilets with them so soon after finding out their name.

As for the squatters, well it ‘does as it says on the tin’. You will have to use one at some point if you live in Korea, I can guarantee that. (Especially if you want to go for a drink off campus at orientation…which you will).

Both toilets are one of those experiences you won’t forget but not necessarily both for the same reasons.

Etiquette and Other Things.

So you want to come to Korea but you want to avoid culture shock so are researching the different ways they live. I can tell you right now, you won’t avoid it!

I spent countless night researching and it really did help. I was ahead of the game when it came to ordering food and talking to people but no matter how much you read or hear about, you will be stunned.

Personally I traveled to experience different cultures. I use to try and explain to my family that I wanted to feeling of utter confusion that being in a foreign country brings.

I wanted to be shocked and awed and live in a culture instead of just visit.

If you are traveling to teach but Korea is just a necessity for the job then please be wary. You will never be out of your new culture!

The school I work in is a lovely place but the feeling of confusion is present every second.

Some of my favorite cultural differences:

Old ladies

In Korea old people are respected. This probably isn’t news to you but what I was never told was the loving and nurturing personalities you will encounter.

You would expect a older generation to be angry or even hesitant about foreign people but this is so far from the truth.

My friend laughs that every old person he meets treats him like a grandson.

I can only put it down to their confusionist mind set (I’ll blog more about this later) but confusionists believe that family is one of the most important things.

I can only surmise that these old ladies see us foreigners as lost sheep away from home and do anything they can to take care of us.

My friend has taken a few buses in the few weeks he’s been here. He is close to 6” 4 which makes him slightly noticeable in Korea. Old ladies will fuss him until he sits down. Sometimes forcing him to take their seat (I mean actual pushing him into the seat). He is maybe the politest gentleman I know so it pains him to sit. Recently this happened and he refused to let an old lady stand while he sat so he bowed until the old lady sat down again. This resulted in the lady sitting but only if she held his bag on her lap as it was obviously too heavy for the 6 foot man.

It’s their mothering nature and I love it. They are the most endearing and lovable people I have ever encountered. My mission is to return home with a Korean grandmother.

Blowing your nose

This is a new discovery for me. Not once while researching did I come across this fact.

You cannot blow your nose in Korea. It obviously happens but you will not see it and you definitely will not hear it.

As a westerner I was instantly confused when I heard this. You can’t blow you nose? Why would anyone not allow you to blow your nose?

But after thinking about it, it does seem like a weird custom. You blow and then normally carry the contents with you.

(Writing that sentence down is even more disgusting that it was in my head.)

I have experienced the extremely rare sighting of a blown nose. It was mid sentence. My co-teacher jumped up, ran to the corner of the room facing away from everyone and as quiet as a mouse blew her nose before throwing the tissue in the bin and washing her hands.

It was a blissfully confusing moment but one I won’t forget.

So get ready to hear a lot of sniffles (especially in winter) and be prepared to get excited when you get home to your own flat and you can blow your nose to your hearts content.

I can honestly say I never thought that would be something I missed from home.

Throwing things

I haven’t experienced this myself but discovered on orientation just how bad this gesture was. If someone next to you throws something instead of passing it with two hands they are pretty much insulting you to your face.

Its hard to be enraged by something that doesn’t bother you but its good to be aware of incase you accidentally pass someone something across a table or in the classroom.

Throwing a ball a great distance or across a room is obviously different but it’s a good thing to know.

My general rule is. TWO HANDS.

I will almost drop everything I’m carrying to receive and give money in shops with two hands. It doesn’t seem to matter to people when you do it, but if you don’t ..woah.. expect some funny looks.

Most people, especially in shops get that you aren’t use to it so won’t be annoyed but I try as much as possible to be respectful. After all, they are letting me live here rent free.

Shells

Its undeniable that Korean food is great. Even if you don’t like one thing you like I think you would be hard pressed to discover nothing that appealed to you.

Bimbimbap which is a mixed rice dish and even Kim chi (not the one you try at orientation) are delicious.

There is one down side to this delightful food. Shell and bones.

In the UK, if you ordered fish and it had bones in it, you might send it back. It seems to be the reverse here.

Its not uncommon to get a seafood stew with the mussels still in their shells and a chicken dish that still has the bones.

It will occur when you least expect it. In fried items or something you thought was originally sweet, pretty much anything!

A tip I received at orientation from a fantastic lecturer named Eric Burton was to stir every soup before eating. Here a clink and know what to expect. You can politely remove the bones from your mouth after taking a bite but subtlety is the key.

This isn’t something I’ve encountered a lot of yet but it does make me laugh. It shouldn’t put you off the amazingly diverse and delicious food but it’s a good side note for every meal.

“May contain shell and bone”

Orientation. Nice to meet you.

Orientation is probably the one stage of moving to Korea to teach that I didn’t concentrate on. I knew that I was going to be going to a university for a week but when you are worrying about apartments, school and how you will ever possibly survive on 20kg baggage allowance, it does get moved to the back of your mind.

Only on the last few days before departure when I started getting emails about room mates and running shoes (which forced me to re-pack as I’d forgotten to put them in my already to heavy bag) did it dawn on me that this orientation might be a little scary.

I realize compared to moving half way across the world orientation sounds like nothing but I am deep down a shy person. I had considered the idea of making friends in Korea. Hell I really wanted to as I think it’s the only way you survive but I envisioned a slow process of bumping into people at bars or on nights out. After a few months I thought you might know one or two people you could call friends. Oh, how wrong I was.

Orientation took the shy person in me and shook her around until she was unrecognizable.

It was maybe the most fun I’ve ever had.

Firstly you have to remember that every single person is in the same boat as you. It’s actually scary how similar you will be to the people around you. Everyone has decided to up and move to another part of the world so you know there is at least one thing you will have in common.

I met my first friend on the plane. (I should also mention here that I was traveling as a couple so I did have a buffer zone of taking a friend with me)  I sat down next to what seemed to be the only other ‘Waygook’ (foreigner) on the plane.

He introduced himself and the next 11 hours are a blur of chat (and sleep).

Since that moment I haven’t stopped introducing myself. Every person at orientation was friendly and approachable. I am embarrassed to say I cannot recall if I’d met any South African people before I moved here but now after only two weeks they are some of my best friends.

They will become your family very quickly and there are a great number of online forums you can join before you arrive to meet some people early on.

I was a late comer to the Facebook groups but there was a meeting for the new teachers to get acquainted before they even stepped on the plane.

 

As I mentioned previously I am a shy person. I think that the buffer of taking my friend may be the only reason I originally came. I wasn’t as brave as the other people I’ve met.

I laugh with my friends that I would never ever have spoken to anyone that had sat next to me on a plane if I’d been on my own. I’m glad that my friend had the confidence I didn’t.

My shyness still exists but if this is one of your worries about coming to Korea then please abandon it.

Koreans and travelers are some of the loveliest people you will ever meet.

I hope to meet many more.  

Discovery of the week: Sweet Potato Latte's

Discovery of the week: Sweet Potato Latte's

These sometimes purple in color drinks are like dreams! Anyone that knows me knows that I am partial to a good coffee. Eggnog lattes from Starbucks make it feel like Christmas to me. So my fear about moving to Korea is that I would have to leave my caffeine addiction at the airport.

Oh how wrong I was.

There are about as many coffee places in Korea as there are people.

In central Daegu they are 24 hours and always busy.

The sweet potato latte (which is sometimes purple in color) made my heart skip a beat. The price is crazy well by Korean standards anyway.

It’s the same price for the coffee in the uk, about 4000\ or $4 or 3.50 pounds (there isn’t a pounds symbol on this keyboard) but when a bottle of Soju (watery vodka) is 1000\ you can start to see why they seem expensive.

They have become my weekend treat.

I should also note that a big reason I am here is to pay of debts and save so I’m trying to be good with my money. If you don’t have debts you could easily live like a king and buy 3 a day. 

Welcome

Welcome !

Since I have just started my whirlwind year of living and teaching in Korea I thought a blog might be a good way to keep a kind of online diary of things I encounter and experience.

If you are anything like me you have probably found this blog because you have be trawling through the internet looking for any information about this wonderful land before you make the scary move across the seas.

Today will be two weeks since I got to Heathrow airport (which my extremely heavy luggage) and set off on my travels. Even though it’s only been two weeks this journey started a long long time ago with a lot of paper work and the all important interview process.

I will make sure I talk through the application stage soon as it was the first and very important step to getting me here.

I think the most important thing to say right now is, if you have found this site because you were intrigued by the idea of moving then you are already a born traveler. Curiosity may have killed the cat but it could also cause you to eat a lot of Kimchi.