I guess I was being too hopeful about posting another post in the morning, when I wrote my last post. So I will once again say sorry for not updating, but the call of adventure was too great and I could not turn it down.
When I last left you I had just arrived at my apartment, had taken a short tour, seen a wonderful friend, and been left wondering if I had really made the best decision in moving to Korea, while dealing with an extreme need for sleep.
Well after I went back to my apartment, I call my parents via Facetime, tried to unpack a bit and had a light midnight snack/lunch (the time change between Canada and South Korea was just starting to throw me off) of Dollarama snacks that my Mum packed for my flight. Good thing my mum packed me snacks as I had no food at my apartment, and I had no idea where to go to buy food...thinking on it now maybe I should have paid more attention to Evan when he was giving me a tour. As I sort of remember him telling me where I could go to get groceries, but oh well....it is suppose to be an adventure right, so not everything can go perfectly. After my light meal of hummus in a can, goldfish crackers and peanuts, I decided to try not think about anything and go to sleep. I guess I succeed at thinking about nothing as I slept for about 10 hours, and woke up wanting more sleep, but my stomach won over the need for more sleep. So I got up, took a shower (only to realize I forgot to turn my hot water tank on...cold showers are the best way to wake up right?), got dressed and heard my apartment phone ring...it only took me about two mins to figure out which button answered the phone. My first phone call in Korea brought happy news about my missing suitcase, as it was Evan on the phone saying that someone would be coming by to drop it off at 11am. So I decided I would wait around for my suitcase, then go for a walk and try to find something to eat.
In an attempt to avoid getting lost and not be able to find my way back to my apartment, I decided I would just take right turns (thinking that I would end up just going in a circle) and at every intersection I would take a picture so that I could use the pictures as a map to get back. Well I was under estimating my ability to get lost....so my first walk was a confusing attempt to find my way back home, a stop at a shop call GS 25 (this is the corner convince store that is open 24 hours) to get a snack, and me doing a strange half walk half bow bob. My strange way of walking came from a lot of people staring at me, and me feeling very odd, so I tried out my limited Korean, by saying hello to them while bowing (most people just smiled then laughed and walked away from me). So with snacks in hand and my apartment in sight I went home to my apartment, took a short nap and attended the Lovering Family reunion via Skype. What an interesting first day..Eh?
Well my first week, was about the same with Evan walking me to school on the Monday, where I met my new co-workers, and the wonderful students of Knox School. Tuesday was a typhoon day, which means school is canceled for the students, but the teachers still needed to go in. So like any good foreigner, I went with my co-workers up to the roof where we took lots of pictures of the storm coming in, and the city looking like a ghost town (all while our Korean co-teachers were calling us crazy for going outside).
Tuesday also brought my medical centre visit to get a "full" check up for immigration. When I say "full" check up, I don't mean the type of check up you get when you go to your local doctor or hospital, I mean it took almost two and a half hour for me to be finish going from one station to the next. The most embarrassing part of it was when they hand you a pee cup, send you to the bathroom, and while you are filling your cup they close the door to the room you need to drop your cup off to, so you are left wandering around with this cup trying to find out what/where you take it. (Yes, go ahead and laugh I know Kristina is laughing while she reads this). After finishing my check up and being told I am healthy, William (the go to Korean guy in the office) drove me back to the school, but because there was a typhoon I got to see high school students being blown down the street while they held onto their umbrellas.
The rest of the week went by in a blur...but I must write in a big thank you to my tall co-worker Matt, because he showed me where the nearest grocery store was and helped me buy some groceries.
I hope to do a few more posts today...but first to make a yummy sandwich.
Happy Travels, love you all.
Brittaney
