I am teaching English in Korea for a year, and these are my experiences and adventures. Korea is a great country and I love it. Here's what it has offered me!

Tuesday, November 25, 2003

Our New Home

Although there is still constuction going on we are moving in! I am sure the jackhammers won't be going on for too much longer. We have a wardrobe, a bed and... well... that is about it. Carrie and I decide to unpack after about 2 1/2 weeks of living out of our suitcases. It feels good to finally be in, if it is not completely set up.

That was the general feeling for about a day until we were told to pack up again! We are told that we should pack up everything to make it look like no one is living there. Why, you ask. The building inspector is set to come and ensure there are no problems with the building. A formality really, ha!

You can imagine we still aren't feeling quite settled. We have little furniture and now we are back to living our of our suitcases. Stay calm, Joe... it could be worse: we could, like, have to eat insects or something.

Saturday, November 22, 2003

(Still) The Temporary Abode

As we arrive at the doorstep of our new home and workplace, I think that this can't be our new home and workplace. It isn't even constructed yet! We are supposed to start teaching in a week and the building isn't even finished.

We go for the tour and have to walk over all kinds of construction materials and equipment. The place doesn't look too bad other than there are no ceilings and there is dust everywhere. I think we will be lucky to be teaching before our year-long contract is up!

Our new employers/neighbours take the time to show us our new place. It is really nice, but isn't really set up for living. We have a great view and it looks livable, if only it can be finished. We will wait and see.

Sunday, November 09, 2003

An Arrival Under Construction

Coming Soon!

Saturday, November 08, 2003

The Temporary Abode

So, we made it to Seoul and since the building we are to live in is not complete, we will be staying at another, more respectable hotel for a while. It is called a yeogwan which is a kind of family-run affair. It is a husband-wife combo and they have lived in the US for a number of years. It is a really nice place, but small. We are assured we won't be here for long.

It is a really cool place. We have to walk through some narrow alleyways to get to our room and it has great character. Luckily, we also have the soft-core channel. I don't know what I would do without it. The downsides, however, are that it is so darned cramped and it has a bucket for a sink. We get free coffee packets though as a key redeaming factor.

Friday, November 07, 2003

Lotteria: Part 1

Harris has been a fine friend to us over the first couple of days and has ensured that we have everything we need. He had taken us out for food and introduced us to soju within hours of touch-down. The conversations are nothing if not comical due to their painfulness, but we are getting along.

Tonight Harris has taken us out for some grub and it is a pleasant getaway from our hotel room which is kind of getting to me in a way only a sleazy hotel can. We eat an excellent meal and I feel absolutely stuffed. I am ready to go watch some soft-core porn and hit the sack. Harris, however, seems to have other ideas although we can't quite get that communication through. During dinner he asked simply, "do you like hamburger?" To which I replied, "I guess so... ok! (the universal agreement to which I will continue to resort: it allows summons a smile)" And from this moment on he has a mission.

Since we can't get out of him where we are going we resort to apprehensively following him through the streets. We arrive and a shameless knockoff of McDonald's called Lotteria and he ushers us inside. I protest again that I am really not hungry, but Harris insists, "breakfast!" he exclaims. Seeing no way out of this, I order a chicken burger meal and Carrie follows suit.

This kind of miscommunication, I should think, will manifest itself again and again. The next morning I try one bite, but it is absolutely horrible. I think I will never Lotteria again.

Thursday, November 06, 2003

Love Motel

As Carrie and I get off the plane the rush of worries hits me: who is going to pick us up? Where will he/she be? Did they get the right time? Alas, we get our bags and go through customs and find only a sea of unfamiliar faces passively greeting us. We walk up and down the beautiful Incheon airport to no avail. Carrie, however, is drawing some looks from the young looking "security guards" who look like they couldn't secure a lamp post.

After waiting for about 15 minutes which seemed more like 60, we are greeted by Harris who we will strain to understand for the next few days. There will be many a "riiiiiiight" uttered followed by awkward silences over the next two days. There is a brief greeting and we are on our way to Incheon city where we will spend the next two days while our director and his family are on vacation.

Korea is all that I thought Asia would be. It is already very busy and the roads are full of vehicles that, while similar to home, add a touch of exotic to our first few hours. We arrive at the hotel through a series of narrow streets and go into the garage through a kind of rubber curtain (which I would later find out is there for the privacy of the hotel guests who frequently visit on extra-marital affairs).

The inside is no less sensational. As we walk the hallways of our first Korean abode I am dazzled by black lights and luminescent ocean mural on the walls. We arrive in our room to find a pink vinyl cirle bed with red headboard lamp, a cheesy 80's black and white picture of a couple making out, and all manner of lotions and smell'ems on the vanity. The complimentary lotions are all half-used mind you and pale in comparison to the "vagina cleaner" found in the bathroom on a scale of hilarity. I turn on the TV to find the soft-porn channel at a volume of about 80 and swiftly search the room for hidden cameras.

The bed is not made for sleeping, but is actually quite functional.

Wednesday, November 05, 2003

On Our Way

After a flight over Georgia Strait to Vancouver from Victoria, we are on our way. Brennan drove us to the airport and after a quick departing snapshot, we are on our way. The Strait is absolutely beautiful and I feel a surge of luck and pride to live in this place. The gulf islands look like rocky droplets on the rippled glass of an ocean.

We are left waiting in the Vancouver airport for some time and Carrie interviews me with our new camcorder. I am nervous for the adventure as we start this journey and am eager not to make a fool of myself on arrival... I will have 11 hours on the plane to come up with a plan to ensure that doesn't happen.

This is me. This is how I travel. I am so concerned not to offend anyone that I have this overwhelming urge to lay as low as possible. I hate being the odd person out and struggle to quickly find a way to blend in. However, that could be hard in Korea. I may just have to change that perspective and accept it: the fact that I will under no circumstances or in any way blend in with the crowd, not a chance.

Tuesday, November 04, 2003

The Plan, The Mission, The Goal

The Plan: Go to Korea for one year to experience a new culture while making some cash to pay off those ugly loans.

The Mission: Push my limits and try new things. Get out there and see all that Korea has to offer.

The Goal: Just make the year. No matter how bad it gets, keep my head up and finish out the year.

Monday, November 03, 2003

Joe and Carrie Go to Korea


Our adventure.