2nd Week In Korea

OK, so apologies I haven't done a blog in a while; I have been getting over my jetlag and so I don't go online after work as much.This week I have been going into work a little bit early (when I say early I mean 2pm lol) and my lessons have gone a lot better this week. I hope they will just get better and better. I am still loving the social side, just been for a night out actually! I used my washing machine for the first time yesterday and I was just sat on my bed and out of the corner of my eye I see water flooding my laundry room (it didn't come into the bedroom because there is a little ledge thing)!!!It was deep water but then I realise that there is a drain on the floor, like the drain in my bathroom for te shower water, and sure enough that is what is supposed to happen- yup the washing machineis supposed to empty all the water out onto the floor, flooding my laundry room floor! I also tried a new alcoholic beverage called mocali (not sure on the spelling); it is a rice wine and is reeeaaaallly strong!!!!Another fact, police cars always seem to have their flashing lights on even when there is no emergency; I saw one that stopped at a red light despite having the emergency lights on :s. Also it is illegal for Koreans to gamble; there are casinos that will only let foreigners in. Some foreigners got deported because they were doing casual poker nights at home on a regular basis because they didn't know it was illegal!!!Tonight I went to a salsa club which was fun but me and my friend are going to take lessons later in the year so we don't feel as ridiculous lol!I also tried a cocktail in a bag, where you buy these flourescent drinks in a bag for around a pound and you just walk the streets with them (will upload some photos of them)!Well as usual I am sure there is loads more that I can never remember when I sit to write this thing, so that's all for now!!!!

Pictures!

Korean Money Socks!!!!

My Gift box of spam!

BA BA BA BA BA BA DA BA DA BA ...DOWN TOWN!

So yesterday was my first day out in down town!It was amazing!I got the subway on my own (with the help of a lovely korean mother and little girl), then I met up with a really cool group of English/American people. Us girls split off from the boys and went girly shopping, then for a lovely meal and then we got our nails done - YEY!!!We went for a coffee and in the window there are swinging seats that you can sit on and watch people go by(speaking of people watching I saw loads of couples who were wearing matching outfits, apparently that is a big thing in korea and the matching goes all the way down to underwear!)!!!Brilliant idea and if my bezzie comes out to visit we would  probs sit there all day and people watch! Later we met back up with the boys and had some drinks and played beer pong (needless to say as it is a game of aim , I was terrible!)! We drank at a bar called Thursday party (not sure why days of the week are followed by party, but I like it!) where loads of foreigners go and so that was great!At the end of the night I got a taxi home and because I was an English speaker the taxi driver called his son who is studying in Canada, so I was just on the phone to some randomer lol!Also taxi-drivers have TVs in their cars and watch them as they are driving round!So that was my first trip to down town, it was awesome!

First week done!

Well, that  was the first week!It was such a whirlwind, I hope I get in to the swing of things. A few things to take away from this week; one of which is a massive gift case of...wait for it...SPAM!!!Yes that is right spam as we know and love it. This weekend is the lunar new year and in celebration a parent bought the English teachers a spam gift box containing nine tins of spam nicely displayed, this box was then put in  a spam gift bag!This is actually a very wealthy gift to recieve and on hearing this I felt very appreciative and touched to recieve my nine tins of spam. The lunar new year means I get two days off next week which I welcome in order to catch my breath, sort myself out and regroup. On this holiday everyone goes to their grandarents houses and bow to them, when they do this they then recieve money as part of their tradition.

Last night I ate at a traditional Korean restaurant where you take your shoes off at the door and sit on the floor, it was really cool!The amount of food and drink that is set down is amazing. We all got this boiling soup with meat on the bone in it, then you get a bowl to put this in and take off the meat. You then put the meat back in the soup bowl and there is a bucket for the bone. It was delicious!

I was amazed yesterday when I walked into school in the rain and when we arrived my friend put his umbrella in this stand that held plastic bags and then he just pulled the brolly through the slot!There you go, your brolly is in a tight-fitting bag so you don't drip water everywhere!!!Amazing!

There are many more things I would like to tell you but when I sit at the computer my mind goes blank!So for today that is all!!

Tuesday Party!

Hello again! So I have taught three days now, some classes are great and  others are really quiet;  when they are quiet it is really hard and drags the lesson. I am hoping once I am teaching properly they will talk a bit more; at the moment I have just been doing introductory classes. Tomorrow will be the first time I teach an actual lesson because I have already done the introductory lesson with this class. So I have eaten out every night for tea because if you go to the right places it can cost the same or even less than eating in. Last night I went to 'Tuesday Party', which is something the foreign teachers from my school do every week. We went out to a meal but not somewhere you would go every night.It is a BBQ pork (or should I say prok (a little in-joke)) where you barbeque your own food where you sit. There is a bucket with a coal fire in it and then a metal grill gets placed over the top with a pipe coming from the ceiling to suck up the smoke. It was delicious. We had beer and water to drink and I was introduce to the wonder that is so-ju. So-ju is a cheap chemical vodka drink and throughout the night we took shots at intervals. We then headed to a bar where they had a doorbell at every table and when you pressed it a waitress came over. Later we went to a place that translates into English as 'the singing room'; this isn't like kareoke as you know it. You and your friends get a room to yourselves and there is a remote control to select a song from this massive book that has everything from Disney to Rage Against the Machine. Today I went for my medical test and when Little  Mister Lee (named so as there is also a taller Mr Lee) went to get his car from the car park I was amazed at how futuristic the car park was. You drive on to the grate and the grate moves the car into a space like tetris, you just put it in and the grate takes it away!!!!I have fallen in love with a food called kim-bap; it is the rice (with whatever you want) wrapped in seaweed -it is AMAZING! Another amazing thing I have found a tea I like that is not English Breakfast - it is brown rice green tea!!!!Crazy Times!

First Day Teaching In Korea

OK, so I look really tired on this video and I have a crazy piece of hair sticking out but you get the general impression of my first day. Also I will probably write more when I have more energy, quite a lot of hings happened on my first day that made me laugh.

Well there is just a snippet, I will give you more details when I can. Night all :)

My first day in Korea

So yesterday (Sunday) was my first day, I got up pretty late as I had been travelling for around 22 hours. Then just read through some information San gave me. He teaches a my school too and is the head of the foreign teachers. I then e-mailed, blogged and facebooked to tell everyone I was here safe. Me and my nieghbour then went for a walk around the block and he told me some funny Korean stuff like the reason there is so much beeping when you drive in Korea is because they don't just beep to express anger but sometimes will beep to congratulate another driver on a hard transition from one lane to the next! Also, you know how we have like teenage chavs hanging round drinking in the park...well retired Koreans take their bottles of alcohol and go drinking down the park instead (however they do not tuck their trackies into their socks) lol!The rest of the day I was skyping; haven't been out a lot yet but I am teaching today so I should be meeting more foreigners to socialise with. I'll be writing up how my first day teaching went when I get in tonight or tomorrow morning. Bye for now :)!

My apartment!

So here is a quick first view of my apartment in my jet-lagged stupor (observe how I struggle to open a door!)!I will probably write more about my flat when I have lived here a bit longer but two things for now. First: the internet is not wireless I have to be plugged in which I keep forgetting and then trying to walk away with my netbook only to be tugged back in a comical way lol! Second:...and this I absolutely love...wait for it...THE FLOORS ARE HEATED!!!!!!Well enjoy the video:

I am here!!!!!

Well!!!!I got here safe - yey! Firstly I set off Friday the 13th (oo spooky) at half 6 in the morning with my lovely mum in the car. Got to the airport and had a breaky and met lovely boyfriend and his mum (omg the first meeting of the mums and without fail there was a rush to pay the bill lol). When it came to the checking in I needed to take one or two things out which resulted in me (a 22 year old) walking through the airport with her teddy in in her arms (no man gets left behind!)! After a very difficult goodbye I got talking to a couple and then again to a family. The flight -OMG!If you get to fly with Emirates do it!!!Everything is complimentary - magazines, newspapers, lovely 3 course meal, drink (yes that's right - I indulged in a red wine hehe)! There were soo many movies and TV shows to watch - loved the journey!I met a woman on the plane who was doing an exhibition in Dubai and later met an American girl who unfortunately didn't get her luggage back when we got to Daegu :(. Oh and I woke up with a sticker on me saying we could not serve you as you were resting, and walked quite far before noticing lol! Anyway, 3 flights later here I am! I looked a mess last night and not only did I have to have a picture taken of me after my journey by the airport (how cruel) I met four new people - what a good impression lol!I got a lift with my agent to my flat, got shown around and the taken to do a bit of grossary shopping. Came back, unpacked and fell asleep watching Pirates of the Caribbean!There you go a summary of my journey!

I'm leaving on a jet plane

Well, I've had my last day in England, everything is packed and all the jobs are done. I'm sat in my very empty room having a cuppa. It was only this morning I got my flight details and since then it has been madness - one of the main mad things being that it doesn't really feel like I am going yet. I know I have said this to most people but just want to send a thank you out to all the people who have supported me, I will miss you all lots (just thought I would say it through this medium as I have said it through most others anyway!). I have had a splendid last day seeing my family and best friend. I have to just have a mention of my lovely niece and nephew who are indeed the cutest people ever (along with fordy of course). Anyway I am beginning to ramble so the next time I post something I will be in South Korea!!! So I am going to spend my last night in my comfy comfy bed with a cuppa, and tomorrow I will be 'leaving on a jet plane'!

It's here!!!

So following my previous post of my visa troubles, I am delighted to say that today the postman handed me my passort and visa!!!YEY!Or as my agent quite rightly said 'HAZAR'!!!Now I am just waiting for my flight itinerary, although I have been assured it is going to be this Friday. Yes that is right this Friday as in Friday the 13th...luckily every cloud has a silver lining and so there should be plenty of room on the plane. There are only a couple of things I need to do tomorrow and then I am all ready to go. As a leaving present my lovely mum got me a photo book to take with me full of all my lovely friends and family - thanks mum, you are the best!!!Well bye for now :)

Pictures of my apartment

Hey again, these are just a couple of pictures of my apartment that were sent to me by my agent (yes I have an agent, in fact I have two - totally feel like 'M' in bond):

 

Notice in the bathroom that the shower is just the shower head that you hold to wash yourself, from what I gather most of the korean bathroom are like this, should be fun!

 Ta tar for now!

My visa troubles

So I just thought I would explain why I am still in England; I have been having visa troubles and so the date keeps geting pushed further and further back. I am still not certain when I am going but I am ready to take off as soon as my visa comes through. I am assured that visa trouble is to be expected and so I've just got to hang on. It is a blessing in disguise though as I can spend a little bit more time with my lovely friends and family. I imagine my blogs will become a lot more interesting when I have more things to write about. Just wanted to to assure anyone else who is having visa trouble that is it normal, and assure my friends and family I will be leaving the country(also kind of just wanted to test my blog out) Well that's all folks!