I'm in South Korea!

Status: Alive and happy!
Location: Hwaseong, South Korea

Okay, so you guys are probably wondering about what I've been doing and how I'm feeling right now. Let me summarize my trip to South Korea. The flight from Houston to Los Angeles was wack because I flew with Continental and they suck in general. Once I got to Los Angeles I had to lug my heavy ass bags all the way across the airport. They didn't tell me it was in another building! I would have found the shuttle if I was warned ahead of time! Anyways, I was rushed to the gate to find out that there was a delay [ x___x ]. The flight to South Korea wasn't bad. I managed to watch 5 movies in a row and sleep for an hour. Once I got to Korea, someone was there to pick me up. It took an hour and a half to get from Incheon to Hwaseong (where I live). They said it's "rural" but it looks kind of like a smaller version of Houston to me. We stopped in front of my school so I would be able to locate it the next day (today).

My co-teacher was waiting at the apartment complex for me. Let me take a moment to tell you about my awesome apartment building. They give you a card to get into the building and the glass doors are automatic. I live on the 2nd floor and the floor is marble. It looks like a brand new building =) You need a code in order to get into my apartment (no keys= i cannot lose them= fantastic!) but my co-teacher didn't know the landlord changed the code. We were standing there trying to figure it out for about 15 minutes. We finally found out the new code and got in. I'll have to post up pictures and a video of my place later. The inside is nice but it's small compared to what I'm used to in the states.

The ac, heater, washing machine, intercom box= all in korean= i have no idea how to work them. It was a little overwhelming because I was tired and I wanted to take a shower but at the same time I was trying to figure out how to work the appliances in my apartment. My co-teacher finally left and I was on my own to unpack. As soon as I started unpacking and had everything scattered every where, someone rang the door bell. I figured it was my co-teacher but when I opened the door it was an old korean couple. They tried to come in and I was like "Excuse me, who are you? You must be looking for someone else. I live here now." They started talking to me in Korean and said something about living upstairs. After 2 minutes I found out it was the landlord and his wife. Lol. They came in and tried to explain how the appliances worked but considering the fact that they cannot speak English, it was a flop. They understood "hungry" though and insisted I follow them for pizza. The wife actually pulled me with her.

The little pizza shop was cute and the pizza was delicious (maybe because I was starving). They serve pickles with the pizza... odd.... but not regular pickles. The pickles tasted kind of sweet and sour. They were really tasty! I then asked them where I could buy some water so they took me to a supermarket. It looked like a typical Hong Kong supermarket. I ended up buying water and shampoo. It was a long walk home because all the water I bought. They were really friendly and they laughed a lot. The whole night they kept trying to speak korean to me in hopes that I would slip up and reply in korean as if I was faking it the whole time. Seriously? x___x

I took a shower... and that in itself was a little strange. I had to push a button in order to get the heater to heat up the water. The converter I brought from the states does not work here so I couldn't straighten my hair the next morning! I haven't cried yet because I'm still in that happy "romantic" stage with the new surrounding and experience.

The walk to my school was amazing. The neighborhood and school looks so nice. There's a huge park behind my school and the trees are changing colors. The weather is about 40-50F. You guys would love it over here!!!!

Do you know how hard it is to convince people that I can't speak Korean? It's like me telling them I'm an alien from Neptune. The students are really cute. They bow and greet me when they see me. Now that they know I'm the English teacher they all say "hello!!!!" "how are you!!!". They're funny kids. There's 33+ students in each class. That's crazy huh? I'm so used to having 24 students MAX in one class. The school is 5 stories high and the students arrive before the teachers. Different huh?

I don't have internet at my apartment yet and I won't be able to get it or a cell phone till I get my alien card which will be a month from now. Hopefully, I'll be able to upload pictures tomorrow through my laptop. Rawr! Man, too much typing... I'm out of here.

I miss and love you all! Come visit! =)