Sandy

I would like to try and forget about last weekend. Stayed in most of Saturday just chilling out and watching Dexter. Then I went out in PNU for my birthday. I thought I would go and see some bands that were playing, have a few drinks and get home in one piece. Well I went to see some bands. Quite good actually, a Korean indie-rock outfit and a rockabilly group! In Korea. Takes all kinds. I bought a new t-shirt as well. A Queen of Diamonds playing card with the face of a skull. Awesomeness. Then I moved onto the bar. Got a few jars in, played some pool. And then I had a few shots of Tequila. Few hours of my life lost, along with my cap, and most of my dinner. I felt really rough on Sunday so I laid low and tried to crawl into a hole.

That took a few days to get over, so last week was tiring. But the weekend just past was good. Saturday I went on a visit to the Museum Of Modern Art. Not as good as the Tate, obviously, but still some interesting pieces and worth the trip. Once thing about Korea is that they just plant buildings anywhere and don't really care about the surroundings. Back home, for example, the Tate is in an old Turbine Hall! And then from the MOMA to Haeundae for the Sand Festival, which was quite good to see all the sand sculptures and to hear some Bulgarian pop. Even went for a paddle in the ocean. Water was very cold but nice and refreshing. Grabbed some dinner at Outback as I had some vouchers. A big steak and some chips with veggies and I was good.

One thing I keep looking out for in Korea is European or American cars. They are not common here, but it's fun trying to spot them. So far my list includes Chevy Escalades, Ford Mondeo, BMW 3, 5 and 7 series, and the X5, Mini Coopers, Porsche 911 GT4, Mercedes-Benz AMG's, and a Lotus Elise! No European supercars yet, but off to Seoul this summer so might see some there.

Looks like Japan is going to be expensive! But it will be worth it, and my exra classes will actually pay for it in a few months. So I think the plan is fly to Osaka, then get a return train to Tokyo and then fly out of Osaka again. There is Ghibli Studios in Tokyo as well, which is going to be awesome! And going on a train that does nearly 200 mph! Braaaaaaaaappppppppp.

Time to update

Well it's that time again. Time to update the ol blog eh?

After my 4 day weekend being back at work has really sucked. It's getting to be a bit of a bore really, and with open classes and stuff coming up it's just a headache. Outside of work not much has been going on really. Last weekend I went for a walk down on the sea-front walk on the west side of the island. It was a really hot day so was nice to get outside and feel the warmth. The walk looks really nice. I only did a small part and chilled out on the rocks by the breaking waves for a while. There are also some public gyms! With pull-up bars and benches for crunches and weights. That would never happen back home.

And this weekend was another lazy affair. Saturday was torrential rain all day, which was nice to see, but means I couldnt do much. And then Sunday went to see the 'Angels and Demons' film. As a movie it is good, but it strayed away from the book a lot.

Well, looking at organising the Japan trip soon. And there is a festival in Seoul in August so something to look forward to.

Cable Car

Yesterday was very productive and good to get out and about.

We took a trip to Kumgang Park which is the north west of the city. It is a large park, with a mountain in the middle. And you can climb the mountain by path or take a cable car to the top. Today was the cable car. But the path looks really good so will need to return with hiking boots. And it would be even better to ride down! Haha.

So after grabbing some lunch in the gigantic Lotte department store we made our way to the park. After trawling through side streets for a while we came upon and old gate house, and further up the hill was the park. A quick look at the park map and we decided on what we wanted to see. Straight to the cable car, and out came the camera. A relatively quick trip to the top but some killer views over Busan. On a clearer day this would be even better. At the top there are some paths to walk around on, and some temples to see and old gate houses. It was just nice to be out in the sunshine and walking amongst the trees. The Koreans sure love to eat and drink though. Even at the top of this mountain there are small huts which cook food and sell drinks, with loads of old Koreans laughing and talking.

Decided to head out again last night, make the most of the time off. This time was the Kyungsung University area in the east of the city. Slightly easier to get to this time. had found out about a couple of bars right next to each other. Ol 55 and Vinyl Underground. And both of them were dead. Totally dead. I guess everyone was away for the long weekend. Both bars were quite cool though, small, dark and grungy. Ol 55 was the best, playing Metallica and Rancid all evening whilst we played pool. And free pool! Awesome.

No shenanigans with breaking and entering this time. Just off to bed.

As for today. A total bust! Went for a quick walk about and then just lounged watching X-Men movies all day and eating junk food. Back to work tomorrow.

I am Wolverine

Went to see the new X-Men movie today. X-Men Origins : Wolverine is a spin-off (prequel) to the X-Men movies. It was awesome. Wolverine is bad ass!

Apart from going to the movies today was quite quiet as well. Mooched about in Nampo-dong for a while and went for a walk. It is so busy there on a Sunday, there are even queues at the stalls for snack food! I don't know. Went for a shop as well, and stocked up on all the goodness for the next week.

Pretty quiet day actually. Oh well.

Breaking and entering

So last night I went out on the town. The first time really since we got to Busan. It's a bit difficult and inconvenient living on a small island with infrequent bus service and no subway. Anyway. We headed up to Pusan National University, in the north of the city, and went hunting for a bar. I had read about some good bars in the area, and this is where most of the ex-pats hang out. Soon enough we saw Westerners everywhere. And then we came upon the bar I was looking for. Basement. No matter where you go the world over, Western bars are the same. Small, dark and grungy with hip-hop and rock blaring from the DJ, and a pool table. Grabbed a beer and took a seat, and was soon invited to join a game of Jenga with some Americans, an Aussie and a Japanese girl. I am a champion Jenga player after my days at Index playing Giant Jenga, where if you made a mistake 3 foot blocks of wood were coming down on you! Played some pool with a British dude who was owning the table all evening. After some jars it was time to catch the last subway back.

Once we got back home there was a dilemna. The main door to the apartment block has two locks. I didn't have the key to open one of them. Locked out! After some hollering and banging on the door to try and wake a neighbour there was no luck. So I did the next best thing. Broke in. I climbed onto the roof, jumped down onto the roof at the back of our building, hopped a wall and clambered up and in through the very small bathroom window. Kapow. In the flat. And off to bed. Haha.

After last night's exploits I lay low today and just enjoyed the sunshine and being off work for a while. Caught up with some TV shows and generally chilled out. Nice.

Sports Day

So today was Sport's Day at school. Not something I particularly wanted to take part in, but was nevertheless roped in. I was informed by my co-teacher that I should grab the camera from the office and start taking photos. So that's what I did. And kept on shooting until the battery ran out, or the memory card filled up. The battery gave way first. It was a really nice day so it wasn't too bad sitting about in the sun. At one point I was strongarmed into running with some of the kids. I think we won, I don't know. Some more sunbathing and watching the relays and then some dancing. Lunchtime!

And then an afternoon spent trying to fill the hours until I could go home. As we now have a four-day weekend to celebrate Budda's birthday and Children's Day. I don't care what it's for. Four days off!

The weather has been rather good of late. Brillaint sunshine all day. Of course being in a city there is a lot of pollution so there is a general haze all day, but not as bad as it could be. The mountains seem to help with that I guess. I can only imagine how hot the summer is about to get.

Scotland rugby? Really?

So the Six Nations rugby kicked off yesterday. And I am trying to follow it over here. But I can't get any video as the copyright restrictions only allow video from BBC to be played inside the UK. Arses. I doubt Scotland will make any impact though.

School has been going OK. The kids seem really interested and I am starting to see who the bright ones are and who the little buggers are. I usually just hang about whilst my co-teacher's do their thing and then I do my part, usually a game or explaining something. It's pretty easy and doesn't stress me too much, but Im not cut out to be a teacher. I can see that now! Ha ha.

There is a new piece iof furniture in the flat! A sofa! Hooray. I can now get comfy in the evenings. It is rather special. It was a bugger to find though. We went to some furniture market in downtown and had a snoop around, and finally decided on this huge sofa. Trying to explain that we wanted it and where to deliver and how much everything was, was certainly a challenge. But it all worked out, and the shop even gave us a life home in the van with the sofa and coffee table that I decided to get with it. The tricky part was fitting it through the doorway and into the living room. It is a BIG sofa! But it is all in now and very comfy indeed.

The weather here is a bit random. For a while it was very cold. Then it heated up a bit and was quite nice. Then we got reports of the yellow dust coming and we had to lock everything down. And now it is cold again. I think the summer is going to get hot though. Watch out.

They stole my passport

Well not really. But today we were at the immigration office so I can apply for my Alien Registration Card. Which means I can legally stay here. For my sins. Anyway, it all went quite smoothly, filled in a form with my details and the multiple entry visa (which means I can leave the country and then be allowed back in, and not deported (if only!)) was free! Which was a nice surprise. It was all very fast and efficient. Then they told us to come back in a week, and they wanted my passport. I asked them what for. So they could put my visa in there. I wasn't too happy. If something happened to me, then it would be a pain without my passport. But it had to be done, so I took a quick photocopy and threatened the man under pain of death that I get it back.

So all this means that next week I can get the TV and Internet connected as I have an ARC to bill everything to. Hooray. I have been pilfering the wi-fi connection from the church across the street, and it is less than satisfactory. Very fast but a bit hit and miss where I get a reception. I am so going to hell.

Week-ender

So the weekend has been and gone and has been rather uneventful. Im not planning on writing this every day. Especially if there is nothing to write about. So.

Friday was another usual day at school, got the bus fine in the morning and in plenty of time, so can scale back a bit on when I need to get up. But for the most part not much happens at school. And in the evenings I generally just waste time and catch up on stuff. Make some dinner. The usual. Yesterday we went into Nampo-dong to have a look around, saw some very cute puppies in the pet shops. But they are all small dogs, and Im not sure it's the best idea to get one here. Will look into it though. Nampo-dong is quite nice. It has a couple of cinemas and is where the Busan International Film Festival is held each year, so I will look forward to that. But it is very busy and there are markets and a load of different shops. One thing about Korea is that every company has it's own store. Nike, Puma, Head, North Face, Columbia etc and it's not strange. But they are everywhere. And the subway station is like a shopping mall. In fact there are underground passageways for miles with shops selling all sorts of crap! It's like they live down there. Never seeing sunlight. Maybe they are vampires. Sunday is pretty lazy. Went for a shop and just did nothing all day which is nice. Im starting to get very tired. Which makes me not want to go out, which makes me more tired. Need to break this cycle.

Moving day

Today was moving day. The flat is pretty nice and everything is moved in. Most of the furniture. I still need to get a sofa. But the wardrobes and built, the bed is up, everything is connected and working. Except for the TV and Internet. Need to wait until I get my alien registration card until I can sign up to anyone. It ws avery early start as we had to move all the luggage to the apartment before school. So my co-teacher helped with that and it was accomplished in time to get to school and not be late. The days are starting to merge into one another and nothing really exceptional happens. I have classes, take a break, have more classes then lunch and then muck about all afternoon until home time.

So not much else to report on the apartment. It's quite bare so I need to get some posters up and some more furniture but it should be comfy enough for the next year. The underfloor heating does a good job of heating everything up. Unfortunately there are gas tanks out the back that need to be replaced when empty, but they seem to think it won't cost too much to use it. The decor is a bit ropey but it's a free apartment so I can't complain too much.

Shopping is for losers

Today was shopping day.

But before we get to that, I had my first classes today. I was just observing which got really boring after four classes of the same thing! And I had to give a quick introduction to myself which went OK. I told the kids where I was from and what I like to do, and showed them pictures of me climbing in the snow. Which they all laughed at. The co-teacher is pretty nice and seems to handle the class well, so it should go well.

Then after lunch we went shopping for stuff for the apartment. I had to make a list of all the stuff I needed and then they would try and cost it up into the budget they have to spend. So off to Home Plus. Ahh, yes, Home Plus. This is the Korean Tesco which sells some half-decent Western food, so hopefully I won't starve. But they also have a lot of home ware stuff. So after mooching around the store filling up a trolley with everything we made our way to the checkout, and were actually under the budget. Hurray. Even got some stuff didn't really need but is nice to have. On the electronics front, they got a TV and toaster oven. Then the usual cutlery and utensils, drying rack, brush, duvet and pillows which is all nice. Another teacher from my school has sorted the furniture to some degree. So a bed, closet, table and chairs and a TV stand. So all this should be delivered by the end of the week and then move in!

Apartment viewing

Today was another quick day. Again it was spent mostly in the comfort of the teacher's lounge. But in the afternoon we escaped to go and view a couple of apartments. The first one is really close to the school which is a bonus. It's a good size but has no appliances and is in a bit of grungy looking building. Not amazingly clean but I'm sure I could sort that out soon enough. The second one I viewed was a bit better. This is the vice-principals choice as he knows the owner. Not a good start. But it is being renovated and has all new appliances and new doors and actually looks pretty good. So we all decided on this one. It's a little further away from school but is an acceptable distance really. So the move should be able to go ahead by the end of the week which is nice. At last something is getting sorted.

Tomorrow we go shopping!

It's like my first day of school

Today I had my first day of school. All over again. As usual with Korea nothing is quite ready and everything is up in the air. We got the bus in from the hotel and it was quite easy. I was a bit nervous as I didn't know where to go, or what to do, or who to see. But luckily I met my co-teacher in the lobby as I was changing my shoes. Most of the morning was spent meeting people like the principal and vice-principal and then sitting in the teacher's lounge and waiting for documents to be processed. But we also had an opening ceremony for the school which involved me being made to give a small speech to the students. I'm sure nobody understood what I said but they all clapped anyway. And then the rest of the day was spent waiting around and looking at the books I will be using for the next year. All in all a quick day. We will be going to see some apartments tomorrow so I hope this will be successful.

Taejongdae Park

I was at Taejongdae Park today. As we had another free day before school starts tomorrow we decided to make the most of it and head down to Taejongdae Park which is on the south of Yeongdo island.

But first of all we headed down to Nampo-dong to grab some pizza from the one and only Mr Pizza. He really does love women. Sunday seems to be when the buses are on some sort of half-timetable. We waited around for a while and finally got a bus which took us to the end of the line. Yeongdo has no subway line yet. After a death defying bus trip along the clifftops we arrived at the bus terminal. The bus drivers are crazy here, they work on a basis that the number of times they do their route, they get paid more. So they risk life and limb to get to the next stop. The streets of Busan are like a bus race circuit.

So Taejongdae Park is really quite nice. There is a memorial to the soldiers who died in the Korean war, and then after a steep entrance you reach the main area where a rather splendid Mack truck turned fake train is waiting to transport your lazy ass around the waterfront road. Of course you could walk it but we were on a bit of a schedule and it was really cheap. The first stop was an elevated walkway which overlooked the ocean. Amazing views out to sea, and it was great watching all the tankers which are anchored before coming into docks. Then there are the small pleasure cruisers milling around. Back onto the truck and the next stop is the lighthouse. Lots and lots of steps led us down to the another deck for viewing and then even more steps led us down to the rocky beachfront where you can sit and enjoy the view. There are even dinosaur prints here apparantly! Im sure I saw one roaming around in the undergrowth.

After that stop we jumped back on the truck and were back to the entrance in no time. One thing I did notice is that everyone has a super sweet camera. Not surprising as they are all made here. But even so, there were Canon's and Nikon's with big lenses everywhere!

And then we ran for the bus which was just leaving, and made our way to Seomyeon for dinner. After some chow I headed back to the hotel as I was speaking to my folks via video chat. Oh, the wonders of this Internet thingy.

Well, school tomorrow. Dun, dun dunnnnn.

A car company sponsored beach

So today took a dramatic turn. I was all dressed to the nines in me bestest outfit to meet with the principal at the school. And then I get a phone call from my co-teacher as Im about 5 minutes from the school. She wants the weekend off so we will just meet on Monday. Hooray. A reprieve. I now know how death row inmates feel when the governer calls. Well maybe not that severe, but still.

So we decide to make the most of my freedom. And rush back to the hotel and get changed into civvies. We make a beeline for Haeundae (pronounced Hyundai, like the car company!) beach as we want to see what all the fuss is about. Our first escapade on the subway as well. Very efficient. About the only bloody thing that is in this country. After an easy transition to the correct line for the beach we finally make it. It's quite far. After some snooping around (I even spy a bike shop) we grab some lunch in...TGI Fridays! A burger for me then. Then the afternoon goes a bit south. I then endure an hour or so of idle chit chat. Bore. But then we head to the aquarium and see some...fish. Well what else would there be in an aquarium. There are even sharks. Killer. The best bit was the death ride I endured at the end. There was this 3D ride where you grab a pew on this piece of plasterboard with seats, and then get hurled around by hydraulics. All the while fearing for your life and hoping you dont end up being plastered to the wall by the end. No such thing as public safety.

After I escape with my life, we go grab some dinner and then back to the hotel. What an exciting day. Ha. Tomorrow is another day off though.

Pffft

I am writing this in the luxury of a hotel room. Why? Because the school haven't sorted out the housing situation yet. Bugger. So who knows how long we will be here. Hopefully not long. But its warm, clean, close to the school and has a TV and Internet so its not all bad. Apart from the fact we will need to spend some of our dimes of eating out every night.

Anyway, today was very busy. And I am tired. So tired.

It all started at about 0900 when we woke up and went down to get some breakfast. After that we loaded up the luggage and decided to head down. And so did everyone else! We waited for a good half hour as the lifts went up and down, up and down, up and down and finally there was a space that I could squeeze into. And then we hiked down to the car park for the buses. After trying to arrange seating on one of the buses we finally went and found the right one to find out that all the space for luggage is full. Well duh. I mean, trying to squeeze everyone's luggage into one bus just will not work. So after waiting around for a while, a truck pulls up and we load our luggage onto this. Let's hope the driver knows the way.

The journey down was alright. I hate buses at the best of times so this was a bit uncool. But after a couple of hours (I watched a movie on my iPhone) we stopped for lunch. Some really crap Bibimbap whilst sitting cross legged was not a good lunch. I just don't think I'm built to sit cross legged. Then we loaded onto the bus again and headed for Busan. The road into Busan is crazy. It's all downhill. It's like going into hell. And the fact that we passed a pretty nasty car crash didn't ease my worries.

We arrive at some school somewhere in Busan. It could be in Timbuktu for all I know. I meet my co-teacher who seems nice enough and has a good grasp on the English language. And then we wait. For like an hour or so, on the jackass driver of the truck with our luggage. Then there is the problem of fitting all the luggage into what can only be described as a toy car. So the cavalry is called in and we are shuttled to the hotel. Get booked in, and then taken to dinner. I was not relishing the thought of another piss poor meal. But luckily we went to Outback and I got the mother of all steaks. And a baked potato and chips. Ya dancer.

So now tomorrow I have to go to the school to meet the principal. On my day off! Seriously!

An end

So today was our last day of Orientation. In the morning we had the presentation that we had to prepare yesterday. The group I was in really worked. The other two people were this couple from America who were pretty cool. The guy even rode BMX. But they had teached before so they knew what to do. Anyway, the whole presentation thing went pretty smoothly. We just rattled off what we had talked about and we filled the time. And after every one else went the class decided who did the best job. And we won! Hooray.

At about lunch time we got our mobile phones! They are pretty standard Samsung phones. Although they do video chat! Its crazy. The beauty of a 3G network though. But it will be easier to keep in touch with mobile phones.

After lunch we had a huge meeting with our POE supervisor. Now there are about 300 of us going to Busan so it wasn't very personal. Ha ha. But at the end we found out where we will be placed. I am going to be placed in an elementary school (boo). After some looking on Google Maps I have found the shcool. It is on Yeongdo-gu, the small island on the south of Busan.

Then in the late afternoon we had the closing ceremony. This was quite a big affair, with loads of dancing and drummers doing their thing. And some lady doing some slow dance kind of movement thing. Then a load of speeches and we got our certificates to say we had completed orientation and that we are capable of teaching.

We had heard the other day that some people had been sent home! I guess they failed their medical or lied about their qualifications. Too bad.

After the closing ceremony we had another banquet dinner like the first day here. Same thing. A buffet which was quite good, with roast beef and potato, and rice, and even cake. Then there was a kind of talent show. So weird. Some guy playing jazz sax, and then a guy from the US who starting rapping, then a couple from California who played some really good guitar. Then some kid who tried to show us his dancing moves. At this point I decided to split.

We have a pretty big day tomorrow. Load of the busses and then head on down to Busan and meet our co-teachers and hopefully get our new place.

Lectures

Two days have passed now, and we have had lectures, lectures, lectures. About all sorts of stuff, and from so many people. Some were interesting, most were dry and boring. There was one lecture from this guy who looked like Jack Black about how his adventures for the past year have gone. He seemed to dive into everything and do everything headfirst. Good for him. He seems to have enjoyed himself. Then there were the lectures on how to teach. I guess these are supposed to be informative but most were pretty dull.

The food has been pretty uneventful. Except for tonight when I went into the local town, Cheonan, and went to a pizza joint called Mr. Pizza. Hell yeah! Pizza. It says that he has 'love for women'. The place looks more like a dating venue for kids though. The town is actually quite crazy. Its just one strip about 3 blocks long but it is cliche Asia, with all the flashing lights and tall buildings and crazy side streets. Our first real taste of Korean night life I guess.

Decided on a taxi back to the dorms as it's a beast of a walk and didn't want to wait for the bus. And we managed all this in Korean! I have been learning the basics of the Korean language, so I can read what all the characters are, just not what the words mean. Although I do know some words. Its not too hard.

Tomorrow is more lectures and how to make a lesson plan, which is for thursday when we present a lesson. Oh joy.

Freezing my ass off

Today was certainly different.

It started normal enough. Grabbed the usual breakfast of toast, cornflakes and some milk. Got washed and ready to go. I could see that it was going to be a cold day. There is a load of snow on the ground. And it's very, very cold. So I grabbed my new jacket with fleece liner and headed down to the busses. After what seemed like forever we arrived at a traditional Korean folk village. AKA tourist trap. We got a guided tour for about an hour, around some old style buildings and what they were used for. Unfortunately my camera's battery has died and I have no charger adapter to charge it back up. So photos are courtesy of my iPhone. Then we got some lunch. Which wasn't too bad. I got a couple of sticks of skewered pork which was pretty tasty. And of course rice. Had some free time to wander about and view some of the old buildings and artefacts before we were treated to some more Korean dancers, and then a couple of girls going very high on a see-saw that they jumped off. Then a very old man doing some tightrope walking, and finally some kids hooning about on horses firing bows and arrows! But it was very cold sitting about. After a nice warm journey back on the bus, we made our way to the cafeteria for some dinner. This Korean diet is not agreeing with me. Where's the meat?!

Another easy evening in the room and then off to bed soon. Lectures begin tomorrow.

Fainting

That noise every morning will no doubt drive me mad before we leave here. Another OK night on the slab they call a bed. No breakfast today as I had my medical exam. Which meant nothing to eat or drink until probably lunch time. Lame.

Todays schedule was our medical check-up, a lecture about english camp and task based learning and then a Korean movie in the evening. The medical check-up went OK. There was of course lots of waiting about. I had to pee in a cup, get some blood taken, take an eye test (which I totally cheated at) and get weighed. After the blood being taken I was a little bit light on my feet. But after cannon-balling about 4 cartons of apple juice I was back to normal. Then a long wait for the x-ray bus. It broke down yesterday so there was a back log of people. Everything went OK, nothing looked out of the ordinary so Im not being sent home yet.

The lectures were oh so boring though. Except for one Australian guy who just tried to make lewd jokes and was very proud of the fact he never tried to fit in to Korean culture, didn't know any Korean people and generally didn't like the place. Might be me soon.

After some dinner, rice, rice and more rice with a measly piece of meat, I dodge the movie and decide to head back to the dorm to settle down and watch some shows. Another early night as we have a Korean cultural experience tomorrow. Hmmmm.

Dancers and banquets

Today is the first day of our orientation at Dankook University. After a good nights sleep (despite the slab of rock under my back) I am awoken by the sound of some very loud bleeps and then one of the co-ordinators telling us what will happen today. A class meeting, some free time and then an opening ceremony and banquet dinner.

I make my way downstairs to grab some breakfast and am pleasantly surprised that they have laid on some toast and cornflakes. And even milk. My initial enthusiasm is short lived as I find that the toaster barely toasts the bread, the cornflakes are far too sweet and the milk Im sure has sugar in it. Maybe I will try some of this Korean breakfast they have also put out.

After getting washed I am back down in the cafeteria for the class meeting which will last all morning. Most of this is speeches about what to expect, both from the next week of orientation and Korea in general. Two good things though. We get our bank accounts set up, and should be getting a mobile phone next week. All sounds promising.

After an afternoon spent resting and enjoying the free Internet in the dorm room, I make my way to the opening ceremony hall. For the next hour we are treated to some traditional Korean dancers, some speeches and lots of clapping. Then onto the banquet. Which is a very large buffet. Get a decent dinner here. Sausages, potatoes, rice, fish and even chocolate cake. After some idle chit chat with the other teachers around me, everyone starts to float off and I make my exit to try and catch up some more on my sleep.

Im leaving on a jet plane...

I am absolutely knackered. I left Glasgow airport at 10:50 local time, Wednesday. I had some harsh words to the check-in lady who decided to try and charge me for my extra luggage, even though I specifically went with Lufthansa because of their international baggage allowance. Otherwise I could of had a nice flight with Emirates. An hour or so in the sky and I was in London for a connection. Managed to grab some lunch at a pizza place and then make the next flight to Frankfurt. Arrived in Germany, and everything seems to be going well. Apart from the fact that they changed my seat. So then I got to speak to a very bossy German lady about changing my seat back. Got that sorted and then settled in for the flight to Seoul.

I did not manage to sleep on the flight. Bad. I watched movie after movie and then I got a bit restless and wacthed the miles count down until we hit Korean airspace. Finally landed. Got luggage together and then changed some money. An arrival party is waiting and we are ushered off to the bus that will transport my sorry tired ass to the University where the orientation is being held. The campus is about two hours south of Seoul at Dankook University. I manage to sleep some on the bus journey down.

We are paraded about the campus and then sorted into our groups and given the specifications to our dorms. Some fancy electronic device. Haul all the luggage across campus and then into the elevator and off to the dorm room. Very nice. We even get free high speed Internet! So thanks to that, I can keep this up to date. The bed is like a rock though. After some rest, we get a nice enough dinner in the cafeteria, and now I have made my exit to the dorm to get some shut eye.

Korea-bound

So. The start of a new blog. About the next year of my life in South Korea. Why am I doing this? Where am I going? What will I be doing? All of this and more will be answered here.

I have finished my job at Apple. I went in on Sunday for the last time to the all-store meeting and said my goodbyes. And tomorrow I will be going to the airport to leave for the next year of my life abroad. I will be working as an native English speaker in a public education school in Busan, South Korea. This is what I am doing.

I have finished packing my bags. I have managed to squeeze everything into a roll-along suitcase and a large rucksack. Along with my backpack for my laptop Im running pretty light really. I am well under the maximum baggage allowance that Lufthansa have allowed me. And now I am just killing time in my last evening in Scotland before I go to bed and then wake up and go to the airport.