Monday, May 31, 2004
Some pictures
The first place I ate when I got to Korea ... Mr. Pizza:
I need to check out Beer Hunter one of these days. Here's a shot of the Hyperion buildings ... which I believe is the largest residential building in Asia at the moment. Or at least Korea. It's one of the landmarks of Mokdong.
And here's a building that's adjacent to mine. On the bottom you can see "Family Mart," which is 24 hours ... perfect for the local jetlagged waygook.
So many things in Korea have these little avatars on them ... including the special bags that are the only place you're allowed to put trash (I bought some at Family Mart). Here's a picture of one of the bags along with both sides of a 10,000 won bill:
Let me leave you with a shot of the view out my window:
All the buildings are numbered, which is important when you live in a sprawling city with almost no street names. Good system, huh?! If you ask 10 Koreans how to get to a nearby building, you'll get 5 different responses including at least 1 "you can't get there from here."
I need to check out Beer Hunter one of these days. Here's a shot of the Hyperion buildings ... which I believe is the largest residential building in Asia at the moment. Or at least Korea. It's one of the landmarks of Mokdong.
And here's a building that's adjacent to mine. On the bottom you can see "Family Mart," which is 24 hours ... perfect for the local jetlagged waygook.
So many things in Korea have these little avatars on them ... including the special bags that are the only place you're allowed to put trash (I bought some at Family Mart). Here's a picture of one of the bags along with both sides of a 10,000 won bill:
Let me leave you with a shot of the view out my window:
All the buildings are numbered, which is important when you live in a sprawling city with almost no street names. Good system, huh?! If you ask 10 Koreans how to get to a nearby building, you'll get 5 different responses including at least 1 "you can't get there from here."
Sunday, May 30, 2004
Showed up last night
So, I made it to Korea after a 15 hour flight. It went up across Canada, along the northern edge of Alaska and into Sibera and then down the Russian coast to Korea. The most entertaining part was the first of three inflight movies, which was Paycheck starring Ben Affleck and Uma Thurmond. It was dubbed in Korean and subtitled in Japanese, so I've got no freakin' clue what happened.
Then I got here, changed my money, hid my passport and US$200 and went to go find the recruiter. He took me into Mokdong and dropped me off where the director came by and took my to my new apartment. The apartment is sweet. I started to get settled in and we went to Mr. Pizza for dinner. My korean is so bad I couldn't read the damn menu and so I didn't know what was on the pizza. It was basically everything.
Today, I took a walk around the neighborhood and found the Mokdong subway stop. Man, I got turned around so bad I didn't know which way was which. It sucked. And I didn't know the name of my apartment building, so I couldn't ask for directions. I'm so dumb.
Speaking of dumb, I took a bunch of pictures but didn't write down the filenames, so I can't post them right now. I guess when I get a power adapter for my laptop this will all be easier. I found an unprotected wireless network nearby, so I can use that if I'm slick about it.
Okay, I need to take a nap before I go out today. I am going to observe at the school, and I need to get better clothes before I do that.
Then I got here, changed my money, hid my passport and US$200 and went to go find the recruiter. He took me into Mokdong and dropped me off where the director came by and took my to my new apartment. The apartment is sweet. I started to get settled in and we went to Mr. Pizza for dinner. My korean is so bad I couldn't read the damn menu and so I didn't know what was on the pizza. It was basically everything.
Today, I took a walk around the neighborhood and found the Mokdong subway stop. Man, I got turned around so bad I didn't know which way was which. It sucked. And I didn't know the name of my apartment building, so I couldn't ask for directions. I'm so dumb.
Speaking of dumb, I took a bunch of pictures but didn't write down the filenames, so I can't post them right now. I guess when I get a power adapter for my laptop this will all be easier. I found an unprotected wireless network nearby, so I can use that if I'm slick about it.
Okay, I need to take a nap before I go out today. I am going to observe at the school, and I need to get better clothes before I do that.
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Getting closer
I heard from the school in Korea and my Visa should be here within the next week. Once I get it, I have to go back to the Korean consulate and get it stamped into my passport ... then I'm allowed to enter South Korea. If I were going without a job, then I'd only be able to stay for a month (legally) ... and that's really the only reason that I'll be working there. Well, that and the free housing.
So, I'll be living in Mokdong which isn't totally downtown but does have some of the tallest buildings in Seoul. I'd like to be able to travel to Kwangju one weekend. We'll see how that goes.
It doesn't feel real yet, by the way. It feels like it's something that's going to happen but "far away." I bet that sitting on the damn airplane for 14 hours is going to change that perception pretty quickly.
So, I'll be living in Mokdong which isn't totally downtown but does have some of the tallest buildings in Seoul. I'd like to be able to travel to Kwangju one weekend. We'll see how that goes.
It doesn't feel real yet, by the way. It feels like it's something that's going to happen but "far away." I bet that sitting on the damn airplane for 14 hours is going to change that perception pretty quickly.
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
Getting ready
I FedEx'ed all my documents to Korea today, so I should have my visa and plane ticket in a week or two. My Korean is coming along nicely and I'm starting to think about what stuff to take with me.
