I am still alive.

Gees, I've been here for two weeks already! They really have flown past. First off I was jetlagged for a good week while I was trying to adjust to a new country, culture, job environment, occupation, language barrier and a whole host of new realities. I got a bit sick too, as I expected I would. But all in all I have enjoyed my first few weeks here and feel as if I am settling into my new environment. Today I bought a laptop, so for the first time I can write an entry in the more comfy environment of my apartment, which I must say is pretty nice. It is a studio apartment, but spacious with a nice bathroom. Plus it's nice and toasty... outside is cold as heck at the moment but with the underfloor heating in the apartments you would never know. So yes, today I bought myself a laptop. That very event was an adventure in itself. I have been advised by a number of foreign teachers that the best place to do this would be at a place called Yongsin, a district of Seoul. At the train station there is a huge (and I mean huge) electronics store. It has 7 levels or something, and comprises every gadget imaginable. When I have some more cash I'll go back again and see what else I can find myself. But the aim today was simply to get a cheap laptop. I set myself a limit of 200,000 Won (about 200 U.S Dollars) and haggled with the guy behind the counter until he sold me one for that price (he initally wanted 290,000 Won for the only laptop I could afford, so I think I did well. Okay, so a laptop purchasing story is not the most interesting in the world, but this trip was my first shopping visit to Seoul. I can see myself spending a lot of time there in the future. At this one area next to the train station every conceivable type of shop, restaurant and activity was at hand, and everything was extremely vibrant and advanced. Seoul is definitely where the party is at... Incheon, where I stay, is fine enough but I can see why people are drawn towards Seoul. Luckily for me it's only an hour or so away on the subway and closer I believe by bus. I have yet to use the bus system because I'm frankly a bit scared I'll get lost and will need someone to hold my hand when I do so. The subway system seems to be more user friendly for us English folk. There is an English option when you buy your ticket at the machine, and there are English translations on most signs and on the speakers when you arrive at each stop. Coming from a country where the public transport system is virtually non existent it is a pleasure to be in a country with such an efficient transport network that makes getting from A to B very swift. It's clean too.

I have been at my school for almost two weeks. I am now on vacation for the week, which actually works out quite nicely. Everything has been pretty hectic the last weeks so having a week to chill is welcome. I might do a bit of exploring if I feel upto it. Although it is freaking cold out there. The snow from last week is still frozen in place and I'm currently walking around town as slowly as possible to avoid slipping onto my behind or worse. As for the school itself, I feel like I am fitting in and getting the hang of this teaching thing. I taught for the first time about a week ago. The first class I took was very scary, since I had never been in charge of a classroom before. I got into my stride eventually though and after a few more classes I started to feel much more comfortable in charge of my classes. It seems as though making the classes fun (mainly to keep the kids awake) but making it clear that I'm in charge at the same time is the best way to go about it. I really like the kids that come to the school. They are mostly super friendly and apparently pretty excited about meeting a forienger in the flesh. They are very creative, especially when it comes to drawing. Some of the artwork hey come up with is very impressive considering their age... they are around 9-11 mostly I think, although they count birthdays a bit differently here so it gets confusing. Some of them have a very dry (and at times dark) sense of humour. Their English level is quite limited on the whole, but when you see them start to understand something it can be quite rewarding, and by the time they have finished their time at the school for the week they have definitely improved their English and hopefully will push on from there.

I have been pathetic when it comes to taking photos since I've been here... this is mostly due to the fact that I don't have a usb cable for my camera. When I get that I'll start to take more pics and upload them. I borrowed a co-worker's camera and took a few photos to upload online to prove I was here and alive. Here's a pretty cool one of me and one of my classes (note the peace sign... it's the in thing for photos here). I will take more photos of everything here soon and put them on this blog, if just to make it more visually stimulating.

Hope you are all well! I'll check in again soon with more.

My first days in Korea

Ok, I should probably update this now, seeing as I'm actually here! I'm not too sure where to start since a lot's been happening in my first few days here, but I'll give it a go.

First off, I am currently experiencing a little thing called jet lag. It is currently 2.15am Korean time and I have just woken up after going to bed at around 6pm after work. I'm sure I'll be back in the swing of things soon but I haven't quite yet adjusted to life 7 hours in the future. Talking about the future, Korea is already there. This place is extremely technologically advanced in all areas of life (although the elevators at my apartment are an exception to that rule). Computers talk to you, sidewalks talk to you and when I first arrived here I saw a robot directing traffic. I mean a robot with hands, legs and what appeared to be a face. Internet cafes are around 6 Rand an hour, and the internet connection here is the fastest in the world. Coming from South Africa where your limit is a couple of slow loading youtube videos a month for which you are charged an arm and leg this is a treat. I can't wait to discover all of the technological marvels of Korea... this place really is like some sort of sci fi show at times.

As for my apartment, it is pretty nice and spacious. The weather is extremely cold... I think it was somewhere around -8 C today, but thanks to underfloor heating which all Korean apartments have you can be quite toasty in your room. I'll post pictures up of my room sometime, but suffice to say that it is a decent pad and I have no complaints at all right now.

Having left the middle of the South African summer for the South Korean winter, I am definitely feeling the cold. It has just started snowing outside, and I can only hazard a guess at the temperature. I don't think it's been anywhere above freezing in my time here. But it's not as if I didn't pack for the winter weather.

One of the things that I'm enjoying about Korea at the moment is that it is truly first world, in almost every sense of the word. Crime is extremely low here and one certainly feels a great deal safer than back in South Africa. Another plus is that this country virtually never sleeps. You can go to a restaurant at 4am if you like and odds are it will still be open and full of customers. Especially with my odd waking hours at the minute, knowing that whatever time I'm awake there is still a functioning world out there is pretty awesome. And I have everything on tap here. Within a 5-10 minute walk from my apartment I can find anything I need, be it shopping, food or otherwise.

I love the look of the city at night. Everything is so bright and colourful. Although I don't know what any of the words on the signs mean, they look nice. You can find the odd English word here and there which will help you towards your desired destination. On every street you will see the word "PC" somewhere on a building and these are the numerous internet cafes which are all over the place.

On my first full day here I was thoroughly examined by the Korean health system. Pretty much every function of my body was examined - urine test, blood test, eye exam, dental check, heart check, chest xray. It was all very efficient... to give you an idea, I was in and out of the hospital in about 20 minutes. The blood test results take a few days. If there aren't any problems I'll be able to get my Alien Registration Card soon. I have also opened a bank account. For both of these tasks I was helped by a Korean man who works at my school and is responsible for liasing with new foreign teachers.

Today was my first day at the school. I don't feel qualified enough to write about the place yet but I think I like it. The Korean children are different to any I've seen before. It seems like seeing a whitey for them is a very new experience and one that they are very excited about. Throughout the whole day I was waved at and given high fives by all the kids... I don't see this changing anytime soon. They have an obsession with rock, paper, scissors that borders on the need for intervention. It seems like any problem that these kids have with each other can be fixed with one match. This week I am on orientation... basically observing and taking part where I can. Hopefully by the end of the week I should have a better grip on what it takes to run a class. The kids all call me teacher which is kinda cool, although "teacher Lloyd" is my offical title. This whole teaching thing is new but it's ultimately what I came here to do so hopeully I'll get the hang of it pretty soon.

Well, that covers quite a lot for now. I have had so many experiences in the past few days that it would be impossible to cover them all, but suffice to say it has been a unique and surreal time. I think I am starting to get used to my new surroundings. The first day or so was quite overwhelming, a fact not helped by my severe lack of sleep and excessively long journey. But before long I've started to really appreciate this new and strange experience, and as the year goes on and I become even more comfortable in this new setting I will hopefully thrive. This is an experience of a limetime, and I'm trying my best to appreciate every minute of it.