I have a home!

6/8/10 11:39pm (Korean Time)

9:39am (U.S Time)

Last night we were lucky enough to meet some of Molly's students that she had taught this past year at SCSU, Minha and Jin Soo. We met Minha around 9:39 and chatted with her at a coffee shop while waiting for Jin Soo to pick us up. He brought his family's car and brought us all to the river to see the view and have a beer on the bank! It was beautiful to see all the tall buildings and lights, and it was also calming. It was very nice of them to take us there!

Today was a busy day! We made the move from our hostel in eoul to the city we will be living in and teaching in, Daejeon. I am now officially settled into an apartment and have already

begun the decorating process!

The day started out with breakfast at Tom and Tom’s Café, which is similar to a Starbucks. Then we flagged down a taxi to take us to the train station called Seoul Station. We took the 12:05pm train to Daejeon which took about 2 hours. Somehow that time went fast, I spent it chatting with Jenna, admiring the rice patties, small mountains in thecountryside and watched an adorable little Korean girl play with her grandma in the seats next to us. I was happy to see the countryside became greener and more dense as we got closer to Daejeon. Supposedly there’s great places to go hiking, so I’m looking forward to doing that this weekend!Once we arrived in Daejeon we took a taxi to the Woosong (the name of the university) Language Institute. There we met several people and were taken to our apartments. Sadly the way they set up housing for use, one of us had to be separated. So Jenna is in a dorm by campus and Molly and I are sharing an apartment, but only a 5 min. walk from campus. Both places are very nice and everything seems new. My room has a twin bed, a table, two chairs, a dresser and a tv stand with a very nice tv (however no channels) and a sliding door to a mini patio where

the washing machine is. I thought this was going to be my balcony I’ve always wanted. However the view isn’t as stunning as I’d hoped. We’re hoping internet and cable may be hooked up soon, however it doesn’t look promising. We may not get either at all, but we’ll survive! It might be good to live a bit “disconnected” for awhile, and there’ll be internet in our offices at work and coffee shops so I’ll have opportunities to keep in touch.The process of moving in was a bit exhausting so afterwards we all met up for lunch. Today we had bibimbap. It’s a rice dish with vegetables, but be careful it sometimes has meat, so of course the phrase “gogi baygo” –without meat, came in handy again. I think this will be my favorite and well let’s be honest one of the only things I can eat as a vegetarian! It’s rice with vegetables and then you add a spicy red paste/sauce and mix it all up.

After lunch we discovered a grocery store nearby. I never thought a grocery store could be so entertaining. There was a man working stocking the watermelon with a microphone that sounded like he was a salesman, but made sure to great you as you came in. Then as you move back in the store other workers are positioned at different parts, and they great you as well and kind of show you “their” section. The whole thing was entertaining and such a different experience I’ve ever had in a grocery store, but it was fun! Molly and I also discovered a sort of dollar store and got some necessities, plates, forks, hand towels, dish soap, a pan, teakettle etc. I of course had to begin making my room look a bit more like home so I bought a small mirror, a rug and a plant! Just personalizing my room with a few items instantly made me feel more comfortable.

Funny story of the day: This evening I went into the bathroom to just rinse off my feet (somehow they get so dirty from all the walking and wearing cheap sandals) and I turned on the water like normal….but completely forgot that the shower knob (which is on the wall) was still on! Needless to say I had a shocking mini-shower, but I learned my lesson and won’t leave the knob on every again! Also once someone has taken a shower the floor is wet so we need to buy sandals to put on when we walk in the bathroom so our feet don't get wet!

Day 2: Sooya in Seoul

6/8/10 4:37pm

Hello from the future! I'm 14 hours ahead of everyone...just to let you know Tuesday is a great day haha ;)

Today we woke up at 4am, but luckily I fell back asleep until 7! Then we went to a coffee shop and had a latte and a bagel for breakfast. After that we decided to visit the Namdaemun Market. So we hopped on the metro (thanks to Molly who knew exactly where to go) and were there in about 30 min. The market was fascinating with anything you could want, purses, scarves, clothes, food etc. Including silk worm larvae....which my friend Jenna was brave enough to eat! haha After wandering around the streets for a few hours we went to Kimbap Cheongguk for lunch.

Being a vegetarian seems like it will be a bit difficult, seeing how everything had either fish or meat. I ended up finding vegetable kimbap which looks like sushi, it's rice and vegetable wrapped in seaweed. Even this had I believe ham? in it, so after using the translation book and Molly's help I asked for it without the ham! AND I used chopsticks...a few drops of rice, but I did it!

We then moved onto visit a Buddhist Temple, Jogeysa. It was breathtaking! We arrived just at the time that the monks were entering for a worship service. I talked to a man who informed me that they worship three times a day for an hour and a half, and there are opportunities to do a "Temple Stay" where you can spend a weekend at a temple and meditate and follow the buddhist tradition.

Now we're back at the hostel resting for a bit before we meet one of Molly's students for dinner and a norebong (Karaoke room!)

After 24 hours of being in South Korea I've learned so many phrases and words already! It's exciting and I can't wait to learn more!

So far: (with my own pronunciation!)

Thankyou- Kamsamnida

I want beer- Meguk ju say o

How much?- O my o

No meat- Gogi bago

No fish- Sangsong bago

Teacher- Songsang

Numbers 1-10 ill, e, sam, sa o0, juk, chill, paul, ku, ship!

Confusion of the day: (1) The loud speaker that announces things in Korean makes it sound like bombs are dropping...is actually just a vehicle selling fruit! No need to hide haha Thanks Molly for clearing that up for us.

A turtle travels only when it sticks its neck out. Korean Proverb

Annyeonghaesayo! (hello)
Chonun Sarah imnida :) (my name is Sarah)

6/6/10 9:08 am-I have begun my journey to Korea! I'm currently on the plane to L.A.! I'm traveling with 2 of my friends from graduate school, Molly and Jenna. It's nice to be traveling with friends! We arrive in L.A. in about 2 hours and then will have a 3 hour layover there. From L.A. we'll have a 13 hour flight to Seoul, Korea! Although I'm not looking forward to the long flight, it's comforting to have friends that make me laugh and smile along the way :) Once there the plan is to get to the hostel, (it'll be 5:25pm korea time) and then probably shower and sleep. After 2 days of sightseeing in Seoul we'll take a bus to Daejeon, about 2-3 hours south of Seoul. There we'll get keys to our apartments and hopefully get settled in quickly! I'll start teaching next Monday! I'm looking forward to it! We're also looking forward to meeting some of our former students and spend some time with them!