House Hunting: Complete

This week has been a very busy one for us: we commuted into Seoul 3 days looking for a new apartment. Monday we looked at over 10 places, and Tuesday 7. The last place we saw on Tuesday was a loft in a newer building, and we told the real estate agent that we wanted it. There was a slight problem in that we need to be the last week in August, but these poeple couldn't be out until the 10th of September. We left Seoul with the impression that the place was ours and that the broker would negotiate the dates for us. Wednesday we stayed in Wonju; B packed a lot of our stuff and I headed to the beach for a bit with Roxanne for some much needed rays! On Thursday we headed into Seoul thinking that we would meet with our broker, sign the papers, and be done. When we arrived at his office, he informed us that the original one we had wanted had been leased to another couple the day before, but that we shouldn't worry as he had another one available. We looked at this new one, and were disappointed to see that it was smaller than the 1st one...we discussed it and decided that, even though it was smaller, we should take it since it came with a few appliances including a washer, a fridge, and AC. When we attempted to sign the papers, we hit another snag: the owner of the apartment wanted to keep it in his name for tax purposes which meant that we wouldn't be able to have our name on the city records. This didn't sit well with us since we have to fork over $10,000 as a deposit (which we'll get back when our lesase is up). We told the broker that we need a place where our name can be on the lease, and in turn he showed us this small, one room studio and said that was the best he could do.

In the meantime, Seoul was scorching yesterday so we were sweating (literally & figuratevly) while deciding what to do. We returned to an apartment that we had seen earlier; the place itself was great but the nieghborhood was old and rundown and it was the last stop on the subway (far from everything). We almost took that one but hemmed and hawed our way out of it since there was another one in a great part of town that we wanted to see one more time. This one is in a quiet, clean part of Seoul but the major stores are just 15 minutes away by foot. The apartment complex itself is old and seems a bit on the rundown side, but the apartment itself is clean and spacious. It's similar to our current apartment except that it's a bit smaller. It's on the 1st floor, and it overlooks a small wooded area (almost unheard of in Seoul). We signed the papers last night at 8pm and will be moving in on August 27th. It's a bit daunting as this place doesn't come with any appliances, so we'll have to start hunting for those soon. Other than that, it'll be a good place for us to live!!

In other news, we come home for a visit in 3 days!! We leave on Monday morning (our time) and arrive at MSP on Monday afternoon at 1:20pm!! We're so excited to see family and friends!!!

Seoul

You can see how densely urban it is just a few blocks away (bottom left corner)

Fun-filled Week

This week I (H) have been on vacation; I've gotten some things done around the house and have been searching the internet for apartments in Seoul. B is still teaching but today is his last day.

Last weekend we went to Inje for a rafting trip with some fellow foreign teachers (about 45 in total). This is the rainy month in Korea, with some parts of the country receiving over 40 inches this month alone. Needless to say, there were concerns about the water levels. We were only allowed to go 4 kilometers out of our 12K route, due to dangerously high water levels. It was fun, and we were able to meet some new people also. They also rented 3 cabins so we spent the night there and had hamburgers, snacks, and s'mores!!

Holly, H, Adele & Rox b4 the big rafting adventure.

B & H after rafting. It started pooring just as we were getting off the water.

During the week I hung out with my good friend Roxanne quite a bit; we even got to make our fave summer dessert food: "pop-bing-su." It's a red bean, ice flake, fruit dessert that we've now mastered and make at my place!! It's really cooling on the hot humid days here.

H & Rox enjoying our fave Korean dessert.

On Thursday my friends and I threw B a surprise party for his 27th bday coming up on the 25th. This was the 1st surprise party I'd thrown for him and I thought it'd be a nice way to remember our Wonju friends. Thanks to our good friends help, things went off perfectly and B was truly surprised! After the big "surprise" we played kickball, then walked to his fave pork restaurant, and then of course had a few (too many) drinks at a pub near the restaurant. Too bad he had to go into work today with a bit of a hangover, but everyone had a really good time!

Brandon & Brandon (couldn't have done it without his help).

The great group who yelled SURPRISE!!

Biker gang: Andy, Tristan, B, B, and Joe.

Best Buds: Andy, B and B enjoying a pint!

Final Days at School

Today was my (H) last day of teaching at my boys' school. I will go in on August 24th to say an official goodbye, but I'm finished teaching there now. I passed around a memories journal and most of the students wrote me cute messages. I was also surprised and touched to receive gifts from various teachers and staff. Tomorrow I go to my rural school one last time and then I'm on vacation until August 24th. There's a new rule in place for all people returning from overseas where you aren't allowed to return to your workplace until 7 days after being back in Korea. This is due to swine-flu fears. So, instead of my last day being the 20th, I'll have to wait until the 24th to say one last goodbye. B has one week of conversation classes so he finishes the day b4 his birthday, which is July 25th.

My farewell din at my boys school (I'm giving a speech in Korean).

Farewell at rural school.

An assortment of nice gifts from my co-workers & students.

I dog-sat for a friend on Sunday. Chomps was quite the trooper.

Half-Way Done!

We've just finished our 1st year of our Master's courses! Our Economics final exam was tonight, and now we're free until the 1st week of September! After class several of our classmates grabbed a beer and we finished just early enough that we got to sneak one in b4 taking the bus back to Wonju. It's now the "rainy season" in Korea so it's been raining non-stop here for a few days. Some parts of Korea have seen flash-flooding...

I've (H) only got 3 more teaching days left; B has a week and 3 days left! We're getting very excited for our trip home to the US which begins on August 3rd! We don't have as much time, so we're hoping to see as many people as we can in our 2 short weeks home.

Moving to Seoul

Great news: B and I both have uni jobs lined up for September in Seoul! B has been accepted at Kyungwon University, and I will be working at Hansung University. My uni is located in the northern part of Seoul, while B's is in the southern area, so we are now in the process of trying to find an apartment in the middle. We saw a few apts in a nice, quiet part of Seoul, but we want to make sure we check out several places b4 we decide on anything.

Hansung (H's new employer) Kyungwon (B's new employer)

Our school year is winding down: on July 14th we take our Econ final and then we're done with grad classes til September. Things at our middle schools are easy right now as students are just finishing up their own finals and for the next week will be watching a movie during class.

Since our colleagues know we're leaving, they have invited to take us for farewell dinners; I had one with my English co-workers, and tomorrow there will be a dinner with all of the teachers in the middle school. On Friday will be my farewell dinner with the teachers at my rural school. B also had one last week with his English co-workers.

Class 2-2: One of my fave 8th grade classes. (in their PE uniforms)

My Daesung English Co-workers: Jas, Ms. Park, Mr. Kang, Mr. Jung, and Jinny.