First 3 weeks in Seoul

We've been busy since our last post. Our first visitor to our new apartment was my good friend Rox. She spent the night and then we hit the town: we ate lunch at an Indian restaurant, went downtown, and even hit up one of the shopping markets. It was a really good time.

Rox & I at the Cheon-gae Stream in Downtown Seoul.

Posing on the plaza in front of City Hall.

A few days after Rox came for a visit, we went back to Wonju for a farewell party for her and her Brandon, who were headed back to Canada. It was hard to say goodbye to them but we're grateful for the year that we were able to hang out with them.

Katie, Rox, H & Jamie saying goodbye to Rox & Brandon.

Brandon, B, Phil, & Andy chatting one last time.

Our second and last year of grad school has started. I'm taking Managerial Acct. and Marketing Research. B is taking the Acct. class and Mgmt. Info systems. The classes are tougher this semester as we move into the electives. We both have class Tuesday nights and all day on Saturday; B also goes on Wednesdays and I go on Thursdays.

Our jobs are going well, too. B had one of his classes cancelled due to low enrollment, so he's down to 12 teaching hours and 3 working days a week. I'm up to 16 hours and 3 teaching days a week. We both have Tuesdays off so we try to do something fun if we can.

The nameplate on my door.

My office; I share it with my co-worker Rose.

My Marketing class was canceled on Thursday so we went to the Broadway Musical, "Rent." Two of the original characters were still on the cast list, so it was a great experience.

Getting ready to watch Rent.

Our New Address

This is our new address in Seoul; we know it works as our new visas arrived in the mail yesterday!

Magnuson

Si Yeong Apt. 28-103

Go Deok Dong 494

Gang Dong Gu

Seoul, Korea 134-080

The Big Move

Thursday the 27th was moving day. The moving man arrived at 8am on the nose and we were surprised when he said he had come alone. He only had a one ton, uncovered truck and we had been stressing the night before that all of our stuff wouldn't fit. This man was so amazing; he not only got all of it to fit, he did it in an hour and even covered it in time when it started to downpour.

B left at 8:30 so that he could be in Seoul to sign the new apt. papers by 11. Chomps and I followed on a different bus and arrived in Seoul at the new apt. at noon. The moving man had already been there and dropped all of our stuff off. Immediately after arriving, our realtor took us to some 2nd-hand shops in order for us to find appliances & furniture. (Three shops and three days later, our place is fully furnished).

We call this the bowling alley; our long, thin "living room" that is now our comp. room. the door with the windows is the entrance to our place.

This is when you enter. To the left is the study, the right is the kitchen, bath and spare room, thru the door on your left is the living room, and thru the door on your right is our bedroom.

Our kitchen (the fridge is aptly named "Tank")

Our study that should be the living room...

Chomps posing for the cam. The door frame in the right hand corner is our living room.

The living room.

Our bedroom.

3rd bedroom/our storage room. The people b4 us left that nice hanging curtain!

The room that gave us the most trouble...what a mess it was.

Today was B's 1st day of classes at his new job. He left at 10:45am and is teaching 2 classes today. He got all dressed up for the big occasion and I snapped a photo. My classes start on Wednesday.

B all ready for his 1st day at his new uni gig!

So far we're satisfied with our choice to be in this quiet area; it doesn't even seem like we're living in Seoul. As soon as we hop on a bus and ride for 5 mins, though, we're quickly reminded of where we're living. We're hoping that we find some fellow ex-pats in this area to help pass the evenings and such with. For now, though, we're just getting to know our surroundings.

Workshop

Today I (H) went into my new workplace for a day-long workshop with my new colleagues. I met most of the ex-pat staff, which includes a total of about 15 of us. Everyone was eager to be there and I got a lot out of the day. In the afternoon I went to immigration and went through the hassle of changing my address, getting a new visa for a new job, and getting a multiple entry stamp. Luckily I made a reservation or I would still be there...B goes into his school tomorrow to pick up his contract and head to immigration (since our visas are up soon).

Thursday is the big moving day! The movers are supposed to be in Wonju at 8am and hopefully we'll be in our new place by early afternoon. B will go first, armed with cleaning supplies and our bank book (to pay the rest of the deposit) and Chomps and I will hopefully follow with the moving truck. We won't have any appliances so our main goal will be to buy the basics as soon as we're in. We've found a 2nd hand appliance shop near our new place, so hopefully they'll have good deals on Thursday. It's exciting to be moving but tough to say goodbye to our nice friends in Wonju. We had a going away party a few nights ago and we were happy that everyone came out to help us say goodbye to Wonju.

Goodbye dinner.

The Women of Wonju: Adele, H, Rox and Tiff.

The guys trying to pull off a decent pose.

Korea: Round 4

We've arrived back to Korea after a nice vacation back home in the States. We were able to meet up with lots of family and friends and had a really enjoyable time. Here are a few pics from our time at home:

We flew over Mt. Fuji on our way home.

With Mom & Emma b4 she got her braces off.

With long-time friends Jvonne & Tanya.

Meeting up with high school friends Anna, Amanda, & their families.

Visiting Em's house and playing with her adorable family.

Camping in Somerset

Tubing the Apple River (beer cooler not shown)

On Hardy Lake with the neighbor kids.

The Heads!

Now that we're back in Wonju, we're on a time-crunch to get everything organized for our big move to Seoul. We move on the 27th of August, so we've got a week left. We've been trying to hang out with friends as much as possible, since we won't really be seeing them once we move to the big city. We're also busy trying to arrange for appliances and furniture so that our move will be as easy as possible (since we're leaving this school, they get to keep their furniture and appliances). Finally, we're attempting to make syllabi for our upcoming start at university. It's a bit daunting planning whole classes out, but we're on the right track! Thanks again for those of you who took time out to meet us. We really appreciate a strong base back home!!

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.

A Month in the Making

It looks as if we haven't updated our blog for a month now...oops. Grad school has kept us up to our eyeballs in work; projects, papers, and exams. This past week it all came to a head with 3 presentations and a mid-term exam. Two of the presentations went really well; we've got our final one on Tuesday. We're also done going in 4 times a week; now it's down to twice a week since our internatl biz class wrapped up on Saturday (we still have 2 big papers due, but we no longer have to go in for class as the prof returned to the States today).

In between studying, we've been applying for university jobs for the fall. Our middle school contracts are up at the end of August, and we applied for university lecturer positions in and around Seoul. I (H) had an interview at Hansung University in Seoul and they offered me the position! I accepted and will go into the uni again in July to meet the rest of the staff and take care of administrative things. B had an interview at a uni in a different part of Seoul today, and he should be hearing back from them within a week or so. That part of Seoul is a good area to live in, so if he gets it, we'll most likely live near his uni and I'll commute to my job. Uni jobs in Korea guarantee 2 months of vacation a year, but we've heard that it unofficially ends up being closer to 4 months!

As for our middle school jobs: Summer vacation doesn't start until July 17th. The next 4 weeks will go by quickly, though, since it's almost time for final exams so we're both doing review lessons and such (more strenuous for the students than us). After final exams we'll let the kids relax with a movie, and then summer vacay begins! B may have to do a 2-week summer camp (similar to ones we've done in the past) from July 27 to Aug 7. We want to visit the US for a week, but not sure what dates we'll be there. It may be the 2nd week of August, but as soon as we've confirmed our tix, we'll let everyone know. Our time back home will be very short this time; this is because we aren't re-signing with our current employer so they'll only give us 2 weeks vacation. We'll have to use one of those weeks to leave our jobs early, since our contract ends the 31st of Aug but our new jobs will begin the 24th. We're hoping that A) B will indeed be able to come, and B) we can see as many people as possible in that short time.

We hope everyone is doing well!! Thanks for checking our blog, we really appreciate it. Last but not least, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all of those wonderful men out there!

Internatl Biz class.

Packed Week

Last week was our one week where we didn't have to travel to Seoul for class. We were transitioning from 1st term to 2nd and we ended up with a week "vacation."  Monday & Tuesday were regular teaching days, but Wednesday my school had Sport's Day. This is the day where all the students get to participate in sporting events all day long with all of the classes competing against each other. This year's winners received money coupons for the school store, so the competition was intense. My job was basketball scorekeeper (my annual post). We couldn't have asked for better weather: mid-seventies and sunny with a slight breeze!

The students stretching in formation on Sport's Day.

After the students went home, the female teachers played a practice game of kickball against the high school teachers in anticipation for the Teacher's Sports day which was scheduled for Friday. The high school teachers won but it was still fun to be out in the fresh air. Immediately after the game, I rushed home, showered, and met my rural schools' PE teacher for dinner with his family. He wanted his 2 young sons to have a chance to meet a foreigner, so he invited me over for a nice dinner. The family was very sweet and I had a great time.

Mr. Kim, the PE teacher at my rural school and his family.

Thursday was a rainy day so our school festival day was a bit damp. We started with a school-wide quiz show in which I was asked to participate in the reading of the English portion of the quiz. Next the students enjoyed all sorts of Korean snacks and then they were free to head to the various booths set up around the school. Some included: nail art/face painting, arm wrestling, Bingo, darts, water balloon fighting, balloon animal making, and even a "guess the teacher" contest in which teachers brought in old photos of themselves. Luckily my mom was able to scan a few of my baby photos to me, so the kids and teachers got a kick out of seeing those.

Several of my students getting excited for nail art/face painting.

My baby board.

The water balloon fight area.

Friday was "Private School Teacher's Sports Day" for all 35 of the schools in our province. Luckily this year it was held in our city, so we had a 10 minute bus ride to the school where it was being held. The forecast was saying rain but when we woke up there wasn't a cloud in the sky! (So sunny in fact that I ended up with sunburned cheeks!)  Our team won our 1st round of kickball, only to be eliminated in a close 2nd game. The teachers who weren't playing were either cheering us on or eating the tasty snacks that the mother's group had prepared for us. Other activities included tug of war, soccer, and badminton. After awards were given to the winning schools, we headed to a tasty restaurant for a nice dinner. Some teachers then headed to a karaoke-style song room, but I headed home instead. I actually ended up pulling a hamstring in our intense game of kickball, so have been on the mend since then. 

Daesung Middle School teachers after Sport's Day.

Saturday morning we woke up early and headed into Seoul to begin a new round of classes. They include International Business and Economics. The IB prof is from Syracuse and is very interesting, while the Econ prof is from a Korean Think Tank in Seoul. For the next 4 weeks we'll be in Seoul 4 times a week, and after that it'll only be twice a week until July 14th. Time will fly by for sure! This morning I woke up early and headed to the traditional Korean medical doctor, or acupuncture. Hopefully the hamstring will be back to normal in a week or so! 

We want to wish a Happy Memorial Day to everyone!!!