Teaching Assignments or You Suck SMOE

We found out our teaching assignments yesterday - I am teaching at a middle school in Nambu. My co-teacher and the head teacher picked me up and took me to a really amazing lunch. I was too embarrassed to take pictures of the food though. They spent most of the time laughing at me trying to use chopsticks. Afterward, they drove me to my apartment by Yangpyeong Station. It is pretty but tiny and I will have to post pictures soon. Once there, they showed me how to reset my door key code and showered me with kitchen appliances.

Unfortunately, Eric's position is in Gangbuk, which is about an hour north of me by metro. It sucks when your worst case scenario becomes just your scenario. Both of our schools seem great though, so at least we were fortunate there.

It is very late now, so I will go into more detail tomorrow.

Jeongju Fieldtrip

Last Sunday, our orientation class went to Jeongju, a city two and a half hours south of Seoul. There is a hanok (a traditional Korean village) built there. To go with the traditional Korean village we had a traditional Korean lunch.

This is bibimbap, which means vegetables and rice. All the other little plates are side dishes you can add into your bibimbap.

As you can see, Eric was very excited about lunch.

Afterward, we played on the nolttwigi, which is sort of like a seesaw except the object it to hurtle your partner into the air when you jump on your end. Eric and I tried to play but we were not very good. Two old Korean men tried to demonstrate for us, but they really just highlighted our suckiness. I'm posting a video from Youtube below to give you a better idea of the game.

Nolttwigi Demonstration

Shit man, I'm 23

It was my birthday yesterday so we went out for drinks at an 'ice house.' These bars have cupholders in their tables that keep your beer cool. It was very exciting! I was so excited I kept refilling my glass so I could see it get cool again.

Afterward, we decided to go to a norebang - a bunch of private karaoke rooms people can rent out. I don't really remember it but I have a lot of pictures (like the one above), so it was probably really fun.

On the way home, we found out that Eric really likes Lord of the Rings.

Around My Neighborhood

Eric and I went wandering yesterday around our neighborhood.



Here is a nearby street at night.



It is legal to drink alcohol on the street in Korea.



So, we bought some cocktails in plastic baggies.



Korea is a great country. Besides the street bars, they've created the chocolate Cheeto.


Mmm, familian snacks.

I Have Arrived

I arrived in Seoul last night and have now been here for a full day. The other SMOE teachers and myself are being put up in dorms at the National Institute for International Education. Given that I'm still living out of a duffel bag, it hasn't really sunken in that I've committed myself to living in Seoul for a year.

What I am most surprised by is how foreign Seoul doesn't feel. It seems pretty much like any big city - lots of people, traffic, loud noises and restaurants.

Except one thing.

In America, we tend to associate the 'clean bathroom' smell with pine or lemon scent. I never questioned those smells being completely normal as indicators of cleanliness. However, it seems that most Koreans associate a clean bathroom with smelling like mothballs. It's odd to walk into a dormitory bathroom and suddenly feel like I'm at my grandparents' house.