Sorry everyone!!!

I'm sorry, but this will have to be brief. Orientation is over and I'm teaching at the Chang-shin Elementary school in Incheon city. I only have internet at work, so my access is limited. The computer I work on is very slow, so Skype and sometimes Facebook chat won't work unless I'm able to bring in my computer.

Here's my apartment address:

Incheon City, Seo-gu
Dang-ha dong, wondang 86 block 2-3-1 lot
Myung-jin Apartment 105
South Korea
404-818

I'll post more when I can. Until then, please be patient!

Sorry for forgetting the pics!!!

So, I must apologize to the people who I've promised pictures to... I have a few in this post that I meant to put in the last one, but I really haven't taken many interesting pictures yet.  Like I said before, the majority of my days is spent in classrooms and lecture halls. But I do get to do some exploring with my friends every once in awhile. Today I went walking around looking for a watch since it's driving me nuts having to rely on everyone else to make it to class on time. Get this... they have a Coldstone here!!!! I'm definitely busting out the Lactaid and making a trip there tomorrow.

It's getting pretty cold up here. But it's still not terrible yet.  I'd say it gets into the low 50s, and sometimes the 40s during the day. But it's really funny because a bunch of people are already walking around in their winter coats, as well as thick hats and gloves!! I guess they just don't have the toughness that us Yoopers have.

My time at orientation is pretty much drawing to a close. Tomorrow is our last full day here, and we head out to our respective cities (mine is still unknown) the day after that. I'm ready to get to my new home, but it's kinda tough to imagine being here without the other teachers. But I'm sure as soon as I get into the swing of things, I'll be able to find ways to keep myself busy.

Not Korean?!?!

It's really difficult to explain the way that time has been passing here over the past few days. The combination of jet lag, constant orientation classes, and the surprisingly quick closeness that has developed between many of us has really thrown my mind for a loop. Part of me still feels like I just got here and I'm super anxious to get into the thick of things... the other part is completely exhausted from the constant happenings with both orientation and hanging out with my friends. The whole thing is still so surreal.

But to make this entry a little more entertaining... I suppose I can share some fun stories that have happened recently. For starters... I've come to the surprising and rather unfortunate realization that I am quite possibly the youngest person at this orientation.  Just by the other people I've seen, I figure that the average age of the teachers here is in the late 20s, early 30s.  The one person who is relatively close to my age is a guy who turns 24 next week. My roommate is in his 30s, and the majority of the others in our little group are 25+.  Therefore, I've been deemed the baby of the group, as well as the lone Yooper. Also, I take a lot of crap from everyone who finds out  that I am in fact a Korean, but I don't yet speak the language... and I hear it from the other teachers as well as the locals. I guess I find it all rather amusing... and people don't have a hard time remembering me, so that's kinda nice.

Some of the people I hang out with are rather interesting.  I currently have 4 friends from Michigan, and one of our lecturers today was a Korean-American from Kalamazoo.  One of the girls on our floor went to Ohio State, and the other Michiganders and I have sort of teamed up against her. I feel kind of bad though, because I don't even know her real name. I just call her "Ohio State" and rip on her for the loss of Lebron James.  Every once in awhile I throw in a "oh how we hate, Ohio State"! I also found out today that one of the guys from Canada spent a couple of months in Ghana! He was wearing a necklace that looked oddly familiar and I eventually realized that it was the same style as a bracelet I had bought there. I could go on and on about the people I've met, but I really don't have the time.

I guess there isn't a whole lot going on except for constant classes.  We have breakfast at 7:50 AM and have classes until 8:00PM with breaks only for meals. It's rather exhausting, but I'm still having a blast. I'm just sad that things are going to change when I leave this place and head to my new city.

And... I made it!

Let me just start by saying... flying from Detroit to Korea nonstop is not as cool as most people would think. I mean sure, there are free in-flight movies, games, and music, as well as three somewhat digestable meals.  But all in all... I would say it sucked. The only good part was I was fortunate enough to sit next to a very attractive Korean girl who spoke very good English. So that was nice.

The whole thing is still trying to sink in. I cant believe that I finally made it here. The moment I touched down I felt a huge rush of emotion that I really cant describe. This morning I was pretty much consumed with sadness from leaving home and everyone I know... but now Im just wondering what tomorrow is going to bring. (Sidenote: not sure if you noticed, but Im unable to hit the apostrophe key without the computer going crazy... so I apologize for not having any.)

I got off the plane and was welcomed by a large poster that was advertising the "Paradise Casino"... with a gigantic picture of Pierce Brosnan wearing his typical Bond attire. Needless to say, it was very strange to see. I made my way through the airport to pick up my luggage and eventually found my ride. Unfortunately, the driver didnt speak very much English, so I wasnt able to talk to him during the seemingly endless drive to the NIIE (where my orientation is). And it was a little creepy when he handed me a huge pill bottle and asked me if I wanted any (it turned out to be chewing gum). But I did learn some cool things along the way... like the fact that many of the McDonalds and Burger Kings are open 24-7 (cant do the slash either i guess), driving in the city is much scarier than I expected, and I will never be able to give directions here because all the streets look the same (I would say, "kind of like the people", but thats just not true).

I was very relieved when I finally made it to my dormitory. Now Im torn between being hungry, tired, wired, and bored... so I figured Id unwind a bit by blogging. A bunch of the other teachers decided to take a stroll around town until our midnight curfew (its only 8pm here) but it still feels like 7 in the morning to me, so Im just chillin with my roommate Toby. And speaking of the other teachers... heres a little fun fact. Our room is on the 6th floor... along with a few other guys and a bunch of girls. Apparently theres only one community bathroom on this floor and its designated for the girls. So on the down side, I have to walk down two floors to use the bathroom. On the plus side, the girls are showering down the hall from me... and theres no door to the bathroom. Not being perverted about this... I just found it amusing.

Anyway... I have to get up at 7:30 tomorrow for breakfast and a welcome ceremony, so I think Im gonna try to sleep. I promise my future entries will be more informative as well as interesting.

The Time Has Come!!!

First of all, welcome to my blog!!! If you're reading this, I'm sure you already know my story. I'll be in my country of origin, South Korea, for a little over a year to teach English.  I leave tomorrow morning and will be arriving at the Incheon International Airport on October 23rd, around 3:40PM KST.  I've been waiting for this day for what seems like a lifetime. Although I'm going to miss home and my friends and family over the next year, I'm VERY excited to begin this new chapter of my life!

The purpose of this blog is to keep everyone updated with my activities over there. Whether they be school related, adventure based, or just straight up randomness... I'm sure I'll find plenty to talk about over the next year.  So check this out every few days and feel free to leave comments. Or not... whatever.  Either way, definitely stay tuned for my next post. It'll be coming to you straight from Korea!!!