My new appartment

So, now I am in Geojin. A super small town/village on the east coast of Korea, close to the DMZ. The DMZ is the border between North Korea and South Korea, so there are quite a lot of army bases and soldiers around. The area is very beautiful. It's quiet and there isn't really much to do, but the beach is 5 minutes away, the mountains are not too far, fresh fish can be bought at the pier every day, everyone says hi and I recognise my students all over the town. I am teaching at a Middle school. The students are grade 7, 8 and 9. They are super cute and I haven't been nervous AT ALL about dealing with them. I am very happy with pretty much everything so far. My co-teacher is a nice but quite absent-minded little old lady. She is very cute and I can see is trying to do her best to help me get everything in order.

This week I'm not teaching, I'm only observing and hanging out in the teachers lounge at my desk. I did have to teach a class today. It was very last minute and I wasn't prepared at all, but it was ok and I managed a class of 35 students all by myself as the first time new teacher. I was impressed with myself. I can't wait to see how I'll do when I'm all prepared and have a nice lesson plan and games and activities all laid out :).

Ok, enough talking, here are some pictures of my apartment and area. (These pictures are in reverse order)

So, this is the playground in front of my building.

Reminds me of the one I used to play in when I visited my gramma in Romania.

The front entrance.

That's me :).

This is the east shore of the country. You can see it out of my balcony and it's only a 5 minute walk from my place.

Beautiful beach and beautiful water. Can't wait for next summer.

This is my living room. The bed has been moved into my bedroom now. Once I finish moving everything around, I will take more pictures and post them up on here.

My couch. That's right!!! I HAVE A COUCH :D.

My super amazing balcony.

Two HUGE wardrobes just for me. I hope all my clothes will fit in there :).

The view from the front door.

You can see the bedroom there.

And my bathroom with a bathtub. It's pretty rare to get a bathtub in Korea, so I'm very excited to soak in there.

And here's a full shot of my living room. Nice eh?

Orientation Trip (August 2008) (very late pics)

Wow, this is so long ago. I found them in my pictures folder on my computer, and I thought I'd put them up here so as not to forget this or loose the pictures somehow.

So, this is the orientation trip from when I joined the EPIK program. We had a 10 day orientation in Seoul before being sent to the far corners of this tiny country.

That's me and Cabby. She only stayed for one year. She's from Tasmania. 

On an evening out, we went to a soju bar in the area. On the left is Sandra, also from Tasmania, who stayed in Korea for 2 years and now is back in Australia.

The ladies. Oh how I miss them. Sujata is on the far left. She's from the States. 

Oh wow, I had earrings back then.

They all went back home to pursue their goals and follow their dreams.

Pictures

So, after 17 days of wandering around South Korea, I've finally come to the end of my vacation. I have learned to be alone, I have learned to be OK with it, I have learned how much I want to be with someone, , I have learned how to navigate around Korea, I have learned many things. Now, I'm starting a new chapter in this experience and well, we'll see how things go from here.

Here are some of the pictures that I've taken in these last 2 weeks.

Dangjin, morning after buying my sweeeeet iPod.

Marvel at my super amazing chopstick skills :).

Eating in Dangjin.

Big BIG bottle of beer at a pub in Gwangju.

This was the sauna I stayed at in Busan. It overlooked the ocean. Very beautiful.

First view of the ocean in Busan.

Getting closer.

Oh, the classic feet shot. The sand was super nice.

And then the water.

And then more water.

Then I went and ate eel. The poor thing, it was still alive you know.



Mmmm, so delicious. This was all for me.

Now that we got the beer, now it's ready to be eaten.

The view from my chair on the edge of the beach.

I can feel my skin burning...

That's my 2 piece brown swim suit i bought in Korea. I actually found my size. It was very nice :)

The water was sooo nice.

North of Dongdaemun area in Seoul.





My hair is sooo long.





Korea National Library. It wasn't as impressive as it sounds.

It was very big though.

My side of the room at Konkuk University.

The room at Konkuk. So nice to finally have a bed :)

Lonelyness

I've never experienced loneliness to this degree before. It's amazing the need to want to be close to someone, to socialise, to be around loved ones and friends, and it's even more amazing that amongst so many people, one cannot even find even one person to share this with. I guess it's easier when you have your own place, your own computer, a job, a kitchen, stuff to do... then you are kept busy and distracted from the isolation so many people are experiencing. I remember as a child, I was never alone. I always played with friends, I always had my sister around... and now, there's no one around. And if you do have people around sometimes, it feels like it's not even worth it... that element of actually spending time with people because you want to socialise and to interact with people is gone, in my experience so far anyways.

Doing it

So, I'm in a different city now. Monday I went to Dangjin and got my iPod, Wednesday I went to Gwangju and ate yummy food, and Thursday (today) I am in Busan staying at a really nice Sauna overlooking the amazing beach, bridge and bay.

Tomorrow I'm going to go down to the beach with my new swimsuit and hopefully get a nice tan :).

It's great, I have no plans, and no real schedule to follow. I just go wherever I kind of feel like and when I get there, check on the computer and see what sort of things there are to see.

Am still wondering what travelling is all about.

Here's a map of where I've been so far.

Growing up

Well, after not having a place to stay, and just wandering around, staying at the sauna or the Internet cafe and now a hostel... well, I realize I have grown up. In the last apartment, I felt like I didn't belong there, because it was the type of living that I used to have when I was back in uni. I felt like I was in residence and it was holding me back.

Last night I was at a hostel and realized, wow, I don't envy these people at all. They are all in their early 20s and travelling. Well, that's not me anymore. I'm classier than that, I want my nice apartment, I want my nice clothes, my set up kitchen and bathroom and living room and bedroom.

I want my job, I want my routine, I want my peace of mind, I want my joy, I want my life.

Am done

Well, this is it. I'm finished... although it doesn't feel like I thought it would. There was no fanfare... No wishing good luck, no it was a pleasure having you around, no take care, no nothing. Here's your money, your release letter, oh and be out by Sunday. And they already cancelled my phone and my internet by the time I got home. What incredibly cheap people.

So now, I'm at a PC room, wondering what to do next... There's noone around, I have no idea where to go, got no plans... so now what?

What an anti-climax. I thought I would feel more relieved, happier, actually free... but I guess that was just an expectation.