First day - belated

It’s the first morning in South Korea and I’m sitting in my hotel room waiting for 11 to roll around. Yesterday went about is well as I could have asked for, except one problem. My apartment smelled like spoiled chicken…

I arrived at the airport at 4pm and was on the limousine bus by 4:20. The ride was pleasant and the country beautiful. Once at the bus terminal in Cheonan, my boss’s wife, Elle, picked me up and took me to the school. Mind you, at this point it was about 7pm Korean time and I had been up for 27 hours.

SLP (my school), is on the 5th floor of a building. The school is very nice, and so were the other teachers. I met quite a few people and barely remember anyone’s name. The teacher I’m replacing is Bethany and she showed me the ropes. Bethany is from Canada, I think, and is super sweet and bubbly. The teacher’s lounge is cramped with 20 or so teachers but still comfy and cozy.

After seeing the school I was taken to my new apartment just a few blocks away. This is the first time that something seemed off. The girl whom used to live there left quickly and the place was a bit of a mess. The floors were dirty and dishes were in the sink. She had also left some personal effects. After my escort left (I can’t remember his name), I started to tidy up and opened the freezer to find two packages of rotten chicken. I almost barfed. Good thing I hadn’t eaten in awhile!

I knew that one of my fellow teachers lived next door, so I went over to ask her for some help. Kristina kindly took pity on me and lent me some cleaning supplies. I tried to clean the best I could, but the smell was too strong so I returned next door. Kristina took me back to the school to talk to Frank, my boss.

Frank decided I should stay in a hotel for the night and called his wife to pick me up. The hotel is extremely nice, though different than what I’m used to. They have all sorts of beauty supplies and even complementary condoms. I took a shower and tried to find something on TV. Apparently here you don’t have to pay to watch porn!

I gave up on the TV and tried to find a wireless connection for my computer to no avail. After admitting to defeat I fell into a deep sleep and woke up earlier than expected this morning. It seems like a lovely day to start my new job!

Airplane post- belated

Today has been a very tiring day of travel and I’m not even in South Korea yet! My mom, Diane and I woke up at about 3:15 so that I could be out the door by 4:45. Let me tell you how much I don’t like seeing that end of 3:30 am! It’s 10:12 pm in Florida now and I am beat.

Getting on the plane was fine, except apparently my four sticks of deodorant in my carry on was a threat. As Matt said, “You not having the deodorant is more of a threat.”

Not quite yet.

Well, this is the first post and I haven't even left yet. My bags are almost packed and my last minute stuff is almost done. I'm not excited yet, just ready to start the journey. Its been great spending time with my family and friends here, but I'm ready for the next chapter of my life.

I must be off to finish the final scramble...