Day 2 in Busan

We're finally here - Busan! What a trip it was.

Let me take you back to last Friday. We left the university at 1130 in the morning, stopped for lunch along the way and finally arrived in Busan around 430 pm. When we got to our meeting point, we weren't allowed to leave the bus until our Korean guide called us by name. Outside the bus, our co-teachers were lining up like adoptive parents, chattering anxiously amongst themselves in the same way that we were doing on the bus. I wonder if it was as surreal for them as it was for us. Whenever our guide called one of our names, the whole bus would clap loudly and wish them well as they exited. Then their Korean co-teacher was would rush forward nervously and greet them warmly before whisking them away to get their luggage and drive them to their new apartment and school.

When our guide called our names, we were one of the last and it was the same experience. Our co-teachers met us as we stepped off the bus and immediately became our protective and somewhat surrogate parents. I had 2 co-teachers meet me and Shannon had only 1 meet her but in reality, we both have 4 co-teachers each.

After picking us up from the bus, our co-teachers took us to a temporary studio apartment since that's where the last English teacher lived. They had decided not to get us a new apartment until after talking to us so that they could find out exactly what kind of place to look for. Shannon and I are both pleased with their decision because it means we will have more control over where we'll live and will give us a chance to look at multiple apartments before making a final decision.

Right now we're living in a part of the city called Haeundae New Town which is about 45 minutes by bus from our schools and about 20 minutes from the beach. After looking at the map & walking around town, I think we'll choose to live in Haeundae (the "old" town which is still very modern) which is actually closer to the beach and about 15 minutes closer to our school. It's complicated. I'll post a map in about a week's time to give you more detail.

Back to Friday night. When we got to our temporary flat, the place was very dirty and so the co-teachers immediately called some professional cleaners to come and clean the place. They then took us out to dinner at a Japanese restaurant before taking us to a large department store to help us buy new bedclothes. Along the way my co-teacher gave me her subway card thing (it's a little keychain pendant that you can charge with money & then you use it to enter the subway & the money is automatically subtracted from it). When we went to put some money on it, we found out that there was still 5000 Won on it but she was adamant that I should still keep it as a gift. When we arrived at the department store, our co-teachers decided to pay for the bedcovers and pillows out of the school money (1/2 from my school & 1/2 from Shannon's) and so they encouraged to buy the best set we could since we were just starting out. I let Shannon make all the decisions in this regard and even though the Koreans kept showing her flowery patterns, Shannon made the wise decision to go with something a bit more gender neutral. In the end, she picked out a green & white duvet with matching pillows & a green mattress cover with black roosters all over it. Very funny but much better than the rosy pink antique flower patterns that seem to be on most of the bed stuff here.

After that, we went back to the apartment which was still being cleaned and made arrangements to be picked up on Monday for our first day at our new schools. I'll be teaching at Bansong Boys'School and Shannon at Bansong Girls' School.

All the while, our co-teachers asked us many questions, including if we knew how to do some very basic things. They really did treat us like newly adopted children. It was a strange sensation and there were many times when Shannon and I just had to smile appreciatively and leave it at that. I think that they weren't expecting to have such seasoned travelers or teachers to work with. It was very funny because they were impressed that we already had phones, could speak a little Korean and were not afraid to walk around alone in the city as new foreigners.

So yesterday was our first full day in Busan and we took the subway to Haeundae Beach and then to visit a friend of ours named Brett who is from South Africa and needed some people to cheer him up. He's alone in a remote part of the city and has never used the subway before so I think he's a bit depressed & needs to learn how to get around. We brought him some maps, helped him buy a subway charge token thing (like we both now have) and taught him what we knew before going back home again. We made plans to visit him again and have him visit us once he has figured out the subway.

Today we went to Seomyeon by subway and met some Americans at the Krispy Kreme that we found near the local department store. Yes, let me repeat that. They have Krispy Kreme doughnuts here. If you don't know what those are, then you haven't lived yet.

Anyway, after that we went to a bunch of different places looking at electronic goods before finding out that there's a Canon store near one of the subway stops. Shannon and I are going to go there in the coming week to check out the camera I want and to repair the one we have (yes, it's broken, it sucks). We then went to a Presbyterian church where one of our fellow EPIK teachers goes and had a good time. We're not sure if it will be our new church home but the possibility exists. No matter what, there's a good couples group going on and one of the people we met actually has friends in Erkelenz, Germany where my relatives live. How amazing is that?
So that's where we are so far. Tonight we have to go back to the apartment and prepare our clothes for tomorrow. Tomorrow we have to dress up really nice since it will be the first day we meet our principal and vice-principal. After that we can wear normal casual wear (nice jeans & nice shirt) but on the first day we have to look our best.

Just one last thing to note is that everywhere we go, we try to speak Korean to the adults but when we see children (toddlers, elementary schoolers and teenagers) we try to speak English. It's funny because many of them know how to say hello and if they don't respond to us, their parents always prod them as if saying "you know how to speak English, say hello to the funny foreigners!" We've also had a number of experiences where children on the subway will sit next to us and speak to us in English about everything and anything just to practice their English skills. It's funny but I figure we're here to promote English not only in our school but everywhere we go. That's the government's view too apparently.

Anyway, gotta go. The PC is yelling at me in Korean saying I have less than 3 minutes left. Hope this entry isn't too chaotic but give us a shout if you want more details or have questions!

Ciao for now!