My jib (apartment)

I know you all have been worrying ever since the kerfuffle with North Korea earlier this week. Thank you for thinking of me but rest assured that it's business as usual over here. People in the office really only mention it in passing or if explaining it to a foreigner. Our school director spent some time telling us about it and answering our questions. What happened was more of an annoying terrorist attack than a Pearl Harbor-type attack. It was right along the borderline, which is not where I am. Also, Uijeongbu has both a U.S. and Korean Military base, so it's really a good location as far as defense goes. So, I'm not very worried right now but I have my ears perked just in case.

Let's move on to a lighter topic. In response to the many inquires about my apartment, I've put together a little photo tour of my place. Enjoy!

This is my street. I know it kind of looks like the ghetto but it's not. This is just how cities look here. They're

 cramped and dirty. I actually live very near the shopping district and city hall.

Looking the other way down the street.

The front door. Those characters sound like "Jager House," which I'm sure Paul Davidsaver will appreciate. 

I think this is my address. I say think because things are not always as they seem in Korea.

In the summer we're going to have parties on the roof. 

Go up the stairs to get my my apartment go to your right to get to my friend Lina's apartment.

Tinnie-tiny little mailboxes. WAY smaller than a bread box.

That's my door!

There is microwave on each floor. Yay! I don't have to buy one.

You know how I always run around with a gob of keys in the U.S.? Not here. 

I don't have even a single key. Everything has a key pad on it. 

This is my super-duper automatic lock that locks me into my apartment 

every time I close the door. My Dad would like this baby. He might even 

throw away the Fisher Price alarm.

This is a shot from the door way.

To the right is the bathroom. Complete with stall-free shower.

My closet. (Near the window)

I need more hangers. 

The "view".

Looking back from the window. Note the drying rack. There are no dyers in Korea. 

When the culture shock starts this is probably going to be my first complaint.

 I dislike stiff and wrinkled clothes.

And this one burner stove (sans oven) my second. 

Kitchen and desk area.

This one is for Gram. I have food, see?

<3

I apparently like my house to be between 24 and 26 degrees Celsius. 

Let me know how you like the place. Tomorrow I should get lots of blog material. In the morning I'm having my entry health exam and then we're going on a field trip to Seoul!

That's all folk's.

I whistle a happy tune

Welcome to my blog! I made it through my first 24 hours in Korea and I'm looking forward to settling in.

Here are my initial observations

1.  Lines mean nothing in Korea. (more on this later)

2.  Not as many people speak English as I was led to believe.

3.  Things happen when they happen in Korea. Making plans is not necessary or even advised.

4.  Kimchi is actually pretty good.

I came to Korea hoping to learn about the world, a different culture, and myself. In a society where education is so very important it is not surprising that Korea has already taught me something: Literacy is important.

After 14.5 hour flight from Chicago, I stepped off the airplane, was ushered into the cattle line of immigration, and released into a world Hangul, the Korea alphabet. I successfully figured out the change machine but the payphone had it in for me from the start. The phone and every sign around it was in Hangul. I couldn't even figure out how much is cost to place a call; there wasn't a number or Won symbol in sight. Finally after, 15 minutes of wrestling with the phone and only 5 minutes until my bus to Uijeonbu departed, I stumbled over to the info desk and babbled about how I couldn't figure out the phone and needed notify my ride that I'd be getting on the bus. The pretty Korean lady with very kind eyes dialed the number for me on her phone and encouraged me to “please, talk now”.

The language barrier is definitely going to be the biggest hurdle for me. It sounds stupid, but I never realized quite how much I read and communicate with others one a daily basis. I've been working on pronouncing, not reading, just pronouncing, “thank you” (gamsahamnida) for the past four hours. I'm almost offended by my own ignorance.

This is what I feel like:

(Source: http://bit.ly/ghTTnK: Fish Out Of Water: Mugshot by PJ Taylor Photo)

This experience makes me feel guilty for never volunteering at the literacy network. It is one of the things I'm going to do when I get back home. Just teaching someone read the bus stop sign or to say “Can you help me, please?” could lift a mountain of stress off their shoulders.

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by. Please check back as I'll be updating the about section, the blog roll, and also probably changing the layout to make it more photo friendly. Wish me luck in my reading and speaking adventures.