Week 3 
Carbs, Sugar, and beer...... the Korean diet

Week 3 is going well so far. Every week is easier and easier, though still difficult at times. So far this week I have gone to a Hoff (Pub), gone hiking over mountains, tried kem-chi again (still horrible), walked downtown, and ate at McDonalds.
Hiking is so beautiful here. What is even more amazing is what you find at the top! Yes, Yes, the view is breath taking, but just incase your not breathing hard enough, they put exercise equipment up there!!! No joke, I wish I remembered to take a picture of it, cause it's hilarious. They have a weight bench, a bench that slants upward for sit-ups, and other things. They even had hula-hoops there (Emily, you would be proud)!!

Anyway, Tuesday after yoga my friend Sarah and I were going to go swimming at  a local pool house. These are hard to find, but for 6,500won (approx 6$) you can go swimming. Even after Sarah explained to me that there is little modesty here and everyone is expected to shower before and after in community showers (gender appropriate of course), I still agree to go. She warned me that everyone would be staring, but that's just because Americans Shave/trim (whatever) areas, and Korean women do not...... at all...... Huummmm I am not to sure about this idea now. I learned that at least my tankini is acceptable swimming attire though. Then, right  before we walk in she says 'Oh, do you have a head cap for swimming"? No, not something we normally wear right???? Well, it is mandatory that everyone, no matter where you are swimming,  wear a swim cap. Since that was going to cost more money, Sarah asked if I would like to walk downtown instead... at this point.... Hell yea!!!!
Off to downtown we walk with my modesty in tacked. We walked A LOT....miles, and miles. A 7 month pregnant woman just walked my butt off and she isn't even breathing hard. For an American, I didn't think I was in that bad of shape till I came here. Back on topic  now!!! Downtown is really cool. Matt would hate it! Here is where the affordable shopping is, but you still have to be very clever. We went to McDonalds, which was very much the same. However, the lack of Diet Coke crisis that Matt blogs about, extends here as well. NOOOOOO!

Speaking f eating, I am already getting tired of the Korean options here. Everything lately has been high in Carbs, sugar, and at night, everyone just wants to drink beer. It's like I am in college again. These Koreans may be starting to eat more unhealthy western style foods, but if they keep climbing mountains to get to exercise machines, I guess they can eat and drink whatever the hell they want. I think Matt is on to something here.... they are definitely like Klingons..... just much smaller and walk A LOT!

Pictures from Friday, sept 7 

Our train ride from Ulsan back home to Gyeongju South Korea. 

THursday and Friday, Sept 6 and 7th

I really, rely love my yoga class. It's actually pretty funny cause I pop and crackle in every pose, and my friend Sarah who is pregnant huffs and puffs her way through each move she can do. Then there is our instructor who is this little Korean girl who can make her bones bend in this smooth, seamless movement with excellent breathe control. I have no idea if I am the oldest in this class, but the way my joints keep popping, they might as well call me Granny.
I was going to go running with Anne again today, but Matt and I had a lot of errands to run. We had to stop by my school to pick up some furniture that was delivered there by accident. While there, we were unexpectedly fed dinner and was showed where the piano was. Matt, who is going through music withdraw, had to play..... and of corse I had to sing. We ended up giving a little mini concert and the teachers and students  came in to watch and listen. It was cute, and I think everyone is excited for me to start. Well, we are going to have to wait for quite some time still.
Friday, was a big travel day. Luckily, we had beautiful weather. On our second trip to Ulsan, we took the train for the first time. It wasn't the supper fast bullet train, but it was still nicer and faster than the bus. Poor Matt, he gets so stressed out, and in a bad mood when we travel. Not being able to communicate, really bugs him, despite the fact that most the tellers here speak decent english. We submitted my application for an Alien card to officially become a resident of Gyeongju. Woohoo. We got home and took our daily nap. We are becoming quite use to naps. It's a bad habit, but nice.
Matt decided to go out with our friends to enjoy another Friday night drink fest. I passed this time, cause I was just tired.... or scared of the crazy soju here... one of the two.

Wednesday Sept 5

Not a lot to report today. I was going to go hiking with a friend, but had to stay home while our internet was being fixed. Later though,I went on a nice run with a new friend, Anne, along the local lake side. It was so humid down there, but absolutely beautiful. I learned that though the area is nice, the water is not fit for swimming in.... actually most Koreans don't even swim. WHAT!!! I with Matt of this one... these people are nuts not to like water. I guess I am the only one in this country then that loves and appreciates the song "Pontoon" by Little Big Town. Lol Christy and Amy- I still love this song!!

September 4 

I got up extra early to go to the coffee shop for my weekly Skype call to the family.There is 13 hours difference, so there is a very small window of time to catch each other. After a nice long chat, I head to my first yoga class with some friends. I am so excited. It was a great class and so refreshing. Much of it to my surprise was very similar to yoga in the States, but there are a few twists.
More furniture showed up today, which is also very uplifting. Because we purchased the cheapest things we could find, it's not very impressive or comfy furniture, but it will do. My mood is lifting more and more, but Matt is still struggling. He is finding it difficult to look beyond everything that is 'wrong' to us, and shrug off the things that bother him. At least he has an easy, stress free job that makes a lot. One things for sure, this adventure really makes a person appreciate everything back home. My friend said she was showing her class some pictures back home, (which were just normal, adverse pictures of a house and yard) and the kids were amazed and kept saying she is rich. She had to explain that no, her family is not, but that is how most live in America.... it's just different. There are definitely pros and cons to all countries. I actually find the nature here beautiful. I can't wait to go hiking and exploring!!

Monday September, 3

I am really starting to feel better about everything. Matt has to go to work pretty early this morning. (ahhh how the tables have turned) I leave at the same time to head to the coffee shop. I try to call the family, but  we haven't quite worked out Skype issues yet. I hang out and message some local friends before heading back home. I am finally starting to make many plans with various people to keep busy. I got yoga class lined up, a running partner, and a hiking partner. My butt better be smaller after this week! Anyway, Matt makes it home early since his last class got canceled today. Wow, rough job right? He said two teachers already left to go back home. We aren't too surprised because it is hard for a while, especially if your doing this alone. All our new friends that are here by themselves amaze me. Majority of them are right out of college too!!
Throughout the day, some furniture starts to arrive. With my supervisors help the other day we were able to order a few things for the apartment. WOOHOO chairs!!! Anyway, we go back to the school tonight to pick up some documents. My results from the traumatic hospital health screening are in. Everything is prepared to take to Immigration office in Ulsan to apply for Alien Card. Since we have already done this once for Matt, we aren't as nervous about it. Since Matt is off on Friday, we will probably make a day trip to Ulsan hen. For now though, back home to relax!

Day 7 Sunday

Oh soju....... you are horrible the next day!!! I never got too, too drunk last night, but you wouldn't know it from todays hang over. Wow, I felt like crap all day. We venture out though to the local coffee shop to get internet access. On the way there, we meet several people from last night. They were on their way to the little 'Top Mart' store which is a little grocery store here. Matt and I tugged along because we couldn't remember where it was and we needed a few things anyway. It's nice randomly running into people you know out here and also very comforting. After all our errands, we make it back home, and just watch a movie. Boring day, but good.

Day 6 Saturday

Today the depression and our moods are really up and don. The 'yo' bed added a little more comfort to sleep on, but still it's a big adjustment for the body. Both of us are getting tired of the same ole distractions and games. Matt doesn't want to go out into the chaos, and I don't want to stay in the apartment. We end up being forced to leave though when our cable and internet go out. Ha ha ha How fortuitous!!!
I tell Matt I want to check out this Pizza place just down the road. We actually had a great time!!! With my poor Korean skills, I introduce myself and Matt to the guy working. With his little english and our little Korean, we have a small but memorable interaction. For the next year, this is my pizza guy... I hope we made a  good impression and he will remember us!
Tonight, was a big night.... defiantly one to remember since we discovered Soju beer. It's very cheep, but extremely strong.It's like a smooth vodka drink. The local Foreigners Association organized a night out, which Matt and I RSVPed for. We first met a bunch of foreigners at a bar. There were about 23 of us. We then all walked together to our dinner reservation for a traditional Korean meal. There were a bunch of hot plates in the middle of our tables, which was what the food was cooked on. It was very neat to watch and help out cooking the meal together. For the first time, it actually smelled good to me. Unfortunately, it so crazy spicy I wanted a whole pitcher of water at hand just to get through a few bites. Thankfully, I wasn't  the only one struggling. The soup was very tasty though. Towards the end of the meal, to be traditional, they brought out the soju. We all tried it, and it wasn't too bad...... dangerous in other words. I think it's at least 25% proof.
After paying (approx 10$ for a nice traditional meal plus drinks) we head to another bar where the party starts. Matt and I had a really great time and met even more people. It was such a fun night. There were just a few of us left in the wee hours of the morning, and someone had a great idea to introduce Matt and I to Nori-bong (little Karaoke rooms). They are everywhere here and the Koreans love it. The good news at this point is,....  there is no such things as public intoxication. Yep, everyone is drunk in the streets here shamelessly. What makes it even more amazing is that there are hardly any accidents and no crime. Everyone is just having a good time. The walk back was just fine and thanks to soju, we slept like babies on our yo ;)

Day  5
Market day....

I woke up so excited because today is Market Day!!! Sarah is taking us to the market to find a 'yo' (a floor bed used in Korea). I am looking so forward to this, but Matt .... well, not so much. We meet Sarah at the Dunkin' Doughnuts and she shows us how to get to the main market which is about a 40 min walk for us (thankfully, she has a car). Not 10 minutes after we get out of the car and start walking through the market we see.... wait for it..... wait for it..... two old ladies getting in a fist fight!!! Yep, our first front row experience of two little ladies going at it like it was WW3.  I was trying not to laugh, Sarah looks over at me and says ' do you want to stay and watch? It will take them a while to battle it out.", and Matt is behind me pushing me ahead to get the hell away. I kind of wanted to see if they would start throwing the fruits and vegetables, but Matt was on the verge of a panic attack, so onward we went. Matt found the market a little traumatizing, overwhelming, and miserable, but I thought was the most fun, belly laughing, and interesting experience so far. Poor Matt.... he just doesn't have a shopper's bone in his body.
Since Matt really had a rough time coping with the culture shock this morning, we decide to stay in and watch a movie. Matt was feeling very blue and home sick. I was too, but more from going crazy in the little apartment. Now that we have been here almost a week, we are starting to see how each other copes differently, and how we are responding differently to the culture.....  I like walking around,checking out the little stores, and exploring. Matt just likes chilling in the house or at coffee shops, because walking around the crazy traffic, seeing Korean guys openly stair at my boobs, and not being able to communicate with anyone drives him nuts.
Though we are so much closer, this experience is  bringing out different qualities in our relationship. So far, we are doing well....... better than the little old ladies anyway.

Day 4 
Lots of stories today....

In the meeting with my bosses yesterday, we make an appointment to go together to hospital for a health screening to start process of getting an Alien Card. Matt and I walk to the school to meet them, and I think this whole time that this will be easy... . the same ole pee in a cup and take some blood tests. OMG was I wrong. First of all, I pray to God I never have to go to that hospital again..... we'll just leave it at that. The first  thing they do after weight and height is a freaking  eye exam! What!!! A sailor would be red faced if he could hear the words going through my mind at that moment. Trying to explain in the crowded hospital why I can't read the stupid eye chart and that's not a big deal was not a pretty sight. They kept emphatically saying 'it's in English.. you read'. Thankfully, I had dropped a few hints and mentioned it a time or two to the female boss with me. As you know though, a few hints and comments don't really paint the full picture that I am actually blind as a bat. This is one of those few times when my ability to really cover, hide, or compensate for my low vision does not serve my interests. Hopefully my excellent score on hearing made up for it.... Moving on, I then I have to go for a a torso X Ray. Really? Most embarrassing. I was not mentally prepared to undress for this.... that's all I am going to say about that. My final 'You have got to be kidding me?' moment in the hospital was when they instructed me to go to the bathroom way down the BUSY hallway, pee in this tiny cup (with no lid), and BRING IT BACK...... DOWN THAT BUSY HALLWAY. How do you say 'Sorry I spilled my pee on you" in Korean?    Anybody??  .........  yep.

So my butt is really ready to go home right now. However, my most generous and oblivious boss decides to take me out for a Korean lunch. People it's all I can do just to keep my Breakfast down. Surprisingly though, it was good food. The dinner topic though was difficult. Of course, they want to know about my vision. It was alittle difficult to explain to them why I don't just get glasses. Overall though, I assured them that I will be fine and that they have nothing to worry about. They seemed OK and willing to be flexible with it. I am sure their over all good mood was due to my entertaining performance with metal chop sticks though. In fact, I am quite sure the whole restaurant was looking at me. Tip: Metal chop sticks are a lot harder than bamboo ones. My nerves were gone when they finally dropped me off

Oh, but wait cause as soon as I got home  another Typhoon blows in. Really, I am not making this crap up. Thankfully it wasn't as bad as the first one and Matt did not get stuck in it on his way home from work.
So far we have only gone out once at night, which was with some new friends of ours: Elliot and Sarah. Sarah who is almost 7 months pregnant is so informative, and both are so understanding and helpful. Later this evening, Elliot asked if Matt and I would like to go out for drinks again. Matt perked right up. Elliot sends us some instructions on how to meet him. Just for the record folks, I would like to take a special  moment to point out that when I said 'Hey Matt, I think he means this left'. I WAS RIGHT! However,  Matt was quite sure that it was the other way according to his oh so handy GPS. After realizing we are completely lost, we turn back in defeat. Damn you GPS!!! We sent a message to Sarah and Elliot: "Attention, 2 lost Americans in Hwongsongdong - sorry no beer tonight". We back track to our home and run into another friend who is a teacher at my school. We talked for a long while about his experiences and what working at my school is going to be like. I can't say enough how cool everyone is.
Before bed, Matt and I have begun a ritual of checking the Gyeongju Foreigners Association' page on FB. This has been such a great resource that Matt has ended his long boycott of FB to become a member. Ha ha ha Welcome to the dark side.

Day 3 

We dare to venture out to the world of crazy drivers!

Today I am a little more down. I don't want to focus to much on this though because I know it's normal. Being off work is great,but I didn't realize how isolated I would feel in the apartment while Matt is at work. There is only so many distractions yea know...... Anyway, when Matt gets home we decide to venture out and make a few stops. Thank God I get to finally walk around! Some of the girls I met told me about a yoga class that I am so excited to sign up for. We have some awesome instructions on how to get there, but after walking around forever, we just can't find it. The zoning is so bad here that cows will crap gold before you find a specific store without someone showing you. It's nuts I tell you. Anyway, we do happen to find my school and make a visit. The kids were there and they are so darn cute. We sat down with my bosses to go over some questions we have. They are so nice and understanding. So far though, I have had little chance to talk to them about my vision. I usually don't mind disclosing my blindness, but here, I have no way of knowing how far that understanding will go. Much to Matt's disapproval, I put it off again. I know i know.....it just wasn't the right time.
During our excursion out, we stop by a coffee place. Matt really enjoys this because it gives him a sense of normalcy. I just humor him because I haven't had one good cup of coffee yet in this country. They state on their menus all the drinks you'll find at a Starbucks, but what they make doesn't come close . Matt thinks the taste of the water is the biggest problem.  Drip coffee and supplies are hard to find here.
Tell yea what though, the streets are lit up like Vegas here... it's a really neat night life and extremely safe (except for the d*** drivers.)

Day 2 Aug 28

 

I survived my first Typhoon!!! I would have been glued to the TV, watching the weather man's report like everyone else, but he was shouting in Korean! WHAT THE HELL DO I DO? Answer: pray, cause God's the only one around who understands da words comm'in out of my mouth. Next, ask forgiveness cause half of them are curse words.

Matt was thankfully in a huge building and really didn't notice anything. He stayed at the school most of the day and reported it was better than the day before. It seems the foreign teachers just sit and chat during the first two or three weeks since they aren't sure which classes will be canceled and attendance is so low. He said one of his classes is already canceled, but that won't affect his pay. The moral here is to get a University job in Korea!

After the storm, my day got extremely boring and I felt cooped up. Korean drivers are absolutely loco and there are no traffic/road rules that are followed. They mostly drive on the right side, but don't gamble your life on that assumption. No joke, there are no stop signs, no street lights, and everyone ignores what road signs there are. It's literally a free for all in our town. Needless to say, I do not venture out on my own yet. 

Things get much, much better tonight though. Matt and I made dinner plans with a couple we met on Monday. Home sickness is starting to set in, so we choose to eat at a little Italian place for some good ole spaghetti. It's wonderful and they taught us sooooo much. For example, how to throw away trash.... the system here is admirable, but  completely ridiculous and complicated. Moving on, they  take us to the large 'Hume Plus' store that is similar to Walmart. WOOHOO. Shopping here is very different and of course the foods we like and know are extremely expensive because they are considered exotic. 

When we get home, we are still very tired. Tonight really helped our mood, but I am still feeling home sick. Mostly, cause I just want a freaking bed to sleep on. 

Day one Aug 27

How in the hell do Koreans sleep on hard surfaces? No matter how exhausted we are sleeping on the floor just sucks. After about 4.5 hours prone on the floor our nerves wake us up. It's Matt's first day of work! It's about 5am and we are getting ready. My next culture shock is the bathroom. Thank god we have a western style throne, which we have plenty of toilet paper for by the way, but the shower is quit different. There is no shower stall that incloses you. Instead it is right above the sink and it is open. You turn the sink on, switch to the shower head up three or four feet and there is a drain in the floor of the bathroom. It's actually not too bad. Surprise number one today, our toilet paper stayed dry during two showers.
We had no idea how we were going to get Matt  to work this morning. His job is about 4 to 5 miles away, so we left super early thinking we would just walk with our handy GPS. Surprise number two, a cab was going down our street at 6am and he stopped after my modest cheerleading move. Again thank you God. Can you believe our cab ride was only 5 dollars!! Thanks to the excellent taxi service here, Matt was tearfully early to work. No one was around, but the buildings were thankfully open. We found his teaching area and sat and waited.... and waited.... and waited some more.  Finally, we hear foot steps and surprise number three....... its's an American named Kevin from Phili. Oh and number four, he has COFFEE in his hands. - Cue the angel choir.
After showing us how to get coffee from the vending machines, we sit and talk. He is soooo helpful and encouraging. Matt felt so much better after talking with Kevin. He was so nervous and fidgety. Soon more staff arrived, and everyone spoke such beautiful English, maybe it was just me. Anyway, here is a little side note I have to gush over. For the first time, Matt introduces me as his Fiancée. The word was spoken aloud, in public, to a group of people. Ahhh it's the little things, yea know? Okay, moving on. Matt's first day was awesome. He was back in familiar academic territory surrounded by English speaking teachers that have all the answers. They were so nice to us and helped us out so much. Matt only had two classes today, none of which he taught. It seems the first week few show up for. They said this can be common the first week or so, due to add and drop out period. Just before his second class, his boss said to meet for 10 minutes and let them go. What a painful job right? We were hoping to go home though so we could process all we learned and of course, sleep (still hate jet lag). Surprise number five, instead of letting Matt and I go home, his Boss asks us to go to Ulsan (40 min bus ride to another city) to get his alien card. I still don't really understand what the hell this is, but apparently you need it to get a cell phone, bank account, and insurance. This was an adventure we were not to confident about. However, all went smoothly and Matt was able to apply for his card. Getting home was where our journey got interesting. We had to take cabs to and from the bus stops. We easily caught cabs and on our final cab ride back, we find out that the address for our complex does not work in the drivers GPS. He can't speak English and we can't speak Korean. Holy Crap!!! At this point our phones are about dead and only mine has enough juice left to show a map of our neighborhood. The driver is so patient and understanding. He glimpses the map and he again takes off at warp 10. I was so proud of Matt. He and the driver worked so hard and well trying to figure it out and communicate.  When we finally arrive, the driver tries to tell us something. We aren't sure what it is, but we are fairly sure the address that my supervisor wrote down was slightly wrong. SURPRISE!! We get home around 6pm and thanks to jet lag, pass out.

Travel Day

What an unbelievable roller coster ride! My fiancée Matt and  I started our journey by picking up my  VISA from Korean Consulate literally 2 hours before our flight departed I'm Chicago.  Why the timing was so tight is another blog story that I really want to procrastinate telling..... it sucked. We are from Louisville, Ky, but we flew out of Chicago, IL to San Francisco, then straight to Soul South Korea. We had an overnight layover in CA, which left us  with a very big decision; Do we splurge on a hotel, pr camp out in the air port? Matt, genius that he is, books a hotel for a great deal (117$) for our last night in America. Looking back, THANK GOD he did. That has been my best night sleep so far. 

At this point we are already feeling jet lag and we haven't even boarded for 12 hour flight to South Korea. Boarding however went well despite the feeling, 'oh sh** are we really dong this??' moments. Before we boarded we decided to go ahead and change our currency over. This was a good move because it was one less thing we had to worry about in Korean airport. No surprise, the flight to Korea was long and threatened my sanity hourly. We were exhausted, and nerve's kept appetites low. We were both experiencing moments of excitement and sheer terror. 

When we arrived at the airport, still exhausted, we had to go through immigration (wow, I'm the immigrant now), baggage claim (thank you Korea for making luggage carts free!), and customs (we were waved right on through). Employees had badges that said "English" on them, which was most helpful when searching for assistance. We easily found everything we needed and everyone was so nice and helpful. From here we purchased bus tickets to our new home in Gyeongju. 

Of corse, our bus was 45 minutes early and my boss who was scheduled to pick us up was not there yet. We were standing there with a truck load of suit cases, pitch black, and had no idea on earth where we were. Matt was freaking out, and I was too darn tired to care about much at this point. We stood there maybe 10 minutes before a van speeding out of the darkness rushed up to our side. Out jumped 4 Koreans with big smiles and warm welcomes. Thank You God. They loaded all our stuff, like a bat out of hell, drove us to our new apartment. 

Matt and I requested a one bedroom (to Koreans this is a two room) apartment. Since we asked for more space, the place was not fully furnished. When we saw how nice it was, we didn't care. It's is a great location near food, markets, coffee shops, gym, and more. The 4 people lugging our crap up to the second floor were my boss, two supervisors, and a co teacher. They showed us how all the apartment controls worked, which I just pretended to understand since all my brain cells were currently sleeping. Much to Matt and I's chagrin, they said, 'Let's walk to the Market and get you some food'. While this was very nice and thoughtful, I would have rather dug my grave and fell in. Instead, I dug deep into those Kentucky roots and said 'sure' with a big smile. 

Korean hospitality is a lot like Southern hospitality. They will go all out to make you feel welcome and have all you need to get started. We had our first culture 'WHAT' moment there in the Market. It seems toilet paper is used as all forms of tissue paper. Yep, no paper towels, napkins, kleenex, etc. They use toilet paper for EVERYTHING. Anyway, back to the day that never ends..... So, we go to check  out, which went well considering  we had our Korean saviors there to supervise. We hauled our truck load of toilet paper and food to the apartment and packed it away. Finally, I repeat, FINALLY, we were alone and in our new place. Did I mention earlier that unfurnished means... no bed? Well apparently the living dead can pass out on anything cause that's what we did.