Day 2: First Impressions

Today was Sunday, and the first (and only) full day I had to myself before starting work on Monday. I slept in late, and then had a lovely breakfast of toast and water while sitting on my bed watching the Grammy's on M-Net, Korea's music station. Prior to the Grammy's I got to watch bits of Korea's Top 50 music videos - a fascinating experience in musical cheese at its best. Each video attempted to out-cheese the other, with long emotional ballads involving Koreans crying and chasing each other in fields or in the rain while cooing for the camera, or with boy bands (still alive and well in Korea) jumping around some stadium stage getting mauled by teenage girls but pretending not to care, or with bad-ass Korean rocker-pop chicks getting their groove on in slick sexy warehouses, hair constantly moving, yet perfect in every frame. Perfectly cheesy - I loved every minute. Korean commercials are my favourite to watch. Because I can't understand what they're saying, I enjoy trying to guess what product the commercial is for until it is finally revealed. The ones that always throw me off the most are the ones for 'feminine products'. (I never see it coming!) :-)

Steven came by around noon to take me out and show me where the school is. REI American Language School is the name of the school I'll be teaching at, and it's about a ten-minute walk from where I live. The school is located in the local market area, which is fascinating to wander through. At the market, which is always busy, one can buy just about anything, from clothing to shoes to squid to tupperware. I TOWERED above the crowd and felt like a giant. Steven then took me to the local grocery store and bought me my first load of groceries - very kind of him indeed. Him and his family have been extremely welcoming and accommodating, and have been very generous to me. The grocery store was small and had limited selection, but it was fun to wander the aisles and gaze at all the Korean products, none of which contained any English, save for a couple key words here and there on a few products.

I had the afternoon to myself, so I decided to take a long walk and explore my neighbourhood on foot. Shihung City, according to its signposts, boasts itself as "clean and beautiful". In all honesty the area seems rather dirty and run-down to me, but I'm most likely thinking that because I've been spoiled by living in luxurious Vancouver. It was fun to wander down random streets to see what I could find. Shihung is a mix of industrial, commercial and residential buildings, all sharing the same block often. Absolutely massive high-rise housing complexes consume the cityscape, mixed in with older low-rise homes. I was surprised to come across a few familiar Western chains, including 7-11, Baskin Robins, and Dunkin Donuts. I'll definitely have to check those out later!

What was most surprising to me was the fact that I spent the whole afternoon wandering around, and not once did I see a single Caucasian person. NOT ONE! I think foreigners must be a bit of a novelty in this part of the city, because I get plenty of stares and even have random Korean girls giggle and wave at me! I feel like a bit of a celebrity and am not used to all the stares and attention, but it's fun anyways. It's a bit lonely not having anyone to talk to, as my conversations are limited to my boss who speaks basic English at best, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time until I come across some other foreigners. This weekend I hope to venture into central Seoul and feel pretty confident I'll find some them.

I spent the evening at home surfing the net and watching TV. One thing that I've learned for sure in the last day or two is that technology is *amazing*. At one time I was talking on Messenger to 3 friends of mine, all in different corners of the globe - Arion in Marysville, Washington, Travis in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Matt in London, England. And me in Seoul, Korea! AMAZING! All connected, all together, yet thousands of kilometres apart. Which leads me to ask, if we were all up and awake, when the hell does anyone sleep!!!??? I feel lonely at times, but having internet at home helps me feel better by staying well connected to my friends all over the globe. People whine and cry all the time about all the burdens that technology has brought us, but at this moment, I am so very thankful for it. GOD BLESS THE INTERNET!