I won't get killed by gun shot, but mopeds on the sidewalk may be the cause. What the...
Alright, so here's a little note updating you on my whereabouts. As I have just recently found a strong connection I cut and past a journal that I have been keeping...somewhat. I tried to keep the journal as short as possible when editing; A) just 'cause it's less to read and less risk of it being boring, and B) I had/have no brain power left after the flight and staying out late and working early mornings. It took me hours to set this stinkin' slide show and type up this post because of the internet or lack thereof, but finally it's done.
It's a doozy...enjoy!
Monday 22nd, 2008
Departure 10am:
I drove myself to Ottawa on the most beautiful and sunniest day anyone could ever ask for. I arrived 4-5 hours later and relaxed in a cozy restaurant to eat dinner before driving up to the airport. Once I arrived at the airport I saw that it was packed solid with oh so many pitiful East Coasters who were stranded all weekend from the horrible snow storm we received over the weekend. Approximately 40cm in total dropped over the span of two days, and luckily for me it all dried up by Monday. This herd of people were sleeping on mats and were crowded together forming a massive sphere of stress. It was not a pretty sight by any means.
The line up was ridiculously long, but I got through it quicker than I had anticipated. I waited in Ottawa to catch a one hour flight to Toronto only to wait there for three hours before my international flight departed. Yet, because of the long line up and delays that had occurred in Ottawa I no longer had to wait in Toronto. By the time my flight arrived into Toronto I soon boarded my plane at 11pm.
Already 12 hours of traveling and still I hadn't even left Canada. Another 17hours to go! Roughly. Yay! [A bout of sarcasms flies through the air]
Tuesday 23rd, 2008
Not much to say, as I was still in the air all day Ontario, Canada time until 8ish. I slept on and off, and watched or rather attempted to watch a few movies. Succeeded in watching one, but do you think I can remember the title. Nope! It was a great one though, honest! It was the one where the evil doer dies off in the end and where the good prevails. God I love those movies. [heehee]
One thing that I can remember is how beautiful the flight attendance were. Honestly they were like plastic dolls they were that gorgeous!
Wednesday 24th, 2008
Arrival time into S. Korea 10am (8pm Tuesday Ontario time)
I called Davey J, since my recruiter was almost worried sick that I was going to be alone on Christmas day, and he was the only person I knew here in Busan. He came over around noon and we ate lunch. He brought me to an Indian place, and it was my first taste of it. It was delicious! However, I think it was much spicier on the way out than it was coming in, if you catch my drift. Great food nonetheless.
Davey J had to leave for work by 3 o'clock and so I sent myself to bed for an extra long nap. I slept from 3ish till about midnight, and when I woke it was time for another meal! This time Davey J took me to eat the real deal...Korean food!! We had Sam jyup sal, which is pork/bacon and a few side dishes such as; huge pickled yellow radishes and kimche (pronounced Gimche). Kimche is pungent and is a fermented dish made up of cabbage or turnip seasoned in salt, garlic, green onions, ginger, red pepper and shellfish. Most kids have told me they eat it for breakfast; needless to say it's a side dish for almost everything here.
We had beer called Hite [pronounced Hite-euh. Haha Konglish makes me laugh!!] Also, SOJU!!! It's like vodka and is the cheapest booze ever!! With my being jet lagged and a light weight it is easy to figure out the booze hit a little harder than expected. By the time we were done eating it was at 1:30ish in the morning, and Davey J asked gave me a few option, one of which was to head to the Casino. Seeing I have never been I decided to try my luck.
From 2am till about 9am we spent most of the time playing Black Jack and drinking free whiskey and coke. Sigh! I was about to walk away at 6:30 with probably the same amount I began with when I decided hit the Roulette table at the last minute. I don't know how many times I chose the exact number, but by the time I looked back down I had too many chips I didn't know what to do with. I felt as though I shouldn't try my luck anymore, and a few fellow drunkin' Americans asked me to play for them. Believe it or not I was actually winning some of their money back! Talk about beginner's luck, eh?
I e
nded up walking out with four hundred thousand Wons! Equivalent to about four hundred Canadian!
A picture of my temporary tour guide; Davey J.
Thursday 25th, 2008
Once again, not much to say here as I slept most of the day, and spent Christmas with Davey J eating Domino's pizza for dinner. Yes, I was too exhausted...correction, I was too comatose to even formulate a thought let alone a sentence, or move to go to a restaurant and eat.
Domino's of all things, believe it or not....I still chuckles at the thought.
Friday 26th, 2008
My first day of work and they were late on picking me up. I was to be picked up at 3o'clock and was picked up almost an hour later. I stayed until 9:30. I met all of my co-workers and met most of the children I'd be teaching. Unfortunately for me the teacher prior to me has no disciplining skills and often let the children run the show. I saw how much work I had cut out for me. How lovely!
I went out for a few drink with Davey J, and he took me to a foreigner's restaurant/bar called Thursday Party. For the first time in my entire life I was locked in the bathroom stall. The lock case broke off, and as I attempted to climb onto the wobbly toilet I felt insecure and jumped back down. When I did a sense of claustrophobia set in, and so I stood back onto the wobbly toilet and ended up getting my dandy long legs over over the stall. Yes, I climbed over the bathroom stall since there was only a few inches of space at the bottom of the door. Besides, who really wants to crawl on a bathroom floor!?
Saturday 27th, 2008
I moved into my new pad, and as you can see from the slide show there are windows like mad!
So I am slowing but surely recovering from this jet lag. I can honestly say it was actually probably the most embarrassing thing to have, and I am glad that I didn’t have to teach during the worst part of it. Constant severe brain freeze where words from my thoughts could not make it out of my mouth, and the more persistent I would be the more difficulty I would have speaking. It was a major case of the stutters and dementia- no word of a lie. Often I would completely forget that I was even talking- right in the middle of a sentence!!
Moving on....
Sunday 28th, 2008
Davey J took me on a tour to the Nampo-dong fishery and VIPS restaurant. [Not said in acronym style] We'd say V.I.P, but it's called VIPS in huge caps too! It was certainly crowded and smelt like the Maritimes when I lived on the East Coast of Canada.
Thursday 1st, 2009!!!
My first few days of work have come and gone and I can honestly say am liking it thus far, but perhaps it is because everything is bran spanckin' new.
Last night was New Year's Eve and so I start anew today in hopes that I will have interesting and monumental explorations in and around these areas!
In getting to know a few of my co-workers they took me out to Thursday Party (the place where I originally got locked into the bathroom stall) and we stayed up until the sun came to greet the new year! There was a huge gathering at Haeundae (pronounced Hay-unday) beach where crowds of people joined together to cheer as the sun came up. You'll see the pictures in the second slide show.
My co-worker Heather ended up going to another co-workers friend's house, and there we waited in warmth for the sun to welcome up. The guys took out the Australian musical instrument, and Heather blew the didgeridoo so loud the ship called back! Honest. It had to be the funniest thing I witnessed!
I believe I have written enough for now, that and I don't know how coherent this is even though it will be three weeks tomorrow since I've been here. I will try and keep you posted more often than none, and hopefully I will receive internet service sooner than later.
This week I recoup, therefore more messages are underway as I relax in my apartment.
As an aside...The slide show may have some typos, but I can't fix them as the widget is no longer found on the site I created it in. The net is not the greatest at the moment...well until I actualy get the net, and for some reason I grabbed the widget in time, but the slides were not saved, oddly enough.
New Year's Eve:
There is more to come, but the net is slow, and this is becoming tedious over time! Perhaps I will head to a PC bong for my next blog, as I don't have any pictures to show for my last weekend.
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