So my heady readers let us recap. On the
thursadaybefore embarking on my trip I was awarded one last
fareweel game of phase 10 (qt - I LOVE YOU BUT DAMN u
could've let me
0952603 win!) We drank the signature cranberry vodka and stayed up late. I didn't sleep at all.
Upon eeaching the airport I began to have a panick attack! Only he promis of a karate chop to the neck could stop it. I chatted up the nice lady weigh in my bags and after much worrying I didn't have to pay any exter dough. *** My recuriter told me to make`sure i kept up with my boarding passes and recipt. I had to ask for the reciept....I checked 2 big suitcases and took two small ones on board. They of course had to be checked out. Security was a breeze.. any liquids =nope. take off your shoes n coat - ok. walk thru here and have a nice day- alrighty then. Immediatekt after leaving with my last glimpse of my gyrls i met a chatty lady who turned out to be a teacher. Boring convo ensued- but convo is convo and i was a bit nervous. But she lead me thru a mental journey of the atl aiport... she flys every month. She mentioned that this flight is never on time to atl and since i only had an hour to get off this plane nd get on the next, i should hustle. They called for zone 1 and 2... she left. I was zone 3. the zones are ur location on the plane.. the higher- the closer to the front door. OYB.
I boarded the plane and relized that my freaking carryon had no chaqnce in hellof fitting under my seat- don't care who u are! So was VERY uncomy. The business guy beside me kept bumpingmy boob with his elbow as he perused the paper. What a jerk.. didn't even thank me for all the fels copped! The flight took 27 minutes to atl.. going up i almost spazzed.. nit's a bit like a rollercoaster ride.. the feeling of nothingness under ur feet is scary. The plane was small.. two row of seat withh 2 seats side by side. I had a shit time trying to fasen my seat belt i though i was gonna have to get an extended from the stewardess. She was pretty by the way.. and well practed at ignoring youu b/c everyone ignored her. i guess she has to go through the whole spill about air masks and your seat being a loatation device., Go figureBut after a short time-- sleep came. A bump later we were on the ground and i was running thru to my next plane. I was in port d and needed to get to E. easy riight? Wrong.. it's downstairs and a mile away. a cluttered mile. I wanted to buy crap from duty free but i just got my hustle on through the crowd. No time for pix either.I made it to my port.. it had to be it there was 1.5 million Korean people there. Some of them very scruffy and 3 mighty fine! I showed my passport an got my boarding pass scanned and boarded. This plane was huge and filled to capacity 3 rows with 3 seats each . i was middle rowmiddle seat and it sucked! Again carry one won't fit underseat no elbow room and a dude on eithe side of me. This can't npossibley be the way i'm gonna spendthe next14 hrs.. yes yes it is. but eventuallly ur extremities and body fall asleep. As the plane took off a fat tear rolled down my cheek. The soldier to my right asked my if i wanted his napkin. I told him my tears dry on their own.. He looked at me like i was crazy and i non verbally confirmed his assumption and we didn't talk again after that. I retreatedf into my self and my thoughts until i realized that there was a touch screen in front of me, built intothe seat in front of me.. AH HA! Heaven at my figertips i'm saved. The had music- amy w. r kelly, mjb.. and manytmore current stars. it was a struggle not to dance and sing b/c that my song hunny!!! It also had the book worm game,`zuma and some trivia. Ucan play against other passengers! HBO movies had to be paidfor at 6 bucks a pop. but sitcoms like law and order, simpsons and etc are free.
We ate 3 korean meals with ur choice of beef chicken or ?. Each came with a hard but tasty roll, fruit, cup o hot sauce, lil h2o and salad. whcich all got downed hurriedly b/c you never know when we are gonna hit some turbulence. Becasue i was in the middle f the plane the veiw of below was lost to me and my camera.
16 hrs later wetouched down in korea. I followed the flow of people and baggage claim lines till i got to a row of glass doors. I had to fill out this shoert immigration card and give it and my passport to the lady behind the desk when it was my turn. She smile and immeidately said i must have an E-2 visa... evidently i looked like the scholarly type. After this i went left and headed down the escaltor to watch my bags come around to me. I saddled them all up..not an easy task X4. And continued toward the exits when i had to fill out a declaration form.. i check all no's.. nothing to declare and proceed to the money exchange center that is connected to the exit door. 500 bucks?+a lil less than 500 krw. As i stepped outside the exit i saw a signe with my name on it! AMY and my driver! Success! After a few wquick pix we were off to the cab it was about a 4 hours drive- which i slept throu loudly- lulled to sleep by the pop music that has been remade and sung by a koreean singer. I did notice that most car have an extra mirror in the back....the driver told me it's a mirror bang`to prevent acidents. Driving is a contact sport.
When we arrive in Yeongju I was so excited- it seemed like a busy town. I got to meet Mr. Woo my vice principal who is very sweet. He has a wife and son and adores church, ashe invited me to church with him the next day. He gave my aptartment key and loaded my bags. My apartment is exactly 2 minutes away from his. If i need anything i know where he lives and have his number.. sigh but no phone.
My apartment is the fire!
It's brand new1 Everything has the instructions taped to it and everything. When you walk in the door you step into the kitchen It has one sink, fridge, microwave, 100 dollar rice cooker, 2 stove burners, 2 seater table, charm. immediately to the left is a bathroom with the hose instead of shower stall- i knew it would and some storage space. Then straight away to another door to the bedroom .the bed room hold a nice firm bed t.v. AIR CONDITIONER WITH REMOTE, wardrobe, book shelf and desk. Then theres another door to a closed in patio n HUGE window to the outside- washing machine and drying racks.. no dryer. Everything was on when i got here. No towels, sheets, utensils, cleaner, nothing left over b/c it's new. I first met the guy who's leaving named Brandon. Mixed guy maybe- he's from s. carolina by way of san fransico. He strikes me as the type that doesn't conform to society's rules no matter which society he's in, which is ok to me. He offers up alotta info about the school , the other teacher, the admin. Brandon is a find-he's some what salty or bitter about the place and wants to warn me not to gie up too much personal info which could be used against me. My red flags are raised- cuz Snafu does not invite mess hunny thank you very much. Anyway that makes him a good source of truthful info and a guidebook of what NOT to do in Yeongju. He is also tryna sell me his bike for 250 bucks.
So i got off the plane at 2:45 and into cab at 3:15 and in Yeongju at 7:30. Talked to Brandon for 45 minutes and in comes some other teachers who greet me warmly as Courtney. No I'm not Courtney-looks of puzzlement. Well then who are you we are getting a guy and girl (courtney). I'm Andrea...Oh we though Andre... which is a boy's name. Insert many smile and laughs. No i'm not a boy. It seems they already have and Andrea whom everyone calls Andie.. I guess i'll have to go by Drea or something. They are all wondering if i would have the wierd alabama drawl or a southern accent. Sorry to disappoint but my english is much better than anyone else here- New chickie: 1 Old Folks: 0
We all decided that because i wasn't sleepy that the CREW should show me the town. We went to... you guessed it and Noraebang and sung our favorite tunes. The group fav is YELLOW SUBMARINE. I guess it's some inside joke. Some of the teachers talked about how pleasing the kids is more important that teaching them. How disconcerning.. i guess i'll find out monday.
After 2 hours of banging it out the group with as grown to 9 members went to a bar called FISH GRILL. Evidently s is the hangout. It has an outside courtyard which is kinda funky. I ordered my first meal which was a boat of sweet and sour and very hot pork and cheese fries. The cheese fries are the deal!
I recieved the gift of a large soju bottle from NJ and RyeHa and had to drink at least half of the botle. Someone was feeling pretty good till all of a sudden it got cool.. then cold,. They say it just happens like that here. We where then joined by a group of hilarious Korean studnets from Andong this is a hop aand a skip from here). I gave him a temporary English name of Justin.. but we can call him JT. He was excited about the name and started to do a couple of signature JT movements- stop my beating heart. It's true Korea is alot like heaven. We all started to move inside b/c of the cold and eventually went out separate ways. Great first night in town I think.. i'm gonna have a hang over tommarrow I know.
The other teachers:
Note: First impressions and information subject to change
Brandon- my main info guy and next door neighbor
NJ- whos is fine- love the way he says my name with intensity (esp when drunk) he is from New Zeland. ( Reminds me of Erik- the love of my life) live on the 3rd floor
Rye Hah- is Nj's chickie- very pretty with an outta this world accent.
Marrybell- which has a weird pronunciation. is from S.Africa and is caucasian. She is a bit snooty but is very grounded.
Jason- I think is very non descipt.. as a matter of fact i almost forgot his name.. I think he's from oregon and is dating Andie
Andie-AKA Andrea#1 is from i don't know but is very cool. she also is my competition... (which is always good) and is dating jason.
David-very fragile looking guy, skinny and from Pennsylvania. Screams anti social wierdo but is well liked in the group. It's good to see a change from the usual snide cool kids club where they don't like free thinkers and outsiders. He's been in korea 4 years. I don't think he likes me details later.
Greg- Cute Strong silent but still can be an ass if needed type. Insert foam here.. prolly got a korean girlfriend or 3 or 4 waiting in the wings. Bet hey 1st come first served.
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