Finally - Korean Food!

We finally had our first Korean meal the other day!  We hadn't been opposed to eating Korean food by any means, but fear always got the best of us as we walked past restaurant windows unable to read the menu or identify the pictures.  Thankfully, some of our co-workers invited us to one of their favorite places.

When you enter many authentic Korean restaurants you are instructed to remove your shoes - bare feet are considered clean.  This practice is also done in the home, including our apartment, to keep the floors spotless.  Sitting on the floor is a common practice, but not so convenient if you are wearing a skirt.  *Note to self.

Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of our meal - Daeji Galbi, maybe.  Raw pork was delivered to our table and set over an open grill to cook while the silver tube sucked up the smoke.  Along with the pork, traditional side dishes (tofu, rice, onions, kimchi, potato balls, hot sauce) were served and replenished frequently.  Once the meat was fully cooked and cut up by our servers, we rolled it in a leaf of lettuce and garnished it with onions and rice.  Voila - delicious lettuce wraps! 

Ah, kimchi - the most beloved food in all of Korea.  Kimchi is a spicy, fermented dish typically made from cabbage.  Traditionally, the cabbage would be buried underground for a length of time while it fermented, and then served alongside rice and other staple dishes.  Despite how it sounds, I decided to give it a try.  "When in Korea...."

Not that bad.  It was quite spicy, but my newer Texas taste-buds had no problem handling it.  It was crunchier than I expected, which was a welcomed surprise.  All in all, I'd eat it again.  Maybe not everyday, but some times.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Here are some pictures of our apartment and the surrounding area.  I had every intention of putting them in a coherent order, but my blog had other plans.  I apologize for the not-perfect arrangement and promise to do better next time.  :)

The view from my bedroom of an elementary school across the street.

Each morning, the school bell (or song) rings from loud speakers around the block.  I no longer hear it in my sleep, but on the first morning I almost had a heart attack.  It's quite loud! 

The shorter building in front is the elementary school, and the taller one is the middle school.  They both share the large field on the left.

Speed limit

Our kitchen is stocked with Pringles and yogurt.  I don't know why we keep leaving the grocery stores empty-handed.  It shouldn't be that confusing.

Living room

The apartment was fully furnished/decorated.  Most everything you see was here when we arrived - except the Macbook, of course.

Now, this was a surprise.  Everything on those shelves with the one exception of my new, brown rain boots was left by the previous tenant.  The apartments are passed from one teacher at our school to the next and what doesn't fit in someone's suitcase becomes a permanent fixture in the apartments.

Along with the storage shelves, the washing machine is located on our enclosed, back balcony.  Sliding glass doors separate the balcony from our living room on one side and the outdoors on the other.  Because we do not have a dryer, the extra space in front of the washer will be set up with a drying rack.

This is part of our apartment complex - most apartment buildings here look exactly like this.

Building 509 - that's us!!  There are 15 floors total - we live on lucky 13...

This is the view from our front door into our living room.  To the right is the kitchen and my bedroom is the first door on the left.  The white door in the top, left corner is Andrea's room, which is next to our bathroom.

My lovely bedroom.  This is taken from the door so you can see a corner of my bed and desk.  The first set of sliding glass doors opens onto my enclosed balcony/walk-in closet.  The second set opens to the outside.  It's very private...

Here's my bed with the leftover art work from the previous tenant.  The mattress is about 1" thick and rock hard.  I have yet to purchase a comforter, but my Maryville blanket is nice and cozy.  Hey Austin people - notice my p.j. pants... Hook 'em :)

New Experiences

Our school

We've had two days of training so far and everyone seems wonderful.  There are 4 staff members and currently 16 teachers (including us).  We are replacing 2 of those teachers (one leaves next week and the other leaves next month) leaving only 14.  Seven are Korean while the other seven are foreign (6 Americans and 1 British).  The kids are unbelievably adorable!  I knew before coming here that I love Asian kids, but seeing so many on a daily basis will be amazing.  :)  Yesterday, Andrea and I had the opportunity to observe different classes of various ages.  The amount of English the students know at such a young age is impressive.  We talked with a few middle school students about the school system in Korea and learned a lot about the pressure they are under to learn the English language.  Getting into a good high school is almost as important as getting into an established University so middle schoolers are under immense pressure to study and excel on the placement tests before high school.  Once in high school, the pressure for greatness continues and many students stay at school until midnight studying.  They have a motto that says "sleep 3 hours a night and you pass, but 4 hours you fail."  Here's a breakdown of a typical student's schedule:

Elementary:  Korean school 8:30 am - 1:00 pm

                        English academy 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm

Middle: Korean school 9:00 am - 3:00 pm

English academy 4:00 pm - 9:45 pm (3 nights/week)

Math academy 4:00 pm - 9:45 pm ( 2 nights/week)

High: Korean school 9:00 am - Midnight

When we asked what the students do for fun, they were hesitant to answer.  Most students do not have time to play or explore other interests.  They were interested in hearing about the different school clubs Americans are involved in, because on average they are unable to participate in extra-curricular activities due to their heavy schedules.  Obviously Americans and Koreans are at two different ends on the spectrum, neither one having a good balance in their educational efforts.

Shopping

In desperate need of food, Andrea and I stopped at a small market on the way home from school.  The selection was dim while the cost was surprisingly high.  We left with Pringles, cookies, milk, orange juice, cereal, grapes, and paper towels with a total purchase price near $30.  After talking with some teachers at school, we learned of a store called Home Plus.  We still needed food and decided to make a brave attempt at taking a taxi for the first time. Getting there was easy.  The taxi driver pulled up and knew exactly where we wanted to go when we said Home Plus.  The store is a short distance from our place and a sight to see.  It has 4 levels with everything imaginable.  The first level contains a food court similar to those at most U.S. malls.  Our jet lag was settling in making us cranky and we were starving so we settled on KFC instead of the Korean food options.  

The grocery store is located on the second floor so we headed there next.  Surprisingly, they had some American food options.  We picked up some bananas, yogurt, cheese, lettuce (we forgot to get dressing), and various other non-food options before we were simply too tired to search for anything else.  Before leaving, we had to make an important trip to the third floor. That morning (our first one), I plugged my hair straightening iron into the power adapter and blew the fuse.  It smoked for a bit, but luckily did not cause a fire.  Needless to say, my expensive Chi was ruined and the power adapter melted.  Luckily, Koreans use those too and I found one in the electronics department!  

Getting home wasn't quite as easy as finding Home Plus.  Mr. Kim had written down our address in phonetic English, but the taxi driver seemed unable to read it.  He kept saying something to us in Korean, but we could only respond by repeating the name of our apartment. After awhile, another taxi driver came over to assist.  The two men stood arguing for bit before waving us into the van.  We were not sure if they had figured it out, or if we were going to drive around the city.  Luckily, he pulled into the complex in less than five minutes.  We have since had our address translated into the Korean characters so hopefully we won't have that problem again!

Communication 

We have no idea what people are saying to us.  So far, we use hand gestures and pointing to get what we need.  Paying for items isn't hard if the cash register has a display.  Otherwise, we cannot understand the person when they give us the total so we get out the credit cards. 

Tonight we are making our way into Seoul for a going away party.  We're either taking the subway or a bus so I'm sure I'll have a story to post!  

Arrival

"Oh, man.  What have we done?"

It was hazy as we landed in Seoul and stepped off the plane.  Perhaps it was just an overcast day, but I was hoping it would not be a symbol for the rest of the year.  Our first impressions of the country came from the bathrooms.  Automatic toilet seat covers.  Nice.  They probably have those in America, too, but I've never seen them so I'll give Korea a point.  

We were told the director from our school would pick us up at the airport.  If we had any problems, we were to call a woman named Cho.  As soon as we stepped through customs, we began looking for someone who might be looking for us.  By the time we got down to the baggage claim, our bags were the only ones on the carousel.  It took all the strength we had to pull them off and load them onto a cart; two carts actually.  A woman at the information desk told us to step outside and there we would probably find our director.  She was half right. Someone was waiting for us outside, but it wasn't Mr. Kim.  The man said nothing, but handed us a piece of paper.

Dear Holly and Andrea,

Welcome to Korea!  I hope you didn't have any problems during your travel.  For your convenience, I have sent a van to pick you up at the Incheon airport.  Even though the driver can't speak English, he will drive you safely to your destination and then I'll meet you when you arrive in Ansan City.  For your reference, you can call me on my cell phone at ###-#### at any time after your arrival to Korea.  I am looking forward to meeting you soon.  Best Regards, Mr. Kim.

Ha!  This was a perfect beginning to our trip.  The hour long car ride from the airport into Ansan was very quiet.  The lull of the car put both Andrea and I to sleep leaving the driver alone with his dashboard T.V.  When I woke up, it was dark outside and we were off the main highway.  We made a quick stop at the school (so the driver could get paid) before heading to our apartment.  Mr. Kim was waiting for us as we pulled up.  

Most of the apartments in Ansan look exactly the same - very tall with not a lot of outside pizazz.  Ours is no different.  Luckily, they all have elevators so getting our bags to the 13th floor was not difficult.  Mr. Kim commented on how heavy our bags were as he pulled them into the apartment.  We were pleasantly surprised when we first entered our new place - fully furnished and very spacious.  There are two bedrooms, one bathroom, kitchen/dining room, living room, and an enclosed balcony/laundry room/storage room area.  Thankfully, our bathroom is Western style with a shower/tub combination (it is usually typical in Korea to have the shower head directly over the toilet with slanted floors for draining).  

While we walked around the apartment, Mr. Kim pointed out how to use the washing machine, heating system, and gas stove.  He fixed a broken fluorescent tube bulb and then offered to take us to dinner and show us how to walk to school.  We accepted and stepped out onto the streets of our new city.  The school is a 10 minute walk from our apartment.  Many shops and restaurants line the streets along the way.  Mr. Kim led us to a place called, Paris Baguette where they set out breads and pastries for customers to pick from.  Confused about the procedure, Andrea and I hastily chose a long baguette and 2 cookies for our dinner.  This also acted as our breakfast the next day until we were able to go to the mart (grocery store).  

After Mr. Kim left us for the evening, we inspected our new apartment further.  There are a lot of interesting details about the place like, our many sliding glass doors.  My bedroom has an attachment, separated from the rest of the room by sliding glass doors, that opens to the outside with another pair of sliding glass doors.  This is where my closet is located.  Our living room also has sliding doors that open onto an enclosed balcony where we have storage shelves and a washing machine.  Opening the outside sliding doors lets in a cool, refreshing breeze. The heating system Koreans use heats the apartment from coils underneath the floor.  We've been told this system is amazing and when clean, can actually be used to dry your wet clothes!  :) Our only disappointment are the beds.  Thankfully, they are long enough, but the mattresses are rock solid.  This will take some getting used to since it feels like I am camping outside on the ground every night.  Again, this is a typical Korean nuance.

Our set up is above average and I'm relieved to feel so comfortable in our new place!  I will post pictures soon.

Departure

I'm officially in Korea with touch and go wireless Internet.  I still can't believe I'm on the other side of the globe, but that may be due to the haze jet lag has given me. There's probably a lot you are all wondering about and I'll do my best to fill you in without making this impossibly long.  Starting from the night before, or what I refer to as Korea Eve, would probably be a good place.

Packing for this trip took me only two days, but I felt quite stressed throughout those 48 hours. Andrea and I had looked up the baggage allowances for each airline and knew we were limited to 2 check-ons and 2 carry-ons.  Of course, I first set out way too many outfits, shoes, and toiletries, but was able to narrow things down enough to fit perfectly into my humongous suitcases.  I also invested in a few space saver bags (where you vacuum the air out) and managed to shrink my feather comforter into a small ball... perfect.  I knew I wouldn't be able to live without it.  What worried me most was the carry-on allowance.  One bag and one personal item.  This did not mean one bag, one personal item, and one pillow (so said the lady from United rather impatiently).  I really wanted to take my pillow and knew it wouldn't fit into my luggage so I vacuum sealed it, too, and shoved it into my carry-on bag. Andrea arrived the night before our flight as I was zipping my last bag closed.  

Once our parents saw our large suitcases, they raised questions about the size and weight limitations of United and Korean Air.  We checked online again and realized what we had was okay for United, but way too big for Korean Air.  We made a few calls and panicked for an hour, but were assured our bags would be placed on the plane by United.  Once transferred, Korean Air had to accept whatever they were given (even if the bags were twice the allowable size).  We still had to bring the weight down several pounds so unfortunately, my comforter did not make the trip.  Boo.

Departure Day 

I stepped up to the United counter at the airport and heaved my giant bag onto the weight scale.  "That bag will cost you $300," said the lady.  Oops... Apparently, their guidelines had changed at some point and the Internet had not been updated.  My other bag was okay so she urged me to rearrange things and even out the weight.  I would still have to pay an overweight fee, but it would be less significant than $300.  Opening your luggage in the airport is embarrassing, but I moved quickly and ignored the staring.  The weight issue was resolved and I said a tearful good-bye to my parents before crossing through security.  Of course, Andrea and I were flagged for a search...

Our plane to Chicago had also been flagged, and was due for it's routine maintenance check. We sat at the gate for an hour wondering if moving to Korea was the right decision.  Before pulling out, the flight attendant asked the eight people in the back of the plane to move up to the front due to a weight distribution problem.  I'm sure our bags were to be blamed.

We arrived in Chicago with just enough time to check in and board our flight on Korean Air.  I love this airline.  Our plane was huge and as we walked back to our section, it felt like we had crossed the length of a terminal.  The seats were spacious and, because the flight was not full, we had the three middle seats to ourselves.  To keep busy during the 14 hour flight, the attendants made their rounds throughout the cabin continuously.  They fed us twice at bizarre hours unrelated to U.S. or Korean time and carried around coffee, tea, water, and juice constantly.  During "dinner," we were offered wine and the attendant chuckled when I asked the cost.  "Free, of course," he said.  Of course.  We even had a selection of 20 movies to choose from, but my Twilight books kept me busy for most of the flight.  As we landed, Andrea and I said a little prayer for the safe arrival of our luggage.  

To-Do

I have a to-do list.  Actually, I have a to-do list for each day.  When something doesn't get done today, I add it to the to-do list for tomorrow.  I don't know whether this makes me sound organized, or neurotic.  Either way, my lists are getting longer instead of shorter.  Every day I think of something else that needs to be completed before I leave.  The Post-It company will never go out of business thanks to me.  

One of the things to accomplish on my list is to cancel my gym membership.  I envisioned a 30 second phone call to customer service and voila!  It turns out the gym hates when people cancel their memberships.  My first call to customer service last week ended when a recording told me to contact my nearest fitness center to make any cancellation requests.  Apparently, customer service can help you with everything else:  reporting a lost/stolen card, locating the gym nearest you, making a payment, putting your account on hold, requesting bill pay assistance, etc.  Everything except canceling your membership.  

I called the gym in Austin where I initially signed up and told the receptionist what I needed. They took down my information and then asked why I was canceling.  After I explained my situation (how I'm moving to the other side of the world), I heard a long, drawn out, "ooookay". He'd have to put me in touch with a manager.  Too bad there were none available, but someone would surely call me back later today.  Right.

A couple days ago I decided to call back since I still hadn't heard from anyone.  I was fed the same routine - even the same, "ooookay" after I told them I was moving to Korea.  Did they really not believe me?  Had I stumped them?  I'm sure they would have tried to work with me had I said my membership fees were too high, the weights were too heavy, or the pool smelled weird.  But, move out of the country, and they're puzzled.  Of course, I was reassured the manager would get back to me within 24 hours.  I gave them the benefit of the doubt and waited 46.

Finally, today was my lucky day.  I called back, but asked right away to speak with a manager. Conveniently, they were all busy at the moment, but "one would surely call me back". (Is this the secret - once a member, always a member?)  I explained my situation one more time, and was delighted to find this person much more receptive.  Just in case someone was suddenly available, they offered to locate a manager one more time.  It worked.  Mike was very nice.  He listened to my story and then looked up my account.  No questions, no concerns, no problems - he'd cancel it all for me.  

Mike:  Hmm... that's strange

Me:  What? 

Mike:  Oh, well I can take care of this.

Me:  Is there something I need to do?

Mike:  Well, it's not letting me cancel your membership because it says that you don't have one. 

Me:  hmm...

The lengths they go to in order to keep a member!  I'm surprised he didn't ask me to sign up for a new membership.

Visa not MasterCard

A few weeks ago, I began the confusing process of applying for a work visa.  I gathered the required documents, had them authenticated, and spent over $50 to FedEx them to Korea. Filling in the address of my school on the FedEx envelope was probably the most challenging part.  I was given three lines, but my address contained seven lines of information.  Unsure of what I was doing, I guessed my way through the whole thing and hoped for the best.  Luckily, it arrived safely only two days later.  

Once my school received the documents they forwarded them on to the embassy in Seoul. Within a few days I received a visa confirmation number via e-mail.  That number along with many more documents was to be sent to the nearest Korean embassy in the States.  

Of course mailing them would've been too easy.  They wanted me to come to the embassy for an in-person interview.  Perhaps they wanted to see how tall I really am.  At this point, I was already packing my things in Austin to head back to St. Louis.  There was no time to drive down to Houston (the nearest embassy for Texas).  It was going to have to wait until I arrived in St. Louis - the nearest embassy would then be Chicago.  As it so happened, I was planning on visiting a friend in Chicago that week so I called to set up my appointment for the same time.

Me:  "Am I required to come to Chicago for my visa interview?"

Embassy:  "Yes."

Me:  "Okay, well I'll be there next week from Wednesday through Friday..."

Embassy:  [cuts in] "We set up the interviews according to our schedule, not yours."

Me:  "Oh."

Embassy:  "One moment."  

A minute later

Embassy:  "We have an opening for you either next Wednesday or Friday morning."

Me:  [chuckle chuckle]  "Friday is good."

On Friday morning I took the train from my friend's apartment into downtown Chicago and made my way to the NBC Tower.  The embassy was on the 27th floor with a breathtaking view of Chicago's famous architecture.  I was shown into a room with 4 movie-style box offices.  Each one had a sign above written in Korean and English.  I located the visa sign and stood in line. As I listened to people speaking the Korean language, I wondered if I'd ever be able to understand any of it.  When it was my turn, I approached the window and handed my documents to the woman behind the glass.  She scanned them over, highlighted a line, and quickly handed them back with a new piece of paper.  I was told to have a seat and fill out the newest document. Once again, I had trouble fitting my address on the inadequate number of lines provided.

After turning in my papers again I was called in for my interview.  I wondered what questions they'd ask and worried I would provide the wrong answers.  I thought their questions might be similar to those asked by the personnel in customs.  "Did you carry your own bags? What is your nationality?  Do you have any explosives?"  Questions like those always make me nervous. What if I answer incorrectly on accident?  "No.  Missouri.  Yes."   

I took the seat across from a friendly-looking man at a small, round table.  He checked the pronunciation of my name.  Surprisingly, he said my last name correctly.  Then came the dreaded series of questions:

1.  Is your name German?  (yes)

2.  What is interior design?  (what I majored in, but have since taken a hiatus from)

3.  What are your future plans? (as if I even know)

That was it.  Three minutes after I sat down, I was finished.

I left the embassy, snapped a few pictures of the magnificent buildings, and walked to the train. The worst part of my trip was about to occur...

The train was packed due to an afternoon ball game and I was squished by dozens of excited Cubs fans.  If you're from St. Louis then you know what I mean.