Here We Are

We are now nearing the end of our first full day in Korea.  We landed at 6 pm Seoul time yesterday, and finally got to our apartment at 11, after somewhat more than 24 hours of travel.  We woke up at 7 this morning to be picked up at 7:45.  We were taken to school for breakfast and an introductory meeting in the faculty lounge.  We got to see our classrooms — they are close to one another on the fourth floor.  We got packets of information, including our schedules.  (Leslie is lucky enough not to have any class for the first two hours of every day.)

At 9:00 we went to a medical clinic to have our height, weight, chest size (?!), vision, hearing, and blood pressure checked; blood test performed, chest x-ray taken, etc., all of which was a necessary step in getting our work visas.  Then back to school for lunch and more orientation.  We went shopping at E-Mart (basically a Korean Wal-Mart/supermarket).  None of the staff we encountered spoke enough English to be helpful, so navigating everything and finding what we needed was somewhat difficult.  But we did get such necessaries as a laundry hamper, a mattress pad (they like their beds extra-firm here in Korea, apparently), laundry detergent (a saleslady put a lot of effort into selling us some fabric softener as well, which was awkward because at first we didn't know what it was, and then we had a hard time convincing her that we didn't need it), and a few other things.  We also got some milk.

Then we went back to our apartment, where I took a hard-earned nap and Leslie stayed awake to make sure we didn't miss the bus when it came to pick us up for dinner (my intention of waking up when Leslie asked me to so she also could take a nap unfortunately came to naught).  We had a shabu dinner with the other new staff: each of us had our own little pot of water on a burner and was served a plate of vegetables and a plate of raw strips of thinly sliced beef to cook in said pot of water.  Each of us had a little bowl of sauce to dip the meat and vegetables in.  It was a good meal.

We are now back in our apartment.  It's very nice: there is a master bedroom and two smaller bedrooms, which do not have beds in them right now, but desks instead.  (I guess they will function as studies for us.)  There is a living room area with an air conditioner about the size and shape of a grandfather clock, a fairly well-stocked kitchen, a washing machine, a bathroom with a shower and one without, and a porch with a rack on it for drying our clothes.  The floors are wooden, except for the bathrooms and the entryway, which are tile and are about three inches lower than the rest of the floor.  (Since Koreans traditionally eat and sleep on their floors, I understand that they tend to be very careful about keeping them clean, and I take this to be the reason for having such a clear demarcation between areas where outdoor shoes/bathroom shoes are to be worn, and where they are not.)  We currently have no hot water (UPDATE: apparently someone came while we were gone and turned it on for us); we also unfortunately forgot to buy an alarm clock at E-Mart, and so we had probably better get to bed soon or we run the risk of oversleeping tomorrow.  We leave on Wednesday for a four-day retreat at a "pension" somewhere in the southern part of the country.

First impressions of Seoul (or at any rate of Wolgye 2-dong, the area where we are living): There's a surprising amount of greenery here considering how densely populated this city is.  Lots of trees, shrubs, vines, and even bits of parkland tucked in here and there.  Except on the main thoroughfares, there are often no sidewalks, and pedestrians mingle with bicycle and automobile traffic.  There are huge apartment buildings everywhere, often in groups of five or ten virtually identical structures.  It's kind of hot and pretty humid (apparently it's necessary to take precautions against mold in the summer).  There are big mountains right outside the city, which can often be seen while driving around.  We have been informed that not only do we need to keep recyclables separate from other trash, but also need to keep food waste separate from other waste.

Tomorrow, more orientation.  We also get our pictures taken for the school's website and brochure.  I therefore need to pick out a shirt and tie (hopefully there will be a shirt somewhere in my luggage that will be presentable without my having to iron it, but if it comes to that I do have an iron and an ironing board, and have been taught in the not-too-terribly-distant past how to iron a shirt).  And, as I mentioned earlier, I should go to bed soon, because the bus will arrive for us in eleven hours, we have no alarm clock, and we are both very tired and very jet-lagged.  Good night!