Arrival

I've made it to Uijeoungbu, South Korea!

I spent my birthday and three more days in Chicago to finalize my visa before heading out. Mom and the boyfriend Phil came with me and we were able to stay with Mere. What a great way to spend time with those that I love most before I left! Saying the goodbyes was no easy task but there is such an exciting adventure before me (mixed emotions :/) I met Tom and Kristy, two friends also teaching but in Incheon, at the Chicago airport before flying to Seoul. It was so helpful to have two Americans going through the same thing. Besides a crazy layover in LA, the flight on Asiana airline was quite nice considering they were the number one airline for 2009. Your own screen with a TON of movie choices, enough leg room, food, and a seat that actually leans back. The flight staff was so polite and each one was beautiful. 12 hours later and a flight into the future (left 2pm on Saturday and arrived 6:30pm on Sunday) I arrived in Korea!

My good friend Ga Yeoung met me at the airport with a school representative. Ga Yeoung studied with me at Creighton and lives in Seoul. She has been my SAVIOR these first 30 hours of being in Korea. She spent the night the first night and was able to take me shopping for the essentials in my my apartment. Speaking of my apartment...it's way bigger and nicer than I thought! It's brand new since the school is brand new. Nice appliances and basic furnishings. I don't have internet or cable yet (using a PC cafe) but I will get pictures up once I can use my laptop.

I had my orientation with the Foreign Teacher Manager, Kristy Huh, and my Uijeoungbu manager, Jen today. They came to my apartment because I'm in a one week quarantine because of the swine flu. That means I need to stay in the Uijeounbu area and not go to work (darn!) Walking to my Plus Academy takes about...oh 5min! Nice and close. I got the regulations, cirriculum handbook, and books for the classes I'll be teaching today. A little more explanation of cirriculum and classes later.

"Most different" things to get used to...
- taking shoes off before walking into a restaurant, home or other place with nicely kept floors
- no shower sectioned off - water drains straight onto floor (so I have separate bathroom shoes of course!)
- no toilet paper goes into toilet - goes in the trash ALWAYS (if you know what I mean!)

"Most familiar" things I did not expect...
- YUMMY fruits and other products I know (Peanut Butter!) in the Mart
- cutest clothes for cheapest price

until next time.
peace out

Stalk me here!

Welcome to Sarah's (that's me!) blog on her year in South Korea. First off, I'll be in Uijeongbu (I'll be embedding links for things you may want to get more familiar with.) It's 40 minutes north from the center of Seoul. I assume I'll be spending a lot of time in Seoul to shop, dance, eat, and sightsee.

I am teaching English as a foreign language to Korean elementary students age 8-16. The private institute I'm teaching at, Plus Academy, is the 5th branch of the popular school owned and run by the Korean Agency that recruited me, Woongjin Think Outside. They are providing a single-living apartment, 50% medical insurance, and the round-trip flight in addition to my monthly salary. I have 10 vacation days and would like to visit Kyoto, Japan and Thailand - maybe more if I'm lucky. Email me if you're interested in joining!

Goal = minimum of 1 post a week. I hope for you all to visit often and see what I'm up to! I'll try to keep it entertaining. Here's a start - can't wait to run into this:



Wanna visit me here?: