Tuesday, 8 September 2009

First night... meeting other Aliens

So on arrival at the school I got moved from John's car to Jenny's car, Jenny being my lovely new Korean co-teacher at my school and she took me to buy water, told me about the school and what to expect, explained about quarantine again and took me to apartment, the fact she had informed she had never been to the apartment block before and wasn't really sure where it was filled me with confidence as you can imagine but after a quick phone call we made it up to my apartment. Just promised me on the journey over one of my colleagues would come and meet me later and just as Jenny was leaving she contacted Lisa, who spoke to me saying she would indeed be coming over later to take me to get food... it felt like days before Lisa knocked on my door but it was probably only about 50 minutes at most. She appeared alongside Rebecca, another foreign teacher who lived in the same block but taught at an elementary school just outside town, and they took me into the town for my first proper experience of 'Galbi' a traditional Korean meal. Before I left London I had experienced 'proper' Korean food twice at the Bibimap cafe on Museum Street and at RAN on Great Marlborough Street - It was the experience at RAN which most resembled my Galbi experience. Galbi is essentially meat that is cooked on a bbq type stove thing that is on your table and served alongside a variety of side dishes including the staple, Kimchi. It was a great introduction to Korea. After we had finished eating we then headed to a local coffee bar called Ediya, which is destined to become a hangout and met up with Katie another colleague of mine at school, who also lives in the same block. Katie was just finishing a Korean exchange lesson however soon came to join us. All in all my first evening was brilliant, i had visions of being the only westerner for miles around, not meeting anyone that spoke english for days and having to survive on the Jordan's Berry Burst cereal bars I had brought with me, but that first night proved to me that that would not be the case, and to say that it was a relief woul be an understatement.

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