The month of August 2011 will not go down in the story of my life as the best time I've ever had (or even a good time period). While ending a job and beginning a new one can be complicated and tough mentally, physically and emotionally, doing so in a foreign country is doubly so. Add to that having to complete a new and complicated VISA process and the horrors of packing up and moving to a new part of town and appartment and you can understand why the past 4 weeks do not top my list of best summers ever.
However, what's done is done. The job at Garak is over. The money has been wired into my acount and I have successfully moved out of my apartment in bangi-dong and into my new apartment at Soongsil University. Out with the old and in with the new. I've celebrated my new apartment by going to E-mart and purchasing new linens and dishes. I put up with sub par and ugly things for the last 2 years because I didn't want to invest in the old place more than I had to. I also didn't want to have to leave my new (better) items which I would replace the old crappy items with when I left.
My new place is at the very top of the campus (up a giant hill) on the 12th floor where the other faculty and PhD students are housed. It's not huge, but it's clean, quiet and has tons of storage space. It's also in a more centrally located part of town and I'm really looking forward to exploring the campus and a new part of Seoul. It feels like I'm starting over from scratch. Except, I get to come at it with all the experience and cultural knowledge that I've aquired over the last two years of working and living in Seoul. In this respect, I'm starting fresh, but with a huge advantage over new teachers to this country.
Here are some images of my new apartment. This week, I'll be doing an orientation and a staff meeting and formal luncheon. Classes begin on september 1st (this Thirsday) which is kind of nice, since I don't have classes on Thursdays, lol. I expect to begin teaching on Friday the 2nd and my job between now and then is to finish unpacking, make sure I have all my materials organized, get in some good hours of sleep and try to focus on leaving the past behind and concentrating on the present, which at this point looks much more optimistic than it has for quite some time.
NO MORE BEAR BED!!!!!!!!!!!!! I actually have an adult bed, which I have now furnished with stylish and non-tacky bed sheets and pillows. A total revelation.
This is actually fairly good as far as Korean bathrooms go. As you can see I actually have a shower door as opposed to just a shower head directly over my sink. Yup, brushing your teeth can be hazardous if you forget to change the shower head back to faucet.
Here is a view of my stylish mini kitchen. It's not that fantastic, but I don't think they expect people to actually shop and cook for themselves very much.
Here is my desk, wardrobe and vanity area. It's pretty squishy right now (especially with the ginormous TV attached to the desk (came with the apartment) but with a bit more organizing, it should all come together.
After living in a dungeon with no sunlight for the last year, the brighness is almost overwhelming! But I'm really excited to wake up, open the curtains and have the bringht sunlight greeting me every morning. I think my next project will be to try and grow some plants and herbs. YAY!
That's it for now. Now it's time for bed.
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