B is for Boise to Bukbu

      I've gone from Boise, Idaho, USA to Jangsong-dong near Bukbu Beach, South Korea. I've been here in South Korea for a total of 4 days and 18 hours, give or take. Here's some numbers that I've been throwing around in my head; 6,600+ miles from home (or 28 hours), 6 meals eaten out with new firends, 1 meal cooked to thank them, 1 blister and lots of walking, 2 days of observing classes, too many adorable students I've met to remember, and one person feeling blessed and overwhelmed by new experiences.

      These numbers are sort of arbitrary in the face of the reality of being in a new place. South Korea is such a mix of the familiar and alien, more so than I expected. It feels like I might be in one of the new colonies from Firefly (a tv show written by Joss Whedon). Some things here are so like America in the 1950s; the attitude towards women, the desire to have flashy new things, the emphasis on perfection and idealistic beauty, and the need to hang clothes dry. That's right, I have to hange my clothes dry. Don't get me wrong, I was expecting this, but it still wrankles--or wrinkles.

      South Korea has white bread. But it is nothing like American white bread. It tastes like a lighter version of pound cake. One of the other English teachers at my school explained that it is made from a flour derived from corn. So, yesterday, when I went to downtown Pohang and saw a Dunkin Donuts, I should have known that they would have been different than the ones in the States. Other things that Pohang has that surprised me include; Baskin Robins, Lotteria (a Korean version of McDonald's), and a restaurant that serves spagetti--which I had yesterday. It was different, but good.

      There are potatoes here, which I am delighted about, but I don't have an oven to bake them in. I found out that goceries are much more expensive than I would have thought they would be, about the equivelant of shopping at Albertson's, for those who are familiar, or the more expensive grocery store in your neighborhood. I really need to learn Korean to understand how to find good deals.

      I'm not too worried about figuring out how to eat American food, Korean food is very tasty. It's a very good think I like to eat it because it is surprisingly cheaper to eat in some restaurants than it is to fix food at home. I could get used to that.

      Downtown Pohang was an interesting mix. If felt a bit like New York, with all the little odd shops and discount stores, alleyways, and crowds of people. It also felt completely foreign. All of the writing was in Korean, for the most part, and so I was never sure what was inside the little shops. It could have been a book store or a butcher's shop--unless I could see through the window--I had no idea. It is such a strange feeling, like being a child again with no understanding of how the world around me works.

      A couple things that really struck me about shopping in Korea were that everyone tries to be very fashionable, that some designers need editors when it comes to printing things on their clothing, and getting glasses in Korea is almost easier than ordering food. We went in to get Michael-teacher new glasses, he lost his a bit back.

      When you go in you are allowed to try on any of their thousands of frames, which are very cool, and as cheap as $10-$35US dollars. Then you are given an eye exam. After that they send you up to a little coffee shop on the top floor to have a drink on the house while they make and install the lenses. In all the process took about 90 minutes (maybe) and about $65US.

      I've met some really wonderful people here at my school, and it makes me smile to think that life has an amazing way of bringing good things to those who have their eyes open for them. Thanks to all the teachers at my new school, for being friendly and helpful, with a special thanks to Natasha, Michael, Alan, and Tanya for making my first week so much easier than it could have been.

    Thanks for reading. I'll figure out how to put pictures up soon.

A is for Adventure!

Greetings! Welcome to my very first post of my very first blog! Wow! OK, done marveling for a moment....

     So, seeing as I am leaving America to go teach English, I thought the alphabet would be a good theme for my posts. As I sit here, at the San Francisco airport, I can't help but be nervous, scared, happy, excited, tired, full, and generally overwhelmed at the idea that everything I will start my new life out with fits into 2 suitcases of 50 lbs each, a backpack (quilt and pillow strapped on), and a laptop case full of everything that is my lifeline to sanity at the moment.
   
      I have done the passport, visa, and farewell portion of my travels and now I find myself in a bit of limbo. I'm in an American airport--that's familiar--but I'm sitting in the International departures section. I hear announcements in English, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. I'm here, in a blend of my old world and my new one, thinking that this is perhaps the most fitting waiting area; a place halfway between my former home and my home that is yet to be. As I sit here I think that the strangest part of it all is that I don't even know my new address in Pohang, South Korea: the place I will spend the next 12 months of my life.

      I'm a little scared that I will get lost along the way somewhere but more comforted that I will find friends wherever I go. I have never failed to find friends in the past, and this is no different. Just a different location on the globe, a different language, and a new way of thinking to learn about. I'm also sad to leave the amazing people I know behind me physically (though never behind in spirit), and happy to be moving toward the meeting of other amazing people. I'm very excited to be teaching English to little kids. (I bet they will all steal my heart!) Having a job feels really good after graduating from college, like my world is back in balance.

     There's also a dream-like quality to this.... Leaving for a new country, never having been outside my own country before, not knowing the language, and not really knowing anyone in the place I am going. It feels a bit surreal, but good all at once. It is, after all, the fulfillment of two of my dreams, going abroad and teaching, so perhaps that has added to the overwhelming feel of joy and terror that are under all the other emotions. Joy for the obvious reasons, and terror because there is nothing in life so scary as success and brilliant achievement. One of my favorite quotes is about that... "Our greatest fear is not that we will fail, our greatest fear is that we are beautiful and powerful beyond belief...." or something to that effect. I will get the specific quote and author posted ASAP.

Well, thanks for reading my first of hopefully many posts. I look forward to my travels and experiences, and sharing them with you. Be well and enjoy your own adventure every day!