Free M Hotel Seoul

I'm here! I slept most of the flight from Tokyo and met up with Heather just in time to catch the last 6006 bus of the night to Hanam-si where she lives. I am so happy to be done flying and fully intend to sleep for a month. I am excited to finally get to spend some time with my long-lost girlfriend and can't wait for her to show me around Korea. Not much else to report other than that I am here and safe....OK MOM!! haha

... there were so many people...was this a special camping area for homeless individuals? Then I slowly realized that most of these folks were waiting for trains. They had spilled out of the Main
Railroad Station waiting areas.

In order to get to the hostel across the multi lane freeway, we had to walk by the front of the station, so we picked our way carefully among so many human beings. What an introduction to Beijing.
An amazing city.

... The organisation at work is laughable for such a large and successful company, and Hew and me often joke about it, saying it's reminiscent of a Benny Hill sketch! We can just imagine that annoying music being played while the head teachers run around, looking flummoxed! If you aren't familiar with Benny Hill, youtube it! Thesedays I'm very laid back about such scenarios as I only have four months left anyway, and as long as I do my job and prepare well, then I ...

... must have had a time bringing the majority of 40 people in from 5 – 6 airports in the US within a couple of hours of each other.

The Seoul Airport is huge, extremely clean, lots of shopping and has lots of amenities including train-like sleeping compartments that you can rent by the hour. There is an airport hotel attached also.

It was a 60 min drive from the airport to downtown Seoul. We are at the Garden Hotel a ...

... gentle expectations, and over all they just want me to take care of their kids. Oh yeah, I know which student did his best to convince his mom that it's ok to wear different coloured socks because Kevin Teacher does. I know who is generally curious about me as a person and how he asks his mom if Kevin Teacher is married and does he have kids, a feat he is not able to do in English. The rest of the week seemed to fly by. Friday night I watched a movie with Melissa and ...

... definitely gave you a real sense of how awful the Japanese tortured them but after a while I couldn't look at it anymore. After talking to one of the guys that was staying in our hostel who taught in Japan he said it wasn't very true to what he's learned and seen- how they depicted the Japanese. He said the voices in the recordings weren't as clear as the Koreans and they said things in the recordings that weren't true and that the Japanese all looked the exact same ...

... we ordered our food as well as a Russian beer thanks to a few suggestions from the table of Russians sitting on our right side. (Well, they initially wanted us to take a wig of Russian vodka they had hiding under the table, but taking drinks from strangers out of bottles with foreign language labels is where I draw the line!) Next, we realized that the friendly Russians on our right side were particularly interested in me! They wanted to know where I was from and my ...

... 642,000 won for $500. Yay! Hope that rate improves before I bring my money home next year. The line at the Immigration office was too long on Tuesday. I had to get out of line and come back to my side of town to teach! I was soooo upset. I was angry and frustrated...then I was sad! I really want my damn alien registration card so I can get a phone, internet, and a freaking bank account!!!!! I am so tired of running down the street to make a call at the pay ...

... You'll probably hear more about it in a future entry. For now google it if you want to know more. Q: What will your living conditions be like? Do you have to find your own place? I get free housing provided by my employer. It's one of those benefits I was talking about. While I will not be living in a swank 5-bedroom penthouse, the apartments are quite nice. For the most part, English teachers live in one-room apartments with basic furniture ...

... took in a 30 minute rest before deciding to go and have a meal, which was also provided as part of the airlines package deal. The selection of food to offer was limited, but sufficient to at least have something with a fruit platter. After the meal, I was feeling very tired, and was not feeling adventureous, I went to the room and watched TV for a little while before going to bed. The next day, I was feeling a lot better, where I planned to have ...