settling down

Moved into my apartment on Monday where I'll be living for the next 5 months. I'm so glad that I'm living in Jeonju. Had I lived in Imsil, I would have been out there by myself. My mentor teacher has been so helpful and kind to take me around shopping to furnish my apartment. It was fun shopping at Home Plus (there were so many cute and unnecessary things I wanted, but didn't necessarily need so I had restrict myself due to the 600, 000 won budget I was given). I had dukbokki for dinner (sooooo yummyyyy!!!). My apartment came with a washing machine, stove, and fridge. My mentor teacher was able to get me a used desk, wardrobe, and bed for 190, 000 won. So that was awesome. I was playing charades pretty much the whole time with the 2 guys that came to set up my bed and desk. I learned the word gwaenchanh-ayo meaning "it's ok" by the end of their time at my apartment. It's fun and interesting trying to figure out what people are trying to say when there's a language barrier. I even got to use a bit of chinese when we ran into a problem of where to my desk (which had to be leaning against something for some reason). I like the size and things in my room. It's nice having a place of my own for once. I miss having home cooked meals already made though. Now I have to cook on my own and sometimes I'm too tired or don't know what to cook so I stop by the convenient store to grab something simple and quick to make.

My friend Vicky took me around the city of Jeonju the other day where I got to see the city hall and Gaeksa temple. Although it was a rainy day, we enjoyed a delicious bowl of bibimbap (which is what Jeonju is known for. My bibimbap had raw egg and beef in it which was new for me and made me feel a little uneasy, but it was really good. Later we went to a coffee shop and I had a cup of hot chocolate to warm me up. I also met a classmate of Vicky's and we had a nice girl talk time:) Vicky was helping me look at phones but turns out I need my passport (which is currently at the immigration office for my alien registration card) to get a phone. Vicky has a sweet car with a camera on the rear bumper that turns on automatically whenever she's driving in reverse. We listened to some Kpop on the way back to my apartment and watched a movie with Top from Big Bang (I didn't know he was an actor as well:)). I explored the area around my apartment to see what kind of stores were nearby and found a store that sells gimbap (so delicious!!---mashisseoyo). The Hanok Village (a major landmark of Jeonju that embodies the traditions of Korean culture) is a five minute walk from my apartment and I haven't gone farther than a 10 minute walking distance. I think I'll explore around some more tomorrow.

As for today, it was a long and tiring day. My mentor teacher picked me up at my apartment around 7:30 and drove me to school. I met the vice principal and teachers in the school today who seemed friendly but just shy to talk to me in English. I was given a set of the curriculum textbooks that I can choose to follow or modify at my own pleasure. My teaching schedule has not been finalized yet and I was told today that I won't start teaching until Tuesday of next week. I will be teaching for 5 hours each day on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays. It'll be nice to have Monday and Friday's off:) The school is freezing cold once you step out of the teacher's room and only squat toilets can be found in the school. I used one today and it wasn't as hard or bad as I thought it would be. I got to see my English classroom and there are tons of books on the shelf that I can read to the kids as well as flash cards to play games. The down side is that a computer is the only technological device in my classroom. I don't have a projector for power point presentations nor a chalkboard/whiteboard. I mentioned the fact about getting a white board to my mentor teacher and hopefully he'll be able to work something out where I will be able to use one when I teach. While my mentor teacher went off around the school doing his job, I sat in the teacher's room and looked through textbooks and noted down some potential sources I could use and incorporate in my own lesson plans. I tried to communicate with the teachers/principal who were in the teacher room with me, but the language barrier made it a bit difficult. I was at the school from about 8:30 until 4:30 and exhausted at the end of the day. I'm going shopping for more appliances for my apartment with my mentor teacher tomorrow. We'll see what tomorrow has in store for me.