My Address

대한민국 경기도 성남시 분당구

야탑동 367번지 6호

노블리치 2 오피스텔 412호


In English it translates to:

South Korea Gyeonggi-do Seongnam-si Bundang-gu
Yatap-dong 367-6
Noblichi 2 Opistel 412

We would write it:

2 Noblichi Opistel (APT) 412
367-6 Yatap-dong (my neighborhood) Bundang-gu (my area within Seongnam)
Seongnam-si (my city) Gyeonggi-do (my province)
South Korea

My Place

Here's my new place. It's a little drab at the moment, but after a few paychecks, it should brighten up.


The whole right side of the hallway is closet space and my fridge and freezer.


View from my huge windows!


Other view from my huge windows.


Bathroom


Tiny cute kitchen...and home to my washing machine.


View from the kitchen-notice the retro yellow couch :)


View of the living/bedroom area...Its a perfect space for yoga and pilates. :)


The bed is supposed to be upstairs, but its hot up there, so right now its empty. Its the perfect place for twinkle lights in December though!

My apartment is very close to a 24 hour supermarket, department stores, movie theater, HomePlus, a subway station, and the bus station. All of the sidewalks are lined with trees and there's also a river and canal nearby with trails. My school is a 15 minute walk, and is very easy to get to.

That's all for now...maybe this weekend I'll have the energy to write about my first day here and how the rest of the week goes.

Hope you enjoyed the first photos!

Ummm, so I'm moving...to South Korea...tonight.

Yep, call me unobservant. Call me blonde. Call me crazy, but it REALLY hit me tonight that I am moving to a different country, with a different language, on a different continent. What the hell?

On the one side, I already have friends there and they are still alive after almost 2 weeks. On the other side, they are at least 3 hours away. On the one side, I've heard great stories about teaching in Korea. The other teachers are helpful and don't expect you to be perfect. On the other side, there have to be horror stories I just haven't heard about. Teachers who aren't helpful and who expect you to do everything right then and there. On the one side, my apartment could be brand new and really nice, and a short walk from my school and supermarket. On the other side, it could be a hell hole in the ghetto and be a long train and bus ride to the school. Forget the supermarket, there could only be a meat and kimchi market nearby.

Luckily AND unluckily, Jodi informed me stuff was very expensive, so I took initiative and bought the following from 7/11: one roll of toilet paper, one pack of tissues (aka toilet paper), an extra tube of toothpaste, and a couple of chocolate cookies (extremely necessary in my opinion). And I emailed my mom a few days ago with a list of things to ship to me...Mom, have you even walked into my room and Hannah's closet? Don't tape the box up yet...I might need you to send me some sheets!

So basically, I have absolutely no idea what life will be like tomorrow afternoon.

Peace out!

ps- I love all the comments I've been getting...thanks beloved readers!

FOOD!

My stay in Bangkok has been very relaxing and peaceful. I haven't wanted to go out and try to see every possible thing. Instead my days have mainly been spent reading, eating the street food, waiting on e mails from Henry, and sleeping. It's been a nice vacation. At around 11am, I usually get up, get dressed, and walk down the street for my first meal.

Rice topped with pumpkin, egg, and veggies


A few reading-filled hours later, I walk down the street again for dinner. It's not as good as Chiang Mai's, but the pad thai is still tasty. I think what I love most is watching it form right in front of my eyes. To start, the "pad thai lady" cracks an egg (or chicken, seafood, or tofu) and cooks it first. Then she throws on some bean sprouts and any other veggies in her bowl that day. This particular meal, she even shredded some carrots at the last minute.


Then come the noodles. You pick whichever noodles you want, and she fries them up with the rest of the tasty goodness. I haven't had a bad noodle yet. Once the noodles are mixed in, she adds a spoonful of sugar (to help it go down), water, and fish sauce. I love the sizzling sound and its at this point I begin to salivate.

Voila!

I usually sprinkle peanuts on top and sometimes some hot sauce. In short, I believe pad thai is the most perfect Thai dish.

Then, because I'm addicted to chocolate, I always get a banana chocolate pancake for a late night snack.


I am going to miss my Thai food once I'm in Korea!

Beneath the Trees

Warm noodles feed the streets
Guitar strings dance and speak,
Melodies collide and gently meet
All of my doubts slowly retreat.

As I listen to these sounds
These languages and laughs;
I suddenly realize what I have found
What the heavy air is squirming around.

For this is life - without her chains.
Soft lanterns swaying in the sultry breeze
Cool beer flowing through the veins
Gently unwinding all of life’s strains.

This night belongs to the stars
To the souls who search afar;
This night will soon end
But my heart can no longer pretend.

Wait, Was That Today?

Last night I went out with some of my friends from the TESOL course. When I say out, I mean out. Almost two bottles of whiskey were drank before we even left the hostel. More drinks were consumed at both clubs we went to. So when 4:00 am rolled around, it felt like 30 minutes had past. I had so much fun, and today have had a relaxing lie in with plenty of water, my usual breakfast from down the street, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest.

I take a break to check facebook when I see a wall post from somebody. It says, "Congratulations Jared and Jessica Stobaugh. The wedding was beautiful." I was told by somebody that it was this weekend, but completely forgot. Furthermore, I was having a fabulous night out with girl friends and cute boys while on the other side of the world, my ex of almost 6 years was getting married...to the girl he started dating very soon after we broke up.

It just hit me today how lucky I am that our relationship did not work out. I can't imagine getting married right now, and to somebody completely wrong for me. I'm sure I would feel upset if I was in Gainesville, but the fact that I have been in Thailand for a month and about to move to South Korea is just icing on this single lady's cake.

Things that don't work out in life are just as important as the things that do.

Ok, back to reading! I must finish 300 pages by tomorrow morning so I can give my copy to an Irish guy before he leaves.
PS- I am reading in the lobby, and looked over at one point noticing that two other people are reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. My Irish friend is also reading that one. I love it!

Let Go of My Map!

Tuk tuk drivers in Chiang Mai: genuine and laid back
Tuk tuk drivers in Bangkok: looking to get slapped by a Texas tourist

One day last week, my friend and I did the sight seeing thing. We were walking to a pier a little north of all the sights to get on a local river taxi (14 baht versus 600 baht for a tourist river taxi). As we are walking, we occasionally pull out the map. Every time we do this, a tuk tuk driver comes up offering to help. At first, we think, "Wow how nice of this person." But then he grabs one side of the map and starts telling us he will take us to this place and then this place and this place too. We say "No, thats ok we are walking, but thanks for the help." But they just don't give up! They always say "too far to walk, I take you on tuk tuk." And we are trying to walk away, but they just keep holding on to my map.

We finally get on the boat, go most of the way down the river, come back up and get off at pier near the Grand Palace. Here we go again...as we are walking in between the palace and the Wat Phrakaew, tuk tuk drivers just keep appearing asking the same things.

"Where you going?"
"Where you come from?"
"Tuk tuk?"

We walk in to the Wat Phakaew and just kind of walk past the ticket counter. We didn't really mean to, but once we realized you were supposed to pay 50 baht, we just kept walking. This place was actually a lot of different temples...very pretty.



After the impromptu temple sighting, we set out for our original destination: the Grand Palace. Unfortunately, we couldn't go in for another 2 hours. But the guy at the information desk said we could take a tuk tuk up to the Big Buddha and come back to the palace for only 30 baht each. We were a little skeptical, because usually if its really cheap you have to stop in at these stores for 5 minutes, so the drivers get coupons from their sponsors for gas. But, since the tuk tuk driver looked legit, and the guy told us he worked for the government and not just a random driver, we decided to go.



Afterwards, we get back in the tuk tuk, and the driver mentions he must stop at two places and we must go inside. Ugh! But we're good sports about it, and I tell Kyle I'm not doing the suit store again since I went into FOUR the first day for a cheap ride to the weekend market. The first stop is a jewelry store. I actually enjoyed this one, found a ring I wish I could buy, and met ANOTHER ex-Texas resident. The man behind the counter went to UT for engineering in the 1970s. And his parents live in Florida. I think I attract these people with some kind of Texas radar.

The second store was a suit shop, and Kyle did all the looking. So I was a hot but happy camper.

We finally get to the Grand Palace and discover that I'm showing too much skin (my calves and ankles are so promiscuous) and so is Kyle. We have to borrow clothes from the Palace, which is very common. So we walk around the massive compound wearing these.



My favorite part of the Palace wasn't a temple or the mansion or the actual "palace". As always, I was drawn to the trees!



We walked back to our hostels and braved the tuk tuk madness, keeping our heads down and our eyes focused on the sidewalk ahead. We got to the busy highway intersection we bravely crossed a the night before. Only this time, we decided to walk down further to cross at an actual cross walk. But I want to take this moment to show a picture of when we DID cross. Grandparents and parents, I apologize for what you are about to see.



But we made it safely across!

Overall, it was a productive day for sightseeing. I'm just glad its over so I can now spend the rest of my time here doing absolutely nothing.

Getting There IS the Battle

Warning: this is long!

Yesterday, I did the tourist thing which includes getting slightly sun burned and sore from walking so much. So last night, I was asleep by 10pm only to be woken up at 4 because the drunk girls across from me weren't ready for bed yet. Then when they finally passed out, somebody's alarm clock kept going off and they just kept hitting snooze. That, or the alarm just got tired of ringing so it took breaks. I finally get out of bed at 7:15 with a stiff neck and sore legs, and try to get ready quickly.

At 7:45, I take a taxi (70 baht) to the nearest metro station to start my journey. I have to go to the ATI office to pick up my NOA and signed contract, so I can then go to the Korean embassy to apply for my visa. So, via metro, I get to the nearest Sky Train station. I love the sky train. It's so peaceful and has views like this.



But then I have to get off at my stop and proceed to walk to the ATI office. I have a map they sent me, and it looked really easy and close.

Only it wasn't.

According to the map, I just had to turn left on Sukhumvit 71, and the office is on the right hand side right before Soi 22. So I'm walking, looking for the land marks on the map, when I cross Soi 3. Soi 3? That's 19 sois away from 22! But I really have no choice, so I walk, and sweat, and walk and sweat some more. I finally cross St. Andrews School and ATI is supposed to be right after it.

Except it's not.

There's random stores, no office buildings of any kind. The address is 576. I see 574 and rejoice. Then I see 576...its a lawyer's office, and its closed. My course instructor told me it was on the second floor and that there was a sign, so I decide to ask a nice old lady walking by. When I say second floor, she points to these random stairs behind this locked gate. It looks like they lead to someone's house. Some man comes out of nowhere and unlocks the gate for me. At this point, I'm so sweaty and hot, I just go. I walk up the stairs, and am greeted with a blank door with a curtain over it. It's locked, of course. I'm almost ready to just lie down and completely melt into the sidewalk. But as I'm walking down the stairs, I hear the door open. It's Et, one of the Thais from the course!!! Never before have I been so happy to see a familiar face. She gives me my package; you know, the package I've been anxiously waiting for since mid July? Yeah, THAT package.

I want to make sure there's no other sky train station around, so I ask her if walking back to Sukhumvit's BTS is the fastest way. She says, "No, no, walk too far". I look at her, sweat dripping off my face, and say, "I just did". She laughs and thankfully says she'll walk me to the bus stop and make sure I get on the right one back to the BTS station. These buses freak me out by the way. They are only in Thai and there's about, oh, a gazillion different routes. I'm happy Et is helping me, but I'm still a little apprehensive. We wait and wait, but no bus. But then, this "contraption" drives up and it has BTS on the front. She says "Oh! You take this, only 6 baht". It stops and is completely full. Yet she's telling me to hurry and get in. I want to laugh and cry, but I don't. I somehow get into this tuk tuk/song thaew vehicle thing. One cheek is on the seat, the other is hanging off the side along with my feet. Needless to say, my hands probably almost snapped the railing in half from holding on. After the much faster and cooler trip to Sukhumvit Rd, it turns left instead of right. Damnit! But an older lady saves the day by pushing a button for it to stop. I get off and trek through Bangkok's noise and pollution back to the sky train.

It's now 9:45 and I have to get to the embassy. I take the Sky Train to the next station with a Metro entrance. After I get to the MRT stop, I head out, trusting Natalie's directions. If it weren't for her help, I surely would be in a mental institution for insanely wandering down a busy Bangkok highway. So after a 10 minute walk through more pollution, heat, and humidity, I see something.



Yes! Hooray! Finally!
It's 10:35. I walk in and see a sign that says "Visa Applications accepted from 8:30-10:30". Fuck. Mini panic attack ensues. I go in hoping they operate on Thai time (luckily they do). I give her all my documents and passport, and she tells me to come back Tuesday afternoon to pick up my visa. Did I finally do it? Yes, after 3 hours of navigating my way through Bangkok and all its pollution. At the embassy's bathroom, I finally sit down to pee, when I notice my purse's strap over my back and chest has caused two massive sweat stains. The brand new pink top I was wearing now has this round stain right in between my boobs. I look up at myself in the mirror after vigorously washing my hands. What is that on my face? I get a towel and literally wipe off the pollution from my skin. I need a year's supply of Origins after today. I can't even describe my hair at this point. It's too embarrassing.

Too tired to go all the way back across Bangkok, I decided I deserved a cool afternoon in the Paragon (Bangkok's nice mall). So I walk past Dolce & Gabbana, Marc Jacobs, and the Lambourghini store with a stained shirt, sweaty skirt, and horrible hair. But there's a movie theater on the 5th floor, with a Starbucks next door. So to hell with my appearance! This is how I'm ending my eventful day.

Korea is starting to look like a go!

I received an email today from my recruiter, and my Notice of Appointment should arrive in Bangkok in the next few days. Once I pick up this, I can then apply for my visa and buy my plane ticket to Seoul.

I switched hostels, and wow does it make a huge difference. The hostel I was at before was in such a boring area and so quiet. This one is right in the middle of all the Khao San Rd gloriousness and is filled with cool people and movies and books to watch/read galore.

I'll give another update when I get my visa...until then, Sawadeekha.

ps- I could use a little more comments from you all. My way of checking to see if anybody is actually reading this. :) I'll try to do better on the posts once I'm settled here a little bit. Cheers!

You can't escape Texas...even in Bangkok

After my exhausting hot shopping experience at the weekend market, I decided to take a tuk tuk from the metro station to the hostel instead of walking an extra 10 minutes. After a horrible night's sleep on the train from Chiang Mai, walking around outside in a crowded market looking at things I can't afford right now just was not my idea of fun. After being around people constantly for 3 weeks, suddenly knowing nobody in a city as huge as Bangkok can be a little overwhelming. I was feeling pretty homesick, when the tuk tuk driver asked me where I was from.

"Texas", I proudly but tiredly said.
"Really? I lived in Bastrop, Texas for four years!"
"Uh?" Obviously that threw me through a loop.
"Yeah, I worked at a Thai restaurant. I loved it there."

So I guess it goes to show that there's a little piece of Texas everywhere you go, even in Bangkok.

Seongnam, South Korea

An update on where I will actually be living for the next year:

Last week, I started looking for jobs in Thailand and Taiwan, because my recruiter said my application for the Gyeongbuk province was declined (he didn't see why it would, but that tends to be my luck lately). I had 3 interviews to schedule and I was feeling pretty good about staying in this awesome country. But then...Alas, an email from Henry came with a contract for me to sign! I will be teaching in Seongnam, which is just south east of Seoul. I'm so excited I finally have a job lined up, and that it is close to Seoul. Alex and Jodi will be in Daegu which is in south central Korea, so we will be about 3 hours away. Natalie and Charlie are going to be in the north east corner, so I'll be fairly close to them as well for weekend trips. And Brad and Kyle are a little east of Daegu, so I'm guessing I'll be about 4 hours away from them. Justin is still waiting to hear something from Henry, but there's a good chance he'll be in or near Seoul, so that will be awesome. Lots of great weekend trips will be planned to the various places throughout SK!

I also don't have to be there until September 2nd, so getting my visa in Bangkok is no longer an issue as far as timing goes. Right now I'm thinking I'll go to Bangkok with everybody else right after to get my visa out of the way, and then after they leave for SK (they are in a different program so their orientation is very soon), I am going to head down south and beach bum for a week or so.

"Hello class, my name is Teacher Rachel"

I finished my first three lessons of teaching practice at a nearby monk school. I liked it, and am glad to get the first time in front of a class room feeling out of the way...although I'm certain I'll have it again in South Korea. :)

There are 16 of us in the course, so we all cram into 2 song-taus (Thai taxis-red trucks that have benches in the back and a cover over them) and ride for about 30 minutes to the monk school. Its a very small school and has one of the most beautiful temples I've seen in Chiang Mai. Its surrounded by woods, and its so peacefully quiet. The school building is all concrete floors, white walls, huge open windows (no screens and no way to ever close them), dogs walking through the building like they own place, and all these cute monks walking around barefoot in their orange outfits. In Thailand you always take your shoes off before you enter a room (hair dresser, internet cafe, school), so we get to teach barefoot.

We are split into three rooms, and teach 30-35 minute lessons back to back. Even after 5 teachers' lessons with different topics, these kids are still so well behaved! I'm sure it will be a rude awakening when I start a government school. But even though they are monks, there are still desk drawings of girls and other normal boy things. In Thailand, almost every boy is a monk at some point in their life. It is their choice usually, and they can be a monk for a week, a month, a year, or the rest of their lives.

The first lesson I taught was a Young Learners Lesson about musical instruments. We learned piano, guitar, and drums. We then learned to say I play the piano, I strum the guitar, and I pound on the drums. I did fairly well and didn't miss any major steps. The second day I taught a Basic Lesson about jobs. This one did not go as well, but the students never knew I messed up the order. Yesterday I taught another Basic Lesson about electronics, and I felt it was much better. Even though I taught late in the day after they had sat through three other teachers with the same lesson model, they were very attentive and stayed with me the whole time. Everybody says I have that teacher look, but I still need to work on smiling more. Hopefully that will come with time when I'm less nervous.