At last
I apologize for the long period of time between entries. As i said in my last entry (I believe it was my last), I always have so many ideas for wonderful journal entries, and then I get back to the apartment and have no desire to type anything.
So I am halfway through my third week of teaching. Teaching has been both a blessing and a curse. I love sharing my knowledge with others. I hate when they're not receptive. I love the look on the kid's face when he understands something. I hate how rushed the lessons are. I love that the company gives us everything we need to teach. I hate that there's just so goddamn much to teach.
Speaking of frustrations, I still haven't gotten internet hooked up in my room. As a result I've been using some ghetto wireless that works off and on, and has caused more frustration than I'd like. I was supposed to get the internet hooked up today, but that never happened. AS I was writing this entry, my boss just walked in and told me that the internet guy couldn't come, and that I should get a phone, since they could not contact me. That's all fine and well, except for the fact that I wouldn't even know the first step about getting one. I mean, I see the phone places around town, but I surely can't just walk in and sign a contract for something that I have no clue about. That's another frustration with this company. So often they give you half information, and you're left scratching your head going "ok, is the other half coming? Or do they think I'm Sherlock f'n Holmes and I'll figure it out myself?" Don't get me wrong, I love being independent. Hell, I'm 7000 miles away, doing my thing on my own, but there are certain things where I would love for someone to hold me by the hand and guide me along. Unfortunately these idiots don't seem to want to do that.
Speaking of independence, my frustration with the absurd "service" at the department stores continues to grow. It seems as though "browsing" is not possible. Clerks are constantly lurking, trying to force you into a purchase. I'm fairly certain that these stores could lower some of their absurd prices, if, instead of having 5 or 6 employees per 10 sq. ft. dept, they only had one. It's so incredibly difficult to properly paint the picture of how "lurkish" it is at these stores. Perhaps if my phone has a camera on it, I can take a video of it. You would be overwhelmed. As I am.
So last night, I went to the Hyundai Dept. Store. I got my first paycheck the other day (if you want to call it that. Apparently they pay you on the 10th of each month. But only for the hours you worked the previous month. Oh, and, apparently there was a realtor fee for my apartment, which I didn't know about. And which they took out of my paycheck. So after being here for a month, I got... $90.), so I decided to go look for some loafers. I have this ridiculous obsession with them and have wanted a pair forever. I decided now would be a good time to get them. Well I went to the store, and, as I said, it was just nonstop gangrushing of employees. Needless to say, I ducked out pretty quickly, sans loafers. I didn't even get to look really. But I did get an Auntie Anne's pretzel. Which was missing the 3 inch thick layer of butter. So yeah, it sucked.
After my horrrrrrrrific trip to the store, [Wait, I want to interject here. I am so confused about Korean fashion. I was in what I assumed to be a unisex clothing area, because there were male and female mannequins. But all the clothing was distinctly feminine, so I have no clue what was going on. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to figure it out, because I was forced to run from section to section before I could be accosted by an overzealous Korean salesperson.] I just wandered around a bit, finally making my way back to my apartment. On my way there, I saw this little underground tunnel thing. It looked extraordinarily shady, so I had to go in. It turned out it was an underground shopping area. All the shops were selling the most random assortment of goods. Linens, liquor, used shoes, and one stand had a lot (and i mean a lot) of peanut butter. Jif I think. The owner must have been a choosy mom. (If you don't get that, I'm sorry you didn't have a childhood). So I walked through this little...whatever the hell it was, (And by little, I mean, it was one of the largest thing's I've ever been in.) and eventually saw an exit (nowhere near the end of it), and turned out. Shockingly it took me to the back of my apartment building, where I was surprised to see yet another nudey bar. Unfortunately this one wasn't as cleverly named as Club Sexy Land. In fact, it had no name. Just a neon outline of a naked woman. I'll have to check it out.
Oh, now would be a good time to mention that I have a new neighbor. I went out in the hallway yesterday to get some hot water, and I ran into someone that I knew from training. Not like "oh, thats my best friend from training," but more like "oh, i saw her around training a bunch of times." She looked at me and said "CDI?" and I said "yes." "I just moved into room 1313." "Oh, imagine that, I live in 1312, we're neighbors." So i went into her room and we talked for about 10 minutes. She was living in a hotel the last few weeks, and JUST moved in. Seems odd. She's also working pretty far from here, so I'm not sure why she's living here, but I'm not complaining. At least I have an English-speaking neighbor. Oh, and at least I'm not the only one spending big on my place to live.
Class today was actually pretty good. It's a fun class, including this kid named Woo-Jin, who, during Tuesday's class, raised his hand and said "teacher, you are very handsome." Awkward. This whole week has been good, thankfully. Last week had sucked quite a bit, and I was getting a bit annoyed. After work, I tried to go shopping again. Alas, no dice. Haha.
So, again, I'm sorry for not updating. I will try my best to keep updating it. I'll even go back and put captions for the pics from my last update. Until next time...
So I am halfway through my third week of teaching. Teaching has been both a blessing and a curse. I love sharing my knowledge with others. I hate when they're not receptive. I love the look on the kid's face when he understands something. I hate how rushed the lessons are. I love that the company gives us everything we need to teach. I hate that there's just so goddamn much to teach.
Speaking of frustrations, I still haven't gotten internet hooked up in my room. As a result I've been using some ghetto wireless that works off and on, and has caused more frustration than I'd like. I was supposed to get the internet hooked up today, but that never happened. AS I was writing this entry, my boss just walked in and told me that the internet guy couldn't come, and that I should get a phone, since they could not contact me. That's all fine and well, except for the fact that I wouldn't even know the first step about getting one. I mean, I see the phone places around town, but I surely can't just walk in and sign a contract for something that I have no clue about. That's another frustration with this company. So often they give you half information, and you're left scratching your head going "ok, is the other half coming? Or do they think I'm Sherlock f'n Holmes and I'll figure it out myself?" Don't get me wrong, I love being independent. Hell, I'm 7000 miles away, doing my thing on my own, but there are certain things where I would love for someone to hold me by the hand and guide me along. Unfortunately these idiots don't seem to want to do that.
Speaking of independence, my frustration with the absurd "service" at the department stores continues to grow. It seems as though "browsing" is not possible. Clerks are constantly lurking, trying to force you into a purchase. I'm fairly certain that these stores could lower some of their absurd prices, if, instead of having 5 or 6 employees per 10 sq. ft. dept, they only had one. It's so incredibly difficult to properly paint the picture of how "lurkish" it is at these stores. Perhaps if my phone has a camera on it, I can take a video of it. You would be overwhelmed. As I am.
So last night, I went to the Hyundai Dept. Store. I got my first paycheck the other day (if you want to call it that. Apparently they pay you on the 10th of each month. But only for the hours you worked the previous month. Oh, and, apparently there was a realtor fee for my apartment, which I didn't know about. And which they took out of my paycheck. So after being here for a month, I got... $90.), so I decided to go look for some loafers. I have this ridiculous obsession with them and have wanted a pair forever. I decided now would be a good time to get them. Well I went to the store, and, as I said, it was just nonstop gangrushing of employees. Needless to say, I ducked out pretty quickly, sans loafers. I didn't even get to look really. But I did get an Auntie Anne's pretzel. Which was missing the 3 inch thick layer of butter. So yeah, it sucked.
After my horrrrrrrrific trip to the store, [Wait, I want to interject here. I am so confused about Korean fashion. I was in what I assumed to be a unisex clothing area, because there were male and female mannequins. But all the clothing was distinctly feminine, so I have no clue what was going on. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to figure it out, because I was forced to run from section to section before I could be accosted by an overzealous Korean salesperson.] I just wandered around a bit, finally making my way back to my apartment. On my way there, I saw this little underground tunnel thing. It looked extraordinarily shady, so I had to go in. It turned out it was an underground shopping area. All the shops were selling the most random assortment of goods. Linens, liquor, used shoes, and one stand had a lot (and i mean a lot) of peanut butter. Jif I think. The owner must have been a choosy mom. (If you don't get that, I'm sorry you didn't have a childhood). So I walked through this little...whatever the hell it was, (And by little, I mean, it was one of the largest thing's I've ever been in.) and eventually saw an exit (nowhere near the end of it), and turned out. Shockingly it took me to the back of my apartment building, where I was surprised to see yet another nudey bar. Unfortunately this one wasn't as cleverly named as Club Sexy Land. In fact, it had no name. Just a neon outline of a naked woman. I'll have to check it out.
Oh, now would be a good time to mention that I have a new neighbor. I went out in the hallway yesterday to get some hot water, and I ran into someone that I knew from training. Not like "oh, thats my best friend from training," but more like "oh, i saw her around training a bunch of times." She looked at me and said "CDI?" and I said "yes." "I just moved into room 1313." "Oh, imagine that, I live in 1312, we're neighbors." So i went into her room and we talked for about 10 minutes. She was living in a hotel the last few weeks, and JUST moved in. Seems odd. She's also working pretty far from here, so I'm not sure why she's living here, but I'm not complaining. At least I have an English-speaking neighbor. Oh, and at least I'm not the only one spending big on my place to live.
Class today was actually pretty good. It's a fun class, including this kid named Woo-Jin, who, during Tuesday's class, raised his hand and said "teacher, you are very handsome." Awkward. This whole week has been good, thankfully. Last week had sucked quite a bit, and I was getting a bit annoyed. After work, I tried to go shopping again. Alas, no dice. Haha.
So, again, I'm sorry for not updating. I will try my best to keep updating it. I'll even go back and put captions for the pics from my last update. Until next time...