AFN Network

So I have cable in my apartment and gave become an avid watcher of season 4 of Sex in the City. There are about 6 English channels and though they are all about 3 or 4 seasons behind in their programing... it is nice to turn on the tv in my apartment and have some familiar faces and sounds in my apartment.
My most favorite channel thus far is the American Forces Network. Like almost of the English Language Networks... the AFN does not have any commercials within the program itself. Unlike the other channels... that advertise at the end of the show... the AFN provides service announcements for their stationed troups here... and all I can say is that they are the most entertaining things I have ever seen in my life. If there was a channel solely dedicated to the service announcements given... I would probably be totally glued to the tv.
You would think that since this network is for the troops here that the announcements would be beneficial to their stationment... right?!? Wrong! They are the best annicdotes ever!!!!
For example.... "Remember... vending machines can kill if they fall over!" How great is that! They are all basically like that... it is GREAT! It provides humor in the day.. teeeheee!
I went to TGI Friday's today... it was nice to eat something... I managed to finish half of my bulgogi burger and fries... so I am slowly forcing myself to eat... I think that perhaps all the smells (it is so fragant here to say the least) became a tad opverwhelming to me... and a taf nausiating to say the least... oh well... I am slowly eating again... hopefully I will be able to finish an entire meal without feeling sick by the end of next week... here's hoping!
I went on an excursion yesterday and saw "Star Wars: Episode III". It was really good... and actually was very entertaining. I must say though that I was still a tad wigged out to see Hayden Christianson on the big screen... I still think of him as the shy kid in school.... the one that I saw at parties... it is a little odd... but cool still.. he managed (out of our group) to actually make it big!
I am still a little wigged out when people want to have their picture taking on the street with me just because I am white... and they want to practice their English on me as well.... if I was polite to everyone and graciously spoke back I would never go anywhere... I am still trying to find the balance.
Anyways Jessica (my co-worker from Rochester NY) wants to go... so I will say g'night/
I will update soon.
MUAHS!

Reflecting on my first week

So it is now 1:30ish on Thursday afternoon.
I have been in Korea almost one week now... and so far things are alright.
I have learnt a couple of things thus far... one being planning is the key to success. Once I had a plan of what I was going to be teaching and supplimentary materials to fill up the allotted class time... things went so much smoother and I started to think that maybe.. just maybe I will be able to hack it. I still have one class though that I think is going to be a handful... they are pretty rude little buggers... and though I can't always understand what they are saying to me.. their facial expressions give away the rudeness and obsenities. Oh well.. I am learning to be "stricter" with them... my director wants me to "lay down the law".
I got a cell phone. Because I am a foreigner... I am not allowed to get a phone plan so I had to go pay-as-you-go... which is truthfully just fine with me. Getting calls is free though so it isnt that bad. I still may make my international calls from the phone booth since I still dont understand the Korean voice at the end of my phone calls telling me how much time I have left on my phone. Lastnight I was talking to my dad and the phone went dead... apparently I had run out of time... oops.
Things have been pretty good thus far... I have just gotten over my jet lag... finally! The first week here was pretty hard... I was so tired and I was still on Canadian time... so it was a tad challenging.
I have finally finished cleaning the apartment. All in all it took about 6 hours... but now the mold is gone and I feel at home... I bought a kettle and have finally now been able to have my cappucino in the morning... I brought a tin Tims French Vanilla Instant Cappuccino with me... it is nice to have some sense of normalcy amongst all this chaos.
Health wise... I am doing alright. I am still really afraid to go into a restaurant and order by myself... I know that I have to get over that since most people are really nice and patient... but in this week alone I have managed to drop an entire pant size just from.. though I am not proud of it.. skipping meals and drinking lots of water (I am proud of that though... I am managing about 1 leter a day.. more than I can say I ever drank back home.. because it is soo hot here... I am always thirsty.. that and it is masking my hunger pains sometimes). I finally bought some groceries so I should be able to gain most of that back.... and as my confidence grows.. I will be less likely to go without food.. I know it is so odd to think of me not eating... nerves can do wonders.
Anyways I should go. My kindergaten class starts in about 30minutes and I still need to find an activity to do with them... perhaps coloring today?!?
My schedule for work is pretty sweet... MFW 2pm-730pm and T/TH 2pm-230pm (I stay til 5ish though to prepare the next days lessons).
Anyways... things are good...
I will update soon.
HUGS

In Daejoen, South Korea

Sorry I havent posted in a bit... things have been very hectic lately.
The plane ride was long and uneventful... we had a lot of turbulance... but other than that... nothing major to report there.
I got into Seoul at 945ish at night. It was so weird to step off the plane and see an american soldier shouting english instruction about immigration to the arriving passengers... and of course the Korean soldier next to him with a machine gun... a little tense.
I got to my first apartment in Seoul... where I would be spending the weekend at 12ish in the morning and was informed that I would have training on the next day and that she (my director) would be picking me up at 630am. Needless to say I didnt bring an alarm clock... so the sleep that night was a tad restless since I was sooo scared that I would miss her and create a bad impression.
Basically the first day is kinda a blur. I had been on the plane for 2 days straight... where I didnt get any sleep... so needless to say I was a tad out of it.. going on basically 3 hours of sleep in the past 72 hour period.
Saturday I slept... called home (ah the miracle of phone cards)... and went to the Korean supermarket to get some food.
This experience was very intimidating. There were SOOOO many people and there were SOOOO many foods that I didnt recognize... so I basically left the store with a razor, 3 apples and a package of cream cheese. Oh well.
OOO... Word of advice to those coming abroad.. dont bother purchasing and trecking with you shampoos and soaps and stuff... you can basically find all the same brands here... DO remember to bring deoderant though... cause aparently Koreans dont sweat... all they use is those perfumy body sprays.
Sunday I went with my director to Itawon and surrounding areas. These areas are right next to the American army base... so you could buy a lot of things really cheaply... and of course there is knock off alley there... I didnt get anything but some of the handbags there looked identical to the real ones...
Yesterday I went to Daejeon with my boss and director. It is about 2 hours away from Seoul and is where the World Cup was hosted a while back.. so it is pretty tourity and has a lot of attractions and national parks. It is here that I will be staying for the remainder of my time in Korea.
My apartment is really big... well Korean standards big... I arrived there yesterday... it is really dirty and needs a good cleaning.. but it is the size of the kitchen and my bedroom in Hebel place... so it is big enough for me.
Yesterday was kinda tough... I arrived in Daejeon at 1130am and was informed that I would start teaching at 2pm that day. I had enough time to just go and drop off my stuff... when I had to return to teach my first class.
The first and second class were really hard... I had the kindergarten classes and none of them spoke any English... needless to say that I wasnt at all prepared... so it was a tad challenging... I left them thinking what the hell was I doing and wanted to pack it up and go home.
The next three classes though were a tad more advanced so it was a lot easier.... in my final class I had the children write a composition beginning with "If I could travel anywhere in the world I would go to.... because..." and one of my kids wrote... "I would go to Canada since you are from Canada. You are very pretty and I like your eyes." That helped me get into a better mood needless to say.
I went home around 730ish at night and just collapsed... I looked at all that needed to be done... I dont have a dresser for my clothes so I have to go and buy one... and in Korea it is customary not to clean the apartment when you move out... so it was very messy... I just had had enough. I was extremely overwhelmed and felt the tears welling up... so I just went to bed.
Today is a lot better. I set up a bank account and this afternoon I will have a cell phone... not that I expect any calls.
Anyways... I have been sitting here at the PC bang across the street from my school for about 30 minutes now.. so I am going to go now.
Another word of advice to anyone coming over.... BE FLEXIBLE! That is definelty not my strong suit... but if you are... the transition here will be a lot smoother.
I will try to update really soon.
BYES

In Markham for another week

SO... I am in Markham another week... lol (angrily gritting one's teeth).
My flight was booked and I was already to go, when, on Monday night (I was supposed to leave Tuesday early morning) I got a call from Ben at Footprints and was told that they cancelled my flight. WHAT?!?
Apparently, the school, who would be paying for the flight found that the flight that was booked a little too expensive and said that they should wait for a better price. So there I was.. with everything I owned in suitcases... and I had NO clue what was going on.
Every day I would wait by the phone for a call letting me know when I would be leaving... for all I knew I would be asked to go to the airport right away... but I digress.
So.. I checked my email this morning and have now found out that I will be leaving (for sure this time.. fingers crossed) May 18 at 9:35am.
This flight is with a different carrier than the last (Northwest) and there are more lay overs (2) but hey... it's a flight.
Truthfully, other than being a tad stressed about the entire thing... I am kinda happy that my departure was delayed another week. Though I still somewhat feel like a guest in their house.. I really am enjoying my time here... it is relaxing... and hey it could always be worse.
My itinerary is as follows:
Leave Pearson at 9:35am
Arrive in Detroit at 10:44am
Leave Detroit at 2:20pm
Arrive in Tokyo at 4:25pm (the next day)
Leave Tokyo at 6:45pm
Arrive in Korea at 11:35pm.
The lay overs are mostly going to suck since they are 2-4hours... but it is going to be cool to at least see the airport of Tokyo.
All in all.. if I had to do this all again... I probably wouldn't change much... though I can fully admit that I am bored out of my mind here (they dont even have cable.. lol).. and I have been stressing just a tad over the ticket issue... it was easier (with the legal stuff and all) to go through a recruiter. If anyone is ever considering going to Japan or Korea to teach English, I highly recommend using one. Basically they did all the leg work... and though this airplane ticket situation may have been less than favorable... at least they were able to get something that suited all parties involved.
Anyways.. I'm here til next week... drop a line.
Cheers

UPDATE!

So I am still in Markham... lol... Word of advice to anyone going to Korea... don't count on the promptness of the government and have an arsenal of passport photos (cause every one wants one for everything).
My Visa did not come through til Thursday... so I was forced to push my flight back.
I am now leaving Tuesday May 10 at 8:25am from Pearson International Airport. The flight is going to be a long one... the iternary is as follows:
5:00am Check in
8:25 Leave For San Francisco
11am Arrive in California
2:20pm Leave San Francisco for Incheon
6:45pm (The next day) - Arrive in Incheon
That is about a 34ish hour journey.. give or take a few... alls I can say is I am going to be tired.
It still hasn't hit me that I am going... since I was unsure of sooo many things and began doubting everything and everyone involved... but now that all has come into fruition and I have T minus 4 days.... well... it is starting to hit me.
Things are alright at home... sometimes it's tense... but it is nice to just chill and not do much... though I have to ask those people who go home after living on their own... "HOW DO YOU DO IT?"... I feel like a guest in their house... since it really is no longer mine... and well... we are all set in our ways. Soon enough they will be empty nesters again and I will be... well I will be overseas.
Anyways... last Friday at the Stampede was a lot of fun... several people showed, while others gracefully bowed out... oh well... it was still a lot of fun and was very nice to see a lot of people.
Anyways.. I guess that is it... since I have such a long layover (well 3 hours) in the states and there is NO WAY that I am leaving the airport... cause knowing me I would miss the flight (knock on wood)... so I will try to send an update from there.
I hope that all is well and dandy on your ends...
Keep in Touch
Cheers