Heading to Japan

So I have now finished the training (ish) part of my job and am now co-teaching the cooking class for the month with a Korean teacher (Julie). She is really nice and knows her stuff... and well pizza is basically self-explanatory... so it is a good place to start.
I was informed today that my ticket for Japan and hotel room have been reserved for next week and on October 4, 2005 (right at the final moment) I am going to be boarding a plane for Fukuoka Japan. Since August... you are now forced to spend one night in Japan before you can get your VISA... so I am going to stay the night in a hotel. Luckily the entire trip is being funded by the school... but other teachers have told me that I should anticipate about a $250.00 expense... since I have to pay for the VISA fees and the transportation and food and such. Plus since Fukuoka is a tourist area and I am spending 2 days there... there are a few tourist attractions I can go to... so pictures will definetly be coming. I think that I may be going by myself... and though I am a little bit nervous... think that I will probably meet other foreigners doing their VISA Runs in Japan or the school might send another new teacher with me. But if I am alone... well oh well... I have a lot of information on what to do to get my VISA and what attractions I should see... so I know that I will be fine.
Things here are good. Since I am making pizza 6 hours of each day... my appetite is going down (just smelling the food all the time sooner or later will make you full). But I am also getting used to the caf food. Some of it is an aquired taste (shrimp and rice for breakfast)... but really... it is filling and is tolerable. People are really nice... I am getting used to a new routine (7am-7pm) and am pretty dead tired when the day is done... but really all is good. I am getting tones of excersize... though I can use the elevators... prefer not too... so 6 times a day (sometimes more) I trek up and down the 5 flights of stairs in the North Wing (where I work and live)... so my bottom should thank me by christmas.
Because all the ambassadors wives help running this place... and there are a lot of Canadians... the Canadian ambassador's wife and all the Canadioan teachers are going to be planning a Thanksgiving dinner... so I am going to get to have TURKEY!!! and gravy... and stuffing... and cranberry sauce... and mashed potatoes (can you see the drool????:P)... so this week I am going to get my assignment on what I need to do to contribute to this event.
Cheers!

End of Day 1

So it is now 7:45pm and I am done for the day. Today was really good... I did the tours and immigration and stuff in the morning... then observed a lot of classes in the afternoon. Starting tomorrow I am going to be assigned to the cooking class (heheheh)... actually it isnt that hard... we are making pizza. So for the month I am going to be a chef :) it is one of the most popular classes... but after 26 classes of making pizza a week... I doubt I will ever enjoy the smell of mozerella cheese and maranira sauce. Oh well... I didn't exactly like pizza to begin with anyways.
Anyhoo... the food is pretty aweful. It is like being back at Laurier... before the health conscious renovations... everything is baked and fried in oil... and well... it is definetly and aquired taste... oh well I guess I wont need to worry about the frosh 15 here... and it could be worse... I could have been forced to cook for myself.
So all in all today was a very good day... and I am dead tired... I think I am going to head back to my room... watch tv... eat m&ms... and lounge... there is a going away thingy for a couple who are leaving so I may check that out... but otherwise I am going to be heading to bed early.
Since I now have 24hour access to computers with internet access I am going to make an effort and chat to people back home via msn... so much is happening and changing... and well.. being out of the loop... esp since so many people are having tough times right now... well it takes effort to maintain a relationship.
Anyhoo.... things are good.
Miss all of you.
Cheers

First Day of Work

So this is now my lunch break... and well.. this morning was a lot of fun. It was basically tours and immigration and getting the kids settled and all... but I can really see myself enjoying this type of work... for the next 12 months at least.
Jason (my manager) called me into his office and said that if my VISA doesn't come in by October 4, 2005, the school will just have me get a 30 day visitors permit... so I am not to worry... though Margaret (the assistant manager) thinks that my stuff will come in in time so... I shouldn't worry.
People are really nice here. It is a little difficult, because most of the people here have know each other for more than a year... and they have formed their own little clicks and such... but I am slowly meeting more and more people... it is just a thing of making an effort. I am leaving my dorm room door open now... so most people stop and say "hi" and chat a bit... so I think that come next week I will feel less out of place.
So things are more or less falling into place and this is starting to feel like home... I think... actually I know that this move has been and is for the best... and though I may be starting my year all over again... I would rather enjoy the time here than anything else.
Anyhoo.. I am just heading out.
Cheers!

I have a cold :(

So the week is now over and so is my vacation. Next week I start training and working at the SEV and hopefully will have all my VISA stuff sorted out so that I can go to Japan (on or before October 4 *fingers crossed*).
This vacation has been really nice, relaxing and a lot time spent on sleeping, but I must say that I am ready to get back to the realities of life and a semblance of a normal routine.
I think.. well I know that I have come down with a cold... I have a cough... my throat and mouth are really dry and I ache all over... I think it is due to the fact that last week I slept on Shelena's floor... and with the cold front now here... well it is a breading ground for illnesses. Oh well.. I am well stocked up on Buckley's and Advil Cold and Sinus... and I think I may have cleared Emart out of their tea stock (kidding... but I did by 4 brands for variety). As long as my cough doesn't get any worse I think my remedies will be fine.. otherwise I will have to trek to the international dr's clinic downtown. But I think it is just a regular cold.
Anyhoo... I just saw pics from home detailing the on-going renovations... and I think that the house will be magnificent once it's down... but I must say that I am glad that I wont be around to live through the dust and inconvenience of not having a kitchen.
That's all to report for now.
Cheers!

My new room!

This is my room. I have tried my best to personalize it... but as time goes on it will become more and more comfortable. It is an awkward shape (large L shape) but is actually really big.

October 4, 2005

So yesterday I went really early to BCM to go with Mr. Yoo to the Korean Immigration Office to cancel my VISA. The whole trip was really a waste of time. I went to BCM for 7:30am so that we could leave at 8am... but we didn't end up leaving until 8:30am. Then it took basically 1 hour for us to get to the immigration office... and then... it took maybe five minutes to cancel my VISA... since all I had to do was hand in my Alien Registration Card and sign the back of my Exit Order. To tell you the truth, I had been pretty calm about the process of cancelling my VISA... and then... when I got the Exit Order saying that I had to be out of the country by October 4, 2005... well I became a little overwhelmed and the nerves set in. It is definetly difficult not to worry... even though the control of the entire situation is completely out of my hands. Oh well... I am trying to be cool as a cucumber and lay low.
In other news... I have officially moved into the Seoul English Village. Since this is vacation week for all the employees... the dorms are really (almost eerily) quiet... but I am finding ways to amuse myself. I found the teacher computer lounge yesterday (yay) so the cash that I was or would have been spending at a PC Bang can be saved. There is also a microwave (found yesterday as well) so I can heat up some food, instead of living off of bread and McDondald's (as previously thought).
In other news, my parents have started the renovations on their house. I shouldn't be able to recognize the place when I go back home next year... which is a little nerve wracking (the comforts of home)... I mean you know that life goes on when you aren't there... but sometimes you wisht that things would stop so that they will remain the same until you get back... but alas that is just a child's dream.
All in all though things are good... my dad said it perfectly when my mom said that I sounded depressed yesterday on the phone... it has been a long faught battle and now all I need is time to recouperate and regain my strength... though truth be told I think I left my funk lastnight... once I found the microwave (oh the joys in the little things).
Anyways... I will keep you posted on the VISA stuff as they arise.
Cheers!

GRR DHL!

So Laurier sent my transcripts by DHL to Korea on Friday the 10th... and they should have comne by Wednesday of last week... but aparently there was a problem with the DHL plane in the United States and my very important transcripts spent the week in Washington DC. But at last... after several phone calls to the customer service department... on both ends of the world... my transcripts arrived on Friday. That means that I can now end my VISA with BCM!!!! and get a new one (and of course take a trip to Japan!)
This week though will be pretty lonely since everyone is on vacation at the school in Vietnam or Thailand... but the alone time is welcomed. I just need time to recharge and recuperate... so one week of solitude should be good.
Anyways... I will write again soon as I am just heading out.
PS... thanks for all the support that has been cast my way throughout this entire ordeal. It has meant a lot and helped even more.
Cheers!b

Vacation Week 1

So I am right now sitting at a PC Bang in Suji just catching up on some emails... and listening to ChumFm on the internet.... heheheh.
Things have been a little busy lately with the Visa process and all... but mostly I have been able to recuperate a lot from the drama that is BCM.
I am staying the week with Shelena (crahing on her floor).... and it is alright... though 2 people in small quarters can be a little tense and all... but I am totally grateful for her hospitality. I can't wait to go to my new home on Saturday though.... to sleep on a bed.... to listen to my music.... to be back to being alone!
Liz left on Sunday... it was the right thing for her to do. I think it is fine to feel jilted over a situation for a bit... but once you become bitter... well you know that it is time to move on. Though I miss my partner in crime... it is best for her and her mental health... and mental health comes before everything.
Anyways... I think this is going to be a short update... since I havent done much except shuttle myself between Suji and the village in Seoul (I keep dropping things off.. so that the move on Saturday will be easy... esp since we are moving on the subway!)
I got a box of sweaters from my parents for my birthday... they are absolutely gorgeous and fit both me and my style perfectly... I am sooo grateful for them.
Anyhoo... once something exciting (ie my trip to Japan) happens or is about to happen I will update again... otherwise....
Cheers!

Who needs a Birthday, when you can have a Birthweek!

So as I said in my last post, this birthday was absolutely amazing! The kindness of everyone over here has been overwhelming!
So someone at the BCM let it slip in the middle of the week that my birthday was coming up at the end of the week... and the next thing I knew was.... each class had bought me a different type of birthday cake! In Korea, aparently, when someone gives you a cake as a present, it is not meant to be shared... or so my students told me... so by the end of the week I had 4 different types of cake in my fridge (don't worry I shared them with guests and friends!)
On Friday, I was a little bit homesick... and well... was in a funk... but after work decided that I would go to Suji and try to merriously ring in the new birthyear with my friends at my side. We all decided to go to Wa Bar for some pre-drinking. There, Liz's friend Eric joined us. Since it was my birthday, Eric decided to buy me what every girl wants... a $75 bottle of Taquilla! Truth be told, I was a little hesitant in accepting the gift... I mean 75$ is quite expensive... and I had only just met him... but according to Korean culture (which he is)... he said it would have been very rude and insulting if I turned down the gift. So... I decided to share!
So there we were, 4 girls and a guy, shooting taquilla with lemon and salt... and become VERY loud!.. but hey you only turn 23 once. Eric then decided to make a "boiler" (I think) and hand it to me for drinking. This concoction was a shot of taquilla, a half pint of beer, a lemon and a touch of salt. GROSS! But to avoid any rudeness... I drank it back! Then I was to make the same drink for a friend... and so on... until everyone at the table had drank the friendship drink. Needless to say I was a little happy by the end of that!
Koreans feel it necessary to order food with alcohol... so Eric (I know... but he wouldn't stop buying things despite my objections) bought a plate of fruit.... ah fruit.... for us to munch on while we worked at the taquilla bottle.
By 3am... the five of us had managed to drink... insert blush.... the entire bottle of taquilla... in addition to 6 bottles of beer. YIKES! So needless to say, when we finally left the bar to head to a Nore Bang (Korean Kareoke)... I was feeling less than stellar. We had made it just down the street... to the old Buy The Way... when I had to sit down. Not only was the world spinning... but the sent of Shelena's Menthol cigarette just became tooo much to handle. The next thing I knew, I was christening the front of the Buy The Way! (BLUSH!) Though once it was over... I felt amazing and ready to tackle the world once more. So we headed to the Nore Bang and sang our little hearts out until 5am.
Once our time was up... we all decided to head home. So we all stumbled our ways down the street... some to their cars (I know... but aparenlty drinking and driving isnt exactly illegal here since the cops won't ticket you for it... though I still wouldn't get in the vehicle with them... just because it ain't illegal.. doesnt make it any less wrong)... while others went to the cab station.
The reswt of the weekend I felt absolutely horrid... with a headache that just wouldn't go away... and an irribility that I just couldn't shake... aparently I am now an adult my friends have said... since I got my first hang over...
Though I completely drank WAY tooo much... the evening was absolutely amazing... good friends... great food.... great alcohol.... amazing Nore Bang singers.... all in all it was just perfect!
Thanks for the great night!

Great Birthday!

So my birthday was amazing! I have tones of pics... and I will upload them later this week.
I thought I would attach a link to the Seoul English Village so that you could see the school and get just as excited as I. So here is the link to the SEV (or moreso to the page which shows the rooms).
Hope that everyone back home is enjoying their labor day weekends.
I will post more when I get the chance.
Cheers!

Signed, sealed, delivered... I'm yours!

So today I went and signed my contract. I am now an official employee of the Seoul government. My contract with BCM finishes on Thursday and I am moving out on Friday. I am going to be moving my stuff into my new place (just for storage) and then am going to crash with Shelena for a bit. If we start to bicker... I might stay in a hotel a couple of nights... or if I just want to relax.
Tonight is my birthday! At 12am I will be 23. I can't get over how fast this has flown by.... though it was quite drama filled... mostly self-created though... I think that I have managed to survive 22 pretty much unscaved. My friends and I are going to be going to a Nore Bang (Korean Karoke bar) for the evening so that should be fun... but at present I can't help but miss my family and amazing friends back home. Oh well... everything is always a little bitter sweet right?!?
Anyways... this weekend we are going to check out the Erotic Museum in Seoul. It is exhibiting sexual carvings, paintings and sculptures from around the world... so not only should it be fun... but it should be a hoot.
Liz has decided to go back to America... I don't disagree with her decision one bit... I mean "once burned, twice shy" and she says that she doesn't think her emotional status could handle another bad hagwon. Mental Health before everything else is my mantra... but still I am going to miss her. She has been not only my allie, but my friend throughout this whole ordeal with BCM. I am truly going to miss her. I really think that are souls were destined to cross paths here... and I am grateful that they did.

I GOT THE JOB!

I can't post much right now since I am just heading out... but I thought that I would let everyone know that today I was offered a one-year contract with the Seoul English Village!
I am elated and honored to have been added to their team!
Thanks for all those who have prayed for me and kept their fingers crossed during this turbulant time.
I will post more soon!