South African Mom in Korea

EMAIL3 ULSAN WEEK1

2008-09-20T06:57:00.000-07:00

Email sent to Friends and family after 1st week in Ulsan!

Friends and Family Forgive me when I repeat news but I am replying to so many emails I cant remember who I said what to! Thank you thank you thank you to those who reply!!!!!! Ulsan is actually a very beautiful city - abit like Durban in climate and vegetation. We are in a lovely suburb called Seong-an which is located high up on a hill(feels like a mountain) with clear air and beautiful views. From my office I have a stunning view of the wide river that snakes itself from the mountainous regions through the city to the sea.We have not seen the sea yet but not on my list of priorities. This is the world hub of Hyundai so no prizes if you guess which brand of car is on the road the most. Yep u have it....and of course Kia! Most people don't speak English at all but we find that many are willing to try. We bought some fruit from a local sidewalk greengrocer on Saturday. On Sunday he met up with us in the town and asked;"You go shopping?" He was very excited when we replied in English! Older generation are not keen to try but then again they grew up in the Koeran war and don't have good memories of English speaking Americans I suppose! Its that or we show too little respect.Everything is in walking distance from our apartment. The only time we need to take a taxi is when we want to go the larger apartment stores then we pay about w2000 for three of us...+-R16! Kristin and I are at Seong-an Elementary school which is the older school in this suburb....about 25 years old...and proud of their tradition! School starts at 9am but I haven't worked out quite when it ends yet. There are 5 periods of 40 min with 10min between each period for quick meetings. Each grade(6 classes of +-35kids) has a staffroom of their own and the there is a big conference room. The school has 3 storeys but if you ask a Korean they will tell you the top storey is 4th floor. I have to get used to the idea that ground floor is 1st floor! Lunch time in the cafeteria is great fun with each grade filed in by their homeroom teacher. Everything is spotless and regimented. The food is good and very healthy. K and I eat at the school for a nominal fee. The kids are noisy like all kids but easily quietened down.There is way more respect for a teacher than at home. I am greeted "HELLO TEACHER!" from the moment I leave my apartment and the whole 10min walk to the school! A bit of a celebrity!

Kristin is settling well and seems to be making friends. She has been placed in the grade 5 class because of her height and the grade 5s English is better and can communicate with her. She blows my mind daily! Yesterday she was taught decimal calculations and off she went! She is still trying to get used to the fact that she is considered a famous person and that her friends chat to each other in Korean.She has a stunning teacher who is giving her much one2one attention. They have made an agreement to teach each other. Today she will be teaching a lesson herself. She has been so awesome and I now know it was the best thing I could've done to bring her with me. We are bonding all over again!

First night in larger apartment was close to heaven. For those who may have missed the drama, the Dep of Education(typically) confused my cousin and I. K and I went into ONE bed roomed apartment and further school and Cousin got larger apartment with living area and large bedroom and nearer school! We were first told to swap schools and apartments after we had already been introduced to principal,vice-Principal and formed a relationship with co-teachers. After much red tape and admin departments discussion we swapped apartments only last night! I think Mr Lee, the admin man at my school sees this GET(Guest English Teacher) as a bit of a head Ache! New apartment has entrance hall with large shoe cupboard(Koreans don't wear outside shoes in their apartments), Large living area kitchen area and separate bedroom with en-suite bathroom. Fridge,Microwave, tv, toaster, rice cooker,bedding, aircon, bed, cupboard, washing machine! All either LG or SAMSUNG!!!! We also have nice long balcony covered with perspex(i think) dome with sliding windows and mosquito screens right around! Unfortunately I have picked up a nasty chest infection and seem to have left my good old trusty VICKS behind in the mad scramble to unpack the extra 4 kg! It is usually all I need for a cough less night.

The settlement amount of w30000(won) has been deposited into our bank accounts and today I will be going to main branch to get my internet connected. I HAVE AN OFFSHORE ACCOUNT!! Ag siestog! Amazing...if you use this bank for internet payments they give you free internet! Internet here is limitless broadband and soooooofast! I must also do alien card and multiple visa application(this allows me to exit and enter the country in the time I am here!. Then when alien card is issued I can get family visa for K! Now waiting for flight ticket reimbursement. The said two days or two weeks...I cant remember which.

Yesterday I had to address the whole staff and thank them for their kindness and welcoming spirit - in English! - this was met with thundering applause but I am unsure if it is because they understood what I said or NOT! They really have been great. Many who are confident to speak English come to chat to practice. I have been asked by Kelly(co-teacher) to teach three afternoon classes to the teachers. I was also asked to teach three evenings a week in my school for 2hrs a time to teachers of the area as the GET who is doing it is moving to Bulsan - I declined this and passed it to Estelle as I need to be with K in the evenings! The teachers here work very hard. They are on campus from 8.40 till 17:00. They also work every second Saturday! The they attend extra classes in English or other activities!

WE have found a dance studio 100m from our front door - I can see it from my balcony and for W100000p/m she can dance 5 days a week 6-7pm, 3 x ballet and 2 times modern. Although no hip hop, she is keen to go back to the excellent basics of ballet. Hip hop is in her blood so she will never loose it. She can also do a Latin & ballroom at the school in the afternoon which she wants to try! All in all things are looking good. She has a very philosophical approach to our bumpy start! She says God knew we would be a bit sad and strange in a new place so he forced us into a small space to support each other....YOU JUST HAVE TO LOVE HER!(We are going to buy a sofa bed on internet for W30000 - not great sofa but good mattress for sleeping!)

Yesterday I had first 4 x 40 minute lessons with my co-teach2! All grade 3 classes. PHEW! Keen but busy! I wont be teaching them this year as it confuses the time-table too much! Luckily they have given me today to prep for gr5 and 6s next week! Really barking badly so its actually been a blessing!!!

A few laughs and misunderstandings I want to share;
poopball = football
feeshee = fish
wahremerlohn = watermelon
pork = fork
olange -orange
These people have an incredible grasp for the grammar of our language. They test for written English at number 26 or something incredible in the world and their vocab makes me grapple for the dictionary sometimes but on oral test they are 126th. They don't like to speak English in front of other Koreans and often hang around and wait for everyone to leave before they start talking to me in almost perfect "Englishee"!

Hopefully I will have intenet in my apartment by tomorrow then I will be uplaoding some pics for all to see! Thanks for all the replies. It really helps to keep us grounded and less isolated hearing from you all. Oh yes! The rule of this email list is that if you want to stay on it you have to reply!!!! YEP!!!!!

Ulsan at Last

2008-09-20T06:53:00.000-07:00

Saturday, 30 August 2008

We completed our 8 day hectically tiring training course in Seoul yesterday and were herded onto a bus with all the other compatriots going off to Ulsan for their teaching adventure. Ulsan is the wealthiest and industrial hub of Korea and lies on the East coast of Korea. It was about a 6.5 hour drive and we stopped at 2 huge truck stops - America style I think - for lunch and snacks and toilet break. Ulsan is a lovely city. HQ of Hyundai! So guess what we see on the roads? At the Department of Education HQ we met our Korean Co-teachers. Mine is Mrs Jang She is lovely with a fine sense of humour so I believe we will get on well. We were taken to our apartment about two blocks away from the school where will be teaching. The area we live and teach in is Seong-an and it is high on a hill/mountain away from the bustle of Ulsan downtown. My school is Seong An Elementary and I am the first Native English speaking teacher of the school.By the way that is their term not mine.The apartment is brand new with all best equipment like microwave, TV, rice cooker, toaster and and washing machine about double the size of the fridge. Only problem is that they didn't seem to know Kristin was coming and my apartment is half the size of Estelle's(my cousin who they placed one floor up from me_ YAY!) because her school signed for the bigger apartment before my school did. Kristin and I share a three quarter bed. I am going to take this matter up with my recruiter because I kept on asking them to ensure she gets at least a bed of her own. At the moment we are at a PC Bang which is an internet cafe. W800 per hour which is about R5! I should have internet to my apartment by end this week. Short and sweet because i have some hectic war game raging in my ears. Boys of all ages playing on the internet!

Missing everyone

Safely in Seoul!

2008-09-20T06:41:00.000-07:00

21 August 2008

We arrived safely albeit it exhausted! Kristin slept about 2 hours in total on both flights and I couldn't sleep. The flights went OK with Singapore definitely living up to its 5 star status. Staff on the Singapore to Inch eon were just way friendlier and gave Kristin 3 seats to sleep on! Singapore totally knocked me for a 6! Its so huge and the sky trains are so crazy we felt as if we were in a 30th century world. They don't even have drivers! Computerization everywhere. We were so doff we went a walked the last few kilometres to our embarking gate where we could've caught another sky train. Well at least we had a chance to see all the shops and people shopping at 5.30 in the morning. Time is of no consequence there. COFFEE is the best I have ever tasted in my life!! The flight to Incheon had the best staff but we hit some major turbulence which really scared Kristin. Air pockets of note but she can now put it all down to 1st experiences and will find these flights less daunting next time! At Incheon we were met by a whole team of friendly EPIK people in pink t-shirts. We felt like VIPs. Cliff our recruiter had arranged for his coordinator to be there too and even the manager of something who interviewed us was so excited to actually meet Estelle and I and of course Kristin too. We are a minute group of Saffers, a whole 6 teachers and it was so funny because the EPIK people were telling the Americans and Canadians to please step aside and we were treated like VIPs! I think they all thought we were! A bus strip of 1 hour in peak Seoul traffic to the university where we would be staying and also receive training and at last we stumbled into the registration hall, given our key cards, ID tags and sent to check out our rooms. Two bed rooms with air con and underfloor heating, ensuite bathroom with toilet basin and hand shower that serves as a full shower. The shower water runs down the floor into a drain under the hand basin - strange! Oh yes and a Ethernet and wireless connections. We were told rather not to use the wireless as it is weak.....and it shows up as low on my status but it is waaaaaaaay stronger than the best in SA! Go figure! Even the Americans are impressed! Today we woke up to rain and it has rained all day! The cafeterias and shops on campus has sold all their umbrellas...anything between $4 and $!9. We walk everywhere and nothing is close and there are steps steps steps steps! We have basically had orientation and sorting out paperwork sessions. Tonight we have dinner and a party but this old woman will be going to sleep to try tom catch up on hours lost. Impressions....mostly the Koreans are friendly and respectful! Most don't speak English but with hand signals we understand each other. They do have a great respect for us as GETs - Guest English Teachers. It us exciting to learn so much about another culture!

Photos taken since we started our adventure! Click on following links http://picasaweb.google.com/amanda.sands.co/TripToKorea
http://picasaweb.google.com/amanda.sands.co/SeoulCulturalVillageOutingWithEPIK

In the last throws....

2008-08-18T08:59:00.000-07:00

Phew! Time does fly! Emotions are running high! This morning I awoke to a stunning spring day...and all my cool clothes are packed away, so I traipsed to lawyer and bank in seriously OLD tracksuit...hoping no-one I knew saw me. Talking about packing, I weighed our baggage today to the absolute horrific discovery that we are 12.5kg over weight(baggage that is....Me?....well that's another issue! hehe!). So I started to unpack and dump some more. I very quickly taped the 'winter' box closed before I managed to squeeze another morsel in there. Its way under 20kg but stretching itself to the limit(some fluffy toys also found their way in there). This will also accompany us to the airport on Wednesday and Cliff will post it to us later in the month when we have our school addresses. 3 months in transit! Hope it gets to us by the time we need the coats for the cold weather! Eventually by midday our luggage was only 1.5kg over! Then Carolynn stepped in with her expertise and I managed to shed some more stuff! (Wish I could loose weight so easily). Hopefully we are now at 60kg! Oh and Snowflake, beloved hamster went to her new home!

Sunday we had the farewell tea and a local coffee shop. It was so great seeing everyone but sad too not knowing when we would see them again. Kristin was thoroughly spoilt with stuff to keep her busy for months let alone a trip to Korea!

Tomorrow is hair colour and bling day, last minute goodbyes, last minute packing, seeing our wonderfully stunningly beautiful cat off to his new home and sleep before the big day. This may well be the last blog I type in sunny south Africa for a long time! SO....see you all on the flip side!

Last Dayz in SA!

2008-08-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

I cant believe the last two weeks have gone so quickly that I haven't had time to update my blogspot! It is 6 days to lift off and sometimes I feel like being an ostrich and just putting my head in a hole hoping the world can't see me and I definately wont be able to see the world. Can't I just go and sleep and wake up in my Korean apartment without all these highs and lows I need to endure to get there? When that plane takes off on Wednesday i am just going to take a deep breath and hope I have everything and have remembered to shut all the doors behind me!

Besides sorting out the house, moving clothes, packing clothes and giving and throwing away loads of stuff, Kristin and I started our goodbyes, not only to friends but also to Cape Town. On Saturday Kriatin played her last hockey match and made me proud. She has improved so much she is becoming a force to be reckoned with as a right back!

Tuesday she played hooky and I took her up Table Mountain or the first time. What a lovely day and experience! Just such a pity we could not relax and explore the table top. With the news of the latest spate of robberies and muggings we stayed close the restaurant and when we did venture away on one of the walks we stayed close to some families just in case! The views were awesome and every little bit of the R130 worth but I was very disgusted with the R19 cuppacino and R12 Bonaqua water!!!

On Wednesday her hockey mates and coach gave her a gift bag containing a High School Musical(Zack Efron) nighty and each each girl wrote a letter or card to say goodbye. This meant so much to her that she has already planned to take all the letters to Korea with her so she can read them when she misses her friends.

In the meantime I have been having coffee dates with friends, planning the big "FAREWELL TEA" to be held on Sunday at local coffee shop and falling over piles of "stuff to take along" and "stuff to store" and "stuff to dump" as I try and find myself in this crazy world of possesions and cases! I often sit down and wonder how the hay I am going to fit our world into 4 cases......60kg! Oi! I also have to take the seasons into account...leaving here in winter/spring and within a few hours we will be in Summer/Autumn.

Tomorrow(Friday) I have to trek through to Kenilworth to go and pay for our tickets! I also have my tax clearance certificate and still need to go and chat to my bank and transfer some accounts like Cellphone and DSTV to Randall. I also have to complete a painting for my last commission so.....I will probably rest on the plane!

24 DAYS AND COUNTING...

2008-07-27T05:54:00.000-07:00

Actually 24 sleeps and we are away! This has been an exciting week with my(or at least our as in Estelle and mine) contract arrived from Korea and was hand delivered to my door by Lindi and Gert after a meeting they had with Cliff. Estelle came through on Friday and we signed on the dotted line, took out our copy, read through the "Very Important Notice to Epik Teachers" (or similar), popped both into an envelope with passports and promptly went to celebrate over a breakfast, coffee and carrot cake. But of course...wont get those in Korea! *giggle*. Now we know our salaries but still not our city/town/village/settlement or school. Our velly important envelope was picked up by courier to be overnighted to Korean embassy and hopefully our visa will be here next week. Again a big thanks to Cliff, Yanock and Cilla for their hard work and personal service.

We also know that our departure date is definitely 20 August, arrival in Incheon on 21 August and catch provided bus to KUL HOUSE, Konkuk University where the training will take place. Of course Yours truly has already done a web search, found the uni but no-one can tell me what KUL HOUSE is! Oh well! Just going to insist that I am with my family and all's cool. Training will take place 21/8 - 29/8 when we will be 'escorted' to our respective places of employment or at least to our living quarters for the next year. More details re our course will apparently be on EPIK website by middle August! I wait in anticipation.

In the meantime the great count down has begun and slowly but surely I am getting a chance to greet friends and family. My eldest Bro Cliff and family visited last night from Swellendam and we had great time chatting and laughing and catching up. Friends are starting to make coffee dates and I have decided i prefer this more personal way of saying goodbye. The shin ding wont take place because to be quite honest it is an unnecessary expense and I prefer not to have an official goodbye.

Adaptor II

2008-07-20T03:40:00.000-07:00

Here's a pic of the back of the adaptor I have bought in South Africa. It is made by Zackspeed and it says European Adaptor. Now I need to hear from friends in Korea or have been in Korea if it will fit into the wall socket over there.

There are 31 sleeps and we are boarding the Singapore Airlines plane! I am stressing cos typical control freak that I am.....its hard to put my faith in other fallible humans....but....Cliff and YanOck haven't let me down yet!

Another bit of good news is that Teach Korea have a contract with the Korean Government now so recruits don't have to pay for the service of being placed in a school there. I need to add that they have been incredible listening to our needs and wants and taking the utmost effort to place us in a suitable province and school. We are also excited that we will be part of the EPIK programme....sort of more prepared and aware.

Its been a good week! My garage has been emptied out and Randall has carried away two bakkie-load of stuff. One to the dump site where it took 2 minutes for the scavengers to 'help' him unload carpets, blankets and other "stuffs" and one to his dad for storage and their use. I also have employment for two weeks with my good friend Robyn who has asked me to help her with her preparation of a big conference/thingy at Sun City. It feels so good being busy again and useful too...and I get paid for it! Woweeee...God is good!

I am now tackling my study! What fun! It is so liberating and sort've cleansing to clean out like this. Also weird as I keep on wanting to keep stuff and then remind myself that I won't be here to use it and I should rather give away to others that will be able to use it.

The week ahead is work in the mornings and Kristin's activities in the afternoons. She is still playing hockey and loving it. From what I hear field hockey is not big in Korea if not non-existent which is a pity because she has just taken to the game. She will also continue with her dancing to the end. I also have a few coffee dates with friends who are realising the closeness of our date of departure! Will have to arrange 1 big shin ding to say goodbye. Not great with goodbyes though so I will have to rethink that one!

On the downside...Hammy, Kristin's much loved pet, went to hamster heaven on Friday. She was so brave about it and although we are leaving in a month, I went and visited the local pet shop and brought Snowflake home. The best thing I could've done as we have given Shilo, our German Shepherd, back to the breeder and Jazz the cat is waiting for a good home. Also, we had promised Hammie to our friend Joganan, and he is so excited he cant wait for us to leave. I couldn't disappoint him now could I?

Watch this space for the next installment!

Images of the adaptor I have purchased for my laptop

2008-07-13T01:42:00.000-07:00

Three Prong to Two Prong Adaptor

Location, baggage, adaptors and such...

2008-07-13T00:35:00.000-07:00

Phew....time is running out! We have 38 days left before we embark on great adventure! Nerves?.....not really.....excited?.....OH YEAH. My biggest thing now is being prepared, and for a dominant right brainer, conditioned left brainer that is the issue! Mmmm....Lets see what I still need to do...

Employment, visas, documents etc? - taken care of by Cliff & YanOck of Teach Korea!
Location? - Gyeongsangbuk-do! Now here I need to add...between TK and EPIK I have been fed little titbits regarding our location...for obvious reasons...they are still negotiating school, contract, etc! BUT! Anyone who knows me also knows I am an avid reader/researcher/planner....so by this stage of the game I could probably write a thesis on 3 provinces in Korea(hehehe) and I love it! I have just managed to pronounce and spell 1 province when I am going to be another. *giggle*.
Baggage/Luggage! - Sjoe! What do I know about travel. yes I have been over da sea....twice....to Robben Island! My longest flight has been to Durban/Joburg which is 2hrs max. Now I am flying 12hrs+ to the other side of the world and ask me to limit my luggage weight? Oookeeee! This will be interesting! But I am ready with enough cases for Kristin and I to pack 74kg!(yes i know...30kg each and then 7kg each in the cabin - you see I do my research!) AND...I bought all cases on incredible specials! My laptop bag on wheels is a cabin case of its own.
Laptop charger adaptor! Although many would not even list this as a necessity, my laptop will be Kristin's only communication with her dad. I cant afford for her emotional well-being to arrive in a foreign country and she cant chat to him because I must first find an adaptor. SO....I am sorted for R39,99!
Clothes! YAH! Most of you fellow adventurers would wait till you get there and buy but MAN! There's no way my body could squeeze into the largest Korean clothing item. In my Berlitz phrase book they give 3 sizes...S,M,L....what no XXL??? Well at least Kristin can get clothes there. My hiking boots have been dusted off and I have thrown out all non-walking shoes. I am quite excited that I wont have the hassle of a car to maintain and FILL UP with GOLD....sorry I actually meant PETROL! YanOck promises me i will loose LOT WEIGHT! YAYYYY! Bring it on! Oh yes! In preparation for the white winter...I bought Kristin and myself each a pair of dancing gloves which, I must add, has come to good use this past week in freezing Durbanville
Books! My non-edible food! Well I need to decide which of my Bibles I am going to take...tuffy that one because I use all! Books are so heavy but will I be able to get good English Christian fiction there! Two books that will be accompanying me is my Lonely Planet travel book on Korea and Berlitz Korean phrasebook! Yep! I am prepared!
FRIENDS! Here I have been so blessed! Leaving behind village-load but through FB, TK, FoF, I have already made so many new ones that I cant wait to meet them. Thanks for all advice from those who regularly answer my many questions; Sherri, Thomas C, Wendy, Rykie & Pieter, Thomas B, and countless others whose names ellude me right now!
Family! Well Skype and FB will do the trick with communicating and the most important family member will be there with me! I am also so blessed to have Estelle(cousin#1) going with me!

All in all I am super excited, vaguely prepared and very blessed. Keep watching this space!

Still in South Africa

2008-06-28T03:36:00.000-07:00

Why South African Mom in Korea? Well I am a 45 year old mom about to leave the country to go an teach English in Korea and my 10 year old daughter is going with me!

It is the end of June, freezing cold, wet and typical Western Cape in winter. I am now officially unemployed having received my final paycheck as a computer teacher in South Africa. Thank goodness I still have my handfull of private clients who still need computer training as their payments wil but petrol in the car.

Speaking about petrol, its going up in price again next week! How must the average South African live? This and the escalating cost of living is the reason that we are venturing half way around the world to share the teaching English in Korea experince with several thousand other patriots!

Having had the telephonic interview with the EPIK rep, we have a date now and will be flying out of Cape Town International on 20 August. In some ways it is too close but in other ways too darn far. Financially we need to leave yesterday! We are both excited but I think Kristin is way more than I am. That comes with her age though as it is my duty and priviledge to do the planning, worrying and praying!

Finally.....my colour choice is for the benefit of Kristin who just looooves pink and since she will be posting her blogs as well, I thought it best that we go with her choice!