EARTHQUAKE!!

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/Engnews/20070120/610000000020070120225316E7.html

A small earthquake hit Seoul the other day. According to the site it was 4.8 on the richter scale. Never experienced an earthquake before, it was a strange experience. I was watching tv at a friend's house and I thought someone was lightly kicking the back of my chair. It went on for about 10 or so seconds, enough for me to turn around ask to stop kicking my chair. I realized then that no one was close to me. Fortunately, no damage was reported. And how was your day?

10 days, 12 hours, 35 minutes

Updated the blog, and then accidentally deleted it. So here is an attempt at a repost.

Can't believe that it's been ten plus days so far. It really feels like I've been here for months. I have to say that I am feeling a little homesick right now. It's just the small things that I miss, but when the small things begin to add up it can become overwhelming. I wake up in the morning, and I think that I'm back home. I would go downstairs flip on the tv and catch up on last night's sports. None of that here. I'd turn on the the tv and I'd see a starcraft tournament going on. For those of you who don't know, starcraft is a computer that was released some ten years ago. The South Koreans regularly have tournments on television. There are two stations that run starcraft competitions 24 hours. In fact, on the weekend was the grand tournament. Team Sky defeated Team SKT 5 games to 4. It may have made front page on the papers. To the point though, it's just different around here. Not to say it negatively, just different. The food too. A lot of soups and bbq. Not bbq in the traditional sense. Steaks, ribs are a rarity. You would have to find a western style restaurant and then expect to pay a hefty premium for say an 8 ounce steak. There are many grill houses where you have a grill on each table and you grill up your own meat. The meat is cut very thinly, so an 8 ounce steaks is considered outrageous. On the other hand there thousands of outdoor food stands, sort of like hot dog vendors. Instead of hot dogs, they'd sell hamburgers, soup, grilled fish, etc. Usually a buck a piece, you could eat 3 burgers a day if you wanted to live on the cheap.

On a positive note, I am currently employed, working two days a week 4 hrs, teaching 6-15 years olds. There are 30 students in my charge at different levels of english. For the the older kids, I work on expanding their vocabulary, big->huge->enormous, etc. The younger ones, it's a little bit tougher. For example, they know what baseball is, but they don't know the word 'baseball'. I have to use pantomime to explain what the word is and then use it in sentence. It gets interesting to say the least. When I get back I'll be a pro at charades. I've got elephant nailed down. I have to say that is rewarding to teach since there is a tangible result, the following day I can recap what the learned previously and they'll remember.

I'll keep you posted on the next round of goings on. Haven't touched on the different areas I've visited so far, but I got to keep you all coming back. I think I'll be able to upload pics soon, so just keep checking the blog. Thanks to those of you who e-mailed me, I really appreciate it. Keep'em coming. If someone could fedex over a veal sandwich or a jerk chicken sandwich I'll be forever in your debt.

One more thing...I did cut my hair. No longer pony tail length. To give you an idea...

www.divideby0.com/cosplay/squall/images/Squall_close_up_.jpg

you may have to cut and paste the link in the address bar. I'm not as good looking but the hair is relatively close.

It is official. The move to Korea is complete. I have an apartment, a cell phone, and an interview that's lined up within the next couple of days. Provided I get the position, I would be entirely self-sufficient. I didn't really expect everything to move this quickly, actually I thought that I wouldn't be able to find anything at all, live two months here and then head back to Canada with my tail between my legs, so to speak. I've been here only for four days now, so it still feels like a vacation. When I get a job, that's when I'll be in "regular life" mode.

It didn't start off well. The flight that took had one stop-over in Chicago, then off to Korea. The flight was to leave Pearson at 8.30, but due to a few delays, we didn't leave until 9.30. I was more than a little concerned, at first the announcement was that the pilots were delayed through customs, no big deal I thought. They finally arrived half an hour late, but then they experienced eletrical problems with the plane. I've ridden a few airplanes rides before this, and thankfully there haven't been any hitches. I guess the last thing anyone would want to hear while onboard a plane is that there are electrical problems. The crew depowered the plane and restarted. So for a couple of minutes there was no power except for emergency lighting, strips of light guiding towards the emergency exits. At that point, I was getting a little nervous. After that restart, we were off and running. Two hours later we arrive in Chicago. I grabbed a bite to eat, a Chicago style hot-dog, then went outside the terminal for fresh air before my connection to Korea. Then another odd thing. There was a few people outside, one man was unconscious on the side of the road, with a couple of people tending to him. I didn't recognize exactly what was happening. At first glance it looked like some people were going through their luggage looking for something. It turned out that someone had just passed out and was lying face down on the sidewalk. They were trying to wake him unsuccessfully. I came over and asked if they needed help, which they did. I went inside the terminal and brought out airport security to assist. It was very strange because there were a few bystanders already there but nobody had thought about calling for medical attention until I arrived. I wasn't able to stay to the see the outcome, I had left just as the ambulance arrived.

Finally, it was time for the connecting flight. Everything went smoothly, tried to sleep over the 14 hours in the air, somehow managed to sleep through take-off. Arrived safely, went though customs, and went to the baggage collection area. It took a while for customs, so all the baggage was already unloaded from the carousel. The kicker...no baggage. Half a world away from home, and I have nothing with me except a book, a digital camera with no more battery power, the clothes on my back, credit cards, and $200 cash. At least I was safe, have to be thankful for something. Filled out a report at the terminal and then took a bus to the city to meet my friend. Turns out, I boarded the wrong bus. Ended up who knows where. We get to the end of the line before the bus doubles back to the airport. At the last stop, it's just me and the driver. I guess he felt sorry for me because I absolutely had no clue where I was. Through a series of hand gestures and pointing at maps, he takes me back to a stop along his route relatively close to where I was supposed to be going. Close meaning, 40 minutes away by car. I call my friend user the driver's phone and he meets me at the spot. From there, it's been a breeze ever since. My baggage, still sitting Chicago, arrived the following day and I settle in an apartment in the city.

It hasn't been perfect, but it ended up working out anyway. I'm thankful that I didn't have to carry around the luggage halfway cross the city at least.
I haven't gone over the day to day life, just wanted to cover the beginning of the journey. Not quite figured out this blogging thing yet, as soon as I get a better handle hopefully I can show you some pictures. I'll try to add an entry as often as possible, and I definitely like to hear from you all so write me an email when you get the chance.