We have arrived! Our first few days in Geoje

Note: Annyong is the informal term for hi and waeuguk means foreigner

After 24 hours of traveling, Austin and I arrived on the island last Friday evening. Luckily we really haven't felt too much of a culture shock just yet. Granted, we did eat burgers, chili cheese fries, and made a trip to the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf on our first day here. Thanks to our our new friends, Camlin and Preston (the other American couple at our school), we've been hiking, sightseeing, and got our first taste of Korean cuisine.

We start teaching classes Tuesday at the International Language School and have already received a brief tour of the school. The school is a private academy and with the exception of the kindergarten students, it's 1 out of normally 3 schools the students attend throughout the day (1 for math and science, 1 for English, etc). Austin and I will be sharing an office with 2 other Korean teachers and have a pretty similar schedule. My classes will be from 11am-7:30pm on MWF and 2-6 on TTh. Not bad at all. We'll both be working with a combination of kindergarten, elementary, and middle school students and Austin has 1 adult conversation class he'll be co-teaching.

So far we're having a great time and looking forward to our experience teaching English. While the first month will be stressful I'm sure, I hope to keep this blog updated on a fairly regular basis.

Here are some photos from our first few days in the ROK (Republic of Korea).

Our tv and computer set up - Lots of "how-to" post it notes from Sabrina, another teacher at the school and previous tenant

Our kitchen - 2 burner stove, motion sensor lights when you walk in

Austin at our desk/eating area

View of the main room, it's basically a studio but with sliding glass doors that lead into the kitchen. The small screen above the bed shows us who's at the door.

Bathroom and shower are all in one

Plenty of closet space

Hallway outside our front door

Washing machine

Enclosed patio

Another view of the bathroom

Yep, that's a whole squid I'm holding

Delicious seafood meal with mussels, shrimp, squid, and some type of hot dog like meat

View of the city on our hike

Camlin getting her stretching on

2-person karaoke room at the arcade near the bus stop

Karaoke rooms

Stadium at the base of the mountain/hill we climbed

"Stylish" beer, complete with added fiber for good health in young people. Seriously.

Chanel motel. I wonder if there's a Korean word for "copyright infringement"

We stumbled upon some drummers on the street.

Combo pizza with shrimp, potatoes, bacon, crab, and chicken topped with sour cream. Not so healthy, but delicious. The crust was filled with sweet potato mousse!