House Hunting with Kemo

Woke-up pretty early and met Kyle at the KFC outside of the Itaewon Station. Line 5 was slammed with people. (rush hour). I would compare it to a crowded mosh pit without the loud music and pushing. It was nice to see over everyone. After a few main stops and line transfers it wasn't too bad. With my late schedule I won't have to worry about the craziness.

I love seeing signs like this. They are "professionals."

It was extremely humid and we climbed lots of small hills/streets to checkout a few apartments.
We actually walked into about 8 Real Estate offices. We determined that Key money "deposit" will be 5 mil and rent around 800k-1.2mil KRW. Not bad. We will be looking again tomorrow with one of the guys from the hockey team. He knows Korean pretty well and will help us negotiate a little. We aren't going to rush into anything because we want a good spot with a rooftop, ac, and furnished with stove, fridge, and hopefully dressers.

Pretty sure it doesn't mean what you think...

Had another burger for a late lunch. Just leaving school early (observing today) now. Headed to Itaewon to meet up with the boys from ball hockey. Time to Drink and eat some wings.

Pics later.

Cheers,

-JC

Lunch, Checkup & Observation...

Met up with 2 new teachers and one of our admins named Lilly; one we call big Lilly, and the other is Little Lilly, or just Lilly. Little Lilly is very nice and much closer to us in age. She's 29 in Korean age which is 28 in the US. In Korea, you turn 1 when you are born.

We met outside Hanna Bank where we opened up accounts; I also deposited some cash (USD) and took 100,000 KRW out of my account. Next we headed to the Hongik Hospital for a blood test and physical. They check your blood for HIV and give a drug test as well.

Apparently I have high blood pressure. (pretty sure they need a new cuff or a bigger cuff as I was fine back home. One of the girls couldn't pee for over an hour of her just sitting in the damn bathroom.

We were starving and headed to a Korean restaurant. Of course I spotted a Mickey D's on the way and had to grab a double quarter pounder meal. This McDonalds was 2 stories but not too huge inside. Most buildings here are more than 2-3 stories and have apartments above them. I also ate Bibimbap at the Korean restaurant and had soup and Kimchi (starting to really like it!)

After we ate we headed to the school where I observed 2 classes and we watched Wall-E for the previous teachers last "special" class. The special class is for students who need a little more attention and guidance with English. I received my books and schedule for the next semester which starts Thursday. I'm pretty excited.

Off to bed. Kyle got on Skype from Starbucks and we are meeting at 9am in Itawewon to look for a place to live. Wish us luck!

Cheers,

-JC

Pictures from the day/yesterday + 1 video

Lots of funny shirts, they probably don't even know what some of them say. I'll try and post them if i have a chance to snag pics.

Had some traditional food last night really late. Some sorta sausage dish. It was pretty good.

Dunkin Donut's for an 'American' breakfast.

TECHNO MART - Huge electronics store that was like 12 stories. Too bad one of the computer parts I bought didn't work at all. And probably cant return them. I found what I needed at a "Frisbee" store. They are able to sell Mac products legit; it's basically an apple store.

My friend Alex at one of the subway stations; not sure which one but it was a hub.

Walked around the outdoor shopping center in Myeong-dong.

Sorry for this one mom, but this cracked me up to see.


These guys are all over the subway. He actually sold one of these pipe cleaner type devices to one gullible dude. 5 minutes later a tiny little lady was slanging packs of gum.

Everyone has a smart phone and listens to music on the subway. The only people who don't are really old and you will still catch them yelling way too loud on a phone call.

There are lots of clothing stores that are named after things that aren't even in the stores. I went skating off line 2 around Hongik University. I thought it wouldn't be so bad but it was reallllly humid. Ready for the cold weather to come already. People seemed shocked to see me skating through traffic and around people. You don't see boards very often. (i haven't)

Well I'm off to bed. I have to meet an administrator from my school outside Hanna Bank at 1pm tomorrow. Pretty sure I am going to get a bank account set-up and my physical and Alien Card Registration. party on. Kyle gets here tomorrow. I'm pumped.

-JC

Ball hockey at Seoul Olympic sports complex

Went to rookie games for the cbhk or Canadian ball hockey korea. I played well for not playing hockey really ever except as like a 4th grader. Scored 3 goals but was exhausted and got a little sick.
Here's a picture of the Olympic stadium: (we played right next to it)






Baseball field where 2 different teams played.

Burger king and kfc outside the baseball stadium. We sat outside and drank beers.



-JC

*Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

First Day in the ROK

Good afternoon!! So I have 2 or 3 blog posts that I haven't uploaded yet. I haven't gotten wifi since the airport and I am plugged in at my "Love Motel." The only words I know so far are beer, and hi. I'm sure more will come soon. But here's what I've got for now:

Last night I went out to dinner with a few coworkers and their friends. We at korean barbq chicken and cured bacon. It was pretty good although I mostly just drank Beer and Soju. Soju is basically sweet watered down vodka. It sneaks up on you. We also went to "Rum Bar" and had a bunch of dollar tequila shots. It was all good fun and my coworkers insisted that we go out my first night in Korea.


So far I haven't spoken a lick of english to anyone that knows what I am talking about except 2 mormon guys that told me where to find a bank. It's definitely a little wierd.

Here are some pictures from Today:

Funny to see a Texas bar in Mokdong, Seoul.

Not sure what this was but I got it from a lady for 500Won (like 50 cents). I think it was some sort of bean mashed up in a dimsum type roll. I got it at this market:

After leaving the market to grab a burger this little old lady ran me down and handed me these 2 laminated cards and said "flower" smiled, bowed, and I said thanks and she jogged back to her stand in the market. I think they are bible verses.
This is where I ate lunch: (sort of like McDonalds. My Meal cost 5500 KRW which is like 5 bucks.

The Burger was pretty good, and the fries were just like burger king. The lettuce was definitely cabbage and the sauce was like a mayo/ketchup type combo. Not bad.

Well, I'm off to my school. Training from 3:30-10:00 and sitting in on Emily's class. She is the current english teacher I am to replace. I am excited to meet my new students. I've been told to lay out the ground rules on day 1 and be firm. Wish me luck!

Until next time,

-JC

(I will post my in flight blog stuff when I get my Iphone on wifi. Should be soon)
Also My Skype name is DJColv. Add me and feel free to message me anytime on email. jcolv16@gmail.com

In flight

Almost 3 hours in. Just finished a nice late lunch. I had a dish called bibimap; basically some rice, ground beef, veggies, sesame oil and spicy chile paste. Pretty good for an airplane meal.


They passed out some sweet sandal things which I'm wearing right now. Still feeling pretty cruddy from my sinus infection. Just popped some nyquill; perfect timing they make everyone close their windows for a while. Nap time. I'll check back in later. Probably won't post this until I have wifi in Seoul.


This is where I'm at now. Nap time...

-JC

* Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Somewhere over the pacific

Almost there.

Just wokeup from another short nap. Haven't slept much. Watched another movie earlier. Ready for bed later tonight. Lol





-JC


* Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Layover at LAX

Got in a few hours ago. Walked out if the main terminal and over to the Tom Bradley International terminal. Checked in with Asiana Airlines and made sure my bags would make it to Seoul; all is good.









Stopped by currency exchange and picked up 60,000 KRW for now. I will exchange most of my money in Korea because it is cheaper there.

I'm on flight number OZ 201 from LAX to ICN. I get in at 6:15PM on Thursday. Crazy long flight; 12.5 hours. Just loaded a bunch of movies on the iPad!

Wish me luck! I'll keep this thing updated so check back sooner than later.

Cheers,

-JC

* Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:World Way,Los Angeles,United States

Flight Itinerary received¡

Just received and email from my recruiter/school travel agent. I actually fly back through Los Angeles. It's another AA flight, FF miles; Woohoo!!





I'm really glad to be home. Both of my parents came to pick me up from the airport. I sure will miss everyone while I'm overseas...My pup was really excited to see me, it's been nearly 3 months since I last saw him. It's definitely gonna be tough not having him around for a year. :/

I'm beat, ready to see my baby niece first thing in the morning... Goodnight!!!!

-JC

*Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Southlake, TX

VISA in hand

Got it! 1st visa of many to come. See you soon Texas headed to LAX now.

Location:W Pico Blvd,Los Angeles,United States

In-and-Out

farewell....
....for now





Last time to have In-and-Out in Cali. I'm gonna have to try it out in TX and see if it's still just as good before I go on a 3x3 drought for a year :/


-JC

*Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Visa application

Got an email at 4am from my recruiter with my visa issuance number. Took a drive down to the Korean consulate off Wilshire and filled out my visa
Application.


You are required to leave your passport and come back the next day to pick it up with the e-2 visa stamp. The e-2 visa is specifically for English teachers.


My buddy Brian is taking me at noon to get it and dropping me off at LAX where I will be waiting on standby to fly to Dallas. See you soon TX!!! Excited to see my family and my furry son Shiner!

-JC


*Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Los Angeles, CA

Sunset beach

Definitely enjoying my last few days here in Sunset. I'd have to say, this is the best beach I've been to in Socal; let alone lived at. Just took a nap for an hour after work. I will miss you beach...


-JC

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Pacific Coast Hwy,Huntington Beach,United States

Korean Immigration

Received an email from my recruiter early this morning. Should be 7 days until my visa issuance number is sent over.
Things are winding down here at work and I look forward to visiting with my family in DFW before departing for The ROK (Republic of Korea).
I sold my car on saturday and I got what I wanted for it, debt free and with some cash in my pocket, I'm definitely ready to go!!




-JC

*Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Waiting for Visa!

My Visa documents were shipped yesterday and just landed at the Incheon Airport just outside of Seoul. The school should recieve my paperwork very soon!

It's getting close! I'm very excited to depart soon!




-JC