A visit to Seoul and my new home in Hwacheon.

I am now living in an apartment building in Hwacheon, South Korea. I will give you a little history on the events leading up to now.

Last Friday, we loaded to buses and left from Chuncheon for Seoul. On Friday, we had a couple of meetings (one with an English speaking doctor!). That evening, we were invited to the U.S. Embassy for a pool party and cook out with the U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, Kathleen Stevens. Getting to meet and talk to the ambassador was pretty cool- she was a peace corp volunteer here in the 70's, has worked in Yugoslavia, Northern Ireland, China, and Japan- and has some pretty amazing stories to tell. We also got a real American dinner- hamburgers cooked on the grill, potato chips (not octopus flavored!), cheese (which is very expensive here), sour cream dip, smores, cookies, AND Dr. Pepper! It was amazing. After brushing elbows with the big-wigs, we found out that the Seoul Philharmonic was playing for free in Seoul City Square. We went and listened to the beautiful music, and the Korean National Ballet performed, as well as some opera singers.

On Saturday, Dongmi showed me around Seoul. We went to Deok-su-gung Palace (which is located in the center of Seoul- they built modern Seoul around this palace), shopping at Myeong-dung (very modern and CROWDED), shopping at Insa-dong (traditional Korean crafts), and went to the top of Namsan Tower (N. Seoul Tower). It was great getting to spend time with Dongmi, as I had only been able to see her once during orientation.

On Sunday we slept in, then went shopping in an area near a women's college. We found some great deals AND got to eat at Quiznos. We also got our nails done for Yonsei Day. The first place we went into, wouldn't work on our nails because we were white! But we found a place, and our nails looked great :) Then it was back to the hotel for packing and preparing to leave our friends for a couple of weeks at least.

Monday was Yonsei Day. This is the day where our co-teachers and principals come to Yonsei University (the equivalent to Harvard in the U.S.), we have a ceremony where Fulbright announces which ETA goes to which school, then a really awkward lunch with your new school officials, then you drive back to your school with them. This was also slightly embarrassing when you realize exactly how much luggage you have and how small the cars are here. After our 3 hour ride back to Hwacheon (we stopped and ate dak-gal-bi in Chuncheon) I met my host family. The parents own a hotel, however they live in a really modern apartment. My siblings are a girl in 7th grade and a boy in 6th grade. The family is great, although the only one that speaks English is the 7th grade girl.

School started on Wednesday, however I don't start teaching for another week. It has been very challenging/interesting being in a place where you can communicate with very few people. I hope that this post finds you all doing well!