August re-cap

Oh man, what a crazy month August has been! One of the longest months of the year, mixed with the hottest month of the year does not make a good combination. I am thankful for how quickly time seems to fly in Korea though, because despite all the stuff that happened this month it has gone by extremely fast. Just like all the other months here.

So re-cap:

-August begins with 98 degree weather and 98% humidity on top of that

-I get back from Jeju Island vacation

-Extra summer classes get added to our schedule

-Franzi came to visit for a week

-We lost Shay, a New Zealand teacher at our school

-We gain Sebastian, the new Belgium/Korean teacher

-Heather gets bedbugs in our apartment

-Baron, an American teacher from our school takes Shay's apartment next door

-We trade furniture, it's chaos

-I find an apartment in the center of Seoul with an American girl

-I get kicked out of the apartment because the landlady is crazy

-Monthly test happens at school, it's chaos

-I have to fill out student evaluations to send home with my students

-I move back to Heathers and sleep on a cot

-I find another apartment with an Ausie girl and a Brittish girl

-The weather finally cools off, fall is on the way

-I move in, I try to catch my breath!

Lots of other things happened in-between the cracks, but those above are the main points of my August.

The apartment situation goes like this: Shay who lived next door finished his contract, so I asked my boss if I could move into his apartment after he left. I was told that another teacher would be moving into that apartment, but that I could try to find my own apartment elsewhere and then just get a housing allowance. So I got on craigslist and after a few days of searching and emails I found a place. It was a 3 bedroom with another American girl. Everything seemed great and my boss gave me the money to live there. So I moved all of my stuff across Seoul via taxi and a friend's car. After living there a few days the landlady says that the guys who lived there before us never paid their bills and she wanted us to pay them. We got in contact with the guys and they said to tell the landlady just to keep their deposit money. The landlady didn't agree but finally said ok and then told us that we had to pay new deposit money. She demanded that money the next day and when we asked for more time to pay it she became furious and said that she wanted us to move out! Every day after that she proceeded to march into our apartment and sometimes into my room and scream in Korean that we had to move out. It was crazy and ridiculous. I spent so many hours on the phone with an interpreter trying to smooth out the situation, but the landlady was just ecstatic and crazy and wanted us out.

So all of last week I frantically tried to find another apartment in the neighborhood so that I wouldn't have to move my stuff all the way back to Heather's place on the other side of the city. I had no luck though and had to move all of my stuff once again back to Heather's and my old apartment. Heather was not happy, I was not happy, and while all of this was happening, it was test week at school which means that everyone at school was uptight and chaos was everywhere.

So then I found the apartment that I have just moved into. It is with two girls and it's in the same neighborhood as the last apartment. It's at the top of a huge hill, its a street level apartment and my room is pretty much a shoebox. I have come to the conclusion though, that this is truly all the space that I need to live. I don't need anything elaborate or huge. So this is perfect. The landlady is also very nice. She's Philippino, widowed, about 45, and treats me like the daughter she never had. :)

It's been a crazy time, but I have survived it and come out a better person. I almost wonder if life throws us these crazy happenings just to make sure we're not getting too comfortable. As much as I hate it when crazy stuff happens in my life, I do think I benefit from it. It's funny though, because next week I turn 24, but now I truly feel like I am at least 28. I feel much more responsible for myself and independent than I have ever felt before.

Summertime Heat

It's Sunday and I've been in Heather's and my air-conditioned apartment all morning. I leave the apartment to go buy water at the little store up the street. On the way, I observe many things that make me smile and realize that it's 'summatime and the livin is easy'. :)

It's hot outside, maybe 90 degrees with 70% humidity. I can feel not only the sun beating down on me, but the heat rising up from the blacktop of the street. It rained last night, so everything is clear today. The green trees on the mountains can be seen and the sky is clear blue dotted with fluffy white clouds. The cicadas sing loudly, then softly, and then loudly again. I pass a group of dressed up Koreans coming from Church. They are wearing their heels and their frilly dresses and pressed suits. They talk, smile, laugh. I wonder how they can withstand the heat with so many clothes on. Three boys whiz past me on their bikes. They are yelling to each other in Korean and laughing. The wind blows through their hair and I remember what it's like to be a kid on a bike riding through the Sunday afternoon. The sun beats down on my face and sweat gathers around my sunglasses. I lift them to wipe away the sweat and realize just how bright the day day is. Everything is so clear and the colors are vivid. I'm thankful for the rain that washes away pollution. I keep walking and come upon an old man. He is standing in the shade with his small, white, fluff ball of a dog. As I get closer I can see that he's bending over and talking to his dog. He's talking very gently with a kind look in his eye. It makes me smile. As I get closer to the store I hear faint sounds of techno music. I can see the brightly colored umbrellas shading the outside of the store. I walk under them and smell the sweet peaches that are displayed. I buy my large bottle of water and stop a second to enjoy the pumping Korean techno music that the store is playing. Then I walk home with the bottle of water against the back of my neck to keep me cool. I let the sun grace my face, enjoy the sounds of the cicadas and smile at everyone I pass.

It's summer time in Seoul and the livin is easy. :) Life is Wonderful!

A Big Week

August is bringing about many changes. Just the fact that it is August alone, is pretty crazy. Four months have already passed since I've moved to Korea and everyday I am shocked at how fast the time is passing. I guess time really does fly when you're having fun. This is now the longest I've lived out of the US since I was 12...and it feels good! I really don't know how I will every be able to go back to life in the US. At this point, it seems impossible after living here.

Lots of stuff has happened this week. First of all, it was the first full week of teaching after coming back from vacation. I had one day of teaching last week which didn't seem bad at all, but it was also Friday. Then having a full week of teaching this week was exhausting. I forgot how much energy the kids take out of me. On top of that, this week was said to be the hottest week of the year in Korea. So by the time I walked to work, the heat had drained a lot of my energy. Then I had classes to teach and the combination just made it a tiring week. I also had my first visitor this week! Franzi, my childhood friend from Switzerland came to visit for the week on her way to Papua New Guinea. It's been so much fun to have her visiting and get to show her all the cool things about Seoul and Korea. I just feel bad that she came during our hottest week of the year.

So on top of those things happening, it was also the start of the new month at school which means change. Every month the school changes things around a bit. They get more students, lose more students, change our classes, change the curriculum, get other teachers...etc. This month we lost Shay, one of the foreign teachers from New Zealand. He had worked for his year contract and finished so he went home. It's hard to constantly be saying goodbye to friends who finish their contracts. With Shay leaving we gained another guy foreign teacher from Belgium. It's been interesting getting to know him this week. There has also been some moving of apartments because of teachers leaving our school. Baron, another foreign teacher at our school from the US moved into Shays apartment next door to Heather and me. That was an interesting day because his stuff was out in the hallway of our apartment all day and for the next few days. We also took some of his stuff into our apartment. (like we have room...) So all week it's been Heather, Franzi and me, and a bunch of Baron's stuff all in our one-room apartment. It's been kind of crazy. On top of that, Heather contracted bed-bugs somehow. So now we're trying to figure out how to get rid of her bed-bugs and cure all her bites.

On another note, I found an apartment to move into. It's been fun living with Heather, but we share a one room apartment, have no privacy, and practically live on top of each other. Surprisingly in the last four months we really haven't fought much and have learned how to peacefully co-exist in this small living space of ours. I'm sure we could last the year out, but our contract says that we can each have our own apartment. So when I found out that I couldn't move into Shay's apartment next door after he left, I decided to find my own apartment. I would have preferred to find something close to Heather, but thats not how it worked out. I did, however find an awesome apartment with another girl (from the US) right in the center of Seoul. It's a large, real apartment with bedrooms, bathrooms, a full kitchen, a livingroom, a little balcony and even access to the roof-top! I really couldn't ask for anything better other than the fact that I will now have to commute to school about 45 minutes on the subway each way every day. I will get used to that though. I think it will be good for Heather and I to have this space. Plus I am more social than Heather, so this will allow me to sow my social oats a lot more. :) I move tomorrow.