Well we made another culture faux pas in Korea and it had to do with a bar. But let’s sum up the past few days first. We finished our orientation successfully. I am healthy now, so it made the last few days of orientation pleasant. We had to work with a group and deliver a mock lesson. Jayson was a little nervous, but we both did very good. The group work reminded me of American Idol, we were all running around late the night before collecting materials and props to create the best lesson. It was funny seeing people totally stressed out and running on little sleep.
On friday we packed up our bags and took a 4 hour bus ride to Ulsan. On the bus ride we found out that we have to stay in a Motel for a few days until our apartment is ready. A local informed us that we are put up in a “Love Motel.” I am very disgusted and can’t wait to get out. There are no sheets and the place smells like cigarettes. The ceiling is neon purple and there are supplies laying around. I will not go into anymore detail. We try to stay out of our little “Love Motel” as much as possible.
So, my Co Teacher picked us up at the district office and took us to the “Love Motel” and said, “see ya Monday”. She also advised us to go to Bars. So, we took her advise and located a nice looking bar the first night. I guess we should have been a little more careful. Luckily the bar owner speaks English. He shook his head and laughed at us. He said “You English Teacher.” I guess we had it written on our face. There were no other customers in the bar. So, he poured us some coffee and started chatting with us. He reminded me of Rev. Mau. Very friendly, knows everybody and is willing to help a stupid foreigner. He explained to us that he had once lived in Japan and remembered being so lonely because he didn’t know the language or had any friends. After 30 minutes we hopped in his car and he took us to his foreigner bar. We had a lot of fun there and we met some other English teachers. Once the night was over he walked us to a Taxi and he explained to the Taxi driver where our motel was and we got there safely.
The next day Mr. Kim picked us up and gave us a royal tour of Ulsan. He took us up country and we saw an amazing view of the whole city. He took us around the Hyundai factory and ship yard. He took us to one of the 12 wonders of Ulsan and we saw amazing views of the ocean. We are so lucky we ran into Mr. Kim. It’s almost like someone is watching over us. Hmmmm???
Today is Sunday and we have been very American. We went to Starbucks for breakfast, fast food for lunch and Outback for dinner. We even watch “Percy Jackson and the lightning Thief.” It was in English with Korean sub titles. We had a fun day. Tomorrow we will move into our apartment. We need to do laundry (no dryers), go shopping and prepare for our first day of school. Wish us luck!
I've heard about the "Love Motels" they exist in Japan too, although it could be for slightly different reasons. You don't get much privacy in Japan because everything is so small, it's seen as more romantic than dirty. Definitely different than in the states.
ReplyDelete