Getting Adjusted

I haven't written because I haven't had much time for anything yet. My hours at the school are extremely long and by the time I get home, I'm so exhausted, I feel like I could collapse. I leave the house for work around 9:00 am and don't leave the school until 6:30 pm. By the time I walk home and grab dinner, it's close to 8:00 pm and by the time I get showered; it's time for bed. I have to work this Saturday as well because there is a school play. I was warned about private school's working conditions and this is everything I read it would be. I'm not sure how I'll find time to sketch, read or do much of anything because all my time is consumed with school. Interacting with kids all day, teaching, preparing lessons and being on your feet all day is physically and mentally exhausting. 


I'm absolutely loving all the experiences here, the good and bad. Everything here is a challenge, but I've just laughed at most things because it's fun trying to figure it all out. The 1st night in my apartment, I couldn't figure out how to turn on the hot water. Here, you have to turn it on each time you use it and turn it off afterwards. 

Everything is in Korean writing (the thermostat, toilet buttons, washing machine, etc.) I went to get groceries when I arrived and I didn't know what anything was in the grocery store other than eggs, bananas, apples, yogurt and chicken so that's all I bought.

For dinner last night, I had a boiled egg, an apple and a yogurt because I didn't know where to go for dinner. I can't read any of the signs or menus. The first night was ok because my Korean coworkers took me to dinner and ordered for me because they speak English. No one else here does. It's a small, rural town so it's very hard to communicate here. 

Trying to find dinner tonight was a challenge. I walked around for over an hour trying to find a restaurant with pictures on the window so I could point to something. It's really sketchy here trying to order without knowing what you're ordering because I'm not a fan of octopus, squid, raw fish, fermented foods, kimchi, pork belly fat, etc. 

I walked into a chicken wing place and couldn't figure out how to order wings. I pointed to a pic of chicken wings, but I couldn't tell them how many I wanted because I think they came in bulk/family size. The menu said 17,000 won ($17 USD) so I didn't want to end up ordering a family sized meal and I didn't have that much $ on me, so I walked back to where I started, to a soup restaurant by the school that I'd already eaten at the day before for lunch with my Korean coworkers. Luckily, the Korean lady in there remembered me and she knew I didn't speak Korean nor know how to order so she brought me out the same soup I ordered yesterday which was good. 

My go-to soup

One thing I really don't understand here is why it's ok to smoke and have pets inside of a restaurant, but you have to take your shoes off before entering them.

 The place I ate lunch today had the cutest kitten on a leash laying in a metal bucket of newspapers for it's bed. 

Tonight at the chicken place, there was the ugliest little dog I've ever seen right by the counter, underneath one of the dining tables. It was growling at me when I came in and it had on a stylish dog coat and was oddly groomed (shaved except for it's ears and tail and it's tail was fluffed out and dyed purple....). However, it still had balls. Spend $ to make your pet look good, but don't get it neutered...??? That makes zero sense. 

Not many people here seems to see/treat animals like we do in the States. 

Dog in chicken restaurant

Across the chicken place was the dirtiest looking pet store you've ever seen with glass cages full of puppies all jumping up begging for someone to take them home and love them. Most of them end up on the streets or in someone's back yard in 40 degree weather and below; like the Rottweiler in the backyard behind by apartment that's on a 2-3 foot leash with hardly any shelter overhead. The hardest part about this country so far other than finding food is seeing the living conditions and poor treatment of animals. Not only is that hard to see, but it's extremely angering and saddening.