Getting Settled

Alright people. I know it's been 10 days since my last update, I apologize. It's been a whirlwind to get everything settled and set up, and finally... FINALLY... I have reliable internet on my computer.

A lot has gone on, so prepare for a pretty sizeable post. I was considering posting 'parts', but I don't want to have to be bothered with writing parts of what's happened over the past week and a half when there are other things happening waiting to be blogged about!

Anyway, are you ready? Oh good! Then let's continue.


Getting Settled

Hello Busan. It's nice to meet you. I'm Auggie. I hope you don't mind me saying this, it's a little forward... but I think I'm falling for you.

The first couple of days were a shock. That's to be expected. I was unfamiliar with the area, everything was new and busy and complicated. I was living out of a suitcase, and had no real comforts to go back to after work. Hotel living isn't necessarily pleasant when the hotel is as dark as a closet and suspiciously decorated to look like a love hotel.

Oh wait.

It WAS a love hotel.

That's right, I stayed in a love hotel for the first week. Interesting experience number 1 of too many to name.

After a few days of being shy about going out and exploring, I finally got up enough courage to go out and walk around to see what Hwamyeong was all about. Now after having been here and there I've got my bearings a little better. I'm starting to feel a little more like I know the city. As time goes on, it'll get easier to feel right here. It's just going to take a bit to find my place. It's like meeting new people. You've got to wait a while, get to know them, and then things start to get comfortable.

As far as how things look, I'm pleased. I was expecting a glass and concrete jungle like the one I barely survived in back in Osaka. While there's plenty of glass and concrete here there are also clear views of the gorgeous, huge, mountains from almost every point. Hwamyeong is also right on a river, which lends the city a more natural feel.

I caught a cold the first couple of days I was there. It hit pretty hard, gave me a lovely cough and a stuffy nose. The rest of my co-workers were also battling illness. At a school with gads of children, sickness spreads like wildfire. One after another the teachers began losing their voices. Then finally, it got to me. The end of work Wednesday I had a feeling my voice was going to take a holiday... and sure enough... the next day I could barely speak. I strained my distressed vocal chords even more by having to practically scream everything I wanted to say to get any sound out. Friday was hardly better. But, I'm recovering well, and my voice is now what I'd like to consider a pleasant, sensual, rasp. You know, like I've been smoking and drinking heavily since I was 8.

I finally moved into my apartment on Thursday morning last week. Upon first impression I thought "*Insert curse of your choice*".

It was pretty icky. Of course I noticed all of the bad things first, like the fact that the refrigerator was leaning slightly to the left, that the bed was hard and the frame was slightly off, that there were holes and tears in the wall and wall-paper, dust and grime everywhere, no curtains, and there was a bunch of useless junk that a previous male tenant had left behind (like a basketball and some cologne). Oh yay.

But, I don't mind that kind of challenge. Actually, I like it. I knew that with a little work I could turn this space into a place I could relax. Yes, I began to see the potential. I could Auggify this dorm room sized hole in the wall.

And I did.

All it took was a lot of cleaning, new sheet/pillowcase/comforter for the bed, and a couple of other homey accents here and there, and voila!... basically an entirely new apartment. The giant window offers a lovely view and plenty of sunshine, I get a corner apartment which means no neighbors on either side of me, and the building is basically a 2 minute walk from work.

I still need to address the curtain problem... the curtain rod is bent and broken (behind the desk and the bed) so I can't just go buy new ones. I wouldn't bother... but there's another apartment building right across the way, and at night those people can see right into my apartment. How do I know this? Well because, when their curtains are open at night, I can see right into theirs. This makes things like changing and dancing around the room a little awkward.

I'm also going to budget for a clothes drying rack. This clothes line strung across my apartment thing is going to get pretty old, I can already tell.

Alright, I'll continue more about all of the personal stuff in another blog.

On to Business

GOING OUT

There's plenty of night life to enjoy here in Busan. If you're the type that really likes to party it up on weekends, you won't be lacking in places to go. If you're the type that prefers the more mild side of things, there are places for you too.

U2 Club Lounge & Bar

Last night Busan Haps hosted an event called "World Famous? In Busan" at U2. Three bands were featured (though I can't remember names, unfortunately EDIT:The bands were Pinnacle & The Antidote, One Drop East, and Klickitat ) and they were all fantastic. World famous? It's possible. The club, apparently, has been newly renovated and has improved in appearance and atmosphere by an unspeakable margin. Jazz inspired murals, risque tile collages, dark, rich colors, sharp lines and smooth curves in the design all lend to the artistic atmosphere of U2 making it a place that will appeal to a variety of personalities.

The drinks were a little on the expensive side in my opinion, but I can't really offer any comparative information on that seeing as how that's the only bar I've actually purchased my own drinks at here in Korea.

U2 Club Lounge & Bar is located in Haeundae. Walking towards the beach, it's on your left before you reach the Casino.

Check it out. I enjoyed it, and I'm hard to impress when it comes to bars.


WOMB

The name was the first thing that caught my attention. Mostly because the entire wall outside of the door is bedazzled with varying sizes of green neon signs proclaiming "Womb". After seeing that, I had a pretty good feeling about it. Climb into the elevator, one floor down, B1, and suddenly I was greeted with heavy house beats and a smokey, hazy, minimalist club design definitely conducive to dancing and letting go. Techno/House music, flashing lights, smoke, a dance floor framed by raised seating, a huge screen flashing designs, colors, and the name of that nights DJ were all part of the package. The biggest plus was the space. I prefer spacious dance clubs to small, dark, dank ones.

Womb's atmosphere is vibrant, young, and it's all about dancing which definitely makes this club a favorite.

WOMB is located on the Gwangan beach strip, near "Thursday Party".

SHOPPING

I'm a shopper. It's true. So far I haven't had too many opportunities to check out all the local stores and what not but I've been to two in particular that everyone living in Busan should check out.

The first one is one that you won't be able to get along well without visiting, and it'll probably be your first stop. Welcome to LOTTE Mart.

LOTTE Mart is perhaps best described as Walmart on speed. The Hwamyeong LOTTE is 3 floors of practically everything you can think of. Bottom floor is the grocery section. If you get anxious easily it's best to take a friend with you the first couple of times you visit. The grocery section of LOTTE is constantly busy, there will be employees yelling at you to try or buy a new item or an item that's on a special sale. The fact that you don't speak Korean will probably mean nothing to some of them, and they'll just resort to sign language to push their wares.

You may even get a couple of 'helpful' employees who speak a little bit of English following you around the store so that they can answer any questions you may have, right on the spot. This can be unnerving. Not everyone wants a personal shopping assistant. But, it's also very useful. Employees are often willing to help you find something, even if they can't understand a word you're saying. This equals good news for you. Just don't be afraid to ask.

Along with groceries on the bottom floor you'll find a number of house hold items like pots, pans, dishes, soap, detergent, cleaning supplies, cooking utensils, storage options, bathroom items, hangers, ironing boards (though the irons are not on that floor), face soap, shampoo, and a 1,000 won section (it's the equivalent of a Dollar Store back in the states). I had a field day in the 1,000 won section. I love a good bargain.

The second floor is all about clothes. Men's clothes, women's clothes, children's clothes, work clothes, sports clothes, cleaning clothes, and so on. You'll also find your make-up and accessories here, ladies.

The third floor houses appliances, electronics, house decoration items, books, stationary, and some random items like golf clubs, an assortment of clocks, mirrors, and large storage options.

SHINSEGAE CENTUM CITY

Shinsegae Centum City is located in Busan and currently holds the record for the largest department store in the world. Now, when they say "large" they mean LARGE. Centum City is 5,487,594.84 sq. ft.

Not to mention that Centum City is only part of a an even bigger shopping complex. A 12.6 million square-foot shopping complex. Here you can find departments stores, restaurants, a gym, golf driving range, spa, ice rink, cinema and art gallery. That's pretty amazing.

It's completely worth a visit. Actually, more than one. It's going to take you a couple of trips to experience everything Centum City has to offer.

Life at a Hagwon

Are you trying to make a decision on wether to teach at a public or private school? There are SO many options available to you, from where in Korea you would like to teach, to what age of student, to what kind of school. Sometimes all of the information can be a little overwhelming. Well, here's my advice to you:

Do your research.

There are a lot of 'expats to be' that depend solely on the reviews of other expats. While it isn't bad to listen to the complaints and praises of others, you should really take all of it with a grain of salt. Why? Well, because there are good and bad aspects to both public and private school working, and your experience is going to depend mostly on your attitude. . Already I've spoken to people who hate and love their job, and they work at the same school!

I've heard good and bad reviews of both public and private school teaching. Private schools can be scary because there are SO many, and they're privately funded, which means that they could go under if they lose their student base. This is when you put your big boy/girl pants on and do research about institutions on your own. There are numerous private schools that are supported by universities and have a good, ever sturdy, student population.

If you're being assigned a position through some kind of agency, make sure the agency is a good one and has years of experience working with getting teachers jobs in Korea. Usually they're going to be good at weeding out the really questionable schools so you don't end up standing outside your hagwon one day, out of a job, because the school went bankrupt (a popular horror story).

I recommend Gone2Korea.

Working at a Private school. It's not a Holiday.

Sure, you get paid more at a private school. Yeah, the benefits are generally better AND classes are smaller. These seem pretty tempting to everyone, right? And they should! Those are great perks to working at a private school in Korea. However, Private schools are not for the weak at heart.

Private schools are more structured than public schools and can require more hours of preparation for the teacher. I'm scheduled for 40.5 hours a week, but if you exclude lunch breaks and prep time (which is pretty laid back) I actually only teach 27.5 hours a week.

Some of you reading this are going to think "WOW, That's a lot!". I'm sure you were expecting to arrive here, teach a couple of hours a day, and have free time all the rest. Yeah?

Here comes a bit of the bubble bursting...A private school position is usually a full-time job. That's what you can expect to be signing up for. You're going to be a teacher. It's a job, and it has its responsibilities. Those two things sound like no fun to lots of people, I know. But if you're expecting to come over to Korea for a long vacation with a little teaching work on the side, you're already setting yourself up for a negative experience.

That being said, just because you work full-time doesn't mean you can't have fun. There's PLENTY to do at night, after work (even on weekdays) and once your work hours are over, it's your time. Your weekends are also free, which gives you enough time to do the stuff that you want to do, including travel.

I heard a lot of complaints about vacation time for private schools as well. Private schools don't have as much vacation as a public school. It's true. But that doesn't mean that they don't have vacation at all. Private schools recognize all of the national holidays (so you get those days off just like the public schools), and generally you'll be offered 10 days of paid vacation (2 weeks). I was offered the same, and then come to find out that not only do I get a 2 week paid vacation (Christmas break), there's also a 1 week vacation in July for summer. Its not the public school holiday length or frequency but you DO get vacation. 2 weeks paid vacation a year plus a week is a lot more than you can expect from a job back in the states.

Private school teaching could be VERY rewarding for you. I can't speak for public schools because I haven't yet worked in one, but I can tell you that there are plenty of praise speakers and naysayers on BOTH sides. So, self evaluate. Write a pros and cons list. Research different schools. Honestly, no matter where you end up (public or private school) there's the potential to have really amazing and wonderful experiences.



As a P.S. THANK YOU to BUSAN HAPS, U2 CLUB LOUNGE & BAR, and ALL OF THE WONDERFUL BANDS who put together the "World Famous" event last night. It was fantastic. I'm definitely looking forward to more from all of you.