A little taste of Korea... and Japan here we come!!

Hi!!!

Sorry for the lack of posts... Things has been crazy busy and we still don't have our own internet at home. More stories and pics will be up really soon!!!

On Friday, we went out to a bar where other foreigners hang out and we were able to meet lots of new people!! They go there every friday, and I think once a month they have a quiz night (which is what we got to take part in). Mostly though, everyone just hangs out, drinks, plays darts, talks.. you know, typical bar stuff. There were a lot of other Canadians, which was cool. We also found out that they organize things like poker nights, soccer games, ball hockey, etc... so lots of stuff to keep busy with!!! All in all, it was great to meet all of these new people!!

On Monday we leave for Japan to do our Visa run. We will take the train to Busan and then take the Fairy over to Fukuoka, Japan. When we come back we should have internet and phone shortly afterwards... which means lots of stories and pictures for the blog!!! Japan should be fun. We have an entire evening and then the next afternoon to explore, and knowing me, get lost, I can't wait!!

So far, We are beginning to try more and more Korean food each day... super tasty!! Last night everyone at work was taken out for dinner. We went to this 'Korean BBQ' place.. really good!! Everyone sits (on the floor) around the table where there is a big burner in the middle of the table. They bring out the meat (we had pork) and you get to cook it yourselves. The table is covered with side dishes like kimchi (lots of different kinds), rice, garlic, spicy sauces, lettuce, etc. The main way to eat it (but not the only way) is to cut the meat up into bite size pieces, when cooking it, and then wrap it inside a piece of lettuce, either by itself or with some other types of side dishes. You don't have to eat it this way, you can eat it on its own which is also good!!

Trevor and I tried to go out to the same type of restaurant a few days before, but we had a little bit of difficulty ordering!! hahah...

Nonetheless, the food is still really good!! SO far, my favourite is Kimbap (very similar to sushi)!! Oh and by the way, there IS chocolate milk here!!! (phew!!) We also found out that Welches not only makes grape soda, but also Strawberry soda!!!!! So I've got my drinks covered!!

Well, enough about food!! I have some really good pics, which I promise will be up shortly, with stories that are not about food!!

In the meantime, I'll be in Japan if anyone needs me!!!

We made it to South Korea!!

Well, after an hour delay, approx. 14 hours on the plane, plus a 4 hour car ride, we made it to Iksan!!!

The plane ride was ok, except I did not sleep at all!!! Trevor was able to sleep pretty much any time we weren't being served food, but I stayed awake almost the entire time. The plane landed in Incheon, which is just outside of Seoul. We managed to get through the airport and met up with our ride.

The ride to Iksan took about 4 hours, and for two of those hours we listened to Anne Murray, some good old Canadian music!! ;) We made one pit stop after two hours of driving at a really big food court type of building. It was full of people and really busy. I decided I should go to the bathroom before we started driving again, so we found one at the back of the building. Not really thinking about it, I walked into a stall only to find what looked like a urinal placed on the floor where the toilet should be!!! I managed to figure it out but it was not the best bathroom experience. The rest of the way to Iksan, I was hoping that not all Korean bathrooms were like that. Lucky for me they are not. My apartment has a western style toilet (phewww)!! I did find out later that there were regualr toilets there, I just didnt look for them long enough. I forgot to take a picture, but if I see another one, I will get a pic and put it up!!

Our apartments are great!!!! Fully furnished, right down to the cutlery!!! Really good size and lots of windows and light!!! We even have air conditioning!!! The weather here is soooo hot so the a.c is super nice!! (Mom even you would be using the a.c here)

We are being shown around town by one of the other teachers in our building, which is really great!! Not being able to read or speak Korean just yet, it is nice to be with someone who knows where they are going. Trevor and I ventured out on our own once, but didnt get too far.

The city is pretty busy with mostly Korean stores, restaurants, and shops. However we have found the Pizza Hut!!! We have also come across a Dunkin Donuts, Baskin Robbins, and even some Italian restaurants!! There is even a 'Wal-mart' type store that has almost everything!!
We also saw the school we will be working at, and it looks soo nice!!!

I will hopefully put some pics up for my next entry. Right now we are at an internet cafe, so I dont have any pics with me.

So far, Iksan seems pretty nice. It will take some getting use to, but should make for some interesting stories!!!