Reasons why Ilsan is awesome

Ilsan, I think we're starting to realize, is one of the coolest places to live in Korea for several reasons. One of them is because of La Festa, a shopping / cafe / restaurant district that is literally a block away from our apartment. It's the place to be every night, regardless of the day of the week. It's four stories high, has section A - F, and shows that Koreans put a lot of emphasis on "having a good time." For instance, after coming back from our long trip to Seoul yesterday (we were exhausted), we went to a board game cafe in La Festa where I taught Joe how to play Settlers of Catan (Banneker should be proud). Afterwards, I went shopping for clothes, we went inside a Cute Shop, and watched drunk people.

Here's a couple of other photos of La Festa:
































This is a placed called Western Dom (yes, they misspelled it). Same idea - tons of shopping, cafes, ethnic food, bars, movie theaters, DVD room, and so on.















Western Dom has some pretty cool architecture. Most of Korea is an artificial, concrete jungle, but places like Ilsan, which is relatively a new city, is filled with contemporary architecture, which to midwesterners like us, look futuristic.

Kimbab

Mmmmm Kimbab. My newest favorite fast food. It consists of a seaweed roll, rice, vegetables, and usually some type of meat. Seriously, it is amazing. Luckily this is a cheap dish in Ilsan, as is most Korean food. Christine and I can usually eat a dinner together for roughly 10,000 won (~$8.05 USD). Last night we ate dinner at a restraunt just outside of the school (we have a two hour break in classes on Tuesday and Thursday evening). Aside from Kimbab, we also ordered a soup that I keep forgetting the name of. I've had it twice now since we have been in South Korea and it would totally kick chicken noodle soup's butt.

The nicest thing about dinning out in Korea is that you do not tip the waiter. I'm not saying you are supposed to be mean to the waiter, but it is just not customary to tip. Also, the small amount of tax is already included in the price of the meal or whatever else you are purchasing. So, when you see something that is 3,000 won, it will only cost you 3,000. This includes delivery...no charge for delivery! We are still eating out for most meals as this seems to be the cheapest route so far. It is also nice to come home from work and not have to worry about cooking a meal.

(Hello Earth)

Hello from Korea! Joe and I arrived late last night at Incheon International Airport, which looks something like this. It's a google photo. We'll post pictures as soon as we settle down and figure out how we're going to charge my laptop.

Our director, Sun, picked us up from the airport. He's a young guy who showed up in jeans and a baseball cap and also, as we figured out on our drive back, a very funny, honest guy. He helped us find a hotel room (we can't move into our apartment until tomorrow - the previous tenants haven't moved out yet), picked us up this morning for work, dropped us off after work, and is helping us move tomorrow.

We started work today. We got oriented by Doug and Annie, the couple we're replacing. The first few hours were spent frantically making copies of syllabus, homework guidelines, and workbooks. We were both assigned desks with computers. We both have about 6 classes on Mondays and Wednesday, 40 minutes each, spread throughout 8 hours. It's not as bad as I imagined. The English level of each class varies, as does the age group. My favorite was my last class, which was comprised of a bunch of rowdy 6th graders who weren't shy about answering questions. We were also provided free dinner! We start classes at 2pm tomorrow, with only 5 classes and a two hour dinner break.

The first one

Joe here. It has been a busy month for us as Christine and I prepare to go to Ilsan, South Korea. Ilsan is a satellite city of Seoul, the capital. From what we hear, it will take about 30 minutes by bus or 1 hour by subway to visit Seoul.

We start teaching on September 1, at L*Bridge. Originally, we were supposed to leave Indianapolis on August 23 to give us a few days to adjust to the time change, get settled into our apartment, and start planning for our year of teaching. After a minor setback in the visa process, we can't leave until August 30. We are set to arrive at Incheon International Airport at 8:55 PM local time on August 31. And yes, we are still starting on September 1.