Arriving in Seoul this year has been a completely different experience than last year. The transition has been much more relaxed. I am gearing up for the upcoming school year rested, settled, and mostly stress free.
When I arrived in Seoul (4:20 am) I discovered that the first bus to my school didn't leave until 6:15am. I was faced with the idea of waiting another 1.25 hours for a bus that would take at least 45 minutes to get me home. After almost 24 hours of traveling I was saddened by this thought. Much to my delight my buddies (Kristen and Youngin) were minutes away from the airport. Getting picked up in person is much more fun than a bus ride. I hope to return the favor one day.
Wednesday is a blur of jetlag, unpacking, and visiting with old and new staff members. I went with the new teachers to Homeplus where I was able to pick up some groceries and help them out a bit all while having a ride to and from school. It was a nice trade off.
After a good night's sleep Thursday started off with a visit to the school gym. I was expecting the same old gym, complete with little light, cramped machines, and awful paintings on the wall (a zebra playing basketball, the PowderPuff girls, and Superman). Much to my surprise the gym was completely redone over the summer. The area was expanded so more room and more natural light, the walls redone with mirrors and woodwork in place of the paintings, and more air conditioners. The new gym is much more pleasant to work out in and I intend to spend more time there.
Thursday morning involved a trip to Costco and Homeplus with two wonderful science teachers. It was nice to pick up the things I forgot the night before and to catch up with my friends. I was also happy to find that Costco has chicken sausage and turkey burgers for sale. Tonight Colleen and I are going to try and turn turkey burgers into turkey tacos. This could open up many more meal opportunities. This is actually the first time that I have seen turkey available in Korea aside from on base at Thanksgiving.
Thursday afternoon I ironed all of my wrinkled clothes and met with the new science teacher. She has her doctorate in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. From what I have seen we are going to get along great and I am going to learn a lot from her. We are meeting again today as an IB BIology department to discuss this upcoming year.
Thursday night my friends and I went for Korean BBQ. While our group wasn't complete (Nate and Megan have yet to return) it was nice to catch up over a great dinner.
Sleeping Thursday night wasn't as easy as I had hoped. I woke up a few times, but was able to get back to sleep after a short time. A good part about being jetlagged is that I tend to wake up very early in the morning so I have already been to and from the gym this morning. I feel I have been quite productive and the day is just beginning. Up next, coffee, breakfast, and time at my desk.
So far, this is a great school year in the making.
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