My boyfriend, M, and I moved to Korea (the land of Lace and Ligers) in March 2012, we have now been here for just over 7 months. Our decision to come to Korea was based on the word of a friend who was all horns and whistles about the Land of Lace, Lanterns and Ligers. So we decided to give it a shot, initially planning on staying for 2 years.
Every day is still a new experience. We are way out of our comfort zone, with very little to remind us of home. We arrived on March 3 2012 and at the airport we were met by our co-teachers for the year. M's co- teacher is young and mine is slightly older, married with two kids. They both were very nice. They took us to drop our bags off at the place we would be staying at for the night because neither of our apartments were ready yet. The place was cute and better than I expected. But it would not be home. Once we had offloaded all of our belongings, we went to an E-mart, a large store like a hypermarket back home, to get some breakfast things and then we went out for dinner.
We were about to experience Korean food for the first time, and we were both a little nervous. First we had some green chili peppers, and Kimchi.
This is cabbage which is fermented in a red chili pepper sauce, the longer it is fermented the better it tastes. I couldn't stand it for the first couple of months, but now I love it. It really grows on you.
Then we had some Mandu (dumplings), which is pork and green onions and some other stuff in a kind of pasta pastry. These were delicious. My absolute favorite from that first night.
We had some fish and noodle soup, it had some clams and muscles and then fish pieces in it.
Lastly we had pajeon, which is like a Korean pancake/pizza but the concept is like an omelette. This was so good, from the beginning it has been one of M's favorites and has become one of mine. You dip the pieces into that sauce, wow, so good.
All of this came with what Koreans call 'service' which just means complimentary sides.
That was our first experience of Korean food and to be honest neither of us really enjoyed anything. Some of the food we forced down, but it really does grow on you. I now actually really enjoy many Korean dishes and sides.
Living arrangements:
My co-teacher hadn't actually found me an apartment yet so we were both to stay at M's place until her and I found one for me. The commute to school each morning was awful because the bus stop is so far from M's apartment, therefore a long walk and it was freezing (at least for me) March temperatures are anything from 2-10 degrees Celsius.
After about a week we found an apartment, which is amazing, it is about a block and a half from my school. We were planning on trying to find something in the middle of our schools (1 hour apart by bus) so that we would both have to commute 30 minutes each morning. But this apartment was a must have. The ceilings are high, the floors are wood. The bedroom is large and separated from the kitchen, unlike M's apartment which is only one room and much smaller. There was nothing in the apartment, so the school had to provide a bed, washing machine, fridge, table, chairs etc. My school had some extra money in the budget so they bought some cutlery and crockery. I also got a big screen TV which was a huge bonus. M's apartment was fully furnished so all of his budget went into cutlery, crockery, bedding and appliances. Which we have moved to my place and now we are sorted.
M and I planned to do one week at mine and one week at his to make the commuting fair, but my place was so much better we just ended up staying at mine full time.
There are a few other foreigners in my building which is really nice. We often have braais or do things together.
Photos of the apartment coming soon...
Every day is still a new experience. We are way out of our comfort zone, with very little to remind us of home. We arrived on March 3 2012 and at the airport we were met by our co-teachers for the year. M's co- teacher is young and mine is slightly older, married with two kids. They both were very nice. They took us to drop our bags off at the place we would be staying at for the night because neither of our apartments were ready yet. The place was cute and better than I expected. But it would not be home. Once we had offloaded all of our belongings, we went to an E-mart, a large store like a hypermarket back home, to get some breakfast things and then we went out for dinner.
 |
| Kimchi |
 |
| Mandu |
We had some fish and noodle soup, it had some clams and muscles and then fish pieces in it.
 |
| Seafood noodle soup |
Lastly we had pajeon, which is like a Korean pancake/pizza but the concept is like an omelette. This was so good, from the beginning it has been one of M's favorites and has become one of mine. You dip the pieces into that sauce, wow, so good.
 |
| Pajeon |
All of this came with what Koreans call 'service' which just means complimentary sides.
 |
| Service - except for the soup, rice and fish |
Living arrangements:
My co-teacher hadn't actually found me an apartment yet so we were both to stay at M's place until her and I found one for me. The commute to school each morning was awful because the bus stop is so far from M's apartment, therefore a long walk and it was freezing (at least for me) March temperatures are anything from 2-10 degrees Celsius.
After about a week we found an apartment, which is amazing, it is about a block and a half from my school. We were planning on trying to find something in the middle of our schools (1 hour apart by bus) so that we would both have to commute 30 minutes each morning. But this apartment was a must have. The ceilings are high, the floors are wood. The bedroom is large and separated from the kitchen, unlike M's apartment which is only one room and much smaller. There was nothing in the apartment, so the school had to provide a bed, washing machine, fridge, table, chairs etc. My school had some extra money in the budget so they bought some cutlery and crockery. I also got a big screen TV which was a huge bonus. M's apartment was fully furnished so all of his budget went into cutlery, crockery, bedding and appliances. Which we have moved to my place and now we are sorted.
M and I planned to do one week at mine and one week at his to make the commuting fair, but my place was so much better we just ended up staying at mine full time.
There are a few other foreigners in my building which is really nice. We often have braais or do things together.
Photos of the apartment coming soon...
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