Day One and I'm already behind!

Whoops! It didn't take very long for me to get out of sync with this blog did it!

Well after the exhausting experience of arriving in Korea today I had a little time to get myself settled before heading out for a meal with Haji, the headteacher of Talkster. He also provided me with a guided tour and good conversation on the way back from Incheon Airport.
It's one of two airports in Korea but is apparently a man-made island which in a few years is set to be the hub of everything in the country. It's pretty close to Seoul so I guess it makes sense for it to be a popular place.

We actually drove through a small part of Seoul on our way back from the airport. Haji pointed out a couple of areas which are American military places but I can't for the life of me remember what they are called. I'm told the culture is a bit more western there so when I am sick of Korea I will probably spend a day there so remind me of home and what I am missing back in England.

I'm staying in a temporary appartment at the moment as the wall between my room and the next one needs sound proofing but this one is a little bigger. It's the 'couples' appartment and is very much like the kind of room you'd expect in a villa in Spain or something. Aside from the bed it has a good sized bathroom, a wardrobe, fridge, oven and all sorts. It's pretty much what I was expecting really and hopefully I'll be having such a fun time doing other things that I don't have to resort to spending much time in it!

After all this (and being completely confused about what time-zone I am in, how much sleep I've had and what day it is!) it's time for my first Korean meal. We visited a small restaurant just down the road from where I am living and had a traditional meal of Galbi It's basically like a BBQ in the middle of your table cooking all kinds of meats which you eat with salad and all kinds of spicy, and at this point strange side dishes! I also tried a Korean drink Soju (I get the feeling I'm going to be doing this wiki links regularily!) which apparently they go nuts for over here.

Right as we ordered two of the schools other teachers, Kevin and Charlie, came and joined us for a meal. It was nice to meet some of my new colleagues right away and it was very cool to get to know two new people so soon as I arrived. They are both from the US so very friendly and also entertaining. After the meal they took me to one of the bars they visited when they first got here.

I got my first experience of a Korean bus which was extremely novel and that took us into the centre of Suwon. The bar we went to was so cool, you had to take off your shoes at the door and then go into this room which was dimly lit with candles and sit on cusions on the floor. It was so relaxing and would probably go down very well as a place to chill and relax in England.
Charlie and Kevin told me about their experiences of Korea so far and I am excited to learn everything they have done while they have been here.

It has been a long day so I figure it's time that I retired to my room for the evening.