We arrived in Seoul this morning in the middle of a typhoon and I finally met my co-teacher! I bowed and said Anyong Haseyo(sp) in Korean like I had been told to do. She smiled and gave me a big hug. I was quite surprised as it seemed like such a Western thing to do. We spent an awkward few minutes just smiling at each other and trying to figure out what to do with my suitcases. She answered the phone, said a few things in Korean that I couldn't understand and a very nice car came roaring around the corner. An older woman jumped out, gave me a hug and said "Welcome to Korea," another one of my co-teachers and a very friendly woman. They followed me down the steps in the pre-typhoon weather holding an umbrella over my head. When we got to the trunk it was quite clear that my suitcase might not fit. They smiled, giggled and began furiously re-arranging the trunk. In two minutes I was all packed up and ready to go. She leaned over and said I made you lunch! It was a bag of baked potatoes and a bag of grapes. I smiled at the gesture.
When I arrived at my apartment I was surprised by how nice it was! I will be living in an officetel. I looked around and it seemed to have everything- a table and chairs with a bouquet of roses,a fridge stocked with beer, microwave, rice cooker, stove, washing machine, shower separate from the rest of the bathroom....just one thing missing....a bed! My co-teacher told me I would be staying with her for the night, so I grabbed some things and took the subway 40 minutes out to her place. When we arrived I was a bit anxious about meeting her mother. Again, I bowed and said hello. She ran over and gave me a big hug. She spoke very little English but her smile was so bright. They gave me a mattress pad, led me to my room and let me rest for a while. I had casually mentioned to my co-teacher that I loved Indian food. When I woke up she had made me an amazing Indian curry with loads of sides and lots of dessert. To say I was humbled, would be an understatement.
I was so surprised to have someone be so kind upon first meeting me, particularly because I felt like I might be a bit of a burden. We sat around for a few hours, listening to the Typhoon and talking about all the places we had visited. We had a lot more in common than I thought we would. She shared teaching tips, told me about the students and promised to help make my time in Korea as fantastic as possible. I feel very blessed! Tomorrow I head to school at 8:30 am, observe the classes and meet all of the teachers. At 3:30 I will attend my first staff meeting, complete with Soju....this should be a very interesting day!
