Yo Yo No SNOW!

Hey Everybody
No snow in the forecast in Busan. Sorry but i am sending my warm thought your way. I started teaching on monday, i have to say so far i really like, i am surprised actually. The kids that i teach are from aged 7 to 10. We play bingo, hangman and flashcards, and then we ready the same book over and over about 3 times. So really i am just a talking head. But puppet routine pays really well.
There a three Foriegn teachers at the school and then about 10 Korean English teachers, you work twice as long as i do and i think get paid less, and have to pay for there own apartment. i have been told not to feel bad because that it is just how Korea is.
The kids are in school all day it seems. I start classes at 2 and teach until 8, but there are classes that go until 10pm. The poor kids also have taekwondo or music lessons some where in there as well. Apparently a good nights rest is about 6 hours! Ick, we North Americans have it so easy.

Mark arrived safely on Tuesday so we went for a little stroll around the neighbourhood. We live in Haeundae which is probably the most prominent area in the city. So we have a lot of foreign people as well as bars and stores that cater to us, for example i have a Starbucks right outside my door!! So while we were walking around looking high in the sky, and looking at all the lights, and then we come across a man, who happens to be leaving against the fence, in a really nice suit, pissing through the fence and directly into our path! Luckily we noticed early and was able to avoid disaster!! We have been prepared for all the spitting and gobbing that goes on, but i can't say i was into the public urination thing.

In Busan the streets have no names. As far as i can tell the street signs direct you to the subway stations or major attractions. At least there are many landmarks to guide a person on there way, however there seems to be a family mart and a PC land (pc land is a 24 hour computer room, where all of the computers are hooked up to online games, or you can check your email at 3am if you like). There also seems to be an abundance of giant crosses on the many churches, some of them are even florescent!

We walked to the beach yesterday, and i could have jumped in. The beach is nice and white with no big rocks (like at home). This beach is called Haeundae beach. It is fed by the Korean straight, which leads into the Sea of Japan and then the Pacific. In the summer this beach is filled with so many people with umbrellas it is like a can of oysters! i will post pictures once i experience that.

Koreans also happen to be good/ bad drivers. There is a lot of honking, but it is not aggressive, it is more like i am going to pull a uturn in the middle of this intersection, please let me through. Or i am going to run this red... or i am going to go into the other lane because i want to make a right hand turn and i am not going to wait for the four cars ahead of me to make the turn left. It is really quite funny. They drive on the same side of the road and they have very large cross walks. This makes travelling easy, unlike China where you were playing Russian roulet to get across the street. I also noticed that sleeping babies on a parents lap is no big thing, especially when they are driving. It reminded me of us Americans who allow our pets on our laps while driving.

So i think that i have given you a better desciption of what it is like so far. Take care and miss you.

I am HERE

Hey everybody,
I made it, but in quite a state. I think that i still have air legs, and i really miss home. I am so glad that Mark will be here in just a couple of days so that he can calm this fear and loneliness. I arrived late on Saturday Night and have been trying to settle in. I am looking for an adapter for my computer, but its not going that great.
Monday i start work and some one from the school is going to pick me up and take me there. As well they are supposed to get me the few things for the house like a shower curtain, telephone and some other house hold things.
So here we go...

love and miss you

YIPPEE, MARKS COMING WITH ME

Mark and I have decided that he is coming with me to Korea! We thought why stay here for 6 to 8 weeks alone, and me alone in Korea, when he can work from there. I know this is such a great news! I was really sad and worried about being alone for so long with out knowing anyone. I was talking myself into being fine with it, when in reality it was going to be really tough.
So financially it is going to be really tight for a while, but what else is new since September.

I start teaching on December 15, but i have yet to receive my airplane ticket, apparently it is "super expensive, so we are still looking", so i hope that i will get my ticket fairly soon. I am looking forward to working again....

non engaement, never getting married photoshoot

Don't take the title to seriously, i am not jaded or bitter, this is what works for our life, so please don't have any negative thoughts about these beautiful pictures. Enjoy!

Another Bump in the Road

Hello everyone, still on Canadian soil!! I am so disappointed about this. I was supposed to be gone months ago! Alas I will have to wait until December 15, but at least that is my first day on the job. I think i will be flying out around the 10th I guess.
Retirement does not suit me. I am getting so down, waiting around for this long. I am sad that my triathlon training of the spring is now close to garbage, I guess that's what being homeless does to a person. I personally do not recommend being homeless. But on the bright side is that i will be so happy to get to my studio apartment in Korea! So excited!
I have big plans for Korea i can't wait to get there...