Symphony and Costco

Hello everyone! I have officially moved into my apartment as of yesterday. I'm unpacked, but not completely organized and not decorated. It's a cute apartment and I like it a lot. It's a studio with a little kitchen and bathroom. There is no oven, so I think I'm going to take the advice from other teachers and buy a toaster oven sometime in the next couple of days, as they say it has worked well for them in place of an oven. The internet at my apartment isn't completely working, but I found a wireless network without a password to use for now.

Friday we had no students at school, but still had to be there since it was graduation day for the 2nd graders. (That is as high as our school goes.) Friday afternoon we got treated to a nice lunch to say goodbye to the teachers who are leaving, hello to our new director and hello to me. It was a five course Italian meal and incredibly delicious. Friday night I went to see the Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra, with Laura and Ashley which was amazing! They played the Overture from the Barber of Seville, Brahms' Piano Concerto #1 and Dvorak Symphony #9. The piano soloist for the piano concerto was absolutely incredible, and orchestra played really well overall. The ticket came out to about $8, and they had free juice during intermission. Completely worth it.

Yesterday I spent most of the day unpacking, then went with all the teachers to Itaewon, the American part of town for dinner and goodbye to the teachers who are leaving. Everything there is in English and all of a sudden you see a lot of non-Korean people once you step off the subway. I was able to eat a chicken sandwich and fries, which was a very delicious decision. I got really tired so called it an early evening and went home before everyone else.

Today I got to have my experience with Korean Costco. They have so many things the same as as the Costco in the United States. It was a great place to go for a first time grocery run, a good way to stock up on certain things. Terrance and Megan were nice enough to take me there with their card and then help me carry my groceries back to the apartment. They have definitely been extremely helpful! It's so good to have a supply of food now.

We have tomorrow off because it's Buddha's birthday, and we have to be at school Tuesday, though no students until Wednesday for the new school year. I'm going to have five cute kindergarden students all day, then teach 2 classes after school with 1st and 2nd graders. I'm going to decorate my classroom all day on Tuesday, set it up, and clean up the mess Steve left at the desk I'm taking over and set it up how I want to.

Tomorrow I might be going mountain hiking, meeting up with some other people I know here, or both! We'll see how the day pans out.

Happy Sunday everyone!