Brutal beginnings

Holy crapballs, jet lag is NO JOKE, people!  I think I'm getting better because yesterday was REALLY tough.  Let me just break this down for you.

We had to meet in the lobby by 6:20 to catch the shuttle that would take us to the medical center.  At the medical center, we checked in and changed.  (Quick note - we need Korean hospital gowns in the US.  Cute kimono-type tops with velcro and ties so that they stay closed and comfy pj-type pants.)  After we checked in, we went to another floor which I'll call... orchestrated chaos.  You see, we were shuffled around from station to station for a variety of tests.  I was expecting blood and urine drug tests.  I was not expecting height, weight, blood pressure, hearing, eyes, chest X-rays, EKG and consultation!!!  And it wasn't just for us, it seems to be a thing that every Korean has to do (though I'm not sure what time frame it's on).  I was annoyed already because we couldn't have anything but water that AM which meant... NO COFFEE!!!  I was so happy that I missed the 9am shuttle to the training center because that meant I had time to wander to find COFFEE!  (Side note - not hard to find Starbucks here.  There was one across the street from the hotel and one across the street from the medical center.  As a matter of principal, I found a Holly's Coffee and enjoyed it immensely.)  I did catch the 10am shuttle just fine, slightly caffeinated, and MUCH happier.

So we take the shuttle to the training center.  That was fine, the trainer is super sweet and enthusiastic, one of the other trainers had made maps for us of cheap and yummy places to have lunch (more on that later) and the technology we're going to be using is pretty cool (smart boards > whiteboards).  The hardest time I had was trying to stay awake.  I only had 1 cup of coffee and eventually I got pretty darn delirious.  We are expected to find our own ways around Seoul, so I was forced to figure out the bus (which wasn't hard but it's cold, darn it).  Then we were going to get something to eat, ended up wandering around for 30 mins before I wussed out because I could just FEEL the inner bitch rising.  So I went back to the hotel, did my online work, took a shower and went to bed!  But I gotta tell you, having an extremely full day that starts with an early morning violation by medical personnel and ends with being unable to find a bloody restaurant definitely (I think) qualifies as a brutal beginning!!!

Now, today was not so bad.  I slept pretty well and was able to have 2 cups of coffee before leaving the hotel.  (Unfortunately when I left the hotel I realized that it was SNOWING!  Which just seemed rude, but ah well.)  I helped my roomie get a T-money card (for the bus) and we went to the training center together.  Lunch was incredible and my fellow trainees are really great.  We have another American, an Englishwoman, an Australian with an English accent, a Canadian, and a bilingual S Korean.  They are some of the sweetest women I have had the pleasure to associate with (and I'm not even the oldest)!  So all in all, I think the rest of training will be kind of intense as we learn how to manage children's behaviors, how to structure the lessons, figure out the rules for our classrooms, and generally try to prepare for the test and mock teaching on Friday.  Also, Friday is when we'll get our medical results, and the next steps which should end in our getting to our apartments.  Unless we somehow fail the medical exam or the teaching... then I guess we're just kinda up a creek.  I doubt that will be the case, however... things have been so smooth that it's hard to imagine anything going wrong now.  :)

Also, in the case of the jet lag... today I've been oscillating between energy and exhaustion.  It's like I'll be absolutely fine one min and then the next min I'm totally knackered.  Just almost fall-down with exhaustion and give up on everything kind of a thing.  I'm not 100% sure what is up with this, but I'm hoping after a decent sleep tonight, I should be totally on schedule with this side of the globe.  I am still getting up pretty early (for me, 6:30) so that I can have coffee in silence before having to go, which I think is good for me.  Thank God for a roomie who understands the need for quiet!!

If I haven't already mentioned, seriously, if you want to do this - GO WITH ENGLISH WORK!  As far as I can tell, NO other person was picked up at the airport and driven to the hotel.  Michael Kim was great helping me thru the process and made being here that first day SO much easier.

Now, for what most of you have been curious about.  Here's the first food I had here in S Korea.  It is a spicy pork cutlet with miso soup, rice, a kind of salad/slaw, kimchi and what I have been told are pickled radishes.

  This is lunch on the first day - beef rib soup.  I know there were glass noodles, onion, broth, beef (still attached to the bone) and other stuff in there, it was all good!

These are spicy rice cakes.  I don't know how they are made, but they are really, really good!

 And this is Gimbab or Kimbab - I'm not sure which way is the proper way to spell it, but it is AMAZING.  It's Korean sushi, but instead of using raw fish they use cooked pork, beef, tuna, chicken, you name it.  The kind I had today had egg, tofu, pork, pickled radish, carrots, some kind of spinach... and I think that's it.  Oh my gosh it was sooo yummy!!!!

So that's pretty much the Korean food I've had so far.  I'm waiting to hear from people about going to dinner, but I may just skip it since lunch was so good and I'm still pretty full.  I'm going to TRY to remember to bring my camera and take real pix, I promise!  Also no, I haven't tried the fried chicken yet ;)