My first day at school!

Right, today was my first day and I am still suffering some minor effects of Jetlag, so apologies for the incoherence.  But now I feel ready to give you a more in-depth version of events:

As mentioned last night, the cab driver from the airport to the apartment was very "friendly" by Western standards.  I probably shouldn't have sat in the front seat due to the gratuitous hand holding and groping that followed for the next hour, not to mention the arse-grabbage at the apartment.  I have since been assured that this is common between males in Korea (and yet they're in denial about homosexuality...).  I decided to forgo the pink bedding that Avalon provided for me and will attempt to purchase some before I finally grow tired of the paper thin quilt designed as a supplement rather than the main thing.

The TAs (Teaching Assistants, although the ones who showed up at my door looked like Korea's answer to Minder) arrived at 4pm and took me to my school.  As I had suspected, it wasn't the elementary school in the heart of Seoul that I had thought it was, 

but a high school in Bundang.  Part of me is glad of this; I think the challenge of teaching the kids there will be good.), but the rest of me is wondering how this will affect my contract.  These are issues I may have to address with my foreign head teacher on the morrow.  But I digress.

There are 3 other westerners in the school besides me and the head (who takes some classes of her own as well as mine for this week!  A present of some kind may be in order!)  They're great people, very patient.  It's a little overwhelming, with me being a fresh-off-the-plane, jetlagged Brit graduate and they all having some form of experience in teaching before there, but that should fade with time.  I'm probably also finding it overwhelming by virtue of the fact I have 3 days to cram 5 days of training into.  Which means I get 2 lessons to observe before doing a "mock lesson" (presentation) in front of th head and her big boss! 

However, I am going to have to go clothes shopping, as the dress code is far more lax than I had expected.  I'm just glad I didn't wear a tie or else I would've looked slightly more foolish.  I'll need a new jacket too, although apparently it starts to warm up from now so that shouldn't be an issue.

Et Finalement, here is my teeny-weeny Korean apartment.  Still, at least I have a shower.

I've landed. But my brain is still somewhere over Russia.

So, 36 hours of fretting, flying and fending off the advances of a very "friendly" cab driver later, and I have landed at what shall be my pad for the next year.  It's not bad at all (photos to follow).  However, several clues abound the place that lead me to suspect that it has been only vacant for a matter of hours.  Not only this, but I'm pretty sure that this was a girl's apartment.

None of this is of any importance, it's just that my brain is wired on flying the wrong way around the world (travel with the turn of the earth, people! WITH!), coffee and more than enough in-flight food to last a lifetime.  And on that note: Who has CROISSANTS with chicken, rice and cabbage? 

Air China do.

Anyway, if I can find some clues as to where in Seoul I actually am, I can start trying to find my way around the place.  There's a gym on the top floor of the building across the street, so that's one less thing to do.