Day 2: Friday August 26

My first full day in Gwacheon City, South Korea

I wake up with questions like: can I really do this? Am I totally fooling myself into thinking that I make it in a foreign land on my own? I’ve made the executive decision not cry anymore and I try to utilize as many Canadian-made goods as possible... while I sit in my Canadian flag, smelling of TreSemme that I lovingly bought at Wal-Mart.  On that happier note, I get ready for my first real training day and head to school with the goal of connecting with the other six foreign teachers that are at my Wonderland school. 

After a successful trip to the hospital –including my 8-event relay for my health check –I found myself in Mr. Cho’s office for the second part of my orientation.  While he focuses on the historical & cultural aspects of Korea, it is far from comforting that to hear this, this, this and that are going to be hard.  As one of the principals of Wonderland, I know Mr. Cho means well and is trying to adequately prepare me for my new Korean life; however, after hearing about five “that will be ready hard on you”s, my stomach decided to prove exactly how nervous & anxiety-ridden I am... all afternoon long.

A quick one-on-one with Sara (a fellow Western grad and two-time returner) helped me to see that what I was feeling was normal and that I’m not such a hopeless traveler after all.  What made it even better was the walk to Block 2 (to see the basic apartment layout), trying out the subway, buying a new universal adapter and having a tasty dinner of Korean BBQ in Pyeongchon with my new-found friends.

The sight of Pyeongchon coming out of the subway station

The BBQ grill is built into the table & they give you unlimited side dishes... so yummy!