At long last, we’re here in Changwon. I’m not sure whether I was more relieved to be out of Seoul or to be done with training. Friday, my last day of training was by far the most intense. I was tested regarding the structure of classes and evaluated on my ability to present the information. At the very end I sat down with one of the staff and learned the details of how Katie and I would be getting from Seoul to Changwon. At 7:00 that evening, a cab driver would pick us up from the hotel and take us to the bus station. The cab driver would then purchase our tickets to Changwon and call the director of the Changwon branch to inform him as to what time we would arrive. The director would then arrange for someone to pick us up and take us to our apartment, which was already prepared for us.
I had been getting back to the hotel around 4:00 each day, but Friday the shuttle bus to the hotel didn’t even leave until 6:00. By that time the traffic had mounted to an unfathomable gridlock. The gridlock became increasingly worse as we entered the Gangnam district (where the hotel was located). A 15 minute drive ended up taking an hour and-a-half.
Meanwhile, Katie had had to check out of the hotel room at noon. In the morning we had taken some of our luggage down to the front desk and checked them so that Katie would not have to carry down so much at check-out time. After noon she had to wait in the hotel lobby until I returned from training. Around 5:00 I was able to call her, and told her I thought he shuttle bus would be leaving shortly. So she waited patiently until after 7:30, when I finally got back. Fortunately Dave, a nice Canadian fellow trainee, had left training early and was also waiting in hotel lobby. Katie had met Dave previously was able to talk with him for awhile while she waited. As it turned out, Dave was going to Taejon and also had to go to the bus station. The school had arranged for him to ride with us.
When I arrived we hurriedly loaded our luggage into the cab (which, of course, had been waiting for over half and hour) and dashed to the bus station. The cab driver quickly arranged for Dave’s departure since his bus left earlier than ours. Then he took us to the platform where our bus would arrive and called the director of my branch. After speaking Korean with him for awhile the cab driver removed his blue tooth headset and handed it to me. He them emphatically pantomimed that I should put it in my ear. Unenthused, I placed the device in my ear and said “hello”. My director explained that I would call a number from a payphone at the station after we arrived and that someone would come to pick us up.
The cab driver waited with us on the platform until our bus arrived, then he helped us load our luggage. The trip to Changwon took about four hours, and unfortunately it was night, so we didn’t see much of what we were later told was beautiful countryside. Upon our arrival in Changwon I called the number and within five minutes a young Korean man had arrived and was helping us carry our luggage to a cab. His name was Anderson and he was remarkably jovial considering that it was nearly 1:00 AM.
The cab pulled up beside an apartment building, and Anderson gestured toward it saying, “This building is for you.” Then he smiled and added, “Not the whole thing.” We hauled our things to the elevator and went to the eighth floor (the pic is of the apartment building). Anderson helped us into our one-room apartment and apologized that we had a single bed instead of a double. He explained that school headquarters had failed to mention to them that my wife would be accompanying me.
Within just a few minutes, the two head instructors from the school, Kyle and Robyn, had come up to greet us. Kyle and Robyn are Canadians, and have been in Changwon for about seven months. They both turned out to be very nice, and their warm reception was much appreciated. After they left, Katie and I crawled into our tiny bed and got some much needed sleep.
Yesterday morning we were pleased to find that Changwon is very different from Seoul. The first thing we noticed was the blue sky, followed by a beautiful sunrise and ideal weather. Around noon Kyle and Robyn showed us the sites (and the necessities) around the city, and also took us to the school. The school’s facilities are very nice; everything looks new and clean. I was given my schedule and the books that I’ll need to teach my classes. Kyle and Robyn ordered lunch at the school, giving Katie and I the opportunity to try several new Korean dishes.
We were exhausted by the end of the day yesterday, but feeling pretty good about living here in Changwon. Needless to say, I have some nerves regarding my first day of teaching tomorrow. I really want to do a good job, but my week-long cramming session at headquarters has not made me a hundred percent confident that I’ll do a great job from day one. The class structures are complex, and I’m teaching three separate kinds of class this term.
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