Friday, December 7, 2007

Greetings from Cheongok Dong, Ulsan, South Korea










We started driving around 2am from Cody, WY to Billings, MT, hopped a plane to Minnepolis, then we were off. Our course took us not over the Pacific Ocean, but rather, over British Columbia, Alaska, then down over Siberia and into Tokyo for a connector flight to Busan. All told, we were on the road, sleeping in airports or in the air for about 26 hours. We were met at the airport in Busan by our recruiter and quickly ushered to our school to met the director, Mr. Kim.
Mr. Kim, a mild mannered fellow, took us to our hotel for a couple nights stay before moving into our apartment. Our "Love Hotel" was quite comfortable and swanky, equipped with a TV, bottle of wine, tea, condoms, and other fun surprises.
Our next day we found the bank, cashed in some money for Korean Won, about 1 dollar to 925 won, and went hunting for food. We found the bakeries to incredibly posh, decked out with all sorts of treats.
Currently, we have been in our apartment for three weeks after arriving and settling in nicely. Our 3 bedroom pad it tucked up in the foothills on the north edge of town. We on the 15 floor with killer views looking our over a small hill with views of other highrise buildings in the distance. We have grocery stores, restaurants, and bars within walking distance.
The locals here have been incredibly friendly, curious, and patient with our pathetic attempts at communication. We always seem to work out our point. Like the other night, we went into a restaurant and asked if they accepted Visa. The didn't, but insisted on having us staying and eat anyway. The owners, Lim and Bok, an older couple in their 60's were very happy to feed us. We sat around with Lim and did our best to introduce ourselves. In the nicest of ways, Lim told us the food we were eating was a gift and not to come back and pay.

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