The Ides of March...kinder to me than to Caesar...

First of all, I apologize, but there are no pictures today...I've been doing nothing but official business, and pulling out my phone to snap a few shots would have been a little unprofessional haha. So..to appease those who are here for the pretty colours, here's a picture of a traditional-style pagoda right in the middle of the Beijing Airport:

Anyway...was up at 6 a.m. after an awesome 10-hour sleep in the hotel, then had cereal and toast for breakfast and hit up the bank with my recruiter and two other teachers...I got my Korean bank account! It's crazy how trusting they are here...you can pay with the bank card the same as credit cards back home (ie: just the signature) and nobody checks the signature...apparently fraud/theft are just not that bad around here.

Their bank card is really pretty too haha, which is kind of nice :) Then we headed to the Education Office where we met our co-teachers...mine is a youthful 40-something guy named Changok, who speaks English very well (better than a lot of the other English co-teachers here). He spent a few years in the States and has even been to Victoria, so he's good with pointing out cultural stuff that may come as a surprise to North Americans.

After a bit of paperwork and a talk by an Education Officer Changok took me to my new home in the Masan area of Changwon. It's probably a good 30 minute drive from downtown Changwon, but it's a new building and it's on a little back street, so it'll be quiet and neat...definitely a lot nicer than a lot of other places I've read/heard about. The previous teacher also left a bunch of stuff there, including an iron, ironing board, toaster, kettle, cutlery, cups, etc...again, totally lucked out, I've heard horror stories of teachers selling everything that wasn't nailed down upon their exit.

Masan, at first glance, does seem much smaller and less exciting than Changwon, however, it does have way less pollution and the mountains are everywhere, so it's a trade-off I'll take...apparently both my apartment and my school are on the outskirts of Masan, so I'm sure once I find the downtown, I'll like it even more. Still, no complaints here, I like how close nature is and how clean the air is, and Changwon is a short busride away.

After dropping my bags off at my new home, we headed to my school. (But after a stop at a convenience store, where I picked up a few cans of iced tea for the equivalent of about 50 cents each! It's ridiculously dry here, I'm constantly thirsty and my lips are so dry I'm afraid I'll cut my tongue on them). It's another great day here, 13 degrees and sunny, and they're predicting 19 and sunny for the weekend!

Anyhoo, at the school, we bumped into the principal and the vice principal right away, shook their hands, bowed, etc...I had some rice and kimchi (fermented/insanely spicy cabbage and other veggies...surprisingly good, though! It's one of Korea's main food staples, so especially as a vegetarian if you can stomach it, you'll be ok, if not, you might be in trouble). When Changok told the cafeteria ladies I'm vegetarian they just about fainted. Just to be on the safe side, I opted out of the school lunch program (which, judging by what I saw today is awesome if you eat meat) and will bring my own stuff.

The students seem happy and energetic, but well-behaved...a bunch of them came up to me to say hi and I feel like a celebrity here haha. I'm sure the novelty of it will wear off for both them and me, but for the time being, it's kind of cool :)

Now I'm killing time at my desk (I share an office with 4 other teachers) while Changok teaches his other classes...then I'll have a formal meeting with the principal and vice principal then be introduced to all the other teachers. I met a few of the other English teachers as well (all Korean, I'm the only native English-speaking teacher here) and they seemed super nice. Also, for some unknown, but awesome reason...the school bells sound like ice cream trucks. Honestly. I'll see if I can somehow get a sound bit of it up on here for you guys :)

Okay, that's enough writing...I think I'll go explore the school...the "English Zone" ie: my new home, looks really cool too...

Oh yeah, sadly I won't have internet at home for a while (apparently it's a week for the medical results to come back, then two weeks after that to get my Alien Registration Card, which is needed for the internet), but I'll see if I can steal wireless in my apartment or find an internet cafe.

I'll be back tomorrow, hopefully with pictures!