So, when I last left you, I was still at the hotel, no? Well, I made my merry way back to the airport and caught the second EPIK Orientation bus of the day, leaving at about 9:50 AM. We arrived at orientation at 11:30. The first thing we were greeted with outside our dorm building was this:
Fairly provocative for such a conservative society. But that's campus art for you. Apparently it's strange all over the world. Anyway, we got our little care package and got set up in the rooms pretty efficiently, and wouldn't you know it, the guy I sat next to on the bus ended up being my roommate. He's from Wisconsin. Nice guy.
So, we sat around and ate the rest of that day (hence no update due to lack of material and hence why I've gained 40 lbs since I've arrived) and tried to get on a proper sleeping schedule. I think it worked.
Yesterday, we kicked it off right with a boring campus tour. The campus is not that large, but it has a playground and several buildings. Part of it smells like a septic tank burst all over the street and they tried their best to clean it up, but just couldn't get rid of that smell. I dubbed it "Smelly Street." Pretty brilliant, eh?
Before dinner we had the opening ceremony. This consisted of a video which would be very useful to someone thinking of applying to become a teacher, but since we had already done that and were now in Korea, it seemed a little out of place.
I regret not bringing my camera to the ceremony, because the performance was by some Taekwondo school full of kids who could definitely kick my ass. Let me tell you, those kids hate trees. They kicked so many wood blocks in so many amazingly acrobatic ways that the air smelled like fireworks. Those kids are mother nature's worst nightmare, for sure.
A couple of the important corporate EPIK people got introduced, a few gave speeches for a while, and then we were off to have opening dinner. They had a pretty sweet spread, including a delicious cake that was served with a samurai sword. Pretty strange seeing a Korean business man serve you cake with a samurai sword. Anyway, I can't really tell you what I've been eating because I have no idea what it is. All I know is that if it looks meaty, I stay away. That's all I can do. There's some pretty interesting stuff, though. Another missed opportunity with the camera.
A group of us decided to go out for a beer (just one because we had the medical check in the morning), and we hit up the bar across the street from the university. One beer turned into countless, naturally, and I got to try soju and raspberry wine for the first time.
Soju is an interesting little drink. It's taken in shots, like vodka, but is sweeter and milder. I think the alcohol content is lower too. Raspberry wine is what you'd expect: not real wine. I'll stick to the Western style of grape wine. Anyway, I tried Hite and Cass beers, and they are as crappy as they sound. Tasted like Coors Light. Tap Koreaaaaa! Cass Light!
Anyway, we took over that bar. Those poor ajummas (middle aged Korean women) had trouble keeping up with us. Oh, and strangely, when you sit at the table they bring you free food to snack on (to keep drinking). They brought us popcorn and two fried eggs. Two fried eggs, what? Nobody touched them.
It was suggested that we hit up a noraebang (karaoke bar), and luckily there was one right next door. This British guy and I tore up a number of tunes while others clapped on and shook a tambourine. Yes, they provide tambourines in each room. No, I didn't hog the mic and/or tambourines all night...just most of it. It was a pretty random night. Oh, and I'll provide a picture of the squatter toilets soon. They're everywhere. I haven't tried one yet though. I'm a little reluctant to do so, especially because there's no toilet paper in there. How do they wipe? I don't get it.
It's real cold here, too. That wind is bitter and unforgiving.
Don't let the soju fool you. It's not well regulated and while some will be very mild, others will knock you on your ass. Wait til they give you makgoli. (It looks like milk but kicks like starter fluid.)
ReplyDeleteSquatters suck. Koreans (actually most Asians) carry their own TP a lot of the time... that's why there are trashcans in all those bathrooms with the squatters too. It's wonderful stuff.