Anyway, she's going to try to go over some things about her life in Korea for the past two years, let you know how things have been going, what things she has planned for the future, and what you can expect from her from now on. This is going to be a few posts long, but should hopefully cover The Mouse's life in Korea since the last time you heard from her, which was admittedly a very long time ago now.
November 2012
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The Mouse flew to Korea on November 3rd, 2012. It took her some time to settle in. She did not have internet in her apartment for the entire time she lived there (That said, it doesn't mean she couldn't GET internet - she was generally bumming it off the cafe across from her apartment or using the internet at work, but she didn't speak Korean well enough to set up internet in her apartment and her Korean co-workers weren't exactly helpful in this particular endeavor...).
The Mouse Manager, JK, took The Mouse to the academy the next morning to meet The Mouse Boss, Jack (we'll learn more about JK and Jack later), which was an incredibly awkward experience for The Mouse. She interviewed with JK, who is incredibly awesome and very easy to get along with. Jack tried to be nice but was just really intimidating.
The Mouse Coworker, Sung, took The Mouse grocery shopping so she could get some things she needed for her apartment and for everyday living. Cho, another Mouse Coworker, got a microwave for The Mouse's apartment so she didn't have to cook or eat out all the time. She took pictures of everything, because everything was so new to her then. Now, she goes to the store, gets what she needs, and doesn't think twice about that once-strange writing she can now read so effortlessly.
The Mouse got lost on her second day to work, despite the shamefully short walk it took to get there. In the rain (and her frustration), she slipped, fell, and hurt her hand and knee. Despite feeling that she must be getting close to the school, she gave up and spoke to an ajeossi (old man) in pitifully broken Korean, and he graciously allowed her to use his phone and call her boss so someone could come get her and take her to school.
The Mouse Fiance arrived in Korea that evening, and he helped her find her school the next morning so she wouldn't get lost again (The Mouse has a HORRIBLE sense of direction, in case you didn't already figure that out.)
It took some figuring out, but The Mouse adjusted to her new routine and her new life on the other side of the planet. She learned how to order food, take a cab, and wash clothes in Korean, get McDonalds delivered to her apartment, get a Lotte Card, cook with chopsticks when it's the only utensil available, and balance a busy work life with an equally busy social calendar (The Mouse is not an inherently social creature). Despite the workload, she enjoyed teaching her students and got to know all of them very quickly. She introduced many of them to Thanksgiving, and some of them introduced her to their awesome prowess at magic tricks.
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| Jenji, me, and JK playing around before cleaning time. |
December 2012
December brought both good and bad things. Cho and JK both left the Academy (T.T), but they were replaced by June and Jinny, who were good co-workers and great friends. The Mouse spent Christmas Eve with The Mouse Fiance, Jenji, June, and Jinny, making new friends at Banana Bar in Shinbu-dong, Cheonan's "downtown."
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| Playing pool at Banana Bar. |
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| Merry Christmas from Easy English! |
December was also when The Mouse first visited Norie Cat. It's a cat cafe that opened across from her apartment right after she moved in, but she was scared to go there because of the admittedly massive language barrier. But in the end, she was glad she did, because it became her typical weekend hangout spot in Cheonan.
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| Not one, not two, but THREE cats in my lap at Norie Cat. |
The Mouse and The Mouse Fiance occasionally went swimming with Sung as well, but we stopped going after a while. The pools in Korea are very crowded and many people are there to play rather than swim, so there are many people in each lane just blocking the way of anyone who wants to swim. It was fun at first, but got boring very fast. We also got many offers to teach English, but this was a risky proposition, as teachers in Korea under a visa contract are not supposed to teach outside of their schools. They can even be fired or deported for it. So we had to refuse despite The Mouse Coworker's insistence.
December was also the time for all of the "making the entrance to Korea official" business, which involved two trips to the hospital (for a full medical exam and a follow-up), a trip to Immigration, and a trip to Shinhan bank to get a bank account set up. After all of that was said and done, The Mouse had an Alien Registration Card (ARC), and therefore became a legal resident of Korea, and gained a bank account in which to put all of her hard-earned monies.
On a lighter note, December was also when The Mouse discovered that bills in Korea are generally very low, the magic deliciousness that are Binch cookies (crunchy cookies with chocolate on top, moulded into different images), the fact that Korea still has many of the same brands I knew and loved in the states (Halls, Fanta, Hersheys, and Minute Maid, to name a few), the Acme brand known as Lotte, the awesomeness of Korean hair and skin products, the horridness that are Korean advert trucks, and the epic load of calories that is Korean Christmas Cake. It was a good month.
