Things fluctuate between "this is intense!" and "dude, this is a cakewalk!"
Jeju City is not Seoul, is not New York City, is not Paris, but Jeju City is a city, and it's one where the main language is a blur. The referents are lost on me!
Before, I tried to gauge things realistically and I think I did a good enough job because I am honestly quite EXCITED! But, all the same, I'm not in an upscale apartment overlooking the pristine beach. I am in a small city that has things to offer but is also surrounded by natural beauty. That's certainly a good mix. It was hard to envision what I'd be put with here, but now I'm here and it is obviously a little different (because nothing is ever the way you picture it -- and even if it is aesthetically similar to the way you picture it, it'll feel different). I'm in a motel room for the next 9 days until my apartment allocation is vacated. I sound pretty smart with those words, which I'm painfully aware of since I know 4 Korean phrases now!
I will work at 2 different elementary schools, and I met one "co-teacher" today. The other one is on vacation in Paris, so I won't be visiting that school this week. The one I did meet, though, works in a smaller school in which I will be THE English teacher. I'll have smaller classes, which is amazing, but I will be the one responsible for them. I might actually get to know them! That borderline brings tears to my eyes, because if I'm optimistic about it, it will be an amazing experience! On the other hand, it's scary on this side of the jump! But, to unify the two perspectives, this whole experience has already been a reaction against not-doing-things-because-they-make-me-feel-nervous. I will try, fail, and hopefully succeed! Objectively, these things are comprehensible to me. Still, my gut reaction is…."OHHHHH KAY WHAT AM I DOING???"
So, I'm in room 610 of "New Star" Motel (Nuh yuh Sah Tuh) and my new friend Kate is in 609 directly across the hall because she's in the same situation, although for less time than me. We settled in a little bit in our rooms and then walked around Jeju City a little bit. Talked and landed in a Korean bookstore, interacted with a worker about a map of Jeju (but it was only in Korean), then ended up in a random restaurant. We were the only ones in there, the lady who was working was nice and spoke no English. We laughed awkwardly with our minimal Korean (my friend knows a little more than I do) and ordered some beer, Soju (Korean vodka but cheaper and weaker), and a TON of sausages. The leftover sausages are in my micro-fridge here in the motel, and I"ll probably forget about them until they're disgusting. We had a pretty good night despite the one recurring cockroach that kept us company. Bought some water and a beer at the convenience store and came back here to test her internet. I don't have an internet connection in my room, but she has a full desktop tower setup with an internet connection. The desktop was super slow, presumably because of porny viruses, but it was SUPER fast when we hooked in to our laptops. God bless you for reading this, almost more than anything I'm enjoying typing on this Macbook because it's kind of a new sensation. Love you!
