Daily Life: Living Overseas in South Korea

We are slowly developing a routine here and feeling more comfortable everyday. We awake in our motel. Our sleep schedule is getting better every night. We usually have some breakfast such as yogurt, bran type cereal, or even ramen(ramyan).


The coffee has taken some getting used to as steve and I are coffee snobs. Maxim coffee comes in small tube packets and is 1/4 grounds and 3/4 sugary substance. It is delicious, but gives more of a sugar buzz than anything. Shower comes next and this is not an easy task. Showering here is not a luxury as in the states or elsewhere. A shower sprayer is not attached to the wall. You hold the sprayer and set it down to lather. The whole bathroom is basically the shower as there is no curtain and a drain in the middle of the room. Showering takes some practice in order to not soak the entire room. The most positive aspect is that this type of showering is water/energy saving as I turn off water to lather. Next, I try to find an outfit and grumble as I pull items out of each of my suitcases to put together a whole outfit. Ready to go and out we go to stand across the road from our motel to catch the school shuttle. We get some puzzled stares as people drive past and I sometimes worry that we will cause an accident. The shuttle is about a 15 minute ride as we pick up the most adorable children! The bus driver chatters away to steve in the front seat. He laughs and chatters as steve understands not a word. I sit in the middle and smile and giggle at the "conversation" between the driver and steve. The adorable tot (maybe 4 years old)sitting next to me looks up at me frequently and when I turn to smile at him, he quickly smiles and turns away with embarrassment. We arrive at school. Shoes off and into our slippers! I cannot complain at all about wearing slippers at work : ) currently steve and I are doing private English lessons in the school until we take over for the other foreign teachers. We eat lunch at the school and it is homemade Korean food. The food is served in the middle of the table and everyone shares out of the same dishes. It is quite nice and contributes to a feeling of togetherness/family. Kimchi is always served and I do like it! There is always rice and many vegetables. Sometimes there are fish cakes, vegetable fritters, and other things I do not know. I feel very healthy and satisfied after these meals. At the end of the day (between 3-4) we walk home and have different adventures daily! Some days we put minutes on our cell phone and other days we go grocery shopping or simply walk around. It doesn't matter how simple the task may seem, it is always a great adventure as we attempt to communicate, explore, understand, and build a life here.