Arriving in Busan!

Today we loaded up in the bus to head to Busan to start the real adventure. Being at Jeonju University was such a great way to start our adventure as it gave us time to realize "We are living in Korea". I must admit we were pampered, meals were prepared, the days were packed with events, and there were snacks after every class and it was a great way to make new friends. But now the real fun begins. I was a bit on edge due to so many unknowns and not to mention that the morning we were leaving only one elevator was working and there were over 400 teachers trying to pack their luggage out to the bus. Now remember everyone is carrying their belongs for a year so these were not light loads. I must have waited at the elevator for a solid 40 mins before there was room to get on! Then once we arrived at the bus all the compartments were full so our luggage would not fit. Great, now what?? Then a flat bed truck arrived, this was questionable to me. So they loaded our bags on this flat bed truck and strapped tarps on to make the 3+ hour drive to Busan. I thought for sure I would never see my bags again! 

 

We arrived in Busan at the Saha Office of Education were we met our co-teacher for the first time. I was fairly anxious as they had been preparing us for this moment all week and stressed the importance of first impressions. I stepped off the bus and there were tons of Korean teachers staring at us. My eyes were wondering trying to see if anyone would recognize my nametag. Sure enough, this sweet little women came up to me and gave me a hug, her name is Helen. I thought, well that is easy to remember since my grandmother’s name is Helen. She then confirmed that Justin and I would be living together..what a relief that was. I loaded into her van so she could show me the school and take us to our apartment. We then headed to dinner with Justin and his co-teacher Mrs. Kim to a restaurant right down the street called Bear Mountain (New York). It is a restaurant that serves “western” style food. Justin’s co-teacher really wanted us to order spaghetti; she kept mentioning that it was on the menu. It was a sweet gesture to make us feel at home!