In Sokcho...

...which is pronounced soak-cho.

Wow. Daniel and I are in Korea. It's been AMAZING so far! We're staying at a hotel for the next week. There was a mix up in when we were starting and when the teachers we're replacing are leaving, so basically we get a "free" week to stay in a nice hotel and look around. On the 19th, we move into our apartment and start teaching high school soon after.

Things I've learned:

1) Airport people really don't care about your luggage at all. They don't really mind if ALL of your things get soaked, leaving you to take everything out and leave it on hotel floors to dry. What fun! :-) Thank God for heated floors.

2) There are much fewer English-speaking Koreans than what I'd thought. There are much fewer English signs than I'd thought. There are many ways to get frustrated.

3) Korea is far more beautiful than ANY pictures have shown. The mountains, the lakes, the ocean, it's indescribable!!!!! We're going walking today to explore some of the scenery.

4) Korean food is amazing. It's sometimes delicious, sometimes ridiculously hot, sometimes gross, but always amazing. I have tried things I never thought I'd try! I learned last night that "Koreans love big eaters", and that even if I'm stuffed I have to eat until everyone is done. That was a painful lesson!

5) Koreans are so welcoming!! They've been so nice to us!!!

Daniel and I will meet our respective principals and see our respective schools on Monday. Each Guest English Teacher (GET) is paired with a Korean English Teacher as coteachers when they arrive. Daniel and I met our coteachers last night. Daniel works with a guy at a boys' high school and I work with his wife at the girls' high school. They're roughly our age, just had a baby a year ago, and are the sweetest people EVER!!! I think this is really going to work out well. Hopefully we'll be getting paid soon so we can live off more than bread, water, and bananas. :-) Oh, and Goober Grape, which is apparantley "America's favorite". :-) I miss you all, and I can't wait to send pictures once we get settled in our apartment and get the camera set up!