A tour of the apartment

This is the entrance. On the mantel is a crochet piece my mother made for me when I was a young thing. The words on the piece are "I just got to be me." The hat was given to me on my first tour of Bugil Academy

Sporting my best Angus Young finery.  In the entrance of course.

The bathroom just to the right of the entrance.

Spare-bedroom number 1. It has airconditioning. 

The view of the living room from the entrance. 

View of the living room from the second spare bedroom.

The kitchen (a bit messy). Looking from the living room. Tons of cupboard space.

The second spare bedroom. Not lucky enough for it's own airconditioning, but it does have a queen-sized bed

Master bedroom.

Master bathroom.

Forecast: Hot and Humid!

Here is a link to check out the weather in Cheonan. This week it has been 30+ degrees every day, feeling like 40+ with the humidity. And it doesn't even break at night!

Hot, hot, hot. I hope it cools down for when I arrive!

Walking Downtown

It is freaking hot here, but I try to go out at least once a day so that I don’t become a hermit. I sleep about four hours at night and mid afternoon (to beat the heat). The buildings are covered in banners explaining what is going on inside but I can’t read korean yet. There are two things I’ve liked on my walks. First, there is a river that goes through Shinbu-dong with a nice walkway. Secondly, downtown near a art museum there are some fantastic sculptures. 

The river.

He looks dashing!

That is all. 

JaM’s

This is where we live

We are living in Shinbu-dong, Cheonan-si on the 13th floor of a condo-building. There is a view of the downtown core of Cheonan city, which is only a 5 min walk. School is only a 15 min walk away so we have a great location. The apartment has three bedrooms, kitchen, living room, two bathrooms and an enclosed balcony. Very huge, compared to my standards and ginormous to typical expat housing. (Most ESL teachers only get a studio or bachelor apartment.) 

In some ways the apartment seems futuristic. The master bath has a Japanese toilet and one of those showers with wall shower heads included. I’m not sure if you are familiar with the Japanese technology but here is a link to a video that goes through the experience.

Here is a map of where our apartment is (A) and where the school is (B). Zoom out to get an idea of where we are in the world.

I’m very happy with our little home and I can’t wait to fill it up with memories with Jennika.

Good night! 

JaM’s

Shopping in Cheonan

Last night, when I got into the apartment, Mr. Lee should me how to work a few things; there is a button you must press with your feet to engage the kitchen faucet; a button to turn on the hot water and heat; as well as keyless entry to the building and our apartment. The apartment was spotless and had a few goodies for me to enjoy for breakfast. I feel like Bugil Academy is going to treat us very well. 

The apartment complex

Today, Mr. Lee took Mr. James (another fresh teacher from california) to e-mart to shop for basic supplies. The store is a bit like k-mart. It was interesting but I didn’t find spices to season my food. There are a few Asian grocers near bye I will try them soon. 

Cheers, 

JaM's

What a difference a week makes ...

Well, here I am. Sitting in my Montreal apartment having my last breakfast. Today is my last day in the city; I move all my things tomorrow morning back to Courtice and then in a week I'll be off to Korea. Jean-Marc left for Korea on Tuesday morning. I just received an email from him telling me that he arrived safely and that our apartment is beautiful. I can't believe it is actually happening. I feel like I'm living a dream and it's all coming together. Moving to Korea to teach, something I've dreamed of for over 4 years? Check. Great position, seemingly great colleagues, opportunity to save money and travel? Check. Fantastic boyfriend who is coming with me? Check. And that third one I never anticipated.

So from the last update, JM's visa was processed and he picked it up on Monday no problem. We packed his stuff in my little car early Tuesday morning (3:30am) and took him to the airport. He flew out at 6am but had a 7 hour delay in Detroit, which meant he didn't actually leave North America until 7pm that night. But he arrived safely the next day in Korea.

As for me, I received my visa issuance number 3 days after it was sent for processing. I applied for my visa on Monday and it is ready for pick up today .. Thursday. I can't believe how fast immigration was. I booked my flight today for August 10th. I leave Toronto at 8am and have a 3 hour lay over in San Francisco. Not bad!

Alright, back to packing. I still have so much to do before my Dad arrives tomorrow morning.

Cheers,

Jennika

The flight to Korea

After a hassle with Delta Airlines over baggage, Jennika saw me off at Pierre Elliot Trudeau airport. Montreal to New York then to Detroit, it all went well. When I got to the gate for my departure I was bumped up to 1st class!!!! Fricking amazing! I was going to spend 12+ hours in first class. I sat down to a chair filled with swag and a electronically adjustable chair with a message button. Waiting on the tarmac, our pilot clued us in on some problems with the telecom system. We were grounded for over six hours, until they finally resolved the issue. (Got a coupon for delta and a meal in the airport gratis). I loved first class. I propped my seat into bed mode after we were on our way and had my four course meal with enough vino and port to make me tipsy. I woke up with two hours left in the flight watched some movies and got into Seoul without a hitch. 

At the airport Mr. Lee, the program coordinator for the Global Leader Program (my school), met me and drove me home. He spent the whole day at the airport waiting for me. Luckily he enjoyed watching the olympics. An hour and a half later we arrived at the apartment.