I just wrote a whole blog post and them my page refreshed and I lost it all. Excuse me whilst I cry. So, I apologise if this post seems a little lackluster. It's my second time and I'm sad because the last post was good.

So, for those who don't know. I got a job as an English teacher in Korea via the EPIK program. Yesterday was a really long day. Like really long. If you ever apply for the program, be prepared to be thrown right into it. My intake doesnt even get an orientation (until April after we start work) for some reason.

Up until yesterday I didn't know where I was going to be in the country. Well, not quite. I knew I was in Ganwon province, but other than that, nothing. I later found out that I was to be in Hoengseong which is in the west of the province quite near the capital city (of the province, obviously). It's a super small town (for Korean standards) in the mountains and is really rural. I think most people here are farmers and things like that. Also, no one really speaks English at all.

I also didn't know what school I'd be at... or rather schools. I'm teaching at 4. 2 elementary and 2 middle schools. Which is going to be difficult, especially with the lack of communication with all the coteachers since they'll all be in different places but i'll manage. There's a nice bonus for being where I am too. I get a bonus since I'm rural and then a bonus for every extra school over 1 I teach at, which is cool.

Yep, so that's where I am. 

I'll start at the beginning of my day. It was a long day, haha

8:00am: Arrived back at the airport and wandered the arrives hall for a good hour looking for the EPIK staff. THey really need to learn that 'arrive before 10am' and 'we start at 10am' have different meanings. It would have saved me a lot of time and effort. My arms still hurt a lot from pushing all my bags all around the airport looking for those guys. It would also prevent my miniature freak out when I couldn't find them to begin with. Mini freak out in an internal way, I'm quite good at looking calm on the outside, thankfully. Haha

10:00am: Actually met hte EPIK staff and chatted for a while with the other teachers. There were probably .... 30 of us all going to 3 different provinces/offices of education. Then we all split up onto different buses. There were 15 of us going to Gangwon and of the group half were South African and the other half were American. I was the only Australian :P

We got quickly orientated on the bus by the coordinator of Gangwon province. The coordinator was a cool guy. He was a Korean American and super enthusiastic and helpful. He gave us some really useful information.

12:00pm: We stopped for lunch at a super tradition Korean restaurant which had low tables and you sat on cushions on the floor. THey then delivered a good 100 little dishes of food to the tables. It was all side dishes and small little dishes of different things. It was really delicious. I ate a lot :P

1:30pm: We arrived at an immigration office and here all the teachers split up. I met my co-teacher for one of my schools and she helped me through the process of applying for my Alien Registration Card. 

Then we went to a small clinic for my medical test and I had a load of stuff done to me. Which was interesting when the staff only spoke Korean and my coteacher was translating (in her broken English) to me.

• Chest x-rays
• height and weight
• blood pressure (I was too skinny for the adult cuff, they had to get the kid's one >.<")
• vision and hearing
• heart rate (this was weird. I had these things clamped on my wrists and ankles and then these weird er cups upder my s. I don't even know what half the stuff is for, haha)
• blood test (for HIV and STIs)
• urine test (gotta love peeing in a cup)

Then I got a tour of one of the elementary schools I'll be teaching at. It was a cute little school, with only 30 total students. 

I also met the principal, who was a cool guy. He spoke very little English but he tried really hard to talk to me and was just really nice all round. I think I'm going to like working at that school.

Then we went to a supermarket to buy some necessary supplies (toilet paper, shampoo, conditioner, food, etc)

5:00pm: Finally we went to my apartment. 

It's a cute place. 1 room with a bed, TV, wardrobe. A small entrance way (with a door which is good, so I can block noise and smells) which has my fridge, sink and stove in it. There's also a bathroom/wetroom which the toilet, sink and shower head. But it doesn't have a shower cubicle so if I take a shower, everything is wet, haha.

There's also Wi-Fi and a TV with digital channels which is great. My parents and friends especially enjoy it because it means i can talk to them a lot. 

Then I passed out and slept a lot :P

Today I made an attempt to buy things (food, slippers, etc). I succeeded on some levels. I found some food (although I couldn't find rice which seems a little insane) but I do need to go out again tomorrow.

I also need to plan lessons. I'm heading to a middle school on monday and I don't know if I'm expected to teach on the first day. I hope not, but I'll prepare an about me type powerpoint, just in case. Also plan a few lessons maybe. I'll probably need them anyways.

Now for sleep, I think.