I finally got settled in my new home in Korea but I was all alone. I had no phone,nobody to talk to because I couldn't figure out the internet in my apartment. After my flashback, I started walking down the street. I went into town where there were people. I decided to eat out at a little restaurant. When I arrived, two women greeted me with an, "osseosaeyo" which in Korean means welcome. I sat down and read the menu which luckily I could read clearly. However,the problem now was what was what? I realized even with my knowledge of Korean, I needed to know what the dishes were on the menu. I knew many but not off the top of my head. I tried many dishes but remembering their names is a different story. I knew bibimbap and kalbi so that's what I ordered. I was very hungry that night so I ordered both. The owners looked at me and smiled, which was nice. They must have realized my appetite was huge. It was delicious and I watched some TV as there was a familiar comedy show with Dongchan on. I have watched it many times and found it hilarious even if I didn't know everything that was going on. I could get a general idea of what was going on. For some reason, that find it hilarious to see how long they can stand jumping on rocks. lol oh Dongchan.
After eating I decided to go home and rest so that's what I did. My apartment had a nice Queen size bed which was amazing. I remember my EPIK coordinator in Seoul laughed in my interview that she had to make sure to find me a bed that was my size. Well I must say Rachel, good job cause you were successful. I was very tired that day so I went to bed early. I woke up the next morning which was a Saturday around 11 am. I decided to go exploring around town and find a way to get in contact with friends and family. I figured there would be a "PC bang" or PC room nearby so I walked to town and found one quickly. It was a nice one and I said to the lady at the counter, "internet piryhaeyo." I think she understood me cause she said something but it wasn't something I understood. I soon realized she asked me if I wanted a smoking room. So I finally was able to access the internet but I still didn't know how to use it in my home but at least I could email my friends and family I had safely made it to my place.
I was supposed to meet my friend Minkyung on Sunday but with no phone or skype it was impossible to get in contact with her. I also had another problem I didn't even know my own address. I forgot to ask my co-teachers what it was. It wasn't too bad though, I was able to figure out the address of my school. From there, I was able to draw a map of the surrounding area after typing the address in Korean. I was able to see the map in google and scouted out for a big store like E-mart. Luckily, I was able to find one and I wrote directions out. It was only two miles away. After using the internet in the PC room, I headed out to find the E-mart. Since this was the first time, I had no idea about the surrounding area but I was able to find it rather easily. I realized why the internet wasn't working. While I did ask my co-teacher if the apartment had internet, I neglected to ask if there was an ethernet cable. So I arrived at the E-mart and it was huge. The background in the distance was so beautiful with mountains overlooking the scenery.
I was able to ask for a cable rather easily and I was able to get some more food which would probably last me until the end of the week. Afterwards, I started walkng back towards my new apartment. I found my way back but I got lost because Seongam-ro 3 gil has 6 or 7 adjacent streets so my house was on a street that continued for three or four small streets. I finally found my place and I was ready to hook up my internet connection. I found the outlet under my desk and I realized that the plug was behind the large shelf against the wall. Another problem was that all the furniture was blocking my access to the plug for the connector. I thought of the easiest way to get to the internet plug in was to move all the furniture. So first there was a large desk which I thought was very heavy but I was surprised that it wasn't heavy. In fact the desk was just a piece of wood laying on top of a small cabinet on one end and a large shelf at the other end. While it wasn't that heavy, there were several pieces I had to remove. First I had to remove a long piece of glass across the top of the wood and then the wood underneath it. Then I had the large shelf in the corner I had to push out. Unfortunately I had placed most of my things on the shelf already which made it very difficult to move. So I had to take everything off the shelf as well. Finally I was able to move the shelf and could reach the internet cable.
I was successful in getting the internet to work and I got my workout for the day. I was able to use the internet and it was worth all the trouble. You don't realize how much you need something until it's gone. We rely on technology so much these days I couldn't imagine how people were able to get by back then. The next day I met Minkyung but things were different. I was in Korea. Things changed but I was happy to see her and we were good friends again. We went to restaurant in town that served sundae, mandu and tteokbeokki. We talked for a little bit but I was hungry as I devoured all the food they served us. After we ate I waited for the bus she took to meet me and we say our goodbyes. I would be starting school the next day.
No comments:
Post a Comment