EPIK Orientation

EPIK stands for English Program in Korea*

After 3 months of being in Korea I finally got my EPIK orientation. I went to Seoul in order to attend the orientation with 169 other teachers from 7 different countries. I was looking forward to this event because I wanted to meet new teachers, to start networking, and of course making new friends. The experience was wonderful and the cultural events planned for us was fabulous. For 6 days and 5 nights we were living together in a dormitory where there was a curfew at midnight when the doors will be locked. I had a roommate but he was great.



The only negative comment I can give about the orientation is the variety in the meals. For someone who is allergic to red meat, the cafeteria made sure it was mostly beef or pork. Luckily there was a Subway close by and other restaurants too. Anyways, I was able to gain valuable experience from the presenters and the field trip we went on. I am going to post the pictures instead of me talking about it because it was quite spectacular.


I didn't get a chance to check out the city like I wanted to because of the curfew and the fact that most of the lectures, classes and group work finished well after 8:30pm. Oh well, Seoul is only 2 and half hours away by KTX. There will always be another time. On the way back from Seoul, the teachers from Busan had accommodations. EPIK provided a bus for the new Busan teachers and the teachers who have been in Busan for awhile (like me for example). It was a great bus ride considering it was free and I got to mingle with new teachers who I will probably see often in Busan.
Overall, the EPIK Orientation was a success in my opinion and the only recommendations I would give is, "have more Korean cultural events!"

Sasang & Seomyeon

On Saturday I went to Sasang neighbourhood where there is an Asian Market. It’s kind of ironic considering I am already in Asia and that I went to an Asian Market. However, this market is technically for Southeast Asians where Indian, Sri Lankan, Pakistani and Bengali spices, curry powders and other important ingredients are found for flavourful and delicious dishes. I was able to get some important ingredients for myself such as coconut powder, dried curry leaves, Sri Lankan curry powder, and fennel seeds. I also ate a wonderful Indian lunch buffet for 18,000 won (naans included in the buffet menu). John, Ann and I overstuffed ourselves because it was that delicious. I also took a random picture with one of those Indian crown hats. I don’t know the name of it, sorry.
I was also able to take the light rail for the first time from Sasang to the town of Gimhae! That’s where the international airport is located at. The new light rail opened just a week ago so it was quite an experience. Light rail in my opinion is better than a subway. It’s above ground and I can look at sceneries instead of staring at ads. I took some pictures of the view I had. Enjoy!

After exploring Sasang we headed to Seomyeon. That’s where we met Victoria. We walked around and shopped at Alpha store for stickers. John and Ann left around 7:30pm because they were tired (and I don’t blame them because we walked and ate a lot since that afternoon). Victoria and I walked some more around, played basketball, shooting games, air hockey, and other random games. We also went to the photo booth to have some Korean style photos made into stickers. The picture is blurry but the photos of us were hilarious and we were goofing off a lot. We also went to a music store and talked about K-Pop for an hour. We were like kids in a candy store. The staff probably thought we were a bunch of crazy foreigners. Victoria and I saw New York Fries and decided to eat there as well. We also discovered bubble tea at Dunkin Donuts but sadly no fruit flavours! No Mango Bubble Tea! Pathetic. Oh well, Saturday was a great day at Sasang and Seomyeon regardless. I am happy that these two locations are so closer to me than Jangsan or Haeundae!
Sunday, I just stayed at home and watched movies, cleaned up my room and organized for my trip to Seoul. The trip will be from Wednesday, September 21st to Monday, September 26th! I am finally going to attend my EPIK orientation! Two and half months later but better late than never because I am looking forward to going back to Seoul to do the things I didn’t get a chance to do last time.

Chuseok Holiday!

*Note: Chuseok is a holiday celebrated in Korea. It’s similar to Thanksgiving back in Canada and the United States.*

The days leading up to the holiday I was busy with my work. Although I did manage to buy a pair of running shoes. I bought myself Reebok shoes for 69,000 won but after sale discount it was around 55,200 won. I was excited to use them right away so later that day I went to the gym for the first time in Korea. It was a totally different atmosphere than back home. It was just different but good different. I included the pictures of my running shoes as well.
The package was my jacket and it came in a Hello Kitty wrapping paper.
Hello Kitty is pretty much everywhere in Korea.
On Friday, two days after purchasing my running shoes, I received my jacket from Seoul! Remember the one I ordered when I went to Seoul. The one I customized for 80,000 won. Well, it finally arrived and I was super excited to show it off! In fact I wore it the next day when I met up with Nav, Jeongeun, John and Ann for the first day of the long weekend.

Although the holiday is technically the 11th, 12th and 13th of September, the Saturday also felt like a break. John, Ann and I went to the Busan Museum of Art. It was, in short, worth the price of admission. We finished walking around the museum in 40 minutes and met up with Nav and Jeongeun for dinner. I also walked around the APEC building and the surrounding areas for a bit too. After dinner we just hung out and made plans for the remainder of holidays. I went back to my neighbourhood so that I could hit the gym for the second time in Korea. I like the fact that the gym also has public baths attached to it. For the admission price of 8,000 won I can experience the gym and the baths for unlimited use. Of course the membership is cheaper, which would be 80,000 per month but I will get that in October when I know I won’t be too busy.

On Sunday, Jeongeun, Nav and I went to Ganjeolgot to walk around the beach, see the ocean view and experience the calmness of nature. It was a peaceful place to relax and walk around. It would have been great if the weather was better but at least it didn’t rain as much as we anticipated. We came back to Haeundae area and had dinner at a wonderful Japanese restaurant.


Monday was Chuseok’s main day. I decided to make Chuseok dinner for Ann, John, Nav and Jeongeun! I made scrambled eggs with onions, shrimp curry with mushrooms, onions and hot peppers, and a salad like dish with fake crab, shrimp, peas, corn, long beans and carrots. I took a picture of it before we gobbled it up. After dinner we play cards for an hour and then we decided to get dessert. For dessert I got myself a Hagan Daaz ice cream – vanilla with almonds – my favourite kind. We then walked towards Dalmaji hill for our full moon hike. It was a great experience walking in the middle of the night with the full moon guiding our path. It was my first time ever to hike at midnight and it was wonderful.
On Tuesday, I grabbed late lunch with Jay and Nav. We got duck galbi with garlic sauce. It was super delicious and for 36,000 won all three of us were full. It’s a great place to eat and talk for hours. I came back home and just relaxed at home. Of course I did some chores around the apartment too. I am looking forward to the weekend already!

Back To School

Vacation is now officially over. I have been back at school teaching my students for the past week and a half. It’s been busy and the rest of the month looks hectic as well. I have been focusing on my work lately so that is why I haven’t updated my blog in recent weeks. I am happy to be back working because the working atmosphere is wonderful and the students’ questions are always intriguing. I was able to share my summer vacation stories with them through a PowerPoint Presentation and they seemed to be amazed from the places I have been to in South Korea already. They felt that I have gone to more places in my two months in Korea than they have ever done in their ten plus years in the country. They liked the pictures a lot, especially Teddy Bear Museum and Chocolate Land.

Last Thursday I attended my second Busan Lotte Giants baseball game. This time I decided to spend more than 7,000 wons and get great seats near the 1B (Lee Dae Ho). These seats were 25,000 wons and they were great! Pictures were taken by my friend Victoria and I’m not sure when I will get them though. Oh, I also invested in a jersey! It’s similar to the Jays’ retro jersey colour!

I finally have my EPIK orientation coming up on September 21st to the 26th! I will be back in Seoul and this time I am going to make sure that I go to more places that I skipped from the last time I was there. EPIK will be providing a KTX ticket there, dormitory to stay for the 6 days and 5 nights, and meals! As soon as I come back to Busan, the 27th I have a training session from the Busan Ministry of Education until the 29th. Basically, I don’t have too many teaching days left in the month of September and I need to cover two chapters in the textbooks before the mid-terms (28th to the 30th). The next two weeks will be chaotic because I need to get the students prepared and ready for their English examinations.

In other news, I have been procrastinating to send out the postcards to my friends and family but I promise that they will be sent out soon enough. Not exactly sure when but don’t worry. I still haven’t gone to the gym like I promised myself because I do not have running shoes yet. Yes, that is the excuse I am going with. On Wednesday of last week my friend Chris (the first foreigner I met in Korea) finished his contract and Thursday morning he went back to Canada! He went to Vancouver to get his Masters in Education. I wish him well and he'll certainly be missed because he has helped me so much and he lived in the same building too. Anyways, Chuseok is coming up this weekend! Chuseok is a national holiday and it’s similar to Thanksgiving. A family orientated holiday centred on harvesting. It’s basically going to be all about the food. I am looking forward to my own plans – camping!