Kam-Sam-Ni-Da

*Note: Kamsamnida means "Thank You" in Korean*
It's a word that I learned from Nav, some of the Korean students I teach and by the E-Mart people!

My weekend started early because on Friday Nav wanted to attend a music performance at Metal City which is located at Seomyeon. I tagged along but it was once again raining. Rain here in Busan can somehow avoid the umbrella because we still got drenched even though we had the umbrella covering ourselves the whole time; our face, hands, and arms still got wet for no reason. We ate at restaurant that had a Simpsons image inside the place. Plus it had a chicken choice for me (I am allergic to beef and pork). After we ate, we wanted to get to Metal City but we got lost for a good one hour and half because Seomyeon junction is a huge maze. Especially when there are so many people, lights, cars, walking at night and raining the whole time. Finally we made it to the event but we left the place to check out the nearby places. That’s when we noticed a shooting range and a foosball machine where we had couple of friendly games. We came back to Metal City to play darts and meet up with Laura. We just hung around at Metal City for another few hours and headed home like around 4:30am.


Nav won 750 to 690 because I didn't hit the 60pts target

Nav was just good at shooting people... I mean targets down (2-0 for him).

I got my revenge in foosball where I won 10-9 and 10-9! Close battles! (2-0)

Nav and I had an intense darts contest where he won the first game, and I came back in the second game with 4 bulls-eyes. However, Nav prevailed to win the last game barely. (2-1 for him)

Nav slept over at my place and was envy of how I was living compared to him. I had an extra room, a bath tub, an iron, extra wardrobe closet, and a balcony! On Saturday we really wanted to go back to Seomyeon to explore properly in the daylight but the weather did not permit it. It was once again raining a lot. Instead, we headed to Shinsegae to watch a 4D movie. However, the 4D movie (Transformers 3) is sold out until next Saturday! So we booked tickets for next Saturday at 9:35pm. Then we walked around Shinsegae to find a place to eat. When we finally did, we discovered the way people of Busan order their food. It is quite effective and well organized. Technology is implemented in all aspect of life and ordering food is no different (look at picture for proof). After our meals, we decided to do a bit of shopping. We took note of what to buy the last time we came so we bought few nice shirts for real cheap (compared to Canadian prices). I only took some pictures of shirts and blazer that I wanted to get but didn’t have the money, the proper size or it was way too pricey.

A random picture of me from the subway ride, and some performers were dancing to Beyonce's song "Run the World!"



This particular pen costs 2,500,000 wons ($2,500 CDN)! Crazy!
Finally, Nav and I headed back home around 8:15pm because it was still raining and we didn’t bring extra money with us. Plus we were tired from the day before and we had few school related things to do at night and tomorrow. Sunday is basically going to be making our lesson plans and organizing everything for the whole week. Next weekend, we are planning to go to Haeundae beach (if the weather is good), watch that 4D movie we have been hoping to watch for awhile, check out Nampo-Dong area which is supposed to be great for foreigners who want to shop for cheap, and finally, if time permits, the Busan fish market, which is the largest in the world. So stay tuned for more posts in the near future.

First Week of Teaching

My first week of officially teaching has been fantastic! The staff members are great and the students are wonderful too. I have 23 classes to teach in a week and each class is 45 minutes long. There are three levels (1, 2 and 3) and it is based on their age. Basically, grade 7, 8 and 9. In each class there is a new vibe because either the class is active, passive or curious. It is different in each class, although my lesson is quite repetitive but I am enjoying being the English teacher here in Busan. My role in the school reminds me of the French teachers in Canada. They float around and teach various classrooms with their carts filled with resources. Instead, I walk around with the laptop the school provided (which has all of the textbooks electronically and PowerPoint presentations I have created) and go to each class with my stickers. Stickers are quite valuable because it is a way for students to participate in the class activities and to motivate them to learn the English language.

On Wednesday, there was a birthday party for a friend we met on Saturday. It was Amanda’s birthday at a Mexican restaurant so Nav and I got her a gift certificate since we didn’t know what she would want and we didn’t know her long enough to what she likes and not like. The restaurant has wonderful service and the food was amazing as well. Image of the pic is available on Facebook but I will post what Nav had instead. I had the same meal but chicken instead of sausage.

After the party, I headed back to my place so I took the subway and reached at this main subway station (Seomyeon) and I am supposed to take the #17 bus home. I waited 1 hour and 10 minutes (11:20pm to 12:30am) for the bus arrive. Finally, I asked one of the Koreans who looked kind of western and luckily, he knew English! He told me that the bus would come soon but he said he would double check his phone to see if he could see the service on his phone. Few minutes later he told me that there are no buses scheduled for the #17 route. I immediately flagged down a taxi and told him my address, “Danggam Dong Apartments 102”. He had a look of confusion but he still drove for a good 10 minutes. Then we came to a stop and he asked me “Danggam Dong? This?” I looked out the window and noticed that this was not my place. It was raining the whole time too. I once again repeated my address and he was still confused. Finally, I drew a picture of how my area looks like. With many apartments, a tunnel, and a U-turn that bus #179 and #17 goes by. The taxi driver told me, “Okay, okay. I take you.” Another 10 minutes later of awkward silence, he takes me to the correct place. He told me, “Danggam JUGONG” and emphasized my error like 5 times. I replied that I just came from Canada like a week ago and he was like, “Okay, Danggam JUGONG next time” and nodded in agreement. Came home at 1am and was so tired. Lesson learned though because the next day I got my address typed out on the computer in English and Korean, I printed it and placed it in my wallet right away!

Canada Day Weekend

For Canada Day weekend I decided to go visit Nav at his neighbourhood, Haeundae district and sleep over at his place. On Saturday Nav and I went to a Canada Day event happening at Dalmaji Stage where we met a lot of foreigners who are teaching and working in Busan. Even people from other parts of South Korea travelled for the weekend to celebrate the Canadian pride. There were live performances from singers and bands at the wonderful park area.



Around 7:30pm we headed towards Starface, which is a restaurant and a bar area where more bands performed. We met more great people from across the globe from Cape Town, South Africa; Colorado, USA, and many parts of the Great White North (Canada).



The last photo is courtesy of Starface and
found on: http://www.busanhaps.com/article/canada-day-dalmaji
After Starface, we headed out to a Haeundae hot spot where we had some "street food" and just hung out for awhile. Saturday was a blast but quite tiring as well.

This is "Puppy" which is Chris' pet and she gets along with everyone! Even I wasn't scared of it! I don't even like pets to begin with so this dog is the best I have ever met in my life.
On Sunday, I woke up at noon and Nav didn't wake up for a long time. I think he woke up at 3:30pm but I was happy to have access to internet from his area. I was checking Facebook, Yahoo Sports and uploading many images as possible. Eventually we both got the energy to leave his place and walk towards a waffle place we saw yesterday that was selling for 1000 won ($1.00 CDN) with ice cream. Unfortunately, it was not there today. We walked some more and we saw a chicken specialty place. We had some grilled spicy chicken but the picture I took did not work when I tried to upload it, so no picture. Sorry!

After, Nav and I headed towards the Centum City area by subway where we ventured through the Lotte Department Store. Then we headed to the biggest mall in the world, the Shinsegae Department Store, which was right next to Lotte! It had a ice rink, a golfing range, 10 floors of shopping centres, restaurants, a grocery store and much more! It was created quite recently too. I believe like two or three years ago and it looks fantastic. Just look at it yourself to believe how great this shopping complex is. The prices aren't the best but they had great designer labels, brands and very fashionable accessories.



Nav and I wanted to watch a 4D movie - Transformers 3 but it was sold out (as expected). Instead we decided to just look around more of the Shinsegae Department Store and take note of what to buy, what is affordable and what looks good for future references. We will certainly go back here in the near future, hopefully after our 1st paycheck (July 25th)!

This is where Nav got schooled by me. (2-0)
Some things never change regardless of city, country or continent.



On the 10th floor there is an outdoor garden area looking out towards the city. Magnificent view!
At the end, Nav and I departed around 8:45pm. He went back to his place near the Jangson subway station and I went to Seomyeon subway station where I took the bus to head home. Next week's adventure will be at Seomyeon, which is nicknamed the Rome. Don't ask why because I don't even know. Nav will be coming over to my place next weekend to check out areas around my neighbourhood. Another fun weekend is just around the corner so stay tuned.

Busy Day in Busanjin-Gu

Here is a quick update of what I have been up to because I know some of you are curious about the school, the students and how I am doing. Well, others just simply want to know if I am alive or not.

Last two days I have been working on a summer camp schedule (3 weeks in summer from July 25th to August 12th) and I finished it all yesterday night. I have no internet, TV or anything else to distract me from doing my work so I got it all done right away, even though my Korean co-teacher asked me to complete for Monday, July 4th but I got it done 3 days in advance. I have been reading the book my friend Meaghan got for me (Six Suspects written by Vikas Swarup), I have been trying to organize the paperwork, and documents for the school as well.

Yesterday, with the assistance of my Korean co-teacher, Lim Ye Jin, I got my health check up. Which sucked big time. I hate needles. Lousy blood test. Then they had to check height, weight, eye test, ear test, urine test, and the awkward x-ray test. At least its over with and I don't have to do that again. I also set up my bank account using KEB (Korean Exchange Bank) which has services in English and online banking that can help transfer money to back home. Very good bank! We also found a store that sells adapters for my laptop! 600 wons each (60 cents CDN each) and I got two of them. Very useful considering I need it for my laptop and my iPhone. Ye Jin also showed me how to use the subway services and showed me how to get a bus pass. The pass can save me money even though the price is 1100 wons (1.10$ CDN) per ride with no transfers but with the pass, the transfer is available and the ticket price is much cheaper too. At the end of the busy trip, we had some great Korean food that she recommended! It was super spicy (even for me) but I just kept eating away because it was that delicious! It was like chili chicken from a Chinese restaurant but Korean style.



Random pictures from the day at Seomyeon conjunction.
Hopefully I can get my internet service at my own place soon so that I can upload the pictures to the blog. I have lots of them too. Tomorrow, Thursday, June 30th, 2011 I I will get the ARC (Alien Registration Card) process in order to get other services as well. Hopefully the ARC arrives at the school in few weeks like promised.