Exhaustion!

I titled this post Exhaustion because at times this week I have felt my body at an almost breaking point! Not only am I mentally tired but also physically tired. It might be a combination of things, but a number one cause is likely the drastic difference in lifestyle. Everyday I witness bikes, vans, cars, busses, motorbikes, trucks and pedestrians go by at a fast pace. It's been overwhelming so say the least. If I can't see them then I can hear them. I'm definitely not used to living in such a bustling city. My morning commute to work is either a crammed bus ride with men in suits or joining the herd of students down the street! Mainly I think the heat is really tiring! So when I went hiking on Saturday with my super excited, energetic co-teacher Christine, I didn't know if I'd make it up the mountain without falling over from exhaustion.
Here we are together, she's bright and cheery and I look like death! We also visited a blacksmith village. It was on the edge of Guri in a more natural area, quite pretty and even quiet!

In my second week in Korea I have gotten up to a lot of new things. Its been exciting and tiring. I forgot how exhausted I felt in Japan at first while adjusting to the new way of life. Here are some pictures from las weeks events. I attended a hip hop concert with a teacher and her friend. I felt like we were at a premiere for a movie or the Grammy's. They shuffled everyone in as if we were walking the red carpet, people stopped for photos and we got free food and drinks.

I'm not the biggest hip hop fan, but from what I could tell it was quality music, with good beats and the crowd loved it. The opening DJ (below) played cheesy top 40 dance music from 20 years ago. I found that quite humorous!

I've been super fortunate to meet up with Melissa and Julius from high school a few times now. We've gone for drinks and dinner and shared many stories about teaching in Korea. They've been a big help and it just is good to be around people from home who you can relate to. Melissa took me took get my bangs chemically straightened which was fabulous! and CHEAP! I also got a straight perm, a hair wash and style, juice and he even gave juice to her! It was amazing.

Anyung!

Here is the start to a new blog an anecdote of hilarious happenings in Guri, South Korea.

WELCOME!

In the picture below we have the good-bye crew at the Regina Airport. It was a tearful one. As you can see from the empty chair while I took this picture I have already become a void in the lives of these amazing people. Thanks for the good bye wishes Wanda, Can and Anne. I love you and miss you!I arrived Friday night and despite being super tired from travelling I could not fall asleep. It was sooo NOISY and so hot! I remember thinking as I finally dozed off this was going to be a long year unless I got used to the traffic noise at night. I didn't sleep well and woke up early to the sound of pouring rain. Saturday was actually a really hard day. Since it was rainging I didn't want to leave, but I started to notice how dirty, moldy and smelly my apartment was. I kinda woke up to a nightmare. By 3pm, I HAD to leave despite the fact I had no umbrella and didn't know where I should go. I ended up finding a convenience store, bought a cheap umbrella and found a place with internet. Below you can see the gloomy day, and my apartment. Its the brown one directly by the busy intersection!!!
Thank goodness Sunday was a sunny hot day. I woke up early and began cleaning out my fridge. It took two hours to get it pristine, yet there was still an awful smell. I tried to tackle the kitchen, but after finding black oily scum on the cupboards I had to stop. So I left my apartment and went exploring. Once, I was out and about I realized there were some neat things to find and I became super excited about this new place. I happened upon a local agricultural market where you can purchase fresh, fish, vegetables, fruits and grains. Below is a picture of the fish market. 

I actually had a wonderful day exploring. It amazed me so much how many people live in this area. There are people everywhere! I no longer felt so alone, and the feeling that everything is so different started to ease.  

This is a picture of a water fountain near the station in Guri. Everyone was using it as a way to cool down in the heat!

I've eaten the lunch three days now and it resembles school lunch in Japan sooo much except for the red spicy sauce loaded on everything. Let’s see how long it takes for my taste buds to acclimate.