Well the honeymoon is officially over. It's four months in now, so no longer a fresh face to Korea. Vacation is over and the new semester has started. The rest of deskwarming was better than expected, managed to go for some lunches and talk with teachers I didn't get the chance to talk with before so it was nice getting a Korean perspective on some things. Plus tried some new dishes.
My cooking is getting better over here. Now that the travels have settled down and I have put a bit of a hold of my lack of stasis I have finally settled into my apartment. Took a long time but I am no longer using the bare minimum as a result of my lack of shopping and stocking the new apartment. Which means I actually have food int he fridge that doesn't simply consist of pasta or prepackaged curries and other similar foods. Now I am actually experimenting with my Korean foods. So far I think it's a win, although I'm sure the locals would disagree. Successes have been inari sushi, kimchi fried rice wrapped in egg, bibimbap (the legit kind), ddeok beokki. Not to mention I've officially stocked up on my barista necessities. I've made homemade syrups and have an ample stock of espresso. I didn't think I could drink more espresso than I did back home but somehow I'm managing it.
But, with the settling in came the realization that I am officially in Korea. With all the travelling and lack of actual teaching (November and December almost felt like a breeze since it was all post-exam and I had free-reign on everything, not to mention the amount of classes that were cancelled, then two months of vacay) it felt like I was on an extended vacation. But not it's finally starting to settle in and I think I'm getting my first actual dose of culture shock. I think that mixed with the mostly downer weather we've been having has been a little bit of an adjustment. Once I get past this middle period of the contract I'm sure everything will be golden again. Always some humps right?
I think I might start growing a garden. Since I live on a farm and am one of the few people actually living on my property, I might try growing some vegetables outside and get some herb pots. Might make for some good foods. Hopefully I can get in on some of the persimmon, lettuce and rice batches that the local farmers are growing in the fields around my house. With all that combined, might make for some delish homegrown meals.
Still confused with the start of the new semester though. Not entirely sure what's going on. It was a holiday on March 1, then class on the 2nd (well, they said there were classes, I didn't have any and it didn't look like anybody else did either, and there were the entrance ceremonies which somehow I missed) and then Monday the 5th was another holiday (why they couldn't just make it a 5-day, I have no freaking clue). And now it's the 6th and I'm still royally confused. My main co-teacher was at the end of her contract so she switched schools. I had another co-teacher who would act as my main, so I met her for about twenty minutes on the Friday before March, but then I find out she's taking time off (which is definitely understandable, she had back surgery in January) but as to who my other co-teacher would be, I was confused. Met one replacement English teacher, but I have no idea if she's taking over the duties or what is going on. Plus no classes again, keep getting a "Maybe" response.
Ahh the change of seasons, never smooth sailing is it? I'm hoping that with the combination of the coming warmer weather, the settling of the schedules, the delivery of my piano, St. Patty's Day, Seoul and some other trips everything will fall back into place again. It's all about adjustment right?
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