Ulsan.. the beginning

Today I arrived in Ulsan, the province where I will be spending the majority of this next year.  It's very beautiful and a lot less polluted than Incheon and Seoul.  I am very thankful for that.  It's amazing the small comforts from home that I miss like: the trash man, and the general regulations that America has.  There are no rules about pollution, littering, driving, and food safety.  Living in this country will give me a greater appreciation for America.  

Don't get me wrong, so far I have really enjoyed myself.  I am trying not to get overwhelmed and just take it one day at a time.  The language barrier is amazingly difficult, luckily the people in this area are used to seeing foreigners so they know some English.  I have picked up a lot of Korean very quickly!  You have to adjust when you want to eat I guess :)  I plan on taking a Korean class once I get a little more settled.  They have language exchanges here at the local university where you can go and learn Korean with a native student who wants to practice their English.  

 I have learned that my kids are challenging, they are teens, and bitter about going to school so much.  Koreans highly value education.  These kids are in school a lot compared to American children.  They have regular school, then English classes five days a week on top of that, then most have another extracurricular activity, and two Saturdays a month they have school.  It makes me wonder when they have time to play..... 

However, I admire Korea for taking education so seriously.  My favorite saying is "children are the future".  Here, that philosophy is put into place.  I can't imagine how wonderful America would be if we had the same philosophies.  

I was given the largest apartment at the school, its nice, but I have no view out of my window, which is a little depressing.  But the view from outside and around the area is amazing.  I will go on a walk this weekend and share photos.  I was truly astounded at the beauty of the area on the drive over.  My director took me on the scenic route so that I would be able to see the surrounding area.  It's full of mountains covered in trees on one side and the ocean on the other.  It's really lovely.  The country is very green.  I'm glad it is so nice.   From what I had read about Ulsan, I was a bit nervous, but it has truly lived up to my expectations.  This part of Korea has the largest industrialized area in all of the country.  I flew over it and I have never seen anything like it.  It is beastly and massive and very unattractive.  I felt so many emotions when I saw it, it covered such a large area of land.  Luckily, it can't be seen from anywhere in the city area.  

I'm excited for my classes tomorrow.  I am observing this week and my first day of teaching will be the 14th!  I'm nervous, but ready.  I'm glad I took that teaching English class online, I think it has prepared me for the rigorous life of a teacher.  

I'll close with photos of my journey thus far... hope you enjoy 

Namaste