first email sent (to parents)

Hi,

Just wanted to let you guys know that I made it safely to Suwon. The flight wasn't too bad, I read a lot of my Korean etiquette book (fun fact: half of Koreans don't produce body odor, according to my book, probably why they don't have much of a deodorant selection), watched a couple movies, and was able to sleep a decent amount since I requested a window seat. My first impression of Korea was that it was like something out of a futuristic movie. Or maybe anime. Lots of black, white, and silver Hyundais. A guy at the gate was holding a sign with my name on it, he said "welcome to Korea" and that was pretty much the extent of his English. He drove me to Patrick, the school manager, who showed me my apartment and introduced me to the other teachers. I talked with them for an hour or so, got some info, they're all very nice. Jess, the girl I was emailing with, bought me a beer; it tasted like cheap beer.

Today I was taken to the hospital to get a health check. Now I am at EOS, just met the school director, Mr. Kim. I am using one of their computers because I don't have internet set up in my apartment yet. I requested it and should have it in a week or so, there are also cafes with free internet. I am about to eat lunch at the school, it's almost noon. Am very hungry because you can't eat before your health check. There is no school this Monday because it is a holiday. I will observe classes Tuesday-Thursday and my first teaching day is on Friday. At EOS/Winglsy School, all of the classes have fish names: salmon, blowfish, etc. The teachers told me that the classes I will be teaching are some of the nicer ones. There are only about 10 students in each class.

The weather here is comfortable and the people seem polite and gentle. The apartment is basic but includes cooking facilities, bathroom, and clothes washer. To shower, you stand in the bathroom and hold the shower head and it drains into the floor (no shower curtain or tub). One of the other teachers, Anna, is very into exercise and told me about some nice hilly areas where you can run/hike, she also has a gym membership at a gym right by my apartment. The school is only a 4 minute walk from the apartment, and the other teachers all live really close.

More soon! Love you all!