I am finally in Korea! I am sitting in the reception area of my new place of employment, Letter and Sound Academy in Daegu, near the southeast coast of the country. I came to Korea with pretty much no expectations.

It is a few days later and I am no longer in the reception area of my school but in a PCbang (an internet cafe near Camp Walker army base about ten minutes from downtown Daegu where I tried unsuccessfully to go to the bank with the ATM with English instructions so I could withdraw money to live on here. As it turned out I had to have a pass to get onto the base and in order to get a pass I have to know somebody on the base. The only person I know who has a pass to get there is David, another teacher at my school, but he was unavailable to take me there today, Memorial day (6 June 2006) but told me I should have no problem going by myself. So I did and well, I did have a problem. I am trying hard not to get frustrated and just be easy on myself, as I have only been here about eight days.

I thought I wanted a change, a break from Thailand, where I taught previously, but so far living in Korea has been harder than I expected. Nobody here speaks English. Well, a few people speak a little bit but everytime I go anywhere I am reminded of just how foreign this place is to me. All signs and restaurant menus are in Korean. Bus schedules are in Korean. Only western restaurants like Outback steakhouse, Bennigan's, McDonald's and Pizza Hut have menus in English and those aren't exactly establishments I care to eat in all the time. I do have a feeling I'll enjoy myself in Korea, though. It's just going to take a little more time, and I'll have to work harder than I had to in Thailand, but I think gradually my life will get easier. and on the bright side, Koreans, though they appear somewhat reserved and serious on the outside, are actually pretty nice people.