The Motel and Beyond

The motel wasn’t terrible. It had a toilet, a shower, a bed, a TV and Internet access. What more can you ask for? I slept less I wouldn’t have liked, and much less than I expected based on the lack of sleep during the flights. I set my alarm clock for 1200 noon; I was up at 730. That morning and afternoon were rough, as my email to my mom can attest to:

The flights were good, long but manageable. I didn't sleep much, even after last night I still haven't slept much. I am terrified right now, I have no idea what to expect, I hardly have a place to live. And hearing you talk about the walk, dad, shadow, and the cats caused me to start crying. I know its just one of those things that even though I may regret my decision to come here right now, that opinion will be different throughout the day and hopefully become a positive feeling by the end of it. Right now I'm just struggling to get through the whole living without any of the comforts I've grown accustomed to, and constantly wondering if I'm capable and competent enough to even be able to do this job. I've never taught before, I have no idea what I'm doing; I am full of fear.

Today is the first day of observations, where I sit in on classes taught by a man named James, who I may be replacing--I'm still a little unclear on that, but it doesn't help with the pressure I'm feeling. I just hope James is cool and can give me a lot of advice, he's supposed to be the best. I'm also not teaching Elementary anymore, now I'm teaching the equivalent of middle school. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

So far I haven't experienced any really different foods. Just fried rice on the place to Japan, and a small asian snack tray on the plane to Busan, which had chopsticks, fried chicken bites and two other rice things I didn't eat. I'm staying at the Black & White Motel--I have no idea where it is on a map. My Contact at Avalon whose name I can't remember is trying to find me an apartment asap. He said that it would either be tomorrow or next week, so I may be at this hotel awhile. I really don't want to be at this hotel for that long.

I don't know what else to write, so I'm going to watch some tv for a while--it's a big screen. I don't have to be anywhere until 1700 and I don't need to leave until 1620; that gives me nearly 8 hours before I have to leave (its 840 right now). I miss you guys a lot, more than I can describe. I'll be happy when I can finally say that without tears, but for now I kind of enjoy it--the tears are actually keeping me somewhat grounded and connected to the memories. I will talk to you later.

Love,

Aaron

A couple hours later I talked with my dad on IM , he convinced me that leaving the confines of my holding cell/motel would put my mind to ease and make me feel at least a little bit better. I explored the area outside the motel, two blocks in each direction. Across the street was an Outback and TGI Friday’s. And in every direction you look there are conglomerations of hotels and motels, bars and 7-11s. After rigorous exploration, I realized that they put me in the cheapest motel in the area. It wasn't the Black and White motel, that was next door. My hotel didn't even have it's name translated into English, and I have no idea how to pronounce it. Thankfully I am only a few blocks from Haeundae Beach, the most popular beach in Korea, and the Busan Aquarium is right next door to that. It was a beautiful cloudy day, probably around the high 70s, low 80s with humidity levels bordering on the absurd.

I also gave my first English lesson on this expedition. Right on the beach is the Tourist Information Center, and I needed some maps and directions. I thought that a cab costs 23,000 Won and I would rather walk then pay that much. However, a cab only costs 2,300 Won (~$2); by the end of this trip I would wind up paying 10x the cost of the cab, oops. After I helped her hone the English on her Pamphlets (although I never understood exactly what they were), she traced the path that I could take to get to Avalon Institute, as well as a couple bus stops I could take if I got tired of walking. Despite her attempt at directions I wound up in the middle of nowhere; I skipped plan B(us), and went straight to plan C(ab).

The cabbie didn’t really speak English, and I’m not sure if he understood the address that my “contact” gave me the night before. I did have a map and remembered that there was a Busan Bank on the first floor of the building Avalon is in. I showed him the map, where the gal from the Tourist Info Center had circled the approximate area of my destination, and then I said, “Busan bank.” 23,000 Won later I was there and ready for my first day of work. I didn't find out until later how much of a tip I had left.