As I awoke to the morning sun streaming through my bedroom window at 5:30am I noticed my sparsely furnished apartment and unfamiliar surroundings. Already I could hear feet beating away on the gravel playground outside my window and the sound of a man counting at a roar in Korean. As I laid awake I wondered if this was going to be a daily thing or if I would eventually get a peaceful night’s sleep. I tossed and turned a couple more times hoping that I would doze off again, but my frustration grew as my confused body fought against sleep and I finally made myself get up at six and give up all hope of rekindling my previous state of euphoric dreaming.
As reality set in I rose from my previous joyful slumber and started to unpack. Those five and a half hours of sleep after a never ending day just didn’t cut it but somehow I was wide awake. I began to slowly arrange and rearrange my living room and bedroom and despite my small bright orange couch in my large living room, my lack of TV on my TV stand and my small table and chairs set it somehow started to feel a bit more mine. The big windows and bright sunlight gave my apartment a sense of calm and cheerfulness and my girly pink, purple and blue comforter put a smile on my face. I was finally home for the next year and feeling content, in all ways but one. Where was my morning coffee?
As my craving set in I quickly dressed and ran out of the house to find the nearest coffee shop. I walked towards town and had a permagrin on my face. I was feeling happy to be finally here. I wondered towards the main street and took in all the surrounding area. I noticed the school playground my apartment overlooks on one side and how there were small plots of land dedicated farming all around. Here they let no space go unused. I could see corn, peppers, squash, tomatoes and all sorts of vegetables and on one of the plots was an old man tilling the ground.
As I neared the main street I saw the banners that advertised for the school I was to work at and was pleasantly surprised by the status it seemed to give off. Tomorrow would be my first day of training at the new school and I was already excited. As I neared the corner I stumbled upon Kenya coffee. Perfect, it was exactly what I was looking for, and a couple minutes later I was taking a sip of my first Korean Kenyan coffee. I was surprised and impressed that it was so delicious and I felt filled with a sense of accomplishment as I only half made a fool of myself trying to order. I relaxed and enjoyed my cup of coffee at the shop before I had to head back to shower and meet my bosses and two other new English teachers for lunch.
After nearly 48 hours without a shower I was desperate for a nice refreshing shower, I just didn’t realize how refreshing. During my tutorial the night before of how to turn on the hot water I was half asleep and couldn’t remember so I proceeded to take a cold shower. I peeked into my bathroom and remembered the explanation the night before of Korean bathrooms. They are fully tiled with a drain and a high lip for a threshold. There is no shower or tub or even shower curtain, only a shower head, which hangs awkwardly on the wall over the sink and is attached to the sink faucet with a hose. I was warned to be careful because it sprays everywhere and turned on the tap. The cold shower invigorated my body and helped me feel less jet lagged. I finished and dressed and was ready for my first proper Korean meal.
We arrived at a Korean BBQ, removed our shoes and followed the women into our own private BBQ room. We sat at a proper table which had a grill that sat flush with the table top and a bell on the wall which called the waitress. Korean dinning is very different and very intriguing. All restaurants give you scissors, metal chopsticks which are very challenging and a long metal spoon. They place little bowls of kimchi, and other pickled vegetables, sea urchins and different sauces around the table. All of the items on the table are communal except for your soup and you are expected to eat from any dish you like which is not rude and is expected. For the BBQ we had thinly sliced beef and a tinfoil of garlic that was placed directly on the grill. One person cooked the beef flipping it with tongs then cutting it with scissors into bite sizes. As the beef is finished you take a leaf wrap, place your beef inside, add sauce or veggies and eat in one bit. Everything was delicious and the chili paste went fast.
In Korea you never finish your meal unless you would like more, so they refilled our sides and sauces until we were all perfectly stuffed and then cleared the leftovers. We sat and talked as we all digested and agreed that we would all go into town to walk around to see my first time, downtown Gwangju….
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