Day Two

Survived day two!. I was brave and ventured out for the first time today by myself. I decided to go and see what I could buy for breakfast that was cheap and close. The first shop that I came across that sold coffee was called Paris Baguette. I walked inside and it was so cute, it was decked out to look like a bakery in Paris and the staff were wearing berets. I looked around and all the food was laid out on tables, it was all uncovered and I wondered whether I just picked up what I wanted or asked for it. Luckily someone else walked in, he picked up a tray and tongs and then helped himself. I did the same, luckily everything was labelled in Korean and English. I choose 1 bacon and egg roll and a jam pastry and took it to the counter. I also ordered a coffee and 2 bottles of water. In total it came to under $7! The coffee which was large was only $1.50!!!!!!I said hello, thank you and goodbye in Korean but they replied in English. Go figure.

Back at my apartment I sat down and sampled my food. The egg roll was delicious; too delicious I think I will get the same tomorrow. The pastry was so sweet that after one bite I put it in my bag and decided to take it to school. The coffee was pretty damn good, just as good as New Zealand.

I went down stairs at 9.30 today and was picked up by the van again. I was admiring the town when we stopped at an intersection and I saw my first foreigner I smiled to myself it was such a simple thing but it lifted my spirits, not that they are high enough already. I laughed though because she had short brown hair with a thick fringe and was tiny so she could have easily been overlooked as a Korean.

The girls from work took me out to lunch again today. We went to the same restaurant and I ordered the spicy pork and calamari dish. It got served cold and we cooked it on the table. Today we sat at a traditional Korean table which was low to the floor and we sat on mats. The floor was heated but I am not yet used to sitting on the floor for so long and I grew quite uncomfortable. The service is amazingly fast and if you want a waitress you just yell out. It is great and so much faster. Lisa warned me that the dish was very spicy so I approached it with care. I actually found it bearable and was able to eat it with only the slightest discomfort. I really enjoyed the flavours and ate it with the side dishes of rice, sweet potato noodles and bean sprout soup. I really am enjoying the Korean food and my work mates are impressed that I enjoy it and don’t complain.

I made my first mistake today but it wasn't too bad. So yesterday Jessica paid for the whole tables meal so when she again tried to today I got up and tried to pay instead, they all laughed at me and explained we don't pay, the school does!!!! Nice. At lunch Lisa told me she was going to a wedding on sat and invited me to join. I gratefully accepted and look forward to seeing a traditional wedding and meeting her family.

After work Lisa walked me to the bus stop and on the way she showed me around some clothes shops. We went into one which was so overcrowded that you simply could not see any bear walls and it was a tight squeeze walking around. It was here that I was asked if I could teach the shop owners children English. In Korea the English language is seen as an asset as it is the language of business, parents do the most they can to insure their children learn it. Which means they pay through the roof for  English speakers to tutor their children. If I was to pick up this type of work it would he called privates and I could earn upwards of $70 American an hour per child. This is definitely something I will look for in the future but right now working 7 hours a day is quite enough. The area that I am in is very wealthy it has been described as the Remuera of Auckland, in fact it is one of the most affluent areas in Seoul. This means the parents have a lot of money and are prepared to spend it. That’s awesome news for me. Finally I can pay mum back what I owe her!!!! Hehe love you mum.

The second store we went into was a designer clothes store this was remarkably different, I could compare it to a boutique on Ponsonby Road, very clean with a petite selection. I noticed that nothing has prices on, this is so they can rip foreigners off! I am aware of this and need to practice my bargaining skills

Lisa caught the bus with me to my apartment, it is aprox a 5 mins drive, I could walk it in 20 minutes and I plan to do so when it gets warmer. The temperature today was 7 it was cold, but bearable it is definitely not as cold as I was expecting. On the bus home Lisa invited me to dinner tomo, she wants to show me somewhere around my apartment.