The First Day

6:40 finally rolled around and I boarded the bus. I tried to stay awake to look at the s –mostly rolling hills- but dozed off several times. At around 10:45 we pulled into the Gumi buscenery terminal where I was met by my friend’s father. We threw my luggage in his car and drove 20 minutes to the kindergarten that he owned where I would be teaching English. As we drove to our destination outside of the city-center my friend’s dad explained to me that Gumi was the area’s “silicon valley”, and indeed we pasted many LG and Samsung offices and factories.

The part of Gumi we arrived in was surrounded by rolling green hills and was mostly residential. The main street on which we drove was lined with hundreds of similar looking shops -PC game centers, karaoke shops, convenience stores, and restaurants.

Once inside the kindergarten I was introduced, disheveled from 20 hours of traveling, to all the children and some of the teachers. I was greeted by around 300 hellos from Korean children before being driven to my apartment.

The 4th floor apartment was tiny: one main room about 13 feet square with a kitchenette, laundry room and small bathroom. My friend and I would be sharing the apartment. Almost no one sleeps on mattresses in this part of Korea: we each had a thin sleeping pad that was directly on the floor. I deposited my belongings and went back the kindergarten for lunch.