First Post!

Hi Everyone,

So I've been in Korea for almost two weeks now and what a blur it has been! After not sleeping for over 48 hours when first arriving, most of my nights have been pretty busy getting my apartment set up and exploring Busan. My apartment is in an area of Busan called Jangsan which is very close to Haeundae Beach (see photo). I have to take a bus for 30 minutes to get to my school, which is on the side of a mountain essentially.

Haeundae Beach

Everything has been going really well so far. My co-teachers have been very welcoming and have shown be quite a bit of Busan. The school's facilities are fairly new and the students are great. I'm greeted by dozens of kids screaming "Hello!" as soon as I get to school every day. Teaching is pretty fun as the primary goal for me is to get them speaking, not to worry about book work. Here are a few photos of the school.

My office

The view from my office

The classroom

 There is so much to see and do in Busan and I've done a fair amount of exploring already. I am only 15-20 minute walk from the beach and the public transportation is great for getting anywhere else. A lot of the people I've met have been really friendly and have helped me to figure everything out. I'm trying to learn some Korean phrases but so far have only managed "Hello" and "Thank you". In a week the school is closed for five days for Chuseuk, which is like Thanksgiving. This will give me a great chance to really see some of the sites around town.

Market

Hope everyone back home is doing well and I will try to post something again soon!

John