Sam's Visit to the City

Today was such a great day! It was Saturday today, which means I had all day to do whatever I wanted! I decided to go to the Lotte Mart to get some important things, and then see where the day took me. So before I could even leave my house, I needed to ask my landlord how to turn on the washing machine, and also why there was no hot water in my shower. I really like my apartment, but the only thing I could complain about is the shower. The whole bathroom is the shower of course, but that’s not the problem. The shower head mount is at about shoulder height on the wall, so when I want to shower, I either have to hold the shower head with one hand, or kneel on the ground when its on the mount. The biggest problem today though, was that I had to take a cold shower because the hot water didn’t work. So I went downstairs and asked my landlord for help. It was his daughter that answered the door so she helped get the washing machine to work, but couldn’t figure out the hot water so she told me she would get her dad. I waited for about 30 minutes and no one came, so I thought maybe she forgot, or her dad wasn’t home, but she came back shortly after not only with her dad but with a repair man! I was very pleased that he came to fix it, the landlord is very efficient, which I like. So while the guy was fixing the hot water issue, he noticed that my faucet is also kinda crappy, so they told me that in the afternoon someone was going to come replace it for a new one! I was really happy to hear that because my faucet is old and hard to work.

So after they all left I headed out to Lotte Mart. I was headed for the bus stop but before I got there, I wandered around my neighborhood for a bit. The school nurse lives really close to me so I saw her house, along with a lot of other really beautiful homes.

The nurse's home.

Not my street but its really close to me.

There are pomegranates just growing in my neighbors yard!!!

Another beautiful house.

I took the bus, and knew where I was going because the Lotte Mart is on the way to my school. The Lotte Mart is pretty much like a big grocery store; maybe a mix between Publix and Wal-Mart, because its not as big as Wal-Mart, but has more stuff than Publix. I bought some more hangers, a trash can, a french press(!), dish soap and sponge, and some push pins. Oh and while I was there, two little girls came up to me and stared at me for a second, and then one said “Hi Sam teacher!” It was really cute, and I was surprised she remembered my name. I brought my backpack with me to pack everything, but the trashcan made my backpack stick out I looked like a gifted 5th grader with a bag packed with books. :/

Look dad there is a Starbucks here! I haven't gone in thank you very much!

I love how all the buildings are an overload of signs I can't read.

I love that this is a Russel Crow Bar that serves 'Beer and Freedom'.

Now, what I’ve heard so far about the buses, is that you have to get on your bus going the OTHER way then where it dropped you off. That makes sense of course, but sometimes the bus stops aren’t right across from each other so it’s a bit confusing. I talked to another teacher at my school and she told me that the 105 bus (the only one at my house bus stop) takes you all the way to downtown, so I thought I’d ride it to see where it goes. So I got on the bus going that same direction as the one I got off when I got to Lotte Mart. The bus went around my town, and then went into the city so it was really cool because I was doing a quick “explore” while I was heading home. I passes a Home Plus which is another big store in Korea, as well as a bunch of PC Bangs (rooms), a Hospital, “Motels”, and the water! It’s really funny here because the “Motels” are actually huge hotels. They are all called Motels though. So we drove and drove, through down town, and I sat there while people got on and got off. Finally after being on the bus for about 45 minutes, I noticed the driver was turning into a big bus stop. Turns out, I rode the bus to the end of the line. So I said to the bus driver “Postech?” and looked confused and then said “Ahhh Poosteka” and showed me to another 105 bus which was leaving in a minute to do its round. Once the new bus started going, I figured out what its route was and I got off at my stop. Im really glad I rode it all the way to the end, because now I have a much better understanding of where I need to be to get picked up or dropped off at the right spot. I’m really happy too because I got to see the downtown which was really cool!

This is a Motel!

This is also a Motel!

When I got home I saw there was a note on my door saying that my door was locked so the landlord couldn’t come in to fix my sink, and that I should see him when I got home. So I went downstairs to his apartment and within a few minutes he had a different repair man in my bathroom fixing my faucet. When he finished he showed me how to work it and handed the landlord an extra head mount. I asked him if he could possible mount the new one higher so I could shower standing up. It took a bit of begging, literally on my knees (explaining to him how uncomfy it is to shower on your knees), but he did it so I was really happy! Now I've got hot water, and new faucet and a higher head mount, all in one day!! Oh and while the repair guy was doing all this, the landlord was in here too and his dog followed him into my apartment. They have the smallest yorkie I’ve ever seen! It was really cute, and literally the size of my flip flop! I really like my landlord and his family, they seem like very nice people. His wife brought us all drinks while we were waiting for the guy to fix my faucet, which was really kind of her.

So tiny!!

After the guy finished, I was starving so I decided to take the bus once more and go to Home Plus, because it is such a huge store and I remember hearing they have a food court in it. When I got there I was pretty overwhelmed. I think I underestimated the size of this place! Its about 9 stories tall I think. There is the books/shoes/fragrance level, grocery level, home level, womens clothing level, mens clothing level, food court level, and a movie theatre that is I think 2 levels. There is also a basement but I didn’t go down there today so I don’t know what’s down there. I bought some hooks and another pillow on the home level, and then had some Bibimbap in the food court. I got a few stares but I don’t know if its because I’m foreign, because I was eating alone, or because I was carrying around a giant pillow everywhere. After eating and some more aimless wandering, I got back on the bus and came home. Now I am just slowly unpacking some more. I got a lot more hangers today so I’m excited to finally have all my clothes out of my suitcase. I’ve been flirting with the idea of changing what furniture I have around a bit, but I’m not sure where to move it, so perhaps that’s what I’ll do tonight!

P.s. Oh my god, Harry Potter is on tv right now! And its in English with Korean subtitles so I’m all set!