Hello Everybody!

Hey guys! Another little update on how my life is going here in South Korea! The apartment is going great as usual with no problems whatsoever! Tomorrow classes really begin for me as the introductions are now over with the students. I have a lot of different games and activities for the the boys to do and I think they well really enjoy English the way I teach it! Last night I went out for the first time in Seoul. Life's pretty weird as I found out one of my UofT classmates has been in South Korea for 6 months! Turns out there are 2 other UofTers out here too! It's really nice to see familiar faces in a strange land. It took me about a 40 minute busride to get into the city. Reminds me of my trek from Scarborough to Downtown Toronto. It is nightime and the streets are lit up by neon signs lining every building. Each building is multiple storeys high with a number of different shops, stores, and bars all residing. It is quite a sight! I meet up with my friend and I go to my first bar in South Korea! She treats me to my first Korean beer - Cass. Instead of the cap there is a mini Korean hat folded from a napkin which I find quite funny. The place is very classy and Beyonce is blaring from the speakers. Next song - Dancing Queen, hilarious! After the drink we go to the party. It is held at a dance studio on the 5th floor of a nerby building. When you step off the elevator there is a beautiful path that leads up to the wall in the picture, "Life is great when you dance!" This makes me laugh out loud! Following custom, shoes are removed. There are about 8 other English speaking teachers at the party. It is very nice meeting these people and hearing their stories. The studio is large, clean and music from every one's Ipod - including mine of course, makes it a wonderful introduction to the nightlife in Seoul. The party moves from the dance studio to some one's apartment. It is a beautiful loft apartment and we sit around talking and enjoying company. Before I know it, it's 3:30am! Time to go! I jump in a cab and take my first cabride in the city! Seatbelts are a must as it seems redlights are only a suggestion! I make it home safely and after catching some friends on skype I got to bed. In other news, classes last week were really easy. One of the boys sang "So Sick" the Ne-yo track! He was really good - and even though the pronunciation was a little off the melody was there! I was really surprised as most of the kids are really shy. By feeling out the classes I can already see that some of the boys are more talkative. It's really cool to be thrown into the classroom like this as the experience is irreplaceable. There is a huge mountain behind my school, another teacher and I climbed this mountain during some spare time - took us an hour and a half! Thursday evening a different Korean teacher brought me to a traditional Korean martial arts class. This martial art is called Taekkyeon. It is much older than Tae Kwon Do and is less popular. The fighting style stems from movements in the knees and matches are only won by a kick above the neck or a takedown. There are no arm strikes. I found learning only the basic moves to be difficult and am very impressed by the others in the class. Some of them students of mine. Well, hope you've enjoyed this little update - I will be sure to take a lot more pictures this week and will post them in my next update. Stay classy Toronto, I'll be home in 50 weeks!

Jason Singh.

Well here I am! What a flight! After a sad goodbye with my sister Jennifer, I left Toronto Pearson International Airport and headed over to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, which only took 2 hours. Then I had to wait about 4 hours in Chicago to join a flight going to Incheon International Airport in South Korea, this flight taking a whopping 15 hours! Altogether my traveling time, with waits and all, 22 hours! SHEESH! Hah, as soon as I landed I was escorted by someone working for my recruiting company. This person did not know English but I was still pretty good at understanding what was happening. I loaded my luggage onto a Limosuine Bus and was on my way to Yongin City. Yongin City is where I am staying, it is not that far from Seoul and will only take one bus. Luckily for me there is a bus stop right out side my apartment! As soon as I make it to Yongin City bus terminal, I am greeted by my schools director. Mr. Park is his name. It is about 8:30 in the morning when this happens, and the first place he takes me is a local Korean bakery. The place smells AMAZING - I choose a few things and Mr. Park picks up the tab. Next we head to my apartment, this ride takes less than 3 minutes. I get a little scared as the place looks to be in construction mode.......turns out they are building more apartments around my building! The place is fairly new - can't be more than 2 years at the most. The building is about 4 floors, there is no elevator....I live on the second floor. I open my apartment door and I am happy with what I see! In Korea there is a space in front of the door that is lower than the regular floor level. This is the designated place for shoes - I love this idea! Straight ahead is the washroom. It has swimming pool type tile on the floor with a big drain in the middle. There is the sink and there is the toilet bowl, between them is the shower head. It takes some getting used to, but after a while this setup is pretty cool. Next is the kitchen, there is ample counter space, a big sink and a two burner gas stove(I'm used to electric!). There is a mid-sized fridge pre-stocked with bottled water. Tap water in South Korea is not potable(means it's not safe to drink) Good think it only costs about 2 bucks for 12 litres! I am also set up with a microwave and toaster oven. The table in the room is large and has two chairs with it. There is a big sliding door that leads to my bedroom. The room is larger than my room in Toronto. There is a t.v. with satellite(nice) and a mid-sized bed with a pillow on it. There is a closet that holds all of my clothes, plus space for my two suitcases! There is also a personal heater, which I don't really need. The way the heater works in my apartment is through the floor. The floor has heating pads underneath that warm the floor and feel nice under my feet! Past the bedroom is my Laundry room that holds my washer and space to dry my clothes. That about does it for my bedroom, PHEW! Next, we went to the school where I will be teaching. Tae Sung Middle School. This is an all boys school. The boys are extremely polite and respectful to all the elders. One boy was brave enough to approach and called me 'handsome'! hahah. The school is literally a five minute walk from my apartment, NO excuses to be late! Next, we went to the supermarket this too is only five minutes from my apartment! EVERYTHING is so convenient! By this time I'm starting to get a little delirious with no sleep and only a few baked goods in me. Mr. Park offers to take me to a traditional Korean restaurant for lunch, of course this is an offer I can't refuse and of course it's right next to my apartment! I learn how to greet the waitress in Korean and how to order the meal in Korea. It is called Sun-Do-Bu. It is delicious. it is a seven course meal all served at the same time, the main course being a spicy soup with egg, tofu, and clam. The other dishes range from boiled potato to kim-chee. After lunch I come home and crash for like 15 hours straight! After a shower of course! Day two, I am pining for the Internet as nobody in Toronto knows about my safe landing. My director insures me that the technician will be stopping by a little later. We take a trip to the hospital where I have my health check - a very simple and fast procedure. Next, we go to lunch. I have this amazing beef stew at the most famous restaurant in Youngin. After coming home and waiting a few hours the Internet man arrives! He changes the wire in the wall so I can have HIGH SPEED! The best part is that the technician did not know English but told me that me and Will Smith "look same"! haha - If only he knew how much I love Will Smith! So since then, last night, I have been on the Internet catching up with all my loved ones. Today I had a meeting at the school, went shopping, came home, watched the Power of One - which I recommend to everyone, what a sad movie that needs to be seen....after the movie I went for a stroll around Yongin City, for 4 hours! What a walk, what a place! To see the city with a backdrop of beautiful tree-covered mountains is breathtaking. I plan to go to Seoul for the first time tomorrow and will be sure to tell you guys all about it on my next blog entry. WOW this has been a long one, hope you enjoyed it. I love and miss you all,

Jason Singh.

Hope you enjoy the show!