Apartments, birds, and burritos

Yesterday, I was feeling quite stressed and unhappy, but it was nothing a night's sleep and the kindness of friends couldn't handle. Thanks for everyone who wrote a comment of concern! It means a lot to me.

But today's entry isn't about my money woes, so I'll move on.

This week, my school administration has been shutting off the heat at several hour intervals. It's been freezing in the subject room office. My co-workers and I have been huddled up at our desks with our coats on, occasionally boiling some water for some tea or coffee, and every so often muttering about the temperature.

Yesterday, one of the science teachers, Jinhee, mentioned that it was cold as she stood nearby the principal and vice-principals in the lunch line to get some 짜장밥 (similar to 짜장면, only with rice instead of noodles) and was told that they didn't want to hear complaining.

I actually dislike the heating system in the school, as it tends to make my eyes dry and irritated, but it's pretty ridiculous how cold it's been. In my humble opinion, it's safe to say it's a bit too cold for comfort when you're sitting in the bathroom contemplating how you can so clearly see your own breath in the air. Even the children were shivering as they bustle down the hallways.

Speaking of the students, I went to the bathroom in the back building (where the older students are) because there was no toilet paper left in the bathroom closest to the office. Walking through that hallway and stairwell was just like old times. I missed the kids and I'll probably miss them more later on; no matter what's happened to me during the day, it's hard to be in a bad mood when a bunch of kids are so happy to see you.

Before I go onto my apartment hunting adventures, I should explain why I was looking for a new place - I got a new job. This is why I'll be missing the kids so much, but I'm still excited about the coming year. I'll be teaching at a women's university starting in March.

Compared to my current English teaching job at SMOE (which I still think is a great opportunity for those interested in traveling and teaching in Korea), I get a lot more autonomy, particularly with planning classes and managing my time. My classes will be 16 students large and the university I'm going to teach has a good reputation, so most of the students are very motivated and studious. The faculty I've met so far are very upbeat and friendly. My interview with them back in December was so warm and relaxed, I couldn't gauge how it went at all.

There are a lot of things I'm looking forward for, a lot of things I'm nervous about and a lot of things I'm going to miss. This elementary school may have given me a lot of stress, but it was really worthwhile being here. First and foremost, the students were very appreciative and as time went on, very warm toward me. I have a good number of co-teachers who really made an effort to befriend me or at the very least smiled whenever they saw me. I wasn't happy all the time, but it all seems to melt away when I know that my time here is limited.

Secondly - I was apartment hunting for almost 5 hours yesterday. It was below freezing outside, so I was not very comfortable and had to urgently use the bathroom a couple times because of the tea or coffee I drank while I was inside.

Looking for an apartment in the USA and looking for an apartment in Korea aren't all that different, but there are a few things that were done differently, at least in my experience.

There are a lot of 부동산 (BuDongSan) offices in Seoul and if you're looking for an apartment or looking for renters, you can use them to help you. In fact, most people do. I looked up places on my own back in the states, but here I didn't know how to get directly connected with apartment owners. You can still look up individual offers online, but it's just much more common and much easier to use a 부동산.

Most people recommended making more than one trip to the area to find a good apartment, but I only took one trip. It may have been unwise, but I know that a lot of people are moving in soon because of the start of the new school year and if I waited too long, the cheapest options would be snatched up.

When you go to the 부동산 offices, you should go to more than one. They generally cover different apartments or houses and if you want to find a good place, you should see your range of options.

Here are a couple pictures that look similar to the ones I saw:

I ended up visiting about 5 부동산 offices yesterday and saw more than 10 apartments. Crazy.

The first apartment I saw was the one I ended up chosing. It's a bit far from the subway station, but it's very close to where I work. The whole building is newly renovated and the room I have is a corner one room aparment, with one window facing east (hurrah for morning light!) and one window facing north. The room comes with everything except a bed, which means it has a stove top, a refrigerator, a TV, an air conditioner/heater, a washing machine, and, for a very reasonable flat fee a month, all utilities, including cable TV and internet.

My mother's friend was helping me look around and, being very good at getting people to lower their prices, continued to ask for a discount until we got a little one. That took quite a long time. It's a little discount, but it'll add up, so I'm thankful to her.

After that intensive apartment hunting session, I went to meet a few friends for tea and dinner in Insadong again.

To start, we went to the second floor of the Old Tea Shop, with the birds. We got to sit in the best seats, right by the fountain and little tree, where the birds like to sit. When all six of us were the only ones there, the birds found another spot to occupy, but when a couple other people came in the tea shop, some of the birds came back.

After there were only three of us left, the birds became very bold, even landing on our table to peck at our complimentary rice crackers. Some of them were eyeing the tea as well; after we left our seats, a couple of them perched on tea cups and began helping themselves to the little that was left.

We, then, took some time to admire the bathroom. Yes, the bathroom. Take a look:

 

And, yes, that is a goldfish pond in the bathroom. And, yes, those are real live goldfish. And, yes, I worry that someone might pee on them, too.

Afterwards, we found this restaurant:
 

 

The people there were very friendly and even moved a huge heater nearby us when we asked for a warm place. As for the decor, I'm sure it's much more beautiful during the spring, summer, or fall.

Tonight, there was a fundraiser at Tomatillo. All profits made today would be going to Unicef to help people in Haiti who were affected by the major earthquake(s) that struck there in January. Tomatillo reminds me of Q'doba back at home. Q'doba is almost like a Mexican Subway restaurant, where you pick out certain things to put in your burrito or taco, rather than in your hoagie (as we say in Philly).

I'm happy to say, it was packed.