UPDATE!

The ascending note progression announcing the "Great Korean Voice" is actually a 4 note major arpeggio (likely in the key of C). As you can guess the descending progression is the same 4 note arpeggio in reverse. Next on the list of conclusions: yes, we did in fact have it happen again this morning.

Do I need pants right now?

Right as I was about to post about random things that tick me off, a speaker in our apartment that I believed was simply for the doorbell chimed an ascending 3 note melody and then began speaking Korean. It spoke Korean to us for about 30 seconds. Then it chimed a descending melody and it was over. Thomas and I proceeded to watch the apartment building across from us to see if the Korean voice was warning of an imminent attack (meaning were people who actually spoke the language fleeing in terror). Considering I had no pants on at that moment it was important to find out immediately if I needed to pants up and run for my life.

So no one did anything, and it was probably just our buildings security guard telling us all something like, "this week, recycling will be starting on Thursday" or "the elevator is being repaired so don't use it unless plummeting to your death is on your to do list". I didn't bother putting any pants on.

Now to end with one of the things I was going to post prior to the "Great Korean Voice" showing up:

Proof that men are just bigger versions of boys: Thomas named our wireless network WangsDong. I can't say I don't giggle every time I see it. You're probably giggling right now and just don't want to admit it.

Some puntastic title I can't think of right now.

Well, we survived our first week of teaching. Currently we're enjoying our homemade Americanos on our balcony and relaxing before work. The one tragedy is that our Americanos this morning meant opening the second of three packs of Lavazza espresso we brought to hold us over until we discovered either more espresso, or sadly realized we'd need to switch back to good ol' drip coffee. I suppose this is a good tragedy to be facing considering we've just moved across an ocean to a random Asian country for a year. The apartment is finally looking and feeling like somewhere we can call home for the year thanks to a bottle of bleach, some solid elbow grease, and a few investments in incandescent lighting (they don't make warm white CFLs over here, cold white is not an option unless jumping off our balcony is). Also, we invested in a sofa bed for all y'all feeling a bit of wanderlust. Pics soon to come of the inside, but until then here's a smattering of our adventure to date (kinda a little small smattering, sorry):


The concrete apartments are just the way it is, but the mountains aren't too shabby. It's the view from the walkway to our apartment on the 13th floor.

Crazy kickin' Korean. I thought my sister would get a kick (pun intended?) out of this one as she is often subjected to this crazy ritual at bus stops and crosswalks all over Richmond.

Good bye dinner and drinks with staff (good-bye to the other teachers, we're still here for 51 more weeks). Hooray, friends and cards and beer on the balcony/patio/porch!
Boys at the baseball game. We decided to cheer for the team with the better uniforms, thankfully we were also sitting in that teams section.

Cheering for the Lotte Jai-ee-an-sey (Giants, actually, the Koreans have a knack for making one or two syllable words upwards of five or six syllables). Also, our teams cheerleader was a man in a uniform with white gloves and a whistle who lead us in cheers to the tune of everything from the "Hallelujah Chorus" to "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah" to "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and other random melodies.

And of course, hanging out at the Spicers. And also a rare glimpse at my actual presence in Korea. As you can see the hair is holding its own in the humidity and pollution.

We're doing our first touristy thing this weekend and heading to the Korean War museum. I'd say it'll be "fun" but that seems like a slightly odd choice of a word. Kinda like Thomas wishing our boss a "Happy Memorial Day" this weekend as it was the Korean equivalent of Remembrance Day on Saturday. We're learning.

Teacher. Slow. Please.

It is now officially official: I talk kinda fast. At Christmas in France one of Thomas' old high school friends mentioned to him that, "I can understand Irish accents, but your wife is very difficult to keep up with". Today was my first day of teaching (Thomas' as well) and aside from preparing for the entirely wrong evening class it went fairly well. I did, however, have a few too many students say in desperation, "Teacher! Slow! Please!" Poor little Korean children with sad, panicky little faces trying to understand me (which reminds me I also spelled "Korean" incorrectly on the board today).

We are also all moved into our apartment. I've been snapping photos here and there, but have yet to really capture what is going on in our lives in Seoul. Soon.

I am sure homesickness will set in quickly and I'll be desperate for a glass of chocolate milk in about 4 more days, but for now I'm completely soaking in the wonderfulness that is our situation. This is probably the shortest commute I'll ever have (we live directly behind the school), live within blocks of 2 different subway lines, and a Costco is only 5 stops away down one of them. Aside from a serious lack of protein in the Korean diet (Thomas hasn't felt full since we arrived), I think we're doing alright. Oh, and I totally had Kraft Dinner for supper tonight thanks to some rad food left from the previous teachers including pesto, lots of Mexican seasonings, and Knotts Berry Farm syrup. Finally, I've developed a mild addiction to the canned Starbucks Espresso double shots. I'll keep you posted on the rapid weight gain that will likely follow.

Is That Normal?

This is probably a question I'll ask a lot over the next year. I'm okay with that. My question regarding "normality" today, however, has to do with the plane ride over. As we were approaching our destination and preparing to land, an announcement was made:

"At this time we would like to take a moment to remind you of where your emergency exits are. Please look around, note the exit, and refer to the safety card in your seat back pocket. Thank-you".

Hmmm, that's new.

At dinner last night we were told NKorea was testing a nuke sometime around when we were arriving. Glad we dodged that bullet.

Oh My Hair; Oh, my hair; Oh my, hair.

In preparing to leave for my new home overseas, I've been asking a lot of questions regarding products to bring that are not available in Korea. It was made terribly clear to me while compiling my list that I, Christy Gage, am a vain person. And as I think more about what my biggest concerns are once I arrive, I have to be honest that "what on earth will my hair do" is at the top of the list. In what little defense I may be able to muster, I hear the humidity is a beast and I have no desire to end up like my Friend, Monica Bing. This is an extreme possibility. This photo is my own, personal, cautionary tale.

Depending on how that question eventually gets answered will likely have a direct impact on the amount of photos posted of myself in the first few months. Godspeed, hair.

3 Reasons (see, it's biblical)

It is a well known fact that there are only three legitimate reasons to start a blog. Oddly enough these same three reasons apply to sending in updates to the Alumni section of your University's magazine:

1. got married
2. had a kid
3. moved overseas

Since number one is completely overrated (and kinda not an option given my current marital status) and number two only refers to a bowel movement in my world, I decided that I wanted to start a blog and therefore figured I should find a place overseas to move.

Seoul, Korea, here we come.