Annyong Korea!

Wow I've finally made it to Korea! These past two weeks have been a true whirlwind. I've been so busy since completing orientation for EPIK that this is the first chance I've been able to make the first update of this blog.

First, let me tell you finally w

here it is exactly that I'm located and what I'll be up to for the next year. I've been posted to a very small fishing village called Yeong-hae located along the East Sea in the Gyeonsangbuk-do province known for its excellent local spider crabs. My town is located about twenty minutes from a larger town called Yeong-deuk which has a population of about 100,000 people. Yeong-hae is a very small town with two main streets, a large fish market, and a surprising number of restaurants and even an excellent norebang (private karaoke room). The sea is quite beautiful as you can see but not much to offer in terms of surfing.

Yeong-hae is teaming with friendly locals. Everywhere I go people say hello and laugh and cover their faces when I respond with a cheerful annyehaseo. Yesterday was one of the biggest festivals of the year and the whole town was out celebrating the defeat of the Japanese invasion of this coastline. Kimchi and soju were flowing and being the new foreigner in town I was pulled in every direction to sample just about everything. Here, some new friends of mine were barbecuing up some tasty mackerel.

I'm thrilled to be in my new town and will be going to my first day of school tomorrow. This should make for a pretty exci-

ting day tomorrow. I won't begin instruction until next week and have the rest of the week to prepare lesson plans and meet the other teachers and administration. I've got lots of pictures and stories to share from the sites I've visited and people I've met in the past two weeks that I'll be sure to share in my next blog. I'll leave this one with a view of the main drag of the metropolis that is Yeong-hae.

Hasta luego,

John