My New Digs

So far my living situation in Seoul have consisted of being stuffed into a co worker's extra room and living day to day from my suit case.  Per usual.  BUUUUTT today I got the keys to my new bachelorette pad - or what they call housing here in Korea.  

The purple smart chip is what opens my door (which verbally greets me btw) which is a bit terrifying because it is quite small and oh so lose-able.  

Smart key

                                             

When you first walk in immediately to your left are my cute little kitchen and my closet.  

There is a see through cabinet whose door stays propped open and is what I call my "library"

Next to my fridge (which is currently serving as a coat rack) is where this Diva keeps all her threads.  I'll let you gaze at the magnificent wardrobe that is mine.

I know, super impressive 

My washroom is separated from my house and also is kind of my exotic patio, by exotic I meant arctic.  

and since everything is in Hangeul, I pretty much close my eyes and press buttons in hopes that my clothes come out clean.

Can't read this? That makes two of us!

Korean bathrooms take some getting used to.  Mainly the shower is just a long steel hose hooked into the wall that you hold above your head in the same room as the toilet and sink.  It's all just a bit odd for girl who has had the luxury of having shower walls.  And a shower head that holds itself up.  It's like these people think I work out or something.

Sink, metal hose, drain in the floor.  Shower. 

This is my floor/water heating system.  It's pretty baller.  And another thing I don't know how to operate.

Well crew, that was my episode of cribs.  Just to recap and put everything together for you:

here's the view from the bathroom

Here's the view from the door:

Voila

Killing Larry

My teaching skills for seven year olds have already reached some new territories.  I teach everything from art, to math, the science, to having fun.  It's not complicated or anything, today for Math we counted how many fingers I was holding up.  

I was however, suuuuuuuper pumped about the fact that we got to have a real live fish in class for science. Why you ask? To teach children about animals and the science of life you might guess?  HAAA NO.  

That fish was straight up leverage.  Those kids eyes LIT up when Larry (the fish) entered the room.  To them, there was a new magical, shiny creature, bubbling about a beautiful little talk filled with water.  To me, it meant that I could bribe them with behaving well by promising whoever was best to feed Larry at the end of the day.  

Turns out, if you need to bribe children with a goldfish, you should be aware of how much food a goldfish needs in a day and not allow your shining star of a student, Sophia, to feed him half the can in one day.  

So, the next morning along with Larry, my new found scientist/political mafiosa career was found floating belly up in a bowl.

Back to the drawing board.    

Barber Shops

I took a little walk on the wild side today.  And by wild side, I don't mean wild side, there is not danger in South Korea, but I was with a Korean co worker who has been known to kill a few tunes in Karaoke...  

Anyway, when walking the streets of Seocho (my hood) and as I imagine anywhere in Seoul, there are tons, and tons of these spinning old timey, red, white and blue barber posts.  Like, they're everywhere.  A ridiculous amount.  Why so many barber shops I asked?  Are people seriously that obsessed with getting their hair did that these shops are popping up to quench the demand of well coiffed Koreans?  

The answer is, not every barber shop is as it seems here in Seoul.  

There are two different types of spinners to indicate two different types of barber shops.  First, the universally classic single spinner signals a place where one can walk in, snip snip, walk out.  

.......aaaannnddd then there's the double spinner......

.....where you can come it, snip snip, and then fix your grumpy day with a "happy ending" so to say.  

You get my drift.