On Wednesday, the renewees (Fulbrights who decided to extend their contract for another year) came for a day of bonding and fun activities. The teams were divided according to placement cities or provinces. Then we created costumes, came up with a team cheer, and engaged in an afternoon of friendly competition. My team, called the Daejeon Divas, truly lived up our name. I'm pretty sure that we came in last place for nearly every event. But on the bright side, we'll be spending the year in an amazing city - a consolation prize that I can surely settle for. :) It was great to have all of us (6 renewees and 5 newbies) together for the first time. I have no doubt that it's going to be a memorable year!
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| The Daejeon Divas! |
Thursday was an emotional roller-coaster. This day marked the official end of Orientation and the start of our grant year. Affectionately known as Departure Day (D-Day), this was a milestone that I was both looking forward to and dreading. At the crack of dawn, I woke up to finish packing, check out of the dorm room, and assemble with my peers for some tearful goodbyes. For the rest of the morning, we reminisced about our adventures and took a lot of photos.
It's hard to believe that I've only known these people for 2 months. But we've been through so much together: flying around the world, adapting to a foreign culture, struggling to learn a difficult language, and embracing new experiences. I remained composed until the Korean RAs addressed our class, expressing deep thanks for our friendships and stating that they will never forget us. At that moment, the Ice Queen started to melt, in the form of a solitary tear that slowly danced down her cheek. But we had little time to waste. We quickly freshened up and headed upstairs, where our school administrators were anxiously awaiting.
At the ceremony, we stood in line by province and stepped forward one-by-one to bow to our principal and co-teacher. Occasionally, a teacher would run up and present a huge bouquet of flowers when their Fulbright's name was called. When it was my turn, a lovely lady came bolting at me with an basket of wild flowers and fruit. It was so adorable; I couldn't stop smiling. After the ceremony, I ate lunch with my vice- principal and co-teacher. Even though there was a language barrier, my vice-principal lit up when I told him to "Enjoy his meal" and assured him that "I will eat well."
My co-teacher and I got along immediately and began chatting about shopping, K-pop singers, and politics. I even bonded with the head of Daejeon's Metropolitan Office of Education over our caffeine addictions. After lunch, we grabbed my gigantic suitcases and got on a charter bus with all the other Daejeonites. I talked to my co-teacher for most of the ride and then dozed off near the end. Upon awaking, I looked out the window and saw huge skycrapers towering over me. It was then that realized how far I was from the quaint surburbs of Jersey or the humble fields of Goesan. Then, my co-teacher drove me to my homestay family's apartment. As soon as I walked in, I saw this thoughtful message and immediately felt at home.
My homestay is located in the heart of downtown Daejeon, only a few blocks from a subway stop and a 5 minute walk from City Hall. My family consists of a father, mother, 2 older daughters, and a son. Having lived in New Zealand from 2004-2006, my host family's English is remarkably good. The apartment is quite spacious with hard-wood floors. There are 4 bedrooms: mine, my host parents', my host sisters, and a little office room with a blow-up air mattress that my host brother has been relegated to. I'm convinced that they forced him to give up his bedroom for me... Poor thing! My favorite part of the apartment is the outdoor balcony area that my host mother converted into a little garden. Here are photos of my gorgeous bedroom. My host sisters later admitted that my host mother bought all new furniture and bedding in honor of my arrival. So sweet!
On Saturday, my host sisters gave me the grand tour of the city. We started at City Hall and took the elevator up to the top floor. From there, I had an aerial view of the entire city, including the science research district and nearby mountains. I've always lived close to a big city but never actually in one. So it was certainly exciting to see vast shopping centers and bustling crowds in every direction. From there, we walked over to the Galleria, one of those super swanky department stores and made the all-important first visit to Daejeon Dunsan Girls' High School. I was immediately struck by its overwhelming size and began imagining what the school must look like when there's 1800 screaming girls running around.
After that, we wandered around downtown for a few hours. I was delighted to see some my favorite clothing stores, like Zara and Mango; caffeination stations, like Starbs, the Coffee Bean, and Dunkin'; and Western food chains, like Pizza Hut, Krispy Kreme, and Baskin-Robbins. Now I can see why Daejeon boasts the reputation of being the most comfortable place to live in Korea. For dinner, my host sisters brought me to a Korean barbeque restaurant, where we gorged ourselves on samgyupsal (pork belly) and various other delicious noms.
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