Growth

One year ago today I arrived in Ulsan. At the time that was the most terrifying and overwhelming day, but we were reminiscing at dinner tonight and we were all laughing pretty hard, so I'm going to share.

We had spent about a week at orientation in a city 3 hours away. A few days in I got sick, and was still sick when we had to leave for Ulsan. Everything I owned was in 3 suitcases, and combined they probably weighed 100 pounds. I remember we had to carry them up this enormous hill and load them on the bus ourselves. Plus we were all dressed up for meeting our co-teachers, so I did it in heels. I was sweating by the time I sat down. Once we were in Ulsan we got dropped off in a parking lot. The bus driver unloaded our suitcases and drove away, and we were all just standing there waiting for someone to give us directions. Then all our co-teachers came running out of their cars with signs that had our names on them. They grabbed us and our stuff and took us away. Literally. I saw Yuri and said "Hi I'm Breann" and she said "Hi I'm Yuri" and then she had my suitcases and we were leaving. I remember following Yuri to her car, not even saying goodbye to Katie. I was terrified. I was parting ways with everyone I knew in this country, and nobody had phones or internet yet, so I honestly didn't know if or when I'd ever see them again.

Yuri took me out to a very nice lunch, but I had been using chopsticks for about 3 days at that point, plus it was mostly seafood, so I did my best but I didn't eat a lot. Then we went to school and I met the principal and vice principal. I bowed and said the 3 Korean phrases I knew, then we went upstairs to my classroom. It was brand new, and I was thrilled. Seeing it made me really excited to teach.

Next we went to my apartment. I think the guy who lived here before me threw his clothes in a suitcase that morning and walked out the door. There were dishes in the sink, posters and magazines and to-do lists lying around, dirty sheets on the bed...I was disgusted. We left my suitcases and went to Home Plus to buy groceries.

By now it was probably 3 or 4 in the afternoon, and I was overwhelmed and exhausted. I had experienced too many emotions for one day and I remember pushing my cart up and down the aisles trying not to cry. At the same time I was kind of laughing at myself for fighting back tears in a grocery store while shopping with a perfect stranger. So we grabbed the essentials (which included a 20 pound bag of rice that I just finished this week) and left.

Yuri showed me where a PC bang was so I could email my friends and family, then she left me. I didn't know how to access a computer and didn't know how to ask for help, but I learned that if you stand there and shrug your shoulders people will realize that you're new and just do things for you. Thank goodness. So I spent an hour using the internet then came home to conquer my apartment. Remember I was sick, and exhausted, and overwhelmed, but I couldn't sleep in a dirty place, so I had to clean and unpack. I was so tired I went to bed at 9 or 10.

Once I was in bed I heard my doorbell ring once or twice but I ignored it. Then I heard pounding, my kitchen window being opened, and yelling in Korean and English. It was my landlady and Alexis. She had dragged Alexis out of bed to meet me and make sure my heat was turned on. It was very nice and thoughtful of her, but I didn't appreciate it much at the time. I was THRILLED to see another foreigner though. She stopped by the next morning when we were both more awake and gave me a few pointers.

And now it's been a year. My apartment is clean (mostly), I don't cry in grocery stores, and I found some amazing friends. And I got a pretty great story out of it.