Settling into Gangneung

Well, this past Wednesday evening I arrived in Gangneung. The following couple of days I got to observe classes, meet my fellow teachers, and also become familiar with my neighborhood.

The school is really nice, there are a tremendous amount of resources there: a computer lab, new books for the students, and a large "backyard" with 2 small soccer fields, a golf net, pull-up bars, trampoline and pool for the kids. I intend to break up the day playing sports and doing some pull-ups. Lunch is provided by the school, so its nice to get a hot meal each day, though it's really a lot of food.

My apt. is a small one room, but more importantly is located close to the beach - about a 15 min. walk. I've gone down to see the sunrise a couple times, and am certainly looking forward to summer time. Here are a couple images from Gyeongpo Beach, the first of a sunrise and the second from yesterday afternoon.
The top of the beach features a nice boardwalk, and the strip is loaded with restaurants and motels. The establishments with outdoor seating are the most expensive. Most of them also have water tanks with live seafood that you may choose to have for your meal.
This past weekend I went to a couple bars downtown that are popular with Westerners, and most of the people I met were pretty cool. They seem to have a nice camaraderie with each other. A few of the guys have a band, and on Saturday night they were playing at one of the bars. They didn't have a drummer, and after playing some drums (along with the house music) at the same bar the night before, I was feeling bold so I asked to sit in. They were obviously nervous, probably fearing that I would bang the hell out of them and make a huge mess, but I was able to fit in with the music and they've asked me to practice with them. I'm really excited about this, because despite my love for music, I've never been part of band, and it is certainly as good a time as any to start.

This brings me to today, where I will begin teaching in a couple of hours. I am definitely a little nervous, but the kids are young so I won't be dealing with anything too complex. I'm excited to have my own classroom and hope to have a successful year with the students.

Thanks again for reading!