Week 1!

Some pictures from my first week on Jeju...

Here is the view from my terrace. Mt Halla is behind the clouds, but you can see the rest of the mountains and the greenery around my suburban apartment.

This is my lovely twin bed/day bed for lounging and my desk with the desktop computer I inherited. Internet is soon to come...

My kitchenette with a 2 burner gas range, microwave, mini-fridge, sink and a few cupboards. I managed to cook a 5 course Korean meal here on Sunday night for some friends in my building.

This is the group of us from Jejuesl, my recruiting company for the teaching job on Jeju Island. Left to Right: Marcie from Seattle, Julia from Canada, Cindy from New York (and France), Mike from Canada, and Trent from Canada. Marcie, Julia, Cindy and I live in the same building. Mike lives downtown in Shin Jeju, the newer part of the city. Trent lives on the other side of the city in the suburbs. We all spent the day together between our medical exams and teacher meetings ㅣlast Friday.

Cindy and I walked to the coast from Shin Jeju on Sunday. We found this awesome ocean road east of the city with big black lava rocks. It was a warm, sunny day and we had a great time exploring the coast and watching the fisherwoman among the rocks.

We stumbled upon this little suspension bridge over a small inlet from the ocean. The red pagoda is said to have inspired poetry and was made for a king...or something like that!

After the first day of school on Monday there was a big staff dinner at a Korean Restaurant nearby. The whole staff was there (about 65 teachers) and the new Principal and VP. I toasted them with Soju, the traditional Korean alcohol made distilled from rice. It's similar to vodka, but half the alcohol. On the left is one of my co-teachers in my English class, Kim Kee Jeung. She is so nice and friendly! On the right is another teacher at the elementary school. "V" for Victory!