jobless and homeless

Well... This sucks.
For now I am jobless and homeless. My life here is all in boxes stacked up in a friend's home in Seoul. As her home is only one small room, my stuff is taking up about half of it. : I'm sleeping on the floor space that is left.
I'm applying for many jobs and going on a few interviews here and there. I'm sticking to those I can find within Seoul.
Some offers are for starting ASAP, some don't start until anywhere from early to late November. Anything after that is way too late for me.
I'll let you know when I do finally get a job and new home.
It is depressing having to live out of a suitcase.

still waiting...

I have to wait yet another day for everything to be set up... my phone, net, cable... and I am still waiting for my water cooler, closet, bookshelves, etc.
Frustration.
The students started today. I am the 6 year old (Korean age... so for the rest of us, 4 years old) class teacher. There are a total of around 20 6 year olds, split into 2 classes. I have one and Stephanie, a Korean from New Zealand has the other. We do switch for one hour after lunch. My group is great. I have 11 in my room, and they are all fairly well behaved. Stephanie has some very over active boys with attitudes in hers. For one hour during the day, I also teach the 5 year old (actual age 3) classes (half an hour each). They really are babies. A couple of the kids were crying the whole time. One of mine was crying for a little while after arriving in the morning, but got over it fairly quickly. Many of them have never really been away from their moms, so it is not unexpected.
I still want to post some pics from the last school (the graduation, etc) before I post ones of my new school. But I have to have my net set up do to anything.
It was so cold here today. It rained almost all weekend, and today it was snowing. I hate the cold.

busy

Well, I am now moved into my new home. I don't yet have my telephone or net set up. I'm hoping to get that done this week, but I'm not sure if that will happen or not. Moving is sooooo stressful. I didn't really sleep all weekend, due to packing and such. Now I have to figure out where to put everything. My new home only has one small wardrobe that is only shelves. Maybe 1/4 of my clothes fit in it. There is no where to actually hang up clothes. I have to ask my new school to get me a closet or dresser or something like that. I am still waiting for my water cooler, too.
It will take me a while to figure out the area. Where my home is, it is like a maze of little streets, some too small for cars to go down. It is in the hills, almost at the top of a hill. There are two entrances to my building. One on the first floor, where my home is, and another on the 3rd floor. Once I am settled in I will post some pictures. It is really an interesting area. It is almost right below Namsan Tower (Seoul Tower).

moving II

Tuesday will be my last day teaching at the kindy, so until the 28th, I'll have my mornings off. I'll need them, since I'll be spending my evenings trying to organize my things to get ready to move next Sunday. I'm still not quite sure how I'll be moving, or how my stuff will fit into the new home. Right now I have a small closet with 2 drawers on the bottom, as well as 3 fairly large 3 drawer drawers. My new home only has a small closet with 2 drawers. Plus, I also have another set of drawers with stuff for my computer, stuff for Tokki and other misc. things. I'm not sure where I'll put them. I have a tv table and coffee table set, which I'm not altogether sure will fit in the new home. I guess I'll find out when I get there. I'll have to get a few things (or get my new school to get them) to help me organize after I move (book shelves, etc). They are supposed to be help me move my stuff on the 25th, but I want to be all packed up and ready to go by the time they get here. I'm going to have to find some boxes or such to put my stuff in. I'm still one suitcase less than when I came.

moving

I found out that I have to be out of this home on the 25th, so I talked to my new school and they arranged it so I can move into my new home that day. Yay! That means I don't have to move twice. My new home is near Sookmyung Women's University subway station. I am told that it would take about 7 minutes to walk to the station from my new home, which is near the top of a hill. It is a fairly new building, so it is clean. The only problem is that it is quite small. I'm moving from an old Korean home with a bit living room, a big bedroom, a small kitchen long hallway, to a one room studio flat with a balcony that is accessed through a low window (I almost laughed when I saw that). LOL. I'll send pics after I move in.

busy, busy, busy

Well, this is a fairly busy month. I have to move SOMETIME. I'm not sure when, exactly, or where. I'm changing jobs. My contract at the school(s) I'm at will finish the end of the month. After much confusion and disagreements at the school, it has been decided that they will hire a new teacher (money was the deciding factor, as they save money by hiring someone with no experience), rather than keeping me (I had actually decided I wanted to stay). Anyway, I am taking the job at an English kindergarten in Dongbu-Ichon-Dong (more central Seoul, just South of the river). My home won't be near the school, though. It will be 3 subway stops away (there is also a bus that goes that route). As their previous teachers have been army wives, they have to find a home for me. They have been looking around and are looking at 3 different places near Sookmyung Women's University station. I will go with them on Saturday to look at them (I basically get to choose). Then they will get furniture for me.
As my new home is not contracted yet, I don't know when I can move in. And, my current school will be getting new accommodations for the next teacher (a one room studio style apartment closer to the school), and the contract on this home is supposed to be finished on the 28th. I work on the 28th. So far, they don't know exactly when I have to move out. They have suggested I might have to move into the new home here on the 25th, and then again to my new home on the 1st (a holiday here). Or, I should move the morning of the 28th and then go to work. I dont' think so. Plus I think my new school wants me there the morning of the 28th for an introductory/registration thingy.
I should be allowed to move on the 1st. They are still trying to figure it out.
I also need to know how big my new home is so I know if I can take all of my stuff or not (I have a coffee table, tv table, etc) I don't want to take it all there if it won't fit. I guess I'll be able to figure that out this weekend. I also have to pack sometime soon. I HATE packing. And I have nothing to put my stuff in. I have some things that I got the last time I was working in Korea, as well as the stuff I brought and what I bought. I came with two big suitcases, but one broke on the way (the handles fell off) so I got rid of it, so now I am in desperate need boxes or bags or what ever I can find. I don't want to go to the post office to buy boxes just to use for moving (I don't particularly want to carry them home, for one). I think my new school will help me move, but I have to pack first.
Anyway... the last two weeks here will be fairly easy, as the kindy finishes on the 20th (and the 19th is a holiday). That means my last 6 days are afternoon teaching only. YAY!!!
My first day at the new school is the 2nd.