Hard to believe it's the end of July already.

We've been here in Yongin City aka Jukjeon for about two weeks now. There are definitely some differences between where we live now and where we lived before. While John enthusiastically appreciates some of the differences, I'm not quite as keen on them. The big difference is location. In Ilsan, we were right smack dab in the downtown area, just a block and a half away from the subway station and the bus stop. John's school was not near by and that required him to take a bus which meant that he ususally wasn't home until around 6 at night even though he got done with work at 5:15. Here, John is just five minutes away from work by foot but we're a bit farther from the subway and bus stops than we were before and usually, it's a bit of a hike to get from here to there, a hike that includes hills and crossing streets that are not very well regulated by traffic lights and even when they are, the driver's don't always heed the red lights which can be frustrating at times when you're trying to cross the street with your three year old (makes it a bit of a life and death adventure as well). So far, I'm able to handle the hike though on warm, muggy days it can be a bit much and with my one foot giving me issues, not something I can just up and do every day (if I overdo it one day, like yesterday, I tend to be out pretty much all of the next day). It has gotten to where we will use a taxi to get home because even with the buses going from the subway station (which is where the department store and the E-mart are), they tend to stop a bit aways from where we need to go while the taxi takes us right to the door for about 100 won more than it used to cost John and I to take the bus one way (Natalie's free on the bus) and 100 won is only about 10 cents so really, not that much at all. So, when you look at it that way, taking the taxi definitely is the better deal especially if we have to carry any large items home like a computer desk (which we may be getting at some point). Still, there's just not very much in the area we live in which is a bit different than how it was in Ilsan and I kind of miss that. Having all that stuff nearby really got me out and about doing things I normally would never do in the summertime namely, leaving the house when it was warmer than I liked which usually was most of it (though I've heard that Wisconsin actually had an usually COOL summer this year which I'm really annoyed about because I MISSED IT and the chance to have to wear long sleeves in July). Now, it takes more of an effort but John is finding places we can go along the subway (admittedly, most of that has been purely by accident by getting on the wrong bus) and that may help to get me out more. I'm also hoping I can still meet up with my one friend and hopefully at some point meet up some other people who live closer but unfortunately, getting friendships to go beyond the internet isn't any easier here than it was back at home. Ilsan is two hours by subway from here so I'm not always going to be able to get up there to meet with the moms I have met so far but at the moment, considering I know where everything is up there, there's motivation for me to go there.

The past couple of weeks have definitely been a challenge though. When we first got here, we had nothing as far as kitchen items outside of the things we brought with us from the last place which wasn't much so we've had to go and do some shopping and get a lot of that (which John is supposed to be reimbursed for). There were no pots or pans or dishes or anything of that nature, we've pretty much had to completely stock up the kitchen so that's been fun especially as many kitchen items here in Korea are really not all that cheap. There at least was a bed (which can be iffy as Koreans tend to sleep on mats on the floor). That is a queen which is a great size for all three of us (though Natalie does have a couple of mats to sleep on those nights when John and I want to sleep alone together) and it's nice and firm but not TOO firm (some beds can feel as hard as the floor, the last one in our place did until we broke it in a little). It is, however, on the floor which John has been trying to get fixed since we moved here. We also had no internet for more than a week and that was definitely a challenge for me as most of my social life is through the computer via Facebook and online forums. I spent most of the offline time playing Sims 2 though and watching a few episodes of Star Trek Voyager. It helped that I got one of my old neighborhoods for Sims 2 in the game that's on my current computer. I ended up with two games on two different computers for awhile and recently figured out how to get some of the stuff from the one computer into the game I have on this one. Been looking at stuff for Sims 3 but really thinking that I want to keep with Sims 2 for now. I can remember how hard it was at first to play Sims 2 with all the stuff that was on the original Sims by the time Maxis stopped making expansion packs and it was rough so I'm waiting and I'm hoping by the time I get home and get a desktop, Sims 3 will have an expansion pack (or two) and will be even better than it is now. Meanwhile, I still have two expansion packs to get for Sims 2 in order to fully enjoy all it has to offer.

Things are coming along though and John enjoys his new job which is the most important thing. He doesn't have too many kids and they're all older and pretty well disciplined (which was one of the problems he was having with the last place, that and the fact that he was basically expected NOT to discipline them but let them do what they wanted, especially the kindergarten age kids which were basically not much older than Natalie and at that nasty pre-five age I'm disliking so much because it is SUCH a challenge to deal with). The fact that he only works five minutes from home is a huge bonus because then he can come home for lunch and get home right after work though that is for July and August only. Once the regular school year starts up again, he goes from noon to six and he probably won't have a lunch break during that time. I'm sure once that starts we'll get a schedule all figured out. We are right by a park so he and Natalie can go before he goes to work (as long as it is not raining which, being monsoon season at the moment, is just about everyday). So, other than the fact that it's not quite as convenient to the action as the last place was and the apartment is TINY, it's not too bad of a gig so far. Will it work the whole year? We'll see, I guess. Hard to be optimistic about anything at this point after all the issues John had with the last two jobs.

We're moving...AGAIN!

Well, to be honest, we're already just about all moved. Oh boy was THAT an adventure. It's also one of those things where you really do not realize just how much stuff you have until you try to move it. There was not furniture to move but we had clothes, suitcases, food, a laundry basket, a small hamper, plus a few boxes of TOYS. So, taking all that on the subway was not going to be an option (yikes!). Fortunately, the coordinator for the new school John's working at (more on that in a moment), sent a moving person. He loaded up all the stuff (with a little help from John) and after a bunch of talking back and forth on cell phones with the coordinator, we ALL bunch into the front seat of this truck and off we went! Yeah, first thing to learn about Korea, no car seat laws here and we had Natalie on John's lap the whole time. And yes, I was nervous as can be about it too, especially as we were going a good 80 km/mile on the roads. The old place is just north of Seoul and we were moving south of Seoul, the whole trip was about 50 km (sorry, it's all in km, don't exactly know what the conversion is) which I think is about 30 miles? But it was a LOOOONG trip even on the expressway and we saw lots of buildings, LOTS of bridges and just all kinds of different things that we don't usually see going on the subway. It was warm though and pretty muggy out so we had the windows open the whole way (not overly pleasant on my poor ear).

We FINALLY get there though with a few mishaps as far as trying to find the exact building and get everything unpacked off the truck and into the apartment. Now, how to describe that...well, I don't think apartment is the right word. SHOEBOX is more appropriate. The place is SMALL. It's supposed to be a one bedroom. Yes, it has one bedroom...sort of. There's a room with four sliding doors and then they're all closed, that makes a bedroom and there IS a bed in it and it's a queen sized bed...well, actually, a queen sized mattress on the floor (the coordinator felt that would be safer for the "baby"). There's a TV in there and places to put some clothes (if you came to the country with about five outfits per person). The "living area" is mostly kitchen with a large table and chairs. There is no couch. The fridge is the perfect size...for Natalie. It's about 4 feet tall and John figures he'll have to ask Natalie what's in the fridge. Basically, it's a dorm fridge with an added freezer. There's a microwave that we put on the fridge because there's no counter to put it on and no outlets by the little bit of counter to put anything on either. Fortunately, there is air conditioning. The bathroom has a toilet, medicine cabinet above that, a sink, and between the toilet and the sink, a thing on the wall with the shower head and that is attached to this thing on the sink.

This is where we will be living for the next year. If I don't go insane during that time I had better get a medal. Fortunately, John will be worker fewer hours and I can have him spend LOTS of time with Natalie outside. I'm convinced though that Koreans do not live in their apartments but spend all their time out and about and go out to eat. It is at least in a decent area that's within walking distance from the subway, the world's largest department store (at least that's what it said on the side of the building), and an Outback Steakhouse. So, we'll at least have things to do and we're a little closer to Seoul than we were before so we can bum around which will be good during that week John is off of work.

So that begs the question, WHY. Well, John finally got the notice that he is being replaced, officially. Back in April, the director had told him that he wasn't planning to keep John due to issues with the kindergarten class. No biggie because the director wasn't being the greatest about paying and that kind of stuff. But, it got to be two months later and we sort of started getting the idea that we were going to be staying for awhile and got the visas done, a cell phone, that kind of thing. Well, I had John ask the director the end of June to find out what was going on and that was when he was told that the new teacher was coming the 24th in time for an open house. Fortunately, he had been working with a recruiter who had a school, a public school, that needed a teacher ASAP so John got his release for the 22nd of July (two days from now). So yeah, it's been a really busy and insane month and now, we're moving to a place John has not lived in and we're both going to have to try and figure out where everything is. Should be fun. Hopefully, this will be it and a year from now, we'll have saved enough and the economy will be stable enough for us to come home. That's what I'm hoping for anyway.