Buk gu shot who in the what now?
It's been somewhat of a hectic and frustrating week, trying to get through the paperwork involved in getting an E2 visa. However, I'm also getting really excited about going to Korea now!
I have been hesitant until now to really allow myself to get excited, because I kept thinking in the back of my mind that it might not really happen, but now it's pretty certain.
So when I haven't been on the phone with my recruiter, lawyers or the consulate in Montreal, I've been doing research on Korea and on the place in which I'll be living for a year.
I'll be in Daegu, which is the third largest city in Korea, next to Seoul and Busan. It's the capital of Gyeongsanbuk-do, which is one of 8 provinces (I think) in South Korea. Daegu is divided into 7 districts and there is one county. The district I'll be in is called Buk gu, and it's to the north of the city center. The population of Buk gu is about 510 000 and it covers about 95 square kilometers.
I've had to do a lot of detective work based on the address on my contract, and I'm finding that there are quite a few interesting discrepancies when it comes to how words are spelled. I searched for Pukgu online for quite a while, and then realized the p was pronounced as a b which makes it Bukgu. Sometimes it's hyphenated, other times it isn't. Sometimes it's called Bukdeagu (and of course Pukdaegu) and sometimes Daegu is spelled and pronounce Taegu. I haven't been able to find it on a map, so I've been trying to get an idea of where it is based on what's around it...but then the names of those places have various spellings too! It's fun though, and I love looking at Daegu on google maps and trying to imagine being there, across the world.
Besides paper work, I've been trying to get a list of things to bring made up. Interestingly, I've heard from a few people that it's a good idea to bring bed sheets, since they're difficult to find in Korea. Apparently the traditional way of sleeping doesn't involve bed sheets. I find this intriguing. How does that work? Just blankets?
Deodorant is another big one. I find this hard to believe, but I've read Korean people don't sweat a whole lot and mostly don't use deodorant.
I've also been told that toilet paper is not supplied in public washrooms, and that people generally bring a roll with them when they go out.
I leave you with an odd and embarrassing picture of me in my baggy long johns, partly because it kind of fits in here (toilet paper in the background) and because I don't have any other new pictures to show and I feel that there should be at least one picture with each post. Maybe if you're feeling bad about yourself and your appearance this will brighten up your day ("at least I don't look like that when I go to bed at night!").
I have been hesitant until now to really allow myself to get excited, because I kept thinking in the back of my mind that it might not really happen, but now it's pretty certain.
So when I haven't been on the phone with my recruiter, lawyers or the consulate in Montreal, I've been doing research on Korea and on the place in which I'll be living for a year.
I'll be in Daegu, which is the third largest city in Korea, next to Seoul and Busan. It's the capital of Gyeongsanbuk-do, which is one of 8 provinces (I think) in South Korea. Daegu is divided into 7 districts and there is one county. The district I'll be in is called Buk gu, and it's to the north of the city center. The population of Buk gu is about 510 000 and it covers about 95 square kilometers.
I've had to do a lot of detective work based on the address on my contract, and I'm finding that there are quite a few interesting discrepancies when it comes to how words are spelled. I searched for Pukgu online for quite a while, and then realized the p was pronounced as a b which makes it Bukgu. Sometimes it's hyphenated, other times it isn't. Sometimes it's called Bukdeagu (and of course Pukdaegu) and sometimes Daegu is spelled and pronounce Taegu. I haven't been able to find it on a map, so I've been trying to get an idea of where it is based on what's around it...but then the names of those places have various spellings too! It's fun though, and I love looking at Daegu on google maps and trying to imagine being there, across the world.
Besides paper work, I've been trying to get a list of things to bring made up. Interestingly, I've heard from a few people that it's a good idea to bring bed sheets, since they're difficult to find in Korea. Apparently the traditional way of sleeping doesn't involve bed sheets. I find this intriguing. How does that work? Just blankets?
Deodorant is another big one. I find this hard to believe, but I've read Korean people don't sweat a whole lot and mostly don't use deodorant.
I've also been told that toilet paper is not supplied in public washrooms, and that people generally bring a roll with them when they go out.
I leave you with an odd and embarrassing picture of me in my baggy long johns, partly because it kind of fits in here (toilet paper in the background) and because I don't have any other new pictures to show and I feel that there should be at least one picture with each post. Maybe if you're feeling bad about yourself and your appearance this will brighten up your day ("at least I don't look like that when I go to bed at night!").
posted by Tere | 1:15 PM
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