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        When you first sign up for this program, they make it clear that you’re going to a rural area.  That’s just part of the deal.  But then you get to Korea and they put you up in college dorms with a couple hundred other people, take you to Seoul a couple times, and you forget all about it.  You start to adjust and you think, “So this is my life now.”  And then the rug gets swept out from under you.
        Of course, I knew it was coming, but it was still kind of surprising to finally arrive in my town and face the reality of it.  Still, my first impression: the place is gorgeous.  It’s a tiny town surrounded by giant green mountains on every side.  There’s a small river that runs through it.  And there are cows in my backyard.

The town square.  Just kidding.

My new best friend.

        I’m living right outside the elementary school in what’s called a “teacher house.”  It’s got a bedroom, a kitchen/dining room area, and a bathroom.  So while it is small, it’s definitely enough for me, and a little more than I was actually expecting.
     

My bedroom, which is basically a dorm room.

 

Dining room/Kitchen.  I went a little picture crazy in this post because I finally got my camera fixed.

Where I pretend to cook.

From the outside.  My house is the left half (number 8).
The surrounding brick wall got damaged in the recent typhoon.

        Since Daedeok (my town) is about two hours away from the nearest city (Gwangju), I think most teachers live in the teacher houses during the week and then go to their apartments in Gwangju on the weekends.  I’ll probably head up to the city most weekends as well, because there’s not a whole lot going on here.  I’d guess there are around a couple thousand people in the area, and the place basically shuts down at 7 pm.  Rural is definitely the right word for it.

Elementary school!

        Anyway, my first day here, my mentor teacher took me to dinner at a Korean BBQ place with some of the other guys at my school.  There was the gym teacher, the custodian, a sports coach, and me.  My mentor teacher was the only one who spoke English, and even he didn’t speak much.  Here's an example of a conversation I had with the coach:
        Coach:  "LA?"
        Me:  "Am I from LA?  I'm from Missouri."
        Coach:  *confused look*
        Me:  "I've been to LA."
        Coach:  *confused look*
        Me:  "LA good.  I like LA."
        Coach: *smiles, nods*
        So for the most part they just talked in Korean and poured me a bunch of drinks, which I'm not complaining about.  They were all really nice, and it was funny to see the dynamic between them without even understanding the language.  You could tell who the joker was, the responsible one, the quiet one, etc.  The joker, for example, kept pointing at me and saying “Meeester B” and laughing.  Then everybody else laughed, too.  I had no idea what he meant, but after a while, I gave up trying and just laughed along with them.  Only later did I learn that he had been saying “Mister Bean.”

I swear to God, I look nothing like him.

        The next day, I met the whole school staff.  I introduced myself, and when I said I was 25 (you add one for Korean age) all the female teachers started giggling.  I think I’m the youngest here by about three or four years.  Apparently I don’t look that young, though, so they were all kinda shocked.  In the US, people think I’m sixteen, but here, I look like I’m thirty.  There's no explaining it.
        Anyway, one of my favorite people so far has been the vice principal.  She doesn’t speak any English, which goes for most of the adults here.  The first time I walked in the room, she was shouting at the top of her lungs into the phone.
        “Oh,” said one of the younger teachers, “She’s just talking to principal.”
        So the VP definitely seems like a no-nonsense woman, but she’s also hilarious.  One time, she brought in ice cream for us, and we were sitting on the couches along with a couple younger female teachers.  The VP started talking in Korean to one of them, and then she pointed at me, and said, “handsome handsome,” along with the other teachers.  After that, she got one of the teachers to ask if I had a girlfriend.
“Uh…no.”
“Why?”
“Umm… I don’t know.”
Then the VP pointed at the fairly attractive teacher sitting next to me as if to say, “Well, how about her?”  Everyone cracked up.        
All in all, the people here have been incredibly nice to me.  I'm pretty sure they're worried that I’m going to die out here because I’m alone and I don’t know Korean.  As a result of this, they’ve gone out of their way to be kind, and really I think that’s something you can only find in small, tight-knit communities.  What more can I say?  I’m happy.