This is my apartment. This is where I live.

Yo. So finally, the pictures are taken (after a bit of tidying) and they are ripe to be posted here. So, with no further ado, ladies and gentleman (yeojas and namchas), this is my apartment:

I live in a moderately large single apartment. There is no bedroom, as evidenced by my bed sitting in the middle of the floor next to my desk, coffee table and nightstand. Note that the bed is on the floor, a la Asia style. There is very little to say about the bed arrangement except that it is very difficult to get out of my bed after frisbee practices on the weekends. For those of you who have lived with me before (that's you, sarah, paigey, ali & stella, and nicki too, who didn't technically live with me, but knows all about how I roll anyways), please not the mild accumulation of things on one side of my bed. Old habits die hard, my friends, or they don't die at all. I'm doing my best to keep this pile to a minimum, but it is a bit difficult. In my first two weeks, I was given about a zillion sheets of paper with important information, and I don't really have anyplace to put them, since my apartment is lacking in the desk department. The desk truly is the crappiest part of the arrangement. For some reason unbeknownst to me, there is packing tape ALL over my desk. I peeled some off, but it left a sticky residue of tape adhesive that was a huge pain to remove (luckily, they have BAM cleaner here, and that my aparment already had some). For those of you who care to make sentimental notes: 1) LOEF quilt, which I use nightly. 2) Giraffe items from Kate, Teen, Justin & Alisha litter my nightstand, as well as my door. 3) Where's Wally photo book sitting on my coffee table. That completes my list of all the comforts of home that I brought with me. If anyone would like to mail me additional giraffe things they happen to stumble across, that would be stellar. Holla bout my addy.

My kitchen is relatively small, but does the trick. I have a microwave which is sweet. I also have a french press, but I made the unfortunate mistake of purchasing an enormous bag of coffee (see the big yellow bag off to the left) without verifying that it is, indeed, not instant. As such, I have been drinking copious amounts of very expensive instant coffee so that I can get real coffee sooner. Also note that my diet consists of a considerable flow of frosted flakes, ramen, and coke. haha. I have been eating rice twice daily, and kimchi at least daily, if not twice/day. I have two stovetop burners, and a clothes washer, but no stove. This is truly unfortunate as it precludes me from having home-baked cookies/brownies/cupcakes/muffins/cake for a full year.

I lucked out in terms of a bathroom. By this I mean, I have the following: a huge medicine cabinet to store all my toiletries (multiple what you see in the picture by two) and, more importantly, a shower. When I say that I lucked out by having a shower, I mean that most people do not have an actually shower. They do not have a bathtub, or a shower stall or anything of that nature. Instead, most people have a showerhead that rests just over the sink that the user must adjust to provide a stream of water that is a simulcrum of a shower, but in truth is really little more than a hose. I mean, yes, it's a shower head (one of those ones you can move around, that I can't think of the name of), but without an actual showerhead, it kind of lacks the je ne sais quoi of a real shower. Plus it gets all your shit wet, including the floor which you must then use jelly sandals to walk on as you finish getting ready for bed/the day. While jelly shoes may make you feel warm and fuzzy with nostalgia of the ease of childhood as represented by those glittery sandals you used to don 24.7, trust me, it will wear off after just a week of forgetting to use them and stepping in a puddle of cold water around your toilet or sink. So yeah, I have a shower, which pretty much rules. Plus my toilet can flush toilet paper, which many cannot.

The bathroom is in the hallway near the door. Also in the entry is way more closet storage than a single person could possibly EVER need. I have FOUR closets that are approximately equal in size to the ONE I had in Hume. The unfortunate thing is that I do NOT have a dresser. Luckily, there are a few drawers and shelves in the closets. Seriously though, I could probably purchase 100 new clothing items, and would still have leftover space. This is a bad thing because my closets seem sad and lonely and empty, and I long to fill them with fabulous pink Korean fashion. I have already bought a skirt, and I see many many more in my future. Please also note the plethora of shoes sitting at the door. How I am adapting to the Korean way of life! I take my shoes of whenever I go inside. Any visitors will be expected to do the same. I roll like Dianey's mom now. :-)

Now one to the best, and least functional aspect of my apartment: the LOFT! Now this is the part of my apartment that is the most envy-inducing amongst the other teachers, but frankly, it seems pointless to me. I can't stand there. My bed in on the first floor (although I would really like it to be in the loft, I can't move it up the stairs. It takes to much work to angle it properly and I don't have the time, energy or strength to do it). I made a sort of lounge space up there, but the only thing that lounges up there is my luggage and a vacuum. My t.v. and new dvd player are up there as well, but seeing as how I get just 5 channels of t.v. (all of which are Korean), I don't spend much time watch the boob tube. Additionally, I am typically so tired by the end of the day of classes, errands and dinner making that the thought of spending two hours watching a movie is overwhelming. As a result, it is just a cool space that remains unused as of yet. Additionally, I sincerely apologize for the overabundance of pastel pink and purple in the decorations. I found this in my apartment and it seemed better than spending money on seating and what not. All lucky visitors will get to spend the night in the fluffy corner of candy colors. I'm probably gonna get some more floor cushions and stuff from this little shop in the dongincheon underground shopping mall.

So. That is my apartment. Next post is about public transportation. I haven't had too many follies as of yet, and hopefully I can continue on my lucky streak for as long as possible.

I love you all dearly. I hope that the pictures of my apartment are enough to stave you off for a little while.

xoxo,
A

p.s. Today my students bought me sweet potato pizza for dinner tonight because I am helping them make a song/dance routine for an English festival. By helping them make, I mean I am participating in said song/dance routine. The song/dance is going to be amazing and the pizza was delectable. More on this later!