my new digs

The new semester begins tomorrow. I was wrong about having a four-day weekend, as it turns out. Before things get really crazy, I think it's high time I showed you some pictures of my apartment:

The entry foyer with its vestibule for shoes. (There's also a storage cabinet to the right.) Koreans, like other Asian cultures, have this thing about wearing shoes indoors...

The stunningly large and spacious bathroom. Most Korean bathrooms have the whole room as the shower, with the sink and toilet getting soaked every time you clean yourself. It's rare to find a Western-style bathroom like this. I ain't complainin'.

Immediately as you enter, the bathroom is on the right, and this kitchenette is on the left. The range is composed of two electric burners. Apparently the toaster oven is something of a rarity in Korean apartments as well. That's the (clothes) washing machine open in the center of the photo there. No dryer.

Most of what you see here already came with the apartment. Except for the desk, that is. I pilfered it from the hallway.

Entering the living room and turning around gives you this view.

Remember how I said that there's no clothes dryer? That's where this handy rack comes in.

The staircase to the loft.

My nightstand.

Management gave me a rather nice sheet set...or rather, not. Koreans don't believe in sheets. There's a fitted sheet, a comforter and a duvet or whatever. No actual sheet sheets. Weird.

The view of my living room from the loft...neato-keen!

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the view from my ninth-floor window. The long, low building behind the soccer field is a school. The brown brick building on the right is a church. And behind...row upon serried row of apartment buildings. Koreans live vertically.

So, one small day of madness separates me from the weekend. I've got plans for that weekend, too, which I shall tell you about after they materialize. Until then...wish me luck tomorrow folks.

Your favorite expatriate English teacher, signing off.