Trip to Costco

Every couple of weeks the school offers a bus trip to Costco. It takes about fifteen minutes to get there and we get exactly one hour to shop. It's a race against time with two floors and lots of carts. Next time you go to Costcoland you can appreciate the prices after taking a glance at these! It is often cheaper to go out to eat than to purchase seasonings and fresh products.

One of the teachers has her own cart ready to fill.

One floor for food and one for clothes/dry goods.

Same layout as in the States.

A four pack of butter is $26!

Almost $22 for a box of small yogurts.

Half-gallon of milk is $4.50.

$29 for a container of mixed nuts, ouch!

The macadamias will set you back almost $30 for 25 oz. 

$17 for pecan or pumpkin pie.

Almost $17 for 2 Skippys.

Twelve bucks for a container of pretzels.

Good thing I don't like marshmallows, over $8 a bag!

Bag of mini Snickers $20

Just like at home there are lots of samples! Behind her are the three packs of Alaskan salmon which is the only seafood from the NW I can find. There's tons of squid, octopus and anchovies here, but I miss the salmon, halibut and Dungeness. 

Noodles of course!

Cheese is really expensive, $40 for a wedge of parm.

Good ole' roasted chicken. I get a couple of these each time, only $7.

If you gotta have your Cheetos, it'll be $9 for the bag!

Look familiar? Hot dogs $2, pizza $2.50, calzone $4. All about the same price as home. After not eating bread and cheese here for a couple of months a slice of the pizza sat in my stomach like a rock!

Checkout goes quick as there is no short supply of staff at any store, anytime. There are greeters at most shops.

I had to do it.

Fruit is so costly it is wrapped and given as gifts. Over $100 for some apples and pears in this fancy box. We generally pay at least a dollar for every small apple, orange or pear from street vendors.

Yup, that's fifty big ones for a couple of cantaloupes! Watermelons are the same.
My juicer is only used for very special occasions!

It hurts to pay $25 for oatmeal!! 

Take a Walk in My Neighborhood

 Bundang-gu is the largest and most populous district of Seongnam, a major city in the Seoul Capital Area, South Korea. Bundang is one of South Korea's wealthiest and highest developed areas, being the nation's first and largest completely artificial city built in the early 1990s. Many high-rise luxury condos moved in the early 2000s. Apartments and the high-rise luxury condos around Sunae Station rival prices in the most expensive areas in the country. Unlike older cities such as Seoul, Bundang has no telephone poles overground, resulting in a clean cityscape with well-designed streets.

Bundang is the headquarters of Korea's leading IT companies such as Naver and KT. Pangyo's Technovalley is home to the country's leading game, entertainment and technology companies such as KakaoTalk, Samsung Techwin, AhnLab, Nexon, NCSOFT and Hancom. Due to its close proximity to Seoul's affluent commercial center, Gangnam District, many residents also commute to Gangnam Station. 

Bundang is home to many Koreans who lived overseas and the European-styled cafe streets serving brunch and pastas reflect their culture. The city has a high percentage of parks and greenspace, most notably Bundang Central Park and Yuldong Park, which is built around the Bundang lake. Bundang's Seoul National University Hospital is among the largest in South Korea.

This is my building, Royal Palace, Housevill. I don't know why they left off the "e" in ville.  I'm on the 16th floor. On the second floor is a doctor's office, fitness center, dry cleaner, playground, restaurant, travel agency, store etc,.

 

Just a block outside of my building is a 25K riverside walk/rideway that has all sorts of opportunities for exercise including bike paths, workout machines, golf, volleyball, dog parks, childrens climbing structures etc,. I try to walk for an hour after school everyday. It is so pleasant and cheerful.

 

Clean bathrooms along the paths.

There's lots of food available in the hood. You can have anything delivered. My goal is to learn enough Koran to be able to call and order a meal delivered to my apartment. On Sunday the recycle area is stacked eight feet high with empty delivery boxes.  Also, no delivery charge and no tipping! As you can see by the above photo they deliver on four wheelers as well as scooters.

Traditional Korean style restaurant. You cook your own meat/veggies. This is the most popular style of dining for the locals.

Some of the signs miss the mark a bit in translation!

This pedestrian boulevard is just steps outside of my building goes along for about five blocks.  It's lined with restaurants, shops, and some street vendors selling socks, hats and food.

Wanna buy a Mini Cooper? You'll have to take this one off the front of the building! 

The local grocery store.

Yeah they're ubiquitous. 

I like to look at pics of the food before I decide.

Guess what they are serving!

Mobile phone stores and coffee houses are on every street.

This is the big department store, Lotte, a block away from my place. It's like a Nordstrom but way more expensive!  My favorite part is the bottom floor that has a huge food court and grocery store.  

There are 700 Starbucks in Seoul, and growing! They do not sell drip coffee, everyone orders sugary latte type drinks. It'll set you back about $7 each.

7-Elevens are huge here.

The Baskin and Robbins is just one of the many ice cream shops. I love a locally made cantaloupe flavored ice cream bar.

Vendor selling hats.  Notice the Dunkin Donuts in the background--they are everywhere.

More School Photos

        My office.  There are five subs all with masters degrees who have desks in this room.

                                      Katie is from Minnesota and Josef is from Denver.

                                                        The performing arts center.

                                  Pre-K classroom. Has a huge playroom next door.

                                                             Raquet ball anyone?

 This is the daily salad bar. Lettuce, tuna fish, veggies, tofu, nuts, seeds and sweet potatoes.
 It's my choice for $2.50.  There is also a full Western menu daily that features your typical meal with meat, potatoes, pasta, veg, bread and dessert.  It's not always gonna taste like home, but pretty close!

 This is what a 9th grade science classroom looks like.  Small groups using serious microscopes, taking photos with their cameras and entering data on their computers. It's cool to watch them learn.

                              Sky bridge and outdoor area for studying or choir concerts.

 These are the students in the second grade Spanish class. They have a choice of four languages and most already speak two or three.

 

                                       Professional development room and conference room.

                                             Staff rooms have eating/lounging areas and supplies.

                                                                More supply rooms.

 When students take quizzes they put barriers up on desks for privacy. Because they test so often,                   there is a rule on how many tests teachers are allowed to administer on each weekday.
           The majority of students attend classes after school into the evening and on weekends.
                                                           Many also have private tutors.

 Yes! Bathrooms for teachers only on every floor! Actually all the restrooms are cleaned around the clock, so it's not even necessary.

View from the outside BB court.  The spherical silver building is called Job World. It offers kids ages 4-11 glimpses at careers in many fields with hands-on learning. It is amazing.  They actually cook,  perform live broadcasts even have a simulated spaceship! It's a day-long field trip for all students in the area.