Moving Abroad (Landing)

Hello,

                Wintermute here bringing you your daily dose of Dumbr. So we went over pre departure plans, flight arrangements, now for some tips when you land. Most of these will sound like the ramblings of a paranoid traveler with major trust issues and you would be correct. But better safe than sorry in my opinion.

1.       Pictures: Earlier I mentioned to bring a digital camera, here’s why: When you move into your new apartment, take pictures of everything, the walls, cabinets, drawers, desks, ceiling, sinks, windows, tiling. Look for any blemish, smudge, scuff, mark, bruise, or tear. Most likely you will be replacing an old teacher, so you need to make sure you don’t get blamed for any damages he may have caused, otherwise you will pay over $900. You should also write down anything you see worth mentioning and hand it to your employers with a date, so that way you can say you gave them notice.  

2.       Bank Account: First off your employer can not pay you in cash, they have to pay directly to an account, so get one early. My managers kept saying they would take me but never did, so finally one day I went to them, said I was leaving and they need to watch my class and I walked out. Seems rough? Look you need a bank account, and banks are open when you work and close before you get off, and are not open on the weekends, what can you do? If you don’t get an English speaker at the bank you are kind of SOL, it took me three or four attempts to get it right. 

3.      T.V.: You will be given a T.V., what’s it good for? Hiding stuff of course. Put any and all important documents like your passport somewhere safe and hidden. For me it’s my t.v., but why Wintermute? I’m glad you asked, your employer bought the apartment meaning they either have a key or the pass code to get into your room. Would they? I don’t know, I have heard stories of such things happening. Some employers like to do inspections to make sure you are keeping the place clean, they will claim they have the right as they own it. They will of course do this while you are working. Change your key lock or pass code.

4.       Subway/Bus Card: Go into any corner store such as Family Mart and say T-Money and hand them like 20,000 won. They will hand you a T-Money card, this lets you ride the buses and trains, you will swipe your card and it will say how much is left on it, you get free transfers so 20,000 will last a month depending on how much you travel. 

5.       Movie recommendation: “Karate Kid” with Will Smiths kid. It teaches you how to use a shower.

Well good job, you successfully made your way to Korea and survived the first day. Enjoy the rest of your stay and thank you for flying Dumbr Airlines.

Your flight Coach,

Wintermute