The view from my balcony. I often stand out here as the weather has been perfect this week.
So we still don't have any internet though the landlord and DSL company say everything is fine. Well that's news to me since we don't even have a modem... They gave us a wireless router, plugged it into the wall and said it worked, but when I said it wasn't connecting to the internet they just said "slow connection". No. No connection. lol (I'm bumming from a sketchy connection with no password right now.)
TI is sending forceful emails because the apartment was supposed to be move-in ready, and we are missing batteries in remotes, missing one AC remote completely, the water jug spout didn't work, the water heater and gas were turned off so we had to figure out how to turn them on, two lights are burnt out, there were no towels or bowls, we only have one rfid key and they couldn't figure out how to put a code in the door for keyless entry (I finally figured it out myself a few minutes before the maintenance guy arrived), but then I took that opportunity to inform him that the fire sprinkler in the bathroom had started leaking. Also we have no coffee table which I thought was optional, but all the other TI-ers here have one and nicer couches and better dining table and chairs, so the least we could be given is a small, cheap coffee table. But I'm working on one thing at a time right now, since everything seems to move slower here.
My contact to help with stuff is Ramon, who also comes by to clean our apartments twice a week. He's nice, but I don't think he speaks great English because every time I ask him something he responds "yes" which apparently like Japanese culture means anything, because they don't like saying no.
UPDATE: I just texted the landlord and all of a sudden things started happening! Apparently the news of what needed to happen wasn't being told to the right people, so all of a sudden everyone showed up to fix lights, replace remotes and fix the leaky sprinkler! Now I just need internet, coffee table and second AC remote and we're in business for three months! Yay!
Aside from the above craziness, the apartment and building are nice and don't feel too small for Chris and I to live in for a while (he's already cool to come back for a year, but more on that later-lol).
There's always a smell of smoke and haze in the air because people are constantly burning brush and I think trash, but I can't tell because it's mostly in the mountains. But I'll see 4-6 fires a day just from my view on the balcony which faces North. Which is nice because I don't get the afternoon or evening sun, so the temp is pretty constant all day. Though I really like these small ceiling AC units and the remotes for them, and will like them even better once I know what 18-30 degrees Celsius is in Farenheit. :)
We've gone to some nice restaurants so far and haven't gotten sick from water or wheat yet! Horrah!! The prices for prepared food here aren't bad ($5 for single serve fajitas, $7 for a pitcher of frozen margarita) though fancy drinks and Cokes seems to be the same at about $2 per glass. Clark where we are staying has more American and upscale places as does the SM Clark mall, whereas once you get off the beaten path and pass through the checkpoints, you find the lower-end, but not quite whole-in-the-wall places. The food has been great at all these establishments (yellow seafood curry, samgyupsal, bibimbap, kimchi (not bad!), and more).
This is bibimbap (no meat) with kimchi in the top left, some pasta I didn't try, some fishy thing with a quail egg that was delicious, and miso soup. We got these at the Food Mall at the Seoul airport.
That's all for now. I'm off to eat lunch with the hubby and hopefully have internet upon our return.
Later I will tell you about our trip to the wine shop, the craziness and sadness of Walking Street, and about the other TI-ers I've met here (all really cool). Until then, I leave you with a pretty view from the balcony after sunset. I could get used to this. :)
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