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What should a first timer bring to SK?
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maxxx_power



Joined: 17 Mar 2003
Location: BWAHAHAHAHA! I'M FREE!!!!!!!

PostPosted: Sat Mar 22, 2003 10:02 am    Post subject: What should a first timer bring to SK? Reply with quote

Any advice for a newbie? Try to think back to the stuff you wished you had brought but forgot.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Someone told me to bring deodorant so I got that covered, anything else?

What types of clothing should I pack, I'll be in Inchon?
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Dan



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Sunny Glendale, CA

PostPosted: Sat Mar 22, 2003 11:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

some clothes for all seasons. something that will keep you entertained (for me that was a laptop)

other than that, nothing that you can't get in korea in one form or another.

oh wait, bring cheese. lol
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maxxx_power



Joined: 17 Mar 2003
Location: BWAHAHAHAHA! I'M FREE!!!!!!!

PostPosted: Sat Mar 22, 2003 12:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'll bring some pre-sliced ultra processed American cheese Shocked
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shawner88



Joined: 01 Feb 2003

PostPosted: Sat Mar 22, 2003 12:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bring:

your unbridled enthusiasm

your unyielding desire for drinking

your appetite for the new and exotic

your huddled masses

your smurf collection (a must have here, smurfs are hard to find)
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jsmac



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Gangwon-do

PostPosted: Sat Mar 22, 2003 7:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Do a search on this topic, it has been covered extensively.
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paulzerzan



Joined: 09 Feb 2003

PostPosted: Sat Mar 22, 2003 9:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I always tell people to bring pillows. When I first came to Korea in 1989 only Korean pillows (large, hard, log-shaped things) were available. Perhaps this is no longer true but that experience so impacted me (and the shape of my neck) that I still pass the advice on.

Ship yourself a bunch of books. Book rate is cheap and will only take 2 months (tops) to arrive. You will have something to look forward to for two months, and some good reading after that.

If you eat oatmeal, bring some. It is often impossible to find.

When you get here don't ever blow your nose in a restaurant (you shouldn't do that anywhere but ESPECIALLY in Korea). Also, don't give a Korean any used item as it is regarded as a big insult.
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schwa



Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Location: Yap

PostPosted: Sat Mar 22, 2003 10:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bring nothing & redefine your needs.
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The Great Wall of Whiner



Joined: 24 Jan 2003
Location: Middle Land

PostPosted: Sat Mar 22, 2003 10:45 pm    Post subject: well Reply with quote

Things I had a hell of a time finding in Korea:


Tums or Roll-Aids!

Also, decafe coffee (they have it, but it's instant).

Maple syrup for pancakes

Good sugar-free gum (it exists, but I don't like the taste)

Lasagna noodles
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weatherman



Joined: 14 Jan 2003
Location: Korea

PostPosted: Sat Mar 22, 2003 11:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

schwa wrote:
Bring nothing & redefine your needs.


I couldn't have said it better myself.
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chi-chi



Joined: 15 Jan 2003

PostPosted: Sun Mar 23, 2003 2:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Aspirin, vitamin C, flu medicine, cough medicine, other types of vitamins (A, B) if you take them...
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eamo



Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.

PostPosted: Sun Mar 23, 2003 2:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This should belong on the pet peeve thread but it might be apt here as well. Pants (trousers where I come from) are not sold in various leg-lengths. Only super-long. Perfect for all those 6' 5". One is supposed to buy super-long, then, go to a sewing-person/tailor and have them cut and hemmed to order. It's a pain and it doesn't work well because the pants lose their shape and look terrible when worn.

So.... The point is, I recommend any one coming to bring a lot of pants and don't bother with a lot of shoes, coats, sweaters and shirts/t-shirts which are nice 'n cheap here.
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OiGirl



Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Location: Hoke-y-gun

PostPosted: Sun Mar 23, 2003 7:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I like the part about "redefine your needs."

Maple syrup, even artificially-flavored stuff, is difficult to find. (Does it still come in little packets in the hotcake mix bag? I prefer French toast...)

I take some corn syrup, heat it on the stove, maybe thicken it with dark brown sugar, add cinnamon, nutmeg (from any good baking shop) and have my own syrup. I find that I don't particularly like maple syrup much when I go home.

Can anyone else share how they have "made do" in Korea? Not adopting Korean things (I've done a lot of that, too!) but improvising neither home nor Korean solutions to your desires?
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MrTESL



Joined: 17 Mar 2003
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Sun Mar 23, 2003 8:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A hard thing to answer: you really won't know what you *should* have brought until you get here and see what you can stand to live without.

I'm surprised to see asprin and vitamin c, of all things, on this list, as you can find it on every streetcorner. I also didn't know so many Canadians actually buy, eat, and miss maple syrup!

Bringing nothing is the best approach - you'll probably learn more about yourself that way. Something that you feel you can't live without may seem a little petty in Korea. Coming to Korea made me realize how much time I was wasting with TV - even an hour a day is too much. It was only by living without a TV that I saw the err of my ways.

And let's face it - with a credit card and an internet connection, you get get pretty much anything from anywhere sent to your door in a pinch.

Sometimes you don't even need the credit card.



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http://members.rogers.com/tesl/
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MrTESL



Joined: 17 Mar 2003
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Sun Mar 23, 2003 9:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oh yeah - bring some photos of your hometown, your family, the street you live on - anything.

The stuff will be pure gold in the classroom, and your students will be fascinated. I'm consistantly surprised at what my students find interesting in these photos, and it really helps close the language gap.



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William Beckerson
Guest




PostPosted: Sun Mar 23, 2003 10:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you happen to have a lot of it around:

Patience
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