Really? The don't sell deodorant?

So we're getting closer and trying to decide what we need to bring...and apparently they don't really sell deodorant on Korea.  The Korean people (and Asian people in general) don't possess the same number of apocrine glands as other races which are the glands that produce body odor...from Google Answers:

Thank you for a very interesting question. Well, I'm not sure whether Asians should shower less frequently! However, it is true that they have less body odor than other races. The reason for this is not bacterial related but is caused by the amount of apocrine glands they have in their body. Asians have fewer apocrine glands than almost any other race. “Apocrine glands, which produce scents that we commonly refer to as body odor, vary widely among the races. Asians have an extremely low distribution of apocrines (Koreans are among the least odor-producing people on Earth—50% of them have no apocrine glands at all). With regard to other races, blacks have a slightly higher distribution of apocrine glands than whites.”

Who knew??

We found this YouTube video which is really helpful in knowing what stuff to bring when we leave for Daegu...

DC in Daegu

This is how it started...on October 9 (Nancy's Birthday btw) I got this email from a colleague of mine:

Hi,

I received a request from a former national award winning teacher, Gary Odom, who left Brevard schools last year with his wife and two young children to teach in China, but by fate ended up in Korea teaching at an amazing facility. He has just recently taken on the position of principal there and is willing to help someone from Brevard get a position in their school next year teaching physics, calculus and/or Spanish.  Preferably a single or married teaching couple.  He will find a job for the spouse no matter what they do if he can get physics or calculus covered by the other spouse.

He and his family love it there and don't plan on coming back to Florida or the U.S. anytime soon. And here is part of the reason why:

“Next trip is our three week Christmas break and we are spending seven nights going from Brisbane to Sydney and then taking a thirteen day cruise around New Zealand.

Spring Break seven days in BALI!!!!!!

On the way home in June we are spending a few days in Rome then taking a ten day cruise around the Mediterranean.”

If you know anyone who is interested in a life change,  teaching any of these three subjects, please let me know.  Or you can share this website www.dis.or.kr
with them and they can apply directly themselves.

Valerie

On October 18, I followed up with this email...

Hi Gary,

I work with Valerie Harville at Brevard Public Schools and she emailed me about some teaching positions (specifically AP Calculus) at Daegu International School.  I am currently the Secondary Math Resource Teacher for BPS and my wife Nancy is a mathematics teacher at Merritt Island High School.  We are both very interested in the possibility of teaching at your school.  I taught AP Calculus (as well as AP Statistics) at Cocoa High School prior to working for the District.  I also have a background in Education Technology having been a Technology Integrator for Brevard Schools for 5 years.  Nancy has 23 years of classroom experience in teaching math at the high school level.  In 2007 she was awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching for the State of Florida, the highest award that can be attained by a classroom teacher.  In addition, we are both National Board Certified Teachers.

Both Nancy and I feel that we would be valuable additions to your faculty at DIS.  We would be happy to provide resumes, cover letters, copies of our teaching certificates and any other documentation you require.   

I look forward to hearing from you and to the possibility of working at your amazing school.  Thank you for your time and consideration.

A few more emails were exchanged along with a Skype interview and by December, Nancy and I were signing a 2 year contract to teach at Daegu International School in Daegu, Korea...holy crap!!!

So this blog is how we'll be sharing our experiences teaching math in South Korea as well as our travels in the Far East.  

Please feel free to comment or contact us...감사합니다