Moving Day (3 September)

Moving day is finally here!  As of today, I no longer have to worry about mould in my apartment and although I’m still dreading the schlep of moving, at least the end is in sight.  Catfish arrives at 8:30am to help me pack the last of my things.  Again, I can’t believe how many things I now have. 

I’m anticipating having to carry boxes myself but two ajeoshis arrive with big baskets into which we pack several small boxes, bags and loose items to move more conveniently.  Catfish, M and I don’t have to do anything apart from clarify what has to be moved and where.  When they move my desk and bookshelf, I’m dismayed to see that the backboards of both of these are completely covered in mould.  I have already cleaned the mould off of the front surfaces of these but I didn’t think to check the back of these.

It takes about 90 minutes to load everything onto the two trucks and I decide to simply close my eyes and trust that everything will be fine as the three of us head to my new apartment.

New Home

At the new apartment, it takes a little less time to move everything despite the apartment being on the 10^th floor.  My bed is disassembled and re-assembled for me, my couch is set up and boxes are placed in the correct rooms.  I’ve been dreading the move but it’s been a total breeze thus far and is well worth the 200,000 won that I pay.  Unpacking everything, on the other hand, is a completely different story.

My new landlady is a Korean English teacher who is currently living in Singapore.  Since she intends returning to Korea at some point, the apartment is partially furnished, which is a major advantage.  I now have a queen sized bed in the main room and my original bed is in my new guestroom.  I also have great wall-to-wall wardrobes in the main room.  It’s a three bedroom apartment with a separate lounge area, which is a bit big for a single person but it’s great to have so much space around me again.  The kitchen cupboards, however, are almost completely full as all of my landlady’s crockery is stashed in the cupboards. 

M has to leave as soon as the movers are done with everything but Catfish is my slave for the afternoon.  I hate organising kitchens and am relieved that Catfish doesn’t mind doing this while I get to work unpacking other boxes in my bedroom and study.  Of course, moving wouldn’t be quite the same if at least one box weren’t dropped: Murphy’s Law dictates that the only box to be dropped today is the one containing all of my plates and bowls.  At least my landlady has copious amounts of these that I can use in the interim.