A lot

Well, I'm sorry that I haven't been here for a while. I couldn't get blogger to post, and then I got sick. A regular cold and I feel better now. I am very impressed with the doctors here.

So much has happened, I hardly know where to start. We have a new director, and so far I really like him. He is very polite and soft spoken, a big departure from the last one.

My apartment is very flash and I had my first official party. It was quiet but everyone seemed to have a good time and I got to help some people meet.

Work is going well, and I really love some of my classes. My problem child is starting to joke about not getting it, and we had a good time. I'm glad that he feels comfortable with me and is trying hard. My little writer is now working on a short story and I'm helping her. I told her when she is published I want my name in the acknowledgements.

My uncle just went in for open heart surgery so I'm waiting for news.
And so it goes.

Hope it works

Land of Morning Calm

Two facts- There is a high school across the street from my building. Korea is called "Land of the morning calm." For the most part, morning calm is a good description. Korea is a late night kind of country, at least here in Incheon. You can't get a cup of coffee at 8 a.m., but you can get one at 2 a.m. The bars and clubs don't slow down until 3 a.m. and if you stay up till or wake up at 5 a.m you can see the bleary eyed customers stumbling out into the cold light of day. If you wait till 6 a.m. all is quiet. But.

If you happen, like I did, to walk to the PC room at 8 a.m. "land of the morning calm" will not be the phrase that immediately leaps to mind. A mini horde of rampaging high school students almost late for school caromed around the corner and dashed in the gate just in time. I noticed a single rose tenaciously blooming by the fence.

Work is a lot more fun right now. Everyone is starting to relax a bit and joke around. We are sharing ideas and helping each other more. Even my students are getting more active (in a good way). Although it is the end of the month, and I have to get tests and evaluations done. Still, I'm looking forward to going.

In Taek kong mu sul class we learned one of the routines. I felt so bad for my teacher, who valiantly and patiently tried to explain the difference between left and right. I tried unsuccessfully to explain that I didn't know it in English, and besides I only have left feet.
And so it goes.

sorry

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. No, I'm not dead, sick or injured. Actually I'm pretty happy right at the moment.
It is 9:30 Monday morning, and the Irish would call the day "soft" there isn't a bright sun, or a harsh wind. Just a gentle haze around the sun and a soft breeze. Although the breeze is carrying hints of winter, they are just hints.
The trees in my park across from my building are starting to turn. Mostly yellow with a few dashes of red thrown in.

My head teacher is no longer with us. She left on Tuesday, and I feel happy, but I didn't realized just how stressed I was until now. I'm starting to get my energy back, but last week I felt so tired. I slept until 2pm on Saturday!

Sunday was a bit like Christmas, because I got my new bedding. Now my room doesn't look like an unfortunately pink hotel room. I got four big pillows, three middle sized pillows and a blanket/quilt all in dark green. The green is even prettier on the bed than in the picture (something that doesn't happen very often). I've put my bed against the wall, and threw the pillows around it so it looks more like a sofa than a bed. The people at the shop were very nice. First, I was able to get everything only one week after I ordered it, then the owner of the shop carried the bags to the taxi stand and made sure I got a taxi, and the taxi driver helped me with them when I got home. Customer service here rocks.

It was my friends birthday on Saturday, so Sunday night I took him to the place with the great duck. He loved it as much as I did. I slept pretty good, and now I'm actually looking forward to going to work again. Life is good.
And so it goes.

Drama and Trauma

There is a lot of drama and trauma at work, and since I'm not supposed to know about it, I can't blog about it. I will say this much, I am not traumatized myself.

In other news, I really need to get back into shape since I missed so much taek kong mu sul. But the class was still fun, and I stayed on my feet the whole time.

Life.. gotta love it.
And so it goes.

Good times

Friday night I just crashed and burned. I went to bed early, didn't go to martial arts, didn't go out. But it was good to get some rest.
Saturday I didn't get up nearly as early as I had planned, but I did manage to get to Seoul and meet up with a friend of mine and my co-workers in Kybo. We picked out two books to study grammar (starting Monday) and then went to dinner at the bulgogi place I went to with Kristen Tom and Todd. The food was even better at night. We had some great kim'chi, a mushroom stew, and of course bulgogi. Then we went to Insadong, the old quarter of Seoul. I bought some cool earrings from a jewelery artist? I guess that is what to call him. I talked to him a bit, and I definitely want to go back to the area for shopping! I found the lamps I want (right now I only have the overhead florescent lights and they are way to bright most evenings) and some other things to make the apartment beautiful.

We then went to a beautiful little coffee shop/tea house, but they didn't quite get the coffee part, and put caramel on my mocha. It still tasted good, so no complaints.

Later that night my friend wanted to find the "boys" town, and he didn't want to go alone, so we went in search of "boys" clubs. We found two, after getting lost twice. They were in a back alley, and one was really nice, with flowers on the walls and these beautiful flower lamps. It was quiet and cozy, but I think I scared a few of the customers off. We then asked about the other place my friend wanted to go to. The bartender was very surprised. He kept looking at me, and then looking at my friend. I think it confused him a bit. We were going to have one more drink, but we decided not to because we didn't want to scare anyone else off.

The next place was a bit busier, and the bartender spoke English. The bartender thought we didn't know what kind of place it was, but then I explained I was just a friend. We had some Junebugs, a sweet drink with Midori, and hung out for a few hours. The place wasn't hopping but it was busy enough. I think my friend will be back there soon.

I didn't get home until four a.m. The bars here don't close at 2, like in the States, they stay open until the last customer leaves. This was the second time I stayed way way past my bedtime. I woke up again at 2 pm. I met up with Todd and we went to the bedding shop, I had to call the tourist translation line (they have that now!) and was able to get the bedding I wanted special order. My apartment is going to be so cool. We also bought some more plants, and Todd laughed at me, but I love my mini-jungle so I don't care.
And so it goes.

Look on the bright side of life

Work is not making me happy. I can no longer work at HQ, and that is not good. If I wanted to only be a teacher, the high schools here offer a much much better deal. However I can deal, even with the weekly obscure grammar point tests, the petty punishments, the daily rudeness. It is only for nine more months. I'm disappointed of course, I didn't want to waste a year, but that is life.

I've decided that work is work, I'll go in, do my job, and collect my paycheck. I think they are foolish, because I know I have a lot of energy and good ideas, but that is on them. I have a lot of good things in life: I have some great friends (both foreign and Korean) I have a great martial arts teacher, and I have a fantastic Korean teacher. I am going to concentrate on the things I love and enjoy. Start going back to Toastmasters, climb a few mountains, get my apartment flash. ( I already have a mini jungle)

There is so much to do here, and so much that is good, I am going to concentrate on those things.
And so it goes.

I hope this works

I've been having trouble with blogger, so I'm testing, testing: one two three.

quite ugly one morning

Sigh.
It just gets worse. Monday I brought the digital voice recorder to work. I let my boss know I had it because I didn't want to be accused of going behind her back. I just wanted to record my classes to prove that I am a good teacher. Her accusations are both unfounded and to be honest a bit over the top. She is still complaining that I don't follow RT procedures, and when I ask for an example she still gives the one time a month and a half ago where I forgot a journal prompt.

So I thought I would record my classes and have someone at HQ listen and give me feedback.
She was so angry it wasn't funny. I think her anger at me is all out of proportion to what is going on. Steve the New Yorker's classes are so out of control they spill out of the classroom and I can hear the kids shouting from my classroom, and honey drips from my bosses mouth when she talks to him. It isn't really his fault because he doesn't have any teaching experience. She should be guiding him. Instead she is harping on me.
But. that is not the ugly.

Tuesday the big boss called me in. He had one of the other teachers translate for me. He said he understood, he knows about my boss's lack of communication skill and he assured me she won't fire me. He then told me because I am older and more experienced than the other teachers it was more important for me to follow my boss. I agreed, and gave some concrete examples of how I really really try. The end result, I had to apologize to my boss.
So.
I went in front of everyone, bowed to her, and said "I'm sorry" -- She said "Is it sincere?"
She used her snottiest teacher voice. I was so angry. I couldn't believe she would throw my apology back at me like that.

But this is the woman who said "Your wine isn't high quality" when Steve the New Yorker brought some to her house warming.

But I swallowed my pride and said yes, and even invited her for coffee afterwards. I still don't trust her at all. I'd quit this campus but I really like the other teachers, I like the program I work with, and I like the big boss.

The bright spot, I can still work at HQ on the books I'm revising, but I shouldn't talk to anyone there about our campus. And all the tests and evaluations are done, and my kids did really well. I'm so happy with them.

I have no energy today

It is Monday morning. I didn't wake up with the alarm. I should be well rested and happy, but I still feel a bit -blah- and tired.
Friday was a good day, and Friday night two girlfriends came over. We ordered fried chicken, which is almost exactly the same as in America, the only difference is that one side has ordinary fried chicken and the other side has fried chicken with, you guessed it, a spicy sauce. They wound up staying much longer than orignally planned, but we had a great time.

Saturday I went to Seoul with the giant. He is new to Korea but has traveled a lot in Central America. He is pretty tall, so he towers over everyone here. I'm sure he has no problems controlling the kids. We met up with my friend from KC and her friend at Kybo, the biggest bookstore ever.

We were all hungry so decided to try to find a good place to eat. We found an awesome place to eat down one alley and a small trail. The entry way had a cool well with a stone basin, and we went in and had bulgogi, but they really went all out on the side dishes. There was a boiled eggplant, fried zucchini, these small fish with the heads still on, a vegetable stew, potato salad with apples, two kinds of kim'chi, odan ( a kind of fish but it doesn't look or taste like fish), rice in a stone pot that was still very hot. We took the rice out of the pot then put a broth in, and after we ate we had rice soup. The rice was really good too, with red beans, ginger, ginseng, and sweet potato cooked in.

We went walking and near Kybo is a great park area with a river and they were having a festival so we wandered around there, then decided to walk to Sincheon. Sincheon is a great little area of Seoul with lots of shops, coffee shops and restaurants. We started walking and it was quite a hike. We got a little lost, but I was able to save the day with my Korean. We also found the nicest movie theater. The place looked more like an opera house, and I decided that I have to see something there. When we finally got to Sincheon we had a couple of drinks at the foreigner bar, then went home.

Sunday I left the house twice.
And so it goes.

I need some quiet time

Well, things are busy here in my universe. Wendsday night Mr. Lee, the owner of our school, took the whole school to Shabu Shabu. Shabu Shabu is a kind of Japanese food (with a Korean twist) - there is a spicy soup with mushrooms and green onions that is cooked at the table, and then several kinds of very thinly sliced raw meat is put in, and you then eat it. After the meat they brought seafood, then there was noodles and then rice was added -- you finish each course first, and by the end I was decidedly uncomfortably full. During this time we drank soju and beer. I didn't want to drink too much because I had a class with the bouncy girls on Thursday.

After Shabu Shabu we went to a beer hof. I decided I really like Mr. Lee. He is politically liberal and actually very kind. Since I am not married he offered to set me up on several blind dates with his friends who also are not married. I declined but I thought the offer was nice.

Thursday Cindy had a house warming party. She has a new apartment and the school minus Mr. Lee all went to her place. We had bulgogi (the beef with soy and onions and vegetables) and chicken and wine and Kahlua. This morning I woke up a bit late.

Today I didn't do so well on my word test for my Korean teacher. She said I will have to get used to drinking because here it is a kind of work. She was basically understanding. She also found a good place to get a facial and we are going next week. I really love my Korean class, and she is a very good teacher. She is also a little strict, so she keeps me from getting very distracted.
And so it goes

The good the bad and everything in between

God, when was the last time I posted?
It has been a while, but I've been working and under stress.

the bad is that I fear my head teacher is losing it. She really really wants me out. I am not going out without a fight. I have goals, and they are both short-term and long term and I'm not about to let her get in my way. The situation: As you know, I've been scolded for: not circling an attendance sheet correctly, forgetting once -a month ago (and that makes me a lair)- to put a journal prompt on the whiteboard, changing a journal prompt, making photocopies of my students test results (it is wasteful)--it is also easier to read for if and when they do the online homework and the online book quizzes, they should do both-. I should also read the book before doing the workbook, something I usually do, but .. I am a liar again because, get this, I asked my students where we were in the book before reading the next chapters-- I kid you not-- It makes for some serious stress.

Thursday, she asked me to do a debate topic worksheet, she needed feed back. Well, she didn't say when she needed feed back and I have these same students for two different sessions. On the first session I couldn't get to the debate topic worksheet because we didn't get finished with the book work in time (mind the presentation and monthly tests were coming up) so I asked her if she wanted me to do it in the next session or next week. She said - give it to Steve - he will get it done. I said "Fine" Then she gave the worksheet back to me to do for some other class. I asked, photocopies? she said it's ok, I'll just print it from the computer. Ok. I did the debate (which to my mind is about talking not writing) and did the worksheet from the board-- Well, I should have made copies, they weren't supposed to speak, and they should have written sentences. This information would have been nice at the beginning.
Friday: we have a meeting. I am a bad teacher because I am not following her instructions exactly. "I have too much experience, and my experience is not suitable for Reading Town" "My ideas are not good Reading Town ideas" -- etc.

Good news, when I went to headquarters on Saturday, they did like my ideas, and they were pretty sympathetic. I don't know what is going to happen, but the headquarters will be sending me an electronic voice recorder to record my classes. This will, I hope, protect me. I also got to work on some good supplementary materials and working at head office is good because I get to do something completely different. I wish there was a way I could teach two days a week and work in the office three days a week, or vice -versa. I don't know if that would go over in my current school, but maybe another would be up to it next year. I just have to finish this contract.

The good: (and there is a lot more of it than bad)- I met up with a friend of mine and laughed so hard I thought my lungs would burst. We met in Gumi several years ago, and kept in touch, but I haven't seen him since then. He worked for a school that wasn't a good fit, but now is in a good place. I really had a good time, but I missed toastmasters because we were talking and laughing and then, I checked the time, and toastmasters was almost over. I hope toastmasters will forgive me. We ate Vietnamese, and it was really good, thin rice noodles with chicken and vegetables fried in a spicy nutty sauce. Then later we had street vendor food. Chicken in spicy sauce on a stick, rice cakes in spicy sauce, and fried vegetables. Spicy is the popular flavor here.

Sunday night as I was walking home, I met a few Americans who had just arrived about a month ago. They seem nice and one is interested in my Taek kong mu sul class, so I might not be the only adult. It could be fun.

My taek kong mu sul class is going very well. At least for me. Monday night I was doing a circle kick thingie and I slipped and landed flat on my back. I missed the pad too. Then we were doing a low circle kick and let's just say I'm not co-ordinated. Tuesday night we learned some punching kick combinations. I accidentally kicked my teacher. He was ok, it was just practice and I didn't kick properly anyway, but ....I must admit that I was a bit more hesitant after that. He was pretty cool about the whole thing.

The in between: My weekend plans to Deagu have been canceled, so I have a three day weekend with nothing to do. This is a good thing, because I really need to get some things for the apartment, and I need to get a haircut.
And so it goes.

Sigh

Not much exciting is happening. - We took the belt test last night at Taek kong mu sul, and I did very very very badly. The teacher actually banged his head against the desk. I felt a bit sorry for him.
Next week is the monthly test for the students, so we are doing reveiw. The head teacher is in un-mellow phase right now. I'm still sensitive to it, but less so now. I don't think she realizes just how people react. Instead of wanting to do better, or even trying to find out what is wrong, I tend to listen to her less. But on the bright side tomorrow I will work in Seoul-- I really enjoy working there, and I have a list of ideas for the discussion activities. So things are going well there, I think.
The weather has turned cool finally, and I'm happy about that. I even woke up a bit early. I can't wait for the leaves to turn in my little park.
And so it goes.

I guess I could think of a cool title, but I won't

After a fantastic weekend I'm back to the daily grind. Monday was a Monday, but as I love my classes it wasn't too bad. I had JinJu's brother make a note for me, and my Taekong Mu sul teacher forgave me for skipping on Thursday and Friday. Monday class was good, but we were learning the little routines, and unfortunately I'm very clumsy and not very co-ordinated. I felt so sorry for my teacher because he was trying so hard to be patient. Today in class we did self defence and that was way more fun. I'm still clumsy though.
Tuesday's classes were hard today. Bouncy girl couldn't sit still and one of my students didn't do any of the homework, and since the class only has two students it really messed things up.
I do understand my teacher, sometimes it is hard to be patient.

On the bright side, I had my first real Korean lesson with my tutor. I really like her a lot. I was a bit skeptical about doing language exchange ( she teaches me Korean and I help her practice for an interview with an airline in Dubai), but she was pretty good about keeping the Korean lesson all in Korean. Well, not all but mostly.
And so it goes.

Seoul

I just got back to Incheon from Seoul. I'm tired, but happy. It was an eventful weekend- and that is good.
Saturday, I worked in RT headquarters. We are still revising the textbooks for a pilot class, that I just found out is already started. So the deadlines are tight. But after this month I will be working on creating new material- yeah! And I really like the people at the head office.

Sunday (today) I went back to Seoul and met JinJu's brother. He is really a kind man. His wife and I looked for a new hand bag, and then we all went to lunch. It was a spicy seafood dish, that had shrimp, crab, scallops, and mollusks. Very delish, but also very hot. My face turned a bit red. Then I met SaeMin and we went to the Toastmaster's meeting. It was fun, and I even volunteered to speak for the table topics. I won!! Yeah I rock sometimes. The people were really cool, the toastmaster was from Malaysia, one man was from California but he was born in Taiwan, and two men were from the States, another guy was from Australia, so it was quite the international shin-dig. They invited me to dinner after, but I went to meet Kristen. We talked and ate Mexican food at "On the Border" a chain that was way more expensive than in the States, but it was fun to eat realish Mexican food -- something new since last I was in Korea.

On the way to the PC room there was some kind of event in the neighborhood. Lots of street vendors. I bought three more plants. Soon I shall have a mini jungle in my room.
And so it goes.

Not much

I am going to Seoul tomorrow- So I'm skipping taek kong mu sul. Plus the fact that I have bruises from learning one of the weapons is not making me eager to go. Actually I really love the class, but I have a lot to do tomorrow.

This week at work went fairly smoothly and this morning I had some of the teachers over for coffee, we chatted about school and life. I'm in search of a yoga school for the new teacher. I know I saw one, but I'm not sure I remember where it is.

Even though I'm tired today, life is pretty good.
And so it goes.

Another day.

Not much is new since last reports from the hinterlands of Incheon. Work was good, although a bit strained. At least I didn't get yelled at today. Cindy did come to one of my classes and observed, so I'm a bit nervous. I really don't like this feeling, but since I will be doing some textbook revisions for home office, I think I can endure. And on the plus side I will Taek kong mu sul classes start again today after the long holiday.

Tuesday Thursday classes are always good, because they are our high level classes. Most of my students are pretty good in English. The first class is made up of elementary school kids. There are four girls, Bouncy Girl, who is a bit shyer now that she has classmates, The Tiny One, who still sucks her thumb but argues with the others in English, The Quiet One, who is a bit shy in general, but very sweet, and The Talkative One, who you have to remind that others want a turn to talk. It is a great class and one that is easy to teach. The next class has only two students. A boy and a girl. The boy doesn't read that well out loud, but understands everything and is a good writer, he is also a bit shy. The girl lived in America for two years so she speaks much better. The other two classes are high school students. One class has two boys, Startled Turtle and The Beetle. The girl I call Koala bear, because she looks at me and blinks several times like a koala bear, and she doesn't talk much. When she does talk it is in a whisper. I don't know what I'm going to do with her for the presentation. However her writing is excellent. The other class is also one boy and one girl. The girl is very smart and very good, and always does the homework, writes well, and participates well. The boy is in a class that is about two levels higher than he should be (if you want my opinion) He really struggles with everything and it frustrates me and breaks my heart. He is not a bad kid, it is just that this is much harder for him than for the other kids.

Monday Wednesday Friday classes are lower level and younger. Most of them are in elementary school. I have six classes in a row, with only a five minute break between. By the end of the day I'm a bit tired, but I wouldn't give up a single class.

The first class has my Serious Scholar. She is actually talking a bit more, because two boys are in the class, so she has to say something now. One of the boys I call The Brain. He is very smart, and gets things really quickly. The other boy isn't stupid, but he was pushed up to this class. He doesn't belong and is struggling so he acts out a lot. My next class has the three boys, but they have been invaded by girl cooties. They are all about seven years old. The class after that has three girls and one boy. The boy is very good for homework, but he is understandably shy in class. One girl is very clever, and the other is a bit of a perfectionist. They are fun. The class after that has my Clever girl, my Bright one, The boy who looks like a gangster but is really very sweet, and my little gentleman, and taekwondo girl. The class after that is higher level, middle school students. There is cool guy, who sits slumped in his chair too cool for school, and three girls, one always says "teacher it is too much" but does it anyway, then there is the talkative one, who I have to constantly remind that this is English class, not Korean class, and one new girl that just came last week, so I'm not sure what kind of student she will be. My last class is my favorite, even though teachers shouldn't have favorites. There is the very Quiet one, who never speaks but smiles so beautifully, the Blooming one who was very shy at first but is starting to warm up to me, The Lazy boy who actually can do everything well, but doesn't want to, the Keen boy who is a bit of an overachiever and who is getting Lazy boy to do more homework, The Old woman in a child's body, The dancer, who tells me about her dance classes, the Good girl who wants to do everything perfectly, and we just got three others.
I really love my students.
And so it goes.

Chusok

I just spent a wonderful holiday.
Chusok is very much like our Thanksgiving.
Saturday I had to work in the head office in Seoul. I got to re-write a test and the teacher's guide for one book. I really liked working with Sunny and I talked to her a bit about my problems at work. She said "no problem, it will be easy to find another Reading Town." The only problem is that I really love my students and my neighborhood.

After work, I met up with Kristen from my old neighborhood in KC, then got the last KTX ticket to Deagu. (I am truly one of the luckiest people in the world) Kristen and I had a smoothie, talked about our jobs, then made plans for the dinner next week. I got on the train, and one of the other passengers gave me a coffee. She had the cutest baby. He kept laughing at me, so I couldn't help but laugh for most of the ride.

When I got to Deagu Jin Ju picked me up, and we all piled into the car. She had her nephews with her. I really like her family a lot. I should have gone to bed, but we stayed up and talked. Then Sunday morning we had breakfast with her in-laws, and went to her church. I got to meet her older brother who lives in Seoul, and her sister in-law. They were both very cool people.
After church we went to eat lunch, then took a nap. I couldn't sleep we watched CSI on TV.
Then we went to JinJu's mother's house. We ate some more, and played a game called yute. Yute is a game with four sticks, each one has a round side and a flat side. You throw the sticks and the goal is to get all four sticks to land with the flat side up. That is Yute. If you only get one flat side up it is do, two is gae (dog) and three is girl. I gotYute four times. I am champion. If you lose you have to pay 1,000 won (about one dollar). The winnings were used to buy pizza.

By Monday I was seriously relaxed and happy. We went shopping downtown, and then I took the bus home. JinJu packed some serious food for me, kim'chi (her mother's is the best!) fish, soup. I don't know what to do with it all.
Now I have to go back to work today, but it is some of my favorite students so that is good.
And so it goes.

good news/bad news

Well.
First the bad news. Cindy my head teacher has not mellowed out. She did for one day, but then she found out that headquarters wants me to do some editing. Now I'm making mistakes. I'm doing a bad job etc.etc.etc. (these include forgetting to write the journal prompts on the teacher's guide, and having a student not do his journal) They are very petty things. I think I will make sure the boss and headquarters doesn't give me any praise or let her know I'm doing them a favor.

The good news is that I'm not the only one. Apparently Fiona teacher and Anna teacher have both had to deal with this thing too, and they are both pretty fed up. The other good news is that we have a new Korean teacher and she has lasted almost a whole week. I think she will stay. I hope so. The other good news is that headquarters wants me to do some editing. This is really good because my goal is to go there after my contract is up and do writing and editing. And.
This term I don't have a single student I would give up. I really like them all.

Taek kong mu sul class will be cancelled until Wednesday. It is Chusok holiday and everyone is going home to eat good food and be with their family. I will go to Deagu on Saturday night or Sunday morning. I will have to stand the entire trip, but I will get to see JinJu at the end, and her mother is a great cook. I can't wait. It is very much like our Thanksgiving, and I feel really happy that my friend invited me to her home.

At least I have much more good news than bad.
And so it goes.

Did you know?

Did you know you needed your butt muscles to walk. I don't usually think about my butt muscles, mostly because they aren't really muscles. But. Last night at Taek Kong Mu Sul, we did throws and falls. This morning I realized that you do indeed need your butt muscles to walk. I finally got dressed but walking to the coffee pot was quite the ordeal. My teacher laughed tonight when I told him. We did sparring again today, and I did pretty good. I got a few kicks in. My class is pretty cool. There are three high school boys, cool dude, funny guy and the bear. At least that is how I call them in my mind. There is also a middle school girl, I think of her as cheeky girl.
Classes are going well in my school, but my head teacher is giving me a lot of stress. For some reason she doesn't like me. She got on me for not circling the names correctly on the attendance sheet ( I am not kidding) She literally scolded me for 5 minutes about how I got it wrong. Today she scolded me because one of my students complained he didn't understand the homework (this is a boy she knows is a bit lazy and has complained about him before. All the other students got the homework assignment ok) I really don't know what to do. On the plus side, the head office teacher wants me to work on one of the writing books this week.
So I'm sure in the end everything will work out well.
And so it goes.

not much

Not much happened this weekend. Friday night at Taek kong mu sul, the boys wrestled. I declined participating but I did enjoy watching. Saturday I had to work, I got some of the worksheets finished to send to Sunny, I want to make sure I'm on the same page with her, and several of my students are now on the right path for their summaries. I felt pretty good if a bit tired.
Sunday I went for a walk, and found the school for the Korean lessons. The only problem is I might not have the money this month. If I have to pay for the lessons now, in September, then I might not get to start until January. It might be for the best, although a little disappointing.
I bought two more plants, and now I have to find some planters to transplant them. I know what I want, I just don't know where to find them.
And so it goes.

Nobody died

I called my friend Jinju, explained the mess with the arm protectors, and asked her to translate for me. She did, but my teacher wasn't very angry. Actually everyone laughed. I think that was almost worse. That night we learned tumbling. I had to do cartwheels. I don't think I'm very good at cartwheels. The next morning I felt like my ribs would implode. Well, at least I get a good workout every night. I really love my class. Every night is a bit different, and I like that. Last night we did kicks mostly. I really am too clumsy and ut of shape for this, but they gave me a yellow belt anyway.
And now I know you can't put foam in the dryer.

At work there is a lot of stress. We had a new Korean teacher for all of two days. Longer than the last one, but still. I know what is wrong, but I can't really say it out loud because of office politics. I'm trying to keep the atmosphere in the office good, but it is getting more and more difficult.

And the speech contest is only one month away. Guess who will not have a free Saturday for the month of September? Go on, just try to guess. It isn't really a contest in the usual sense of the word. It is more of a way to show off our school, and unfortunately many of our students are not quite ready for prime time. But don't worry, I'll get them to at least not make fools of themselves.
And so it goes

Oh, I'm in big trouble

So, in Teak kong mu sul, we spar a lot. At first I didn't like it, but now it is kind of fun. But. The arm protectors are very dirty and well, gross. So I offered to wash them. That is when I made a mistake. I didn't know they couldn't be dried (my washing machine is also a dryer)
And now they are very similar to long rocks. They are totally ruined. My teacher is going to be so mad at me. I don't blame him, but .... Oh I felt so bad I didn't sleep at all. I tried to google supply stores in Incheon, but I only found US mail order.
I am in so much trouble. Plus it is going to be so hard to explain since he doesn't speak any English, and I don't speak much Korean yet. I really love the class. I hope he will forgive me.

I also have to go in to work early for the next two weeks because I have to get the worksheets for Level one writing to Sunny. I'm very excited because this moves me in the direction I want to go for my life. I don't know when I'll be able to go and get the arm guards.

I feel like such an idiot.
And so it goes

blogging from work

I'm at work now, I have to forward some rubrics to Sunny at the head office, and write some worksheets for one of my writing classes. I also have to work with Cindy on the speech contest and writing contest -- so I'm going to be very busy the next few days.
Whew!
I love it
And so it goes

A very good day

Well, I didn't make it to Toastmasters.
I went into Seoul about 1 pm, met a nice couple who were from Osan and doing touristy stuff in Seoul, met Sae-min, had coffee, then had dinner and coffee with Sunny from the head office.
Not much that was exciting, but a very good day indeed. Plus I met a young Korean girl who teaches English in Seoul, and might be interested in teaching me Korean for one month before real classes start. I even found a cool sweater on sale, and got the guy to take an additional dollar off. My plants are doing well, I found a place to eat tacos (yes real tacos!) Found a great jazz CD store with a very cool owner (you know where my money is going after payday) and found a place to buy international calling cards. (I'll be calling home soon.)
And so it goes

working

So, it is Saturday afternoon. The sun is shining, birds are singing. It is a beautiful day. Where am I? You may well ask. I am at work. Waiting for one student to finish his 3rd try at the level test, and then I will give him an extra class. I tried to talk to Cindy about this, I want 2 of the slower boys to have a different class, one that uses the same materials, but that goes a bit slower than the regular class. I think that if you push them to finish the book, they don't really learn to use the material. Some people just need more time and more space to learn. Bah.
Anyway, I'm excited because tomorrow I will start Toastmasters, and after work Fiona is showing me where the Korean language school is, so I can sign up, and on Monday I'm thinking of starting a health class (mostly weight lifting) because after the health test my taek kong mu sul teacher gave last night, I realized that I am truly pathetic.
And so it goes

well

Well, things aren't going so well at work. Two of our upper level students took the level test, and they went down instead of up. My boss is most upset. Unfortunately she is not very good at communication, and so it gives me some serious stress.
I also have a test today in Taek kong mu sul, and I'm not at all happy about that, because that gives me a bit of stress. I really just want to hit the punching bag and have a good time, but the testing is such a big part of things here that it is impossible to buck the system. I still love the class though.
Saturday I have to go in to the school because startled turtle was one of the students who did badly on the test. I could just make him come in and do the homework, but he really needs someone to hold his hand. He wasn't getting it before, so I guess my Saturdays are a loss for a while. On the plus side, on Sunday I'll be going to toastmaster's . It is a speech club, and most of the people there will speak English well. So maybe I'll meet someone to hang with on the weekdays. -not that I have a whole lot of extra time.
And so it goes

no news is good news

Rub a dub dub

Rub a dub dub, a whole lot of Koreans in a tub. I went to Sauna yesterday. It is very wonderful. The men have their side, and women have theirs. I of course go to the women's side. You walk in, and they give you a locker and towel. You put all your clothes in a locker, then go through the double doors into the main sauna rooms. First you take a shower, and soap up well. There are 4 small pools, or large tubs. One is cold water -- I was surprised ice hadn't formed) the other two are warm water, although one has a water jet massage. I almost fell asleep. Then there is the very hot water. I could literally feel all stress wash away. After a while the ahjuma came and she did the scrub. She took two scrubbie mitts and started on my legs and worked her way up my whole body. It took all the dead skin off, and plus you got a bit of a massage. She also put some foul smelling cream on my face, but I didn't mind after I got out because it left my face feeling and looking pretty good.
After the Sauna it is almost impossible to get your muscles to do any kind of complex movement. It is best just to go home and read a book. That is just what I did.
Sunday Sae-min came over and we had some wine and cheese. Not particularly exciting, but pleasant none the less.
It is almost time for testing and evaluation again. I can't believe I've been here two months already.
And so it goes.

What it is

Not much new to report. I'm getting a bit less sore from Taek kong mu sul, but I swear my teacher is a secret sadist. He laughs when I cry. Actually it isn't that bad, and I like the class a lot, it is a lot of fun.
I wish the Korean teacher had lasted a bit longer, I'd of liked to have the head teacher see my boys presentation. They are so cute. I even got them to do some hand gestures. Two of them are quite the hams. We will have a few more students next month, and that is good. My serious scholar actually talked out loud yesterday, and part of me wants to have some other students for her and part of me likes the one on one class. I don't have any control anyway, so it is a moot point.
I am going to go to the sauna now. I will get an ahjuma scrub. A woman a bit older than me (about 50) will take a scrubie cloth and scrub every last skin cell off. It feels wonderful.
And so it goes.

Much ado about nothing

Yesterday, everything seemed very good. We had a new Korean teacher. Yeah! She kind of reminded me of a friend I have in Deagu. But.
She didn't have good enough English
So.
You guessed it, we are still looking for a Korean teacher.
And so it goes

What's up. doc

Well, after an exciting weekend, and then talking on the phone to some family and friends, Monday rolled around and I felt a bit blue. The fact that it had started to rain (again) didn't help. By noon the rain had stopped and Fiona came by. She was supposed to show me how to get to the university that has the Korean classes, but she was running late. We just had some coffee, and then went to work.
The school is going well. My classes are really fun. First hour I have my Serious Scholar (who actually said three words to me!) and then I have The boys. They are the lowest level class, but they are so much fun. They always want to carry my books and erase my board. It is so cute. They are also quite the handful, and difficult to keep quiet for long, and the fact that I can't keep a straight face with them doesn't help matters. The next class is on break because the one student is on vacation. But the next class has my Chatty girls, and two boys. They are bright and clever, and they seem to like to study. At least they seem to like the class. The next class has only three students. They are a bit older, so are trying to be cool. My last class has two shy girls, two outgoing girls one keen boy and one lazy boy. It is my favorite so far, although I love my Serious scholar. After school, I take a small rest then go to my Jujitsu, although it isn't really Jujitsu, it is called taek kong mu sul. My legs are recovering.
Tuesday, Steve the New Yorker came by to exchange music with me. He burned some cds so now I have Billy Idol, Tori Amos and some jazz. I'm quite happy. School on Tuesday was a bit stressful. The head teacher is stressed so of course everyone else is too. Classes on Tuesday are a higher level, and most of the students are older. My first class is Reading and Speaking. There is only one student. She is 6 years old and she is bouncy. We are reading Curious George and Alexander and the Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Bouncy girl loves to say the title.
The next class I teach the same thing, but this student is a boy going into middle school. There is usually one other student, but she is on vacation now too. The boy likes to read, but doesn't like to do his homework. I call him Library boy. Then I have Bouncy girl again, for a different class. We are reading an American Social Studies book. By this time, keeping her in her seat is a major accomplishment. The next class has two middle school boys. Their English speaking isn't so great, but both of them write a bit better. One I call my Startled Turtle, the other is Beatles boy, because he has a haircut like the early Beatles and he has these shoes that have rainbow peace signs all over them. I am always late for Taek kong mu sul on Tuesdays and Thursdays because I don't finish until right at ten.
And that is my life right now. Tomorrow I have to go to E-mart because I'm almost out of coffee and that would be very bad indeed.
And so it goes.

Bad blogger, no cafe latte!

Well, it has been a very busy weekend. I'm sorry I didn't write for a few days.
It wasn't really my fault. I blame it on Seoul

Thursday I had my second Ju jitsu class. My legs feel like jelly that has been through a very slow and sadistic blender. But Thursday night my teacher and one student (who doesn't come everyday) decided to go to Dongdonju. Dongdongju is a rice like beer, that is served in a big bowl, and ladled out to everyone in smaller bowls. It is tasty, and the food that they serve was pretty good. We had a kind of kimchi pancake, a spicy dish with an indeterminate meat, and some fried eggplant. It was fun, but since neither the other student or my teacher speak English, and my Korean is spotty at best, we drank more than talked. We then went to a hof, for beer, and they served a fruit platter. My teacher's friend dropped by, and I got to be a real princess for a night. All three kept feeding me grapes and cherry tomatoes. Ok, they were pretty toasty by then, and so was I, but it was nice. I got home at 5 am.

I had to wake up eventually because at 1pm I had to meet Kristen in Seoul. I was still a bit shaky and very tired, but we went shopping anyway. We mostly drank coffee and talked about our week, and I left a bit earlier than I had planned because I was so tired;I think with good cause. I still enjoyed her company. By the time I got back to Incheon, it was raining (again!) so I just went home and took a rest.

On Saturday I woke up early to take the train to Deagu. It was three and a half hours, but worth it because my friend Jin Ju was there it meet me. She brought her sons, who have grown quite a bit since I last saw them andwe had lunch in Lotte, ( bulgogi and rice with some good vegetable side dishes-) and then her sons decided it was too boring listening to us chatter on, so they went home and we went window shopping downtown and drank coffee in an outdoor cafe and watched the people go by. It was so good to see her, and she looked even better than I remembered. We caught up a bit on our travels, and just got caught up a bit on life. I missed her terribly so when I finally got home (at midnight) I slept really good.

Sunday (today) I called some family and friends, and cleaned the apartment a bit, did some laundry and rested. So I have a bit of an excuse for not writing for a while. I am very happy right now.
And so it goes.

cool beans

Well, the US won, so we got fried chicken on the Korean teacher's dime. All together a good omen for the day. In half an hour I will start my Jui Jitsu class. I'm the only one in class, so it should be good. I got registered kindof at the national health insurance office. We have to call back, and I have to fill out a few more forms. Then I will be covered.

My classes went very well today. Serious scholar laughed at my jokes ( we are reading a book called Tigers! and I asked if she wanted a tiger for a pet, she said no, the I asked about a lion, she could braid his mane, she smiled and said no, then I asked if she would like an elephant for a pet, she actually laughed) and Startled Turtle made some progress in writing and in reading. We are going to have to go slower than my boss wants me to, but that is ok. He promised to come in early on Monday and do some extra work. Then in my lowest level class, one of the boys said I am a good teacher. (actually he said "teacher, good!" and gave a thumbs up sign) but still it made me feel good.

I get Friday off, and I'm thinking of going into Seoul. On Saturday I made a date with Jin Ju, a friend from Deagu I met before. I can't wait.

Now I have to go back, and prepare a writing contest and speaking contest. (I've got to prep the students for both --it will be on October 2, and1/2 the students are so not even close to ready to do what the head teacher wants)
And so it goes

I got the music in me -yeah!

Saturday was a day for shopping. I went to E-mart and Home-ever and got myself situated. I now have a cd player, a coffee maker and a blender. Life is so good. I only had two cds because I forgot to pack my cd case, but still it was better than the endless silence.

I've been drinking coffee mix, an instant coffee that has the creamer, sugar and coffee all in one convenient little package. It is ok, but not real coffee. Well, as soon as I got home with my purchases, I of course, made some coffee. I made it really strong, put in lots of sugar and milk, and then buzzed around the apartment for a while. I guess the coffee mix doesn't really have much caffeine. Cindy my boss came by the apartment, and we talked for while and I made her some of my strong coffee. She likes to travel too, and we talked about that, and it was most pleasant. My apartment is coming along. I need some plants now.

Sunday I went to downtown Seoul to meet Kristen, my neighbor from KC. I left early, went to Kyobo bookstore and bought a Korean language book to study (still unopened as of this date) and a fun book. I also added to the music collection.

I went to Seoul station and met up with Kristen, and we decided to find Insadong. It is a very famous antique market. We got off on the wrong exit from the wrong subway station, but decided to walk to it, despite the heat. Well we found the jewelry road (here the streets have no name, but each road has the same stuff, so you can give directions by saying, ok turn right at the lamp road, and then go to the house stuff road. Turn left at the office furniture road, etc. ) So went went up and down jewelry road, and then found a shaded sidewalk next to a park, and looked at all the street vendor's things. Then we found another road with an outdoor market, and we found a great place to get chicken on a stick but we never did find Insadong.

We decided that since we found a subway that was on the same line as Sinchon, we would go there. Sinchon is a fairly cool fashionable area with lots of little shops selling all kinds of funky little things, hair dressers, coffee shops, and restaurants. I know how to order a lot of things, but where we went we really didn't know what was what. So we did what any intrepid traveler does, and took the waiter to another table and pointed to what they had. It was a beef rib stew, with mushrooms, pineapples, apples, potatoes and thin noodles. It also had a very very spicy gravy. Oh my god, it was good, while you were eating it, it tasted wonderful and a little bit sweet, but after you swallowed it was like your mouth was on fire.

We decided yogurt drinks were in order when we left. We sat outdoors and watched the people go by, but for some reason I became a freak magnet. All these weird people would stop and stare at me, or try to talk to me in Korean. It was weird, because there are a lot of westerners in Seoul, and you don't really get stared at much most of the time. Then the cutest little black dog even put his head up and stared at me. We of course started laughing. Then I got on the bus back home, and put on my new cds, poured a glass of wine, and drifted off to sleep (it was a good sleep too, because my sinuses were very clear after dinner)

Monday we got lost trying to find the bank where you pay your bills. But eventually we found it, paid up then got an ice coffee and went back to work. My serious scholar didn't smile, but my last class went very well, there is a new student and he is making my lazy boy work. I found a place to get some clothes repaired and hemmed, and all in all it was a very good day.

Cindy and Fiona made a bet with me. If the Koreans win the gold in swimming today (Tuesday) then we (Steve the New Yorker and I) will pay for fried chicken for our evening snack. If the Americans win then Cindy and Fiona have to pay. We will all go in if someone else wins.
And so it goes.

Well, I'm certainly glad THAT is over!

What a week! I started out a bit behind in all my evaluations, and then both the mom's class and intensive class started. Both are going well by the way, but it is an extra two hours of teaching a day. Plus we just finished all the testing and evaluations: choosing the best reader, best book report, and best presentation. I really like my students a lot, and I'm pretty happy because the most serious scholar of all actually smiled at me on Friday. Can you believe it! I was so shocked I think I almost fell. Perhaps she will say more than one word to me next week.

I started walking along the river again, and I'm surprised at all the changes. The hibiscus are back of course, only now the mini ones on tall bushes are out, and so are the giant ones, and small yellow star flowers, and camellias and baby's breath. It is quite the display. The dragonflies have formed a complete squadron, and were showing off for a calico cat sitting on a fence post throne.
The grass has completed its bridge, and now has foxtail pom-poms to shake in celebration every time the wind blows.

Friday was payday, so I feel a bit better about finances, and we (Steve the New Yorker and I) decided to treat the rest of the staff to duck. We went to a place that was so popular we had to wait 20 minutes -- this is after 9:30 pm. It was taken as a very good sign. And we were right, it was so worth the wait. First they brought out small pieces of duck that were grilled right at the table, on a black metal dome. It is eaten with a sweet sauce and garlic slices, each piece wrapped in its own lettuce leaf. Then we had the smoked duck slices, and that had a mustard sauce that was to die for, and then the kimchi duck, which was just as spicy as you would imagine, but goes perfectly with the burnt rice porridge. Each "course" was even better than the last. I am about to burst, and I sit in awe on my Korean colleagues and their ability to eat, I am about to give up when a duck soup arrives, then the burnt rice porridge, then a dessert of shaved ice with sweet red beans and jelly squares. We of course drank beer and soju, (soju is a bit like vodka but made with rice, and you don't mix it with anything, and it is best to not even try to keep up with the Koreans, because they drink a lot of it already)

I went home, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and lay in bed saying "why do I do this to myself" I could barely waddle across the room to the fridge to get a glass of water.
And so it goes

Another day, another day

I'm sorry I'm slow to post this week, but we have 1. Intensive courses for summer 2. a Mother's class 3. Monthly tests to grade 4. Student evaluations
and all the regular classes to boot.
At least it isn't raining.
And so it goes

Blue

Sigh. It has been raining again. This rain is just so, perpetual, ceaseless, constant, continual, eternal, everlasting, incessant, interminable, persistent, unceasing, unending, unremitting, measureless, amaranthine, sempiternal, infinite. I need gills.

A four day weekend. No bike. No money. No sunshine. Blah. Blah. Blah.
I went out with Fiona and Sae-min for dinner after our Korean lesson. Sae-min is very very strict. Anyway it was Galbi-tang. Galbi -tang is a kind of soup with mushrooms and rib meat. The place was nice, but the woman serving us was kind of mean. Fiona had Nang Meun, a cold noodle in a clear broth ( I don't like it much because I don't like cold soups, but she said it was good, and I'll take her word for it) The kim'chi was only so-so, but they had a very nice spinach stem side dish. I quite like it.

Pay day is Friday, and I have the bike already picked out. So and even the biblical deluge ended eventually.
And so it goes

Just randomness

Meeting another foreigner on the street requires a weird etiquette. On the one hand, you don't want to be the foreigner who freaks out at the sight of another foreigner (the ohmygod, its a westerner, whatamigoingtodo, whatamigoingtodo, oh my god, I want to be the only one--etc.)
then, you don't want to be the other foreigner who freaks out at the sight of another foreigner (oh my god, another westerner, let's be best friends for life, thank god, I can speak English, oh where are you going? canicomewithyou?--etc.) I just make eye contact if possible, nod and smile.

Wednesday night Sae-min, Steve, Fiona and I went to takgalbi to say good-bye. I'll meet her again on Sunday for a Korean lesson.

Yesterday I just spent the day in bed, reading and resting. I did get up to go to the little store downstairs and get some instant noodles. Very unexciting stuff.

Today the wind came to visit, bending trees and playing toss with various papers and posters around. I took a long walk, mostly in the other neighborhoods near mine. I found some cool flower shops, and a great little stationary store, and great little grocery store with some fantastic fruits and vegetables for a very good price. The melon was wonderful!!

And so it goes.

Sunshine and suckitude

Well, the sun is out, and it is no longer raining, but it is very very hot. Plus I forgot about the smell of rotting kim'chi. It only lasts for about one month, when the weather is very hot, but when you walk through that particular miasma it is pretty bad.

Monday was a good day, but right now I'm bummed because Sae-min is leaving Reading Town. I really liked sitting next to her, and although I understand that it is probably for the best (neither she nor Cindy were happy with the situation) I'm still a bit down.

On the bright side, I"m almost finished with the intensive course syllabus (only the word list needs to be done) and the student presentations went much better than I had originally hoped. I'll be doing some group coaching next month, to help all the teachers coach their students. That makes me feel good that I"ll be doing something like that.

I hope that Sae-min finds something good soon, and that we find a Korean teacher that fits in well.
And so it goes.

A fairly non-boring day

I woke up and joy of joys, it wasn't raining. Yeah. However I was still tired, because at 1:30 in the morning someone outside the building was having quite the fight. I know this because even though my window was closed (because I really am not fond of hosting mosquitoes) I heard them. For one hour.

I finally did drag my butt out of bed, and got dressed. At 9:30 Steve the New Yorker came by, brought me a tourist/subway map of Seoul, and we set off in search of the swimming pool- rumored to be near Home-plus. (Home-plus is a big supermarket, department store like E-mart and Walmart). Cindy our head teacher had made a handy dandy map, but we didn't bring it. We set off, and the day was cool and pleasant. We saw lots of little shops and little restaurants, and had a pleasant walk. When we arrived at the junction we were supposed to turn left at, we actually turned right. This turned out to be quite fortunate, as the street had furniture, and shops, and other very cool stuff to look at.

When we realized that Home plus was not in the general vicinity, we crossed the street, and turned back. on the way we saw a sign for a tomb of some sort. Being in a generally adventurous spirit, we decided to detour. Up a narrow street and to the left, we found the tomb itself. The gate to the area had peeling green paint, and there was a large gap that we walked through, and walked up the grassy knoll to the tomb itself (which didn't have a gate or gap to climb through, just a fence) The tomb was quite small, with primitive statues keeping watch over the grassy mounds. Apparently the tombs were for some minor princes. Two children with bright green & blue butterfly nets ran around swinging them at non-existent insects, until their grandfather called them back and all three went to wherever they went to.

We went back to the junction and stopped at 7-11 to rest a bit, and I found a yogurt flavored soda, that tasted much better than it sounds. Two security guards were taking photos of a black car, and we wondered if it was a bullet hole - Steve the New Yorker was sure it was, until he got up and took a closer look. It was just a scratch. -- We then went on, and took a detour on another side street, found more cool shops (although quite a few were closed) and then found our ultimate destination, the swimming pool next to Home-plus. Steve the New Yorker was a bit disappointed that it was an indoor pool, but it doesn't bother me. (I'm thinking indoor pools are quite nice in bad weather, and with all the rain we had, bad weather was on my mind) We had an ice-cream at Baskin Robbins- the best ice-cream in the world if you want my opinion- and then took a bus back home.

Despite the sunshine - I felt tired and a bit head achy so I went on home and took a nap, then we went out for Korean bar-b-que, at a place near home. We couldn't quite figure out the menu, but the man made sure we got regular beef and pork, and not the stomach or intestines. So we were quite happy.
And so it goes.

A little bit of a boring day

I woke up this morning, and you guessed it; rain. And more rain. I had a hard time getting out of bed, but eventually washed my face, brushed my teeth and got dressed.

I don't have to go into work on Saturdays, but it was raining and we have an intensive class coming up, and I want everything written well beforehand. So I went in. While I was working I looked outside, and there - miracle of miracles, the sun peeked out and it stopped raining. Yeah. I kept working, being such a good teacher, and when I finally packed it in, it was, you guessed it; raining again. Bah.

I went home, took a nap, and by 6pm it had stopped somewhat. I went to a Korean fast food place, and got some bulgogi rice (beef in sweet soy sauce with rice) and decided to brave things and go for a walk. I really didn't have anywhere to go, and I mostly just wandered around, but I did find some cool stores. I found the bicycle I'm pretty sure I'm going to get. It is made for long distance riding. Just my kind of bike. And I found a flower shop that had a very good selection of houseplants. They were very healthy, so maybe next weekend I can mosey back down there and pick up a fern or two.

I thought about going to the DVD room, because it is kind of cool to just go and get a DVD, sit down and have it played on a big screen, then leave. No bothering with returns. But I thought I'd leave it till next week, as I couldn't think of movie I really wanted to see tonight.
And so it goes.

Making out

My co-worker, Steve the New Yorker, is basically a decent guy. He is young, but he is working hard at becoming a good teacher, does extra stuff for his class, and will try to get his co-worker (that would be me) pain relievers when she has cramps. So all in all, he isn't a jerk. But he really really really wants a Korean girlfriend. Actually I think he just wants a girlfriend.

So we are leaving work: Sae-min, Fiona, Steve the New Yorker, and me. It is Thursday so we are talking about the weekend, and Steve is mentioning some of the bars he wants to go to. Apparently if you wear a NY hat, many women will come up to you. I don't know, as I'm not that interested in getting women in bars to come up to me. But he is, so I'll take his word for it. While we were walking, Sae-min noticed that he was carrying the book "Making out in Korea" She started to ask him why he had the book. I think he actually blushed. He started protesting that the book was actually quite helpful for just getting around. He stammered a bit, and kept justifying the book. "No no really, you can catch a taxi, and find out where a bus is going, what to order in restaurants, really it isn't what you think" "My Korean friend gave me the book, no really" He then proceeded to explain that the term "Making out" means "getting by" which is technically true, but not what either he or the authors of the book had in mind. Plus he wasn't actually fooling any of us. I would kind of feel sorry for him if I could contain my laughter long enough. I do hope his friend from Deagu works out. He isn't a bad sort. Oh and by the way he asked me to mention that as far as the Korean government is concerned he is very healthy.

The sempiternal rain is really getting me down. It didn't rain this morning, so I was able to get my walk in. The mini-hibiscus on the bushes fared much better than the big hibiscus. They were almost decimated, with only a few blooms standing bravely in sentinel around their fallen comrades. The lilies and the floppy yellow flowers are gone. But perhaps there are new flowers waiting in the wings. The grass bridge across the stream is almost complete, with a few trickles getting through. The cranes and dragonflies abandoned the morning, but the walk was still quite pleasant.

Work was good, although my students are getting nervous about their presentations at the end of the month. I'm only worried about one class, and I think most will be just fine. We really aren't there to be stern judges. It is amazing how normally talkative and boisterous kids can suddenly become so quiet and shy when they have to get up in front of people. I'm glad our school does this though, because being able to speak in front of people is a very valuable skill in any language.

There is tension in paradise though. The head teacher, Cindy, and Sae-min are having some problems. I don't speak enough Korean to know the details, but sometimes the air is positively thick. I feel bad because I genuinely like both of them. I'm sure some way or another they will work it out, but I wish I could ease the stress a bit.

I have to go in for a couple of hours tomorrow, and finish up writing the materials for the intensive class. I have some really good ideas, and I'm glad Cindy gave me the task. It makes me feel good that she is trusting me with something that important so early. I can't believe I haven't been here for a whole month yet. I really like the school, and I feel like I've been there a long time, but in a good way.
And so it goes.

Rain, Rain Go Away

It is raining again today. What more needs to be said?

It must be raining down in Georgia

For the last two mornings I couldn't get out of bed early enough to take my usual walk. I mostly puttered around the apartment. I've decided that my apartment is way way way to quiet.

It is raining again, as you could guess by the title of this post. I wish it would dry out just a bit, so I can explore more of my new world. I'm planning on getting lost this weekend.

Work is going very well. I finished writing materials for the moms class and the story time, and now they asked me to help start a debate club/class. At first we were going to start it in September, but we may have to postpone it until next year. January would be great, and would give me enough time to get a really good program going. I'm so excited!!

Doing some research for the class, I found a toastmaster's in Seoul, but not one in Incheon. I might join the one in Seoul, and see about starting one here in my neighborhood. It is just an idea. First I have to find out if the club is an English one, or if everything is in Korean. I'm hoping it is in English. However if I can find a good class for Korean lessons, maybe a Korean toastmaster's is just what I'll need (much much later). I'm doing the research and I hope to be in some kind of class by September.
And so it goes.

Buzz Buzz Buzz

Sunday it rained again. I said, "rain rain go away" and the rain said "ha"
Kristen came by and I wanted to show her around my neighborhood, but we only stopped at a fast food place and had bulgoi rice (a sweet beef dish that was a welcome respite from all the spices I've been eating) The rain put an end to all my grandiose plans. So we just went to my apartment and drank coffee and talked. After she left, the mosquitoes came by - they weren't nearly as welcome as a friend. I didn't sleep that well.

This morning the sun came out and I felt a bit better. I took my usual walk along the river, although it is actually a slow moving stream. The grass almost made a bridge across the middle, and two cranes were bobbing and bowing to us pedestrians. One took off, and found grace in the moments of flight. The dragonflies continued their maneuvers, and the flopsy yellow flowers were bowed down from the rain. The lilies and hibiscus held up well however.

At work I finished the main draft for the moms class, and let my co-workers look at it for suggestions. Steve the New Yorker had quite a few good ones, and I hope by tomorrow I'll be done with it and can work on the story time. My students are starting to speak more in class, a mixed blessing, as they don't always want to stay on the class script. The serious scholars even smiled today.

Today is the start of the hottest days of summer, despite the cool breeze that came through the window. My school celebrated with SamGeTang, a chicken and rice soup that has a lot of interesting herbs in it. The chestnuts and ginkgo really were quite tasty and my only regret was that it was way too much food.
And so it goes.

Rainy days

Friday night the school went out to eat shabu shabu. But. The shabu shabu place was closed for the night. Surprising here in Korea, where everyone and everything seems to get started late at night. We decided on Takbuki, a chicken in spicy sauce that is cooked at the table. The place is near the school, and near my house, and very very very tasty. I shall have to return.

Today I woke up and it was raining. It was that steady soaking rain, and even the neon palm trees from the night club across the way seemed beaten down by it. I spent the day puttering around the apartment and reading a book. It is science fiction, but written in the early 80's and is somewhat dated for that. Still it kept me occupied because I didn't really want to go anywhere in the rain. I had coffee but no hot chocolate. Rainy days seem better with hot chocolate.

At 3:00 my friend from work, Sae-min came by for cookies and coffee and we talked about travels. She had been to India and Tibet, and did a trek in Nepal. I really enjoyed her stories, and telling mine. It wasn't a very exciting day to tell, but it was a very nice one anyway.

After a while the rain stopped and the sun came out. Sae min left, I came here to blog and will take a walk around. I really don't want to see my apartment for a few hours.
And so it goes.

Hey ya'll

Today I went to immigration. The woman remembered me from last time, and that made me feel pretty good. We got everything sign, sealed & soon to be delivered. In a very reasonable amount of time no less. I can't wait until I get my card. I can then get a phone, and a bank account. That will make me feel much much better.

Classes went well, and I've got some ideas for the two demonstrations for parents in August. I hope they go well. I'm sure they will. I really like creating new material, so the preparation is fun for me. We are going to do a Moms' class, and a story time. I've already got the stories picked out, so now it is just getting the supplements written and made pretty.

Not much else is going on today, but tomorrow is Friday, always a good day.
And so it goes.

Can't think of a cool title tonight

I am tired.

I had my lesson with my boss yesterday, and I must say it went better than I expected. He can read, but I think he didn't want to try in front of all the other teachers. He did a good job in class, and I think he is going to be a a good student. I used Side by Side, a book I don't really love, but one that is good for a beginner like Mr. Lee. I'm not sure the head teacher likes that I give Mr. Lee lessons, but I see it as a win all around. Plus, the man has been very generous so far. He took us out on Friday to an excellent place, and every evening we have some kind of "snack" that is enough for a meal. One hour a week isn't much on my part.

I think my co-worker Steve the New Yorker can relax a bit now. (actually I don't think he can relax, but that is beside the point) At the hospital for our health check, he found out he had high blood pressure. Surprising in a young guy. Then they called the school because he had high blood sugar. He went on and on about how it was impossible, then when he went in to get the test re-done he said that they only gave him some vitamins and told him to keep an eye on it. We will be seeing him for the rest of the year. I'm sure he will find something new to worry about within that time.

The real reason I'm tired is I worked a bit late, I'm trying to help the head teacher think of some ideas to make the school grow. It just opened so we don't have a lot of students yet. So I am typing up some proposals, and I hope that it helps. I really like my students so far. One is only six years old, but I keep forgetting that. She is very very serious. Then she decides we have worked too hard and starts playing and I'm reminded that she is quite young. One of my students doesn't always get everything. After I explain the instructions, he looks at me like a startled turtle. His homework is awesome though. I think he just needs a bit more time to absorb things than we allow for in class. I have two classes that are the same level, one right after the other. The two classes couldn't be more different. One I have a hard time keeping the volume down, and they like to shout out the answers. The other class is much much more quiet. They look like serious and studious doctors weighing in on some really bad lab mistake. I have to laugh at them, but not in class. One of my classes usually has two students, but today we had a one-on-one class. I really got to talk to him, and I realized he was a very kind hearted and thoughtful kid. We don't always have time for discussion outside the topic at hand, but tonight we did. One of my other students had a very bad day, and I felt so bad for him. He failed the test, and usually he is one of the quicker students. Not today. I told him I would let him re-take the test on Friday. He re-bounded fairly quickly though. I have to say, we make up in quality what we lack in quantity. At least for now.

After work Sae-min and I checked out the two martial arts studios near the school. We are thinking about taking a class together. The more time I spend with her, the more I like spending time with her. The first studio is for JuJitsu. I quite liked the young man who is teaching there. He is a bit young to be a martial arts master, but he had a good sense of humor and I thought the studio looked nice. It was very very clean. Always a good sign. The other studio was for Hapkido. The teacher looked a bit like an elf. He had the long face and pointed ears that elves in serious fantasy usually have. The class had more students, but most of them were in high school. Plus we would always be 10 minutes late, and I'm not sure I want that. Sae-min and I agreed that we liked the first class a bit better, but we both wanted to think on it and discuss it some more. I won't be able to start until mid August anyway so we have time.

After checking out the studios I got photos taken, and tomorrow I go to immigration again. I hope we have everything we need this time. We have to meet early, and I hope it isn't crowded and we can get through everything quickly.
And so it goes.

So far Still good

I go to the hospital tomorrow to pick up my health report. When I get back, I will meet my Korean co-teacher and We are going to check out a JuJitsu place. We are thinking of taking a class together. I hope so, because she can translate for me. The Hapkido place in my apartment building is defunct or re-modeling. Every time I go downstairs to check it out it is closed.

I learned today that ironing a long skirt on my new ironing board is problematic at best. I kept re-wrinkling the thing. I will learn to be well pressed eventually. The iron itself is great however. I've also learned how to turn on my stove, and where to get the best milk in the neighborhood. Meanwhile, I've found a great little restaurant around the corner that has some of my favorite kimbap, and a spicy pork with rice dish that I'm still not sure of the name, but I'll figure it out eventually.

Classes went well, but I learned that there is some kind of computer glitch that doesn't let me check my students e-homework. So they get a pass with that until Saturday or Monday. I think they were happy. The school is growing. Every time I go into class I have a new student. At first it was a bit shocking, but I've learned to roll with it. The school has only been open for a week, and everyone is still new so we will all figure everything out eventually.

Oh and good news for me, I'm on a blog list! I'm not sure how to link back to it yet, but the list is The Korean Blog List. I am happy.
And so it goes.

All that Jazz

On my morning walk, new flowers bloomed, but still I decided to go off the beaten path a bit. Not really; I don't think any path here is unbeaten. But beside the point. The point is I took a walk beyond my neighborhood and found two posters that almost broke my heart. The first one was for the Incheon Jazz festival. I couldn't figure out where or when, so I'm not sure I'll be able to go. I'm not even sure where exactly the poster is, or even if I can rememberwhere it is, if I can drag a Korean with me to translate. The other poster was for the Incheon Dance Festival. The same situation applies. Sigh. Perhaps next year. On the plus side, I really love living in a city that has a Dance Festival and a Jazz Festival. I wonder what other festivals are out there. To top it off I saw a poster for the Incheon philharmonic. Incheon even has a philharmonic. Wow. I think I did choose correctly.

When I got to work, I tried to get my boss, Mr. Lee to read something for the lesson. The man can't read. So I made up some worksheets with the alphabet, vowels, consonants, and blends for homework. He told the head teacher he didn't want to study anymore. I am going to have to revise my lesson plan again. Regular classes in the school went great, and only 3 students didn't do their homework. I was pretty happy. The snack today was dokbuki. It is a rice-cake smothered in spicy sauce, but it was too spicy even for me. I left work pretty hungry. Fortunately there are tons of street vendors that have a ton of different foods. I choose some fried vegetables (It wasn't that virtuous though, they were breaded beyond recognition, but still pretty tasty)
And so it goes.

By the way and a day in Seoul

By the way, Saturday afternoon is probably not the best time to get some quiet blogging done. It is when all the middle and high school students are in the PC room, playing very loud games. I'm not sure what the game was, but it invloved lots of explosions. When I left to go home it was raining. I got wet. As soon as I got home, I took a warm shower and felt much better. I did a load of wash, hung it up, and tried to watch some game show on TV. I figured out how to turn it on, but I only get one channel, and it is in Korean. I gave up after about 10 minutes, then laid down, but only for a minute. I woke up again at 1am. I didn't want to mess up my sleep clock too much, so I drank some milk, read a bit and went back to sleep.

When I woke up I felt pretty good. My clothes were semi-dry but they were clean. I took a walk again by the riverside. The rain always softens things. The hibiscus are in bloom now; red, pink, white, and purple flowers bigger than my hand. The flopsy yellow flowers survived, and a few more yellow flowers decided to open up. It was a nice walk. I think that on Monday I'll start doing some of the exercise stations along the walkway.

After my walk, I got dressed and found the bus to Seoul station. There I met up with Kristin, my neighbor from KC. She had been homesick, but now is ok. We went to Kyobo bookstore, and I found a book for Mr. Lee (the school's owner)-- we then went to the stationary section. Korea has to be the cute paper/card/sticker capital of the universe. I found a great accordion folder- you know the kind that are always brown and ugly back in the States- with tons of bright blue flowers, and another one with geisha girls serving tea. Kristin found stickers that were pictures of vintage fabric swatches. There was so much it was almost overwhelming. I also found some room stickers that I think I'll have to use for my apartment. They are like the stickers you get at the stationary store only much much much larger. (think big enough to put on a wall) I decided my entrance way needs a garden, and the stickers of poppies and hibiscus are perfect.

We went for coffee after shopping. Although we didn't do that much, it was still really nice to visit and watch all the people go by. One guy had neon lime green tennis shoes. I decided that I loved those shoes. All kinds of people passed by our sidewalk table. The young, the old, the fashionable, the crazy, the worried, the lovers. Sometimes I think if you sit long enough in an outdoor cafe, the whole world will pass by on the sidewalk.
And so it goes.

TGIF revisited

Actually it is Saturday afternoon right now. I am free until Monday. Yeah!
Friday was a pretty good day. I woke up early again, but not as early as Thursday. I took a walk on the riverside, and the rather attractive man I saw yesterday greeted me today. On the walk I noticed the church of "light and salt" and I have to admit to being rather amused at the contrast. I also noticed the police box at the end of the river walk. It has a picture of a cute chipmunk in the police uniform with bodybuilder muscles and some kind of assault rifle. I was rather amused again at the even larger contrast.

On the way home I went to the hospital to donate my bodily fluids and they recognised me right away. I'm glad, because it dawned on me on the way that if they didn't know who I was, I had no way to explain it. I left, bodily fluids lighter, with a spring in my step. Right at the entrance to the apartment I ran into my co-worker, Steve the New Yorker, and we set off to e-mart to do a bit of shopping. It was still closed, so we got some pizza bread (very delicious and still warm from the oven) and waited. In many of the stores the associates bow to the customers that come in at opening, but they didn't bow to us. I got my cleaning supplies and an ironing board, but I couldn't find one that stood up. This one is only about 5 inches off the floor when undone. I think that is just the way they are made here. Everything is so space saving. My co-worker bought a cactus, and let me name her Gertrude.

I went into work a bit early to write some quizzes for my classes, and while I was there the owner of the school asked if I could teach him English. I said yes, of course. So now when I go to Seoul on Sunday I will have to find a very easy book. The man is actually quite nice, from what little I've observed, but he doesn't speak any English at all. The day went by smoothly enough except for the fact that 1/2 my students didn't do their homework. Urg. I told them that next time they would have to face the head teacher. I am so mean.

After work the school's owner took us all out to dinner. The place was supposed to be about 40 minutes away, but even at 8:40pm the traffic was still pretty intense. The ride was fun, and I really enjoyed my Korean co-teachers, but the conversation kept drifting to food, and eating. We were a bit hungry. When we finally arrived it was so worth it. The place was really nice, and we got a room to our selves. It was shasimi, and it was wonderful. Steve, the New Yorker, ate the sea slug, but I passed. After the third course I no longer felt hungry. As much as I love Korean/Japanese food, I was still grateful to see the watermelon because it meant that the meal was over. We continued to sit and drink and play drinking games so we didn't get back to Incheon until 1am, and then continued to drink beer.
Needless to say, I didn't wake up early on Saturday morning. I was still able to get out of bed, get dressed and get back to the school for training on time, so I shouldn't complain. I finally met Sunny, and I liked her as much in person as I did over the phone. The school bought lunch, but I couldn't eat very much. I actually still feel full from the night before. Training was pretty standard, but I managed to learn a few things. I like their website, and the fact that teachers are able to find the e-homework scores for our students very easily.
After training, Steve the New Yorker came by and helped me figure out my washing machine, and my TV, and helped me move some of the furniture around. The apartment is going to be so cool once I replace the unfortunate pink.
Sunday I go to Seoul and meet Kristen, who is homesick.
And so it goes.

TGIF

An interesting day

I guess "interesting day" goes without saying when you live in Korea. But today was special. I woke up again at 5:30 - a truly ungodly hour. I really need to get a shade for my window. I decided to take a walk, and found a lovely area by a stream that was almost but not quite big enough to be a river. I enjoyed my walk in the early morning, there were yellow floppsy flowers all along the bank, and some of my favorite purple trumpet flowers too. I did feel a bit like a drudge though, because in Korea, you dress up even if you are just exercising. All the older women who were walking for exercise in the area wore cute little exercise outfits, a sun shade visor and white gloves. I just wore a t-shirt and pj bottoms. The walk still felt good. I went home, took a shower and then read a book to wait for 11am because I still don't know how to turn on the tv. I had to go to school early, because today we went to the immigration office to get our Alien Registration cards. We thought we had everything; photos, application, visa, transcripts. But. We didn't have our health check. The manager thought that we didn't need it for the ARC and we could do it later.
No.
So we went to the hospital from the immigration office, signed up for the health check, and proceed to go. First we had lunch though. It was the standard Korean fast food, bimbim bap, which is a mix of vegtables, hot sause and rice. It tastes much better than it sounds. At the hospital they drew blood, checked my teeth and eyes, and height and weight, and asked if I had any diseases, and took an X-ray. They also wanted a urine sample, and unfortunately I had just gone to the bathroom, so I couldn't give them one. (they were very nice, and tomorrow morning I have to go in and give them the bodily fluids I withheld today) We also had to get blood pressure and pulse readings. My co-teacher had a bit of high blood pressure, so the nurse kept making him re-take the test. (by the way, they said mine was excellent, but I can't remember what it was) Finally they realized it was just for immigration, and that they didn't have to start treatment, so the let us go. I think that the whole ordeal made the guy even more nervous than he ordinarily is.
Needless to say, we were late getting into the office. Fortunately, we didn't have classes for another hour, so I had time to prepare. Today is a fairly easy day; most of my students are pretty good and are the highest level in our school so far. I quite like them.
The day went fast, but I was very tired. I'm also pretty grateful because the boss re-payed the health check fee the same day, and when he found out I liked dumplings he changed the snack order for me. Kinda cool if you want my opinion.
I will go back to the hospital tomorrow (it is very close to my apartment so it shouldn't be a problem, plus I've been waking up early for a while now.) We go back next week, and then the next day we will go back to immigration.
And so it goes.

What it is like

Left Aunt MG's at 5:45 am. It is a beautiful time of the morning, but I would have rather been in bed and missed it. The country side was foggy and we saw one deer by the side of a corn field. The corn is really getting high, miles and miles of green. At the airport I hug everyone, and go to the gate. This time everything goes smoothly, and I get through security with no problems. Then I arrive in Chicago, rush rush rush, but it is ok, because the people at the gate are good, and I go through security fast. I'm surprised how good it goes. I don't sleep on the plane, so I arrive a bit groggy. The movie sucked, but for some reason I couldn't get comfortable so I just dozed on and off. I'm glad the school booked me on Korean Air. The service was excellent and it made the 14 hour flight bearable.
I arrived a bit early, but there was no one to meet me. I had a bit of a panic attack. Actually I got a latte, and waited half an hour. Then I got nervous. I went to information, and they called my school for me. Well. They couldn't pick me up. So I got a taxi. 50,000 won latter (about $55.00) I arrived at the e-mart. I had forgotten about the kamikaze taxi drivers. He was actually pretty nice and called to make sure someone was there to pick me up. My new boss, was there. I felt a bit put out, and I had thought I would be working with Sunny directly. Then we went to my apartment. They had left me a towel, toothpaste and toilet paper. I revised my negative impression. Plus the apartment although small, is way cute. Too bad they put pink on the bedding, but that can be changed with my first paycheck. They also didn't have a TV or phone. This was Sunday night. I took a quick walk around the neighborhood, and it looks like a good one. There is an e-mart (a big grocery/home goods/electronic store like Walmart only nicer) a dozen places to do computer stuff (they call them PC bangs here) and about all the kinds of food you could want. They even have traditional Thai massage. I will have to ask and see if it is real massage or special massage for business men. I buy some canned coffee and a bottle of orange juice for the morning and go home. I don't unpack.
My apartment window doesn't have a shade. At 6:30 I was up and couldn't get back to sleep. I got some coffee, and unpacked everything, and put it away. I started a list of all the things I'm going to need to be happy, and took another walk around the neighbor hood. This one was a bit longer, and I found more things, mostly shops and restaurants.
I had to go in early Monday. Usually I'm supposed to start at 1, but Monday, I started at 11. The boss bought us lunch, and I had my first kim'chi of the trip. I wasn't bad.
I like my co-workers. Sae-min is experienced, and she is quite friendly. This is Fiona's first teaching job, and she is very nervous. I hope I can help her, I like her. The other foreign teacher is from NY, a fact he mentions quite often, despite the fact his accent is strong enough to leave no doubt.
The first day was a bit hectic, mostly because I didn't know where anything was. Neither did the other teachers. The school opened on Monday, so everyone was a bit stressed, but I eventually found everything I needed, or at least was assured they would arrive soon. It is kind of exciting to open up a school.
Tuesday I found out I have to work until 10, but actually it is a bit easier. On Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays I have 6 classes in a row. Each 50 minutes long. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I only have 5 classes and I have a break in the middle of the schedule. Actually 5 classes is a lot, and 6 is even more, but I'm glad to be busy. I like the curriculum, and I understand most of the rules. They make you turn in a detailed lesson plan, but you only copy from the lesson plan provided, so it is more like paperwork. But I know that many other teachers are lazy, and this way they know you are at least familiar with what you are going to teach.
My students are great. The classes are still very small, sometimes I only have two students in a class and in three classes I only have one student. I know that as the months go by, the school will fill up, but it is kinda nice right now. I know I've only had a few classes with them so far, but they seem bright and willing to work. A few of them are really eager and fun to work with.
Today (Wednesday, my boss brought me a TV, but I don't have a way to turn it on. He has also brought a snack for us every evening. He brings Kimbab, a Korean take on the California roll, and I'm afraid soon I'll be tired of them, but the thought is nice. I will have to ask the manager to help me with my washing machine, because I still haven't figured out how it works. However, I am adapting quite well. At least I think I am.
Tomorrow we go to immigration to get my ARC (Alien Registration Card) Once I have that, I can get a phone line, and see a doctor or dentist. I'll have to wait until payday anyway, but it will be nice to have.
And that is what it is like so far.

Arrival

I arrived Sunday night. It is Monday now. I can't think straight. I promise a good post tomorrow, or maybe Wednesday.

Getting busy

Something I'd better be doing. Trust me, no matter how much I tried, I couldn't get the boxes to pack themselves.
Tomorrow morning I leave, and then...
It will be at least a week before the next post.

Leaving on a big bus

Well, today was the last day I saw my friend A. I saw her off to the airport and then walked to the library. It was my last day to volunteer there as well. I feel so sad. I really have enjoyed a lot here in the states, although I'm looking forward to Korea. I still have four boxes and one large bag to pack.
I'm leaving Wednesday to go to Springfield. Then off into the wild blue yonder. I guess I should get busy, but I find myself looking at the boxes, drinking coffee, remembering to e-mail some friends, looking at the boxes some more, drinking more coffee, e-mailing more friends, calling some friends, looking at the boxes.... well you get the idea.

She's got her ticket to ride

I have the ticket confirmed. I will leave on July 5, arrive Sunday July 6 at 5, and hopefully be eating kimchi by Sunday at 7.
I remember when flying was fun. I am so not looking forward to the whole security kabuki that is flying today.
My room-mate A. is leaving on Monday for Colorado, and I'm leaving on Wednesday to see my aunts. That only leaves Sunday, and she has to work. I will miss her so much. I don't think she realizes how much she has influenced me. (in a good way)
I also have a hella lot of packing and orgainizing to do.

First Post

Of course I'm nervous. Wouldn't you be? I have been to Korea before and this is a great opportuntiy to go back. I've got my visa. I've got my stuff almost packed. I've asked myself, more than once, what the hell I'm doing with all this stuff. I am almost ready.
I will miss volunteering at the library. I will miss walking the ADD Siberian Husky.
I will miss tacos. But at the same time, I can't wait to get started on a new adventure to a familiar place