My life is amusing...

Hey there!

I don't even know where to begin honestly. My life is one big Korean blur.

After school classes. They've doubled my workload but are twice as rewarding than regular classes. My sixth-grade girls are chatty and well-behaved, mature ladies. Here are some bios:

From L to R: Kim Hey Won, Emily, and Grace


Grace is the most advanced - she grew up in Hong Kong and went to English kindergarten. Her mom is the pastor of foreign members at the largest church in our area. Some of their doctrine is sketchy...but she knows that I am a Christian and she's invited me to church a couple of times. Her Teacher Mail letters are long and elaborate. She's in love with Justin Timberlake and thought he was a movie star...that is until I showed her old school 'NSYNC photos and blew her mind. She is a quiet girl who thinks before she speaks and is very motivated and intelligent. A true gem.

Emily is a doll. She understands everything I say and is still somewhat shy about speaking up. I think the after school class will be very beneficial to her. She gestures a lot when she talks, and she'll get half a sentence out and panic and run back to her desk with her head in her hands. So funny.

Sarah is bright and personable. She was voted school president this year and therefore has a lot of responsibilities around the school. For the festival, she served as one of the three judges and was also in charge of running the sound board. She writes me long letters about the books she's reading...she reads a lot of books! I told her to read The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. She reminds me of an older version of my 8 year old cousin Sarah.

Kim Hey Won (no English name) is SO FUNNY! She is smarter than she lets on, and she writes me letters about how much she likes English class. Who doesn't love a suck-up? :) She has a face that she makes when she doesn't understand something...not an expressive confused face (think Erica Bush) but more like you can see the light go off in her mind. Its amazing. She thinks its funny that I can tell when she doesn't understand something. She tries to trick me.

And then there are the two boys:


John, pretty much hilarious, is the only sixth-grade boy in the class. He is a little chubby (which gets you called "pig" amongst Korean youth) and when I ask how he's feeling he always says "hungry". We were describing characteristics the other day and I asked them to describe me. Probably a bad idea, but I went with it. Without a second thought John says "You're fat." Now, I've lost some weight since getting here and though I am by no means skinny, I'm fairly well-proportioned. So I said "You know John, in America, if you told someone that they were fat, they might get angry with you." And he says "What? You're fat, I'm fat. Food is good. Delicious." And I thought...he's right.

Danny - my only fifth-grader - is ADORABLE. I call him Danny because he reminds me of how my brother used to look, if my brother were Korean. Now, if you know my brother, you know that he's grown into a very handsome adult. However, when he was little, that kid was funny looking. Ask my mom - she'll tell you the same thing. And Danny is so cute because he's just a scrawny funny-looking adorable sweet little boy. He's kind of trouble-maker in regular class, so I was a bit worried at first, but he's an excellent student.

And along with my 5 sixth-graders and one fifth-grader, I have a class of fourth-graders. Some of the more notable ones:

Sunny (No picture)- Kind of a drama queen in the funniest way. We'll play Jeopardy or Top 5 and she's always the girls team captain and says "Oh my God" and puts her head in her hands when she gets stressed out because they miss a question. She's like a sitcom character.


Mary - Good, smart, and quiet - just how I like 'em. Also, she wears pigtails everyday.


Kari - A know-it-all that knows it, kind of a trouble-maker when she spends break time chasing the boys around. But she's sharp as a tack.


Sarah - I think I've heard her say 3 words. But she's sweet.

Emily (No picture) - Wears glasses and pigtails everyday as well, also good, smart and quiet.


Tony - He doesn't understand a thing and screws around the whole time. Luckily most of the others ignore him when he throws paper wads at them. He spends a large portion of class time sitting in the back doing worksheets because I don't have time to individually tutor him without order dissolving around me.


Steven - T-R-O-U-B-L-E when you don't keep him occupied every second of every minute. But when he's focused, he's brilliant. We did color-by-numbers on Thursday and he ate it up.


Grant - A very good kid when he isn't throwing paper wads with Tony, chasing Steven around the room, or evading Sunny.


Tim - he's my favorite. He's bright and ornery, but extremely focused and dedicated to winning when we play games. He really gets into them and even tells everyone else to shut up when they're being too loud. And when I'm forced to skip the boys team because they're taking too long coming up with an answer during Hangman or Jeopardy, he whines "Teacher! Teacher! Waaaaiiit pleeease waiiit!!" So funny.

Funny story before I wrap things up:

*Caution - this story uses a swear word - so if you are Ryan, Mackenzie, Sarah or anyone under the age of 12 please stop here*

Like that's going to stop them.

Anyway, today in my fourth grade class we were watching a skit involving a boy who drops his toy robot into a lake. A mermaid pops out of the lake and asks the boy "Is this your robot?" and he says "No, my robot is small." And the mermaid goes back in the water, pops out with a smaller robot, and its his, and there is much rejoicing. But when the boy first drops the robot in the lake, he exclaims, "Oh no!" My co-teacher asked the class (after they had watched it once) what the boy said when he dropped his robot into the lake.

And one little fourth-grade boy in the back of the class exclaims, "Oh shit!"

Which is exactly what I'd say if I dropped a piece of electronic equipment into a lake. Fourth-graders - never fail to surprise me. One week they bring their own thermos of coffee to class, the next they're swearing like sailors.

Have a good weekend! Boiler up!!

Love,
Jess

Some more Teacher Mail

This one's a keeper. If you can't read it, Right-click on it and save it to your computer, then open it and blow it up.



I was in Lotte Mart tonight shopping for a hair straightner and the song from "That Thing You Do" came on over the PA, sandwiched between two horrible Korean pop songs. It was nice to listen to and ever-so-discreetly lip-sync along.

It just took me about a minute and a half to think of the word "discreet". YIKES.

I judged an English speaking contest today at school. Its nice to feel like an expert at something :)

I don't know if I told you this, but I let my 6th graders pick English names at the beginning of the semester, and I populated the list with names of all my friends and family members. So someday I hope to show you pictures of your Korean "mini-me"s. Its funny how some of their personalities remind me of yours.

Of course, a few were creative and came up with their own names. I have a Zidane (famous soccer player) who sits across from an Inzaghi (another famous soccer player), a Monkey who sits across from a Lion, and a Harry who sits across from a Potter. The most popular girls name is Sunny (which I put on the list thinking that I could never get mad at someone named Sunny), followed closely by Keri/Kari. Steven and Tim are the most popular boys names.

I think that's it. LOVE YOU!

BYE!

Jess

Me vs. the Mountain

Top of the evening to all of you out there in the western hemisphere!

This week was stressful...lots of new things to get used to. My four after school classes and determining their dynamic; co-planning 6th grade with my co-teacher (after she told me that she thinks its "too difficult" for me to do by myself, I disagree); losing most of my planning alone time because of various things...I am very much an introvert, and I need my alone time or else I start to get overwhelmed and snappy. People I have lived with know this well. Which is why I someday hope to marry someone very...content...with being...by themselves? That sounds horrible. I can't think of how to describe it - I've begun a slow but very real process of losing my knowledge of the English language. You think I joke. But its frightening. The other day Hyun asked me what "strict" meant and for the life of me I could not describe it in simple terms. Eventually this is what came out: "You know, its like...mean...no, not really, maybe like severe (she doesn't know what that means)...bad but not really, just like...ahh...whats the freaking word??? (head in hands) aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!"

But the good news is that my Korean is improving daily. Yesterday I learned how to say "Will you please shut the door?" - roughly its "moon ta-da-ju-say-o". Plus I can read hanguel, which is their alphabet, so I can read Korean words. I don't know what most of them mean, but I can read them. My students LOVE IT when I try to speak Korean or write it. Hilarious.

So after a stressful week Hyun invited me to go hiking with some of the teachers and the principal and some parents on Saturday afternoon. She tells me that we will eat before we leave, so I should arrive at school by 12:30. I get to school at 12:25 and they grab my backpack and start filling it with fried chicken and beer...apparently the principal decided that we should have a picnic at the top of the mountain instead of eating before we leave. So we leave, and I have a backpack full...it had to be at least 20lbs...of fried chicken. And a six-pack.

First of all, this trip made me realize that I have been backpacking with some amazing guides and planners. My hat is off to you - Wyatt, Phil, Jared, Tim, Ryan R. - and please come to Korea to teach these people how to hike. Hyun parks the car, and it turns out that everyone else parked about 1/2 a mile away. So we hike for 1/2 a mile up and downhill before the real hike even began. We start and I soon realize a few things: 1) My shoes are woefully inadequate - I had prepared for hiking whereas we had definitely reached the 'mountain climbing' category; 2) I am SOOOO HUNGRY; and 3) That fried chicken smells really good, taunting me over my shoulder with each step.

As we round the first bend, the principal sees this trail leading off to the right with a rope across it and a sign that I'm sure says "Certain Death Awaits". Naturally, he decides that this is the way we should go. So we step across the barbed wire and proceed. Now, I am no stranger to the "let's make our own trail" style of hiking. Last year at the Fall Conference Kelsey and I foraged through the wilderness calling ourselves "Lewis and Clark", boldly going where probably many people have gone before. This was different. We made our way up the face of the mountain. Everybody loves a shortcut, right? At one point we walked across a flat rock no more than 3 inches wide, a giant boulder to our left and nothing but clear blue sky to our right.

Here's the view from about halfway up:



And the pace of these people - you'd think we were being chased by a grizzly bear. We didn't stop once on the way up, and our speed can be best described as "break-neck", literally. I could not stop to take pictures because I was afraid I would lose everyone, and I don't know about you, but lost on a Korean mountain knowing only a handful of phrases, none of which are appropriate ("Can you please shut the door?") was the last place I wanted to be. So I followed. If I were going any faster I would have been jogging.

Maybe this is a good place to remind you of the 40 lbs. of chicken, water and BEER on my back. It really helps your balance tremendously when clinging to the face of a cliff, Spiderman-style.

We made it to our picnic spot (probably 3/4 of the way up the mountain) in just over an hour. These people don't mess around. Here's a view from that spot - if you look far into the distance, you can see the West (Yellow) Sea:



So we spread out blankets for lunch and the ladies start unloading everything. There wasn't much food for the 10 of us - just 12 rolls of kimbap (Korean sushi), 2 large tupperware containers of pork, 3 boxes of chicken, dumplings (mandu), lettuce, oranges, bananas, grapes, 12 cans of beer, 2 bottles of Soju (whiskey), 3 large tupperware boxes of rice cakes (tteok - dessert), instant coffee, instant tea, a giant thermos of hot water, 12 bottles of water, plus all utensils, plates, napkins, cups, etc.

WHAT THE HECK. WHY DID WE HAUL 100 LBS OF CRAP UP THE MOUNTAIN???? WHY MUST WE HAVE A TEN COURSE MEAL???? WHY ARE THEY DRINKING BEER AND WHISKEY WHEN WE STILL HAVE TO DESCEND THIS TREACHEROUS BEAST????

I laughed. And laughed. And laughed. It was inefficient. It was stupid. And it was hilarious.

We finished lunch and packed our 17 containers of leftovers. I tried to eat as much chicken as possible so I wouldn't have to strap it to my back.

I thought we were at the top of the mountain. There was nothing above us but blue sky. But, I was wrong. More Spidey moves. When we finally did get to the top, THEY DIDN'T EVEN STOP. They just started going down again!!! I said "Forget you people, I'm taking a Kodak moment" and took this picture:


You can see Namsan tower in the background - its a famous Seoul landmark.

This is how close we were to outer space:

You don't every day get a clear picture of a 747 grazing your head. And that wasn't zooming in all the way.

The descent took more time than the ascent did - not because we were going any slower - but because we decided to take the road down instead of sliding down the face of the mountain on our butts. Which I thought was a terrific idea. Just to prove how crazy Koreans are, this man is actually running down the hill:



I just don't get it.

Afterwards the principal took us out for dinner. We ate duck in what looked like some farmer's garage (it was seriously a shed in the backyard of someone's house). It was good. I've never eaten more than a bite or two of duck before. I tried not to but I kept thinking of Mr. Quackers, our classroom duck puppet. But its deliciousness overrode any empathy for Mr. Quackers. Mr. Quackers, thank you for being so tasty.

And that was my day. Another Korean experience. Another story to tell. I'm going to wash my backpack now because it still smells like chicken.

Love you!

Jess

The cure for what ails me

Bonjour mes amis,

Thank you for all the kind words! Sometimes I forget that people across the pond still remember me, thanks for reminding me that I am loved. I'll try not to freak out again :)

Hyun called me last night after I got home from eating dinner with Hil at her place. She wanted to make sure that I was okay. Has your boss ever called to make sure you're emotionally stable? Its kind of nice. People care a lot here, and its nice to have someone concerned. I felt much better after I blogged and told her that indeed I was okay.

So I didn't get to go on the 3rd grade field trip, but the upside was that I got to be alone ALL DAY! I got so much done...all my lesson planning for two 8-week courses, and I got materials for about half of them. I could crank the music up in my classroom, I brought my own coffee press, and was free to concentrate for 8 hours straight. It was everything I needed and more.

When I was done, the vice principal looked at my 9 page lesson plan and asked "You copy from internet?".

Same look. I am going to be known for that look.

Then he laughed. He said he was very impressed and pleased with me. I breathed easy.

So I may have mentioned the project I started with my 6th graders a couple of weeks ago called "Teacher Mail" where I give them stationary and they can earn stickers by writing me letters, plus I write back to them. Its a win-win-win situation (Office inside joke). So far I've received about 40 letters, most of which are only 3 or 4 simple sentences long, but they're getting progressively more advanced. I love it because it gives the beginner-level kids the opportunity to participate in the learning process while giving the advanced kids an opportunity to use advanced english. So I thought I'd share with you some of my Teacher Mail letters :)



This one is actually from a 4th grader who asked me if she could write me a letter.



From Sunny, who is hilarious. She sent me two letters in envelopes that she brought and decorated herself.



From Emily, letting me know that she loves me so much that she promises not to sleep in English class. She wrote this on the day that I taught them "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" by the Beatles.

I'll send some more when I send out my monthly update, because they're pretty much too cute for words. Honestly, I feel like a lot of times, God can speak to me through the broken English sentences of 12 year old Korean children. Through all the bureaucracy, through all the miscommunication and incorrect information, through the language barrier that isolates me from 99% of my co-workers and the rest of the society in which I live, through all of that - my students have loved me and welcomed me. They have told me that they are happy that I am here. They have told me that I am beautiful. They have told me that they love me.

Now, doesn't that sound like Someone else talking?

:) I love you.

Jess

Most frustrating day EVER!

Let me just say this. UGH.

Okay. I feel marginally better.

It all started after classes this afternoon when 3 fourth graders wandered into my room. I thought to myself, "This is a bit strange...I wonder what they're doing here. Hyun told me that after school classes don't start until next week." Hyun looks up from her desk and says "Oh - here is your fourth grade after school class." I gave her a look that said "Uh, excuse me?" And she explained that their teacher called earlier in the day and said that she wanted after school classes to start today and Hyun just said it was okay. Without asking me. Without even telling me. "You have lesson plan?" she asked. She had given me the lesson plan template on Friday at 4 PM. So, no, I don't have lesson plan. She says, "Oh. I have meeting. Bye bye."

And I'm all alone with 9 4th graders without a plan, a textbook, or a translator. Brilliant.

Things actually worked out better than expected, I gave them English names (Tony, Tim, Steven, Grant, Sunny, Emily, Mary and Kari), they made nametags, we learned the days of the week, we made a paper chain of new words we had learned, and we played hangman. Hyun came back in after that class and semi-apologized, and I told her it wasn't that big of a deal.

AND THEN.

The lesson plan template she had given me was on a Word document, and it was incredibly hard to imput information. I thought to myself, "Self, wouldn't this be 100x easier in Excel?" So I made an Excel document instead. When I showed it to Hyun, you'd have thought I proposed selling the children on the black market. So back to the incredibly inefficient Word document.

I had finished 4 lessons (one week's worth) and asked her when the administration needed the rest (28 more). She said, "Well, adminstration lady not here tomorrow, so...Wednesday, 9 AM." Once again me with the look that says "Excuse me?" It had taken me about an hour to do 4. So, I would need 7 more hours to complete the rest. And I was supposed to go on a 3rd grade field trip tomorrow from 9-4. Impossible. Absolutely impossible.

I felt like Cinderella, when her stepmother told her that she could go to the ball, as long as she did the washing and the mending and the cleaning etc. There would be no 3rd grade field trip in my future.

So I will be at school all day tomorrow, lesson planning my little heart out. All in all, not that big of a deal.

AND THEN.

As I was getting ready to leave, clearly stressed out, Hyun tells me that she added another student to my advanced 6th grade after school class. The five in the class already are brilliant students (all girls of course), very advanced and motivated. Hyun tells me that she added a fifth-grade boy who's english is very low level.

Once again. Me. With the look.

"Why?" I ask her, rather angrily. I know that I cannot teach 5 advanced students and one beginner at the same time. And I will not, I will not cater to the low level student, which is precisely what Hyun wants me to do. That's what class is for. Its not fair for the upper level students to have to sit there for 40 minutes doing worksheets because I have to explain the lesson (without a translator) to a student who should be in the 4th grade class. And if I speak and teach at an advanced level and completely lose the beginner student, its not fair to him either.

So I told her no. I told her that I wouldn't teach him in that class.

You'll recall in a previous post how much Koreans tell their superiors no. But I'd had enough.
It was time to go American, baby. I put my foot down. We had reached the breaking point and enough was enough.

Hyun seemed...stunned. She kept tying to push me but she had my answer. About 5 minutes later, I started to cry. And I ran out of the room. And I continued walking hurriedly until I got to the busstop.

And that was my day.

Please leave an encouraging message if you would :) Love you -

Jess

A few more things:

1) Thanks to whoever sent me that text message last week! I can receive them but I am unable to see who sent them. Soooo...thanks!

2) My phone number is 82-02-804-4086. You'll need an international calling card if you don't want to pay a billion dollars.

3) I am trying to decide what to purchase upon the arrival of my next paycheck. Here are the options:

1. A new mp3 player (mine has gone schizo on me)
2. Contacts (I always wear glasses and feel like such a NERD)
3. A cell phone and plan to use while I'm here
4. A gym membership
5. A lifetime noraebang membership
6. A La-Z-Boy

...I really want that La-Z-Boy...its kind of like all-purpose furniture, you know? Chair, extra bed, table, etc. You wouldn't believe how many times a week I think about having a La-Z-Boy. Some people might even call it an obsession. I JUST WANT TO BE COMFORTABLE!

Okay, enough randomness for now. Oh - and I hope you guys had fun at the BARN PARTY!! (I still get Nav News, which reminds me...must...email...Wes.)

Bye!

Oh what a night...

Yesterday was a special day in the life of Jessica.

Our school had a "festival day" where each grade had prepared choreographed dances and relay games to show off their school spirit. This meant that I didn't have to teach at all (YAY!) but on Thursday afternoon the Vice Principal asked if I could take pictures during the festival. Of course I said okay (here in Korea, with very few exceptions, you never EVER say no especially to your boss when asked to do something). I think taking pictures turned out to be waaay more exhausting than teaching 5 classes, but it meant that I got to participate in the festival - I had a "role" as my co-teacher put it. So here are some pictures and videos:

Warming up before the festivities


3rd Grade traditional dance - how funny is that hat?!?


First graders lining up for their traditional dance



Second Grade Umbrella Dance

So after the festival, the teachers had about an hour to rest before a meeting to talk about the day's events. I leafed through some sets of curriculum for my after school classes - I'll be teaching one 6th grade class and one 4th grade class. At around 4:30 we convened in the teacher's room where we decided that the day had been a success and that we would celebrate by going out to dinner. We went to a raw seafood buffet (eeeeewwww) where you gathered a plate of raw seafood and threw it into a pot of boiling broth at your table and cook it yourself. Most Korean restaurants are cook-it-yourself interactive eating adventures.

But the good news was that the buffet also had shrimp sushi and a lame Korean attempt at spaghetti, as well as an assortment of side dishes which were tasty. We had beer with dinner (Cass - don't drink it) and the Vice Principal (a normally friendly guy) seems to get exponentially friendlier when alcohol is added. He went around to every table, having a small drink (a shot of beer) with each person (this is traditional Korean behavior). So, by the time he made it around the room, we each had had one small drink, and he had had 25 small drinks. He came over to our table, we were all laughing (he knows a bit of English) and he said (in Korean) that he "loves me very much and hopes me to be happy in Korea" (translated by my co-teacher) which is both sweet and really awkward. Perfect awkward turtle moment.

Everyone was very pleased with the pictures I took, therefore I had won their respect and invited to a bar after dinner with around 15 other teachers, mostly young people. Once again, saying no is not really an option, so to the bar I went. It was a very nice bar, more like a pub atmosphere, and we were the only ones there. I soon found out that more than one other teacher speaks some English, they're usually just too shy to speak it (alcohol fixed this problem). I was surprised to realize that I actually understood what was being said (in Korean) for the most part thanks to context clues and gestures.

One second grade teacher (an older man, probably 60ish) was sitting next to me and would say every English word he knew (all token English like "Oh yeah!", "Yeah baby!" and various other random phrases) to try to impress me. I of course acted very impressed. The principal was sitting across from me the whole time and knew some English too. Turns out he's a nice guy. So after snacks, drinks, and a few English lessons we decided (as is Korean tradition) to go to the noraebang (singing room) to drink more and de-stress.

At this point I'd had probably two beers total. And that's how it stayed.

So to the singing room we went. They insisted that I sing an English song, and they insisted that it be "My Heart Will Go On" from the award-winning motion picture Titanic. I take it you remember the song? How could we all forget the shrieking courtesy of Celine Dion. Did I oblige? Of course I sang it. And I scored 100 on it. Impressive. The rest of the teachers sang Korean songs for about 2 hours while the rest of us danced, sang along and played tambourines.

After that, it was around 11:30 and I decided it would be wise for me to return home. My co-teacher, three sheets to the wind (At one point in the singing room, she stands up and shouts "I AM A DRUNKEN!!!"), decided the same thing. We walk together back to the school where I can catch a bus. Her English was the best I've ever heard it on the way home. I told her maybe she should drink before class. She thought that was the funniest thing she'd ever heard.

So, once again, Korea is...Korea. There's no other way to describe it. Cultural bumblings can be glossed over as long as you loosen up and have a good time and possibly make a fool out of yourself by singing the theme from Titanic.

To help you understand more about Korean life...

...I have pilfered this list from my friend's Facebook profile:

"I hope and pray for those of you who read this note that you will gain wisdom and insight that aid you in whatever path you choose to take in life...

- In reference to street vendors: The more unsanitary the conditions the better tasting the food

- A tall size drink at a starbucks coffee is a little over 4 dollars...a venti is about 6-9 depending on the drink.

-The Dunkin' Donuts here are lavishly furnished and are only for people who think starbucks is for poor people.

-There are coffee shops that don't even sell regular coffee..only espresso drinks...

-there is no such thing as decaf

- Mcdonalds serve kiwi sundaes

- There is what is called a "Couples Tee" where a guy and a girl who are dating will wear matching shirts...these shirts will usually be pink with a huge red heart on the chest with "Teenie Weenie" written on it.

- Dogs dress better than their owners

- Korean's are EXTREMELY self-conscious about their age hence the next time a korean asks you how old you think they are always always always answer, "Dude you look 17...no joke...you're definitely 17..." or you will be stabbed.

- The Korean Constitution is roughly 60 years old hence that is why Korean laws and policy pretty much suck

- The subway is the best place to purchase the latest dvd...quality is usually very good and well worth the 4,000 won (or 3 for 10,000 )

-Middle aged Korean Men drink like a freshman college fratboy and have the tolerance of that of a 5 year old.

-According to MULTIPLE eyewitness accounts women in our neighboring Asian countries i.e Taiwan, China, etc are envious of the "Korean Look" (even though we all look the same...snap!) Yet, it is sad since they base the majority of koreans on the soap operas they watch on television and well over half of these actors and actresses are made out of plastic on the outside.

-Medicare is actually pretty amazing here.

-Pringles chips taste like plastic with salt on top

-Korean Gum loses its flavor before you chew it

-Any American candy (twix, skittles, etc) taste a bit stale

-Ice Cream bars are 500 won ( ~.50 cents USD)...Glorious

-A Guinness costs over 9 Dollars...sad sad day

-Locals will yell at you or stare at you funny if you speak english for too long when riding the subway or the bus

-To not ever trust a taxi driver unless you are absolutely fluent in korean is a wise choice.

- Motorcyclists don't believe in helmets...or the law...despite the fact that korean drivers make a New York City Cab driver look like a freakin' poser who tries way too hard to be cool.

- There is one public trash can for every 100 miles...Korea smells delicious

- Samsung makes cars

-Kia's come with leather seats and navigation systems

-anything over 20 minutes is considered "really far"...anything over an hour is a "road trip"

- Korean students (elementary to high school) go to school 12 hours a day...during their semester break they have it easy...they only go 8.

- O my goodness...I'm shocked and a little embarrassed that I forgot the obvious...Boys hold hands...hee hee...

-This country is nearly 50 percent (at least nominally) Christian (pretty cool). Yet the other day I was at a cafe and they were marketing various Jesus paraphernalia. My absolute favorite was a Jesus greeting card with The Son of Man flying on a broom (yes, a broom like Harry Potter) with other children on it. Our Savior was sporting a man-purse and joyfully wearing a crown of thorns (I think there was a little blood on his forehead). If I remember correctly the caption read, "Happy day happy happy day...happy". I will try my best to retrieve a photo confirmation.

- LG and Samsung cell phones use advanced alien technology

-There is a festival literally every other week celebrating everything from Jazz music to Kimchi...."

And my own personal addition:

Question: How do you know when you're in a fancy, upscale Korean establisment?

Answer: There are toilet paper dispensers in the stalls.

I just called...to say...I love you

Greetings!

Its been a fun week here on the Asian continent! Classes went smoothly, Wednesday was another holiday (woohoo no Third Grade Wednesday!!), and so far this weekend has been a BLAST!

Last night (Friday), Leigh, Hil and I met at Yeouido to go out for dinner. We ate at a typical tiny Korean hole-in-the-wall and laughed all the way through dinner. Leigh almost choked quite a few times. Then we stopped at this gelato place...oh my...BEST ICE CREAM EVER! I had a small cone with white chocolate and macadamia nuts, chai tea latte, and panna cotta scoops. Please drop whatever you are doing and go there right now. You will not regret it - I promise!!

After the gelato we took a trip to the Han river, the large main river in downtown Seoul. Every Korean I have talked to pronounces it the "rebar"...you know, "Last Saturday I went to the rebar." And I'm thinking, "Was there construction where they went? Oh - the river. Riiiight." The whole shore was filled with canoodling couples so naturally we tried to be as obnoxious and loud as possible, as to bring much honor to our people. All along the "rebar" there are these permanent blankets that you can rent and sit on, kind of like spaces at a drive in movie, except you sit instead of park and you look at the beautiful "rebar" instead of watching a movie. Sounds like a rip off to me.

We perched ourselves on the bank and took some pictures:


A picture really can't even show how beautiful it was, but I tried anyway.


I think someone said something funny and I fell over laughing. I am not worshipping the rebar.


Hilary and Leigh playing in the grass.


Arrrrrgh - there be PIRATES in Korea, matey!!


Apparently someone has a thing for Colonel Sanders...


This sign answered all my questions about Korean driving.

Today, being Saturday, we went to Yonsei University to play tennis and badminton with some homeys from church. I wore myself out and had a lot of fun whacking that birdie around. I also acted as line judge and ball retriever during the tennis tournament. We played for about 2 hours and then cleaned up and went to dinner. We at "shabu shabu" which was beef in a soup with green onions and noodles. Plus all the kimchi you could eat! WOW! By the way, when you eat at any Korean restaurant here, all the side dishes are free, so if you want more kimchi just ask. Mom, you should try that at Seoul Garden.

After dinner we took a walk to Sinchon station and found a noraebahng along the way. What is a noraebahng, you ask? Well, "Norae" is the Korean word for "sing", and "bahng" is the Korean word for "room". So its a singing room. Its like karaoke except all the groups get their own personal lounge to sing in. They are EVERYWHERE. I think one out of every two establishments here is a noraebahng. We sang some classics like "That thing you do" by the Wonders, "I just called to say I love you" by Stevie Wonder, and of course "Livin on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi. So much fun.

Here are some pictures from tonight's escapades:


I don't know what a "Well-Italian dish" is but MY NAME IS ON THE SIGN!!!


Look closely - it says "Severance Hospital"...I'm wondering what exactly it is that they're severing...



Coffee...flanel??? *sighs and shakes head*

Off to bed so I can wake up at 9 to watch the Purdue/Ohio State game online :) Night!

Jess

Actually, while I'm here...

Here are a few more notable photos:


Typical, Korea. Typical.


Did I mention I went to the Hansol Korea Open and saw Venus Williams beat the crap out of whoever was unfortunate enough to be competing against her at the time? Did I also mention that "Hansol" is 6/7ths of "Han Solo"???


MY SCHOOL! The main building of Gasan Elementary School.


This is the new building, my room is on the second floor.


This is where I learn the chilluns.


What kind of unorganized slob works here?!?


6th project involving word order/sentence creation that doubles as classroom art.


Infamous Sticker Charts...the sole motivation for 2/3 of my students.


Kind of says it all, doesn't it?

I have internet!!

So after roughly 5 weeks here in one of the most wired countries on the face of the planet, I am online in the comfort of my own home. Talk about bureaucratic red tape - and I thought that only existed in the States. But compared to what I saw while working for GE and then the federal government, internet in 5 weeks is like a miracle in efficiency.

My co-teacher came over after school and helped me figure it out. Then she took me out to dinner! Gotta love that Korean hospitality. Not only did she buy me dinner, but she's taking me on vacation for a weekend in late October to see the foliage! Now if I can just get her to do my laundry...

Wanna see some retreat pictures??? I hope so! Because here they are!


Hilary being a nerd as usual...actually that's my book...


The East Sea to Koreans, The Sea of Japan to Japan, yeah they don't get along...

Ruda and Hilary, two peas in a pod with those backpacks, short pants and flip flops!

Seorak Mountain and - perhaps more impressive - ACTUAL TREES!

Hil, Eric and Tim building a bridge. From my junior civil engineering standpoint, the whole idea was ridiculous and would most certainly end in disaster.

Only 8000 Won to put your life in jeopardy while riding the cable cars of death! Actually they were quite nice and featured music by none other than the legendary Stevie Wonder.

Descending from the top of Seorak Mountain...or...Heaven???

I have a lot more pictures, but Blogger is SO SLOW in uploading them that you'll just have to check out my Facebook or email me demanding photos. For now, I bid you adieu!

Jess