Stop talking to the Yankees!!!

I had no idea it had been so long since my last post. Really that is a reflection of the lack of interesting things that had been happening this month. The teaching schedule is still brutal. The food is still not home. The politics of working in Korea are still frustrating. And etc., etc., etc. We had two weeks of teaching middle school boys...which were...an opportunity for patience cultivation. Then, this past week, we were back to elementary school boys and girls which was better for me. I taught the "Goody Mart" lesson this last rotation and tomorrow I will start two weeks on "Mom's Kitchen". I am excited for this lesson because I plan to make cookies. I think it will be a big hit with the kids. Hopefully, you will not hear news reports of a education center burning to the ground in Korea next week.

The previous 2 weekends, I have spent Fridays in Chucheon (the next city over) at the movies. I saw "The Happening" (not good) and "Get Smart" (good). I really love going to the movies here because it is such a familiar and comforting environment. When you are at the movies, you can pretend that you are at your local theater at home. It is quite a nice diversion.

This weekend, my friend Gail and I decided to venture back into Seoul for a change of pace. It turned out to be more hassle than pleasure. We did get some things accomplished (like buying something to read in English), but it was also a reminder of how nice it is to out of that hustle and bustle all the time. I am glad that since we are in the country, we can get to Seoul easily in an hour or so, but if we don't want to have polluted air and traffic jams, we can just stay here in the area. Oh, to explain the title of this post, we went into Seoul with our friend and fellow teacher Titus. He was born in Korea, but grew up in New Zealand. Anyway, when we were on the Subway in Seoul on Saturday afternoon, some old man started shouting at Titus, to "stop talking to the Yankees!" Of course Titus told us what he said and we all had a good laugh about it, Brits and Americans both.

One pretty interesting thing we did in Seoul was to visit this cafe that offers an interesting service. For an additional 2000won, with your coffee, you can sit for 15 minutes in a foot bath with little fish that chew the dead skin off of your feet. About 5 of us girls went together, and you should have heard the gasps and screams that erupted as soon as we put our feet into the tub. Talk about a WEIRD sensation. It is like when your feet "fall asleep" and you get the pins and needles sensation. Constantly. For 15 LONG mintues. It took at least 5 minutes for us to even be able to keep our feet submerged. It was quite funny. It went between tickleish, and itchy, and painful and relaxing every 5 seconds. For some reason, the fish LOVED one side of my leg. They were on my feet, but there was a frenzy on my left ankle and calf. It is probably not something I will do again, but now I can say I have had the experience.

Today, before we headed out of Seoul, we stopped at Costcos to pick up a few things for a Fourth of July cookout on Friday. I got some sausages and some ground beef, so I am pretty excited about that. I hate that I won't be home as the 4th is one of my FAVORITE holidays. Oh well.

This is a picture of my friend, Alice Park. She is one of the coordinators of the student education program. I am so thankful to be wokring with her as she is really wonderful. Hope to hear from you all soon. I will try to do some more things worthy of posting soon! :)

Love you and Miss you!

To the Beach (and back again)

So, I just had the best weekend that I have had since moving to Korea. The bad thing about it is that it was so good because I actually felt like I wasn't in Korea for the first time. Not that I am hating on Korea- but it was just nice to actually feel like I was going somewhere else for a few days. Gail, Jennifer and I decided to treat ourselves to a weekend in Sokcho. Since we had Friday off (Memorial Day), we left on Friday mid-morning and took the bus to the East coast. It was about 3 hours total in travel time. Not too bad. We arrived in Sokcho around 3 o'clock and proceeded to go directly to our hotel.
Now, our last experience with a hotel was not so great. We had gotten a hotel for one night in a neighboring town just to get out of the dorm a couple of weekends ago. The internet is the birthplace of exaggeration and lies. The hotel wasn't a dump or anything, but we were quite disappointed. So- we were really holding our breaths on this one. We had paid a bit more, so we really wanted to get our money's worth. We were NOT disappointed! The Hotel Maremons was great! It was lovely from the moment we arrived. A seaside view, sauna, feather pillows, the works! YIPEE! First, we crossed the street to the Sunrise Park, where people go to see the sun rise on Korea. It was great just to be near the sea. Next, we went to the "lake" (I would say lagoon) in the center of town and walked around for awhile. Since we were close to dinner and sunset, we decided to just go for a wander and catch a movie. (Sex and the City- I can't explain how happy I was to see this- I'm such a fan) and then hit up a dive for some chicken.
Saturday we woke up to catch the sunrise at 5:00 am, but it was too hazy so we went back to sleep. We got up for the breakfast at 8:30 and WOW. Eggs, sausage, french toast, CHEESE, fruit, croissants...I could go on and on. I know all of this food sounds pretty normal to you, but it was BEYOND delicacy to us. After gorging ourselves until 10:00 am, we hit the beach. We were so fortunate to have a beautiful, sunny day. The high was around 75 and of course, it was breezy. We stayed in the sun until about 3, then went back to take advantage of the sauna. Funny story.
So, in Korea, saunas are quite common. They are also completely nude. So, the three of us come strolling in with our bathing suits still on. No go. You go in naked, or not at all. There were maybe 7 other women in there (and 4 kids)...and we really wanted to hit the hot tub...and we are all friends....so we did it. I know that all over the world, this is common. But for 2 Americans and a Brit, it was quite humorous. Anyway, once we dropped the towels, we enjoyed the hot tubs, warm tubs and cool bath. The dry sauna room was cooking at 82 CELSIUS and the wet sauna room was 91 CELSIUS!! We managed 5 mins. in the dry and maybe 2 in the wet. I don't know how that is enjoyable for anyone.
Anyway, that night, we went down to the port to see all the fresh catches for sale. You can pick your fish out of a tank. Then, they throw it on the ground and knock it in the head with an aluminum baseball bat. Then, it's yours. Yuck. I do enjoy sushi though, and we tried to find a restaurant that served sushi along with something else for Gail (who doesn't eat seafood). No luck. So, we walked back to the hotel and went to the Japanese restaurant there for sashimi. It was delicious. Not quite as fresh (since the hotel is 2 blocks away from the port) but still good. Then we decided just to stay in the hotel lounge for the evening and relax.
Sunday morning we were back at the breakfast buffet, ready to eat for the day. We checked out at 10 and went to catch a showing of Kung Fu Panda. We missed the beginning by 20 mins. so we decided to head back home. Good thing we started back when we did. We missed the 11 o'clock bus by 5 minutes. So we caught the 12:30. That bus decided to take the "scenic route" back through the mountains. It was beautiful, but added an hour to our trip. We finally got back home around 5 pm...with the cloud of Monday doom hanging over our heads.
It was a great weekend, and we all can't wait to go back. The other funny thing about the beach is that Korean people do not like to get tan AT ALL! (it is a sign of wealth to not be in the sun as poorer people work in the fields) Anyway, us foreigners were the only ones in bathing suits on the beach. The Koreans wear long sleeves and pants! Some were even in jackets! Under umbrellas! I am sure we looked like we were from another planet (as usual).
So far, this week has been OK. We have 7th grade boys this week. They are quite smart, but their behavior is a bit trying at times. I am almost halfway through, so I am guessing I will survive. Thanks for the emails and keep them coming! Enjoy the pics!!
PS- my camera arrived- so I am back in business!! YEAH!!

And Month 4 Begins..

So, I am 25% through my tour of duty here in Korea. Just like any other time in life, some days are longer than others. Some days, it feels like 6 months, and other days I can't even believe that I got off the plane!!
I was mistaken about the group we have this week, it is co-ed 5th graders. After having the 7th grade girls for the past 2 weeks, I had forgotten how little these 10 year olds are! We are back up to a decent level of English knowledge, but back down to a low level of discipline. I guess we just can't have it both ways. I have been teaching Bank/Post Office and Science. In the Bank, we work on Deposits and Withdrawals. In the Post Office, we make a postcard home. And in Science, I have been teaching The Water Cycle. It's a simple concept, but the words: evaporation, condensation and precipitation are pretty big in another language. But, they seem to be enjoying it.
I am really excited for this weekend. Friday (June 6th) is Memorial Day here, so we are heading to the beach. Jennifer, Gail and myself. We are going to the east coast of the country to a town called Sokcho. I don't really have much of an idea of what to expect, but sun and sand make me happy. Hopefully, our hotel is truthful in its Internet advertising. We are leaving on Friday morning and returning Sunday afternoon. So- I should have some pictures for the next post.
Hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend and are gearing up for a fun summer. Take care and send me some mail!