VII. Oh!

We had our first "snow" today. ^^

VI. Long time no see...

I'm a terrible blogger. But, hey, we all gotta start somewhere, right?

SO, since I'm teaching, I'm guessing a good topic would be the kids. What are Korean kids like? I bet they're cute...

Well, my classes are not exactly the best representation of Korean kids, considering that they're mostly from the wealthy upper class. However, kids will be kids, so, as is expected, I have some angels and some little devils. 

Classes switch every so often, but these are the ones I have now:

M/W/F

Junior 6: 11-12 year olds who can speak and understand fairly well. This is my favorite class. They understand my humor! I'll share some fun stories eventually, but let's just say, one student, May, is a HOOT.

Senior 3 (slow track): 13-14 year olds who should speak better than my J6s, but don't. This is an essay writing class, but their essays can be frustrating to grade. I think this my least favorite class. They are a handful. I care for the kids, but it is a common occurrence for me to come into the break-room asking someone to shoot me in the face. 

Senior 3 (fast track): All boys. They're like my sons. At first, this class raised hell, but after I taught them Telephone Pictionary, they've become my children. They crack jokes and occasionally misbehave, but we've formed a bond. This is also an essay writing class and some of them are hilaaaarious. If I find some good parts, again, I'll share...

T/Th

Basic 4: My babies and my second favorite class. These are my precious ones, some only 8/9 years old (in Korean age, which is one year older than the International age). They can hardly understand so every lesson is pretty theatrical: I've flopped like a fish, slipped and fell on my rear, snorted like a pig, and much more, all for the sake of Education! And they always laugh. Cuties. 

newHighschool 4: The name speaks for itself, although I don't know why we call it "new". These are the older kids who typically don't care as much and come because their parents tell them to. Pros: talking about life together. Cons: pulling teeth to talk about history. 

So many fun and ridiculous things happen in class. Sometimes they aren't worth sharing, because you have to be there, and sometimes it's super dramatic ie. like the time a student left my class and ran away. Literally. Oi.  Or the time my students came to class with two live fish in her bag- and gave them too me. 

I'll try to keep ya'll updated, but without a camera, it's hard!

I love you and miss you SO much,

LP

V. Mi Casa?

I have a bit of time so I will give you  a quick tour of my officetel (apartment). Sorry, no cammy, but I have my trusty MacBook:

1. The view from the front door.

2. Turn right and you reach my bathroom. The sink and shower.

3. Western toilet. Nice. 

4. After the bathroom, on the right, is the kitchen. And laundry room. No oven, mind you.

5. Walk through the kitchen to the left and you'll see my dining room/dryer.

(Do you see my dryer?)

6. My bike and the stairs to the loft.

7. The view of the loft from downstairs.

8. The loft that is half my height. 

9. My bed. No, I didn't have any choice in bedspread.

Pretty modern, huh? Yea, nothing really Korean and exciting. However, the floors do heat up, which is sweet. Oh, and I get my own video/audio monitoring system to see who is outside. So, no surprise visits, ok? :)

IV. Picture times

Oh hey. 

I've been lazy and busy = picture blog.

1. During class. Hehe. Hey, they were taking an exam, ok? This is totally allowed. 

2. Oh! I forgot to say that I bought a guitarrr. Cheap, but beeeaauuutiful Fender. It's for those lonely winter nights. 

3. Say goodbye to these. They're caput. Unless I can find out how to replace a lens. Time for new ones. Any suggestions? 

4. A Korean celly isn't a complete without a charm. Or bangs. 

5. What Korea does to you... >.<

Oh my...

Loves yous :)

III. Chuseok (Korea's Thanksgiving)

Dear loves,

Much has happened so I'm going to split my blogs up into two. First, I'll tell you about my first vacayyy (woooo!). 

Chuseok  occurred this year on Sunday, September 14th. My friend Grace and I hopped on a bus on Saturday morning to Kimjae, which is where my mom's whole family lives (as I side note I almost missed the bus) (as another side note I bought boiled eggs from a market- it's a traditional road-trip snack- you'll see ladies cracking the eggs on their heads.). I hadn't been there since I was 8 so I told culture shock to bring it on. Definitely brought it. 

So, Grace and I arrived to the apartment on the fifth floor, with no elevator (I feel sorry for the 8th floorers), immediately greeted by my two uncles, their wives, and their kids. Also immediately came the food and strange Korean snacks that I vaguely remembered eating when I was young. Everything was said in Korean so their was a LOT of translating going on. Then, the women and children made traditional rice cakes called songpyeon. Afterwards, we ate dinners and by the way, ALL meals look like this. You always have a main dish, rice, a soup, and a ton of side dishes (and one of them of course has to be kimchi). 

The next day was the actual holiday, the whole family went to my grandparents' graves to pray and pay our respects. Then church and then another feast. My aunt, her husband and kids, and my mom's cousins also joined us. Everyone is loud, funny, and full of life. Too bad I can't understand them.

At night came the best part. The tide had gotten low, so (also traditional) we went out to pick snails, 

among other things. The best part was picking the things out of the ocean knowing someone was going to eat them (not me). You could hear family members yelling at each other, "I caught something!", of course in Korean, throughout the night. 

At night, my mom, Grace and I and my cousin all had a little slumber party in one little room. Precious. My cousin and I were able to bond by showing pictures. Precious. I really need to learn Korean. 

The next day my mom said that I need American food in my system otherwise I would get sick so we went to Lotteria, which is Korea's version of McDonald's (yea yea). Didn't come close. Then we did some shopping (I wanted to buy my cousin a present) and we left. Definitely a great experience. 

Overall, I definitely enjoyed myself and had an amazing time with family. It was crazy to see them and semi-connect with them. Now, does that mean I won't miss turkey on Thanksgiving. Heck NO. But, like I said, I had an amazing time :)