Super Amazing Concert

So, I've decided to go to the concert instead of hiking. I figure the mountain will still be there, but this band won't, on top of that, it was raining this morning and I really didn't feel like getting out of bed. So, I got there at 6pm, met a really nice person and went to the concert where I danced like crazy and had an absolute blast. That band was amazing, and the trombone and saxophone players were amazing. Afterwards we went to the foreigner district where I was amazed by how many non Koreans there were everywhere and we went to an R&B club... stayed a bit and then took a cab back. Wow, what a great night :)

Dilema

After 2 weeks of being bored with not much to do, all of a sudden I've got a problem with too many things I want to do that are at the same time.

Tomorrow... Do I either go hiking, 5 hours plus 2 hours of eating and relaxing with the other hikers afterwards (finished at 7pm) OR, go to a funky concert, which sounds like it's going to be amazing. It's a live reggae/ska band. The band is called Slackers, they sound really good (just downloaded some of their stuff and it sounds really good... live it'll be even better). The concert starts at 6:30pm and there is rumor of selling out cuz the place is quite small and the band has been doing very good on their tour throughout Asia. So I'd have to get there a bit early to get a ticket... hm... damn, what to do, what to do...

I wonder if I can do both :D. Moahahahahahha

Kinder Crises and Friday Test

Alright, so, today was the second time one of the little kids was crying. The first time I was clueless as to what to do, but this time, I had experience and the little munchkin stopped crying. She fell and hit her back, at first she was crying ecause it hurt and possibly she was surprised, but then she just cried for attention when she saw that people were crowding around her. It was cute, but some tissue and a candy made her stop.

I also gave two tests today. One was a test that I announced at the beginning of the week, and the second one was a surprise quiz. The first class was a bit nervous about it and they tried to pretend like they didn't know about it. Sneaky kids :), but I have an elephant memory now, so I don't forget :D. I'm curious to mark the tests and see how they are doing so I know what to concentrate on next month.

Today (Friday), we went with the little kids on a field trip to a Science Center. For lunch we went and to a nearby park where they had a really big playground and where obviously, the kids went crazy and loved playing there. Here are some pictures :).

My place

So, after many requests, I have taken a bunch of pictures of my "appartment" and the outside of it so you can see how pretty it is :).

Stairs going up.

The glass table was in my room, but there was just no space for it, so I put it out on the hallway and bought that plant to make it look nicer :). There is only my room and the one at the end of the hallway on this side so it's pretty private.

There are no shoes taken in rooms where the floor is heated, therefore, there is a special spot where you leave your shoes at the entrance of into the room/apartment.

My wonderfully huge bed :). It's very comfy. You can see my laptop on the left side on a little box-like chair.

Huge empty fridge that I don't use...

Tiny empty kitchen that I don't use either...

Those two dressers I took from outside. There is a furniture store just beside and they throw out furniture quite often. As you can see, it is still in very good condition :).

This is the door to the bathroom. My awesome leather armchair that I got also from outside. It fit perfectly in my room :).

This is the bathroom. I have a wash machine but no shower, only the shower head so everything gets wet in the bathroom when I take a "shower". That is how a lot of the bathrooms are here.

I've also taken a picture of my guitar, which I've named Keisha.Good name no?

This is how I dry my clothes. Since the floor is heated and there really isn't a lot of place to hang the up, I just spread them out on the floor overnight and then they are done :). It's messy but i put them away in the morning and I don't wash too many clothes at the same time.

My mailing address

Here is the address where I can get mail if you want to send me a letter or anything :).

c/o USA English School
2nd Floor, #875 Yangjidong,
Soojeongkoo, Seongnamsi, Kyunggido
South Korea Zip Code No. 461-250

Looking forward to it :).

Dana teacher and the little munchkins :)

Ok, so today I took some pictures of the little kids I teach. I forgot to take a picture of one of my classes, but I will do that next time and will post it up here. They are very cute as you will see in the pictures :)

From left to right (top) Emma, David, Tj, Hans; (bottom) Sam and Jeffrey
They are 7 and 8 Korean years old, that makes them 6 or 7 years old as we know it. They are a very good class :)


From left to right these are: Charley, Jerry, Natalie, Emily and Jemma (she helps out with the little ones). They are 4, 5 and 6 years old, which makes them, yes you guessed it right, 3, 4 and 5 years old. Sooo cute, and smart too :). Jennifer is missing. She is super smart, super cute and very well behaved.


It was Jeffrey's and Emily's birthday today and they had cake and we sang songs to them. Awww, aren't they just adorable??


These are my older kids, from 8 to 13 years old (7 to 12 that is).
Two are hiding in the back. They were a bit rowdy today after I announced there will be a test on Friday. Hehehehe :).

There's a rumble in my stomach

So, the food here is really spicy. So far I've managed just fine and have eaten everything and really enjoyed it. Today is another story. This evening I went to my usual restaurant, and as usual I chose something at random from the menu. The lady there said something in Korean to me, but since I had no idea what she was saying I said yes yes, give me this (pointing to the menu). Well... it was damn hot!! She came back and brought me another soup to cool my mouth. It was really nice of her :). I think I might actually have to resort to some stomach pills... grrr

I took a couple of pictures of the night lights in Seongnam. A bit blurry but still pretty :).

Concrete Jungle

Well, I walked around a bit today after going with my boss and his wife to church this morning. It was a Presbyterian church, but it oddly reminded me a bit of an evangelical church. Too modern, too loud, and very little message. I was a bit disappointed and did not feel the kind of churchy feeling when you go into a catholic big church or an orthodox church. There were lots of people, Koreans and foreigners though who were very much into it.

This is a picture of me and the bosses wife Ester outside of the church in front of this huge mural.

Then I went and walked around the area a bit and took some pictures. It is quite a popular area with the foreigners. Don't really know why, I guess because it's more modern than other areas.

This is a street market. Full of strange and wonderful things. I will buy something interesting to eat next time I'm there. 

Then I went back to my place. Here is a picture of the road across my building and the "mountain"/hill to the left.

These are a few pictures from my neighbourhood. Stairs leading up to this restaurant that looks like a Buddhist temple.

Can you see the double barber shop spirally things? Is that a super barber shop you may ask yourself? Well, I read something about that yesterday and it's actually a "special" barber shop, the same way they have "special" massage parlors. You sit down in a chair and they do crazy things to you. I live right above one of those and never even realized until today. It's not an oddity or anything... those places are everywhere

Telephone is here :D

So, I got my telephone hooked up. YAAAAY, and the boss got me a brand new phone too. This is great :D.

So, if you are interested, here is the number:

to call me from outside Korea
8231 - 735 - 6077

to call me from inside Korea
031 - 735 - 6077

I expect many calls :). I don't have an answer machine which is unfortunate, but I will have internet tomorrow morning (hopefully) and then you can leave me a message on MSN :).

The kids are absolutely adorable. The little ones are so cute I just want to pinch their cheeks the whole time. They are a bit crazy in the afternoon and require a lot of discipline (which I don't know how to do yet) but besides that everything is going pretty good. It is really a miracle because I've never been around kids before and this is only my 3rd day dealing with them.

Something incredible has happened. I actually have a memory... I deal with 35 kids and I actually remember their names. Not all but almost all of them. It's absolutely incredible :). I will have to take a picture of them and will post it on here so you all can see how cute they are.

I am going to go out and eat on my own today... I need to get out in the world on my own sometime and I today is a perfect day :).

What is wrong with foreigners??

Alright, so I am a foreigner, just to clarify. A minority... And I realized from dealing with a few foreigners, that they are all weird. Let me explain:

1. Lack of conversation... they don't talk. They say small words here and there. Who knows, maybe the constant and booring droning of what colour is this, and what shape is this, and what did you eat this morning and all that is killing their ablity to actually have an intelligent conversation.

2. Disregard of others when walking, more specifically... if two foreigners walk together, they don't actually walk together, they don't keep track of where the other is, they just keep walking and they usually walk really fast like they are trying to get to the place and when they are done with that place they run back home to sit and watch more tv or go on the computer or do some drinking. They don't stop to look around, they don't wait for one another if they are curious and want to check something out... no, I guess they are used to being on their own so much that they forget how to interact with someone when they are not alone.

3. Disregard of anothers oppinions... in particular (so far) to eating... they just walk and walk and don't think, hey would you like to go eat here? We pass countless places, they have something of their own in mind but don't even think of telling what that is to the other person...

What is going on here? The Koreans are awsome. Super nice and friendly people. Sure, they spit on the sidewalk, and they drink like no tomorrow, but at least they try to have a conversation and are not so hm... internalized.

Anywais, that was my bitter rant about the foreigners.

On a lighter note, I bought a guitar today :). Yaaay for me :). Now I won't be watching TV anymore but I'll be anoying my neighbours with the guitar :D. It's very pretty and didn't cost very much at all. This is going to be my only splurging item, and after this all is gonna be food or savings or travelling :).