Someday I might know my heart

Reasons why I like teaching...

1. Getting random questions: For example "Teacher, how do you spell poo hole?" (no joke)
2. Receiving hugs from my students: Sunny came up to me before class this week and gave me a huge hug...instant happiness.
3. Little hands shaking eagerly in the air to answer a simple fill-in-the-blank question.
4. Reading my students' funny sentences, stories or essays in their journals or VE books and being able to laugh out loud.
5. Pretending I'm a secret agent with a special kind of "hand phone" that looks like a clock.
6. Random happies: Dried Mangos from Lucy (they were yummy)
7. Students that make me laugh
8. Being able to stun my students into silence.

Reasons why I need a break from teaching...

1. The incessant "Teacher, Teacher, Teacher" and interruptions
2. The constant repetition of everything
3. The moments when I feel like I'm not doing anything
4. Having to be the "bad guy"
5. The endless grading and corrections
6. The Problem Children.
7. Dealing with nose bleeds, drool, and nose pickers

I had a student (Jack) burning mechanical pencil lead with his cell phone battery on Wednesday. O_O

Can I dance with you? Baby, baby is there no chance I can take you for the last dance?

Warm ginseng drinks taste like a pumpkin spiced pie. The after taste mixed with strawberry yogurt is not so pleasant.

Today I took off of work because I am sick. First time I have felt this way here and it isn't pleasant. Ben (head teacher at Espirit) was nice enough to bring some Korean style medicine to me. I'm not too sure how it is going to affect me. I guess we'll see in an hour.

Yesterday (or today) is Teacher's Day in Korea. One of my students surprised me with a small bouquet of purple and pink carnations. Another one of my students gave a nice set of oriental spiced soaps. The most outrageous present I got from a student of mine was a $100 gift certificate from Shinsegae Department Store. Wow! They were nice tokens of appreciation and it made me feel a lot better yesterday.

A friend of mine from home, aka Ducky, has inspired me to write more about the everyday smells and sights I experience in Seoul.

"The smells are not very pleasant. When the subway is packed, the heat radiating from the people seem to "broil" the smells in the air making me gag. Yes, gag. The mix of soju, garlic, and kimchi is not pleasant. AT ALL. (Ok, so there was only one time when I gagged...) Other days, you are walking along the streets of Seoul and you get a whiff of something that has been decaying and rotting. The summer shall be interesting. In the spring, the weather is perfect. Some days, just walking outside feeling the breeze and the sun on my skin puts an extra pep in my step. The summers are going to broiling and the winter will be frigid. The joys of all four seasons!"(Memo: NOT trying to say that it smells bad all the time, just at certain moments)

On a typical day I Walk through the "Red Light District" of my area, Seocho, to get to work. It's not as bad as what a person would usually see at other areas (glass boxes with the girls on show, ready to be picked off). Usually cards or advertisements litter the streets from the night before. Large printed phone numbers and scantily clad girls appear on matted paper. There are a number of large barber shop poles that spin. We've all seen them, the ones that are red, white and blue. In an odd way, they look like candy shop signs to me. Those poles are everywhere and can't be avoided.

My mouth tastes like burnt rubber.

Three Day Weekend

Thankfully, I got a three day weekend because of Children's Day. I spent a lot of the time shopping and exploring other areas I hadn't been to. Friday night was the same as any other Friday; I spent it relaxing and thinking.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to go to the Jeonju International Film Festival. I was going to leave Sunday, but plans change.

Saturday, I went to Sinchon to eat at On The Border. YES! Burritos, margaritas, salsa & chips. My craving was satisfied and it was pretty good. After eating lunch, we headed over to Hongdae to check out the Free Market. It was relatively small but there were a number of vendors selling interesting homemade items. We also got to see a free street performance that involved a guitar and an accordion. A few hours later we took the subway to Dongdaemun. We spent most of the time wandering around the many shopping centers. I bought a white fur covering for when it gets colder.

On Sunday we headed over to COEX (has an aquarium, movie theatre, and kimchi museum). It is a huge mall, I think the largest in Korea, with a wide variety of stores. Then we headed over to the Sports Complex to see a baseball game. The Lotte Giants and Doosan. When we left, which was somewhat early in the game, Doosan was winning. Koreans really get into chanting and cheering at these games. It's a shame I didn't take any photos.

Then on Monday I headed over to Itaewon to find a tailor that could hem my pants. $20 for three pairs...would've been $24-25 back at home. So not a bad deal. They also make dresses, I might look up different patterns and see how much it will cost for them to make some. I also went to Gangnam to do some more shopping.

This coming weekend I will get another three day weekend. Woo hoo! I'm thinking about taking a short trip to Busan. I'll leave on Saturday and come back Monday morning.

I managed to start my letter to my "bio-parent." It is far from finished.

Dig down deep.

Unbelievable. I am almost finish with my third month of teaching. Unfortunately, I've been getting into a routine and need to put a stop to it. My weekends need to be filled with new exciting adventures with plenty of pictures to upload... ^_^ (Asian smiley face)

A big event has happened within the two and a half months that I've been here... I have located my biological mother.

Intense, isn't it? My thoughts and feelings are mixed at the moment and have been since I first found out about the possibility of meeting her. It has been about a month that I have known...but I have not written a letter to her.

My biological mother is married and has two other children ( a boy and a girl, both younger than me). Her husband knows about me so there isn't any hesitation that she wants to meet me (at least that is what the social worker at SWS said). She doesn't speak English so a translator will be necessary for the initial meeting. I don't know when I will see her face-to-face, but the first step is to write a letter to her with a photo or two of myself. It's strange to think that within any amount of time I could be staring at the person who gave birth to me 21 years ago. A person, whom I should have memories of, but don't.

What questions do I ask? What do I say to this stranger? It's a lot to think about.

I haven't really had a lot of time to stop and consider what I want to say to her. Work keeps me busy. I have two jobs now. I'm working full-time at Espirit and then part-time at Pagoda, teaching a business conversation class early in the morning (EARLY!!!!)

I get two three day weekends in the month of May, a much needed break. Although, I have no clue what I want to do during that time, but I am pretty sure I will be able to find something to get myself into.

This past weekend, I went on a hike up this semi-mountain...AKA a really big hill with some rocks and grave sites. It was refreshing and enjoyable although the grave sites were a little strange.

Weekend before that, I went to Club Volum in Itaewon and had a 'lovely' time. There was some kind of strange "lady boy" show...and dancing....and lots of light....and alcohol.

I love spring.

A Month has gone by...Really?

Two weeks ago, I had a very interesting experience. I opposed, at first, to going but I finally agreed...I considered, it's Korea and I should be experiencing new fascinating things.

So I went to a Korean bathhouse / sauna. I'm usually a modest person so having to undress and shower in front of a number of strangers was a bit shocking and disturbing at first. When I arrived, the woman at the front desk gave me two small orange towels, some clothes to change into (to be worn after the shower/hot tub) and then proceeded to show me where I needed to store my shoes.

Next thing I know, I entered into the main part of the bathhouse for women.

So there I was, trying to communicate with the woman that I don't know how these "bathhouses" work. Eventually I bought a scrub and body wash to use in the communal shower. I found my locker and slowly began to undress...trying to avoid eye contact with the naked women. I walked out of the locker area, revealed all of my glory and managed to keep a straight face.

Then I entered into the showers and began to wash myself. Before I came, I was told that it was going to be a relaxing experience...I saw no signs of relaxation yet. It was very busy on this Sunday evening. Many women were washing each other while sitting on plastic shower seats. This concept was strange to me. Some women even managed to get a massage as well. I took my time washing myself, trying to pay attention to what the other women were doing, all the while, feeling very self-conscious.

After washing myself two or three times I got into the hot tub. Very nice...I've started to relax by this point. Then I decided to head into the sauna and then the nice cold pool.

I lost all track of time...Finally, I managed to go downstairs where there were other saunas where men and women could mingle. Adam and I went into this room where there are hot little clay balls that you lay on. It was great...

We left. I went back the next Sunday and will probably go again in the future.
______________________________________________________________
Life in Korea has its ups and downs. The job is nice, but it can be exhausting at times. I'm ready for vacation time and travel. In May, I have two three-day weekends because of Korean National holidays.

Last night, was the Espirit dinner. Fun was had...First time I've ever gone past the tipsy stage. After dinner, a number of us went to an "All That Beer" establishment..not a big beer drinker but they had tasty sausages.

Then we went to a Norae Bang.. ^-^ (yes, I just made an Asian smiley face...) It is a singing room where people go with their companies or friends, that is a lot of fun. I have some video footage of some of the events from last night so once I can get them uploaded to the Internet I will let you guys know.

Next time, I will try not to let a month go by before I write again.

Something tastes different, maybe it's my tounge.

Thank goodness for the weekend.

This past week was a little bit rougher than my first few weeks here. I'm attributing to the fact that the kids started public school this past week as well... they need to release their energy some time, somewhere, that being my classroom.

I had a good start to my weekend. After work a number of the teachers from Seocho and Apgu went to Smokey Saloon. This is a burger place in Apgujeong. Very tasty and satisfying :)
Being the person I am, I didn't get a hamburger...I got a Philly Cheese Steak sandwich. I was rather concerned about what the cheese would taste like, but it was good!

After dinner we all headed over to Kangnam for drinks. We found this "Hof" bar-I don't know the exact meaning of "Hof" but it's just a place that has REALLY cheap soju. A bottle of soju for 10 cents or 100 won. Flavored soju = melted popsicle juice...this too, was tasty. There were pretty fruit plates and some kind of spicy pork dish for our "anju." Anju is just another word for expensive appetizers.

We played a number of Korean games which was amusing...no, I did not get drunk or even feel woozy. I was surprised considering I had a number of soju shots.

Around 1am we went on a taxi search. None of the taxis wanted to take us because Kangnam is so close to Seocho (the subway was closed). So we all decided to stretch our legs and walk back. The walk isn't too long or bad, I had walked it before about a week ago.

More later...

Find a new reason, a new way of living...

This past Friday was payday and thank goodness it came when it did. Funds were getting low and I was getting worried. It is the beginning of cycle two at school which means I survived the first two and a half weeks. This job is pretty easy and enjoyable. Here are some photos of a few students I teach.

(top/left to right: Brian, Joseph, Duke, David, & Monica)

(middle/l. to r.: Heidi *sweet girl*, Asela, and Herry)

(l. to r.: Kyuri, Christine, Yujin, Jason, and Christina)

I haven't done anything too exciting since my last post that is worth mentioning, but it did snow this past Monday. It started snowing on the way to work and continued snowing through the night. Here are some photos:

(above)
I walk this street to and from work...


Playground on the way to work.

Went to the City Hall area, one Friday evening, in search of this little water-way in the middle of town. I will have to return when Spring and Summer arrive.

Under water lights

A few weeks ago I went to a bar opening. It's called the "Happy Bar" and is in the Gwangmyeong area. Some Koreans have two names, a Korean and English name. I met a guy named Kurt... Kurt Cobain. Yes, he named himself after the guitarist/singer in Nirvana. Slightly amusing. Even more amusing, he said that he knew who Alison Krauss and Nicklecreek were (fib).. Here are some pictures of me participating in the Korean way...

(yes that's a REAL pig's head)


Array of Food at Chu Ok's "Happy Bar"

How can I forget! I got my cool red 'hand phone' this past Friday (pictures will be available soon)! It's a pretty cool piece of technology and I only paid 90,000 KRW for it. It has this video conferencing tool on the phone where I can see the person I'm talking to. It also has the microSD card slot (still trying to figure out how to work it) that allows you to bring outside music, pictures, and videos to your phone.

A few last words...If you ever have to tinkle while you are in a Korean subway, HOLD it. Don't use the bathrooms...the "toilet" was covered in unidentifiable brown and red smudges...it was also very slippery and wet inside the stall because it had been raining that evening. I could not figure out how to 'use' this contraption with out making a mess. Too difficult to use...Needless to say, I was grossed out. FYI: a number of Koreans do not take the time to wash their hands after using the bathroom...take caution.

TO BE CONTINUED...STAY TUNED.
(photos and updates on apartment, daily ups/downs about living in Korea, and school).