First Day of New Classes

This is my 100th post. Wow. I can't believe that I've written so many, or that I've been here long enough to have that much to say! It is so close to halfway. It's bittersweet. In the next month, I'm going to be losing Erin (she will go to Germany to be with her family), but we will get a whole new group of teachers. I know that I'll find someone in there that I can bond with, but I'll definitely miss Erin. And while it's so exciting knowing that I've made it halfway through, and only a little more than 6 months to go, it's also a bit sad to think about leaving. As much as I miss home and basically everything, I think I've done well in making this my life now. But, there is a time for everything under the sun...

Schedule Changes

Well, today I got the news I've been waiting for all week. Starting next week, we will have a new class schedule. I've been praying and praying that I get rid of Henry's class, and that I keep my 3SAP kids. So here's the breakdown of what happened:

(Korean) Kids Say the Darndest Part II

My kids are just hilarious sometimes. Sometimes they are total pains in the butt, but on the whole I like them. Which is saying something, because I know a few morning (kindergarten) teachers who say they genuinely like approximately 0 of their students. I'm lucky, because I've got some good ones... Since the last time I wrote about their hilarity, I've been attempting to keep a list. Of course, this list has been spread out over probably 5 different scraps of paper, stuffed into various pockets, and subsequently lost. So, I'm going from memory here...

A Good Day

Today was just a good day. A really, really good day.

(Korean) Kids Say the Darndest Things

I wish I had begun a log at school, of the things my kids say to me. I'm sure I would have a lot more funny things to tell about, but I did make special note of two things today that made me laugh out loud in class.

Open Class: 3SAP

About twice a year for each of my "SAP" classes (the more intense classes) I have to have an Open Class. Each time it is held, it is a little different. But, in December I have 2SAP and 3SAP Open Classes. I also technically teach a 4SAP but they are also called Leap High and I don't have to do the same things with them. Weird. Anyway...

Speech Contest

Once a year (aka: once a contract), I have to work on a Saturday. Today was that day. I had to come in to work in the MORNING (yuck!) and be a judge/interviewer for the SLP Speech Contest. Back in early October, all the kids had to do a Writing Contest. They HATE Writing Contest.

Abby in Seoul Part I

It's Abby here, Chelsea's mom. I have finally arrived to visit Seoul, South Korea, but really, my daughter! Thanks Chelsea, for allowing me to be an author of a post on your blog.  I've been in Seoul about 24 hours now. Of course, the trip here lasted nearly 24!  I flew out of Houston on Tuesday morning, and arrived in Seoul on Wednesday evening. Sounds super long, but it's especially that way because I "lost" 15 hours on the trip over. I think I'll "find" them when I return next week.

About Teaching

Mostly I write about my life outside of work. Sometimes I write cute stories, but mostly I stick to what I think people will find "interesting" ... aka: what I can illustrate with photos! But, since this is also partly about me and my journey, teaching is what I do and I need to debrief (so to speak).

Hand Candy

I keep putting off blogging using the excuse that "I haven't done anything worth blogging about!" Which may in fact be true. But, I feel the need to write something, even if it's not of epic proportions...

Running in Toms

Today was mid-week. It wasn't a bad day, but I did feel kind of down for some or all of the day. On the way to school, it started storming. Fearing to be caught in the rain sans-rain boots or umbrella, I ran the last part of my walk to school. My advice: never run more than a few feet in Toms. By the time I got to work, my arches had cramps and my feet were killing me all day. But, better than getting caught in the downpour which commenced about 5 minutes after I got in the building. Being rained on is a big pet peeve of mine... So, my day could definitely have been worse!

Conjunctivitis, Maybe?

No blog yesterday, sorry folks! Not much of interest happened at work, besides getting a box from my mom, and having a girl's night dinner with Michelle after work. When I got back home, I was so tired I was actually IN BED by 11:30. I read until midnight then couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.

My First Parcel

My Wednesday wasn't too terribly exciting. I made some eggs and toast (made in the pan) for breakfast, and attempted to drink the soymilk I bought at HomePlus the other day. Well, apparently in America I have always drank vanilla soymilk, and this stuff was straight up soy bean juice. It was even slightly green. I don't know, all you hippies: is this normal?! (LOL) Anyway, I couldn't drink it and opted for orange juice instead.

Baseball in Korea

This weekend was absolutely exhausting. It's what I get for complaining last weekend about being stuck in my apartment. My motto this weekend was Go with the Flow! Yes-man style.

Saturday night, I was thankfully holed up in my apartment, blogging and watching a movie (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2, if you must know...). Sunday was so long, though! I woke up at 9am, and had to get out the door by 10am. If you know me, you know that I usually require over an hour (at least!) to get completely ready for my day, including hair, makeup, breakfast, and finishing touches. So, waking up a bit late on Sunday put me in a rush. I skipped breakfast since Tab and I had plans to get an earlier lunch.

Right before I left, I checked my email and saw I had an email from a guy I had contacted from Craigslist about a table. He had previously told me someone was going to buy it already, and I told him to contact me if it falls through. Well, he was emailing to let me know it was back on the market! I gave him my number and we planned to meet in the afternoon to do the deal. And with that, I was off to Itaewon for church...

We had planned to meet at the Itaewon subway station around 10:45, in order to make it to church at 11am. Well, I got there at 10:40, and planted myself on the stairs leading to the exit we had planned to meet at. 10:45... 10:55... 11:00. Where is this girl? Around 11:10, I finally get a text that she is outside waiting on me. Wait, what?! How did she sneak past me?!?!?! I hurry out the exit and see her immediately. Apparently, she had a subway mix-up situation like I did Saturday, and somehow ran right by me on the stairs. I still don't know how this happened, but regardless...

We walk down the road towards the Itaewon Methodist Church. Tab said she had looked up service times, and there was an 11:00am English service. We finally get there, figure out which door to go in, and head up the elevator. I got a little suspicious when we were in the elevator with 6 old Koreans, and no other white people. We walked out, and saw a man in a suit that looked to be a greeter. I think he asked if we were lost? (I could be remembering incorrectly, but he definitely assumed we were not in the right place). Tab asked "English Church?" and he responded "Oh, it's over. It was 9am!" I look at the sign right next to us and see, sure enough, English - 9am. Korean - 11am. Guess the internet is not always our best friend and most accurate source of information!

Tab was upset about this setback, but honestly, we were almost 20 minutes late by now, anyway. I said we will just try again next week; let's get some food. Before we could do that, I needed to go pick up a package Kristen sent me (my ZTA big sister who lives in NYC), and one from my mom. When that was accomplished, we set out to find food! Unfortunately, neither of us had done any research about where to go, so we attempted to find WiFi to get us on the right track. After a brief stint at McDonald's with no luck, we decided to just wing it.

We walked down the street, and I made the impulsive decision to turn down an interesting looking alley. We walked and gawked at the different wares being sold outside the ecclectic neighborhood. It was cute... and then it got residential. I had a vague sense of where we were at, and expected us to come out on the main street. Well, after another 10 minutes of walking, I decided we were definitely not going in the direction. We cut and curved back in the general direction we came from, although going through different streets. Finally we saw familiar sights and knew we were not lost for good. While I was mildly freaking out, Tab was taking photos of the little houses and the view... at least she was in a good mood and not blaming me for having to hike up about 10 hills!

We finally got to the alley which I expected us to originally come out at, and I saw a restaurant whose name I recognized from expat blogs: Wolfhound Irish Pub. We made a beeline, starving and tired. When we were seated at the wooden bench style table, we went over the menu. Tab decided on an English breakfast, and I went with fish and chips. (Interesting we decided on British fare when in an Irish pub in South Korea!) My fish and chips was pretty good, but nothing too special.

When we left, I let the Craigslist seller know that I was available in about 45 min (as long as it would take to get to the station). We chatted back and forth until we decided to meet around 3pm. That left Tab and I about an hour and a half to do whatever, then 30 min to get to the station. Since Itaewon doesn't have much by way of shopping, we headed to Myeong-dong to the Forever 21. I needed some tights to wear under skirts to work, so that was the best place I could think of...

We got there and I ended up getting some great blush-colored tailor pleated pants, some tights, and a couple clearance things. After that, we headed to meet the Craigstlist guy. I asked him would the table be one piece, or broken down. He said it breaks down, and was carriable, but a little awkward. After much debate, Tab and I decided to carry it together to her place. We had plans to go to a baseball game in the evening with some of her friends, so rather than take the table to my place then rush back to go to the game, we would just leave the table at her place during the game, and I could take it back afterwards.


This worked out well enough, but was pretty annoying and cumbersome. We rested for about 30 minutes at Tab's, then headed to the stadium. Luckily, Tab lives very close to the Seoul Sports Complex and we didn't have to trek all over Seoul to get there. One bus ride later, we were at the stadium. We got our tickets ($17) and headed inside.

Apparently, unlike American stadiums which use the health code as an excuse to exploit the hungry and thirsty fans, Korea lets you take your own food and drink into the stadium! There were vendors outside selling pizza and chicken in a box (literally). We passed in favor of getting smaller portions inside the stadium. Tab ended up getting a hotdog (a welcome surprise she wasn't expecting), and we both got some beers (which were also much more affordable than in the states at $2.50 a pop). We got our seats with the rest of the group, and settled in for some great American past time!

A few things popped out at me - 1) Rather than straight up cheering, the fans of each team had songs they sang during the time their players were at bat. 2) Similar to what the Aggies have at Texas A&M, there seemed to be a yell leader who directed the crowds in songs, dances, and other general hooliganisms. 3) There were cheerleaders. Well, not really cheerleaders - more like hybrid dancer-backup singers. They had quite conservative dances (compared to the American standard), and while they showed their stomachs, their necklines were so high even the Pope wouldn't have been able to complain. 4) While I still have not figured out the system on which Korean baseball is based and played, I figured out that anyone can play on these teams. I figured this out when I looked up at the pitcher, then leaned over to Tab and whispered: "Is it just me, or is that pitcher black?!"

Now, you can't call me a racist - there are literally no black Koreans. It just doesn't happen. Some of my American readers may not be able to understand this, since in America you get called a racist for anything. But seriously! It is not possible to be black, and be Korean. While being an "American" is a question of citizenship, being a "Korean" is a matter of race. Therefore, someone being black and being Korean are mutually exclusive. Okay, off my defensive soapbox.

We kicked back and enjoyed the people watching, and of course the sport of baseball. Apparently, we were rooting for the wrong team, since it was a shut out. The other team won, and their fans seemed to have a better time overall as well. If we had not been in a group, Tab and I would have traded allegiances and gone over to the other side. But, alas, we mostly observed.

Halfway through, Tab insisted that I eat something, having had nothing since noon, and been drinking a beer. I agreed to go check out the fare. I ended up deciding on some chicken. I would call them nuggets, but a better word would be pellets. Not like rat droppings, but more like short Cheetos. Does this give you a good idea? They came with a sauce, but I opted to have that on the side.

All of my skeptics who think I should have eaten the dumpling last week, you will be proud. Rather than dissecting the "chicken" to confirm it's variety, I just bit into it. It was cold, but otherwise not bad tasting. I looked at the other side which I still held in my hand. It didn't look like chicken. I smelled it, then had a recollection that Koreans like dark meat chicken, rather than white. I shrugged and popped the other half in my mouth. This was quite an accomplishment. I didn't eat the whole cupful, but I did eat quite a bit. I even tried the sauce, and enjoyed it!

We stayed til the end of the game, then trekked all over creation to find the bus to take us back to Tab's apartment. When we finally got there, it hit me how exhausted I was. And now I have the dilemma of taking this obnoxious large and awkward table back to my apartment on the other side of Seoul. So, my options:

1)Take it on the bus and subway alone (risk bursting into tears spontaneously, hurting myself and/or others, breaking the table)
2)Take an expensive cab ride (between $25-30) with it (benefits would be the ease)
3)Have Tab assist me on the subway then she can turn around without having to pay for an additional ride back home, then take a cab a short distance to my apartment.

This last option seemed to have both the financial and physical aspects under control, so that's what we decided to do. I carried the heavy part this time (Tab had it last time), and we headed out into the rain (which started as soon as we left the baseball game), on the bus, through the subway station, onto the trains, and out. Tab said goodbye, and I was burdened with the entire thing. This consisted of 1 large tabletop (not actually large, but bigger than was comfortable), which bent together but not all the way, only until a 45° angle remained. Also, 2 rectangular sets of metal bars, plus another 2 straight bars in a bag with the hardware. I wish I had a photo, because I must have looked ridiculous carrying this through the subway. It was slow-goings, to be sure.

I was actually kind of disgusted with the lack of assistance. Everyone felt it appropriate to stop and stare at me, but no one felt the need to help me take it even a short ways, up the stairs maybe, or to the end of the hallway. Maybe it's just that I grew up in the South and therefore most men have some sort of gentlemanly blood, but I was not impressed with the Koreans at that point in time.

When I finally got the thing to the top of the subway, I was totally dejected to find there were no cabs waiting at the curb (a frequent habit of empty cabs). I saw a boy, and asked where I could get a cab. He pointed across the street and I headed that way. He was just standing around and I couldn't believe he wouldn't help me, even when he knew I was only going across the street. I hobble over and the one available cab gets taken right before my eyes. I want to cry, but keep it together.

And then, like a ray of sunshine beaming down through the night sky, a yellow cab pulled right up to me and popped it's trunk. I gratefully put the table down into the trunk, and get in the cab. My hands are shaking and my body slumps into the seat. All I can manage is "Kamsahamnida, Kamsahamnida, Kamsahamnida!" (Thank you, thank you, thank you!). He smiles and laughs, and I give him my address. He types it in, and we're off.

I sincerely think God sent this taxi driver straight to me. Every cab driver I've had in Korea so far, no matter how nice, has spoken no more than 2 words of English. This man, while by no means fluent, asks me where I'm from, how long am I in Korea, etc. When I say I am from America, he starts singing Oh Say Can You See. I can't do anything but laugh and clap for him, despite the extreme fatigue making my hands weigh about 10lb each. He goes on to tell me that he loves "America human" because we are so "smile and kind... and beautiful!!" I just laugh and say thank you. He sings for me in Korean and tells me that it's "his song." Wow...

We get to my neighborhood, and I live on a one-way street. This guy goes in the wrong way and pulls me up RIGHT next to my door. I was so happy I could cry. I thanked him profusely and got the table out of the trunk. When he left, I was shuffling up the driveway to the entrance, and saw my landlord. I wouldn't be able to open the door with the table in my hands, so I give him my most desperate eyes and look at the door and back. He gets the hint, comes and opens the door. Then he does one better, and takes the table top from me, gets in the elevator with me, and takes it to my room. I wanted to hug him.

After that, I relaxed and then, I have no idea how I got the energy, but I put that dang table back together. I still don't know how I did it, but it's put together and I love it. It was worth the horrible time transporting it, I'm happy to say.

My Sunday was so exciting and jam-packed that my Monday is utterly boring in comparison. Today,  Typhoon Sanba was supposed to hit. Well, I guess it did. It was pretty rainy and windy this morning. But work was not cancelled, so I sported my rain boots. It was pretty chilly, too. I loved it.

After work, I got some groceries and I am happy to say I found some decent veggies!!! I got home and made some awesome pasta and chicken. Now, my bed is calling me and another day of work is at my door tomorrow. Happy Monday, Blogosphere!

Street Dumplings

This week has gone by so fast! I love it! I managed to get to bed by around 12:30 last night after talking to Michael for a while. I naturally woke up around 6:30, thinking I should be getting up. It was wonderful to realized that I had another hour and a half to sleep. I knocked out again, and woke up to my alarm.

My first thought was "What did Apple announce last night?!" So I got on my iPad and start typing "apple news..." and nothing popped up. That's strange. Normally this stuff gets a lot of press, and is a huge search topic. I searched and found on MacRumors about the announcement. All in all, I was not too impressed. Of course, it looks cool. But, what I was hoping for was a game changer. Something revolutionary! Like the iPhone 4 was when it was released. This is cool, but in my opinion, the 4S is a better deal... Good thing I won't have to make a decision on getting a phone for another year. Maybe even the iPhone 5.5 will be out ;)

Moving on... I made pancakes for breakfast. Last night I got a measuring cup (the big 4-cup size) and a measuring spoon. I was actually able to measure out my mix and water, and pour from the measuring cup. My pancakes came out golden brown and were as good as, if not better than, IHOP.  (Maybe this isn't true, but in Korea, they are the best.)

I watched Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol all morning and got to work right at 1pm. It was a rainy day today, so I sported my yellow wellies (of course!). Classes were good. I decided on which is my favorite. It's my 3SAP kids. They are only on T/Th unfortunately. I absolutely love them. I think all my good classes are T/Th actually. But these kids are the best. They all participate, there isn't a single one that ignores me when I say to do something, or to stop doing something. While some are brighter than others, they all participate and seem eager to learn. These are the kids that were singing with me on Tuesday. Today we were talking about dancing (actually, I was filling time that I had accidentally left open on the lesson plan) and the different types of dancing (I chose this because their unit is actually about a dance performance). And... I can't believe I did this, but... I did Gangnam Style.

If these kids did not love me before, I'm pretty sure they do now. If you don't know Gangnam Style, you might want to learn, quick. It's a song by a South Korean pop star named Psy who is taking the world, and the US, by storm. Almost all my friends back home are obsessed with this song/music video. The dance is hilarious, and the tune is catchy. So... watch and just picture me as the main guy with the glasses, but in a school classroom, accompanied by giggling Korean children rather than electro-beats. (While you are watching, check out the females' attire - they wear the shortest skirts/shorts, but barely show their chest. Also, the bus scene - the old lady with the visor, I can't go a day without seeing an ajumma like her!)

Well, that was a fun class. :) Otherwise, my day was fairly normal. On the way home, I decided to go out on a culinary branch and try these dumplings. I pass the cart that sells them everyday, on the street in the neighborhood I walk through. They have 3-4 varieties, and Erin Teacher told me they have some kind of meat, BBQ pork she thought, in them. I decided that my severe lack of meat/protein demanded I try them. So, I stopped tonight. I got 4 large dumplings for 2,000W, a pretty good price. They were warm in the bag on my way home and i couldn't wait to try them.

Being the careful eater that I am (there are negative connotations with "picky"), I pulled one apart before I bit into it. The dough outside didn't taste like much, but the juice from whatever meat it was, was kind of sweet. I inspected the "meat" further and decided it wasn't pork. It had the consistency of overcooked beans (kind of mushy), but I couldn't tell what it actually was. Then it hit me... It looked like bug larvae. I couldn't even swallow a bite once my mind got on that idea. I ate the dough around it and put the rest in my Food Waste bag in the freezer. Bummer.... but at least I tried, kinda.

The contents of my dumpling.

In other news, tomorrow is FRIDAY! And this Friday, I have plans. Yes, I'm actually going out, at night, with other people, and socializing! I am so excited! I would hold off to disclose my plans until they have actually happened, but I won't be posting a blog until Saturday afternoon or night, so I might as well.

Tab and I decided we need to go out together, since I haven't been out once since getting to Korea. We decided to go to dinner and get drinks, then party it up in Hongdae (the university area). I get out at 8, and she doesn't get out until 9:30, so we will meet somewhere around 10pm. (I might just take my things to her apartment early since I will be staying the night). Today at work, Michelle was feeling down. I invited her out tomorrow, to take her mind off things. She excitedly said yes! So, she will be joining the festivities. She will come over to my apartment after work, and we will get ready together.

When we decided this, she asked if there was anything I needed. I looked at her a little confused. She explained that in Korean culture, if you go to someone's home, you must bring a gift to thank them for their hospitality. I told her to just bring a bottle of wine she likes :) I can't wait to hang out with both of my favorites in Korea at the same time, and also get my party-on!!! It will certainly make up for my boring Saturday last weekend.

I think that about sums up my Thursday. Sorry I will be skipping tomorrow's blog, but I think it will be worth it for the adventure that will come of it. :) Goodbye until Saturday...

**UPDATE: Erin Teacher and I decided that the dumpling must have been 'red bean paste', a Korean thing that they love that no Westerner really understands... **

Apartment Decor and Work

This morning was awesome. I slept late, like 8:45, then got to talk to Michael for a little bit. I also spent a lot of time doing some Craig'sList research. I am officially desperate to make my apartment "home." Yes, it's getting there... but it still lacks a lot of homey-ness. Last night at one of the other foreign teachers' apartments, she had an armchair. And she had a western-style desk. It made me realize that, while I like that my furniture is not overpowering the room, I also think my room is very low to the ground. Like, the desk I have is a floor-desk, the hutch is very low as well. And of course the bed is low. I have no chairs, no rug or anything to sit on. I decided I need some things!!

First, I want an armchair. Like, something comfy I can sit in and blog, or read a book, or anything. Nothing too big, just a chair I can put in the corner and have a place of my own. This beats getting a large desk that hogs the room. If I did get the chair, I would give the hutch (that is really not very useful to me) to another teacher in the building.

Second thing I want is an area rug. I have faux-hardwood laminate that is pretty crappy. It's not ugly, but cheap. I want something to draw the room together, give it warmth! I would love a rich color, but honestly I'll take anything at this point.

I also would like some alternate lighting - a floor lamp and desk lamp to be precise. I hate my overhead lighting, plus the switch is on the other side of the room so at night it's annoying to turn off the light before bed.

Finally, I want wall decor. Some floating shelves, or some paintings/art. This is getting out of the "need" and pretty far into the "want," but oh well.

I went on CraigsList this morning to start some research. FIRST - the armchair. I only found 2 currently listed - one for 20,000W (~$20) it was not the prettiest, but it looked leather and wasn't too ugly. Only problem with that one is it was listed back on July 31. It is most likely sold by now, especially for such a low price! The other one I found did not have a price listed, only asking for an offer. It was originally 250,000W (~$225), so I would probably offer maybe 80,000 to 90,000W. The thing with either of these two is transportation! How the heck to get it from one side of Seoul to the other?! I emailed a guy I found on an expat forum about moving, and he quoted me around 70,000 to move it totally (from 1 apartment to the other). Woah! Alternatively, Erin Teacher told me at work I might could find one on the street that someone is getting rid of; several of the teachers have done that. I might just have to go hunting in my neighborhood one day!!

SECOND - the rug. Basically, no one has a decent rug. Awesome. THIRD - a lamp. One, single, solitary floor lamp listed. I emailed the seller, and she was selling it TODAY. Grumble, grumble.... FINALLY - I stumbled upon a pretty cool piece of art and made an offer on it. I think the same person, I made an offer on his kettle, rice cooker, and power converter. I also attempted to get a Brita water pitcher, but that deal fell through :(

Finally, I made it to work. I will summarize my classes:

First - my worst class. Jackie Teacher observed and helped put the kids in line. I made sure to use everyone's name so she sees that I know names!

Second - Belle was surprisingly participatory today. But the entire class seemed to have eaten straight sugar before I came in. They could not stop giggling, chatting, and generally being disruptive. We were talking about emotions, feelings, and how we feel. I was trying to explain "terrible" to them, and got a very sad look on my face. I said "How do I look?" Benny, my most hyper and disruptive student, said "Ugly?" .... I guess I should have clarified better! I got a shocked look on my face, and then he says "Oh, oh, oh... surprised!" Haha... these kids!

Third - Jackie came back again. It was a great class - very participatory, got some great responses, and felt like I generally had a good grasp on the class and the material.

Fourth - 2SAP girls... This class was a fiasco! I was checking homework and realized the girls had the old homework checklist, rather than the updated one that I had. Therefore, today was supposed to be a review, but they had not completed all their vocabulary. So, I made a teacher-decision, and we worked on the homework that should have been done last night, and then took the Word Quiz. Good decision, since I realized the W.Q. had words on it that we did together in class. Oops! Also, I think the girls did better since we had gone over the words immediately before taking the quiz. So, instead of reviewing in class, I sent the review home, and they will test tomorrow, right on schedule. Phew! Crisis averted... except that I had 1 student absent. So, she would be extra behind tomorrow. I had my partner teacher, Hannah Teacher (Korean), call Rachel's mom and explain the homework. So, Rachel will take the exam on Friday, instead of tomorrow. What a confusing and crazy day in that class!

Fifth - Jackie observed again (I was thanking Jesus and my lucky stars she had not chosen the previous class since it was so chaotic). I think I achieved something amazing - when explaining the vocab words with the class, we came to the word "rule" - I had them read the definition and then I asked "do we have rules at school? what are some rules at school?" I could only get 1 reply, "don't talk when teacher talks," so to dig myself out of that one, I said "Right, so here in SLP, we have a rule - don't speak Korean! Remember?!" (All of the kids speak Korean, but we tell them not to so they will practice their English) Well, I looked at Jackie Teacher and she is sitting in the corner just cracking up. I didn't realize it was that funny, but she thought it was hilarious. So, score! Jackie isn't mean, but a true laugh I have yet to see come out of her. Yay!

Sixth - my boys. I am so lazy with them. By the end of the day, I am so tired that I usually just sit and verbally go through everything rather than write it all on the board. They are so smart, anyway. Today I had my first trial run with the creative writing. I had them write about a trip they want to take, to go anywhere. They had to talk about what they would do, what animals they would see, etc. Using their vocab. I had two boys write about going to the Sun, and another to a lost island paradise under the ocean. I thought that was fairly creative. I was proud :)

Really, that is about all that happened today. I made Kraft Original Mac & Cheese when I got home (yay!!!) even though I was really craving a burger (I didn't want to make the trip to Itaewon just for that...).  This week is going by much faster than last week, thankfully. I am also feeling much more in control with my classes, since I am organizing their lesson plans, homework, etc. I am actually starting to enjoy it. I get the most frustrated when I am trying to teach and they won't stop talking!!! I want to shake their little faces until they pay attention!!!!! Haha!

Tonight my goal is to be in bed going to sleep by midnight!!! Looking good so far... Really excited for the Apple announcement tomorrow (well, I'll see it tomorrow. I'm not staying up til 3am to watch it tweeted live!) GOODNIGHT!!!

Manic Monday

Today wasn't really manic, actually. More like monotonous. I mean, it wasn't bad. It's just typical Monday! That horrible day when you're the farthest away from a weekend you will ever be in a week. Thankfully, Monday is almost over.

I wasn't going to write a blog tonight. I didn't think anything of any interest happened today. But, as I was about to get in bed to go to sleep, I realized that I felt significantly under-accomplished without spending the time to write a blog. Granted, it takes me around 1-2 hours to write each blog (not exaggerating), but today wasn't a grand adventure; I am thinking this post will be shorter...

Anyway, back to how I hate Mondays. Monday mornings suck in particular, because we have to be at work by noon, rather than 1pm. So, less time to myself in the mornings. When I got to school today, we had a teacher's meeting with the other foreign teachers and Jackie Teacher. I found out two things - one was almost bad, and the other was bad.

First, one of the classes I teach was announced to be changing some curriculum around, and I would now teach an additional book, which had no Powerpoints or resource material prepared. All needed to be made from scratch... But, then I found out it was not my class after all! It was the other class with the same name as my class that Sean Teacher teaches. Dodged a bullet; I feel for Sean :(

The other piece of news was that the only Saturday in my entire contract that I will be required to work is ... *drum roll* ... the weekend my mom will be in town. That's right. The only Saturday my mom will be here in Seoul with me, I have to go to work. I even kind of mentioned to Jackie Teacher that my mom will be in town, but she definitely did not get the hint to let me off work. Double :(

I really tried not to be too upset about this. Really, really hard. But, I couldn't help it. I'll have waited 4 months to see my mom, will not be able to see her again for another 8 months, and I will get 1 single day off work to spend with her (Sunday), out of the week she will be here. One day. I'm actually extremely depressed about it. I am considering being "sick" the Monday after that weekend... or maybe, I'll just tell Jackie, "Sorry, I can either miss Saturday when we have no classes, or Monday when you will have to find someone to replace me. Your choice." (Ha! Yeah right! I could never say that to an authority figure.)

After the meeting, I worked through Office Hours and got extra prepared; not only for today, but tomorrow as well. Classes were decent. I am definitely feeling the "growing pains" of my patience. During times when I want to sit down, cry, pull my hair out, and yell, I think of my Dad and the other really good teachers I had. They didn't do that. They just got things done. They chose their battles, not yelling at every single child every time one of them talked when they weren't supposed to, or did something stupid. It helps a little...

During my first class, the heathen children, Jackie Teacher observed my class. Thank goodness I thought she was just in there to help me keep the crazy kids under control rather than "observe" or I might have done worse. I actually think I did a fairly good job. I wasn't stuck to the computer as a script, could walk around and ask questions, got the kids talking and answering questions. I felt good about it.

In my second class, my problem child, Belle, decided she didn't want to be awake during class. I tried talking to her, touching her, even shaking her a bit; she did not budge. I finally had to ask Jackie Teacher to come in. She took Belle out of class, and returned her about 15 minutes later. Jackie Teacher told me later that Belle told her "a bad thing happened, and she does not want to study." Well, alright then... This girl absolutely baffles me.

Next class was okay, but Jackie came in and rather than observing, starting yelling at the kids to do something I had not told them to. Listen, lady, I know what I'm doing! I actually had it under control. I told her what we were doing and she said okay and left. I was actually a little confused by her random interruption and abrupt departure...

My 2SAP girls were okay. Sometimes they can be quite frustrating - these are the 3 sweet girls who just can't seem to get it together for school. We read their textbook and did some workbook pages. Nothing exciting there. My last two 1-hour classes were also uneventful. Well, in my first one, I had a student make a 0 on her vocabulary quiz. She has to come retake it tomorrow. I felt bad for her, but a 0?! Come on... My last class the boys just whipped through their work. I decided to make extra work for them when they do that.

During my last hour of planning, I made little essay packets for that last class, with prompts based on their Student Book lessons and using their vocabulary words. This is just something for them to do when they finish all their work early like they've been doing recently. It is creative writing type stuff. They need to work on their writing anyway... I am pretty proud of my little creations (the essay books, not the children....)

As far as the "social" aspect of my life (I say that with a great deal of irony), I had a heart-to-heart with Michelle at work. She had some personal things going on, and confided in me. Of course, I wouldn't break that confidence just to have something to talk about on a blog! :P So, suffice it to say that I was there for her in a time of need. I don't think I can say it enough - I love this girl! She's such a great person and friend :)

After giving her my best counsel, she headed home and so did I. My feet were absolutely killing me and my stomach hurt as well. I had Cheerios for dinner and watched TV on my computer. Then Tab and I talked about our Chusoc plans. That is Korean Thanksgiving, and we get 5 days off (including weekends, but who cares!?). It is from the end of September to the beginning of October.

We thought about going to China, but there was too much to think about for such short notice. The price wasn't bad, especially for an international trip. But, it was still more than I have to throw around before my first paycheck. I found a website called Adventure Korea - a Korean travel club. They host trips around Korea. The Chusoc trip looked perfect - it's in Korea, but still out of Seoul. It looks like an adventure with volcano climbing and beach time and cliff diving! I want to go so bad! It's a little pricey, but it would be worth it to take advantage of one of our only vacation times! I am waiting for Tab to give us the "go" and we will book it.

That's about all I have for today, and thank goodness because it's already taken 30 minutes to write all that! Time for sleep and hopefully I won't be so tired tomorrow. I need all the energy I can muster for the rest of the week.

Immigration and Chicken Costumes

Today was a particularly long day. Not so much due to work, just sheer hours on my feet. Just so you know, this is going to be a longer blog than normal (I can just hear you: "wait, it can get longer?!"... yes, it can.) I will discuss: my walk to work, going to apply for my Alien Resident Card, and things that happened at work. Here we go...

This morning, I slept in past my alarm. Not to worry, my alarm is set for 5 hours before I actually need to be at work. So, sleeping in an extra 30 minutes is not an issue. YAY! So, I slept in a little, then got ready for work. I'm loving my own apartment, by the way. It's so nice to have my own little space. Even though the actual physical place is not tooooo much different than the motel, it's wonderful that I can make myself at home. :) 

Heading to work today with my UH cup! Thanks, Dad!

I had to be at work by 12:30 to leave to go to Immigration. I knew I had a few things to prepare for before classes, and I didn't know when we would be back from Immigration. So, I decided to go to work extra early, to make sure I was adequately prepared. This means I left at 11:30. Since I didn't technically need to be at work for an hour (and the walk takes around 15 minutes), I decided to take some photos for my loyal fans. :) I have an interesting walk to work, so I'm going to share some familiar sights with you...

First, my view crossing the street, looking back towards my apartment. 

When I get past the major street (which the photo above is crossing), I enter the neighborhood. I live ~3/4 of a mile to a mile from work. I zig-zag through a neighborhood most of the way, and there are some interesting things to see, and some interesting people who stare at you. My first favorite sight going into the 'hood is this thread store. They open up the wall in the mornings and you see this huge color-arranged wall of thread. The photo is blurry, as I was walking while I took it to avoid looking extra-weird. And there was an old man walking behind me that said something when I took this photo. I smiled and said "pretty!" as if he understood. Which he did not.

Next, I aim for alleyways, since there are fewer people to gawk at you. There is usually a lot of trash piles, which are gross, so I spared you guys a photo of that... You're welcome. After a few blocks, I see a lot of fruit and vegetable shops. They have palettes of their foods in front of tiny stores. A few places you can see old women and their daughters picking the seeds and stems off peppers, or other fruits. The piles of pre- and post- stemmed peppers are oddly beautiful. These women work hard.

Pre-stemmed on the left, stems/seeds in the middle, and ready-for-sale peppers on the right. 

I am nearing the end of my journey when I enter a traditional Korean market. I'm not sure what makes it traditional, because it's just a lot of fresh fruit/veggies stands, and a few small shops selling junk. But the big sign you walk under to go down the street claims it's "traditional." Here, I usually see ajummas (old Korean women, usually with a tight perm and permanently pursed lips) browsing the wares and gossiping (I assume), all while blatently staring at the freakish girl with "yellow" hair. I sneakily snapped a photo, pardon my finger in the frame. :( Oh, did I mention that if you're over 30 in Korea, you permanently have an umbrella in your hand (rain or shine)? These Koreans prize white skin (damn, I must be of more worth than gold!), so they must shield themselves at all times lest the sun rays get you.

After passing through the market, I cross another major road. Today, this little hunched old man with a cart loaded with cardboard and other junk he can sell (which he salvaged from trash piles) piled higher than his head, just started walking across this street. There is a "walk/don't walk" sign, and it was currently red. This little old man was either blind and deaf (the lady next to me started yelling at him) or just felt that he had paid his dues and the cars would stop regardless. All I know is I held my breath for the minute or two it took him to cross the street, grabbed my camera, and snapped a few pics. Brakes were screeching, but this old man just kept hobbling along. I suppose this is Korean culture. This man was old, probably older than anyone I've ever met, and he earned the right to do whatever he pleased. This idea is also seen when little old ladies no more than 4' high push and shove past you to get on the bus first. No one yells or curses or complains (well, that I can hear or make out), they just accept it because she is older and therefore deserves respect. 

When I finally got to work, I was extremely efficient. I like going early, when there are only a few people in the office. It's not crowded and I can work much better. I plugged in some country music on my iPod, and got nearly everything done that I needed to by 12:40 when Sean, Jamie and I left for the Immigration Office. We had to take a cab, and it was only $8 after 30 minutes. Wow! 

Our school had set up an appointment for us with Immigration for 1:40. We arrived around 1:20, and found our way through the office. There was hoards of people, and it looked like if you did not have an appointment, it was a "take a number" system. We found the desk for "Reservation" and waited a while for someone to come and actually sit behind the desk. Finally, though, a woman helped us. I kind of had no idea what was going on, except that she took my paperwork and my health check, stamped some stuff, took $10, and gave me a receipt. It was stamped 9/20, and since today was NOT 9/20, I assume that is the projected day I can get my Alien Resident Card. 

^^The rows of stations to help people, which were
not doing any good for the 100+ people I was
too scared to take a photo of behind me.
<< Sean getting fingerprinted during his turn.

When we finished up like 10 minutes later, I smile apologetically to the masses of people still waiting the multiple hour waiting period (should have gotten an appointment, folks!), and we left. Jamie and Sean wanted lunch, so we figured since the appointment took about 10 minutes, and our school assumed it would take longer, we had some time to spare to get some food. We walked down a large street with many vendors and shops; Sean and Jamie had been here before. It was called Insadong.

Sean stopped in a bakery for a pastry, and the smell of sugar lured me in as well. When I walked in, the woman had just cut this churro in half. It looked, and smelled, heavenly. If I'd have had some money, I would have gotten one. Alas, luck was not with me and I had to settle for a photo.

We walked along the street and there were tons of touristy souvenier shops. I didn't even care how touristy I looked with my camera out, snapping photos of everything.

And then I saw them... 3 chickens walking down the road. Well, one rooster, and two chicks is more accurate. They were passing out flyers or brochures about something or other, and I stopped dead in my tracks. I took a photo, and when they saw me with my camera, they pointed and ran over to me. I just wanted a photo of them, but they crowded around me to take a photo with me, instead. I quickly handed off the camera to Sean, who did some nice spontaneous photography, and I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Of course, we must do a Korean peace sign. Alright!!! 

Apparently, they were advertising 99day Festival.
Who knows what that is, though, because once you
opened the flyer it was all in Korean. Score!

Passing out flyers!

 After 15-20 minutes of walking, we headed for the main road to get a taxi back to school. The ride back had loads of traffic, but since the fare was around the same as the way to Immigration, I assume Korean taxis charge by distance, not time. Good thing! :)

Once we got back, it was 5 minutes til first period. Good thing Tuesday/Thursdays I have break first period! I got to eat lunch and relax until 3:30 when I had class. I won't go into too much detail about my first few classes, since I've already elaborated quite a bit on my morning. We will just say it was a fairly good day :)

During several classes, Jackie Teacher came in or sat in, and I felt like I did a great job in front of her, getting the students talking and repeating and answering questions. Go me!

During my 5th period class, I had a girl tell me she had a loose tooth. I told her "Don't pop it out!"... what does she do? Twenty minutes later,  she raises her hand (the one that is not in her mouth) and asks through slobber and blood, "Teacher, can I go to the bathroom?" Sighing, and not a little grossed out, I send her to the Desk Teacher. She comes back a few minutes later with a tissue in her mouth and proceeds to do the rest of her assignments in such a state. Oh my... little kids.

In my last class, I learned about Koreans' fear of all things bugs. The classroom was hot, so I let the kids open some windows. It was around 7:30pm, and the sun had gone down. We were working on a review and we had the lights on. Suddenly, one of the girls lets out a scream. Of course, even if they don't know why they are screaming, the whole class suddenly has to contribute to the screaming. I finally figure out that a moth had come in the open window. These kids are terrified of this moth. When I grab a rolled up notebook and head over to kill the thing, I hear one girl say in tone which combined amazement and total confusion: "Teacher isn't afraid!"

I turned around "No, I'm not! But if I am going to kill this thing you have to be very quiet!" (As if the bug will let down it's guard if they are silent.) Well, it worked for a few seconds; the kids shut up and I crept toward the moth. Of course, it fluttered away when I got anywhere near it, which prompted more blood curdling screams. I was afraid that Jackie Teacher would hear and come running, and since I had finished early, I did not want her to come in and I have to figure out how to extend the lesson another 15 minutes. I told everyone to pack up and move to the classroom across the hall. If I couldn't kill the moth, I'd just move the kids away from the moth.

Good thing my lesson was over already, because the resulting breathless chatter in Korean - which obviously went something like "Oh my gosh. Can you believe we just survived that death defying ordeal?! I mean, a moth. Can you believe it? I'm going to write about this in my diary tonight!" - could not be quelled.

During my last hour in the office, I had nothing to do. I finished a few things here and there, but was killing time by around 8:20. Michelle Teacher and I talked about food, TV, and other silly things. She asked me to help her with her Phonics class. She has the hardest time saying the sound "Jj" - like in Jet. She kept cracking up when I would say it - she thought it sounded like a Chinese sound (she studied Chinese). And I kept laughing at her pathetic attempts, which came out more like "Ss". It was hilarious. I felt mildly guilty for not doing anything productive during the last 40 minutes, but since I had gotten to work over an hour early, I cut myself some slack.

After work, I went to the bank near me to get some cash out. After I did that, I stopped at the dollar store called Dison. I got some kitchen stuff - another fork (I currently owned 1, and about 5 pairs of chopsticks), a sharp knife, a colander for pasta, a pasta utensil (the kind that looks like a spoon with points at the end), a set of cups, a set of bowls, a few plates which I suspect are actually for kids but were the cheapest and the cutest there, some rubber gloves and scrubbies for washing dishes, and maybe some other things I can't remember. I paid $13 total for everything! Ya, what a great deal!

 I walked home and contemplated going to the crappy grocery store under the BauHaus department store to get some meat to make for dinner, but decided against it. It had been a long day, I'd been out of my apartment for 11 hours, and on my feet for most of them. It was time to get home and write a really long blog with a TON of photos! I hope you enjoyed today's edition. :)

Tomorrow is Friday, and although I don't have any set plans for the weekend, I'm definitely looking forward to it. :)

Hump Day with a PELTest

Ah, Wednesday.... one of my least favorite days of the week. Thankfully, today was not a bad Wednesday!

On the way to work today, it was perfectly sunny and temperatures were in the high 70s. By the time I got to work, I was a little hot, simply from walking a mile in the sun. But, it was the kind of weather that you can't help but smile at. I enjoy walking to work now that I can go alone. I know the way, and most of the teachers go in at various times (1230, 1245, 1, etc),s so we walk alone. It's a peaceful time. I get to listen to my music and think about whatever I want. I don't have to make conversation with anyone, I can just be with myself. I like it.

An aside: Koreans don't seem to wear sunglasses. Today was bright and sunshiny, but I was the only person wearing sunglasses! Maybe that contributes to the stares I get... Maybe.

When I got to work, I felt in control. I worked on my daily lesson plan, which I really enjoy doing! I have to turn them in to Jackie Teacher every day for 2 months, but chances are good that I will continue to do them for myself. (Each class has it's own lesson plans for the month, but doing a full day of plans with each class is helpful!) I even found the quizzes for 2 of my classes by myself and made the copies solo. I felt awesome!!! I finished up report cards, and had about 15 minutes to spare before class started.

My first class is my worst. I'm kind of glad of this, because once it's over, its mostly downhill after that. The class is made up of mostly 6-year-olds whose English skills are basic and have the attention span of a gnat. To top things off, there are 10 kids in the class... 3 are trouble makers, 3 are more advanced than the rest, and 4 just zone out for the whole class period (except to occasionally look up and copy the board into their workbooks). It's frustrating and wearing on my nerves... I can't wait for February when I can get rid of most of these kids. (Classes rearrange and change in February) The only kid I love is Tommy, whom I previously described. Bright eyed, eager to please the teacher, and raises his hand for every question. I love him!

My second class is also trying, but slightly less. This is mostly due to the fact that there are only 5 students, instead of 10. However, these kids are mostly all troublemakers. Two of them try and obviously enjoy class. But even they succumb to the incessant chattering of the others, chiming in and laughing at the most inopportune times.

Third period is one of my better classes. They are helpful when I am confused, receptive to my comments, responsive to my questions, and are willing to work. Granted, they are still young and therefore do get sidetracked easily. But I can wrangle them back in fairly easily.

Fourth period is my infamous 2SAP class: 4 (now 3) little girls who laugh at anything and everything, comment on everything, and generally suck any remaining energy from my reserves. One of the girls is taking a month vacation (I'm so jealous), so we have 3 now. One of those girls is significantly behind the others, but tries very hard so it's difficult to be too frustrated at her. Today, I had Jackie Teacher sit in on my class with them, and I was very intimidated. Korean culture leans heavily to the "constructive criticism" rather than "positive reinforcement" tactic with employees. Therefore, even when I do a great job, Jackie Teacher usually has a suggestion for me. Today, I was determined not to give her anything to say. She came in as we were reading the book, and I made sure we finished on time. When we were done, rather than moving on immediately, I asked the students some comprehension questions. To my delight, Rachel answered correctly on a question that was fairly difficult (predicting future events based on things that happened in the story we read). While she couldn't articulate her ideas with much finesse, she made her point and I reiterated it in the best grammar I could. Jackie Teacher seemed pleased, so we moved on to the next section. The girls did fairly well; Jackie Teacher only interjected when she felt like they were not understanding or the girls were not responding to my questions or prompts (come on, girls! you're killin' me here!!!) Overall, Jackie Teacher gave me a smile when she left the room, and I sighed in relief.

My next class was another large one, but these kids were fairly better behaved. They had a vocabulary quiz, after which they had a practice PEL Test. PEL Tests are the Korean education system's attempts at English Language Standardized Testing. 3 days out of the month, the kids do practice exams. Today was one of those days, so for 40 minutes of my hour long class, I got to sit down. This is a rare treat, and I enjoyed it immensely. The kids, unfortunately, suffered through 40 minutes of an hour long class listening to boring recordings and circling answers in a workbook. Poor kids, lucky teacher.

My last class was repeated in much the same manner, except these kids are at a higher level, so the questions were not repeated multiple times on the recordings, and therefore the test went by in 20 minutes rather than 40. So, I had 20 minutes to kill. I let them work on Homework (illegal), talk about their weekend plans (generally unacceptable), and pack up early (totally illegal). Thankfully, Jackie Teacher did not pop-in on this class or I would have been floundering.

After classes were over, I finished up some report cards I had missed in the morning, and made my lesson plan for the next day. Tomorrow, Sean, Jamie & I are going to Immigration to apply for our Alien Resident Cards, so we have to be at work at 12:30. Lucky us! I got the lesson plan done, which took care of one thing I would otherwise need to do tomorrow. Unfortunately, I was mentally checked out after that, so I did not prepare anything else for tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have some prep time before classes...

I talked to Michelle Teacher, my Korean BFF, for 20 minutes before I left. We made plans for the weekend - Sunday, we are meeting at her church for the English service, then getting lunch together. Her husband will be there also. When we left work, I waited with her until her husband got there to pick her up. She offered me a ride home, and while I don't mind walking much, I jumped at the offer. The other foreign teachers were still at work, so I would be alone anyway. Her husband picked us up a few minutes later and took me by my apartment. He was very nice!

I am very excited to spend Sunday with them! I also want to make plans with Tab for Friday night/Saturday, so I have something to look forward to the next 2 days. I think we might go to a Korean spa, or maybe a famous cafe. Who knows! (You will, when I blog about it after it happens!)

Two more days... two more days... WEEKEND!!!!

A Much Better Day

Man, I don't know what was up with yesterday! I could barely keep my eyes open... Okay, maybe that had something to do with the Advil PM I took. But, mentally! I was super beat. Literally I didn't want to think for half a second about my classes.

Today, though, was a different story. Tuesday/Thursday I have only 5 classes (rather than 6), so I got extra time to prep when I got to work. As soon as I got there, I had a little list of what I needed to do to prepare. Also, because I am new, I have to do daily lesson plans to turn in to Jackie Teacher. While some may think this is micro-managing, I love it. For a person as organized as I am, this is helpful to me as well as her. I get to go through every class and really make sure I am doing what I need to do.

I realized that I had 2 quizzes in 2 of my classes, so I made sure to get copies of those. I also got my 2SAP class sorted, since yesterday was so terrible. Finally, I began doing copies of Report Cards for each student who had a test last week. Thankfully, someone (Maggie, I assume) had already done them, I just needed to insert her comments and print. How nice!

Honestly, as long as my day is and as many classes as I go to, I can't remember which class had which issues, etc. But, I do know that I felt a million times better today. Not perfect, there were still a few glitches: one of the quizzes, I had to read them sentences, and I forgot the manuscript. Another class, the computer completely crashed when I had to get done 2x as much work as a normal day. And the list goes on...

One great thing was that Michelle Teacher got to move and now her desk is next to mine! :D This makes me very happy! She is so awesome. I decided I want to get a Bible Verse daily calendar we can share on the desk. :) I get them in emails from Air1 everyday, and one I received a few days ago really spoke to me:

"Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Jesus Christ" - 1Thes 5:16-18. 

It reminds me that even when I am beat down and feel like I can't go on, I can have joy. If for no other reason than I have a savior who died for me. There are so many more reasons, though. Never stop praying - in every single situation, good or bad, invite God into it. He can take care of things infinitely better than I can. In my classes, in my relationships, in my walk to school, in my apartment, everything. Talk to him. Be thankful in ALL circumstances. I need to thank Him for the hard times, as well as the good. I came here for a challenge; to become a better person. And, I'm here and doing just that! Even when I'm tired, and the day is overwhelming, just being thankful can completely change your attitude. Even if you fake it 'til you make it, IT WORKS! And anyway, I'm where I am because of God, and his will for my life. That is something to be thankful for; I am taken care of.

This morning I made 3 eggs, and some toast. I ate a yogurt before classes began, and I'm still quite content at almost 10pm! That is so awesome, and a staggering difference from last week. Michael still cracks up thinking about me living on bread and coke. Every time we talked on FaceTime, he could see me with this huge 2L of Coke, drinking straight from the bottle. This is what living in a motel does to you!!! Now, I come home to a clean apartment with a bed, a kitchen, food in the pantry, and privacy! I am so thankful!

I am still tired, but I feel slightly less haggard tonight. I want to make plans for the weekend, so I have something to look forward to. I really appreciate weekends now! Tomorrow is Wednesday: hump day. Make it through tomorrow, and it's all downhill. Yay!

Michelle said she would go shopping with me on Saturday, so maybe we will do that. I don't want to seem desperate, but I would really like to do that. Hopefully she is still up for it! I also want to go see Tab. Maybe we will go out to her favorite place: Hongdae. Or, maybe I want to pass out by Friday at 8pm. Who knows!

This is a somewhat short blog; I need to get better about remembering my classes! It's so hard to think back and talk about what we did. Sometimes it's just so boring that even I can't make it interesting... Other times, it's so chaotic my mind couldn't even take it in. But one thing is certain: I am making progress. I still have a lot to learn, but it's getting better. :)

I am going to go make some dinner and maybe watch a movie - I made myself blog as soon as I got home so I wouldn't do a repeat of yesterday! Hopefully something interesting happens soon ;)