3 months in...

Let's grow some cement...

The other day I was completely perplexed when I beheld an old lady take a watering can and dump water all over the teacher's office cement floor. It took me a little while to figure it out, but eureka! It came to me. So far, the winter here has been dry, dry, dry and in order to add some humidity to the air, the boys school puts water on the floor for evaporation. I'm not sure it's working so well, though... Many teachers and students are walking around with bloody toilet paper wads up their noses... However, the need for humidity is really apparent. I'm hoping to go purchase a humidifier sometime this evening. It's no fun waking up to a scratchy throat and dry nose every morning.

The Seoul of Christmas

(I will never get tired of making Seoul jokes!) Courtney and I went to Seoul this weekend and purchased some gifts for our co-teachers as well as some Christmas cards. We had a great time just wandering around for the day and were really surprised by the amount of Christmas cheer. I almost felt like I was at home. We picked up some Starbucks hot chocolate and hit the street for some major bargaining. I even bought a couple things for myself--a shirt at the Gap, a beautiful bright green scarf, and some DVDs for our weekly movie night. At night, Courtney and I peeled some art gallery posters and advertisements off some walls in hopes to one day add some color to her room (it looks like a prison cell).

Hiding from co-teachers

Courtney's co-teacher is strange... really strange. She's creeped Courtney out a few times with some unwanted and uninvited touching, but to top it off, she is practically stalking her. Her co-teacher is always showing up at her house unexpectedly or calling me and demanding to know where Courtney is. She's even trying to read Courtney's emails and invites herself to everything that Courtney does from tutoring to our weekly movie night. Needless to say, I've been helping her hide. Friday night she came over to my house for a movie and her co-teacher--once again--called demanding to know where Courtney was. We were so paranoid. I wouldn't put it past her co-teacher to be wait at the end of my street and watch my house to see when Courtney comes over... It's getting to be a little obsessive... eek.

Aren't you cold?

I get asked this everyday at least 50 times (no joke)! Koreans DO NOT wear short sleeves in the winter, so no matter how many times I assure them that I'm not cold, I always get asked again... usually about 10 minutes later. It gets a little annoying sometimes when I can't work in peace at my desk because every time someone passes me by they have to stop and exclaim that I'm crazy. It was humorous but not anymore.

Blind dates

This week I'm being set up... with three guys at once... Yes, three. I think I mentioned earlier that one of the English teachers at my boys school wants me to date her son. Well, he returned from Europe this weekend and she's told me this morning that he wants to meet me. Every Monday morning when she picks me up for school, she tells me about her son and how proud she is of him. Actually, lots of people talk about him around here. Apparently he's a genius...? That's what's been going around. Anyhow, he wants to meet me this week so I've invited him to party with one of the other foreign teachers--Jamie--Thursday night; Jamie has invited two apparently handsome single guys from her school too. (She's been telling me all about them for weeks.) So, three guys at one party. I can't wait to blog about it! :)

Best friends

Last week, Mi Hyang took me out to dinner and afterwards, while driving me home, she told me that I was her best friend. I feel so honored. What have I done to deserve that title? At home it means a little more than "close friend" but here it really means "best." I am so moved that she loves me in such a way that after only a few months she would call me her best friend--it just doesn't happen that fast for Koreans. I wish that I could tell her more, tell her about my heart, my story, my passions, my faith, my goals, my life. Unfortunately language limits me. What do you do when you want to share so much more with someone and you know that they do to, but there is nothing you can do about it? There is no way to share? I'm so confused. How can one person feel so much joy and so much sorrow at the same time?

Hyo Sik strikes back!

In case you missed the first video, here is the link again to my amazing, dancing student:
http://video.naver.com/2007112415130832080
But that's not all! Hyo Sik has made a sequel! This time, down town! Enjoy!
http://tvpot.daum.net/clip/ClipView.do?clipid=5541084
(I know the links didn't work for some people the first time, so if it works for you, please leave a comment and let me know--thanks!)

English camps, ahoy!

I'm signed up to teach at three one-week camps in January instead of teaching extra classes. The ups: I will make and extra $500 per/wk on top of my salary, I'll be working on a team with another foreign teacher and together we'll have 8 kids between the two of us, I'll be working with 2nd year middle schoolers (a great age!), and we don't have to lesson plan! Woo hoo! The downs: I'll be staying at a hotel out of town all week and can only return home on the weekends, I'll be working 7:30am-8:30pm everyday, and if I don't like doing camp, there's no way to get out of it. Hope it all works out!

Back to the pool!

Today the pool re-opened after being closed for one month. To my surprise, I didn't do too bad today (but then again, everyone else was stopping to rest a lot too) though my muscles were really sore and I realized that I had lost a LOT of strength in one month. It might take me a week or two to build it back again--but then I'll be working at those camps for a whole month and won't be able to swim again. I hope the hotel they put us in has a pool. Swimming was a little interesting this morning; I'm not sure if the swim team has temporarily disbanded, but the regulars weren't there save a couple old ladies and this one guy with one leg. Hansu has left Jeomchon for one month to practice golf in Daegu and I'm assuming Hun isn't going to come without Hansu who drove him every morning (the pool is a little far from their neighborhood). However, I'm actually quite relieved that I don't have to see them in the morning. If you remember, things got a little complicated at the end of October and I was totally played by Hansu. I guess God does answer prayer. I didn't know what to do because I needed to continue swimming without things being awkward but I really didn't want to see Hansu anymore. Things have worked out beautifully.

Baked Potatoes

So, in order to heat the classrooms, the boys school uses these antique oil heaters which also have a hot little iron oven-like hole in the top so that you can cook food while heating you house. Today, while teaching, a couple boys pulled out some baked sweet potatoes out of the hole and gave them to me. I was so surprised! I had no idea you could cook food with these things! Apparently the boys in the first grade were all doing this last week and the teachers confiscated their potatoes and ate them. lol. Potatoes, oranges, apples, grapes... I'm a well loved teacher. :)