Notables

Couch Potato

I finally got my couch. I was told last week that it would arrive on the next "one or two sunny days." Now that's specific! Anyhow, I got the couch. It's a beautiful dark brown leather little thing. Decently comfortable.

The theatre is closed.

No, we don't have a real theatre in Jeomchon but for the last couple months my place has served nicely as a substitute. However, while moving my room around to make way for my couch, I broke my DVD player. Argh. And after all the trouble I went through to get it... I'm so frustrated right now.

Party Animal

I've been a little busy as of late with some dinner parties. I had one of my own last week and I invited some teachers from my boys school to come enjoy some fried chicken and Greek pasta salad with me. Only two showed up but we were joined later by two sweet girls from my church and Tyler from across the hall for a little dessert. Courtney was there as well.

Wednesday night was another event worth mentioning. Courtney and I joined some teachers from her school for some dinner. What we didn't know was that they were taking us to this one restaurant in another city that is known for it's pig-intestine. (I almost barfed.) You know, I would maybe try the intestine-blood boiled-noodle concoction if it actually looked good but it really does look every bit as disgusting as it sounds. Courtney helped herself--and kudos to her--but I don't think I'll ever be able to choke that down. There are some things I feel are worth refusing, no matter what the culture is. That's one of them. Instead, I had some chicken feet (really didn't taste bad at all) and some barbecued squid which was so hot and spicy that I could hardly eat enough rice or drink enough water to talk. Afterwards, we came back to my place for some Baskin Robbins, tea, and a little Uno. I love that game.

Last night I went out again, this time with those single guys from Jamie's school and a couple girls. They were so much fun. We had some really great chicken galbi (another Korean barbecue) and lettuce wraps. It was fantastic. After dinner we all hit up the batting cages for a little practice (so odd but I loved it!) and some bowling. I actually did really well! I'm so surprised! For those of you who've actually seen me bowl, you know a score of 17 is possible! But last night, I scored 94!! Woo hoo!! And, I made two strikes in a row! It was so fun. I just love hanging out with them.

Tutoring

It's well known here in Korea that everyone tutors but that we shouldn't really talk about it. Tutoring for money is illegal because we're on a sponsored visa. But people do it anyway. I've decided to join them. Nobody seems to care as long as you don't talk about it much. To illustrate my point, Mr. Jeong told me yesterday after class that he needed to talk to me. He grabbed another male teacher and led me down the hall to a room I'd never been in before (cue moment of panic--I thought I was in trouble) and sat me down at a table. They just kind of stared at me for a minute (adding to my anxiety) and then Mr. Jeong said, "This teacher, the mathematics teacher, has a friend who is a doctor and he heard you are a good teacher. He wants you to tutor his son. His son has studied in Australia for 2 or 3 years and has really good English. Do you want to do this?" I was so relieve. So, tonight I am meeting with the family to decide if I will tutor their kid or not and negotiate an hourly rate. The best part about tutoring is that I can make $30 an hour and practically live off that each month if I get about three kids a week to tutor. That's my plan for next semester: tutor as much as I can.

The Plague

Courtney is now sick with the same stuff I had. I feel so bad for her. Her apartment has a busted heater and her fridge doesn't work so she has no food, and she's too weak to go out and eat. She spent the last two days sleeping at my house but has gone home for the time being. I hope she gets better soon. Keep her in your thoughts. Keep my health in you thoughts as well. I'm finally over whatever it is that's going around but I don't want to get sick again.

Christmas

Everyone has been asking what am I doing for Christmas and the truth is that I don't know. I've been invited to some event in Daegu but those people are generally hardcore partiers and I'm sure that's how I want to celebrate. Courtney and I have been invited to some mountain hiking-flute playing-hippie's home up near the Sae Jae for some tea and music. I think that's what we're doing but I guess it all depends on how she is feeling. I've also been invited to celebrate with Mr. Jeong (because they're family is Christian and they go to my church and love me to death) and also to celebrate with Mi Hyang's family (though I think they're just sitting around watching movies and eating and sleeping). Koreans don't really do much for Christmas--mostly because Christianity just isn't a big part of their culture. Sure, the big cities are all lit up with Christmas lights and everything sparkles, but out here in Gyeongbuk (Buddhist land), nobody cares. They think of Christmas as a time to sleep. Not many even seem to exchange gifts. I would compare it to Memorial Day--everyone knows there is some special meaning to it but nobody cares.