I'm hungry

Monday, April 29
I am hungry. While I know the simple answer is to go down to GS and get some food, I just took a shower and now I am typing this. After I am done, I may go get some food. We'll see. I ate a lot for lunch. I had a delicious dinner coincientially was at the emart food court. Emart, like I have said is almost like a walmart, but with not as evil, and this is the kind of food they serve in their little food court area. But it did not taste like food court food. It was delicious and a lot of food. I am not a big picture taker of food... but this was picture worthy. It was only 7500. I also had some ramen as a snack. I am just hungry.

돈까스모밀정식 (Pork cutlet, cold noodles, caviar in seaweed)

School today was okay. Mondays are awesome in a way. I love that the students have so much energy. I just wish I could match it. I do not want to do anything that kills the energy... I think they need to start off the week strong. Yes, managing the classroom is a bit more difficult, but I am just excited to see the kids excited.

In my Greece class, one of the students noticed my green eyes. Everyone in the class had to come take a look. Green eyes are not really something you see everyday in Korea. Mostly brown or nearly black. It was funny how each students wanted to look into them. It was actually kind of an awesome/intimate experience with the students. I spend all day in the front of the class, towering over them. Or towering over them as I walk in the hall. Or I am looking over their shoulders. Not very often are the student and the teacher eye to eye inches apart. It was actually quite a cathartic experience for me. It is taking a step away from seeing them as students, and seeing them as people. Sometimes it is easy to forget that these students are so much more than just students. Looking in their eyes and seeing that hope, that vulnerability, excitement, pain, just everything. So, for the students, they may have just been entertained by looking at my green eyes; but for me, it was a moving experience. I have done that exercise before where you start into someones eyes.  But doing it with my students, just really amazing. I wish I would have been fully present in the experience the whole time instead of trying to do it quickly so I could get back to teaching. But... I know these students, and I bet they will want to look at my eyes again.

Its amazing how quickly trash piles up in my apartment. What I need to do is get a trashcan for recycling instead of just making little stacks of stuff on the floor. I am too lazy to take my trash down and sort it. I need to be able to sort it before I take it down. I need to go try to find something to allow me to do this. 

I wasted tonight. I do not know what I wasted it doing. But I do know that I wasted it. I did not study Korean. I did not clean. I did not go through the books for my Cartoon Network readings and edit them down. I need more hours in a day, and with those more hours, I need to be able to utilize them. There is so much I want to do, and I do so much of so much, but I never do enough of anything.

Okay, well I think I am going to call it quits for right now with this... I guess I may go get some food, though it is already late... It comes to the age old question... to eat, or not to eat. If I do not eat, I will go to bed hungry and thus it will be harder to sleep. If I eat it will give me energy and make it harder to sleep. I need to go shopping sometime to find healthy snacks for nighttime. Things that wont wake me up, but will still satisfy my cravings..

26-28

Friday April 26
Friday already. I was right about the week going quickly.
During lunch, one of my kids was walking in the hall and somehow someone spilled stuff all over her. They changed her and she came back to our class for lunch. She was crying (of course). None of the students knew what was going on other than she was crying and wearing different clothes. In order to cheer her up, one of the kids 'accidentally' spilled water on his crotch in order to try to make her laugh. It worked only slightly, but I thought it was a cute gesture. I assume that he thought she couldn't make it to the bathroom in time or something. That happens. Well, after lunch of the kids in that class did have a huge accident. Luckily I was not teaching at the time. Kids do definitely wet themselves. This was a 7 year old.  Literally a huge puddle in the  middle of the floor and a trail down the hallway.  I only make mention because everyone was shocked. Even the cleaning lady when she saw it, her eyes got huge. So, the teacher took the kid to the bathroom, so I stepped into class to control the kids. So it all got cleaned up.
We did a review in one of my classes, but there is no test, no quizzes, no anything. We are done with the book. It was a pointless review. So, I brought candy to keep my kids entertained during it. They enjoyed it.
One of the kids in France... she is good but often acts like a kids. She usually pays attention, she practices, and she speaks really well. My Korean co-teacher is convinced she is naughty. I do not think she is. I just see her as a happy fun loving kid that doesn't want to sit in a chair all day. Unlike some of the other students, she knows what is going on. I am afraid that the co-teacher calls this girls mom and tells her that she is naughty, this will get the girl in trouble. I know I have no real place to comment on the Hagwon system, but I appreciate seeing a kid with an imagination and a kid being a kid. I dont think she is naughty. Once I get her settled in she listens and works. I think for whatever reason my co-teacher just doesnt like her much.
I just stayed in Friday night. All of us foriegn teachers are fighting off some sort of illness. I am not sure if it is an actual illness, or just allergies. All of us have it. I watched the Hunger Games on Netflix. I have seen that movie several times, and I love it. Though I always want to refer to it as the Hungry Games. Don't ask me why, its just how I think of it.
I also ordered in McDonalds. This is going to be dangerous for me. I can order McDonalds 24 hours a day, and they deliver it to me for free (and I do not have to tip the driver). The McDonalds taste better and the meat is full size (unlike the shrinking pattys in the US). They also have bulgogi burgers and other Korean style items. Fast cheap and easy. I know it is sad to think of doing something like eating McDonalds as I am in Korea... but as they say, when in Rome... I can tell you that tons and tons of Koreans order McDonalds.

Saturday April 27
Woke up early... I do not know why. It was a good thing though. Sam was leaving Bobo today. So he shoots me a message saying if I want some of his stuff to come up. I went up and I brought my bed. I  took his bed. Instead of a single, I now have a double. I can actually roll over and spread out on it. A relief. He also gave me some oh his spices, a plate, a notebook... not much, but that be I am so happy about. I needed it.
I cleaned my ceiling light. Now that I have a bed I am satisfied with, I am now making my apartment feel a little more like home. So I took it down, and cleaned all of the dust and everything that has built up in it over the years. I did the same with my bathroom light. Now, when I have my lights on, it really brightens up my room.
The day is beautiful! I went to 이대 to look around. It is also home to Ewha Womens University. I had heard about it. The architecture around it is beautiful. One of their buildings is built into the ground. Amazing.

 The colors looked better in real life.

 Yes, this is a classroom building. Awesome.

 neat.

 I liked this because the animals look like they are smiling.

Not as many co-eds walking around as I was thinking there may be. Not the reason I went, but I would not have been bothered by it. I think a lot of Koreans still think the weather is cool. I was just looking for something to do to enjoy the weather and several foreign teachers have said that area is pretty cool.
I did find a coffee shop around the university that I liked. They had Dutch coffee which is fantastic. Coffee that tastes like coffee. Inside they had Bob Dylan and other English music playing. Nice and chill. I then just continued to walk around. The weather was great for that.

I saw this truck and it made me laugh harder than it should have. So I took a picture.

Walked do 합정 then caught the subway and headed back to Bobo. Met with Rob Ama and Sam for dinner. We invited the new guy, Hudson, but he didnt want to. We went back to Bobo and Ama, Sam, Ama's GF and I sat outside the GS mart and drank a beer. We were waiting for Sams lady friend.  She finally got there and we took a cab to 홍대. Went to two clubby bars. I was not much feeling like clubbing. I wanted an early night. The next one we went to was too clubby. I am a far bigger fan of chill. Anyway, I said my goodbyes and left them. I am not normally a person to leave early... but since I wasnt feeling like clubbing, I would have just been a drag.

Sunday April 28.
Woke up. New bed was pretty awesome. Not anywhere near as good as the bed I bought in NY, but so much better than a bed that I didn't fit on. I did my laundry. I skyped with my parents for over 2 hours. It was my Moms Birthday.... well technically Saturday was, but my Sunday morning is her Saturday evening.
I drank some coffee and went to church. After I was going to go by emart, but it was closed. It appears that they are closed 2 Sundays a month.  So that is good to know... I just do not know how to figure out which Sundays it is closed.
I was walking with 2 of the people from church. We decided to get food, and we got 부대찌개 (army stew). It is really good stuff. I have had it several times already. This one had pepperoni in it. Delicious. After dinner, we all went to GS to get ice cream. I love ice cream.
I walked home, and am listening to music. Very chill day.
I might go for a walk around the neighborhood... It seems like a waste to sit in my apartment for the rest of the night.

Can't believe it is almost Friday

April 25th
School was good today. I have 2 students that have anger management problems. One is in my France class. When he gets mad, he screams and throws stuff and slams stuff. The other is in my Canada class, and some of the teachers are afraid of him because he has been known to throw punches. Both threw little tantrums today.
I bought the col-pops for my debate winners. I went to the store and payed for them, and got coupons from the store so the students could go down and pick them up. Seemed to be a pretty big hit. Now that the students see that I keep my word, hopefully next time I use it as an incentive, the students will be even better. Oh, in Hangul it is 콜팝.
After work, Rob and I went to Ho Chicken for some chicken and beer. That place is definitely growing on me. Their flavor is incredible and the price is reasonable.
The replacement for Oklahoma Sam is here. His name is Hudson. Seems like a cool guy. I havent gotten to talk to him much yet.
Another day without much to say. My energy for this week has pretty much burned out.  Also have not been doing much of anything exciting... I will soon.
I am going to study some Korean (casue I have been falling behind) and then will call it an early night so I can finish the week strong!

The Heroes Win

Wednesday April 24
School was good today. All of the kids seemed really into school today. We had our drama presentations, which I was a host for. It was really cute. Though now, I am planning on making a stage for our students. Right now they just preform in the gym with a overused backdrop. I want to make a mini theatre-est stage for them to preform with. Something to set up and make it look like the kids are preforming on stage instead of just our gym floor. I have been looking into what I need, and I can probably make it for several thousand.  A worthy cause if it makes the students have more fun!
After work, Ama, Sarah and I went to the Nexen Heroes game. The weather started off warm, but it got chilly. Just like the last game, we left before it was over. I know I could stay there on my own after my friends leave... but I never do. I leave with them. When we left the Heroes were winning by a large margin. I checked again and we still were.
So... today was fun, but not really an exciting day to type about. At the baseball game, I bought a jersey. They found one my size, and all at the store were excited about that.
Not much else to say... I am going to watch a little netflix then call it a night...

Tuesdays

Tuesday April 23

Tuesdays (and Thursdays) might turn out to be one of my most difficult days at ECC. They are long days (from 9:30-7:15) and I finish off with my Korea class. While my Kindy kids are draining, these 12 year olds that dont want to be there just really suck the energy away from me. I have to maintain a good and happy attitude with students that dont want to be there.  It seems like every Tuesday and Thursday I talk about that. Oh well, this is my soap box. 

I had my debates today for my debate class. They went much better this time. I have 2 classes that did it. One class, the winners where who I expected. The other class, the people that I thought would win lost. They had the better debate and better arguments. But the rules were they would lose 1 point every 10 seconds they did not talk. That is what killed them.

One of the things my school does is Cartoon Network presentations... the kids watch an episode of a show, and have to memorize lines, then they preform them. Well today was the performance day. I had no idea what to expect. I started teaching this class not knowing anything so I never knew if I was doing it correctly Well, it turns out that I had worried over nothing.  We just preform for a few other classes. There is no blocking, no real actions. It is just kids saying the 2 lines they memorized. Cute, but not something that I will have to worry about.

Risk came in the mail today!!! Now I just need some free time to play it! I am excited though. I now have a frisbee, settlers, and risk. I spent far to much acquiring them, but I am happy I did.

I made quasi s'mores in my Canada class today. We read a story about s'mores. Today was their test day, so as a reward, I wanted to get them s'mores. Not easy in Korea. I found no graham crackers. I found something that looked almost like them and was close in taste. I found marshmallows too (difficult). But they were not nice big Jet-Puffed marshmallows. They were small, had a twirl of color, and were not super sweet. Chocolate was east. We were not able to heat them up either. But I felt accomplished getting them for the students. It was a nice treat after a test. I have not graded them, but I think that at least two students got a 100%!!!

After work today I went to my first small group meeting with the church group. We had some kind of food. It was delicious. After that we went to a coffee shop and talked. the younger people left (college classes tomorrow) but us older people stayed. I used google maps and gave them a brief tour of where I used to live in NY, Koreatown, and Times Square. It was pretty fun.

Here is a picture of dinner. No idea what it was... other than delicious. This is it before it was cooked. I did not take a picture of it after it was cooked.

Oh, here is a picture of something that I got as a snack yesterday. I am getting these for the winners of my debates from my debate classes. It is called a  Col-pop for Cola and popcorn chicken. Not sure what it is in Hangul, I will look and post later on. The bottom of the cup is filled with cola. On the top, there is a plastic piece that holds the popcorn chicken. The straw goes through it.... amazing and convenient. Still amazed that Korea does not have an obesity epidemic like the US. This is only 1500 won.

Strong Start

Sunday April 21st.
Early night on Saturday, so I woke up with a lot of energy on Sunday morning. What did I do with this energy? Well almost finished cleaning my room. I just have a few things left to sort. Sorting the small stuff is no fun... especially if it is things that I have no idea how to sort. Like the wooden chopsticks. Where do I put wooden chopsticks? I also did some studying Korean. I think I am too much in my head with studying Korean. I started over from square one. I am re-learning the alphabet. While I know the sounds of the letters, the sounds that we do not have/do not use in the English language are so confusing. Koreans can hear the difference. I cannot.
It was a beautiful day! I walked around a little and went shopping. I had to pick up my microwave at night, so I needed to find a little rolling card that I could put it on. Not because I was going far with it... but still getting a microwave and a fan from an apartment to a street with cabs is a challenge. Spending 12 bucks on a rolling cart that guarantees my life being a little easier... always a thing I will do.
Went to church. They are having a small group meeting on Tuesday, so I will be going to that. I am supposed to start reading some book... I will. At church, one of the members was talking to me about religion and faith. I think I am fairly unique when it comes to it all. My life has shaped me and molded me different than others. But I do like talking about it. I used to love talking to the Mormons at OSU, and different faiths elsewhere. I think whatever people do to live a good life is important... but as soon as that belief causes someone to start judging and stop loving... I dont like that. It is true with any faith.
I picked up my microwave and fan. Both work! The cab back to my apartment was only 6000. Amazing. Also, I was not discriminated against for being a white guy with stuff as I was hailing a cab. It is so interesting to see how hard it is being a person of a different race trying to get a cab. In NY I always heard this and knew it happened. It is just odd actually experiencing it. But today, I got the first cab I hailed. A very rare occurrence. The girl I bought the stuff from was a Korean College Student that got accepted to Grad School at the University of San Diego. So that is pretty awesome.
Got home, bought a cheap microwave burger from the GS Mart, and watched an episode of Adventure Time and then an episode of The West Wing.

Monday April 22
2 Months. I have been in Korea for 2 months. Holy crikey. It is amazing how quickly it all is flying.
I woke up this morning and made a cup of coffee. It is amazing how much of a difference having a cup of coffee in the morning makes. I bought the maker with the intention of doing it often, but I very rarely do. I need to start. I am not a morning person, but that extra kick to jump start my day makes a huge difference- especially on a Monday.
Today was Earthday, but was not a big celebration. I just hosted the game... which was sorting stuff to be recycled and timing which class did it the fastest. It was okay.
It is interesting to see how relationships with students form. I hate to say it, but I definitely have some favorite students. There are no students that I do not like, but there are some Students that have personalities and attitudes that I really just like. In each class there are some students that just always make me smile. There are also students that frustrate me. Some students I think need to be held back, and others that I think need to be moved forward. I am not starting to wonder where on the spectrum I fell with some of my teachers. Some of the smart kids I love, but some of them I could do without. Some of the trouble makers I love, but other ones bug me. There is not real set type of student I like... I think it has more to do with attitude, positiveness, and their smiles. It is just so interesting to see all of these personalities.
We are also working on report cards... aye aye aye. It is even harder than last months. Our students are supposed to show improvement.  Some of them really aren't. Some are actually getting worse. One girl of mine... The first month I thought she was a good reader... now, I know she is not. She is great at listening and repeating but not reading. Then there are other students that I just wish I could tell the parents the truth... 'your kid needs to be held back because they do not understand the basics' or your 'kid does not want to be here, does not study or do work' or 'your kid is a trouble maker.' None of these can I do... We can teach these kids English, but only if they are open to being taught.
Afterwork, I got 치맥 (Chi-Maek=Chicken and Beer) with 기봉 (Ki Bong) in 합정 (Hapjeong- a neighborhood in Seoul) and just had a wonderful evening talking, eating and trying and communicate. She is pretty good at English but still way more comfortable with Korean. I am nowhere near good or comfortable with Korean. She was helping teach me some things, and just like I thought on Sunday, some of these sounds in Korean are so different than what I am used to in English, and they sound so similar to eachother. But it definitely is fun.
Now I am at home and am getting ready for Tuesday... If I wake up with the same energy I had today, I will be very happy!!!

relaxing

Friday April 19th
OKC- 18 years.  Wow.
School went swimmingly. Always glad when it does that. No drama. Only one kid cried, and that is because she tripped. The day went really quickly. Actually the whole week did. It is amazing how quickly time is flying- its actually really scary. Time flew in NY, but here it seems to be on a different level. I guess that could be because I am still really new here. I did 2 of my classes lessons really quickly so I could play a game with the students. They have been wanting one for a long time. So I am glad we were finally able to do one. I wish I had better games for them. There are the standard games they have for us.... but in my mind, they are so lame. Granted, I am far older than these kids and entertaining me with educational games is a little more difficult.
It is Callums birthday, so we had dinner with him after work. We went to a Korean BBQ joint in Hongdae. It was good and cheap. I like good, and I like cheap. The environment was interesting too, anytime someone came in, all of the staff shouted hello in Korean and when they left all said goodbye in Korean.  When someone paged waitstaff, all of the waitstaff said yes in Korean. Needless to say there was a lot of shouting, but the service was really quick.
We left the restaurant and were walking,. We headed to Beer Market. We met up with one of Karens (Callums GF) friends. A nurse. Cute. So we all got a beer. I got a bottle of what I thought was beer. Nope. Cider. I am not a big cider fan, it is too sweet. Needless to say it sat in front of me for quite a while. Finally finished it, and got a Coopers Ale. It was good. We left and then Rob and Callum ran into someone they knew. So we all got a beer and GS and went to the park to drink it. So we all had our one beer in the park, but we were all there for probably an hour.
After the park, we went to Thursday Party. Ahhh. I really do not like that place. I am pretty sure I mentioned it in a previous post. Well it was just as bad as it was last time. I say bad, but what I really mean, is that it is not my type of scene. I can see how some people would really like it. I had no drinks there. Rob and I played a game of foosball. Callum and people showed no sign of stopping, so we said goodbye and caught the last train back to our part of Seoul.
Early night. Cheap night. But still a fun night.

Saturday April 20th.
I slept. I slept and woke up naturally feeling great! There are not many days I just sleep in without being woken up from either my alarm or the sunlight. She floormat I have hanging does a decent job of blocking out the sun in the morning. I cannot say I wake up feeling refreshed too often.
I did the Cartoon gig again today. It was a rainy day again. The first crowed was a decent crowd. The second crowd was okay, but a lot younger. My last crowd was small and really young. Since I am reading in English, it is tough for some kids. This time, we still did not blown up pictures or anything like that. We decided to only read the Ben 10 stories. They are shorter then the Power Puff Girls and have more pictures.
Hae-in and I talked more about what we could do to fix it. We came up with some good ideas. I also got to take some of the books home. I am going to edit them and send the edits over to her. We will then print up pictures to go with the stories. So excited to be doing this. I love teaching... and no 2 days are ever the same, but there are certain parts of my brain that teaching does not require me to use. This... well this stretches the other mental muscles I need and love to stretch. I just love being a part of something. One little girl today...I am gonna guess maybe 2 years. Had no idea what I was saying, but she was having a blast watching me and listening. Until the story just dragged on and she got bored. I love seeing kids smile and laugh. During one of the breaks, 2 girls came up to me (maybe HS age). It is awesome how excited people get when they talk to me in English and I talk to them back. I mean, I know once I learn Korean, I will feel the same way. Even moms try to get their little kids to say Hi to me, and the moms get so excited when I respond to the forced "Hello" from their kids.
At the reading today we had 2 characters from the TV show Adventure Time in costume. Jake and Finn. It was pretty fun.

As I was about to head to the subway, I hear whistles and drums coming from the street. Of course I had to check it out. I have no idea what it was, but the street was lined with police officers, and there was like a parade of wheelchairs and special needs people walking along the street blowing whistles and banging drums. Very interesting sight.
After that, when I got home, instead of going out, I decided I needed to clean my room. I got some pizza and a bottle of beer, and have been cleaning my room. The pizza was from Pizza School (so not great) and the beer is already warm, because I am not drinking it very fast.
Once I get my room clean... I hope I can keep it pretty clean. What gets me is taking out trash. Korea recycles. So I tend to make piles of stuff to recycle. Cans, Paper, Plastic, glass, Cardboard.... and it builds up, then gets intimidating, then it just sits. It was far easier to take out trash as a wasteful American where I just threw everything out together... or in NY where it is plastic glass in one bin and Paper products in the other. Here everything has its own bin... including food scraps (which luckily I do not generate).
So I am nibbling on Pizza, sipping on beer, and listening to music. Will call it an early night again tonight.

Weds and Thurs

Wednesday April 17.
Just as I predicted the week is going by fast. Today was my second field trip. We went to some garden/ecology place. It had the potential to be good... but it left me wanting. The kids have no time to explore or really see anything. We pretty much just walk stop and take a group picture- walk stop and take a group picture- walk stop and take a group picture... Granted, there is not much to do at gardens, but I think allowing kids to actually see and explore, ask questions, or get to do the hands on activities would be a great benefit for them. That is not what happens. Field trip days take a lot out of us teachers. Its amazing how much so. The weather was great though!
I ordered Risk, Settlers, and a frisbee off of Gmarket. There are just some things that are so much more difficult living in a country where you do not speak the language. Ordering stuff off of the internet is definitely one of those things. Entering in information, translating  and everything else included with it just really stinks. Especially because to do anything you have to switch back and fourth between english and hangul scripts. Not the easiest feat for someone that does not know hangul.
When I got back to Bobo Sam and Ama were sitting out of the GS drinking a beer. So I joined. Then Sarah came. Then new Sam came. We all just sat out, talked and drank beer. It is a nice relaxing thing to do in the weather that is finally starting to become spring.

Field Trip

 Everything above is from the fieldtrip. I was incharge of these kids. This is my France Class.

Cherry Blossom Season

This is what I see and walk through every day on my way to work.

Thursday April 18th
Morning started off slow. I love my Thursdays because I have gym (where I do not have to do anything, but I can catch up on my work) class, gym, gym, lunch, class, break, class, class, class, class. I should grade paper on my breaks... but sadly this is not easy for me to do. There are distractions and alway there seems to be other things that come up that I spend my time on... instead of spending it on doing what I need to do.
Settlers and my frisbee came today! Now I just need Risk and I will be a happy camper!
In the afternoon, when I had more classes, the speed really picked up. Being busy makes everything faster. Though nothing exciting really happened today. It seems to be just business as usual. I mean except for my last class. My Korea class. I had to get Louise teacher because one of them crumpled up the test. She took him out of the room. After they were gone, my other students told me that he called me several bad names in Korean. I know the school is all about money, but this kid has repeatedly said he does not want to be there and does not want to learn English and he only comes because his mother forces him. That attitude really drags down my class. Since it counts for nothing, he has nothing to lose.
Got home, didnt know what to have for dinner, so I was going to run to GS for one of their prepared dinners.  I ran into new Sam on the elevator. He suggested Ho Chicken take out. I thought that sounded mighty good, so that is what I did. It was... He said it was a ton of food. It wasnt for me though... granted he got the fried chicken (which I was going to get) but I got the Teriyaki Garlic Roasted chicken cause that sounded fantastic.
I am going to try to do a Korean lesson then hit the hat.

Hearts out to Boston

Tuesday April 16th
I woke up today with the news of the bombing at the Boston Marathon. My thoughts and prayers go out to all that were and are affected by this senseless act. I have friends in Boston, from Boston, and that went to school in Boston. I have not heard any word from any of them about something bad happening to anyone they know.

School was good today. There were 2 people from the main office observing. I got observed 2 times. They were not observing to check us, they are looking at updating the teaching material. They want to see how we teach, what works and what doesn't. It all seemed to go pretty well.  Nothing big seemed to happen in any of my classes. We did art with my Kindy kids, which could have been a disaster (we were working with paint) but luckily we all got out without big blotches of paint all over our clothes. There were several close calls though.

After work Rob, old Sam, Sarah and I went to Emart. Rob and I got Pizzas for dinner, and we got several beers a piece to go with the pizza. Sarah bought coffee stuff. By the time we got home... our pizzas were cold (and unfortunately I still do not have a microwave).

I ate almost all of the cold pizza. I drank 2 beers. I was only going to drink one... but the pizza was large. I watched an episode of The West Wing and then watched Mr. Smith goes to Washington. Not at all what I was planning on doing tonight, but I felt good about doing it.

We have a  field trip tomorrow... It is going to some museum. Hopefully will be a fun and interesting day.

This weekend I may be doing another reading for the Cartoon Network over here.

Okay, of to meet the sandman

This week is gonna fly

Monday, April 15
Today went quickly... like really quickly.
My France class... I love the girls in in. The are absolutely adorable. If I am still in the teachers room in the morning, at least 2 of them come looking for me, and as soon as they see me they run up to be and yell Ellic Teacher and grab my hands and pull me to class. Anytime I see them through out the rest of the day they yell at me and wave. Even if I am just walking down the hall as they are in class, It is Ellic teacher and waving. That energy is so amazing. The boys in that class are good too, but those girls are so excited and are alway so happy to see me. It does not matter if they lost stars or got an unhappy face in class. My Australia and Denmark class are about the same too, but nowhere near the energy of France. If I am starting to be tired or worn, when I hear and see them get so excited, it instantly makes me feel good. All of my classes have a personality that do that for me... and all of the students do to. I think one of the reasons France hits me, is not only because I am seeing them grow, but they are still new to ECC and excited. They are not jaded school children yet.
Yes, I know my name is not Ellic, its Eric. For right now, just starting to speak, getting them to say the "l" sound is good. My older kids have such a tough time with it. I figure that maybe, just maybe them saying the l sound now, as they get older it will be easier.
I am already so happy to see them starting to use things I taught them. Coming in when they could speak almost no English, to now being able to say good morning how are you is incredible. I was talking to Sam (old Sam) and he was saying that one of the girls goes up to him and says "Good morning, how are you" and he replies that he is fine and asks her how she is, and she responds "I'm fine thank you" and she just gets a huge smile on her face and leaves. I see that even outside of ECC, and little Korean kids get so happy when I respond to them in English, even if it is just saying hello back to them.
Class went really quickly today. One of my Korean co-teachers asked me to edit something for her (well, for her, but it was not something she wrote). When I gave it back to her, she said it was too good, and for the person that was doing it, they did not need it so good. I guess that is a good thing...
After work, I went to look for Settlers and Risk and a Frisbee. Where better to look than Toys R Us. They had settlers for nearly 50000. No risk and no frisbees. No Frisbees. That completely shocked me. How can Toys R Us not have frisbees... I then walked around the mall/department store where it was, and looked high and low. I cam home empty handed.
I met old Sam in bobo, as I bought some lights off of him for my apartment. His apartment was so bright... mine, even with my lights on is dark. I have no idea why, but I am a bit jealous. I might try replacing my light bulbs.  He also has white wallpaper, and I think my has a little of a darker tint to it that just absorbs the light. Him and I just sat and talked for a while. He bought me a beer at emart. It was good. He buys imported beers, so instead of the Korean beer that has no flavor, it is beer that actually tastes good. We talked about Oklahoma, the US, future... it was pretty cool. Too bad he is leaving at the end of this month to go to Thailand.
I got back to my apartment, and instead of doing what I wanted to do (study Korean) I got on gmarket and started looking for the games. I found them and my frisbee. I was trying to check out, but I was not able to enter my address... ahhhh.
I will have one of my co-teachers tomorrow do that for me.
I am going to be spending more money than I would like on buying Risk, Settlers, and a frisbee, but I know that all will be put to good use. It is still cheaper than having them bought and shipped from over seas.
I am going to hit the hay and try to wake up early enough to do a Korean lesson in the morning before school.

The cherry blossoms are starting to blossom

Friday, April 12

Today I had less energy than yesterday but more that I had for most of the week. The kids, well act like any kids do on Friday. So school went pretty well. We had spaghetti for lunch, and it was pretty good. The sauce was completely different than spaghetti sauce in the US, though I do not know how to describe it. Most of the kids ate it. Lunch goes so much better when the kids eat and do not complain.

After school I went back to the hardware store to buy some more stuff. I bought a foam floor mat. I figured that this mat would be great to put over my window to block out light. I also bought velcro so I could hang the mat up and take it down. I got home and tried it out. It does block out some of the light, but the light it lets through is an orange color. So I can dig that. Also, it does make it a little darker. Not a complete win... but I'll take it.

I took a nap, cause I really felt like taking one.

I woke up and explored and walked around my neighborhood. It was dark out, and seeing Seoul lit up, even my neighborhood is so interesting. There are neon signs everywhere. Anyway, I worked on reading signs, then using my phone to translate what the signs said. I am getting better at reading Hangul faster, but I still have a lot of work to do. There was a place that said live music, and I could hear a guitar and drums. I decided that I might as well go in and have a drink and listen to some music. There were pictures of different rock bands by the doors and the stairs leading up to the place. Well, I get it and it is a karaoke joint with live music playing. I figure I might as well sit and have a drink. So the waitress comes out I say Maekju (beer) she nods and comes back with 6 bottles. I am puzzled. I did not say 6 beers. She proceeds to sit down, pour me a beer, then holds up a glass for me to pour her one. (do note, this is not a person around my age). I do. I have heard of these places... Basically a bar where they have women for you to talk to if you are alone. But this did not work out well, cause she did not speak English nor I Korean. I was not going wanting to talk, I was going because I wanted live music. Then some guy comes up that speaks some English and he sits down at my table. A beer gets poured for him. So I embrace the situation. Then they want me to sing karaoke. I oblige, cause why not. They choose Gangnam style. All of it is written in Korean, except a few parts, like the hey sexy lady... Then we do Eric Claptons Tears in Heaven. The guitarist there actually did a great job. I was impressed. My singing not so much. But the Koreans in the place got a kick out of it. Then, if anyone ever gives me a mike, I talk. Trying to get other people to come up and sing and what not. I know some of them could understand me. We sit down. The waitress goes away, I'm guessing she realizes I am not going to by buying a lot more drinks. The guy talks, tells me that he will invite me to dinner at his house sometime and his wife makes excellent food. He has 2 kids... Probably wants me to speak English to his kids. I doubt I ever will.

So I do not stay at that place for much longer. Out of the 6 beers, I might have gotten to drink 1.5.

Interesting evening, fun. I doubt I will go back there, but now that I have a phone I am much more comfortable exploring.


Saturday April 13

Training in the morning. All of us Bobo people walk to school together. It is a beautiful day and the cherry blossoms are starting to blossom! Training was and wasnt a waste. It actually gave us all good ideas for classroom management. Would have been better though if it had not been on a Saturday morning. After training we got lunch (paid for by the school). We walked back to Bobo.

Rob, New Sam, Ama and I just sat outside and talked for several hours. The day was beautiful outside sitting in the sun. We each bought a beer and milked it all afternoon. We were going to play cards, but we had no chips. Felt good to get some vitamin D. I actually think I have a little bit of a sunburn.

We then walked over to Mokdong Baseball Stadium because we were going to watch our team. Tickets were more expensive than we thought (17000) but in Korea you can bring in your own refreshments. Outside of the stadium places were selling fried chicken, pizza, beer, and other snacks for people to bring in. It was pretty awesome that you can do that. Even the food they sell in the stadium is not over priced. In the US you get gouged at the ticket booth and inside. Not in Korea. HaeJin and Bella joined us

Our team played pretty horrible. We lost. I'm sad to say but we left before the game was over. Not so much because we were losing, but it suddenly got really cold. We came dressed for summer, and when it goes from being in the upper 60's to the low 40's and the wind starts to blow... well not a very good time.

Ama Sam Bella and HaeJin all went to dinner together. Rob and I walked back to Bobo. I was going to be going to Joons for his beer pong tournament. Rob was going out with his GF.

Joons was good as always. Sarah (coteacher) was my partner. We played good the first game, and the second knocked us out. It was tough. The second game, the team we were playing had a really cute girl doing cutesy things. I am good at many things, but a cute girl smiling and winking always distract me. Later that night she comes up to me, and tries talking and flirting. Does not work out very well. She new 5 words in English, and I knew 5 in Korean. Still makes a guy feel good. There is a new cute bartender at Joons too. After all of the crowds shuffle out, Joon and I play beer pong. He was razzing me about losing. So I proceed to completely destroy him in our game.

Sarah and I take a cab back to bobo at a somewhat reasonable hour.


Sunday April 14th

Woke up, played on the internet, Reddit, and things for a while. Then skyped with my parents. I tried to help them setup Kakao talk. Was not successful. Troubleshooting tech is not the easiest thing thousands of miles apart on skype while trying to help them set up the device they are using to skype. Sundays weather was definitely not as nice as Saturdays. Yes, the sun was out, but it is chilly. I want spring weather. It is already the middle of April.

I studied Korean for a little while. Its tough... not content wise, but just doing it without distractions.

Went back to that one church again. I guess I will start going to it... I know they want me. It is completely different than other churches... mostly cause of how small it is. But I am a big personality, and maybe that is why on Easter Sunday, something made me go there instead of another church. I know they are trying to grow the English Ministry, and maybe I can help with that.

After then was going to go to emart to look for Risk and Settlers of Catan. Emart was closed. There was a sign infront of it telling why... but I could not read it. New Sam was there. Sam and I walked to HomePlus. He was looking for bedding stuff. He got a foam pad for his bed. I bought a pencil sharpner (Homeplus did not have settlers or Risk). He went back to Bobo. I wondered around the Hyundai Department Store. I was looking for a shop for the games or a place that sells frisbees. Neither. The place is huge... But the map and store list was only written in Korean. I found one shop that had a football and basketball, and I tried to ask the owner about frisbees. He did not understand. I did the motion of thowing a disc... he still did not understand. So I may just have to go to gmarket and get a frisbee. I spent well over an hour wandering around, then I wandered around outside for a while.

There is a toys-r-us several subway stops away from me. I may go after school tomorrow and look to see if they have discs and the games I want. I am just uber excited my fellow teachers like the games and all want to play.

School starts soon, and I need to get ready, shower, shave, iron a shirt... I have a feeling that this week is going to fly by.

Energy....

Thursday April 11
I woke up today and actually had energy. I had energy all day. Unlike every other day this week, I could keep on pushing. It is one of my long days too. I also wore a bowtie and last night shaved my goatee into a moustache and soul patch.
I am going to call my classes by their names from now on. Saying 7-1 or 7-2 just is not working for me. So here is my schedule
Everyday
(7-1 is 7 years old first at ECC, 7-2 is 7 years old 2 years at ECC)
1st 9:30-10:15 and 2nd period 10:30-11:10. 7-1 France
3rd period11:10-11:50 7-2 Australia
4th 11:50-12:30 and 5th period 1:10-1:50  7-2 Denmark
8th 3:30-4:10 period Canada (first/second graders 8 or 9)
Lunch 12:30-1:10 Australia

MWF
10th 5:00-5:40 period Greece (early elementary)

TR
9th 4:20-5:15 Denmark (middle school)
10th 5:20-6:15 Spain (middle school)
11th 6:20-7:15 Korea (middle school)

Mostly when I talk, I will be talking about my kindy kids (every day classes except for my Canada class)

So France, we went from speaking Korean during snack and play time to no Korean. It is tough for them. The parents want it though. So we started a sticker tree. We are starting off each student off with 5 stars. Every time they act up or speak korean they loose stars. Once they fill up their sticker tree we will give them a prize. It is amazing how quickly that worked. I cannot wait until one student fills up the tree. I will make sure it is some awesome prize. Sometimes the simplest forms of motivation are the most efficient. I spent far too long today making up the sticker trees. I made a Power Puff Girl one and a Ben 10 since I know YBM is trying to get them to take off in Korea.

The rest of school went pretty well. Nothing big or exciting. It worked out pretty well. I cant believe tomorrow is already Friday. The first three days of this week were extremely long. today though went by so quickly...

After work, I went with Sam (Sam from Oklahoma, not new Sam) to his favorite part of Seoul just to walk around. New Sam was going to come too, but he backed out.
It was a neighborhood called Samcheong. It was a neighborhood filled with tons of little cafes, coffee shops, and art galleries. There are also streets that are lined with the traditional Korean houses. Some of the views were absolutely stunning. I tried taking pictures, but none of them captured the awesomeness or the colors. If I took the same pictures during the day, it would be neat, but it would be lacking so much. but the same is true with a night show. If I had an expensive camera and a tripod I could do it. Something about the juxtaposition of the old traditional korean houses in the foreground and the skyscrapers and lights of Seoul in the background with the multi-colored Seoul tower standing tall... it would have been great.
We had Seolleongtang soup. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seolleongtang It was delicious. I would have liked it a little spicier... but such is life.  I think I may try to start adding wiki pages about the foods that I eat, just to help people know what it is I am talking about... and help me remember. Maybe sometime when I have some spare time, I will go through and make a food post about the foods that I have been eating.

It was a good day... I was going to do some work tonight (start studying Korean and sending a few emails... but I got home a bit late for that.

Okay... time for bed... Hopefully my wave of energy carries me through tomorrow!!!

I want to go to sleep

April 10th, Wednesday
It is only 8pm and I already really want to go to bed. I am not going to, because I know if I do, it wouldnt work out well for me. I would probably wake up around midnight and would not be able to get to sleep for several hours. The chances of me sleeping all night are very small. I dont know what it is about this week. I really dont feel sick anymore (save the allergy feeling occasionally). I just hit a wall after lunch and my energy sinks.
School was good today. It was a science day, so I did science with my kindy kids. They love it... but it the 'experiments' require kids to pay attention and follow instructions. The 7-1s were pretty bad, cause they cant understand me. My other 2 classes, the students thought they knew what they were supposed to do, so they end up working ahead and messing up. Teacher helppa me is all I hear. They continue to repeat it even if you acknowledge them.
My afternoon classes went okay. Nothing big, nothing small. This morning, Ronnie gave me two speeches to check their grammar. They were for his kids. It was extremely difficult for me to do. These are speeches for a 5th grader and a 3rd grader. So, some of the things the kids had in the speech is correct with what kids are taught in school, but incorrect in actual daily use (I notice this even looking through the books we teach). English is a messed up language and the rules are never rules and the grammar is always messed up. After I was done, I cleaned up my desk areal a little bit. It amazes me how quickly things accumulate on my desk.
I walked home and stopped by a lunch box place. I tried ordering in Korean... I succeeded and failed. I got part of what I wanted, but not all of it. Though even though my ordering was not a success, it also was not a failure. But what I did order was less than 2 bucks and was almost enough food to be considered filling. If I would have gotten a double order, I would be feeling good. (So the place in the front of the store had faux prepared dishes, so I could see what one I wanted. The dishes did not have numbers, only names. So the one I brought home was almost like what I saw, but about half as large and a was missing a few things)
Rob is lending me "the pink book" which is the book to learn Korean that all of the English teachers over here say is the best. I will start studying soon, and hopefully I will be able to order the dinner I want correctly instead of a surprise.
The cherry blossom trees are going to be blooming really soon. One by my apartment already has. There are buds forming on all of the other ones... I am pretty excited! Everyone says they are beautiful!
I might watch netflix for a while then still try to go to bed earlier.

Tuesdays gone...

Tuesday April 9th

This week is really taking it out of me... I am not sure why. I just feel so drained.

School was good. I have one boy in my 7-1 that gets really frustrated speaking. He actually speaks really well, but when he does, the kids laugh at him. So he gets really frustrated at that. But the reason kids laugh is because he almost never talks, so I have to coax it out of him. When he finally speaks, the kids see it as a joke and laugh. It stems from a deeper problem though... he laughs at kids when the mispronounce words, so he is thinking he is mispronouncing words. I am working with my Korean coteacher to work with him and to let him know he speaks well.

Also, my last class on Tuesday/Thursday really depresses me. It is the class with the kids that do not want to be there. There is that one girl, and she really takes a toll on me. Not as is a lot of work, but it depresses me and I have no idea what is the appropriate way to help her. It is the girl that I spoke of last week that said she has no friends. Today, she wrote down, besides not having any friends, that she does not know how to make friends. One of the other questions was who helps you when you are in trouble. She wrote nobody helps me when I am in trouble. Other kids said friends, family... not her. What can I do? Any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. I know this girl has more going on in her life. I know people have a hard time making friends, and I know it sucks to have nobody to turn to. I know there are a lot of cultural differences and everything. This girl definitely has some personality quirks. I know most of the other people have written her off, as just "that is the way she is" but me, I cannot. I had so many great teachers growing up that went above and beyond, that didnt write people off. I wish I could find her friends, I wish I could find a social group for her. I dont want her to become a statistic (in many senses of the word). This may be the most stressful situation I have. Making the kids speak English that do not know English is stressful. Kids not wanting to sit down is stressful. Kids not knowing how to be quiet is stressful... but having a kids say she has not friends, does not know how to make friends, and has nobody to help her is a stress on a whole other emotional and stressful level.

After work, Rob and I went to a new restaurant that opened up by Bobo. It is a Ho Chicken. It is a chain for Fried Chicken and beer. Rob and I had chicken and beer. In Korea it is called ChiMaek (Chee-Meck) 치맥 which is Chi (치킨 -Pronounced almost the exact same as Chicken and is Chicken) and Mek (맥주 Pronounced Maekju and is Beer). Simple and delicious.


Also, I know some people have been concerned about me and the whole NK situation going on. This is an email I sent tonight.

Nobody I have talked to is concerned in the least. Everything is business as usual. Korean news is very blase when talking about it. It seems that the US 24 hour news cycle is more in tune to drum up fear. I think most people here have heard this rhetoric from the north on and off for years. Until people here start to worry, I am not.


Even reading the military capabilities of NK, most people do not think an attack could amount to much. Most of their technology is nearly 50 years old. Their artillery at best could hit north Seoul (I am south) and their long range missiles have never been successfully tested. With as much as the US and SK are watching NK, if the north did try anything, I dont think much damage would be done south of the DMZ. Also, China, the one ally of NK seems to be putting a lot of pressure on NK to not do anything stupid. China does not want anything to happen, and China has a lot more pull with NK than the US does.


The embassy sent an email last week saying that there is no new information and they have not raised the alert status.


Worst case scenario, if NK does start to shell SK, the subway station less than a block away from my apartment is a bomb shelter, the subway station 3 blocks away from the school is a bomb shelter, and the nearest US evacuation zone is a 15 minute walk from both my school and apartment. I could get there much quicker if I needed to. The area I am in is not a 'major area' (basically NK would have no reason to focus on my part of Seoul- we are not home to businesses, commerce, or anything like that) so NK would doubtfully aim anything over here. I am also not near any US Military installation.


So, while I do not think anything will happen, I am a boy scout, so I am definitely always prepared for it to.






So just in-case anyone was worrying about how I felt, this pretty much sums it up.

A new week

Monday April 8.

A new week. School was tough today... my kindy kids really took my energy away. I am excited that they have so much energy on a Monday. But that just means keeping them in their seat and quiet is near impossible. Luckily I now only have 2 elementary classes on MWF. So I was fighing to keep my energy level high. Besides that, I need to find a way to make those two classes even better and more fun. They are not very good classes at engaging the students. One of them, the kids talked a lot after class, and as soon as the bell rung they all got up... I told them to sit back down, and we went over 3 more problems. I told them if they use my time, I will use theirs. I may have to do that several more times for it to melt in...

Lunch today was curry. The kids loved it. Almost all of them ate everything. One girl didnt... she is the same one every lunch that hardly eats.  The soup that we had today... the kids did not like it. It was some sort of seafood soup. It was bland. I wish every lunch was like that. The kids were happy and ate quickly. It was not a struggle.

My cellphone is up and running. Finally. I know feel that I will be able to resume life in a more normal way. I will be able to meet up with friends and not have to be a tagalong. The schedules will no longer revolve around me, but I will be able to adapt to other people. 

I found out that one of the organizers of the Cartoon Network event that was one of the CEO's daughter. Not sure which one it was... but it is probably the girl I thought was cute, because... well why not. 

Afterwork today, I went with Ama to the "hardware store" though that is not the actual name of it. It is a store that sells a little of everything. Fresh food to tools, pots and pans, and sleeping mats.  It is a bit cheaper than emart and has a lot closer. When I am ready to buy some pots and pans and othe stuff I need for my apartment, I'll go there. I bought a screwdriver (ive needed one for at least a month, a small stand to put by my bed, a mat for the bathroom so I do not slip in the shower, and some drain unclogger stuff.

I finally got to go to a cafe by my apartment that sells hotdogs. I love seeing how different cultures do something differently but the same. The hotdogs were not bad. The meat was good, the roll was interesting, and the toppings were fun. They have 3 types. Chili (which is not like chili in the us, but more a spicy sauce), Egg (where there are part of egg on the dog like relish), and Cheese. Like all non native korean foods, they were not the cheapest hotdogs, but a nice reward after a long day.

I am going to go to be early tonight... I still am a bit congested... though if as I suspect, it is allergies, the extra sleep wont do much for me.  But maybe I can go to bed early, then when the morning sun wakes me, it will not prevent me from getting a full nights sleep.

Another quick weekend.

Friday April 5th
Friday was pretty good. I was feeling mostly better. The day started off with one of my 7-1s crying. No idea why. Finally Stephen came in and got her. It was a girl who had been feeling sick and did not want to go to school. She cried one more time later on... I dont much like people crying... but I at least feel better when I know why they are.
The rest of the day went pretty smoothly. The lunch time watching a class... I can see why it is not extremely popular... there are just some kids that do not eat... No matter what. Then there are kids that tell you how much or how little they like each thing, and give me a report on it. Then kids try to bargin with you how much to eat until they have to clean up. Normally, I'd be like whatever- but we are supposed to make sure that the kids eat. The food isnt that bad. Sometimes it is fantastic, other times it is only okay.
The getting off at 5:45 on MWF is amazing. Not that I got to do anything special this week. But after work the internet guy came and hooked up my internet. I am not officially internet wired in Korea. Fast speeds and good service. Now I just need to get a cell phone, then life can be normal.
I took Sam out to Hongdae. The first time he rode the subways or anything like that. We were going to meet Ama and his GF for food then a concert in the park... We missed them at the station, and since neither of us have cell phones, we just decided to walk around Hongdae and try to find the park where the concert was. We could not find it... so we were looking for a place to eat... when all of a sudden Ama and his GF run into us. Pretty unlikely.... It is a large area with tons of people. But it was fate. Sam and I stopped for fried chicken from a street vendor. There were different sauces. I chose chocolate cause it sounded interesting. It turned out to be really good.  We went to the park... and there was no concert. So we went to Shamarocks to get a drink and food. I had a BLT which was pretty delicious. Bella came, and we met up with several other expats. We drank 2 pitchers... so not much being split between all of us. We went back to the park cause the weather was fantastic. We drank a beer in the park. They were going to head to another bar, but I split ways, because there was the reading I was doing on Saturday. Since I was still not feeling great, I thought alcohol and little sleep would not be good for me.
I caught a cab... I was able to communicate with the driver good enough to get me home. One driver told me he would take me there for 20000. I may be a foreigner, but I am not that gullible. The ride is normally between 5000 and 6000.

Saturday April 6th.
I slept pretty well. I woke up still with this congestion. I think part of it is allergies, as all of the trees and plants are finally tuning green. Showered and shaved and got ready for the reading. I headed down to Youngpoong bookstore. It was raining outside. I wore my yellow shirt, black pants, suspenders. Durning the readings I wore my oversized sunglasses from easter and bowtie. I also switched between my bunny ears and my green peter pan hat.
The turn out was not as good as they were hoping. The entire bookstore was pretty empty. I dont think many people wanted to go out in the nasty rain to go buy books. It was also the very first time they have done this. They are really trying to sell Cartoon Network out here. YBM has the rights to Cartoon Network over here. I read books, but the pictures were really small. Most of the kids didnt speak much english, so the real thing that kept most of their attention was my voice. I voiced different voices for characters... exept the powerpuff girls. I only have one high pitched voice- and it sounds like a 50 year old woman that smokes 5 packs a day. Mens and boys voices, I can do. Girls not so much.
The organizers loved my enthusiasm. So I am going to work with them to see if we can put something together to make it bigger and better. I'll give them suggestions. They all said they hoped to see me again. I love the feeling of doing new things. Since they are all starting out on what to do, if I can be a part of it (albeit unofficially), well that will make me happy. I love the feelings of start ups  While not technically a start up, it is a new service.
When I got back to Bobo, I met up with Rob and his GF and we went out to Sinchon to meet Callum, his GF, and one of all of their mutual friends (A girl I met last week at Joons). We all ate dinner. It was chicken soup. Not just regular chicken soup, but it was like an entire game hen in each of our bowls. It was pretty delicious. We then went to a board game place. Where you pay and play board games. It was not cheap, but in comparison to going out and drinking, it really was. It was an awesome time. We played board games for about 3.5 hours.  We played some Korean ones and some American ones and it was awesome. There was a group of Koreans playing some math/number game. They were so into it. They were having such a good time. If I could do math fast, I would love the game. Our group tried to play... all of us were too slow at doing the math. Maybe I'll work on it, then go back sometime, and make some Korean friends playing this game.
After playing board games... we were like Hobbits in a sense, and had second dinner. Granted, now it was late. But food is always good. None of it was really traditional  There was spoon pizza, which is pretty much pizza without crust, there was a chili omelet, and some fried chicken. We had 2 pitchers of some fresh drinks. One was like a weak hard lemonade. The other was a weak hard fruit drink. So not much. We were there to just continue talking, eat, and to have a good time. We all left and headed home.

Sunday April 7th.
Woke up early this morning. Went back to sleep, then woke up again. This process repeated several times. I need curtains. After I finally decided that the attempt for more sleep was futile, I skyped with my parents for several hours. Caught them up on all that was happening in life. I then went to church. Same one as last week. It was all in Korean, but there were English subtitles on the screen behind the preacher. After that, I thought it was the end, but nope... All the English speakers were staying there for the English service. I did to. Interesting... the preacher talked about North Korea and how he prayed God strikes them down... not a big fan of that. I'd rather pray the God opens their hearts instead of treating them as sodom and gomorrah. I do not blame people for the lives they were born into.
I went to emart to look at things to by. Curtains are really expensive. Sheets are really thin. So... I got the measurements of a foam floor mat. I figure I can use that. Now I just need to measure my window to see if it will fit. The other things I looked at, I decided I did not really need yet. A table to put next to my bed, a microwave... a nice scotch. I then continued with my errands. Next stop was a cell phone store.
I checked with my friends, and most say that KT Olleh is the way to go. Boy was it an experience. I did not want a 2 year contract- especially since I have no idea what the future holds for me. The 2 guys that worked there spoke a little English, and I spoke almost no Korean. It was a crazy 2 hour long experience doing it... but we did. It took all of us typing what we were trying to say into translators, gesturing, googling. and just having a good attitude about it.... I got a new Galaxy Note, a 1 year contract, and I will be paying 70 a month. A little higher than most of my friends... but I have a 1 year contract and they do not. I figure that paying a little more then having no responsibility after a year is the best way to go about it. If I brought a phone, I would be paying even less (and after 1 year if I stay for another, my bill will be cut nearly in half).
Finally got home and started laundry. I was hungry, so I was going to go to Pizza School for some cheap pizza... walking there, I passed a guy that sells meat. It is like the chicken guy (that sells the rotisserie chicken) but this is rotisserie pork. I have walked passed him many times... and just smelling it, I knew I was craving meat. So I got that. Delicious. Absolutely delicious. Cocked just right. It was not as cheap as pizza school, nor as filling... but flavor wise. wow. I do not think since I have been here I have just had meat. (I know before I came I was warned about parasites in pork... but when in Rome as the saying goes- and this guy is out a lot and I always see people buying from him. I figure it is safe).
Now I am back at home as my laundry is still going. I may watch a netflix... I kind of want to go downstairs and get a nice cold beer. I have actually been wanting a glass of wine for a while (I don't think I have had a glass since I have been here). But I am smarter than to get wine from a convenience store.
School starts back up again soon... it is amazing how quickly weekends go.

1 Month at ECC

April 4th

Today is my one month anniversary at ECC. So far... I love it. It challenges me in ways that I had never imagined it could. The stresses and problems are those that I have never had in life. When I was in NY, I was used to long hours, busy work, deadlines, and tons of other things. Life teaching children that do not fully grasp English (let alone life) is tough.  I know this job for many can be seen as easy. It is definitely a job where you only get as much as you put in, and how much you care is a huge factor. I take it seriously, and I put myself into it. It could be a job where you just walk in and do it... but me, it is more.

One kid in class said she had no friends (we are talking about that). It broke my heart. You know some kids would say that for a laugh.. but the matter of factly she said it. She is probably 12/13.  Even in class she is a loner... and it does not help that she is the only girl in the class. Things like that weigh on me. I know that in real school and school in the states teachers have to deal with these types of things. It is amazing... While I am nowhere near the level of teaching that teachers I had in the US were at... just this glimpse into this is eye opening.

Working in a law firm, I saw plenty of cases of people being neglected. Same thing here. Just some of the stories, the way people act... and knowing that I am absolutely powerless to help- other than being a fun loving happy teacher that gives them an escape to the harsh realities that are in life...

I am feeling healthier. I think by tomorrow I will be near 100%. Saturday for my reading at the library should work out without a hitch. I am excitedly nervous about this. I have no idea what it is... I just know I am representing my school, its parent company, and America. Many Koreans have such an idea of what Americans are and have a stereotype with us. So, I need to bring my full character and make it fun!!!

We started English only for my 7-1 class. I felt like a toughass enforcing it. These kids have an extremely limited vocabulary. Hopefully now they will get it a little better. There is one kid that refuses to speak... even in Korean... its tough.

I moved a girl that was talking too much in class on Tuesday (standard practice). I hear today that this girl went home and cried a lot because of it... Kid is probably 11 or 12. She seemed really quiet in class after I moved her... but I guess it affected her more than I was planning.

My first payday is tomorrow!!! I am rather excited. I want to buy two things... I want a bed... one that fits an Eric sized person. This single really just doesnt do me well. There is a place where they are supposed to have full size beds for about 150000. I'd even pay a little more. One thing I learned in NY is that a comfortable bed makes all of the difference. Also, definitely still want a microwave. They are normally around 30000 used. Other than that there really isnt much I need ASAP.

After work today, Sarah, Sam and I sat outside and ate. I had kimbap, she had ramen, and Sam had corn. the weather is starting to get better, and I am excited!

Sick...

Monday, April 1st
We got our new teacher today. His name is Sam and he is from New Zealand. He got to Korea in the morning and was shadowing all day. I knew that sense of jetlag and total confusion being dropped into a world in which I knew nothing of. I have not even been at my school for a month, and I realize how much I have changed. Seeing him, and remembering what it was like... Though still less than a month, I feel like I am definitely a part. I am no longer in training, I am a full blown person.
After work, we, the Bobo residents went out with Sam for some Korean BBQ, then on the way home we stopped at GS Mart to drink a little outside and talk. This is a popular thing with the Bobo people. There are no good bars close to us, so drinking cheap outside in the nice weather is the thing to do. Koreans even come down and join us... and that is the very thing that happened.
It was a fun and good evening.

Tuesday April 2nd.
Crap... Blah. I am sick. I feel pretty darn miserable. I am good at faking it. I suffer through it all day. The part that made it worse is that it is out Easter Celebration. So, though I feel like crap, I am happy and boisterous. Our color was yellow. I bought a yellow shirt at emart, I bought gold gloves, yellow sunglasses, bunny ears, a yellow wand, a novelty large yellow bow tie from a party store by the school. I was bunny teacher. I kept a huge smile on all day and really fought through the feeling of being sick.
I also was able to pick up my Alien Registration Card, so now I am official. I can get a bank account, a cell phone, internet, buy stuff online... so now I am official. Not going to type too much today.

Wednesday April 3rd.
I woke up feeling bad again. This may be too much info and gross, but oh well. I coughed up a lot of phlegm that was I guess festering in me all night. It was a color I had never seen before. It was literally like neon yellow. It is like my snot was being produced by a highlighter. I got a huge kick out of it. Took some medicine and headed to school. We had been planning on going to the Nexen Heros baseball game after work (Nexen Heros are the Mokdong Professional Baseball Team). I had to let the other foriegn teachers I would not be going because I was not feeling well. They laughed....
It seems that almost every foreign teacher, around the time they get their ARC, get sick. They all had, but it is one of the things they forgot about. They said it happens after being at the school for about a month... tomorrow is my 1 month anniversary at the school.
Today, Ronnie (Manager of Mokdong) made a comment about how popular I am, and Louise (Education Director) made a comment about how much of a gem I am for our school. I guess that means I am adapting pretty well.
I am still having some problems... nothing major. Just some of my classes are a little uncontrollable .. I am still trying to find that groove.
I got my bank account opened today. I will be getting internet in my apartment on Friday. Hopefully I will get a cell phone this weekend. Now that I have my ARC, I can start living.
Today was also the first day I did not have 2 of my afternoon classes (Sam took them over). I got home at a decent time. I ate, and went to bed. I just woke up, and I will be going back to bed soon. I know my body and how I get better. Sleep.
I know I am on my way to being better, because on the way home from school I was starving. I stopped by a bakery and bought sandwiches, sliders, bread... I ate it all. When I am in the waning stages of being sick... I tend to need a lot of sleep, and I eat a ton of food. Hopefully when I wake up tomorrow morning, I will be nearly all better.