There was Much to give thanks for...

So the week of the 21^st of September...

FREEK!!!  I HAVE BEEN HERE MORE THAN A MONTH ALREADY!

Assessment of Month 1: (Scores out of 10)

1.       Food (9) (But for my one gaffe (Described later as “Waiter, waiter, there is a chicken foot on my plate!”) I have loved the food, even though I don’t like all my food being spicy, I am certainly eating well and healthily for the main part)

2.       Public transport (8) (Only because I am in a small county and unless you can read Hangul you will struggle with the busses. Big cities have a much easier bus system and subway lines. Trains are great overall though)

3.       Women (8) (Asian women are stunning, they really are, no bias was applied at all I promise)

4.       Beaches (3)  (They have sand and water but to have a beach you need DUNES AND THE UNCOMPROMISING, TEMPEST THAT IS THE OCEAN)

5.       Night life (7). (There is an awful lot of drinking (Seelater: And-ong ‘die’ adda hand Darren... ) which in the main is not my scene, but you have beautiful hills (I am yet to class anything here as a mountain just purely on principle) to hike and camp (still looking for climbing spots), and there are Nori Bang’s, PC Bang’s, DVD Bang’s (Bang is the Korean word for room), Bowling, Billiards, Pool (in some places) Coffee shops, Pubs, Restaurants...)

6.       Scenery (10) (This score was amended from a 7 following my Hiking trip with the staff from Go Gyeon. It is not quite the varied jewel in the African crown that SA is but oh so beautiful in other ways (particularly when you travel by train or go on hikes – the rolling hills look spectacular and when you have a solitary temple in the middle of all this is really thought provoking and serene.)

7.       People (9) (Though the language is minimal, they will always try and help. The age hierarchy is adhered to as the rule rather than the exception. The people are also very warm and generous)

8.       Cost of Living (6). (It is not that I am a materialist by any means but  stuff you need every day is relatively expensive here. Particularly fresh food as it is all imported. That is why you see half of Korea always eating out.)

TOTAL: 60/80

As  school resumed on 20 September, and I had been picked up outside Dunkin Doughnuts  (hence forth referred to as DD) by a very swish looking Mr Park (Grey dress jacket, black formal pants, short sleeve white shirt and slightly sparkly, thin pink tie). I sat down at my desk and was just centring myself before my “Tomb” period with my 3^rd graders, when Mr Lee (or Mr Eee as he seemed to pronounce it) walked up to my desk and handed me a box: “For you, Choesok (Korean Thanksgiving Sept 21, 22, 23) gift from us teachers.” It was really heart-warming.

They couldn’t hold out and let me find out what it was – it was a box of 3 pairs of imported Italian socks. Very cool (See pic) I later found out that hot (but boyfriended-though I have my own fantastic companion in my life now. She goes by the name of Sandy and things this far have gone brilliantly, though that is enough about that for now...) teacher Jade had chosen them for me. She was very chuffed with herself on the slightly terrifying ride home (early!! Because it was the start of Choesok the next day) that afternoon. Indecently, Ashil was given 6months supply of SPAM as a gift – swings and roundabouts! HA HA HA!

It was then that I experienced my 1^st Korean Traffic Jam! Everyone was getting out of the cities and going to their families for the holiday period. SO FAR (though Seoul looked intense-read later) their traffic jams had nothing on a good old JHB slobberknocker! )

Pohang comes to Yoenchoen

Tuesday I got to sleep in as it was a holiday. Upon waking I remembered that I was meeting Sandy and Colleen to go to the train station and Meet: Dan, Sam and Courtney who were coming into Yoenchoen for thanksgiving supper (And Sam was joining on the Seoul Trip so she was leaving with Sandy, Colleen, Myself and Ashli, the next day.) After dropping off luggage at my (For Dan) and Sandy’s (for Sam and Courtney) place we went bowling.

Things were tight... It was Colleen, Dan and I vs the 3 ladies. (on an individual basis I WON THE WHOLE BANG SHOOT with a score of 86) but think 1999 Cricket World Cup Semi... OH THE TENSION!!!   *http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxVNtuDKsds*



Courtney and I going stride for stride, arm for arm..



With one frame to go we were one pin behind and pulled in front through Dan’s spare and having an extra bowl as a result.  Sandy did just enough with her second attempt at the lane to get 8 pins and wrestle the lead back to one pin. We needed Sam’s rocket harm to fail and Colleen to remain consistent. Sam Steps up...

Sam gracefully flings the ball straight down the centre of the lane.

8 pins.

Colleen, under loads of pressure and trash talk gets 6 pins.

Team CSS have a 3 min strategy pow-wow. Team DGC less impressed. Sam steps up for 2^nd bowl...

SHE MISSES HER REMAINING 2 PINS. Colleen need a difficult 3 pins to tie and a spare for the win...

She knocks down... 2 pins. Our hearts drop. Dan sinks to his knees asking “Why!!!... So close”. I am inconsolable. The SMUG Team CSS do their victory jumpy jumpy, no humility...

JUST KIDDING! It was great fun and we all shook hands following the clash of two evenly matched teams. Though there was a little gloating... next time we will see!!

That evening (after coffee at De Vinci) we had a brilliant supper – for the menu check out (Sam’s blog/Sandy’s blog). Team Pohang thought they would surprise us and dressed up all smart like. I was happy with my collared shirt and shorts but then Dan walked in, in a full suit and tie – not to be outdone I went and grabbed a tie from my room and returned to the festivities. I was put in charge of the OCTIPUS. NO JOKES – raw proper octi, not calamari. I had to cut off the head and the beaks before we cooked it in a spicy sauce stirfry style! We had so so much food and we took a table and chairs up to the roof and ate it under the starts. What a great way to conclude out introduction to Korea and to crown my new Korean family! Everyone did look oh so swish I have to say. It was great to be able to do that. It was at that point that we decided to do 2 things: 1:Make a Halloween horror movie for a lesson about Halloween (I have left the rest of the crew to the details as I have never done Halloween before. Script to follow). 2: to take a walk up into the hills after dinner and just try and star gaze (kinda worked) but it was so quiet and peaceful that it was awesome. It gave me some thinking time which I needed.

*Thanks to Courtney and Sam here as I am using some of their photo's.

More Pics to be added later

 

Just to let you know that this comunicative Medium is alive and well... just a little delayed

On the bright side of life... (*Breaks into Song* - words and music(which you will hear in your heads) by Eric Idle

Some things in life are bad
They can really make you mad
Other things just make you swear and curse.
When you're chewing on life's gristle
Don't grumble, give a whistle
And this'll help things turn out for the beest...

And...always look on the bright side of life... (whistle up, whistle down, whislte up gradually in paired words)
Always look on the light side of life... (whistle up, whistle down, whislte up gradually in paired words)

If life seems jolly rotten
There's something you've forgotten
And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing.
When you're feeling in the dumps
Don't be silly chumps
Just purse your lips and whistle - that's the thing.

And...always look on the bright side of life... (whistle up, whistle down, whislte up gradually in paired words)
Always look on the light side of life... (whistle up, whistle down, whislte up gradually in paired words)

For life is quite absurd
And death's the final word
You must always face the curtain with a bow.
Forget about your sin - give the audience a grin
Enjoy it - it's your last chance anyhow.

So always look on the bright side of death (whistle up, whistle down, whislte up gradually in paired words)
Just before you draw your terminal breath (whistle up, whistle down, whislte up gradually in paired words)

Life's a piece of shit
When you look at it
Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true.
You'll see it's all a show
Keep 'em laughing as you go
Just remember that the last laugh is on you.

And always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the right side of life...
(Over the chorus being sung in the background: Come on guys, cheer up!)
Always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the bright side of life...
(Worse things happen at sea, you know.)
Always look on the bright side of life...
(I mean - what have you got to lose?)
(You know, you come from nothing - you're going back to nothing.
What have you lost? Nothing!)
Always look on the right side of life...

ANYHOW... I am being led to believe a lady in Jeans with Midget Drunks surrounding her 8 hours a day (Dyllan Moran Referance: Dylan Moran - Children are like Midget Drunks) that a large man with a spanner, some wiring and an engineers pocket protector (Sorry Dad ;) ) will be entering my dwelling as of 1600 hours tomorrow and I will there by be given access to the top-secret mainframe that is the INTER_WEB.

Need I say more...

Thus...

I shall soon be more diligent on the blogging front by having 24hr access to it.

Stay tuned!!!

A morning of amusement...

Ah the life and times of miscomunicated comunication:

This morning, like any other morning I got up and slowly got ready like I like to do.

Got to the Bus station 08:20 - PERFECT! Bus leaves in 20min, I have time to relax a bit :-D.

08:25 - I get ticket (Speaking Korean no less)

08:35 - I see bus

I read ticket

I climb on bus

Bus starts going in the direction I was hoping :)

08:43 - To Imgo (where my Thursday school is) turn left...

Bus goes...

STRAIGHT

Shit!

Where am I going...

Go Keyong (My Wednesday and Friday school) is in this direction

Decide to wait to get to Go Keyong

08:57 - @Go Keyong - climb off bus, walk into teahcers office...

(looking rather paniced and sheepish)

Teacher 1: "Oh! You... ? Not today?"
Me: "Yes, I got on the wrong bus" *sighs*
Teacher 2: "Don't worry. She (Teacher 3) take you Imgo"

09:03 - Climb in Teacher 3's Car - she flies down the highway (but in a controlled, focused way)

Teacher 3: Desperate to over take a truck - bad plan. No space, pulls out.
Tries 2 more times, and passes, then has to pull back because of slow traffic in fast lane.
Stuck behind truck through to Imgo
Contemplates overtaking on a bridge (thinks better of it)

09:20 - Arrives at Imgo Middle School *I sigh with relief*, explain the story to other co-teacher (who again asks: do you have a phone (Brief aside: YEY FOR YOUR PHONE! :) ) and you can call me, I say no and explain)

09:30 - Co-T brings me some water and I go over my lessons with me and like them.

10:00 - Over a plate of Peaches my Co-T translates from one of the other teachers after hearing my name several times in Korean.

Struggling to surpress laughter she says: "Teacher wants to know if you have had plastic surgery on your nose? She think you handsome."

12:30 - 15 yr old male student: "Teacher, I love you" (They say that A LOT!)

When I have a picture of it - THE AWKWARD GIRAFFE will make an appearance on my page...

::AND FINALLY::

Back again for one final time this week...

Making Tofu Skin Dumpling thingsd

As we sat down to eat...

More recently (I am going to stop the school recounts now that I am nearly into my 3^rd week of “routine” unless something funny happens) Sandy, Colleen, Ashli and I had out 1^st home cooked supper together (With more Dylan Moran for entertainment). We each supplied something – I : Tofu dumpling things, Ash: Awesome proper dumplings, Colleen: company, Sandy: Rice and spicy squid. I brought along my mini table and we sat like proper like being in Korea! It was great and hopefully the 1^st of many dinners together! Sandy is such a winner. She is so great – she saw that it was Jewish New year and she got me some muffins and a bread kind of thing to say happy new year!

Upcoming features: The life and SEOUL of the party; KOREAN F1-YIPPY!!!; And-ong ‘die’ adda hand Darren... ; The Musical stylings of ‘Hauser Front loader’

Geoff’s non pornographic Asian adventure continues shortly...

Pohang Pros and Cons

Pohang Pros and Cons:



Panorama of Pohang





My lunch in Pohang -
I Had Eel!



Pros:     

Jukdo Market

1. Most importantly: Easy to understand and use public transport system. T-money cards = discounts.                                                 

2. Convenience that being in a main city brings (Big department stores, food options) just             generally more options when it comes to choosing food and cost of living)                                 

3. LOADS to do!                                                                                                                                                                               

4. It’s on the coast (though I have seen more impressive beaches) it is still great to have               taken a walk into the ocean (And a very warm ocean as it happens!) (I have now stood in 3             oceans!).                                                                                                                                                                            

5. THERE IS A CLIMBING GYM! (It is small but brilliant for traverse and strength training)                    6^th but probably most meaningful: Amazing people!

Thanks Dan (Top bloke) for letting me crash in your bed while you crashed on the floor, great to meet Brandon (From Chicago) and Joe (from Huddersfield), Malinde it was great to see you too. Sam, happy birthday for tomorrow and thanks for the generosity. It was reminiscent of home and my times with Faye, the way you and Courtney interacted. Finally, Courtney, glad you are feeling better and things have gotten off to a good start with your place, it’s always great to hang out with you. TOP PEOPLE ALL OF YOU!

HERE’S TOO MAY MORE VISITS TO POHANG!

Cons:    

1. Despite great user friendly transport – expenses add up!                                                                       

2. All the Pohang crew live far apart and much organisation and bus travelling (hence         incurred expense) is required. I think I spent close to W20 000 in travel expense for the 1 and a half in Pohang.                                                                                                                                                      3. Most things require the use of busses, even shopping – Expense increases.                                   4. EVERY SHOP has a stereo playing music outside to attract customers (SESORY OVERLOAD!)

Waiting and people watching (for Courtney and Dan)

Exit the boy, ENTER THE TRAVELER!!!

So it is official – I have begun my travelling journey! Admittedly I left Yoenchoen with Friends (Sandy and Colleen) but we still did it by ourselves. AND MORE DIRECTLY: I got home on my own! As the sun rose I made my protein breakfast of Fried Egg and Bacon/Pork/Beef/ Mystery meat? (Pick that which takes your fancy ;) ) and backed my little backpack (it was a short overnight trip) with pillow, sleeping mat and a change of clothes and took the 30min walk to the train station in the rain.

My Travel Companions (And Sam's green Birthday gift)

I love travelling by train! It is not the commuter trains in India or China (far from it, it was a very comfortable trip) but it was really fun. It is a smidge more pricey than busses but I’d rather have the extra time (it is about 20min faster. We stared out the windows at the beautiful scenery and shared travelling stories. Colleen’s was by far the most ‘adventurous’ on her travels from Germany to Lithuania. On arrival (10:40) were greeted by the smilling face of Monday’s birthday girl – Sam, and the flush cheeks of Irishman, Dan.

I re-affirm my awe of the human condition in ports of travel be it Airports (See some fantastic Asian spelling below), bus or train stations. The greeting of friends, family and just general loved ones after a period of travel (however brief) if pure insight into human emotion. A warm, smile or embrace, and a firm welcoming handshake greeted us on arrival. Sadly Courtney was unable to meet us but did so later in the day.

Pohang is much like any city with its hip and vibey “downtown” and then you have the old town where things are a little more run down. I was very lucky to go and visit Jukdo Fish Market. It reminds me so much of Kalk Bay harbour. The sights of people gutting fish, live eels and MASSIVE KING CRABS was something to behold.

I even saw (to my memory) my 1st live Squid. More than anything for me the highlight was the unique smells that came out of the market place. From fishy to spices, to leave the market had it all. And one thing I have noticed about shops here is the all HAVE IT ALL.

A sign of one of the MANY "Love Motels" in Korea

They all stock almost anything! It is only if you have like a more people centred western area where you will find speciality stores. We hung around the Western Side of town for a bit and had lunch at a fantastic Korean restaurant with, oddly enough, lady liberty watching over us as we stared out onto the Pohang skyline from out seated positions (See Panorama). I can’t quite remember what I ate but it was superb! All the food I had there was brilliant. I must have looked like a true westerner/foreigners/(I prefer to see myself as traveller). I had my backpack with overnight stuff,, my laptop case, in case I got to use net() and my pillow between the bag and my back. I got to see both Sam and Dan’s places (I stayed with Dan). Both are really nice, a bit smaller than mine, but very modern and they have made them look very homely.

Second Kind of Bulgogi

Throughout the day we did more touring and walking (Picking up Courtney along the way) and I got to see the climbing gym. It was small but it was wall to wall mats and grips which was really cool (*bookmarked for future visits). After another sumptuous supper of 2 kinds of Bulgogi and a pan cake thing....

A Sweet-Potato Latte

ASIDE: OOOO, I nearly forgot to mention – I tried a sweet potato latte for the 1^st time and it will be my last. It was really nice and very sweet but as my mom likes to say about Chai Latte – it was close to baby food (in colour and texture). Way too rich for me (I KNOW RIGHT, WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT!) and the taste us something I won’t miss.

Continue...

Crazy Korean Drinking buddies - the Asian guy on the left at the back was THE MOST DRINK I have seen an asian before

After dinner we went and had drinks at a pub and I got to watch some English Premier League. A bloke named Joe whose folks are from Yorkshire (Creepy I know right) met us (he too is from Yorkshire-Huddersfield to be specific, so maybe the gloss lifts off my friend reference there) and then one large Korean gent started flirting with one of our party. So as we had nearly finished our Pitcher of beer (I had had 4 glasses, which was where I stopped for the night – small glasses mind you) we joined the Korean table, where Dan became known as Harry Potter (as he wore glasses and was from the England region), Brandon (a friend of Sam, Dan and Courtney, whom I met that night. He is from Chicago and majored in Ling (we had a nice Ling chat which was great!) was “handsome Jim Carry” and I apparently was too quiet but looked like one of the Korean national Footballers. The Koreans got progressively drunker (Think a drunk Jackie Chan from Shanghai Noon) as we sat and pretty much just smiled for 2 hours as we didn’t know what they were saying to us AND they even offered to pay our bill and theirs (which we added too because they kept buy us more drinks). We declined and left when the large Korean man started to get a bit “too friendly” for our friend’s liking (up until then she had handled herself brilliantly-but then got very uncomfortable). Dylan Moran comedy and a Brit Comedy called “The In-betweeners” ended my night at 01:45 and I slept like a LOG!

Ram-yoen (WITH CHOPSTICKS)

10am Dan wakes me and we head to the climbing gym where I was meeting the girls to climb. Sadly it was closed but I did have Ram-yoen (like the cup n noodles only with more broth) which was spicy and yummy! Sunday Lunchtime I caught the train back after a thoroughly enjoyed 2 days in Pohang.

 

The Climbing Gym Run by 2 really cool people!



Dan's Lunch in Pohang

MeWith my Bags and Pillow
on the train back home

A really cool music video kind of Shot!

<>

Some of the members of the Yoenchoen and Pohang crews



NOTE THE SPELLING OF "AIRPORT"

After the storm you can always find a rainbow if you look hard enough...

I HAVE FINALLY STARTED TEACHING! I am now just about 2 weeks in.

But before I get to that...

"Tour Guide" Chris giving us info

Saturday (04 Sept) was my 1^st trip out of Yoenchoen. A bunch of us went off to Deagu by TRAIN to explore the surrounds for the day. We were graciously guided by Chris and Rob (other Foreigners). Having a guide for a city is great when you do not have time. As it was though, I really appreciate Chris giving of his time and we got what we needed out of the trip. It would have been great to wonder around and explore for myself a bit more than I did though.

The purpose primarily of the trip was to learn a bit about how to use the train and subway system (Available in Deagu – NOT where I stay in Yeonchoen). I got myself a subway card that also works with some Taxi’s and some busses where I stay, so I am hoping that it will save in transport costs in the long run. We had coordinated with 2 friends from Pohang – the closest city to the coast for us, to join us (Courtney and Sam – see earlier post if you can’t remember them). It was rather comical actually, we all ended up on the same train as it left from Pohang and passed through Yoenchone on the way to Deagu and I got off our car of the train and noticed these two girls staring intently at a map, presumably to navigate their way. I realised: HEY THERE ARE COURTNEY AND SAM! I felt like such a ‘noob’ (older folks ask younger folks what I mean – it is computer slang) for all the pics I was taking around and on the Subway. Even though I got to use Gautrain before I left it was still WAY COOL! The Subway in Deagu is really easy to use as it is only 2 lines (Where Seoul has 5 I think).

In Deagu, we saw the very impressive I-MAX Cinema – (FYI: Movies cost about the same here as they do with you folks in SA), and we got shown a couple of department stores and also got what amounts to an Exclusive Books card with Keyobo Books.

@Keyobo books: From far left: James
two of Sandy's friends whose names I can't remember
Sandy, Sam, Ashli, Rob

The guy in the black shirt was the gent who got angry with me at the park.

APPARENTLY!!!, my writing is terrible as we had to write our details down for the card and I got my card reading: Creoff Wakefield! It was an easy fix though BUT if you feel compelled call me “G-ep” as very few of the children seem to pronounce my name properly as there is no /f/ in Korean. After lunch Chris went to watch a movie so we all split up. For a couple of hours Courtney and I ‘took an unplanned detour’ around Deagu (we were trying to find a specific park that had squirrels and chipmunks). Everyone else stayed with Rob and looked at the shops. We never found our park but we did find another park where I was told off by an elderly gent for taking a photo of what I later found out was a traditional game BUT the twist was that they were betting on it and I think that was illegal so he was not to happy with me. (I did get one pic though – see pics). THEN THE HISTORY LESSON STARTED...

Sunset shot from our train trip back

As Courtney and I were trying to meet back with Sam and Sandy to catch our train back I got quizzed on SA history as for some reason we were talking about migrant labour. That moved onto the History of SA. I was really impressed with Courtney as she genuinely wanted to know EVERYTHING! I went from the Dutch East India Company, to settlers, The Great Trek, the Anglo-Boer war, Appartheid, Madiba, Democracy and the current state of the nation and I have a feeling that there are so many more questions Courtney would have asked if we had more time (NOW BARE IN MIND HISTORY BUFF’S that I last did history about 8 years ago so the complete accuracy of my account could be questioned).



The three ladies in question



It was great to hang out with the 3 ladies again and to have been hanging out with Ashli and Colleen as well – though I must say it will be cool to get some ‘GUY TIME’ soon.

INTERLUDE:

*NOTES*

PUBLIC BATHROOMS ARE WIERD – no toilets, you have squats! (Soooo not a fan :-/ );

EVERYTHING is dependent on Electricity. If ESKOM existed in Korea I would not be able to get into my building let alone my flat (All my building locks are mechanised – MEMO: Get SURGE PROTECTOR);

EVERYTHING is CUUUUTE (food is either “cuuuuute” or “deli-sious” depending on the context): animals, plants, teachers (Apparently I am the most Handsome of my family according to two student)

CHEESE IS A COMODITY (I think I have said that before but it bares repeating)

The Water is not so bad to drink if you boil it first – it tastes like Gtown water. (Those who have not had Gtown water – you can taste a sediment taste.)

Just in case the 'evil stairs' jump out at you without warning

Korean Middle school children are not as good at soccer as I had feared.

Another view from a train window, this time on the way to Pohang

So continu’eth the saga...

Sunday (05 Sept) was a frustrating day – with no internet I was having a really tough time figuring out how to plan my lesson for the next day. I spent my afternoon at Sandy’s place using her net. I got there just after 12 and only left at 23:00. She made ‘Gimbap’ for supper, which is a seaweed roll of rice (she used brown) with crab sticks, pickled something, fish something and cucumber. YUMMY! While I was working the 3 ladies were working out. It was a strange experience glancing up every now and then only to see their reflections doing various movements that don’t lend themselves to being repeated. When I got back to my flat I continued to work until 1am before finally finishing.

Monday 06 Sept: TROPICAL CYCLONE DAY!! As much as the weather warned of tropical storms (ooooh, I’m scared!) All it was just heavy rain. I think any effect from the Tropical Cyclone had worn off as it had crossed the mainland before it got to us. Following my last encounter with rain I had since bought myself a much bigger umbrella! Great Success!! I got picked up outside “Dunkin Doughnuts” by Mr Park-WAY BETTER than walking to the terminal for 30min and catching a bus (*TIP* Make friends with as many teachers as you can. They are so helpful that if you would like a lift or something you will find someone who is willing to help you

(UNLESS you are instructed not to visa vie my 3^rd Co-teacher who was not comfortable giving some of her responsibility to another teach – thus I have to walk to the terminal on Thursdays to catch the bus to Imgo – though I only need to catch the 08:40 bus)).

 I held my 1st official classes this week. My 1^st class was a slideshow about me and a little about SA, then I asked them to prep answers to questions. The levels of English usage varied in all the classes. What gets me is that you get 1^st graders (so about 12-13yrs old) who are better speakers than 3^rd graders (about 15-16yrs old). I intro’ed a “Yellow and Red Card” system for discipline and a voucher system for rewards. And they really took to it. I had one bad lesson (Lesson has since been re-named: MY FIRST BOMBED LESSON) because I was trying to find my feet with how I was going to present the content but as the week has gotten on my presentation has become so much better already! The slideshow was about ME – where I am from, my family (including our dog Charlie) and what I most love about SA (*TIP* PREP IS EVERYTHING! It is no joke so stay on top of it and one bad lesson doesn’t make a bad year. REMEMBER THESE THINGS POTTENTIAL TRAVELERS!). After getting dropped at home by Jade...

OH JADE!!!

 Right so... on Monday I got taken a side for a “chat”. Apparently I strayed away from tradition last week by asking Jade to drop me outside my house on the Monday. I was ‘kaking’ myself when I thought I had done something seriously wrong, but I think I may have made her uncomfortable by asking to be dropped outside my place. From what I gather unless you are married that is like the guy propositioning the girl (if she is single that is) so I was asked if it was ok if she dropped me a block away from my place and I walked the rest of the way. I was so relieved when that was all the “chat” was about. I just asked that when I don’t conform as expected to please be told sooner rather than later next time to avoid the faux par.



... (continues) I had a quiet night with what I later discovered was pork curry (I thought the pork was chicken as it was chopped rather fine) for supper and an episode of extreme engineering.

Tuesday’s lessons followed a similar pattern to Monday. There is one little boy in my 1^st grade class, he is so sweet. I can see he really wants to try and likes it when I sit with him to help him (he has learning difficulties) but he just can’t get the words out unless I prompt him. I really like the little guy though. The girls seemed to have taken to me as they have no fear of talking, which is different from my Wednesday and Friday school where the boys take the lead. The teachers want to hold conversation classes with me as well so we had our 1^st informal one that afternoon. It was a bit stymied. They, I think, don’t want to look bad in front of other teachers so they don’t try as much as they do when it is just me.

Wednesday 08 Sep: I went to my main school pretty much for the 1^st time today as I had not had the chance to meet the students properly before. They were great today really. Small classes: 1^st Grade: 7 students; 2^nd = 9; 3^rd = 7. The third grades were a little shy but the other classes were awesome. I did my Intro lesson for them and will do the same for my Thursday school as well. The 1^st graders are holding a play in October for a festival so I was asked to correct and run through the script with them for pronunciation. Great fun! I used all the vocal range I could muster to do different voices and then I was asked to give them 1 x 1 acting and pronunciation lessons! My voice is a little sore now :-P I played soccer with the 1^st and 3^rd graders and they are not as good as I expected which makes me look good :-P. I did, however, get a nasty bruise for slipping onto the clay playing surface, lost my balance and bailed. Nice and swollen. GOODY :-/  – DEEP HEAT TONIGHT I THINK! To take a break from all of everything, the ladies and I went out, initially to play some pool (only to find out that they only have billiard tables) so we settled for Coffee at our regular haunt, DA Vinci’s. It was there where we found the one innocent i.e. gullible person in our group (go on you know who I am talking about... the one person whose mind refuses to slip into the gutter despite the opportunities and who is trusting enough to believe most things that are said). Colleen saw that the coffee shop had some Apples behind the counter and just to pull our leg, Ashli asked why there were tomatoes behind the desk. SANDY ATE IT UP! She was sold, so for the last few days and for the next many I suppose, she is going to be the one who ‘can’t tell the difference’ between apples and tomatoes. It got to the point where we would just not let it go and all burst out laughing. Whenever anyone looked at Sand or Ashli we would just start laughing again. Again you know those kind of moments. This went on for about 15min (in all that time, Colleen seemed very cool and unphased by this raucous laughter around her). EVENTUALLY we calmed down and settled down to our coffees. (Though following the incident we have brought it to Sandy’s attention at least 8 times since :-P)

Thursday I visited my 3^rd school and my co-teacher couldn’t stop complementing me on how smart I was as I had got myself to school by catching the right bus and doing so by speaking Korean! That was short lived – I forgot my presentation at home :-( However I had about 3 hours before my 1^st lesson so was able to plan and re-create my presentation with minimal issues (despite the Korean menus in all the Computer programs). All in all Mrs Yoon (my 3^rd co-teacher) was really impressed with my work so that was a good start :)

Over the last 2 days we had been planning a trip to the coastal city of Pohang which is about a 1hr train drive away, for the weekend (or a portion of it). It is Sam’s birthday (incidentally 9/11) and Sandy and I went out and bought her a nice small pot plant from us to her. I also got myself my 1^st plant – a cactus called Pedro (Apologies to said individual and to Kirsty, if you are both reading this – I mean nothing by it). I watched MULAN 2 in Ashli’s room while she was doing a gym session and I also took the advantage of using her internet. (I am being assured I will have net and a cell phone by the end of next week.

 Friday 10 Sept: It was a good day as well. My 1^st lesson was cancelled so I spent 4 hours in the office working and researching lessons (and the odd bit of Facebook to take a break) before my 1^st class. They were trying so hard, this class but sadly their level is very low. They were struggling with basic directions. But Points to them for at least trying, though I did warn two girls who were talking while I and others were presenting. My final class for the day was the acting class of 3^rd graders – again lots of fun. This evening, we all went out for pizza (the best so far) and finished the day with Ice-cream (though Ashli and I had planned to find a place to have a drink to celebrate the end of our 1^st week as teachers). It is so wonderfully strange how I seem to always find my kind of people – good hearted, wholesome honest people. We had lots of fun tonight. Tomorrow it is OFF TO POHANG!