Gurye trip with the Cha family

I just had one of the best days ever! I went out with Cha Hyun Seok, the banker and his wife and two children: Ha Eun (Korean age = 12 years, Canadian age = 10?) and Ha Min (8 or 6?). Ha Eun is actually one of Helen's students - small world. Hyun Seok doesn't look it, but he is 41 years old. He has been to Canada a few times, and the US to run marathons. He came in 11th in the Honolulu Marathon! Anyway, both Hyun Seok and his wife have family members who live in the US or Canada, so their English is quite good. Ha Eun was very shy, but Ha Min (the little one) was anything but! She spent all day giggling at me - holding my hand, playing with my hair, jiggling my upper arms (she loved that!) and trying out English phrases, while I tried out my Korean.

We went to Gurye, a small city just north of Suncheon. First stop was a dragonfly museum, with a visit to a greenhouse, small farming museum, garden, and petting zoo. It was really neat. Then, we went for lunch. Imagine a table, about 6 x 3 so covered in dishes full of food that you can't even find a place to put your chopsticks! I am really going to miss the huge variety of tasty Korean vegetables. Their greens are like nothing else. Really delicious.

After that, we went towards Jiri-san, the mountain that I'd climbed before, and stopped at a historical house. It had been a nobleman's house and had been rebuilt. You can actually stay there, like a hotel. We looked at everything and went for a short hike through some fields. I really thought that the natural well was the most amazing thing ever.

Then, we went back to Suncheon. Ha Eun had to go to her bible study class, so we went to the Cha's church where we sat outside and drank some juice while enjoying the gorgeous weather. There was this older man who walked by wearing traditional Korean clothes and I just couldn't take my eyes off him. He let me take a picture with him. What you can't see in the picture is how long and white his beard was... how unlined his face was.... that the buttons on his jacket were baubles... that even his shoes were old style.

I took a million pictures, which I have posted on my Flickr account. Follow the link on the right. In only a few days, I have uploaded almost my entire quota for the month. I'll have to calm down a bit with the pictures. They are worth a look - and read the descriptions too, since I give a lot more information there.

.... and last night, the waguks went out (of course) and had ourselves a good giggle over the fact that today is Erection Day (remember, "r" and "l" are the same sign in Hangeul), which is why we got a day off. Actually, if you follow the link to Brent's blog, he's got a bit of a write up about the whole election phenomena here. It's very different from Canada.

Too many shoes?

So, my mom sent me an e-mail complaining about tons of pictures of shoes and no pictures of Korea.

Okay, but do you realize just how many shoe stores there are here????

I have added more photos to Flickr. A few taken from the bus window on my way from Wando to Suncheon on May 5, and a few from that hike up Jirisan mountain. Keep in mind that I am the world's worst photographer.

Tomorrow, I go to Gurye with the bank manager who helped me exchange money when I first arrived -- check blog archives -- and his wife and 2 kids. It should be a lot of fun. I mean, when would this happen in Canada? And, I will take lots of pictures of things other than shoes.

I also want to take my camera to school to get pics of the kids. They are just awesome.

And.... if you don't leave a comment when you visit, I will cry because you made me sad. Thank you to Kat, Kelly, April, Nicola and my Mom for always leaving me comments. And, the worst part is that April and Nicola have known me for less than 6 weeks AND they live in Korea AND April sees me everyday.

Do you feel guilty now?

(p.s. pic is of Nicola's shoes)

Flickr

I have so many pics to show, and can only upload a few at a time to my blog. So.... follow the link at the right to my new Flickr page!

BUSAN!!!

Oh... wow. What an awesome weekend. I don't even know where to begin....

I think I will have to write a longer post when I am not so exhausted. Took a million pictures (and so did April). We ate, shopped, wandered, shopped, ate, went out, ate, shopped, went to the beach, ate and shopped.... so many things to do in the big city. Hard to believe we fit so much into only 2 days.

I've posted the most important picture: Me with a Caramel Macchiato.

On the way to Busan....

If you are reading this now, I am on a bus on the way to Busan. Or, I am already in Busan, drinking a Starbucks coffe. Or, I am on the beach in Busan, ignoring the rain. Or, I am shopping in Busan. Well, you get the idea,

Busan is the 2nd largest city in Korea.... and where I am headed in about an hour or so. Of course, I still haven't showered or packed and I decided that the most effective use of my time would be updating my blog.

April and I were going to go to Busan last night (Friday), but got distracted and went to Julianna's (foreigner bar) instead. We ate fajitas (mmmmmm) and spent quite a bit of time taking pictures of each other with other people. Once I upload from April's camera, I will post a few, because we were really working it. Odd, I know. Anyway, just as April and I were ready to leave, Helen told us to go next door to the Norae Bong. A WHAT? Think: room with 2 couches and a karaoke machine. Very popular here. I had only gone once before, in Gwangju during orientation. So, we (Kirsten, Leslie, Naomi, Helen, April, a guy whose name is...Dave(?) and I) went over and sang our hearts out for an hour (Yes, I sang It's Raining Men). Yes, the camera was there too - will post pics next week.

Okay.... going to pack.

Only in Korea?

So, I've decided that my blog cannot just be about me and my friends. If I continue just writing what I do every day, it will look something like this: went to school, taught, chatted on msn for 3 hours, came home, went to April's/Karen's/Matt and Helen's to drink/watch a movie/talk, then we went out and I got home at 4 am/5 am/10 am.

In an effort to add some variety to my posts, I present you with.... moving day!

In Korea, many of the apartments are huge concrete blocks like Shidae, where I live. How do you move all your possessions up 15 storeys? Or even 2 for that matter? Well, you enlist the assistance of a moving van, naturally, and a crane thingy. This is a motorized platform. All your worldly possessions are loaded onto it and then lifted up to the balcony, where they are unloaded. Then the next batch goes up and so on.

For Kelly, Ellie, Heather, Ann, Katrina, Ina, Marc, and anyone else who has ever had to help me move - wouldn't it have been nice to just put the goddamn heavy box on a lifty thing like this and send it through the window?

So, the two pictures here are 1) someone moving into Shidae. I've taken the pic from my apartment. 2) a picture of someone moving into an apartment in Gwangju. This pic was taken by Brent and Stephanie during orientation back a month ago.

Happy Birthday Nicola!

Today is Nicola's birthday!

You know, when we arrived in Gwangju and they told me that I would have to share a room with someone, I was kind of mad. I mean, I wanted my own room to fling my things around in. However, Nicola and I managed to tolerate each other.... ha, what am I saying? We got on like a house on fire! AND, she let me fling my things around anyway. We talked - constantly - much to the amusement of Mr. Shane (human). And, in just a month, we've already visted each other's respective homes in Korea (Wando and Suncheon). Of course, when she came to Suncheon, she was a total hit with everyone too!

Thanks, Nicola, for making orientation that much more interesting, for your awesome stories, for loaning me books to read.

Best wishes!

Cough cough

So, I'm sick.

I've heard that once you hit the one month milestone, you get sick.

It's true. My co-teacher even gave me strange pills and a vile Chinese herbal drink today. I could feel my face buzzing afterwards, and my hair was tingling. Not sure what was in that! Let's just hope it killed off whatever microbe I have running through my system.

But see... In Korea, you are expected to go to school even if you are sick. I now have a decision to make: Should I go to school and make a good impression? Should I take advantage of my contractual sick days and stay home tomorrow?

That's what I need to decide.

Oh.... here's that damn "trail"

Try climbing THIS for a whole day!

Jiri-san

Jiri-san Park is a huge National Park just north of Suncheon. My co-teacher asked me if I wanted to go for a hike and I said "Yes!".

Now, I am not the world's best hiker, but I've been on some pretty neat hikes: Belize, Quebec, Bar Harbour, New York State, and I figured that I could spend a day outside. I kinda needed that too! And, seeing as I'd done a whole 10 minutes on the treadmill last week, I figured that I was in good enough shape for a 7km hike.

So, the trail started off as big stones set in concrete that wound along beside a small river. Of course, for me a "trail" is a dirt path, and I figured that's what we'd find eventually.

Boy, was I wrong.

The "trail" was piles of boulders that you had to scramble up. Each step was an effort. And this went on for TWO HOURS. We stopped for lunch (kimbap - a sort of rice and veggie roll with seaweed, like California rolls) on top of a waterfall, then continued for ANOTHER TWO HOURS. When we finally got to the top... there was nothing there. And nothing to see. Apparently, your ancestors have to be "good" for at least 3 generations if you are to see anything from the top of a mountain in Korea. We waited for a gate to open (we'd reserved ahead) to go higher up on the mountain. See, in an effort to reintroduce native plants, the summit of this mountain had been closed off to the public since 1991. It will remain closed, except by reservation, until 2015. I don't know if this is a coincidence or not, but there is an army outpost and two helicopter pads up there too. Hmmmmmm. Anyway, we'd started our hike at 10 am, we reached the summit at 3 pm. The guided tour of the summit was all in Korean, so I really didn't understand much (yes, I scrambled up rocks and boulders on a 45 degree angle for 4.5 hours to take a guided tour in Korean.....).

To get down, we were able to follow a road (those stones in cement again). We ended up getting a lift back down from a nice couple in an SUV. The road twisted and turned (hairpin turns) down the mountain - but the view was breathtaking (good ancestors, I guess).

I promise you all.... If you come to Korea, I will NOT take you hiking.

But, all joking aside, it was nice to get outdoors and get some sun (is a sunburn a reason to call in sick?), and finally get to see some of Korea's natural beauty.

Happy Long Weekend....

Happy Victoria Day to friends and family in Ontario. Exceptionally, this was not a long weekend here. I will actually have to work 5 whole days next week.

After a month, I can say that I have settled in to the Shidae lifestyle. Had a couple of people over for supper on Friday night - peanunt butter tofu. Mmmmm. Of course, the evening didn't end with supper and we all came home in the wee hours of the morning. On Saturday, I spent most of my time with Matt and Helen, eating breakfast then going up to the roof to sunbathe. Glad I took advantage of that, as there is rain in the forecast for all next week.

Now, Sunday morning, I am awaiting my co-teacher to head up to Jiri-san for a bit of hiking. I can only hope that I will be able to keep up! (Koreans are known for speedy hiking....)

Da Pinchy Code

Went to the movies -- saw the Da Pinchy Code (in Korean, "v"s are replaced with "p"s - hence my name is Paginia). It's long. And don't go see it if you haven't read the book.

Interesting concept, though.

I'm quite excited by the fact that I can watch CBC The National on my computer at work. I just download last night's news. I've done it two days running so far, and I already feel like I'm out of my little Korean bubble. Not too impressed with Harper, you know. I don't know, I leave the country and all of a sudden, Canadian politics = crazy.

Classes are going well....
Weekend looks like rain (which sucks because I wanted to climb Jiri-San with my co-teacher)....

Have found a delightful online book store out of Seoul that even stocks used books.

Sorry. This post is really dull.

It's been a month!

Look it's me! In Korea! Someone told me that they couldn't remember what I looked like...

It is very hard to believe it but.... I've been in Korea for a month now!

What do I LOVE so far? (in no particular order....)

- Service-uh: Service-uh is stuff you get for free just because you are a foreigner. For example, a purse and chocolate from the Body Shop, an extra who-knows-what when you buy food, an extra espresso shot in my capp....
- The weather: Except for the acid rain, the weather has been really good. I know I have a tan on my face... I may need to get one of those full-face masks that all the old ladies wear.
- Star status: Sort of related to service-uh... it's the kids saying "hi" to you on the street, the students telling you that you are beautiful (okay, I admit that I give them candy when they say that....), the compliments on how small your head is (ummm, didn't realize I had a small head...), just awesome.
- The students: When they aren't falling asleep on their desks or throwing paper airplanes, they are very eager and excited. Like I said, I get to do the fun stuff... and they respond like Pavlov's dogs to the rattle of a candy bag (I admit, I am bribing the hell out of them).
- The cost of living: Hey, my double espresso-ed coffee just cost me about $2. A night out can be as little as $20, including the cab ride.
- I just got paid today: Ever seen a 7-figure bank balance? Okay, fine... exchange, I know.
- The Shidae people: I'm just loving the folks that live here (Matt and Helen, Karen, April, Dave, Carol, Steve... thanks for making the transition easier) and away (Nicola, Brent and Stephanie)
- The view from my apt: Green mountains in the day, mist in the morning rising up the hillsides, rice paddies to the left, totally flash neon signs at night.
- The Internet: I don't feel so far from my friends back home because I know that you are just an e-mail, a Skype call or a plane ride away. And, I discovered today that I can watch The National online on my computer at work. Yay, Canadian news for me!
- The food: I've lost weight here, and as long as I stay away from the largee pisa and maekju (beer), it might just stay that way... Oh, and keep going to the ultra-posh 5-storey gym next door.
- Body Shop next door: Yay.

What might still take some getting used to? (once again, no particular order)

- Friends: I'm just building friendships now, but it would be nice to hang out with someone who hasn't only known me for a month!
- The food: "Um, what is this?" "Blah blah blah" (in Korean). "Ah, thank you. So.... what is this?"
- Stares: Like, I'm talking the "up and down and up and down" look when you are in an elevator with 3 men.
- The dog farm: Oh. My. God.
- The language barrier: I'm VERY fluent in broken English ("Me lunchee now"). I really need to learn Korean. Or at least practice my Hangul (written Korean) so that I can read things. I now know what it's like, and what coping strategies one needs, when one is illiterate. Imagine for one second that you are grocery shopping and you can't even recognize what is in the package, even though it might be delicious, because you can't read the label and don't recognize the logos.
- Dependence: Utter dependence on everyone around you.
- My shower: Me crouchee shower. But, hot water nice-uh (and hair seems curlier....).
- Shoes: Soooo many pretttttty shooooooeeeessss. Foot too largee.
- Toilets: Hey, no t.p. Hey, no soap.
- Missing weird things: Just paid $3 for an avocado. I will worship it until it is soft, then make myself a Strega sandwich with bamboo raisin bread.
- Cost of living: Ohhhhh, but some things will break the bank. Like sheets... cheese...
- Body Shop next door: Yeah, and at 3 times the price.....

All in all, though, I don't suppose that I can really complain. The cultural differences will take some getting used to, but that is all a part of this experience.

Cheers to you all.... miss you muchly.

Changed look of blog....

I think this is better than the pink and grey.... unfortunately, I have lost all my customized links!

Will add them (again) when I have time.

Oh, and here is a slightly blurry pic of Mr. Shane close up.

Guess what I just did?

I just ordered pizza. Normally, that would not be blog-worthy.... but I ordered this pizza in KOREAN.

How many of you can say you've done that?

Thanks to April for writing out exactly what I needed to say phonetically.

Mailing address

On Friday, I was surprised to find a postcard from Kelly (and all the Strega crew) in my mailbox. This means that my address works!

Virginia Parker
Shidae Apartments
Bldg 101, Apt 1807
Jorye Dong
Suncheon-si, Jeollanam-do
South Korea

There is also a postal code, but I can't remember what it is.

Give it a try!

The weekend

Nicola's visit to Suncheon coincided with Open Mic Night. Of course, we had planned it that way. Brent and Stephanie (part of the crew I came over with) also came up for the weekend (see Brent's blog in the list of links). And, one of Nicola's homies from Wando, JP, was present as well.

After shopping (and bringing home Mr. Shane!), Nicola got to meet a lot of the Suncheon waguk crowd at a little BBQ, then we were off to Open Mic. It was a lot of fun and I even performed my poem (okay, it's Robert Frost's poem) accompanied by Matt on guitar. I spent the rest of the evening taking pictures of myself and friends.

The thing about going out in Korea is that...the bars don't seem to close. This means that you can find yourself coming home at odd hours of the morning, like... when it's already light out.

Sunday, we didn't have that much energy and needed to recuperate. Or at least I did. Nicola went on a little hike, then we watched "Walk the Line" twice. On Monday, we went for a 2 1/2 hour hike through the rice paddies across the street from Shidae. It was kind of surreal. An old lady gave us bean doughnuts... I wish I had brought my camera. We also found a "dog farm". Glad I didn't have my camera for that one.

Mr. Shane spent most of Sunday hissing at everyone. He buzzes - it's very strange. Yesterday, though, I held him for a while and he pooped on me. Maybe it's his way of showing affection... Last night, I realized just how much noise a little mouse/hamster/rodent thingy can make.

Mistah Shane!

Nicola came to Suncheon, arrived this morning. Went shopping, realized that I cannot live without an animal.... and here is.... MR. SHANE! ...with Helen and Matt, Steve, April and Nicola.

P.S. Mr. Shane was named by Nicola... Shane Finnie is the director of Canadian Connection. Nicola and I have a slight obsession with Mr. Shane (human). And he just finds us more than slightly obnoxious.

Corporal punishment....

So, one thing that Korean schools have a reputation of is the use of corporal punishment. Think bamboo sticks, a broom handle, whatever. I have seen the odd slap, ear-pull, etc. and didn't think it was too bad. I can tell you that the kids definitely pay attention. On the other hand, the fact that school in Korea is not totally "hands off" like it is in Canada means that you can also do nice things, like a pat on the back, and not be worried that the kid is going to call the police. In Canada, you wouldn't dare touch a student in any context. It is going to take some getting used to -- not that I am planning on hitting anyone.... no, that's the Korean teachers' job.

Today, as my class was starting, one of the Korean teachers (I usually have a Korean teacher in my class) caught 4 kids coming in late. She tapped her stick on a nearby table and, one-by-one, the kids put their hands on the table and each got a spanking in turn. Three hard whacks each on the butt and they joined the class.

Did it look like it hurt? Yes.
Did it look excessive? No.
Was I comfortable? Not sure.
Do I think those kids will be late for class again? Most probably, but not for a while.

I think I am still trying to figure out how I feel about it.

How many times in Canada would I have happily smacked/strangled/kicked some snotty teen who was giving me attitude????

But... to see it done for real?

Wow.

Bridget Jones goes shopping

Must give self pat on back for choosing to move to country with many sparkly objects. have just done major retail therapy.

Attended by Carol, was seeking running shoe in order to attend Korean step class and/or begin jogging in order to fit Korean clothing sizes. May resort to partial amputation and/or home lipo kit. Am literally size 100 here.

First stop was sparkly counter full of earrings and rings for 5,000 Won. Try everything on. Am tempted to purchase all, but am in full realization that self may regret shopaholicism once student loans come due. Purchase two rings as reward for moving to Korea.

Second stop was shoe, but not of athletic kind. See picture of very cute fake Birks. Largest size made and still not exact fit. 10,000 Won. Reward for patience with Korean shop keepers who sell cream-filled walnut bread instead of whole wheat.

Third stop was t-shirts. Although alarmingly gorgeous, keep control of self whilst Carol makes purchases. Admire insane sparkly belt buckle that would fit perfectly on own belt. Decide to reserve as future reward for not always buying on whim.

Fourth stop was.... THE BODY SHOP. Squeal like Korean schoolgirl upon entering shop. Realize that Body Shop is 3 minute walk from apartment. Admire all, realizing that have already enough in bathroom. Purchase aroma jar and essential oil (27,000 Won - ouch!) as reward for... umm... housewarming present for self!

Look at Prada bag. Retail price of 1,500,000 Won is out of price range.

For now.

Finally arrive in athletic shoe area. Desire silver and pink shiny shoe, but am told "Too largee". Settle for crazy green and yellow and silver athletic shoe, which will make self instantly skinnier for 65,000 Won. Purchase as reward for eating kimchi every day.

Realize have moved to correct country for self, where am recognized as beautiful 400 times a day, live next door to shops where can actually afford items, and where abundance of fun, shiny, sparkly clothes can be found. Believe that Katrina and Ellie must come visit with small size 5 and 6 feet, must bring empty suitcase to fill with funky Korean shoes.

First week of school

So, besides the fact that I have taught the same "Introduction class" FOURTEEN times already (and 3 more to go on Friday), it is still fun.

The way I see it, I get to do all the "fun" teaching... but none of that nasty correcting, parents meetings etc. My students are not all super obediant kids - get that idea out of your heads! They are normal teenagers - the big difference being that they are quite polite. The bowing is just great, as is being given things with two hands (major show of respect). It is still hard to determine just what they understand and what they are capable of. Some kids are quite boisterous and enthused, while others are going to take some waking up (literally, with the typical Korean school kid going from 7 am to 10 pm, then studying, they often will sleep on their desks out of sheer exhaustion).

I've been able to get their attention, and have had a very positive response (except from that one evil demon paper airplane group), which is great.

On the social side, Nicola, JP and Nicola's sister (maybe) will be coming to stay in my teeny apt this weekend. Should be interesting. There is an Open Mic night on Saturday and I've signed up (under the influence of red wine) to recite "Stopping by woods on a snowy evening" by Robert Frost. It will be the only poem, and I hope it goes well. Hopefully, we will all be able to hike Jogye Mountain to see the two temples that are there. Can't wait! Other activities will possibly include shopping, eating (see, I haven't changed!) and going to a sauna.

More funny things:

- Every time I go to the bakery, I am surprised. I wanted whole wheat bread, and ended up coming home with bamboo and raisin (!). I tried again, and this time I got walnut bread with coconut cream inside!
- A busload of little kids was hanging out the window screaming "Hello" at me yesterday.
- I am a millionnaire! Well, it's Won, but it still feels good to have a bank balance in the 7 figures.

Miss you all - keep sending me your day-to-day news....

Hey.

Where did my blog go?

2nd day of school

Much better! Lots of motivated kids and I even taught one class with no co-teacher (the Korean co-teachers are the ones who discipline the bad ones....)

As a part of my class, I show pictures from home, including friends and family. Of course, I chose the best pics of my family and... the worst pics of my friends (mwa ha ha). The kids think that all my nieces and nephews are soooo cutie! Oh, and Kelly and Ellie are beautiful. Meron, Kelly's Steve, and Kimmy are all "Psycho" (that will teach you to let me use pics of you pulling faces....). Oh, and there is something satisfying about having kids bow to you... yes, I admit it.

In the last class, I had to explain why I wasn't married, had no kids and didn't have a boyfriend. Mom? Did you tell the kids to ask me questions like that?

Just went for a quick hike with Carol on the hill behind my building. Very nice, but then the (acid) rain started and we had to get home.

Gotta read Pride and Prejudice tonight and make questions for an English contest. Wish me luck.

Woohoo - Internet at home....

... means I can start randomly uploading pictures.

Oh, and if you aren't already in the habit, if you post a comment, check back and see how I've answered it. This is way better than e-mail.

In no particular order: squid in a plastic bin on the street in Wando (before they are prepared for my hungry tummy -- no, I didn't buy any fresh squid...); my apartment; a pic taken through the bus window from Wando to Suncheon; me, Nicola and Steve in downtown Gwangju.

Is that a paper airplane?

So, you know how on TV and in comics, when they want to show a totally out of control class, there is always a paper airplane flying around?

That was my first class in Korea.

Now, before you start feeling sorry for me, I thought that it was absolutely hilarious like... "Hey, is that a paper airplane?". (yeah, the first class I saw was the worst class of the whole school, so sez co-teacher) Now, in true Ms. Parker fashion, I grabbed the airplane, found who it belonged to and yelled at her (!) in English (co-teacher translated, and probably made it sound more menacing than it was). So, what was the problem? Well, I guess years and years of teaching Enriched English have not prepared me for the Korean levels of English: they can write (although "I'm favorite food potato" almost rivals "me happy hot dress" and "me funny guitar" for as The Worst English Sentence Ever), they can read, they can't speak and there is no way of knowing what they understand. This makes it difficult to not be too easy or difficult.... Think I need a stick.

You will all be happy to know that my class in the afternoon went 500 times better. It was a lot of fun. Big sigh of relief.

It wasn't me.

It was them.

Right?

In other news, I now have an internet connection at home, so I can start uploading some of my pictures of Korea. I think I will start with me and two soldiers... and a tank full of sea cucumbers. In Korea, "STAMINA" (think "male virility") is very important, and the theory goes that if it looks like one... and you eat it... well, it will help yours out.

And, while I'm at it: my first Engrish sign (known as Konglish in Korea). This was in a pool hall in Gwangju, my first day in Korea, after a 14 hour flight and no sleep and all that. I'm proud of it!

Greetings from Wando

So, here I am in Wando - visiting Nicola.

Yesterday, there was a Chiang Po Go festival (This guy who got rid of Chinese pirates or something) and it was great. Lots of people, a parade, a huge ceremony and a 45-minute long military gun juggling thingy. There are less waguk here, so we were stared at a lot more than I usually am in Suncheon.

I bought a pair of black military pants from a market stall ($10), and they fit perfectly. The high-waist, tapered leg, big pockets on the thighs might not be the most flattering look but ... hey. I've also embraced socks and sandals as a good thing.

Today, we woke up to RAIN. After 87 cups of tea, we decided to go out for a hike. As we climbed the cliffs overlooking the sea, I really had a sense of being "in Korea". We even found old cement pillbox hideout things from the war. Absolutely gorgeous.

Will write more when I get to Suncheon, I must finish drinking my hot can of coffee (yes, you can buy hot cans of coffee here. I love this place.)

All I had to do is show up...

.... and they already love me.

Doesn't this group look mischievous? They are the 5As (little CSA reference there) of this school.

This is from last week, for my surprise party. We will see if I keep on smiling once I finally get to know them....

I took a picture of my lunch today....

And I will upload it soon (I know I keep saying that, but I have no internet at home). The principal caught me and laughed (whew!).

This brings me to another list.... I think I will call this one "Things I can eat with chopsticks" ... or "Things I have eaten with chopsticks"

1. half a clove of garlic (raw)
2. bean sprouts
3. white rice
4. sticky rice
5. rice and barley
6. rice and corn
7. rice and rice
8. peanuts
9. squid (yum)
10. kiwi salad (very difficult.... it's quite slippery)
11. a piece of apple, covered in mayo
12. raisins (covered in mayo - is this Korea or Belgium?)
13. kimchi (literally - eaten with EVERY meal!)
14. soup (ha!)
15. spaghetti / noodles

In other news, today is Sports Day (and my official introduction day). It is sort of like Track and Field Day, but with different sports: running (okay), soccer penalty kick (ummm), tug o' war (wow), kick-the-ball-and-run-around-your-friends (my personal favourite), hit-the-ball-like-golfing-with-a-mallet (gotta see it to believe it), dodge ball (I kid you not) and.... hockey!

Last night, I hung out with some new friends (Steve, Dave, Karen, Helen and Matt) for a Thai curry supper (eaten with a fork!!!!). So far, everyone I've met in the Shidae apata are super friendly and generous (yes, yes, pictures to come.....).

Hmmm....

So, yesterday was a minor crisis day as I tried to sort out getting my alien card in time to go visit Nicola for the weekend. Yes, I am officially an alien. (no comment)

Hopefully I will have it soon.

I surprised a few people this morning (your evening) with some phone calls. All of my phone numbers were in my cell phone, which is somewhere in Canada. DO NOT assume that I have your number and please e-mail it to me.

When you come to Korea, you can also experience the following:

- purple grape flavoured bread (I haven't tasted it yet).
- I cross SEVEN lanes of traffic to get to my bus stop in the morning.
- Red lights are optional for drivers -- oh, and they have the right of way, not pedestrians, so you'd better learn to sprint.
- Kimchi: it cures birdflu and SARS.

Will hopefully have internet at home soon -- and be able to post more pics of my surroundings. Got a ride through some rice paddies yesterday. Absolutely gorgeous.

My weekend

This is a mini-post as I will be sending a big e-mail out to friends with pics of apt.

Check prior posts as will attempt to add pics.

Let's see if this will work....