2 Days into Teaching

Anyang ha seo!

Wow, so much has happened since the last time we joined our handsome, young adventurer and his tales of the mysterious orient. Humility is huge here, hence I have to vent it all on here, lucky you.

So this weekend I went out with many of my new coworkers, both American, but1 Irish fellow, and Korean. I will tell you this, Koreans and foreigners in Korea like to have fun. I haven't been out as late as I was on Friday since New Years in Chile earlier this year but I didn't head out until much later in the night. Going out here in Seoul can be summed up pretty simply: the beer is cheap but it is worse than PBR and the street kebabs are fantastic. Wrapped in flour tortillas, the kebabs will be my drug of choice since they're roughly a taco... especially since they are wrapped in tortillas.

My ex college coworker David and his girlfriend Abby came up to visit this weekend. So far he's convinced both she and me to come to this strange and motor bike filled world with its $3.50 kebabs. I really, really like the kebabs if you haven't noticed. Back to David and Abby, they spent the weekend in Seoul, they live just to the south of here, and we hung out with some of my coworkers\, wandered around the streets of my neighborhood for a while finding an awe inspiring temple that was deaf to the city inside its walls, we saw some of the women's university, and we ate the most amazing curry at this Nepalese place, filled unsurprisingly with Seoul's Nepalese population, that my friend Nick Verbon, who taught here, had recommended. It was a great weekend but led into a busy, busy week.

Tuesday I began teaching! I had prepped a lot Monday and that had really paid off. My kids for the most part are all very bright and some of them were even born in the US so they know as much English as they should for a kid their age; on the other hand I have some kids who are brand new to English learning and their very first experience is with yours truly. I might teach them Spanish on alternating days and see if anyone notices. Anyone dare me to do it?

 I was also able to move into my new place! Its not bad, no oven or dishwasher but it has a laundry/dryer and internet already set up. The bed is hard as a rock but more like a sandstone and the motel bed was then more of a granite or diamond in hardness. All in all the place is big enough for me and has air conditioning so I'm fine. The oddest thing is the shower. The bathroom is the shower. Maybe its something you have to experience but the shower head basically just comes out of the wall and there are no walls. This might be hard to explain but its just odd and leave the whole closet of a bathroom wet when done. The motel was much the same way but it was a much bigger bathroom.

Bathrooms aside, today was my second day teaching and apart from a minor emergency in which I had photocopied the wrong test, which we didn't have time for anyway, everything went pretty well, also if you don't include me not knowing how to use the projector for one class.

There are a hundred other things I could tell you I suppose but Danny is tired and Danny is jealous of how close his comforter and sheets are. With luck, I will have my resident alien card soon and be fully legit here in Korea and have a cellphone and bank account and everything.

And before I forget, I think David, Abby and I are going to see South Korea versus Australia in soccer at the World Cup Stadium this weekend. Pretty cool, right?

Chao